Today we’re pleased to welcome Danielle Jensen. Her most recent novel, Warrior Witch was released May 3rd and completed the Malediction trilogy. She stopped by to chat about the relationship between the series protagonist, Cécile, and her mother. Family relationships can always be quite intriguing and this one is no exception!     This post will have Stolen Songbird and Hidden Huntress spoilers, so don’t proceed if you haven’t read the novels!     Quite early in Hidden Huntress, I heavily hint that Cécile’s mother, Genevieve, is actually Anushka. The reason for this early reveal was that I believed the central mystery was not Anushka’s identity, but rather the answer to the riddle of the prophecy that brought Tristan and Cécile together. I was also interested in creating a circumstance where the reader knew or suspected the villain’s identity before the protagonist did. It has always fascinated me how the family members of serial killers are always so shocked to discover that their spouse/parent/sibling has been carrying on such horrible activities. How the idea that said spouse/parent/sibling might be a murderer never once having crossed their minds, despite it being obvious to an outsider presented with the facts. How having an emotional…

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          SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR       FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Ten Jonathan Strahan 5/16/2016 Solaris The Tower of Swallows Andrzej Sapkowski 5/17/2016 Orbit Company Town Ashby, Madeline 5/17/2016 Tor Books Freeze/Thaw Chris Bucholz 5/17/2016 Apex My Best Friend’s Exorcism Grady Hendrix 5/17/2016 Quirk The Summon Stone Ian Irvine 5/17/2016 Orbit The Fireman Joe Hill 5/17/2016 William Morrow Roses and Rot Kat Howard 5/17/2016 Saga The God Wave Patrick Hemstreet 5/17/2016 Harper Voyager Runtime S.B. Divya 5/17/2016 Tor.com Stranger of the Tempest Tom Lloyd 5/19/2016 Gollancz

Children of Earth and Sky is Kay’s latest novel, set in war torn lands. The cast is comprised of a variety of characters, characters that are unlikely companions, crossing paths only by chance. As with Kay’s other books, this is set in a fictional land/world, but quite closely matches our own. There are a good number of characters in this, but I think it works well as it helps give perspectives and information from a variety of sources. This always helps paint a broader picture. That said, some readers may find it breaks the flow of the story a bit as the story is often jumping from one story to another. Personally, this is not an aspect that bothers me but I do know some readers prefer a more constant source for the story. As one might expect, this world can brutal, and there are great hardships that help steer our characters onto their current courses. Danica is a determined young woman, set of on vengeance for the loss of her family. She is fiercely independent and not afraid of calculated risks. Honestly, she does not seem to fear much in this world. Perhaps that comes from losing so much….

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       URBAN FANTASY   SCIENCE FICTION   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION     Children of Earth and Sky Kay, Guy Gavriel 5/10/2016 NAL The Voodoo Killings Kristi Charish 5/10/2016 Vintage Canada Central Station Lavie Tadhir 5/10/2016 Tachyon Whisper of Southern Lights Lebbon, Tim 5/10/2016 Tor.com Too Like the Lightning Palmer, Ada 5/10/2016 Tor Books The Wolf in the Attic Paul Kearney 5/10/2016 Solaris

The Summer Dragon is a wonderful tale full of dragons and mystery. The author, Todd Lockwood, is an established illustrator, and it shows with all of the wonderful illustrations included through out the book. Not to mention the absolutely gorgeous cover. I was immediately quite taken with the protagonist, Maia. She is a determined young woman, set on getting a dragon of her own. Her family runs a dragonry, so she has been raised with dragons and understands them. The special thing about dragons is they form a unique bond with one human, their rider. This bond is developed when the dragons are still young (called qits). This year, their dragonry has more qits than normal and both Maia and her brother are hoping to get one each, so they can then raise a new breeding pair (the dragons also bond with their mate at a young age). It seems the perfect plan, they are both of a good age to bond with a dragon, and a new breeding pair will help ensure dragon production in the future. Dragon raising is a political business. Most of the qits are reserved for the war, to be handed over to the military. It’s…

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           HORROR FANTASY                   URBAN FANTASY     SCIENCE FICTION                 HORROR         FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   The Chimes Anna Smaill 5/3/2016 Quercus To Kill a Kettle Witch : A Novel of the Mist-Torn Witches Barb Hendee 5/3/2016 Roc The Lost Stars: Shattered Spear Campbell, Jack 5/3/2016 Ace Night Shift Charlaine Harris 5/3/2016 Ace Star Wars: Bloodline Claudia Grey 5/3/2016 Del Rey Warrior Witch Danielle L. Jensen 5/3/2016 Angry Robot Admiral Danker, Sean 5/3/2016 Roc The Jewel and Her Lapidary Fran Wilde 5/3/2016 Tor.com The Map of Bones Francesca Haig 5/3/2016 Gallery…

The Days of Tao novella is set several years after Rebirths of Tao and features Cameron who is settled in college. I have always loved the  interactions between Tao and whoever is hosting him so this instantly made my must read list. Cameron is trying to lead a normal type of life. Something he has not been able to do, pretty much since forever. His parents lives revolve around the Genjix/Prophus war, and as a host he has been trained to join them since birth. He finally has the opportunity to put all that aside and study abroad in Greece. This is a wonderful chance for him to finally be on his own and try to fit in and do all the normal things that typical kids do. Classes, homework, peer pressure, making friends. All that good stuff. But, Cameron? He’s not a typical kid. Typical kids don’t have aliens in their brains telling them things. Typical kids don’t have parents heading up a war. So, of course, Cameron is pulled out of his moment of typical college life when a Prophus agent in Greece needs extraction and Cameron is the only available agent that can help. As Cameron gets involved, the shit totally hits…

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           HORROR   FANTASY   URBAN FANTASY   SCIENCE FICTION     HORROR     FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   Sleeping Giants Sylvain Neuvel 4/26/2016 In Shining Armor Elliott James 4/26/2016 Sharp Ends Joe Abercrombie 4/26/2016 HEX Thomas Olde Heuvelt 4/26/2016 The Days of Tao Wesley Chu 4/30/2016

Fun fact, Hill mentioned in the foreward/introduction that the title of his book came from Bradbury’s original title of Fahrenheit 451. The Fireman felt very different from Hill’s other books. There is not the magical call of Christmasland, though there was a nod to it in the book as well as  a slew of references to other genre books, particularly Harry Potter. There was not a ghost haunting a rock star or magical keys that unlock abilities, or horns that appear overnight. This book felt less fantastical and more thriller, but you’ll find absolutely no complaints here because it is an extremely thrilling read that I found almost impossible to put down. The premise is that there is a new, incredibly dangerous plague called Draco Incendia Trychophyton (aka Dragonscale). Dragonscale is quite frightening because it can cause its victims to burst into flames, incinerating anything and anyone near by. Dragonscale is absolutely fascinating. I have to admit, it sounded like it would take a stronger suspension of disbelief until I read the book. Hill presents the Dragonscale in such a way that if feels clinically/scientifically possible. There are many traits he assigns to it, and when broken down makes it sound more plausible. Granted it is still fiction,…

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         URBAN FANTASY   SCIENCE FICTION   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION Grim Tidings Caitlin Kittredge 4/19/2016 Harper Voyager The Fall of the Dagger Glenda Larke 4/19/2016 Orbit The Emperor’s Railroad Guy Haley 4/19/2016 Tor.com Nettle King Katherine Harbour 4/19/2016 Harper Voyager Almost Infamous Matt Carter 4/19/2016 Talos The Everything Box Richard Kadrey 4/19/2016 Harper Voyager The House of Daniel Turtledove, Harry 4/19/2016 Tor Books