19:120 The Lay of the Land by Seanan McGuire

What seems to always be the most likely way to get someone interested in someone else (at least from a story trope way)?  Yeah, have the father forbid the daughter to ever go near "that boy/man" ever again and then ground her.  So what does Jonathan Healy do when the Covenant member comes to town and his daughter, Alice, has stumbled into him already?  Yep.  And what does she do in response?  Of course!  She takes him over some cookies and offers to show him around the woods filled with incryptids.

Now we already know that Tom and Alice end up together since this backstory to the series but it's nice to see characters we don't really get to know in the series but who definitely have influenced the people we do follow.  I will say though, I wish Ms. McGuire had not used the boring old trope in this case.  It felt like a bit of a lefdown to go with something so obvious.



Page count: 32p/3,836p ytd/278,311p lifetime

107:120 Shadowed Souls by Various Authors

A short story anthology.  I bought it because it had new works by Seanan McGuire and a new Dresden Files story and things by other authors that had been recommended to me.  The Dresden File story was about Molly now that she is the Winter Lady and her discovering more about her powers and makes me wish that Mr. Butcher would continue exploring that path.  The Seanan McGuire story was set in the Incryptid universe but focused on Ellie, the cousin of the Price family from the books, who is kidnapped in an effort to save a little girl from a group of ghouls. Both stories were very enjoyable and made the purchase worthwhile.  As with any anthology, there were stories in there that I really enjoyed and some that were ok but overall, I think it was well balanced with good stories and I will definitely be checking out some of these authors' other works.


Page count: 338p/26,165p ytd/275,322p lifetime

105:120 Fall Like Snow by Seanan McGuire

Zephyr has never been outside.  Her mother keeps her safe in their house all of her days because outside the snow and cold will freeze her but it's tricky because the snow wants Zephyr to come outside so in the spring it looks warms and pink, the summer is blue and green, and the fall snow is the most dangerous with it's firey snow.  Mother goes out to get supplies from time to time and Zephyr knows she is lucky her mother is so brave to do this.  But now Mother is getting old and there is no food and Zephyr has no idea what to do...

A short story for Seanan's patreon supporters, not set in a previous world.  It's not a comforting story by any means, more bittersweet than anything but lovely in its way.


Page count: 20p/25,737p ytd/274,894p lifetime

102:120 Stage of Fools by Seanan McGuire

Set before October in a time centuries ago, we find Tybalt newly a King of Cats in a court with no subjects as he has chased them off to make sure they avoid the plague that is in London.  Now he's out enjoying the merrymaking when his sister finds him and she is on the run from the nobles of the High Court after being accused of murdering their heir.  The only thing is, she didn't and she has their shared baby as proof.  Now Tybalt must find a way to get the Fae Court to back off his sister and keep her and her baby safe and to do that, he must figure out who would have wished the High Prince dead.

Set after Forbid the Sea (and should have been read before Voice of Lions...whoops), it's another chapter in filling in Tybalt's past which is something I've been thrilled that we are getting.  I think I love Tybalt even more than October so any time I can get more about him, I'm a happy camper.


Page count: 18p/25,016p ytd/274,173p lifetime

101:120 The Levee was Dry by Seanan McGuire

We are in a world where a virus has changed our brain chemistry so that the precise second you turn 35, you can no longer hear recorded music that you haven't heard before.  It all becomes static.  It has become a tradition that just before your 35th birthday, you start binge listening to get as much as possible before the static starts and then you are thankful that live music isn't affected by this.  The big question still being asked though, is how did this happen and can it be reversed someday?

A Patreon short story in its own world.  Wasn't as big a fan of this one, I love music but the whole concept just didn't make sense to me especially since live music was still available.  The whole thing just didn't gel right for me.


Page count: 30p/24,998p ytd/274,155p lifetime

100:120 Wake Up in Vegas by Seanan McGuire

There is one more thing that Dominic must do in order to stay with Verity, he must become a new person so the Covenant can continue to believe that he is dead.  It means giving up his name and identity and there is no one better in the business than Verity's Uncle Al so they are heading to Vegas to get him all setup so maybe they can get married before anything else goes awry.

A fun little tale that seems to wrap up their roadtrip pretty darn nicely.  Those Price girls certainly do seem to have a thing for those Covenant boys but it sure seems to work out okay for them.


