Published by FantasyGirl on May 09 2008

Hot New Releases: Best Urban Fantasy Books for June 2008

Here’s the list of upcoming urban fantasy books with a release date of June 2008!

Easy one-click links are included to make it easy to check prices from either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.

I continue to be amazed at how urban fantasy is gaining in popularity. This is evident by the number of new books that are slated to be released in June. I’ve listed the first few and will continue adding to the list over the next few days.


June 1, 2008 AllSoulsNight

All Souls’ Night (Blood Ties, Book 4)
by Jennifer Armintrout

Something was seriously wrong. In the past few weeks, since we had fled Grand Rapids and come to Max’s Chicago penthouse, Nathan’s entire focus had been my recovery. I’d gone mute and practically catatonic after Cyrus, once my sire, then my fledgling, had died. After I’d wake from one of my many nightmares—daymares, I supposed, since we vampires are third-shifters on account of that pesky sun thing—Nathan would hold me and try to reassure me that it had all been a dream, that he wouldn’t let anything harm me. Now, though, I felt his irritation and acute distraction through the blood tie, the telepathic and empathic connection that coursed between a fledgling vampire and their sire, and I knew something wasn’t right.”

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 1, 2008 MallofCthulhu

The Mall of Cthulhu
by Seamus Cooper

A decade ago, college student Laura Harker was saved from a fate worse than death at the hands (and fangs) of a centuries-old vampire priestess and her Satanic minions. Her rescuer, an awkward, geeky folklore student named Teddy, single-handedly slew the undead occupants of the Omega Alpha sorority house, spurred into heroic action by fate itself, inexorably intertwining his and Laura’s destinies. After navigating her way through law school, Laura is now a junior FBI agent assigned to the Bureau’s Boston office.”

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 WalkOnTheWildSide

Walk On The Wild Side (The Others, Book 5)
by Christine Warren

In national bestseller Christine Warren’s Others novels, vampires, witches, werewolves, and more have come out of the supernatural closet. Now, the world as we know it will never be the same…

Kitty Sugarman is a lot tougher than her name implies. Still, she’s content with how her small- town life keeps her removed from all the changes happening in the world—like the Unveiling of the Others. That is, until a near-tragedy strikes and Kitty discovers she has abilities . . .thanks to a father she never knew was alive. He also happens to be a were-lion and leader of one of the most powerful Prides out West.

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 Spectre

Spectre
by Phaedra Wheldon (Zoe Martinique Book 2)

Zoë Martinique has the extraordinary ability to travel outside her body at will. When she is drawn into an investigation of a series of bizarre murders, in which the victims are missing body parts, Zoë hopes to help her boyfriend, Atlanta homicide detective Daniel Frasier, stop the killer— one she’s sure is from the darkest levels of the astral plane—without letting him find out about her special abilities.

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 NightKeepers Night Keepers
by Jessica Andersen

As a Miami narcotics detective, Leah Daniels never knows how her day will turn out. But she certainly never expected to be strapped to a stone altar, the human sacrifice in an ancient Mayan ritual meant to coax up a demon from the underworld. Or that she’d be saved by a handsome warrior-priest king who claims to recognize her from his visions…

Jaguar Strike wishes he hadn’t made the mistake of reuniting his fellow warrior priests, or broken the law by saving their chosen human sacrifice. Now, he has no choice but to join forces with Leah and invoke dangerous magic in a death-defying race against the end of time.”

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 ManWithTheGoldenTorc The Man With the Golden Torc
by Simon R. Green

All those things you hear about as a kid? The boogeyman under the bed? The creature in the closet? They’re for real, people.

Eddie Drood knows they’re for real. His family has kept humanity safe from the things that go bump in the night. For ages, they’ve held back the nightmares, locked the doors, barred the gates, and put righteous boot to monster arse on a nightly basis.

But now Eddie’s in trouble. One of his own has convinced the rest of the family that Eddie’s become a menace, and that humanity needs to be protected from him. So he’s on the run, using every trick in the book, magical and otherwise, hoping he lives long enough to prove his innocence. And he knows how dangerous the Droods can be-because he’s one of them.

