Saturday, January 27, 2018

week of 29 Jan 2018

It's the first big release week of the year with 26 new titles and eight reprints.  If you're looking for a fantastic fantasy book, be sure to pick up Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen.  For romance, there's no one better than Katie McGarry and her new book Say You'll Remember Me is sure to be a hit.  There are great thrillers this week with S.T.A.G.S., Losing Brave, It Should Have Been You.  And one of the most anticipated books of the month, The Hazel Wood releases this week as well and has received many great reviews.  Where will you start this week?  Happy Reading!

Reign the Earth, book 1 of the Elementae series by AC Gaughen
 
Title: Reign the Earth (The Elementae Series #1), Author: A. C. GaughenShalia is a proud daughter of the desert, but after years of devastating war with the adjoining kingdom, her people are desperate for an end to the violence that has claimed so many of their loved ones. Willing to trade her freedom to ensure the safety of her family, Shalia becomes Queen of the Bone Lands, a country where magic is outlawed and the Elementae--those that can control earth, air, fire and water--are traitors, subject to torture . . . or worse.
Before she is even crowned, Shalia discovers that she can bend the earth to her will. Trapped between her husband's irrational hatred of the Elementae and a dangerous rebellion led by her own brother, Shalia must harness her power and make an impossible choice: save her family, save the Elementae, or save herself.
"With a clever, strong-willed heroine, a downright terrifying villain, and complex relationships that leap off the page, Reign the Earth is the feminist fantasy I didn't know I needed. I will be thinking about Shalia's strength and fearlessness (and swooning over the slow-burn romance) as I anxiously await book two!" - Erin Bowman, author of Vengeance Road

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
 
Title: The Hazel Wood, Author: Melissa AlbertSeventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away—by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”
Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began—and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.
“Elegant, ethereal, and beautifully brutal, The Hazel Wood is a fairy tale worth falling for. This is a dream of a book I cannot recommend highly enough. It's like falling into a nautilus shell: every time you think you've found the end, another chamber opens. Absolutely breathtaking.”  —Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart a Doorway

Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry
 
Title: Say You'll Remember Me, Author: Katie McGarry"Doesn’t matter who did it. Not anymore. I did the time. It’s over.”
When Drix was convicted of a crime—one he didn’t commit—he thought his life was over. But opportunity came with the Second Chance Program, the governor’s newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while.
Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor’s daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn’t may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means.
When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle’s parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix’s messy life.
But sometimes love can breach all barriers.
Fighting against a society that can’t imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves—Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence—and each other to finally get what they deserve.
"Elle and Drix were so vibrant I swear I forgot I was reading about fictional characters. I ached for them, I cried for them, and I cheered them on from beginning to end. Authentic, edgy, and fraught with realistic, heartfelt conflict and romantic tension, Say You'll Remember Me is a fantastic coming-of-age story and now on my favorites shelf for good!" —Samantha Young, New York Times bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series

Also Releasing in Hardcover

   Title: S.T.A.G.S., Author: M. A. Bennett  Title: Dark Tracks (Order of Darkness Series #4), Author: Philippa Gregory  Title: Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue, Author: Marissa Meyer  Title: The Upside of Falling Down, Author: Rebekah Crane  Title: Purple Hearts, Author: Michael Grant
 Title: The Dangerous Art of Blending In, Author: Angelo Surmelis  Title: It Should Have Been You, Author: Lynn Slaughter  Title: Losing Brave, Author: Bailee Madison  Title: Poet Anderson ...In Darkness, Author: Tom DeLonge  Title: This Is Not a Love Letter, Author: Kim Purcell 
 Title: Saint Philomene's Infirmary for Magical Creatures, Author: W. Stone Cotter  Title: Winner Take All, Author: Laurie Devore  Title: American Heart, Author: Laura Moriarty  The Disturbed Girl's Dictionary  Title: Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein, Author: Lita Judge   

