Around the Web

Random author linkage:

• Interview with Diana Gabaldon on the Orion Books (her UK publisher) website – nothing very new, except she does say she has plans to write a couple of contemporary crime novels until the name DJ Gabaldon at some point
   
• Kristin Cashore talks about limitations when writing fantasy, specifically referencing “Graceling” – it’s interesting behind-the-scenes stuff
   
• A guest post by Sharon Shinn on Odd Shots – two things I loved: (1) That she’s going to be in an anthology with Nalini Singh, Meljean Brook, and Ilona Andrews (that is a dream line-up!); and (2) her description of her books as “… fantasy/sf books wrapped around romances…”, what a perfect description!

2009: Recap of My Reading Year Part II

Continuing my January to June recap, here’s the second half of my 2009 in books:

 

July

I finally got around to reading Megan Whalen Turner’s “The Thief” and yes, kicked myself in the what-took-me-so-long kind of way.  Because this series is an indisputable gem, so cleverly written and populated with wonderful characters.

I hit double-digits in terms of books read this month, a whole eleven books, most of which were good.  On the not-so-good side, I think I gave up on Janet Evanovich’s Plum books.  Or at least buying the hardcover.

 

 

August

Another Patricia Briggs book, this time “Hunting Ground” in her Anna and Charles series, was the standout book of the month for me.

I also loved Robin McKinley’s “The Hero and the Crown” (YA fantasy, and a beautifully-told coming-of-age story), which I picked up thanks to a rec from Angie, and heaved a huge sigh as I turned over the final page of Megan Whalen Turner’s “King of Attolia”.  Ah, Gen.

And with eleven books read this month, this quarter was looking good.

 

September

Wait for it… I read a massive 21 books.  Yes, I was on holiday.

 Lisa Kleypas’s contemporary romances “Blue-Eyed Devil” and “Smooth-Talking Stranger” impressed me with the way she dealt with serious issues while keeping the romance firmly at the centre of the story – her contemporaries are now autobuys for me.

I also got around to reading Mary Ann Schaffer & Annie Barrows’ “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” – it made me laugh and cry (at different times, before you ask).  A proper feel-good book.

And I also enjoyed Lisa Lutz’s “Curse of the Spellmans” (mystery, funny with heart), Ellen Crosby’s “The Merlot Murders” (mystery, loved the winemaking focus), and Mary Kay Andrews’ “Savannah Blues” (contemporary romance, filled with Southern charm and lots of humour).

 

October

So after the wonder that was September, I read seven books in October.  But they were mostly good.  I loved Sharon Shinn’s “Quatrain” (fantasy anthology) because her writing is beautiful and it was like revisiting old friends.

I finished my mini-glom of Joanne Dobson’s Karen Pelletier books (mystery) – I very much enjoyed the small-town college setting and the literature element of the mysteries.  And I really liked Ilona Andrews’ “On the Edge”  (paranormal romance, which felt almost like a frontier-set historical romance) and Ellen Emerson White’s “The President’s Daughter” (YA, and read thanks to another rec from Angie – no prizes for guessing who was responsible for quite a bit of my book spending this year).

 

November

A measly four books read (I think this was payback for September).  I made time to read Juliet Mariller’s “Heart’s Blood” (fantasy), and it was very much worth it.  Not quite as magical as her Sevenwaters world perhaps, but a very good read.

And really, that’s all I can say about November, which saw my number of blog posts also fall to a dismal three during the month.

 

 

December

Rounding off the year with 17 books read, I read and raved about Kristin Cashore’s “Fire” (fantasy) and Josh Lanyon’s “The Dark Tide” (mystery / m/m romance) in the final days of 2009.

But before that, I also loved Eloisa James’ “A Duke of Her Own” (historical romance), which wowed me with the very sexy and steamy chemistry between the hero and the heroine.  Unusually standalone for an Eloisa James book as well.

And technically a 2010 release, except I read it this side of the new year (just), I adored Karen Chance’s “Death’s Mistress” (urban fantasy), which was packed full of action and humour, and sneaked into my list of top reads for the year.

 

And that brought my total number of books read over the year to 115, which, while 40 fewer than what I read during 2008, had some truly excellent books.

One more post with lists and numbers, and that’ll be it for 2009, I promise!

Linkage and Stuff

Via Jessica’s Monday Morning Stepback post at Racy Romance Reviews, I hopped over to Courtney Milan’s blog where she gives her take on Publishers Weekly’s top ten books of the year – the all-male one.

And wow.  Both the post and her responses in the comments?  I am in awe.  Plus I learnt what disemvoweling means – though God forbid I ever need to use it in my little corner of the internet.

