When Dragons Fly

Rachel Hartman creates a world rich in magical fantasy. Dragons are a key part of society working side by side with humans. Yet mixed race offspring are a deadly secret to be kept hidden at any cost. Seraphina is a new member of the royal court and a gifted musician. When a member of the royal family is murdered Seraphina helps investigate.

Prince Lucien complicates her choices as she grows to like him more than she should. The 40 year peace between dragons and humans is threatened. This is a story that young and old fantasy readers should enjoy.

Deadly Empire

Miriam Forster offers a prequel to her popular City Of A Thousand Gods that answers many questions from her first novel but it also stands alone. Here heroine Mara is a body guard, a choice she made to atone for her actions. She was cast out from her family and trained into an elite group the Order of Khatar who protect others.

She soon guards a noble girl in the capitol of the empire. Yet the Imperial city is more dangerous than she bargained for and her friends try to protect her from danger. In this city lies are currency and a deadly plot is being unleashed that will shake the society to the core. Mara will need skills she learned in her village as well as those of a bodyguard. This is an epic fantasy that will keep you enrapt.

Modern Day Druid

Kevin Hearne’s first novel in the Iron Druid Chronicles offered a great read. Atticus O’Sullivan, a 2,000 year old druid, has a bunch of enemies ready to end his days. Aenghus Og, the Celtic god of love, is after him and his partner Oberon, an Irish wolfhound.

Being last of the Druids, makes it tough to live peacefully in Arizona, hiding by running an occult bookshop.  He’ll travel in the desert and through mythical lands making additional enemies an a few new friends along the way.

Better Than Take Out

The Three Sisters Quick & Easy Indian Cookbook: Flavors And Spices Of India by Sereena Kaul offers us delicious and authentic recipes for home.

These three sisters bring over 60 traditional recipes to serve simply and quickly. There are speedy one-pot curries, Indian street food, snacks, chutneys, desserts and more.  All were inspired by their mother’s and grandmother’s recipes  So many delicious meals easy and quick. Why even think of take out?

The Sultan’s Seal Of Murder

Jenny B. White has penned a rich first novel. With the death of a young Englishwoman who has a pendant with the seal of the deposed sultan a mystery unfolds. It mirrors back to an older, unsolved murder of another English governess.

Istanbul at the end of the Ottoman empire is the exotic backdrop.  of another English governess, a crime that was never solved. Magistrate Kamil Pasha strives to find the killer.  He is unsure if these are political murders involving the palace or a more personal matter of passion.  The main character to captivate us is 19th century Turkey.

Sorcery Of A Wintery Kind

Catherine Fisher is the bestselling author of The Oracle Prophecies trilogy and this epic fantasy is another winner. The story was originally published in Britain as three short stories. A mysterious Snow-walker from the edge of the world marries into the throne and rules her new people with fear and evil sorcery. Jarl and his friends must risk everything to defeat Gundrun.

The story pays homage to Beowulf, and Celtic and Norse tales mixing the hero’s journey and a coming of age tale for a band of unlikely heroes.

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree

Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama has big shoes to fill when her mother is a preternatural and her father is a werewolf pack leader. Her adopted father is a vampire. So in an alternate version of England she is set to embark in her first solo voyage to India via dirigible with trouble soon to follow.

She will rely on her metanatural abilities — and the help of her family of friends to solve a mysterious kidnapping without missing a drop of tea. Fans of Gail Carriger will find the humor in her earlier series here parlayed for a younger generation.

Books Could Be Dangerous

Voices by Ursula K LeGuin weaves magic and duty into the fictional world of Ansul. It’s a city conquered and shackled by regulations where reading and writing are crimes punishable by death. Hidden behind the safety of walls in a once prosperous home, Memer comes to cherish books and must find her own brand of courage – one that will be tested.

For someone raised to be obedient and to find safety in quiet ways, the life of a rebel is not a choice easily made. A visiting poet and his wife shake things up and offer Memer a chance to try on a disguise and see another side of city life.

LeGuin delivers again another wonderful coming of age fantasy.

A Girl Abandoned At The City Gates Discovers Her Fate

City Of A Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster. I must admit, the cover drew me to this novel. It is beautiful. The world building kept me in the fantastical city full of secrets and royal ambition.

A girl who was abandoned at the gates of the City of A Thousand Dolls searches for a killer and ends up learning more about her true heritage. This is a nice beginning to what will become a popular fantasy series. Especially if you adore cats…just saying…without giving away too much.

If Your Uncle Were Sherlock Holmes And You Had A Secret

A Study In Silks by Emma Jane Holloway.  I must admit I enjoy a good genre mash-up. Mix in an alternate Victorian England controlled by utility barons, add a bit of magic, and Sherlock Holmes for good measure and the stage is set with a mystery afoot.  The book should appeal to readers across genre lines who enjoy a light mystery with a bit of fun and romance thrown in. I read the uncorrected proof and it was an easy read so I can only imagine the final copy, out in September 2013, will only be better. Go ahead and read this one. I dare you.