New in Paperback

   Title: The Witch's Tears (The Witch's Kiss Trilogy, Book 2), Author: Katharine Corr  Title: Wicked Charm, Author: Amber Hart  Title: Keeper, Author: Kim Chance  Title: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Author: Chris Crutcher  Title: Whale Talk, Author: Chris Crutcher 
 Title: Impossible, Author: Jocelyn Shipley  Title: The PTSD Survival Guide for Teens: Strategies to Overcome Trauma, Build Resilience, and Take Back Your Life, Author: Sheela Raja  Title: Solomon's Ring: Daughters of Light, Author: Mary Jennifer Payne  

Former Hardcovers and Reprints

Title: Winter (Lunar Chronicles Series #4), Author: Marissa Meyer  Title: Lifeblood (B&N Exclusive Edition) (Everlife Series #2), Author: Gena Showalter  Title: The You I've Never Known, Author: Ellen Hopkins  Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Special Edition), Author: Becky Albertalli  Title: Shadow Scale (Seraphina Series #2), Author: Rachel Hartman 
Title: The Upside of Unrequited, Author: Becky Albertalli   Title: How to Break a Boy, Author: Laurie Devore  Title: The Many Faces of Josephine Baker: Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy, Author: Peggy Caravantes 


Monday, January 15, 2018

week of 22 Jan 2018

11 new titles and three reprints this week continue the quiet trend of January.  My favorite choice this week is The Defiant, a fantastic historical fantasy.  My next pick this week will be Markswoman, which revolves around assassins and their telepathic blades.  And be sure to take a look at Let's Talk About Love, a LGBT novel voted for publication by readers through Swoon Reads.  Happy Reading!

The Defiant, sequel to The Valiant by Lesley Livingston
 
Title: The Defiant, Author: Lesley LivingstonThe darling of the Roman Empire is in for the fight of her life in this lush sequel to the acclaimed historical fantasy The Valiant.
Be brave, gladiatrix... And be wary. Once you win Caesar's love, you'll earn his enemies' hate.
Fallon was warned.
Now she is about to pay the price for winning the love of the Roman people as Caesar's victorious gladiatrix.
In this highly anticipated sequel to The Valiant, Fallon and her warrior sisters find themselves thrust into a vicious conflict with a rival gladiator academy, one that will threaten not only Fallon's heart - and her love for Roman soldier Cai - but the very heart of the ancient Roman Empire.
When dark treachery and vicious power struggles threaten her hard-won freedom, the only thing that might help the girl known as Victrix save herself and her sisters is a tribe of long-forgotten mythic Amazon warriors.  The only trouble is, they might just kill her themselves first.
"As with the first book, there are rousing battle scenes and plenty of action, a few more romantic moments, and a strong feminist message. Give this to fans of the 2017 Wonder Woman movie and those looking for intelligent and powerful women who glory in their strength and abilities."-Booklist
PS:  Read the advance copy and it was so hard to put down! 

Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra
 
Title: Markswoman, Author: Rati MehrotraAn order of magical-knife wielding female assassins brings both peace and chaos to their post-apocalyptic world in this bewitching blend of science fiction and epic fantasy—the first entry in a debut duology that displays the inventiveness of the works of Sarah Beth Durst and Marie Lu.
Kyra is the youngest Markswoman in the Order of Kali, a highly trained sisterhood of elite warriors armed with telepathic blades. Guided by a strict code of conduct, Kyra and the other Orders are sworn to protect the people of Asiana. But to be a Markswoman, an acolyte must repudiate her former life completely. Kyra has pledged to do so, yet she secretly harbors a fierce desire to avenge her dead family.
When Kyra’s beloved mentor dies in mysterious circumstances, and Tamsyn, the powerful, dangerous Mistress of Mental Arts, assumes control of the Order, Kyra is forced on the run. Using one of the strange Transport Hubs that are remnants of Asiana’s long-lost past, she finds herself in the unforgiving wilderness of desert that is home to the Order of Khur, the only Order composed of men. Among them is Rustan, a young, disillusioned Marksman whom she soon befriends.
Kyra is certain that Tamsyn committed murder in a twisted bid for power, but she has no proof. And if she fails to find it, fails in her quest to keep her beloved Order from following Tamsyn down a dark path, it could spell the beginning of the end for Kyra—and for Asiana.  But what she doesn’t realize is that the line between justice and vengeance is razor thin . . . thin as the blade of a knife.
"An utterly remarkable world with female assassins and telepathic blades; I adored his book." - New York Times bestselling author Julie Kagawa

