Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by GOODBYE, VITAMIN by Rachel Khong. One of the most anticipated books of the summer! Published by Henry Hold.
Told in captivating glimpses and drawn from a deep well of insight, humor, and unexpected tenderness, Goodbye, Vitamin pilots through the loss, love, and absurdity of finding one’s footing in this life.
Welcome to Mid-July, YA Fans!
This week’s edition of “What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Generation One by Pittacus Lore from Epic Reads.
The first book in a new I Am Number Four spin-off series! It’s been over a year since the invasion of Earth was thwarted. But now human teenagers have developed incredible powers of their own, known as Legacies. To help these incredible and potentially dangerous individuals, the Garde created an academy to train humans to control their powers and help mankind. But not everyone thinks that’s the best use of their talents. And the teens may need to use their Legacies sooner than they thought. The war may be over—but for the next generation, the battle has just begun!
I don’t know about you all, but as much as I love summer, this is about the time things feel like they’re dragging a bit. One of the ways I seem to perk back up, though, is reading a lot of older YA titles. There’s something about picking up a great backlist title or two or three to really help those long, lazy days.
A goal of mine over the second half of this year is to do a little more talk of backlist YA in this space. As much as it’s exciting to highlight and feature new books, there’s power in also picking up an older book and discovering something great. For those who are newer to YA books, too, it’s a nice reminder that this category of books is at least 50 years old and has been full and vibrant through many periods of time, not just the present or due to a few Mega Blockbuster series or authors.
Which is to say, I’d love to hear what you as readers might find worthwhile. Do you want more booklists popping up here? More backlist bumps to new titles as they come up — in my mind, this might be noting that if you love Blair Thornburgh’s recently-released Who’s That Girl you’ll definitely want to pick up Robin Benway’s Audrey, Wait!
Worth simply spotlighting recommended backlist reads from authors, writers, and other YA fans? If you have ideas or things you’d like to see as they relate to backlist YA — and I’m talking books more than a year old here, even beyond that since I see backlist as being more than a few years of a book being available — hit reply. I’ll keep a list and pull from it to put something special and engaging together as we journey through the world or YA. I want to keep this newsletter as useful to you, the readers, as possible, so your input and suggestions are part of how I do that.
And, of course, those backlist features, whatever they look like, will have a hearty dose of inclusive titles. I’ve also encouraged the cadre of Book Rioters who love YA to poke around a bit more and build some resources for talking about older, but still excellent, books.
That’s my sweet lead-in for this week’s newsletter, which is a round-up of what we’ve been writing on site and what you may have missed.
Thanks for hanging out again and we’ll see you next week.
— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars
Hello again, listeners,
Here’s a riddle: How do you make a drive from San Francisco to Las Vegas (7-8 hours) fly by? You listen to Al Franken’s new audiobook, Al Franken, Giant of the Senate. Granted, there are a lot of ways in which this book is tailor-made for me (thanks, Al! How’d you know?). I grew up following politics and that fascination has only increased in my adulthood. I also really love comedy. So a book about how a comedian got into the Senate is kind of a no-brainer.
Sponsored by The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy, a HMH Book for Young Readers.
Every seven years something disappears in the town of Sterling: reflections…dreams…colors. When Aila arrives, she learns the town is cursed to lose experiences that weave life together…and the theory is that Aila’s deceased mother, Juliet, is to blame.
Aila sets out to clear her mother’s name with the help of George, whose goofy charm makes him a fast friend; Beas, the enigmatic violinist who writes poetry on her knees; and William, whose pull on Aila’s heart terrifies her.
The Disappearances is a bewitching tale full of intrigue and dread that will leave you entranced.
