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Strands of Bronze and Gold
Synopsis: The Bluebeard fairy tale retold. . . .

When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world.

Glowing strands of romance, mystery, and suspense are woven into this breathtaking debut—a thrilling retelling of the “Bluebeard” fairy tale.
Publication Date: 03/12/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Midnight Blue-Light Special
Synopsis: The second book in New York Times-bestselling Seanan McGuire's witty urban fantasy InCryptid series about a family of cryptozoologists who act as a buffer between humans and the magical creatures living in secret around us.

"The only thing more fun than an October Daye book is an InCryptid book." —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Sookie Stackhouse series

Normal, adjective: Conforming to the standard or common type. See also "ordinary."

Abnormal, adjective: Deviating from the common type, such as playing monster-human on the rooftops of Manhattan. See also "Verity Price."

The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity—and to protect humanity from them. Verity Price is just trying to do her job, keeping the native cryptid population of Manhattan from getting into trouble, and doing a little ballroom dancing on the side.

Enter Dominic De Luca, an operative for the Covenant of St. George, and Verity's on-again, off-again boyfriend. When he tells her that the Covenant is sending a full team to assess how ready the city is for a purge, Verity finds herself between a rock and a hard place. Stay, and risk her almost-certain death, or flee, and leave the cryptids of New York with nothing between them and the Covenant.

With allies and enemies on every side, and no safe way to turn, it's going to take some quickstepping for Verity to waltz out of this one. There's just one question on everyone's mind: Is this the last dance for Verity Price? 
Publication Date: 03/05/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Books of Barakhai
Mickey Zucker Reichert
Synopsis: Benton Collins was a graduate student working in the bio lab to earn his way to his degree.  When a white lab rat somehow managed to escape its cage, Ben found himself chasing the rat into a storeroom that would ultimately lead him through a secret gateway into the realm called Barakhai.  And in Barakhai, Ben’s life would be forever changed, for this was a place peopled by inadvertent shapeshifters, humans forced to spend half their day—or night—in animal form.

Not everyone was happy with the life in Barakhai, a life where the general population was ruled by those few humans of royal blood who remained in their human form and were virtual dictators.  Ben, by virtue of being born on Earth, was not a shapeshifter either.  And a rebel named Zylas hoped that Ben could become the instrument to turn Barakhai around.  So Zylas and his comrade rescued Ben from certain death.  But if Ben agreed to join their cause, would he only be postponing the moment of his execution, and would he ever be allowed to return to his own world again?
Publication Date: 03/05/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Goddess Inheritance
Aimée Carter
Synopsis:

Love or life. Henry or their child. The end of her family or the end of the world.

Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her—until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

Publication Date: 02/26/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Neferet's Curse: A House of Night Novella (House of Night)
Synopsis:

The White City, 1893: In turn-of-the-century Chicago, with the World's Fair bringing bustle and excitement to her home city, sixteen-year-old Emily Wheiler should be reveling in her youthful beauty and the excitement around her. But her whole life changed when her mother died, leaving her to be the Lady of Wheiler House. Her father, a powerful bank president, is at the center of an important social hub for the booming young city, and he needs Emily to do everything her mother would have – to be a good hostess and make sure the mansion runs smoothly.

As Emily uneasily tries to replace her mother, she also longs for more… for love and a life of her own. When a handsome young man notices her at one of her father's parties, it seems that her hopes may finally be coming true. Until her father forbids her to see him – or any other man – and starts revealing a darkly violent side that even he can't understand.

At last, afraid for her life and with nowhere to turn, Emily is Marked by a vampyre and brought to the Chicago House of Night, where she begins a magickal new life that should allow the wounds from her past to heal. But as she gains strength, and a powerful new name, she carries a dark need to wreak vengeance on the man she trusted most.

From victim to High Priestess, beautiful young woman to powerful seductress, Neferet's journey begins in NEFERET'S CURSE...from authors P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast.

Publication Date: 02/19/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice
Synopsis: A dark evil rises. A world on the threshold of destruction. A crossing into a mysterious realm. The journey begins. Newly commissioned Interceptor fighter pilot, Erynn Yager, knows sacrifice. Her battle against a brutal alien enemy intent on destroying her two worlds set her on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, all while struggling to gain control of her secret abilities. With the alien threat crushed, Erynn believes the worst is behind her. She settles in to experience first love and a changed life on a hidden military base deep inside a glacier covered mountain on Arranon. Her peaceful existence can’t last. Dhoran, the evil sovereign of Arranon’s underworld has risen from the dead to possess an unwilling human. Dhoran’s powers grow while he plots a war that may plunge Arranon onto a path of destruction neither realm will survive. Arranon is pulled into chaos as violence spreads across the planet. Drawn first in visions, Erynn enters a diverse world beneath Arranon’s surface, a realm teeming with danger, mystery, and beauty. The battle thrusts her into an uncharted kingdom, intensifying her connection to the heart and soul of the living Arranon.
Publication Date: 02/06/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Prey
Andrew Fukuda
Synopsis:

"Action-packed, heart-pounding, page-flipping action. I'm thoroughly in love with this riveting, thrilling read. –YA Reads



Don't miss the electrifying second book in the must-read trilogy of the year!

