Cheyenne McCray: Forbidden Magic

It Should be Forbidden to Miss this Magical Read

Silver Ashcroft is a D’Anu Witch and sworn only to use white magic, but Silver’s sensibilities run a little more on the grey side. She has been using grey magic to fight a powerful coven of witches using human sacrifice to power their magic. Now, that same coven has called forth an ancient and powerful enemy. Silver will need to use grey magic to summon the only warriors known to have defeated them, the Tuatha D’Danann. However, there is a problem. The more Silver uses her grey magic the stronger the she feels the pull to dark magic.

Hawk is a Tuatha D’Danann warrior who understands the need to save the earth realm, even if the elders do not. He also understands the pull a man feels for a woman. Something he feels intensely for the witch named Silver Ashcroft. Yet, he must constantly remind himself that duty always comes before personal desires. There are tragic consequences if one forgets duty.

In her first book in the Magic Series, Cheyenne McCray weaves a story of honor, danger, magic and love. Forbidden Magic illustrates how things, even love, are rarely black or white, but are continually changing shades of grey. But if you don’t care about shades of black and white then the one thing you should definitely know is that Forbidden Magic is a terrific read.

Yasmine Galenorn: Witchling

A Witch of a Good Time

The D’Artigo sisters are half-human and half-Faerie and each has their own little eccentricities. Camille is a witch whose spells go bad as often as the go good. Delilah is a shapeshifter who changes into a housecat - not a jungle cat. And Menolly has been turned into a vampire. Together they work for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency and have been posted to Earth to protect the humans.

The posting has been pretty cushy and the sisters suspect they were placed in the human realm so they would be out of the way. And then all hell breaks loose – literally. Camille, Delilah and Menolly must save Earth and Otherworld from demons that have broken through from the Subterranean Realms. Will the D’Artigo sisters be able to save the day or will their ‘special’ powers only get in the way?

Witchling is a fun story with just the right amount of action, comedy and romance. Yasmine Galenorn has brought together an effective and amusing cast of characters that enhance her story and leave the reader waiting for more. As the first book in the Sisters of the Moon series, Witchling sets a promising tone for the stories to come.

Adrian Phoenix: In The Blood

In The Blood Delivers A Rush


After being apart for months, Dante Baptiste and Heather Wallace find themselves together again in Heather’s hometown of Seattle, with their enemies right behind them. But while fighting the forces determined to control Dante, each of them must also fight their own internal battles.

Heather must decide if it is safer remaining with the FBI or get out before they decide she is a loose end that needs tying up. She also knows she must finally decide which emotion is stronger, her love for Dante or her fear.

Dante still can’t remember his past. His migraine attacks have gotten worse and more frequent, and now he also suffers from seizures. While his love for Heather pulls him to her, it also tells him she is safer without him. And Dante isn’t ready to deal with the betrayal he feels from Lucien, someone he considered to be his most trusted friend.

Yet, through it all, Lucien is determined to keep Dante hidden and safe. He is willing to sacrifice everything for Dante. Even their relationship and his own life.


In The Blood is even more gripping than Adrian Phoenix’s first novel, A Rush of Wings. As the second book in The Maker’s Song series, In The Blood provides the reader with a more in depth look at the characters, their relationships, and their past. All the while, Ms. Phoenix’s talent weaves the underlying themes of family and hope seamlessly into the story, giving the reader a sense of familiarity and belonging. Even through the fantastical elements the reader can identify with the heroes and heroines, elevating the story to one of the best in the genre. Start off the New Year right and get yourself a copy of In The Blood, available December 30, 2008.

Ilona Andrews: Magic Bites

A Book with Bite that Won’t Let Go

Kate Daniels has found herself in a precarious situation. She is a magical gun for hire in a world where magic is unpredictable. To find the killer of her guardian she must work with an organization she openly distrusts. And, at the heart of her investigation, she discovers someone is trying to start a war between the Pack, the shapeshifter society of the south, and the People, necromancers who control mindless vampires.

Kate must find a way to sort through the mess while keeping herself alive if she wants to find the killer. But once the killer is found, she is willing to risk everything, including her own life, to stop them.

