Esperanza by Trish J. MacGregor (Hungry Ghosts #1) Tor Books (Sept 2010) Hardback, 336 pages Urban Fantasy Esperanza by Trish J. MacGregor takes fantasy to new heights with a thriller that will leave you cowering behind a cushion with all your curtains closed, praying the fog can’t get in… Those of you with a knowledge of Spanish will know that Esperanza means ‘hope’, but this novel strips hope away in the town of Esperanza, Ecuador. It very much takes advantage of the American perspective of Latin America as a mystical…
Dark Magic by James Swain (Peter Warlock #1) Tor Books (May 2012) Hardback, 352 pages Urban Fantasy I sometimes select books based on their titles without knowing any further details, I did this with Dark Magic thinking it would have something to do with witches. What I found was a sinister, supernatural thriller based in New York City, written from the third person point of view, following a group of psychics who use their gifts to try and help others. Peter Warlock is the lead psychic and holds a regular…
The Season of Passage by Christopher Pike Tor Books (March 2011, first pub. 1992) Paperback, 400 pages Science Fiction | Horror The Season of Passage by Christopher Pike takes sci-fi, horror, a pinch of dystopian and thriller and throws them all together in this rollercoaster ride of a novel. On the surface the book has a somewhat simple plotline: a trip to Mars gone wrong. However, there is more than meets the eye as the problems begin before the rocket even leaves Earth. Dr. Lauren Wagner is due to depart for Mars,…
King of the Dead by Joseph Nassise (Jeremiah Hunt #2) Tor (Nov 2012) Hardback, 352 pages Urban Fantasy King of the Dead by Joseph Nassise picks up where Eyes to See left off, with Jeremiah, Dmitri and Denise on the run from the FBI and wanted for serial murder. Wrongly accused of being serial killer The Reaper from book one, Jeremiah and his friends flee across America in a desperate attempt to outrun the FBI taskforce that has proclaimed Hunt as their number one most wanted. Lying low in motel rooms…
Immortal Trust by Claire Ashgrove (The Curse of the Templars #3) Tor Books (March 2013) Paperback, 440 pages Paranormal Romance Warning: contains spoilers Immortal Trust is book number three of The Curse of the Templars series. I was so looking forward to reading thins after having immensely enjoyed the previous two books in the series. Although Immortal Trust didn’t grab me as much as Immortal Hope or Immortal Surrender, it was still an enjoyable read. Chloe Broussard is an archaeologist that loves her job. Having spent a lot of her time in Egypt working in…
Deep Down (Wide Open #2) by Deborah Coates Tor Books (US, 5th Mar 2013) Paperback, 304 pages Fantasy Now that she’s solved her sister’s murder, Hallie Michaels has left the army and isn’t sure what to do next. Her relationship with deputy Boyd Davies is tentative, there’s still distance between her and her father, and she needs a job. The good news is, she hasn’t seen a ghost in weeks. All that changes when she gets a call asking her to help an elderly neighbor who is being stalked by black dogs,…
THREE PARTS DEAD (Three Parts Dead #1) by Max Gladstone PUBLISHER: Tor Books RELEASE DATE: 2nd Oct 2012 FORMAT: Hardback, 336 pages GENRE: Fantasy A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart. Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will…
The Trouble with Fate by Leigh Evans (Mystwalker #1) Tor Books (Jan 2013) Paperback, 344 pages Paranormal Romance The Trouble with Fate by Leigh Evans twists the paranormal as we know it and reshapes it, with werewolves conflicting with fae and leaving our heroine stuck in the middle. Belonging to neither world, Hedi Peacock (once named Helen Stronghold) is half-fae, half-werewolf. She has the magic powers and softness of her fae mother whilst retaining the animalistic instincts of her were father. A barista at her local Starbucks, Hedi has a penchant for…
BITTER SEEDS (Milkweed Triptych #1) by Ian Tregillis PUBLISHER: TOR Fantasy RELEASE DATE: 24 April 2012 FORMAT: Paperback, 457 pages GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction It’s 1939. The Nazis have supermen, the British have demons, and one perfectly normal man gets caught in between. Raybould Marsh is a British secret agent in the early days of the Second World War, haunted by something strange he saw on a mission during the Spanish Civil War: a German woman with wires going into her head who looked at him as if she knew him. When…
Silver by Rhiannon Held Tor Books (June 2012) | Paperback, 317 pages Urban Fantasy Silver by Rhiannon Held is a werewolf novel with a difference, as there is barely any human interaction throughout the book. It is purely about the wolf packs and the threat that may be hunting them, with their foe making a vicious torture method out of silver. The book begins with main character Andrew Dare on the hunt in the woods for a mysterious lone wolf whose scent he has detected. His role is that of an…
THIEFTAKER (Thieftakers Chronicles #1) by D.B Jackson PUBLISHER: Tor Books RELEASE DATE: 3 July 2012 FORMAT: Hardcover, 327 pages GENRE: Historical Fantasy Boston, 1767: In D.B. Jackson’s Thieftaker, revolution is brewing as the British Crown imposes increasingly onerous taxes on the colonies, and intrigue swirls around firebrands like Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty. But for Ethan Kaille, a thieftaker who makes his living by conjuring spells that help him solve crimes, politics is for others…until he is asked to recover a necklace worn by the murdered daughter of a…
Wishful Thinking by Gabi Stevens (Time of Transition #3) Tor Books (April 2012) Paperback, 310 pages Paranormal Romance Warning: may contain spoilers for previous books Wishful Thinking by Gabi Stevens marks the end of the Time of the Transition series, in which three women have discovered that they are the next fairy godmothers, and must strive to protect both the Arcani world and the Groundling world. In the previous two books we were introduced to Reggie and Kristin, the first two godmothers to be discovered in the time of transition. Now it…
Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher Tor Books (Oct 2012) | Paperback, 352 pages Sci-Fi Romance Ok… so… WOW. What do you mean that’s not enough???? Oooh.. ok, so you want some details. Fair enough. Here comes the why. For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you will already know that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not only is it a brilliant new concept, but the chemistry between the two main characters is great, and you really get a fabulous idea of the world in which it all…
HAUNTED LEGENDS by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas PUBLISHER: Tor Books RELEASE DATE: 14 September 2010 FORMAT: Paperback, 352 pages GENRE: Horror Darkly thrilling, these twenty new ghost stories have all the chills and power of traditional ghost stories, but each tale is a unique retelling of an urban legend from the world over. Multiple award-winning editor Ellen Datlow and award-nominated author and editor Nick Mamatas recruited Jeffrey Ford, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, Kit Reed, Ekaterina Sedia, and thirteen other fine writers to create stories unlike…
Ironskin (IronSkin #1) by Tina Connelly Tor Books (Oct 2012) | Hardback, 304 pages Fantasy YA I will admit that with Ironskin I fell into the trap of judging a book by its cover. I came across this novel completely by chance on NetGalley and requested an early copy purely based on the beautiful front cover. Lucky for me I was not let down and I was completely engrossed in the story of Jane Eliot from the first few pages and could not put it down. Ironskin is a well-rounded fusion of…