Page Count: 21p/24,968p ytd/274,125p lifetime

99:120 Swamp Bromeliad by Seanan McGuire

Verity has finally brought Dominic to Buckley Township where Thomas Price met Alice Healy, Verity's grandparents.  She has shown him the old homestead but since that is rented out, they are staying in the house the Covenant bought for Thomas Price when they sent him to spy on the Healys.  While there, they meet Alice's old babysitter, the ghost Aunt Mary, and then some boys come to the house and claim that plants ate their brother.  Verity listens and determines that it is likely a swamp bromeliad and if they don't act quickly, the boy will die if he hasn't already been ingested so she and Dominic head out to see what they can do.

Since escaping the swamp bromeliad is what brought Alice onto Thomas's front porch in the first place, it was a lovely bit of symmetry.


Page count: 40p/24,947p ytd/274,104p lifetime

98:120 Snake in the Glass by Seanan McGuire

Verity has been criss-crossing all over the country trying to get Dominic more acquainted with the way her world works and now, what better way than to go to Chicago and stay at the Carmichael, a hotel for incryptids run by a family of gorgons.  She'll also get to introduce him to Uncle Mike and Aunt Lea.

It was nice going back to the Carmichael and seeing Dominic's reaction to things there.


Page count: 40p/24,907p ytd/274,057p lifetime

97:120 Voice of Lions by Seanan McGuire

Tybalt, still known by his old name Rand, is a King of Cats with a court of just two subjects, his sister Colleen and her daughter Cailin.  Now Cailin has been stolen away and he will not let this stand so the two of them travel to the to Summerlands to have her back or die in the attempt.

Ok, I absolutely love Tybalt and have since the first book so I'm loving getting some of his backstory.  This story was no exception and I can only hope that there are many more to come.



Page count: 30p ?/24,867p ytd/274,017p lifetime

95:120 In Little Stars by Seanan McGuire

A short story about Gilad's youth as his parents founded the Kingdom of the Mists and he has to start learning how to actually be a prince in more than just name.  A sweet little story.


Page count: 36p/24,549p ytd/273,699p lifetime

92:120 No Sooner Met by Seanan McGuire

The first date between Tybalt and Toby of course it can't go smoothly or easily.  When one is the King of Cats for the local clan and the other a changling Knight, there is always bound to be someone trying to kill at least one of them.

Honestly, I so love Tybalt and Toby together that I thoroughly enjoyed this.


Page count: 25p/24,172p ytd/273,322p lifetime

90:120 Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire

When Toby was sent to the Kingdom of Silences to try and prevent war, no one suspected that she would return with a cure for elf shot, the magical substance that induces a 100-year coma in full-bloods rather than killing them which would violate Oberon's law but is also deadly to changelings.  The cure was used to wake up the sleepers in Silences but now it must go through the political process with the High King and Queen to determine if it will be made widely available.  Arden is all for using it, of course, since her brother has been asleep for 80 years now but there are many who don't want to see the cure distributed.  By the end of the first day of the conclave, someone is dead and now Toby must find out who killed him if peace is to be maintained.  When Dianda is shot with elf shot, Toby needs to figure out if it's the same person or if she is dealing with two different factions.  As she gets closer, the danger to not only herself but her friends increase and time is running out for them all.

I was bummed that all the school reading for my kiddos had kept me from this book for so long so as soon as I had my head above water, I reached for it.  I needed something to let me escape and this did not disappoint.  I love these characters so much and I admit to almost throwing the book at one point because I needed a feel-good story and what happened did not look like that was going to happen.  I actually had to take a break for a few minutes to compose myself and then had to finish the book to make sure it ended up all right.  I'm not sure how I would have held up if the results had been much different.

In the back of this edition is the novella, Dreams and Slumbers.  Since I don't want to post spoilers for the book, I will just say that this is told from Arden's point of view and deals with her thoughts on her sleeping brother.  I found her to be a bit whiny in her internal monologue which was kind of a turn-off but I think this could be setting up some interesting things for the future of the series.


Page count: 420p/24,055p ytd/273,205p lifetime

87:120 The Way Home by Seanan McGuire

Jonathan has become incredibly overprotective of Alice since Fran's death.  Alice, now being 16 and most definitely her mother's daughter, is not really having it so it's not a huge surprise when she goes off into the woods to do some investigation.

