Halfway through July and my sidebar is still displaying “May Books I Want”.  I feel slightly embarrassed.  I may even update it later today.

Anyway, here are the July books I want.  Rather unusually, there are three historical romances to start off:

Mary Jo Putney’s “Loving a Lost Lord” (historical romance):  A straight historical romance from Mary Jo Putney. *happy dance*  Her Fallen Angels series was one of the first historical romance books I read, together with Julie Garwood, Amanda Quick, et al., but it’s been quite a while since I last read one of her books.  According to Ms Putney’s website, LaLL is the start of a new Regency historical series as well, so fingers crossed it’s a good one.

Excerpt here (out now)

Eloisa James’ “A Duke of My Own” (historical romance):  The last of her Desperate Duchesses series, this is Villiers’ story.  While this series has been slightly uneven at times, it has definitely been my favourite historical romance series over the past year or so.  I’m hoping her next series will be just as good – I can’t wait to find out what she chooses to write next.

Excerpt here (out July 28)

Julia Quinn’s “What Happens in London” (historical romance):  This is loosely tied to her “The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever” book, but pretty much a stand-alone, from what I gather.  A Quinn book never fails to make me smile, and I’ve been hearing pretty good things about this one.

Excerpt here (out now)

And moving on to urban fantasy and paranormal romance:

Jenna Black’s “Speak of the Devil” (urban fantasy): Fourth in her Morgan Kingsley series, Morgan being a demon exorcist.  I was almost ready to stop after the second book, but the third one redeemed this series IMO, so I’m now excited about the fourth.

Excerpt here (out July 28)

Nalini Singh’s “Branded by Fire” (paranormal romance): Part of her Psy-Changeling series, this is Riley and Mercy’s story.  This is one of the few paranormal romance series I read, as Ms Singh manages to combine really strong world-building with wonderful romance.  I have no idea why I haven’t bought this one yet.  Must go get.  Now.

Excerpt here (out now)

Linda Howard’s “Burn” (romantic suspense):  I really really wish Linda Howard had a website.  And I wish Piatkus Books would publish the UK version closer to the US release date – Amazon is currently showing October.  Oh well, it is a Linda Howard so I will buy.  I’m hoping it’s not as outdoor-survival-focused as her recent ones.

No excerpt (out now in US)

Suzanne Brockmann’s “Hot Pursuit” (romantic suspense):  The latest in her Troubleshooters series, this is a Sam and Alyssa book, IIRC.  There was a whole lot of controversy around her January release earlier this year, but I haven’t heard much about this one.  Or maybe I just haven’t been hanging out in the right places.

Excerpt here (out July 28)

And finally, the anthology “Strange Brew” is already sitting on my bedside table.  Edited by PN Elrod, it has short stories by Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Karen Chance, and Charlaine Harris, amongst others.  My thoughts so far?  The Briggs story didn’t really grab me until the last few pages,  Jim Butcher’s contribution is a nice Harry Dresden interlude, the Karen Chance one is very representative of her non-stop action writing (I really liked it), and the Charlaine Harris story is slightly disturbing (set in her Sookie Stackhouse universe but no Sookie).

So after the fantastic month that was April (no, I haven’t posted my thoughts on any of the April releases in detail, and yes, I still have the Ann Aguirre and Jo Beverley left to read), here are the May new releases I’m anticipating:

First up, Diana Peterfreund’s “Tap & Gown”, the fourth and final book in her Secret Society Girl series.  It’s no secret that I adore these incredibly addictive books, and while part of me gets slightly teary-eyed at the thought of waving goodbye to Amy and the rest of her fellow Diggers, I cannot wait to find out what happens in Amy’s final year.

Re-reading the excerpt for this one has made me so ridiculously excited about “Tap & Gown” now.  Ack.  I’m going to take a deep breath and try to calm down. 

Excerpt here (out May 19)

I posted a bit about reading Catherine Asaro’s “Diamond Star” earlier, and yes, that’s a May release too.  Okay, that is so a typical Baen cover, but you know what?  Baen has such a great user-friendly digital publishing strategy ($6 ebooks for hardcover releases, no DRM, multiple formats), plus they provide lengthy excerpts (the first eight chapters for “Diamond Star” is online) and they have a large Free Library to try out new-to-you authors… I’m just going to ignore the covers. 

