Books for March

Here’s a pretty long list of March releases that I’m eyeing (plus a whole load of maybes).  Also, Andrea K Höst‘s HUNTING is now scheduled for a March release, so lots of book goodness this month.

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Patricia Briggs‘ FROST BURNED (UF): *inarticulate noise* Yes, I’m that excited about a new Mercy Thompson story.  It’s been one of the very few books I’ve actually pre-ordered this year.  I’m wondering if we’re going to see the repercussions of the events in the last Anna & Charles book in FROST BURNED – I hope so.

Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more…

After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted.

Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

Out March 5 (excerpt)

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Miranda Kenneally‘s THINGS I CAN’T FORGET (YA romance): Miranda Kenneally’s CATCHING JORDAN was an unexpectedly good read when I stumbled upon it last year, so I’m all up for a new book in her Hundred Oaks setting (this is termed a companion book, which appears to be a quiet trend in the YA space).

Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different…

This summer she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He’s the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt…with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy…

Out now (excerpt)

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Seanan McGuire‘s MIDNIGHT BLUE-LIGHT SPECIAL (UF): So I didn’t quite love the first InCryptid novel, but this is Seanan McGuire.  I’m giving this series another go.

Cryptid, noun:
1. Any creature whose existence has been suggested but not proven scientifically. Term officially coined by cryptozoologist John E. Wall in 1983.
2. That thing that’s getting ready to eat your head.
3. See also: “monster.”

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 when her work with the cryptid community took her to Manhattan, she thought she would finally be free to pursue competition-level dance in earnest. It didn’t quite work out that way…

But now, with the snake cult that was killing virgins all over Manhattan finally taken care of, Verity is ready to settle down for some serious ballroom dancing—until her on-again, off-again, semi-boyfriend Dominic De Luca, a member of the monster-hunting Covenant of St. George, informs her that the Covenant is on their way to assess the city’s readiness for a cryptid purge. With everything and everyone she loves on the line, there’s no way Verity can take that lying down.

Alliances will be tested, allies will be questioned, lives will be lost, and the talking mice in Verity’s apartment will immortalize everything as holy writ–assuming there’s anyone left standing when all is said and done. It’s a midnight blue-light special, and the sale of the day is on betrayal, deceit…and carnage.

Out March 5 (excerpt)

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QUEEN VICTORIA’S BOOK OF SPELLS, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (YA fantasy): The subtitle is An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy, which just intrigues me.

“Gaslamp Fantasy,” or historical fantasy set in a magical version of the nineteenth century, has long been popular with readers and writers alike. A number of wonderful fantasy novels, including Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and The Prestige by Christopher Priest, owe their inspiration to works by nineteenth-century writers ranging from Jane Austen, the Brontës, and George Meredith to Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and William Morris. And, of course, the entire steampunk genre and subculture owes more than a little to literature inspired by this period.

Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells is an anthology for everyone who loves these works of neo-Victorian fiction, and wishes to explore the wide variety of ways that modern fantasists are using nineteenth-century settings, characters, and themes. These approaches stretch from steampunk fiction to the Austen-and-Trollope inspired works that some critics call Fantasy of Manners, all of which fit under the larger umbrella of Gaslamp Fantasy. The result is eighteen stories by experts from the fantasy, horror, mainstream, and young adult fields, including both bestselling writers and exciting new talents such as Elizabeth Bear, James Blaylock, Jeffrey Ford, Ellen Kushner, Tanith Lee, Gregory Maguire, Delia Sherman, and Catherynne M. Valente, who present a bewitching vision of a nineteenth century invested (or cursed!)

Out March 19 (publisher page)

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Teresa Grant‘s THE PARIS AFFAIR (historical mystery): I’m a long-time fan of Teresa Grant’s books and am looking forward to a new installment in Suzanne and Malcolm’s life.  Her novels are packed full of historical detail and political intrigue; add the rather complicated relationship between Suzanne and Malcolm and you get a very satisfying read.

