[REVIEW] Collide – Megan Hart

Megan Hart
Collide
Harlequin Spice (US: 21st June 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

Any story with a fictional celebrity is bound to be awkward, and Collide is no different in that respect. The first half has an unsettling fangirl/stalker vibe. The fictional celebrity in question is Johnny Dellasandro, whose name reminds me of Joe Dellasandro – a name I recognise from the author’s Twitter/Facebook feed, though I don’t know who he is. Actor, perhaps? I wouldn’t be surprised if he shares Johnny Dellasandro’s New York accent (eg. “hooah” instead of “whore”; “pitchahs” instead of “pictures”). Makes for very uncomfortable reading.

At the age of six, Emmaline Moser fell off the jungle gym and wanged her head. No permanent damage, and no surgery required, but since then Emm’s experienced fugue states. All the medical tests run on her don’t explain the fugue states or how to control them.

At first the fugue states seem like hallucinations, which would’ve been realistic. But instead they’re time travel, which ends up with Emm becoming pregnant in present time, even though the unprotected sex happened in the travel time/fugue state – the 1970s.

Those of you hoping for psychological drama will instead get paranormal activity. I want my science, damn it!

October 2011 Releases

Finished with September 2011 Releases? Here are October 2011 Releases. To see future dates, check Reading Wishlist.

