Book Cover Released:

Spectyr 

by Philippa Ballantine

The second book in the series:  A Book of the Order.

Spectyr is Due Out June 2011.

Stop by Philippa's blog and site to check out more details, HERE.

I really like the gauntlet (glove) with the runes glowing.  And it is nice to see these two characters here on the cover - such an interesting relationship.

I am currently enjoying the first book of the series and really looking forward to doing the review for it.

Guess what book is going on my list of Desired Books...

Book Review: Spellspam

Spellspam

By:  Alma Alexander

Publisher:  Eos Books

Publish Date:  March 1, 2008

Format:  Paperback 454 pgs, pocketbook size

Genre:  YA Fantasy

Series:  2nd book in Worldweavers series; 1st book ~ Gift of the Unmage, REVIEW HERE.

Recommendation:  Yes.  For young readers, young adults and adult too.  This is a fun read of cyber magic in a completely magical world.

Book Synopsis:
What do you get when ordinary e-mail spam becomes infused with magic?
Spellspam.

At first, they seemed like harmless practical jokes, but now, for the students at the Wandless Academy, the spellspams are getting worse.  Thea thought she was the only one who could reach through the computer using magic, but someone else is out there, someone bent on more than just stirring up trouble.  Someone with a dark agenda from a whole new world.

This sequel to Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage ups the ante on a fantasy world that is rich and nuanced, like our own, but with a core of wildly original magic.

First Sentence:
The first hint of serious trouble came, as trouble always does, unlooked for, stealthily, catching everyone by surprise.

My Review and Summary:
It's the next year with everyone back at the Wandless Academy.  A girl, LaTasha, runs screaming from the Library.  To Thea she looked like she had no skin on her face just the muscles.  Thea finds the spam email LaTasha read still on the computer screen; guaranteeing clearer skin than you can image.  Could there be a spell involved?  Here at the Wandless Academy where no one can do magic.  And from through the computers where magic can't affect any one...  Is Thea going to be the one blamed for all these spellspams since the principle knows what she can do?

This book is an excellent second book.  It focuses on the wonderful story more than the setup of the characters and magical world.  I felt there were two additional climaxes to the storyline that went with the main story, almost like two bonus short stories added in.  The spellspams were fun as the way they were worded made me chuckle and as the story went on I wanted to figure out what the spell would affect before I knew the results of it.

Thea and her friends are curious about what they did with the computers last year, as they are a group on magicless kids in a world full of magic - and last year seemed like magic.  They start to investigate more into the unique computer magic. Thea had thought she was the only person that could touch computers in a magical way, but these new spellspams leave her wondering if there is someone else out there like her.

In this book Thea's powers start to grow.  It is also very nice to see Thea stand on her own two feet when it comes to her magical abilities.  She is starting to get better control of what she can do, when to ask for help, and who to ask.  Thea is a young girl starting to grow up.  We also take Thea out of her safe zone of the Wandless Academy which opens up a door to more danger.  The Alphiri are still a shadow in the back of Thea's mind that could jump out and take her at any time.

I enjoyed the characters in this book as well.  Thea's aunt is one of my favorites for the way she talks and her magic.  But I enjoyed the way all the characters interact with each other.  Alma is great at picking up children's views of happenings around them.

This book is great for Young Readers and Young Adults as there is no gory violence and not sexual content.



I received this book from the Author for review.

This book qualifies for the Young Adult Challenge hosted by Home Girl's Book Blog, and for the Speculative Fiction Challenge hosted by Book Chick City.

Book Review: Hell Fire

Hell Fire

By:  Ann Aguirre

Publisher:  ROC books

Publish Date:  April 2010

Format:  Paperback, 315pgs - pocketbook size

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  2nd book in Corine Solomon Novels; 1st book Blue Diablo ~ Review HERE

Recommendation:  Yes! If you enjoyed the first book and enjoy stories with ghosts and demons.  This Urban Fantasy Mystery will be a wonderful read!

Book Synopsis:
As a handler, Corine Solomon can touch an object and know its history.  It's too bad she can't seem to forget her own.  With her ex-boyfriend Chance in tow lending his particularly supernatural brand of luck, Corine journeys back home to Kilmer, Georgia, in order to discover the truth behind her mother's death and the origins of her "gift."

But while trying to uncover the secrets of her past, Corine and Chance find that something is rotten in the state of Georgia.  Just a few miles away, no one seems to know Kilmer exists.  And inside the town borders, there are signs of a dark curse affecting the town and all its residents - and it can be satisfied only by death.

