BP Note: Happy October! I think this is one of my favorite months because as fall for us in the Northern Hemisphere can be absolutely beautiful. I also have fond memories of creating Halloween costumes, decorating, planning menus, baking and cooking, and of course lots more reading time! Speaking of reading time, hopefully you have found some new to you or some reliable favorite authors to read this month. Our list below has a nice combination of both. Some debuts and some new installments in long running series or even the start of a new series from authors who have entertained us for years. Let us know what you are enjoying!
Happy reading,
~E
- Contemporary Romance
- Fantasy Romance
- Historical Fiction
- Historical Mystery
- Historical Romance
- Paranormal Mystery
- Paranormal Romance
- Science Fiction
- Science Fiction Mystery
- Science Fiction Romance
- Urban Fantasy
- Young Adult
Contemporary Romance
Wear Something Red (Vault Collection) by Suzanne Wright – 14 Oct (Self)
Welcome to the Vault, an exclusive 24-hour club frequented by the rich and famous that caters to many tastes. If you venture down to the infamous basement, there’s one very important rule to follow: In the event that you find yourself officially claimed by a club member, you’d better wear something red.
ACHE FOR ME
A recent betrayal leaves Isabel “Izzy” McKenzie tempted to avoid men for a while. Fate apparently has other plans—it tosses Cole Delaney in her path, and sexual chemistry instantly flares between them.
Strong, solid, and hot as sin, the undefeated world champion boxer pushes all her best buttons. But, wholly focused on his career, Cole has little time for relationships. That’s okay—she’s a busy girl herself.
They’re both content to do as most club members do and stick to a simple arrangement. Until they’re not. Until possessiveness creeps in and they begin breaking their own rules.
Goodbye, simple. Hello, complicated.
Now they need to decide just how much more complicated they’ll allow things to get.MELT FOR ME
It started with a question … If I asked you to be still and quiet like a good little toy while I fucked you, would you do it?
Oh, Cat Dukas had done it. She’d also agreed to a casual arrangement, though getting involved with a criminal mastermind wasn’t the wisest idea.
Six months later, she’s no less drawn to the dangerous, inscrutable Danton Quintero. The problem is … she can feel herself becoming a little too attached. She might tell herself that she doesn’t want anything serious, but she knows it’s a lie, just as she knows he’ll never cross the casual line. Distant and remote, he holds himself apart from the world.
Cat is left with only one option: Walk away before she finds herself even more wrapped up in him. Which she truly would do if he’d only stop making it difficult. As it turns out, Danton doesn’t easily part with what belongs to him.SHATTER FOR US
One has a face the world sighs over. The other has a voice that makes toes everywhere curl. Briar Leighton can admit she’s wildly drawn to both the elegant Trace Lacroix and the rough-around-the-edges Kaleb Westley.
Rational thought vacates the building when they offer her a night of unparalleled pleasure. Together, they deliver it. There’s just one measly issue …
Now she wants more, but the guys are anti-arrangement and rarely play with the same woman twice.
It’s fine. Totally. She’ll just turn her attention to the other fish in the basement’s sea. Except … Trace and Kaleb don’t seem to like that. And now they’re all up in her space, boldly possessive.
What is a girl to do when two specimens of lethally raw sexuality home in on her this way? Well Briar’s not so sure yet.
[Warning: MFM]BURN FOR ME
As a teenager, Inaya Rose Rafferty had two aspirations: to become a rock singer, and to marry her idol Kaiser Wolfe.
Her first dream later became a reality. As for her second, she shed that juvenile fantasy. Which is good or she’d be heartbroken over how badly their first meeting went. Not that she can take Kaiser’s unfriendliness personally. The gorgeous rock legend is well-known for being blunt and rude.
He’s also her new neighbor. More, he now frequents the Vault.
Considering he usually alternates between ignoring and glaring at her, Inaya doesn’t expect him to save her from an awkward situation. Or for him to kiss her. Or for them both to soon become enslaved by the sexual tension that crackles between them.
She agrees to an arrangement, certain she can keep all her teenage fantasies locked away in a box. But the lid begins to rattle as lust and obsession twist and tangle until they become something else, something more, something that begins with ‘L.’
Sexual chemistry had a lot to answer for.
Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai – 18 Oct (Avon)
Indian Matchmaking meets Date Night in this fun, romantic adventure in which a match-made couple about to be engaged gets caught up in a caper that puts their future—and lives—in danger.
At thirty-five, with a stable job as an accountant, Mira Chaudhary wants nothing more than to find a boring man to spend the rest of her life with. Having had enough excitement in her younger days and desperately trying to escape her dysfunctional past, she turns to a matching app specializing in Indian American singles to help her find someone to settle down with.
Enter Naveen Desai. An English professor with an uneventful, normal, and—dare she say it, boring—life, Naveen is perfect.
But just when things are going well, Mira receives news that her aunt has died. Suddenly a trip to Las Vegas to settle her aunt’s affairs turns into a mad dash to escape kidnappers, evade art thieves, and consorting with hackers who can decipher just what it was Mira’s aunt was involved with. Mira just hopes that Naveen isn’t chased away by the very same life of “excitement” that she’s been trying to get away from. But maybe, over the course of one wild night, Mira and Naveen will find the love connection that neither expected.
The Stand-Up Groomsman (Donut Fall in Love #2) by Jackie Lau – 25 Oct (Berkley)
They say to never meet your heroes, but when Vivian Liao’s roommate gets engaged to her favorite actor’s costar, she has no choice but to come face-to-face with Melvin Lee again. He’s just as funny and handsome as he is on-screen…but thinks she is a snob and a sellout. It’s none of his business how she chooses to live her life, no matter how charismatic he is.
Mel is used to charming audiences as an actor and stand-up comedian but can’t connect to Vivian. She’s a smart, talented artist–which is why he thinks she’s wasting her life as a corporate finance drone. The only thing uniting them is their goal for the wedding to go off without a hitch.
As they collaborate on wedding cake and karaoke parties, Mel realizes he might have seriously misjudged this bridesmaid, while Vivian discovers the best man might just be as dazzling off-screen as he is on. With the wedding underway, maybe more than one happily ever after is in the future.
Fantasy Romance
A Curse of Queens (The Kingmaker Chronicles #4) by Amanda Bouchet – 4 Oct (Sourcebooks Casa)
The queen has been cursed, and no one knows who’s behind the plot to threaten the realm’s fragile peace. Desperate to help, Jocasta hatches a plan to find Circe’s Garden, a fabled island where she hopes to discover an antidote. But she can’t do it alone. She needs the strong arm and unflinching bravery of the warrior she’s loved since childhood—her brother’s right-hand-man and captain of the guard, Flynn of Sinta.
Together they can do the impossible. Yet with treachery brewing on Mount Olympus, one thing is clear: Thalyria and its new royals are still pawns in an epic game of power—one that might end in a War of Gods.
Pimiko and the Uncharted Island (Amaranthine Saga #6) by Forthright – 22 Oct (Twinkle Press)
He leads an elite taskforce. She did, too. On television.
After the finale of her dazzlingly successful television drama, Pim Moonprowl packs her bags and books passage to a secretive resort that makes alluring claims. She’ll pay anything, promise anything, do anything to find out if they’re true. On an island that’s not on maps, Pim encounters a silver-tongued doctor, a kindred soul, a caged star, and a clever monkey. This is her big chance to put into practice the skills she gained from eight seasons on an elite taskforce.Boon can almost taste his prey, he’s that close. If only he hadn’t run up against a barrier in the middle of the ocean. He puts out a call and calls in a favor. There’s a plan in place, and reinforcements are en route, but Boon is restless to run the Rogue to ground. Taking a risk—definitely his style—lands him with a couple of responsibilities he really didn’t need, and both of them are female.
Historical Fiction
The Winter Garden by Nicola Cornick – 25 Oct (Graydon House)
1605: Anne Catesby fears for her family. Her son, the darkly charismatic Robert, is secretly plotting to kill the king, placing his wife and child in grave danger. Anne must make a terrible choice: betray her only child or risk her family’s security…and her very life.
Present Day: When her dreams of becoming a musician are shattered, Lucy takes refuge in her family’s ancestral home in Oxfordshire. Everyone knows it was originally home to the notorious gunpowder plotter Robert Catesby. As Lucy spends more time in the beautiful winter garden that Robert made, she starts to have strange visions of a woman in Tudor dress, terrified and facing a heartbreaking dilemma.
