Hopefully you have all recovered from last month’s budget-buster book month because we have a new list of Must Haves ready for your perusal.
Contemporary Romance
Own the Wind by Kristen Ashley – April 2nd (Grand Central Publishing)
Tabitha Allen has a not-so-secret crush on Parker “Shy” Cage. Shy thinks he knows the path Tabby’s on and it isn’t a good one. So he decides to teach her a lesson to lead her to the right path.
Unfortunately, he was wrong and his actions wound Tabby, breaking her heart. It’s Tabby who then teaches Shy a lesson about casting judgment and Shy Cage learns what it feels like to be invisible. But when tragedy strikes and Tabby’s heart is broken again, Shy does what he can in the background to help. Trying to forget her heartbreak, Tabby finds herself in danger. To keep it secret from her biker family, the Chaos Motorcycle Club, she calls Shy to rescue her. But when she lets him back in, she gets much more than she bargained for.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Lush by Lauren Dane – April 2nd (Berkley)
Mary Whaley has her hands full running a successful catering company and overseeing her supper club. She has everything she ever wanted—or so she thought. When she meets ridiculously hot and very dirty rock star Damien Hurley at her friend’s engagement party, the attraction she feels is overpowering—and she isn’t about to deny herself.
Damien is used to a hard and fast life. He and two of his brothers started a band when they were fresh out of high school—then they hit the big time and stayed there. He’s also a legendary madman on the stage and in the bedroom. But when he meets Mary, something clicks, and the bad boy starts thinking he may have finally found something good.
What begins as a series of fleeting trysts soon gets much more complicated. Damien can’t figure out why Mary doesn’t want more from him. And before long, it’s Damien who wants more from Mary. But it turns out Mary is no stranger to celebrity news, and he’s got a very big job ahead of him: proving that he’s worth more than a one-night stand…
*blurb from Goodreads here
Love Irresistibly by Julie James – April 2nd (Berkley)
HE’S USED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTS…
A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table at one of her five-star restaurants so the FBI can eavesdrop on him. All Cade has to do is convince Brooke to cooperate—and he’s not afraid to use a little charm, or the power of his office, to do just that.
AND WHAT HE WANTS IS HER.
A savvy businesswoman, Brooke knows she needs to play ball with the U.S. Attorney’s office—even if it means working with Cade. No doubt there’s a sizzling attraction beneath all their sarcastic quips, but Brooke is determined to keep things casual. Cade agrees—until a surprising turn of events throws his life into turmoil, and he realizes that he wants more than just a good time from the one woman with whom he could fall terrifyingly, irresistibly in love . . .
*blurb from Goodreads here
Wrecked by Shiloh Walker – April 2nd (Berkley)
In the nineties, Abigale Applegate and Zach Barnes were the most beloved sitcom child stars in the world. Then they grew up and left Hollywood behind…
Whatever happened to Abigale Applegate?
She’s been wondering the same thing.
With her Hollywood dreams long gone, Abigale now has a nice, neat, uncomplicated life—until the day her perfect fiancé needs to talk. Dumped, a little more than shattered, and totally confused, Abigale turns to Zach, her best friend since forever, to help her pick up the pieces. He does it with a gift—a copy of Wreck This Journal. She can vent her frustrations, and sketch out a new plan. Zach just hopes he’s part of it. Because he’s been in love with Abigale his entire life.
When the journal falls into Zach’s hands, he discovers Abigale wants a new man. And fast. Nothing more than a hot distraction. Zach has a strategy, too. He’s going to be that man. It’s his last chance. Abigale might be out to shake up her life, but Zach’s out to reinvent it. Now, all he has to do is convince Abigale that life can go as planned.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Rush Me by Allison Parr – April 8th (Carina Press)
When post-grad Rachael Hamilton accidentally gatecrashes a pro-athlete party, she ends up face-to-face with Ryan Carter, the NFL’s most beloved quarterback.