Anyway, having been thoroughly impressed, I wandered off to browse the rest of her site, and ended up reading the excerpt of her upcoming historical romance “Proof by Seduction” (January 2010 release).  I can’t remember the last historical romance I read, but I loved her writing, the scene made me laugh, and the book is so definitely going on my To Buy list for January.

 

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On a different note, unless you’ve been under a rock (or internet-less), you’ve probably have heard of the launch of Harlequin’s digital-only publisher Carina Press.  I don’t really pay attention to publishing news, well okay, I’m interested but don’t get all excited about it, but this one grabbed my attention. 

Why?  Because a major publisher is actually going to try the DRM-free model for ebooks*.  It’s about time.  Let’s face it, pretty much every single DRM format can be hacked if you know how to use Google.  I’m hoping this marks a major turning point for the ebook market.  Too optimistic?  Perhaps.

* Yes, I know Baen does it (and I love them for it), but they only do SF/F.

 

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Finally, I finished reading Sharon Shinn’s “Quatrain” recently – her collection of short stories set in four of her different worlds.  I loved.  It was like revisiting old friends and I reveled in the familiarity.  I’m pretty sure it would work for readers new to her books, but I don’t think I’m objective enough on that count.

The Samaria story especially reminded me of how much I adored that world and her writing.  This sentence stayed in my mind for ages after I closed the book (the protagonist is listening to a quartet of angels sing):

I heard the pale-oak tenor, the black-satin alto, and the crystal-line soprano lay their individual architectures over [Stephen’s] flawlessly planed foundation.

Beautiful.

Books for October

A bit late with this post, but September had so many releases I wanted – I’m determinedly not thinking of the number of books I added to my TBR pile last month.  And October is shaping up to be just as good.

 

First up, Sharon Shinn is flooding the New Releases shelf – I’m not complaining though!  I’ve just ordered “Quatrain” (out now).  I’ve been waiting ever so impatiently for this quartet of fantasy novellas set in Ms Shinn’s various worlds (Twelve Houses, Samaria, Summer at Castle Auburn and Heart of Gold).  A very cool fact she mentions on her site:

While these four stories take place in radically different worlds, a lot of little details tie them together. For instance, the titles roughly correspond to the four elements; all four open with an almost identical sentence. And a few other things like that.

I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.

 

Ms Shinn then has a YA fantasy called “Gateway”, which she says is set in an alternate St. Louis (out Oct 15) – here’s the blurb from her site:

Adopted from China and raised in St. Louis, Daiyu is a teenage girl who one day steps under the Arch—and finds herself in an alternate version of her familiar city where almost everyone is Chinese.  She has been brought here by mysterious strangers to help them bring down the corrupt ruling government, but to do so, she must play a dangerous part among the elite members of this society.  Very quickly she learns to trust no one except a young man named Kalen.  He will help her carry out her plans and then find her way back home—but she is not so sure that, when her task is over, she’ll be able to leave Kalen behind.

I love the cover of “Gateway” – very striking.

 

And finally, she has a story in the “Never After” anthology (together with Laurell K Hamilton, Marjorie Liu, and Yasmine Galenorn), which is intriguingly described as fairy tales with a feminist twist.  This one is out Oct 27.

 

Moving on from Sharon Shinn (excellent interview here, btw, if you haven’t already read it), Kelley Armstrong has her latest Otherworld release out now as well, “Frostbitten” (urban fantasy).  Elena is definitely one of the narrators in this one, but I can’t remember off the top of my head if she is the only one. 

Ms Armstrong also released a free mini-story called “Recruit” (PDF link), that I believe is linked to the events leading up to “Frostbitten”.  I’m a sucker for freebies.

 

Finally, and I almost forgot because it’s already sitting on my bedside table, Juliet Marillier’s “Heart’s Blood” (fantasy) is also out now (US and Australian editions out Nov 3).  I’ve read and loved every single one of her Sevenwaters books (I really need to catch up on the rest of her backlist), and this one sounds just as amazing.

And I adore the atmospheric UK cover.

From her website:

A haunted forest. A cursed castle. A girl running from her past and a man who’s more than he seems to be. A tale of love, betrayal and redemption…

Whistling Tor is a place of secrets, a mysterious wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress of a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan’s family and his people; the woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.

And yet the derelict fortress is a safe haven for Caitrin, the troubled young scribe who is fleeing her own demons. Despite Anluan’s tempers and the mysterious secrets housed in the dark corridors, this long-feared place provides the refuge she so desperately needs.

As time passes, Caitrin learns there is more to the broken young man and his unusual household than she realised. It may be only through her love and determination that the curse can be lifted and Anluan and his people set free…

I somehow don’t think I’ll run out of books to read this month.

A Few of My Favourite… YA Books

I’ve been horribly remiss at not mentioning The Book Smugglers’ YA Appreciation Month previously, but hey, I’m guessing you all know about it already (and if not, there is still a week to go!).

