Blackout by Rob Thurman
This is the sixth book in the Cal Leandros series. I realized I’d fallen behind and that the next one was coming out soon! It was pretty good and delivered what you’d expect from the series. In this installment, Cal has amnesia and as readers, we get an interesting double vision: what Cal knows (the books are told in first person POV) and what we know from previous books. After Roadkill (book 5), this was a needed breather book and I think it might have been the rare series novel in which new readers could pick up with no problem. (Thanks to the vehicle of Cal’s amnesia.)

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Legend by Marie Lu
Another book from the crowded YA dystopian genre. This takes place in California, which has since become a totalitarian state. It’s about a girl prodigy who’s the darling of the regime and a boy who’s the regime’s #1 outlaw. A decent read if you don’t think too hard about the worldbuilding. There’s not much explanation and while I’m not a fan of overexplaining, a little information would have been helpful regarding the different factions of the U.S.

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Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould
This one’s about a girl getting inducted into a Venetian secret society of women. Given the premise, I expected there to be more intrigue than there actually was. A disappointing read overall. Full review to come.

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Starters by Lissa Price
I think this one is being called a dystopian but its premise is more strongly rooted in science fiction than what you normally see. The basic idea is that a genocidal war engulfed the world and the result was that in the U.S., everyone between the ages of 20 and 60 is dead. Technology has allowed lifespans to be increased but this has also caused a massive rift in society between Starters (people under the age of 20) and Enders (people over the age of 60). Essentially, Enders have all the power and Starters, especially Starters with no living relatives of Ender-age, are treated like slave labor. (Yes, this is YA. Why did you ask?) Anyway, the protagonist (an unclaimed minor named Callie) chooses to rent out her body to Enders. This means that an Ender is given control of her body and can experience being young again. Except Callie’s renter wants to use her body to commit crimes, not go partying. This is one of those books where I wish it had been written for adults rather than teens. I think more could have been done with the premise had it not been constrained by the genre. Full review to come.

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Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor
After reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone last year, I wanted to read more of Taylor’s work. This one is a collection of three novellas – all about girls and their run-ins with the supernatural. None of them are quite up to the level of Daughter of Smoke and Bone but you can definitely see that book’s beginnings in this one.

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What about you guys? Have you read any of these? What did you think? Or if you haven’t read any of these, have you fallen behind on a series? Do you find it strange to pick through an author’s backlist to read their early work? Let’s chat.

Related posts:

1. What Jia’s Been Reading in January
2. REVIEW: Highland Champion by Hannah Howell
3. REVIEW: The River Devil by Diane Whiteside

Thanks again to Dear Author for giving me this opportunity to let you know about some of our terrific upcoming titles. As always, there are too many great books for me to mention all of them, so you can look at our site (http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/specialinterests/scifi/index.html) to see everything we publish.

Read the bottom of the post for the giveaway details.

December

TORN by Julie Kenner This is the second book in Julie’s "Blood Lily Chronicles", an urban fantasy trilogy we’re publishing back to back. (This means very little waiting for the next installment, which is a good thing with such a fast-paced and exciting story.) Lily Carlyle has always lived on the edge. But after she died while avenging her younger sister, she came back to life as someone else-’and was recruited as an assassin for the light. At least that’s what she thought-. Now Lily is in trouble of the deepest kind, since it turns out the bad guys she was killing actually weren’t the bad guys at all. With a little help from half angel, half demon Deacon Campshire, she must try to take down the enemy from within as a double agent.

MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY’S SWORD OF AVALON by Diana L. Paxson Many of you will be familiar with Marion Zimmer Bradley’s powerful female-centric retelling of the Arthurian mythos, THE MISTS OF AVALON. After its publication, Marion wrote a number of prequels. When Marion passed away, Diana Paxson, her long time collaborator, completed PRIESTESS OF AVALON and went on to write more beautiful historical fantasy novels set in this world. SWORD OF AVALON is the origin story of the forging of Excalibur. It includes fascinating historical detail and tells of the love between a girl training to be a priestess and the young man who is destined to wield the sword.

