Cover: Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

Nalini Singh has posted the cover for Kiss of Snow, which will be Hawk's book. Finally.

Next up is Play of Passion, due out November 2nd. And then we finally get to see Hawk happy in July when Kiss of Snow is released.

Nalini Singh has put up Chapter 1 of Play of Passion, which will be Indigo and Drew's story.

If you aren't familiar with Nalini Singh's Psy/Changelings series then you should know that I give the series a 10 of 10, and that I love the world-building. The Changelings may be similar to other shapeshifters, but there is nothing else I've read that is similar to the Psy. The series is technically Paranormal Romance instead of Urban Fantasy. Each book is a HEA for a different couple. But the story arcs that lead from book to book could challenge any Urban Fantasy series for depth of worldbuilding.

Here are the books in the Psy/Changelings series:

1. Slave to Sensation
2. Visions of Heat
3. Caressed By Ice
4. Mine to Possess
5. Hostage to Pleasure
6. Branded by Fire
7. Blaze of Memory
8. Bonds of Justice
9. Play of Passion (11/2/10)
10. Kiss of Snow (July 2011)

Eternal Kiss of Darkness cover and excerpt

 

Jeaniene Frost posted the cover shot for Eternal Kiss of Darkness. She's also posted a very short (two paragraphs and one sentence) excerpt, which can be found here.

Eternal Kiss of Darkness is scheduled for release July 27th. Another four months.

Is he scary enough to be Mencheres? Considering he's probably not trying to be scary here... probably. He's always seemed so much bigger than life to me.

Book Covers: Black Magic Sanction, Silver Borne, and Changes

I'm still looking at some upcoming covers of books I'm really really anticipating:

Is this an awesome cover, or what? Black Magic Sanction, the next Rachel Morgan / Hollows book by Kim Harrison is due out February 29th. This is one of my top five favorite series. I haven't found a blurb for Black Magic Sanction yet, but there is a tag line: Apparently wicked witches do come from the west.

I guess that's a bit of a clue to what/who Rachel will be battling in Black Magic Sanction.

On March 30th we get Silver Borne, the fifth Mercy Thompson book by Patricia Briggs. The blurb for this one is:

When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secret knowledge-and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side-leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live...

I love the Mercy Thompson series, but that blurb doesn't get me all that excited. I haven't really enjoyed the "Samuel angst because he's so old" storyline, and it appears that's going to be a big part of Silver Borne. Still, I really like Mercy, and I want to see what is going on with Adam, and with the rest of her menagerie of friends, so I'll get this book as soon as it's released and I'll hope the Samuel stuff isn't too annoying.

For a while I got kind of ambivalent about the Dresden Files series, but now I'm once again anxious about the next book, Changes, wanting to read it to find out what will happen next. The Dresden series is not one of my top ten, but I'll still be getting my hands on this book as soon as it is released on April 6. And the blurb for Changes makes me that much more anxious to see what happens:

Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.


Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it-against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world...


He's fighting to save his child.

Harry Dresden as a father? On the one hand, it's a really scary thought. On the other hand, he'd make a great father if he put his mind to it. And changed his living arrangements. And realized he needs to make some money while he's busy saving the world.

I'm guessing (from the book cover) that Harry's going to take a trip to South America in this book. I also think that I'm going to need to re-read some of this series before Changes comes out. Probably starting with the book that Harry and Susan got romantic with each other.

Book Covers: Archangel's Kiss, Flirt, and First Drop of Crimson

I started looking at upcoming covers yesterday, and I'll continue that today.

First today is Archangel's Kiss, the next Guild Hunter book by Nalini Singh - due to be released February second. Here's the blurb:

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find that she has become an angel-and that her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, likes having her under his control. But almost immediately, Raphael must ready Elena for a flight to Beijing, to attend a ball thrown by the archangel Lijuan. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan's power lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena...

