Incoming Book Previews: a huge mix of genres ~ May 6, 2011

 

Welcome to our ~ Incoming Book Previews:  New books up for review. We have a bundle and a mix of genres to share today.

I have included the cover, a shortened snippet, book stats, and purchasing links from Amazon. Now ~ the question of the day:  Which book would you read first? 

As for me I have trouble deciding which underwear to put on in the morning and they are all beige. Such problems.

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Wildefire ~ by Karsten Knight; Young Adult; 400 pages; Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (July 26, 2011) pre-purchasing - US|UK|Canada.

Every flame begins with a spark. Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school when she transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods. There Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. 

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A Conflict of Interest ~ by Adam Mitzner; 384 pages; Gallery  (May 17, 2011) pre-purchase - US|UK|Canada.

Alex Miller is a criminal defense attorney at one of the most powerful law firms in NYC. He is presented with a surprising request for representation in a high profile criminal investigation. When Alex is catapulted into a bevy of secrets that threaten everything, he has no other choice than to question his beliefs about the law, his family, and himself. 

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Ruby Red (book 1) ~ by Kersten Gier (Author), Anthea Bell (Translator); Young Adult; 336 pages; Henry Holt and Co.  (May 10, 2011) pre-purchase - US|UK|Canada.

A planned trilogy translated from German this book has been a best seller in Europe. Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era! Together, she and another cousin Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

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The River Kings’ Road (book 1) ~ by Liane Merciel  448 pages; Pocket; Reprint edition (January 25, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

The wounded maidservant thrust the knotted blankets at him; instinctively, Brys stepped forward and caught the bundle before it fell. Then he glimpsed what lay inside and nearly dropped it himself.  There was a baby in the blankets.  A baby he knew, even without seeing the lacquered medallion tucked into the swaddling—a medallion far too heavy, on a chain far too cold for an infant who had not yet seen a year.

Heaven’s Needle (book 2) ~  480 pages; Pocket Star (April 26, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

The second book in an epic fantasy series, in which the fate of a world rests in the hands of a woman who must rescue the knight she loves… 

GIVEAWAY: We are currently offering 5 sets of this series for US addresses thanks to the publisher.

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The American Book of the Dead ~ by Henry Baum; 248 pages; Backword Books (November 1, 2009)  US|UK|Canada.

Eugene Myers is working on a novel about the end of the world. Meanwhile, he discovers his daughter doing porn online and his marriage is coming to an end. When he begins dreaming about people who turn out to be real, he wonders if his novel is real as well. An apocalyptic adventure - Eugene may be the guy to save the world.

Winner: Best Fiction at the DIY Book Festival; Winner: The Gold IPPY Award for Visionary Fiction.

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Remaking Love: a sex after sixty story ~ by Mary L.Tabor; 214 pages; 3ones, Inc. (December 20, 2010) US|UK|Canada.

This is one of those stories you just couldn’t make up. This memoir transports the reader in a most unusual way through a remarkable journey of redemption after a 21-year marriage crashes and burns when her husband “D.” announces, so Greta Garbo, “I need to live alone.”

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The Psychopath Test ~ by Jon Ronson; 288 pages; Riverhead Hardcover (May 12, 2011) pre-purchase -  US|UK|Canada.

In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them.

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Funeral for a Dog ~ by Thomas Pletzinger (Author), Ross Benjamin (Translator) 322 pages; W. W. Norton & Company (March 28, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

Journalist Daniel Mandelkern leaves Hamburg on assignment to interview Dirk Svensson, a reclusive children's book author who lives alone on the Italian side of Lake Lugano with his three-legged dog. After stumbling on a manuscript of Svensson's about a complicated ménage à trois, Mandelkern is plunged into mysteries past and present.

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On Maggie’s Watch ~ by Ann Wertz Garvin; 304 pages; Berkley Trade; (November 2, 2010) US|UK|Canada.

Maggie Finley has returned with her husband from the big city to her Wisconsin hometown, where she reunites with her best friend and awaits the any-minute-now birth of her baby. She's determined to create a safe haven on Hemlock Road, a neighborhood that has always meant security, community, and love. One way to do that: resurrect the defunct Neighborhood Watch program.

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The Sextine Chapel ~ by Herve Le Tellier (Author), Ian Monk (Translator); 104 pages; Dalkey Archive Press (July 19, 2011) pre-purchase - US|UK- in French.