Warning: SPOILER in book description for previous books(!):

From the ashes of war rise the secrets of its darkest hearts…

In the wake of the Battle of Waterloo, Paris is a house divided. The triumphant Bourbons flaunt their victory with lavish parties, while Bonapartists seek revenge only to be captured and executed. Amid the turmoil, British attaché and intelligence agent Malcolm Rannoch and his wife, Suzanne, discover that his murdered half sister, Princess Tatiana Kirsanova, may have borne a child—a secret she took to the grave. And Malcolm suspects there was more than mere impropriety behind her silence…

As Malcolm and Suzanne begin searching for answers, they learn that the child was just one of many secrets Tatiana had been keeping. The princess was the toast of Paris when she arrived in the glamorous city, flirting her way into the arms of more than a few men—perhaps even those of Napoleon himself—and the father must be among them. But in the mêlée of the Napoleonic Wars, she was caught up in a deadly game of court intrigue, and now Malcolm and Suzanne must race against time to save his sister’s child from a similar fate…

Out March 26 (excerpt)

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And then my maybes:

Anne Bishop‘s WRITTEN IN RED (YA UF): I’ve skipped her more recent fantasy releases, but may pick up her YA UF debut. (ETA: This is not a YA according to commenters – no idea where I got my original impression from!)

Jennifer Nielsen‘s THE RUNAWAY KING (MG/YA fantasy): I liked but didn’t love the first book in this trilogy (THE FALSE PRINCE) so this is on my library reservation request list.

Nalini Singh‘s WILD INVITATION (paranormal romance): Another library reservation request, I think – primarily because I’ve read both of the previously-published short stories in this anthology.  I’m not keen on paying full price for two new stories.

Eloisa James‘ WITH THIS KISS (historical romance): Normally Eloisa James is an autobuy author, but I’m not sure this serial-in-three-parts will work for me.  I’ll wait on reviews.

Jacqueline Winspear‘s LEAVING EVERYTHING MOST LOVED (historical mystery): Her Maisie Dobbs books are hits or misses with me, so I’ll probably play safe and borrow a copy from the library.

Cautiously Excited

That sums up my feelings about London hosting the Olympics in a couple of weeks.  Part of me is looking forward being in a city that is celebrating sport (not that I have any tickets, but that would be another post in itself) – the banners are up, the torch reaches London this evening… it’s all starting to feel real.  But the other part of me is wondering if it will turn out to be a complete nightmare logistics-wise for people who actually live here.  The Tube stations I frequent are on the list of stations to avoid as much as possible as they’re expected to be extremely busy, buses are on diversions, everyone’s trying to figure out how to work from home… So yes, it could turn out to be fantastic and a summer to remember, or it could be one that I would prefer to forget.

Have any of you ever lived in a city that was hosting the Olympics before?  Any tips on what to expect?

Anyway, to bring this back to books, I was thinking about London the other day – specifically books that are set in London.  I get a secret thrill when reading books set in places I know – it’s like seeing a familiar place through other people’s eyes.  But not all books do that; there are numerous historical romances that are set in London, where lip-service is paid to riding in Hyde Park and dancing at Almacks, but somehow, it doesn’t feel like the London I know and love.

Here are a few books that bring London alive for me:

Jacqueline Winspear‘s Maisie Dobbs books: These are historical mysteries set in the post-WW1 era (here’s what I wrote a few years back about the first four books).  I’m not massively keen on the paranormal and psychic elements of the latter books in the series, but love the period-era details in the books.  And when Maisie walks to her office in the Bloomsbury area or makes her way home, I think, yes, this is London.

Sarah Rees Brennan‘s Demon Lexicon trilogy: It’s no secret that I love these books to death, and the fact that London acts as a backdrop to some of the action is a bonus.  I think THE DEMON’S SURRENDER cover is great (and not just because it’s Alan looking all moody and heroic) – the London skyline behind him sets the scene so perfectly.

