Our top picks from this month’s new releases. In no particular order. SHADOW HEIR by Richelle Mead (Dark Swan #4) 2nd Feb 2012, Bantam (UK) | Zebra (US) Amazon: UK | US The Book Depository (free worldwide shipping) Goodreads Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land’s prophecy-haunted queen, there’s no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld… The spell-driven source of the blight isn’t the only challenge to Eugenie’s instincts. Fairy…
DEAD UNTIL DARK (Sookie Stackhouse #1) by Charlaine Harris PUBLISHER: Gollancz RELEASE DATE: 2009 FORMAT: Paperback, 312 pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy Sookie Stackhouse is a small time cocktail waitress in small town Louisiana. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn’t get out much – not because she’s not pretty – she’s a very cute bubbly blonde – or not interested in a social life. She really is… but Sookie’s got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too dateable. And then along comes…
Reckoning by Jeaniene Frost (Night Huntress #0.5) Avon Books (Nov 2011) Ebook, 100 Pages Urban Fantasy Reckoning takes place before Halfway To The Grave, the first book in the Night Huntress series, before Bones and Cat have even met. It’s a novella set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. The book sits firmly in the urban fantasy/horror genre, with Bones on the trail of two gruesome ghoul serial killers. The book focuses mainly on Bones, I enjoyed learning more about Bones before he met Cat. But at the same time it…
Whether you’re lucky in love or still waiting for The One, we’ve got something guaranteed to inject a little romance into your Valentine’s Day this year… February 14th sees the launch of Piatkus Entice, their brand new eBook-first romance imprint. With new titles each month from authors including Eloisa James, Laura Wright, Sarah MacLean, Mariah Stewart and many more, Piatkus Entice will be a one-stop-shop for romantic fiction, offering readers everything from virile vampires to fairytale endings, ravishing rakes and so much more besides. The website is now live at…
Bagabook Review by Laura As well as my love of books, I also have a bit of an obsession with stationery. Pads, crisp pretty paper, neat organiser files and pens… Don’t even get me started on pens! I got two lovely ones for Christmas this year alone, adding to my growing collection. It says so much about me that when I first discovered I was pregnant, the first thing I bought for baby (well, ok for me!) was a designer Orla Kiely file & notebook to keep everything together. So…
Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton Headline (2009, first pub. 1993) | Paperback, 326 pages Urban Fantasy I’ve actually already read books one through ten, but that was many years ago, and I loved them. I’ve wanted to get up to date with the series for so long, but felt that I should re-read the series to really get back into the story again. I was nervous reading Guilty Pleasures again after ten years, but I shouldn’t have worried. Hamilton is still the great writer I remember and Anita…
Wickedly Charming by Kristine Grayson (Fates #7) Sourcebooks Casablanca (March 2011) Paperback, 352 Pages Paranormal Romance This is an imaginative and fun take on a fairytale. Our two main characters are Charming, the Prince Charming of Cinderella fame. Who is now a beleaguered father of two, middle aged and bespectacled. Who has reinvented himself in the Greater World as a bookseller and renamed himself Dave. He is also the father of two girls who have been abandoned by their selfish mother and Charming’s ex Ella. Our heroine is Mellie, Snow White’s evil…
‘Debut Author Spotlight’ is a new feature here on Book Chick City. We will be showcasing a debut author each month from the genres of horror, urban fantasy and paranormal romance. We will give you all the relevant book information as well as an insight into the author. This month’s spotlight is on debut urban fantasy author… James R. Tuck James R. Tuck is the author of the Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter series from Kensington. Book one, BLOOD AND BULLETS will be available everywhere on February 7, 2012 and…
Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison (Shadow Series #1) Dorchester Publishing (July 2010) Paperback: 336 Pages Paranormal Romance Carolyn’s Original Review: July 2010 Original Rating: 3.5/5 Carolyn’s Take: Shadow Bound is a very promising debut. I think readers of urban fantasy, paranormal romance and suspense will enjoy this book and I definitely recommend it. Laura’s Take The story of Shadow Bound wasn’t really what I expected looking at the cover and reading the back slip. I expected it to be more of a traditional fantasy I guess. There were some things that really…
LAURA’S TOP 10 URBAN FANTASY SERIES 1 Anita Blake – Laurell K Hamilton Anita has to be one of the first and ultimate heroines of urban fantasy. The early books are just awesome. I love the fact she is as tough as nails and the books combine horror with gritty action. 2 Mercy Thompson – Patricia Briggs Mercy is a shapeshifting coyote and VW mechanic, who has the uncanny ability to get herself into trouble. The first few books are compulsive reading, gritty and at the centre have a…
CAROLYN’S BOOKMARK OF THE MONTH I love these little magnetic bookmarks – I’ve bought a bunch of them. They come in all sorts of themes from horror (below) and travel to cookery and murder mystery – there’s a theme suited to everyone’s tastes. Just check out the link below to see what other themes are available. Mini-Marks LAURA’S BOOKMARK OF THE MONTH Happy new year everyone! After a bit of googling to find a new year bookmark, for which I had no luck, I discovered that 2012 was the Chinese year of…
Carolyn first reviewed Frostbitten back in 2009 – here is Laura’s take… FROSTBITTEN (Women of the Otherworld #10) by Kelley Armstrong PUBLISHER: Orbit Books RELEASE DATE: September 2009 FORMAT: Hardback, 339 Pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy Smart, sexy, supernatural – the men and women of the Otherworld live and love, fight and die, among us. Unseen and unsuspected, this realm of witches, ghosts, and werewolves is now threatened with exposure by a brutal series of bizarre murders that has left even the supernatural world baffled – and cold with terror. Being…
‘Cover Crush’ is a regular feature here at BCC. We love covers – they’re the first thing that catches our eye and will be the primary reason we pick up a book. This feature is where we highlight gorgeous covers of books we’ve seen either around the blogosphere or at the bookshop. These posts run sporadically, as soon as we see a cover we love, we’ll post it! LAURA’S COVER CRUSH Ok, so with this cover you cannot escape the obvious association, and of course that must be deliberate. But the…
I realise that Book Chick City is a book review site but I wanted to post something personal today as a tribute to my father-in-law who was a lovely dad, husband and to everyone he met, a good friend. Brian was diagnosed with cancer over the Christmas period and was told it had spread significantly. We thought there may be a chance of chemo but sadly he deteriorated and passed away early this morning. The family is of course devastated and we can’t believe he was taken so soon. We only had two…
To All, Due to a family emergency there won’t be any posts for the next few days, but I’m hoping to be up and running as normal next week. ~ Carolyn
