In My Mailbox #6

 

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren. It's a way to share and highlight all the books we receive, even if we don't review them. l share books that I buy, that I receive for review, get from the library, borrow from a friend, etc.

From the Library

I haven't read Barb Hendee before but I've heard good things about her and I recently received the newest book in this series for review. I LOVED Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series so I am looking forward to starting her new YA series, of which Bloodlines is the first.

Purchased

I was browsing Paperbackswap.com and found this one. I hadn't read it, so I immediately ordered it.  

For Review/NetGalley

The first three are print books I received for review. Ashes of a Black Frost is the third book in The Iron Elves Trilogy, a traditional-style military fantasy. Deliciously Sinful is a contemporary erotic romance and Too Wicked to Wed is a historical romance. From NetGalley, I got Tricks of the Trade, the third book in Laura Anne Gilman's Paranormal Scenes Investigations series. I have a mad girl crush on Laura Anne, she is an awesome writer, and she even loves cats, lol.

Those are the highlights of what I received, how about you? What did you get?

Meet Rachel Caine and Win Some Swag

To celebrate the release of LAST BREATH, the 11^th book in the New York Times bestselling Morganville Vampires series, Rachel Caine is throwing a

“Welcome to Morganville Bash” in a city near you!

Readers who purchase books at the store will be eligible to win free raffle bags filled with notebooks, pencils, vampire swag, books and other cool Penguin gear goodies!  

There will also be free goodies for everyone who attends. 

Come to the bookstore, meet Rachel Caine, have your books signed, and participate in a raffle drawing to receive cool prizes! 

November 1, 3 p.m. ET

Live online launch event for LAST BREATH! 

You can see and hear Rachel LIVE by logging in to Project Paranormal's Facebook Page (click the Author Interview tab) - ask her questions live on the air! You'll also get a tour of her writing space, and maybe some wacky visitors. Who knows?

 

Wednesday, November 2^nd

MURDER BY THE BOOK

2342 Bissonett Street

Houston, TX  77005

6:30 PM

Thursday, November 3^rd

BARNES & NOBLE #2662

Oakview Mall

3333 Oakview Drive

Omaha, NE  68144

7 PM

*w/ Chloe Neill

Saturday, November 5^th

VEGAS VALLEY BOOK FESTIVAL

Historic Fifth Street School

401 S. 4th St

Las Vegas, NV  89101

10:15 a.m. Paranormal panel includes me plus Tera Lynn Childs, James Dashner, Bree Despain, Becca Fitzpatrick, Rachel Hawkins, Sophie Jordan and Veronica Wolff!

2:00 p.m. - Signing

7:00 p.m. - 

Paranormal Ball

ALL DAY

Sunday, November 6^th

BARNES & NOBLE #2614

Roseville

2100 North Snelling Ave

Roseville, MN  55113

2 PM

*w/ Chloe Neill and Andrea Cremer

Monday, November 7^th

BARNES & NOBLE #2808

5275 Harvery Street

Muskegon, MI  49444

7 PM

Tuesday, November 8^th

BARNES & NOBLE #2086

301 Main Street

Exton, PA  19341

6 PM

Wednesday, November 9^th

BARNES & NOBLE #2908

3454 Erie Boulevard East

Dewitt, NY  13214

7 PM 

Saturday, November 12^th

BARNES & NOBLE #2344

861 NE Mall Blvd

Hurst, TX  76053

3 PM  

Use this direct link for the most current event information

Excerpt from "Little Did I Know" by Mitchell Maxwell

Samuel August dreams of producing bigger-than-life musicals in the grand tradition of summer stock. It is the summer of 1976, an endless party for America's two-hundredth birthday is in full swing with young men and women recklessly coming of age under star-studded skies lit by orange neon moons.

Sam has just one summer to learn how to grow into the theatrical producer he aspires to be.

LITTLE DID I KNOW is a wild sexy romp of surprise, a boundlessly entertaining story that proves the only option in pursuing a life of meaning and consequence is to follow your heart. Published by Prospecta Press, released October 5, 2011.

