What I'm reading...and rereading

I know had promised you guys some reviews of the books I've read but I decided that instead I want to talk about some of the books that I'm currently reading, and rereading. If any of you have read these book I'd love to hear your thought on them (though no spoilers, since I haven't finished yet)


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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss


I had read The Name of the Wind a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it. The sequel became one of my most anticipated book and I rushed out to buy it as soon as it was available. And since then the book has been sitting on my shelf untouched. See, the problem is that even though I loved The Name of the Wind I don't really remember it very well anymore. So while I really do want to read The Wise Man's Fear I don't want to ruin the experience by spending the first few hundred pages trying to remember what happened in the last book and who all the characters are. For that reason I decided that it would definitely be in my best interest to reread The Name of the Wind.


I'm glad to say that The Name of the Wind is just as good the second time around, though there is one small thing that's been niggling at me, which I don't remember being bothered by before. And that is the face that Kvothe is just so darn perfect at pretty much everything. He is a prodigy student, he's a master musician, he excels at everything he tried his hand at and comes out on top in every altercation. His overwhelming perfectness is making him less believable to me as a character, and a little annoying as well. I'm even beginning to feel some sympathy for his evil nemesis, Ambrose Jakis. I suspect that Kvothe would probably grate on my nerves as well if I had to spend a significant amount of time with him.


I'm curious if any of you who have read The Name of the Wind were bothered by this as well.


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Black and White by Jackie Kessler


I got this book out of my elibrary without knowing anything about it, other than what the book blurb said. I don't remember ever hearing of this book or author before, but it sounded like it would be a fun read, and so far I am really enjoying it.


Here's the description:

 It's the ultimate battle of good versus good. They were best friends at an elite academy for superheroes in training, but now Callie Bradford, code name Iridium, and Joannie Greene, code name Jet, are mortal enemies. Jet is a by-the-book hero, using her Shadow power to protect the citizens of New Chicago. Iridium, with her mastery of light, runs the city’s underworld. For the past five years the two have played an elaborate, and frustrating, game of cat and mouse.

But now playtime’s over. Separately Jet and Iridium uncover clues that point to a looming evil, one that is entwined within the Academy.  As Jet works with Bruce Hunter—a normal man with an extraordinary ability to make her weak in the knees—she becomes convinced that Iridium is involved in a scheme that will level the power structure of America itself. And Iridium, teaming with the mysterious vigilante called Taser, uncovers an insidious plot that’s been a decade in the making…a plot in which Jet is key. They’re both right. And they’re both wrong. Because nothing is as simple as Black and White.

I haven't gotten too far into the book yet and I really hope I have a chance to finish it before it expires. So far the story has been switching between the POVs of Jet and Iridium, both in the present time, where Jet is trying to capture Iridium, and to the past, when the two were roommates, and best friends, at the superhero academy. I've enjoyed the way the story has played out and that the characters seem to have some depth and complexity.  I'm really looking forward to continuing with this book and seeing if it delivers.


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Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed


Ever since I read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods I've kept my eyes out for other travelogues about people's experiences hiking. It's something that I'd love to do myself some day and for now I just enjoy reading about other people's experiences. What interested me about this book in particular is that Cheryl actually hikes the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own, without any previous backpacking experience at all. Now, if only I was brave enough to do something like that. 


But what I hadn't expected to find in this book was the whole painful backstory that led to Cheryl's decision to hit the trail on her own for three months. The death of her mother that left her devastated and broken, even four years later, the breakup of her marriage to a man that she still loved and the flirtation with heroine, which let her escape from all the pain she was feeling. I quickly discovered that this wasn't just a book about hiking and that it had very little in common with Bryson's story of hiking the Appalachian Trail. But even though I didn't realize what I was getting into when starting on Wild I quickly became invested in Cheryl's story and I'm really hoping that she comes out on the other end somewhat healed. And I'm really hoping she gets back together with that wonderful husband of hers, though I'm fighting the temptation to Google her to find out. I'll make myself wait until the end of the story.