That said, there are tons of elements that make this book above and beyond the average book by a comedian or a senator. And make it so good on audio. First, Franken’s first Senate campaign and election were bananas. I won’t spoil it and some folks may remember it but either way, it’s a helluva story. More than that, however, is the amount of behind-the-scenes detail Franken includes about the inner workings of the Senate. For example, Franken talks about how much work a senator’s staff does that the senators gleefully take credit for. Sure, maybe that’s something you already assumed, but the way Franken injects a sly (or sometimes not-so-sly) quip about the egos of all senators (including himself) is refreshing.
Some of the most hilarious moments of the book come when Franken describes trying to stop himself from making jokes on the otherwise humorless Senate floor. There’s a particularly excellent scene in which he recalls the arguments of the devil and angel perched on his shoulder. I can’t even remember what joke he debated saying, but both my road trip partner and I were SCREAMING with laughter.
For wonky political nerds like myself, there are many really juicy tidbits of political gossip (The Obama Campaign kind of gave the Franken campaign the cold shoulder?), as well as a healthy dose of self-awareness about the privilege of being a senator and how Sherrod Brown of Ohio told Franken “there’s no whining on the yacht” and Al Gore told Franken to “suck it up,” when he was getting raked over the coals in the press about something.
If you are, like me, the kind of person who watches Rachel Maddow every. single. night. This is the book for you. But even if you don’t, it’s probably the book for you. If you’re unsure, just read the chapter called Sophistry. If that doesn’t sell you on the book, probably nothing will. I actually listened to that chapter twice–-the second time immediately after the first–-just because it was so devilishly funny.
Franken gets serious about Trump and policy, and the policy chapters might be a bit long for those who aren’t super into this stuff. But the rest of the book will make up for it, I promise. Plus, Franken really knows what he’s talking about regarding these issues and we would all do well to listen up. So, that’s why I dedicated this week’s newsletter to Al Franken, Giant of the Senate. Give it a listen and let me know what you think at @msmacb on Twitter.
New Books:
Everything All at Once: How to Unleash Your Inner Nerd, Tap into Radical Curiosity and Solve Any Problem written and narrated by Bill Nye
“Everything All at Once is an exciting, inspiring call to unleash the power of the nerd mindset that exists within us all. Nye believes we’ll never be able to tackle our society’s biggest, most complex problems if we don’t even know how to solve the small ones. Step by step, he shows his listeners the key tools behind his everything-all-at-once approach: radical curiosity, a deep desire for a better future, and a willingness to take the actions needed to make it a reality. Problem-solving is a skill that anyone can harness to create change, and Bill Nye is here to teach us how.
Each chapter describes a principle of problem solving that Nye himself uses – methodical, fact-based approaches to life that aspires to leave no stone unturned. He explains how the nerd mindset leads to a richer and more meaningful life; far more than that, it can help address hunger, crime, poverty, pollution, and even assist the democratic process. Throughout the book, Nye draws on his own experiences – leavened with his trademark humor and self-deprecation – to show how he came to think like a Science Guy, and how you can, too. By the end, you will be ready to sort out problems, recognize solutions, and join him in changing the world.”
The X-Files: Cold Cases by Joe Harris, Chris Carter, narrated by David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson.
“Set after the events of The X-Files: I Want to Believe and providing additional backstory to the incidents that pulled Mulder and Scully out of reclusion prior to 2016’s miniseries revival, a database breach at FBI headquarters allows an unknown group to access and capitalize on those investigations left unsolved – dubbed cold cases – by the secret department once known as The X-Files. As friends and foes of the agency long thought gone begin to inexplicably reappear, former agents Mulder and Scully come out of anonymity to face a growing conspiracy that involves not only their former department but the US government and forces not of this world.
Here, fans are treated once again to Mulder and Scully’s irreplicable chemistry as only the series’ leads could deliver, Duchovny’s deadpan and cynical aloofness finding its natural counterpoint in Anderson’s unwavering intelligence and rigidity. Appearances from series regulars and the actors who made them fan favorites round out this must-listen arc: the gruff, no-BS righteousness of Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi); the distinctive click-puff of the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis); and the stooge-like hijinks of three beloved conspiracy theorists called the Lone Gunmen.”
