Welcome!

You probably realize by now just how much we love Debut Authors.

There’s a real sense of anticipation, tinged with worry, when you pick up someone’s first ever published novel and you hope desperately that the book is GOOD. We’re lucky that there are many new authors emerging – think Tracey O’Hara and her Night’s Cold Kiss - and this month we’re celebrating Kelly Gay – our Debut Author of the month!

Kelly’s first novel The Better Part of Darkness is a thrilling Urban Fantasy that will not only engross you in the world Kelly has built, but will have you eagerly cheering on Charlie Madigan. If you haven’t yet had a chance to try this book out – you’re in for a treat.

But let’s turn to a known author whom we can rely on to always deliver excellent plots, strong and fascinating characters and fast past, intelligent writing. Yep – Nalini Singh. The Psy/Changeling series is brilliant but her Guild Huntress books will rock your socks off. We’ve delighted to Angels’ Blood and can now celebrate the just released Archangel’s Kiss, the much anticipated sequel.

We want you to join us in trying out Nalini’s books so for February you can buy Archangel’s Kiss at our automatic 10% discount, PLUS a further $5 off when you enter the coupon ArchangelsKiss. This means that you can get this new release for only $9.39 (and remember if you also order over $50 of books you also get free shipping). Hope you end up loving Nalini as much as we do!

Special Offer on Archangel's Kiss:

Enter the coupon ArchangelsKiss for an additional $5 off when you purchase Archangel's Kiss in February.

Rosie@FANG

February Competition - win a copy of Christine Feehan's Dark Curse

I've read Christine Feehan's Capathian books for many years now, waiting impatiently between book releases, putting up with those books that fell short of what I expected, daydreaming about the characters ... If you're like me you enjoy reading a series that presents a complex world with layers of meaning and a diversity of characters who reappear throughout many books. Well Dark Curse is one of the best books of the series.

To win a copy of Christine Feehan's Dark Curse all you need to do is follow us on twitter, and in your tweet just use the text:

I'd like to win Dark Curse @fangbooks

Pretty easy hey?

If you haven't entered the world of Twitter it's really quite amazing. Actually I keep tweetdeck running all the time and every few minutes get a tweet from people I'm interested in. @fangbooks we follow authors and publishers, and a couple of readers with good review sites and so we stay up to date with what's going on. It's free, it's easy and you could win a copy of Dark Curse - so give it a go!

(Sorry, this competition is only open to residents of Australia and/or New Zealand)

Highlights of Recent Releases - the ones we've read and can highly recommend

Must Love Hellhounds

From New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris and Nalini Singh and national bestselling authors Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook, tales of man’s worst friend... In these hound-eat-hound worlds, anything goes… and everything bites.

I tend to avoid short stories/novellas mainly because when I find a story I really like I want to spend quality time in that world ... and with a short story I'm ripped back to reality all too soon. What fascinated me about Must Love Hellhounds is that by having such a defined theme there was a linkage between quite diverse characters and plots that managed to deliver an ongoing experience. The individual stories were terrific as you'd expect from four such top-notch authors, although I must say I had a real soft spot for Meljean Brook's Blind Spot and Nalini Singh's Angels' Judgement

Follow paranormal bodyguards Clovache and Batanya into Lucifer’s realm, where they encounter his fearsome four-legged pets, in Charlaine Harris’s The Britlingens Go to Hell. Seek out a traitor in the midst of a guild of non- lethal vampire trackers, one that intends to eradicate the entire species of bloodsuckers, in Nalini Singh’s Angels’ Judgment. Find out why the giant three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades has left the underworld for the real world—and whose scent he’s following—in Ilona Andrews’s Magic Mourns. Embark on a perilous search for the kidnapped niece of a powerful vampire alongside her blind— and damn sexy—companion and a hellhound in Meljean Brook’s Blind Spot.

These four novellas by today’s hottest paranormal authors will have hellhound lovers everywhere howling.

Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Destined for an Early Grave is an emotional rollercoaster from the warm-hearted and romantic start to its bloody finish. It’s a testament to Jeaniene Frost’s increasing mastery as a writer that this book grabs your heart and carries you along so relentlessly.