Free Read: Glitches by Marissa Meyer

Remember when I had told you guys about that great scifi Cinderella story I had read, in which Cinderella (or Cinder) is a cyborg? Well if this sounded like the kind of book you would enjoy, or if you have already read it, then you should head over to Tor.com where Marissa Meyer, the author of Cinder, has posted a prequel to the story.

In Meyer's short story, Glitches, Cinder is brought to her new home by the man that found her, after having undergone extensive surgery. There she is introduced to her new stepmother and stepsisters, who are less then pleased at this new addition to the family. Except for Peony, who is delighted by having a new playmate with whom she could pretend to dress up for the ball, and dance with the handsome prince Kai.

“Are you ready to meet your new family?” 

She tore her gaze away from the window, where snow was heaped up on bamboo fences and a squat android was clearing a path through the slush, and looked at the man seated opposite her. Though he’d been kind to her throughout their trip, two full days of being passed between a hover, a maglev train, two passenger ships, and yet another hover, he still had a nervous smile that made her fidget. 

Plus, she kept forgetting his name. 

“I don’t remember the old family,” she said, adjusting her heavy left leg so that it didn’t stick out quite so far between their seats. 

His lips twisted awkwardly into an expression that was probably meant to be reassuring, and this ended their conversation. His attention fell down to a device he never stopped looking at, with a screen that cast a greenish glow over his face. He wasn’t a very old man, but his eyes always seemed tired and his clothes didn’t fit him right. Though he’d been clean-cut when he first came to claim her, he was now in need of a razor. 

She returned her gaze to the snow-covered street. The suburb struck her as crowded and confused. A series of short one-story shacks would be followed by a mansion with a frozen water fountain in its courtyard and red-tiled roofs. After that, a series of clustered town houses and maybe a run-down apartment complex, before more tiny shacks took over. It all looked like someone had taken every kind of residence they could think of and spilled them across a grid of roads, not caring where anything landed. 

She suspected that her new home wasn’t anything like the rolling farmland they’d left behind in Europe, but she’d been in such a foggy-brained daze at the time that she couldn’t remember much of anything before the train ride. Except that it had been snowing there, too. She was already sick of the snow and the cold. They made her bones ache where her fleshy parts were connected to her steel prosthetics.

Read the rest here

Some Cool News and Updates

So before I start making excuses as to where I've been for the past couple of months, I have some cool news to share with you.

I just found out, thanks to Aleksandra, that The Impossible Cube, by Steven Harper, includes an excerpt from my review of The Doomsday Vault, inside the book.

See for yourself! (luckily I was able to snap a shot of the page on Amazon, just in case you had your doubts)

Yes, my review is actually inside of a real, live book by a major publisher! This means that I am now a published reviewer, and the pressure to write a book of my own is off. It's all very exciting and if I had a job I would totally buy each of you a copy of the book, personally autographed by me. (OK, I'm lying. That would only happen if I won the lottery. Maybe)

And that leads us to the reason that I haven't been around lately. Unfortunately my job search has taken longer than expected and I just haven't been in the right head-space to write book reviews or blog posts. I also wanted to avoid having my frustrations leak into my posts because that wouldn't be much fun to read about. After a while I also became kind of intimidated by the idea of sitting down to write a book review, because I was so out of practice. Now that I haven't done it for a while it seems so hard. The voices in my head that usually chime in with comments while I'm reading have even started to fade away. But I think it's time to get back in the game because I've really missed blogging and chatting with you guys. Plus I have so many books to tell you about.

While I probably won't be posting as regularly as I had been before I am going to do my best to start reviewing again. I'm going to begin with a few mini-reviews so I can catch up with all of the books that  I've read over the past few months before I forget about them.

And finally (yes, this lengthy monologue is coming to an end) I'd like to thank those of you who stopped by to check up on me when I hadn't posted for a while. It was nice to know that I wasn't forgotten.

Now, all of you go out there and show your support by buying a copy of The Impossible Cube! Or at least the first page.

New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of March 5-11

I wasn't sure if I was going to have time this week to put together a New Release list but I'm really glad I did because otherwise I would have missed out on the new Patricia Briggs' book, Fair Game.

While I do prefer her Mercy Thompson series, Brigg's Alpha and Omega books are still enjoyable, and better than most of the other Urban Fantasies that I tried, so I'll definitely be adding her newest release to my bookshelf.