What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons
“Raised in Pennsylvania, Thandi views the world of her mother’s childhood in Johannesburg as both impossibly distant and ever present. She is an outsider wherever she goes, caught between being black and white, American and not. She tries to connect these dislocated pieces of her life, and as her mother succumbs to cancer, Thandi searches for an anchor – someone, or something, to love.
In arresting and unsettling prose, we watch Thandi’s life unfold, from losing her mother and learning to live without the person who has most profoundly shaped her existence to her own encounters with romance and unexpected motherhood. Through exquisite and emotional vignettes, Clemmons creates a stunning portrayal of what it means to choose to live after loss.
An elegiac distillation, at once intellectual and visceral, of a young woman’s understanding of absence and identity that spans continents and decades, What We Lose heralds the arrival of a virtuosic new voice in fiction.”
Book Riot Linking:
Rioter Emma discusses how—and which—audiobooks have helped her during a time of emotional and literal upheaval.
3 BAD AUDIOBOOKS I LISTENED TO DURING HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
We make mistakes so you don’t have to.
WHY I DON’T LISTEN TO FICTIONAL AUDIOBOOKS NARRATED BY MEN
Narrators can make or break an audiobook, and male narrators who make female characters shrill definitely break them.
More links for your ears:
The Washington Post has a glowing review of David Sedaris’ new book–-Audiobooks: David Sedaris reads his diary with relish for the absurdity of life
A list of the audio books narrated by some of your favorite actors—EW.com
How can I check if my eBooks have matching audiobook companions?–Audible.com – Help Center
Ok, this one is only kind of audiobook related, but whatever, I think it’s cool: 4 text-to-speech apps that will read online articles to you
Former Vice President Al Gore, Shailene Woodley, Sterling K. Brown And More To Narrate The Audiobook Edition Of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power—That’s all for this week! I’ll be back in touch next week from somewhere on the road!
~Katie
Happy Friday, captains and courtiers. Today we’re talking Dexter Palmer’s Version Control and Sarah Beth Durst’s Queens of Renthia series, plus whimsy, fairy tales, series in translation, and more. Engage!
This newsletter is sponsored by Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero.
With raucous humor and brilliantly orchestrated mayhem, Meddling Kids subverts teen detective archetypes like Scooby-Doo and delivers a wickedly entertaining celebration of horror, love, friendship, and many-tentacled demon spawn.
The former members of the Blyton Summer Detective Club have grown up and apart, each haunted by disturbing memories of their final case. The time has come to get the team back together, face their fears, and find out what actually happened all those years ago at Sleepy Lake. It’s their only chance to end the nightmares and, perhaps, save the world. What if it wasn’t a guy in a mask?
Fetch me these immediately! I must have these six SFF series in translation. Well, everything except Night Watch, which I have already read and love. (Have you read those?! Bananas, in the best way, like most Russian speculative fiction.)
The B&N blog posted a Book Nerd’s Guide to Saving The World (with books, obviously), and their list of suggested reads has some great genre picks, as well as non-genre favorites, sprinkled through-out. You could build a very nice dystopia discussion in particular with their “Realize What Might Be” section!
I know it’s not an adaptation but I’ve been following the news about the forthcoming film Bright, which features Will Smith as a cop dealing with the supernatural. If you’re going to SDCC, click that link; they’re doing a sneak peek via Netflix alongside the Death Note adaptation. In the meantime I’ll be combing the web for leaked trailers — it’s been a while since we got a solid new fantasy flick (I am not counting Ritchie’s King Arthur for obvious reasons, even though I loved it).
Also for Californians! There is an Octavia Butler exhibit at The Huntington Library, displaying her personal papers, and I am so bummed that I cannot visit it. It’s up till August 7 — go visit for me, please?
Does your reading list need more whimsy? I feel sure that it does. Tor.com has some picks to help you out with that, including Yoss and Kim & Kim, which I cosign.
