Hidden Legacy Continues!

Sometimes, the simplest things can just make your day. This is one such little thing.

Last week, while I was on a scan through Amazon, I saw that Ilona Andrews had a new listing – for “Untitled Hidden Legacy Novella #1“. Since I got my hands on the first book way back when, Hidden Legacy immediately became one of my absolute favorite series. Let’s put it this way – if I could only recommend one series to everyone from now on, it would be this one. So a novella was a welcome sight.

And I would’ve been happy with just the novella, but then the even better news hit. Behold!

“Three more novels in Ilona Andrews‘ Hidden Legacy series, focusing on the emerging powers and personalities of previously-introduced House Baylor family members, for publication starting in fall 2019, plus a novella to bridge the gap, published by Avon Impulse in November 2018, to Erika Tsang at Avon, by Nancy Yost at Nancy Yost Literary Agency (world).”

This is so, so good. I am happy to get a bit more of Connor and Nevada, and I am equally happy to get stories from other characters, too. There is so much potential, so many ways this could go. Connor and Nevada’s story is far from played out – I could honestly see several more books from their POV. But then the side characters like Augustine and Catalina would be great to read about, too. Ideally, I would love to see Hidden Legacy work something like Nalini Singh‘s Guild Hunter series – a story for the main couple, then a book or two from other characters, then back to the original couple. Best of both worlds that way.

Anyone else completely happy about this news? How would you like to see the second part of Hidden Legacy play out?

 

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Archangel’s Prophecy Cover Reveal

Today is a pretty good day, honestly. Not only did I kindly get sent an ARC of Nalini Singh‘s upcoming Psy-Changeling release, Ocean Light (yes!), but it is also the reveal day for the cover of her next guild Hunter book, too. Archangel’s Prophecy is a return to Raphael and Elena’s side of the story, and it will be released on October 30th.

Synopsis…

Midnight and dawn, Elena’s wings are unique among angelkind…and now they’re failing. The first mortal to be turned into an immortal in angelic memory, she’s regressing. Becoming more and more human. Easier to hurt. Easier to kill.

Elena and Raphael must unearth the reason for the regression before it’s too late and Elena falls out of the sky. Yet even as they fight a furious battle for Elena’s very survival, violent forces are gathering in New York and across the world.

In China, the Archangel Favashi is showing the first signs of madness. In New York, a mysterious sinkhole filled with lava swallows a man whole. In Africa, torrential monsoon rains flood rolling deserts. And in Elena’s mind whispers a haunting voice that isn’t her own.

This time, survival may not be possible…not even for the consort of an archangel.

The cover is once again from Tony Mauro, and I think it is a beauty. I do love the covers from this series, and it kind of makes me wish I still had the print versions to look at. Sometimes.

Are you looking forward to this one? Whose story would you like to see up next?

Covers and Blurbs

This is sort of a mash-up post of some recently released covers and blurbs. A big one is the official reveal of the first Night Rebel cover from Jeaniene Frost, Shades of Wicked. This one isn’t as epic as the Night Huntress books, but since it is Ian’s story, I will take what I can get. This one will be released on October 30th.

Blurb:

The Rule Breaker

Master vampire Ian is unrepentant, shameless…and every shade of wicked. He’s made one too many enemies in his two centuries of existence, including Dagon, a demon who now lays claim to his soul. Ian’s only chance to escape Dagon is to join forces with a Law Guardian, but he’s never been able to abide by the rules for long.

The Law Maker

Veritas’ normal role is police, judge and jury to reprobates like Ian. But she has her own ax to grind with Dagon, so if she can use Ian as bait…well, all’s fair in law and war. As they scour supernatural hotspots to perfect their trap, Veritas soon realizes Ian’s devil-may-care, roguish image hides something much more powerful. And Ian discovers that Veritas has shocking secrets of her own. As they’re drawn to each other with a passion as intense as their peril, either love or justice will prevail. But each will have devastating consequences…

And it hasn’t been long since I have dipped a toe back into previous favorite author Christine Warren, but so far, so good. Her next Alphaville book will be called Your Lion Eyes, and it will be out on December 4th.

