Acknowledging that she was different from everyone else wasn’t difficult for Wendy Everly – she’d always felt like an outsider. But a new world and new family is a hard for any girl to accept easily. Leaving behind the mysterious country of her birth, she is determined to fit back into normal life. But the world she’s left behind won’t let her go that easily.

Kidnapped and imprisoned by her true family’s enemies, Wendy soon learns that the lines between good and evil aren’t as defined as she thought. And those things she’d taken for granted may have been lies all along. With the help of the dangerously attractive Loki, she escapes back to the safety of Förening – only to be confronted by a new threat.

It’s time to make a choice – can she put aside her personal feelings for the sake of her country? Torn between duty and love she must make a choice that could destroy her one chance at true happiness.

Torn is the second book in Amanda Hocking’s best-selling Trylle trilogy which is being released for the first time in paperback in the UK this year. As I said in my review of Switched, I love the covers for this series and the cover picture on the left really doesn’t do this one justice. Those leaves and Amanda’s name are all picked out in shiny red in the paperback version and it’s just gorgeous!

The story in Torn follows on straight away from the ending of Switched as Wendy tries to escape from her newly discovered Trylle life and go back to the life she knew before. But of course Wendy can’t escape that easily and in an action packed start to the novel falls into the enemy Vittra hands. I liked that the story got straight into the action and introduced a whole new dimension to Wendy’s world very quickly. Through Wendy’s capture and imprisonment we learn a lot about the Vittra and there are a number of great twists to the plot that I wasn’t expecting. Torn presents the other side of the story depicted in Switched and adds a lot of detail to Wendy’s background and the Trylle world as a whole. After a promising and action packed start, I found the middle section of the book a little slow, however, the final third of the book had me racing though the pages again and overall this was another unputdownable book for me.

I was pleased to see many familiar faces from Switched but also enjoyed the additional characters introduced; particularly those on the Vittra side of the story. They made a good contrast to the inhabitants of Forening and I was surprised when Hocking added another possible love interest into the mix with bad boy Loki. The romance side to Torn is excellent and for me is one of the most gripping elements of the story. The events and obligations that Wendy faces in this novel take Wendy’s relationships in a direction that I didn’t see coming and there is one revelation in particular that totally surprised me – I love it when a book does that!

I often worry that a sequel or second book in a series won’t live up to the first, particularly if I enjoyed the first a lot. Thankfully, Torn delivers and is equally as good as Switched, moving the story on and setting the scene perfectly for the final novel, Ascend. There are so many questions left unanswered that it had  me wishing I could read Ascend right now. Thankfully I havn’t got long to wait until the final novel is out next week!

4/5

Torn is out now and I’d like to thank publisher Tor (Pan Macmillan) for sending me a review copy.

You can find out more about Amanda Hocking and her books on her blog at: http://www.amandahocking.blogspot.com/ and at http://www.panmacmillan.com/author/amandahocking where you can find an extract from Switched.

Dreams is the first book in the new Sarah Midnight Trilogy by Daniela Sacerdoti. I’m very intrigued by the synopsis and trailer and think the cover is great too. Dreams sounds quite different to anything I’ve read recently and I’m looking forward to reading it soon.

‘You’d never think it could happen to you. You’d never think that one day you’d stand in a graveyard, rain tapping on a sea of black umbrellas, watching your parents being lowered into the earth, never to come back. It’s happening to me. They said it was an accident. Only I know the truth. My parents were hunters, like their parents and grandparents before them, hundreds of years back, scores of ancestors behind me, fulfilling the same call. I must follow in their footsteps. I am the only one left to keep the promise. I can never give up the fight, this fight that has been handed down to me, thrust upon my unwilling shoulders. I’d rather be buried with my parents, my brave, fierce father and mother, who lived and died by the Midnight motto: Don’t Let Them Roam.’ 

Ever since her thirteenth birthday, seventeen-year-old Sarah Midnight’s dreams have been plagued by demons – but unlike most people’s nightmares, Sarah’s come true. Her dreams guide her parents’ hunt as Sarah remains in bed, terrified but safe, sheltered from the true horrors of the Midnight legacy. But all this is about to change. After the murder of her parents, she is cruelly thrust into a secret world of unimaginable danger as she is forced to take up their mission. Alone and unprepared for the fight that lies before her, Sarah must learn how to use the powers she’s inherited and decide whom to trust before it’s too late…

Dreams is released on 17th May and it’s already been chosen as a booksellers choice for Waterstones in Scotland for May!