Other than Fair Game there's not much here that tempts me, though David Weber's new Honor Harrington book reminds me that I really need to get a hold of the first book and give this series a try.

Hope you have a great reading week!

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Science Fiction

Intrusion

Ken MacLeod

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: March 1

Imagine a near-future city, say London, where medical science has advanced beyond our own and a single-dose pill has been developed that, taken when pregnant, eradicates many common genetic defects from an unborn child. Hope Morrison, mother of a hyperactive four-year-old, is expecting her second child. She refuses to take The Fix, as the pill is known. This divides her family and friends and puts her and her husband in danger of imprisonment or worse. Is her decision a private matter of individual choice, or is it tantamount to willful neglect of her unborn child? A plausible and original novel with sinister echoes of 1984 and Brave New World.

A Rising Thunder (Honor Harrington #13)

David Weber

Publisher: Baen

Release Date: March 6

After a brutal attack on the Manticoran home system, Honor Harrington and the Star Kingdom she serves battle back against a new, technologically powerful, and utterly nefarious enemy. And as if that weren't task enough, Honor must also face down a centuries-old nemesis in the crumbling, but still mighty, Solarian League.

Intruder (Foreigner #13)

C.J. Cherryh

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: March 6

In the wake of civil war, Bren Cameron, the brilliant human diplomat of the alien atevi civilization, has left the capital and sought refuge at his country estate, Najida. But now he is trapped inside Najida--which has been surrounded by enemies--with the powerful grandmother of his ally, Tabiniaiji, atevi leader of the Western Association.

The Last President

John Barnes

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: March 6

In a devastated, splintered, post-apocalyptic United States, with technology thrown back to biplanes, black powder, and steam trains, a tiny band of visionaries struggles to recreate Constitutional government and civilization itself, as a New Dark Age takes shape around them.

Emperor Mollusk vs. the Sinister Brain

A. Lee Martinez

Publisher: Ornit

Release Date: March 5 (UK)

Emperor Mollusk.

Intergalactic Menace. Destroyer of Worlds. Conqueror of Other Worlds. Mad Genius. Ex-Warlord of Earth.

Not bad for a guy without a spine.

But what's a villain to do after he's done . . . everything. With no new ambitions, he's happy to pitch in and solve the energy crisis or repel aliens invaders should the need arise, but if he had his way, he'd prefer to be left alone to explore the boundaries of dangerous science. Just as a hobby, of course.

Retirement isn't easy though. If the boredom doesn't get him, there's always the Venusians. Or the Saturnites. Or the Mercurials. Or . . . well, you get the idea. If that wasn't bad enough, there's also the assassins of a legendary death cult and an up-and-coming megalomaniac (as brilliant as he is bodiless) who have marked Emperor for their own nefarious purposes. But Mollusk isn't about to let the Earth slip out of his own tentacles and into the less capable clutches of another. So it's time to dust off the old death ray and come out of retirement. Except this time, he's not out to rule the world. He's out to save it from the peril of THE SINISTER BRAIN

Jane Carver of Waar

Nathan Long

Publisher: Night Shade Books.

Release Date: March 6

Jane Carver is nobody''s idea of a space princess. A hard-ridin'', hard-lovin'' biker chick and ex-Airborne Ranger, Jane is as surprised as anyone else when, on the run from the law, she ducks into the wrong cave at the wrong time-and wakes up butt-naked on an exotic alien planet light-years away from everything she''s ever known. Waar is a savage world of four-armed tiger-men, sky-pirates, slaves, gladiators, and purple-skinned warriors in thrall to a bloodthirsty code of honor and chivalry. Caught up in a disgraced nobleman''s quest to win back the hand of a sexy alien princess, Jane encounters bizarre wonders and dangers unlike anything she ever ran into back home. Then again, Waar has never seen anyone like Jane before . . . . Both a loving tribute and scathing parody of the swashbuckling space fantasies of yore, Jane Carver of Waar introduces an unforgettable new science fiction heroine. 

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Fantasy

Bridge of Dreams (Ephemera #3)

Anne Bishop

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: March 6

When wizards threaten Glorianna Belladonna and her work to keep Ephemera balanced, her brother Lee sacrifices himself in order to save her-and ends up an asylum inmate in the city of Vision.