Mitchell Maxwell is an accomplished producer, director and 35-year veteran of the entertainment industry, known for his ability to spot the next theatrical innovation. He is the visionary producer behind the percussive theatricality of Stomp!, the rollicking Broadway revival of Damn Yankees featuring the legendary Jerry Lewis – which was nominated for multiple Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical – and the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Dinner with Friends.  He has produced the Broadway musicals Play On!, Bells are Ringing (Tony-nominated for Best Revival of a Musical) Blues In The Night Tony Nominated as Best Musical) and Brooklyn.

Maxwell’s productions have been honored with nominations for 10 Tony Awards, 6 Olivier Awards, 15 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 9 Drama Desk Awards and 3 Obie Awards and have won in each category.  He directed the critically acclaimed Angry Housewives on London's West end and later off-Broadway, and produced the motion pictures and off-Broadway performances of Jeffery and Key Exchange.

Off-Broadway he developed Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy, and produced David Mamet's Oleanna, Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Scott Mc Pearson's Drama Desk winning Marvin's Room, - total 7 Broadway shows, more than 30 off-Broadway and regional productions, 4 National tours, 3 West End productions and 6 major motion pictures.  He has directed in New York, London and regionally, built 5 entertainment companies, and for over twenty years, owned and operated 3 off-Broadway theaters.

Maxwell attended Tufts University, where he later served as an adjunct professor, and has been a guest lecturer at Columbia and New York universities.

Read on for a brief excerpt from his book.  When you're done, go here for the next section.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She took a long drag on a Lucky Strike, stared as if through me, and suddenly asked with a giggle, “How many girls did you kiss tonight?”

            “Are you asking how many I kissed, or how many kissed me? I could give you the combined number if you like.”

            “I guess the later would suffice.”

            “If I tell you, you’ll hate me forever.”

            “Come on. I have some perverse need to know.”

            “Okay,” I said slowly. “Remember, though, that this is simply kissing, and we all know that tonight is like going to a kissing booth without having to pay the dollar.”

            “Yes, I recognize the unique nature of this evening.”

Interview With Broadway Producer & Author Mitchell Maxwell

Mitchell Maxwell is the visionary producer behind the rollicking Broadway revival of Damn Yankees featuring the legendary Jerry Lewis – which was nominated for multiple Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical – and the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Dinner with Friends. He has produced the Broadway musicals Play On! Bells are Ringing (Tony-nominated for Best Revival of a Musical), Blues in the Night (Tony Nominated as Best Musical), Brooklyn, and the percussive theatrical wonder, Stomp!

Maxwell helped bring these original and groundbreaking productions to life through a combination of audacious vision, bold creativity and the ability to spot potential that others missed. By embracing his dream, Maxwell actually lived it as he worked his way up from summer stock neophyte to Tony Award-winning producer.  He has recreated those heady, by-gone days in his new book LITTLE DID I KNOW (Prospecta Press, October 5, 2011) written in classic roman á clef style.  This is a coming-of-age tale filled with romance, laughter, heartbreak and applause about a young entrepreneur who sets the stage for fledgling artists while living a life so many aspire to but never realize.

Maxwell is the president, CCO and director of MCrew Media LLC, who has produced seven Broadway shows, more than 30 off-Broadway and regional productions, four national tours, three West End productions and six major motion pictures, including the Drama Desk winner Marvin’s Room, and the Tony- and Olivier-nominated international hit Blues in the Night. His productions have been nominated for – and won – every major theatrical award including the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Obie, Olivier and Ovation awards.

Please welcome Mitchell Maxwell to the Nook. 


Bea: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? 

Mitchell: YES BUT I CAN ONLY TELL YOU AFTER YOU HAVE READ THE NOVEL OTHERWISE IT WILL GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY

Bea: What is your favorite part of the writing process?  

Mitchell: SURPRISE AS TO WHERE MY CHARACTERS GO HOW THEY REACT  TO SITUATIONS AND HOW THEY GROW IN WAYS I NEVER IMAGINED.  I ALSO LIKE TO FIND NEW WORDS TO SAY THINGS IN A FRESH FASHION.