As Lucy’s and Anne’s stories converge, a shared secret that has echoed through the centuries separating them will change Lucy’s life forever…
Historical Mystery
A Fox in the Fold (Owen Archer #14) by Candace Rabb – 4 Oct (Severn House)
Owen Archer suspects an old adversary is on his tail as he seeks to solve the mystery surrounding a dead body found on the road to York.
October, 1376. Owen Archer is summoned by sheriff Sir Ralph Hastings regarding a stripped and bloodied body discovered on the road north to York. Could it be connected to an attack on a carter and his labourers who were transporting stone destined for St Clement’s Priory? The carter fled, but his men stayed to fight and are now missing. Is the victim one of them?
At first Owen believes the catalyst for murder and menace in York is the arrival of the political pariah William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. But he soon suspects that a formidable and skillful adversary from his past has arrived in the city, thrusting him and his family into grave danger, and his investigation becomes a race to uncover the truth before his old nemesis destroys all he holds dear.
Under a Veiled Moon (Inspector Corravan #2) by Karen Odden – 11 Oct (Crooked Lane)
September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule.
For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.
Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help.
As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.
Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen – 18 Oct (Forge)
Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. Irene’s recipes for her signature scents are a well guarded secret—but it’s not the only one behind these gates. This estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide who they are. But to keep their secret, they’ve needed to keep others out. And now they’re worried they’re keeping a murderer in.
Irene’s widow hires Evander Mills to uncover the truth behind her mysterious death. Andy, recently fired from the San Francisco police after being caught in a raid on a gay bar, is happy to accept—his calendar is wide open. And his secret is the kind of secret the Lamontaines understand.
Andy had never imagined a world like Lavender House. He’s seduced by the safety and freedom found behind its gates, where a queer family lives honestly and openly. But that honesty doesn’t extend to everything, and he quickly finds himself a pawn in a family game of old money, subterfuge, and jealousy—and Irene’s death is only the beginning.
When your existence is a crime, everything you do is criminal, and the gates of Lavender House can’t lock out the real world forever. Running a soap empire can be a dirty business.
Historical Romance
The Belle of Belgrave Square (Belles of London #2) by Mimi Matthews – 11 Oct (Berkley)
Tall, dark, and dour, the notorious Captain Jasper Blunt was once hailed a military hero, but tales abound of his bastard children and his haunted estate in Yorkshire. What he requires now is a rich wife to ornament his isolated ruin, and he has his sights set on the enchanting Julia Wychwood.
For Julia, an incurable romantic cursed with a crippling social anxiety, navigating a London ballroom is absolute torture. The only time Julia feels any degree of confidence is when she’s on her horse. Unfortunately, a young lady can’t spend the whole of her life in the saddle, so Julia makes an impetuous decision to take her future by the reins—she proposes to Captain Blunt.
In exchange for her dowry and her hand, Jasper must promise to grant her freedom to do as she pleases. To ride—and to read—as much as she likes without masculine interference. He readily agrees to her conditions, with one provision of his own: Julia is forbidden from going into the tower rooms of his estate and snooping around his affairs. But the more she learns of the beastly former hero, the more intrigued she becomes…
Paranormal Mystery
Trouble Play (Vista de Lirio #3) by Elizabeth Hunter – 18 Oct (Recurve Press LLC)
Comedian Evy Lane thought she’d done it all, but taking on the role of mistress of ceremonies for the Desert Fancy Dog Show may be her most challenging gig yet. The locals are a menagerie of high-strung prima donnas, nervous Nelsons, and she’s not talking about the dogs!
When high stakes competition leads to gruesome murder, she’s going to need every telepathic power at her disposal—and every psychic friend she knows—to make this show go on. Pesky police detectives, dangerously attractive investigators, and a menagerie of our favorite Vista de Lirio characters make this mystery the most twisted yet!
Paranormal Romance
Extra Witchy (Fix-It Witches #3) by Ann Aguirre – 4 Oct (Sourcebooks Casa)
After two failed marriages, Leanne Vanderpol is here for a good time, not for a long time. She only loves the witches in her coven, and she cares more about her career than happily ever after. A difficult past makes her skittish, and she doesn’t trust relationships to stick. But when she decides to run for city council instead of wasting her talents cleaning up messes for the mayor’s office, she fears her past could be used against her.
