October books on my list . . .
October books on my list . . . each month I write about the books I've noticed and think might be good. Sometimes they're from favorite authors and sometimes a new author strikes my fancy.
I don't buy all the books (not during the month they're released at least)–since I already have way too many books to read. I'm trying to limit the new books I buy each month to the ones I'm going to read soon.
But the list I make each month helps me not forget books. The Goodreads links help me keep track of these books.
And I hope people reading my post may find some new books, too! I also hope they will point me toward books I missed.
Tanya Huff is one of my favorite authors. And I love that we get to read more about Torin Kerr again (from the Confederation series).
An Ancient Peace
by Tanya Huff
Series: Peacekeeper #1 (Confederation #6)
Published by DAW
Genre: Military Science Fiction
Synopsis: The first book of a thrilling new military science fiction spin-off of Tanya Huff's Confederation series.
Susanna Kearsley is another of my favorite authors. And this book takes place in Wales!
Named of the Dragon
by Susanna Kearsley
Published by Sourcebooks (reprint; first published 1998)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis: The invitation to spend Christmas in Angle, on the Pembrokeshire coast, is one that Lyn Ravenshaw is only too happy to accept. To escape London and the pressures of her literary agency is temptation enough, but the prospect of meeting Booker Prize nominee James Swift – conveniently in search of an agent – is the deciding factor. On holiday she encounters the disturbing Elen Vaughan, recently widowed and with an eight-month-old son whose paternity is a subject for local gossip. Elen's baby arouses painful memories of Lyn's own dead child/ and strange, haunting dreams, in which a young woman in blue repeatedly tries to hand over her child to Lyn for safekeeping.
Who is the father of Elen's baby? What is the eerie, monstrous creature of Elen's dreams that tries to ensnare her son, and what makes her so sure that Lyn has been sent to protect him? As she begins to untangle the truth behind the stories, the secret she discovers leads Lyn to an encounter with the past that will change her life forever.
I haven't read the first book in this series, but it sounds very good and several people whose reviews I read and trust have given the first book great ratings.
The Flux
by Ferrett Steinmetz
Series: 'Mancer #2
Published by Angry Robot
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Synopsis: Love something enough, and your obsession will punch holes through the laws of physics. That devotion creates unique magics: videogamemancers. Origamimancers. Culinomancers.
But when 'mancers battle, cities tremble…
ALIYAH TSABO-DAWSON: The world's most dangerous eight-year-old girl. Burned by a terrorist's magic, gifted strange powers beyond measure. She's furious that she has to hide her abilities from her friends, her teachers, even her mother – and her temper tantrums can kill.
PAUL TSABO: Bureaucromancer. Magical drug-dealer. Desperate father. He's gone toe-to-toe with the government's conscription squads of brain-burned Unimancers, and he'll lie to anyone to keep Aliyah out of their hands – whether Aliyah likes it or not.
THE KING OF NEW YORK: The mysterious power player hell-bent on capturing the two of them. A man packing a private army of illegal 'mancers.
Paul's family is the key to keep the King's crumbling empire afloat. But offering them paradise is the catalyst that inflames Aliyah's deadly rebellious streak…
I haven't kept up-to-date with this series, but I want to read the ones I've missed as well as this book.
by Tasha Alexander
Series: Lady Emily #10
Published by Minotaur Books
Synopsis: Emily and husband Colin have come to the French Riviera for what should be a joyous occasion – the engagement party of her lifelong friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge, and Amity Wells, an American heiress. But the merrymaking is cut short with the shocking death of one of the party in an apparent suicide. Not convinced by the coroner's verdict, Emily must employ all of her investigative skills to discover the truth and avert another tragedy.
I've read the first two books in this trilogy and they're so good. I really want to see how this ends.
The Immortal Heights
by Sherry Thomas
Series: The Elemental Trilogy #3
Published by Balzer + Bray
Synopsis: In a pursuit that has spanned continents, Iolanthe, Titus, and their friends have always managed to remain one step ahead of the forces of Atlantis. But now the Bane, the monstrous tyrant who bestrides the entire mage world, has issued his ultimatum: Titus must hand over Iolanthe, or watch as his entire realm is destroyed in a deadly rampage. Running out of time and options, Iolanthe and Titus must act decisively to deliver a final blow to the Bane, ending his reign of terror for good.
However, getting to the Bane means accomplishing the impossible—finding a way to infiltrate his crypt in the deepest recesses of the most ferociously guarded fortress in Atlantis. And everything is only made more difficult when new prophecies come to light, foretelling a doomed effort….
Iolanthe and Titus will put their love and their lives on the line. But will it be enough?
I haven't read the first book–Murder at the Brightwell–but both these books sound really good. And I love the covers.
