Top 10 of 2012: My Most Anticipated Titles of 2013

I am taking part in this event, hosted by the bloggers at Fiktshun, A Life Bound By Books, Confessions of a Bookaholic, Two Chicks on Books and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads. Visit any of these links to see all the other bloggers taking part.

As this is the final post for this event I would like to thank the lovely people who have hosted it and all of you who have visited my posts, even when I have failed miserably to actually find ten things to list! :D

You will notice a certain similarity in this list when you compare it to my Top 10 Read Books.

The book I most want to read in 2013 is The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire #6) by George R.R. Martin, but Mr Martin is writing with his usual infuriating slowness and it is not due for publication until 2015 . . . sob! :(

However, here are ten books that I know will be published in 2013:

The book that I most anticipating for 2013 is Celtic Moon by Jan DeLima

Jan is a dear friend of mine, so you will be hearing a lot more about this title as publication draws nearer. It is scheduled for publication in October by Ace, so there is no cover or official blurb for it yet, however, I can give you a rough idea of what it is about because I had the great privilege of reading an earlier draft.

Jan has taken inspiration from the Welsh mythology of the Mabinogion to create a world where Old World myths have come to the New World. Set mostly in her home state of Maine, it follows a woman’s struggle to help her son to learn about the unusual gifts inherited from his father. Fiercely independent and protective of him, she knows that only his father can help him to understand the changes that are overtaking him. Meanwhile, a war is brewing between the conservatives in Wales and the rebels in the US and not even the god Taliesin can help her.

I hope this catches your interest, as it is a great read in the Urban Fantasy genre. I will let you know more as soon as I can!

Wake Up! (Simon’s Cat #5) by Simon Tofield

More Simon’s Cat: need I say more?

Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter by Richard Parks

This sounds intriguing and I love the cover.

The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastard #3) by Scott Lynch

Just like Mr Martin, Mr Lynch is an appallingly slow writer. I hope that this episode in the life of Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen will be worth the wait, and that we will finally meet Sabetha!

Shattered Pillars (Eternal Sky #2) by Elizabeth Bear

Fortunately, Ms Bear writes relatively quickly, so there has not been a long gap between Range of Ghosts and this sequel. As we were left at somewhat of a cliffhanger, I am very eager to find out what happens to our intrepid band of heroes.

A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time #14) by Brandon Sanderson

I have just started reading the whole of the Wheel of Time series, so it will be quite some time before I get to this title (probably several years), but I still think that it is a massive achievement that Mr Sanderson has finished the series. I hope that it remains as strong at the end as it is at the beginning.

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

One of my most favorite books is Garden Spells, in fact it is the reason I started this blog! Although her later books have not quite fulfilled the potential of that first title, I am still eager to read her latest work.

The Ides of April (Flavia Albia Mystery #1) by Lindsey Davis

Ms Davis’ great creation Marcus Didius Falco is one of my all time favorite characters and I love the books in his series. However, poor Falco has aged quite a bit, so Ms Davis has begun a new series writing about his adopted daughter, Flavia Albia. I am certain that they will display the same high level of wit and charm with a generous dose of historical accuracy.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman was a new author for me this year, but I was totally blown away by The Graveyard Book, so I will now be working through his entire back catalogue. I could also see an improvement in his writing from Neverwhere, so any new works will be going straight onto my TBR list.

Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger

I loved Soulless and the other Parasol Protectorate titles that I read this year and I plan to finish the series in 2013. This title marks the beginning of a new series, and I have high hopes that it will show the same wit and creativity as we have already seen.

Top 10 of 2012: Best Boyfriends of 2012

I am taking part in this event, hosted by the bloggers at Fiktshun, A Life Bound By Books, Confessions of a Bookaholic, Two Chicks on Books and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads. Visit any of these links to see all the other bloggers taking part.

After re-checking my Read shelf on Goodreads, it seems that I have read very few books actually published in 2012 this year: a whopping six titles! Of those, two were Simon’s Cat titles, one was a fairly poor Romance and one was an anthology of Science Fiction stories about Robots.

