Shadow Girl by Sally Nicholls
One of the disadvantages of the foster care system is that some children get moved around rather a lot and usually it's not down to them. But because of this it's easy to see making friends as being a wasted effort and this was certainly Clare's opinion. By the age of fourteen she was at her third secondary school - and after being there for two months she hated it. Everyone else had been there for years and they all had friends: Clare had no one. A very bad day saw her being evicted from the school bus and then getting lost as she tried to find her way home. The good thing was that she met Maddy. Full review...
Goddess by Laura Powell
After an economic collapse, Britain is close to breaking point. Citizens are going hungry and there are riots. But Aura is shielded from it all by her position as a handmaiden in the Cult of Artemis. In this Britain, the beliefs of the Ancient Greeks persevere and are followed by millions - the cult sits side by side with Christianity as a mainstream religion. Aura's thoughts aren't taken up by the suffering outside the sanctuary though - they're taken up by beating fellow handmaiden Callisto as favourite to take over the position of head priestess when Opis retires. Full review...
Libriomancer by Jim C Hines
Pulp fantasy may be frowned upon by some who believe that novels should be about emotions, inner journeys and despair. Fantasy and science fiction can have all these things as well, but they can also be fun, entertaining and laser pistols. ‘Libriomancer’ by Jim C Hines is a great example. It is a book that follows Isaac Vainio, a Libriomancer who has the power to draw magic from books. He must use this gift to good effect when one day, whilst sitting comfortably cataloguing, he is attacked by three vampires. Does that sound fun to you? If so, read on; if not, this may not be the book for you. Full review...
Half Bad by Sally Green
Before I start, I'll declare an uninterest. I'm not really into the paranormal genre, and I'm definitely not into paranormal romances. I like fantasy and I've nothing against the supernatural. It's just the predictability of the paranormal genre that puts me off. I prefer books that surprise me rather than books that comfort me by giving me what I expect. So, you realise, I'm coming at Half Bad from the perspective of an un-fan. And I loved it! Full review...
Vengeance by Megan Miranda
Vengeance is a follow-up to Fracture, in which Delaney almost died, drowned under the ice of a lake. Things never got back to normal after that. Delaney can sense death. She is irresistibly drawn to people who are about to die. And people take a long time to get over the accident. Delaney survived for 11 minutes under the ice - how was this possible? And Carson, the boy who pulled her out, is dead. There are mutterings that Falcon Lake is cursed. It wanted Delaney and, denied her, is now taking others in some kind of freakish revenge. Full review...
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death by Martyn Waites
It's here at last – the novel of the script of the sequel to the film of the book – that was always better as a stage-play. I'll maintain as long as you like that the play is the best way to witness The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, purely for the added extra of the final frisson – that you'll be carrying the story with you when you leave. Making sequels to the film, what with its departures from the source, certainly don't marry up with that – instead of the ghost going away into the audience it's instead as if the new characters are compelled into her domain – but either way, the dread inevitability of all the best ghost stories are on these pages. Full review...
Tales from the Dead of Night: Thirteen Classic Ghost Stories by Cecily Gayford (editor)
This collection of classic ghost stories covers all kinds of chilling tales. There are physical ghosts, emotional ghosts, ghosts that are never seen but merely sensed, and even the odd entity that just seems ghostly, even though it might be an ordinary everyday thing - but still makes you feel as if you’ve, well, seen a ghost. Each story is preceded with some information on the author. The stories are from are from several different periods and the settings range from winter nights in England to sultry summers in India. This combines to make for an excellent overview of all kinds of spooky sagas. Full review...
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
In the future, vampires exist, and everyone knows it. To try and deal with the problem of vampirism, cities have been given to the monsters and designated Coldtowns – walled cities where people can enter, but hardly ever leave. With these cities broadcast on TV 24 hours a day, they look glamorous – but those just watching can’t see the deadliness behind the glitz. Seventeen-year-old Tana is about to find out. Along with her ex-boyfriend Aiden, who’s just been infected by a vampire and has to go without drinking blood for eighty eight days or turn into one himself, and a mysterious vampire named Gavriel, she’s headed for the largest Coldtown of them all. Can they get there – and if they do, will any of them survive? Full review...
Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
Athena and her brother Hermes are a lot less godlike than they used to be. In fact, they are dying. Athena is being slowly suffocated by feathers growing inside her and Hermes's body is eating itself. Literally. They are on a road trip to find out exactly what it is killing the gods and to save themselves if they can. No matter the cost to themselves or others. Gods don't count costs. Full review...
Memory: She's Dying to Remember by Christoph Marzi
Jude can see the dead. His life has changed immeasurably since he saw his first ghost about six months ago. He's lost interest at school and become even further distanced from his father, who works away a lot. Instead, he spends most of his time in Highgate Cemetery with the shapeshifting vixen Miss Rathbone and a circle of dead people headed by ex-rock star Gaskell. Jude feels more at home with ghosts than he does with the living. Full review...
Hold Your Breath by Caroline Green
Tara can locate lost objects - keys, phones, and even people. But she knows that this strange ability can bring trouble, so when bully Melodie Stone goes missing, she wants to keep her visions to herself. The images she sees won't go away, though - should she risk humiliation, or worse, by trying to find her? Full review...
The Weight of Souls by Bryony Pearce
Taylor Oh has inherited a curse from her mother. Fated to help ghosts of murder victims get revenge, or be taken by the Darkness herself, she lives her life in fear of being consumed. It's bad enough trying not to alienate her only friend, and persuade her father that she's not insane - but when school bully Justin gets murdered, she's left trying to solve the crime and also cope with the realisation she's becoming attracted to him. Full review...
Tide by Daniela Sacerdoti
After her parents' deaths at the hands of the demons they fought against, Sarah Midnight was left reeling again by the revelation towards the end of book 1 that her 'cousin' Harry Midnight was actually Harry's friend Sean Hannay. Unable to trust Sean following his lies, Sarah turns to Nicholas, new on the scene. But Nicholas has dark secrets of his own - has Sarah placed her faith in the wrong person? And will she find out the truth about the Midnight legacy before the demons attack again? Full review...
Perception by Kim Harrington
After solving a murder over the summer, Clarity 'Clare' Fern finds herself the centre of attention at school. Mostly it's annoying, but harmless - popular girls wanting her to use her unique gift for show and entertainment - but someone is sending her increasingly creepy messages, and Clare keeps getting the feeling she's being followed. Full review...
Arcadia Burns by Kai Meyer
If you haven't read the first book in this series, then STEP AWAY FROM THIS PARTICULAR COOKIE AISLE! There will be spoilers. Full review...
Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black
Vanessa is just one of many new students at the New York Ballet Academy - but while they're all trying to become the best dancer, she has her own reasons for being there. Three years ago her older sister disappeared from the school, and she's determined to find out what happened to Margaret. Can she find out? And will the two boys taking an interest in her, charismatic Zeppelin and incredibly intense Justin, help or hinder her search? Full review...
Deceit by Deborah White
Thinking the immortal Doctor defeated, Claire has allowed her modern-day London life to return - almost - to normal. Her father has found a new girlfriend, Lindsay, and Claire quite likes her, despite a nagging guilt about disloyalty to her mother, who is depressed about the divorce and struggling to cope with Claire's new baby brother, Matthew. There's even a boyfriend, Joe, on the scene. Last year's adventure involving a girl from the past, an evil magician ancestor and an ancient prophecy, seem like old news. After all, Doctor Robert died, didn't he? Full review...
Finale (Hush Hush) by Becca Fitzpatrick
We left Patch and Nora were finally happily together and in love but with a big problem: Nora's vow to her dead father, Hank. Nora must lead the Nephilim in the upcoming war against the fallen angels who possess their bodies each year. If she doesn't, both she and her mother will die. She won't be accepted as leader by the Nephilim if her own boyfriend is a fallen angel, so once again their relationship has to go underground. Nora agrees to a fake relationship with Dante, the second-in-command Nephilim. The scam is easy enough to pull off - they need to spend a lot of time together anyway, as Dante trains Nora's newly Nephilim body for war. Full review...