January

	DEADTOWN by Nancy Holzner We wouldn’t be Ace and Roc if we didn’t have a fabulous new urban fantasy series for you, and this one is fresh and fun and worth a try for Vicky’s hapless zombie apprentice alone. DEADTOWN features shapeshifter Vicky Vaughan, professional demon-slayer and dreamwalker, who keeps Boston safe from nightmares of all shapes and sizes. While single-handedly saving Boston from destruction won’t be easy, it gets harder when Vicky’s got a foolhardy zombie apprentice to worry about, a mysterious demon-plagued client (who keeps firing her), and a shifter-niece kidnapped by a “research facility” (which is really more like Dr. Moreau’s island for paranormals).
	THE SPIRIT LENS by Carol Berg Carol writes complex, character-driven fantasy, the kind of book you can curl up and get lost in, and THE SPIRIT LENS is no exception. The first of her new Collegia Magica trilogy, it’s set in a kingdom on the verge of a renaissance, where natural science has supplanted sorcery. For Portier de Savin-Duplais, failed student of magic, sorcery’s decline into ambiguity and cheap illusion is but a culmination of life’s bitter disappointments. Reduced to tending the library at Sabria’s last collegia magica, he fights off despair with scholarship. But when the King of Sabria charges him to investigate an attempted murder that has disturbing magical resonances, Portier believes his dreams of a greater destiny might at last be fulfilled.
	BLOOD CROSS by Faith Hunter Vampire hunter and skinwalker Jane Yellowrock is back in the sequel to urban fantasy SKINWALKER. But this time she finds herself on the other side, working for the vampires. Jane’s been hired by the Vampire Council of New Orleans to hunt and kill one of their own, who has broken ancient rules. With the help of her witch best friend and local vigilantes, Jane finds herself caught between bitter rivalries-’and closer than ever to the secret origin of the entire vampire race. If you’re still not convinced, don’t forget: Jane’s love interest is a hot Cajun biker!

February

UNKNOWN by Rachel Caine I really love Rachel’s Outcast Season series. It’s set in her Weather Warden universe, where certain humans have the ability to control the powers of weather, fire, earth, but from the point of view of one of the djinn. And not just any of the djinn, but Cassiel, one of the most powerful (and aloof). But when she defied her ruler, she was cast out and forced to take human flesh as punishment. As a being that has spent millennia viewing humans the same way we do ants, becoming mortal really puts her through culture shock. Especially when she starts falling for one of them-

EXCEPT THE QUEEN by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder It’s funny, I didn’t notice it until I was putting this together, but EXCEPT THE QUEEN has a similar theme to UNKNOWN, except it has fairies getting cast out instead of djinn. This is a wonderful contemporary fantasy novel, from authors who are highly regarded in the field. Two sisters are proud members of the high court of the Fairy Queen-’until they discover a secret Her Highness would like to keep hidden. Cast out from court and stripped of their powers, they are banished to the mortal realm. There, each bonds with a troubled mortal: one with a young girl bearing an ornate tattoo, a magic symbol that will draw evil to them; and the other with a homeless boy whose mind is plagued by dark visions and nightmarish creatures. The sisters know that these signs point to a force whose power is rising-’one that threatens both the fairy and human worlds.

Anne Sowards is an executive editor at Penguin Group (USA) Inc., where she primarily acquires and edits fantasy and science fiction for the Ace and Roc imprints. Some of the great authors she works with include Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Anne Bishop, Ilona Andrews, Karen Chance, Jack Campbell, and Rob Thurman. When she’s not reading, she listens to Chinese rap and spends way too much time playing video games. Follow her at http://twitter.com/AnneSowards.

*******

• TORN / Julie Kenner – 2 ARCs
• MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY’S SWORD OF AVALON – 2 ARCs
• DEADTOWN / Nancy Holzner – 2 finished copies
• THE SPIRIT LENS / Carol Berg – 2 ARCs
• BLOOD CROSS / Faith Hunter – 2 ARCs
• UNKNOWN / Rachel Caine – 2 ARCs
• EXCEPT THE QUEEN / Jane Yolen & Midori Snyder – 3 ARCs

We are giving away one book to 15 random commenters. Please leave a comment identifying your first and second choice AND your own ACE/ROC recommendation.

