Nora Roberts
The Perfect Hope
Berkley / November 6, 2012 / $9.49 print, $9.99 digital

Ryder is the hardest Montgomery brother to figure out—with a tough-as-nails outside and possibly nothing too soft underneath. He’s surly and unsociable, but when he straps on a tool belt, no woman can resist his sexy swagger. Except apparently Hope Beaumont, the innkeeper of his own Inn BoonsBoro.

As the former manager of a D.C. hotel, Hope is used to excitement and glamour, but that doesn’t mean she can’t appreciate the joys of small-town living. She’s where she wants to be—except for in her love life. Her only interaction with the opposite sex has been sparring with the infuriating Ryder, who always seems to get under her skin. Still, no one can deny the electricity that crackles between them…a spark that ignited with a New Year’s Eve kiss.

While the Inn is running smoothly, thanks to Hope’s experience and unerring instincts, her big-city past is about to make an unwelcome—and embarrassing—appearance. Seeing Hope vulnerable stirs up Ryder’s emotions and makes him realize that while Hope may not be perfect, she just might be perfect for him.

[Aw! Perfection!...]

Paranormal romances include stories about witches, vampires, were—did you think I was going to say werewolves? If you think the only animal form to take is that of a wolf, then you haven’t been keeping up with those sexy shapehifters.

Sara Humphreys brings us a vast collection of animal shifters in her Amoveo series, including lions, tigers, panthers, coyotes, foxes, bears, eagles, and gyrfalcon. In fact, wolf shifters are nearly extinct. In Untouched, sexy bodyguard Dante Coltare is a fox! No, really—he turns into a fox. He has just met his mate, model Kerry Smithson, who is as beautiful and graceful as her inner black panther. Humphreys's latest short story, Undenied, introduces Boris, a Bengal tiger. Rrrowrr!

In some stories, werewolves are insane and dangerous creatures. In Rebecca Zanetti’s Dark Protector series, Consumed gives us an indepth look at mountain lion shifters Jordan Pride and Katie Smith. They have spent decades dancing delicately around the feelings they have for each other. But now both of them have been infected by with a man-made virus that will turn them into mindless werewolf slaves—unless they find a cure by the next full moon.

[Dun dun DUN!...]

Julianne MacLean
Princess in Love
St. Martin's Press / October 30, 2012 / $7.99 print & digital

Leopold Hunt, Marquess of Cavanaugh, is a secret Royalist with a distant hereditary claim to the throne. He has been groomed to one day overthrow the king and rebuild his family’s dynasty. Only one thing stands in his way: the king’s daughter, Rose.

Princess Rose has loved the marquess her entire life, but she is about to enter a political marriage—one that promises to help keep her father in power. There is virtually no way for Rose to escape her fate…yet she cannot resist the unstoppable passion she feels in the arms of the handsome and charming marquess. When a dangerous plot unfolds and puts their love to the ultimate test—Leopold must make a desperate choice: To honor his family or follow his heart.

This is the second book in Julianne Maclean’s Royal Trilogy, which features the youngest royal, Princess Rose. In this story, Leopold Hunt, Marquess of Cavanaugh, shows us that an omission is as good as a lie and it can cost you everything you hold dear.

[Oh, dear!...]

Thea Harrison
Lord’s Fall
Berkley / $7.99 print / digital / November 6, 2012

Before she met Dragos, half-human/half-Wyr Pia Giovanni was alone and on the run. Now she’s mated, pregnant and heading south to repair the Wyrs’ frayed relationship with the Elves. Being separated from Dragos is painful, but for the good of the Wyr demesne they need to figure out how to be partners—in more places than just the bedroom.

In New York to preside over the Sentinel Games, Dragos is worried about his mate, but knows that finding two replacement sentinels is essential to show the rest of the Elder Races just how strong and brutal the Wyr demesne can be. But as the Games heat up, Pia’s negotiations with the Elves take a turn for the dangerous, straining her bond with Dragos and threatening everything they hold dear…

Usually an author in a paranormal romance series choose the way they will be presenting their storytelling at the beginning—it is either by a continued character such as Jeaneine Frost’s Bones and Cat or Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse, or a group of characters with a central background or location where each book focuses on a new couple with only guest appearance from prior or future heroes and heroines as with Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunters or Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark.