But a darkness is spreading through Vision, perplexing the Shamans who protect it. And Lee is the only one who can shed any light on its mysteries...

Crucible of Gold (Temeraire series, Bk 7)

Naomi Novik

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: March 7

Naomi Novik’s beloved series returns, with Capt. Will Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire once again taking to the air against the broadsides of Napoleon’s forces and the friendly—and sometimes not-so-friendly—fire of British soldiers and politicians who continue to suspect them of divided loyalties, if not outright treason. 

For Laurence and Temeraire, put out to pasture in Australia, it seems their part in the war has come to an end just when they are needed most. Newly allied with the powerful African empire of the Tswana, the French have occupied Spain and brought revolution and bloodshed to Brazil, threatening Britain’s last desperate hope to defeat Napoleon.

So the British government dispatches Arthur Hammond from China to enlist Laurence and Temeraire to negotiate a peace with the angry Tswana, who have besieged the Portuguese royal family in Rio—and as bait, Hammond bears an offer to reinstate Laurence to his former rank and seniority as a captain in the Aerial Corps. Temeraire is delighted by this sudden reversal of fortune, but Laurence is by no means sanguine, knowing from experience that personal honor and duty to one’s country do not always run on parallel tracks.

Laurence and Temeraire—joined by the egotistical fire-breather Iskierka and the still-growing Kulingile, who has already surpassed Temeraire in size—embark for Brazil, only to meet with a string of unmitigated disasters that leave the dragons and their human friends forced to make an unexpected landing in the hostile territory of the Inca empire, where they face new unanticipated dangers.

Now with the success of the mission balanced on a razor’s edge, and failure looking more likely by the minute, the unexpected arrival of an old enemy will tip the scales toward ruin. Yet even in the midst of disaster, opportunity may lurk—for one bold enough to grasp it.

The Drowning Girl

Caitlin R. Kiernan

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: March 6

India Morgan Phelps-Imp to her friends-is schizophrenic. Struggling with her perceptions of reality, Imp must uncover the truth about her encounters with creatures out of myth-or from something far, far stranger...

And Blue Skies From Pain (The Fey and the Fallen #2)

Stina Leicht

Publisher: Night Shade Books

Release Date: March 6

It's November of 1977: The punk rock movement is a year old and the brutal thirty-year war referred to as "The Troubles" is escalating. According to Irish tradition, the month of November is a time for remembrance of the dead. Liam Kelly, in particular, wishes it were otherwise. Born a Catholic in Londonderry/Derry, Northern Ireland, Liam, a former wheelman for the Provisional IRA, is only half mortal. His father is Bran, a puca - a shape-shifting, ghostlike creature - and a member of the ancient Fianna. Liam must dodge both the Royal Ulster Constabulary, who want him for the car bombing that killed Constable Haddock, and the Provisional IRA, who want him for the deaths of ?amon Walsh and several others found ripped apart in a burned down farmhouse in Armagh. Fortunately for Liam, both the Ulster Constabulary and the Provisional IRA think he's dead. On the other hand, the Militis Dei - a group of Roman Catholic priest-assassins, whose sole purpose is to dispose of fallen angels and demons found living on this earth - is very aware that Liam is alive, and very aware of his preternatural parentage. With the help of his unlikely ally Father Murray - a Militis Dei operative who has known Liam since childhood - he must convince the Church that he and his fey brethren aren't demonic in origin, and aren't allied with The Fallen.

Venom In Her Veins: A Forgotten Realms Novel

Tim Pratt

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast

Release Date: March 6

A yuan-ti child--a pureblood who looks entirely human except for some very subtle snakelike characteristics--is found alone in a jungle ruin by a passing (and heavily-guarded) caravan of traders who harvest a rare addictive flower from the jungle for trade in a nearby city.

The head of the caravan takes in the child, not realizing its inhuman origins. The child grows up with the caravan believing herself to be human and learning both tradecraft and how to survive in the jungle, but she begins to have dreams of snakes and other racial-memory things, possibly even visions from a deity. After forcing her mother to admit she's adopted, she runs away from home to seek out her origins, but she is pursued by her adopted human "brother" who wants to bring her home.

