New Release News – Clare, Ward, Showalter and Singh

So, I was doing my usual snooping around tonight, and found some info on upcoming releases from some favorites.  This has probably made the rounds already, but don’t hurt to repeat.

• For the fans of the young adult Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series, Cassandra Clare has signed on to do a third series set in this world.  There had been rumors for a while, but now it is official – The Dark Artifices trilogy will kick off starting in 2015.  A bit of a wait, though (I might actually get the first two series read by then).
• I have to admit, this one shocked the pants off of me.  J.R. Ward has confirmed that the next Black Dagger Brotherhood book, due next March in hardcover, will feature…Qhuinn and Blay.  I never, ever thought that they would really get their own full book.  I was sure it was either going to be a case of their story progressing in the background of several books featuring other couples, or at the most a novella.  This is a huge move for a “mainstream” PNR/UF series, and I can’t wait to see what the reaction is going to be.
• Tomorrow (er, today for some folks) is the day Gena Showalter will be releasing the cover for the first book in her White Rabbit Chronicles series, Alice in Zombieland.  Looks like this September 25th young adult book already has a sequel in the works, too.  Book two will be called Through the Zombie Glass, but no release date has been given as yet.
• And finally, Nalini Singh posted her release schedule through next year on her blog.  We already knew about Tangle of Need in May, and Archangel’s Storm in September, but 2013 is shaping up to be a busy year, too.  March will see a Psy/Changeling novella collection (like the recent Guild Hunter collection Angels’ Flight).  There will be two previously released stories, and two all new ones (one likely featuring Cooper and Grace).  It will be followed by another Psy/Changeling full length book in June, and a Guild Hunter book in September.  No word yet on who either of the last two will feature.

 

 

Pick of the Week

There were actually two books that I was torn between for the pick of the week.  Shelly Laurenston released her seventh Pride book, Bear Meets Girl (I just finished it, and it was great).  This one is always a series I look forward to, and there hasn’t been a let down yet.  But, this is also the week of Lover Reborn.  Not only is Lover Reborn the long-awaited Tohrment story, but a Black Dagger Brotherhood book is more than just a story…it is more like an event.  At one release a year, I can’t wait to dive back into the world J.R. Ward has created.

Synopsis…

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. The city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.Now back in the Brotherhood – and unrecognisable as the vampire leader he once was – Tohrment is physically emaciated and heartbroken beyond despair. When he begins to see his beloved in his dreams – trapped in a cold, isolating netherworld – Tohr turns to a self-serving fallen angel in hopes of saving the one he has lost.

When he’s told he must learn to love another to free his former mate, Tohr knows they are all doomed…Except then a female with a shadowed history begins to get through to him. Against the backdrop of the raging war with the lessers, and with a new clan of vampires vying for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between the buried past, and a very hot, passion-filled future… but can his heart let go and set all of them free?

Cover Lover – 5 New Titles

The new covers seem to be trickling out at a pretty steady pace recently, which is nice (I am still looking for the next Kresley Cole, and I found Ilona Andrew’s Gunmetal Magic, but only in black and white).  This time around we are looking at five newbies, the first of which is from Rachel Caine and her Morganville Vampires series.  Bitter Blood will be released in hardcover on November 6th.

Another one from the Young Adult is Rift, the first book in the Nightshade prequel series from Andrea Cremer.  This one is due out on August 7th.

Jacqueline Carey will be starting up a new series called Agent of Hel, and the first book will be called Dark Currents.  It is due out on October 2nd.

Well, last year J.R. Ward‘s first Black Dagger Brotherhood book, Dark Lover, was re-released in hardcover.  Now it looks like it is Lover Eternal‘s turn.  Not much change from the original mass market coverart, but I am still enjoying them.  This one will be out on November 6th.

And finally, another one from J.R. Ward.  This September will bring the release of the fourth Fallen Angel book, Rapture.  It will mark the first book in the series to be released in hardcover, as well.  There has been a bit of a look change for this one, but I guess that was to be expected.

New Release Dates

I do love the first of the month, since I can usually find a bunch of new release dates.