Thea Harrison shakes things up in her newest book in her Elder Races series. Lord’s Fall returns us to our hero and heroine of Book #1, Dragon Bound. After several books and short stories featuring the Wyr sentinels and other members of the Elder Races, the focus is once again on Dragos Cuelebre and Pia Giovanni. Understandably, since there is no question that this story could only be told through the eyes of the very powerful Lord of the Wyr and his new mate.

[If Dragos is telling, we're listening!...]

Jacquelyn Frank
Forbidden
Random House / Oct. 30, 2012 / $7.99 print & digital

The unexpected happens in an instant. On her way to work, secretary Docia Waverley hurtles into a crashing crossroads, and she quickly begins to suspect that things will never be the same. Then, when a tall, blond, muscular stranger intervenes on her behalf, telling her it is his duty to protect her at all cost, what is just a feeling turns to proof positive. That is, as long as Docia’s savior doesn’t turn out to be a crazed kidnapper.

When Ram finds Docia, he has no doubt that she is his queen. But as this golden warrior sweeps in to protect her, he feels something more than body heat every time they touch. He is overwhelmed by a searing connection that goes deep into the twin souls inside him. A desire rises in him that is forbidden—this woman is his queen, the mate of his king, his leader, his best friend. And yet Docia is so vulnerable and attractive that she awakens a hunger in Ram that is undeniable, a carnal craving he cannot yield to . . . not without risking the very survival of the Bodywalkers.

In her new spinoff series, Jacquelyn Frank builds us a new World of Nightwalkers. These new Nightwalkers include Gargoyles, Djynn, Night Angels, and in this first story, she gives us Bodywalkers. When the ancient Egyptians were worshiping their Gods and practicing their art of preparing the dead for life eternal in the afterworld, they did not realize that this grab for eternal life would anger the God, Ra, and as a punishment, they would be eternally barred from heaven and their mummified bodies would tether them to the mortal world. Every time they die, they are returned to the Ether, a type of limbo, where they would wait until they were strong enough to Bodywalk again.

[That doesn't sound pleasant...]

Joan Swan
Blaze
Kensington / September 25, 2012 / $14.00 print & digital

Ever since FBI agent Keira O’Shay started tracking a young boy named Mateo, she’s felt a connection even her empathic abilities can’t explain. She needs to save Mateo from the cult leader holding him hostage. Nothing can interfere with that—not even the reappearance of Luke Ransom, the hot-as-hell fire captain she’s regretted walking out on for three long years.

Losing Keira left Luke vulnerable—in every way. When they were together, the powers each possesses were mysteriously enhanced. But it’s the sexy, surprising woman beneath the tough exterior that Luke’s really missed. Even if she betrayed him utterly. And even if agreeing to help her uncover a government conspiracy means watching his life and his heart go up in flames again

Blaze is the second book of Joan Swan's Phoenix series. These stories revolve around seven firefighters who were caught in a chemical explosion in a government warehouse which left one dead and the remaining members forever changed. Each member has developed their own special supernatural abilities, and in this series, the scary monster in the closet isn’t a vampire or a zombie—it’s our very own government.

[Hate it when that happens...]

Lia Habel
Dearly, Beloved
Del Rey / September 25, 2012 / $11.55 print, $10.99 digital

Can the living coexist with the living dead?
That’s the question that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites.
 
Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man . . . of the dead variety.
 
Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and a masked squad of urban guerrillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target.

As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the illness—and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.

In her debut book, Dearly, Departed, Lia Habel posed the question: Can the living learn to co-exist with the dead? Dearly, Departed's setting is that of a world surviving after a second ice age forces people to locate closer to the equator, a world which has reinvented their society in the image of the old Victorian era, and which mixes old world values with modern technologies. More importantly,the world now has the Lazarus virus, which raises the dead. A single bite from the infected zombie will kill, but not permanently.

[Love and the undead...]

Dianne Duvall
Phantom Shadows
Kensington / October 2, 2012 / $6.99 print, $4.97 digital

Dr. Melanie Lipton is no stranger to the supernatural. She knows immortals better than they know themselves, right down to their stubborn little genes. So although a handsome rogue immortal seems suspicious to her colleagues, Sebastien Newcombe intrigues Melanie. His history is checkered, his scars are impressive, and his ideas are daring. But it’s not his ideas that have Melanie fighting off surges of desire.