Bea: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

Mitchell: A BASEBALL STAR BUT I COULDN’T HIT A CURVEBALL.  TO FOLLOW MY PASSIONS.  TO LEAVE MY FINGERPRINT ON THE PLANET.  TO LISTEN AND TO CHANGE LIVES.  OFFER HELP PUT MY BELIEFS AHEAD OF MY WANTS.  TO SUCCEED.  TO FIND RESPECT RATHER THAN BE LIKED –IF I HAD TO CHOOSE.  TO FIND A FEW SPECIAL PERSONS WHO BELIEVED IN ME AND NOT DISAPPOINT THEM.   BE ME BUT WITH A LITTLE LESS ANYST, PERHAPS MORE HAIR AND A BIGGER SAVINGS ACCOUNT.

Bea: How much, and what kinds of, research went into creating this novel?  

Mitchell: VERY LITTLE, DATES, EXACT NAMES A BIT OF HISTORY BUT THIS BOOK IS MY EARLY COMING OF AGE DAYS AND WAS INSPIRED BY TRUTHS SO MY RESEARCH WAS TO REVIST MEMORY

Bea: Is there a specific element in your writing that you find most challenging?  

Mitchell: TO SAY THINGS TO THE READER THAT I FIND OF VALUE WITHOUT SOUNDING DIDACTIC.  TO KEEP THINGS FRESH AND HUMOROUS AND DESCRIPTIVE.  I AM NOT WRITING ABOUT BIG THINGS BUT IT IS THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE EACH LIFE SPECIAL AND MEMEORABLE.  I HOPE MY READERS WILL REMEMEBR SOMETHING A CHARACTER SIAD AND USE IT IN THEIR JOURNEY.  THAT WOULD BE SPECIAL.

Thank you Mitchell for taking the time to stop by and answer some questions.

Review of "Ashfall" by Mike Mullin

Publisher: Tanglewood Press

Release Date: October 11, 2011

Series: #1 in Ashfall series

Buying Links:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

Teaser: "Yeah...no." My sorrow dissolved in a wave of pure fury. What kind of place was this, where tens of thousands of people were herded together without adequate shelter, without decent latrines? A cattle pen, not fit for humans. And the guards, Captain Jameson, they were people just like me. For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn't taken our humanity. No, we'd given that up on our own.


My Thoughts: Mike Mullin, as you can see from the teaser above, pulls no punches. This is a dystopian novel and he really makes you feel it. At the beginning of the book, Alex lives a quiet life - he lives in a house in a small town in Iowa with his parents and sister, he attends public school, and enjoys computer games. The most exciting thing he does is take taekwondo classes. He's taken them for years and enjoys them, and at not quite sixteen he's earned a black belt. Then a volcano in Yellowstone Park blows and everything changes (BTW, the volcano is real, click here for more info). 

When the book starts, Alex is home alone. His parents and sister are away for the weekend, visiting his uncle Paul and his family in Illinois. Alex fought with his mother about going and was successful in his quest to stay home. That decision proves fateful. Alex is in his bedroom when there's an earthquake type rumble and the power goes out. That event is immediately followed by a cracking noise, the house falling, and his bedroom catching on fire. He manages to escape and takes refuge with some neighbors after his house burns down. He stays with them for several days and they learn that the supervolcano at Yellowstone blew and the affects are being felt all the way to the west coast in California and Oregon (click for a US map if you need a refresher or are unfamiliar with US geography).

For several days, the falling ash blocks the sun and the world is in near total darkness. The ash falls continually for about a week then falls more erratically after that. It's a rare day that goes by without ashfall. The fall has dumped from six inches to two feet, depending on location, topography, etc.The result is that crops have been buried, many killed off, the water supply in many areas is contaminated, power is out, phones are out, and there's little to no communication with the outside world. 