You can find out more about Daniela and her writing on her website at: http://danielasacerdoti.com/en/

I really enjoyed the first book in the Fairwick Chronicles series, Incubus, which was released last year and have been eagerly awaiting details of the sequel so I was excited to see that the cover for Water Witch has been released. It’s a great cover and I can’t wait to find out what happens next to Callie and the residents of Fairwick. Water Witch will be published on 13th September by Ebury Press.

In the town of Fairwick there is a dark wood, and in the wood there is a stream. And in that stream the Undine live…

Descended from a longline of ‘door-keepers’, Callie McFay has become the guardian of the last gateway between the world of Faerie and mankind.

But unbeknown to Callie there is another door in Fairwick to the world of the Fae – a watery portal that she must now open in order to allow the Undine – juvenile water nymphs – to return to their Faerie world.

If Callie fails in her task, the Undine will die. But they are not the only watery creatures looking for a way to cross the borderlands between the two worlds…

Schuyler’s hunt for the Gates is becoming more intense as the vampire world is beginning to show cracks. The New York Coven’s ancient lore and the desires of young vampires keep coming into dangerous conflict that could have repercussions worldwide. The course of forbidden love never did run smooth…

I’ve had this book on my ‘to read’ pile for a little while so when the urge to read something ‘paranormal’ came on last week, I went straight to my favourite vampire series. This is the sixth novel in the Blue Bloods series and the penultimate; the final book The Gates of Paradise will be releasd in January next year. Although I love this series, I’m pleased it is coming to an end; I enjoyed Lost in Time but not as much as some of the earlier novels in the series and at times I felt like the plot and mysteries were just going round in circles with very little being reveled that moved the story on.

As I’ve said in previous reviews, it’s hard to comment in depth on a particular installment of the series without giving away spoilers to those who haven’t read the earlier books so I’ll keep my comments short and please don’t read on if you are planning to read the other books in the Blue Bloods saga first.

Lost in Time is actually three separate stories which interconnect but involve separate groupings of characters. The first story is that of Schuyler as she hunts for the Gate of Promise. This part of her quest takes her to Egypt and also tells the next part in the tale of Schuyler and Jack’s relationship. For me, this was the least gripping of the three plots in Lost in Time and at times I got quite confused as to who was who and what had happened before.

The second strand to the story is led by Mimi and Oliver. Regular readers will know that Oliver has always been one of my favourite characters in the Blue Bloods novels so I was really pleased to see that he had a significant presence in this book. I’m still hoping that Oliver will get a happy ending! Mimi’s character has undergone a dramatic change as the series has progressed and I think her true character really comes out as she descends into the depths of Hell in Lost in Time to search for Kingsley Martin. I’m always surprised by the amount of humour Mimi brings to the plot and this novel was no exception.

The final storyline was the one that had me most intrigued and gripped as I was reading, telling the story of Schuyler’s mother Allegra and her relationship with Schuyler’s father. The beginning of this story was told in the Bloody Valentine novella and I was so pleased to see that the full story has now been told – it filled in a lot of gaps for me and finally answered some of the questions I had!

As with all of the novels in this series, Lost in Time ends on a cliffhanger which left me wishing I had the seventh book to read right now. I’m already looking forward to reading the final installment and can’t wait to find out how the series ends. Lost in Time reminded me how much I enjoy Melissa de la Cruz’s books – I always read them quickly and I love the worlds she creates so I’ll be turing my attention to her new adult series The Witches of the East, which takes place in the same world as the Blue Bloods, while I wait.

4/5

You can find out more about Melissa de la Cruz and her novels at: http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/

In the second part of my ‘hot picks’ for 2012 I’ve chosen the paranormal and fantasy books that I’m most looking forward to reading. Are your favourites on the list?

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood (Razorbill, March)

I love witch stories and am looking forward to this new YA series. I’ve shown the US cover here – isn’t it lovely?

Our mother was a witch too, but she hid it better.

I miss her.