With death only a heartbeat away, Gene and the remaining humans must find a way to survive long enough to escape the hungry predators chasing them through the night. But they're not the only things following Gene. He's haunted by Ashley June who he left behind, and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side.

Their escape takes them to a refuge of humans living high in the mountains. Gene and his friends think they're finally safe, but not everything here is as it seems. And before long, Gene must ask himself if the new world they've entered is just as evil as the one they left behind. As their enemies close in on them and push Gene and Sissy closer, one thing becomes painfully clear: all they have is each other…if they can stay alive.

Chilling, inventive, and electrifying, The Prey is the second book in Andrew Fukuda's The Hunt series.

Publication Date: 01/29/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Eye of the Desert
N K Bauer
Synopsis: Eye of the Desert, the first novel in the Elizabeth Stanford fantasy series. Elizabeth Stanford begins what she believes is a very simple journey, to find her missing grandmother and bring her home safely. Her bizarre dreams of ancient Egyptian temples portend what awaits her. Elizabeth meets mysterious friends of her grandmother: Violet Teasdale, Trevor Winslowe, Unas, Uraeus, and the Tetrad. A massive earthquake sets it all in motion. Elizabeth is plunged into the center of an ancient power struggle that has lasted for eons. She learns the people she meets are not at all what they seem. Even her beloved grandmother has secrets Elizabeth never suspected. One of these secrets has passed from grandmother to granddaughter. Her journey is so much more complicated than finding her grandmother. Elizabeth is drawn into a world she could never before have imagined. It is a world where time and space are severely limiting terms. A world where information travels on the wind. A world where old scores are begging to be settled.
Publication Date: 01/27/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Vortex
Julie Cross
Synopsis:

Julie Cross's Vortex is the thrilling second installment of the Tempest series, in which the world hangs in the balance as a lovelorn Jackson must choose who to save

Jackson Meyer has thrown himself into his role as an agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats. Despite his heartbreak at losing the love of his life, Jackson has proved himself to be an excellent agent. However, after an accidental run in with Holly―the girl he altered history to save―Jackson is once again reminded of what he's lost. And when Eyewall, an opposing division of the CIA, emerges, Jackson and his fellow agents not only find themselves under attack, but Jackson begins to discover that the world around him has changed and someone knows about his erased relationship with Holly, putting both their lives at risk all over again.

Publication Date: 01/15/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Power Under Pressure (The Society of Steam, Book 3)
Synopsis: Steampunk superheros in Victorian-era New York!

The Society of Paragons is gone--destroyed from within by traitors and enemies. With the death of The Industrialist and the rebirth the Iron-Clad as a monstrous half-human creature known as "The Shell," Lord Eschaton now has almost everything he needs to cover the world in fortified smoke and rebuild it in his image--everything except for the mechanical heart of the Automaton.

The device is nearer than he knows. Just across the East River, hiding in a Brooklyn junkyard, Sarah Stanton is trying to come to restore the mechanical man to life. But before she can rebuild her friend, she must first discover the indomitable power of her own heart and save herself. Only then will she be able to forge a ragtag group of repentant villains, damaged Paragons, and love-mad geniuses into the team of heroes known as "The Society of Steam."
Publication Date: 01/08/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Crossing (Blood of the Lamb: Book One)
Synopsis: A compelling dystopian novel; winner of the 2010 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards: Young Adult Fiction.

Maryam refused to play by the Rules, and now they're out to get her blood…

The people of Onewere, a small island in the Pacific, know that they are special-chosen by the great Apostles of the Lamb to survive the deadly Tribulation that consumed the Earth. Now, from their Holy City in the rotting cruise ship Star of the Sea, the Apostles control the population-manipulating texts from the Holy Book to implant themselves as living gods. But what the people of Onewere don't know is this: the white elite will stop at nothing to meet their own blood-thirsty needs…

When Maryam crosses from child to woman, she must leave everything she has ever known and make a Crossing of another kind. But life inside the Holy City is not as she had dreamed, and she is faced with the unthinkable: obey the Apostles and very likely die, or turn her back on every belief she once held dear.

