My Top Ten Most Anticipated Books of 2011

I thought it would be fun to list the book releases that I am most looking forward for the coming new year. Just listing them here makes me all goose-bumpy!

1. Awakened (House of Night, #8) by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast (January 4, 2011)

“My love, speak to me. Tell me everything.” Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal.

“What would you have me say?” He didn’t meet her eyes.

“Zoey lives.” Neferet’s voice was flat, cold, lifeless.

“She does.”

“Then you owe me the subservience of your immortal soul.” She started to walk away from him.

“Where are you going? What will happen next?”

“It is quite simple. I will ensure Zoey is drawn back to Oklahoma. There, on my own terms, I will complete the task you failed.”

Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…

And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?

In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

2. Darkest Mercy (Wicked Lovely, #5) by Melissa Marr (March 1, 2011)

"The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything.

The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr's New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless."

3. Pale Demon (The Hollows, #9) by Kim Harrison (March 1, 2011)

"Condemned to death for black magic and shunned, Rachel Morgan has three days to somehow get to the annual witches convention in San Francisco and clear her name. If she fails, the only way she can escape death is to live in the demonic ever after . . . for ever after.

Banned from the flight lists, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack, headed for the West Coast for his own mysterious business. But Rachel isn’t the only passanger along for the ride. Can a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car survive for over 2,300 miles? And that’s not counting the assassin on their tail.

A fearsome demon walks the sunlight, freed after centuries of torment to slay the innocent and devour souls. But his ultimate prey is Rachel Morgan. While the powerful witch with nerves of steel will do whatever it takes to stay alive, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her."

4. River Marked (Mercy Thompson, #6) by Patricia Briggs (March 1, 2011)

"Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help..."

5. Twilight's Dawn (Black Jewels, #9) by Anne Bishop (March 1, 2011)

"Return to the world of the Black Jewels with New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop.

Anne Bishop's "darkly fascinating"* (SF Site) Black Jewel novels have enthralled readers and critics alike with their mixture of fantasy, intrigue, and romance. Now in Twilight's Dawn, Bishop returns to the Blood realm with four all-new captivating novellas."

6. Spirit Dances (Walker Papers, #6) by C. E. Murphy (March 22, 2011)

"ONE DATE WITH THE BOSS CAN GET COYOTE UGLY.

For Seattle detective Joanne Walker, spring is about new beginnings. She's mastered her shamanic abilities (mostly), survived a cannibalistic serial killer (barely) and now she's facing the biggest challenge of her career - attending a dance concert with her sexy boss, Captain Michael Morrison. But when the performance - billed as transformative - actually changes her into a COYOTE, she and Morrison have bigger things to deal with.

And there's more. Homeless people are disappearing, a mystical murder puts Joanne way out of her jurisdiction and with the full moon coming on, it's looking like the killer is a creature that can't possibly exist.

But Jo could probably handle all that, if one ordinary homicide hadn't pushed her to the VERY EDGE...

COP OR SHAMAN? THE CHOICE ISN'T EASY. BUT IT'S ONE SHE JUST MIGHT HAVE TO MAKE..."

7. Bite Club (Morganville Vampires, #10) by Rachel Caine (May 3, 2011)

8. Naamah's Blessing (Kushiel's Legacy, #9) by Jacqueline Carey (June 29, 2011)

"Returning to Terre d'Ange, Moirin finds the royal family broken. Wracked by unrelenting grief at the loss of his wife, Queen Jehanne, King Daniel is unable to rule. Prince Thierry, leading an expedition to explore the deadly jungles of Terra Nova, is halfway across the world. And three year old Desirée is a vision of her mother: tempestuous, intelligent, and fiery, but desperately lonely, and a vulnerable pawn in a game of shifting political allegiances.

As tensions mount, King Daniel asks that Moirin become Desirée's oath-sworn protector. Navigating the intricate political landscape of the Court proves a difficult challenge, and when dire news arrives from overseas, the spirit of Queen Jehanne visits Moirin in a dream and bids her undertake an impossible quest.

Another specter from the past also haunts Moirin. Travelling with Thierry in the New World is Raphael de Mereliot, her manipulative former lover. Years ago, Raphael forced her to help him summon fallen angels in the hopes of acquiring mystical gifts and knowledge. It was a disastrous effort that nearly killed them, and Moirin must finally bear the costs of those bitter mistakes."

9. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead (August 23, 2011)

"Last Sacrifice will be the last book about Rose, but it'll be followed by a spin-off series still set in the Vampire Academy world. Side characters we know from the current series will now be our main characters, and there'll be a whole new storyline (not the last one told from a different perspective). So far, there is no exact release date, but you can expect it near late summer/early fall of 2011.