First Sentence:
I'm still a redhead.

My Review and Summary:
Where are we with Corine, Chance, and Jesse?

We pick up where we left off from Blue Diablo.  As promised Chance is heading with Corine to her home town to look into her mothers death.  Kilmer.  The town of Kilmer has a spooky Gothic feel to it, and there are many magic symbols through out the town, even on trees.  Kilmer has many dark hidden secrets of its own along with the towns people who live here.  Corine and Chance work hard to find out what happened to Corine's mother and get tied up in the towns dark secrets, with lots of dead ends.

I enjoyed this book as Kilmer had many scary secrets all of its own.  I wanted to know more about this town, which seems to be stuck in the past, as the story went on.  With this town and the dead ends that Corine and Chance come to kept me wanting more and wondering what was going on.  Ann Aguirre has a great way of writing an action-packed urban fantasy mystery book, and I love it.  The suspense of ghosts and/or magic just kept me coming back for more.  Every time I though we would get an answer we would get a touch but there would be another question to follow.  Ann kept me guessing until the very end.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book as well.  Both the men are back in full form, and fighting over Corine.  I love these men as they both a great possibility to be Corine's significant other.  You are just going to have to read the book to see if Corine picks one.  Corine grows in some ways in this book.  Her powers come to a new level and she pushes herself to use them.  It was interesting to see the develop.  However, Corine gave me pause at times with her reactions to each man when she is alone with them.  But, I quickly moved on from that as I do enjoy both these men.  And there's a great new character we meet here, Shannon.  I am hoping we get to see more of Shannon in future books and hope she helps Corine mature in her relationship and setting roots ways.

The ghost part of the book was always neat for me.  It's not a spooky way, but a different touch, and I enjoyed it.  Once again Ann has written another book I could so easily see made into a wonderful action-packed fast-paced urban fantasy mystery movie. 



I purchased this book for my own enjoyment.

This book qualifies for my Speculative Fiction Challenge, hosted by Book Chick City.

Book Trailer...

Tyger Tyger Book Trailer:

I read this book as an ARC and loved it.  Kersten Hamilton now has a trailer up for the book.  I hope you get the chance to read it as well.  Yes, it's a YA read.  But don't let that stop you.  Its a fun YA Fantasy read.  If you would like to read my review, IT'S HERE.

But, here's the book trailer for you to watch now...

Looking Forward To...(29)

There are so many amazing books already on the shelves and new ones coming out.

For a list of books yet to be released I'm looking to get, you can also look on my right Sidebar at the ever growing list titled Desired Reads - just scroll down.  Of course there are tones of other new books to come out that are amazing as well, but these ones are part of series I have already started or for one reason or another caught my eye (and haven't seen much on other blogs yet). But I will highlight one here each week.

(mentioned in order of Release Date then Alphabetical if there are more than one book coming out on the same date.)

The Next Book Is...

Soul Hunt

By:  Margaret Ronald

Due Out:  December 28, 2010

I've read the first two books of this series on Evie Scelan.  She is a very unique 'person' with an ancestry that reaches back into the Celtic times, and she has a few hound specialties.  The books have a lot of great Celtic mythology base twisted into a current style world.  I have enjoyed these books.  And I was left with the feel in the last book that Evie's abilities are changing, or growing.  And I want to know what happens to her and her boyfriend.

The reviews of the first two books (just click the title):

  Spiral Hunt

  Wild Hunt

Book Description from HarperCollins Publishers:

The hunter has become the hunted . . .

Without even realizing what she was doing, Genevieve Scelan has made a bad bargain. The Red Sox fanatic and supernatural tracker known as "Hound" for her extraordinary power of scent wishes she could leave magic behind now that she’s eradicated the evil cabal that oppressed Boston’s undercurrent for centuries. But now her talent’s fading, the local adepts’ squabbles are turning ugly, and worse, she’s just discovered that she owes a very large debt to someone . . . or something. And in the undercurrent, debts are taken very seriously.

Evie has until midwinter to pay up . . . or else. So when she gets a job that might save her—even if she’s breaking all her own rules to take it—she can’t pass it up. Now, with danger at her back and uncertain allies beside her, she’ll trace the very bones of Boston itself to protect both the city and the people she loves.

Book Blog Tour...

Philippa Ballantine, author of the newly released Geist,

first of A book of the Order series. 

