Pre-pub Book Buzz: The Watchtower by Lee Carroll

I'm a big fan of Carol Goodman and when I heard that she was teaming with her husband for a paranormal series, I did a little dance! I bought Black Swan Rising when it was released, and then lost it in the TBR stack. But found it again in May and read it as part of one of Literary Escapism's New Author Mini-Challenges. It was fantastic! So of course I was super excited to see that the second book would be coming in just a few months.

Well, that time is here! The Watchtower comes out this Tuesday (Aug 2) and I'm pre-ordering my copy.

Here's the synopsis on Amazon:

What secrets are hidden in her past . . . ?

Jewelry designer Garet James is still coming to terms with the astounding revelation in BLACK SWAN RISING that she is the last in a long line of women sworn to protect the world from evil. Now she has received a sign from Will Hughes, the 400-year-old vampire who once helped her defeat the evil threatening to destroy New York City. Hughes, tortured by his own violent history which is vividly reenacted here, has asked her to join him on a quest to rid himself of his curse of vampirism. While looking for Will in Paris, Garet encounters a number of mysterious figures-an ancient botanist metamorphosed into the oldest tree in Paris, a gnome who lives under the Labyrinth at the Jardin des Plantes, a librarian at the Institut Oceanographique, and a dryad in the Luxembourg Gardens.

Each encounter leads Garet closer to finding Will Hughes, but she realizes that she’s not the only one who’s trying to find the way to the magical world called the Summer Country. As Garet struggles to understand her family legacy, each answer she finds only leads to more questions—and to more danger.…

Yay! Seriously, Black Swan Rising was one of the best paranormals I've read in a while. I can't wait to get my hands on this one so I can continue the story!

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!