River Road by Suzanne Johnson (Sentinels of New Orleans #2) Headline (Nov 2012) Paperback, 387 pages Urban Fantasy I read Royal Street, the first book in Johnson’s Sentinels of New Orleans series last year and joint reviewed it with Carolyn. I loved it, Carolyn not so much. It just goes to show how differences of opinions on books varies. River Road actually takes up five years after the events of Royal Street, which felt a little bit unsettling at first. On reflection, I think as the events took place during…

Fortress Frontier (Shadows Ops #2)  by Myke Cole Headline Publishing (Jan 2013) | Paperback, 422 pages Urban Fantasy Fortress Frontier by Myke Cole plunges us straight back into his world of military magic, developing the cast from book one whilst introducing us to some new faces. The book begins with new face, Alan Bookbinder, a colonel in the US military (placing him close to the top of the pecking order for those unsure of military ranks), but more of a pen pusher than on active duty. His bureaucratic duties earn him…

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Headline Review (Aug 2012) | Paperback, 438 pages Contemporary Fiction The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a book I’ve been excited to read for a very long time, and I wish I’d had the chance to read it sooner. Set in 1920s Alaska, the book tells the story of middle-aged couple Jack and Mabel who left their city home in pursuit of an isolated farming life. Needless to say Alaska is not all they’d imagined, and from the opening we begin to see how it’s…

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (All Souls Trilogy #2) Headline (July 2012) Hardcover, 592 pages Paranormal Romance Guest Reviewer: Claire Marriott Shadow of Night takes up the story of Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont who were left suspended in time at the end of the prequel to this story, A Discovery of Witches. I would certainly recommend a re-read of the prequel before picking up this book as Deborah Harkness plunges the reader straight into the action which might make it a bit tricky to keep the complex story…

KISS THE DEAD (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #21) by Laurell K. Hamilton PUBLISHER: Headline (UK) | Berkley (US) RELEASE DATE: June 2012 FORMAT: Hardcover, 359 pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy When a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Anita Blake to find her. And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people—kids, grandparents, soccer moms—all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master. And where there’s one martyr, there will be more. But even…

SADIE WALKER IS STRANDED (Zombie #2) by Madeleine Roux PUBLISHER: Headline RELEASE DATE: January 2012 FORMAT: Paperback, 337 pages GENRE: Horror, Zombie SOURCE: Publisher When an unknown virus spread throughout North America and then the world, killing millions of people. However, that is where the horror only started. The dead began to rise and when they rose they had an insatiable appetite for the living. A new hell had been unleashed on earth and the fight for survival had just begun. Sadie Walker is one of the survivors in this…

SHADOW OPS: CONTROL POINT (Shadow Ops #1) by Myke Cole PUBLISHER: Ace Books RELEASE DATE: 31 January 2012 FORMAT: Advance Reader Copy, 435 pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy Army Officer. Fugitive. Sorcerer. Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with magical talents. Untrained and panicked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set everything they touch ablaze. Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieutenant attached to the military’s Supernatural Operations Corps, his mission is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly…

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…

HIT LIST (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #20) by Laurell K. Hamilton PUBLISHER: Headline (UK) | Penguin (USA) RELEASE DATE: 7th June 2011 FORMAT: Harback, 320 Pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy A serial killer is hunting the Pacific Northwest, murdering victims in a gruesome and spectacular way. The local police suspect “monsters” are involved, and have called in Anita Blake and Edward, US Marshals who really know their monsters, to catch the killer. But some monsters are very real. The Harlequin have been the bogeymen of the vampire world for more than a…

BULLET (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #19) by Laurell K Hamilton PUBLISHER: Headline (UK) | Berkley (US) RELEASE DATE: 26th May 2010 FORMAT: Ebook, 356 Pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy The triumvirate created by master vampire Jean-Claude, necromancer Anita Blake, and werewolf Richard Zeeman has made Jean-Claude one of the most powerful vampires in the U.S. He’s consolidating power in himself and those loyal to him, doing in America what Belle Morte did in Europe when she was at her height of power. She almost owned Europe, and there was those who…

Always Angel by Heather Killough-Walden (The Lost Angels #0.5) Headline (Oct 2011) Kindle, 68 pages Paranormal Romance It is no secret that I loved Avenger’s Angel and because of that I purchased Always Angel the day it was released. It has many of the aspects I loved about Avenger’s Angel, from the great writing to intriguing plot line and sexy characters. Always Angel is very short, too short in my opinion, and because of this there’s not much plot. It’s not a self-contained story as there’s no real beginning, middle and end. It’s…

666 CHARING CROSS ROAD by Paul Magrs PUBLISHER: Headline Review RELEASE DATE: Oct 2011 FORMAT: ARC, 390 pages GENRE: Quirky Urban Fantasy In a Manhattan gallery, a strange, undead woman who’s been lost for centuries, is found in a basement and becomes the centrepiece of Shelley’s new museum show. Nicknamed Bessie, the Scottish Bride, she is an overnight celebrity as Christmas approaches. From the dusty vaults beneath the famed bookshops in Charing Cross Road, Shelley’s bibliophile aunt Liza receives crumbling volumes by post, while her friend Jack prefers brand-new books and…

Avenger’s Angel by Heather Killough-Walden (The Lost Angels #1) Headline Publishing (Nov 2011) Paperback, 328 pages Paranormal Romance I have been so excited about Avenger’s Angel ever since I saw it at the Headline Publishing event back in May. The cover is just gorgeous, and as I have a huge thing for angels right now, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Luckily I received an early review copy, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed! The writing is fabulous and there are three plots that…

On the 13th May I was invited to my second Headline’s Blogger’s Party. It was lovely to see all the publicists again and have a chat. Sadly, I didn’t get to speak to everyone as there were quite a few authors and bloggers who attended. When we arrived we were shown a brilliant presentation of upcoming Headline books, including urban fantasy, HIT LIST by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake #20); YA paranormal, CRYPT: THE GALLOW’S CURSE by Andrew Hammond and paranormal romance, AVENGER’S ANGEL by Heather Killough-Walden – all of…

ALLISON HEWITT IS TRAPPED (Zombie Series #1) by Madeleine Roux PUBLISHER: Headline (UK) | St Martin’s Press (US) RELEASE DATE: January 2011 FORMAT: Trade Paperback: 344 pages GENRE: Horror, Zombies Allison Hewitt is trapped. In the storeroom of Brookes & Peabody’s. In a world swarming with the Undead, the Doomed, the Infected. Locked away with an oddball collection of colleagues and under siege, Allison takes advantage of a surviving internet connection and blogs. She writes, as the food runs out and panic sets in, as relationships develop and friends die, and…