Storm Riders
Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes. Tor, $27.99 (512p) ISBN 978-0-7653-3349-0
This rousing second chapter in the Dragon Brigades epic fantasy series (after Shadow Raiders) is set in an intricate magical land that floats on the Breath of God. Bitter rival empires Rosia and Freya are threatened by Bottom Dwellers, evil demons that live on the planet’s surface. Freya’s wily puppetmaster, Sir Henry Wallace, and Rosia’s formidable schemer, Countess Cecile de Marjolaine, lead an immense and fascinating cast through intrigue and derring-do, first scheming against each other and then teaming up to battle their mutual enemy. They’re abetted by a variety of dragons, such as the noble mansion-dwellers of Rosia and the wild iridescent youngster that Cecile’s estranged son, Stephano, yearns to ride into battle; the beasts are standouts in the genre, wistful, intriguing, and utterly convincing. New readers may be lost without a dramatis personae, maps, and a synopsis of earlier action, as this complex universe is prone to rapid shifts of scene and personnel, but the multifaceted action and well-drawn characters will keep any fantasy fan’s excitement at feverish pitch, a particularly impressive feat for a middle book. (July)
The Thousand Names
show more
Django Wexler. Roc, $25.95 (512p) ISBN 978-0-451-46510-8
Wexler’s debut is a slow-building but generally capable addition to the military fantasy subgenre, nicely blending military strategy and political intrigue before layering on fantasy tropes. In a world at a Napoleonic Wars level of technology, soldiers on the outskirts of the imperialist Vordanai empire are suddenly in trouble when the rebels they arm turn on them. Quirky Count Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich Mieran is sent to fix the situation; to the surprise of Marcus D’Ivoire, a cynical captain, and Winter Ihernglass, a soldier looking to escape her past, he does reasonably well. Janus brings news of political intrigues at home, along with scholar Jennifer Alhundt, who has a mysterious agenda. The scenes of military life and combat tactics are well crafted, and Winter and Marcus’s respective successes keep the story moving swiftly enough until the darker secret and elements of the fantastic make themselves known. Wexler’s story and characters do stray into the realm of the predictable at times, but fans of military fantasy should still get their fill. Agent: Seth Fishman, Gernert Company. (July)
Everything You Need
show more
Michael Marshall Smith. Earthling (www.earthlingpub.com), $45 (300p) ISBN 978-0-9838071-4-8
This satisfying collection of 17 stories, five of which are originals, showcases Smith’s knack for the uncanny. Smith (Spares; More Tomorrow & Other Stories) pulls together dark fantasy, horror, and science fiction, with each piece taking place in a world just one step away from our own—so familiar, and yet, at the same time, not quite right. Highlights include “Walking Wounded,” in which a man suffers from mysterious and alarming injuries soon after a move across town; “The Seventeenth Kind,” featuring a charismatic host on a home shopping network whose levelheadedness is pushed to its limits; and “The Good Listener,” a melancholy near-future journey through California’s Bay Area. The collection gets off to an awkward start: the settings in the first two stories don’t quite gel, and “Unbelief” is more clever than it is entertaining. Once they get rolling, though, these moody stories will draw in anyone with an interest in the strange. (July)
The Humans
Matt Haig. Simon & Schuster, $25 (256p) ISBN 978-1-4767-2791-2
In 1859, German mathematician Bernard Riemann put forth a hypothesis that prime numbers have a pattern. In 2012, an unnamed alien is sent to Earth to ensure the hypothesis is never proven. The Vonnadorians wish to prevent humans from gaining knowledge before they are psychologically prepared for the advancements that would ensue. The invader inhabits the body of Andrew Martin, the arrogant and selfish mathematician who discovered the proof to Riemann’s hypothesis; at first disgusted and confused by his human shell, the alien is eventually transformed, and the more time he spends with Andrew’s wife and son, the more he comes to doubt his mission. Haig (The Radleys) creates a delightful sense of displacement in “Andrew” and draws the reader into the experiences that make us human, ugly, wonderful, and mundane by turns. While at times the novel is sentimental, the wonder and humor with which the protagonist approaches life, and the many emotions and discoveries he experiences, are worth getting a bit weepy over. Agent: Andrea Joyce, Canongate. (July)
A Hero to Come Home To
Marilyn Pappano. Grand Central/Forever, $6 mass market (400p) ISBN 978-1-4555-2004-6
Pappano (In the Enemy’s Arms) shines in this poignant tale of love, loss, and learning to love again. Teacher Carly Lowry wants nothing more than to find peace after her husband, Army staff sergeant Jeff Lowry, is killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Two years later, what’s sustaining her is the Fort Murphy Widows Club, aka the Tuesday Night Margarita Club, based at Fort Murphy, Okla. On one club outing, Carly meets a man who captures her attention: Sgt. Dane Clark, who lost a leg in combat and who can’t quite believe anyone will want him again. Can the two overlook their losses and build a new life together? Pappano creates achingly real characters whose struggles will bring readers to tears. Well-placed secondary plots seamlessly set the stage for additional books in the series. Agent: Melissa Jeglinski, Knight Agency. (July)
All Out of Love
show more