Magic Bites is the first novel in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It brings the reader into a creative new world full of danger and deception. But even more promising, is the dynamic heroine who rebels against clichés, is complex but not overwhelming, and who will risk everything for what is right. Magic Bites is an absorbing read in the captivating arena of urban fantasy.

T.A. Pratt: Poison Sleep

You May Not Be Able to Rest Until this Book is Finished

Marla Mason is the leader among equals of the sorcerers in the city of Felport. It’s her job to protect the city and keep the other sorcerers in line - something that is not so easy to do when one of the sorcerers has hired an assassin to kill her and another has escaped from a mental institution and is wreaking havoc across the city. Then, to top it all off, Marla has found love, which means all her attentions may not be where they should be.

Even with help from her faithful partner, Rondeau, her competent consigliere, Hamil, and her new personal assistant, Ted, Marla can’t seem to get a handle on the situation. But she’ll have to find a way to stop the madness soon or lose her city and herself forever.

T.A. Pratt’s second instalment of her Marla Mason series proves to be even more enchanting and enthralling than her first. Poison Sleep shows another side of Marla and gives the reader better insight into her quirks, powers, and love of her city. The reader also learns more about the varying degrees of magic and personalities that create Marla’s allies and adversaries. And the action never stops.

If you’re looking for an intriguing look at the world of sorcerers and their trials and tribulations then you need to read Poison Sleep.

Lilith Saintcrow: Working for the Devil

A Devil of a Good Read

Dante Valentine is really good at what she does. In fact, there are some that say she is the best necromance and bounty hunter in Saint City. Apparently the Devil thinks so too.

When Lucifer sends his personal assassin, Tierce Japhrimel, to fetch Dante for a job, she knows she’s in trouble. The Devil wants her to track down and kill an escaped demon named Santino. The problem is Lucifer granted Santino immunity from being killed by any man or demon, so to level the playing field he gives her a familiar to protect her – the assassin sent to fetch her. If Dante thought people didn’t like her before, travelling with a demon wasn’t going to help.

Now Dante must find Santino and find a way to kill him before everything goes to hell.

Lilith Saintcrow has created a strong, yet vulnerable, heroine who demands loyalty and is willing to sacrifice herself to show the same in return. Her writing is fast-paced and in many ways her world resembles the one we live in, only with a magical twist, giving the reader a sense of connection. Working for the Devil is an amazing start to what promises to be an action packed, unbelievable series.

Patricia Briggs: Cry Wolf

Charles Cornick has been a werewolf for a very long time and he has never needed anyone or anything other than his family and his pack. His life, until this point, has been about being the enforcer for the Marrok, leader of the North American werewolves. As a powerful alpha he has never had a problem completing any of the jobs the Marrok, who also happens to be his father, has assigned him. At least until Anna.

Anna Latham is one of the rarest of werewolves, an Omega. She is neither dominant nor submissive but rides the line between both, able to soothe both man and beast. She was turned against her will at the order of the Chicago pack Alpha and for three years she endured a version of her own personal hell. When the Marrok began to suspect something was wrong in Chicago he sent Charles to investigate. Charles cleaned up the mess and brought Anna home as his mate, but not without a price.

Back home in Montana, humans are dying by apparent werewolf attacks and the Marrok needs his top enforcer on the case. But Charles is still recovering from injuries received in Chicago and he isn’t ready to let his new mate out of his sight. And Anna is still adapting to life in a healthy pack and learning what it means to have a mate and be an Omega. Yet, they are the only ones who can stop the threat to the pack. They must rely on each other, trust each other and discover their new path in life together.

Patricia Briggs’s new Alpha and Omega series, set in the same world as her Mercy Thompson series, promises to be an enjoyable and entertaining addition. Cry Wolf is another example of the strong characters and enticing story lines we have come to expect from Ms. Briggs.

The story is an original and fast-paced adventure while simultaneously exploring an exciting romance. The insight into the Cornick family will be a big hit with fans and newcomers alike. Don’t miss out on the first book in this new and extraordinary series.