Perhaps your reading list also needs more fairy tales — the grown-up kind? This list of throwbacks to the original transgressive, creepy-as-all-get-out vibe of fairy tales gave me all of the heart-eye-emoji feelings. (And a bunch of new books for my TBR.)
And now, for more sci-fi/fantasy about parenting! I told you this was a thing.
Version Control by Dexter Palmer
What if you were married to a brilliant researcher working on a causality violation device (don’t call it time travel)? What if you were nagged by a persistent sense that something is just not quite right, that things are not how they should be? What if a horrible car accident took your child from you and changed your life forever? Dexter Palmer’s main character Rebecca is facing these questions, as well as her own alcoholism and the creeping malaise of middle-age.
Version Control is a slow burn of a novel that never quite went where I thought it was going to go. The first half or so of the book is almost exclusively focused on Rebecca’s very pedestrian life: her husband’s research isn’t going well, her marriage is strained, her past choices haven’t been the best, her friendships are complicated. Most of the characters are barely likable if at all, and almost too real in their flaws. Things in the outer world are slightly weird, and there’s definitely a sense of tension building, but to where? Then the second half of the book arrives. I confess I almost bailed on this book, but I’m so glad I stuck it out — the final third in particular was worth every second of reading time.
The Queen of Blood & The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst
Can I interest you in creepy forest spirits and magical powers? Are you convinced the woods are always watching? What if magical powers were more of a curse than a cure? Sarah Beth Durst’s Queens of Renthia series is (as you might guess from that first title) bloody, magical, and very satisfying.
In The Queen of Blood we’re introduced to Renthia, a world in which humans live in tree-houses, some girls are born with the powers to speak to the four types of elemental spirits, and a Queen rules the land. Sounds great! Except for that all the spirits want nothing more to destroy humanity just for existing, frequently rip people to tiny pieces, and the only thing holding them in check are the Queen’s powers. If a girl is born able to talk to only one or two types of spirits, she becomes a hedge-witch; if she can control all types, she is sent to an academy to train to become a future queen. It’s a terrible job, but someone has to do it. Daleina, our protagonist, is not a Chosen One — her powers aren’t exceptionally strong, she’s not amazingly smart, she’s not athletically gifted. What she is, is adaptable: she’s learned to use what she has to get by. And when she gets sucked into a complicated political situation, she’s going to need every ounce of those skills to survive.
In The Reluctant Queen, Daleina is now ruling (that’s not really a spoiler, the titles of these books are pretty clear) but she’s fallen prey to an aggressive illness and is dying. And thanks to the events of The Queen of Blood, there are no candidates even close to ready to take over controlling the spirits. Ven, the man who trained Daleina, takes off to find someone they might have missed and discovers Naelin, a grown woman with a family and a quiet life who wants to keep it that way. But her powers are too strong to ignore, and she’s forced to go back to the capital with Ven to train. Here’s where the parenting comes in: the bargain includes bringing her young children with her. And rather than relegating them to the background, they become major characters within the story. I can think of other mothers in epic fantasy, but I can’t think of any who actually get to parent mid-quest, and Durst not only pulls it off but makes me want more.
Regardless of your feelings about motherhood and child characters, The Queens of Renthia series is great summer reading: fast-paced, lots of great and dimensional characters to engage with (Mistress Garnah, what what), and a new take on the classic “dark woods” trope.
And that’s a wrap. Happy reading! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the new SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations across the board you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.
Hello my fellow mystery fans! There’s a literacy ambassador pig and it should come as a shock to no one that I love everything about this.
Sponsored by Dr. Knox by Peter Spiegelman, new in paperback from Vintage Crime Black Lizard.
A gripping thriller about a doctor with a powerful humanitarian impulse and an unhealthy appetite for risk. Dr. Adam Knox, a former aid worker in war zones and disaster areas, runs a clinic near LA’s Skid Row and makes house calls—no questions asked—on those too famous or too criminal. When his search for an abandoned boy’s mother leads him into the crosshairs of a human trafficking ring run by the Russian mob and on a collision course with a powerful and ruthless family, it threatens all—and everyone—that Dr. Knox holds dear.
