LIES & OMENS: A SHADOWS INQUIRIES NOVEL
LYN BENEDICT
Ace Books


Sylvie Lightner is a P.I. specializing in the unusual--in a world where magic is real, and Hell is just around the corner.

After escaping secret government cells and destroying a Miami landmark, Sylvie's trying to lay low--something that gets easier when a magical force starts taking out her enemies. But these magical attacks are a risk to bystanders, and Sylvie can't let that slide.

When the war between the government and the magical world threatens the three people closest to her--her assistant, her sister, and her lover--Sylvie has no choice but to get involved with hidden powers bent on shaping the world to their liking. Now, with death and disaster on the horizon, even if Sylvie wins, things will never be the same...

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KITTY STEALS THE SHOW
Carrie Vaughn
New York Times Bestselling Author
Tor Books

Kitty has been tapped as the keynote speaker for the First International Conference on Paranatural Studies, taking place in London. The conference brings together scientists, activists, protestors, and supernatural beings from all over the world--and Kitty, Ben, and Cormac are right in the middle of it.

Master vampires from dozens of cities have also gathered in London for a conference of their own. With the help of the Master of London, Kitty gets more of a glimpse into the Long Game--a power struggle among vampires that has been going on for centuries--than she ever has before. In her search for answers, Kitty has the help of some old allies, and meets some new ones, such as Caleb, the alpha werewolf of the British Isles. The conference has also attracted some old enemies, who've set their sights on her and her friends.

All the world's a stage, and Kitty's just stepped into the spotlight.

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BURN BABY BURN: A SUPERVILLAIN NOVEL
James Maxey
Amazon Digital

Pit Geek and Sundancer are supervillains in an age when superheroes have been outlawed. After years in hiding, the two team up for a series of spectacular bank robberies that threatens to disrupt the world economy. When a new government-sanctioned team of heroes known as the Covenant appears to halt their crime wave, Sundancer and Pit Geek are forced to take desperate measures to retain their freedom. When they finally run out of places to hide, can the world survive when Sundancer unleashes the full force of her solar powers?

Burn Baby Burn follows the events of Nobody Gets the Girl (Phobos, 2003). The novel stands alone if you haven't read Nobody, but does contain spoilers as the characters discuss changes in the world following the events of the earlier novel.

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SPELLCROSSED
Barbara Ashford
DAW Books

It's not easy losing the love of your life...

But when Maggie Graham freed Rowan Mackenzie from the curse that bound him to this world, she took the first step toward her new life as director of the Crossroads Theatre. As a hectic new season begins, magic takes a back seat to ticket sales as Maggie balances the demands of her interfering board president and a company of actors that includes bewildered amateurs, disdainful professionals, a horde of children, and an arthritic dog. But magic is hard to banish from the old white barn, where memories lurk like ghosts in the shadowy wings and the unexpected is as time-honored a tradition as the curtain call. And when the tangled spells of the past turn Maggie's life upside down, it will take more than magic to ensure the happy-ever-after ending she longs for.

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SILVER
Rhiannon Held
Tor Books

Andrew Dare is a werewolf. He's the enforcer for the Roanoke pack, and responsible for capturing or killing any Were intruders in Roanoke's territory. But the lone Were he's tracking doesn't smell or act like anyone he's ever encountered. And when he catches her, it doesn't get any better. She's beautiful, she's crazy, and someone has tortured her by injecting silver into her veins. She says her name is Silver, and that she's lost her wild self and can't shift any more.
The packs in North America have a live-and-let-live attitude, and try not to overlap with each other. But Silver represents a terrible threat to every Were on the continent.

Andrew and Silver will join forces to track down this menace while discovering their own power and their passion for each other.

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LANCE OF EARTH AND SKY: THE CHAOS KNIGHT BOOK 2
Erin Hoffman
DAW Books

Vidarian Rulorat, a captain without a ship, faces the consequences of opening the gate between worlds. Elemental magic is awakening across the planet after centuries of dormancy, bringing with it magically powered wonders including flying ships and ancient automata. After decades of peace, empires leap into war over long-disputed territory as their technologies shift--and on top of it all, Ariadel, Vidarian's one great love, isn't speaking to him. Called into service by the desperate young emperor of Alorea, Vidarian must lead skyships in a war against the neighboring southern empire, train the demoralized imperial Sky Knights to ride beasts that now shapeshift, master his own amplified elemental magic, and win back Ariadel—all without losing his mind.
Compounding his task is a political minefield laid by the Alorean Import Company, which may or may not be fomenting war across the world, and a shapeshifter that bonds to Vidarian during his early attempts to subdue the rogue birdlike seridi. And, as always, the Starhunter, goddess of chaos, is never far from Vidarian's heels, inexorably guiding him toward her own concern: the lance of earth and sky.