• Michele Vail‘s first book, Undeadly, has been pushed back to November 20th.  It is the first book of The Reaper Diaries series.
• Erin  McCarthy and Kathy Love are pairing up on The Fangover, due out on November 6th.
• What I believe is the last book of Jessica Andersen‘s Final Prophecy series will be called Spellfire, and it should be available on November 6th.
• October 30th is the release date for the third book of Donna Grant‘s upcoming spin-off series, Midnight’s Seduction.
• Shadow Rising, part of Yasmine Galenorn‘s Otherworld series, will be available on October 30th.
• The paperback release date of J.R. Ward‘s Lover Reborn will be October 2nd.
• Mate Claimed, the next book in Jennifer Ashley‘s Shifters Unbound series, will be available on October 2nd.
• Erica Hayes starts up a new series this October with the release of Revelation.  It will be followed by Redemption in 2013.
• The next Wild About You novel from Vicki Lewis Thompson will be called Werewolf in Denver.  It is scheduled for release on October 2nd.
• The Castle of Dark Dreams series from Nina Bangs will continue this October with the release of the 6th book, Wicked Whispers.
• Archangel’s Storm, Jason’s Guild Hunter story from Nalini Singh, will be available on September 4th.
• The next Dark book from Christine Feehan is now officially titled Dark Storm, and it too will be out on September 4th.
• Dragon’s Moon is the next book in the Children of the Moon series from Lucy Monroe, and it is now available for pre-order on September 4th.
• Up next for the Broken Heart series from Michele Bardsley is Only Lycans Need Apply, due out on September 4th.
• Katie Reus has a second book coming for her Moon Shifter series.  Book two will be called Primal Possession and is scheduled for release on September 4th.
• A Tale of Two Vampires, part of Katie MacAlister‘s Dark Ones series, will be released on September 4th.
• November 6th is the date for Thea Harrison‘s 5th Elder Races book, Lord’s Fall.
• Magic for a Price is the name of the next Allie Beckstrom novel from Devon Monk, and it should be out on November 6th.
• Christina Henry will release Black Lament, part of her Black Wings series, on October 30th.
• and the next Jane Yellowrock novel, from author Faith Hunter, will be called Death’s Rival.  Look for it on October 2nd.

Spotlight on…Lover Reborn

Up until this point, I had only been able to find a bare-bones, annoying little blurb about J.R. Ward‘s Lover Reborn.  Pretty much all it said was that it was about Tohr.  Meh.  Today, as I was finally doing some updating in the New Release section, I came across a much better description…

Back Cover Copy…

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. The city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.Now back in the Brotherhood – and unrecognisable as the vampire leader he once was – Tohrment is physically emaciated and heartbroken beyond despair. When he begins to see his beloved in his dreams – trapped in a cold, isolating netherworld – Tohr turns to a self-serving fallen angel in hopes of saving the one he has lost.

When he’s told he must learn to love another to free his former mate, Tohr knows they are all doomed…Except then a female with a shadowed history begins to get through to him. Against the backdrop of the raging war with the lessers, and with a new clan of vampires vying for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between the buried past, and a very hot, passion-filled future… but can his heart let go and set all of them free?

Now that got me interested.  Lover Reborn is due out on March 27th.

 

New Additions

I have found a couple of more titles to add to the new release pages, a lot in the Young Adult side of things.

• Cynthia Eden will be contributing to a new anthology next September called Howl For It.  Not sure yet on the other authors involved.
• The fourth book of J.R. Ward‘s Fallen Angels series is rumored to be called Rapture.  It will be out at the beginning of next September.
• Desire the Night is a new one coming from Amanda Ashley.  It should be available on September 4th.
• Melissa de la Cruz will start her Blue Bloods spin-off series called Wolf Pact next September with the release of book one, also called Wolf Pact.
• Author Kira Brady will be starting her Deadglass Trilogy next August with the release of the first book, Hearts of Darkness.  This one sounds interesting.
• Book #11 of the Celta’s Heartmates series from Robin D. Owens will be coming out next August 7th.  It will be called Heart Secret.
• This one is a bit different.  Michelle Rowen will be returning to her Immortality Bites world with a new series.  The Sarah Dearly books will start up again next October with the release of Blood Bath and Beyond.
• Lilith Saintcrow will start an adult oriented series next fall called Bannon & Clare.  Book one will be called The Iron Wyrm Affair.
• The second book of the Anna series from Kendare Blake will be called Girl of Nightmares (great cover, too).  Look for it next August.
• Even though Andrea Cremer‘s Nightshade trilogy wraps up early next year, there will be at least two more books from that world.  Billed as a prequel series, the Nightshade Companion books will include next August’s Rift, and will be followed by Rise in 2013.
• And finally the third book of the Halo series from Alexandra Adornetto will be called Heaven, and is scheduled for release on August 21st.