My favorite Sherlock!
A Study In Scarlet Women
(Lady Sherlock #1) by Sherry Thomas: A gender swapped Sherlock Holmes that is brilliantly well thought out and executed. I don’t want to get into the plot because there was something quite wonderful about how it all unfolds, especially if you go into the book knowing nothing about the plot like I did. I will say that I loved everything about Charlotte Holmes, from her refusing to accept her place in society, to her taking drastic measures to ensure she doesn’t live a life she doesn’t want. Bonus points for the title that you’ll realize means more than one thing… Oh, and Kate Reading does a great narration on the audiobook–really brought Charlotte Holmes to life.
Calling all cozy mystery fans:
Murder at the Male Revue
(A Bucket List Mystery #3) by Elizabeth Perona: A group of seventy+-year-young women with bucket lists seem to also have the Jessica Fletcher syndrome of always finding themselves around a murder. This time a fun event of male strippers–catered by Mary Ruth and attended by the ladies to get one of those bucket list items crossed off–is cut short by the stabbing of the fundraiser’s sponsor, Camille Ledfelter. Charlotte (being a fan of mysteries) doesn’t care that the police find her to be a thorn in their side–warning her to stop trying to investigate–she just can’t stop herself. Nor wants to, really. When it appears Ledfelter’s nephew is going to be the prime suspect, Charlotte goes into full-on investigation mode, dragging Francine and some of the other ladies into her schemes to get closer to the truth of who stabbed Ledfelter. The opening Magic-Mike-gone-wrong scene is funny and Charlotte, Francine, and the other ladies are wonderful characters who make me believe my dream of one day becoming a private detective while living in a nursing home can come true.
A little Q&A: Kellye Garrett (I give authors I’m excited about five questions and let them answer any three they’d like.)
You know those books that from page one you already love the main character and know you’re only going to love them even more as you get deeper into the story? That’s how I felt about Dayna “Day” Anderson. She finds herself in amateur sleuth territory now that she’s given up on the Hollywood dream, is broke, and needs to find money fast to save her parents’ home. Day is hilarious, smart, has a great group of friends–and my favorite part is she puts the amateur in amateur sleuth! Being that Hollywood Homicide (Midnight Ink, Aug 8th) is the first in the series I’m so happy that I’ll have more Day in my life.
Here’s Kellye Garrett:
What would you like to see more/less of in the mystery genre? “Granted, I’m super biased but I would love to see more authors of color. Last summer’s Sisters in Crime Diversity Report listed 69 black writers who were published. To clarify, that isn’t the number of black writers traditionally published last year. That is the number who published by a publishing company ever. As in, throughout the entire history of the world there have been only 69 black mystery writers traditionally published in the United States. And we have it better than other marginalized groups.
When you’ve always been represented, you don’t realize how much representation matters. I love what Shonda Rhimes has done with Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder where the shows are extremely diverse and the lead happens to be black. I would love to see that same idea move over to mystery novels.”
If you were forced to live the rest of your life as one of your characters who would it be? “I should say my main character Dayna since she’s basically a younger, prettier, more over-the-top version of me. But I’m going to go with her uber-confident best friend Sienna, who spends her days being fabulous, saying whatever she wants, and never, ever gaining weight. Her life goal is to set a World Record for wearing most days in a row wearing red and she could give Beyonce a run for her money when it comes to doing things in heels. And, best of all, Sienna’s also a super supportive ride-or-die friend.”
If you were to blurb your most recent/upcoming book (à la James Patterson): “Hollywood Homicide is my best book in over 20 years! Better than the stories that I used to write as a kid that I would force my mom to read and tell me were great.”
