Urban Fantasy Picks for July...And Other Random Stuff

Hi, writer friends! I wanted to share the link to this month's issue of my urban fantasy newsletter as usual - here it is. I've listed 31 new releases for July, as well as a book review of one of the very first urban fantasy books from 1987. My top picks are listed below.

In other news, it's my birthday on the 12th! Four days left in my twenties, then I'll be moving on to a new decade. My festivities kicked off last night with a party at my Dad's house, and will continue through the week. On my actual birthday I'm having lunch at one of my fave restaurants, drinking champagne in the middle of the day, and then going to see Spiderman.

And in writing news, I'm still querying Martinis with the Devil, and entering the final third of my MG fantasy, which I plan to finish by the end of the month. Also, check out Writer Unboxed, which is having a series of flash fiction contests each Sunday for the next few weeks. I love flash fiction, so I'm going to enter as many as I can, just for funsies. And let me know if you enter so I can check it out. One more also - there's a Christmas in July agent contest starting tomorrow at Ruth Lauren Steven's blog (who I just discovered on Twitter a couple days ago). I don't do a lot of those, but this one is the week of my birthday, so it seems kinda perfect, you know? Maybe I'll have extra birthday sparkle/karma/luck or something.

Okay, so on to my UF picks for July:

A war is brewing—the first battle has been waged and Savannah Levine is left standing, albeit battered and bruised. She has rescued her half brother from supernatural medical testing, but he’s fighting to stay alive. The Supernatural Liberation Movement took him hostage, and they have a maniacal plan to expose the supernatural world to the unknowing.

Savannah has called upon her inner energy to summon spells with frightening strength, a strength she never knew she had, as she fights to keep her world from shattering. But it’s more than a matter of supernaturals against one another—both heaven and hell have entered the war; hellhounds, genetically modified werewolves, and all forces of good and evil have joined the fray.

Uniting Savannah with Adam, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope, and other lost-but-notforgotten characters in one epic battle, Thirteen is a grand, crowd-pleasing closer for Armstrong’s legions of fans.

I love Kelley Armstrong, and this just sounds super fun. Epic indeed.

It begins with a dead body at the far end of Baker Street tube station, all that remains of American exchange student James Gallagher—and the victim’s wealthy, politically powerful family is understandably eager to get to the bottom of the gruesome murder. The trouble is, the bottom—if it exists at all—is deeper and more unnatural than anyone suspects . . . except, that is, for London constable and sorcerer’s apprentice Peter Grant. With Inspector Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, tied up in the hunt for the rogue magician known as “the Faceless Man,” it’s up to Peter to plumb the haunted depths of the oldest, largest, and—as of now—deadliest subway system in the world.

At least he won’t be alone. No, the FBI has sent over a crack agent to help. She’s young, ambitious, beautiful . . . and a born-again Christian apt to view any magic as the work of the devil. Oh yeah—that’s going to go well.

They had me at their quippy one-liner 'A whole new reason to mind the gap', since I'm assuming they're playing off Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. This sounds funky and full of Brit humor. I'm down.

"What's the first thing you think of when I say 'angel'?" asked Mallory. Alice shrugged. "I don't know... guns?"

Alice isn't having the best of days. She was late for work, she missed her bus, and now she's getting rained on. What she doesn't know is that her day's about to get worse: the epic, grand-scale kind of worse that comes from the arrival of two angels who claim everything about her life is a lie.

The war between the angels and the Fallen is escalating; the age-old balance is tipping, and innocent civilians are getting caught in the cross-fire. If the balance is to be restored, the angels must act - or risk the Fallen taking control. Forever. That’s where Alice comes in. Hunted by the Fallen and guided by Mallory - a disgraced angel with a drinking problem and a whole load of secrets - Alice will learn the truth about her own history… and why the angels want to send her to hell.

What do the Fallen want from her? How does Mallory know so much about her past? What is it the angels are hiding - and can she trust either side? Caught between the power plays of the angels and Lucifer himself, it isn't just hell's demons that Alice will have to defeat...

So this sounds irreverent and fun, and I really dig angel stories.

The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns.

Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key-the prize in a very dangerous struggle.

Okay, so I'm assuming you agree that a supernatural aristocracy is as awesome as I think it is, and no further embellishment from me is needed...

That's the round up for this month! Lots of fun stuff going on. I hope you have an amazing week!

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