June 2017 Must Haves

BP NOTE: We apologize for this being very late. Life and world events have indeed taken a toll on our energy and reserves but we do continue to anticipate great reads and thank the members of the book community who are still working hard and providing material we enjoy. We also have a special treat coming up later this week. Happy reading!

Contemporary Romance

Unbreakable Stories: Rowe
Unbreakable Stories: Rowe (Unbreakable Bonds #3.5) by Jocelynne Drake & Rinda Elliott – June 20th (Self-pubbed)

Unbreakable Stories: Rowe is a collection of short stories following the romantic adventures and misadventures of former Army Rangers turned security experts Rowe Ward and Noah Keegan following the events of Torch, book 3 of the Unbreakable Bonds series.

This collection is more than 30,000 words long and contain stories such as:
Piece of Pie
Mistletoe
Haunted
Gotcha
And many more…

Down Home Cowboy
Down Home Cowboy (Copper Ridge #8) by Maisey Yates – June 27th (Harlequin Books)

Asked where he’d be at this point in life, Cain Donnelly would have said anywhere but Copper Ridge, Oregon, living with his estranged brothers. But since his wife abandoned them, both he and his daughter, Violet, are in need of a fresh start, so he’s back to claim his share of the family ranch. Local baker Alison Davis is a delicious temptation, but she’s also his daughter’s mentor and new boss. That makes her off-limits…until she offers a no-strings deal that no red-blooded cowboy could resist.

Alison has worked tirelessly to rebuild her life, and she won’t jeopardize her hard-won independence. Especially if it also complicates Cain’s relationship with Violet. But with Cain offering a love she never thought was possible, Alison has to find the courage to let her past go…or watch her future ride away for good.

Dear Aaron
Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata – TBA (Self-pubbed)

Ruby Santos knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she signed up to write a soldier overseas.
The guidelines were simple: one letter or email a week for the length of his or her deployment. Care packages were optional.
Been there, done that. She thought she knew what to expect.
What she didn’t count on was falling in love with the guy.

Historical Western Romance

A Touch of Frost
A Touch of Frost by Jo Goodman – June 6th (Berkley)

RESCUE ME

After his train is robbed at gunpoint, Remington Frost awakens from a blow to find the bandits gone…along with the woman he was shadowing for protection. No stranger to risk, Remington will do what it takes to bring Phoebe Apple to safety and her kidnappers to justice. But ransoming Phoebe is just the start of trouble…

Phoebe is shocked to learn that her mysterious rescuer is none other than Remington Frost, the son of her sister’s new husband. Home at Twin Star Ranch, she falls happily into western life–and cautiously in love with Remington. But danger hides close to home, and their romance illuminates a web of secrets and betrayal that may put the rancher and his intended bride past the point of rescue.

Military Science Fiction

A Peace Divided
A Peace Divided (Confederation #7, Peacekeeper #2) by Tanya Huff – June 6th (DAW)

Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr had been the very model of a Confederation Marine. No one who’d ever served with her could imagine any circumstance that would see her walking away from the Corps.

But that was before Torin learned the truth about the war the Confederation was fighting…before she’d been declared dead and had spent time in a prison that shouldn’t exist…before she’d learned about the “plastic” beings who were really behind the war between the Confederation and the Others. That was when Torin left the military for good.

Yet she couldn’t walk away from preserving and protecting everything the Confederation represented. Instead, ex-Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr drew together an elite corps of friends and allies–some ex-Marines, some civilians with unique skills–and together they prepared to take on covert missions that the Justice Department and the Corps could not–or would not–officially touch. But after their first major mission, it became obvious that covert operations were not going to be enough.

Although the war is over, the fight goes on and the Justice Department finds its regular Wardens unable to deal with violence and the people trained to use it. Ex-Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr has a solution: Strike Teams made up of ex-military personnel, small enough to maneuver quickly, able to work together if necessary. Justice has no choice but to implement her idea and Torin puts her team of independent contractors back into uniform. It isn’t war, it is policing, but it often looks much the same.

