13 New Covers

13 new covers behind the cut.

October 2010 Releases

Done with September 2010 Releases? Here are the October 2010 Releases. To check release dates further into the future, check Reading Wishlist.

[REVIEW] Night Life – Caitlin Kittredge

Caitlin Kittredge
Night Life (Nocturne City, Book 1)
Macmillan St. Martin’s (US: 4th March 2008); Hachette Gollancz (UK: 10th June 2010; AU: August 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

A ritualistic serial killer is on the loose in Nocturne City, and Detective Luna Wilder teams up with a fellow werewolf to investigate…

Yep, a werewolf named Luna Wilder, which is preposterous mostly because no character finds the link funny/strange. That would have been too obvious.

The plot relies a lot on stereotypes – Luna’s the only female in the PD, and there’s a misogynist/sexist who constantly riles her, and the captain’s corrupt, and so are the district attorney and his staff…

When Luna is a competent employee conducting her investigation legally, such as meeting with a university professor, she’s actually quite affable. As for the rest of the time…Look, I understand bitchiness. It can be particularly vicious at certain times of the moon cycle. But the rule of basic manners: don’t bitch to those who are nice to you. Seriously. Luna’s lucky enough to have a supportive cousin and lieutenant, but she’s totally rude to them both. She even dares to call Sunny a bitch – the hypocrisy, it burns! Luna claims that people don’t like her because she’s a werewolf, but I suspect they don’t like her endless bitching.

Dmitri Sandovsky is a former (?) drug-dealing pimp, though he claims he only did that to make some money when he first came to the country from Ukraine. Normally I love international characters, but Dmitri’s back story is more of a plot point than who he is. He doesn’t even swear in the mother language, so I felt somewhat bereft.

The pack (and out of it) hierarchy doesn’t seem entirely logical. Luna is Insoli, a wolf without a pack, yet she manages to dominate pack wolves in their territory. Huh?

My comments here may suggest that I don’t like this book, but I actually do, and quite a lot. For better or worse, Night Life is a roaring page-turner that should give book clubs much to discuss.

Squick spoiler: Luna’s lover phases to a wolfish form during coitus. So…I think that counts as bestiality. Just thought you should know.

[REVIEW] Haunted Honeymoon – Marta Acosta

Marta Acosta
Haunted Honeymoon (Casa Dracula, Book 4)
Simon & Schuster Gallery (US & CA: 28th September 2010; AU: 1st January 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

Ian Ducharme’s new neighbours desperately want to be thralls to vampires, and the Lord doesn’t seem to be doing anything to dissuade them. His lover, Milagro de Los Santos, is fed up and breaks off their relationship. It’s an apt time to jet off for London, to negotiate writing a second “fauxoir” and have a fabulous affair.

Returning to California, Milagro is framed for murder and tortured for information. Is stress or a bump on her head responsible for the very All My Circuits turn of events?

Milagro is at her irrepressible best, though leading on the most important men in her life gets annoying. The Poindexters are ridiculously named, and that Wilcox Spiggott surfs in the UK is rather preposterous. But Wilcox and Nettie are fabulously fun, and a bloody good time.

This series may be classified as a comedy of manners, but there’s also serious depth here, when we learn more about Milagro’s heartbreaking childhood. (Yes, I got mopey.)

The plot regarding the Poindexters didn’t really grip me, which is disappointing since I recently became interested in Frankenstein, and would’ve loved to read a modern version. But I don’t choose this series for the plots; I read it for the lavishly larger-than-life characters and their shenanigans, and this fourth novel certainly has them in spades. The honeymoon location and its people are fascinating, and I didn’t want to leave them.

[REVIEW] Hell Fire – Ann Aguirre

Ann Aguirre
Hell Fire (Corine Solomon, Book 2)
Penguin Roc (US & CA: 6th April 2010); Hachette Gollancz (UK: June 2010; AU: July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

Book 1 dealt with Chance’s mother’s disappearance, and Book 2 here investigates Corine’s mother’s death. Hell Fire lacks most of the Mexican flavour that I adored in Blue Diablo, so in comparison America’s South lacks pizzazz. Actually, as a town that shuns modern technology and conveniences, Kilmer lacks a lot.

There’s some weird shiz involving human sacrifice, and scary shiz around the myth that you can hear dead people’s spirits on the radio if you’re young – or just before you die.

I’m still Team Chance, and new character Shannon is a true rarity – a precocious teen that DOESN’T get on my nerves. But there’s a lot less of my favourite characters, Chuch and Eva.

5 New Deal Announcements

Lauren Dane‘s next 2 contemporary erotic romances & next futuristic erotic romance in a 3-book deal to Leis Pederson at Berkley Heat (world rights), for publication beginning 2011.

Marie Lu‘s LEGEND in a 3-book deal to Jennifer Besser at G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers (world rights). A dystopian set in 2130 Los Angeles, submerged by flooding. A girl who is a prodigy being groomed for government work meets a boy who is 1 of the state’s most-wanted criminals. The main characters’ love story (she’s tasked with finding his brother’s killer) is loosely based on Les Misérables. Scheduled for December 2011.

Kelly Meding‘s WARDEN’S TRANCE in a 2-book deal to Jennifer Heddle at Pocket. The 1st book in a new series, in which adult children of the world’s slaughtered heroes suddenly regain their lost superpowers after a mysterious 15-year absence, only to face a fearful public, a leery government, & the villain responsible for the deaths of their parents.

Jackson Pearce‘s PURITY to Julie Scheina at Little, Brown Children’s (world rights), for publication in 2012. A 16-year-old struggles with her conservative father’s expectations & decides to live on the wild side by losing her virginity, pitched as written in the style of Saved! & Juno.

Joan Frances Turner‘s FRAIL, again to Ace. The lone human survivor of a small town must make her way across a land ravaged by the “feeding plague” & contend with dangerous humans & zombies alike.

[REVIEW] Waking the Witch – Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong
Waking the Witch (Otherworld, Book 11)
Penguin Dutton (US: 27th July 2010); Hachette Orbit (UK: 27th July 2010; AU: August 2010); Random House (CA: 3rd August 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

A creepy small town, shady rich folk, a mysterious commune suspected of being a cult, and weird ritualistic stuff are all very appealing, and narrator Savannah Levine has a great voice when she’s not talking about her hotness. (Yep, she’s up herself.)

The witches, sorcerers and demons in this series have never really appealed to me. The spells are deliberately vague and seem too easy for their casters. Savannah (and why doesn’t anyone shorten her name to “Sav”?) whips ‘em out willy-nilly, and I’d complain about this except that the author has predicted my concern and will seemingly address it in the upcoming sequel.

The bad girls are far and above my favourite characters here, which may say more about me than it does about them. Megan steals the show, and the other bad girl is great fun (I won’t name her for spoiler reasons).

This is a solid four-star read, but I’m feeling a bit flat about it, perhaps because I’m reviewing this so long after reading it.

AussieCon 4

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