After a violent incident at the neighbor's house, Alex decides to find his family. He returns to the remains of his house, scrounges up supplies, and sets off to Illinois to find his family. Thus begins his trek. It's challenging, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The roads are covered, cars are buried in ash, many houses and buildings were destroyed in the eruption and people are terrified. Alex encounters people whose first reaction is to pull a shotgun and people who willingly share their home, water, and food. He also encounters people who, understandably, are inclined not to share but to hoard what they have for themselves. Alex himself discovers how far he is willing to go to save his supplies in an encounter with a little girl at shelter. Later, he redeems himself in a heartwrenching encounter with a mother and her young children. His companion, Darla, is more pragmatic and thinks his compassion will be the death of them. 

I rummaged through our pack. "What are you doing?" Darla whispered. "Making some dinner." "Alex, we should move on. Find another camp for tonight. We've helped them enough." ....."They don't have any food or water bottles. Who knows how long it's been since they've eaten." "And who knows how long 'til we'll eat again if you give away all our food." "I won't give it all away." "Where are we going to get more when we run out?" "I don't know.".....If all we did was what we should to survive, how were we any better than Target? I took out three water bottles and the frying pan....."She's right, you know. You don't owe us anything. You should keep your supplies."....."We might die because of all the stuff my stupid, softhearted boyfriend is leaving you. So don't you die, too.You take this stuff, and you keep yourself and your kids alive. You hear?" "I hear."

 Darla is not without compassion but she's eminently practical and a bit of a Darwinist. Alex is practical, resourceful and compassionate. He's willing to give people a chance but he's also capable and willing to defend both himself and what's his. Those taekwondo lessons he took come in very handy throughout the book.

 I loved this book and I don't love dystopian stories. I do like some forms of sci fi and I think this clearly falls in that category. Mullin did his research and it shows but at no time are we subjected to info dumps or long expository scenes that don't really quite fit into what's going on. He weaves it in so that we learn it as Alex learns it. The story is told in first person narrative and it works very well. We see through Alex's eyes and are in his head as he deals with surviving and finding his family. It happens to us, just as it happens to Alex. You feel like you're there.

Alex and Darla, a girl he meets on his trek who becomes his traveling companion, are very believable, and likable, teenagers. The adults are not all evil or nincompoops or incompetent but complex and detailed. We meet a wide range of characters and get a realistic look at how people react in a catastrophe. Mullin writes plainly and clearly, it's not fancy but it is very, very effective and he has a real knack for imagery. 

I remember a lot of those arguments. That Friday they only fueled my rage. Now they're little jewels of memory I hoard, hard and sharp under my skin. Now I'd sell my right arm to a cannibal to argue with Mom again,

 Long tendrils of flame licked into the attic above my sister's collapsed bedroom, cat tongues washing the rafters and underside of the roof decking with fire.

But unlike thunder, this didn't stop. It went on and on, machine-gun style, as if Zeus had loaded his bolts into an M60 with an inexhaustible ammo crate.

 "Ashfall" is powerful, emotional, thrilling, and it hooks you from the opening line. This book is pretty close to perfect - the pacing, the action, the characterization, the story line, the language, almost everything. The only thing I question is the depiction of the government and the military, it's pretty stereotypical. I'm curious to see what happens in the next book and how events play out about it, not just with the government and the military, but everything. If you like a strong, emotional story that will keep you reading until 3AM (I was so tired the next day but it was so worth it), go buy "Ashfall".

I received an eARC from NetGalley.

READ PINK Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign

As I said in my "Red's Wolf" giveaway post back in September, my mother died of breast cancer. Cancer runs in her side of the family, it's prevalent; additionally, one of my current co-workers is battling cancer and someone I worked with several years ago is a cancer survivor, so I'm familiar with it. These days, I think most people know someone who has cancer or died from it. It's a complicated disease, it won't be easily eradicated.

Last month Avon Books ran a month long promotion called KISS and Teal! to raise awareness of and funds for ovarian cancer. This month it's Penguin Books turn, but for Breast Cancer.

PENGUIN GROUP (USA) IS IN THE PINK FOR

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

It’s time to think pink to shrink cancer

What’s black and white and pink all over? The initiative by the Penguin Group (USA) called Read Pink™ in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This literary embrace of a life-saving cause last year resulted in nearly 400,000 best-selling romances shipped with Read Pink seals and information about the charity it supports – the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. In 2010 and 2011, some 12,000 floor displays also carried the Read Pink message. The result raised awareness for BCRF, the only cancer organization to receive A+ from the Institute for Philanthropy.

