Beach Blanket Bloodbath by Mark Henry

Happy release day, Mark Henry! And it's a welcome return to Amanda Feral indeed!

A few notes before I begin: First, as this is the official launch day, Mark has a ton of fun stuff planned. Check out the Beach Blanket Blowout page over on Facebook for that. My second note, this is technically the fourth Amanda Feral adventure but it is also the start of a new trilogy of stories, too. I do highly recommend reading the first three books if you can find them, but you won't be totally confused if you don't (you'll just have missed out on the previous fun).

Amanda, Wendy, and Gil are back and they're off on an epic road trip (another epic road trip). When another of the walking dead steals Wendy's stash (Wendy is now a drug lord), she drags Amanda and Gil along on a retrieval mission. But they have a few things to take care of along the way. 

Their first stop is the tiny town of Las Felicitas where Amanda has a scheduled book tour event. On their way the group manages to piss off a group of evil male strippers called The Golden Boys. (Considering Amanda snacked on one of their own...) With the Boys in their tail, they pull into Las Felicitas just in time to attend the local Miss Sand Flea pageant and witness the odd and brutal murder of its winner. Now it's up to Amanda and friends to find the murderer or risk the wrath of Las Felicitas's local bookstore owner. 

Readers, if you're not familiar with Mark Henry or his Amanda Feral series, I should probably warn you about the fairly raunchy content. But if dark humor, snark, and smut are up your alley then you'll want to add Beach Blanket Bloodbath to the top of your reading list.

Here you have the wit and sarcasm we've all come to love in our zombie fashionista heroine and her cohorts, but you have the added bonus of weresharks (and, um, wereshark sex). It's weird to the extreme, I'll admit, but it's also laugh out loud hilarious - the kind you feel a little guilty about later.

And yes, this is the first in a new trilogy. The road trip will continue in A Night to Dismember and Ship of Ghouls, which means way more fun to come!

Rating: 4/5

New releases 4/8/14

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week are:

The Venetian Bargain by Marina Fiorato

Night Diver by Elizabeth Lowell

The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn

Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline

The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J. Rose

Driving Lessons by Zoe Fishman

The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

Up at Butternut Lake by Mary McNear

Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead

In Paradise by Peter Mathiessen

Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear

Robot Uprisings ed by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams

Ask Me by Kimberly Pauley

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

The Nethergrim by Matthew Jobin

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

New on DVD:
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
August: Osage County

The Detainee by Peter Liney

"Big Guy" Clancy knows that things are bad. As society declined and debt increased, people looked to those with less means as being responsible for it all: the sick, the elderly, the poor... The Island is their home now. An awful place no better than a literal trash heap, Big Guy and the others like him make do the best they can. Escape is impossible - the punishment satellites are almost always watching - and on those foggy nights when the satellites are out of order, the only hope is to hunker down and hope the other group on the island, the bad and unmanageable ones, don't find you. But one night Big Guy makes a shocking discovery, a woman who lives below the surface. A woman who offers him hope and love in a place where he thought neither could exist.

Peter Liney's The Detainee is futuristic/dystopian that kind of brought to mind Escape From New York setting wise. Here you have the outcasts of society (only slightly different from the prison of Escape) who have been forced to build lives for themselves in the worst of circumstances. There are factions - the Village and the Camp. The haves and the government are conveniently separated and protected from this life as long as they have the means not to be sent there themselves. That's kind of where the similarities end but I'm sure you can see why it brought the movie to mind.

Anywho, I liked Clancy. He's definitely something different, especially compared to a lot of the leads in dystopia lately: an aging heavy who has all but given up given his predicament, until something (or someone as the case is here) inspires him to change. His pal Jimmy, the tech wizard, and Lena, the girl, as well as the other characters we meet are all pretty well fleshed out with backstories and development a plenty - even for the first in a trilogy and a not too hefty read.

The scary thing - and probably what I liked best about the book - is how real it felt and how easy it was to believe (and imagine) that society could get to such a state. There's enough explanation of the circumstances behind the establishment of the Island that I had no problem slipping into this reality and - as I said - believing that it was possible. And again, that's quite scary!

The Detainee is the first in a projected trilogy.

Rating: 4/5

Guest Post by Katherine Addison

Morning, readers! I am super excited to be hosting Katherine Addison here on the blog today. Her debut, The Goblin Emperor, just hit shelves this week and has been garnering lots of great praise from readers and writers alike.

Here's a bit about the book from the publisher:

The youngest, half-goblin son of the elvish Emperor has grown up in exile, isolated and ignored by the glittering world of the elvish court. After his mother’s death he is prepared to spend the rest of his days in a dreary swamp – until an airship crash kills his father and brothers, leaving him the next heir.

