just shelved...

Pretty Monsters, by Kelly Link
'Tis the season for falling leaves, things that go bump in the night, and pretty monsters. No wait--Pretty Monsters. See, it's a book, by Kelly Link, who will no doubt charm you from page one. Pretty Monsters collects nine of Kelly Link's short stories, aimed at young adults, twelve and up. But, don't let that stop you from reading it...it's not just for young adults. I'm...not a young adult...ahem...and enjoyed the book from start to finish. There's a story about a dead girl...and another one about a television show that is never on at the same time or the same channel...and the one about the werewolf... Read on...

A Lady's Secret, Jo Beverley
It's no secret that Jo Beverley always delivers unique and memorable historical romance, and her latest installment in her Malloren family Georgian series is no exception. A cursing nun, an Englishman abroad, and a Papillon dog take readers on an adventurous journey from France to England, with hidden agendas, identities and Beverley's trademark historical verisimilitude on the way to a believable and satisfying romance. Petra d'Aviero flees her Italian convent home after her mother's death, in search of her English father, whom she has never met. Pursued by a spurned lover, Petra must use her wits and her instincts to escape numerous pitfalls along the way to her destination. Intelligent, resourceful and determined, Petra is a heroine readers will long remember, and her Malloren connection will make longtime fans of the series stand up and cheer. Read on...

Gale Force, Rachel Caine
I'm happy to report that I didn't have to read Gale Force between the fingers covering my eyes, as I had feared at the end of my review of Thin Air. Indeed, Gale Force feels like something of a return for Caine, a return to the usual fun and insanity of a Weather Warden book. Joanne and David are getting hitched, which is no spoiler dear reader, for it's on the back cover of the book. Breathe...breathe... Naturally, their wedding planning cannot come without complications. She a Warden, he a Djinn, there are those in both camps that see the pairing as disastrous, but no more so than David's fellow Djinn, Ashan. Ashan fears that when David and Joanne exchange vows, David will commit every Djinn along with himself. Read on...

Death by Latte, Linda Gerber
Linda Gerber returns with a sequel to her young adult adventure, Death by Bikini, to give readers another adventure for her heroine Aphra Connolly. This time, Aphra's left the comfort and familiarity of her father's island resort to find her mother, Natalie, in Seattle, WA. Except, her mother doesn't know she's coming and, when Aphra finds her, is none too glad to see her. It seems Natalie's CIA days aren't quite as over as Aphra had been led to believe. In Death by Latte, Aphra's adventure continues as the truth about her mother's life comes out. It isn't long before the trip turns deadly and one of Natalie's colleagues is murdered. Not long after, Seth Mulo, the boy she'd met on the island previously, shows up. But Aphra's hopes for a happy reunion are dashed when Seth seems to brush her off and wants only to reclaim his father's ring, which he'd given her prior to leaving the island scant months before. It's enough to drive a sixteen year old nuts. Read on...

WebMage, Kelly McCullough
Imagine a world where magic and mythology are real and then imagine it in the here and now. But this time, magic isn't cast with old fashioned wands or elixirs or any of that, but by spewing strings of binary and some well done hacking. This is the world Kelly McCullough creates in his new series. The story is told in first person by Ravirn, a prince of the court of the Fates. Literally. His grandmother (with N number of "great"s prefixing it) is Lachesis, the Fate who measures out the length of each person's life strand. He's also a student at the University of Minnesota and a world class hacker. Well, a magical hacker, at least. With his trusty laptop familiar, Melchior, at his side, Ravirn has built up a reputation for being able to discover weaknesses and bugs. So much so that his great-to-the-nth aunt, Atropos, demands he debug her latest program. Except that by doing so, Ravirn will have helped Atropos in eradicating free will from the world, and that's not something he really wants to do. Read on...

Armed and Magical, Lisa Shearin
Raine Benares is back, still dealing with an evil stone and, this time, even more horrifying things: lawyers and politics. This is, of course, in addition to the bad guys, black magic, and general mayhem that has become the norm for Raine. And, yes, her snark is in full force, too. A sequel to Magic Lost, Trouble Found, Armed & Magical picks up the story right away and we're thrown into a brand new adventure. This time, Raine is on the Isle of Mid, having traveled from Mermeia in an attempt to find someone to disconnect her from the Saghred, the evil stone that, even under containment, still haunts her dreams. Shearin rehashes the high points of the first book for those who need a reminder or who are just jumping right in. While it isn't strictly necessary to have read the first book, the connections will certainly make much more sense to understand what had happened. Read on...