Posts tagged ‘Black London series’
December 2009 New Releases
I’ve missed the last couple of months of releases, due to my arm fracture. I’m so glad I can at least finish up the year with December’s releases.
I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Josh Lanyon seems to be one of the busiest authors out there! This month there are 2 releases by JL, including my most anticipated release this month, The Dark Tide (Adrien English Mysteries, book 5). In fact, I’m so excited about it, I will be re-reading the entire series to work my way up to it! I’m actually looking at its Dec. 22 release as a belated birthday present. (My bday is the day before that.)
I’ve also been very excited about Sue Grafton’s new Kinsey Millhone book, U is for Undertow, since it’s been 2 years since the last release. I’ve already got my library request in for the audiobook.
December 1, 2009: The Dickens with Love by Josh Lanyon.Here is a book description: |
Three years ago, a scandal cost antiquarian book hunter James Winter everything that mattered to him: his job, his lover, and his self-respect. But now the rich and unscrupulous Mr. Stephanopoulos has a proposition. A previously unpublished Christmas book by Charles Dickens has turned up in the hands of an English chemistry professor by the name of Sedgwick Crisparkle. Mr. S. wants that book at any price — and he needs James to get it for him. Thereís just one catch. James can’t tell the nutty professor who the buyer is.Actually, two catches because the nutty Professor Crisparkle turns out to be totally gorgeous — and on the prowl. Faster than you can say “Old Saint Nick,” James is mixing business with pleasure — and in real danger of forgetting that this is just a holiday romance. |
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December 1, 2009: U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone series, book 21)Here is a book description: |
It’s April, 1988, a month before Kinsey Millhone’s 38th birthday and she’s alone in her office doing paperwork when a young man arrives unannounced. He has a preppy air about him and looks as if he’d be carded if he tried to buy booze, but Michael Sutton is 27, an unemployed college drop-out.Twenty-one years before, a four-year old girl disappeared. A recent reference to her kidnapping has triggered a flood of memories. Sutton now believes he stumbled on her lonely burial when he was six years old. He wants Kinsey’s help in locating the child’s remains and finding the men who killed her. It’s a long shot but he’s willing to pay cash up front and Kinsey agrees to give him one day. As her investigation unfolds, she finds out Michael Sutton has an uneasy relationship with the truth. In essence, he’s the boy who cried wolf. Is his current story true or simply one more in a long line of fabrications? |
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December 1, 2009: Scorched (The Dark Forgotten series, book 2) by Sharon Ashwood.Here is the description from the author’s site: |
Welcome to the Castle. The price of admission is your soul.Ex-detective Macmillan always had a taste for bad girls, but his last lover really took the cake—and his humanity. Now half-demon, Mac’s lost his friends, his family and his job.But Constance, a strangely innocent vampire trapped in the supernatural Castle prison, needs his help. Her son has been kidnapped, so suddenly Mac has a case to work—one that embroils him with a mad sorcerer, an even madder city council, and a winged love god. The trail leads deep into the supernatural prison, and Mac soon learns that cracking the case will cost him his last scrap of his humanity.Fiery, vulnerable Constance will do anything for those she loves, including Mac. He’ll be damned if he turns his back on her… and a demon forever if he doesn’t. |
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December 1, 2009: Demon Bound (Black London series, book 2) by Caitlin KittredgeHere is the description from the publisher’s site: |
Jack Winter’s deadly past has come back to haunt him…and his only hope lies in the shadows of Black London, the supernatural underworld teeming with dark magic and fey glamour.Thirteen years ago, Jack Winter lay dying in a graveyard. Jack called upon a demon and traded his soul for his life. and now the demon is back to collect its due. But Jack has finally found something to live for. Her name is Pete Caldecott, and because of her, Jack’s not going to Hell without a fight.Pete doesn’t know about Jack’s bargain, but she does know that something bigger and far more dangerous than Jack’s demon is growing in the Black. Old gods are stirring and spirits are rising–and Jack doesn’t stand a chance of stopping them without Pete’s help. |
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December 8, 2009: Divine Misdemeanors (Merry Gentry series, book 8 ) by Laurell Hamilton.
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December 22, 2009: The Dark Tide (Adrien English series, book 5) by Josh Lanyon |
No Description Available.However, be sure to check out the excerpt at the link below!
