New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 1st Quarter 2020

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.

Yep, trying to balance it all is seriously impacting my reading time to the point where I'm hoping to get my 100 books in for this year.  I have read more pages than I originally set out for so I guess that's something but still, it's been hard finding the time for reading (and this is made more aggravating by only reading half of some college books or just having to read tons of articles so I can't count them).  Not that it's slowing me down much on my book buying.  LOL

The new year rings in big with the fifth installation in the Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire.  The last couple have not really focused on the events from the first book but now we see what has happened to Jack since she left to go back to the Moors with Jill's body after those events.  Can't Wait!

Release date: January 7

Next up, we get to return to the Whisper Hollow series by Yasmine Galenorn that was on hiatus for a while.  Phantom Queen picks up with Kerris realizing that something is very wrong and going to speak Veronica, Queen of the UnLiving, who has been causing trouble in town.  When Veronica is worried, everyone should be.

Release date: January 27


Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire is the latest in the Incryptid series and in this one, we have Sarah as our narrator.  After she saved Verity, Sarah has been in a very dark place and not safe to be around anyone but maybe that's about to end.

Release date: February 25


Just a few weeks later Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs comes out.  The 12th book in the Mercy Thompson series, a Fae is loose in the Tri-Cities area, one who can look like anyone and if it bites someone it can control them as well.  Mercy has said that the area was under her protection but even after everything she and the Pack have been through because of that statement, nothing could have prepared them for this.

Release date: March 10

Last we get Wolf's Curse by Kelley Armstong, the second in the Kate and Logan YA duology set in the Women of the Otherworld universe as they try to survive the week at supernatural leadership camp after everything has gone to hell in handbasket.

Release date: March 31

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 4th 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.

Well, adding school to my already hectic life has definitely been challenging.  I'm still trying to figure out how to balance work, homeschooling, college, housework, all the kid activities (bowling, archery, soccer, and gymnastics currently), family life, social life, and down time for things like reading.  Not gonna lie, it's been hard but there are always books to look forward to that I will some day find the time to read.

Starting this list off with what looks to be an amazing anthology of women writers spinning tales of witches and witchcraft, both the good and the evil with Hex Life.  It caught my attention since it has Kelley Armstrong and Rachel Caine whom I enjoy and of course, opens me up to several new writers as well.  Can't wait!

Release date - October 1

Next up is Sharpest Sting by Jennifer Estep, the 18th book in the Elemental Assassin series.  Gin is still trying to figure out what the heck is up with the Circle and dear old Uncle Mason but as she digs deeper, she will uncover secrets that may have been better left off buried.

Release date - October 8

October is just filled with fun stuff coming out as Kelley Armstrong releases Wolf's Bane which is the first of a YA duology featuring Kate and Logan Danvers.  The twins are now 16 and have been sent off to a supernatural teen leadership conference but of course, something is terribly amiss and the twins are going to get to the bottom of it.  I'm excited to return to this universe.

Release date - October 15

I'm so far behind on the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter but I'm still looking forward to Shattered Bonds because it lets me know that Jane is still going strong and waiting for me to find time to read her adventures.  The synposis doesn't look good with her going off to the mountains to grieve the loss of friends (please not Molly!) and sick from a disease brought about by her magic though.

Release date - October 29

And the month wraps up with the biggest present ever from Seanan McGuire with Laughter at the Academy.  A collection of tons of her short pieces from all different genres spanning more than a decade. I love her patreon stuff (even if some of it scares the crap out of me) and I'm super excited to read what she has put together.

Release date - October 31

This list ends with the release of Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer.  This book looks incredibly bizarre with a messianic fox, a huge fish, band of rebels, a homeless woman, and many more unlikely characters trying to save Earth but I'm very intrigued.

Release date - December 3

26:100 Bounty Hunt by Kelley Armstrong

Reese hasn't wanted to talk about his past with anyone but that doesn't mean that his past has forgotten about him.  The Australian pack wants him back for their own reasons especially since they can use this to try and get their hands on the daughter of a non-pack member as well.  Reese will have to learn to trust his new pack if he wants to survive this.

Story was ok but nothing amazing.  I'm not a fan of this artist's style and had a really hard time telling the different North American pack members apart.  I like that authors are branching out to tell new stories via comics but this one just needed something a bit more to make it memorable.


Page count: 80p/6,216p ytd/317,421p lifetime

15:100 Otherworld Chills by Kelley Armstrong

A collection of novellas and short stories set in the Women of the Otherworld series.  All but one of these was previously published although I had only read 4 of the 7 before.  Those (Brazen, Chaotic, Amityville Horror, and the Puppy Plan) were previously reviewed.

