New Releases: ENCHANTED by Alethea Kontis. (Harcourt) It isn’t easy being the overlooked sibling to six older sisters. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, and her new friendship with an enchanted frog. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises. The prince returns intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. She distrusts her mysterious attraction to this prince almost as much as she distrusts the Rumbold himself, not to mention the twisted secrets in his past – and hers? Mystery, romance and magic in this charming, stand alone fairy tale retelling. HEMLOCK (Hemlock #1) by Kathleen Peacock. (HarperTeen) Mackenzie’s life has been turned upside down by the murder of her best friend Amy. Since her brutal killing, Amy has haunted Mac in her dreams. To end her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder and discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of her hometown of Hemlock. Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the…

Blockbusters and slow boilers, May has got it all. Here are books I’m most looking forward to this week. WHEN YOU WERE MINE – Rebecca Serle (Simon Pulse) In this intensely romantic, modern recounting of the greatest love story ever told, Romeo’s original intended—Juliet’s cousin Rosaline—tells her side of the tale. Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet’s instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob’s heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends…. BITTERBLUE – Kristin Cashore (Dial) The long-awaited companion to New York Times bestsellers GRACELING and FIRE Eight years after GRACELING, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father lives on. When Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle–disguised and alone–to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. And one of them holds…

February 2012 On Sale: February 1, 2012 ISBN: 1426834160 EAN: 9781426834165 Kindle: B006ZOP1T0 e-Book  Add to Wish List Romance Anthology Buy at Amazon.com What’s better than a free story? An anthology! Six Degrees of Romance by Margaret Moore, Maggie Shayne, Nancy Warren, Catherine Spencer, Michele Hauf A valentine from Harlequin One opening paragraph, six unique stories… What if you gave six authors the same opening paragraph and let their imagination fly? That’s what we’ve done in A Valentine from Harlequin: Six Degrees of Romance! Experience the variety Harlequin romance has to offer with this collection of novellas from six Harlequin series, including the passionate drama of Harlequin Presents, steamy encounters of Harlequin Blaze, spooky and sensual tales of Harlequin Nocturne, and more. Collection includes novellas by Nancy Warren, Catherine Spencer, Margaret Moore, Maggie Shayne, Michele Hauf and Christine Bell. Previous Picks

So many cool books to tell you about this month!  Some are departures–new things from established authors–and some are debuts, and some are just cool. PARANORMAL/SUPERNATURAL THE NAME OF THE STAR THE SHATTERING AFTER OBSESSION DRINK, SLAY, LOVE THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson (9/29/11 from Putnam) This one doesn’t come out until the end of the month, but I’m looking forward to it. Johnson’s voice is always engaging, but never fluffy.  The Name of the Star looks very genre friendly: Louisiana teen Rory starts boarding school in London the same day that brutal, Jack the Ripper copycat murders start, sending terror across the city. Rory is the only witness–literally, because only she can see the mysterious man the police consider the prime suspect. Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police (!!) and her own abilities… which make her the killer’s next target. Ghosts, mystery, murder, humor and romance, all in an Ripper-iffic thriller. Who can resist that?  It’s like she wrote this book with me in mind! THE SHATTERING by Karen Healey (9/5/11 from Little Brown). Keri is a planner, but she doesn’t know how to handle her older brother’s sudden suicide. When her…

Contemporary YA Romances heat up the dog days of summer, with (of course) plenty of  chilling paranormal novels when things get to steamy. Read on for cool July and August Picks from the Teen Shelves. CONTEMPORARY If you’ve been hankering for a delicious romance grounded in reality, here are some great books to check out. LOVE STORY by Jennifer Echols. When Erin Blackwell refuses to major in business so she can take over the family horse farm (a multi-million dollar enterprise), her grandmother takes her college fund and gives it to Hunter, the stable boy. Now Erin is living a starving-artist life in New York, and writing a book for her college creative writing class–about an heiress in love with a stable boy. Imagine her chagrin when Hunter shows up in the class. Romantic wrangling ensues, as the only way these two can communicate through their hurt and betrayal is via their writing. I love Echol’s romantic comedies (check out ENDLESS SUMMER for a perfect poolside read), and her longer romances are an expansion of everything delicious about the shorter books: The voice is still witty and sharp, but the broader canvas allows her always complex characters room to develop…