They find the ruins where she was discovered as a child, and she discovers her true nature. She's horrified, but also enraged when she discovers denizens of the Underdark stole away the other yuan-ti from her settlement, including her real family, to use as slaves. She ventures into the Underdark to try and rescue any survivors from her "real" family.

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Urban Fantasy

Fair Game (Alpha & Omega #3)

Patricia Briggs

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: March 6

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer's sights...

Discount Armageddon

Seanan McGuire

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: March 6

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city..

 

Doubletake ( Cal Leandros, Bk 7)

Rob Thurman

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: March 6

Half-human/half-monster Cal Leandros knows that family is a pain. But now that pain belongs to his half-brother, Niko. Niko's shady father is in town, and he needs a big favor. Even worse is the reunion being held by the devious Puck race--including Leandros' friend Robin--featuring a lottery that no Puck wants to win.  

Eventide (Dark Ink Chronicles, Bk 3)

Elle Jasper

Publisher: Signet

Release Date: March 6

Newly-bitten tattoo artist Riley Poe feels herself changing in unimaginable ways. Eli Dupre, her vampire lover, has seen the change in her and fears for her humanity. His rival, Victorian, tells her she must see the patriarch of the vampire cult that attacked her to save her soul. In the vampire cult's fortress in Romania, Riley will face her worst fears-and the dark powers threatening to destroy her. And she'll have to do the one thing she's been determined not to do—put her trust in Eli.

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Young Adult

Balthazar

Claudia Gray

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: March 6

Haunted by memories from his first days as a vampire, Balthazar has spent hundreds of years alone—without allies, without love. When he emerges from his isolation to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, Balthazar has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Having learned of Skye’s powers and the remarkable effect her blood has on vampires, he plans to use her for his own evil purposes. As they stand together to fight the evil vampire, Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by Skye...just as Redgrave realizes that he can destroy Balthazar once and for all by taking her for his own.

In a story filled with forbidden love and dark suspense, one of the most beloved characters in Claudia Gray’s New York Times bestselling Evernight series will captivate readers with his battle to overcome his past and follow his heart.
 

Embrace

Jessica Shirvington

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: March 6

It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.

Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.

A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden… 

Illuminate

Aimee Agresti

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Release Date: March 6

Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.

As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?

 

Soul Bound (Blood Coven, Bk 7)

Mari Mancusi

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: March 6

Sunny McDonald and her vampire boyfriend Magnus are on the run—accused of treason and wanted alive…or undead. And her own twin sister is the slayer sent to track them down.

Rayne would do anything to save her sister Sunny from the Vampire Consortium dictator who wants her dead. Instead, she’s been commissioned by Slayer Inc. to bring her twin back for justice…which Rayne knows means certain death. She also knows that if she and her boyfriend Jareth go against orders, they’re not only signing their own death warrants, but those of every vampire in the Blood Coven.

As a rival slayer with a personal vendetta moves in, Rayne and Jareth know they must do something to stop her. So they embark on their most dangerous journey yet, deep, down beneath the streets of New York City and through the Gates of the Underworld itself. But when a greedy god demands the ultimate sacrifice, will Rayne be forced to choose--between her sister...and the vampire she loves?

Uglies: Shay's Story (Graphic Novel)

Scott Westerfeld, Devin Grayson and Steven Cummings

Publisher: Del Ray

Release Date: March 6

"Uglies "told Tally Youngblood's version of life in Uglyville and the budding rebellion against the Specials. Now comes an exciting graphic novel revealing "new "adventures in the Uglies world--as seen through the eyes of Shay, Tally's rebellious best friend who's not afraid to break the rules, no matter the cost.
A few months shy of her sixteenth birthday, Shay eagerly awaits her turn to become a Pretty--a rite-of-passage operation called "the Surge" that transforms ordinary Uglies into paragons of beauty. Yet after befriending the Crims, a group of fellow teens who refuse to take anything in society at face value, Shay starts to question the whole concept. And as the Crims explore beyond the monitored borders of Uglyville into the forbidden, ungoverned wild, Shay must choose between the perks of being Pretty and the rewards of being real.