Lori Wilde. Avon, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-221896-4
Bestseller Wilde fumbles her second Cupid, Texas steamy contemporary romance (after Love at First Sight). In high school, plump Lace Bettingfield wrote a private letter declaring her love for jock Pierce Hollister. Her cousin stole it and printed it in the school newspaper, to Lace’s eternal shame. Twelve years later, Lace has a Ph.D. in plant science and is running the town’s botanical garden. Pierce is now a pro football player, but an injury to his leg cost the Cowboys the Super Bowl and may have ended his career. He returns to Cupid to recuperate and help his ailing dad run the family ranch. Still feeling humiliated, Lace rebuffs his charm, so he sets out to seduce her. Pierce deals with sibling rivalry, his sick father, and disability; after town funds are embezzled, Lace is forced to ask celebrity Pierce to help with a fundraiser to keep the garden open. The two overcome their awkwardness in no time and fall repeatedly into bed. Obscure puns about botany and football slow the pacing of this sex-heavy, romance-scanty story. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (July)
All He Wants
show more
C.C. Gibbs. Grand Central/Forever, $10 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-4555-2832-5
Gibbs (the pseudonym of romance novelist Susan Johnson) hops on the Fifty Shades bandwagon with a bland but steamy billionaire/college student erotic novel. Widower Dominic Knight is a successful but emotionally withdrawn venture capitalist. A financial crisis at his company leads him to hire new MIT graduate Katherine Hart, who, rather inexplicably, has an excellent reputation in forensic accounting. They manage to stave off their mutual attraction for a while, but when only a week is left on Katherine’s short contract, she and Dominic can’t help winding up in bed together. While their mildly kinky sexual encounters deepen their feelings, there is little drama or spark elsewhere in the story. Neither exhibits more than token resistance to the relationship, and Dominic falls for Katherine immediately, offering no challenge to her sassy independence. The elegant prose is often hampered by clumsy exposition and jarring shifts in point of view. This first entry in a planned trilogy is diverting but not especially satisfying. (July)
If the Shoe Fits
show more
Megan Mulry. Sourcebooks Landmark, $14.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-4022-7000-0
In Mulry’s sweet follow-up to A Royal Pain, a British peer falls hard for an American businesswoman. Devon Heyworth is the younger brother of Max, the Duke of Northrop. He meets entrepreneur Sarah James at Max’s wedding in England, where she’s the maid of honor. While instant mutual lust ensues, Sarah makes it clear to Devon that their whirlwind romantic weekend is a onetime “utterly delightful, fabulously sexy, wonderful fling.” But they can’t forget each other, and when Devon travels to Chicago for business, he and Sarah reconnect. Misunderstandings thwart their budding romance, and Devon and Sarah’s globetrotting lifestyle adds a modern fairy-tale element. As Sarah reveals her insecurity about meeting her father’s expectations while succeeding as an independent woman, Devon proves that his playboy exterior hides both smarts and heart. The romantic tension entices the reader from the very first page and never flags. Agent: Allison Hunter, Inkwell Management. (July)
The Miss Education of Dr. Exeter
show more
Jillian Stone. Kensington, $9.95 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-7582-6900-3
Stone’s third Phaeton Black, Para-normal Investigator alternate-historical caper (after The Moonstone and Miss Jones) is an arousing erotic romance wearing a skimpy steampunk dress. Dr. Asa Exeter’s ward, Anatolia “Mia” Chadwick, is a bewitchingly beautiful young woman with an unfortunate tendency to become a panther. Exeter attempts to discourage her youthful crush on him so he can do his proper duty and marry her off. When he learns that the solution to Mia’s unpredictable shape-shifting requires intense sexual release, Exeter’s attempts to stay emotionally distant while providing physical intimacy only heighten their mutual frustration and desire. As Mia acquires control of her inner cat, Exeter is ever more deeply enthralled by her. A subplot regarding missing investigator Phaeton Black is more of an afterthought, but tension-filled sex scenes in a variety of unusual locations will satisfy readers who like to dog-ear the pages. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates. (July)
Fling: A BDSM Erotica Anthology
show more
Sara Fawkes, Cathryn Fox, and Lauren Hawkeye. Avon Red, $1.99 e-book (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-225204-3
Fetish Week at the Mancusi Resort in Italy serves as the backdrop for these quick-read male dom/female sub stories. In Fawkes’s “Take Me,” Kate Swansea, dumped by her fiancé via text message, arrives at the resort on what was supposed to be her honeymoon. Suave and darkly sexy hotel manager Alexander Stavros takes an immediate interest in the submissive redhead, and sexual fireworks ensue (without condoms, alas). Fox’s stronger “Teach Me” throws together worldly department store mogul Luca Mancusi and innocent fashionista intern Josie Pelletier in what becomes a slow, breathless seduction into the BDSM life. In Hawkeye’s “Tame Me,” pop singer Ariel Monroe can let her wild side show freely at the private resort, but she’s not sure if she can trust hot CEO Marco Kennedy with her secrets or her heart. Kink-curious romance readers drawn in by the understated cover and the Avon brand will find these stories satisfying. (July)