To me, the magic feels like a curse. According to the Brothers, it’s devil-sent. Women who can do magic-they’re either mad or wicked. So I will do everything in my power to protect myself and my sisters. Even if it means giving up my life – and my true love.

Because if the Brothers discover our secret, we’re destined for the asylum, or prison . . . or death.

Romance, magic, and an age-old prophecy.

The Reckoning by Alma Katsu (Century, June)

The second book in The Taker series – no synopsis yet for this immortal love story but the series has undergone a striking cover change for this release!

666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce (Canvas, June)

I’m very excited about this series which definitey falls into the chick lit side of paranormal – it sounds brilliant.

Welcome to New York City, where the socialites are witches Ever since fabulously wealthy Malcolm Doran walked into her life and swept her off her feet, Jane Boyle has been living a fairy-tale. When he proposes, Jane can’t believe her incredible luck and decides to leave her Paris-based job as a fledgling architect and make a new start with Malcolm in New York. But when Malcolm introduces Jane to the esteemed Doran clan, one of Manhattan’s most feared and revered families, Jane’s fairy-tale takes a darker turn. Soon everything she thought she knew about the world-and herself-is upended. Now Jane must struggle with newfound magical abilities and the threat of those who will stop at nothing to get them. What if your mother-in-law turned out to be an evil, cold-blooded witch … literally?

Shadow of the Night by Deborah Harkness (Headline, July)

The long awaited sequel to A Discovery of Witches. Enough said

Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown.

Shortly after Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont timewalk to London, 1590, they discover that the past may not provide a safe haven after all. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy Matthew Roydon, the vampire falls back in step with a group of radicals known as the School of Night who share dangerous ideas about God, science, and man. Many of his friends are unruly daemons – the creative minds of the age who walk the fine line between genius and madness – including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot.  Matthew, himself, is expected to continue to spy for Queen Elizabeth, which puts him in close contact with London’s cutthroat underworld.

Together, Matthew and Diana scour the bookstalls and alchemical laboratories of London where they follow the elusive trail of Ashmole 782 – and search for the witch who will teach Diana to control her powers.

Wake by Amanda Hocking (Pan Macmillan, Autumn)

Having just read Switched I’m looking forward to reading the first in Amanda’s new Watersong series.

Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They’re the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone’s attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it’s her sister, Gemma, they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all – carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she’s had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove–and one night Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she knows something has changed.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. As she uncovers the truth about her new mythical powers, Gemma is forced to choose between staying with those she loves or entering a dark world brimming with unimaginable secrets.

The Water Witch by Carol Goodman (Ebury, September)

No synopsis yet for this book which is the second novel in the Fairwick Chronicles series. I loved Incubus and can’t wait to find out what happens to Callie next.

Wendy Everly knew she was different the day her mother tried to kill her and accused her of having been switched at birth. Although certain she’s not the monster her mother claimed she is – she does feel that she doesn’t quite fit in . . .

The new girl in High School, she’s bored and frustrated by her small town life – and then there’s the secret that she can’t tell anyone. Her mysterious ability – she can influence people’s decisions, without knowing how, or why . . .

When the intense and darkly handsome newcomer Finn suddenly turns up at her bedroom window one night – her world is turned upside down. He holds the key to her past, the answers to her strange powers and is the doorway to a place she never imagined could exist. Förening, the home of the Trylle. Everything begins to make sense to Wendy. Among the Trylle, she is not just different, but special. But what marks her out as chosen for greatness in this world also places her in grave danger. With everything around her changing, Finn is the only person she can trust. But dark forces are conspiring – not only to separate them, but to see the downfall everything that Wendy cares about. The fate of Förening rests in Wendy’s hands, and the decisions she and Finn make could change all their lives forever . . .

My new year has started with cover love; Amanda Hocking’s Trylle Trilogy has been beautifully packaged with two sets of covers to choose from (Adult and Young Adult versions), all of which are gorgeous. Many of you will have already heard of Amanda Hocking but for those who haven’t; she self-published her first book less than a year ago and has now sold over a million ebooks so I was very intrigued to see what all the fuss is about!