US Publication Calendar

ANN AGUIRRE – Devil’s Punch – 3 Apr 2012
JOËLLE ANTHONY – The Right and the Real – 26 Apr 2012
KELLEY ARMSTRONG – Hidden – 31 Dec 2011
KELLEY ARMSTRONG – The Calling – 10 Apr 2012
KERI ARTHUR – Darkness Unbound – 27 Sep 2011
KERI ARTHUR – Darkness Rising – 25 Oct 2011
KERI ARTHUR – Darkness Devours – 29 May 2012
JULIANNA BAGGOTT – Pure – 8 Feb 2012
JENNIFER LYNN BARNES – Trial by Fire – 8 May 2012
JENNIFER LYNN BARNES – Every Other Day – 27 Dec 2011
HOLLY BLACK – Red Glove – 3 Apr 2012
HOLLY BLACK – Black Heart – 3 Apr 2012
JENNIFER BOSWORTH – Struck – 8 May 2012
ROBIN BRIDGES – The Gathering Storm – 10 Jan 2012
RACHEL CAINE – Last Breath – 1 Nov 2012/3 Apr 2012
RACHEL CAINE – Black Dawn – 1 May 2012
KYLIE CHAN – Red Phoenix – 27 Sep 2011
KYLIE CHAN – Blue Dragon – 25 Oct 2011
CASSANDRA CLARE – Clockwork Prince – 6 Dec 2011
LEAH CLIFFORD – A Touch Morbid – 28 Feb 2012
SUZANNE COLLINS – The Hunger Games – 1 Nov 2011/7 Feb 2012
ALLY CONDIE – Crossed – 1 Nov 2011
ANDREA CREMER – Wolfsbane – 10 Jan 2012
ANDREA CREMER – Bloodrose – 24 Jan 2012
JORDAN DANE – On a Dark Wing – 20 Dec 2011
LAUREN DANE – Heart of Darkness – 1 Nov 2011
LAUREN DANE – Captivated – 1 May 2012
BREE DESPAIN – The Lost Saint – 22 Nov 2011
BREE DESPAIN – The Savage Grace – 13 Mar 2011
LAUREN DeSTEFANO – Fever – 21 Feb 2012
J. N. DUNCAN – The Vengeful Dead – 4 Oct 2011
J. N. DUNCAN – The Lingering Dead – 3 Apr 2012
KATE ELLISON – The Butterfly Clues – 14 Feb 2012
SARA WILSON ETIENNE – Harbinger – 2 Feb 2012
BECCA FITZPATRICK – Crescendo – 3 Jan 2012
BECCA FITZPATRICK – Silence – 4 Oct 2011
JEANIENE FROST – Once Burned – 27 Mar 2012
COLE GIBSEN – Katana – 8 Mar 2012
AMANDA GRACE – In Too Deep – 8 Feb 2012
PAULA GURAN (ed.) – Brave New Love – 6 Mar 2012
KIM HARRISON – Pale Demon – 29 Nov 2011
KIM HARRISON – The Hollows Insider – 25 Oct 2011
KIM HARRISON – A Perfect Blood – 21 Feb 2012
MEGAN HART – All Fall Down – 27 Dec 2011
KATHY HEPINSTALL – Blue Asylum – 10 Apr 2012
NANCY HOLZNER – Bloodstone – 27 Sep 2011
STACEY JAY – Blood on the Bayou – 27 Mar 2012
ELANA JOHNSON – Possession – 8 May 2012
DARYNDA JONES – First Grave on the Right – 29 Nov 2011
DARYNDA JONES – Second Grave on the Left – 20 Dec 2011/24 Apr 2012
DARYNDA JONES – Third Grave Dead Ahead – 31 Jan 2012
STACIA KANE – Sacrificial Magic – 27 Mar 2012
JULIA KARR – Truth – 19 Jan 2012
KELLY KEATON – A Beautiful Evil – 21 Feb 2012
SAHARA KELLY, TILDA BOOTH & MARI FEE – Silk Steel and Steam – 4 Oct 2011
JACKIE MORSE KESSLER – Loss – 20 Mar 2012
CAITLIN KITTREDGE – The Iron Thorn – 14 Feb 2012
CAITLIN KITTREDGE – The Curse of Four – 31 Oct 2011
CAITLIN KITTREDGE – The Nightmare Garden – 14 Feb 2012
NICK LAKE – In Darkness – 17 Jan 2012
MICHELE LANG – Dark Victory – 17 Jan 2012
SOPHIE LITTLEFIELD – Horizon – 24 Jan 2012
MARIE LU – Legend – 29 Nov 2011
KAREN MAHONEY – The Wood Queen – 8 Feb 2012
MELISSA MARR & KELLEY ARMSTRONG (eds.) – Enthralled – 20 Sep 2011
SEANAN McGUIRE – Discount Armageddon – 6 Mar 2012
RICHELLE MEAD – Last Sacrifice – 15 Nov 2011
RICHELLE MEAD – Shadow Heir – 3 Jan 2012
RICHELLE MEAD – The Golden Lily – 19 Jun 2012
JODI MEADOWS – Incarnate – 31 Jan 2012
KELLY MEDING – Trance – 25 Oct 2011
A. J. MENDEN – The Girl with the Granite Heart – 15 Dec 2011
MARISSA MEYER – Cinder – 5 Jan 2012
STEPHENIE MEYER – Breaking Dawn – 3 Oct 2011/25 Oct 2011
SAUNDRA MITCHELL – The Springsweet – 17 Apr 2012
CARAGH M. O’BRIEN – Birthmarked – 11 Oct 2011
CARAGH M. O’BRIEN – Prized – 8 Nov 2011
FRANCINE PASCAL – Sweet Valley Confidential – 11 Oct 2011/3 Jan 2012
DIA REEVES – Slice of Cherry – 6 Dec 2011
BETH REVIS – Across the Universe – 29 Nov 2011
BETH REVIS – A Million Suns – 10 Jan 2012
KAT RICHARDSON – Downpour – 3 Jul 2012
M. J. ROSE – The Book of Lost Fragrances – 13 Mar 2012
VERONICA ROSSI – Under the Never Sky – 3 Jan 2012
VERONICA ROTH – Divergent – 28 Feb 2012
MICHELLE ROWEN & RICHELLE MEAD – Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide – 22 Dec 2011
DIANA ROWLAND – Sins of the Demon – 3 Jan 2012
KRISTINE KATHRYN RUSCH – Boneyards – 24 Jan 2012
CARRIE RYAN – The Dark and Hollow Places – 13 Mar 2012
M. J. SCOTT – Blood Kin – 5 Jun 2012
KRISTEN SIMMONS – Article 5 – 14 Feb 2012
ANGIE SMIBERT – The Forgetting Curve – May 2012
JERI SMITH-READY – Shift – 1 May 2012
JERI SMITH-READY – Shine – 1 May 2012
JESSICA SPOTSWOOD – Born Wicked – 7 Feb 2012
LILI ST. CROW – Reckoning – 1 Nov 2011
MAGGIE STIEFVATER – The Scorpio Races – 18 Oct 2011
LESLIE TENTLER – Edge of Midnight – 24 Jan 2012
JOAN FRANCES TURNER – Dust – 4 Oct 2011
JOAN FRANCES TURNER – Frail – 4 Oct 2011
RACHEL VINCENT – If I Die – 27 Sep 2011
ROBIN WASSERMAN – Wired/Torn – 25 Oct 2011
SARAH WENDELL – Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels – 1 Oct 2011
BETHANY WIGGINS – Shifting – 27 Sep 2011
CAROL LYNCH WILLIAMS – Glimpse – 1 May 2012
CAROL LYNCH WILLIAMS – Miles from Ordinary – 13 Mar 2012
CAROL LYNCH WILLIAMS – Waiting – 1 May 2012
JILL WILLIAMSON – Replication – 27 Dec 2011
SUSANNE WINNACKER – The Other Life – May 2012
BLYTHE WOOLSTON – The Freak Observer – Feb 2012
BRENNA YOVANOFF – The Space Between/Smoulder – 15 Nov 2011

6 New Covers (Barnes, Jay, Larbalestier & Rees Brennan, Roth, Rowland, Vincent)

[REVIEW] Freaks of Greenfield High – Maree Anderson

Maree Anderson
Freaks of Greenfield High
[eBook only] (9th September 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK)

There are three things I’d like to see more of in fiction: ninja, bionics, and cyborgs. Maree Anderson has provided us with the latter, enclosing it in a YA tale of…well, coming to term with feelings, but the author takes that sap and executes it superbly so it’s no way near as cheesy as it sounds.

Needless to say, the cyborg is my favourite character. (Not so much her love interest, who writes love songs. I’ve never been one for balladry.) Read this, and you’ll understand why Jay Smith is so awesome – she’s my new favourite heroine.