“We are delighted to be able to continue this initiative in support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation for a second time.  We hope that awareness for the Foundation’s work will only grow by bringing more attention to this important cause,” said Leslie Gelbman, President of Mass Market Publishing, Penguin Group (USA). To mark the occasion, Penguin Group (USA) is again making a $25,000 donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

“The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is very grateful to be part of Penguin’s Read Pink program again this year,” said Myra J. Biblowit, President, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  “This visible initiative will certainly raise awareness about BCRF.” 

The donation provides vital funds to support the mission of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.   As Dr. Laura J. Esserman, director of the Carole Franc Buck Breast Cancer Center at the University of California at San Francisco said,. “[BCRF] awards support leaders in translational science and assume that they will be able to best dispense the funds. This is invaluable. Most grants require a year’s lead time before ideas can be funded. The BCRF funds allow you to plan ideas a few months ahead, and are flexible in support. The awards also come with the promise of continuity to explore new ideas as they arise. I also really appreciate the annual awards ceremony and the expression of thanks to the scientists. We don’t often get that and it really is rewarding and inspiring to see that people appreciate us, even if we don’t come up with all of the answers. It is an expression of thanks for the efforts we put forward to try to find answers.”

The novels chosen for Read Pink 2011 are eight bestselling mass market titles by some of Penguin Group (USA)’s most beloved female authors. Included this year are Nora Roberts, Catherine Anderson, Christina Dodd, Jillian Hunter, Lynn Kurland, Amanda Quick, Bertrice Small and Lauren Willig.  More than 300,000 copies of the special editions will be printed featuring Read Pink seals on the covers.  In addition, Penguin Group (USA) is including information in the back of each book in an effort to make readers aware of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and encourage them to become actively involved in supporting the organization.

These are the books chosen for this year's initiative:

 

For more details about the Read Pink initiative and to view a complete list of the participating retail outlets, please visit www.penguin.com/readpink.

 

About The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder as an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative clinical and translational research. In October 2011, BCRF will award $36.5 million to 186 scientists across the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and China. Currently, more than 90 cents of every dollar donated is directed to breast cancer research and awareness programs. With exceptionally low administrative costs, BCRF continues to be one of the most efficient organizations in the country. BCRF has received an“A+” from The American Institute of Philanthropy.  For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

About Penguin Group (USA)

Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group.  Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Viking, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, The Penguin Press, Riverhead Books, Dutton, Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Gotham Books, Portfolio, New American Library, Plume, Tarcher, Philomel, Grosset & Dunlap, Puffin, and Frederick Warne, among others. The Penguin Group (www.penguin.com) is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.

Giveaway! Weight of Stone by Laura Anne Gilman

"Weight of Stone" is the second book in Gilman's The Vineart Trilogy. Last week I gave away book one, courtesy of Gallery Books. This week we are giving away a paperback copy of  "Weight of Stone".I'll have a review of the third and final book, The Shattered Vine, on Saturday, October 15th.

To enter, follow the directions below. Good luck!

In My Mailbox #5

 

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren. It's a way to share and highlight all the books we receive, even if we don't review them. l share books that I buy, that I receive for review, get from the library, borrow from a friend, etc.

 

Won

I won an ARC of this on Twitter. Sadly, since it's an ARC, it lacks the pretty cover.

Book Blurb:  It's been twelve years since the Change, and Penelope Sheehan is one of the few still practicing magic for the good of humanity in this dark, dangerous world. But she needs the help of a shapeshifter named Tru, whom she knew when he was a troubled boy. But Tru is a creature of instinct and impulse, living only to satisfy his senses- ignoring the scarred heart nobody has ever reached. Fighting alongside the last holdouts of humanity, they will unleash a passion that tempts them to risk everything for love. But if they succeed, Tru and Pen hold the power to brighten the Dark Age for all time. 

Purchased

I purchased this used off of Amazon for my new job as a copy editor. This is the style manual that my publisher uses.  

