What's Black and White and Gray All Over?

Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge's Icarus Project series, that's what!

Iridium and Jet -- Callie Bradford and Joannie Greene -- were partners at the Academy, but through a very specific chain of events, they've become terrible enemies. In fact, you could say that Iridium is Jet's arch-nemesis in New Chicago. Jet, the official city hero, has made a life of fighting crime and being the poster child for Corps, desperate to overcome what everyone believes is the inevitable: falling prey to the very power that has brought here where she is today. Everyone knows that Shadows go insane and Jet's own father is testament to that fact. Iridium is also following in her father's footsteps as an enemy of the very Academy that trained her. But neither Jet nor Iridium has the whole story. There are always two sides, aren't there? Soon they will both learn that nothing as a cut and dry as it once seemed.

Ooh! Book two, Shades of Gray, comes out in June and I can't wait to see what happens next! I'm a big superhero fan, whether it be X-Men, Superman, Batman, whatever, I love 'em. They're full of possibilities and I love that Kittredge and Kessler seem to be exploring them all! Jet and Iridium rock! I'm especially looking forward to learning more about Icarus and Corps and the whole conspiracy. I highly recommend running out and grabbing this one. It'll be a quick read, I promise -- you won't want to tear yourself away!

This was one of my League wins so I have to shout out again to the League of Reluctant Adults, Literary Escapism, and Jackie Kessler who offered up the book as a prize in the first place. How on Earth did I not know about this book before that? For shame!

Psst! Jackie's offering up an ARC of Gray on the League page right now.

Street Magic -- Caitlin Kittredge

My final book in the League of Reluctant Adults Mini-Challenge (hosted by Literary Escapism). Yay! I finished a challenge (not that it was THAT challenging). But it was fun!

I have now read (if my count is correct) 13 of the League authors. And I've added new authors to my "Must Buy" list, and have already bought some.

DI Pete Caldecott is working a tough case. One little girl has been kidnapped and there are no clues. But then she receives a tip, from a man she'd thought dead for over 12 years. See, when Pete was 16, Jack Winter took her to the graveyard. Pete doesn't remember much of what happened, but Jack was dead and Pete was a mess for a while. Turns out Jack is very much alive and his tip leads right to the missing girl. Then two more children go missing and Pete must help Jack clean up in order to get his help on the case. Jack has the ability to see the dead and they have plagued him for years. His own solution has been turning to drugs. But no more. Pete will need him sober at with all his wits in order to solve this case. And Jack's unique magical abilities are definitely going to come in handy in more ways than one.

This is the first in Caitlin Kittredge's Black London series and it's fabulous! Dark and stormy with a twisty plot full or magic and creatures. It's a stand out in the urban fantasy genre for sure, at least for me. It felt fresh and new and quite unlike anything else I've read recently. And I really enjoyed the bits of Celtic folklore that I was able to pick out. I'm sure there's much more hiding in there as well. I'll have to read up on it.

Definitely highly recommending this one! Adding book two, Demon Bound, to my list to buy in March (I'll behave and wait another week to buy more books!).