This is book 4 in the Night Huntress series and once again we’re engrossed in the world of Cat and Bones, the fight against predatory vampires, the politics of power and the bond between people (dead, undead or just mostly dead). We’re also back with a fantastic ancillary cast, all of whom have a distinctive voice and role to play. As their characters are revealed we are given terrific surprises, laughs and very often anguish and tears. What a ride! Read our Review of Destined for an Early Grave here .....

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they've fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it's time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She's having visions of a vampire named Gregor who's more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn't know about.

Gregor believes Cat is his and he won't stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who has her heart, only Cat can break Gregor's hold over her. She'll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she's ever faced ... even if getting that power will result in an early grave.

The Missing by Shiloh Walker

If you like romantic suspense with a touch of the paranormal then this is a lovely written thriller that will draw you into a new world and make you fall in love with its people. And then once you are completely emotionally engaged, Shiloh Walker throws complete evil into the mix. Once Cullen’s daughter is kidnapped the book changes into a dark thriller where the trauma of attacks by the child serial killer, and the grief for the families, takes centre stage. Trying to save Cullen’s daughter is only a step along the path to identifying the killer before even more children are killed.

With her well crafted plot, flawed but wonderful characters and a writing that is clear and intelligent Shiloh Walker takes us into a dark and frightening world. But at the same time she gives us the romance, forgiveness and love of Taige and Cullen as the beacon of light and the mystery of psychic gifts as the intriguing wonder of the unknown. 

Read our review of The Missing here ....

Her psychic gift drove away the man she loved— and years later has drawn him back to her . . .

As a teenager, Taige Branch hated her psychic gift. No one could understand—except for Cullen Morgan, the boy who stole her heart. He did his best to accept her, until his mother was brutally murdered—and he couldn't forgive Taige for not preventing it.

Now a widowed father, Cullen Morgan has never forgotten Taige. But what brings her back into his life is another tragedy. His beloved little girl has been kidnapped, and Taige is his only hope of finding her. Working together against the clock, Cullen and Taige can't help but wonder whether—if they find his daughter in time—it isn't too late for the overpowering love that still burns between them . .

Seduced by Shadows By Jessa Slade

Seduced by Shadows an amazingly clever new world where the vulnerable are possessed by Demons. Their only hope of atonement and repentance comes by fighting the creatures that escape across the veil from the lesser realm to attack the world.

Sera Littlejohn has battled her way back from horrendous injuries to walk again, but her injuries and constant pain will never lessen. She also carries inside her the scars of her mother’s suicide and her father’s dementia, so that when a demon breaks through the veil and offers her the chance to finally understand ‘why’ this has all happened her temptation leads her into possession.  She becomes a talyan, one of the band of warriors who fight against evil ... the first female talyan in millennia.

There’s something about a debut author that just tugs at my heartstrings. Read our review of Seduced by the Shadows here ...

When Sera Littlejohn meets a violet-eyed stranger, he reveals a supernatural battle veiled in the shadows, and Sera is tempted to the edge of madness by a dangerous desire. Ferris Archer takes Sera under his wing, now that she is a talyan-possessed by a repentant demon with hellish powers. Archer's league of warriors have never fought beside a female before, and never in all his centuries has Archer found a woman who captivates him like Sera.

With the balance shifting between good and evil, passion and possession, Sera and Archer must defy the darkness and dare to embrace a love that will mark them forever.

As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleeson

Oooh yum! Regency manners, evil vampires and demons and a wickedly wonderful dash of passion … Colleen Gleason’s Gardella Vampire Chronicles simply DO it for me – big time! *grin*.

As Shadows Fade is the fifth and final book in this wonderful series. In her seven years as a Venator Victoria Gardella has struggled and suffered as she has honed her skills. She’s lost her husband and her aunt and the man she loves also seems lost to her.  

It’s time for Victoria to embrace all she can be. She juggles morning visits, soirees, the matchmaking mammas and the haute ton with the best of them. But as Illa Gardella, vampire slayer, she’s also quick with a stake, studies Eastern martial arts, can ride a horse into the ground and knows how to battle the undead. If she is to understand all it is to be the Illa Gardella and a woman then she must draw upon all her feminine as well as vampire-slaying skills. This has been a wonderful series and the conclusion was a completely satisfying! Read our review here....