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CRACKING THE ICE
Dave Hendrickson
Westside Books

"In turbulent 1968, Jessie Stackhouse, an African American freshman, is offered a scholarship to play hockey for Springvale Academy, an exclusive New Hampshire prep school. Jessie views admission to Springvale as his ticket to the Ivy League. Upon arrival, though, he encounters virulent racism, as he is beaten by a gang of town thugs and faces a terrifying fake lynching administered by his teammates. Jessie's hockey coach is behind many of these cruelties, and despite the efforts of the headmaster, Jessie finds himself pushed nearly to the limit. Once the hockey season starts, Jessie's talent makes him indispensable to the team, but when the board fires the headmaster, all seems lost. At the end, though, a reporter turns up to write an exposé on the prep school's racism, and Jessie knows that justice will prevail. Hendrickson's debut novel paints a gripping account of a courageous young man rising above evil. The well-described hockey action is secondary to the undiluted portrait of racism. Grades 8-11."
                --Booklist

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CLEAN: A MINDSPACE INVESTIGATIONS NOVEL
Alex Hughes
Roc Books

A RUTHLESS KILLER—
OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

I used to work for the Telepath's Guild before they kicked me out for a drug habit that wasn't entirely my fault. Now I work for the cops, helping Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino put killers behind bars.

My ability to get inside the twisted minds of suspects makes me the best interrogator in the department. But the normals keep me on a short leash. When the Tech Wars ripped the world apart, the Guild stepped up to save it. But they had to get scary to do it--real scary.

Now the cops don't trust the telepaths, the Guild doesn't trust me, a serial killer is stalking the city--and I'm aching for a fix. But I need to solve this case. Fast. I've just had a vision of the future: I'm the next to die.


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HUSH: BOOK 2 OF THE DRAGON APOCALYPSE
James Maxey
Solaris Books

The invulnerable, super-strong warrior Infidel has a secret: she's lost her magical powers right at the moment when she needs them most. To keep a promise to a fallen friend, she must journey to the frozen wastelands of the north. Her quest leads her through the abstract realms of the Sea of Wine, where she uncovers a conspiracy that threatens all life. Hush, the primal dragon of cold, has formed an alliance with the ghost of a vengeful witch to murder Glorious, the dragon of the sun, plunging the world into an unending winter night. Without her magical strength, can Infidel possibly survive her battle with Hush? If she fails to save Glorious, will the world see another morning?


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THE THORN AND THE BLOSSOM
Theodora Goss
Quirk Publishing

Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever.
When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn't know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn't know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself...

The Thorn and the Blossom is a remarkable literary artifact: You can open the book in either direction to decide whether you'll first read Brendan's, or Evelyn's account of the mysterious love affair. Choose a side, read it like a regular novel--and when you get to the end, you'll find yourself at a whole new beginning.

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HOW TO MAKE A GOLEM AND TERRIFY PEOPLE
Alette J. Willis
Floris Books

Winner of the Kelpies Prize 2011

"Edda, or Mouse to her family, loves her new home, but she doesn't love being the new girl at school. She is small and shy, and frequently bullied by Euan, a boy in her class. The night of her 13th birthday dinner, her house is burglarized, and her presents unwrapped and stolen. She suspects Euan, but can't be sure, and timid Edda is suddenly afraid of everything. Then mysterious Michael Scot comes into her life. He's odd. He sounds much older than he looks, and he lives in a tower with a basement full of strange objects. He speaks to a dead toad he keeps in a jar. But he says he can help her make a golem, a man out of mud that will protect her and her belongings, and thus overcome her fears. She agrees, but when everything goes terribly wrong, Edda discovers who her true friends are and that she doesn't need a golem to feel strong. Her uncertainties about her own strength of character, and her journey of self-discovery, will resonate with readers. Powerful messages come through, such as choosing your friends wisely and learning to stand up for yourself. Willis skillfully avoids revealing too much about the golem until the end, and readers will race through the pages to find out whether the creature is real, or only in Edda's imagination."
                --School Library Journal

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EBON BLADE
Nook Bestselling Children's Author
Rebecca Shelley
Wonder Realms Books

A ragged street boy named Brian snatches a cursed blade that thrusts him into a bloody war of succession. The blade carries a dark magic that makes Brian a dangerous fighter, but in the process it takes control of his mind and spirit. He finds he must choose between his own freedom and the power to save his friends.