Blurb:

Molly Buchanan is a lioness on the prowl. Unfortunately, since she’s been prowling through the same town for her entire life, she’s down to some pretty slim pickings in the dating department. But the minute she sets eyes on the new bachelor in town, her lioness starts to purr and plans to do some serious rubbing up against Grady Emerson.

Newly arrived in Alpha, Washington, Grady just wants to settle in and do his job as the town’s newest deputy. But even this rogue-bear sheriff knew Molly Buchanan was trouble the minute he laid eyes on her. She might be smoking hot, sharp as a tack, and funny as hell, but she is also his friend’s younger sister, and there are some things a good man just doesn’t do-no matter how much his bear might want to devour her.

On the blurby side of things, there have been two biggies released recently. First up is Nalini Singh‘s Archangel’s Prophecy. It looks like this one will be a return to Raphael and Elena’s story, and it will be released on October 30th.

Blurb:

Midnight and dawn, Elena’s wings are unique among angelkind…and now they’re failing. The first mortal to be turned into an immortal in angelic memory, she’s regressing. Becoming more and more human. Easier to hurt. Easier to kill.

Elena and Raphael must unearth the reason for the regression before it’s too late and Elena falls out of the sky. Yet even as they fight a furious battle for Elena’s very survival, violent forces are gathering in New York and across the world.

In China, the Archangel Favashi is showing the first signs of madness. In New York, a mysterious sinkhole filled with lava swallows a man whole. In Africa, torrential monsoon rains flood rolling deserts. And in Elena’s mind whispers a haunting voice that isn’t her own.

This time, survival may not be possible…not even for the consort of an archangel.

And there is a bit more info on Gena Showalter‘s upcoming Gods of War series. The first book will be called Shadow and Ice, and it has a release date of October 23rd.

Blurb:

Knox of Iviland has spent his life competing in the All Wars, where vicious warriors with supernatural powers fight to the death to claim new realms. One winner takes everything—and all losers die. Enslaved as a child for his ability to control shadows, the most ruthless champion in history will stop at nothing to kill his king. But first he must win the battle for Earth. When a fearsome weapon imprisons every combatant in ice, centuries pass without progress…until she walks in.

Vale London craves a fun arctic getaway with her foster sister before settling down to open a bakery. Street-tough but vulnerable, she is unprepared to find ancient gods escaping a frozen cave—merciless beings who target her when she inadvertently enters their war.

Though Vale is now his enemy, Knox is consumed with lust and a fierce need to protect her. But only one combatant can prove victorious, and he will have to choose: live for freedom, or die for love.

There you have it, a few upcoming releases to look forward to.

This and That

I don’t know if I have enough info to do a full “this and that” updating post, but then it might be nice to have something that is under a million rambling words, right?

• Let’s start with site stuff. You might notice that I did pull some of the character guides that were either obsolete or very out of date with no hope of being updated. That said, I did keep a copy of them all and I can email any of them to anyone who needs them. That includes The Chronicles of Nick, White Rabbit Chronicles, Angels of the Dark, and The Midnight Breed guides. Just send me an email if you need any of them.
• Christine Feehan‘s release schedule has been updated a bit to include dates for the next Leopard People and Torpedo Ink books. Leopard’s Run will be released on October 30th, and Torpedo Ink #2 will be out on January 3rd.
• There is a little teaser synopsis for Gena Showalter‘s new Gods of War series up on Amazon. The first book is called Shadow and Ice, and it will be released on October 30th…

“After being trapped in an ice prison for centuries, a group of otherworldly immortals have finally broken free. In a bid to rule the earth, their fight to the death resumes, and the whole world becomes a gladiator arena. But this time, these savage warriors will risk more than their lives and the survival of their realms; they’ll also risk their hearts.”