Anyway, I’m a big fan of Ms Asaro’s Skolian Empire books and getting this one was a no-brainer for me.  From her website:

…Del, the renegade prince who would rather be a rock singer than sit on the throne. The royal family wants him to stop, his friends want to use him, his label wants to own him, and his enemies want to kill him. Del just wants to sing—without starting an interstellar war.

Also, Ms Asaro collaborated with the band Point Valid to create a soundtrack accompanying the book, and some of the songs are available on the Diamond Star MySpace website (warning: music plays when you enter the site!).  It’s pretty cool as the lyrics are included in the text and I’m loving the fact I can listen to the actual music.

Excerpt here (out May 5, ebook available now)

Charlaine Harris’ latest Sookie Stackhouse, “Dead and Gone”, is also out in May.  This is the ninth book in the Sookie series, and while I’ve wondered whether the series is running out of momentum, that’s not going to stop me from getting this one.

And okay, my jaw just dropped when Amazon UK came up with the cover on the right – please do not say that is the UK cover for “Dead and Gone”?  That is just so wrong – it doesn’t capture the dark but offbeat feel of the series at all!

Excerpt here (out May 5)

Another book that has taken what feels like forever to be released is Eloisa James’ “This Duchess of Mine”.  I am an unashamed Eloisa James fangirl, and have been completely absorbed by her Georgian historical romance series. 

This, of course, is Jemma and Elijah’s book – finally.  I know Ms James’ habit of including an unresolved secondary romance is not everyone’s favourite, but the way she has woven the overarching storyline focusing on the Jemma-Elijah-Villiers conflict throughout the past four books has totally worked for me.  I am so invested in Jemma and Elijah getting their HEA (look, it’s a romance and therefore they will have one).

Excerpt here (out May 26)

And that’s not all the new releases I want.  Also due out is:

Jacqueline Carey’s “Santa Olivia”, which is something completely different from her Kushiel books.  The blurb says it is Ms Carey’s “… take on comic book superheroes and the classic werewolf myth”.  Okay, I’m not a massive fan of the former (though I expect Thea and Ana to be all over this?), but I love her writing and I will definitely be giving this a go.  Excerpt here (out May 29).

Richelle Mead’s “Succubus Heat”, fourth in her Georgina Kincaid series.  I’ve enjoyed the previous three in this UF series and the last one ended on a bit of a pivotal note, IIRC.  It’s the UK version of the cover below, btw.  Excerpt here (out May 26).

A maybe is Kim Harrison’s “Once Dead, Twice Shy” – when I read the short story setting up this novel in the anthology “Prom Nights from Hell”, I actually thought it felt like a first chapter of a novel.  Well, there you go.  My “maybe” is because it’s a hardcover.  Some further poking around Amazon UK indicates a possible paperback July release for the UK.  Excerpt here (out May 26).

And speaking of “Prom Nights from Hell”, a follow-up anthology is out this month, “Vacations from Hell” featuring contributions from Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Mlynowski (out May 26).

And the end is in sight!  I may actually finish my 2008 Review posts before the end of January.

October

I was on holiday for most of October, which explains the massive total of 20 books read during this month.

I had never quite managed to understand why Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series (urban fantasy) was so popular, having read the first book “Storm Front” a while back and not being too impressed.  Nath convinced me to give the books another go, and restart the series from Book 4 (“Summer Knight”) instead.  That made all the difference and I’m now an official Dresden Files fangirl.  Proved by the fact I read the next seven books in this series during the month.  I will say that I’m unlikely to go back and read the second and third books in this series though.

I got my hands on Kristin Cashore’s novel “Graceling” (YA fantasy, first of three linked books) and discovered why there was such a buzz around this debut.  One to appeal to Tamora Pierce fans (of whom I am one), with good storytelling, a strong heroine, and a touch of romance.  Although in hindsight, I could have done without the cutesy names.

Mercedes Lackey released a new Valdemar book (“Foundation”, fantasy and first in a trilogy, I think), the first one in years, and despite it not really being up there with the Arrows and Last Herald-Mage trilogies, I loved revisiting her world and reading more about the founding of the Heralds’ Collegium.

