Predator's Gold

This installment in The Hungry Cities saga is introduced by a new character, Freya, the margravine of Anchorage, a peaceful traction city which is overcoming the after affects of a pestilence that had wiped out a majority of the population, including Freya’s parents.
London has been dead for two years, and Tom and Hester have spent that time cruising the bird roads in the Jenny Haniver, left unclaimed after Anna Fang’s death.  They’ve been in the north, trading with arctic cities and hiding from both the anti-traction league and willful Urbivores such as Arkangel.  After taking in a strange passenger and out-flying a troupe of gunships, Hester and Tom have been forced to dock in Anchorage until they can repair their ship.
Much to Hester’s dismay, this puts Tom in Freya’s path.  Freya, who was an amateur historian, Freya, who had her own museum and has read all the same books as Tom, Freya who did not have feature-distorting scars on her face.  Needless to say this puts Hester in a bad place, emotionally.  Her decisions as a result of this turbulence change not only Tom’s life, but the entire city of Anchorage.  Tom is her predator’s gold. Love is her downfall. 
After selling out Anchorage to get Tom back, Hester is captured by a splinter group of the anti-traction league called the Green Storm under the command of a overzealous acolyte of Anna Fang who has taken to adapting old tech and muddled alchemy to bring Anna back from the dead.  She doesn’t understand until it’s too late that such a thing is not possible.
Action-packed from page one, Reeve takes the reader deep into the lives of his characters.  Not only do you fall in love with each one, Reeve shows you what is possible with strong female protagonists and minimal romantic splinter plots.  I look forward to the next book.

Blood of Wonderland

In this second installment of the Queen of Hearts trilogy, Oakes ups the stakes once again.  Dinah is exiled, on the run from the King of Hearts as a scapegoat for his grab at absolute power.  Her younger brother, the Mad Hatter, has been killed by the King, and her half-sister is now a puppet queen.  The young former princess is losing herself in the Twisted Wood, running from the King and his loyal Cards.  Hope seems lost when a party catches up to her, but a rogue Spade, Sir Gorrann, finds her in time.

Like all young women, Dinah is set upon a journey with no end, no logical one in any case. Surrounded by others who knew its purpose, while she was ignorant of all the intricacies.  Oakes elegantly takes a well known antagonist and shows her humanity, her pain, her growth, and even her broken heart.  Awakened to the machinations of the men around her, Dinah takes her crown, and prepares to conquer not only the king, but herself.

Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

A new look into the story of a classic villain, Queen of Hearts is a fresh take on the character of the notorious queen of Wonderland.

Before Alice came down the rabbit hole, Dinah was a princess and heir to the throne of Wonderland.  As a princess, Dinah had in depth training and restrictive social protocols to adapt and overcome.  She had responsibility to her family, her mad younger brother and the memory of her dead mother, as well as a constant battle with the tyrant her father, the king, had become.  Her life is going well, or was at least somewhat normal for a princess.  Until her father brings her half sister to court.

Lewis Carol’s classic is given wings in this interpretation of the Red Queen’s story.  By putting human faces on the fantastic characters we already know and love, Oakes pulls the reader fully into her version of Wonderland.  From conspiracy to adventure, childhood to first love, there’s an identifiable character for everyone who reads it.

An overall thrilling start to the series, and I look forward to more.

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Book one of Philip Reeve’s The Hungry City Chronicles is an imaginative steampunk adventure that keeps you hooked from page one.  In the future, cities are on wheels, roaming across what has become a post-apocalyptic waste and they conquer other “traction cities” as their called to prey on their resources and laborers.  This practice is called Municipal Darwinism.  Big towns “eat” small towns, cities go after suburbs, and the largest cities are terror to townships and settlements.

The story follows Tom, an apprentice historian in the predator city of London, and Hester, a rogue from the “out country” through murder, vengeance, and regret.  A dash of conspiracy, strong wills, and character development stand this romp across Europe above almost any steampunk story of its kind.  Adding classic steampunk culture and dystopian undercurrents gives this series a strong start.

Zebulon Finch Part One

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch is a modernized and macabre Peter Pan adventure. When I say "modernized" I mean the distinct style Daniel Kraus employs in his narrative of a boy who could not die, and would not grow up.
Zebulon Finch is born in the late 19th century and is killed when he is 17.  More than a distinct examination of the human condition from a myriad of perspectives, Zebulon also experiences the rise of America.  The progression of a 17 year old boy through a life he never wanted, and would never accept as entitlement is an interesting and surprisingly emotional ride.  Kraus uses historical events to line up the plot and puts Zebulon in the middle of everything.
This boy was caught up in the rise of organized crime in Chicago, the evolution of the film industry in California, civil war, great war, and prohibition, Zebulon sees it all.  He struggles in this to understand the consequences of not only his own actions, but the actions of others.  Emotionally, he doesn’t really grow up.  He’ll always be 17, a criminal, a soldier, and an experiment.
Not knowing if or when his life will finally end, Zebulon cannot begin to grasp at the ideals of reparation, war, and sacrifice.  He sees his own daughter grow old, tries to steer her from, in his mind, a morally ambiguous path.  Great nations rise and fall, and all Zebulon wants is a normal life, a normal death.  Instead, he is forced to watch the people he loves grow old, grow desperate, and die fighting.  And regardless of injury, he continues to exist.  His life meant nothing, but his death shows him everything.

The Bloodbound Review

The Bloodbound by Erin Lindsey introduces a female warrior in a realm of fantasy dominated by men.  What I appreciated most about the pace and plotline is that she wove the romance into the story almost seamlessly.  The Bloodbound is a perfect example of a clearly acknowledged romance plot without any gratuitous physicality.  And the romance in no way takes from the action, intrigue, and strength of the fantasy aspect of the story.

The Darkest Corner by Liliana Hart Review

The Darkest Corner by Liliana Hart is a thriller that borders on erotic.  Deacon is a dead man.  A dead man in a limited contract, but a dead man nonetheless.  Tess is a mortician.  In the nowhere location of Last Stop, Texas, threats of Russian terror attacks throw these two together in a way no normal circumstance ever could.
For the two years of their acquaintance, Deacon had been obliged to keep his alternative lifestyle secret from Tess.  And so she had been obliged to ignore the carnal desire that surfaced when Deacon entered a room.  Until Tess decided it was time to quit Last Stop and ply her trade in an urban environment.  That’s when Deacon’s boss, Eve Winter, charges him with the mission of getting Tess to stay put, however he can.
It’s a story of intrigue, of lust, of desire.  Liliana Hart crafts such a story that would please thriller fans, mystery fans, and romance fans alike.  She weaves the erotic deftly with the spy thriller storyline, leaving nothing gratuitous or out of place.  I could not put this book down, and I’m ready to get started on the next one.