I am thrilled to announce Philippa will do a guest post on Monday November 29th right here!  I think it's going to be a great post, so please make sure you mark your calendars to stop back by and say Hi.

If you would like to stop by Philippa's site and watch a great interview with her in which she talks on writing, writing fantasy, and Geist: CLICK HERE.  I think you will be sold on the books from this site, before you even start reading them.

I will be starting to read the book Geist this weekend and have a review posted of the book as well.  I am so looking forward to getting into this book, as it really sounds like a great fantasy read that is right up my alley.

Have you heard about Geist yet?  If not here is the cover and synopsis from Goodreads:

Between the living and the dead is the Order of the Deacons, protectors of the Empire, guardians against possession, sentinels enlisted to ward off the malevolent haunting of the geists... 

Among the most powerful of the Order is Sorcha, now thrust into partnership with the novice Deacon, Merrick Chambers. They have been dispatched to the isolated village of Ulrich to aide the Priory with a surge of violent geist activity. With them is Raed Rossin, Pretender to the throne that Sorcha is sworn to protect, and bearer of a terrible curse. 

But what greets them in the strange settlement is something far more predatory and more horrifying than any mere haunting. And as she uncovers a tradition of twisted rituals passed down through the dark reaches of history, Sorcha will be forced to reconsider everything she thinks she knows. 

And if she makes it out of Ulrich alive, what in Hell is she returning to?

Interview with Caitlin Kittredge

Today I have an interview for you with a great author, Caitlin Kittredge.  Some of you may know Caitlin from her Nocturne City Series or maybe even the Icarus Project.  I have read and enjoyed her Black London Series. On November 30, 2010 the third book, Bone Gods, will be released.

Lets get on to that wonderful interview...

Me:  Hello Caitlin!  Thank you so much for agreeing to do an interview with me. :)


CK:  My pleasure.


Me:  It appears you have been very busy lately with all the amazing sounding books your working on, recently released, or coming up to be released.  And moving too.  I have been enjoying one series of yours, with Pete and Jack.  The third book of this series is to be released November 30th.  Can you tell us a little bit about your main characters for those who might not have read the series yet?


CK:  Jack Winter is a mage (a magic user who can and does use both lighter and darker sorts of magic) who lives in London.  Jack's also a psychic, who can communicate with the dead as well as see demons, Fae and other creatures who dwell in the supernatural version of London known as the Black.  His ability is strong and it's actually driven him insane in the past.  Pete Caldecott is pretty much his diametric opposite.  She (yeah, it's a thing) is a former detective with the Metropolitan Police who discovered that she had some supernatural abilities of her own that are way more powerful and way more frightening than Jack's ability to cast hexes or talk to ghosts.  Pete and Jack used to be in love as teenagers, but a lot has happened since then, and their relationship is still fragile.  Plus, people keep trying to kill them and a literal demon from Hell has a vested interest in keeping them apart.  


Me:  Jack and Pete have a... unique... connection in the books with the help of their abilities.  But now we have our characters in some predicaments; Jack in a Hell of a place and Pete to learn a lot.  Will we see the characters grow by milestones in the next book?  Any hints you can give us?


CK:  In Bone Gods, yes.  There's a lot of change for everyone involved, including the city itself.  I never set out to write 20 books where Pete and Jack stay exactly the same and the world of the Black maintains the status quo.  It's safe to say that nothing in the books is sacred, including character's lives.


Me:  I read on your blog your to do list you have Black London #4 (Devil's Business), #5 and #6 to write. How many books will there be in the Black London series?


CK:  As many as they'll pay me for.


Me:  The characters have a British accent. Did you live in Britain or do lots of studying to come up with the comments and accent sound?


CK:  I've been to England and have some extraordinarily patient British friends.  I don't get everything right, and I freely admit sometimes I screw up the slang despite my best efforts, but I like to think I improve a little with each book.  


Me:  The relationship between Pete & Jack is great!  I really enjoy the banter they have going between the two of them.  I love that they let all out when they talk to each other.  No love last between the two.  I have not yet read other series by you (although they are on my list to get and read as I have really enjoyed these) but is there anything that fuels the truth behind these characters? 