This leaves me with only two characters that could even vaguely be described as ‘boyfriends’:

Barrons in Fever Moon by Karen Marie Moning

Barrons is one of those alpha males who is slightly repellent because of his overbearing attitude, but who is totally mesmerizing and very, very attractive. His physically attractiveness is counterbalanced by his biting sarcasm and dismissive attitude towards our heroine, Mac. He is grim and appears humorless, rarely smiling and yet often exuding a sense of barely controlled sexual tension when Mac provokes him. There is an otherworldliness to his grace and manner of movement, which allows him to move quickly and almost silently. Taken all together this creates an intriguing but highly attractive package, that Mac finds difficult to resist . . . and did I mention: he runs an epic bookstore!

Temur in Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear

We see Temur with two different women in this title, but it is his devotion to Edene that shows his great potential as a partner. She is the aggressor in their relationship and he is almost reluctant to bed her, because he knows how short his life might be. He is very conscious of his responsibility towards her and her family, but he fears that he could cause them to become the target of his enemies, and this proves to be the case when Edene is kidnapped. Determined to recover her, he sets out to discover who has taken her and where. He is a thoughtful young man, who has prowess with a horse and a bow, but is not the overly alpha male that we see in Barrons. I am not so sure that he would create the same kinds of fireworks as Barrons, but he would provide a steady, comforting love that would keep you warm through the coldest nights.

Top 10 of 2012: Best Debuts I read in 2012

I am taking part in this event, hosted by the bloggers at Fiktshun, A Life Bound By Books, Confessions of a Bookaholic, Two Chicks on Books and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads. Visit any of these links to see all the other bloggers taking part.

Today we had a choice for what we would list, and I chose debuts . . . However, it would appear that I have not read many debuts this year, and some of them have not been what I would describe as ‘good’. However, others have been great fun, so here they are, in no particular order:

Soulless by Gail Carriger

I have to admit that I spent a great deal of time chuckling whilst I read this book. The name of the series that it begins, The Parasol Protectorate, is indicative of the humor that fills the writing. The author’s turn of phrase is delightfully sharp, although it captures the overly wordy style of writing of the period, which I found it drew me into the world very successfully. Of course, I am British myself, so I may find it easy to associate myself with an Alexia who is not only witty but also has a cutting, sarcastic tone. She is a fearless heroine who fights her own battles: and in a full skirt and corset with a bushel and hat to contend with. She knows that she is not really a part of the High Society that the rest of her family inhabits, but she genuinely doesn’t care and is unashamed of her differences. It is so nice to have a period character who shows some backbone, but is not too anachronistic.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

This is Scott Lynch’s debut novel, but you would never know that from his skill with dialogue and descriptive writing. His voice is very engaging and witty, giving us memorable quotes and laugh-out-loud descriptions of events. His characters are well drawn and fully realized. Indeed, we come to love some of them very quickly: there are few ‘throw away’ place fillers in evidence. The setting is expertly drawn and we are given enough detail to leave us wanting more: it is similar to Elizabethan Europe, but different enough to tick all the required Fantasy boxes. The plot has enough originality to keep us off balance and surprised, with bold moves that will have you shouting angrily at the author because you do not want him to do THAT to the characters.

The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson

This is not your traditional vamp-ridden urban fantasy, and that is refreshing. Plus, it is nice to have a heroine who is grumpy and paranoid, but has a really good reason to be like that: the assault she endured as a teenager robbed her of her innocence, her mother and her boyfriend, so we can forgive her for being very defensive. It is a little rough around the edges, but I am glad that I stuck with the book as it has great promise and it is her first published novel, so I can cut the author some slack: I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie by Alan Bradley

When we first meet Flavia she is tied up and locked in a closet. This conveys her relationship with her older sisters very neatly, and also allows us to witness her resourcefulness as she escapes from her predicament. One other aspect of Flavia that I really liked, and actually envied, was her access to a fully equipped laboratory and library of scientific texts: I would have loved to have had this when I was eleven! In short, I fell in love with Flavia and her world, which I found authentic and endearingly eccentric. I thought that her family dynamic worked well, providing her with the freedom that she needed to conduct an investigation unimpeded whilst giving her the fierce determination to protect her father. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a little black humor mixed in with their Christie-style murder-mystery.