Sorry Seems to the Hardest Word - Zoe short story with Cassandra.  Neither of them are super big characters in the universe to date so they tend to fall off my radar easily.  This story was a fun little romp.

Off-Duty Angel - I always enjoy a good Eve story and one where she is bored and Kristoff tries to keep her occupied but she ends up in a totally different adventure is just super fun.

Baby Boom - This one is way too creepy although its not really meant to be but in this current day, finding out that someone deliberately screwed with Paige's birth control to make sure she got pregnant is just terrifying.  I'm glad that this is a story and she was able to choose how to handle it with support from Lucas.


Page count: 464p/4,086p ytd/314,991p lifetime

91:120 Becoming by Kelley Armstrong

A comic telling the story of Elena's transformation and her 'adjustment' to her new life from Jeremy.  As Ms. Armstrong stated, she has been beseached by fans for this story for a long time but felt that it was so dark that it couldn't be told until the comic idea came where it could be illustrated.  I agree, it was dark but it was good to see the pain that she went through on her way to becoming the character we meet in Bitten, to more fully understand were she came from.

Besides that story, there is also some history from the Pack in the back regarding the dissolution of taking mates and female werewolves.  Nice tidbit for long time fans.


Page count: 92p/24,147p ytd/273,297p 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.

15:120 Driven by Kelley Armstrong

A Pack novella of the Otherworld.  Elena has had to make the most difficult decision as Alpha, how to deal with Malcolm Danvers.  He is cruel and a bully and sees anyone not like him as weak, including his own son and previous Alpha, Jeremy.  Now he has asked to return to the Pack and do whatever he is told to do.  After much soul-searching, Elena sees that this may be a key to showing how the Pack has transformed and grown but it still leaves a vile taste in her mouth.  Only a few months after agreeing to it, a call comes in that someone has murdered a few of the Cain family, a family of mutts but still werewolves.  Elena goes to investigate, bringing Nick, Clay, Reese, and Malcolm with her. This will not only be a test of Malcolm's loyalty but a test for her and those with her as well to see how they will deal with having him around.

I continue to love these characters and am so thankful that while the main series story has been told, we continue to get these novellas seeing how Elena, Clay, and the Pack are doing (with occasional glimpses at the other women as well).  Watching the twins grow, watching Elena take on the role of Alpha, watching Karl with Hope, it's all fabulous and this was no different.  I hope Ms. Armstrong continues to do these for a long time to come.


Page count: 230p/4,443p ytd/254,490p lifetime

11:120 Otherworld Secrets by Kelley Armstrong

An anthology of Otherworld short stories, most of which have been previously published but in limited runs.  I've read half of these before so while I was hoping for more new material, it is still a treat returning to this universe.

Life After Theft - Hope and Karl have settled down. With one child already and another on the way, Karl has given up his thieving ways and gotten a job with Hope's brother in security so his children can be proud of his job and he doesn't have to hide it. However, other people have different ideas about his retirement and are willing to do whatever it takes to bring him out of it to steal for them.  It was great seeing how Hope and Karl's relationship has grown and seriously, watching him as devoted father is touching.  Fabulous story.

Forbidden - Read in 2013. Previous review found on this blog:
      A new story set in her Otherworld series featuring Elena and Clay.  Morgan has decided to take Elena and Clay up on the offer they made when they were in Alaska and come down to check out the Pack.  Unfortunately, when he makes a pit stop in a small town, he gets more than just dinner.  When he is found naked out in the woods and picked up by the local police, they search his things and find Elena's name and number.  When she gets the call, she and Clay go out there to assess the situation and bring Morgan back to the Pack.  Unfortunately, after they spring him from the jail they find their tires have been slashed as have Morgan's.  From there, things only get stranger and stranger as they are pushed into staying and since they are here, they start poking their noses into everything and uncover more than they bargained for.

I so miss this series and especially Elena and Clay as they were my favorites. This was a wonderful story with them, especially watching them work on their new roles as Alpha and Enforcer while not losing their relationship as husband and wife.  I'm glad that while the main story has been told, Ms. Armstrong continues to bring out these other side stories through a small publisher and hope there will be many more to come.

Angelic - Read in 2011. Previous review found on Shelfari and my personal blog:
     More of a novella than a full novel at just over 100 pages, this is a filler story of Eve and her afterlife as an Angel and servant of The Fates. Basically, The Fates have pushed back Eve's "vacation" time again for yet another job and she's fed up with it and decides to do what they have expressly forbid her to do to solve the case she's on in order to get it done faster. She's hoping that this will cause them to fire her so she can be done with the whole deal but she ends up finding out more about herself and her own motivations while solving this one.