I love this cover. You can see her wings, and you can see her on a rooftop in China, probably in The Forbidden City or The Summer Palace - but there are numerous other places in Beijing with rooftops that look like that as well. But then we look at the rooftops in the distance and it looks more like The Forbidden City, except with the mountains in the distance instead of a cityscape, it's most likely outside of town somewhere. I am really excited that this will be taking place in and around Beijing.

You can read the first chapter of Archange's Kiss here.

I do not like the new covers for the Anita Blake series. Some think they are artistic, but I think they are boring and not very creative at all. I also think that they do not tell us anything about what is in the book. It's a good thing we aren't supposed to judge a book by the cover, because these covers just don't fit the books, in my opinion. I like the books, don't like the covers.

What do we know about Flirt? We know that Flirt is a novella, and that LKH has compared it to Micah, saying it's not really a part of the series. Since Micah is the only book in the Anita Blake series that I disliked, I'm finding it hard to get excited about Flirt.

And now to First Drop of Crimson, an offshoot of my favorite series: the Night Huntress Series, and I have high hopes for this offshoot series. I love Jeaniene Frost's writing, and I'm really excited about reading Spade's story (though I'm actually even more excited about Mencheres' story). Here is the blurb for this one:

The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows—her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield—and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family's past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness—and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who lusts for a taste of her.

He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human—even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the nightmare together . . .

Because once the first crimson drop falls, they will both be lost.

What does the cover tell us? It tells us that Spade's face is a bit scary, and it's easy to understand why Cat thought he was a bad guy when she first met him. It also tells us the rest of him is, ummm, hot. We also see him about to have dinner on the lady in red, and that she's moving her hair out of the way, so she's obviously okay with that. But, according to the blurb, he apparently isn't supposed to do that? So, is the lady in red Denise?

Questions questions questions. And since this book doesn't come out until February 9th, it looks like we've got two months until we find out the answers. Until then, there is a teaser, and (even better) the first chapter up at Jeanine Frost's site.

Oh, and another picture that is on the author's site:

Book Covers: Divine Misdemeanors and Kitty's House of Horrors

I thought I'd go looking for the covers for the books I'm most Anxiously Awaiting.

First comes Divine Misdemeanors (Meredith Gentry, Book 8) by Laurell K. Hamilton. Yes, I know, it's being released today, but it will be later tonight before I can get started on it, so I'm still anxiously awaiting it. I had intended to re-read Swallowing Darkness, but it hasn't worked out for me to do so. I love this series though, so I'm sure I'll be fine without the re-read.

We saw the first chapter of Kitty's House of Horrors in the previous book, Kitty Raises Hell, and there was just enough there to make me want more. The blurb for this one is:

Talk radio host and werewolf Kitty Norville has agreed to appear on TV's first all-supernatural reality show. She's expecting cheesy competitions and manufactured drama starring shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. But what begins as a publicity stunt will turn into a fight for her life. The cast members, including Kitty, arrive at the remote mountain lodge where the show is set. As soon as filming starts, violence erupts and Kitty suspects that the show is a cover for a nefarious plot. Then the cameras stop rolling, cast members start dying, and Kitty realizes she and her monster housemates are ironically the ultimate prize in a very different game. Stranded with no power, no phones, and no way to know who can be trusted, she must find a way to defeat the evil closing in . . . before it kills them all.

We have less than a month before Kitty's House of Horrors is released. I don't think I will re-read any books before this book's release, but I'll probably do a 20 minute skim of Kitty Raises Hell (Kitty Norville, Book 6)

I plan to do a cover or two (or three) a day for a while. Some covers actually tell us about what is in the book, some just remind us of what is in the series, and some have nothing to do with the book(s). I think these two covers fall into the second category. We are reminded of Merry's men who can feel pain but can't be killed in the first cover, and in the second cover we are reminded that Kitty is a strong and independent woman, who happens to turn into a werewolf occasionally.

Tomorrow I'll do the covers for two books that actually tell us something about what is in the book, and one book's cover that tells us nothing about anything.