Directly descended from the very first vampire hunter in the Gardella family, Victoria knows she must continue the lineage so humanity will have protectors against the undead. While Sebastian Vioget appears to be both the perfect warrior and lover to ensure the Gardella legacy, Victoria cannot forget Max Pesaro—the former slayer still haunted by the vampire queen Lilith's obsession with him.

But it is Lilith's obsession that may save all of humanity. Demons, enemies of both mortals and the undead, have found their way to earth. To defeat them, vampires and slayers must fight side by side. But Lilith wants Max in return for her cooperation—a small price for the world, but too high a price for Victoria.

Debut Author - Kelly Gay

What a bloody FANGtastic debut! Honestly The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay has absolutely blown me away with its believable and well drawn characters, brilliant world building and clever plot.

This is Kelly Gay's first book - the first time she's braved the world of public criticism, thrown her book out for all to see and watched to find out of her dream of being a successful writer is a possibility. Well she doesn't have to worry. Kelly Gay definitely has the talent and the vision normally seen in far more experienced writers.

Her first book is Urban Fantasy at its most thrilling!  Our familiar world has been twisted into a frightening new shape where characters ranging from the terrifyingly nasty to the heartwarmingly courageous struggle for increasingly high stakes. With a deft touch Kelly Gay throws us straight into the unfolding drama where illegal other world drugs are loosed onto the streets of Atlanta. The tension is made immediate and vivid when Charlie’s family is drawn into the middle of the situation.

When you talk about a book engaging you – well this is a perfect example!  The plot was fascinating and frightening and the characters went through incredible struggles while remaining believable and smart.

Thankfully book two is out in September and a third book is underway!

New Reviews: Want to know what's hot to read ... check out what we think!

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

Fans of Urban Fantasy must be stunned with delight with the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. The first book in the series Skinwalker is a fascinating and detailed introduction to a dangerous world of vampires, witches and magic.

Faith Hunter wasn't content with the normal shapeshifter mythos. In her version we get two beings in one body. Jane is a wonderfully tough biker-chick who’s eyes well with tears of love for her best friend’s daughter, loves good tea and adores to dance. She’s very much her own person but her personality is so well revealed that you have to love her, quirks and all. Read the review here .....

Hell’s Belles by Jackie Kessler

This debut novel will have you curling your toes! Such a great interpretation on the battle for souls by good and evil, and a great twist on the succubus novels that have been doing the rounds, with a scorching storyline that doesn’t quite cross over into erotica, but most certainly has some eyes-wide open moments.

The whole idea of Jezebel, the succubus trying to hide out as a human, becoming a stripper is just wonderful. So appropriate, and so well done, after seeing how Jackie Kessler has done written this character and story with such effortless flow, I have to wonder how someone hasn’t come up with the idea years ago. It’s great! Read the review here...

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is an absolutely sensational debut by Carrie Ryan – touted by Hachette Australia as being the 2009 debut of the year and I can really see why.  Once you’ve been sucked into this world, you won’t be leaving in a hurry! This is better than a 5 mile run to get the heart pounding.

This is a VERY first person story where we spend a lot of time in Mary’s head, experiencing what she experiences in full technicolour. If you ever wanted to experience life as an empath, this would give you a great grounding. Wow. It’s a book that you need to just sit and think of nothing after finishing, just to give yourself a little time to unwind from the intensity of this total immersion story.

Read the review here ...

Eternal is the first in a wonderful new paranormal crime series by V.K. Forestt.

It seems that we are starting to see more of what I will call paranormal crime coming out of the world of paranormal romance – crime stories with a bit of steam and a lot of paranormal, and this is an excellent example of this emerging sub-genre.

The characters, environment and story are all well developed, with a nice flow, a few twists and turns and a couple of side stories just to throw the odd curve ball. As with all good crime, you’re left guessing until the end.

If the rest of the series is as interesting and well written as this one I think we’re in for a heck of a treat! Read the entire review here ....

