The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week – old or new, bought or received for review consideration (often unsolicited). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.

Before I get to this week’s books, a quick review update: I should have a review of Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews up this week. I was hoping to have it up last week, but I didn’t quite finish it before the week was over. Next up after that will probably be Half a King by Joe Abercrombie (which I very much enjoyed).

Now, on to the books!

Summer Moon by Jan DeLima

Summer Moon (Celtic Wolves #2) by Jan DeLima

Summer Moon will be released on September 30 (mass market paperback, ebook). This follows the first Celtic Wolves book, Celtic Moon, but focuses on Rosa and Luc instead of Sophie and Dylan. The publisher’s website has a link to an excerpt from Celtic Moon along with an essay by the author about her debut novel and the road to its publication.

I enjoyed reading both Celtic Moon and Summer Moon, and I particularly like the heroines in each. It’s been particularly interesting to read each of these since Jan is a friend of mine, and I’ve heard a bit about both books before reading them!

 

She won’t be ruled again……

Rosa Alban has been obedient her entire life. But when her alpha husband dies, she seizes the opportunity to flee the oppressive Guardians—the rulers of the secret shapeshifter world. Her flight instantly brands her as a pack traitor, and she has no choice but to seek protection from a neighboring tribe by marrying one of their sons.

Known as the Beast of Merin, Luc Black loyally plays the part of unwanted son and devoted brother. He realizes marrying Rosa will strengthen his tribe’s territory, but he has no intention of loving ever again. Still, he’s unprepared for the intense physical need the wild she-wolf awakens in him.

When the Guardians hone in on Rosa, Luc must fight to protect his new bride. And as war descends, the unlikely allies discover their destinies are irrevocably entwined……

The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson

The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson

This debut science fiction novel will be released on August 12 (hardcover, ebook). The first two chapters from The Ultra Thin Man can be read on Tor.com.

 

In the twenty-second century, a future in which mortaline wire controls the weather on the settled planets and entire refugee camps drowse in drug-induced slumber, no one—alive or dead, human or alien—is quite what they seem. When terrorists manage to crash Coral, the moon, into its home planet of Ribon, forcing evacuation, it’s up to Dave Crowell and Alan Brindos, contract detectives for the Network Intelligence Organization, to solve a case of interplanetary consequences. Crowell’s and Brindos’s investigation plunges them neck-deep into a conspiracy much more dangerous than anything they could have imagined.

The two detectives soon find themselves separated, chasing opposite leads: Brindos has to hunt down the massive Helk alien Terl Plenko, shadow leader of the terrorist Movement of Worlds. Crowell, meanwhile, runs into something far more sinister—an elaborate frame job that puts our heroes on the hook for treason.

Crowell and Brindos are forced to fight through the intrigue to discover the depths of an interstellar conspiracy. And to answer the all-important question: Who, and what, is the Ultra Thin Man?

Frostborn by Lou Anders

Frostborn (Throne & Bones #1) by Lou Anders

This middle grade fantasy will be released on August 5 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).

 

Meet Karn. He is destined to take over the family farm in Norrøngard. His only problem? He’d rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones.

Enter Thianna. Half human, half frost giantess. She’s too tall to blend in with other humans but too short to be taken seriously as a giant.

When family intrigues force Karn and Thianna to flee into the wilderness, they have to keep their sense of humor and their wits about them. But survival can be challenging when you’re being chased by a 1,500-year-old dragon, Helltoppr the undead warrior and his undead minions, an evil uncle, wyverns, and an assortment of trolls and giants.