One of Us Will Be Dead by Morning is not a book for the squeamish! The body count rises at an astronimical rate, and details are not spared. I enjoyed it, and have to admit, parts were certainly unexpected, always a good thing. It takes place on a remote island that is currently home to an adventure group that does team building exercises. The current group of coworkers on a retreat to the island find themselves trapped there as their ferry home crashed amongst the rocks, littering the corpses of its incoming passengers. Did they die in the crash? Were they murdered? Or is something else going on? If they didn’t die in the crash, are they safe or are they the next potential victims? All things to think about instead of heading back home as they planned. I have to admit, just the thought of traveling to a remote island with coworkers is a bit horrifying by itself. But then to get stuck there as horrify deaths that start to pile up? With no idea who you can trust? Then it becomes a living nightmare. This book is part of a series that I’ve not previously read. I am…

After reading and loving Certain Dark Things, I had no doubt I would read whatever Moreno-Garcia published next. That turned out to be The Beautiful Ones. Just from the synopsis I could tell it would be incredibly different from the vampire underground world created in Certain Dark Things, but I have to confess, I was hoping to still find a bit of that darkness in The Beautiful Ones. Well, I can’t say I found this to be dark like that, and will advise you that you can not read this book looking for world or tone similarities to Certain Dark Things. Moreno-Garcia did create great characters in both, that is the main similarities end. As opposed to most of the books I read, the romance aspect was the strongest plot point in this book. You can also find character growth, and a lesson to embrace who you are, etc. But ultimately, this book was about relationships and romance. I am not stating that as a negative, honestly, sometimes its nice to read a book like that. But I like to know ahead of time so I can save it for when the mood strikes, so keep that in mind if…

Magicians Impossible is a fun and exciting adventure that introduces magic to our world. I think this book should do well with readers that are fans of The Magicians by Lev Grossman. It features an older protagonist than a typical coming into powers or magic school book, and with just one or two exceptions, he has been a loner for most of his life. After the death of his estranged father, Jason’s world turns upside down and he finds himself part of something quite unexpected. I liked Jason’s character. He definitely has some flaws and has managed to create very few personal connections in his life, particularly for someone that seems likable. He is resentful of his absentee father (who just died), and through some flashbacks, we can see some of his disappointments as a child. He grew up believing magic was just simple slight of hand as opposed to actual magic. After the death of his father, he learns there is such a thing as real magic as well as about the communities that are a part of that previously invisible and unknown part of the world. The Invisible Hand is a training institute that turns those found to…

The Empire’s Ghost is epic on many levels. The massive empire of Elesthene is now history, fractured into separate lands. Magic has become fable, thought to be rooted in superstition rather than historical fact. The story gives viewpoints from several rulers, all with their own agendas and ruling styles. You also get the view point of many citizens and soldiers as well. It gives a sweeping view of what life is like across the board, giving the reader insights into the life and happenings for commoners as well as intrigue from within the palace. Though the perspectives are all unique, they become intricately intertwined as the story progresses. Through perspectives on the struggles between adjacent lands that used to be part of the Empire, we meet the rulers of all three and three and see the contrasting styles of rule. We see hints of magic, enough for speculation. The story can be dark at times, but this is not a brutal and gritty story. It is epic with ups and downs, and definitely death and blood. It’s not a happy feel good story that glosses over battles, but it is not terribly graphic either (at least not by my standards). Now, one…

Based on its topics, The Return is what I would describe as hard science fiction—lots of heavy emphasis on technical details, especially surrounding the fields of astronomy and quantum physics. The result is a lot of complex and advanced scientific theory going over my head and plenty more technobabble I’m sure I didn’t quite grasp. So why did I enjoy this book much? Well, for one thing it was thoroughly addicting. Combining an altogether engaging sci-fi premise with the fast-paced intensity of a breathless thriller, Joseph Helmreich’s clever debut is a wild and unexpected journey worth taking. The day humanity found out that it was not alone in the universe began just like any other, with the exception of a few pockets in the scientific community all abuzz with the anticipation for that night’s lunar eclipse coinciding with the winter solstice. It is an occasion rare enough that a news television station has arranged a live broadcast on site in the Bernasconi Hills of Southern California with expert physicist-turned-celebrity scientist Dr. Andrew Leland to cover the event. This is why, when a mysterious spacecraft suddenly swoops down upon the TV crew after the eclipse, Dr. Leland’s subsequent abduction by aliens…