Related posts:

1. A Couple of Giveaway Winners
2. ACE/ROC Fall Fantastic Preview and Giveaway
3. Giveaway Preview Notice for Stephanie Laurens

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I love your Cal Leandros series.   Its blend of fast-paced action, sarcastic humor, and supernatural mayhem should appeal to anyone who’s ever loved the Winchester brothers on Supernatural.   Except in these books, not only do we have the above but we also get a multicultural cast and female characters that don’t get killed after a few episodes.   (Come on now, we know it’s true.)   Last year’s Madhouse was one of my favorite books of 2008 and while this latest installment was satisfying, it’s not exactly what I signed up for.

Starting immediately after Madhouse, Deathwish opens with Cal fleeing from his homicidal relatives from hell, the Auphe.   For readers unfamiliar with the series, I’m not exaggerating.   The Auphe are really demonic elves from hell.   In fact, they’re elves, period.   One thing the series emphasizes is the fact that myth and legend get it wrong.   With the Auphe, they seriously got it wrong.

Cal and his brother, Niko, thought they’d wiped out the Auphe.   They were mistaken.   What’s worse, Cal notices something strange about the Auphe attacking them now: they’re all female.   It takes a while for Cal to work it out but I think any savvy reader will figure out early on what that means for our half-human, half-Auphe protagonist.

And if the Auphe weren’t enough to deal with, the Leandros brothers end up with more trouble when an old lover of Promise’s (Niko’s vampire girlfriend) hires them to figure out who’s been stalking him.   Even more inconvenient is when Promise’s long-estranged daughter, Cherish, shows up and asks for help.   An immortal hunter is out for her head because she stole something valuable from him.   And it’s the latter that may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, in more ways than one.

The first thing fans of the series will notice is that this book is no longer written solely from Cal’s POV.   It alternates in first-person narration between Cal and his brother, Niko.   As I’ve mentioned in the past, this can be tricky.   It can really shine when the narrators have distinct, contrasting voices.     Otherwise, they can blend together.   The brothers have different enough personalities that it’s easy enough to keep them separate, but I admit I vastly prefer Cal’s voice.   There’s a plot-related reason for why Niko’s POV was included but even so, his voice lacks Cal’s bite and world-weary cynicism.   Under most circumstances, Niko is calm, controlled and honorable, and truth be told, that doesn’t always result in the most interesting of perspectives to filter through in a novel.   I liked the insights into his characters but I’m not certain I needed them, if that makes sense.

The Cal Leandros novels also tend to have many things going on when it comes to storylines and intersecting plots.   It usually results in a frenzied, exciting pace.   But here, the pieces never quite came together for me.   The book jumps from one storyline to another, but I never experienced the nail-biting tension I’ve grown to expect.   I’m not sure if that’s because we saw from both brothers’ individual perspectives.     It’s possible the conflict was diluted because we switched back and forth between perspectives.   Other readers may have a different reaction and find it increased the suspense, however.

Something that struck me about this book is a lot of page time was spent on the brothers’ relationship and how they’d do anything for each other.   I’m not sure why the emphasis seemed stronger in this book than in previous ones.   The bond between the brothers is the foundation of the books   and they’ve shown time and time again that the brothers would do anything for each other.     This is a double-edged sword because while I liked the exploration of their relationship, I sometimes wished the plot would get on with it.

I admit I’m a little disappointed by how Robin’s eventual relationship played out.   I realize we couldn’t have gotten very much since we only see from the brothers’ perspectives.   On the other hand, I’m biased because the omnisexual puck is my favorite character.     I just would have liked more build-up to what ultimately happens, which seemed very sudden.   Then again, this is Robin we’re talking about so maybe it won’t be a lasting relationship.   I like to think that’s not the case given observations Cal has made, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion.

I’m also saddened by the continued state of the relationship between Cal and George.   Perhaps it’ll never resolve the way I wish it would because the book rightly brought up that George’s gift produces a frightening lack of compassion on an individual level.   So despite my wishes otherwise, I just don’t know if those two will ever be able to work it out.