If you’ve been looking for an engaging contemporary or an engrossing paranormal to take to the beach or the pool this summer, you are in luck. June is bursting out all over with both fun and frightening reads. Paranormal Reads There’s no shortage of books for lovers of a good fantasy themed novel, starting with HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire. Emerson can travel through time, which catches the attention of the mysterious Hourglass organization, and handsome Michael Weaver–who needs her for a task only she can accomplish. It’s a time travel book for people who don’t think they like time travel books–but do like mystery and suspense and romance. I caught up with author Myra McEntire to ask her about writing the book. RCM: Myra, I love this concept of this book. There’s time travel and romance and mystery all rolled together. How did you come up with this idea? Myra McEntire: I made it up as I went along. That sounds like a smart aleck answer, but it’s true! It was so freeing to follow the whims of the story/characters and see where it all led me. Of course, I had to rewrite the heck out of it several times…

Beauty-queen survivalists, time travel, blood magic and a little Cyrano de Bergerac–this jumbo-sized edition of Fresh Takes has a whole bunch of somethings for everyone. CONTEMPORARY (mostly) NOVELS The YA lexicon has yet to come up with a standardized way to classify the wide variety of the category. I usually break my recommendations up into “Paranormal” and “Contemporary” meaning “non-paranormal.” But this time I have a historical novel. And how can I them “realistic” novels when I lead off with a book about a plane-full of Beauty Queens that crash lands on a Lost-slash-Survivor type island? I could, of course, just call them delicious. BEAUTY QUEENS by Libba Bray. (Scholastic; May 24) It’sMiss Teen America plus Lost plus Heart of Darkness. Only funnier. I am constantly awed and amazed by Libba Bray’s ability to reinvent herself between books. Trust me on this–Bray is one Literary Prize Winning author who will never bore you. Beauty Queens mixes slap-stick fun with action adventure, genuine peril and real issues. Devilishly clever and funny, even while asking why girls apologize for things that aren’t their fault, and what does “act like a lady” really mean, and what does it mean to be a girl…

April is blooming with exciting YA books. Paranormal books, like this months feature from Jennifer Archer, continue to run rampant, but I’m including a bonus interview with contemporary debut author Kirsten Hubbard. PARANORMAL Veteran woman’s fiction author Jennifer Archer makes her YA debut this month with THROUGH HER EYES, a paranormal story that’s both eerie and emotional. This book has a great voice and a distinct sense of place that make the events seem very real. The emotional tone, too, really resonated with me. I’ll let Jenny tell you what it’s about in her own words: Jennifer Archer: Tansy Piper, a sixteen-year-old high school student and amateur photographer, moves with her grandfather and her mother, a horror writer, to the setting of her mother’s next book–a secluded house outside of a tiny, desolate West Texas town called Cedar Canyon. Tansy is upset over the move and very lonely in her new home. When she finds an old pocket watch, a crystal, and a journal filled with dark poetry hidden in the cellar, she is lured through these items into the mind of a mysterious young man named Henry who died decades earlier. And through the lens of her camera, she…

The book landscape in March is in full bloom. Lots of great releases this month, so you should hit the Teen section of your local (or online) bookstore early and often. If I had to pick one Don’t Miss book for March… Well, it would be really hard, but I am most excited to tell you about FALLING UNDER, by Gwen Hayes (March 1, from NAL), not least, because I was privileged to read it already and I. Love. This. Book. If you are a fan of gothic, romantic, paranormal romance with a strongly developed fantasy side and a deeply satisfying romantic side, you will love it, too. I caught up with Gwen and asked her to tell me more about writing the book. Gwen Hayes: Thank you for inviting me to Fresh Fiction. I’m really happy to be here. RMC: I think when I read FALLING UNDER, I described it as a “Lushy romantic gothic fairy tale.” How would YOU describe it? Gwen Hayes: Well, lushly romantic gothic fairy tale is pretty awesome. I’m not sure I could top that. I don’t even want to. When I was writing it, I knew it wasn’t like anything I’d written before….

January’s YA novels will take you back in time, to far away lands, and across the universe. The debut month of the year brings Eilis O’Neal’s debut novel, THE FALSE PRINCESS (Edgemont, 25 January). I was lucky enough to get to read this one ahead of time, and I loved the storytelling voice, which was both effortless and engaging.  Sinda has been raised as the princess of Thorvaldor, but learns that she’s really a commoner switched an infant to protect the true royal from a prophecy of assassination. She’s whisked away from her palatial digs, but is soon drawn back to the capital city when she discovers a plot that threatens to the entire kingdom. I caught up with Eilis to ask her about writing THE FALSE PRINCESS. RCM: Though it’s an original story, there is a definite fairy tale feel to THE FALSE PRINCESS. What inspired you to write it? Eilis O’Neal: The idea for THE FALSE PRINCESS came in one of those lightning bolt moments. I was at work, and suddenly I was scribbling down the title and the idea that it was about a girl who has grown up thinking she was a princess, only to find…