Thanks Kellye! Hollywood if you’re reading this newsletter Hollywood Homicide would make a great TV series so someone get on that–Please, and thank you!
Suspense:
Every Last Lie
by Mary Kubica: Clara Solberg’s husband, Nick, dying in a car accident is only the first string pulled in a spectacular unraveling of her life. Not only is she left widowed with a four-year-old and a newborn baby but her daughter Maisie is now having meltdown moments that make Clara question whether Nick’s accident was just his speeding as the police believed or if there was another car involved. The brilliance of this novel is how Kubica builds suspense by taking us into Clara’s daily life, starting with Nick’s death, and alternates the chapters with Nick’s daily life starting in the final months of Clara’s recent pregnancy as he struggled to keep the life they’d built from unraveling and Clara from finding out.
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s an Unusual Suspects board.
Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime come talk books with me on Twitter and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.
And don’t forget to check out our newest podcast, Annotated.
The first episode, “Is it 1984 yet?” traces the recent rise of the not-new 1984 to the number one spot on Amazon’s best-selling books list. Jeff and Rebecca explore the backstory of 1984, from how it became stock high school reading to its CIA-supported appearance on the silver screen, to how, seemingly, a January 22nd news interview thrust it back into our collective consciousness as the example of a political nightmare. To listen, visit bookriot.com/annotated or search for Annotated in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your podcatcher of choice.
Welcome back to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read. Today we’ve got a spotlight on geographic book lists, in addition to news from far and wide.
This newsletter is sponsored by The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis.
Fiona Davis’s stunning debut novel pulls readers into the lush world of New York City’s glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women, where in the 1950s a generation of aspiring models, secretaries, and editors lived side by side while attempting to claw their way to fairy-tale success, and where a present-day journalist becomes consumed with uncovering a dark secret buried deep within the Barbizon’s glitzy past.
If at first book club does not succeed, try try again? Adiba chronicles her failed attempts to find her book group match, stories which will probably sound very familiar. As always, the trick is getting a good discussion going and getting a good schedule going, and it can take a while to find both!
For those who like their book club over wifi, there’s a burgeoning romance book discussion happening on Twitter at #RomBkLove. As I type this people are talking about their favorite sexy historicals. This is the kind of online book discussion I love — it’s less about trying to have a meaningful conversation on one particular title (very difficult even with threading), and more about talking your way into a genre/topic.
Relaunching in 5, 4, 3 … Zoella’s book club is back! I basically only know Zoella through book publishing news (the UK bookseller trades in particular love to gripe/discuss/talk about her). While the list for 2017 could stand to be more inclusive, it’s got some excellent authors on it (Adam Silvera, Jennifer Mathieu).
In adaptation news, so many projects are in the pipeline! Peter Pan, Vanity Fair, and Little Women are all getting treatments, and we might actually get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote sometime in the next, oh, decade?
The history of women’s book clubs is more politically charged than you might think. This is an interesting look at how we got from Anne Hutchinson in the 1630s, to the consciousness-raising groups of the ’60s and ’70s, to today’s modern (and oft-derided) book club.
For our food-oriented groups (which is all of you, right??) here are some indulgent pairings suggestions that are blowing my mind AND making me drool (The Odyssey and lamb kebabs!).
And last but not least, let’s get geographic! I love a good regional reading list, and these four are some of my recent favorites.
– Indigenous authors in Canada
– LGBTQ Latin American authors
– 100 Must-Read Australian books
– Books to understand Egypt
And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the new SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.
More Resources:
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page
Writers on the books that helped them come out.
We have 10 copies each of Fata Morgana by Steven R. Boyett and Ken Mitchroney, False Flag by John Altman, and Where Dead Men Meet by Mark Mills to give away to 10 Riot readers!
