by Kay | Apr 16, 2014 | Weekly Feature |
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs
goodreads – September 2nd 2014 by Ace
Mercy Thompson’s world just got a whole lot bigger…
A collection of all-new and previously published short stories featuring Mercy Thompson, “one of the best heroines in the urban fantasy genre today” (Fiction Vixen Book Reviews), and the characters she calls friends…
Includes the new stories…
“Silver”
“Roses in Winter”
“Redemption”
“Hollow”
…and reader favorites
“Fairy Gifts”
“Gray”
“Alpha and Omega”
“Seeing Eye”
“The Star of David”
“In Red, with Pearls”
First off: love the shout-out to Fiction Vixen! Nice to see a blogger in a summary – especially one as awesome as FV. 🙂
So, is anyone else CRAZY excited about this anthology? I genuinely tagged this cover #OMG when I spotted it on Pinterest. Any Patricia Briggs announcement is an exciting one, but the Mercy ones are best of all.
Also: I totally ADORE the cover of this anthology. I have never been the biggest fan of the US covers, mainly because of all the bare mid-drifts. But it seems as though the talented Dan Dos Santos (and the publishers) is finally moving away from that trend. The recent Alpha & Omega and Mercy covers (this one especially) have been totally up my alley! LOVE LOVE LOVE.
by Kay | Apr 15, 2014 | Reviews |
Bite Club by Rachel Caine
Series: Morganville Vampires #10
Published by Allison & Busby
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
Add to Goodreads
Rating:
Also in this series: Glass Houses, The Dead Girls' Dance, Midnight Alley, Kiss of Death, Ghost TownAfter discovering that vampires populate her town, college student Claire Danvers knows that the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble.
There's a new extreme sport getting picked up on the Internet: bare—knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against each other—or humans. Tracking the remote signal leads Claire—accompanied by her friends and frenemies—to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville...
Thoughts: Just a warning: this review is more of a rant than anything else.
My dislike of Shane/Claire has morphed into a burning hatred. He is turning her into a wimpy, cowing version of Bella Swan (sorry, Bella) – and it is so much worse because I KNOW Claire can stand up for herself. But when it comes to Shane, she is happy to roll over and let him call all the shots. In Bite Club, it went from bad to abuse.
While I understand that Shane was “damaged” during this book, I felt like a lot of his behavior was his “natural” behavior. It was like seeing Shane drunk: his inhibitions lowered and he turns violent. I am having the same Nash/Kaylee (Soul Screamers Series) problems with their relationship – but unlike that one, I know Shane/Claire one won’t end as happily for me. Loathe loathe loathe loathe.
In a way, it all comes down to Myrnin. I love is Claire and Myrnin’s mutual appreciation for each other’s intellect, and I think their partnership is fantastic. Midnight Alley remains my favourite book in the Morganville series almost entirely because it is a Myrnin/Claire book. That Claire has continued to work for him despite Shane acting like a nutcase is my only source of hope. Whenever Shane would start to rant about Claire working for Myrnin, I felt like I was witnessing a 1950s husband telling his wife to quit her job: it’s unfair, selfish and reflective of his own insecurities.
And I really don’t know where everything went wrong. I used to adore Shane and Claire together – he was protective, but not psychotic. I really thought I could “trust” Shane with Claire; that he would value her intellect and respect her choices. I am really starting to doubt that now.
So why am I still giving this book 3 stars? Well, unlike the last Morganville installment, this book certainly inspired emotion. That’s a step forward in the right direction… that they were negative emotions? Not so good.
Bottom line? Bite Club is a horrifically frustrating book. I keep reading on based on the strength of previous installments and in the (vain) hope of improvement.
by Kay | Apr 11, 2014 | Monthly TBR, Shelf Absorbed |
I am not always the best at posting my TBR piles – I always end up posting them late, or including books I’ve already read… whatever. That being said, I really enjoy putting them together! They give my month a bit of direction and help me avoid the OMG-what-to-read-next panic. So this month I am trying something new: a two-month TBR! Since my books usually run into each other anyway, I might as well embrace it!
Add in my Kindle TBR – which includes Poison Dance by Livia Blackburne and White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout – and you’ll notice that most of these books are for review! While I love my review books, I have to make sure to include some non-review books into the pile in order to keep my sanity… hence the Patricia Briggs! She is my bookish life saver… 🙂
by Kay | Apr 9, 2014 | Weekly Feature |
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
Who doesn’t love a good anthology?! I spotted these three anthologies on Pinterest and absolutely HAD to put them on my wishlist. Totally different concepts that aren’t already on the market. I mean, Sci-Fi by gals? Totally, totally up my alley and an underrated area!
The Mammoth Book of Warriors and Wizardry edited by Sean Wallace (goodreads) – November 11th 2014 by Running Press
This anthology brings together a stellar collection of short fantasy from authors who have made an impact on the genre over the last decade, along with some bestselling favorites, like George R. R. Martin, Naomi Novik, and Jay Lake.
The Mammoth Book of SF Stories by Women edited by Alex Dally MacFarlane (goodreads) – December 2nd 2014
This anthology showcases the most exceptional science fiction stories written by women in recent decades, from classic stars like Ursula K. Le Guin and James Tiptree Jr. to science-fiction greats such Nancy Kress, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Karen Joy Fowler to new award-winning talents.
Rogues edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (goodreads) June 17th 2014 by Bantam
If you’re a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R. R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire.
Gosh, reading these over is making me long for a good sitdown with an anthology. Any picks, people?
by Kay | Apr 8, 2014 | News |
So, in case you’ve been hiding under a rock, let me share the news: the Morganville series by Rachel Caine is coming to the small screen! Can I get an amen?* This series was an awesome kickstarter project that made its money over the summer (yours truly forked over cash – and has the bunny slippers to prove it). Needless to say I get excited whenever I see updates from Rachel Caine in my inbox, explaining how the project is progressing. And at last, we have the cast list!
To be completely frank, I don’t really mind who plays any of the characters. I think this series is really execution-dependant. That being said, I took a nosey through the list to see what was up… Amber Bensen as Amelie is awesome, but kinda what I was expecting given her support of the project… but then I spotted….
Robert Picardo!
Robert will be playing Oliver and… OMG I CANNOT WAIT. He is just the most amazing actor and can deliver ANYTHING. Of course, I know him from his so-fantastic-I-can’t-even role in Star Trek: Voyager, where he played the Doctor. For those of you not born in the 80s, the series is a total must (if only just for him!). Only yesterday I was talking to someone about his awesome portrayal of that part, and low-and-behold he turns up in my inbox.
I really can’t wait to see this project come together. While I may not be the biggest fan of the later Morganville books, it still remains one of my favourite YA series… and I am now 1000% convinced that the live-action adaptation is going to be brilliant!
I leave you now with the Doctor. 😉
