Thursday’s Flash by Dianne Hartsock

“Grant me strength.”

Iris lurched to her feet, wings heavy with sea water, exhaustion taking its toll. She’d wounded him, but not enough.

As if summoned, the demon climbed from the water, powerful and beautiful, dark wings stretching behind him. Iris’s heart pounded as he strode to her side. That strong body had lain with hers that morning. Those lush lips had burned fire across her skin before fate set them in opposition. She was a Guardian now and he mustn’t win.

“You can’t save him from me.”

Iris raised her chin. “I will.”

The demon’s reply came sharp as sin. “I have many years. What of the pettiness of childhood, the passions of youth?” He stepped closer, whispered. “What if he loves wrongly, kisses a boy?”

Iris threw her head back, her laughter a tinkle of bells. “Love, whatever form is chooses, only strengthens our side. Find another weapon, demon.”

“The vices of adulthood, then? Greed, lust, power…”

She met his dark gaze. “Don’t.”

Agony fleeted across his face. “I must. My master is…unforgiving of failure.” Despair laced his voice. “Run from me, angel, though you take my heart. My attacks will come as whispers in the lonely night, alluring temptations. Protect him from me if you can.”

She kissed him, lived a moment in the sweet fire of his passion. “I will teach him kindness and love. You can’t win.”

He touched her mouth. “I can be persuasive.”

She inclined her head, acknowledging the challenge.

 

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.
But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart… misses.
Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?
Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.(less)

Hardcover, 288 pages

              Expected publication:            March 12th 2013             by Disney/Hyperion

Ashes of Twilight by Kassie Tayler

Wren MacAvoy works as a coal miner for a domed city that was constructed in the mid-nineteenth century to protect the royal blood line of England when astronomers spotted a comet on a collision course with Earth. Humanity would be saved by the most groundbreaking technology of the time. But after nearly 200 years of life beneath the dome, society has become complacent and the coal is running out.

Plus there are those who wonder, is there life outside the dome or is the world still consumed by fire? When one of Wren’s friends escapes the confines of the dome, he is burned alive and put on display as a warning to those seeking to disrupt the dome’s way of life. But Alex’s final words are haunting. “The sky is blue.”

What happens next is a whirlwind of adventure, romance, conspiracy and the struggle to stay alive in a world where nothing is as it seems. Wren unwittingly becomes a catalyst for a revolution that destroys the dome and the only way to survive might be to embrace what the entire society has feared their entire existence.(less)

Paperback, 320 pages

Expected publication: November 13th 2012 by St. Martin’s Griffin