A Patch of Darkness (Sierra Fox, #1) Yolanda Sfetsos
All it takes is one weak seam for everything to fall apart.
In a perfect world, Sierra Fox would have stayed away from the Council she left years ago. But in this world—where spirits have the right to walk among the living—it’s her job to round up troublesome spooks and bring them before that very same Council.
Though her desk is piled high with open cases, she can’t resist an anonymous summons to a mysterious late-night meeting with a bunch of other hunters, each of whom seems to have a unique specialty. The news is dire: something is tearing at the fabric of the universe. If the hunters can’t find who or why in time, something’s going to give in a very messy way.
As current cases, family secrets, new clues and her tangled love life slowly wind themselves into an impossible knot, Sierra finds herself the target of a power-sucking duo intent on stealing her mojo. And realizing she holds the key to the last hope of sealing the widening rift.
A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix (YA)
As Dead As It Gets (Bad Girls Don’t Die, #3) by Katie Alender (YA)
Bare-Naked Lola (A Lola Cruz Mystery #3) by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez
Edge of Light by Cynthia Justlin
Gilt by Katherine Longshore (YA)
Guarding Jess by Shannon Curtis
I Couldn’t Love You More by Jillian Medoff
Immortal Hearts (Vampire Kisses, #9) by Ellen Schreiber (YA)
Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole (YA)
Lustfully Ever After: Fairy Tale Erotic Romance, ed. Kristina Wright (anthology)
Murder in Miami (The Cuban Trilogy, #2) by Noel Hynd
Nailed to the Wall by Jayne Rylon
Railsea by China Miéville (YA)
Smoke (Lydia Strong, #4) by Lisa Unger (YA)
The Siren’s Song (Romancing the Pirate #3) by Jennifer Bray-Weber
…and all was quite on the bookish front. ^_^ This particular week is certainly bringing a softer wave of releases, and the majority of them are in young adult and middle grade categories. There is somewhat of a genre range throughout the YA selections, from urban fantasy to science fiction to realistic fiction to fantasy.
I’ve been long waiting for A Patch of Darkness (new urban fantasy series with a kick-butt heroine–yay!!!) But one book’s premise caught me by total surprise, in a great way: Railsea by China Miéville. Talk about a new and original premise–the book description felt a little bit like reading the poem “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll. ^_^ Twisted and imaginative, that is!
Any surprises or last-minute additions to your TBR list this week? What does it take for you to take serious notice of a book via its description and or cover (without a recommendation)?
Nope, no books for me on this list. I rarely buy new authors anymore based purely on cover and blurb, I need some kind of review on my favourite blogs. I do autobuy books from authors I have read and liked/loved before though, without thinking about it.
Nothing for me this week either. I’m saving up for some June releases that I really want!
Dragons. If the book has a dragon on the cover, I WILL consider it.
More generally, I notice interesting and unique covers. The more it stands out from the pack, the more likely I am to pick it up. A Patch of Darkness screams “generic urban fantasy.” I’m not opposed to it. The font is nice. If I have time, or see it at the grocery store, I’ll look into it further.
Railsea, however, is eyecatching. I love the font, I love the art….I don’t love that it’s YA China Mieville (hated Un Lun Dun. Though I did buy it based almost entirely on it’s cover. Which is gorgeous).
Nothing’s singing to me this week, but I’m kind of in a reading funk right now so it may just be me. I’ve got some good stuff coming out at the end of the month so I think I can hold out ’til then.
The Unger book looked interesting, but it’s part of a series and they’re all a bit too costly to take a risk on. (There are a lot of new mysteries coming out from authors I like, but the prices on those are absolutely outrageous. I’ve wish listed them to check on whether the prices come down enough. If not, I may just drop some of those authors/series forever. Too many other things in TBR pile to lose sleep over them.)
For a new author/series? I like to have some recommendations. Cover art can sometimes cause me to take a closer look at something, but I’m much less swayed by it than I used to be. (A lot of the time, you don’t even get the artwork with the ebook versions–yet another reason why they should be cheaper.)
I want to like China Mieville. . . but I just can’t seem to manage it. Even tho the Moby Dick premise is interesting, I won’t allow myself to be sucked in (again).