And I started Richelle Mead’s “Vampire Academy” series (YA urban fantasy), reading both “Vampire Academy” and “Frostbite” (Books 1 and 2 respectively), and found it an engrossing and entertaining series.  I’ve enjoyed her Georgina Kincaid books, so I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to reading the VA books.

November

It was back to work, and I managed to read ten books this month.

Karen Chance is one of my favourite UF authors, and I enjoyed her “Midnight’s Daughter” (urban fantasy, Book 1 of a Cassie Palmer spin-off series).  While probably not one for new readers to the series, I liked seeing her world from the viewpoint of a different protagonist, and as always, I love the plotting and non-stop action.

I only read nine historical romances throughout 2008 and my favourite by a mile was Eloisa James’ “When the Duke Returns” (Book 3 of the Desperate Duchesses series).  On the face of it, the series premise doesn’t sound that much different from that of other historical romances out there – the duchesses and their recalcitrant, indifferent men – but as it is, I can’t remember when I’ve last enjoyed a historical romance series so much.  The opulent Georgian setting, the characters, their chemistry, the angst – it all came together in this one to make an excellent book.  I have very high expectations for the final two books out in 2009. 

And oh, Juliet Marillier’s “Daughter of the Forest” (fantasy, Book 1 of the Sevenwaters series).  I’ve had this book sitting in my TBR pile forever, and was finally moved to read it following the glowing reviews of the new book “Heir to Sevenwaters” set in this world.  And I loved.  Adored.  Passed the book on with a you-have-to-read-this-now recommendation.  Ordered the next two books from Amazon.  You know, on paper, this wouldn’t be a book that I’d enjoy.  I never was keen on retelling of fairytales or Celtic settings or the fey.  But Ms Marillier is a wonderful storyteller, and I’ve fallen in love with her Sevenwaters world.

It may have been only ten books read this month, but there were some very good ones there!

December

A very good reading month to end the year with.  I liked practically all the books I read this month and I’m finding it tough to narrow it down to the ones I liked best.

I finished Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters trilogy (“Son of the Shadows” and “Child of the Prophecy”) and immediately ordered “Heir to Sevenwaters” (no, I don’t know why I didn’t order them all in one go either).  I always start the year hoping to come across a new-to-me author with a marvellous backlist that will capture my imagination, and Juliet Marillier was probably my 2008 author (previous years being Elizabeth Peters, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Georgette Heyer in 2007, 2006, and 2005 respectively).

I read Josh Lanyon’s “Death of a Pirate King” (mystery, m/m romance, fourth in the Adrien English series) and “The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks” (mystery, m/m romance, standalone), and wasn’t disappointed.  I’m completely hooked on the Adrien English series and the Adrien/Jake relationship (think dysfunctional yet sooo right at the same time).  And Mr Lanyon’s writing is beautifully sparse yet descriptive.  I love the way he sketches in the background and atmosphere so easily, and his strong characterisation – his stories are the type where you never want to reach the last page.  M/M romance is a new subgenre for me this year, and I’m glad I decided to try something new.

And honourable mentions must go to Jenna Black’s “The Devil’s Due” (urban fantasy, Book 3 of the Morgan Kingsley series), Jim Butcher’s “Princeps’ Fury” (fantasy, Book 5 of the Codex Alera series), and Julie Hyzy’s “Hail to the Chef” (cosy mystery, Book 2 of the White House Chef series), all three of which were latest installments in ongoing series, and which I enjoyed very much.

So that’s my month-by-month review (previous parts one, two, and three linked here)… and err I’m not finished yet with 2008.

I’ve been incredibly good lately – no major shopping sprees, despite the sale signs in practically every other shop and various discount vouchers making the rounds.  However, I caved in over the weekend and bought the following from BooksonBoard:

• Jim Butcher’s “Princeps’ Fury” (fantasy): Fifth in his Codex Alera series.  Very different to his Dresden Files UF books, but equally enjoyable.
   
• Jenna Black’s “The Devil’s Due” (urban fantasy): Third in her Morgan Kingsley series.  I liked the first, was a bit meh about the second, so this could determine whether I continue with the series or not.
   