A Tale of Two Covers…

For the second time in a couple of days, a majorly awaited upcoming hardcover book has gone back to the drawing board.  First was a change in the model for Nalini Singh’s Tangle of Need, and now J.R. Ward has released the updated cover for her March 27th book, Lover Reborn.  I did not find myself thrilled with the first version, but I find the new one is a bit better.  Tohr is one of my favorites, so I would love to see something really eye-catching for him…

Original Version…

The Redo…

So, which one is more “Tohr-worthy” to you?

New Series Alerts…

Another Monday, another couple of new series to highlight.  Or, rather, a couple new series, and one return to the beginning.  October 1st sees the start of the print run for Sara Humphreys‘ Amoveo Legacy with the release of Unleashed.

Synopsis…

A fresh, exciting take on shape-shifters, which is one of the hottest areas of paranormal romance, this debut was originally self-published in a limited edition and was a word-of-mouth sensation for booksellers in a major national book chain.

The acclaimed and highly original world-building of Sara Taney Humphreys introduces the Amoveo race– beautiful, strong shape-shifters who live secretly among humans and are threatened by outside forces as well as enemies from within. After endless searching, Malcolm has found his mate, Samantha, but she doesn’t know who she really is and won’t believe it when he tells her…

It will be followed by Untouched on April 1st.

New series number two is a nice change from the weres and vamps.  The Goblin King is the first book from Shona Husk‘s Goblin series, starting on October 1st.

Synopsis…

Cursed by a Druid millennia ago, Roan lives a bleak existence in the Shadowlands, desperately trying to retain his soul and not succumb to the goblin horde. When a beautiful human summons him to grant a wish, he sees a glimmer of hope. But will she ever agree to be his queen?

There will be at least two more books – Kiss of the Goblin Prince, and For the Love of a Goblin Warrior.

Been waiting to get my hands on this one for a while.  A Touch of Crimson is the new one from Sylvia Day, featuring a whole crew of powerful, deadly Renegade Angels.

Synopsis…

Adrian Mitchell is an angel of immense power and insatiable desire. Leading an elite Special Ops unit of the Seraphim, his task is to punish the Fallen—angels who have become vampires—and command a restless pack of indentured lycans.

But Adrian has suffered his own punishment for becoming involved with mortals—losing the woman he loves again and again. Now, after nearly two hundred years, he has found her—Shadoe, her soul once more inhabiting a new body with no memory of him. Only this time he won’t let her go.

With no memory of her past as Shadoe, Lindsay Gibson only knows she can’t help being fiercely attracted to the smoldering, seductive male who crosses her path. Swept into a dangerous world of tumultuous passion and preternatural conflict, Lindsay is soon caught in the middle between her angel lover, her vampire father, and a full-blown lycan revolt. There’s more at stake than her love and her life—this time she could lose her very soul…

Look for the follow-up, A Hunger So Wild, early next year.

And finally, J.R. Ward‘s early Black Dagger Brotherhood books are in the process of being re-released in hardcover Collector’s Edition format, starting with the book that started it all, Dark Lover.  I was so hoping for this to happen, so this makes me a happy, happy girl.

Synopsis…

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing their enemies-the lessers-more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed, leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate, Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

This and That…

Well, this is a post about a bunch of…stuff.  You know, not enough to have its own post, but rattling around in my head bugging me that it has to be said?  Looks like strange info-dump time, with no theme…

• first of all, I noticed that Wicked Scribes doesn’t work in Internet Explorer very well.  Things look funky sometimes, and fixing them for IE made them look wonky in in Firefox.  So, if you have the choice, Firefox is the way to go.
• um, yeah.  I am in the process of adding e-books to the author pages and their reading lists.  New sections will be added, especially for authors like Ilona Andrews and Jeaniene Frost.  I haven’t tackled adding e-books to the new release pages yet, since I figure that will take a good long while and I have to track the suckers down first.
• the Elder Races Character Guide has now been updated to include Storm’s Heart (on the day The Book Depository shipped out Serpent’s Kiss, no less).  I will be starting the re-read of Archangel’s Blade tomorrow, and hope to have the Guild Hunter Guide updated by the end of next week.

and on the book front…

• looks like the next Anita Blake officially has a title now.  Kiss the Dead will be the next book from Laurell K. Hamilton, and is due out on June 5th.
• and Andrea’s book now has a name, as well.  The first book from Ilona Andrews‘ spin-off from the Kate Daniels series will be called Gunmetal Magic.  Look for it next May.
• I was hoping for the next Christine Feehan Ghostwalker book next March, but seems like Thorn’s story will now be pushed back to July.  Blech.
• looks like Lover Reborn might be getting a cover-makeover.  The original version of the J.R. Ward book has been pulled recently from the publisher’s site, so here’s hoping.  Dude was fugly.