Ben Aaronovitch‘s Peter Grant books: I’ve only read the first book in this gritty urban fantasy series (RIVERS OF LONDON / MIDNIGHT RIOT) so far, but what I really like about his writing is that it brings out the multicultural-ness (yes, I just made up that word) of London.  And I actually learnt some fascinating facts about London rivers when reading this book.  Educational entertainment

Benedict Jacka‘s Alex Verus books: As with the Peter Grant books, I’ve only (just) read the first book in the series, FATED.  There is a bit of a Dresden Files feeling about this book (the blurb from Jim Butcher on the cover and an in-joke about a Chicago wizard in the first couple of pages didn’t do anything to dispel this).  But a clear sense of place comes through – Alex runs a shop in Camden and a lot of the action takes place in the British Museum.  In fact, this was the book that inspired me to write this post.

I’ve probably missed off quite a few books – have any books brought London to life for you?  And do you feel the same way as me when reading books set in your home city?

Books for February

The big release this month for me is Patricia Briggs’ “Bone Crossed” (urban fantasy, Book 4 of the Mercy series).  After the events of the previous book, I can’t wait to see how things unfold in this one. Oh, and can I just say how jealous I am of everyone who has already read it?

After weighing up the chances of me stumbling across a copy in the bookstore in the week or so that Amazon will take to deliver, I’ve gone with the Amazon option.  Which probably means I should avoid the bookstore next weekend, because if I do see it, I’m not quite sure I’ll win the struggle against temptation. 

And as for the UK v. US cover debate?  The US one is incredibly striking, but I’ve been pragmatic and gone for the UK paperback version (which is also obviously a lot easier to obtain).  It’s actually not that bad if you don’t compare it against the US version!  Very similar in style to the previous three, and it’s very easy to tell they’re part of the same series.  Too easy perhaps?

Excerpt here (out Feb 3)

 

On to other February releases, Eileen Wilks’ “Mortal Sins” (urban fantasy, Book 5 of the Lupi series) is also out.  Ms Wilks is another of my favourite UF authors, so February is obviously a good book month for me. 

Blurb here:

FBI agent Lily Yu is in North Carolina with her lover and mate Rule Turner, lu nuncio of the Nokolai werewolf clan, where he is to take custody of his son from the boy’s grandmother. It’s a purely personal trip until Rule, in wolf form, finds three bodies in a shallow grave. They carry the stench of death magic, which makes the murders a federal crime. Lily takes charge of the investigation, and soon realizes that nothing adds up—not the motives, not even the accused killer, who’s behind bars when death strikes again.

But murder, however bizarre, is an everyday affair for Lily, who was a homicide cop before being recruited into the FBI’s Magical Crimes Division. A more personal shock arrives in the person of Rule’s son’s mother. Why is she challenging Rule’s long standing plan to bring his son to live among the Nokolai?

As much as I enjoyed Cynna and Cullen, we’re back to Lily and Rule’s POVs, and I’m thinking the introduction of Rule’s son opens up quite a few possibilities!

Excerpt here (out Feb 3)

 

Kelley Armstrong’s “Made to be Broken” (suspense, Book 2 of the Nadia Stafford series) is finally released as well.  This has been a long time in coming, since the first Nadia book was published back in June 2007 – or have we just been spoiled by prolific authors?  Seeing that Ms Armstrong released quite a few books during 2008, I’m not really complaining.

Anyway, the first book “Exit Strategy” introduced us to hitwoman Nadia Stafford, and while I was slightly dubious about having a killer-for-hire as the main protagonist, I ended up really liking it, IIRC.  Ms Armstrong makes it work – no surprise there!

Excerpt here (out Feb 24)

 

“The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance” (anthology, edited by Trisha Telep) is also released this month in the UK.  Despite the cover (who on earth signed off on it??!), I’m getting it because contributors include Mary Jo Putney, Kelley Armstrong, Ilona Andrews, amongst many others.  I’ve the related anthology “The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance”, which I’ve dipped into now and again – “mammoth” is a rather good description for these books.

