...in May 2009. I am currently fighting off some kind of cold/virus/flu and could really do with something shiny to cheer me up. So yeah, a bit earlier than I'd planned to post it, here are some May 2009 releases that I can't wait to get my hands on. It's an interesting collection: Debut authors alongside established adult urban fantasy writers dipping their toes into the rich depths of YA fiction for the first time. And a fun looking anthology with some amazing authors. Only a couple of months to go... (All blurbs taken from Amazon or the various author websites.)


DULL BOY by Sarah Cross:

Sometimes I wish I didn't care what would happen if anyone knew the truth about me. But I do care. I have to keep this - super strength, flying - a secret. No one can know - not my parents, not my friends... It's just that it's getting harder to hide it.

Superpowers are awesome - unless you actually have them, like Avery does. There's only so much he can pass off as "adrenaline" before people start to get suspicious. Probably it's best to lie low, so guys in white lab coats don't come to carry him away, to find out what makes his freakish body tick. Who wants to be vivisected? But flying under the radar becomes a whole lot harder when you can actually fly. It's dangerous to be different, so for now he'll pretend to be normal, unremarkable Avery - a dull boy - anything to keep his secret safe.

What he doesn't expect is the horrifying truth about where his powers came from, who else might have them, and the madness of one villain's plan to turn this superpowered dull boy into something even more powerful and amazing.
--


Once Dead, Twice Shy (first in the Madison Avery series) by the great Kim Harrison. From the author's website:

"Once Dead, Twice Shy is my foray into Young Adult, and because this is my favorite audience to write for, I have hopefully given it just as many surprising plot twists as I do in my adult work. If you want a sneak peek, there is a novella in the anthology, Prom Nights from Hell."
--


Strange Angels by urban fantasy author Lilith Saintcrow, writing as Lili St. Crow:

Dru Anderson has been “strange” for as long as she can remember. She travels from town to town with her father, hunting the things that go bump in the night and eat the unwary. It’s a weird life, but a good one–until it all explodes and a zombie busts into her new house.

Alone, terrified, and trapped in an icy town, Dru’s going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. Can she trust the boy who is just a little too adult–and just happens to get bit by a werwulf? Or the strange blue-eyed boy who tells her she’s heir to a long-forgotten power? Can she even trust her own instincts?

Because Dru is not the first in her family to be killed by the darkness of the Real World. The monsters have decided to hunt back–and now Dru has to figure out who to trust, who to fight, and when to run. And not incidentally, she has to figure out how she’s going to get out of this alive.

And she has to do it in the next 24 hours, or it’s all over…
--


Swoon by Nina Malkin:

Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him—but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent—and irresistible—adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him.
--


Vacations From Hell by Libba Bray, et al:

Life's a beach . . . and then you're undead?

In this must-have collection, five of today's hottest writers—Libba Bray (A Great and Terrible Beauty), Cassandra Clare (City of Bones), Claudia Gray (Evernight), Maureen Johnson (13 Little Blue Envelopes), and Sarah Mlynowski (Bras & Broomsticks)—tell supernatural tales of vacations gone awry. Lost luggage is only mildly unpleasant compared to bunking with a witch who holds a grudge. And a sunburn might be embarrassing and painful, but it doesn't last as long as a curse. Of course, even in the most hellish of situations, love can thrive...

From light and funny to dark and creepy, these stories have something for everyone. You definitely won't want to leave this collection at home!
--

I love all these covers, too. Especially SWOON, a book that's a bit of a mystery to me - I can't remember where I first came across it but it looks really interesting. And DULL BOY's cover is super-cool (of course!). STRANGE ANGELS is a book I'm particularly looking forward to; I love Lili's writing anyway, so I can't wait to see what she does with YA urban fantasy.

Three books: one YA, one adult and one that seems somewhere in between...

It's no surprise that I've got my eye on this one:



THE AWAKENING by Kelley Armstrong - Book 2 in the 'Darkest Powers' YA trilogy. I really can't wait for this!

But here are two debut series I only just discovered:



SOME GIRLS BITE by Chloe Neill

They killed me. They healed me. They changed me.

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago's vampires announced theirexistence to the world-and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker... and this one decided the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead.

Turns out my savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now I've traded sweating over my thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan "Lord o' the Manor" Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four hundred year old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects my gratitude-and servitude. Right...
But my burgeoning powers (all of a sudden, I'm surprisingly handy with some serious weaponry), an inconvenient sunlight allergy, and Ethan's attitude are the least of my concerns. Someone's still out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival House? An angry mob bearing torches?

My initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war-and there will be blood...

This looks interesting because the main character is a grad student - maybe we have a potential series that straddles the YA/adult genres? It's the first 'Chicagoland Vampires Novel' and there's already cover art for Book 2 on the author's website.



SINS & SHADOWS by Lyn Benedict

Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual, in a world where magic is real—and where death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you.

But when an employee is murdered in front of her, Sylvie has had enough. After years of confounding the dark forces of the Magicus Mundi, she’s closing up shop—until a man claiming to be the God of Justice wants Sylvie to find his lost lover.

And he won’t take no for an answer.

With cover quotes from Carrie Vaughn and the lovely (and talented!) Kat Richardson (katatomic), I'd expect this to be a good read. I like the cover - it's got a brilliant noir feel to it - but I'd never heard of this book until it came up on Amazon in that bit that recommends books like the ones you're viewing. It says it's the first in the 'Shadows Inquiries' series. I can't find an author website, so I'm wondering if this is the author's real name - anyone know more about the series?

The south-east of England had its heaviest snowfalls in 18 years overnight. Waking up to several inches of snow is something I'm not used to - I know many of my friends in some areas of the US would laugh at this, but for me it's a novelty. :) I was in Boston one winter, and we got snowed in with flight delays due to heavy snow - and yes, I admit our snow in London today is not on that level. But, still! Snow! In London... Pretty, but cold...


[image taken from the BBC news website]

A plane slipped off the runway at Heathrow after landing, so there's a real downside to how pretty it all looks. But on a more cheerful note, someone on BBC radio this morning referred to the weather as a "snow event" - a new term has been coined... Snow event?! *snort* :D My cats, at least, seem to be enjoying the snow event - well, one of them is. Felix loves it and is crazily running and diving into mini-snowdrifts. Logan, however, is not so impressed and is struggling with his three legs. :( Poor Logan. He's happier indoors, watching his brother making a spectacle of himself.

Anyway. Onto other things, today marks the release week of Rachel Vincent's PRIDE. It's the third book in her werecats series, and advance word says it could very well be the best. I have a copy right here on my shelf so I'll let you know. ;)



Happy release day, Rachel!

Okay, I'd better get back to revisions. It's perfect weather to be tucked up inside with my laptop. Luckily, I'm not due to start my new job until Wednesday...

From Amazon:

"A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn… Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above."

Oooh... How brilliant does that sound? I love The Twelve Dancing Princesses. And what a beautiful cover! It just came out in hardback, but the question is: should I buy it now, or wait for the paperback? *sigh*

I am so, so lucky! A children's bookseller acquaintance came by Murder One today and gave me two incredible ARCS. I was so happy that I hugged her - possibly taking both of us by surprise, as I don't really know her that well. *g* But, bless her! She remembers me babbling on about how much I love Melissa Marr's work, so she dropped in an ARC of this:


(April 2009)

And as a wonderful bonus, she also gave me an ARC of Sarah Rees Brennan's forthcoming debut:


(June 2009)

*faints with book-joy*

But I'm going to be disciplined. I will not start either of these until I've finished with my CP's manuscript. And then I will have my reward... Seems like 2009 is looking up! :)

Before God created the earth as we know it, the planet was home to a race of monsters. In order to prepare for humans, He either banished or killed most of these natives creatures; but those who remain in exile have not forgotten. One ancient tale encourages their vengeance, speaking of an angel with the power to wipe out a quarter of the world's population. Together, the old ones form a plot to catch this being and use him to reassert their reign.

But not every prophecy is a promise.

Scattered throughout the globe a handful of unwilling heroes are preparing to intervene. One of these sits frozen in stone, mistaken for a statue and abandoned in a courtyard for eighty years. Though Nia finds it difficult to believe, that strange prison was her rescue--a cocoon that transformed and protected her until her story could truly begin.

Fathom is an unapologetic mix of horror and urban fantasy that will appeal to fans of both genres. The resulting book is a sexy biblical monster story that will hold the attention of readers who appreciate a good fairy tale with an unusual point of view.
(From: Fantastic Fiction)

I received my copy of this beautiful hardback today, and can hardly wait to read it. I love the premise, and have heard wonderful things about Cherie Priest's latest novel. Sounds like something of a departure for her - monsters and fairy tales and vengeful angels... Fabulous, in all senses of the word! :)