Ink & Sigil From the world of The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

Al MacBharrais has been cursed.  No one knows by whom and no one can remove it.  The better news is that he has magical abilities and can create sigils with amazing powers.  Unfortunately his curse also means all his apprentices die from accidental deaths.  He does what good he can but he hates his curses...

Del Rey allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published on August 25th.

He trades some sigils for information or favors.  But when he goes to check on his latest apprentice, he finds that not only is he dead, he had access to inks and sigils he shouldn't have.  He also has a hobgoblin caged.

Hobgoblins can be dangerous, so Al contracts him to make it safer.  Then he tries to figure out just what his apprentice was doing.  The more he learns, the scarier it gets.  It appears the apprentice was capturing the magic folk and turning them over to someone.  Why?

You'll meet a wide variety of magical folks.  Not just fae but trolls and ogres and more.  The hobgoblin helps him and so does his office manager but it's still very dangerous.  As if the magic folks aren't enough, the CIA is involved, too...

Will Al and his friends be able to shut the illegal trafficking down?  Will everyone survive?  It's hard to tell...

The Princess Beard: The Tales of Pell by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson

She's a princess who is in a tower under a spell.  She wouldn't marry the man the King wanted her to so that's her punishment.  When she awakens, she finds her fingernails and toenails are all extremely long, as is her hair.  She first cuts her nails and then her long hair.  She decides to leave her beard alone.  It makes a good disguise...

Del Rey and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 8th.

She heads out away from the tower.  The next town has a diner in it and she goes in to eat.  There she meets some pirates and asks to join them.  The captain is a parrot.  Besides his regular crew, he has a centaur on board.  He can do magic with food.  Doesn't sound like much but blocking cannons with sticky frosting is useful...

They are looking for treasure.  Patrol boats are looking for them.  So are monsters from the deep.  I think the scariest part is when they meet these nice folks who clean them all up, massage them, and then when they go back to the hot springs they get dropped into a soup pot.  The nice folks are cannibals!  Can they escape?

It's a busy tale with all kinds of outlandish things in it, but it's great fun to read.  You won't be bored!

No Country for Old Gnomes: The Tales of Pell by Kevin Hearne; Delilah S. Dawson

The halflings have started a war against the gnomes.  They're bombing their homes, killing random families, and attempting to run them out of their homes.  They are also winning.  The only ones brave enough to resist are the children.  They begin their quest to stop it by starting out to visit the men in charge...

Del Rey and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published April 16th.

As the gnome begins his journey, a girl gnome with witch powers joins him.  Then he comes across an almost sheep-like person who is also journeying and trying to stay away from the halflings.  And, without planning it, they even end up with halfling helping them.  The halfling comes with a gryphon so they're a formidable enemy.  It seems one halfling is set on stealing gnome homes to sell on another world level.  They intend to stop him.  But he has spies everywhere and one King on his side. With this batch of misfits, will they manage to conquer him?

It's a great fantasy with lots of action.  There are sad parts but there is only one casualty on the quest team.  I'd like to see them all survive but his sacrifice has made him a hero and his father can now be very proud of him.

I'd be interesting in seeing how it all goes for them down the line.  That makes it a good book to me.

Kill the Farm Boy: The Tales of Pell by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson

There's witches, curses, a warrior, a Darkling Lord, a woman half bunny rabbit, a goat, a farm boy, fairies, elves, trolls and more in this story.  It's most irreverent, very busy and keeps you reading.  I liked it!

Del Rey and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It is scheduled to publish on July 17th.

An evil fairy visits the farm boy and tells him he's the chosen one.  He has to wake the princess in the tower from her sleep.  When he gets there, the thorns are almost more than he can conquer.  But he's not the only one there.  A woman warrior wants in and since she can't find the door, she's going to scale the wall.  Part way up the tower, she falls.  Unfortunately, she falls on the farm kid killing him.  She feels bad and takes him up with wall with her, laying him on the bed next to the sleeping princess.

He had a goat with him and when she leaves the tower, it follows her.  As strange as it seems, the goat seems to have been the chosen one...

The quests are outlandish, the monsters more so, and the ones on the quest have questionable talents.  The Dark Lord's big thing is creating something almost bread-like out of thin air.  The half bunny woman is really good at finding salad stuff.  The warrior has a sword that lusts for blood. There's more death, shape shifting and many battles on the quest.  The ending is a hoot. 

If you want to read a fantasy that holds your attention and even makes you laugh here and there, this is the book for you.  It's done a bit tongue-in-cheek, and it's not a bit boring.

A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

This fantasy world holds all kinds of creatures and has political ploys, spies, corrupt officials and more, just like earth.  Our animals are a bit tamer but the game playing is the same.  In this story, if you didn't plan well, you could very well end up dead.

Del Ray and Edelweiss let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 17th.

The author uses a bard to tell the tales of the various cities and their history.  He has magic that can make him look like the character telling the tale.  When he gets on his platform and begins speaking, everyone gathers around to hear his tales.  They are not all good stories but they are the truth.  That leads to having assassins looking for the bard.  He's assigned a professor to write his tales down and keep him company.  They put the bard in a different safe house each evening and he's not told where.  That almost ended up with him dead but the guards stopped them.

You meet a lot of different clans, it seems like almost everybody dies, and there's a new magic found.  A few people can communicate with animals and they can use them as weapons against the enemy.  The mariners can remove the water from your brain.  The lavamakers can burn you up.  Giants can squish you.  Danger is very prominent in this world.

This book was 640 pages long and I wasn't bored at all.  The story is vibrant and interesting.  I was anticipating a whopping ending and then found out it was a cliff hanger.  We'll have to read the next book to find out more.  That disappointed me a bit.  I like the books to end with an opening for a future volumes.  This one didn't feel like it was done.  But this world feels real and I'm sure there will be more fighting in the future.  It began with a volcano going off and the tension has continued since then...

Carniepunk by Rachel Caine, Rob Thurman, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, Jennifer Estep, Allison Pang, Kelly Gay, Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Meding

Are you brave enough to visit the carnival?  Better take your hellhound with you...

Gallery Books and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this ebook anthology (thank you).  It will go on sale July 23rd, so make a note to remember to grab a copy.

This is an interesting mix of stories.  They are unique and have their own flavor.  They have zombies, vampires, the dark fae, monsters and the like in them.  Sometimes circumstances causes the problem; sometimes it's all in their minds.  Many of them are filled with horror; not one of them is boring.  If you enjoy tales that are out of this world, you'll enjoy this book.

I enjoy anthologies and this one has all kinds of surprises it it.  I enjoyed the one by Allison Pang even though it's a bit sad.  I especially liked Hell's Menagerie by Kelly Gay.  It was so good, I went online and bought her four books about Charlie Madigan.  Charlie wasn't even in this short story but Ms. Gay impressed enough with her style and story line that I have to read to more.  You might find yourself doing the same thing as you sample these different authors.

Just remember, you want to be careful about what might be hiding behind opening in that big tent on the midway...

Happy reading.