Vampire's Kiss (The Watchers #2)

Veronica Wolff

Publisher:NAL

Release Date: March 6

By her wits, blood, and sacrifice, so far Drew has survived the intensive training on the Isle of Night. As a second-year Acari, her ultimate goal is to become a Watcher, and now she has a shot at her first mission. Except nothing is as it seems. The vampire Alcántara is as sinister as he is sexy, Ronan is more distant than ever, and it turns out there are other vampires out there. Bad ones.

Ancient, bloodthirsty, and powerful, these undead are really old school. They’ve captured one of the Watcher vamps and are torturing him for information. The only chance to save him is to infiltrate a major summit the baddies are holding on their own island. There will be mortals there, serving as butlers, maids, and various hired help. Drew had better brush up on her skills as a serving girl, because she’s about to go undercover…

But, when their vampire prisoner turns out to be a gorgeous bad boy, Drew’s first mission quickly turns into more than she bargained for…

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Story Collections

The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity

edited by Joshua Palmatier & Patricia Bray

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: March 6

This collection of 14 original stories probes the problems and perils of being a fae in the mortal world. Includes contributions by such authors as Seanan McGuire, Kari Sperring, Elizabeth Bear, and Jim C. Hines.

Witches: Wicked, Wild & Wonderful

edited by Paula Guran

Publisher: Prime Books

Release Date: March 6

Surrounded by the aura of magic, witches have captured our imagination for millennia and fascinate us now more than ever. No longer confined to the image of a hexing old crone, witches can be kindly healers and protectors, tough modern urban heroines, holders of forbidden knowledge, sweetly domestic spellcasters, darkly domineering, sexy enchantresses, ancient sorceresses, modern Wiccans, empowered or persecuted, possessors of supernatural abilities that can be used for good or evil - or perhaps only perceived as such. Welcome to the world of witchery in many guises: wicked, wild, and wonderful.

Friday Finds

Friday Finds

Hosted by Should be Reading

Hey Guys,

Sorry for going AWOL on you this past two weeks. Due to some complications with my job I've been have trouble finding the time to write reviews or blog, but I'm hoping things will get less complicated soon and I'll be able to return to my regular schedule (I have a job interview on Sunday, wish me luck!).

In the meantime here are a couple of new books that I came across this past week along with some fun images and links.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett

The Ransomes had been burgled. "Robbed," Mrs. Ransome said. "Burgled," Mr. Ransome corrected. Premises were burgled; persons were robbed. Mr. Ransome was a solicitor by profession and thought words mattered. Though "burgled" was the wrong word too. Burglars select; they pick; they remove one item and ignore others. There is a limit to what burglars can take: they seldom take easy chairs, for example, and even more seldom settees. These burglars did. They took everything.

This swift-moving comic fable will surprise you with its concealed depths. When the sedate Ransomes return from the opera to find their Notting Hill flat stripped absolutely bare—down to the toilet paper off the roll (a hard-to-find shade of forget-me-not blue)—they face a dilemma: Who are they without the things they've spent a lifetime accumulating? Suddenly the world is full of unlimited and frightening possibility. But just as they begin adjusting to this giddy freedom, a newfound interest in sex, and a lack of comfy chairs, a surreal reversal of events causes them to question their assumptions yet again.

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I am not familiar with this author but after reading her praises on Kate Elliott's blog I because intrigues and decided that I'll have to try Wells' books for myself.

The Cloud Roads (Books of the Raksura #1) by Martha Wells

Moon has spent his life hiding what he is - a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his river valley, with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again cast out by his adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself... someone who seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community. What this stranger doesn't tell Moon is that his presence will tip the balance of power... that his extraordinary lineage is crucial to the colony's survival... and that his people face extinction at the hands of the dreaded Fell Now Moon must overcome a lifetime of conditioning in order to save and himself... and his newfound kin.

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And from around the web..

The Guardian imagines how the story of the Three Little Pigs would be covered in modern times, on news stations, in newspaper headlines and in social media discussions. Once again this brought to my mind the last Jasper Fforde book that I read, The Big Over Easy, in which detective Jack Sprat tries to bring a case against the Three Little Pigs for murdering the wolf. I imagine Fforde must have gotten a big kick out of this video.