 

Book Blurb:   The fifteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style is the most extensive revision in twenty years. The Manual--more comprehensive and easier to use than ever before--remains the essential reference for authors, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers in any field.

Those who work with words know how dramatically publishing has changed in the past decade, with technology now informing and influencing every stage of the writing and publishing process. In creating the fifteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, the renowned editorial staff of the University of Chicago Press drew on direct experience of these changes, as well as on the recommendations of the Manual's first-ever advisory board, composed of a distinguished group of scholars, authors, and professionals from a wide range of publishing and business environments.


Every aspect of coverage has been examined and brought up to date--from publishing formats to editorial style and method, from documentation of electronic sources to book design and production, and everything in between. In addition to books, The Chicago Manual of Style now also treats journals and electronic publications. All chapters are written for the electronic age, with advice on how to prepare and edit manuscripts online, handle copyright and permissions issues raised by new technologies, use the latest methods of preparing mathematical copy, and cite electronic and online sources. 

A new chapter covers American English grammar and usage, outlining the grammatical structure of English, showing how to put words and phrases together to achieve clarity, and identifying common errors. The two chapters on documentation have been reorganized and updated: the first now describes the two main systems preferred by Chicago, and the second discusses specific types of sources and subject matter, with examples tailored to both systems. Coverage of design and manufacturing has been streamlined to reflect what writers and editors need to know about current procedures. And, to make it easier to search for information, each numbered paragraph throughout the Manual is now introduced by a descriptive heading.

What would become The Chicago Manual of Style began in the 1890s as a single sheet of typographic fundamentals, prepared by a proofreader at the University of Chicago Press as a guide for the University community. That sheet grew into a pamphlet, and the pamphlet grew into a book--the first edition of the Manual of Style, published in 1906. Nearly a century later the Manual is in use in homes and offices around the world.

Clear, concise, and replete with commonsense advice, the fifteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style offers the wisdom of a hundred years of editorial practice while including a wealth of new topics and updated perspectives. For anyone who works with words, in any medium, this continues to be the one reference book you simply must have.

NetGalley

This looked interesting so I requested it.  

Book Blurb: Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human. 
And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely. 

 

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism. 

 

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

 

Other Review Books 

 

 

 I'm so excited that I received a copy of the finished book for review. While it's not my favorite series by Gilman, I do enjoy it. 

 

Book Blurb:  An island nation has vanished. Men of honor and magic have died unnatural deaths. Slaves flee in terror. . . . Are the silent gods beginning to speak? Or is another force at work in the Lands Vin? 

 

Laura Anne Gilman’s critically acclaimed, Nebula Award–nominated Flesh and Fire introduced a brilliantly imagined world where the grapevine—cultivated by the Vinearts who know the secrets of wine magic—holds together disparate lands. Now, confusion, violence, and terror are sweeping over the Lands Vin. And four people are at the center of a storm.

Jerzy, Vineart apprentice and former slave, was sent by his master to investigate strange happenings—and found himself the target of betrayal. Now he must set out on his own journey, to find the source of the foul taint that threatens to destroy everything he holds dear. By Jerzy’s side are Ao, who lives for commerce and the art of the deal; Mahault, stoic and wise, risking death in flight from her homeland; and Kaïnam, once Named-Heir of an island principality, whose father has fallen into a magic-tangled madness that endangers them all. 

These four companions will travel far from the earth and the soul of the vine, sailing along coastlines aflame with fear, confronting sea creatures summoned by darkness, and following winds imbued with malice. Their journey will take them to the very limits of the Sin Washer’s reach . . . and into a battle for the soul of the Lands Vin. For two millennia the Sin Washer’s Commandment has kept these lands in order: Those of magic shall hold no power over men and those princes of power shall hold no magic. Now, that law has given way. And a hidden force seeks the havoc of revenge.

An adventure through an unforgettable realm conjured by breathtaking imagination, Laura Anne Gilman’s saga of the Vineart War is a "dramatic, authentic, and potent" (Publishers Weekly) literary delight.

And those are the highlights of what I received in the past two weeks. What did you get?