Unless she can find the right husband to shore up her political career…
Trevor Montgomery might have peaked in high school. He was popular then, and in college as well, but he partied away his future, met the wrong person, and everything fell apart. Now he’s jobless, dateless, and hopeless, at least according to his toxic family. Then a chance meeting with the redhead of his dreams offers an unexpected ray of light just when he needs it most.
Can a woman who doesn’t believe in forever find true love with a man who’s stopped believing in anything at all?
Water Under the Bridge (Hooked #2) by Holley Trent – 18 Oct (Self)
River Williams is good at two things: swimming and conflict. Becoming the king of the underwater dominion his mermaid mother abandoned should be right up his alley. It is, until he learns what kind of mess his deposed uncle left for him to clean up. And with his little sister recently married and coronated in the family’s other ancestral territory, he feels has to be everywhere at once to help smooth the transitions of power.
The absolute last thing he needs at the moment is to have to deal with his human ex.
Since childhood, Aliah pictured herself settling down with a wealthy go-getter who could guarantee her a stable future. Her fling with fellow military brat River as a teen was the one relationship she stumbled into without premeditation. She had to outgrow him, but she could never forget him.
She can’t.
The same magic that allows River to hurl and shape water decided long ago that she would be his.
Despite what the magic says, Aliah’s not prepared for the tumultuous world the Williams family now lives in, and River refuses to be one more stepping stone for Aliah’s upward climb. If she can’t convince him that her intentions are different than before, and if he can’t recognize the strength the extroverted socialite could bring to a healing kingdom, the two will live forever adrift, lacking the equilibrium both desperately need.
Archangel’s Resurrection (Guild-Hunter #15) by Nalini Singh – 25 Oct (Berkley)
For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved. Locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak, it is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.
Eons later, it is the Cascade of Death that wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent…only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?
Only one thing is clear: this is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani…
Science Fiction
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowel – 11 Oct (Tor Books)
Tesla Crane, a brilliant inventor and an heiress, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between the Moon and Mars. She’s traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and the festering chowderheads who run security have the audacity to arrest her spouse. Armed with banter, martinis and her small service dog, Tesla is determined to solve the crime so that the newlyweds can get back to canoodling—and keep the real killer from striking again.
Science Fiction Mystery
Station Eternity (Midsolar Murders #1) by Mur Lafferty – 4 Oct (Ace)
From idyllic small towns to claustrophobic urban landscapes, Mallory Viridian is constantly embroiled in murder cases that only she has the insight to solve. But outside of a classic mystery novel, being surrounded by death doesn’t make you a charming amateur detective, it makes you a suspect and a social pariah. So when Mallory gets the opportunity to take refuge on a sentient space station, she thinks she has the solution. Surely the murders will stop if her only company is alien beings. At first her new existence is peacefully quiet…and markedly devoid of homicide.
But when the station agrees to allow additional human guests, Mallory knows the break from her peculiar reality is over. After the first Earth shuttle arrives, and aliens and humans alike begin to die, the station is thrown into peril. Stuck smack-dab in the middle of an extraterrestrial whodunit, and wondering how in the world this keeps happening to her anyway, Mallory has to solve the crime—and fast—or the list of victims could grow to include everyone on board….
Science Fiction Romance
Pets in Space (Pets in Space #7) by Carol van Natta et. al. – 4 Oct (Pets in Space Books for Chavanch Press)
Pets in Space is back and better than ever! Featuring 13 original, never-before-released stories from some of today’s bestselling science fiction romance authors, starring your favorite sci-fi pets. These furry, feathered, and slightly alien friends are always ready for a new adventure with their two-legged human and alien companions. From dogs to cats to sea creatures and unicorns, these romantic tales show that pets are more than just animals – they’re family.
This limited-edition anthology includes stories by some of the biggest names in science fiction romance. New York Times Bestseller S.E. Smith and USA Today Bestsellers R.J. Blain, Grace Goodwin, Skye MacKinnon, Carol Van Natta, Honey Phillips, Carysa Locke, S.J. Pajonas, JC Hay, and Kyndra Hatch, plus Leslie Chase, Winnie Winkle, and Candace Colt.