Thomas Price has been falsifying reports to the Covenant for a while now about remote areas and the creatures that inhabit them so it wasn't a surprise to him when he was sent into what basically amounted to exile watching over the Healy's.  What did surprise him was when this 16 year old girl ended up on his front porch almost as soon as he arrived at his new house and now her family knows he's in town.

It was nice seeing the first meeting between Thomas and Alice.  I really hope we get to see more of them as their relationship progresses.

Page count: 34p/23,218p ytd/272,368p lifetime

84:120 The Star of New Mexico by Seanan McGuire

Fran is gone and now comes the task left to the living of saying good-bye to the Flower of Arizona, the Star of New Mexico.  Jonathan is not handling it at all well and it's hard to see how it will effect Alice in the long run but so many loved Fran and will do all they can to help each other and those who loved her most learn to let go.

Such a tragic tale, beautifully and lovingly told.


Page count: 13p/22,578p ytd/271,728p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 4th Quarter 2016

My usual disclaimer:
Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

So I'm not entirely sure where the heck July and August went but they certainly did not contain much in the way of reading and so I'm staring down the fourth quarter of the year over 10 books behind pace to make my goal, 5 books behind my new author goal, and about 10,000 pages behind that goal.  So yeah, I seriously need to get reading done in the next few months.  At least I shouldn't be seeing my To Read pile growing crazily as there are only a few books coming out this quarter that I will definitely be picking up.

The first is Otherworld Chills by Kelley Armstrong.  This is the last of the promised trilogy of short stories and novellas that was promised in her Otherworld series.  Apparently this one wraps up several of the story lines that were not fully resolved.  I can only hope she will continue to play in this world moving forward as while I enjoy her other work, I really really enjoy this universe and the characters in it.

Release Date: October 4

Shadowed Souls is an anthology of stories where things are not always as black and white as they appear.  It contains stories from Seanan McGuire, Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, Tanya Huff, and several others I'm not as familiar with but looks to be a fun read.

Release Date: November 1

Also being released that day is Curse on the Land by Faith Hunter.  This is the second of the Soulwood books that are set in the Jane Yellowrock series but follow Nell and the PsyLED team.  This takes place after Nell has completed her training.  She returns home only to find that the land itself is sick and evil is spreading.  I am a book behind in the Jane Yellowrock series and haven't gotten to the first book in this series but considering how much I like her work in this universe, I will definitely be picking it up.

Release Date: November 1

I haven't fully made up my mind about The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen.  The first book was ok but not spectacular and had many issues.  My book club read it (my pick) and several people had more issues with it than I did but several others seemed to enjoy it but also expressed issues with the writing and such that I did.  Two people went on to read the second book, one was enjoying it and the other actually gave up half way through.  Based on this, I think I'm going to read the second book before deciding whether or not to buy this one.  It does sound from the description that things will get wrapped up which is not surprising since it's a planned trilogy which is one good thing and I do like to see things finished but it really depends on if the writing gets better in the second.

Release Date: November 29

So just four books and one of those is a maybe.  Hopefully this means I can get some of the other reading caught up but the way the school reading is going this year, that may just be a pretty dream.  We shall see.

71:120 Full of Briars by Seanan McGuire

A novella told by Toby's squire, Quentin, between Chimes at Midnight and The Winter Long.

Quentin's parents, the High King and Queen of the Westlands, are coming to the Kingdom of the Mists for a visit.  Ostensibly it is for the coronation of the new Queen but both Toby and Quentin realize that they are really coming because Quentin has outed himself as their son and invalidated his blind fosterage.  What neither of them know is what this will mean.  They are within their rights to recall their son home but Quentin doesn't want to leave.  San Francisco and the people there have become his home.  Now how can he convince them to let him stay..

It has been nice watching Quentin grow through the series and watching him with his parents was wonderful.


Page count: 44p/19,179p ytd/268,329p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 3rd Quarter 2016

My usual disclaimer:
Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

So while the last couple of quarters were fairly light in the new releases department, I still haven't managed to get caught up and this quarter is chock-full of stuff that I want to read the second I have it in my hands.  Considering many come out on top of each other, I'm thinking that sleep is just overrated.


