As the evenings are darker these days, it’s hard not to think of winter being right around the corner.  Here are some January titles I thought looked interesting in the various sales kits that come around.

SPELLBENT by Lucy A. Snyder

A woman in Ohio who’s learning magic accidentally opens a portal to Hell and releases a demon (oops!), who then snatches up her teacher/lover.  So she’s left to figure out her powers and rescue the guy. 

From Bantam/Del-Rey.

SEDUCING THE HEIRESS by Olivia Drake

This is the first of “An Heiress in London” series in which a rich family of commoners take London Society by storm.  The great endorsements from from Susan Wiggs and Christina Dodd along with that stunning red cover immediately caught my eye.

From St. Martin’s.

PROOF BY SEDUCTION by Courtney Milan

I was surprised to see that this is Milan’s debut novel because it seems as though her name has been everywhere lately.  I think this is one a lot of people are looking forward to, especially since it recently got a starred review in Publishers Weekly and Julia Quinn calls it “One of the finest historical romances I’ve read in years.”   The premise: a scientific-minded lord is determined to prove a fortune-teller is a fraud.

Coming from HQN.

HEARTS AND BLOOD by Gail Dayton

This is a sequel to her Victorian fantasy, NEW BLOOD, which I recently read a preview of and really enjoyed.  From the back cover:

Pearl Parkin, a gently reared lady struggling to survive in London’s slums, sees magic as a way out of the life she finds herself trapped in. But blackmailing master conjurer Grey Carteret into making her his apprentice has unexpected consequences. As they plunge into the hunt for a murderer, Pearl discovers that the things she once desperately wanted are not as important after all, and that she must risk her blood, her heart and her very life to grasp the love she needs. 

From Tor.