For those of you who can't decide if the zombie apocalypse is something to really worry about, this article in Cracked.com give you 5 scientific reasons why you should be afraid. 

5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen

#5. Brain Parasites  

Parasites that turn victims into mindless, zombie-like slaves are fairly common in nature. There's one called toxoplasmosa gondii that seems to devote its entire existence to being terrifying. This bug infects rats, but can only breed inside the intestines of a cat. The parasite knows it needs to get the rat inside the cat so the parasite takes over the rat's freaking brain, and intentionally makes it scurry toward where the cats hang out. The rat is being programmed to get itself eaten, and it doesn't even know.  

Of course, those are just rats, right?  

How it can result in zombies:  

Hey, did we mention that half the human population on Earth is infected with toxoplasmosa, and don't know it? Hey, maybe you're one of them. Flip a coin. Oh, also, they've done studies and shown that the infected see a change in their personality and have a higher chance of going batshit insane.

  Chances this could cause a zombie apocalypse: Humans and rats aren't all that different; thats why they use them to test our drugs. All it takes is a more evolved version of toxoplasmosa, one that could to do us what it does to the rats. 

So, imagine if half the world suddenly had no instinct for self-preservation or rational thought. Even less than they do now, we mean.

If you think you can stomach more of this, read the rest of the article here.

New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of February 19- 25

Fantasy

Echoes of Betrayal (Paladin's Legacy, #3)

Elizabeth Moon

Publisher: Del Rey

Release Date: February 21

The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon’s celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind.

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. A finger of suspicion has been pointed toward his grandmother, the queen of the Ladysforest elves, and that suspicion has only intensified with time and the Lady’s inexplicable behavior. Clearly, she is hiding something. But what? And why?

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides: Dorrin, once one of Kieri’s most trusted captains. When renegade Verrakaien attack two of Dorrin’s squires, suspicion and prejudice combine to place Dorrin’s life at risk—and the king’s claim to the throne in peril.

But even greater danger is looming. The wild offspring of a dragon are on the loose, sowing death and destruction and upsetting the ancient balance of power between dragonkind, humans, elves, and gnomes. A collision seems inevitable. Yet when it comes, it will be utterly unexpected—and all the more devastating for it.

The Legend of Eli Monpress (Books #1, #2, #3)

Rachel Aaron

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: February 24

Eli Monpress is talented. He's charming. And he's a thief.

But not just any thief. He's the greatest thief of the age - and he's also a wizard. And with the help of his partners - a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls - he's going to put his plan into effect.

The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he'll need to steal some big things. But he'll start small for now. He'll just steal something that no one will miss - at least for a while.

The Troupe

Robert Jackson Bennett

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: February 21

George Carole ran away from home to join the Vaudeville circuit. Sixteen years old, uncommonly gifted at the piano, he falls in with a strange troupe -- even for Vaudeville.

Under the watchful eye of the enigmatic figure of Silenus, George comes to realize that the members of the troupe are more than they appear to be. And their travels have a purpose that runs deeper than entertainment.

George must uncover the mysteries of Silenus's Company before it is too late. He is already entangled in their web of secrets and if he doesn't learn where they are taking him, he may never find his way out.

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Science Fiction

The Technologists

Matthew Pearl

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: February 21

The Civil War may be over but a new war has begun, one between the past and the present, tradition and technology. On a former marshy wasteland, the daring Massachusetts Institute of Technology is rising, its mission to harness science for the benefit of all and to open the doors of opportunity to everyone of merit. But in Boston Harbor a fiery cataclysm throws commerce into chaos, as ships’ instruments spin inexplicably out of control. Soon after, another mysterious catastrophe devastates the heart of the city. Is it sabotage by scientific means or Nature revolting against man’s attempt to control it?

The shocking disasters cast a pall over M.I.T. and provoke assaults from all sides—rival Harvard, labor unions, and a sensationalistic press. With their first graduation and the very survival of their groundbreaking college now in doubt, a band of the Institute’s best and brightest students secretly come together to save innocent lives and track down the truth, armed with ingenuity and their unique scientific training.