The Ungrateful Dead - While Eve is off on a mission for the Fates, Jamie is being hounded by a particularly annoying ghost.  This ghost died with his cousin and they annoyed another necromancer to be brought back to life but didn't listen when he explained that the only way to do that was to make them zombies. Now the ghost wants his cousin fixed and is pestering Jamie to do it.  Together with Savannah, she's hoping they can find a way to get these guys off her back.

Zen and the Art of Vampirism - Zoe is a pretty basic vampire who is happy to just hang around in unclaimed turf and do her thing but when a new group of vampires come along wanting her out, they find that while she appears meek and mild, she's made some interesting friends.

Counterfeit Magic - Read in 2011. Previous review found on Shelfari and my personal blog:
    Another story that is more of a novella than a full-fledged novel. Not a lot of depth going on. We follow Paige as she and Lucas take a case that threatens to divide and conquer, in more ways than one. It was cute, quick read but nothing fantastic and not one that you need to read to add depth to the rest of the series.

Page count: 405p/3,441p ytd/253,736p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 1st 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.

Still running behind in a few series but less than earlier this year.  Two in high school English this year is definitely cramping my reading time.  Next semester gets even more fun by adding in American Government.  *breathe*  I can do this!  Honestly, I'm looking forward to the three weeks of Winter Break as a time to finish Don Quixote for English 12 and then do some reading of my own.  The extra time between new releases I want for myself has helped but this next quarter ramps things back up again.  Time to get reading!

I get a few weeks into the new year before releases start coming out but then it's fast and furious starting with Otherworld Secrets by Kelley Armstong.  I'm a total sucker for her Otherworld works and can't wait for this one. We get new stories about Cassandra, Savannah, and Adam plus a new novella (please be about Clay and Elena!).  This is the second of three books of short stories and novellas that will come out for the Otherworld fans.

Release Date: Jan 26

Just a few days later, Driven by Kelley Armstrong is due out from Subterranean Press.  Davis Cain is part of a pack of mutts that are being hunted down and killed but when he comes to the Pack for help, Elena can't turn him away.  Besides, she has Malcolm Danvers in the Pack now so she might as well make some use of him.  Really hoping that decision doesn't come back to bite her in the butt.

Release Date: Jan 31

February kicks off with three releases on the same day in series that I'm very excited about.  First is Blood in Her Veins by Faith Hunter.  Jane Yellowrock is always an amazing read.  This is a collection of 19 stories in Jane's universe, some previously published and some brand-new just for this anthology.

Release Date: Feb 2

Next is Darkness Raging by Yasmine Galenorn. The next book in her Otherworld series, this one told from Menolly's pov.  It sounds like the war with demons is really heating up and we are finally getting back to dealing with that.  On the eve of war, Menolly's wife Nerrisa is captured by the demons who are demanding the spirit seals in exchange for her life.  Menolly will do anything to keep Nerissa safe and I have a feeling a pissed off Menolly is not what the demons are going to want to see coming.

Release Date: Feb 2

It also looks like Grave Visions by Kalayna Price will be coming out at long last.  The last installment in this series was back in 2012 and fans have been chomping on the bit for this one.  Alex is a grave witch and now that she has been outed as part Fae, she must choose a side in Faerie to come in on.  Now she has to try and figure out how to make the best of this situation.

Release Date: Feb 2

A few weeks break and then Bitter Bite by Jennifer Estep comes out.  A long lost relative of Finn's has come into town and Finn turns from Gin's steady right-hand man to a starry-eyed doe.  Gin doesn't trust the interloper (big surprise) but Finn will hear none of it.  All she can do is stand-by and be ready to end this in a deadly fashion if anyone tries to hurt her brother.

Release Date: Feb 23

The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home by Catherynne Valente is the 5th book in the series and I'm ashamed to say I haven't gotten past the first book yet.  The first one was amazing and I'm looking forward to them but just trying to find the time to read them has been difficult.  Hopefully this coming year!

Release Date: Mar 1

The quarter's new releases ends for me with Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs, the new Mercy Thompson book.  Mercy and Adam have been tasked to go deal with a troll but they also find a fire-touched human boy stolen by the fae many years ago. They are determined to protect him but doing so means defying everyone.

Release Date: Mar 8

So some really good reads by many of my favorite authors coming out to start my new year off right in terms of things to read.  Now to find more time to read!

27:120 Branded by Kelley Armstrong

Post-apocalyptic, dystopian setting, what could have happened if the weres/demons/witches/vampires came out to humans and things did not go well.  Humans now live in small fortresses barricaded against the things that live outside them.  Resources are scarce and anyone that isn't purely human is cast out (if they are lucky) to fend for themselves.  Life is hard inside the fortresses for anyone not of the top 6 families so Rayne and Braeden come up with a plan to try and make it on the outside.

