Jan 24 2013

Coming Soon: Emblaze

Title: Emblaze

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Series: Embrace #3

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: March 1, 2013

As one of the 10 nominations in February’s Your Pick for Nik! feature, the first book in this series has been one that I’ve wanted to read for ages now! Its a book about a fallen angel who is faced with some tough choices as she is thrust into a conflict between good and evil. Seeing new books out in series I’ve got my eye on always gets me more excited to read them. Hopefully by the time book #3 comes out, I will be more than ready for it!

Here’s some information about book #1 of this series:

Title: Embrace

Overview: It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…” On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she’s willing to sacrifice. Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It’s a battle Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.

*Images and overview taken from bn.com

Jan 18 2013

Coming Soon: Sword-Bound (Tiger and Del #7)

Title: Sword-Bound

Author: Jennifer Roberson

Series: Tiger and Del #7

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: ~~February 5, 2013~~* Now Available!

As one of the most memorable series I’ve read over the last ten years, Tiger and Del will always have a warm place in my heart. After finishing the final book back in 2003 (Sword–Sworn) I was content with where the author left things and considered the story complete. This new release really took me by surprise, and I can’t tell you how tickled I am to go on another adventure in this world! Thank you, Roberson!

For some information about the series up to this point, here’s a link to a review I posted a few months ago: Sword-Dancer/Sword Singer

*Unless there’s an error, it looks like the release date for this title is a soft one, and you may be able to order it now… I’m getting one.

Jan 15 2013

Coming Soon: Dark Triumph

Title: Dark Triumph

Author: Robin LaFevers

Series: His Fair Assassin Trilogy #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: April 2, 2013

Sold from the tagline on the cover, Grave Mercy captured my attention right from the start. I thoroughly enjoyed the unique and historical edge LaFevers wrote with – she really presented a strong first novel (read full review). Although the second book focuses on a different character, I fully expect Dark Triumph to be just as good. Especially since, I find Sybella almost more fascinating than Ismae . You bet I’m picking this one up as soon as it comes out!

If you’re unfamiliar with LaFevers, here’s a short overview of the first book:

Title: Grave Mercy

Overview: Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage to the respite of the convent of St. Mortain. Here she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts and a violent destiny. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. But how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who has stolen her heart?

*Overview taken from bn.com

Jan 12 2013

Coming Soon: Rise

Title: Rise

Author: Anna CareyView post

Series: Eve Trilogy #3

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Release Date: April 2, 2013

The Eve trilogy is yet another dystopian novel that follows life of a teen girl after some form of apocalypse. Based on reviews and other research I’ve done on it, the series strikes me as a watered down version of Partials (by Dan Wells) which is the one I’ve been raving about for the last couple of months. While that one focuses more on events and overall ideas, I think this one’s main focus is the love story. Book #1 is coming up soon on my TBR list, so I’ll be sure to post a review for it soon…

Here’s the overviews for the first two novels in case you’re like me and can’t manage to keep up on all the good books out there:

Title: Eve (Eve Trilogy #1)

Overview: Where do you go when nowhere is safe? After a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a terrifying place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a bright future in The New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her. Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. But when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Title: Once (Eve Trilogy #2)

Overview: When you’re being hunted, who can you trust? For the first time since escaping from her School, Eve can finally sleep soundly. She is living in Califia, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America in the year 2041. But she was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at Califia’s gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand. Trapped inside the city walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past—and must confront the harsh reality of her future. In this breathless sequel to Eve, Anna Carey returns to her tale of romance, adventure, and sacrifice in a world that is both wonderfully strange and chillingly familiar.

*Overviews taken from bn.com

Jan 9 2013

Coming Soon: Deadly Sting

Title: Deadly Sting

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Elemental Assassin’s #8

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: March 26, 2013

While I haven’t gotten around to reading this series yet, I can tell you that her teen books, Mythos Academy are fantastic. She’s got a fun writing style that makes her stories accessible and highly entertaining. I, for one, can’t wait to start this series and hope it gets picked during the next Your Pick for Nik! nominations (hint hint). As for all of you dedicated readers out there, there are only two more books after Deadly Sting, so enjoy it while it lasts…

Here’s some information about Estep’s teen and urban series:

Title: Spider’s Bite

Series: Elemental Assassins #1

Overview: After Gin’s family was murdered by a Fire elemental when she was thirteen, she lived on the streets and eventually became an assassin to survive. Now, Gin is given an assignment by her handler to rub out an Ashland businessman, but it turns out to be a trap. After Gin’s handler is brutally murdered, she teams up with the sexy detective investigating the case to figure out who double-crossed her and why. Only one thing is for sure —Gin has no qualms about killing her way to the top of the conspiracy.

Title: A Touch of Frost

Series: Mythos Academy #1

Overview: I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me—again. Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects—and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me? It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me—and I’m in for the fight of my life. Read full review

*Overviews taken from bn.com

Jan 6 2013

Coming Soon: The Lost

Title: The Lost

Author: Vicki Pettersson

Series: Celestial Blues #2

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: March 19, 2013

I’ve heard from several customers that Vicki Pettersson (specifically the Zodiac series) is right along the same lines as Patricia Briggs and Kim Harrison – an excellent endorsement if I’ve ever heard one. In any case, The Lost is the second book in her latest series and I have yet to hear any good feedback on it. From what I’ve read on it, the storyline seems a lot more generic than her previous works, so I suspect that’s the reason behind its somewhat lighter sales. Perhaps this second book will help it gain a little more momentum…

Other works by this author:

Title: The Taken

Series: Celestial Blues #1

Overview: Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was back when gumshoes hoofed the streets . . . and he was still alive. Fifty years later, he’s an angel, but that doesn’t make him a saint. One small mistake has altered fate, and now he’s been dumped back onto the mortal mudflat to collect another soul—Katherine “Kit” Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation is about to get her clipped. Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let the sable-haired siren come to harm. Besides, protecting her offers a chance to solve the mystery of his own unsolved murder—and dole out some overdue payback for the death of his beloved wife, Evie. Joining forces, Kit and Grif’s search for answers leads beyond the blinding lights of the Strip into the dark heart of an evil conspiracy. But a ruthless killer determined to destroy them isn’t Grif’s biggest threat. His growing attraction to Kit could cost them both their lives, along with the answer to the haunting question of his long afterlife . . .

Title: The Scent of Shadows

Series: Sign of the Zodiac #1

Overview: When she was sixteen, Joanna Archer was brutally assaulted and left to die in the Nevada desert. By rights, she should be dead. Now a photographer by day, she prowls a different Las Vegas after sunset—a grim, secret Sin City where Light battles Shadow—seeking answers to whom or what she really is . . . and revenge for the horrors she was forced to endure. But the nightmare is just beginning—for the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powerful shadows want her for their own . . .

*Overview taken from bn.com