Upcoming releases 2010

List of books coming out in 2010 by favorite authors/in series that I’m currently reading:

Not complete, of course, just includes what I can find on Amazon.

Spy Glass (Glass series Book 3) by Maria V. Snyder: 2010 fantasy/adventure

Dragon Keeper (Volume One of the Rain Wild Chronicles) by Robin Hobb: January 2010 fantasy

Between Two Queens (Secrets of the Tudor Court) by Kate Emerson: January 2010 historical fiction

Black Magic Sanction (Rachel Morgan Book 8) by Kim Harrison: February 2010 urban fantasy/paranormal/mystery/detective

Fang (Maximum Ride Book 6) by James Patterson: March 2010 fantasy/adventure/YA

House Rules by Jodi Picoult: March 2010 fiction/literature

A Coven of Witches (Last Apprentice Book 7) by Joseph Delaney: April 2010 fantasy/horror/YA

Amazon Queen (sequel to Amazon Ink) by Lori Devoti: April 2010 urban fantasy/paranormal

The Red Queen (Cousin’s War series) by Philippa Gregory: August 2010 historical fiction

The Hunger Games Book 3 (no title yet) by Suzanne Collins: August 2010 fantasy/science fiction/YA

The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles Book 1) by Rick Riordan: May 2010 fantasy/adventure/YA

Early to Death, Early to Rise (Madison Avery Book 2) by Kim Harrison: May 2010 fantasy/horror/paranormal/YA

Olympian King (untitled Camp Half-Blood series) by Rick Riordan: August 2010 fantasy/adventure/YA

Total Eclipse (Weather Warden Book 9) by Rachel Caine: August 2010 urban fantasy/paranormal romance

Coming Up...

Thought I’d put a quick update on what I’m reading right now and what is currently on the bookshelf.

First, I’m currently reading Norse Code, an interesting adult paranormal novel with a fascinating re-imagining of Norse mythology. I also just finished Blue Moon by Alyson Noel (don’t even bother, it was really boring) and I’ve decided that I am done with Noel’s The Immortals series –no more please. I’m also getting ready to launch into Frank Herbert’s classic novel Dune. Mostly I’m reading it to appease some of my friends who keep telling me how awesome it is. I haven’t seen any of the movies or read any of the numerous sequels, so I’m starting completely from scratch on this one.

I’ll also be ordering this month’s batch of Amazon Vine books for review real soon – I just hope that there’s something good in there this time. Last month there were slim pickings (most likely due to the holiday) so I’m not too confident about this month’s choices. I may end up with stuff I’m not too interested in again –but hey, I can’t say no to a free book.

Aside from Amazon, I also have First Truth on deck –a young adult fantasy/adventure story written by Kim Harrison under pen name Dawn Cook. Since I’ve become such a big Rachel Morgan fan lately, I’m pretty excited to check out this series.

There are a couple of other things on my radar as well…Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall and Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap series, for starters. I’m also planning to post a list of books coming out in 2010 by my favorite authors/in my favorite series. This list isn’t complete, of course, just consists of what I can find on Amazon.

Neglecting the Blog???

Okay, so I haven't been posting much lately (sorry). I've been incredibly busy with my job, and have just posted most of my reviews to Amazon. Frankly, I don't have the time to backtrack, but I'll try to remember to include reviews on here when I can.

An Acoustic Night at the Theatre by Within Temptation

I wasn’t sure how I felt when Within Temptation announced the release of An Acoustic Night at the Theatre –yet another live album with alternative versions of previous songs. After hearing these songs on albums and live on Black Symphony, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear more of the same. I decided to try it out because I’m a hardcore WT fan –and was relatively happy with what I found.

Even though An Acoustic Night at the Theatre features songs we’ve all heard before, the acoustic spin was surprisingly enjoyable and gave songs a warmer, more intimate feel. I actually felt like I had some time to breath here, as opposed to Black Symphony, which was non-stop high-octane action from start to finish. An Acoustic Night at the Theatre also allowed for Sharon to show off just how beautiful her raw voice is (before studio production) and re-focus the energy of WT on her pure, angelic vocals.

I was, though, a little surprised (and slightly disappointed) by the track list here. Many of the songs chosen translated far too easily to acoustic since they were already slower paced, such as “Memories,” “Forgiven,” “Frozen,” “The Cross” and “All I Need.” I admit that I have to forgive the selection of “Somewhere” because I loved this version even more than the Black Symphony one –despite the fact that Anneke’s vocals were recorded. Something about it just felt warmer to me –stronger and more sincere.

