Urban Fantasy

Swarmthief's Dance
by Deborah J. Miller
Tor, 15 September 2006
Description: Long ago, there was war in Heaven. Rann, guardian of the Underworld, fought with the Nulefi, and in that battle the Nulefi were defeated. But though their bodies were destroyed, the spirits of the Nulefi remained, and they wander the world of Myr, cloaked in the shattered form of the Swarms, waiting for the moment of their revenge. Now they have re-awoken, remembering the glory and power of their ancient daysand one human boy, Vivreki, has witnessed that rebirth. The Swarm calls to him, pleads with him, whispers to him the secrets of a vanished age. To Vivreki this seems a miracle, but to his masters it is heresy. For very few now honour the elder gods, and those who still do keep silent about it. In fear of his life, Vivreki is hidden away from those that would kill him for his special knowledge. His memory is erased, his past denied, and a new life started for him half a world away. But the Nulefi have not forgotten Vivrekihe alone can hear them, and now he alone can save them. And as the Nulefi struggle to reach their only ally in the world, Herrukalfather of the godsdiscerns the rise of a new power on Myr. He will not tolerate another war, so even if the price of peace is the destruction of creation itself, then Herrukal will break the world. And only Vivreki can stop him.


Glass Houses
by Rachel Caine
Signet, 3 October 2006
Description: From the author of the popular Weather Warden series. Welcome to Morganville, Texas. Just don't stay out after dark. College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood


Greywalker
by Kat Richardson
Roc, 3 October 2006
Description: Harper Blaine was slogging along as a small-time P.I. when a two-bit perp's savage assault left her dead. For two minutes, to be precise. When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit ...strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring. But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker-able to move between our world and the mysterious, cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift (or curse) is about to drag her into that world of vampires and ghosts, magic and witches, necromancers and sinister artifacts. Whether she likes it or not.


Retrieval
by Jeanie London
Tor, 3 October 2006
Description: Nina is dead and must make amends.In life she refused to use her unique ability to see whether a soul ascends to Heaven or descends into Hell. Now, as a guide through the Passage between the living and the dead, she steers departing souls to Purgatory. But peace is hard to come by, even in the afterlife. Good and evil are fighting for control over the Passage--and Nina is determined not to let Hell take over. Roman breaks the dead guy rules.With his devilish charm and angelic looks, the newly-dead Roman can rally souls to fight-but on which side? His new Soul Retrieval Unit sounds like a good idea, but even in death, temptation lures Nina farther from salvation . . . or is she choosing Heaven by placing her soul in her lover's care?


Spellbinder
by Melanie Rawn
Tor, 17 October 2006
Description: There is magic in the big city...literally. New York City has a small, and by preference discrete, population of witches and wizards who live and love and go dancing just like everyone else. Holly McClure is one of them, a successful writer who tries to ignore her heritage, except when the local Magistrate needs her special gift in his coven. Holly is far more interested in Evan Lachlan, the handsome federal marshal who works with her best friend, assistant district attorney Susannah Wingfield.But trouble is coming to the City in the form of a black coven run by a murderous psychopath, and deputy marshals and ADAs are powerless to deal with that kind of crime. The danger to Holly is extreme, for her special gift is the power of her blood to strengthen and bind any spell, for good or for evil. Holly's passionate love affair will be derailed by those who want to drain her for their own purposes. In the end it will be magic against magic, and Holly McClure will have to risk all for life and love.


Watchers in the Night
by Jenna Black
Tor, 31 Oct 2006
Description: Vampires. They hunt in every major city, hidden by the crowds, shielded by disbelief. They are Killers, and their prey is human. Not all vampires are Killers. The Guardians of the Night sacrifice the superior physical and psychic strength that comes with feeding on humans to protect them. But the Guardians walk a thin line, for even a single kill could leave them helplessly addicted to murder.
When detective-turned-P.I. Carolyn Mathers was left at the altar, she never once thought her fiancé had been turned into a vampire. Two years later, Gray reappears, bringing murder, mystery, and an unbelievable tale of Guardians, blood-thirsty Killers, and his own transformation with him. And he's been accused of murder.
A first-rate P.I., Carolyn is determined to help. Gray won’t allow what he is now to taint her -- but Carolyn vows to never let him go again. But will helping Gray mean becoming a creature of the night?


Bloodring
by Faith Hunter
Roc, 7 November 2006
Description: In a novel filled with lush imagery and exhilarating action, Faith Hunter creates a near-future world caught in the throes of an ambiguous apocalypse-where a woman with everything to hide finds her true destiny revealed.
As humanity struggles with religious strife and seraphs and demons fight a never-ending battle, a new species has arisen. "Neomages" are human in appearance, but able to twist left-over creation energy to their will. A threat to both humans and seraphs, they are confined in luxurious Enclaves.
Thorn St. Croix is no ordinary neomage. Nearly driven insane by her powers, she is smuggled out of an Enclave and now lives among humans, channeling her gift of stone-magery into jewelry making. But when Thaddeus Bartholomew, a dangerously attractive policeman, tells her that her ex-husband has been kidnapped, Thorn risks revealing her identity to find him. And for Thorn, the punishment for revelation is death.