At the moment, I'm not allowed to reveal the title, premise, or full cast of characters. I can tell you that it'll be written in third person, so we'll get a number of characters' perspectives. One of them will be Sydney. The others are a secret for now. Also, expect a cameo from Rose."

10. Saints Astray (Santa Olivia, #2) by Jacqueline Carey (2011)

Blood Bound vs. Blood Promise

So I call this my I'm-struggling-to-complete-the-requirements-for-yet-another-reading-challenge-before-the-year-is-over post. For the Take Another Chance Challenge, I had to read two books that had the same word in the title and write about them afterwards. After combing through my list of books read in 2010, I discovered that I had fulfilled the qualification with Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs and Blood Promise by Richelle Mead, the common word obviously being "blood."

Not much is in common between these two books, though I did enjoy both of them. Both books are in fantasy series, though Blood Promise is young adult and Blood Bound is adult. Briggs' series revolves around werewolves, though vampires play a part, but Mead's series is all about vampires, good and bad ones. Blood Promise was actually my favorite book in Mead's series, but I did not enjoy Blood Bound in Briggs' series as much as some of her others. I would highly recommend both series to any avid readers of fantasy, whether it be young adult or adult genre-based.

And for those of you that appreciate the regurgitated synopsis, here you go:

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs: "Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him."

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead: "The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them . . . including Dimitri.
He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?"

Review: Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop

Book Details:
Shalador's Lady: A Black Jewels Novel
By Anne Bishop
Genre: Fantasy
Published March 2010, ROC
hardback, 476 pages
ISBN: 9780451463159


Synopsis:

Return to the "intense...erotic...and imaginative" (Nancy Kress) world of the national bestselling Black Jewels novels in this sequel to The Shadow Queen.
For years the Shalador people suffered the cruelties of the corrupt Queens who ruled them, forbidding their traditions, punishing those who dared show defiance, and forcing many more into hiding. Now that their land has been cleansed of tainted Blood, the Rose-Jeweled Queen, Lady Cassidy, makes it her duty to restore it and prove her ability to rule.
But even if Lady Cassidy succeeds, other dangers await. For the Black Widows see visions within their tangled webs that something is coming that will change the land-and Lady Cassidy-forever...

I found this book to be a very satisfying continuation of Lady Cassidy's story from The Shadow Queen (Black Jewels, Book 7). Even though a Bishop wields a substantial cast of characters between the pages of this book, each character is given his or her time in the spotlight, from my series favorites, such as Surreal and Daemon, to newer characters like Gray and Ranon. Each one has a subplot to work through, yet all loose ends are resolved quite neatly. I enjoyed how the plot would switch seamlessly between the story arcs of Cassidy's realm and Jaenelle's realm without taking away from either.
This book seemed to give the reader a glimpse into how the tainting of the Blood occurred by how good men could become bound to bad Queens. Kermilla played the role perfectly by how naive and self-centered she behaved, making her completely oblivious to the trouble she was creating. It is easy to see what Theran sees in her, because it is clear to me that were she to ever learn to use her strengths for the good of others instead of herself, she could become a very powerful force. Though I could not stand Kermilla from the very beginning, I think her character has too much potential not to use her in further books in the Black Jewels series.
The Kindred of the Blood continue to take a vital role in the progression of the plot, which I find both ingenious and quite humorous, as they are unpredictable in many ways. With the Kindred involved, there is guaranteed to be surprises - both good and bad. I could easily see a Kindred-centered novella come out of this book.
My favorite part of this book was watching the transformation of Gray into Jared Blaed as him and Cassidy fall in love. The progression is slow without feeling dragged out, and each stage has its rewards, with his casual relationship with Jaenelle's inner circle, as well as his introduction into Cassidy's circle. I'm a bit disappointed that Bishop did not create a way for Gray to gain the power he missed out on the first time, simply because it feels like he was punished for what he had no control over in his past.
I also love the humor that Bishop interjects so effortlessly into the plot, such as the interactions between Ranon and Gray and the rest of Jaenelle's court. The same old chemistry is still there with all of the "former court," and I have to wonder if the references to her court don't indicate a coming change in future books. I greatly look forward to the next installment in the Black Jewels series, Twilight's Dawn: A Black Jewels Book.

The Cover: The cover features Cassidy's red-haired looks, which, in my opinion, are anything but "plain." I am not sure where the background is supposed to be, but it can only be one of two places to make any sense at all, namely the Grayhaven estates or the Shalador reserves. It works.

First Line: "As tales of the new queen's heart and courage spread through the Territory of Dena Nehele, the Black Widows felt something tremble through the land."
A great introduction that reminds me of Anne Bishop's way with words.

Favorite Quote: "Well, Hell's fire, woman! For just once in your life, be greedy!"

Read For: Support Your Local Library Challenge, Speculative Fiction Challenge