Even though I hoped otherwise, Madhouse was a tough act to follow.   Like I said earlier, I appreciate the multicultural bent your series takes, from the ethnic backgrounds of the various characters to the various mythologies that get drawn upon, but I still wish the exploration of the brothers’ relationship had been more balanced with the external happenings.   (Best scene that serves as a PSA for wearing your seatbelt though!)   For now, I’ll think of this book as a bridge between where the series has been and where’s it going.   Considering what happens, I think that’s fair to say.   Now if only Rafferty and his cousin would return sometime.   I miss that cranky doctor.   B

My regards,
Jia

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or ebook format from the Sony Store and other etailers.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Madhouse by Rob Thurman
2. My First Sale by Rob Thurman
3. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley

***

When I received the call about my first sale I was just pulling into the parking lot of the theater to see Shrek 2, which was a dicey situation. A huge burst of pleasure like selling your first book combined with that movie, it could have led to an obsession with talking cats in thigh high leather boots. Fortunately, that didn’t happen-and dreams don’t count.

But before that, I first wrote a mystery, not so much because I was a big fan of mysteries overall, but of a particular subset of mysteries: the buddy/buddy genre. It didn’t sell. And in retrospect as it was my very first attempt at a full-length bit of writing, it probably sucked quite egregiously, and I’m better off. So, with my second attempt, I went back to what I was currently reading at the time-’urban fantasy. In my life I’d read nearly anything I could get my hands on. Mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror. And it was with urban fantasy that I found I could do all those things in one. I could have fantasy, mystery, humor, romance all combined in one giant casserole (microwave since I don’t cook) and served up on a non-silver platter in deference to the vampires and werewolves. And that’s when I wrote the book I always wanted to read. I didn’t want to write a book where the reader had to wait for the good parts. I wanted it to be all good parts. No slow moments, humor to lighten the drama, enough angst to choke a horse, a happy ending, and a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end.

In theory, fantastic-in reality, I was in for the long haul. Nightlife was rejected by every agent in the country and then by every publisher. I once thought I wouldn’t be able to handle the business because of the rejection. Someone taking my work and ripping it to shreds, who could survive that? After two years, I would have loved for someone to tell me in all the ways the manuscript was wrong, wrong, wrong, against nature and man, and should be destroyed before its very existence sent the earth spinning out of orbit and into the sun. All I ever received was form letter after form letter. I could wallpaper my basement in all the form letters that came my way. But I did also receive two letters, one from a small publishing company that only published five books a year and one from a large publishing house’s children’s department (where somehow my manuscript was misdirected.) Both loved Nightlife and said that, although they weren’t capable of taking it or that obviously it was not a children’s book, to please not give up. Two years after I started with the help of friends and family (their typing fingers still haven’t recovered), an assistant editor became an editor, remembered Nightlife, and this time was in the position to do something about it.

When she called me in that parking lot, the first thing she asked was I the type of author who refused to change a single word of their work (two years ago I would’ve said yes) or would I be willing to make a revision or two. What I said, so very casually, was I’d be willing to work with her on the issue, certainly. What I thought was, "If you publish my book, you can have a seven foot tall drag queen with better cleavage than mine, kick ass stiletto heels, and absolutely fabulous hair paddle me with a tennis racket right here and now. Do you want me over the hood of the car or over the trunk?’

Now four books later the checkerboard pattern on my gluteus maximus is barely discernable and my phobia of all things tennis related improves daily. But more importantly I was able to write the book that I’d always wanted to read and discovered your book can be different from most and still find a home-thanks to one editor willing to take a chance.