Death Wears a Mask
by Ashley Weaver
Series: Amory Ames Mystery #2
Synopsis: Amory Ames and her rakish husband Milo take on a murder at a masked ball in this Christie-esque traditional mystery set in 1930s England
Ashley Weaver established herself as a bright new voice in the tradition of Deanna Raybourn and Tasha Alexander with the first in her witty and stylish Amory and Milo Ames mystery series, Murder at the Brightwell.
Following the murderous events at the Brightwell Hotel, Amory Ames is looking forward to a tranquil period of reconnecting with reformed playboy husband Milo. Amory hopes a quiet stay at their London flat will help mend their dysfunctional relationship after their unexpected reconciliation. However, she soon finds herself drawn into another investigation when Serena Barrington asks her to look into the disappearance of valuable jewelry snatched at a dinner party.
Amory agrees to help lay a trap to catch the culprit at a lavish masked ball hosted by the notorious Viscount Dunmore. But when one of the illustrious party guests is murdered, Amory is pulled back into the world of detection, enlisted by old ally Detective Inspector Jones. As she works through the suspect list, she struggles to fend off the advances of the very persistent viscount even as rumors swirl about Milo and a French film star.
Once again, Amory and Milo must work together to solve a mystery where nothing is as it seems, set in the heart of 1930s society London.
I read the first book in this series and really liked it.
Guaranteed to Bleed
by Julie Mulhern
Series: The Country Club Murders #2
Published by Henery Press
Genre: Historical Mystery (1970's, Kansas City)
Synopsis: With his dying breath, Bobby Lowell begs Ellison Russell, "Tell her I love her."
Unable to refuse, Ellison struggles to find the girl the murdered boy loved. Too bad an epically bad blind date, a vindictive graffiti artist, and multiple trips to the emergency room keep getting in the way.
Worse, a killer has Ellison in his sights, her newly-rebellious daughter is missing, and there's yet another body in her hostas. Mother won't be pleased.
Now Ellison must track down not one but two runaway teenagers, keep her promise to Bobby and elude the killer—all before her next charity gala committee meeting.
I don't read a lot of young adult books, but I'm looking for more science fiction to read and this sounds interesting. I like the idea of different documents being used to tell the story.
by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Synopsis: This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she'd have to do.
This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that's little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what's really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
This sounds very original–decopunk pulp alt-history space opera mystery?? Wow!
by Catherynne M. Valente
Series: Unknown
Published by Tor Books
Genre: Science Fiction (also described as "decopunk pulp alt-history space opera mystery")
Synopsis: Radiance is a decopunk pulp SF alt-history space opera mystery set in a Hollywood—and solar system—very different from our own, from the phenomenal talent behind the New York Times bestselling The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.
Severin Unck's father is a famous director of Gothic romances in an alternate 1986 in which talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family. Rebelling against her father's films of passion, intrigue, and spirits from beyond, Severin starts making documentaries, traveling through space and investigating the levitator cults of Neptune and the lawless saloons of Mars. For this is not our solar system, but one drawn from classic science fiction in which all the planets are inhabited and we travel through space on beautiful rockets. Severin is a realist in a fantastic universe.
But her latest film, which investigates the disappearance of a diving colony on a watery Venus populated by island-sized alien creatures, will be her last. Though her crew limps home to earth and her story is preserved by the colony's last survivor, Severin will never return.
Aesthetically recalling A Trip to the Moon and House of Leaves, and told using techniques from reality TV, classic film, gossip magazines, and meta-fictional narrative, Radiance is a solar system-spanning story of love, exploration, family, loss, quantum physics, and silent film.
Ilona Andrews is another of my favorite authors. I loved the first book in this series and want to read this book soon.
by Ilona Andrews
Series: Hidden Legacy #2
Published by Avon
Synopsis: Nevada Baylor has a unique and secret skill—she knows when people are lying—and she's used that magic (along with plain, hard work) to keep her colorful and close-knit family's detective agency afloat. But her new case pits her against the shadowy forces that almost destroyed the city of Houston once before, bringing Nevada back into contact with Connor "Mad" Rogan.
Rogan is a billionaire Prime—the highest rank of magic user—and as unreadable as ever, despite Nevada's "talent." But there's no hiding the sparks between them. Now that the stakes are even higher, both professionally and personally, and their foes are unimaginably powerful, Rogan and Nevada will find that nothing burns like ice . . .
An interesting sounding fantasy.
Wake of Vultures
by Lila Bowen
Series: The Shadow #1
Published by Orbit
Synopsis: A rich, dark fantasy of destiny, death, and the supernatural world hiding beneath the surface.
Nettie Lonesome lives in a land of hard people and hard ground dusted with sand. She's a half-breed who dresses like a boy, raised by folks who don't call her a slave but use her like one. She knows of nothing else. That is, until the day a stranger attacks her. When nothing, not even a sickle to the eye can stop him, Nettie stabs him through the heart with a chunk of wood, and he turns into black sand.
And just like that, Nettie can see.