Anyway, today, they have invited all and sundry to join the party – if you’ve a YA-related post, just go over to their site and add your link.

I don’t really blog a lot about YA (you could argue I don’t blog a lot, full stop), but YA makes up a good proportion of my reading diet. 

So in honour of YA Appreciation Month, here are a few YA books / series that have been on my mind recently:

 

The “why did I take so long to read this” YA series: Megan Whalen Turner’s Thief books

Megan Whalen Turner (warning: reviews on her website have spoilers for the previous books) has created an incredible series.  I think fans of The Thief may be hitting critical mass – certainly I have noticed more and more mentions of these books in the blogosphere recently.  Ana did a fantastic spoiler-free review of the series and pretty much echoed my thoughts.

I always read the copyright page before plunging into the book (I’m surely not the only one out there), and “The King of Attolia” had these as library keywords:

1. Kings, queens, rulers, etc–Fiction  2. Soldiers–Fiction  3. Loyalty–Fiction  4. Robbers and outlaws–Fiction  5. Adventures and adventurers–Fiction

How could you not be excited about a book with those keywords?

This is very definitely a standout series, YA or otherwise (and expect a separate post coming up!).

 

Next up, the “YA book that needs more love” book: Sharon Shinn’s “Summers at Castle Auburn”

Coriel, the illegitimate daughter of a high-ranking aristocrat, spends most of her life learning herbal medicine from her grandmother, but she spends her summers with her half-sister, Elisandra, at the royal castle where Prince Bryan resides. Corie has always been secretly in love with Bryan, but she is slowly realizing that he is a spoiled, selfish, dangerous man—and that Elisandra dreads her upcoming marriage to the prince. Corie hopes that the prince’s cousin Kent will save Elisandra, while she wonders if the taciturn guard Roderick might play a bigger part in her own life.

I adore Sharon Shinn’s writing.  No matter what she writes.  And she has a trick of closing her books with the most magical lines ever.  Her Samaria and Twelve Houses series get quite a few mentions (and they sit on my keepers shelf), but I don’t hear a lot about this standalone YA of hers.

“Summers at Castle Auburn” is one of my favourite Shinns, a perfect coming-of-age story.  It is very much a comfort read for me, and it never fails to satisfy.  Here’s a review from Jennie – seeing that she read it on my rec, I’m really glad she enjoyed it!

 

And finally, the “I’ll never outgrow this YA series” books: Tamora Pierce’s “Song of the Lioness” quartet

Call it fate, call it intuition, or just call it common sense, but somehow young Alanna knows she isn’t meant to become some proper lady cloistered in a convent. Instead, she wants to be a great warrior maiden–a female knight. But in the land of Tortall, women aren’t allowed to train as warriors. So Alanna finds a way to switch places with her twin, Thom, and take his place as a knight in training at the palace of King Roald. Disguising herself as a boy, Alanna begins her training as a page in the royal court. Soon, she is garnering the admiration of all around her, including the crown prince, with her strong work ethic and her thirst for knowledge. But all the while, she is haunted by the recurring vision of a black stone city that emanates evil… somehow she knows it is her fate to purge that place of its wickedness. But how will she find it? And can she fulfill her destiny while keeping her gender a secret?

Tamora Pierce has written many books since her first Alanna series, but the Alanna books are the ones I always end up re-reading (and there are some scenes that always end up with me sniffling, even though I know exactly what is going to happen).

Angie included Alanna in her recent post on “Stubborn Girls (and Why I Love Them)” and I have to agree whole-heartedly.

 

Interestingly, all these three are straight fantasy – something that I wasn’t actively thinking about when I was thinking about the YA books I wanted to highlight.  All three are also pretty much coming-of-age stories, which is much less of a rarity in the YA genre.

I could have chosen many other YA books – LM Montgomery’s Emily trilogy is amongst my all-time favourites, I was addicted to LJ Smith’s books, including her “Secret Circle” and “Dark Visions” trilogies, I buy Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl books as soon as they hit the shelf, and I’m on a mission to complete my Eva Ibbotson collection… however, I think I’ll stop here and head off to check out everyone else’s YA posts! 

Around the Web

Two new Sharon Shinn books in October – one is “Quatrain”… and we have a cover!  This one has stories set in the worlds of “Archangel”, “Heart of Gold”, “Summers at Castle Auburn” (yay!), and “Mystic and Rider”, according to her website.

Also, a new YA fantasy (I’m guessing) called “Gateway”, no cover yet unfortunately!

Around the Web

A Sharon Shinn interview at Word Wenches, where she talks a bit about potential future projects.  I vote for more Donnal and Kirra myself!