Also Releasing in Hardcover

Title: The Last Girl on Earth, Author: Alexandra Blogier  Title: A Land of Permanent Goodbyes, Author: Atia Abawi  Title: Reign of the Fallen, Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh  Title: Let's Talk About Love, Author: Claire Kann  
Title: Girl on Pointe: Chloe's Guide to Taking on the World, Author: Chloe Lukasiak 

New in Paperback

Title: Anna's Call (Fallen Kingdoms Series #1), Author: Mark Francis  Title: Ryan's Bed, Author: Tijan  Title: Amber Eyes, Author: S. D. Grimm  Title: Running on Empty, Author: Sonya Spreen Bates 

Former Hardcovers and Reprints

 Title: The Valiant, Author: Lesley Livingston  Title: Borrowed Names: Poems About Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters, Author: Jeannine Atkins  After the Fall 



week of 15 Jan 2018

While a quiet week with only nine new books and eight reprints, there are some great reads to be had.  In the mood for a trip to Roman times and Gladiators?  Pick up Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk.  Need a mystery to keep you up- Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson.  Death by kiss?  Poison's Cage by Breeana Shields is right up your alley.  And to think there's more!  Where will you start?  Happy Reading!!


Zenith, book 1 of the Androma Saga Series by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings

Title: Zenith (The Androma Saga Series #1), Author: Sasha AlsbergFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author duo Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings comes the first book in The Androma Saga, an action-packed thrill ride of adventure, intrigue and steamy star-crossed romance.
Known across the galaxy as the Bloody Baroness, Captain Androma Racella and her motley crew of space-bound privateers roam the Mirabel galaxy on the glass starship Marauder, taking what mercenary work they can find to stay alive.
When a routine job goes awry, the Marauder’s all-girl crew find themselves placed at the mercy of a dangerous bounty hunter from Andi’s past. Coerced into a life-threatening mission, and straight into the path of a shadowy ruler bent on revenge, Andi and her crew will either restore order to the ship—or start a war that will devour worlds.
"A whirlwind, out-of-this-galaxy adventure! The dynamic cast of characters, edge-of-your-seat action and sprawling universe had me hooked from the very first pages." -#1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas

Also Releasing in Hardcover

Title: Blood and Sand, Author: C. V. Wyk  Title: Truly Devious (Truly Devious Series #1), Author: Maureen Johnson  Title: Love, Hate and Other Filters, Author: Samira Ahmed  Title: You Won't Know I'm Gone, Author: Kristen Orlando   
Title: All That Was: A Novel, Author: Karen Rivers  Title: Poison's Cage, Author: Breeana Shields  

New in Paperback

 Title: True Blue, Author: Sigmund Brouwer  Title: Learning Seventeen, Author: Brooke Carter 
 
Former Hardcovers and Reprints

 Title: You Don't Know My Name, Author: Kristen Orlando  Title: The Release, Author: Tom Isbell  Title: The Wish Granter (Ravenspire Series #2), Author: C. J. Redwine  Title: Gemina (The Illuminae Files Series #2), Author: Amie Kaufman 
Title: Ones and Zeroes, Author: Dan Wells  Title: Against All Silence (SOS Thriller Series #2), Author: E. C. Myers  Title: Girl Mans Up, Author: M-E Girard  Title: Deep in the Shadow of the Fallen: The Legacy of Zyanthia - Book Three, Author: Chantelle Griffin