When the scientists doing a preliminary archaeological dig on a Class Two planet are taken hostage, Torin’s team is sent to free them. The problem of innocents in the line of fire is further complicated by the fact that the mercenaries holding them are a mix of Confederation and Primacy forces, and are looking for a weapon able to destroy the plastic aliens who’d started and maintained the war.

If Torin weren’t already torn by wanting that weapon in play, she also has to contend with the politics of peace that have added members of the Primacy–former enemies–to her team. Before they confront the mercenaries, Torin will have to sift through shifting loyalties as she discovers that the line between”us” and “them” is anything but straight.

Paranormal Romance

The Angel's Hunger
The Angel’s Hunger (Masters of Maria #2) by Holley Trent – June 5th (Crimson Romance)

Cursed by his vengeful elf ex-lover eight hundred years ago, Tamatsu lost not only his voice but his power, and became consumed by a ravenous hunger for food, sex, violence, and other earthly pleasures. Now he’s ready to make a deal with his former flame and tormentor: the return of his voice in exchange for the location of her missing elf queen.

But the Fates have a way of throwing monkey wrenches into the best-laid plans. After so many years in the human realm, Noelle isn’t sure she can remember what happened to his voice or even what made her mad enough to curse Tamatsu in the first place…

Can she find a way to make amends with the only person who’s capable of balancing her? Tamatsu must also decide if being intimate with Noelle again is worth exacerbating his insatiable appetites. It’s not a match made in heaven, but they could make a hell of a team.

Otherworld Tales: Volume 1
Otherworld Tales (Volume #1) by Yasmine Galenorn – June 6th (Nightqueen Enterprises)

17 tales from Otherworld.

Take a walk deep into the forests of Otherword, the bestselling Otherworld Series by Yasmine Galenorn. Get to know more about the side-characters who make up the realms of Earthside and Y’Elestrial, about the men and women who have been part of this magical series. This collection contains the previously-published stories in three e-only collections:

Tales From Otherworld
Men of Otherworld, Collection One
Men of Otherworld, Collection Two

Gathered together for the first time in one e-format collection, and in print.

Silver Silence
Silver Silence (Psy-Changeling Trinity #1; Psy-Changeling #16) by Nalini Singh – June 13th (Berkley)

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh introduces a bold new chapter in her extraordinary paranormal romance saga with the Psy-Changeling Trinity series. Wild passion will encounter the darkest of betrayal…

Control. Precision. Family. These are the principles that drive Silver Mercant. At a time when the fledgling Trinity Accord seeks to unite a divided world, with Silver playing a crucial role as director of a worldwide emergency response network, wildness and chaos are the last things she needs in her life. But that’s exactly what Valentin Nikolaev, alpha of the StoneWater Bears, brings with him.

Valentin has never met a more fascinating woman. Though Silver is ruled by Silence—her mind clear of all emotion—Valentin senses a whisper of fire around her. That’s what keeps him climbing apartment buildings to be near her. But when a shadow assassin almost succeeds in poisoning Silver, the stakes become deadly serious…and Silver finds herself in the heart of a powerful bear clan.

Her would-be assassin has no idea what their poison has unleashed…

Fierce Obsessions
Fierce Obsessions (Phoenix Pack #6) by Suzanne Wright – June 13th (Montlake)

When raven shifter Riley Porter was given sanctuary by the Phoenix Pack, she let them believe she had left her flock. Reluctant to divulge the secrets of her past, she was still embraced as family. Only Tao Lukas, the protective and passionate Head Enforcer of the pack, was resistant to the enigmatic shifter. Until Riley started to arouse in him something other than suspicion.

Tao doesn’t trust lone shifters, especially ones so guarded—and tempting. But the sexual tension between them is making them both come undone, and vulnerable to more than desire. All Tao wants is for Riley to stay with him and to trust him with the truth of her past.

