Salvation in Death by J. D. Robb (In Death, Book 27)

With 26 earlier books in J. D. Robb’s In Death series, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from Salvation in Death and Robb delivered on all counts.

Eve Dallas is a homicide lieutenant in the New York Police and Security Department in 2060 and each book contains a case for her to solve, while juggling issues from her past and the roles as wife to multi-billionaire/owner of damn near everything under the sun/Irish sex god Roarke and friend that confuse her on a daily basis.

Father Miguel Flores was performing a funeral service when he dies in front of the grieving family from cyanide poisoning after drinking sacramental wine. Signs of a tattoo removal and plastic surgery as well as a silver medal inscribed with the name Lino suggest that the victim wasn’t really a priest. Eve has to find out who he really was and why he chose this particular parish to minister, in the hopes of finding clues to his murderer.

A televangelist who regularly hits the vodka and cheats on his wife takes a drink from a vodka-laced bottle of water onstage and collapses dead in full view of his audience. (more)

Remastering Jerna by Ann Somerville

A BDSM book for readers who don’t read BDSM. Yes, it was that good.

[Edited because my previous intro was highly susceptible to misunderstanding.]

Australian author Ann Somerville has, at times, been a controversial figure in some of the online romance communities I hang out in. I mention this up front because I get the feeling that a lot of readers will want to dismiss her work based on preconceived notions.

All I can say is that they’d be missing out on one of my most unexpected keepers of 2009. (And I’m not the only one who thinks so.)

Yes, the book starts a little shakily as Somerville sets up the protagonist, Jerna Setiq, a devoted husband, teacher and father of two, whose contented life is decimated when he’s falsely convicted of child perversion. Once the stage is set for Jerna’s emotional journey, however, Somerville gets it just about perfect. (more)

Tallow by Karen Brooks (The Curse of the Bond Riders, Book 1)

As artisans, magic and prophecies meet politics and superstition, there’s enough to like in this new fantasy series set in Venice—but the first 200 pages are hit and miss.

I was prepared to be enchanted by Tallow. The title is the name of the book’s protagonist, a candlemaker’s apprentice whose candles have suddenly turned strange. Although perfectly shaped and crafted, as soon as Tallow’s candles are lit, ‘things would start to happen—intangible, eerie things.’ Like causing people to weep for no reason, or to feed cats, or to suffer from insomnia.

Tallow’s adoptive family consists of Pillar, the candlemaker, and his resentful mother, Quinn, whose response to Tallow’s unusual abilities is to try and beat it out of her. But we soon learn that there’s a deeper mystery behind Tallow’s presence. Why, for example, is she never allowed to look people in eye? And why must she pretend to be a boy?

When a stranger, a Bond Rider, comes looking for Tallow, (more)

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire (October Daye, Book 1)

An urban fantasy with a heroine who kicks arse without being a try-hard and morally ambiguous secondary characters. It’s a recipe for a series addiction.

October Daye is a half human, half faerie ex-detective trying to live a normal human existence after being terribly wronged by the faerie. When an old frenemy dies, she is bound by a curse to find out who killed her and why, and avenge her death. Toby’s investigations lead to her a renewal of ties with the people of faerie, and to revisit a past she’d rather forget.

October Daye is a fantastic heroine—flawed, stubborn, angry but determined to live her own life. She kicks arse without trying so hard to do it (unlike many an urban fantasy heroine). Toby has many regrets in her life, but she doesn’t dwell on them. It’s all about moving on and not using that chip on her shoulder as an excuse to be a bad arse. She’s not a superhero, and she doesn’t even try to be. (Ah, a well done anti-heroine. I like those.) Toby tries. And she tries hard, and I barracked for her all the way, every time she fell and got up again, even when I wanted to shake her for not asking for help when she needed it. (more)

Soulless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, Book 1)

Gail Carriger’s steampunk paranormal historical romance mixes Victorian manners, werewolves and hickeys in a book that’s a little different from the average paranormal fare.

Alexia Tarabotti is a souless (literally!) spinster with a fondness for parasols, living in a Victorian London populated by supernaturals who are well organised and fully integrated into society. One day she accidentally kills a vampire, and Lord Maccon, head of the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR) is compelled to investigate. (Did I mention Lord Maccon is a hot werewolf?) Alexia’s propensity to get herself into trouble—though by no real fault of her own—means that she and Lord Maccon are constantly being thrown together, with expected and unexpected results.

