WEEKLY BOOK RELEASES FOR JANUARY 3RD

The Fire Stone (Reign of the Elements, Book 1) (Hardcover)

By: Riley Carney

Release Date: 1/1/2010

(From Amazon.com):  Sixteen-year-old novelist Riley Carney works magic in this high fantasy adventure story brought to life by memorable, vibrant characters. The Fire Stone, the first book in the captivating Reign of the Elements series, is rooted in genuine adolescent thought and emotion throughout a journey of danger, friendship, and courage, as a group of teenagers, led by fifteen-year-old Matt, attempt to save their world. Matt knows how to shovel hay, dig trenches, and dodge his father’s whip, but when three terrifying creatures attack Matt, and he is rescued by a wizard, he kidnaps a baby alorath, and is befriended by elves, Matt’s life transforms overnight from dreary to astonishing. When he unwittingly joins a quest to find the Fire Stone, one of the elusive Stones of the Elements which have the power to destroy the world, Matt is thrust into a string of perilous adventures. He soon discovers that magic does exist and that he has extraordinary powers that can change his destiny and determine the fate of Mundaria.

Kitty’s House of Horrors (Kitty Norville, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

By: Carrie Vaughn

Release Date: 1/4/2010

(From Amazon.com):  Talk radio host and werewolf Kitty Norville has agreed to appear on TV’s first all-supernatural reality show. She’s expecting cheesy competitions and manufactured drama starring shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. But what begins as a publicity stunt will turn into a fight for her life.  The cast members, including Kitty, arrive at the remote mountain lodge where the show is set. As soon as filming starts, violence erupts and Kitty suspects that the show is a cover for a nefarious plot. Then the cameras stop rolling, cast members start dying, and Kitty realizes she and her monster housemates are ironically the ultimate prize in a very different game. Stranded with no power, no phones, and no way to know who can be trusted, she must find a way to defeat the evil closing in . . . before it kills them all.

Hand of Isis (Mass Market Paperback)

By: Jo Graham

Release Date: 1/4/2010

(From Borders.com)  Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.

Death of a Witch: Hamish Macbeth Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

By: M. C. Beaton

Release Date: 1/4/2010

(From Borders.com)  Hamish Macbeth, Scotland’s most laconic and low-tech policeman, investigates the death of a woman with seemingly unearthly powers. Superb entertainment, as rich and warming as a fine malt whiskey.–“Houston Chronicle.”

Come Hell or High Water (Mass Market Paperback)

By: Michele Bardsley

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  In the sixth novel of this bestselling series, Phoebe’s right in the middle of a major paranormal drama, helping Connor and his ragtag group of friends retrieve part of an ancient talisman in order to ward off Connor’s vicious stepmother, an ber-demon named Lilith.

Wicked Enchantment (Mass Market Paperback)

By: Anya Bast

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  When the Summer Queen of the fae orders Aislinn Finvarra to act as a guide for a half-incubus who is known to possess dark magick and sexual power, she must protect not only her heart but her very life. First in a new series.

The Taking (Mass Market Paperback)

By: Erin McCarthy

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  The “USA Today”-bestselling author of “My Immortal” and “Fallen” takes paranormal romance one step further in this new novel of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Girl With Glass Feet (Hardcover)

By: Ali Shaw

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St. Hauda’s Land. Unusual winged creatures flit around the icy bogland, albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods–and Ida Maclaird is slowly turning into glass.

Inked

By: Karen Chance

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  From today’s most provocative authors come four tales of urban fantasy and paranormal romance exploring body art that is more than it seems. Includes stories by Chance, Marjorie M. Liu, Yasmine Galenorn, and Eileen Wilks.

Stephen King’s The Stand Vol. 1: Captain Trips (Hardcover)

By: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Amazon.com):  It all begins here: the epic apocalyptic battle between good and evil. On a secret army base in the Californian desert, something has gone horribly, terribly wrong. Something will send Charlie Campion, his wife and daughter fleeing in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for the Campion family, and the rest of America, they are unaware that all three of them are carrying a deadly cargo: a virus that will spread from person to person like wildfire, triggering a massive wave of disease and death, prefacing humanity’s last stand.

