Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll

Hi, all. Can I just say that it has been a looooong week and I am really looking forward to that extra day off this weekend? 'Cause it's true.

Anyway, I have been making some slow progress in chipping away at the TBR stack thanks to the Literary Escapism NA Mini-Challenge this month, and I intend to continue knocking them out even though this is my last entry for the challenge.

After much debate, I chose Lee Carroll's "debut," Black Swan Rising, which was released last fall -- and I am so glad that I did. Debut is in quotes because technically it is Lee Carroll's debut, but Lee Carroll is actually husband and wife writing team Carol Goodman and Lee Slonimsky. And I've been a fan of Carol Goodman since I read The Ghost Orchid back in 2006.

When I saw that Goodman and her husband were collaborating on an urban fantasy, I had to have it. And I think I ordered it the same week it was released. And it sat in my TBR stack (sniff) until this weekend.

I have to say I'm a little glad that I waited. I thought it was fantastic and there's a second book in the series due out this August. So now I only have to wait about two months as opposed to if I'd read it last year and had to wait twelve. But I still shouldn't have let it flounder on my shelves for so long.

In the book, Garet (Margaret) James receives some bad news from the family lawyer one rainy afternoon. In a daze, she wanders into an antique store where an old man commissions her to open a silver box. You see, the box is welded shut and Garet is a jewelry maker who's recently been written up in the paper. Plus, the box is sealed with an old signet that exactly matches a ring Garet's mother gave her before she died. She takes the box home and opens it just before a group of men breaks in. Some paintings and the box are stolen and Garet's father ends up in the hospital. And this kicks off a strange series of events unlike anything Garet has ever experienced. Now, charged with saving New York, tracking down a magician, and learning all about her secret heritage, Garet's life will forever be changed.

Awesome! I mean it, super awesome! Urban fantasy at it's best. I love the setting and all of the characters (I have a special soft spot for Lol especially). The book is steeped in mythology and fairy tales, all of which come alive in the New York Lee Carroll has created here. I can't wait to get my hands on The Watchtower come August!