While most girls would be thrilled to meet the attractive young millionaire, Rachael would rather spend time with books than at sporting events, and she has more important things to worry about than romance. Like her parents pressuring her to leave her unpaid publishing internship for law school. Or her brother, who’s obliviously dating Rachael’s high school bully. Or that same high school’s upcoming reunion.
Still, when Ryan’s rookie teammate attaches himself to Rachael, she ends up cohosting Friday night dinners for half a dozen football players.
Over pancake brunches, charity galas, and Alexander the Great Rachael realizes all the judgments she’d made about Ryan are wrong. But how can a Midwestern Irish-Catholic jock with commitment problems and an artsy, gun-shy Jewish New Englander ever forge a partnership? Rachael must let down her barriers if she wants real love–even if that opens her up to pain that could send her back into her emotional shell forever.
*blurb from Goodreads here
FantasyRomance
Allegiance Sworn by Kylie Griffin – April 2nd (Berkley)
There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not purebred is virtually powerless. Until a demon leader seeks to unify the races…
With the alliance of the humans and the half-blood Na’Chi forged, the demon Na’Reish prepare for war by seizing human blood-slaves. Captured during a rescue mission-gone-wrong, Light Blade warrior Arek Barial finds himself claimed by a Na’Reishi female who offers him an unexpected choice.
Raised in the elite ranks of a society she abhors, Imhara Kaal lives a dangerous double life as a Na’Reish Clan-leader and an advocate for a caste-free life that honors the Old Ways. Openly rebelling against the Na’Reish would mean her death, unless she can find an emissary willing to present her petition to the human Blade council.
But Arek isn’t about to blindly follow a demon—despite the intense attraction growing between them. And while hatred for the Na’Reish is all he has ever known, Arek must learn to trust Imhara, or risk the destruction of all three races…
*blurb from Goodreads here
Silent Warrior by Lindsey Piper – April 22nd (Pocket Star)
An exciting, emotionally charged prequel to “The Dragon Kings” trilogy, featuring warriors fighting for their lives in violent Cage matches to guarantee their clans’ survival.
A silent woman ashamed of her criminal background becomes a Cage warrior to seek redemption. An unrepentant fortune hunter chooses combat over death to appease a mafia family. Although rivals in battle, they find common ground when seeking their clan’s stolen idol, but for vastly different reasons. Neither one suspects that love will begin when he becomes the first man in five years to hear her speak.
*blurb from Goodreads here
M/M Romance
Touch & Geaux by Abigail Roux – April 8th (Riptide)
After having their faces plastered across the news during a high-profile case, FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have become more useful to the Bureau posing for photo ops than working undercover. Just as Zane is beginning to consider retirement a viable option, Ty receives a distress call from a friend, leading them to a city rife with echoes from the past.
New Orleans wears its history on its streets, and it’s the one place Ty’s face could get him killed. Surrounded by trouble as soon as they land, Ty and Zane are swiftly confronted with a past from which Ty can’t hide—one with a surprising connection to Zane’s.
As threats close in from all directions, both men must come to terms with the lives they’ve led and the lies they’ve told. They soon discover that not all their secrets are out yet, and nothing lasts forever.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Mystery
Weird Detectives Recent Investigations by Paula Guran – April 3rd (Prime Books)
Paranormal investigators. Occult detectives. Ghost hunters. Monster fighters. Humans who unravel uncanny crimes and solve psychic puzzles; sleuths with supernatural powers of their own who provide services far beyond those normal gumshoes, shamuses, and Sherlocks can. When vampires, werewolves, and things that go “bump” in the night are part of your world, criminals can be as inhuman as the crimes they commit, and magic can seep into the mundane – those who solve the mysteries, bring justice, or even save the world itself, might utter spells, wield wands as well as firearms, or simply use their powers of deduction. Some of the best tales of the last decade from top authors of the 21st century’s most popular genres take you down mean streets and into strange crime scenes in this fantastic compilation.