Bastien is used to being the bad guy. In fact, he can’t remember the last time he had an ally he could trust. But Melanie is different – and under her calm, professional exterior he senses a passion beyond anything in his centuries of experience. Giving in to temptation is out of the question – he can’t put her in danger. But she isn’t asking him.

What if you found out your entire life was a lie? Not just for decades, but for centuries. In Dianne Duvall's Phantom Shadows, Sebastian Newcombe spent his whole life believing he was a vampire, the only vampire who has never succumbed to the madness associated with those changed humans infected with the virus. He has spent his centuries fighting evil Guardians who hunt his people—the same Guardians who, after murdering his sister, made him a vampire.

[When the truth was...?]

J.D. Robb
Delusion in Death (In Death #35)
Penguin Group / Sept. 11, 2012 / $27.95 print, $14.99 digital

It was just another after-work happy-hour bar downtown, where business professionals unwound with a few drinks...until something went terribly wrong. And after twelve minutes of chaos and violence, eighty people lay dead.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is trying to sort out the inexplicable events. Surviving witnesses talk about seeing things—monsters and swarms of bees. They describe sudden, overwhelming feelings of fear and rage and paranoia. When forensics gives its report, the mass delusions make more sense: It appears the bar patrons were exposed to a cocktail of chemicals and illegal drugs that could drive anyone to temporary insanity—if not kill them outright.

But that doesn’t explain who would unleash such horror—or why. And if Eve can’t figure it out fast, it could happen again, anytime, anywhere. Because it’s airborne.

As J.D. Robb (a/k/a Nora Roberts) presents us with Lt. Eve Dallas’s 35th case, you would think by now we would have had enough of Dallas, Roarke, Peabody, McNab, Feeney and the rest of the crew, but even after 35 books and 9 novellas, she can still bring new, fresh ideas and a terrifying story with a frightening twist.

[Just can't get enough...]

Nalini Singh
Archangel's Storm (Guild Hunter #5)
Penguin / September 4, 2012 / $7.99 print & digital

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.

In Archangel’s Storm, Nalini Singh gives us a complex world where angels exist and live among us, but these are not halo-wearing angels; these angels know love and joy, but also hate and sorrow and worse, jealousy and vengeance. But what happens when the most powerful creatures on the earth are driven by their flaws and their fears? Can they learn to live above and beyond them?

[Calling all angels...]

Alexandra Ivy
Fear the Darkness
Zebra / August 28, 2012 / $7.99 print & $4.99 digital

Beautiful Cassandra is a Were, a prophet both vulnerable and defiant, blessed with visions that portend the fate of the world. A rare and delicate creature, Cassie must be protected at all costs. Enter Caine, a powerful cur turned pureblooded Were whose recent tangles with a demon lord have left him in serious need of redemption. Caine is duty-bound to keep Cassie out of danger—and that means resisting his potent urge to seduce her.

As Cassie's mysterious visions lead them in and out of danger, Caine believes he has found his true mate, the woman with whom he is bound for all eternity. Cassie is both charmed and frightened by Caine's magnetism, and unsure if he—or her feelings for him—can be trusted. But Cassie can't afford to doubt Cain now. A deadly enemy bent on destruction is closer than they realize—and only they can keep chaos from ruling the world.

The most impressive talent an author can demonstrate is the ability to take an antagonist from a series and turn him into a true hero. After all, if a character has caused or tried to cause the destruction or death of a prior story’s hero, how can readers accept and believe the change from villain to hero and embrace these previously-despised characters? It takes very skilful storytelling to make that happen.

[Can people change?...]

Shelly Laurenston and Cynthia Eden
Howl For It
Brava / August 28, 2012 / $10.82 print, $9.83 digital

“Like a Wolf With a Bone” by Shelly Laurenston
Quiet little Darla Lewis couldn’t be happier when the most-feared member of the South’s rowdiest pack kidnaps her. A girl gets real tired of being overprotected by her own shifter family, and there’s nothing like an oh-so-big bad wolf to start a pack feud, unleash her instincts—and have her surrender however and whenever she wants. . .