Led by “charity scholar” Marcus Mansfield, a quiet Civil War veteran and one-time machinist struggling to find his footing in rarefied Boston society, the group is rounded out by irrepressible Robert Richards, the bluest of Beacon Hill bluebloods; Edwin Hoyt, class genius; and brilliant freshman Ellen Swallow, the Institute’s lone, ostracized female student. Working against their small secret society, from within and without, are the arrayed forces of a stratified culture determined to resist change at all costs and a dark mastermind bent on the utter destruction of the city.

Studded with suspense and soaked in the rich historical atmosphere for which its author is renowned, The Technologists is a dazzling journey into a dangerous world not so very far from our own, as the America we know today begins to shimmer into being.

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Urban Fantasy

A Perfect Blood

Kim Harrison

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Release Date: February 21

Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth--a would-be creator is determined to make his (or her) own demons. But it can't be done without Rachel's blood, in this latest blockbuster by a "New York Times"-bestselling author.

Raven Calls (Walker Papers, Bk 7)

C.E. Murphy

Publisher: Luna

Release Date: February 21

Something wicked this way comes…

Suddenly, being bitten by a werewolf is the least of Joanne Walker’s problems.

Her personal life in turmoil, her job as a cop over, she’s been called to Ireland by the magic within her. And though Joanne’s skills have grown by leaps and bounds, Ireland’s magic is old and very powerful…

In fact, this is a case of unfinished business. Because the woman Joanne has come to Ireland to rescue is the

woman who sacrificed everything for Joanne—the woman who died a year ago. Now, through a slip in time, she’s in thrall to a dark power and Joanne must battle darkness, time and the gods themselves to save her.

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Young Adult

A Beautiful Evil (Gods and Monsters, Bk 2)

Kelly Keaton

Publisher: imon Pulse

Release Date: February 21

Myth and mayhem inhabit a richly reimagined New Orleans in this sequel to Darkness Becomes Her.After the epic graveyard battle at the end of Darkness Becomes Her, Ari and her friends know what they’re up against: Ari is facing the Medusa curse and is haunted by the image of what she will become. To make matters worse, the heinous goddess Athena has kidnapped young Violet and is threatening to destroy Ari.

Ari, along with the superhot Sebastian, is doing everything she can to learn more about Athena and to get Violet back. But the battle of good and evil is bigger than she realizes, and she’s about to be pulled into a world more horrific than she could ever imagine...

Faery Tales & Nightmares

Melissa Marr

Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s

Release Date: February 21

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments dark and light by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from beneath the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly.

From the gentle tones of a storyteller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or to fear.

Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr’s stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it.

Fever

Lauren Destefano

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: February 21

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

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Paranormal Romance

The Darkest Seduction

Gena Showalter

Publisher: HQN Books

Release Date: February 24

Possessed by the demon of Promiscuity, immortal warrior Paris is irresistibly seductive-but his potent allure comes at a terrible price. Every night he must bed someone new, or weaken and die. And the woman he craves above all others is the one woman he'd thought was forever beyond his reach…until now.

Newly possessed by the demon of Wrath, Sienna Blackstone is racked by a ruthless need to punish those around her. Yet in Paris's arms, the vulnerable beauty finds soul-searing passion and incredible peace. Until a blood feud between ancient enemies heats up.

Will the battle against gods, angels and creatures of the night bind them eternally-or tear them apart?

Tempted by Blood

Laurie London

Publisher: HQN Books

Release Date: February 21

Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the battle for supremacy rages on between two vampire coalitions: Guardian enforcers sworn to protect humanity, and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors.

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Collection

Freaks in a Box: The Myths of Media

edited by Paul Di Filippo

Publisher: NonStop Press

Release Date: February 24

Exploring the theory that media is the real opium of the masses, this collection of timely and provocative speculative fiction brings together some of the most talented contemporary fantasy, horror, and science fiction writers. Stories by J. G. Ballard, Lisa Tuttle, Robert Silverberg, and William Gibson, among others, combine noir city elements with thought-provoking scenarios that look at the future of television, radio, and the internet. With a focus on the possible horrors stemming from entertainment devices found in every home, this chilling anthology is a unique survey of the theme of the evolution or devolution of media.