By Patricia Donegan Shambhala, $16.00, 209 pages the irises- I break off a stem and go to my love -Kiyoko Uda Haiku, an old form of Japanese poetry, captures a single moment in a few short words. While the main focus is on capturing nature, there are many haiku’s that capture other events and emotions; [...]
By Rosemary Graham Viking Juvenile, $16.99, 296 pages When does intrigue cross the line into obsession? When does obsession become stalking? Rosemary Graham looks at first love in Stalker Girl. When Carly’s mom moves upstate to direct a summer camp, Carly spends her vacation working in the camp kitchen. She meets Brian, who divides his [...]
By Holly Black, Orson Scott Card, George R. R. Martin, Anne McCaffrey, Todd Lockwood Night Shade Books, $15.95, 499 pages This enchanting collection is a sampling of all things dragon; philosophy, magic, mechanism, environment, menu, subterfuge, climate, culture, and dragons as friends and protagonists. I met several old winged friends and made some new ones. [...]
By Violet Blue, Editor Cleis Press, $14.95, 209 pages Adding to the already-large collection of erotic anthologies to her name, editor Violet Blue has chosen the best in Sweet Love: Erotic Fantasies for Couples. Each story is a masterpiece—leaving behind dry, formulaic writing, and really working to bring creativity to our fingertips. These authors are [...]
By Nam Nguyen Kingfisher, $14.99, 48 pages Savage Safari contains the info on 16 African predators, the different African environments, ratings on the most dangerous animals and a fold out section on fantasy animals created with the best (or is it the worst?) of several African animals. With its illustrations, charts, text and imaginative fold-outs [...]
By Rachel Ferguson Bloomsbury Press, $14.00, 188 pages The Carne family – a widow and three daughters – live in 1930s London. Dierdre, a journalist in her twenties, is writing a novel. Katrine, also in her twenties, studies Drama. Shiel is young enough to have a governess – the distraught Miss Martin, ever befuddled by [...]
By Ilona Andrews Ace, $7.99, 384 pages Magic Bleeds is book four in the Kate Daniels series and it doesn’t disappoint. Kate Daniels works for the Order, a paranormal protection agency, as a liaison between them and the mercenary guild. She’s an appealing blend of toughness and vulnerability, and though her stubbornness can be frustrating, [...]
By Shari Cohen Little Five Star, $18.00, 64 pages It would take a pretty hard heart to not love Alfie’s Bark Mitzvah, the tale of one puppy’s special day when he grows to “doghood.” When I first read the title, I feared that this might be one of “those” children’s books – too cute by [...]
By Cath Crowley Knopf Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 265 pages A Little Wanting Song is exactly what it sounds like, a soft, melodic story about aching for more than we have and loving what we don’t expect ourselves to. Set in dusty Australia this unique young adult novel revels in the timeless angst of [...]
By Jacqueline K. Ogburn; Illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, $17.99, 32 pages In fairy tales and myths, one reads of a dragon or a mermaid, a minotaur or a unicorn, or some other fantastical beast. But have you ever wondered what you would call more than one of a kind? This [...]
By Tom Hinshelwood Thomas Dunne Books, $25.95, 325 pages In this book, the main character, Victor, who is a murder for hire, finishes a job and within a few minutes finds out that there’s a contract on him. Victor must figure out who would put out a contract on him while trying to elude several [...]
By Tracy and Laura Hickman DAW, $24.95, 368 pages Everyone knows the prophesy of the human that will one day break free of his elven oppressors and free the world of the cruel tyranny of the Rhonas Empire, but few think of it as anything more than a story. In fact, the elves’ Devotion spells [...]
By Steven Guarnaccia Abrams Books for Young Readers, $18.95, 32 pages Though Steven Guarnaccia’s classic pig tale begins with the expected “Once upon a time…,” his version puts a new spin on pigs, houses, and big bad wolves. The three pigs in question are, in this case, architects—Frank Gehry, Phillip Johnson, and Frank Lloyd Wright—and [...]
By Chris Bradford Hyperion Children’s, $16.99, 410 pages Author Chris Bradford knows how to hold a reader with riveting action from the first page to the last. In this five-star book, he sets up his story introducing Dealthstalkers, poisonous scorpions, and culminates it with 180 pages of death-defying action where you wonder how the hero, [...]
By Danny Tobey Atria, $25.00, 320 pages Jeremy Davis comes from a small city in Texas and graduates – first in his class – from a small college we’ve never heard about. Then to his surprise, he is accepted at the greatest law school in the world. At the school, Jeremy soon learns about the [...]
By Isabel Sharpe Avon A, $13.99, 300 pages Megan’s life is a carefully controlled mess; her marriage remains intact only because of her desire to do what’s best for her kids, and her friendships are all superficial at best. But this is what she has chosen, and she believes herself to be happy enough until [...]