A free download (PDF) of LJ Smith’s “Secret Vampire”, the first Night World novel (limited time download, not sure how long it will be up for).  Also, Ms Smith has finished a new Vampire Diaries book – I loved this series way back then, and I bought the re-released versions, though they’re still sitting in my TBR pile.  I also can’t wait for “Strange Fate”, the last Night World book, to be released.  It sounds as though it will be a thick one.

Books for December

Okay, a bit late with this one, but here are the new releases I’m planning on getting this month:

Jim Butcher’s “Princeps’ Fury” (fantasy):  Book 5 in his Codex Alera fantasy series.  Technically a November release, and one I bought in my BooksonBoard splurge last week.  I’m a couple of chapters in at the moment, and am hoping to finish it over this weekend.  It’s a completely different setting to his Dresden Files books, but just as enjoyable, if not more.  The last book finished with a couple of major events and revelations, so it’ll be interesting to find out what happens next.

Excerpt here (out now)

Julie Hyzy’s “Hail to the Chef” (cosy mystery):  I loved the first book in this mystery series (“State of the Onion”) when I read it at the beginning of this year, and have been waiting impatiently for the second book to come out.  Olivia (Ollie) Paras is a White House chef, so you get food and mystery combined in this series, with a sprinkling of White House trivia.  Oh, and a dash of romance.  The perfect recipe.

No excerpts, but more series info here (out now)

 

“Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar” (fantasy): This is a collection of short stories set in Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar world.  Contributors include Tanya Huff, Judith Tarr, Rosemary Edghill, and many others, plus there is an original short story by Ms Lackey herself.  I’m a sucker for all things Valdemar, so yes, I think I will probably get this.

No excerpts (out now)

 

 

“Unusual Suspects” (mystery/fantasy):  I got this the other day, it’s a follow up to the “Powers of Detection” anthology that came out a couple of years ago, IIRC.  Contributors include Charlaine Harris (with a Sookie story) and Sharon Shinn (contemporary ghost story).  I’m about three-quarters through and have enjoyed most of the stories so far, only skipping one because the way the dialogue was written gave me a headache.  The Sookie story is much better than the one in the “Mistletoe and Wolfbane” story, btw – but then again, I thought the MaW one was a bit of a letdown.  I liked the Donna Andrews story, and oh, I’ve just looked her up and she writes straight cosy mysteries – I may have to check them out!

No excerpts (out now)

 

So it’s a quiet month for new releases, especially full-length novels.  A couple of other releases that I’m considering are “Fast Ships, Black Sails”, a pirate anthology with Sarah Monette and Naomi Novik amongst the contributors, and “The Vorkosigan Companion”, a reference book for Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series.

Books for November

I’m still reading my way through my massive book haul from October (yes, I know I haven’t posted what I bought, but rest assured I took full advantage of Fictionwise’s 50% rebate last month).

But November brings yet more new releases:

Sharon Shinn’s “Fortune and Fate” (fantasy):  The fifth and final (I think) book in Ms Shinn’s “Twelve Houses” series.  How much do I want this?!  Blurb from publisher’s site:

National bestselling author Sharon Shinn’s “lyrical and entertaining” (Kirkus Reviews) Twelve Houses books have captivated readers and critics alike with their irresistible cocktail of fantasy, romance, and adventure. Now Shinn returns with a new novel set in the same world, where a troubled Warrior Rider named Wen faces her greatest challenge in the last place she ever expected: behind the walls of a great family estate known as Fortune, where Wen has been hired to guard the young heiress. Once there, she will find that fate has other plans for her…

No excerpt that I can find (out Nov 4).

 

Kelley Armstrong’s “Living with the Dead” (urban fantasy):  The latest in Ms Armstrong’s “Otherworld” series.  I actually finished reading this one last night and I think her writing has changed over the course of this series.  I don’t mean in terms in style, but the story themes have gradually grown darker and more disturbing.  Engrossing, but not a light read.  This very much reminded me of her Nadia Stafford book actually.  The next book “Frostbitten” returns to Elena and Clay, and I’m wondering if the tone will be similar to the earlier Elena/Clay books or continue in the same line as these latter ones.

Excerpts here (out 6 Nov in UK and already released in the States).

 

Jenna Black’s “The Devil’s Due” (urban fantasy):  Third in Ms Black’s Morgan Kingsley series.  I loved the first book in this series (“The Devil Inside”), but had a few problems with the second (“The Devil You Know”), including a seriously TSTL secondary character and a rather unlikeable heroine.  I still really like the premise of this series though, so will get this and see if I continue further.

Excerpt here (out Nov 25).

 

I think that’s all the November releases I want – a rather short list this month!

Around the Web

Two quick snippets:

Angie has posted the cover of the next Sharon Shinn book, “Fortune and Fate” (out Nov 2008).

And here’s an interview with the US illustrator of the Harry Potter covers (via SF Signal).