“Wed or Dead” by Cynthia Eden
Gage Ryder knew his human bride had a wild side. But spending their honeymoon night on the run from hunters out to finish him and his pack is sure not the kind of fun he was looking forward to. No problem—Gage will do whatever it takes to lay bare Kayla’s secrets and find the truth. If he can keep from being captured by his own seductive game.

If you have a trained killer hunting you, there’s nothing like having a strong, sexy wolf shifter to protect you, and in Howl For It, both Shelly Laurenston and Cynthia Eden take us for a run through the woods with nothing to protect us from danger but sharp claws and bright-white fangs all wrapped up in a hot, gorgeous package.

[And who doesn’t love a big, bad wolf?...]

Stephanie Chong
The Demoness of Waking Dreams
Harlequin MIRA / August 28, 2012 / $7.99 print, $6.79 digital

Ex-cop Brendan Clarkson is an angel with an edge. His tough exterior is the perfect camouflage for his job-hunting down the most dangerous criminals on earth. Brendan’s a self-reliant and demanding lone wolf, constantly on the brink of clashing with his superiors at the Company of Angels.

Brendan is the perfect angel to track and capture demoness Luciana Rossetti. Luciana’s cool, green-eyed beauty masks her true nature: inside, she’s a dangerous and malevolent killer. Yet, she sees what most people don’t-that beneath the layers of Brendan’s rugged shell beats the heart of a passionate lover.

They are perfectly matched. Yin and yang. Angel and demon. Man and woman. But only one of them can win the battle of wills, of strength and of desire.

Is it really opposites that attract or is the line more blurred? You can’t get more opposite than a guardian angel and a rogue demon, right? But in Stephanie Chong’s second novel, The Demoness of Waking Dreams, she shows us that since both angels and demons were originally flawed human beings—just like us—underneath it all, both types can have moments of goodness and evil.

[That makes things complicated...]

Lexi George
Demon Hunting in the Deep South
Brava / July 31, 2012 / $14.00 print & $11.99 digital

Evie Douglass doesn’t know what’s worse—the demons secretly infesting her small Alabama hometown. . .or human belle-from-hell Meredith Starr Peterson, who’s made her life miserable since high school. But when the “Death Starr” is brutally murdered and Evie is the number-one suspect, she’s suddenly besieged by the evil-not-dead-enough and Meredith’s furious specter. The only way she can clear her name is to get out from under demon hunter Ansgar’s grim protection. He’s blond, breathtaking, and the most lethal of all his kin, but after years of teasing, Evie is wary of anyone who swears her plus-size self is beautiful. However, having Ansgar all over her is sparking outrageous powers Evie didn’t know she had. And she’ll face any ultimate evil to keep this sexy slayer in this dimension and in her bed for all eternity...

Demon Hunting in the Deep South is the second book in Lexi George’s Demon Hunting series. In book one, Demon Hunting in Dixie, we meet shy and shapely Evangeline Douglass and the Dalvahni warrior, Ansgar. We watched the attraction between these two characters developing in the background of the first story and we also watched the shy Evie blossom into a confident woman. But circumstances at the end of DHiD leave Evie with a case of memory loss. And since fraternizing with humans is unacceptable, our very by-the-book warrior, Ansgar, leaves Evie with her memory loss because he has to return to his own dimension and he doesn’t want her to miss him.

[But but but...]

Kristen Callihan
Moonglow
Grand Central Publishing / July 31, 2012 / $7.99 print & digital

Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy’s door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors.

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret, and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.

In Moonglow, Kristen Callihan addresses an important situation in the paranormal world: The problem of being an immortal in the world where everyone around you eventually dies. In Book 1, Firelight, we saw Benjamin Archer’s dearest friends grow into old men while Archer remained forever young. Now in Moonglow, she brings us the 130-year-old, immortal lycan Ian Ranulf. Ian has long since become disenchanted with the idea of his own immortality. He has lost most of those he loved, many of those loses he counts in the decades that have passed. He had even tried to warn Archer decades before against chasing immortality.

[Hindsight is 20/20...]

