Tuesday, May 11, 2010

This Week's Upcoming Releases

There are so many interesting books that are coming out this month, the ones that everyone is aware of, and in this weekly post, I like to focus on those that I am particularly interested in, and I hope some of my readers are interested in.  As I tend to focus on all genres, you will find an eclectic mix of releases in all my posts. 

Fever Dream (Book 10, Pendergast Series)
by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Release Date: May 11, 2010

At the old family manse in Louisiana, Special Agent Pendergast is putting to rest long-ignored possessions reminiscent of his wife Helen's tragic death, only to make a stunning - and dreadful - discovery.  Helen had been mauled by an unusually large and vicious lion while they were big game hunting in Africa.  But now, Pendergast learns that her rifle - her only protection from the beast - had been deliberately loaded with blanks.  Who could have wanted Helen dead...and why?

As Pendergast probes more deeply into the riddle - the answer to which is revealed in a night of shocking violence, deep in the Louisiana bayou - he finds himself faced with an even greater question: who was the woman he married?


Dragon Haven (Rain Wild Chronicles,
Book 2)
by Robin Hobb
Release Date: May 11, 2010

The dragon keepers and the fledgling dragons are forging a passage up the treacherous Rain Wild River. They are in search of the mythical Elderling city of Kelsingra, and are accompanied by the liveship Tarman, its captain, Leftrin, and a group of hunters who must search the forests for game with which to keep the dragons fed.  With them are Alise, who has escaped her cold marriage to the cruel libertine to continue her study of dragons, and Sedric.  Rivalries and romances and already threatening to disrupt the band of explorers; but external forces may prove to be even more dangerous.  Chalcedean merchants are keen to lay their hands on dragon blood and organs to turn them to medicines and profit.  A traitor has infiltrated the expedition and will stop at nothing to obtain the coveted dragon parts.  And then there are the Rain Wilds themselves: mysterious, unstable, and ever-perilous, its mighty river running with acid, its jungle impenetrable and its waterways uncharted.  Only one thing is certain: the journey will leave none of the dragons nor their human companions unchanged by the experience.

The Legions of Fire (Books of the Elements, Book 1)
by David Drake
Release Date: May 11, 2010

In this novel of magical menace to the survival of all humanity, David Drake introduces a new fantasy world, Carce, based on Europe during the later Roman Empire.

Far in the north, a group of magicians perform a strange dance on a volcanic island intended to open a gateway for supernatural creatures that will allow them to devastate the whole Earth and destroy all life.  Not knowing the cause, two young men and two young women each separately pursue the answer to mysterious and threatening happenings that prefigure disaster in the great city of Carce, the center of civilization.  Through magical voyages in other realities where fantastic creatures, and even gods, help or hinder them, each of them must succeed or not just the city but the world will end in fire.

The Nearest Exit (Milo Weaver, Book 7)
by Olen Steinhauer
Release Date: May 11, 2010

Now faced with the end of his quiet, settled life, reluctant spy Milo Weaver has no choice but to turn back to his old job as a 'tourist'.  Before he can get back to the CIA's dirty work, he has to prove his loyalty to his new bosses, who know little of Milo's background and less about who is really pulling the strings in the government above the Department of Tourism - or in the outside world, which is beginning to believe the legend of its existence.  Milo is suddently in a dangerous position, between right and wrong, between powerful self-interested men, between patriots and traitors - especially as a man who has nothing left to lose.





The Beautiful Between
by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Release Date: May 11, 2010

If high school were a fairy-tale kingdom, Connelly Sternin would be Rapunzel, locked not in a tower by a wicked witch but in a high-rise apartment building by the SATs and college applications - and by the secrets she keeps.  Connelly's few friends think that her parents are divorced - but they're not.  Connelly's father died when she was two, and she doesn't know how.

If Connelly is the Rapunzel of her school, Jeremy Cole is the Crown Prince, son of a great and rich New York City Family.  So when he sits down next to her at lunch one day, Connelly couldn't be more surprised.  But Jeremy has a tragic secret of his own, and Connelly is the only one he can turn to for help.  Together they form a council of two, helping each other with their homework and sharing secrets.  As the pair's friendship grows, Connelly learns that it's the truth, not the secrets, that one must guard and protect.  And that between friends, the truth, however harsh, is also beautiful.

