New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 1st Quarter 2019

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.

A lot of comics filled my reading time between all the kids' school reading and my book club reading but there were a couple of trips during this last quarter that allowed me to do some reading of the books that were just for me.  It was heavenly.  And for the first time in I don't know how long, my Read pile is now greater than my To Read pile.  Not sure how long that will last but since I made it past my birthday without that changing much, it might actually last out the year.

We kick off the year with the newest novel for the Wayward Children, In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire.  Lundy would rather follow rules and read than run around with the other children so when a doorway opens up into the Goblin Market she almost doesn't go through except she is still a child and curious.  What she finds is a place where fair value is strictly enforced by the Market itself and there is logic and rules to follow but so rarely do these things end well in the long run. I'm still a book behind, although with this series it's not sequential so it's unlikely the last one affects this one in anyway as this states that it's a prequel.  

Release date: January 8

The Winter of the Witch is the conclusion to the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden that starts with The Bear and the Nightingale. Vasya and Morozko must team up to try and save Russia, both the humans and the unseen ones, but the way is uncertain and the enemies are many. I only barely read the first book last month and haven't started the second yet but I was so enchanted with the first that I'm definitely going to finish this trilogy.

Release date: January 9

I keep trying to find time to get caught up with the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter and still haven't managed it.  I'm several books behind there and now there is the spinoff series which I haven't even got a chance to start yet but Circle of the Moon, book 4 in the spinoff, is coming out soon and I really want to get to know Nell better and see more of Rick. 

Release date: February 26

Ah, Mercy Thompson.  She opened her big mouth and, in Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs, people are taking her at her word that she and her husband's pack of werewolves will keep them safe even as they treat with the big and bad Grey Lords of the Fae.  She has given her word but can she keep it and what will it cost?  I seriously love this series and can't wait to see how our favorite coyote shifter gets out of this one.

Release date: March 5

Lastly, That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire is the next chapter in the Incryptid series.  We are still following Annie as she is still away from her family although building a new support structure with some new friends but she has also made a pact with the Crossroads and they always get paid.

Release date: March 5

55:100 Coming to You Live by Mira Grant

So what did happen to Shaun and Georgia after we last saw them heading to Canada.  Many fans wanted to know so Ms. Grant decided to indulge us. 

Honestly, they are living a quiet life as Georgia still does some writing and Shaun takes care of Georgia.  They have no one hunting them and Shaun is able to keep their new property zombie free and keep them fed.  Life is good.

Until Georgia passes out and reveals that she's been having some other heath related issues for a while.  But being a clone, it's not like she can go to just any hospital and get patched up.  So they make a call to the one doctor who knows what she is and has a chance of helping her. Unfortunately, being a clone also means no easy answers and questionable ethics are likely to be involved in any plan to help her.

The story was good, light on zombies but high on psychological and ethical questions to which there really are no easy answers but on which psychological horror stories/movies can thrive on.


Page count: 126p/9,420p ytd/301,437p lifetime

94:120 All the Pretty Little Horses by Mira Grant

Set in the time before Feed, the zombie outbreak is finally being contained and areas are being reclaimed. Stacy and Michael Mason are known as the heroes who kept on the blogs and the airwaves, giving survival guidance and letting people know they were not alone. Now, however, Stacy is diving deep into depression with the knowledge that she shot her only child during the outbreak and that while the courts have declared her innocent, she has judged herself much more harshly and branded herself a murderer.  Michael can only watch in despair as the woman he loves sinks further and further away from him. Then one day he comes up with the idea to start documenting the recovery efforts. He pulls every string he has to get them permission to tagalong with an army group in Santa Cruz and everything changes when Stacy gets a camera in her hand. She comes alive but never more than when they find the group of children who have been hiding out all this time. Maybe Michael has found a way to bring his wife all the way back to him.

I absolutely love this universe and the heartache that went into telling Stacy's story was so real. I cannot imagine having to make the decision she did or how I would climb back out of a very dark place if I did but it feels like a very real situation someone could find themselves in. That realness to her writing is what makes these books so very powerful and this did not disappoint.



Page count: 84p/17,961p ytd/289,314p 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.

81:120 Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus by Mira Grant

Dr. Abbey knows a few things about spies and danger considering she runs a secret underground virology lab but since her run in with the Masons, things have been quieter with a few more spies who tend to convert to her cause or leave once she explains their options to them but overall less danger.  That is, until she finds the stranger in the trees.  One who was told to find her and she would provide the drugs she is looking for.  Dr. Abbey knows after this long that this doesn't bode well but she had no idea just how bad this was going to turn out to be.

Set in the Newsflesh universe which I always love returning to and this was no exception.  Dr. Abbey is a no-nonsense fatalist scientist which is always fun and I love the deadpan humor.


Page count: 113p/20,902p ytd/235,836p lifetime

78:120 The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell by Mira Grant

A novella set in the world of Newsflesh.  The Rising took place years ago but still we are struggling to find ways to keep ourselves, and most importantly, our children safe while still allowing for social interaction.  It's a fine line and one where it is all too easy to make mistakes.  In this case, a teacher is doing what she can when everything that is put in place to protect her and the children in her care goes absolutely wrong.

This was a hard one and I knew that going in.  I'm a parent and have a child only slightly older than the main ones in this book and it was so easy to see what was going to happen.  It's the only thing that kept me able to read it was reminding myself over and over again that a) zombie apocalypse has not happened yet and b) my kids are homeschooled anyway so they wouldn't be in that exact situation.  Honestly, if you are a parent of young children with a good imagination, don't read this one especially before bed.  It's heart-wrenching.  At the same time however, it also outlines and mirrors what is going on in our society with how we want our teachers to put their lives on the line to save our children in the event of emergency but we are also quick to condemn them in any situation where something went horribly wrong despite all the precautions being taken that could.

While the events in this take place before Feed, there are conversations between characters in the commentary that indicate it is being written after the events of Blackout so do not read this before that as there are spoilers in that commentary.

Page count: 112p/19,162p ytd/200,200p lifetime