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December 29, 2009: My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers series, book 2) by Rachel VincentHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
“If she were going to die, I’d already be screaming. I’m a banshee. That’s what we do.”
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December 29, 2009: Beneath the Skin (Maker’s Song series, book 3) by Adrian PhoenixHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
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December 2009: Angelic by Kelley Armstrong (Otherworld novella, featuring Eve Levine)
Here is a book description from the publisher’s site: |
As a half-demon master of the dark arts, Eve Levine isn’t what anyone would call angelic. That’s exactly why the Fates chose her for the job. She’s their secret weapon against the forces of evil. However after five years, Eve is tired of being the designated rebel of the angel corps, expected to break the rules, then penalized for it.When the leaderless djinn stage an uprising, Eve sees the perfect chance to get herself fired. As she plunges deeper into the demon world, though, she realizes she’s in danger of losing a lot more than her job. |
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It’s funny, because for a while it felt like not many books were being released this month, but then I realized that it’s more that I don’t have any romance releases on my radar for December. However, there seems to be a ton of UF and a couple of mysteries for my holiday reading.
Did I miss any books coming out this month that you’re looking forward to?
For information on other future releases, check out my Upcoming Releases page. For information about other books that were released earlier this year, check out my Released in 2009 page.
Just finished reading . . . Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge
Street Magic (Black London series, book 1) by Caitlin Kittredge
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| Confession time. I have a weakness for just about anything set in London. It is my favorite city in the world (at least of the ones I’ve been to) next to Los Angeles. (Hey, I’ve got to show some hometown loyalty, after all. ) So, Caitlin Kittredge already had me at “Black London.”
Following in the footsteps of Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere) and Simon R Green (Nightside series,) Street Magic is a tale of the dark and fantastical London below the everyday London. Mages, Fey, and demons populate the murky world that Pete has been trying to ignore for most of her life. She thinks she’s put the emotional scars and devastation of the episode which resulted in (she thinks) Jack Winter’s death, behind her. However, when she is assigned to the serial kidnapping case, it all comes back. All of it. Including a very alive Jack. Which brings me to what I though was the strongest and most interesting part of the book. For days after reading it, Jack’s character stayed with me. I found him to be such an interesting (anti)hero. He’s a liar, a heroin addict, and a bitter and egotistical man. Yet, he is the most compelling hero I’ve met in a long time. He made me uncomfortable, especially in the role of the protagonist. I love that. Unfortunately, Jack stole the scene whenever he was in the room, and Pete (as a character) suffered for that. Also, I wasn’t always on board with her, and while I found her sympathetic, I didn’t always get what her motivation was. Additionally, I was really bothered by what felt like a tstl moment where she charged off on her own to confront a known bad guy to demand he give her something in his possession. While her doing that moved the plot along and resulted in some great horror scenes, most of the time I was bugged. However, I am more than happy to look to the next book in the series, Conjure Man, to develop her a little more. On the whole, I really enjoyed this introduction to the Black London series. The hunt for the kidnappers was interesting, and the world building was detailed enough to feel fleshed out, but the story never bogged down with too much of it. It was a good start for the series, and I’m looking forward to reading more about Black London when Conjure Man is released in December 2009.
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June 2009 New Releases
Here we are at the mid-year point. Can you believe it? There are so many cool books coming out this month.
Here are the June releases I’m looking forward to:
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June 2, 2009: Street Magic (Black London series, book 1) by Caitlin KittredgeHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
| Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete’s eyes — or so she thought. Now a detective, Pete is investigating the case of a young girl kidnapped from the streets of London. A tipster’s chilling prediction has led police directly to the child . . . but when Pete meets the informant, she’s shocked to learn he is none other than Jack. Strung out on heroin, a shadow of his former self, but he’s able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget’s kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fey. Even though she’s spent years disavowing the supernatural, Pete follows Jack into the invisible fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget — and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago . . . |
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June 2, 2009: Silent Blade (Short story, 42 pp) by Ilona Andrews (Samhain, publisher)Here is a book description from the publisher’s site: |
| Old hatreds die hard. Old love dies harder.On Meli Galdes’ home planet, the struggle for power is a bloody, full-contact sport—in business and on the battlefield. For years her lethal skills have been a valuable asset in advancing her family’s interests. She’s more than earned her right to retire, but her kinsmen have one last favor to ask.