Deborah Harkness
Shadow of Night
Viking / July 10, 2012 / $28.95 print, $14.99 digital

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

In the first book of the All Souls Trilogy, A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkess introduces us to Diane Bishop, historian and witch, Matthew Clairmont, scientist and vampire, and we watched the romance grow between Diana and Matthew, a romance which is forbidden by a centuries-old covenant. There’s also a growing contingent of creatures, including demons, vampires and witches, who will work together, if necessary, to force Diana to reclaim the manuscript dubbed Ashmole 782 from the archives. As the danger to Diana grows, Matthew and Diana devise a plan to thwart those who want to use the manuscript for darker purposes.

[Hope their plan works better than a Mystic Falls plan usually does...]

Tina Gabrielle
In the Barrister’s Bed
Zebra / July 3, 2012 / $6.99 print, $4.79 digital

A bastard by birth, James Devlin lives on his own terms—until a twist of fate reveals that he is the true Duke of Blackwood. Though the brooding bachelor swears to hold on to his freedom, he does intend to take back his childhood home. But once at Wyndmoor Manor, he discovers an arresting adversary in Bella Sinclair. Her hot-blooded claim to his home is amusing...and arousing. Which is why he isn’t leaving until he takes possession of everything—starting with the bewitching Bella.

Bella is furious when the Duke barges into her home, declaring it rightfully his! The wilful widow is not about to give up her haven without a fight, no matter how determined the Duke is—or how sensual the battlefield. But once she’s sharing a house with the beguiling barrister, she is in danger of losing everything—one deep, slow kiss at a time.

It’s nice to know that title fraud isn’t a new concept invented in our own struggling economy. In fact, it appears title fraud was alive and well in the early 1800s. In Tina Gabrielle’s latest novel, it seems that a quick thinking, down-on-his-luck crook has sold his house, not once, but twice. And not only is it a young widow who is swindled by this blackguard, but also an experienced barrister versed in the law.

[Lawyers in love!...]

What is it about stories like Sleepless in Seattle or You’ve Got Mail that sets our hearts aflutter? You would think that in a story where our hero and heroine don’t touch or kiss, and sometimes don’t even meet face-to-face until the very end of the story would be a turn-off to the audience, especially a bunch of romantics like us.

Perhaps it all comes down to our inherent desire to be loved for ourselves—we want to know that love is more than just skin deep. So when you watch your hero and heroine fall in love without ever seeing or touching each other, it reinforces the possibility for us that we will someday find that one person who will love us for who we are and not just our outward appearance.

[Love is blind, especially in this case!...]

Cynthia Eden
Angel Betrayed
Kensington / June 26, 2012 / $11.18 print, $11.99 digital

Sammael – call him Sam – was an angel once. An angel of death. But the dispassionate, watch-from-above thing just wasn’t working for him when it meant watching evil torture innocent souls day in and day out. It might have cost him his wings, but these days, he gets to apply the direct method on the bad guys. Problem is, what’s making his life difficult is a bad girl…

Seline O’Shaw needs protection, and with the hounds of hell on her tail, she’s not going to quibble too hard about where she gets it. Sam’s virtue is questionable, but he’s smoking hot, massively powerful, and owes her a favor. So what if she’s getting a little case of angel lust? There are some damn deadly sins after her hide.

In Angel Betrayed, Cynthia Eden’s Fallen Angels have their own level of dark and sexy. That’s because these Angels all fall because of lust…a lust for power…a lust for love…a lust to simply feel emotions, any emotions.

[Can’t say I blame them...]

If you are an avid reader like me, you wait months and months for your favorite author to release their next book in a series, then you pounce on it like a starving dog with a steak and before 24 hours have passed, you have devoured your new story…and then the waiting begins again. So what can you read during these dry spells?

If you are a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series, may I suggest to you Dianne Duvall’s Immortal Guardian series?

Kenyon’s Dark-Hunters are created by Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the Hunt. When a wronged warrior is dying and he declares vengeance against those that betrayed him, Artemis will appear before they die and give the warrior an opportunity to have their vengeance. In exchange, they give Artemis their soul and become her Dark-Hunter. The Dark-Hunters patrol each night to find and destroy the daimons who steal the souls of humans to extend their own lives. Although the Dark-Hunters have great strengths and special abilities, they are also hindered by many of the weaknesses of the daimons, such as photosensitivity. The Dark-Hunters are lead by Acheron, and they each have a human Squire assigned to them, as well as a vast network of humans to assist them.

[How does the Immortal Guardian series match up?...]