• Eloisa James’ “When the Duke Returns” (historical romance): Fourth in her Desperate Duchesses series.  This is the Squee.  See below.
   
• Brent Weeks’ “The Way of Shadows” (fantasy): First in the Night Angels trilogy.  I’m totally blanking on who and where I saw the rec for this, but this was based on an online recommendation.
   
• “The Magical Christmas Cat” (paranormal romance):  Anthology with Lora Leigh, Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones.  This came out a while back in trade paperback, and the ebook version is now available.  I wish they were released simultaneously, but oh well.  And yeah, I obviously bought it for the Nalini Singh story.
   
• Deborah Chester’s “The Pearls” (fantasy): First in a duology.  I have a few Deborah Chester books on my bookshelf, and was curious about her latest release.  And a duology instead of a long-running series?  Why not.
   
• Lynne Graham’s “The Greek Tycoon’s Disobedient Wife” (series romance):  I’m ignoring the title on this one.  But Lynne Graham is my one autobuy M&B author.  Formulaic?  Oh yes.  Comfort read?  Totally.

And the squee?

I had to read Eloisa James’ “When the Duke Returns” immediately, because of Ana’s rave over it.  And… I totally loved it.  Loved.  I thought Isidore’s and Simeon’s courtship was wonderfully romantic and sexy, with some really humorous moments.  And the scenes with Jemma & Elijah and Elijah & Villier?  Perfect.  I can’t wait for Jemma and Elijah’s book “This Duchess of Mine” (out May 2009). 

If I had to be really picky, I would say I think Villiers is turning out to be ever-so-slightly too good to be true.  But hey, this is romance, and we’re going to get a HEA for him (“A Duke of Her Own”, July 2009), so I’m willing to ignore that little niggle.

Ana did a “I love this series” post at The Book Smugglers earlier this week that provides a great overview of this series, btw.

I knew my list appeared rather short… how could I forget “Shadow Kiss” (YA fantasy), the third in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series?  I devoured the first two (“Vampire Academy” and “Frostbite” respectively) after strong recs from Thea and Ana a.k.a. The Book Smugglers, just in time for this release!

Excerpt here, but with major spoiler for previous book (out Nov 13).

Also, I thought this was a December release, but it’s actually an end of November one.  Eloisa James’ “When the Duke Returns” (historical romance) is the latest in her Desperate Duchess series.  I’m a complete Eloisa James fangirl, so I can’t wait for this to come out.  Even better, Jemma’s book is scheduled for spring of next year.  I really really hope she and Elijah work things out.

Excerpt here (out Nov 25).

I’ve been madly busy this week, am so glad it’s the weekend!

A couple of (old-ish) updates…

Sharon Shinn has a May update on her News page.  Interesting bits: 

• She has a new YA book called “Gateway” coming out in fall 2009.
• She has a short story in a new fantasy/mystery anthology “Powers of Detection II” coming out sometime this year.  I remember reading the previous one (Anne Bishop and Charlaine Harris were also contributors, IIRC), and liking it).
• The anthology she mentioned previously (with stories set in her various worlds) is tentatively titled “Quatrain” (v cool title, IMO) and is scheduled for fall 2009 as well.

Marg & co are running a Georgette Heyer season over at Historical Tapestry - lots of reviews on Heyer’s books (and cover pics), guest posts, and book giveaways.

And Eloisa James has a couple of excerpts from her upcoming book “Duchess by Night” on her website.

The Times today had a review of Eva Ibbotson’s new YA (children’s?) book “The Dragonfly Pool”.  I wasn’t that interested, but I am now after reading the review.  Here’s the back cover blurb:

Tally Hamilton is furious to hear she is being sent from London to a horrid, stuffy boarding school in the countryside. And all because of the stupid war. But Delderton Hall is a far more unusual and interesting place than Tally ever imagined, and she soon falls in love with its eccentric staff and pupils. Now she’s even organizing an exciting school trip to the kingdom of Bergania …although Tally never expected to meet the prince. Prince Karil hates his life at the palace and he is only truly happy when he escapes to the dragonfly pool, a remote spot in the forests of Bergania. Then Karil meets a feisty English girl who brings the promise of adventure. But his country is under threat, and the prince soon looks to his new friend Tally for survival as well as friendship…

If you’re a Paddington Bear fan, the Times also had an interview with the author, Michael Bond, with an extract from the new book.  I was never that into Paddington (think I only read the first one way back when) but it’s a amusing extract.