Kill the man who ruined her life. Celino Carvanna’s razor-sharp business acumen—and skills with a blade—won him the freedom to do as he pleases. There’s only one thing he can’t seem to control—his reaction to the mysterious woman who tantalizes his senses. Her eyes alone set his blood simmering, stirring ridiculous adolescent fantasies about breasts and honey. With a few words she dissects his soul. Who is she? And how does she slide so easily under his well-guarded skin? It’s almost too easy to draw Celino within the kill zone. Meli plans to revel in him. Drink him in. Wring every drop of pleasure out of every moment. And when she’s sure he belongs to her, she will finally repay a decade’s worth of pain—in a single, brutal dose of reality. |
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June 2, 2009: Skin Trade (Anita Bake series, book 17) by Laurell HamiltonHere is the description from the author’s site: |
| When a vampire serial killer sends Anita Blake a grisly souvenir from Las Vegas, she has to warn Sin City’s local authorities what they’re dealing with. Only it’s worse than she thought. Ten officers and one executioner have been slain – paranormal style. Anita heads to Vegas, where’s she’s joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward. It’s a good thing he always has her back, because when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses ‘tiger’ too strongly to ignore it. The weretigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher. |  |
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June 2, 2009: Carpe Corpus (Morganville Vampires series, book 6) by Rachel CaineHere is the description from the publisher’s site: |
| In the small college town of Morganville, vampires and humans lived in (relative) peace — until all the rules got rewritten when the evil vampire Bishop arrived, looking for the lost book of vampire secrets. He’s kept a death grip on the town ever since. Now an underground resistance is brewing, and in order to contain it, Bishop must go to even greater lengths. He vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants — the living and the undead. Claire Danvers and her friends are the only ones who stand in his way. But even if they defeat Bishop, will the vampires ever be content to go back to the old rules, after having such a taste of power? |  |
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June 2, 2009: The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya HuffHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
| Alysha Gale is a member of a family capable of changing the world with the charms they cast. Then she receives word that she’s inherited her grandmother’s junk shop in Calgary, only to discover upon arriving that she’ll be serving the fey community. And when Alysha learns just how much trouble is brewing in Calgary, even calling in the family to help may not be enough to save the day. |  |
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June 2, 2009: Black and White (Book 1 of the Icarus Project) by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge
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| Once best friends at an elite superhero training academy, Callie Bradford — code name Iridium — and Joannie Greene — code name Jet — are now mortal enemies. Jet is a by-the-book hero, using her Shadow power to protect the citizens of New Chicago. Iridium, with her mastery of Light, runs the city’s underworld. For years the two have played a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
But now playtime’s over. A looming evil threatens both them and the world they share. As Jet works with a “normal” man who has an extraordinary ability to make her weak in the knees, Iridium teams with a mysterious vigilante called Taser. Both Jet and Iridium are convinced that the other woman is the key to a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions. And one of them is right. |
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June 9, 2009: Green by Jay LakeHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
| She was born in poverty, in a dusty village under the equatorial sun. She does not remember her mother, she does not remember her own name — her earliest clear memory is of the day her father sold her to the tall pale man. In the Court of the Pomegranate Tree, where she was taught the ways of a courtesan . . . and the skills of an assassin . . . she was named Emerald, the precious jewel of the Undying Duke’s collection of beauties.She calls herself Green.
The world she inhabits is one of political power and magic, where Gods meddle in the affairs of mortals. At the center of it is the immortal Duke’s city of Copper Downs, which controls all the trade on the Storm Sea. Green has made many enemies, and some secret friends, and she has become a very dangerous woman indeed. |
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June 16, 2009: Somebody Killed His Editor (Holmes & Moriarty series, book 1) by Josh LanyonHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
| For sixteen years Christopher (Kit) Holmes has enjoyed a successful career as a mystery writer, thanks to the popularity of elderly spinster sleuth, Miss Butterwith and her ingenious cat, Mr. Pinkerton. But sales are down in everything but chick lit and Christopher’s new editor doesn’t like geriatric gumshoes. It’s a pink, pink world for Kit.