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SKYLARK
Meagan Spooner
Carolrhoda Publishing

Vis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life.

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.

Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply.

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she's ever known...or face a fate more unimaginable than death.

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END OF SUMMER
Michael Potts
WordCrafts Publishing

An old man. And a journey of the heart.

My fraternal twin, Michael, died two hours after birth, drowning from fluid in his lungs. When I was two, my Mom and Dad were killed in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer. I was reared by Granddaddy and Granny, who had lived with my folks in the same rented home. I remembered neither my parents' lives nor their deaths. I suppose that's a blessing and a curse. My grandparents had provided details my young mind could understand, but I pushed them away. I did not want them. Back in that field after thirty years, I stood poised at the edge of an abyss.

End of Summer is a poignant, literary novel that explores the mysteries of life, love and death through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy...interpreted by the man he grew to be.

"A deeply moving and passionate book, Michael Potts' End of Summer is a poignant literary novel about childhood and memory. This is contemporary Southern fiction at its best. In textured language and with heartfelt attention to detail, Potts' nuanced portrayal of rural life in southern Appalachia and a young boy's initial encounter with death reminds us that life at the economic margins can be culturally and spiritually rich, and that even as absences and losses sometimes damage us, these can also strengthen and redeem."
                --Michael Colonnese, Ph.D., author of Sex and Death, I Suppose and Temporary Agency

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EVIL DARK: AN OCCULT CRIME UNIT INVESTIGATION
Justin Gustainis
Angry Robot Books

"Great writing, well paced, with twists and turns at every angle, it throws a spotlight on our own society, making you question your own choices in life."
                --Geek Syndicate

My name's Markowski. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.

A series of seemingly motiveless murders of supernatural creatures points to a vigilante targeting the supe community. Markowski wouldn't normally have much of a problem with that, but his daughter may be next on the killer's list...

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ROGUES OF THE BLACK FURY
Travis Heermann
E-Reads

"Rogues of the Black Fury mixes a berserk action thriller sharp as a mercenary's sword with hard-bitten fantasy so gritty it might scour your bones clean by the time you're done."
                --Matt Forbeck, author of The Amortals and Carpathia

When a band of shadowy fanatics abducts Javin Wollstone's little sister, Bella, from his care, his only hope to bring her home is turning to a hard-bitten band of special warriors, the Black Furies, led by Commander Rusk. Javin follows Rusk and his men through a maze of political intrigues, religious fanaticism, and centuries of distrust. Little do they know that little Bella Wollstone could be the spark that sets off a war of Armageddon.

The investigation unfolds into a frantic chase that leads Javin, Rusk, and the Black Furies across trackless, pirate-infested seas into the ancient heart of Fartha, the religion-steeped land of prophets and priest-kings. Using stealth, guile, and sheer audacity, the Furies fling themselves into the teeth of the serpent, trying to snatch Bella back before she is swallowed forever. Javin finds himself torn between his genteel, noble upbringing and the raw, brutal necessity of what he must do to save her life.

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TAFT 2012
Jason Heller
Quirk Books

HE'S BACK.
AND HE'S THE BIGGEST THING IN POLITICS.

He is the perfect presidential candidate. Conservatives love his hard-hitting Republican résumé. Liberals love his peaceful, progressive practicality. The media can't get enough of his larger-than-life personality. And all the American people love that he's an honest, hard-working man who tells it like it is.

There's just one problem. He is William Howard Taft...and he was already president a hundred years ago. So what on earth is he doing alive and well and considering a running mate in 2012?

A most extraordinary satire, Jason Heller's debut novel follows the strange new life of a presidential Rip Van Winkle: a man who never even wanted the White House in the first place, yet finds himself hurtling toward it once more--this time, through the media-fueled madness of 21st-century America.

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