Stephen King’s The Stand Vol. 2: American Nightmares (Hardcover)

By: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Amazon.com):  The deadly super flu Captain Trips has devastated the country and now the few survivors must pick up the pieces and go on. Larry Underwood seeks escape from New York City. Lloyd contemplates an extremely unsavory dinner option in jail, and Stu Redman makes a desperate bid for freedom from his interrogators. Most ominous of all, the strange being called Randall Flagg continues his dread journey across the devastated landscape of America.

Remarkable Creatures (Hardcover)

By: Tracy Chevalier

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From BarnesandNoble.com)  A voyage of discoveries, a meeting of two remarkable women, and extraordinary time and place enrich bestselling author Tracy Chevalier’s enthralling new novel

From the moment she’s struck by lightning as a baby, it is clear that Mary Anning is marked for greatness. On the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast, she learns that she has “the eye”-and finds what no one else can see. When Mary uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious fathers on edge, the townspeople to vicious gossip, and the scientific world alight. In an arena dominated by men, however, Mary is barred from the academic community; as a young woman with unusual interests she is suspected of sinful behavior. Nature is a threat, throwing bitter, cold storms and landslips at her. And when she falls in love, it is with an impossible man.  Luckily, Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly Elizabeth Philpot, a recent exile from London, who also loves scouring the beaches. Their relationship strikes a delicate balance between fierce loyalty, mutual appreciation, and barely suppressed envy. Ultimately, in the struggle to be recognized in the wider world, Mary and Elizabeth discover that friendship is their greatest ally. Remarkable Creatures is a stunning novel of how one woman’s gift transcends class and social prejudice to lead to some of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century. Above all, is it a revealing portrait of the intricate and resilient nature of female friendship.

Captivate (Hardcover)

By: Carrie Jones

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Amazon.com):  Zara and her friends knew they hadn’t solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king’s needs grow deeper every day he’s stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It’s made him vulnerable. And now there’s a new king in town.  A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he’s one of the good guys. Nick isn’t buying it, though Zara isn’t as sure — despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it’s a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It’s her life — and his.

Doppelgangster (Paperback)

By: Laura Resnick

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  While waiting tables in Little Italy, actress Esther Diamond realizes some magical mischief is going on when a rash of doubles–dopplegangsters–starts to appear throughout the city. A paranormal screwball comedy adventure.

Bad Blood (Paperback)

By: Mari Mancusi

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  Unable to serve as Magnus’ co-ruler of the Blood Coven because of her humanity, Sunny is suspicious of the Coven’s choice, Jane Johnson. When the Blood Coven travels to Las Vegas for a vampire convention, Sunny and her twin sister, Rayne, tag along so Sunny can learn the truth about Jane.

Firespell: A Novel of the Dark Elite (Mass Market Paperback)

By: Chloe Neill

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  From the author of the Chicagoland Vampires novels comes the first in a brand-new young adult urban fantasy series set in an exclusive boarding school, and featuring a group of teens that protects Chicago from demons, vampires, and dark magic users.

The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (Nightside) (Hardcover)

By: Simon Green

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Amazon.com):  Things were going so well for P.I. John Taylor, that it was only a matter of time before everything hit the fan. Walker, the powerful, ever-present, never­to-be-trusted agent who runs the Nightside on behalf of The Authorities, is dying. And he wants John to be his successor-a job that comes with more baggage, and more enemies, than anyone can possibly imagine.

Brooklyn Knight (Paperback)

By: C.J. Henderson

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  Brooklyn Museum curator Piers Knight discovers a mysterious artifact in their collection. What looks like an ordinary inscribed stone may unlock an otherworldly Armageddon that certain dark powers are all too eager to bring about–and only Knight stands in their way.