As Riley’s mysteries come to light, so does a danger that threatens not only her life but the safety of the entire pack. For Tao, keeping Riley safe means keeping her close—forever—as his mate.

Science Fiction Romance

Cover Fire
Cover Fire (Valiant Knox #3) by Jess Anastasi – June 19th (Entangled)

If the assignment is crazy, dangerous, or a little of both, Sub-Lieutenant Sebastian Rayne can’t help but take on the challenge. So when Command Intelligence tags him to fly one of their agents behind enemy lines, it seems like just another routine death-defying mission. Crash landing on the planet was a piece of cake, but the gorgeous agent he delivered safely to her meeting is now believed dead and he must return to retrieve her body.

After Agent Jenna Maxwell realizes her own people attempted to have her killed, she enlists the hot stick jockey’s help. His new mission? Sneak her back onto his ship to ferret out who wanted to get rid of her and why. But she fears her growing feelings for Seb have blinded her to his reckless insistence on helping her stay alive, and his rash behavior will cause them both to lose their lives.

Wager
Wager (The Jekh Saga #4) by H. E. Trent – June 27th (Self-pubbed)

After sixteen lonely years on Jekh, ex-soldier Jasper Escobar resorts to drastic measures to land one of the most sought-after women in Little Gitano. Access to the mysterious Sera Merridon comes at a steep price, because behind the scenes, solitary men like him bid huge sums of money for chances at romance.

Untrusting Sera has spent more than half her life being traded from one Terran space pirate to the next. When schoolteacher Marco Cipriani helped to liberate her from her traumatic existence as a space station courtesan, she wondered if perhaps not all of Earth’s men are the same. Sensitive Marco chases her fears away, so of course she wants him to be her lover and companion.

If only he weren’t so clueless.

He’s nobly standing aside for the more aggressive Jasper, but after learning about the tasteless wager scheme, Sera’s not inclined to play nice. That is, until Jasper reveals that he’s just trying to belong to someone. He can belong to her. In fact, both men can.

Although romantic trios are the norm on Jekh, her two human men hadn’t planned on sharing. And if they can’t share her, not only will the men forfeit the companionship Sera desperately wants to give them, but on the friendship the extraordinary men need from each other as well.

Steampunk

The Mech Who Loved Me
The Mech Who Loved Me (London Steampunk: Blue Blood Conspiracy #2) by Bec McMaster – June 27th (Lochaber Press)

Ava McLaren is tired of being both a virgin, and a mere laboratory assistant for the Company of Rogues. When a baffling mystery rears its head, it presents her with the opportunity to work a real case… and perhaps get a taste of the passion that eludes her.

Blue bloods are dying from a mysterious disease, which should be impossible. Ava suspects there’s more to the case than meets the eye and wants a chance to prove herself. There’s just one catch—she’s ordered to partner with the sexy mech, Kincaid, who’s a constant thorn in her side. Kincaid thinks the only good blue blood is a dead one. He’s also the very last man she would ever give her heart to… which makes him the perfect candidate for an affair.

The only rule? It ends when the case does.

But when an attempt on her life proves that Ava might be onto something, the only one who can protect her is Kincaid. Suddenly the greatest risk is not to their hearts, but whether they can survive a diabolical plot that threatens to destroy every blue blood in London—including Ava.

Urban Fantasy

Dim Sum Asylum
Dim Sum Asylum by Rhys Ford – June 9th (Dreamspinner Press)

* Novel-length expansion of original short story found in Charmed & Dangerous anthology. *

Welcome to Dim Sum Asylum: a San Francisco where it’s a ho-hum kind of case when a cop has to chase down an enchanted two-foot-tall shrine god statue with an impressive Fu Manchu mustache that’s running around Chinatown, trolling sex magic and chaos in its wake.

