January 2015 Must Haves

Contemporary Romance

cover_trust_no_one
Trust No One by Jayne Ann Krentz – Jan 6th (Putnam Adult)

t’s no coincidence when Grace Elland finds a vodka bottle next to the lifeless body of her boss, motivational speaker Sprague Witherspoon. The bottle is a terrifying–and deliberate–reminder of the horrors of her past. Grace retreats to her hometown to regroup and tries to put everything she’s learned about positive thinking into practice–a process that is seriously challenged on the world’s worst blind date. Awkward doesn’t begin to describe her evening with venture-capitalist Julius Arkwright.

She has nothing in common with a man who lives to make money, but the intense ex-Marine does have some skills that Grace can use–and he’s the perfect man to help her when it becomes clear she is being stalked.

As Witherspoon’s financial empire continues to crumble around them, taking a deadly toll, Julius will help Grace step into her past to uncover a devious plan to destroy not only Grace, but everyone around her…

*blurb from Goodreads here

cover_ahead_in_the_heat
Ahead in the Heat (Pacific Blue #2) by Lorelie Brown – Jan 6th (Signet Eclipse)

Sean Westin finds himself on the beaches of San Sebastian as he recovers from a bad break. But he’ll need more than sand and swells to heal his heart…

The surfing World Championship Tour is under way, and Sean Westin is desperate to make his mark—until a stupid display of machismo in Bali leaves his shoulder busted. He has six weeks to get back on the waves or he may be looking at the end of his career.

Annie Baxter is the best physical therapist in the business, and she knows it. After almost joining the pro circuit herself, she’s wary of working with big stars and their huge egos. But Sean is making her an incredible offer—full funding for her after-school skate center for underprivileged kids—and she’s finding him hard to resist….

As intense therapy sessions turn into passionate intimacy, Sean unleashes a wild side of Annie that she’s suppressed for years. Only, Sean’s keeping secrets, and when his hidden history comes to the surface, everything—even Annie—might get torn away.

*blurb from Goodreads here

cover_under_his_touch
Under His Touch (Falling Under #2) by Jeffe Kennedy – Jan 19th (Carina Press)

Amber Dolors knows better than to get involved with her boss. Devastatingly handsome in his sharp suits and sexy beyond belief, he possesses an air of command that fuels her darkest fantasies. But she’s worked too hard to get this job, and keeping it will lead to a brilliant future. She won’t cross that line—even if his way of giving orders and demanding her best performance gives her delicious warm shivers.

Alexander Knight prides himself on his integrity and self-discipline. After all, he hasn’t risen to the position he enjoys by indulging his whims over ambition. He also isn’t blind. He’s certainly noticed his sharp, young assistant is hot as hell. His self-imposed sexual hermitage doesn’t stop him from watching her. And endlessly fantasizing.

The day Alec’s cool reserve cracks and Amber catches a glimpse of something simmering beneath his apparent indifference is the day everything between them changes. Alec gives her what she’s been looking for sexually—as masterful in the bedroom as he is in the boardroom. He finds himself in the grip of an affair that tests even his boundaries, while Amber’s new role as willing student pushes them both past any consideration other than mutual longing.

*blurb from Goodreads here

cover_flirting_with_disaster
Flirting with Disaster (Jackson: Girl’s Night Out #2) by Victoria Dahl – Jan 27th (HQN)

There’s no hiding from sizzling chemistry…

Artist Isabelle West has good reasons for preferring a solitary life. Tucked away in a cabin in the woods, she has everything she needs . . . except a red-hot love life. That is, until a hard-bodied U.S. marshal threatens to unearth secrets she’s spent years protecting. But giving in to the sparks flying between them can only lead to one thing…disaster.

Tom Duncan lives by the letter of the law. But no one has tempted him—or confused him—more than free-spirited Isabelle, who arouses his suspicion and his desire. As their connection grows, and their nights get hotter, they find their wild attraction might shake everything he stands for—and expose everything she has to hide.

*blurb from Goodreads here

Fantasy

cover_unbound_hines
Unbound (Magic Ex Libris #3) by Jim C. Hines – Jan 6th (DAW Hardcover)

For five hundred years, the Porters have concealed the existence of magic from the world. Now, old enemies have revealed the Porters’ secrets, and an even greater threat lurks in the shadows. The would-be queen Meridiana, banished for a thousand years, has returned in the body of a girl named Jeneta Aboderin. She seeks an artifact created by Pope Sylvester II, a bronze prison that would grant her the power to command an army of the dead.