• Ilona Andrews had a competition over on their blog to pick the name of the newest Innkeeper Chronicles story featuring Maud and Arland. The winning title was Sweep of the Blade. They also did an interesting Q&A session over there, as well. If you pour over the questions, there is some good news (they are in talks with Avon for more Hidden Legacy books) and some not so great news (it doesn’t seem like there will be any more Derek-and-Julie stories). But I will take what I can get.
• Shades of Wicked from Jeanine Frost has gone up for pre-order on Amazon, which makes it a real thing in my world. It is also showing a hardcover release, which is news to me, but I will keep an eye out for more info.
• I had mentioned in a previous post that J.R. Ward will be starting a new contemporary series early next year that will feature firefighters. Turns out the title of the first book will be Consumed.
• The next Argeneau Vampires book from Lynsay Sands will be called Vampires Like It Hot, and it will be released on September 25th.
• October 30th is shaping up to be a pretty epic release day. According to Amazon.com, Nalini Singh‘s next Guild Hunter book is due out then, as well, and it will be called Archangel’s Prophecy. No clue on whose story it is as yet, though.
• Mercy Thompson #11 from Patricia Briggs will be called Storm Cursed, and it will be released next March. I had seen a listing somewhere showing the Tom and Moira spin-off book as a September 2017 release, but I can’t find it now. I don’t think I was dreaming it, but who knows at this point?
• I’m really hoping this is a misprint, but it looks like we might have quite a wait for the next Elder Races story from Thea Harrison. Lionheart is showing a December 2018 release. I haven’t come across anything else in progress, either. Have you heard what Thea has on the go? Is there another story due out before Lionheart? If not, that is an 18 month period between releases, which seems odd to me.
• And finally, the second Lowtown book from Lindsay J. Pryor now has a title. Rogue will be released on November 22nd.

Yeah, I had more than enough for the post. Have you heard of anything coming up in the PNR/UF world? Any new releases you are really anticipating?

 

Ocean Light Cover and Blurb

I was making my usually daily rounds, looking for something that might be interesting enough to post, when the light-bulb went on and I remembered it was the big reveal day for Nalini Singh‘s Ocean Light. Didn’t take me long to get my e-butt over there to see, either.

Synopsis…

Security specialist Bowen Knight has come back from the dead. But there’s a ticking time bomb in his head: a chip implanted to block telepathic interference that could fail at any moment—taking his brain along with it. With no time to waste, he should be back on land helping the Human Alliance. Instead, he’s at the bottom of the ocean, consumed with an enigmatic changeling…

Kaia Luna may have traded in science for being a chef, but she won’t hide the facts of Bo’s condition from him or herself. She’s suffered too much loss in her life to fall prey to the dangerous charm of a human who is a dead man walking. And she carries a devastating secret Bo could never imagine…

But when Kaia is taken by those who mean her deadly harm, all bets are off. Bo will do anything to get her back—even if it means striking a devil’s bargain and giving up his mind to the enemy…

I have to admit, I would’ve bet good money that this one was going to focus on Malichi and/or Miane, but this works for me, too. I thought maybe Kaia had been introduced in Stefan’s novella, but she isn’t listed. I did find out I am a book behind on the guide, though. Yay…

But onto the good stuff. Cover? Me like. I wasn’t thrilled when they changed the design a couple of books back, but they are growing on me – and the color is pretty. Looking forward to Bo’s story, and what sounds like a return to Alaris. I thought the underwater station was intriguing, and it is a good way to turn the focus onto the water changelings.

Pick of the Week

I know that you are probably all pretty sure that my pick of the week would be Archangel’s Viper from Nalini Singh, right? Ha! I am going in another direction completely and picking the stand-alone re-release of Dark Swan. As much as I liked both the Alien Huntress and Otherworld Assassin series from Gena Showalter, the character whose story I most wanted was Dallas. Always Dallas. Years went by, and still, no Dallas. And then the series seemed to suddenly end – without Dallas’s story ever being told. But out of the blue last year, Gena announced a novella to be published in the Blood Red Kiss anthology with Kresley Cole and Larissa Ione – featuring Dallas. All of that means that Dark Swan is my pick of the week – and I am grateful for it.

Synopsis…

The Alien Huntress series is back with fan favorite AIR agent Dallas Gutierrez from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling paranormal romance author Gena Showalter, who doesn’t disappoint with this sizzling hot alpha hero.

Lilica Swan isn’t quite human or otherworlder; she is the best—and worst—of both.