Switched is the story of seventeen year old Wendy who lives with her Aunt Maggie  and brother Matt after her mother tried to kill her when she was six. Not surprisingly, after a traumatic childhood, Wendy has ‘issues’ and finds it hard to fit in. As a consequence, her family has moved around a lot and as we meet her, she is once again the new girl in school. The story is told from Wendy’s point of view and I enjoyed that she knows she’s different but as the novel starts, doesn’t really understand why although she’s beginning to notice that she has some special abilities. Wendy finds herself drawn to mysterious new boy Finn and it soon becomes clear that he holds the key to finding out who she really is.  Switched is predominantly the story of Wendy’s discovery that she is a Trylle and what this means for her future. I enjoyed following Wendy on her voyage of discovery and despite her supposed ‘issues’, I found her a likeable character, if a little immature for her almost eighteen years.

If you’d told me I’d be so gripped by a book about Trolls I probably wouldn’t have believed you but I couldn’t put this book down. I can certainly see why it has been a huge hit. The story gives an original spin to the Troll folklore and feels fresh and magical at the same time. As a mum I wondered if I could enjoy a story about babies being switched at birth and if I’m completely honest, that part of the story didn’t sit very well with me at the beginning but as the book progressed the ‘switch’ element was explored from a number of angles with Wendy often voicing my thoughts about the changeling practice and and I found myself more intrigued as to how it would all play out than anything else.

The romance element to the story is good with several possible love interests popping up and dramatic events when Wendy realises who she really wants to be with! Hocking has created a detailed fantasy world in the Forening, with its own royalty and strict hierarchies. She has also created the requisite darker Trylle, The Vittra who are determined to use Wendy to thier own ends. Switched is fast paced and at just under 300 pages, the story has a huge amount packed into it meaning that I didn’t want to put it down. Amanda and the Trylle have a new fan in me and I can’t wait to add Torn and Ascend to my shelves in March and April!

4/5

Switched is released today and I’d like to thank Bea at Thinkjam for sending me a review copy.

You can find out more about Amanda Hocking and her books on her blog at: http://www.amandahocking.blogspot.com/ and at http://www.panmacmillan.com/author/amandahocking where you can find an extract from Switched.

It’s the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We’re out of oil. We’ve wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS – and his massive fortune – will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late twentieth century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle.

Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions – and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.

One of the things I love most about book blogging is the opportunity to discover books that would most probably have passed me by before I started blogging. Ready Player One is one of those books. On first impressions this book is very different from my usual reads but luckily for me, a publisher thought I might enjoy it and asked if I’d like a copy. I’m so glad they did as this is one of the most gripping and entertaining books I’ve read! Cline has created a brilliantly thought out and detailed future dystopian world; combined it with a fantastic virtual reality treasure hunt based on music, film and gaming nostalgia from the 1980′s and underlined it all with (the biggest surprise for me as I read) a really sweet coming of age love story.

This book will automatically appeal to the gamers and the geeks but please don’t dismiss it on that basis because there is so much more to the story! The basic plot is deceptively simple; on his death, James Halliday, the founder of the OASIS set a challenge to complete a series of quests and inherit his fortune and control of the OASIS. The novel is split into three parts covering the search for the three keys that will lead to the final prize and is narrated by lead character Wade Watts (known online as Parzival) as he tells the story of how he found the first key and what happened next. The attention to detail and complexity of the world Cline had created are amazing – he really does seem to have thought of everything and as a reader I was completely pulled into both the future world that Wade inhabits and the virtual world that is his playground.

Cline’s writing style is easy to read and Wade’s story had me gripped from the start. It was refreshing to read a book narrated from a male perspective and Cline has the mindset of his eighteen year old hero spot on. There are five other key characters who are on the one hand Wade’s key competitors for the ultimate prize and on the other his allies and friends as the book progresses. These are characters known for the majority of the novel via their online persona’s – virtual beings that may or may not be reflections of their true selves which adds an interesting dimension to Wade’s interactions with them and the book as a whole as I was kept guessing until the end as to who Wade’s fellow gamers really were.

Right from the prologue with its references to the film Heathers the book is packed full of references to 1980′s pop culture and actually made me nostalgic for a time before Twitter, X-boxes and anything with an ‘i’ in front of it. I’ll be honest; some of the references went over my head but it didn’t matter as Wade explains the important ones and the underlying storyline is so strong that it wouldn’t matter if you’d never played a video game in your life. I was so engrossed in the world that Cline has created that I found myself Googling some of the films, TV and music to find out more for myself (once a librarian always a librarian) and there aren’t many books that I can say that about!