Other songs took a greater risk. For example, “What Have You Done” was very interesting to hear acoustically; while “Caged” was a bold and strangely engaging choice (even though it sounds so completely different) and “Stand My Ground” just seemed to lose its punch (part of what I originally liked about this song was the power behind it).

The only truly new item here is “Utopia,” which was also released as a single. “Utopia” features a duet between Sharon and guest vocalist Chris Brown. While Sharon sounds as gorgeous as always, I wasn’t too excited about the song –it just didn’t have a unique sound to it and I found it to be kind of flat.

Generally, this CD is best for hardcore WT fans. While the songs sound a little warmer and more intimate (and are kind of a nice break after Black Symphony), they wouldn’t appeal much to casual listeners or those who are new to the band or genre (I suggest going right to The Heart of Everything for these folks). But I have to admit –Sharon sounds like an opera angel here and her voice is mesmerizing.

Passed 10,000 on Amazon!

It's been a while, but I've been incredibly busy settling into my new job, which is great.

I hope to have a few reviews up later this week or this weekend since I just got a couple more Blog Critics items and have been reading more books that I want to share my thoughts on. :)

Right now I'm incredibly excited that I finally broke 10,000 Classic Reviewer rank on Amazon. As of today, my rank is now 8,679 in Classic Reviewer and 1,227 in New Reviewer. I was also up to 88% Positive votes for a little while, but was bumped back down to 87% this weekend :(.

Ah well, at least I'm creeping up even higher every week! My goal is to break 6,000 by the end of the year -just got to get to writing more reviews!

Envy by Anna Godberson

Anna Godberson returns to the gilded world of The Luxe with her third novel, Envy. Envy picks up where Rumors left off and continues the back-stabbing, political adventures (and scandals) of a group of young socialites in turn-of-the-century New York.

Penelope successfully blackmailed Henry into marrying her at the end of Rumors, but the marriage is loveless. Henry still loves young Diana, who reciprocates his feelings in a tense, forbidden romance. Diana’s sister Elizabeth mourns the loss of her husband Will, and is forced to make a startling decision about her future. Meanwhile, Carolina’s star continues to rise due to her relationship with Penelope, but her good fortune starts to run out due to unexpected happenings.

This time around, there is considerably more focus on Penelope, whom I loved to hate, Diana, whom I started to genuinely root for and Carolina, whose sudden rise to power makes the series even more compelling. As opposed to both previous novels, Elizabeth and Henry were somewhat minimized which, I think, enriched the story. But every time these two characters came to the forefront, they added more fuel to the plot without unneeded fluff.

Envy takes The Luxe series to a completely new level. While it took me a little while to become engaged in the past two novels, Envy had me from the very beginning and wouldn’t let me go until the end-of-your-seat conclusion (warning: the ending has a big “To Be Continued” afterward, so if you don’t like cliffhanger-style endings, you may want to wait for the next book before reading this one).

Compared to the previous novels, Envy is filled with non-stop action, ferocious power games and great characters that had me flipping pages and left me ready to run out to the bookstore when the final book in the series, Splendor, comes out.

Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace by Kate Emerson

In the famous British court of Henry VIII, political games, ambition, secrets and lust are commonplace. Understanding these concepts and being able to utilize them is crucial. In the case of the Jane Popyncourt, secrets are a method of survival. After being brought to Henry VII’s court at a young age and under strange circumstances, Jane becomes the ward of the king and teaches his daughters, the Princesses Mary and Margaret, French. Jane grows up around the royal family, eventually installing herself as one of Princess Mary’s ladies and a spy for King Henry VIII. Jane’s life at court seems to be secure, until the mysterious secrets surrounding her past begin to resurface.

Kate Emerson’s Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace is another entry into the massive (and still growing) collection of historical fiction novels set in the dramatic, soap opera-like Tudor era. And it’s not a bad entry by any means –the writing is easy to understand, the characters are three-dimensional and enjoyable and many of the plot concepts in the novel are fascinating.

However, the interesting plot points seem to not come often enough. The book does move, but very slowly at times, making the action a little uneven. Also, I had some issues with Emerson’s playing with history. While I do understand that this is a historical fiction novel, some of the fiction just felt too forced when integrated with the history. I’m usually just fine with the fiction, but in The Pleasure Palace it seemed to cross a line –plus much of the dialog just felt too modern for me to feel completely engaged in the period. Overall an enjoyable and fun read, but there are better Tudor novels out there…

Fans of romantic Tudor era fiction may enjoy The Pleasure Palace, but those who are sticklers for historical accuracy should give it a miss…