The Haunted Book by Jeremy Dyson
Typically atypical noises faced by someone alone in an empty house… a rock group reuniting at their old studios and finding there are more haunting traces of their passage than just their unremembered recordings… a nightmare for a round-the-world solo yachtsman when he gains a passenger… These could possibly count as entrants in any compendium of ghost stories. But what of their author, tasked to transfer reportage into readable non-fiction? Should he not know better about dabbling with the occult, in any shape or form? How long will it be before he finds himself staring at a ghost himself – one that has not confined itself to just the pages of the book he is currently writing, but has made itself known in volumes past? Full review...
Dolly by Susan Hill
An empty house in the remote fenlands of England, with a man returning to it alone… a lawyer sorting out an inheritance… something buried yet still yielding power… Susan Hill's name, and the subtitle 'a ghost story' on the cover… We do seem to be in the territory of The Woman in Black, but worry not – this new short genre novel is a very different beast. Full review...
The Diviners by Libba Bray
1920's New York City. Jazz and gin mix with murder and mystery. For Evie O'Neill - fresh in from Ohio to the city of her dreams after her demonstration of a strange power caused a scandal in society - this is what she's always dreamed of. But dreams can become nightmares, and when Evie, her uncle Will and their friends find themselves trying to stop a serial killer, she'll have to use all of her wits, as well as her power, to stay alive. Full review...
Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs
Grace is the new girl in San Francisco, who can't understand why she's seeing weird creatures whom no-one else seems to notice. Gretchen is an experienced monster-hunter. Greer is a socialite. The three of them look eerily alike - what's their connection, and can this mismatched trio of teens defend the world from the demons who seem to be appearing with ever-increasing frequency? Full review...
Time's Echo by Pamela Hartshorne
Grace Trewe has temporarily moved to York to sort out the affairs of her godmother, Lucy, who died suddenly. After surviving the Indonesian tsunami the previous Christmas, Grace has decided to live life to the full and plans more travelling once Lucy's house is sold. She hasn’t a care or a tie in the world, as long as she doesn't remember little Lucas back on that Christmas beach. As it turns out, that's not the only thing she needs to avoid. Strange, horrific dreams disrupt her sleep and vivid daydreams start to attack her waking moments as 21st century York keeps fading to be replaced by its 16th century streets. Grace will be fine though; it's just stress and her oddly acquired knowledge of the past is just a coincidence, or so says seemingly kindly neighbour, historian and single father Drew. Meanwhile, 500 years before, there was a woman named Hawise who met a terrible death… Full review...
Vanish by Sophie Jordan
Events have forced Jacinda back into the arms of the Pride. When her mother took her away from them, it was the last thing Jacinda wanted. But now she's back, she wants nothing more than to spread her wings and fly away. But it's not that easy. Severin, leader of the Pride, has her under virtual house arrest. Tamra, Jacinda's twin, is going through some tumultuous changes, and needs the support of the Pride. And there's Cassian - a permanent fixture in Jacinda's life, the one who brought her back to the Pride, who she is beginning to think cares about her for more than just her firebreathing talents. Full review...
Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich
Following on from Wicked Appetite, pastry chef Lizzy and paranormal bounty hunter Diesel continue to seek the seven powerful stones linked to the seven deadly sins. They're looking for the stone associated with lust and it becomes a bit of a treasure hunt as, accompanied by Gloria (the slightly wizardy un-witch) and Carl (the ill-mannered monkey) they have to work their way through a string of clues. However, they aren't the only ones looking; for wherever goodies seek power, the baddies lurk also. The baddies in question are again the deliciously dark (on many levels) Gerwulf (Wulf) Grimoir and his medieval minion Hatchet. Wulf may be Diesel's cousin but there's not a lot of family love in any room they both occupy so let the race to the stone commence. Full review...