Out Feb 26 in the UK, April 13 for the US peeps

 

Also out is Nalini Singh’s e-novella “Angels’ Pawn” (released Feb 24).  This is an interesting one because it’s almost like a teaser for her first Guild Hunter novel “Angel’s Blood” (out March 2009) – a new publicity tactic?  Anyway, not sure if this is paranormal romance or urban fantasy – or sits on the borderline between the two.  I’ve enjoyed her Psy-Changeling books, and from what I’ve heard, this is shaping up to be an exciting new series.  Angels and vampires, what’s not to like?

Another February ebook release is Josh Lanyon and Laura Baumbach’s “Mexican Heat” (m/m romantic suspense, out Feb 6) – this is the first in the Crimes & Cocktails series.  I’ve loved his Adrien English series, so this is definitely on my must-get list.

 

As for the maybes:

LJ Smith’s new book “The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall” (YA urban fantasy, out Feb 19) is a return to her Vampire Diaries series and the start of a new trilogy, as evidenced by the number of colons in that title    I’m tempted, but it’s been a while since I read the original series.  I actually bought the re-released versions, but they’re sitting in the depths of my TBR pile, and I’m thinking I should really re-read them before getting the latest.

 

 

Jacqueline Winspear’s “Among the Mad” (historical mystery, Book 6 of the Maisie Dobbs series) is the latest in her series set in 1930s London, and will be released Feb 17 in the US.  I read the previous book, “An Incomplete Revenge”, in December, and like the other books, really enjoyed the period feel and setting.  However, it’s only released in the UK in June, and I’m not sure if I like it enough to get the US version (though I love the cover).  I’ll probably wait for this one.  Excerpt here.

 

Hmm… that is probably it for me this month – more than enough, I would say!

Books for February

In an attempt to keep my TBR pile at a reasonable level, I’ve decided that for each new book I buy, I have to finish one sitting in my TBR.  Which means for February, that’s a rather reasonable total of three books.

I want to get:

“Mine to Possess” by Nalini Singh (paranormal romance) – I’m so looking forward to this one.  Unlike many other readers of this series, I wasn’t really sold on the first book “Slave to Sensation” – don’t get me wrong, I thought it was all right, but not *wow*.  It was the third, “Caressed by Ice”, that made me think “Yes!”.  I love the world she’s created, the political intrigue and maneuverings providing the perfect backdrop for the romance.  Excerpt here.

“Demon Night” by Meljean Brook (paranormal romance) – Okay, I can’t buy this until I finish “Demon Moon”.  I have no idea why I still haven’t gotten around to reading DM.  I think I just haven’t really felt like reading long books recently.  I really like the cover on this one – good choice of model!  Excerpt here.

“An Incomplete Revenge” by Jacqueline Winspear (period mystery) – I love this post-WWI mystery series – blurb here.  It’s in hardcover though, so I may hold off.  Sigh.  I’ve just re-read the blurb and I really want it.  I think the cover suits the setting very well, but I’m not sure how well it’ll stand out in the stores.

The Year in Review – Part 3

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

New-to-me Authors

I’ve just taken a look at books I read in May and June so far – 32 books, written by 18 authors.  Probably somewhat skewed by the fact I had a Eloisa James mini-glom (seven books). 

Anyway, out of the 18 authors, five were new to me:

• Jacqueline Winspear (post-WWI mystery series) - The first book was an impulse buy, mainly because the latest book had just come out and was prominently displayed on one of the front tables in Borders.  So I picked it up, read the first couple of pages, realised it was part of a series, bought the first book, loved it and bought all the rest.  So there you go – position matters!  Oh, and it helps if the entire series is available as well…
     
• Laura Lee Guhrke (historical romance) – “And Then He Kissed Her” was getting rave reviews all around the internet.  So I bought it - and was not disappointed.  Loved the whole “girl-bachelor” storyline and the chemistry between the h/h.  I’m slightly hesitant about getting her backlist (as there were mixed reviews on her previous books) but I’ll definitely be getting her next book “The Wicked Ways of a Duke” (January 2008).
   