There are a lot more short stories starting to come out in many of my favorite series for ereaders which I think is wonderful.  It allows for more backstory, side stories, and general bits and pieces that don't fit well into the main books but are nice for long time readers of the series.  Unwanted by Jennifer Estep is one such side story which follows Finn after the events in Bitter Bite which have him feeling very much unwanted.

Release Date - July 18


Imprudence by Gail Carriger is the second book in the Custard Protocol series which follows Rue, the daughter of Alexis and Lord Maccon from the Parasol Protectorate series. I have not started this series yet since I'm so behind on things but I did just start the Finishing School series and will go into this one after so maybe I'll be ready to read it by the time it comes out.

Release Date - July 19


August is super filled with fabulous new releases and starts off with three right off the bat. Flight from Mayhem by Yasmine Galenorn is the second book in the Fly by Night series with Shimmer the blue dragon and Alex the vampire.  It is set in the world of her popular Otherworld series and this one sees Chase coming to the Fly by Night detectives to help solve the mystery of older fae being brutally murdered after having their bank accounts drained.

Release Date - August 2


We also get Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter is the start of a new series, Soulwood, which takes place in the Jane Yellowrock series but follows Nell after she is found by Jane who recommends her to PsyLED who sends Rick to talk to her.   Nell has been a pretty mysterious figure in the Yellowrock series and I'm really hoping we get to learn more about her and the relationships between her and all the team members.

Release Date - August 2


And the first release date ends with Full of Briars by Seanan McGuire which is a short story in the October Daye series but this time narrated by Quentin, her squire.  His parents have come to meet the new Queen of the Mists and take him home.  Unfortunately, he doesn't want to go and Toby doesn't want him to either.

Release Date- August 2


Betrayals by Kelley Armstrong comes out just a week later so no time to catch my breath.  Ricky is being fingered in a series of street children murders and now Olivia needs Gabriel's help to prove his innocence.  Doing this means that their futures are being even more intertwined but will it be in the relationship of their choosing or that of the forces trying to win a war that they are at the center of?

Release Date - August 9


Then we have the sequel to Court of Fives, Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliot coming out.  I read Court of Fives for book club and while it's YA I found myself very invested in the characters and can't wait to see how things progress.  Jessamy is doing well as a Challenger which is good since her winnings are what is supporting her mother and sisters while they are in hiding.  Unfortunately, an attack on her traveling party looks to be putting her more squarely in the war that Lord Karkillios is in and now running the Fives may no longer be enough.

Release Date - August 16


The month wraps up with Unraveled by Jennifer Estep.  In the aftermath of Biter Bite, Gin is trying hard to find out who is behind the mysterious Circle and how to disrupt that organization that tore apart Finn's mother and who was likely behind Mab's killing of Gin's family as well.  Unfortunately the trail has gone cold so when Finn finds out about an inheritance, they figure they might as well all get out of town for a vacation but trouble is never far behind Gin.

Release Date - August 30



September has fewer books coming out but they are all ones I've been chomping at the bit to get my hands on. It starts with Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire.  Toby's diplomatic mission to the Court of Silences did not go nearly as planned however she did return with the cure for elfshot but also a whole lot of political headaches for everyone involved. Now there is a convocation of rulers hosted by her Queen of the Mists with the High Kind and Queen in attendance. Of course, nothing is ever simple in Toby's life so it's not long before a dead body hits the floor and Toby needs to find the killer to protect those she loves.

Release Date - September 6


I get a few weeks to catch up before the release of Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews.  Kate and Curran are finally planning the wedding but before they can say "I do", Roland has kidnapped Siamin and is draining him for his magic and the dire warnings are coming fast and furious from the witches.  I can't wait to see how Kate gets around all this because darn it, I want to see them get their HEA!

Release Date - September 20


Next up is Feedback by Mira Grant.  This is a parallel novel to Feed but we are following a different group of reporters trying to get their foot in the door.  Considering how much I love this universe, I'm really jazzed about this book and am just hoping that I can get behind these characters nearly as much as I ended up loving Shuan and Georgia.

Release Date - September 27


The quarter ends with Shadow Silence by Yasmine Galenorn, the sequel to Whisper Hollow.  Kellis's best Peggin has been cursed since escaping the watery embrace of the Lady of the Lake but curing her will reveal many secrets that certain people want to remain buried.