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 GoodFairiesOfNewYork

The Good Fairies of New York
by Martin Millar

British author Millar offers fiercely funny (and often inebriated) Scottish fairies, a poignant love story as well as insights into the gravity of Crohn’s disease, cultural conflicts and the plight of the homeless in this fey urban fantasy. Due to the machinations of the obnoxious Tala, Cornwall’s fairy king, only a few humans can see the 18-inch-tall fairies who alight in Manhattan: Magenta, a homeless woman who thinks she’s the ancient Greek general Xenophon; Dinnie, an overweight slacker; and Kerry, a poor artist/musician who hopes her Ancient Celtic Flower Alphabet will win a local arts prize. Fairies Heather MacKintosh and Morag MacPherson scheme to put Dinnie and Kerry together, rescue fairy artifacts and prove that in love or war, music is essential.

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 DaemonsAreForever Daemons Are Forever
by Simon  R. Green

Second in the trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Man with the Golden Torc.

Eddie Drood’s clan has been watching mankind’s back for ages. And now he’s in charge of the whole kit and caboodle. But it’s not going to be an easy gig…

During World War II, the Droods made a pact with some nasty buggers from another dimension known as the Loathly Ones, which they needed to fight the Nazis. But once the war was over, the Loathly Ones decided that they liked this world too much to leave. Now it’s up to Eddie to make things very uncomfortable for them—or watch everything humanity holds dear go up in smoke.

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 TheCursed

The Cursed (Vampire Huntress Legends, Book 9)
by L. A. Banks

Lilith and her husband, the vampire “Unnamed One”, are caught unawares while awaiting the birth of their angel-hybrid heir. Installed as Vampire Council chairwoman, Lilith calls on vampires, witches and warlocks (including Machiavelli, Jezebel, Genghis Khan and Medusa) to combat the forces of the Covenant, the Guardians, the Neterus and both Neteru Councils. She attacks her enemies Damali and Carlos Rivera where it hurts the most: their libidos. Soon the battle involves a Valkyrie, the Ark of the Covenant and bootleg music downloads. This end of days scenario is a wild amalgam of Christianity, vampire lore, world myth, functional morality, street philosophy and hot sex.

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 BloodColony

Blood Colony
by Tananarive Due

There’s a new drug on the street: Glow. Said to heal almost any illness, it is distributed by an Underground Railroad of drug peddlers. But what gives Glow its power? Its main ingredient is blood — the blood of immortals. A small but powerful colony of immortals is distributing the blood, slowly wiping out the AIDS epidemic and other diseases around the world.

Meet Fana Wolde, seventeen years old, the only immortal born with the Living Blood. She can read minds, and her injuries heal immediately. When her best friend, a mortal, is imprisoned by Fana’s family, Fana helps her escape — and together they run away from Fana’s protected home in Washington State to join the Underground Railroad.

But Fana has more than her parents to worry about: Glow peddlers are being murdered by a violent, hundred-year-old sect with ties to the Vatican. Now, when Fana is most vulnerable, she is being hunted to fulfill an ancient blood prophecy that could lead to countless deaths.

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com


June 3, 2008 BloodAndIron

Blood and Iron: A Novel of the Promethean Age
by Elizabeth Bear

Ancient grudges and ruthless schemes are simply business as usual to the Faerie court in Bear’s complex and involving contemporary fantasy. Seeker, formerly Elaine Andraste, is a changeling bound to the Mebd, the queen of the Daoine Sidhe, to find other changelings and bring them to the Faerie court. There, like legendary Tam Lin, and Seeker’s own son, Ian, they entertain the queen until she tires of them. Now the queen needs Seeker to find and win the heart of the new Merlin, latest incarnation of a being who, in the hands of the Prometheans, could be used to destroy the Fae. Pragmatic college professor Carel Bierce, the first female Merlin, is not easily swayed by Fae or Promethean advances. Long-forgotten rivalries and unsuspected blood ties arise to tug at Seeker’s loyalties, even as the queen promises to free Ian when she succeeds.”