Moving on, here’s an interview with Lois McMaster Bujold at the Star Tribune newspaper website – it’s interesting reading.  She also provides a summary of the universes for her different books.

Finally, if you loved Eloisa James‘ “An Affair Before Christmas” (which I did), here’s a bonus chapter on her website (you have to register to read, but it’s free and quick).  I’m loving her Desperate Duchesses series and can’t wait for “Duchess by Night” to come out.

Came across this cover for Eloisa James‘ “Desperate Duchesses” on Amazon – it’s a UK edition that came out last month.  What do you think?  I like the the male hand holding a chess piece - very nice touch.  But major cleavage!  Hmm… probably quite true to the era though.

Also, on her website, she has the new cover for “Duchess by Night” (July 2008) up – my first thought was it’s green!  Am slightly puzzled by the model pose – she’s just sitting on her bed errr… showing off her legs.  I preferred the “An Affair Before Christmas” cover.

Julia Quinn’s also unveiled the cover of her new book “The Lost Duke of Wyndham” (May 2008).  It’s very very different to her previous ones and almost like a TV adaptation book cover.  I think it would work if my mental image matches that of the models, else it could be rather distracting.  The UK covers (scroll down) are pretty consistent with her other books – more chick-lit cartoony characters style.  They’re inoffensive, IMO – they wouldn’t make me think ”wow” but neither would they put me off.

In an attempt to get on top of the books I’ve read in the past couple of months, here are some quick reviews of books I’ve enjoyed recently:

“Mirror Prince” by Violette Malan (fantasy) – An impulse buy for me, I was drawn in by the Charlaine Harris blurb on the cover!  The plot?  The hero thinks he’s human, but he’s actually a prince exiled from Faerie, and his enemies are after him.  And without giving too much away, yes, there’s a love interest.

I thought the prologue was slightly disconnected from the main story - in fact, I picked this book up a few times, but never got past the first few pages.  Once I got past the slow start though, I was drawn into the story – I wanted to know how it would end.  It works as a standalone book, though there are hints of a sequel, and Ms Malan creates an interesting fantasy world.  The not-so-great bits:  I would have liked more character development - the characters never really came *alive* to me; and their names… aarrghhh.  Each character has two names, and keeping them straight was a nightmare.  Having said that though, it was a great debut novel and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for other books by this author.  Grade: B-

“Mistborn” by Brandon Sanderson (fantasy) – This is a heist-style story set in a fantasy world with lots of political intrigue.  I loved the creative magical system in this book – magic is based on metals, and Mr Sanderson has an almost scientific approach to it (in a good way!).  Well-developed characters and great action scenes as well.  I didn’t like the random POVs he started introducing towards the end of the book, but according to his annotations (excellent btw – I read them after I finished the book, and thought it was a fantastic behind-the-scenes type bonus), he used them purposefully to introduce a sense of climax and chaos.  I’m still not entirely sure if it worked, but I did enjoy this book and will get the next one in this trilogy.  Grade: B+

“An Affair Before Christmas” by Eloisa James (historical romance) – I’m a big Eloisa James fan, and well, I loved this.  It’s the second book in her “Desperate Duchesses” series.  This actually sat in my TBR pile for quite a bit - it came out early Nov, IIRC, but I only read it over Christmas.  In a way, I’m glad I waited for Christmas because it’s a nice and Christmassy book!  It’s a marriage-in-trouble setting – some may say a rather contrived problem.  So while I do like stories that focus on what happens *after* the wedding, this was probably the main reason I didn’t read it earlier – I was thinking “oh, no, it’s going to be boring!”.  It wasn’t, and this is one of the things I love about Ms James’ books – that she can take storylines that have been used a million times and make them her own.