CK:  I hate cutesy back-and-forth banter couples in fiction (books, comics, film or any other media) who never show each other a real emotion or emotional truth.  I also hate romantic comedies where the female lead won't just say what's on her mind and makes crazy assumptions about her male counterparts, so I think the combination of those two things lead me to the dynamic between Pete and Jack.  Yes, they get irritated and they fight and say horrible stuff to each other, but there's also a profound love and respect between them.  Jack would do anything for Pete and she pays him back by not sugarcoating the truth. Pete as a character is pretty blunt and extremely honest, and Jack wouldn't know how to be tactful if you had a gun to his head.  So they tend to get one another riled up.  


Me:  Do you have that one line, paragraph, page or section you wish you could go back and redo?


CK:  I really wish I could fix the slang mistakes in the first book.  Otherwise, no--I'm behind my writing 100%.


Me:  Any particular section or scene in the Black London Series that you enjoyed the most writing?  What scene was the most difficult to write? Why?


CK:  The scene on the porn set in Street Magic was hilarious, to me.  I was giggling while I was writing that one.  Possibly because on the inside, I'm twelve.  The stuff that delves into Jack's past, when we see his childhood abuse and multiple suicide attempts and drug addiction, was really hard for me to write unflinchingly and not skim over.  Getting down the innermost thoughts of a hard-core heroin addict/abuse survivor does not make for a bright, rainbow-filled writing session.


Me:  Do you have any authors who have influenced you?

CK:  Pretty much everything I read influences me, whether it's good or bad.  The Black London books are my attempt at something like those great British crime novels, where everyone smokes and people get punched in the face quite a bit.  The BBC series Life on Mars (NOT the shoddy American remake) had quite a bit to do with making Pete a cop, and also me deciding that Jack had to be from Manchester.  When I was a little younger I read a lot of the comic books Warren Ellis wrote for Marvel in the 90s, like Excalibur (which technically was about superheroes but owed a lot more to those same crime novels.)  Mike Carey is another fantastic author currently writing London-set fantasy, and Simon Green's Nightside books also had something to do with it.  I'll be a total post-1992 debut author cliche and say Neil Gaiman, as well.


Me:  Any advice to aspiring authors?


CK:  Write a book.  Seriously.  Write and finish a book.  Set yourself a routine, outline if you need to, and make it happen.  If you can finish one book, chances are good you can finish enough to eventually get published.  Also, read non-fiction as well as fiction.  If nothing else you'll get good ideas for future books.


Me:  Is there anything no one has asked you would like to be asked?


CK:  Nobody ever asks me my opinion on unicorns.  This makes me sad.


Me:  What was the last book you just finished?  What is next on you shelf to read?


CK:  I've been re-reading all of David Sedaris's books, and right now I'm reading Already Dead by Charlie Huston.


Me:  Just a fun question, If you could go any where in the world where would you go?


CK:  I've been to a lot of the places I've always dreamed of visiting--London, Belgium, Amsterdam, Kyoto, road tripping across the entire US.  Right now the two trips I really want to take are to tour Ireland or see Moscow and maybe a few other parts of Russia.  And I always enjoy going back to the UK--England is one of my favorite places on earth.


Me:  A fellow blogger and a friend, Robyn from The Bookoholic Zone, whom I've been talking about the books with and will do our scheduled chats with ~ posed a few questions I thought would be great to add in as well.  They are:  She was thinking on the emotions of the characters.  How is Pete going to react when she sees Jack again?  Will she show anger or still care too much about him?  And Jack?  Would he have any emotions left at all from being in Hell that he might still care for Pete?


CK:  Well, you'll have to read Bone Gods to find that out, because to answer any of those questions would be huge spoilers!  Yes, I'm mean like that.


WOW!  Thank you Caitlin.  I really enjoyed your answers.  I learned some great things here about the characters and you.  I am really looking forward to reading Bone Gods very soon.


I would love to wish you the best...in words and pages.  Thank you again Caitlin.

________________________________________

Okay, so as a reader are you curious about Bone Gods?  
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Pete Caldecott is trying to survive in Black London without Jack Winter, her teacher and closest friend.  After Jack was turned into a demon, he went to live far out of reach...in hell.  But for Pete, surviving is no easy matter.  The Black is rife with turf wars between mages and necromancers, the witch-hunting Order of the Malleus has resurfaced, and the gods themselves seem to be at each other's throats.  Then Jack reappears, as the head of hell's army, and Pete has to choose between Jack, and her duties as a Weir--which demand she kill him to save the world from certain destruction...


Would you like to visit Caitlins site?  Here are the links:  Webpage & Blog are both linked here.  Caitlin is also on Twitter @caitkitt and you can find her on many different sites - the links are on her web page sidebar.