Check Availability:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon.com

Published by FantasyGirl on May 05 2008

Vampire Love Poems Part 4

Okay, I’m on a roll. I just started reading a new urban fantasy book which prompted me to write the following vampire love poem:

Vampire Love Poem #4

When we were in love you called me “your Sookie”,
But you betrayed me and taking you back would be kooky.
Now the Fellowship is after my head,
They truly hate the undead,
So spending time with your vamp queen can be quite spooky.

Which female character from a popular urban fantasy vampire book series would say these words?

Published by FantasyGirl on May 04 2008

Vampire Love Poems Part 3

Okay. This one’s for Javier Millán who asked for more clues about one of the vampire love poems from last week.  Here’s the original poem:

Vampire Love Poem #2

I’m a vampire, yes dear I confess,
I’m newly made and my life is a mess.
I hope you can understand,
You’re still my DEA man,
But I don’t know if our relationship can progress.

Here’s the new poem with many more clues:

Vampire Love Poem #3

I’m a newly turned vamp whose last name is Strong,
I’m struggling to separate the right from the wrong,
I’d like to keep my 9-to-5,
‘Cause it makes me feel alive,
Darlin’ please tell me you’ll tag along.

Got it? Post your answer in comments.

Published by FantasyGirl on Apr 26 2008

My Favorite Urban Fantasy Sites

Best Fantasy SitesSince you’re reading this article I assume you’re interested in urban fantasy. Me too. I read it every night before going to bed and try to sneak in a few pages before going to work each morning. If it’s a book written about vampires, witches, or werewolves in a modern day setting I’m all over it. I use this site to publish reviews of what I read.

However I’m not the only game in town - there are other folks out there who also like urban fantasy books whose sites I frequent on a regular basis. Their sites may focus on more than urban fantasy but there’s enough urban fantasy there to keep me coming back on a regular basis.

Here are the sites I visit the most:

Scooper Speaks. Stacy Cooper “Scooper” provides very well-written, balanced reviews of primarily fantasy romance books. Her site design is clean and easy to navigate. Here’s a big plus for Scooper: she responds to her commentors. That means a lot to me because it makes a site more interactive and helps readers learn more about the site owner.

League of Reluctant Adults. This site is managed by a group of 5 urban fantasy writers. I like visiting this site not just because they provide insider book information about their recent and upcoming writing projects but also because the articles are so darn funny. I imagine the writers getting together each week for drinks and dinner in a place reminiscent of the Algonquin Round Table. In my mind they’d talk really fast, laugh uproariously, and engage in lots of “witty repartee.”

Flames Rising. Flames Rising provides reviews of horror and dark fantasy books, non-fiction books, and fantasy video games. They also provide author interviews and write-ups on the latest in horror-related news. Matt, the site owner and editor, has enlisted the aid of 4 folks to help out with the book reviews. It’s here that I get my often-needed zombie fix.

SciFi Chick. SciFi Chick has a site that contains book reviews of science fiction books and movies (some of which fall into the urban fantasy genre), online contests, trailers to scifi movie and TV trailers, and interviews with scifi writers. Her site is chock-full of good content; you could easily spend hours looking through the material.

Urban Fantasy Reader. Urban Fantasy Reader is devoted to everything related to my favorite book genre. Yes the site contains book reviews but what’s really cool about this site are the photos of urban fantasy book covers and TV shows/movies. Check out the April 2nd post which shows some of the cast from the upcoming HBO series called “True Blood” which brings Charlaine Harris’ popular Sookie Stackhouse books to the screen. Yum. I could just gobble up the “vampire Bill” character sitting on the couch beside “Sookie.” In a totally non-cannibalistic sort of way that is. Also look at the April 6th post which shows the new cover for the next Patricia Briggs book titled “Bone Crossed.”