I think that is about it.  Still looking for covers for Once Bitten, Bear Meets Girl, and a few others.  I do love my hunting…

Spin-off Mania

Ok.  I am a combination of bored, OCD, and nosy.  Not a pretty combination.  Anyhow, today I came across a blurb about Gena Showalter starting yet ANOTHER series – this one a spin-off of the Lords of the Underworld.  Huh.  Didn’t see that one coming, for some reason.  And that got me thinking about how many other authors seem to be going the spin-off way.  Not long ago, it seemed as if author’s just kept going on, and on, and on with their successful series (sometimes well after they should’ve stopped).  But the spin-off is brilliant.  A chance to expand and explore new ideas, while pretty much keeping a built in reader base.  There are a few coming up that I am looking forward too, as well.

• As mentioned above, Gena Showalter is working on a new series set in the LotU world.   At her blog, she has said that the first book will debut sometime in 2012, and the main characters will be the angels (I wondered why they were getting so much time in the last couple of books).  There will be cameos by the various Lords.
• Showalter buddy Kresley Cole is also branching out from her Immortals After Dark series.  Plus a YA series, but I am not sure if that is IAD connected (helloooo, Thad).  Sorry.  The first book will be out next August, and the YA will follow in the fall.  I have been trying to dig up some info on these, but no luck as yet.
• Bloodlines will be a six book series from Richelle Mead.  Book one, also called Bloodlines, is out this month with the release of The Golden Lily following next March.  But all of this traces bad to the Vampire Academy series.  Actually, depending on how things go, I could totally see another series after that featuring Jill.  She would be old enough then to carry her own story, if all goes well.
• Rhyannon Byrd ended her Primal Instincts series just last week with the release of Rush of Pleasure.  But the very hot vamps featured in the latter books, especially the Granger brothers, are now getting their turn.  Some are saying this is a series, some say stand alone, but Ashe Granger will be featured in Deadly is the Kiss next April.
• and Jeaniene Frost‘s Night Huntress series is getting even more complex.  Aside from the main Cat and Bones books, and the two Night Huntress World books already released, Vlad is getting his story told in at least two books in the Night Prince spin-off series.  We are still waiting on the official title of the first book, but whatever it is called it will be hitting the shelves on March 27th.

I went through my books to track down some authors who had already made the jump successfully…

• Christine Feehan is just finishing up her second Sisters of the Heart book, featuring Judith.  Spirit Bound has a December release date, and got its start way back in the Drake Sisters books.  But instead of the seven magical sisters, we have six very hot magical Russian brothers (little brother Ilya already had his turn in the Drake books).
• Although Patricia Briggs has said that the Alpha and Omega series is supposedly set slightly behind the Mercy Thompson series in terms of timeline, there is no doubt it followed the popular Mercy books.  In this case, I actually read and loved the spin-off before the main series, which is strange for me.
• Larissa Ione will be releasing the second Lords of Deliverance book, called Immortal Rider, this November.  And details are starting to emerge about Lethal Rider, book three.  But who doesn’t look forward to cameos from the whole Demonica gang every book?  I do.

Apparently, however, a solid base does not a popular spin-off automatically make.  These two, from what I have seen around, have in no way lived up to the originals…

• Sherrilyn Kenyon, from what I understand, is meeting with mixed success in her Chronicles of Nick books.  These Young Adult hardcover books feature a character that isn’t that well liked as an adult in the Dark-Hunter series.  So who wants to read about him as a kid, I guess.
• Even J.R. Ward has made the jump with her Fallen Angels books.  I am a faithful BDB reader, but the new series just hasn’t grabbed me and made me want to read it, as yet.  The best I have heard about them is that they are “different”.  Not really a glowing recommendation.

Have I missed any?  Does anyone have any info I haven’t?  What is everyone’s feelings on the whole spin-off trend?  I myself would rather see a spin-off than the end of a series I love, or see one go on long after it should have been put to rest (yes, Dark-Hunter, I AM looking at you).