New Releases 11/02/10

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week are:

Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson -- Wheel of Time book 13

Moonlight Mile by Dennis LeHane -- sequel to Gone Baby, Gone

Wolfsbane by Patricia Briggs

Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire

Kind of Blue by Miles Corwin

Edge by Jeffery Deaver

Virals by Kathy and Brendan Reichs

New on DVD:

Centurion

Toy Story 3

Wedding Weekend Festivities Begin

So the families are arriving today and I'm starting to pull out my hair. Let's hope there's enough there for some decent wedding pics on Sunday, right?

I haven't gotten all that much reading done, sadly. I'd hoped to allay some of the stress by reading through the week, but I've been too distracted of late. Hope all of you have had more luck.

Have a fantastic Halloween and I will see you all post ceremony next week!

Debut Horror From Down Under

Of course with Halloween just around the corner, I've been poking through my TBR stack for some season-friendly reading. 'Course horror is a year-round reading trend for me, but there is a lot of great stuff hitting shelves lately that I feel it's my duty to showcase for you!

One of these recent releases is Stephen M. Irwin's debut, The Dead Path. This creepy read has been on my Watch list for a few months now, so I can't tell you how happy I was to be curled up with it this weekend, double checking all of the locks and literally jumping at strange noises! Yep, it gave me chills.

In the book, recently widowed Nicholas Close heads back to his childhood home in Australia in the wake of his wife's tragic death. In truth, Nicholas knew the exact moment it happened. Unfortunately, another accident left him with the ability to see the dead -- the ability to see his wife's death happen over and over and over again.

On the night that he arrives at his mother's home, there is another death. This time a boy is taken near the local woods. His body is found and his killer confesses to the crime. Strangely, the event is strikingly similar to another killing from 1982 when Nicholas's own best friend was also taken in the woods. His killer was apprehended as well, but Nicholas can't help but think there's a larger connection and something strange going on in his hometown.

Oooh! Ghosts and murders and strange woods! I don't want to give too much away, but there's even more to it, obviously.

I loved this book. Irwin has an incredible talent for weaving a tale. His writing is an all encompassing experience, grabbing readers and bringing his story to life with the exactly right choice of words. To put it in perspective, I read just a portion of this in the airport 45 minute wait area while waiting for Mike's plane to arrive. Even with cars whizzing by on the interstate and my fellow waiters leaving and being replaced, I jumped when the phone rang! I'm always up for a horror read that does that!

For any readers who may be overseas, or later looking for more work by Irwin, you should know that The Dead Path was pubbed in the UK as The Darkening.

New Releases 10/26/10

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week are:

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander -- latest in the Lady Emily series

Cat Coming Home by Shirley Rousseau Murphy -- latest Joe Grey mystery

Drink of Me by Jacquelyn Frank

Book of Secrets by Chris Roberson

Heaven's Spite by Lilith Saintcrow -- fifth Jill Kismet book

The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron -- second in the Legend of Eli Monpress

Autumn by David Moody

Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz

Side Jobs by Jim Butcher

Ghost Town by Rachel Caine -- latest Morganville Vampires book

Crown of Crystal Flame by CL Wilson

Soul Stealers by Andy Remic -- second in the Clockwork Vampires series

New on DVD:

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Sex & The City 2

New reviews at Bookbitch.com:

Autumn by David Moody

Banished by Sophie Littlefield

The Countess by Rebecca Johns

The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin

Pre Pub Book Buzz -- The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire Book 1) by Clay and Susan Griffith

Oh, I've seen things buzzing around about this book for months now! With the release practically around the corner (November 2), I've got to get a preorder in for it. (And don't you love the cover art?)

Here's the synopsis from the Pyr book page:

In the year 1870, a horrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world. Millions of humans were killed outright. Millions more died of disease and famine due to the havoc that followed. Within two years, once-great cities were shrouded by the gray empire of the vampire clans. Human refugees fled south to the tropics because vampires could not tolerate the constant heat there. They brought technology and a feverish drive to reestablish their shattered societies of steam and iron amid the mosques of Alexandria, the torrid quietude of Panama, or the green temples of Malaya.

It is now 2020 and a bloody reckoning is coming.

Princess Adele is heir to the Empire of Equatoria, a remnant of the old tropical British Empire. She is quick with her wit as well as with a sword or gun. She is eager for an adventure before she settles into a life of duty and political marriage to a man she does not know. But her quest turns black when she becomes the target of a merciless vampire clan. Her only protector is the Greyfriar, a mysterious hero who fights the vampires from deep within their territory. Their dangerous relationship plays out against an approaching war to the death between humankind and the vampire clans.

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar is the first book in a trilogy of high adventure and alternate history. Combining rousing pulp action with steampunk style, Vampire Empire brings epic political themes to life within a story of heartbreaking romance, sacrifice, and heroism.

Ok, really?! It's steampunk and vampires! And you know I'm all about steampunk these days. Jackie over at Literary Escapism was apparently able to snag an early copy. You can read her review here.

Book Blogger Hop October 22-25

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky at Crazy-For-Books!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun! This is a weekly event!

Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

This week's question comes from Becky who blogs at Becky's Barmy Book Blog:

"Where is your favorite place to read? Curled up on the sofa, in bed, in the garden?"

My answer: in bed (or in the tub -- I get a lot of reading done there as well).

A Slew of Zombie Reads for Halloween

It's a zombie-tastic Halloween season this year! Whoa! Thought I'd put together a list of some of the recommended zombie reading for you guys.

First, if you didn't know, AMC's new show, The Walking Dead, premieres on Halloween.

Two oldies but goodies I have on my TBR stack for this month are: World War Z by Max Brooks and Breathers by S.G. Browne, both currently being adapted into film.

Some newbies in my TBR: Pariah by Bob Fingerman, Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and John Dies at the End by David Wong.

On my wishlist: Dust by Joan Frances Turner and Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

And recently read: Autumn by David Moody and Married With Zombies by Jesse Petersen (sequel, Flip This Zombie, due out in Jan), and of course, Carrie Ryan's fantastic Forest of Hands and Teeth and Dead Tossed Waves.

And just for fun: Mark Henry's trash-mouthed fashionista zombie heroine, Amanda Feral, always makes for fun reading and the recently released Hungry For Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance looks like a blast!

Not enough walking dead for you. Guess what?! Permuted Press is a publisher devoted to apocalyptic horror (and that means lots of zombies!).

Anywho, I'm working on getting my zombie fix this month. Hope this helps you guys out as well. I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton here, so if you've got a rec to add, feel free!