Which urban fantasy sites do you visit on a regular basis?

Published by FantasyGirl on Apr 21 2008

Hot New Releases: Best Urban Fantasy Books for May 2008

Given the track record of the authors below I forsee all of these books doing well in sales. If you pre-order any of the upcoming books by clicking on a Barnes and Noble link at this site you not only get a discount but I receive a small (very small) commission that helps me keep the site current and offer freebies (contests coming soon).

May 1, 2008 DarknessEverlasting Darkness Everlasting (Guardians of Eternity, Book 3)
by Alexandra Ivy

"Darcy Smith always sensed she was different from everyone else-if only she knew how different. Possessing a secret strong enough to end an entire race of demons, Darcy unwittingly becomes a pawn in an epic battle between the vampires and the weres as she discovers a new world filled with ecstasy-and dark passions."


May 6, 2008 TheHost The Host: A Novel
by Stephanie Meyer

The author of the best selling Twilight Series has written a book specifically for adults.

"Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed."


May 6, 2008 FromDeadToWorseLarge From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8 )
by Charlaine Harris

"After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the manmade explosion at the vampire summit, everyone—human and otherwise—is stressed, including Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend Quinn has gone missing. It’s clear that things are changing—whether the weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie—Friend to the Pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, leader of the local vampire community—is caught up in the changes."


May 27, 2008 TheTouchOfTwilight The Touch of Twilight (Sign of the Zodiac, Book 3)
by Vicki Pettersson

"On the surface she’s a sexy, sophisticated socialite, at home among the beautiful people of the Las Vegas upper crust. But Joanna Archer inhabits another world: a place ordinary humans can’t see and could never enter … a dangerous dimension where an eternal battle rages between the agents of Light and Shadow. And Joanna is both."


May 27, 2008 BloodNoirLarge Blood Noir (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, Book 16)
by Laurell K. Hamilton

"A favor for Jason, vampire hunter Anita Blake’s werewolf lover, puts her in the center of a fullblown scandal that threatens master-vampire Jean-Claude’s reign—and makes her a pawn in an ancient vampire queen’s new rise to power."

Published by FantasyGirl on Apr 20 2008

Fantasy Girl’s Fantasy Store is Open!

FANTASY LOVERS:

The Fantasy Girl Store is now open for business! You can now browse for fantasy jewelry like bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. There’s even a section for fantasy-themed Men’s Jewelry. And you can look for fantasy books there too, of course!

Fantasy jewelry is as low as $5.99. Most of the jewelry is sterling silver or pewter.

The great thing about the Fantasy Girl Store is it’s ALWAYS OPEN. You can add and remove items from your shopping cart as you like. Orders are processed immediately and ship from Amazon.

Enjoy!

Published by FantasyGirl on Apr 18 2008

Vampire Love Poems

Okay, time for a bit of light humor. I thought I’d write a couple of vampire love poems. They’re written in the style of limericks, remember them? If not, let me refresh your memory. Limericks always follow this pattern:

a
a
b
b
a

Let’s see if you can guess which urban fantasy book series I’m referring to:

Vampire Love Poem #1

Although raised as a child in the vampire court,
I crave independence and shun your support.
With my newfound power,
I can “shift” to a new hour,
It’s my very own public transport.

Which female character from a popular urban fantasy series am I referring to? Which male vampire (in the series) would she be compelled to say this to?


Vampire Love Poem #2

I’m a vampire, yes dear I confess,
I’m newly made and my life is a mess.
I hope you can understand,
You’re still my DEA man,
But I don’t know if our relationship can progress.

Which female vampire would probably say this to her boyfriend?

Hope you like my vampire love poems! Post your answers in the comments.

Published by FantasyGirl on Apr 11 2008

Staked by J.F. Lewis: A Vampire Book Winner

Staked by J.F. Lewis

 

You had me atsomewhere.”

That’s the first word in the 1st paragraph of J.F. Lewis’ new book, Staked. From the start I could tell this book would be something special. By page 8, I was proclaiming it a winner to my friends. I’m happy to report that I was correct.