Greywalker is the first novel by Kat Richardson and is the introduction to what is going to be a sensational new Urban Fantasy series about Private Investigator to the ‘other’ world, Harper Blaine. This is a really exciting story that has been very well written. Kat Richardson has a wonderful imagination and is able to throw out numerous lines to a story and them reel them all back in once she’s got you hook, with a very deft hand. 

Harper Blaine is a likeable character, coming to terms with life changes after she has been declared dead and that’s what a lot of the main thread of the story is about. We are slowly introduced to people who can help her understand what has happened, let her go from a total skeptic to a partial believer. The whole story is very twisty and the way in which the separate paths are written without anything to connect them outside of Harper herself is quite ingenious. Read the entire review here ...

A mere TASTE of February's Paranormal Line Up

Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh

At last!!! Book two of the Guild Hunter series about Elena and Michael has come out (and there was rejoicing across the land!)

We're doing a special $5 offer on this to readers of our newsletter so get in early!

Alison Brennan: Original Sin

In her contemporary thrillers Alison Brennan has proven herself as a top notch suspense writer. She's now turned her talents to PNR and original Sin is the first in her Deadly Sins series. It's bound to be a great book.

Karen Chance: Death's Mistress

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir—half-human, half-vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, she'll probably die young, but in the meantime Senators of the Vampire Council are dying and Dory has to face danger and test her control again. This is a great dark Urban Fantasy!

Charlaine Harris: Grave Secret [Hardback Edition!]

Don't get so hung up on Sookie that you overlook the Harper Connelly series. This is darker than Sookie but I actually prefer it! In this, book four, Harper and Tolliver find faces from the past can make memories into murder. And as Harper can see dead people things get very complicated.

Charlaine Harris: Boxed Set of Sookie Stackhouse

BUT! If you haven't enjoyed Sookie and the mayhem a psychic waitress from the deep south can get into when vampires and werewolves come to town - or if you love this series, then this is the time to get the boxed set of the first eight books in the series. BTW - if you haven't seen True Blood, you really must ... it's great!

Jackie Kessler: The Road to Hell

Jesse is a reformed succubus with a sexy boyfriend but a hell of a secret past - which is NOT going to let her go easily!

Oh this and book one Hell's Belles are just excellent. They're witty, irreverent, sexy and a hell of a lot of fun!

Karen Marie Moning: Faefever

As KMM writes: "The Fever books are dark, gritty, first-person mystery / suspense / thrillers with a healthy dose of eroticism, set in an urban fantasy world in Dublin featuring sidhe seer MacKayla Lane."

This is book three and the danger is dark, the plot is fast and the characters very fae!

Brenda Joyce: Dark Embrace

The Warriors of Time series gives us the best elements of time travel, immortal warriors and the wry dialogue of modern woman meeting ancient alpha man! I've loved the series and especially Dark Embrace. We've met Aidan, the Wolf of Awe, before and in his book the most alone of all the warriors meets his match with Brie, a modern empath.

Jill Myles: Gentlemen Prefer Succubi

You'll find yourself laughing out loud in this fun and sexy romp about a succubus, a vampire and a fallen angel! Heaps of fun!

Linda Robertson: Hallowed Circle

Book one Vicious Circle came out last August and blew us away - if this, book two is anywhere as good then we're in for a treat!

Kresley Cole: Pleasure of a Dark Prince

Garreth, prince of the Lykae, has long watched over Lucia, the lovely little Valkyrie. To keep her from harm he'll do anything. Oooh really? Hmm this'll be good. After all every other Kresley Cole books has been a winner!

Rachel Vincent: My Soul to Take

This is book one in a new YA series by experienced author Rachel Vincent. It's a mix of coming-of-age, murder mystery and paranormal romance.

News and Views

Now that we're running a blog, you can always check out our news and views by going to our home page. Some highlights???

There's a terrific community out there of author, bloggers and reviewers giving information and advice on paranormal romance and urban fantasy. One site I've loved for a long time is Paranormal Romance.com run by Diane McCabe. We started following each other on twitter and recently Diana interviewed Ali about Fangtastic Fiction. Check out the interview at http://paranormalromance.wordpress.com

And so far we've uploaded reviews for 60 books - so if you want to get an idea of what we think about recent releases - have a look either on individual books in the bookshop , or as a quick guide go to authors/book reviews.