Hastily pulled into the role of the next emperor, he is utterly unprepared for the endless intrigue and complex machinations of life in the capital. Even worse, it soon emerges that the airship crash was no accident – somebody assassinated the emperor, and now he stands between the ambitious plotter and the throne. Surrounded by enemies and potential assassins, an alienated child must step up to the throne and assume power he never asked for.

Katherine Addison brings together fantasy elements, from steampunk airships to the labyrinthine societal complexity of historical empires, to create a world of depth and originality. Under the byzantine tale of political intrigue lies an engaging core: craftily rendered, vulnerable characters that will draw the reader into the world of the Goblin Emperor.

And now to hand things over to Katherine and the inspiration behind The Goblin Emperor!

When I was a kid, I read pretty much everything I could get my hands on. Some of it stuck, and some of it didn't, which is pretty much what you expect. But one of the things that stuck like glue was Jean Plaidy's The Young Elizabeth. (Jean Plaidy was the pseudonym of Eleanor Hibbert, who was also Victoria Holt.) We had both The Young Elizabeth and The Young Mary Queen of Scots, and I certainly read both of them more than once, but Mary Queen of Scots was a little difficult to get behind as a young adult heroine--although that was nothing compared to the difficulties I found in sympathizing with her as an adult--and Elizabeth Tudor might have been designed for the purpose. There's probably a permanent warp in my view of Elizabeth I because of this book, even though I know perfectly well that there is a prodigious amount of spin involved. 

Still. Plaidy vividly captured the anxiety of being Henry VIII's second daughter, sometimes a legitimate heir to the throne, sometimes illegitimate (and the daughter of an executed traitor), depending on how Henry wanted to view the world that week. In favor, out of favor, favorite child, least favorite child. Elizabeth spent part of her childhood at court and part under semi-unofficial house arrest at one or another country estate, and her situation only got more precarious during the reigns of her half-siblings, Edward VI, a sickly puppet for ambitious politicians, and Mary I, who earned her nickname, "Bloody Mary," honestly. But Elizabeth survived to become queen, which, if I recall correctly, is where Plaidy's book ends. 

Given Elizabeth's iron grip on her own PR, it seems highly unlikely that even if she had any doubts about her ability to rule, anyone ever saw them. But the idea dug its way into my imagination. What would it be like to come to the throne only because you'd survived all your siblings? What would the decompression be like, from house arrest to coronation? And that's where I found Maia, The Goblin Emperor's protagonist 

I am not actually all that fond of politics. (To be perfectly honest, I loathe politics with a crimson passion.) I don't like novels about politics, and I certainly never intended to write one. But I outsmarted myself. Because if you want to write that story, you really have to write the politics to go with it. Especially if you reject the deus ex machina of the sword in the stone (the gladius ex saxo, I suppose we might call it) or Divine Right kingship, which of course in fantasy can be literal instead of a convenient piece of ideology. But without those "I'm king because the sword says so!" workarounds, the story of Elizabeth's ascenion to the throne is a story entirely made of politics. 

But from Maia's perspective, the political is intensely personal. Without any of the political knowledge that would allow him to sort people by ideologies, goals, and biases, he can only deal with them as individuals, even though he's painfully aware of the agendas he can't see. So, although I was definitely writing about politics on the book's macro level, I was actually writing about people and relationships. I found some of those people frustrating and stupid, just as I find real politicians frustrating and stupid, but I also found that I was able to be sympathetic to characters whose positions I vehemently disagreed with. It was good practice for real life, just as Maia's determined compassion is an ideal I strive to live up to. 

The Goblin Emperor, obviously, is a mish-mash of inspirations (Tolkien and steampunk and the history of the Industrial Revolution and goodness knows what all); The Young Elizabeth is one that's not immediately obvious, but also very deep rooted. Without Eleanor Hibbert's book, I certainly would not have written mine.

Big, big thank to Katherine Addison for her post today and to the folks over at Tor for arranging everything. Be sure to head over to Katherine's site to read an excerpt of the book and check back here soon for my review of The Goblin Emperor.

About the author:
Katherine Addison's short fiction has been selected by The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Year's Best Science Fiction. She lives near Madison, Wisconsin. You can visit her online at www.katherineaddison.com and find her on Twitter as @pennyvixen.

(Katherine Addison is the pseudonym for Sarah Monette.)

I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir

When Líf's husband Einar got the idea of buying a house in Hesteyri, Katrín's husband Garðar was definitely on board. Garðar had been unemployed and the couple's savings had taken a real hit, so the investment and the potential earnings in revamping the place for boarding were promising. But then Einar died leaving Líf widowed and the project up in the air. Still, the three friends are determined to carry on, which is why they find themselves settling in for a week in the abandoned village. Things start to go wrong as soon as they arrive - strange noises, injuries and accidents, and evidence that the town may not be as empty as they thought. 

