Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed?
We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.
FANTASY URBAN FANTASY SCIENCE FICTION
FANTASY
The Sorcerer's Daughter (The Defenders of Shannara #3) by Terry Brooks
Published by Del Rey on May 24th 2016
Pages: 352 
The third stand-alone Shannara novel in the Defenders of Shannara series, following The High Druid’s Blade and The Darkling Child, easily accessible to new readers of epic fantasy.
The daughter of a reviled sorcerer, Leofur is nothing like her dreaded father. When her life-partner, Paxon Leah, leaves on a dangerous mission, Leofur protects Paxon’s sister. When she is abducted Leofur is forced to choose between saving Paxon from a mission gone badly awry, or hiring the services of the best tracker in the world to go after her life-partner’s sister.
A Blade of Black Steel by Alex Marshall
Published by Orbit on May 24th 2016
Pages: 544
The sequel to Alex Marshall's A Crown for Cold Silver, an outstanding, game-changing epic adventure featuring an unforgettable female warrior.
After five hundred years, the Sunken Kingdom has returned, and brought with it a monstrous secret that threatens to destroy every country on the Star.
As an inhuman army gathers on its shores, poised to invade the Immaculate Isles, the members of the Cobalt Company face an ugly choice: abandon their dreams of glory and vengeance to combat a menace from another realm, or pursue their ambitions and hope the Star is still there when the smoke clears.
Five villains. One legendary general. A battle for survival.
Smoke: A Novel by Dan Vyleta
Published by Doubleday on May 24th 2016
Pages: 448
England. A century ago, give or take a few years.
An England where people who are wicked in thought or deed are marked by the Smoke that pours forth from their bodies, a sign of their fallen state. The aristocracy do not smoke, proof of their virtue and right to rule, while the lower classes are drenched in sin and soot. An England utterly strange and utterly real.
An elite boarding school where the sons of the wealthy are groomed to take power as their birthright. Teachers with mysterious ties to warring political factions at the highest levels of government. Three young people who learn everything they’ve been taught is a lie—knowledge that could cost them their lives. A grand estate where secrets lurk in attic rooms and hidden laboratories. A love triangle. A desperate chase. Revolutionaries and secret police. Religious fanatics and coldhearted scientists. Murder. A London filled with danger and wonder. A tortured relationship between a mother and a daughter, and a mother and a son. Unexpected villains and unexpected heroes. Cool reason versus passion. Rich versus poor. Right versus wrong, though which is which isn’t clear.
Exile for Dreamers (Stranje House, #2) by Kathleen Baldwin
Published by Tor Teen on May 24th 2016
Pages: 384
A School for Unusual Girls is the first captivating installment in the Stranje House series for young adults by award-winning author Kathleen Baldwin. #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this romantic Regency adventure "completely original and totally engrossing."
Tess can't run far enough or fast enough to escape the prophetic dreams that haunt her. Dreams bring nothing but death and grief, and Tess refuses to accept that she may be destined for the same madness that destroyed her mother. Until her disturbing dreams become the only means of saving Lord Ravencross, the man she loves, and her friends at Stranje House from Lady Daneska and her lover, the Ghost-agent of Napoleon, who has escaped from Elba. Can the young ladies of Stranje House prevail once more? Or is England destined to fall into the hands of the power-mad dictator?
"Enticing from the first sentence." -New York Times Book Review
A School for Unusual Girls is a great next read for fans of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series and Robin LaFevers' His Fair Assassin series.
URBAN FANTASY
All Fixed Up (Ciel Halligan, #4) by Linda Grimes
Published by Tor Books on May 24th 2016
Pages: 336
The hilarious adventures of human chameleon Ciel Halligan continue in the fourth installment of this original urban fantasy series, All Fixed Up.
Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire, has a lot of experience filling in for her clients--as them. A rare genetic quirk gives her the ability to absorb human energy and project it back out in a flawless imitation.
She's hard at work, posing as a well-known and celebrated astronaut, about to make a stunning announcement on behalf of the space program...when the photographer documenting the job sees right through her aura. Worse, it soon becomes apparent that he not only knows Ciel’s not who she's supposed to be, but means her harm.
When Ciel's elderly Aunt Helen—also an aura adaptor—is murdered in Central Park, and the same photographer shows up at the funeral, Ciel starts to feel even more exposed. Then more adaptors are killed in the same way, and she becomes terrified her friends and family are being systematically exterminated ... and it's starting to look like she's the ultimate target. She turns to Billy Doyle, her best-friend-turned-boyfriend, for help, but when an unexpected crisis causes him to take off without a word, she's left to rely on her not-so-former crush, CIA agent Mark Fielding.
Staying alive, keeping control of her romantic life, and unraveling the mystery of why adaptors are being pursued becomes a harder balancing act than ever in this new Ciel Halligan adventure from Linda Grimes.
SCIENCE FICTION
Dark Run by Mike Brooks
Published by Saga Press on May 24th 2016
Pages: 384
In this debut space epic, a crew of thieves and con artists take on a job that could pay off a lot of debts in a corrupt galaxy where life is cheap and criminals are the best people in it.
The Keiko is a ship of smugglers, soldiers of fortune, and adventurers travelling Earth’s colony planets searching for the next job. And they never talk about their past—until now.
Captain Ichabod Drift is being blackmailed. He has to deliver a special cargo to Earth, and no one can know they’re there. It’s what they call a dark run…And it may be their last.
FANTASY URBAN FANTASY SCIENCE FICTION
| Exile for Dreamers | Baldwin, Kathleen | 5/24/2016 | Tor Teen |
| All Fixed Up | Grimes, Linda | 5/24/2016 | Tor Books |
| Dark Run | Mike Brooks | 5/24/2016 | Saga |
| The Sorcerer’s Daughter: The Defenders of Shannara | Terry Brooks | 5/24/2016 | Del Rey |
| A Blade of Black Steel | Alex Marshall | 5/24/2016 | Orbit |
| Smoke | Dan Vyleta | 5/26/2016 | Doubleday |
You can also find me blogging about books at Tenacious Reader
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- Review: Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman - April 18, 2018
- Review: The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso - April 11, 2018
3 Comments
“Smoke” sounds like a fascinating book, and I will add it to my “want” list – thanks for sharing! 🙂
Three works of fantasy were omitted:
“Leviathan’s Blood: Book Two of the Children Trilogy” by Ben Peek, to be published by Thomas Dunne Books (a subsidiary of Macmillan Publishers) on May 31. [Note: The first novel in the trilogy, “The Godless,” was outstanding.]
“Dancer’s Lament: Path to Ascendancy Book 1” by Ian C. Esslemont, to be published by Tor Books (a subsidiary of Macmillan Publishers) on May 31. [Note: This novel is part of the Malazan universe.]
“Shadow of the Void: Book Two of the Sundered World Trilogy” by Nathan Garrison. to be published by Harper Voyager Impulse on May 24. [Note:This is an eBook.]
The first two are actually on our list for next week (we just post books releasing in the next week so those fall outside the range for this week. Thanks for sharing the last one! 🙂