The Pets in Space 7 authors continue their vital support of HeroDogs, the non-profit charity that improves quality of life for veterans of the U.S. military and first-responders with disabilities.
★ Don’t miss out — grab this limited-edition anthology before it’s too late! ★
Exclusively in Pets in Space 7:
◆“Wynter and the Stone Dragon” by S.E. Smith: Love blossoms between a human king and an alien princess when a portal between their worlds opens.
◆“Life-Debt” by R.J. Blain: Hybrid human Viva and her pet fox have two rules: no names and no attachments. Why does the handsome man she rescued makes her want to break both?
◆“Marked Mate” by Grace Goodwin: An elite hunter pursues a dangerous criminal on an unsuspecting Earth, only to be distracted by a mysterious woman and her furry pet.
◆“Alien Abduction for Unicorns” by Skye MacKinnon: Unicorns are real, and alien Bruin is sexy as the stars. Can Scottish tour guide Tara forgive them for kidnapping her in the name of science?
◆“An Entanglement of Griffins” by Carol Van Natta: A space pirate and a pet sanctuary owner suspected of grand larceny get help from genetically-engineered griffins to recover the goods and find love.
◆“Cyborg Rider” by Honey Phillips: Can a bioengineered mole named Eglantine find a way to rescue the scientist and the cyborg who are depending on her?
◆“Healer Heart” by Carysa Locke: A telekinetic healer on a mission and a telepathic killer who is afraid to feel must trust an intelligent cat to help them save a group of children from death.
◆“Myra’s Big Mistake” by S. J. Pajonas: She’s burdened by a lifetime of disappointment. He’s been her secret admirer for years. Will a roll of the dice lead to a cosmic courtship?
◆“Desert Flame” by JC Hay: Dr. Cerridwen Lewis is prickly, foul mouthed, and quick to anger; in other words, she’s everything Captain Kal and his pet scythewing ever wanted.
◆“Death Angel” by Kyndra Hatch: How do you choose between your people and your mate? Especially when you’re a Korthan cyborg captain and your human mate unknowingly holds the key to lasting peace or unending war?
◆“Written in the Stars” by Leslie Chase: Megan isn’t looking for love, especially not from an alien mercenary just passing through. But love, and her winged cat Nebula, have other plans.
◆“Liquid Courage” by Winnie Winkle: Powerful sea witch Morgan is determined to save her beloved ocean creatures from thieving aliens. Tony offers to help, but he’s got secrets.
◆“Rhea’s Conundrum: A Witch in Space” by by Candace Colt: Eccentric witch Rhea only dreamed of the stars. So how did she and her snarky cat end up in a junk-picker spaceship with sexy alien captain C’tloc?
New World: Own Me (New World #3) by Lily X – 18 Oct (Carina Press)
Austy: It’s hard to be single when you’re surrounded by people who are so in love.
For almost a decade, I’ve watched my friends form unbreakable bonds with their Mates, start families and live the life I so desperately want. The Third Star doesn’t have a large dating pool, so can I really be faulted for being single at almost thirty?
Damn it, I just want to belong to someone!
To make matters worse, Pa has a ridiculous idea up his sleeve to bring an external investor into our family’s dairy business to save us from debt. We don’t need saving, especially from some soulless big-city investor who’s only out there to make money off little businesses like ours…
Fia: The last person I expect to walk through my office doors on a Friday afternoon is such striking loveliness, staring at me with splotchy color on her cheeks. There’s such innocence in her eyes, as though she can’t understand why she’s reacting to me the way she is: stuttering, flushing, blurting out the first thing on her mind. It’s endearing, really.
Now, do you think Austy will agree to play with me for a weekend?
Tracking Kat (Triton Experiment #2) by Piper J. Drake – 18 Oct (Ebullient Studios)
Mercenary Kat Darah has been ordered to keep her shapeshifting secret from everyone but those closest to her, for her own safety. She’s learned how to control the feral rage…for the most part.
But when Lieutenant Rygard’s military unit goes missing on a planetary surveillance mission and the newly arrived commanding officer seems to have other priorities, Kat is ready to throw caution out an airlock and use any and all methods she has at her disposal to find Rygard and bring him back alive.