Don't go looking for any of your favorite Otherworld characters in this as this isn't part of their story.  This is a hypothetical time line so the world is very different.  I liked the twists and turns the story took with nothing being revealed until the moment.  There was only enough world building and character development to move the main plot since this was a short story but it was still an interesting read and I wouldn't mind reading more set in that world.

Page count: 38p/5,614p ytd/220,548p lifetime

24:120 Otherworld Nights by Kelley Armstrong

An Otherworld anthology.  We get stories from all over the timeline and list of characters.  Demonology shows us a little bit of what life is like for the women and children demons leave behind as we get a glimpse of Adam's childhood.  In Twilight, we see what it is like as vampire's start to near the end of their lifespans with Cassandra and Aaron.  We get to see what happens on Elena and Clay's honeymoon in Stalked and Reese's backstory and how he ended up with the North American pack in Chivalrous. There is more Hope and Karl in Lucifer's Daughter and we finally get to see where things are heading with Savannah and Adam in Vanishing Act.  Of course, no Otherworld anthology would be complete without lots of Clay and Elena and the Pack so we get Hidden (which I'm pretty sure I've read elsewhere) and From Russia with Love.

What can I say, I LOVE this universe and all the characters in it (although I'm totally partial to Clay and Elena) and these stories were all fabulous.  If you are a fan of the Women of the Otherworld series, this is a must read.

Page count: 351p/5,495p ytd/220,429p lifetime

17:120 Forsaken by Kelley Armstrong

A new side novel in the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong which takes place after the series end.  Elena has been alpha for a few years now but it is still hard getting other Packs to acknowledge her as the true alpha but she is in London trying to work with their pack leader when she starts getting odd phone calls asking where her puppy is.  She shrugs it off and decides that the situation is no longer worth continuing to miss out on their family vacation but by the time she gets back to the states she is informed that Kate, her daughter, is missing.  She and many of the pack come to find her but when she gets there, she starts smelling the one thing she never wanted to find again, the scent of Malcolm, the father of the former pack leader and her father-in-law as well as a psychotic killer.  The panic is immense especially as he is not alone.  This was not a fight she wanted to have and especially not with her child in their clutches.

Such an amazing installment and I hated every time I had to put it down to deal with other things.  The ending was a complete shocker and well played.  I am so glad that Ms. Armstrong is continuing to give us stories about the Pack and most especially Elena and Clay.  Never know when we are going to get one but they are such pleasures when we do,

Page count: 237p/4,260p ytd/219,194p lifetime

13:120 Gifted by Kelley Armstrong

Gabriel's Gargoyles - set in the Cainsville universe but back when Gabriel was young.  Every year in Cainsville the children hunt around to find as many of the gargoyles hidden around the town as they can.  The child who finds the most gets a prize and the one who finds them all will get a gargoyle made in their image put up somewhere in the town.  Gabriel doesn't care about having a gargoyle made in his image but he is determined to find them all simply because he knows he can so every time he is allowed to visit his Aunt Rose, he spends part of his time wandering the town in search of them.  When he isn't doing that, he is working to try and get his Aunt the perfect Solstice present.  Gabriel has plans and he will make sure they all come to fruition.

I really enjoyed seeing Gabriel as a young boy but it's not a happy home life and definitely explains a lot of his attitudes when we finally meet him.  I also found the interactions between him, Patrick, and the Elders to be an interesting bit of backstory.  Definitely not a necessary read to understand anything in the series but still nice backstory.

The Puppy Plan - Elena and Clay have Kate out on a shopping trip and Logan is out wandering when he discovers a half-dead puppy.  Knowing that this is what Kate wants more than anything, he resolves to nurse it back to health and try to convince his parents to allow him to give it to her as a Christmas present.  Things don't go quite as planned when a mutt shows up on the property and the surprise ends up being blown before he can come clean to them.

Ok, Elena and Clay were always my favorite characters in the Women of the Otherworld series and I'm so thrilled that so many of the novellas and short stories coming out since the end of the series have focused on them (and even more thrilled that it's now a TV show!).  Getting to see their interactions with their kids is fabulous and this was wonderful getting to be inside Logan's head and hearing his internal debates and dilemmas.  I'm glad I waited until now to read it though because they reference something that happened in the new novel "Forsaken" that I just received and talked about how traumatic it had been for Kate but without ever mentioning what had happened.  Needless to say, that moved quickly up my "to read" list.  

Page count: 82p/3,455p/218,389p