A series of short, intimately interconnected stories making up a lively user’s manual to pleasure, relating the various liaisons of couples from Anna and Ben to Yolande and Zach (taking in Chloe and Xavier along the way, as well as twenty others, as you may have guessed), until the criss-crossing of their lives and partners makes up a pattern as intricate as the fresco on the ceiling of a chapel.

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Every Bitter Thing ~ by Leighton Gage; 288 pages; Soho Crime; (December 1, 2010) US|UK|Canada.  

The son of the Foreign Minister of Venezuela is found dead in his apartment in Brasilia. Due to the political nature of the crime, Chief Inspector Mario Silva of Brazil's Federal Police is called in to investigate. As he delves deeper into the murder, he discovers that a chain of murders have occurred throughout Brazil, all with the same MO: victims are first shot in the stomach, then brutally beaten to death, and, even more puzzling, they were all passengers on TAB flight 8101 from Miami to São Paulo.

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Robopocalypse ~ by Daniel H. Wilson; 368 pages; Doubleday (June 7, 2011)  US|UK|Canada.

They are in your house. They are in your car. They are in the skies…Now they’re coming for you. In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us.

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Shadow Chaser (book 2) ~ by Alexey Pehov; 368 pages; Tor Books; (April 12, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

Saddened because they have left one of their number in a grave in the wilderness, Harold and his companions continue their journey to the dreaded underground palace of Hrad Spein. There, knowing that armies of warriors and wizards before them have failed, they must fight legions of untold, mysterious powers before they can complete their quest for the magic horn that will save their beloved land from The Nameless One.

Shadow Prowler (book 1) ~ 400 pages; Tor Books; (February 16, 2010)  US|UK|Canada.

After centuries of calm, the Nameless One is stirring. An army is gathering; thousands of giants, ogres, and other creatures are joining forces from all across the Desolate Lands, united, for the first time in history, under one, black banner. By the spring, or perhaps sooner, the Nameless One and his forces will be at the walls of the great city of Avendoom.

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Central Park Knight (book 2) ~ by C.J. Henderson; 352 pages; Tor Books; (May 10, 2011)  US|UK|Canada.    

Knight receives a chilling message from Tian Lu, a former lover and an agent for the Chinese government. Years ago, they made a frightening discovery at an archeological dig when out of the depths rose… a living, fire-breathing dragon. Now, the dragons are waking from their slumber before their scheduled time.

Brooklyn Knight (book 1) ~ 336 pages; Tor Fantasy; (November 2, 2010) US|UK|Canada.   

Professor Piers Knight is the Brooklyn Museum’s very own Indiana Jones. What his contemporaries don't know is that in addition to being a scholar of all these topics, he is also proficient in the uses of magical artifacts. If a mysterious object surfaces, Professor Knight makes it his job to figure it out--and make sure it stays out of dangerous hands.

A contemporary on an expedition in the Middle East calls Knight's attention to a mysterious object in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum … just before it becomes the target of a sorcerous attack that leads to a siege on a local precinct house by a fire elemental.

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Redheart ~  by Jackie Gamber; 294 pages;  Seventh Star Press, LLC (April 19, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

Enter the lands of Leland Province, where dragon and human societies have long dwelled side by side.

Superstitions rise sharply, as a severe drought strips the land of its bounty, providing fertile ground for the
darker ambitions of Fordon Blackclaw, Dragon Council Leader, who seeks to subdue humans or wipe them off the face of the land. As the shadow of danger creeps across Leland Province, a young dragon named Kallon Redheart, who has turned his back on dragons and humans alike, comes into an unexpected friendship with Riza Diantus - a young woman whose dreams can no longer be contained by the narrow confines of her village.

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The Music of Secrets ~ by Dave Halpin; Mar. 19, 2011; Kindle ~ US|UK|Smashwords.

When Simon and his wife arrive on Inis Roane, a western Irish island, they intend it to be a remaking of their failing marriage and a chance to catch up with old friends.

On the island, a team of scientists are investigating a remarkable discovery they are desperate to protect. As Simon begins to unravel the mystery of the island he finds that the strange behavior of the islands wildlife and the open hostility between his friends and the scientists are connected. Simon discovers that not all languages are spoken in words and that some words should never be spoken at all.

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We have some new books just about to be released, several which have been out for a bit, and a blend of  genres. Including nonfiction, memoir, thriller, crime fiction, young adult, fantasy, women’s fiction, science fiction, and three translations – Wow!

Until our next teetering pile of wonderful books, I ask you the question: Which book would you read first?

Happy Reading!