Urban Fantasy
Biergarten of the Damned (Sam Quinn #5) by Seana Kelly – 4 Oct (NYLA)
I’m Sam, the werewolf book nerd owner of The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore & Bar. I’ve always thought of Dave, my red-skinned, shark-eyed, half-demon cook, as a kind of foul-mouthed uncle, one occasionally given to bouts of uncontrolled anger.
Something’s going on, though. He’s acting strangely, hiding things. When I asked what was wrong, he blew me off and told me to quit bugging him. That’s normal enough. What’s not is his missing work. Ever. Other demons are appearing in the bar, looking for him. I’m getting worried, and his banshee girlfriend Maggie isn’t answering my calls.
Demons terrify me. I do NOT want to go into any demon bars looking for Dave, but he’s my family, sort of. I need to try to help, whether he wants me to or not. When I finally learn the truth, though… I’m not sure I can ever look at him again, let alone have him work for me. Are there limits to forgiveness? I think there might be.
What Song the Sirens Sang (Gideon Sable #3) by Simon R. Green – 4 Oct (Baen)
The tables are turned on legendary master thief Gideon Sable when a priceless magical artifact is stolen from him, in this fast-paced supernatural heist thriller.
You can find everything you’ve ever dreamed of in the strange, old magical shop known as Old Harry’s Place. The problem is, not all dreams are kind.
Gideon Sable – legendary master thief, conman and well-dressed rogue – and his partner in crime Annie Anybody don’t want to be shopkeepers, but when the enigmatic Harry decides to retire, he blackmails the pair into taking the store on.
Before the grand reopening can happen, however, a menacing stranger arrives – with a rare and deadly item for them to appraise. A small piece of rock, with an unnerving aura, which ‘Smith’ claims contains the last echoes of the legendary sirens’ song. Before they can find out more, however, Smith vanishes . . . leaving only the stone.
Some valuables are more trouble than they’re worth. But before Gideon and Annie can work out if they’ve been set up, the stone is stolen from its impregnable hiding place. How? And why? Gideon only knows one thing for certain: no one steals from him and gets away with it .
Dead Man’s Hand (Unorthodox Chronicles #1) by James J. Butcher – 11 Oct (Ace)
On the streets of Boston, the world is divided into the ordinary Usuals, and the paranormal Unorthodox. And in the Department of Unorthodox Affairs, the Auditors are the magical elite, government-sanctioned witches with spells at their command and all the power and prestige that comes with it. Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby is…not one of those witches.
After flunking out of the Auditor training program and being dismissed as “not Department material,” Grimsby tried to resign himself to life as a mediocre witch. But he can’t help hoping he’ll somehow, someway, get another chance to prove his skill. That opportunity comes with a price when his former mentor, aka the most dangerous witch alive, is murdered down the street from where he works, and Grimsby is the Auditors’ number one suspect.
Proving his innocence will require more than a little legwork, and after forming a strange alliance with the retired legend known as the Huntsman and a mysterious being from Elsewhere, Grimsby is abruptly thrown into a life of adventure, whether he wants it or not. Now all he has to do is find the real killer, avoid the Auditors on his trail, and most importantly, stay alive.
Uncanny Times (Huntsmen #1) by Laura Anne Gilman – 18 Oct (Gallery/Saga)
Elizabeth, the daughter of an established Boston family, is sent off to her aunt’s home to get away from the political hotspot Boston has become. But secretly, she is also going to learn to use the healing and growing magic that her family is heir to, without attracting more attention from over-suspicious Redcoats (and local elements). But once settled in the “wilds” of greater Massachusetts, Elizabeth discovers that the war is already there, too. And her magic is in great demand by both sides…
Young Adult
Into the Windwracked Wilds (Up-and-Under #3) by A. Deborah Baker (Seanan McGuire) – 25 Oct (Tordotcom)
When the improbable road leaves Avery and Zib in the land of Air and at the mercy of the Queen of Swords, escape without becoming monsters may be impossible. But with the aid of the Queen’s son, the unpredictable Jack Daw, they may emerge with enough of their humanity to someday make it home. Their journey is not yet over; the dangers are no less great.
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!