Michigan librarian Isaac Vainio is powerless to stop her, having been stripped of his power and his place among the Porters by Johannes Gutenberg himself. But Isaac is determined to regain his magic and to rescue his former student Jeneta. With no magic of his own, Isaac’s must delve into the darker side of black-market magic, where he will confront beings better left undisturbed, including the sorcerer Juan Ponce de Leon.

With his loyal fire-spider Smudge, dryad warrior Lena Greenwood, and psychiatrist Nidhi Shah, Isaac races to unravel a mystery more than a thousand years old as competing magical powers battle to shape the future of the world. He will be hunted by enemies and former allies alike, and it will take all his knowledge and resourcefulness to survive as magical war threatens to spread across the globe.

Isaac’s choices will determine the fate of his friends, the Porters, the students of Bi Sheng, and the world. Only one thing is certain: even if he finds a way to restore his magic, he can’t save them all…

*blurb from Goodreads here

cover_song_of_blood_and_stone
Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1) by L. Penelope – Jan 13th (Heartspell Media)

Between love and duty lies destiny

Orphaned and alone, Jasminda is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where she is feared for both the shade of her skin and her magical abilities. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive – an injured spy who steals her heart.

Jack’s mission behind enemy lines nearly cost him his life but he is saved by the healing power of a mysterious young woman. Together they embark on a perilous journey straight into the heart of a centuries-old conflict.

Thrust into a hostile society, Jasminda and Jack must rely on one another even as secrets jeopardize their bond. As an ancient evil gains power, Jasminda races to unlock a mystery that promises salvation.

The fates of two nations hang in the balance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.

*blurb from Goodreads here

Historical Romance

cover_an_affair_downstairs
An Affair Downstairs (Thornbrook Park #2) by Sherri Browning – Jan 6th (Sourcebooks Casablanca)

The Countess of Aberford is determined to make a match for her sister, Lady Alice Emerson, but each man she brings to Thornbrook Park only inflames Alice’s improper interest in unsuitable Logan Winthrop, a rugged man once accused of murdering his great rival.

Logan’s determined to shelter himself from the pain of unrequited love—he knows the feeling all too well—but something about Alice stirs his desire to start living again. Though they fight their urges, the pair can only resist for so long; eventually they must choose between bowing to society’s rules or breaking them…

*blurb from Goodreads here

Paranormal Romance

cover_hungry_like_the_wolf
Hungry Like the Wolf (SWAT #1) by Paige Tyler – Jan 6th (Sourcebooks Casablanca)

INTRODUCING SWAT: SPECIAL WOLF ALPHA TEAM
They’re tight
They’re on target
They’re as alpha as men can get.

The Dallas SWAT team is hiding one helluva secret…they’re a pack of wolf shifters.

The team of elite sharpshooters is ultra-secretive—and also the darlings of Dallas. This doesn’t sit well with investigative journalist Mackenzie Stone. They must be hiding something…and she’s determined to find out what.

Keeping Mac at a distance proves impossible for SWAT team commander Gage Dixon. She’s smart, sexy, and makes him feel alive for the first time in years. But she’s getting dangerously close to the truth—and perilously close to his heart…

*blurb from Goodreads here

SciFi Romance

cover_through_the_static
Through the Static by Jeanette Grey – Jan 20th (Samhain)

The only way to save him is to let him into her mind…and her heart.

When cybernetics researcher Aurelia Locke is attacked, she instantly recognizes her assailants as a Three—a mercenary unit made up of a trio of soldiers whose minds have been cybernetically linked, their pasts erased, their wills subsumed.

By the skin of her wits, she escapes to an abandoned house, where she hacks its security system in her desperation to find refuge.

Jinx is already on high alert when his Three notices something isn’t right with their safe house. But he never expected to find a woman wounded and bleeding out in his own bed, or that his visceral reaction to her would begin to awaken his lost past from a years-long haze of violence.

In a mad gamble to escape, Aurelia frees Jinx from his Three by severing his neural connection to them and tying his mind to hers. The power of their link shocks them both, manifesting not only in shared thoughts, but in an intensely passionate physical connection.

But dangerous forces pursue them, intent on reclaiming Jinx and silencing Aurelia’s knowledge. Her only chance of saving him is to risk everything—her research, her heart, and her life.

Warning: Contains manipulation of a person’s memory without his consent and brief episodes of mind control, as well as a smart girl on the run, a high-tech soul-bond, and telepathy-enhanced sex.

*blurb from Goodreads here

Urban Fantasy

cover_burned_kmm
Burned (Fever #7) by Karen Marie Moning – Jan 20th (Random House)

It’s easy to walk away from lies. Power is another thing.

