The Leaning Pile of Books

This week I got a couple of book orders (one made because I had a gift card and found something cheap; the other because I saw a book in a series I like was no longer available new on Amazon and wanted to get it in case it completely disappeared) and 3 review copies. So it was a pretty good week.

But first, a little about what will be coming up... Yesterday I wrote up a review of Tsunami Blue so that will probably be up Tuesday or Wednesday. I haven't started the review of The Praxis yet, but that's up next and I'm still reading the book that will be after that (The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan).

Lord of the Changing Winds by Rachel Neumeier

Lord of the Changing Winds is the first book in the Griffin Mage trilogy. It is coming out on May 1 (or April 27 if ordering through Amazon) and the second book is coming out a month later. The entire trilogy is supposed to be released this year so no long wait! It sounds pretty interesting (it has griffins, yay!), and it is always great to start a series knowing the rest are not far behind it.

Griffins lounged all around them, inscrutable as cats, brazen as summer. They turned their heads to look at Kes out of fierce, inhuman eyes.

Little ever happens in the quiet villages of peaceful Feierabiand. The course of Kes’ life seems set: she’ll grow up to be an herb-woman and healer for the village of Minas Ford, never quite fitting in but always more or less accepted. And she’s content with that path — or she thinks she is. Until the day the griffins come down from the mountains, bringing with them the fiery wind of their desert and a desperate need for a healer. But what the griffins need is a healer who is not quite human . . . or a healer who can be made into something not quite human.

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Feed by Mira Grant

Some of you may remember I already mentioned getting this one - that was an ARC and this is the actual finished copy (and thus the one I'll actually read). Feed is the first book in the Newsflesh trilogy and it is has zombies, which means I normally wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. However, I have been planning to read it sometime soon for a few reasons. Mira Grant is also known as Seanan McGuire and I've really enjoyed both her novels in the October Daye series. Plus I read the first paragraph and found it was actually quite humorous, and I found what Seanan McGuire had to say about it in the comments when I first mentioned it made me even more curious about it, particularly when she said it was more political scifi than horror (which is far more my genre). It's officially out on May 1, although Amazon has it starting April 27.

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.

Now, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives-the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

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The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

This is the second book in the Strangely Beautiful series, following The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. I enjoyed the first book (which was recently optioned to be made into a stage musical) and will definitely be reading this one sometime soon.

With radiant, snow white skin and hair, Percy Parker was a beacon for Fate. True love had found her, in the tempestuous form of Professor Alexi Rychman. But her mythic destiny was not complete. Accompanying the ghosts with which she alone could converse, new and terrifying omens loomed. A war was coming, a desperate ploy of a spectral host. Victorian London would be overrun. Yet, Percy kept faith. Within the mighty bastion of Athens Academy, alongside The Guard whose magic shielded mortals from the agents of the Underworld, she counted herself among friends. Wreathed in hallowed fire, they would stand together, no matter what dreams or nightmares—may come.

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The Ruby Dice by Catherine Asaro

As I've loved several books in the Skolian series, I've been slowly collecting them all. Once in a while, I find one of these books is no longer easy to find and panic and try to find a copy. This is one of the most recent books in the series so I was shocked to see it was no longer available on Amazon - and not just temporarily out of stock, either. So my husband found me a copy on Alibris and now I can breathe a sigh of relief. Now there's only one book I'm missing, although maybe I should try to snag it sooner instead of later just in case (this is the third book in the series that's happened with now). I do need to get reading so I can get to this one, which is one of the two in this series I'm looking forward to the most.

Warning: Depending on which of the books you've read, there are spoilers in the following blurb. I'm not sure which of the ones I haven't read yet explain some of this, but if you've not read Ascendant Sun yet there are spoilers for that one.