I’d kiss her feet if only she didn’t walk so fast.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Madhouse by Rob Thurman
2. My First Sale by Carrie Vaughn
3. My First Sale by Sharon Shinn, Every Sale Is Cause for Celebration

• THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins (Grade: A)
• YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS by Loretta Chase (Grade: A-)
• GIRL OVERBOARD   by Justina Chen Headley (Grade: A-)
• WHEN TWILIGHT BURNS by Colleen Gleason (Grade: A-)
• MAGIC BURNS by Ilona Andrews (Grade: B+)
• MADHOUSE by Rob Thurman (Grade: B+)
• VIOLET IN PRIVATE by Melissa Walker (Grade: B+)
• THE HIDDEN CITY by Michelle West (Grade: B+)

Related posts:

1. Best of 2008 List: Reviewer Jayne
2. Best of 2008 List: Reviewer Jennie F
3. Dear Author Book Club Event and Feed Update

Mystic Horseman by Kathleen Eagle is from Jayne. Long time Eagle fans will recognize hero Dillon Black from “Ride a Painted Pony. He’s a struggling single parent who loves his kids and is trying to make a go breeding Indian ponies. His effort is helped when Ella Champion and her transformation reality show comes to town. Ella’s show is like Extreme Home Makeover except it focuses on fixing something that will benefit the community. In this case, it is Dillon’s horse camp which brings horses and the Lakota youth, descendants themselves of one of the Great Plains horse tribes, back together. If you are looking for a romance which provides a tribute to Lakota, you can’t get much better that this one.

Shaken and Stirred by Kathleen O’Reilly is another recommendation from Jayne. O’Reilly writes some of the smartest straight contemporary books on the market and while she’s had some misses, Shaken and Stirred is a bonafide hit. Gabe owns and runs a bar in New York called Prime. It’s been in his family for generations. Four years ago, Gabe gave Tessa a job and saved her life. Since that time, she’s been working toward gaining her independence which is symbolized by Tessa having her own apartment, maybe even owning. Tessa and Gabe know that there is something between them but Tessa is obsessed with the future and Gabe is all about today. As Jayne says, the story is “about Tess finding herself and gaining confidence to stand on her own and of Gabe deciding that love is worth making changes and waiting if you’re sure she’s The One.” edited to add, it is currently 1:09 am on the 3d of March and having just finished the book, I just wanted to say I think this book is awesome. Jane.

As for me, I had a tough month in March. I try to include only high Bs and A books for the recommended read posts because this post is all about encouraging people to spend money and I try to be very careful about that. Having given that caveat, I will include Maya Banks’ Sweet Surrender which I will review later on today. I struggled between giving this book a B or B- but as I tried to read four erotic romances this weekend, I leaned toward the B. Sweet Surrender is a trade paperback but it is a solid erotic romance full of the very hot scenes that you might expect from a Berkley Heat but a decent amount of character development. It was the best of the books I read released in March and therefore, probably qualifies as a recommended read, no?

Please let us know what you think of our picks and give us your own suggestions. There are new readers everyday to DA and I just want you all to know that you can feel free to disagree with our picks. It won’t offend us at all!

Related posts:

1. Dear Author Recommends for July
2. Dear Author Recommends for November
3. Dear Author Recommends for December

I can’t remember exactly how I first discovered your books. When your first novel, Nightlife, came out a couple years ago, I dismissed it as just another straight urban fantasy. We already have Jim Butcher and Simon R. Green for that. Then I read a couple favorable blog reviews that made it sound interesting and I decided to give it a try. And am I glad I did. Nightlife entertained me, its sequel Moonshine hooked me, and this third book Madhouse might have inspired a little dance when it arrived on my doorstep.

Caliban Leandros is half monster — Auphe, to be precise, which are not happy, little elves or beautiful, mysterious fae. They’re sadistic, bloodthirsty monsters from hell. Literally. He and his (fully human) brother Niko have been running from them since they were kids because the Auphe specifically bred Cal as their key to transforming the world into their own personal playground. The Leandros brothers have since stopped them from succeeding, and now they’ve done the one thing they swore they’d never do: They’ve put down roots.

They currently run a preternatural detective agency in New York City, their clientele consisting of denizens from the supernatural world. Unfortunately, work is slow and money is scarce so Cal works as a bartender at a bar that caters to non-human patrons and Niko works as a teaching assistant at a nearby college.

Then they get their latest case. The notorious cannibal Sawney Beane has been resurrected from the dead and he’s up to his old tricks — murdering and eating people and leaving bloody corpses in his wake. Two minor complications: Sawney Beane was never human in the first place and this time, he’s recruited a small army of revenants to help him. On top of that, the brothers have to contend with someone trying to kill their friend Robin, and Cal has to cope with his starcrossed relationship with neighborhood psychic Georgina.