• Jill Churchill (Cosy mystery) - Again, came across her books while browsing through the Mystery section in a bookstore.  She writes two series, ”Jane Jeffry” (suburban single mum series) and “Grace and Favor” (Depression-era brother/sister series), and I bought the first book in each.  Of the two, I preferred the “Grace and Favor” book – maybe it’s the setting that appeals to me more – and have ordered more in the series from Amazon.
   
• The books of the final two authors, Margaret Ball (SF) and Rob Thurman (urban fantasy), were unfortunately a bit, well, blah.  Ms Ball’s book “Disappearing Act” was okay, but nothing special.  As for Ms Thurman’s book “Nightlife” – I struggled to finish it, and ended up flipping through the last half.  Interesting premise (two brothers, one being a half-demon), but it just didn’t capture my imagination. 

So out of the five, I loved one, and liked another two.  Pretty good going, I think.

As an aside, I’m listening to the Wimbledon coverage in the background – or rather, the non-Wimbledon coverage, as it’s been raining for the past three hours.  After lots of chat about the new-look Centre Court (no roof this year), Andy Murray’s wrist injury and last-minute withdrawal, Federer, Nadal, etc, the BBC presenters have finally resorted to re-screening the French Open final.  I bet they’re using up all their “filler” on the first day!

Jacqueline Winspear’s “Maisie Dobbs” Series

I mentioned the other day that I came across a new find – Jacqueline Winspear‘s “Maisie Dobbs” books, which is a mystery series set in 1930s London.  There are four books so far in the series: “Maisie Dobbs”, “Birds of a Feather”, “Pardonable Lies” and “Messenger of Truth”.  These books are shelved under Mystery, but really, the mystery plotline is just one element of the books.

Maisie Dobbs is a private investigator, but one with a difference – I’ll be lazy and quote the character blurb from Ms Winspear’s website here:

At thirteen, after losing her mother, the intuitive young Maisie began working as a housemaid. With diligence and determination, she enrolled at Girton College, but after her first year, left to serve her country as a nurse. Following the war, Maisie returned to school to get her degree. She has since established herself as a successful psychological investigator under Maurice Blanche’s rigorous guidance. With the help of an extraordinary intuitiveness about the workings of the human mind, Maisie now has a flourishing practice of her own.

So what makes these books special?

Well, for one, the post-WWI setting.  Now I know there must be lots of books set in this time period, but I don’t actively search for them.  So this is a new setting to me and Ms Winspear does an excellent job of conveying the human impact of a war – the bravery both of those sent to the Front and those staying behind, and the strength needed to pick up the strands of everyday lives after the War.  It’s also very much a time of change, with women gaining a lot more independence, the idea of being “in service” dying out – again, I thought the social history aspects were described really well. 

[As an aside, I do remember reading LM Montgomery's "Rilla of Ingleside", which was set during WWI, and sobbing my eyes out towards the end.  That was my favourite among the "Anne of Green Gables" series, though I much preferred her Emily books.]

Getting back to Maisie, she’s a rather likeable heroine.  How she applies psychology to understand people’s motives and emotions is very interesting, and I’m hoping to read more about her training with Maurice Blanche.  I did wonder how likely it would have been for a household maid to attend Oxford in the time period, but the background Ms Winspear sketches in for Lady Rowan Compton makes it rather plausible, and well, I really don’t know enough about this period to say one way or another.

I also love the London setting and period detail in these books – there’s lots of detail about the places Maisie goes to, and also how things were done back then.  And as I read, I mentally place myself in her shoes, and go “Hmmm… so she’s left Warren Street Station and now she’s heading towards Mayfair…” – and because I know the area (sort of-ish), it would definitely jar if Ms Winspear wrote in a logistical impossibility and I haven’t spotted any so far.