Soulless is what I would call a steampunk romance. There’s enough technology and innovation to constitute an exploration of that theme, and there’s enough kissing and werewolf hickeys to make it a romance. It’s a good intro to steampunk for urban fantasy readers who are looking to try it (more)

Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin

When I realised I couldn’t, in good faith, review this book—the reasons for which are outlined below—I asked my friend Gutsy if she’d be interested in reading it. Gutsy and I share a love of beautifully written fantasy novels. She’s the only person to whom I’ve ever lent my Patricia A. McKillip hardbacks. Gutsy is currently doing her PhD in Children’s Literature.

Anyone who’s read The Aeneid would have learned that Vergil had considered it an unfinished work. Ursula K. Le Guin spun that concept into her version of the events that led to the founding of Rome and moved beyond Vergil’s ending, beginning from an ending she herself imagined of what had become of the heroes of The Aeneid after the war had been won.

Lavinia, princess of Latium, tells us the story of how she came to be promised to a foreign hero causing a war to be fought in her name. We walk with her through the forests of an Italy far removed from even the ancient Rome we are familiar with, from the innocence of her girlhood to the burdens and joys of an awakened womanhood and to her days as the mother of Rome. (more)

Cold Front by Ann Somerville (Pindone Files, Book 4)

Because who could resist that cover? Seriously.

When I was offered the chance to read an M/m romance by Australian author Ann Somerville, I scrolled through her website and the book with the shirtless man in tight black pants with his hands cuffed behind his back brought out my inner cover tart.

Then, when I read that it was along the lines of an M/m BDSM paranormal CSI, I was even more interested in the story because just one of those would have been enough to attract my attention. The book contains two prequel novellas, One Brief Encounter and A House is not a Home, followed by the novel Cold Front, which is the focus of this review.

One Brief Encounter

One Brief Encounter is told mostly from Dekan hon Cerimwe den Tsikeni’s point of view. Dek met Rensire hon Parmin den Vizinken in a bar while visiting Ren’s home region for police training and they had an immediate connection. (more)

The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke (Watergivers, Book 1)

It’s been a long time since I read a fantasy novel in which everything about the world felt original and so utterly fascinating that even 640 pages didn’t seem enough. I suppose wishing for a stronger love story would be asking for too much.

When water is scarce and rationed to the last drop, the ability to sense and manipulate water is to wield power. Granthon, the Cloudmaster, is dying, and there’s no stormlord to take over the responsibility of summoning water out of the sea, forming them into clouds, and directing the rain to fall where it’s needed. In an effort to avert an ecological and political disaster, he sends his most powerful rainlords to scour the land for any children with water sensitivity.

Their search brings together forces that will change the land forever. Shale, a dirty, uneducated Gibber boy who displays remarkable water talent may be their best hope for survival. Terelle, a runaway girl, discovers a talent that not even the rainlords understand, but which can alter their destiny. The changing political climate (more)

Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara (Dark Brethren, Book 1)

Our obsession with vampires isn’t over, with a new series hitting the shelves this week. Debut author Tracey O’Hara shows us why we love to be seduced by danger and darkness.

Antoinette Petrescu, haunted by her mother’s murder at the hands of a vampire, makes her living tracking down Necrodreniacs—rogue vampires addicted to the death-high that occurs when they drain, and therefore kill, a human. But when a series of murders forces her to work closely with Christian Laroque, an Aeternus vampire, Antoinette discovers that she has a few things left to learn about vampires—they’re not all vicious murderers, and she’s not as immune to their charms as she’d thought.

Humans and parahumans co-exist in this world under a peace treaty that’s beginning to unravel. Not everyone is interested in peace, and resentment has endured long after the end of a bitter and bloody war between vampires, Animalians and humans. Antoinette and Christian suspect there’s a mole within the Council for Human and Paranormal Relations (CHaPR), leaking information and trying to disrupt the tenuous peace (more)

Norse Code by Greg van Eekhout

A reluctant Valkyrie, an exiled god, and a warrior who’s been there and done that set out to get in and out of hell and somehow stop the end of the world. (Did I mention there’s a cute doggy?)

It’s the end of the world as we know it, or at least as decreed by Norse Mythology in an event known as Ragnarok. Inevitably it is meant to end with a great battle, and to even up the odds, DNA testing is used to find the perfect warriors. Mist, a Valkyrie recruited using this method, becomes disheartened after a recruitment that goes terribly wrong. She decides that since the world is ending anyway, she should go and find her sister, who has somehow ended up in Hel. To get to Hel she needs to find the god Hermod, who has actually made it there and back. Hermod is currently wandering the streets of LA (with his Alaskan Malamute!) trying to keep his head down after leaving the realm of the gods many, many years ago. Of course, the last thing he wants is to go back to Hel, but somehow he gets sucked in through a series of unusual events. (more)