Here’s what they are all about:
Fata Morgana by Steven R. Boyett and Ken Mitchroney
At the height of World War II, Captain Joe Farley and the baseball-loving, wisecracking crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress Fata Morgana are in the middle of a harrowing mission over East Germany, when the bomber is knocked like a bathtub duck into another world. Suddenly stranded with the outcasts of a desolated world, Captain Farley navigates a maze of treachery and wonder—and finds a love seemingly decreed by fate—as his bomber becomes a pawn in a centuries-old conflict between remnants of advanced but decaying civilizations. The crew must use their formidable inventiveness and courage to survive.
False Flag by John Altman
Israeli-born Dalia Artzi, a tactical genius and specialist at Princeton in the study of maneuver warfare, uncovers a fiendish plot by a small group of Israeli fanatics to commit a horrific crime against the United States government. Meanwhile, Jana, a beautiful but deadly Israeli operative taking orders from the conspiring fanatics, is determined to fulfill the deadly mission entrusted to her. Centered on a fascinating and original Israeli heroine and antiheroine, False Flag probes some of the most important political and moral conflicts of our times.
Where Dead Men Meet by Mark Mills
Paris, 1937. Luke Hamilton—a junior air intelligence officer at the British Embassy—finds himself the target of an assassination attempt. A case of mistaken identity—or so it first appears. As Luke is hunted across a continent sliding toward war, he comes to learn that the answers lie deep in a past that predates his abandonment as a baby on the steps of an orphanage twenty-five years ago. From the author of the bestselling The Savage Garden, a new, compelling novel, rich in adventure, espionage, secrets, and lies.
Go here to enter the giveaway, or just click the cover images below. Good luck!
Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Sponsored by Doubleday, publishers of Meddling Kids, a novel by Edgar Cantero.
With raucous humor and brilliantly orchestrated mayhem, Meddling Kids subverts teen detective archetypes like Scooby-Doo and delivers a wickedly entertaining celebration of horror, love, friendship, and many-tentacled demon spawn.
The former members of the Blyton Summer Detective Club have grown up and apart, each haunted by disturbing memories of their final case. The time has come to get the team back together, face their fears, and find out what actually happened all those years ago at Sleepy Lake. It’s their only chance to end the nightmares and, perhaps, save the world. What if it wasn’t a guy in a mask?
Today’s The Stack is sponsored by Gallery 13.
Available in English for the first time—the internationally bestselling graphic novel master illustrator-storyteller Chabouté.
On a tiny lighthouse island far from the rest of the world, a lonely hermit lives out his existence. Every week a supply boat leaves provisions, its occupants never meeting him, never asking the obvious questions: Who are you? Why do you hide? Why do you never leave? What is it like to be so alone?
But one day, as a new boatman starts asking the questions all others have avoided, a chain of events unfolds that will irrevocably upend the hermit’s solitary life….
How’s your summer going? It’s finally monsoon time in Arizona and the weather has cooled off, and all that rain means more time to hang out inside and read!
Romance has been busy busy this past couple weeks! I don’t even know where to start.
Let’s go with twitter.
Sponsored by Unraveling, book two in the Unblemished trilogy by Sara Ella
The entire universe is unraveling. Can a young heroine stop the fray? Through her mastery of world-building and mind-bending plots, Sara Ella takes fantasy to a new level in Unraveling, the anxiously awaited continuation of the Unblemished Trilogy. As Eliyana continues her journey towards the throne, she tries to figure out her relationship with Ky and how it might be connected to the Callings. She needs answers before the Callings disappear altogether. Can El find a way to sever her connection to Ky and save the Reflections—and keep herself from falling for him in the process?
We know that there’s really never a quiet time with Twitter, but somebody decided to upset the wrong people and we romance people know how to respond that: hella positive reinforcement. We got to talk about nuance. We got to talk about love. And joy. Some of the best responses to Ann Aguirre’s call for quote tweets about why we love romance are collected in Sarah Nicolas’s spectacular mic-drop-esque 8 Reasons People Mock Romance. Why? They’re jealous.