Two men, two empires. Jaibriol ruled the Eubian Concord: over two trillion people across more than a thousand worlds and habitats. Kelric ruled the Skolian Imperialate. War had come before-and it might come again, devastating vast swathes of the galaxy. Neither Jaibriol nor Kelric wanted war, but neither was complete master of his realm. And each hid a secret that, if revealed, might be his downfall. Jaibriol was a secret psion, with telepathic abilities, and to be a psion in the Eubian Concord was to be a contemptible slave, eventually to be tortured for the pleasure of the slave's owner. Kelric, years ago, had disappeared for nearly two decades.He had been a prisoner and slave on the planet Coban, part of neither empire, until he had managed to escape. And if the Skolian Imperialate knew of his captivity, there would be demands for vengeance, ravaging Coban-and killing the wife and children Kelric had left behind when he escaped. Neither man knew how much longer he could keep his secret-nor how much longer they could hold back the threat of a war that could incinerate hundreds of inhabited worlds.

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Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

Ever since the Mercy Thompson series has started coming out in hardcover, I've had a dilemma. See, I really like to have matching books and I already had the first three in paperback. When Bone Crossed came out, I decided to wait for paperback so my books would match. I love this series, so waiting was HARD. I'd just about convinced myself to wait for this one, too, but then I decided maybe I'd get the e-book to read on the iPad and then just get the physical book when it came to paperback. It turned out the e-book was $9.99 and Amazon had the hardcover version for $11.69. So I decided if it was that close in price, I may as well just get the hardcover, caved and bought it.

Warning: There are spoilers for previous books in this blurb as well.

Coyote-shifting garage mechanic Mercedes Thompson, now mated to Adam, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, embarks on her exciting fifth dark fantasy adventure (after 2009's bestselling Bone Crossed). Three subplots—Mercy's attempt to return a magical book to a fae friend-of-a-friend, her difficulties integrating into Adam's pack, and her roommate Samuel's misery over being a lone Alpha—come together seamlessly, and excitement builds as Mercy and her loved ones go through ever more intense experiences, including a house fire, a suicide attempt, a death sentence, and a reunion between long-ago loves. Briggs creates both well-rounded characters and a complex mythology, resulting in a rich read that's far more than a series of action adventures strung together. Fans of the series will be thrilled; new readers should start at the beginning or risk drowning in the immersive world-building.

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Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper

Is it possible to order from Amazon without adding on a couple of books for free shipping? I don't think so. Beauty is a book I've had my eye on for a while ever since it first caught my eye in a bookstore. It's supposed to be a science fiction/fantasy hybrid and a fairy tale retelling which sounds like my type of bibliocrack.

It's close to 20 years old so I couldn't find an official blurb - can't even find the book on the publisher's website.

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The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling

This is another one I've had my eye on for awhile, both because it's dark fantasy and because I've heard good things about the author. So when perusing my wishlist for books to use to get free shipping, I ended up adding this one. It's the first book in the Tamir trilogy.

Sometimes the price of destiny is higher than anyone imagined....

Dark Magic, Hidden Destiny

For three centuries a divine prophecy and a line of warrior queens protected Skala. But the people grew complacent and Erius, a usurper king, claimed his young half sister’s throne.

Now plague and drought stalk the land, war with Skala’s ancient rival Plenimar drains the country’s lifeblood, and to be born female into the royal line has become a death sentence as the king fights to ensure the succession of his only heir, a son. For King Erius the greatest threat comes from his own line — and from Illior’s faithful, who spread the Oracle’s words to a doubting populace.

As noblewomen young and old perish mysteriously, the king’s nephew — his sister’s only child — grows toward manhood. But unbeknownst to the king or the boy, strange, haunted Tobin is the princess’s daughter, given male form by a dark magic to protect her until she can claim her rightful destiny.

Only Tobin’s noble father, two wizards of Illior, and an outlawed forest witch know the truth. Only they can protect young Tobin from a king’s wrath, a mother’s madness, and the terrifying rage of her brother’s demon spirit, determined to avenge his brutal murder...