Release Date - September 27

37:120 Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Sometimes, for special children, doors open into new and fantastical lands.  Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, many of these children are thrown back months or even years later and left wanting to go back.  Eleanor West was once one of those children but her door never closed and she has been back several times but instead of staying, she runs a home for those children who are trying to figure out life here after being there.  Nancy is one who has just come back from a land of the dead and wants nothing more than to go back where things make sense to her but her parents want their bright, rainbow girl again so they have sent her to Ms. West's house.  There Nancy meets Sumi (a child who visited a high nonsense land), Kade (who was in a fairy land but was thrown out when they discovered she was really a he), Jack and Jill (girl twins who were with a vampire lord), and Christopher (who traveled to the land of bones).  There are many more in the school but those are the ones who seem to take an interest in being her friend and Nancy is trying to settle in but things change after Sumi is found murdered with her hands cut off.  Now Nancy as the new girl from a land of the dead is suspect and her friends are with her in trying to uncover who the real murderer is.

So many things to say about this book.  I loved the diversity of the characters!  The worlds were amazing but we get to know so little about them and I wanted to know so much more.  This is really more of a novella than a full novel which means there is more worldbuilding than we would normally see in a short story so therefore so much more to tease us with but not enough time to go in depth with anything.  This is truly Nancy's story so we get everything from her perspective and the details on her world but really, there seem to be so many stories to tell here and I really hope we get to have more of them.


Page count: 173p/10,071p ytd/260,148p lifetime

25:120 Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire

Verity and Dominic are settling in back at Verity's parents' home when Valerie, Verity's dancing alter-ego, gets invited to a reunion series of the dancing show she was on a few years prior.  Verity had finally started giving up on her dancing dream but now it's come flooding back and she figures this is the way to solve the question once and for all of what direction she wants from life.  She goes with Dominic posing as her boyfriend and things seem to be going quite well until she and a few of the cryptid dancers find week 2's losers dead in an unused part of the studio covered with strange symbols.  Once Verity starts poking around, it's obvious that there is something big and dangerous going on and she needs more back-up, the family sends her Grandma Alice, one of the most dangerous people around.  Hopefully between the three of them and the cryptids in the show, they can figure out what is going on and put a stop to it before anything worse happens.

I really enjoy Ms. McGuire's worlds and this one is just so much fun.  To have the setting be a television dance show with basically a murder mystery involving non-human life is just awesome!


Page count: 356p/7,070p ytd/257,117p lifetime

New Release I'm Looking Forward To: 2nd Quarter 2016

My usual disclaimer:
Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

So far this year has been going ok although not stellar in the reading department.  Heavy classics for English 12  plus all the other school reading has definitely been slowing down my personal reading time but I feel like I'm basically keeping up with it.  This quarter isn't too heavy on new releases which is good because it's super crazy with family stuff which is definitely going to be cutting into my reading time.

First up is Waylaid by Kim Harrison.  This is a kindle only book but is the first crossover between Ms. Harrison's wildly popular Hollows series heroine, Rachel Morgan, and her new Drafter, Peri Reed.  It looks promising.

Release date: April 4

The very next day sees two new books out. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire which looks to be a stand alone where children slip through shadows into magical lands that only sometimes spit them out again.  Nancy was one but now she has found her way back and the darkness is not far behind.

Release date: April 5

So a new one from Seanan McGuire and then the newest installment in the Jane Yellowrock series, Shadow Rites by Faith Hunter.  Jane is working hard to keep the precarious peace between the city's vampires and witches but then her house is magically attacked and finding the culprits leads to something that could tip everything over.

Release date: April 5

Then there is a nice long break before Earthbound by Yasmine Galenorn comes out.  This is a novella in her Otherworld series that tells of when the sisters first came Earthside.  No pre-order link currently up but this came from her blog.

Release date: May 24

The next one is also by Yasmine Galenorn and is the start of a new self-published series that she plans to put out in ebook and limited trade paperback called Fury Rising.  It follows Kaeleen Donovon who is a bounty hunter for the Furies and oath bound to help balance things when called for.

Release date: June 14

The quarter ends with Rise by Mira Grant, a collection of all 8 previously published short stories and novellas in the Newsflesh universe along with 2 never before published works.  Seriously?!  I can't wait!

Release date: June 21

So during a very chaotic time in the school year there won't be too many new books coming out to tempt me away from what I should be doing which means maybe I can make some headway in the to-read pile before it grows again.