This book is a fast, suspenseful drama underpinned by a powerful and moving story about love and loss.
Publication Date: 01/08/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Red Crucible
Terri Parady
Synopsis: When we first meet 17-year-old farm girl Jessie, it is several days after her high school band concert and her parents have just recently informed her that the world will end as she knows it. It doesn't take long or much effort from her parents to persuade Jessie to stop attending high school and train with her father, a war veteran, in survival. Through constant bad weather, some life-threatening scenarios and many reality-questioning dreams, Jessie is tested in more ways than she could ever imagine. Will the bringer of death consume her or will Jessie find her way through the trials ahead of her?
Publication Date: 08/26/25
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Throne of the Crescent Moon (Crescent Moon Kingdoms)
Synopsis: A finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Crawford, Gemmell, and British Fantasy Awards, and the winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel, Throne of the Crescent Moon is a fantasy adventure with all the magic of The Arabian Nights.

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, home to djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, are at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince. In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. But these killings are only the earliest signs of a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn the great city of Dhamsawwaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.
Publication Date: 12/31/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Touch of the Demon
Diana Rowland
Synopsis: Kara Gillian is in seriously deep trouble. She’s used to summoning supernatural creatures from the demon realm to our world, but now she’s the one who’s been summoned. Kara is the prisoner of the demonic lord Mzatal, but quickly discovers that she’s far more than a mere hostage. But waiting for rescue has never been her style, and Kara has no intention of being a pawn in someone else’s game.

Yet intrigue and treachery are running rampant, and Kara is hard pressed to keep her wits about her. Her abilities as a homicide detective are put to the test as she seeks the truth about FBI Agent Ryan Kristoff; Rhyzkahl, the demon lord she is sworn to; and her own history in the demon realm. She's going to need all the strength and tenacity she's developed as a cop and a summoner, or the hell she endures may well last forever.

Touch of the Demon is the exciting fifth installment of the Kara Gillian series.
Publication Date: 12/31/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Skirmish
Michelle West
Synopsis: When Jewel ATerafin returns home from the war on the South, she arrives moments too late to prevent the demonic assassination of Amarais ATerafin--the Terafin, head of House Terafin.

And though one of her companions, Lord Celleriant of the Winter Queen's court, manages to slay the demon, it is too little, too late. For now the battle to become The Terafin and claim the House Seat will begin.

Four candidates have declared themselves, but Jewel, the Terafin's own secretly designated choice to become the next head of House, has yet to announce her intentions. While some seek to intimidate Jewel or recruit her for their own bids, others begin to gather around her: her den, the most loyal of House Terafin's Chosen, Haval the dressmaker, powerful magi, and three mysterious "winged cats" who come to her in the midst of a deadly encounter in a forest not meant for mortals to walk.... Jewel does not want to make any decisions before the Terafin is laid to rest.

But as the enemies of House and Empire mobilize, it becomes terrifyingly clear that everyone -- including Jewel and her otherworldly allies -- must survive the three days of the funeral rites before they can even be certain that there will be a House Terafin left to fight over....
Publication Date: 12/31/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Foretold
Jana Oliver
Synopsis:

In FORETOLD, the fourth Demon Trappers novel by Jana Oliver, Riley faces the final battle for humanity and Beck's heart―and Hell is the least of her problems

Now that Riley's managed to (just barely) fend off Armageddon, everything's changed. Well . . . most things. After their passionate kiss before the big battle in the cemetery, Beck is back to treating her like a little girl, as if nothing ever happened. While she'd love to just tell him off and move on, Riley vowed to take care of Beck the way he's taken care of her since her father's death―but she's about to get a whole lot more than she bargained for. When she's commissioned to go with Beck to his hometown and help him care for his dying mother, they stumble too close to a dark and murderous secret, one that Beck fears will drive Riley away from him forever. As chaos breaks loose, Riley may be Beck's only hope for redemption . . . and survival.

Meanwhile, up in Atlanta, it's quickly becoming clear that Heaven may have won a battle, but the war is far from over. Riley and Beck face a stormy future, as Lucifer's ex-right-hand-man, Sartael, proves himself to be more resilient than anyone thought. He has Atlanta in his grip and is about to begin a brutal war with the prince of Hell. As the seconds tick down toward a final confrontation, it's up to Riley and the man she loves to finally defeat their old enemy, or lose everything they've fought for.

Publication Date: 12/11/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure

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