Curse the Dawn, by Karen Chance

During all of Cassandra Palmer’s short reign as Pythia, the world’s most powerful clairvoyant and time traveler, factions in the supernatural community have been fighting to control or destroy her. Now Cassie is trying to stop the plans of her most powerful enemy yet – a supernatural being who was once worshiped as a god. She faces attacks, accidents, and even a magical disaster, all while having her usual arguments with the allies who want to keep her safely away from the action.

Conquistador de la Noche, by Carrie Vaughn

You can read Conquistador de la Noche, a short story by Carrie Vaughn, over at the Subterranean Press website. It’s about the background of a character from her Kitty Norville series, but it works fine as a standalone story so even those who haven’t read her books yet should check it out.

Dead and Gone, by Charlaine Harris

Dead and Gone begins with the weres and shapeshifters revealing their existence to the world. As one shifter changes her shape on live television, many others transform in front of their friends, customers, and even unsuspecting family members. Reactions are mixed, but many humans seem willing to try to accept their newly outed neighbors. Then a werepanther is found crucified behind Merlotte’s Bar.

Everyone in town wonders if the killer was an anti-supernatural fanatic or if there was a more personal motive. The local investigation is assisted by a pair of FBI agents with a keen interest in Sookie, so she has to be even more careful than usual about hiding her telepathic talent.

White Witch, Black Curse, by Kim Harrison

In White Witch, Black Curse, Rachel and her partners team up with the FIB on a hunt for the dangerous Interlander that attacked her friend Glenn and left him for dead. It’s a difficult job, especially considering that Rachel is also trying to uphold her bargain with Al, deal with the fallout of her damaged reputation, defend her choices to her brother, evaluate the possibility of a new relationship, and face a ghost from her past, all on top of the standard level of roommate drama. Oh, and she’s also still trying to find the person responsible for the murder that’s been (rather cruelly in my opinion) left hanging since the end of For a Few Demons More.

Midnight’s Daughter, by Karen Chance

The main character of Midnight’s Daughter is Dorina, a human/vampire hybrid. Unlike most of her fellow dhampirs, Dorina has managed to stay fairly sane between her occasional berserk rages. When her uncle Dracula escapes from his prison, Dorina reluctantly agrees to track him down with the help of Louis-Cesare, a vampire with a troubled past.

Untamed, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

In Untamed, Zoey Redbird has to deal with the drama explosion that surrounded her at the end of the previous book. Most of her friends are angry about Zoey’s lies, so with all three of her boyfriends out of the picture Zoey is largely isolated. After some disturbing encounters (including Aphrodite having visions of Zoey’s death), Zoey decides that it’s time to be more honest with the group. Once the members of the circle learn the reasons for her deception, the cold shoulder starts to thaw – though Zoey’s vampire ex is understandably less forgiving when it comes to her infidelity.

Zoey eventually learns that the recent events at the House of Night are linked to an ancient evil that threatens both vampires and humans. She and her friends must work together to bring the conspiracy out into the open, and to fight against it they need to trust both each other and some unlikely allies.

Blood Memories, by Barb Hendee

The main character of Blood Memories is Eleisha, a vampire whose special ability allows her to seem unusually vulnerable. This makes most people who encounter her want to help her or to go along with her suggestions, but there are a always a few who would rather exploit that perceived weakness. These are the types she most prefers to hunt.

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

We’re practically swamped in anthologies lately, this one is a holiday themed collection. The stories in Wolfsbane and Mistletoe involve werewolves and Christmas, though several of them could have been set at any time of year and seem to only include seasonal mentions as an afterthought.

Chosen, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

In Chosen, Zoey Redbird spends a lot of time hiding things. Zoey’s mentor, Neferet, can’t know how many of her secrets that Zoey has discovered. Zoey’s inner circle can’t learn that their friend who rejected the change has become an undead minion of evil fighting to keep her sense of self. Zoey has to sneak out to see her imprinted human boyfriend and sneak around to explore an inappropriate flirtation with a teacher. The person that Zoey most needs to keep in the dark is her very understanding vampire boyfriend, Erik. As you can imagine, this is not exactly the best way to nurture a relationship.

When a vampire is murdered, the House of Night jumps into action to protect its members from the humans outside their walls. But Zoey knows that not all of the threats are from outsiders, and the one person she can rely on for help is her former rival.

Backup, by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden’s brother, Thomas, is the star of Butcher’s new mini-novel, Backup. I keep wanting to refer to it as a short story, but can you still call something that if it’s published in hardcover and includes a few illustrations?

Thomas is a vampire of the White Court, which means that he’s basically an incubus instead of a bloodsucker. He struggles to keep his hunger under control, feeding it in only small, controlled doses that neither seriously harm his victims nor fully satisfy him. Thomas gets word that an old enemy is trying to use Harry as a pawn in a secret war, a conflict so intense that knowledge of it would endanger both the war effort and Harry’s life. So Thomas needs to save the day while keeping Harry in the dark about the truth behind his latest case.