Contents (alphabetical by author):
“Cryptic Coloration” by Elizabeth Bear
“The Key” by Ilsa J. Blick
“Mortal Bait” Richard Bowes
“Star of David” by Patricia Briggs
“Love Hurts” by Jim Butcher
“Swing Shift” by Dana Cameron
“The Necromancer’s Apprentice” by Lillian Stewart Carl
“Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell” by Simon Clark
“The Adakian Eagle” by Bradley Denton
“Hecate’s Golden Eye” by P.N. Elrod
“The Case of Death and Honey” by Neil Gaiman
“The Nightside, Needless to Say” by Simon R. Green
“Deal Breaker” by Justin Gustainis
“Death by Dahlia” by Charlaine Harris
“See Me” by Tanya Huff
“Signatures of the Dead” by Faith Hunter
“The Maltese Unicorn” by Caitlín R. Kiernan
“The Case of the Stalking Shadow” by Joe R. Lansdale
“Like a Part of the Family” by Jonathan Maberry
“The Beast of Glamis” by William Meikle
“Fox Tails” by Richard Parks
“Imposters” by Sarah Monette
“Defining Shadows” by Carrie Vaughn*blurb from Goodreads here
Paranormal Romance
Hecate’s Own by Dana Marie Bell – April 9th (Samhain)
When a witch is hot for teacher, the sparks are sure to fly.
Zachary Beckett has been a screw-up most of his life, but he’s finally done something right. He saved his brother’s life at great personal cost, and now he’s on his way to Cleveland to rain as a witch. There he meets Johra Yashodar, a teacher with the belief that Zach is still a screw-up. It isn’t long before Zach realizes he’s hot for teacher.
Jo has never met someone like Zachary Beckett. His blue eyes haunt her, his body is made for sin and his magic… well. The less said about that the better. He’s the worst witch she’s ever met, bar none. But Jo is determined to help him, and to do that she’ll fight the attraction she feels towards him tooth and nail.
But things aren’t always what they seem, and when Zach realizes he’s under a hex he comes into his own… as one of Hecate’s Own. Chosen by the Goddess Herself to fight evil, it’s up to Zach and his brothers to save Jo from a fate worse than death.
Warning: This novel contains explicit sex, graphic language, a sexy, awkward, blue-eyed wolf-witch and a woman who can make his dreams come true.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Lone Wolf by Jennifer Ashley – April 16th (Penguin)
Ellison’s story
Ellison Rowe, a Lupine Shifter, makes it his goal to protect Maria, once held captive by ferals, from male Shifters looking for mates. He likes Maria’s resilience and fire, but she’s been broken, and Ellison wants more than anything to heal her. When a new danger threatens Shiftertown’s cubs, Maria partners with Ellison to stop a cold-blooded criminal.
*blurb from Goodreads here
The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick – April 23rd (Putnam Adult)
Beatrice Lockwood, one of the intrepid ladies of Lantern Street, is in the middle of a case when her past comes back to haunt her. Joshua North, a former spy for the Crown, has come out of a self-imposed retirement after a disastrous case that left him scarred and forced to use a cane. He is hunting the villain who is blackmailing his sister.
The trail leads him to Beatrice who is his chief suspect. But when he realizes that she is not the blackmailer they set out to find the real extortionist. Passion flares between them as they dodge a professional assassin. Meanwhile a mysterious scientist intent on resurrecting his dead lover using an ancient Egyptian formula for preserving the bodies of the dead is also hunting Beatrice. He is keeping his dead love perfectly preserved in a special, crystal-topped sarcophagus filled with the special fluid. But he needs Beatrice’s paranormal talent to activate the reviving properties of the preservative in the coffin. Time is running out for everyone involved.