At times, Ms Winspear does veer dangerously close to info-dumping, but hey, it’s fascinating.  I never knew how they used to start up motorcars back then!  She also captures the whole “upstairs-downstairs” atmosphere of the times, for instance, how it was just expected you would have maids to draw baths and bring you dinner on trays – I know these are mentioned in many historical romances, but they just don’t come near the detail described here.

I admit I don’t particularly care for the “woo-woo” aspects to the books – at times, Maisie appears to have a psychic ability to read people’s feelings and see past events.  At the moment, I don’t know if it’s just her intuition and psychology training, or whether Ms Winspear’s actually suggesting Maisie has some sort of sixth sense, but this is the one element that pulls me out of the story slightly.

I actually felt that the mystery plot was the weakest point in the first book – more time was spent on the backstory and setting the scene.  However, I was completely caught up in the mystery in the second book, and the third has started off really promisingly.

So if you’re looking for a new mystery series, I would definitely suggest you try these books!

Oh, and because I am a romance reader – I have to say (with slight spoilers ahead for the first book):

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I was desperately hoping for a HEA for her and Simon all throughout the first book – even though I knew it wouldn’t happen because I errr… flipped through the pages of the fourth book beforehand, and figured out what happened to Simon.  Ms Winspear’s website alludes to a romance in later books though, so I’ll be hoping for a satisfying romance to come…

Time to Catch Up

I got back yesterday, after a rather hectic trip to Hong Kong and Tokyo.  In the past week, I reckon I’ve spent more than 40 hours in airports and on planes – and then there were the trains and taxis and… let’s just say I’ve spent more time travelling than I care to remember in the past seven days.  It was my first time in Tokyo, so that was pretty cool – but then again, I didn’t really get to spend much time sightseeing.  It was very much hotel-office and vice versa.  Surprisingly, I didn’t really get jetlag apart from the first night, when I woke up at 5am and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Anyway, I’m very very glad to be home again – and also that my broadband access is sorted out!

Despite the long flights, I spent more time sleeping than reading – the only book I finished was Dave Duncan‘s “Children of Chaos”.  I loved his King’s Blades novels, so bought this a while ago and decided that it would make a good airport book.  Err… that would be if you didn’t mind the typical fantasy cover, with a large furry grey monster and half-clad girl on it.  I’m not easily embarrassed – though I certainly didn’t wave it in front of my work colleagues *grin*. 

“Children of Chaos” is the first of a duology, and follows four siblings who were taken as hostages in order to guarantee their father’s good behaviour - their father being the Doge of Celebre.  I find Mr Duncan’s books very readable and this was no exception – though the scenes where he described the effects of prolonged shape-shifting may not be your thing if you’ve a weak stomach.  It’s an very interesting and imaginative world, and I’ll be picking up the second book “Mother of Lies” to find out how the story concludes.  Excerpts here on the author’s website if you’re interested.

I also picked up Colleen Gleason‘s “Rises the Night” in HK – this is her second book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles series (five books in total, IIRC).  The first book wasn’t really my thing – to me, Victoria seemed just a bit too modern for the Regency setting.  But “Rises the Night” has been getting good reviews, and so I decided to give this series another go.  I’ve just read the first couple of chapters so far, and it appears to be a bit more angst-y, with Victoria struggling to get over the events in the first book.  Whether I still feel if she’s too modern for her times remains to be seen.  Oh, and like the first book, this one has a great cover.

Other books read in May – Charlaine Harris‘ “All Together Dead” – not the best in the Sookie Stackhouse series, but I’ve got a thing for Eric.  Oh, and a new (to me) gem – Jacqueline Winspear‘s Maisie Dobbs books.  These mystery books are set in the 1930s after WWI – I read the first book (“Maisie Dobbs”) and immediately picked up the next two in the series, “Birds of a Feather” and “Pardonable Lies”.  More about Maisie Dobbs to come…