Plain, dutiful Liesl has given up her dreams of music to help her mother tend their inn, but when she was a child she played in the woods with the Goblin King. Her beautiful younger sister Käthe is tone deaf, engaged to the man Liesl once hoped to marry, but she dreams of bigger places than their small village in the Bavarian forest. But the Goblin King does not forget and if he does not take a bride the world will fall into eternal winter. Which sister will he take? Which sister will he keep? I have a soft spot for books that take well-established sources and weave old tropes into something magical and new. In Wintersong, S Jae-Jones takes an inch of Labyrinth, a pinch of Rossetti’s Goblin Market, and a hint of the Rape of Persephone to create a Germanic fairytale romance: dark, Gothic, and sultry. The disadvantage of retreading a well-worn path is that it can rob a story of surprises. Thankfully, Jae-Jones can write – her prose is as lush as her narrative – so even when things feel a little too familiar (peaches, masked balls, heterochromia), they’re still a delight to read. The better news is that Wintersong lays out its stall, entices you to buy something familiar, then sweeps you off to a dimly-lit…

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          HORROR   FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION         HORROR         FANTASY             SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR     Everything Belongs to the Future Penny, Laurie 10/18/2016 Tor.com Exploded View Sam McPheeters 10/18/2016 Talos Gemina Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff 10/18/2016 Knopf Books for Young Readers Pathfinder Tales: Shy Knives Paizo Publishing LLC. 10/18/2016 Tor Books Reanimatrix Pete Rawlik 10/18/2016 Night Shade Books The Found and the Lost Le Guin, Ursula K. 10/18/2016 Saga Press The Rains Hurwitz, Gregg 10/18/2016 Tor Teen The Starlit Wood Parisien, Dominik 10/18/2016 Saga Press The Supernaturals David L. Golemon 10/18/2016 Thomas Dunne Books The Unreal and the Real Le Guin, Ursula K. 10/18/2016 Saga Press

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        HORROR   FANTASY                   URBAN FANTASY   HORROR       FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY        HORROR Chaosmage Aryan, Stephen 10/11/2016 Orbit Conspiracy of Ravens Bowen, Lila 10/11/2016 Orbit Crimson Death Laurell K. Hamilton 10/11/2016 Berkley Hag-Seed Margaret Atwood 10/11/2016 Hogarth Shakespeare Hammers on Bone Khaw, Cassandra 10/11/2016 Tor.com The Apothecary’s Curse Barnett, Barbara 10/11/2016 Pyr The Graveyard Apartment Mariko Koike, Deborah Boliver Boehm (Translator) 10/11/2016 Thomas Dunne The Librarians and The Lost Lamp Cox, Greg 10/11/2016 Tor Books The Midnight Star Marie Lu 10/11/2016 G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers Treachery’s Tools Modesitt Jr., L. E. 10/11/2016 Tor Books Unhonored Hickman, Tracy 10/11/2016 Tor Books

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   FANTASY           URBAN FANTASY     FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY   The Dreaming Hunt Cindy Dees 9/27/2016 Tor Books The Ferryman Institute Colin Gigl 9/27/2016 Gallery Books The Bloodsworn Erin Lindsey 9/27/2016 Ace Cloudbound Fran Wilde 9/27/2016 Tor Books The Fall of the House of Cabal Jonathan L. Howard 9/27/2016 Thomas Dunne The Purloined Poodle Kevin Hearne 9/30/2016 Subterranean Press

For those of you too busy to read this whole post the ‘in brief’ version of this review is that I loved Nevernight. Its a book that I’ve been highly anticipating and we all know how wrong that can sometimes go and yet it lived up to my expectations completely. I really had a good time reading this. It’s a very entertaining and well thought out story with a very readable main protagonist and her sidekick set at it’s heart. A story of assassins with a murderer running amok in their midst. I’m going to set this review on it’s head in terms of my usual style by beginning with a few thoughts or maybe even criticisms. I’ve seen, comparisons being made of this book to the Harry Potter series and I can see where those comparisons are coming from. A sizeable chunk of this story is set in a school, the protagonists are teenagers and there are all sorts of fantasy elements blended into the school ranging from bookworms in the library to a labyrinth of tunnels and staircases that never seem to stay in the same place for very long. However, I would point out that Nevernight is…