The first item that makes this book stand out is the vampire lore that Lewis develops. Yes, he covers the standard “blood sucking is required for sustenance” and “vampires avoid the sun, are powerful and never age” standards but that’s pretty much where the similarities between most urban vampire stories and his differ. He creates an entirely new mythology for his vampires that’s refreshing and unique.

The Story:

The main character in the book, Eric, is a wise-cracking, no nonsense strip club owner who’s also a Vlad-level vampire (that’s one step above Master for you vampire geeks). As such he’s one of the most powerful vampires in existence. But he’s got one odd quirk: he suffers from memory loss and has a hard time remembering what happens from one day to the next. As you can imagine this makes for some difficult moments for a vampire. Imagine not knowing if you’d killed someone the day before. As a matter of fact the story opens with Eric killing another vampire. Unfortunately he can’t initially remember who he’s killed or why he committed the murder.

While pondering this dilemma he’s ambushed and attacked by a werewolf. Although he doesn’t want to kill the guy he ultimately has no choice but to defend himself. Eric is later told that the dead werewolf is the son of the local Alpha, who happens to be a powerful and fanatic religious leader who thinks vampires are an evil abomination. The death of the Alpha’s son is just enough to push him over the edge; he’s hell bent on seeing Eric dead.

In addition to dealing with werewolf assassins Eric is having relationship problems. His girlfriend Tabitha has been nagging him to make her into a vampire for several years. Because Eric is distracted by the recent murders he committed (and not in the mood to listen to her broken record pleas to become immortal) he unwisely agrees to turn her. To say that I was fascinated by Lewis’ description of the turning process is an understatement. I’ve read lots of vampire books but have never seen the process described in quite this manner. If you like vampire lore (and I know you do) you’ll love reading about this procedure and the effect it has on the human body. Okay, there’s one aspect that’s a little gross but it fits perfectly in my opinion.

After Eric turns his girlfriend he’s surprisingly not so interested in her anymore. There’s something about snuggling up to another cold body that’s a bit of a turn off for him. Call him hypocritical, but he likes the warmth of a human body. You can understand how this might piss off his girlfriend. Who’s now a vampire. With fangs.

The primary plot threads in the book focus on Eric’s attempts to avoid extermination by the werewolves, his girlfriend’s introduction to what it means to be a vampire, and his relationship with his girlfriend’s sister. Additionally, it looks like he might be at the center of a setup – but he can’t figure out who’s calling the shots. There are several other peripheral story lines that are equally as interesting but Lewis makes sure they don’t overshadow the central themes.

“Staked” contains a few well crafted violent scenes that demonstrate the ruthlessness of vampires. I love the way Lewis avoids glamorizing the violence that’s central to a vampire’s psyche. His vampires kill humans for any number of reasons, not just for food. As such, although Eric hasn’t entirely lost his ties to humanity he’s very honest with himself (and others) about his murderous side. I found that to be an endearing quality in Eric’s characterization: he’s true to what he is. Overall Lewis does an outstanding job developing Eric as a multi-dimensional character.

I gotta tell you, this story has it all: lots of action, a little violence, a few mysteries, a betrayal, great worldbuilding, sex, and smatterings of humor here and there. There were times when I was totally engrossed in the book. I actually missed an appointment one day because I couldn’t put it down.

The book ends with several unanswered questions which encourage us to imagine any number of possible conclusions to some of the mysteries. J.F. Lewis has NOT written a formulaic urban fantasy book (the crowd applauds) so there’s no telling what else is in store for Eric, his girlfriend, her sister, or the supporting characters. And here’s where the book really stands out: Lewis makes you care about the lives of his characters. I want to know how Eric plans to handle his relationship with his newly undead girlfriend and her mysterious sister. I want to know how Eric deals with the losses he suffers in the first book. In other words I can’t wait for the next installment in this urban fantasy series to come out.