At the same time, a vicious occurrence of vandalism has alarmed authorities in nearby Ísafjörður. As the only local psychiatrist, Freyr is called in to consult and soon learns that a similar crime occurred at another nearby school. In spite of the striking similarities, police are sure there can't be any connection as the prior case is over fifty years old, but Freyr is less doubtful. The case becomes even more odd when a local suicide turns out to be linked and that the dead woman had apparently been obsessed with Freyr's missing son, Benni. 

An Icelandic horror story, who'd have thought? Actually, Sigurdardóttir's Thora Gudmundsdottir thrillers do have a very dark slant to them so this ghost story isn't so much of a deviation as one would think. 

I Remember You is definitely of the slower more atmospheric vein. Readers expecting non stop action and gore will be disappointed but if you're like me and you appreciate a slower pacing I definitely recommend it. Considering our alternating gloomy still icky snow days, I have to admit that I Remember You hit the spot for me - I'd been craving more dark reads and horror in the wake of Laura Kasischke's Mind of Winter and the weather really added to experience! (Who am I kidding, I almost always crave darker reads and ghost stories happen to be my favorite horror flavor, too.) Actually, fans of Kasischke's latest will likely be the perfect audience for this one, plus it's a great introduction for anyone who might be new to Sigurdardóttir's work. 

I did find that the translation (possibly the translation) had a few minor issues here. There were times when certain phrasing seemed contradictory to previous points in the plot. This was a very minor issue that didn't detract at all in the overall reading of the book, though. (I noticed it a lot in Freyr's interaction with his wife, maybe it was more a clunky indication of her frail mental state.) 

Rating: 4/5

Vintage by Susan Gloss + a Giveaway

Good morning, readers. Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Susan Gloss's debut, Vintage! And thanks to the publisher, I've got a copy to give away - be sure to read to the bottom to enter.

Hourglass Vintage was a dream of Violet's for years before becoming a reality. And now, just when she's finally where she wants to be, she could lose it all. There's a story behind each of the items she's carefully cultivated in her shop. Like the hand embellished wedding dress brought in by the daughter of the bride. Young April fell in love with that dress but in just a matter of weeks she was back in the store asking about a return. And the sari recently brought in by Amithi... Violet knows there's a reason the woman is purging her closets of such special items. These three women are brought together by the little vintage shop and Violet has big plans to try and save it before it's too late. 

Susan Gloss's debut is a charming confection of a read! No, it's not an empty bon bon of a book, there's much more depth to it than that, but it's as enjoyable as candy, that's for sure.

In Violet, April, and Amithi - and other characters like Karen, Lane, and Betsy - Gloss brings to life a whole range of women and their lives. Family, friends, love, heartbreak, hopes and dreams, fears... it's amazing that so much can go into such a relatively short book (just over 300 pages). Gloss easily draws readers in, quickly establishing emotional ties and investment between said reader and the characters concerned. Any time I walked away from the book I couldn't help wondering what would come next for Violet and April and Amithi - all I could think about was getting back to their story! These women felt like my friends and neighbors, the women we all know and spend our lives surrounded by. I could identify with them all and see pieces of myself in them as well.

Vintage is a sweet story with characters I truly cared about and I can't wait to see what Gloss will do next!

Rating: 4/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Susan Gloss, you can visit her on the web here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Pinterest.

And now for the giveaway. I've got one copy to offer up - US only and no PO boxes please. To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, April 14. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hidden by Catherine McKenzie

Happy book birthday to Catherine McKenzie! Readers, I've been looking forward to the release of Hidden for what feels like ages and now it's finally here!

Jeff Manning has died, leaving behind not one but two grief stricken women. Claire, his wife, is shocked when the police arrive on her doorstep with news of Jeff's death. Her family rallies to support her but nothing can truly calm the young widow. Tish lives 500 miles away and has always wondered how she'd find out if something happened to Jeff. Her worst fears are confirmed when she hears the news upon arriving at work the Monday following the accident. 

Hidden is told through three viewpoints - Clair and Tish, obviously, but also Jeff. Chapters alternate between the three providing the readers a glimpse inside all three characters' lives, their families, how they got to where they are presently, and the building of the two relationships.

Unlike McKenzie's previous three titles (Spin, Arranged, and Forgotten) there's very little humor in Hidden. It's still about family and relationships, featuring the same honest and emotional style of the previous three, just with a more serious tone than the prior releases. It was a bit of a heart wrenching read, to be quite honest.

Hidden is all of the best things I've come to love about McKenzie's work and I really can't recommend her highly enough!

Rating: 5/5