As is to be expected in a novel based on a giant game, the plot includes plenty of surprises and twists to keep readers on their toes. Ready Player One is a very visual book and should make a fantastic film, the rights for which have already been optioned by Warner Brothers. This is a novel that appeals on many different levels; I found it a fun and addictive read and I loved the underlying morale to the story. In fact I enjoyed this book so much that I’d really like to read more like it – suggestions in the box below please!

5/5

You can find out more about Ernest Cline and Ready Player One at: http://www.ernestcline.com/

I’d like to thank Ruth at Random House for sending me a review copy.

Baby Sam

August was a very exciting month for me as my baby boy, Samuel, arrived nine days early on 17th! The last two weeks have been very busy as we all got to know our new family member and it really feels like we’ve never been without him now. I’m hoping to get back up to speed with the blog and catch up with the reviews I missed at the end of August during September but if it does go quiet you know I have a good excuse

I read four books in August and really enjoyed all of them!

Bad Sisters by Rebecca Chance

A Kiss At Midnight by Eloisa James

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

August Book of the Month

Although I haven’t had chance to review it yet my book of the month is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline; my favourite because it was a complete change from my usual reads and one of the most original books I’ve come across in a while. It appealed to the geek and the romantic in me and I loved all the 80′s references!

The three most popular reviews on the site in August were:

Baby Be Mine by Paige Toon

To The Moon and Back by Jill Mansell

Incubus by Carol Goodman

I really can’t believe we’re in September already – the year seems to have flown by. There are still so many exciting autumn and winter releases to come though an we’re heading into my favourite time of year so I’m looking forward to lots of good reads in the lead up to Christmas! This month I’ll be reviewing Jane Lovering’s new book Star Struck; Unlike a Virgin by Lucy Anne Holmes and Sue Watson’s debut novel Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes. I’m also hoping to take part in the launch for Talli Roland’s new novel Watching Willow Watts on September 14th – check out Talli’s blog for the full details and do let me know which books you are looking forward to reading in September.

‘This is where all stories start, on the edge of a dark wood…’

Dr. Callie McFay’s travels to the small college town of Fairwick in New York State for a job interview. Despite it being her second choice she finds herself talked into accepting a job offer from the Folklore Department to teach a class on demons and vampires. She also finds herself drawn to an old house in the woods where Gothic novelist Dahlia LaMotte used to live and buys it on a whim, despite the seeming reluctance of the estate agent to sell it to her.

But on the night of her job interview, she had a very vivid erotic dream about a man made out of shadows and moonlight, and this dream becomes a regular occurrence when she moves into her new home. Callie starts to feel like a heroine in one of the gothic novels she teaches as slowly it dawns on her that things at the college – and in her home – are not what they seem. She learns that her house is supposed to be haunted by LaMotte’s former lover and her new – and rather strange – colleagues tell her an unfamiliar fairy tale about an incubus-demon with a human past who was enchanted by a fairy queen…

It’s been a while since I read a paranormal novel so I was very excited to recieve a copy of the first book in Carol Goodman’s new series The Fairwick Chronicles. Incubus tells the story of college teacher Callie McFay as she takes up a job in the small town of Fairwick near New York. Callie is a student of folklore and has built her career on the study of Gothic novels, legends and fairytales.

The first part of the novel follows Callie as she attends her interview at the college and is drawn to an old Gothic house at the edge of a forest. I enjoyed seeing the town of Fairwick through Callie’s eyes and the first chapters of the book set the scene well for what is to come with Callie being mysteriously drawn to the old house; having a strange experience as she goes for a run in the woods and the return of Callie’s dreams about a lover made out of shadows. On the surface, all of these occurrences are explainable and Fairwick seems to be a fairly ‘normal’ college town but there is of course much more to Fairwick and it’s residents than an initial glance might reveal.

On accepting the job offer and deciding to buy the house by the woods, Callie discovers that the house belonged to Gothic novelist Dahlia LaMotte. As Callie settles into her new life she finds a treasure trove of Dahlia’s original manuscripts, complete with erotic scenes that were edited out before publication. As Callie ponders Dahlia’s prolific writing and the inspiration for it, her own dreams become more regular, vivid and strikingly similar to Dahlia’s written encounters.

