Hope everyone had a good weekend!  I just got back after spending my weekend away and was quite happy to see that this year’s Hugo nominees have been announced.  Also, I’ve read 2 of the 5 books and enjoyed them both (Feed by Mira Grant and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin).  And I was also thrilled to see Lois McMaster Bujold was nominated, although I’m not quite caught up enough in the series to have read Cryoburn yet.

It may be a little quiet this week since I haven’t had a chance to even start the review I need to write yet (Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly).  Hopefully I’ll be able to start on that soon and finish at least one of the books I’m reading.  I started Eona by Alison Goodman while I was away this weekend since I didn’t want to risk losing my signed copy of the book I was already reading (Passion Play by Beth Bernobich).

On to the books…  This week 1 ARC and 2 review copies showed up.

Naamah's BlessingNaamah’s Blessing by Jacqueline Carey

This is the final book in the third trilogy set in the same world as Kushiel’s Dart, and I’m very excited about reading it.  I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Naamah’s Kiss, and I also devoured Naamah’s Curse despite some reservations.  On her website, Jacqueline Carey says she is going to be signing copies at The Signed Page this year (it’s actually available for pre-order on the site now along with China Mieville’s Embassytown).  She also put up a link to the first chapter. This conclusion to Moirin’s story will be released on June 29 in both hardcover and ebook formats.

Returning to Terre d’Ange, Moirin finds the royal family broken. Wracked by unrelenting grief at the loss of his wife, Queen Jehanne, King Daniel is unable to rule. Prince Thierry, leading an expedition to explore the deadly jungles of Terra Nova, is halfway across the world. And three year old Desirée is a vision of her mother: tempestuous, intelligent, and fiery, but desperately lonely, and a vulnerable pawn in a game of shifting political allegiances.

As tensions mount, King Daniel asks that Moirin become Desirée’s oath-sworn protector. Navigating the intricate political landscape of the Court proves a difficult challenge, and when dire news arrives from overseas, the spirit of Queen Jehanne visits Moirin in a dream and bids her undertake an impossible quest.

Another specter from the past also haunts Moirin. Travelling with Thierry in the New World is Raphael de Mereliot, her manipulative former lover. Years ago, Raphael forced her to help him summon fallen angels in the hopes of acquiring mystical gifts and knowledge. It was a disastrous effort that nearly killed them, and Moirin must finally bear the costs of those bitter mistakes.

The Fear PrincipleThe Fear Principle by B. A. Chepaitis

This is a recently released reprint of a science fiction book that was published about 13 years ago.  It’s the first book in the Fear series and is followed by The Fear of God, Learning Fear, and A Lunatic Fear.  The book is fairly short, at just under 200 pages, and is also available as an ebook (the Kindle version is only $4.99).  It sounds pretty interesting, and I’ll be reviewing it next month.

Dr. Jaguar Addams knows about fear. On a satellite prison called Planetoid Three, she establishes a telepathic link to her subjects. She confronts their demons. And makes them her own . . . They were known as the Killing Times, when serial murder reached epidemic proportions. Victims of hard-edged crime demanded hard-wired punishment, and the new prisons were born. Now one determined woman, a survivor of that dark age, tries to rehabilitate killers by tapping into the source of their obsessions: their worst fears. Her name is Jaguar Addams, and she is about to face the most challenging subject of her career. The ultimate assassin. A dangerously disturbed woman who will teach Jaguar the true meaning of fear.

The RogueThe Rogue by Trudi Canavan

This is the second book in the Traitor Spy trilogy, following The Ambassador’s Mission.  This trilogy is set in the same world as Canavan’s Black Magician trilogy.  I haven’t read any of these books, although I am somewhat curious about them.  This novel will be released in hardcover and as an ebook on May 2011.

Discover the magic of Trudi Canavan with her brand new novel in the Traitor Spy Trilogy…

Living among the Sachakan rebels, Lorkin does his best to learn about their unique magic. But the Traitors are reluctant to trade their secrets for the Healing they so desperately want.

Meanwhile, Sonea searches for the rogue, knowing that Cery cannot avoid assassination forever. The rogue’s influence over the city’s underworld, however, is far greater than she feared.

And in the University, two female novices are about to remind the Guild that sometimes their greatest enemy is found within…

The Traitor Spy Trilogy, which began with The Ambassador’s Mission, is the new series set in the world of the international bestselling Black Magician Trilogy.