Black Shipsby Jo Graham496pp (Paperback)My Rating: 8.5/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4/5Goodreads Rating: 3.94/5 Black Ships, a retelling of Virgil’s Aeneid from the perspective of a priestess, is a debut novel written by Jo Graham. Graham has since then written a loosely connected novel set in Egypt called Hand of Isis, and she has another related novel about a soldier serving Alexander the Great called Stealing Fire coming out in May 2010. After reading Black Ships, I’m very much looking forward […]

By the Mountain Boundby Elizabeth Bear320pp (Hardcover)My Rating: 9/10Amazon Rating: 5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4/5Goodreads Rating: 2/5 By the Mountain Bound is the second book in The Edda of Burdens series by Elizabeth Bear even though it is actually a prequel to the first book, All the Wind-wracked Stars (review). The series is based on Norse mythology and the first novel began with the end of the world. By the Mountain Bound fills in the backstory leading up to this cataclysmic event. […]

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor 272pp (Hardcover) My Rating: 9/10 Amazon Rating: 5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 4/5 Goodreads Rating: 4.23/5   Lips Touch: Three Times is the newest book by Laini Taylor, author of Blackbringer and Silksinger from her Dreamdark series. Like her other two novels, Lips Touch: Three Times is a YA book, although it is darker and seems to be aimed at an older audience than the Dreamdark books (not that the Dreamdark series is not perfectly […]

The Bone Keyby Sarah Monette253pp (Trade Paperback)My Rating: 7/10Amazon Rating: 5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.15/5Goodreads Rating: 3.9/5 The Bone Key by Sarah Monette is a collection of ten necromantic mysteries featuring one central main character, a museum archivist who becomes involved with the supernatural. In the introduction, Monette states that these stories are a tribute to two authors she very much admires, H.P. Lovecraft and M.R. James. In spite of her love for their work, she did find them lacking in character […]

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler 368pp (Paperback) Read Chapter One My Rating: 7/10 Amazon Rating: 5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 3.63/5 Goodreads Rating: 4.38/5   Tempest Rising is the first book in the Jane True series and is Nicole Peeler’s debut novel. Its official release date is November 1, although Amazon started shipping it on October 27. This urban fantasy series is supposed to be at least three books long with the next book, Tracking the Tempest, coming out sometime in the […]

My Soul to Keepby Tananarive Due352pp (Trade Paperback)My Rating: 8/10Amazon Rating: 5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4/5Goodreads Rating: 4.24/5 My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due has two sequels: The Living Blood and Blood Colony, respectively. The ending isn’t quite a cliffhanger but I wouldn’t call it a complete ending, either, since it is very clear that there is a lot more of the story left to be told. It’s often classified as horror, but I thought it was more contemporary dark fantasy/suspense […]