But her newfound sight is a blessing and a curse. Even if she doesn't understand what's under her own skin, she can sense what everyone else is hiding — at least physically. The world is full of evil, and now she knows the source of all the sand in the desert. Haunted by the spirits, Nettie has no choice but to set out on a quest that might lead to her true kin… if the monsters along the way don't kill her first.
An interesting sounding science fiction.
Our Lady of the Ice
by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Published by Saga Press
Synopsis: Hope City, Antarctica. The southernmost city in the world, with only a glass dome and a faltering infrastructure to protect its citizens from the freezing, ceaseless winds of the Antarctic wilderness. Within this bell jar four people–some human, some not–will shape the future of the city forever:
Eliana Gomez, a female PI looking for a way to the mainland.
Diego Amitrano, the right-hand man to the gangster who controls the city's food come winter.
Marianella Luna, an aristocrat with a dangerous secret.
Sofia, an android who has begun to evolve.
But the city is evolving too, and in the heart of the perilous Antarctic winter, factions will clash, dreams will shatter, and that frozen metropolis just might boil over…
I have the first book in this series and this sounds like it could be a good series.
A Question of Inheritance
by Elizabeth Edmondson
Series: A Very English Mystery #2
Published by Thomas & Mercer
Synopsis: Hugo Hawksworth is on the tail of rogue Cold War agents at a top-secret government facility, while back home at Selchester Castle they're awaiting the arrival of the new Earl—an American, the long-lost son of the murdered Lord Selchester.
The town of Selchester, rich in scandal and gossip, is unsure what to make of the Earl or his teenage daughters, but they know that his sharp-tongued half-sister, Lady Sonia, furious at being deprived of her inheritance, won't be a merry guest over Christmas.
The new Lord Selchester can cope with the strangeness of English country life, but he hadn't expected stolen paintings—or a body in the hothouse.
What's the link between Hugo's investigations and the suspicious goings-on in the town and at the Castle? And will he and his allies get to the heart of the mystery before the murderer gets to them?
I've never read this series though I did watch the TV series and really liked that so I've thought of starting this series.
A Banquet of Consequences
by Elizabeth George
Series: Inspector Lynley #19
Published by Viking
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Synopsis: Elizabeth George first claimed a spot on the New York Times bestseller list in 1994. Two decades later her Lynley novels are still at the top of national bestseller lists, proving how vast and loyal her audience is. Critics and fans alike cherish Inspector Lynley, eighth Earl of Asherton, and Sergeant Havers, his working-class partner, for their believably irascible relationship as much as for their uncanny ability to solve the most challenging cases. And in her nineteenth Inspector Lynley novel, A Banquet of Consequences, George delivers another winner as Lynley and Havers are drawn from Cambridge to London to the windswept town of Shaftesbury during one of their most complex cases yet.
The books I plan to get (and hopefully read) soon:
An Ancient Peace by Tanya Huff
Named of the Dragon by Susanna Kearsley
The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas
Guaranteed to Bleed by Julie Mulhern
White Hot by Ilona Andrews
What books are you excited about this month?
Author JanPosted on October 1, 2015 Categories 2015, books on my list . . .Tags contemporary mystery, fantasy, historical fiction, historical mystery, military science fiction, mystery, science fiction. military, urban fantasy, young adult
8 thoughts on "October books on my list . . ."
I have Guaranteed to Bleed and am really looking forward to it. I really want to try Tasha Alexander and Ashley Weaver.
Guaranteed to Bleed was really good. I think you'll enjoy it, Katherine. I need to read more Tasha Alexander and start Ashley Weaver's books. I just need to find time!
I love your blog redesign! Great banner.
There are so many great October books – the Tanya Huff and Ilona Andrews are definitely on my list.
Thank you, Li! I'm still tweaking things, but changed most of it today. It's been fun to finally try to make some changes.
There are a lot of good books coming out this month. I'm reading the Tanya Huff book right now and unfortunately struggling a little with it a little.
Mogsy says:
Lots of good stuff here. I'd really like to try Tanya Huff, do you think An Ancient Peace would be a good place to jump on board, being the first of a spinoff series? Or do you think I would need to have read the previous Confederation books to not get lost?
Thanks, Mogsy! If you want to read this military science fiction I would start with book 1 of the Confederation series. They are really good–lots of adventure and action, strong female protagonist. This book has some of the same characters and makes quite a few references to what happened in the first books. You could read this book and understand it just fine, but you'll miss a lot of fun of the first books plus some of the current motivations of the characters. I'm not done with An Ancient Peace yet so I'm not sure I like this book as well as the earlier books either.
Tanya Huff has written a number of different fantasy series, too, which I've really enjoyed, too.
Our Lady of the Ice is already on my wishlist for when I can get to it. It just sounds so intriguing, and different! Thanks for pointing out new titles. I love to read other folks' lists and then check them out further.
I like other people's lists, too, Rita. That's where I get lots of good ideas for new books to read. I hope you'll like some of these!
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