I also loved the setting – I’m a sucker for Georgian settings and I thought the decadence and lushness of this era was conveyed better than the previous book, IMHO.  Also realistic, especially on the major beehives they wore back then!  To me, this book was classic Eloisa James - beautiful writing, sizzling sex scenes, and yes, a large cast of characters.  Now I like the ensemble-cast books – I love the fact that we get to know not just the main h/h, but everyone else as well – but I know it’s not to everyone’s taste.  I think I compared the Duke of Villiers unfavourably with Georgette Heyer’s Duke of Avon in the last book – this time around, I’m happy to say I wasn’t tempted to compare the two at all!  He definitely came into his own in this book and had quite a lot of page time.

In a way, Ms James reminds me of Suzanne Brockmann – the way she drags out this overall plot arc over the whole series.  I wonder when she’s going to write Jemma and Elijah’s story (and I really hope they end up together).  A keeper for me and I *want* the rest in this series.  Grade: A

My favourite books of 2007 – roughly in reading order:

** Patricia Briggs‘ “Blood Bound” (urban fantasy) – The second book in her Mercy series didn’t disappoint.  I’ve just finished the third (“Iron Kissed”) and can safely say this is one of my all-time favourite series.  It stands out from the hundred and one werewolf urban fantasy series out there.

** Elizabeth Peters‘ “The Falcon at the Portal” and “He Shall Thunder in the Sky” (mystery) – I loved the entire Amelia Peabody series, but these two books are my favourite because of the romance.  Rambling series review here.

** Kelley Armstrong’s “No Humans Involved” (urban fantasy) – I love all her books and the seventh book in her Otherworld series is no exception.  Review here.  Her Nadia Armstrong book, ”Exit Strategy”, nearly made it onto this list as well…

** Jacqueline Winspear’s “Maisie Dobbs” (mystery) – Set in 1930s London, this is the first book in her Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series.  I love the post-WWI setting and all the period detail – Ms Winspear really brings the era to life.  Series review here.

** Jacqueline Carey’s “Kushiel’s Justice” (dark fantasy) – This is the second book in her Imriel trilogy, but definitely doesn’t suffer from the “middle-child” syndrome.  I posted some thoughts about it here, but appear to have spent more space ranting about the spoiler on the copyright page than actually talking about the book.

** JK Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (YA fantasy) – Well, this just had to be on my list!  I thought it wrapped up the series perfectly.

** Suzanne Brockmann’s “Force of Nature” and “All Through the Night” (romantic suspense) – I’m a big Jules fan, and I’m glad he finally got his HEA.  Apart from that, I thought FoN was classic Brockmann, with a great ending.  Review of ATTN here.

** Eva Ibbotson’s “The Secret Countess” and “The Morning Gift” (YA romance) - Jennie’s review inspired me to buy the former, and I’m so glad I did.  It’s the perfect feel-good story.  Review of “The Secret Countess” here.  “The Morning Gift” is just as good – I don’t think I could pick the one I like better (some initial thoughts on it here).

** Diana Gabaldon’s “Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade” (historical mystery) - She’s one of my favourite authors, and Lord John’s one of her most fascinating characters.  I don’t think think anyone else out there writes the way she does.

** Nalini Singh’s “Caressed by Ice” (paranormal romance) – Third in her Psy-Changeling series, this was the one that wowed me.  I don’t think I reviewed it (lazy me!), but I loved the romance and the world-building.

** Lisa Kleypas‘ “Mine Till Midnight” (historical romance) – Ms Kleypas is a relatively new-to-me author, but now one of my auto-buys.  I liked how Cam wasn’t a typical hero and loved his story.

** Sharon Shinn’s “Reader and Raelynx” (fantasy) – Fourth in her Twelve Houses series.  I think I would read anything Ms Shinn writes.  Fangirl gush aside – I thought this wrapped up her Twelve Houses series very well… but I’m still hoping for one more.   

** Eloisa James‘ “An Affair Before Christmas” (historical romance) – I loved this one.  I haven’t yet done a review (am waaaaay behind), but I thought it was better than the first book (“Desperate Duchess”) in this series.  Loved the Georgian setting, her writing, the cast of characters… everything about this book really!

Previous posts:

• Part 1 – Quick look at the first third of the year
• Part 2 – I ramble on about reading stats for the year