Now, to convince the author to create a ninja character…

9 New Deals (Aguirre, B., Holeman, Marr & Pratt, Quinn, Sun, Wiggins, Woolston)

Ann Aguirre‘s new trilogy to Ace (World English), for publication beginning 2013. Pitched as “Prison Break in space”. On a prison ship filled with warring factions, hostile territories & savage retribution, only the strong survive.

Ann Aguirre & Andres Aguirre writing as A. A. Aguirre’s Bronze Gods to Ace (World English) in a 2-book deal. A steampunk fantasy wrapped around a whodunit, where gaslight detectives solve ritual slayings & magic is a shameful secret.

Megan B.‘s Bangable Dudes in History, based on the blog of the same name, to Simon & Schuster (World). A collection of historical hotties (princes, dandies, scientists, composers, assassins & more) & an exploration of what makes them so darn foxy. Complete with photos, little-known historical facts, & charts & graphs.

Linda Holeman‘s untitled novel, set in 1861 Imperialist Russia & pitched as “Anna Karenina meets Downton Abbey“.

Rags & Bones, a YA anthology of short stories edited by Melissa Marr & Tim Pratt, to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (World). The collection retells classic tales that have inspired the contributors – including Neil Gaiman, Lev Grossman, Kelley Armstrong, & Carrie Ryan. Publication is scheduled for 2013.

Kate Karyus Quinn‘s Another Little Piece in a 2-book deal to HarperTeen (NA). A girl comes to on an Oklahoma highway in another girl’s body with the knowledge that she has murdered the girl whose form she now takes. The main character journeys back to the murdered girl’s home in upstate New York as she tries to figure out, among other things, the identities of her other victims.

Amanda Sun‘s debut Ink Wash to Harlequin Teen (World) in a 2-book deal. A 16-year-old orphan is uprooted to Japan & crosses paths with her school’s arrogant kendo star whose drawings come to life in dangerous ways, pushing them both into Japan’s paranormal underworld.

Bethany Wiggins‘s Stung. Government attempts to save endangered bees by genetic modification causes their sting to induce deadly, flu-like symptoms in humans. A vaccine created in response changes children into ferocious, killer beasts. The uninfected have built a wall to keep the beasts out, & a girl has awakened on the wrong side.

Blythe Woolston‘s Black Helicopters to Candlewick (NA) in a 2-book deal for publication in 2013. About a girl raised to be a weapon who straps on a vest of explosives & sets out to kill & be killed until her plan goes wrong.

[REVIEW] Tropical Sin – Lexxie Couper

Lexxie Couper
Tropical Sin (part of the Bandicoot Cove anthology, along with novellas by Vivian Arend & Jess Dee) [eBook only]
Samhain (US: 6th September 2011)
Buy (US)

A common problem in romance fiction is that the main drama/conflict/problem/plot actually doesn’t feature IN the book, but much earlier.

In other words, the authors are writing the wrong stories. Their ideas for the right stories are evident, yet these gems don’t get the spotlight, instead hidden away within the space of a few pages of a way less interesting tale.

Reading Chapter Eight, hopefully you, too, will prefer a story featuring Derek Schulze than anyone else. His may not have a happy ending, but it’s bloody fascinating and emotional.

But since Derek doesn’t get a proper novella – he gets just those few pages, and they were more about Nick – dedicated to him, this serious note in Tropical Sin kind of feels chucked in.

[REVIEW] Triple Dare – Lexxie Couper

Lexxie Couper
Triple Dare (from the Red Hot Winter anthology, which includes other novellas by Jess Dee & Delilah Devlin)
Samhain (US: 4th January 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

I would’ve given this four stars had it not been for that epilogue. So the novella’s downgraded to three.

It’s perfectly fine to give a character a life-threatening, inoperable illness. It makes ménage fiction less fantasy and more realistic. Adds some seriousness to the fun. All good.

But in the epilogue, you can’t just say the character’s in remission. If you’re going to have someone dying in earlier chapters, they should actually die – don’t pull a “just kidding” move. Because it seems like the inoperable illness is just thrown in for plot. The story would be fine if two characters marry, and have fond thoughts of their dear dead friend.

Or you can just say it’s not entirely inoperable. That still makes the story serious without pulling a “sucked in” move, and it ends reasonably happily.

So Triple Dare has a good idea, but the execution really pisses me off. Inoperable illness is inoperable for a reason. Don’t tell us something can’t be done when it actually does get done by the time the epilogue comes around.

Then again, I’ve never been an epilogue fan. I want a realistic ending, which is not necessarily a happy one.

5 New Covers (Acosta, Caine, Morse Kessler, Mahoney, Mitchell)

[REVIEW] Wherever You Go – Heather Davis

Heather Davis
Wherever You Go
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (US: 15th November 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

With Wherever You Go, Heather Davis has another winner. The issues are hard-hitting and universal, and the family relationships are so realistic that they hurt to read. Jason’s devotion to Holly is a little too good to be true, but they’re a couple to cheer for. If you enjoyed Heather Davis’s The Clearing, then pick up this novel for another great read about ghosts, both literal and symbolic.