Reluctantly the reclusive Christopher agrees to attend a mystery writer’s conference at a remote Northern California winery. But no sooner does he arrive then the bridge to the outside world washes out. On his trek to the Blue Heron Lodge, Christopher discovers the body of a woman in the woods. If nearly two decades of mystery-writing are anything to go by, the woman doesn’t appear to have died a natural death. Thanks to the ongoing storm and washed-out bridge, local law enforcement is not able to come to the rescue. Déjà vu! It’s practically like all those classic murder mysteries in isolated country manors that Christopher has been penning for sixteen years! If only Miss Butterwith was on hand. Or even Mr. Pinkerton . . . |
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June 23, 2009: Finger Lickin’ Fifteen (Stephanie Plum series, book 15) by Janet EvanovichHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
| Recipe for disaster: Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head –literally.
Throw in some spice: Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she’ll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli. Pump up the heat: Chipotle’s sponsor is offering a million dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers. Stir the pot: Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah. Add a secret ingredient: Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur. Enough said. Bring to a boil: Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, A.K.A. Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger’s problems and not jump his bones? Warning: Habanero hot. So good you’ll want seconds. |
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June 30, 2009: Instant Gratification (Wilder series, book 2) by Jill ShalvisHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
| Wishful, California, is 3000 miles from Dr. Emma Sinclair’s last job in a New York City ER. It may as well be another galaxy. Here, running her father’s clinic for a summer, Emma treats bee stings, stomach flu, and the occasional pet cat. Plus, she has to contend with patients like Stone Wilder: gorgeous, laid-back, and irritating beyond belief. The man laughs at her. A lot. And Emma loathes him. All except that tiny part of her that wants to throw him on her examining table and break every doctor-patient rule in the book . . . When Stone tries to help Emma learn to loosen up a bit, he pictures white-water rafting or scenic mountain hikes. Not a mind-blowing affair that shakes them both to the core. Emma’s sure she has no place in a town like Wishful, but Stone knows different. Emma belongs here, in this town, in his |
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June 30, 2009: Don’t Tempt Me by Loretta ChaseHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
| Spunky English girl overcomes impossible odds and outsmarts heathen villains. That’s the headline when Zoe Lexham returns to England. After twelve years in the exotic east, she’s shockingly adept in the sensual arts. She knows everything a young lady shouldn’t and nothing she ought to know. She’s a walking scandal, with no hope of a future . . . unless someone can civilize her. Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont, is no knight in shining armor. He’s sarcastic, cynical, easily bored, and dangerous to women. He charms, seduces, and leaves them–with parting gifts of expensive jewelry to dry their tears. But good looks and charm, combined with money and rank, make him welcome everywhere. The most popular bachelor in the Beau Monde can easily save Zoe’s risqué reputation . . . if the wayward beauty doesn’t lead him into temptation, and a passion that could ruin them both. |
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June 30, 2009: The Women of Nell Gwynne’s (Novella) by Kage Baker.Here is a book description from the author’s site: |
| Lady Beatrice was the proper British daughter of a proper British soldier, until tragedy struck and sent her home to walk the streets of early-Victorian London. But Lady Beatrice is no ordinary whore, and is soon recruited to join an underground establishment known as Nell Gwynne’s. Nell Gwynne’s is far more than simply the finest and most exclusive brothel in Whitehall; it is in fact the sister organization to the Gentlemen’s Speculative Society, that 19th-century predecessor to a certain Company . . . and when a member of the Society goes missing on a peculiar assignment, it’s up to Lady Beatrice and her sister harlots to investigate. |  |
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June 30, 2009: What Happens in London (sequel to Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever) by Julia QuinnHere is a book description from the author’s site: |
| When Olivia Bevelstoke is told that her new neighbor may have killed his fiancée, she doesn’t believe it for a second, but still, how can she help spying on him, just to be sure? So she stakes out a spot near her bedroom window, cleverly concealed by curtains, watches, and waits… and discovers a most intriguing man, who is definitely up to something.
Sir Harry Valentine works for the boring branch of the War Office, translating documents vital to national security. He’s not a spy, but he’s had all the training, and when a gorgeous blonde begins to watch him from her window, he is instantly suspicious. But just when he decides that she’s nothing more than a nosy debutante, he discovers that she might be engaged to a foreign prince, who might be plotting against England. And when Harry is roped into spying on Olivia, he discovers that he might be falling for her himself . . . |
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Oh man, that’s a lot of books! There’s something for just about everybody.
For information on other future releases, check out my Upcoming Releases page. For information about other books that were released in January thru April 2009, check out my Released in 2009 page.
Did I miss any books coming out this month that you’re looking forward to?
People are going to talk…