It’s rare that I’m such a cheerleader about a vampire book (or a book with a vampire as the central figure) but gosh-darn, this was one good read. It was also one of the hardest fantasy book reviews I’ve written because I’ve had to contain myself from raving so much about the book. You should have seen my first draft of this review – you’d have thought I had stock in Pocket Books (I don’t).

I highly recommend this book.  Urban fantasy readers will love it.

Buy Now: Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Published by FantasyGirl on Apr 04 2008

The Watcher by Jeanne C. Stein

TheWatcherLarge Anna Strong is a female vampire bounty hunter. She’s a newly made vampire that obtained her powers after being attacked by a master vamp. As we saw in Blood Drive (Book 1) she’s still trying to walk the fine line between retaining her humanity and satisfying the blood lust that vampires are often subjected to.

In this installment of the series (Book 2) Anna mistakenly shows the violent side of herself to two humans while attempting to rescue someone. You see vampires have two personas or "faces": the one that they show humans and the one that comes out when they become violent and out of control. Anna showed her vampire face to the humans which makes her a prime target for the Revengers, the human group that hunts down and kills vampires. As a result, the chief of police, a fellow vampire, orders her to go underground for her own safety.

There are quite a few plotlines present in this book. Stein successfully blends mystery and suspense into each of them:

  • Max, Anna’s DEA boyfriend, has suddenly gone missing. This may be linked to the fact that:

  • The Mexican drug lord that Max was working to put away has recently escaped apprehension from federal authorities. He realizes Max is responsible for his near capture is hell bent on finding Max in order to exact a little revenge.
  • A mysterious FBI agent is also seeking Max for questioning and thinks Anna knows where Max is hiding.
  • Anna’s shape shifter Mexican friend Culebra appears to be in trouble. This worries Anna greatly because he’s someone that can take care of himself.
  • A crazy witch plans to summon a demon and unleash it’s powers on humankind. She also thinks the event will go down near Culebra’s bar in Mexico.
  • Someone is trying to kill Anna and possibly her bounty hunter partner as well.

So when the chief of police tells Anna to disappear she chooses to hide out in Mexico and do a little investigating at the same time. That’s what I like about Anna: she’s a smart heroine. Yes, she’s incredibly stubborn and not without her flaws, but she’s head and shoulders above those ridiculous heroines that walk blindly into a dark alley with a broken heel and a cell phone that doesn’t work and literally wait for the bad guy to jump out at them.

Kudos go to Jeanne Stein for successfully juggling so many plotlines in the book. Lots of writers wouldn’t have a clue about pulling all of these storylines together into one 291 page piece of work. Stein does it seamlessly and maintains a proper balance of action and suspense to the very end. Since I read the book over the course of a few weeks I had to backtrack a couple of times in order to get back up to speed but I sometimes have to do that when the storylines are less varied. This book falls firmly into the action-adventure urban fantasy subgenre and is another winner for Stein.

Published by FantasyGirl on Apr 01 2008

Bestselling Urban Fantasy Books (April 2008)

Based on Amazon sales rankings here are the Top 10 urban fantasy books.  Since their list contained books that aren’t out yet this list only contains books that are available for purchase by April 30th.

10. StormFront Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)
by Jim Butcher

9. AllTogetherDead All Together Dead (Southern Vampires Mysteries, Book 7)
by Charlaine Harris

8. WorldWarZ World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks

7. MagicBurns Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2)
by Ilona Andrews

6. EmbraceTheNight_Bestseller Embrace The Night (Cassandra Palmer Series, Book 3)
by Karen Chance

5. PersonalDemon Personal Demon (Women of the Otherworld, Book 8 )
by Kelley Armstrong

4. FromDeadToWorse From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8 )
by Charlaine Harris

3. OutlawDemonWails The Outlaw Demon Wails (Rachel Morgan, Book 6)
by Kim Harrison

2. HisDarkMaterialsTrilogy His Dark Materials Trilogy (Boxed Set)
by Philip Pullman

1. SmallFavor Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10)
by Jim Butcher