Folly
by Marthe Jocelyn
Release Date: May 11, 2010

Three fates intertwine in this moving and passionate love story set in Victorian London.

Mary Finn: country girl, maid to a lord in London

Caden Tucker: liar, scoundrel, and heart's delight

James Nelligan: aged six, tossed into a herd of boys

When Mary Finn falls into the arms of handsome Caden Tucker, their frolic changes the course of her life.  What possesses her?  She's been a girl of common sense until now.  Mary's tale alternates with that of James Nelligan, a new boy in an enormous foundling home.

The Ring of Five (Book 1)
by Eoin McNamee
Release Date: May 11, 2010

Danny Caulfield doesn't know how he ended up at a mysterious academy called Wilsons.  A few of the students are pretty scary.  Someone tries to murder him.  Even the ravens that haunt the school seem to be against him.  Yet he also finds friends: Les, an exceptional thief; Dixie, who has an unsettling talent; and Vandra, a physick with special powers.

It turns out that Danny is destined for a terrifying mission.  As he embarks on his training, he is shocked and secretly thrilled to discover that he seems to have all the natural gifts of the perfect spy - most importantly, the ability to betray.




The Fire Opal
by Regina McBride
Release Date: May 11, 2010

There was a time when Maeve led a simple life; a time when she and her mother, Nuala, collected kelp on the foreshore near their cottage in Ard Macha; a time when she played among the Celtic ruins with her older brothers and dreamed about the legendary Holy Isles, an enchanted land ruled in a past age by a beautiful goddess.

But after Maeve's sister, Ishleen, is born, her mother sinks into a deep, impenetrable trance.  For years, Maeve tries to help her mother 'awaken', and then the unthinkable happens.  Ishleen succumbs to the same mysterious ailment as her mother.

Heartbroken to think that her sister and her mother might be lost to her forever, Maeve sets of on an unimaginable quest to a world filled with fantastical creatures, a web of secrets, a handsome, devious villain who will stop at nothing to have her hand in marriage - braving them all to retrieve a glowing stone that will help her recover the souls of her loved ones and bring them home to Ard Macha.


Still Sucks to Be Me
by Kimberley Pauley
Release Date: May 11, 2010

With vampire boyfriend George and best friend Serena by her side, Mina thought she had her whole life - or rather afterlife - ahead of her.  But then Mina's parents drop a bomb.  They're moving.  To Louisiana.  And not somewhere cool like New Orleans, but some teeny, tiny town where jocks and cheerleaders rule the school.  Mina has to fake her death, change her name, and leave everything behind.  Not even the Vampire Council's shape-shifting classes can cheer her up.  Then Serena shows up on Mina's doorstep with news that sends Mina reeling.  Mina may look a lot better with fangs, but her afterlife isn't any less complicated!






A Little Folly
by Jude Morgan
Release Date: May 12, 2010

Sir Clement Carnell was the most domineering and straight-laced of fathers, and his death has left his children Louisa and Valentine with a sense of release.  While Valentine throws open the Devonshire estate of Pennacombe to their fashionable cousins from London, Louisa feels free at last to reject the man her father chose as her prospective husband - Pearce Lynley.  Soon the temptations of Regency London beckon - including Lady Harriet Eversholt, beautiful, scandalous, and very married, with whom Valentine becomes dangerously involved; while Louisa finds that freedom of choice is as daunting as it is exciting.  Will the opportunity to indulge, at last, in a little folly lead to fulfillment - or disaster?



Silent Scream
by Karen Rose
Release Date: May 13, 2010

Four college students believed they were making a statement.  They were activitiest, fighting to preserve the environment by burning down a new apartment complex.  But they didn't realize that someone was watching.  A blackmailer hides in plain sight, using people's secrets for personal gain, and when this criminal sets his sights on the four young arsonists, he begins his most deadly game yet.

Firefighter David Hunter is devastated when he's too late to save a teenage girl from a Minneapolis fire.  Authorities soon discover that it was a case of arson and homicide detective Olivia Sutherland and her partner Kane are assigned to the case.  David and Olivia shared a night of passion some time ago, and sparks fly when they are drawn to one another again.  But just as they begin to revisit that fateful night and address the events that tore them apart, David and Olivia are forced to pursue the blackmailer, who horrific plans threaten to destroy those closest to them.

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