Best Book of August 2010

I have a problem. I don't think I can pick one book for August! Of course, this happens to me every month so why am I surprised? Decisions, decisions... Check out what's after the jump to see what I picked.

Book Blogger Hop (3), September 3-6, 2010

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books.com! In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!

This week's question: Do you judge a book by its cover?

Unfortunately, yes. But not always! Sometimes it's pretty obvious what a book is about based on its cover, other times not. The book I'm about to read, Tempest Rising, has a strange cover.

Would you be able to guess that it's a PNR/UF crossover? I bought it because of the reviews and hype when it came out but if I had to make a decision based on the cover? I probably wouldn't have bought it. Book covers are there for a reason and like everything else, appearance is a big part of first impressions.

Have a great weekend!

Take a Chance on Karen Chance

This is the best thing I've heard, read, and seen all day: Karen Chance's fifth Cassie Palmer book has a title - Hunt the Moon - with a release date of June 2011 and there's an excerpt! I love this series and have been dying for some new Cassie and Pritkin action.

Check out Karen's website to read this excellent passage:  http://www.karenchance.com/books_huntthemoon.html

Review: Dark and Stormy Knights edited by P. N. Elrod

It was a dark and stormy knight, and nine dark defenders are about to embark upon a perilous quest...

They're the shadowy defenders of humanity - modern-day knights committing the darkest of deeds for all the right reasons. In this all-star collection, nine of today's hottest urban fantasy authors bring us thrilling, all-new stories of the supernatural brimming with magic, mystery, and mayhem.

An unlikely hero goes head-to-head with a ruthless cantrev lord in Jim Butcher's "Even Hand." Kate Daniels is called upon for bodyguard duty to protect Saiman, a shifter she trusts less than her worst enemy, in Ilona Andrews's "A Questionable Client." At all costs, Cormac must stop a vicious werewolf before it attacks again on the next full moon in Carrie Vaughn's "God's Creatures." And in Vicki Pettersson's "Shifting Star," Skamar reluctantly enlists the aid of her frustratingly sexy neighbor when she takes on a vengeful creature kidnapping young girls.

When everything's on the line, can these sinister guardians complete their missions and live to fight another day? Find out in Dark and Stormy Knights!

First off, here's the lineup in the order in which they are in the book:

"A Questionable Client" by Ilona Andrews
"Even Hand" by Jim Butcher
"The Beacon" by Shannon K. Butcher
"Even a Rabbit Will Bite" by Rachel Caine
"Dark Lady" by P. N. Elrod
"Beknighted" by Deidre Knight
"Shifting Star" by Vicki Pettersson
"Rookwood & Mrs. King" by Lilith Saintcrow
"God's Creatures" by Carrie Vaughn

I should say right up front that the reason I bought this book was pretty much all about the Ilona Andrews story. That the Jim Butcher story came with it was just gravy. The lineup is pretty impressive author-wise but story-wise? It falls a little short in that department.

"A Questionable Client" by Ilona Andrews - you can see what little I said about it HERE. Two months later, I was still working off my Ilona Andrews/Kate Daniels fix when I got this book. My expectations were pretty damn high for this background story about Kate and Saiman and I loved every word. (A)

"Even Hand" by Jim Butcher - Butcher does something here that I found to be refreshing and disappointing at the same time but I loved it nevertheless. Rarely do we, Butcher's faithful minions, get to see Harry Dresden from another's point of view, let alone a negative one. John Marcone is the main character here and I can tell I'm two books behind in this series because I thought things between Marcone and Harry were at a cease-fire. Apparently, they're not. Harry is not in "Even Hand" but he is on Marcone's mind. (A)

"The Beacon" by Shannon K. Butcher - this lady should stick to pararom and leave UF alone and I don't care if she is married to the UF master. I like her pararoms and have a trilogy of romantic suspense novels of hers to read as well but this story wasn't my favorite. (C)

"Even a Rabbit Will Bite" by Rachel Caine - I started this one but didn't finish it. (DNF)

"Dark Lady" by P. N. Elrod - Dick Tracy would have fit right in here. I don't think I've ever read any of Elrod's books and I'm pretty sure I would have remembered. She writes about a vampire who is living (pardon the pun) and running a bar in Chicago a few years after Prohibition. I kinda liked "Dark Lady," with  its white knight vampire and his haunted bar. It's okay, the ghost is a friendly one. (B)