The two cases collide at a mysterious country-house filled with artifacts from ancient Egyptian tombs. The drama concludes in the mad scientist’s laboratory where Joshua discovers that the past he thought was dead is still very much alive — sort of.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Diana’s Hound by Moira Rogers – April 23rd (Samhain)
The female of the species is more deadly…
Bloodhounds, Book 4
Nate Powell lived one full life as a world-class inventor before a disaster born of magic and science returned him to his prime—and turned him into a half-vampire, half-bloodhound abomination.
He’s finally stopped yearning for death, but he’s a long way from being excited about life—even if his newly virile body is very excited by the latest arrival to Iron Creek.
Diana is another creature that shouldn’t exist—a female bloodhound. While the males of Iron Creek accept her as a fellow warrior, Nate seems torn between a desire to study her and a need to protect her. Diana’s urges are a lot more carnal.
When they learn that a rogue hound is selling women across the border, Diana and Nate are chosen to infiltrate the vampires’ capital city. Before long, their inner bloodhounds feel the mating pull—and a hound never outlives their mate for long. In a fight to keep each other alive, they could both end up worse than dead.
Warning: Contains a badass vampire-hunting heroine who isn’t afraid to fight dirty and a broody half-vampire hero about to discover a reason to live again. Also beware of: bloodhound-on-bloodhound violence, airship heists and some furniture-endangering sex with lots of biting, all in an alternate Wild West.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Moon by Laurann Dohner – April 30th (Ellora’s Cave)
Dr. Joyce Yards has never met anyone as irresistible as 466. Their therapy sessions are growing hotter, his raw sexual hunger becoming aggressive, and he refuses to discuss anything except the possibility of getting her naked. Joy understands the dire consequences if she indulges her passion. It will break her heart but she must walk away.
Moon has been drugged, his memory shattered, and he’s now little more than feral, a dangerous threat to everyone. In their need for help, the NSO doctors turn to the only female Moon ever cared about—the one who left him behind two years ago.
Moon isn’t the same male Joy once knew. There are no rules now. If sex tames the wild beast and triggers his fractured memories, allowing him moments of lucidity, then Joy will give him everything, body and soul. She’ll do whatever it takes to save him—even at the cost of her own life.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Steampunk
Tethered by Meljean Brook – April 2nd (Berkley)
Surviving on the treacherous Iron Seas requires a heart of steel…but how can Yasmeen hope to survive when her heart has already been stolen by Archimedes Fox…?
Tethered along the south dock of Port Fallow, Captain Yasmeen Corsair’s magnificent new airship, Lady Nergüi, awaits its departure with adventurer and treasure-hunter Archimedes Fox. But this time, Yasmeen, a fearless mercenary who has always prided herself on a heart of steel, has reasons to worry when Miles Bilson, an acquaintance from Archimedes’ earlier smuggling days, sends an urgent message requesting help.
With a past marked by betrayal, Archimedes wonders what his former partner could want—other than revenge. Yasmeen fears that Bilson could threaten everything Archimedes holds dear. Though both Archimedes and Yasmeen love the exhilaration of veering wildly off course, neither is prepared for where there newest risk will take them…or what it might cost them.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Urban Fantasy
Blood Trade by Faith Hunter – April 2nd (Roc)
Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who’s always up for a fight—even if it means putting her life on the line…
The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.
But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care.
*blurb from Goodreads here
Hot Blooded by Amanda Carlson – April 23rd (Orbit)
It hasn’t been the best week for Jessica McClain.
Her mate has been kidnapped by a Goddess hell-bent on revenge — but Jessica is playing for keeps.
Because she’s the only female werewolf in town…it comes with its own set of rules…and powers.
Aided by two vamps, two loyal Pack members, and one very reluctant human, Jessica must rescue her man while coming to terms with what being a wolf really means.
All in a day’s work for a girl.
The second novel in the Jessica McClain series is a full on action adventure featuring one angry Goddess and plenty of monsters, demons, and a few newly risen beasties…
*blurb from Goodreads here
The contemps look good.
Love irresistibly was great.
So many great books! I need the new Amanda Quick of course, and Jennifer Ashley. I think the cover for Diana’s hound is horrible!