She is willing to do whatever proves necessary to save her sister from the seductive and deadly Alien Investigation and Removal agent, Dallas Gutierrez, even bonding her lifeforce to his by effectively marrying him. But the bond will fade without consummation. Can Dallas resist his insatiable desire for the powerful beauty? Or will she lead to his ultimate downfall?

Have you ever completely given up on ever getting a story only to get it years later? Was it worth the wait?

Archangel’s Viper Review

The wait is almost over. This Tuesday is the official release date for Archangel’s Viper, the next book from Nalini Singh‘s Guild Hunter series. Doug Meeks was kind enough to send over his review, and since I was lucky enough to get an early copy myself, I can say that my thoughts are pretty much the same.

What Doug said…

The Guild Hunter series is one of my favorites of all the dozens that I read but the problem is that I want every one of them to be exceptional, amazing and near perfect 5 Star novels, sadly that is not reality.

This novel is more cerebral in nature, it is a very complex relationship that careens throughout most of the novel. The nice thing is that when you have a writer with the amount of talent that Nalini Singh has even passages that would be dull in another authors hands are still interesting and hold my attention.

The relationship between Venom and Holly is filled with snark and a bit of dislike on her part of a goodly part of the book, obviously it becomes more of a romance later in the book but it took much longer than I would have expected and was almost to the point of being irritating.

The lack of almost any action other than Holly trying not to lose herself to the thing Uram made her into, made this a bit of an oddity in this action oriented series. If you are looking for bodies piling up in battles, this book will not fulfill those desires, it is possibly the most “quiet” book in the series but still the story held my interest and was satisfying at the end.

Bottom line: While this was another great book in the series it falls slightly under the bar I use for 5 Stars in this series and I admit a slight bias against any of the books that do not have a large does of Raphael and Elena. This book is 90+% just Venom and Holly but the lack of action and the almost total absence of Raphael and Elena makes me give it a 4 Star rating this time around. Anyone who thinks this means this was not a great book needs a class on reading comprehension.

 

September’s Book of the Month

I know this was pretty much a formality, but Nalini Singh‘s Archangel’s Viper is September’s book of the month. I read this one a couple of months back, but I am ready for a re-read, too. I think the bigger story is that J.D. Robb‘s Secrets in Death came in at #2 – it is the 45th freakin’ book in the series. Forty. Fifth. And more popular than ever. Blows my mind.

Synopsis…

Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it’s not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman—it’s the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite.

Now, someone has put a bounty on her head…

Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael’s private guard, and he’s as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly’s. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself—because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening…

No one is safe.

I was surprised by how much I liked Holly. I mean, of course I expected to love the book, but I am really bitchy when it comes to female leads. It isn’t rare for me to like a story in spite of the heroine rather than because of her, but Holly made this book for me. I am still getting a Bluebell/Sparkle vibe, maybe not as strong as before, but it is still there – and I am still hoping I am wrong. I haven’t read many M/m stories – maybe two? One for Blay and Qhuinn (BDB), one for Caspion and Mirceo (IAD). I ended up enjoying them both, but I wasn’t as invested in their characters as I am Illium and Aodhan, either. We shall see, I guess.

Mark the Calendar

Yes. Mark the date…

The next Psy/Changeling Trinity novel by Nalini Singh will be called Ocean Light. According to Amazon.uk, it will be released on June 28th, 2018.

So, pretty much guaranteed it is a BlackSea-centric book, right? Malachi and Miane? Leila and…Bo? Let the guesswork begin!

Book of the Month

Some months it can be a bit of a struggle to find 10 interesting books, but September has almost too many. There are a couple of really big releases, and a bunch of “smaller” ones that look just as good. Time to vote and see what book will be chosen as the book of the month for September. If none of the titles listed below appeal, just select “Other” and leave your choice in the comments section. A complete list of September’s releases can be found HERE.

 

I have already read Nalini Singh‘s Archangel’s Viper, and there are quite a few more that might be finding their way onto my ipad, too. Not so sure how excited I am for Christine Feehan‘s Dark Legacy, though – I have completely lost track of the characters and storyline at this point. And I am pretty sure a re-read of the series isn’t in the cards, either.