MacKayla Lane would do anything to save the home she loves. A gifted sidhe-seer, she’s already fought and defeated the deadly Sinsar Dubh—an ancient book of terrible evil—yet its hold on her has never been stronger.
When the wall that protected humans from the seductive, insatiable Fae was destroyed on Halloween, long-imprisoned immortals ravaged the planet. Now Dublin is a war zone with factions battling for control. As the city heats up and the ice left by the Hoar Frost King melts, tempers flare, passions run red-hot, and dangerous lines get crossed. Seelie and Unseelie vie for power against nine ancient immortals who have governed Dublin for millennia; a rival band of sidhe-seers invades the city, determined to claim it for their own; Mac’s former protégé and best friend, Dani “Mega” O’Malley, is now her fierce enemy; and even more urgent, Highland druid Christian MacKeltar has been captured by the Crimson Hag and is being driven deeper into Unseelie madness with each passing day. The only one Mac can depend on is the powerful, dangerous immortal Jericho Barrons, but even their fiery bond is tested by betrayal.

It’s a world where staying alive is a constant struggle, the line between good and evil gets blurred, and every alliance comes at a price. In an epic battle against dark forces, Mac must decide who she can trust, and what her survival is ultimately worth.

*blurb from Goodreads here

cover_panther_prowling
Panther Prowling (Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon #17) by Yasmine Galenorn – Jan 27th (Jove)

We’re the D’Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch with three gorgeous husbands. Menolly is a vampire married to a werepuma. And me? I’m Delilah, a two-faced werecat and a Death Maiden. While the war in Otherworld is expanding, so is my newly renamed PI business. And my next case is about to make life very interesting…

While waiting for Shadow Wing’s next move, I decide to revamp my ragtag PI agency into the Cat’s Eye Investigations firm. My first client turns out to be our cousin Daniel. During the grand reopening for the Wayfarer, he shows up while being chased by a rampaging ghost. Daniel has procured a rare and valuable sword, and a ring of ghostly warriors comes attached to it. Protectors of the soul trapped within it, the spirits are out to stop anybody who threatens the weapon. As my sisters and I unravel the history of the sword, we quickly realize that the entity locked within the blade is a dangerous king from times gone by—and he’s about to break free and try to recover his crown…

*blurb from Goodreads here

dragon conspiracy_front mech.indd
The Dragon Conspiracy (SPI #2) by Lisa Shearin – Jan 27th (Ace)

After solving The Grendel Affair, the agents have another SPI File to investigate…

We’re Supernatural Protection & Investigations, known as SPI. We battle the real monsters of myth and legend, but this Halloween, we’re searching for diamonds…

A gala opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has attracted the upper crust of Manhattan—and thieves. A trio of vile harpies attacks the crowd and steals the stars of the exhibition: a colorful cluster of seven cursed diamonds known as the Dragon Eggs.
In the right mage’s hands, each stone can pack a magical wallop. Together they have the power to “cure” the supernaturals of the tristate area—but for many of those vampires and werewolves, that means turning into dust.

I’m Makenna Fraser, a seer for SPI. With the help of my partner, Ian, and the other agents, I have twenty-four hours to prevent total global panic, find the diamonds, and save the supernatural community. No biggie…

*blurb from Goodreads here

cover_heir_of_the_dog
Heir of the Dog (Black Dog #2) by Hailey Edwards – Jan 30th (Self)

Faerie teeters on the brink of war and the mortal realm swells with fae refugees desperate to escape the bloodshed. As a half-blooded fae, Marshal Thierry Thackeray has a stake in the outcome of both realms and isn’t afraid to knock a few heads together if it keeps the peace.

When her father goes missing, the only hope of negotiating a truce between the light and dark fae vanishes with him. Eager to avoid another Thousand Years War, the Faerie High Court reaches out to the one person they believe can track him down—the daughter who shares his curse.

*blurb from Goodreads here

Western Romance

cover_the_marriage_charm
The Marriage Charm (The Brides of Bliss County #2) by Linda Lael Miller – Jan 27th (Harlequin HQN)

The women of Bliss County have a pact—to find husbands. The right husbands.

One already has: Hadleigh Stevens, who married rancher Tripp Galloway a few months ago. Now Melody Nolan thinks it’s her turn. Melody has recently found success as a jewelry designer, and her work is the focus of her life. She’s not exactly unhappy, but she wants more. She’s always been attracted to Spence Hogan, the local chief of police, but she’s convinced that Spence, a notorious charmer, isn’t what you’d call husband material.

Spence is a good cop who isn’t scared of anything—except love. And he’s done everything he can to preserve his reputation as a womanizer—a reputation that keeps marriage-minded women, including Melody, at bay. And yet…there’s something about Melody he can’t forget. Something his heart can’t ignore.

*blurb from Goodreads here

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.