On Instagram, Alyssa Cole shared the hardcover of An Extraordinary Union. It’s frickin gorgeous!
https://instagram.com/p/BWQyq7vgF2K/
And now: movies, movies, movies.
Are you following Passionflix’s progress as they work their way towards a working streaming platform? Follow them on Facebook, or if you want to know what’s going on behind the scenes (and get some other perks, too), consider becoming a founding member.
They’ve been busy: last week, they dropped the trailer for their first original feature, Hollywood Dirt (based on Alessandra Torre’s novel of the same name). Almost immediately after, they announced the lead casting for their production of Afterburn/Aftershock, based on Sylvia Day’s novella duology. They’re working quickly, but the first trailer looks like the productions are good quality. They have to be, when you’re up against the other streaming networks.
In other adaptation news, Beverly Jenkins is running a GoFundMe campaign to independently produce a Deadly Sexy movie. The book, which was released in 2007, is a romantic suspense, a very different tone from her historicals and the Blessings series, but damn, do I want to see that brought to life. Also: yes, there are rewards. So hop on over to the page, read the description, watch the videos. And read the sidebar as you consider how much you want to give 😉
And speaking of people to support, are you following WOCinRomance on Twitter? Their site is great for keeping up with new reads, and they have a Patreon if you want to support people doing Good Work.
Want to see your faves in the flesh? If you’re going to be in or around Denver next July, you’re gonna want to check out Book Bonanza. My eyes crossed trying to read all the names of people appearing, but it’s gonna be huge. It looks like tickets will be available on July 31, and they are gonna go fast. (PS—RWA is going to be in Denver THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND so I might have to just…move there for a few weeks.)
If you want something a little smaller and a little sooner, DC area folks ought to check out this awesome panel on August 4. I’ll be here, getting rained on, feeling jealous.
Over on Book Riot:
Wallace went to The Ripped Bodice! Check out what she got!
And speaking of The Ripped Bodice, there’s a giveaway for a digital gift card and an awesome raglan “Smart Girls Read Romance” tee. You know you wanna (and you can enter even if you already subscribe to KB)!
We pulled together the best books of 2017. So far.
Do you like podcasts? Check out Annotated, our newest podcast about books, reading, and language.
Nikki collected 14 of the most swoonworthy smooches in movies based on books. What do you think?
Does your library have OverDrive (or some other ebook lending option)? Do you procrastinate when you read (or just borrow too many things at once)? If your answer to both of these is yes, then Alex has a potential solution for you.
And Trisha got to talk to Ana Coqui, the creator of #RomBkLove.
Okay, this is already hella long, so I will keep my book recs short 😉
Currently reading:
Get Off Easy by Sara Brookes
This book originally came out in 2015, but was revamped and republished by Carina Press (to be released July 17). Grae, a CGI artist, reconnects with her two best friends from college after seeing an incident during a scene at the kink club for which she has a virtual membership. Their fire reignites immediately, bringing memories of the one night the three shared in college, but with more intensity; Saint and Boyce are both switches with Dominant tendencies, and she would love to be their willing sub—if only she can get out of her own way and admit what she wants.
I got two words for you: fire emoji. All the fire emoji.
Next up:
The Sumage Solution by GL Carriger
If that name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s Gail Carriger. She is stepping into the M/M romance ring with a spin-off of her short story Marine Biology, the first book in her new San Andreas Shifters series. We get to start out with a mage in a bad mood and a Beta werewolf named Biff. Also, we’re promised sexytimes and horrible puns, and this is Carriger we’re talking about.
And of course, some recent and upcoming releases:
On the Plus Side, Alison Bliss
Primrose Lane, Debbie Mason
Pounding Skin, LA Witt
Some Kind of Hero, Suzanne Brockmann
Locked in Temptation, Brenda Jackson (July 25)
Hate to Want You, Alisha Rai (July 25)
Drilled, Opal Carew (July 25)
One True Pairing, Cathy Yardley (July 25)
Okay, that’s probably enough for now, eh? Until next time, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!