Senior Inspector Roku MacCormick of the Chinatown Arcane Crimes Division faces a pile of challenges far beyond his human-faerie heritage, snarling dragons guarding C-Town’s multiple gates, and exploding noodle factories. After a case goes sideways, Roku is saddled with Trent Leonard, a new partner he can’t trust, to add to the crime syndicate family he doesn’t want and a spell-casting serial killer he desperately needs to find.

While Roku would rather stay home with Bob the Cat and whiskey himself to sleep, he puts on his badge and gun every day, determined to serve and protect the city he loves. When Chinatown’s dark mystical underworld makes his life hell and the case turns deadly, Trent guards Roku’s back and, if Trent can be believed, his heart… even if from what Roku can see, Trent is as dangerous as the monsters and criminals they’re sworn to bring down.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2) by Seanan McGuire – June 13th (Tor)

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

Fury Awakened
Fury Awakened (Fury Unbound #3) by Yasmine Galenorn – June 20th (Nightqueen Enterprises)

“My name is Kaeleen Donovan. I’m a Theosian-a minor goddess. They call me Fury.”

By day, I run the Crossroads Cleaning Company, and I also read fortunes and cast hexes at Dream Wardens, a magical consulting shop. But by night, I’m oath-bound to Hecate, Goddess of the Crossroads. Hecate charged me from birth with the task of hunting down Abominations who come in off the World Tree and sending them back to Pandoriam.

Deep in the Wild Wood, we’ve hidden out from both the ruthless Devani and the zombie invasion going on in Seattle. In her anger, Gaia retaliates and devastates the city. The Order of the Black Mist has thrown off their secrecy and are openly vying for dominance with the Devani, as the ruthless warriors of light destroy all who question the control of the Corp Rats. As I learn more out in the wilds about the world of the Fae, and as our group of survivors strengthens its bonds, Hecate beckons me into the woods where I stumble on a secret that could turn the tide. But it will put us on the front lines as targets–and it will mean letting go of my fear of the fire and fully accepting my Theosian nature.

The Sweetest Burn
The Sweetest Burn (Broken Destiny #2) by Jeaniene Frost – June 27th (HQN)

The breathtaking second novel in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Broken Destiny series finds Ivy and Adrian rekindling their alliance—and passion—as the struggle for the fate of the world begins…

Conquering a supernatural realm turned out to be easier than getting over a broken heart. But her initial victory has made Ivy a target for revenge, forcing her to reunite with the dangerous—and dangerously sexy—Adrian. Ivy isn’t sure which will be harder: finding the hallowed weapon that will repair the crumbling walls between the demon and human realms, or resisting Adrian, who’s decided that come hell or high water, he will make Ivy his.

At first, Adrian tried to resist his feelings for Ivy. Now, determined to break the curse that dooms their love, he’s vowed to save her and to have her. If only he can persuade her to forgive his past sins. But defying destiny—and surrendering to the smoldering desire between them—will bring consequences and sacrifices they never imagined…

Esteemed Cat Vampire
Esteemed Vampire Cat (Colt Harper #1) by Tyrolin Puxty – June 27th (Curiosity Quills Press)

Colt Harper hates it when you pat a cat the wrong way, or when you upload their faux pas to YouTube. In fact, he’ll probably kill you for it.

As a self-proclaimed master vampire cat, Colt never imagined he’d be sent to community service at a revolting community theater. And for what? Killing humans who don’t buy the expensive brand of cat food? Talk about unfair.

Still, working with a nervous werewolf and a monster addicted to tickling wasn’t on his to-do list.

What’s worse, is he’s falling for a human. Sure, she has green eyes. Sure, she fosters stray cats. But she’s still a disgusting human.

So why is he risking his own life to save her from the chasers?

The monthly Must Have list is a compilation of the upcoming release titles that we, The Book Pushers, just can’t wait to get our hands on. Don’t see a title you’re excited about listed here? Add it to the comments section below. Let us know what you’re looking forward to!

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