As Callie gets to know her new colleagues better and they reveal the local legends surrounding the gate to Faerie, she begins to question whether her dreams and the shadow man who occupies them could actually be real. Potential readers should note that the dream/sex scenes are quite a feature at the beginning but become less so as the book progresses and although there is what would be described as ‘Adult’ content in the book, I think it would be suitable for the majority of young adult readers too.

The book changes pace dramatically when three of Callie’s colleagues realise that she is under the infulence of an Incubus and stage an intervention. The story really takes off once Callie is accepted into the magical community and begins to learn the truth about the town’s residents, her own heritage and role. At some points I felt that Incubus read like an adult version of Harry Potter with a fascinating cast of magical beings to get to know including witches, fairies, succubi, vampires and more! The characters in Incubus provide great variety and each has a strong depth with plenty of scope for expansion in future novels; Goodman has created a whole new magical and sometimes dangerous world for her characters to inhabit and her readers to enjoy.

Paranormal romance fans will certainly get their fix as Callie tries to work out her feelings for boyfriend Paul, the Incubus who haunts her and new tutor on campus, Liam. There are numerous references  to the recent obsession with vampires and the paranormal and  I enjoyed the way this book looks at the trend through the eyes of an outsider, acknowledging the great Gothic novels whilst not taking itself too seriously. Incubus feels very different in style to Goodman’s recent collaboration with her husband, Black Swan Rising and although I enjoyed both, Incubus definitely has the edge for me.

As the book ends, several new threads open up leaving plenty of scope for further novels in the series. After a slow start, this book pulled me in and wouldn’t let go. I’m pleased to have found another paranormal series to get myself hooked on and am already looking forward to the next installment of The Fairwick Chronicles. I haven’t found any information on the release of book two yet so if anyone knows, please shout! There is a fab interview with Carol at the back of the book and if you liked A Discovery of Witches this might just be the next book for you – a paranormal series with lots of potential!

4/5

Incubus is out now and I’d like to thank Emma at Ebury for sending me a copy to review.

You can find out more about Carol Goodman and her books at: http://www.carolgoodman.com/

This week’s book news has taken on a paranormal theme …

New covers from Meg Cabot

I’m a big fan of Meg Cabot and was very excited when she announced she was writing an adult paranormal series last year. Meg announced the new covers for the series on her blog recently and the title of the sequel to Insatiable! Overbite will be released in the US on 5th July. I’ve had Insatiable on my ‘to read’ pile since my birthday in January so I’d better get reading.

Blue Bloods news from Melissa de la Cruz

Atom has done it again with a fab cover for the UK release of Lost in Time, the sixth book in the Blue Bloods series which is released in October this year. This is my favourite vampire series and I’m equally excited about the adult spin off series Witches of the East released later this month. Melissa has also announced that book seven in the Blue Bloods series will be the last in the series. You can find out more about Melissa and her books at: http://melissa-delacruz.com/index.php/site/

New Series from Carol Goodman

I enjoyed Black Swan Rising By Carol Goodman and her husband Lee Slonimsk when it came out last year so I was excited to see a new series by Carol launching next month. Incubus is released on July 21st:

‘This is where all stories start, on the edge of a dark wood…’

Dr. Callie McFay’s travels to the small college town of Fairwick in New York State for a job interview. Despite it being her second choice she finds herself talked into accepting a job offer from the Folklore Department to teach a class on demons and vampires. She also finds herself drawn to an old house in the woods where Gothic novelist Dahlia LaMotte used to live and buys it on a whim, despite the seeming reluctance of the estate agent to sell it to her.

But on the night of her job interview, she had a very vivid erotic dream about a man made out of shadows and moonlight, and this dream becomes a regular occurrence when she moves into her new home. Callie starts to feel like a heroine in one of the gothic novels she teaches as slowly it dawns on her that things at the college – and in her home – are not what they seem. She learns that her house is supposed to be haunted by LaMotte’s former lover and her new – and rather strange – colleagues tell her an unfamiliar fairy tale about an incubus-demon with a human past who was enchanted by a fairy queen…