Death’s Mistress (Dorina Basarab, Book 2) (Paperback)

By: Karen Chance

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Amazon.com):  Dorina Basarab is a dhampir-half-human, half-vampire. Back home in Brooklyn after the demise of her insane Uncle Dracula, Dory’s hoping her life is about to calm down. But soon Dory realizes someone is killing vampire Senate members, and if she can’t stop the murderer, her friends may be next…

Iorich (Vlad) (Hardcover)

By: Steven Brust

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Amazon.com):  House Jhereg, Dragaera’s organized crime syndicate, is still hunting Vlad Taltos. There’s a big price on his head on Draegara City. Then he hears disturbing news. Aliera–longtime friend, sometime ally–has been arrested by the Empire on a charge of practicing elder sorcery, a capital crime.  It doesn’t make sense. Everybody knows Aliera’s been dabbling in elder sorcery for ages. Why is the Empire down on her now? Why aren’t her powerful friends–Morrolan, Sethra, the Empress Zerika–coming to her rescue? And most to the point, why has she utterly refused to do anything about her own defense?   It would be idiotic of Vlad to jump into this situation. He’s a former Jhereg who betrayed the House. He’s an Easterner–small, weak, short-lived. He’s being searched for by the most remorseless killers in the world. Naturally, that’s exactly why he’s going to get completely involved…

Impact (Hardcover)

By: Douglas Preston

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Amazon.com):  Wyman Ford is tapped for a secret expedition to Cambodia… to locate the source of strangely beautiful gemstones that do not appear to be of this world.

A brilliant meteor lights up the Maine coast… and two young women borrow a boat and set out for a distant island to find the impact crater.

A scientist at the National Propulsion Facility discovers an inexplicable source of gamma rays in the outer Solar System.  He is found decapitated, the data missing.

High resolution NASA images reveal an unnatural feature hidden in the depths of a crater on Mars… and it appears to have been activated.

Sixty hours and counting.

Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

By: Faith Hunter

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Amazon.com):  The vampire council has hired skinwalker Jane Yellowrock to hunt and kill one of their own who has broken sacred ancient rules-but Jane quickly realizes that in a community that is thousands of years old, loyalties run deep…

Bleeding Violet

By: Dia Reeves

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna’s tired of being the outcast. So she runs away to Portero, Texas, in search of a new home. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul.

Stephenie Meyer: An Unauthorized Biography of the Creator of the Twilight Saga

By: Marc Shapiro

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  The romance of vampire Edward and human Bella in the books Twilight , New Moon , Eclipse , and Breaking Dawn has captured the imaginations of millions of readers and become an amazing success story. No less amazing is the story of how an unknown Arizona wife and mother, Stephenie Meyer, became a superstar author. In this revealing biography, fans of all things Twilight will follow their favorite writer on her roller-coaster ride to bestselling author’from a childhood steeped in great literature, to a comfortable domestic life, and finally to that fateful dream one night that thrust Stephenie Meyer into a world she could only have imagined. In this book you will discover: * An exclusive interview with Stephenie’s creative writing teacher who reveals what kind of student she was * The in-depth story of how Twilight started with a dream and became a reality * The tension Stephenie experienced in writing Twilight in secret * The challenges and pitfalls involved in her books reaching the silver screen * Stephenie’s possible plans for the future * And much more! With eight pages of full-color photos, original interviews with people who are a part of Meyer’s life, never-before-revealed details, and info on all of her fabulous books, this biography is a must-have for every Twilight fan.

Phantom, Evil Thirst, Creatures of Forever (Paperback)

By: Christopher Pike

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  This bind-up of Pike’s classic paranormal thriller includes “Phantom, Evil Thirst,” and “Creatures of Forever.”

Fade (Wake Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

By: Lisa McMann

Release Date: 1/5/2010

(From Borders.com)  In this dark and sexy sequel to the “New York Times” bestseller “Wake,” disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody’s talking. When Janie taps into a classmate’s violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open–but nothing goes as planned.

Frozen Fire (Paperback)

By: Tim Bowler

Release Date: 1/7/2010

(From Borders.com)  From a Carnegie Medal-winning author comes a gripping, hair-raising mystery about a boy not of this world and a girl determined to protect him.

Do you plan to pick  up any of these upcoming book releases?  If so, which one(s) and why?