"Beknighted" by Deidre Knight - another pararom author that I like who didn't impress me here. It felt like she started this one as a pararom and then slammed on the brakes just before the good stuff. (C)

"Shifting Star" by Vicki Pettersson - I didn't read this one because I'm two books behind in her Zodiac series. A few pages in and it was clear that I had no idea what was going on. (N/A)

"Rookwood and Mrs. King" by Lilith Saintcrow - this chick is one of my favorite authors because she's so quirky. Her blog and contributions on Deadline Dames are always well-written and entertaining yet informative and I never know what to expect from her. This short story has plenty of punch for forty or so pages. (A)

"God's Creatures" by Carrie Vaughn - a few years ago, I read Vaughn's first Kitty book and dropped her like a hot potato. That may have been a little hasty. It wasn't Vaughn's writing style that bothered me; rather, I was put off by the attitude of the werewolves. (I was probably semi-subconsciously comparing them to the pack mentality in Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series.) I wasn't familiar with Cormac since I don't remember him from Kitty and the Midnight Hour but I did like him. The plot here wasn't much to write home about - just one of Cormac's jobs - but I thought it was decently done. (B)

Our Most Anticipated Books of September

Here we are at the beginning of September already. This year is just speeding by! A new month means a new list of books releases coming out and our picks for what we’re looking forward to the most. Here we go...

Jen’s pick:

Experience the thrill of the hunt in the third October Daye urban fantasy novel.

October "Toby" Daye is a changeling-half human and half fae-and the only one who has earned knighthood. Now she must take on a nightmarish new challenge. Someone is stealing the children of the fae as well as mortal children, and all signs point to Blind Michael. Toby has no choice but to track the villain down-even when there are only three magical roads by which to reach Blind Michael's realm, home of the Wild Hunt-and no road may be taken more than once. If Toby cannot escape with the children, she will fall prey to the Wild Hunt and Blind Michael's inescapable power.

There aren’t many series out there that I actually keep up with but when I get a new Seanan McGuire book, I read it. These are not bookshelf riders folks! If you haven’t tried this particular author before and you like urban fantasy, give her a shot. Her Toby Daye series has been just awesome. Start with Rosemary and Rue, Toby’s first book. If you like something a little darker, try Seanan’s alter ego, Mira Grant, and her book Feed, book one in her Newsflesh Trilogy. I just downloaded this baby and plan to get to it very soon. An Artificial Night comes out on September 7th. Tybalt!!!

I would also like to mention Double Cross, Carolyn Crane’s second book in her Disillusionist series. I reviewed Mind Games in June and I loved that it was so different and provoking and thought it was such a good read that I preordered Double Cross too. I can’t wait to find out what Justine and Packard are going to do next. Double Cross comes out on September 28th.


Jane’s Pick:

Great picks Jen! I really need to move Rosemary and Rue and Mind Games to the top of my TBR pile. The book that I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this month is Lara Adrian's Taken by Midnight, the 8th book in the Midnight Breed series. I’m actually caught up on this series and plan on reading Brock’s story and soon as it lands in my mailbox. Here’s the blurb from the back cover.

At the Crossroads of death and desire, a woman tastes a pleasure no mortal is meant to survive...

In the frozen Alaskan wilderness, former state trooper Jenna Darrow survives an unspeakable breach of body and soul. But with her narrow escape comes an even greater challenge. For strange changes are taking place within her, as she struggles to understand, and control, a new hunger. To do so, she will seek shelter in the Boston compound of the Order, an ancient race of vampire warriors whose very existence is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the most mysterious of them all is Brock, a brooding, dark-eyed alpha male whose hands hold the power to comfort, heal...and arouse.

As she recovers under Brock’s care, Jenna finds herself drawn to the Order’s mission: to stop a ruthless enemy and it’s army of assassins from subjecting Earth to a reign of terror. Yet in spite of his resolve, a purely physical relationship without the strings soon binds Brock and Jenna together with a desire fiercer than life and stronger than death itself--until a secret from Brock’s past and Jenna’s own mortality challenges their forbidden love ultimate trial by fire.

Taken by Midnight will be released on September 28th. I highly recommend this series :)