There’s no point hiding it. I think the Leandros brothers are hot. They wield guns, serrated daggers, swords, and axes. I think if you love the Winchester boys of Supernatural, there’s a good chance you will love the Leandros brothers of Thurman’s books. The relationship between Niko and Cal is one of my favorite aspects of the series. Niko practically raised Cal because their mother was negligent at best, outright abusive at worst, and Cal owes a lot to his brother, even if he mostly shows his gratitude through his trademark sarcasm:

Niko Leandros. He had been one of those who disappeared on me, even if only temporarily. As brothers went, he was a good one, despite a horrifying obsession with health food, meditation, and things generally not revolving around pizza and beer. But we all have our crosses to bear… Mine was to be smacked when I wasn’t with the program, and his was to be overeducated, to be as self-aware as the Dalai Lama, and to keep my ass alive. Poor bastard.

As with previous books, one of Madhouse‘s strengths is Cal’s narrative voice, which is never anything less than sardonic. Another strength is the dialogue, which is just as sharp and depending on your sense of humor, hysterical:

“Happy? I’m happy.” I bared my teeth in a fixed grin. “See? Happy.”

“Gods save us. I haven’t seen an expression like that since Medusa went through menopause.” Robin Goodfellow dropped on a stool and shook his head. “Quick. Brandy before you destroy my will to live with your catastrophically bad temper.”

…

“Catastrophic temper?” I reached for the good stuff I kept under the bar just for Robin. A hundred years old, it was still barely fetal in age to his point of view. Yet another mystery: why Ish would stock it for him. “Come on.”

“Kid, everything about you is catastrophic. Your temper, your fighting skills, your attitude, and let’s not even discuss your look. Simply put on the eyeliner and join the rest of the Children of the Night knockoffs at the local Goth bar.”

Another thing I enjoyed was Sawney Beane. I realize how that sounds — I liked the cannibal? But for an antagonist that is undeniably evil, not once did I find him cardboard. I thought he was a lunatic, nasty, and deliciously entertained by his kills. That’s one of the traits I like about these books. The monsters are allowed to be monsters and when they show their teeth and claws, they don’t hold back. For example, Cal ends up losing a chunk of flesh to Sawney in a confrontation when the redcap bites him. I also like the fact that, in addition to the genre staples of vampires and werewolves, Thurman uses monsters not commonly seen in urban fantasy novels such redcaps, revenants, sirrushes, and boggles. There’s even a grosteque version of Black Annis.

On the down side, I had high hopes for Robin’s subplot. Robin is such a mysterious character, and he’s so long-lived you can’t wonder how he ended up a used car salesman. Unfortunately, the resolution of his storyline disappointed me. In retrospect, I would have been more satisfied had Robin been more responsible for the incident that led to the centuries-old retribution rather than it simply being a terrible coincidence and a result of his arrogant negligence. That said, I anticipate the possibility of a romantic storyline for Robin. I think it’ll be interesting to see what a “human lover” like Robin will do, given that the candidate is not human at all.

As for the Cal and George relationship, I alternate between understanding Cal’s perspective and wanting to shake some sense into him. If this were the main focus of the series, I suspect Cal’s determination to keep George safe from his Auphe heritage and to end the hybrid Auphe bloodline by having no children (the Auphe are frighteningly fertile so normal methods of contraception are unlikely to work) would drive me insane. Fortunately, it’s a minor storyline so I don’t have the opportunity to fixate on it as much. I still believe George would be good for him and don’t care for the choice he ultimately made but Cal has some more growing up to do first, and that’s sure to come given what happens in this book.

Without fail, the Cal Leandros books always end with a line that leaves me wanting more and that’s no exception here. As I said in the beginning of this review, the Leandros have done something they’ve never done before by putting down roots. Considering the note Madhouse ends on, I expect the repercussions of that choice will be brought up in future books. This reader can only hope so. B+

My regards,

Jia

This book can be purchased in mass market.   No ebook format found.   This book’s official release date is February 26, 2008.

Related posts:

1. It is a madhouse here. Thousan…