What’s coming in 2012

In honor of the end of 2011, which is rapidly approaching, I thought I would work on some year end/new year lists to recap.  Especially since the end of 2011 means my little blog experiment is approaching its one year mark.  So, I might as well start recapping the events of the year and planning for what I am going to read next year.

And I am so excited for some of the books coming in 2012.  Getting through 2012 will be so exciting.  No, it’s not just about watching December 2012 come and go and watching another group of doomsday-sayers be wrong (the Mayan calendar is pretty cool, but I don’t believe in the end of the world scenarios and that’s part of why reading The Daykeeper’s Grimoire by Christy Raedeke was such a huge disappointment – review for that is forthcoming)… but it’s about some huge expectations for sequels in some of my favorite series.  Boy, I hope I am not disappointed.  There are so many books where the first one was great but the second, well, sucked.  And they didn’t get better after that.  So… with those high expectations in mind, here’s MY 5 (or so) most anticipated YA and PNR books coming in 2012, in no particular order!  I have a few hopefuls and a few that are fit in other categories too.  I would be interested in the ones you are looking forward to most!

YA:

1. The White Glove War (Magnolia League #2) by Katie Crouch
2. Until I Die (Revenants #2) by Amy Plum
3. The Enchantress (the conclusion 😦 to the Secerets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott
4. Spellcaster (Spellbound #2) by Cara Lynn Schultz
5. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2) by Kady Cross
6. Make Me (Demon Underground #4) by Parker Blue

PNR:

1. Darker After Midnight (Midnight Breed #10) by Lara Adrian
2. Werewolf in Seattle (Wild About You #3) by Vicki Lewis Thompson
3. The Darkest Seduction (Lords of the Underworld #9) by Gena Showalter
4. Lover Reborn (Black Dagger Brotherhood #10) by JR Ward
5. Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #3) by Larissa Ione
6. Accidentally Dead, Again (Accidental Friends #6) by Dakota Cassidy and Accidental Genie (Accidental #7)
7. Tempest’s Fury (Jane True #4) by Nicole Peeler

Others (note about the category:  some would put these into the PNR category but I most often see them in the mystery category.  And I put them in the mystery category for the blog, so… after all it is my blog so I can do it how ever I want! 🙂 And, there aren’t many of the “others” since I tend to stick pretty much to the YA/PNR/mystery/SciFi/Fantasy and for the most part the sub-generes I read end up looking like one big lump of a category because they all tend to have a paranormal bent!): 

1. Let Them Eat Stake (Vampire Chef #2) by Sarah Zettel
2. In a Witch’s Wardrobe (A Witchcraft Mystery, #4) by Juliet Blackwell

Those without listed (in goodreads anyway) sequels that I really hope get them:

1. Misfit by Jon Skovron
2. Out in Blue by Sarah Gilman
3. Strange Neighbors – a new one would be #4 – by Ashlyn Chase
4. Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott and Collette Freedman (the synopsis says Thirteen Hallows is the first in a new saga, so…  sequel to come at some point!)
5. Runelight by Joanne Harris (the sequel to Runemarks – listed in goodreads as published in 2011, but not available on amazon or anywhere yet)
6. Bewitching Mystery – would be #9, what ever would come after In Charm’s Way – by Madelyn Alt

Next year end list to tackle – best covers and covers that suckered me in the worst!

Billy the Kid, Scatach and Vampyres? Awe.Some.

I know it has been a very quiet month of September.  If you knew how crazy the month is in my family (the number of birthdays and anniversaries is staggering) you would understand.  Then factor in that my day job, which is unfortunately NOT keeping this site running, always has a very busy September, and well… that leaves not much time for reading for Kristen!

I do have some posting to catch up on.  First, I read JR Ward’s latest in the Fallen Angel’s series, Envy.  I must say that I think the series is improving.  I liked this one the best so far out of that series.  Review and tracker pages to come shortly.

I would like to take a moment to plug a few things though – first, Random House, the publisher of an absolutely wonderful series by author Michael Scott has given the portal that I am “staff” for a great endorsement – take a gander at the following page:  http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/alchemyst/index.php.  On the lower left, there is a “For Fans” section – with a link to our portal (and the great forum where we discuss the series)! The only downside to the page, in my opinion, is that it was awful difficult to find without the direct link… but maybe that was just me.

Even better though is the announcement on that page of the new short story Mr. Scott has written about my favorite female character – Scathach the Shadow.  From the synopsis it looks like we will see Billy and Scatty in battle.  And, it looks like they will be fighting on the same side… now that is interesting given how all the parties lined up (at least at first) in the series.  Although after the end of the Warlock, my head is spinning and I definitely need a flow chart to track who is related, who is on which side, and who’s elder is who, and all those other details (that’s where the portal is so helpful, btw.  And if you are wondering why my tracker pages aren’t more helpful since I love this series so much, it’s because the portal ROCKS and why re-do work that is already available there? Hmmm?)  Now, if only Palamedes were to show up since I like Billy the Kid, but not nearly as much as the Saracen Knight.

If you’ve read my other posts, you know that I have mixed feelings about the whole “ebook only” phenomenon.  Too often writers think (or maybe its the editors and/or publishers, but it really doesn’t matter which party is at fault) that ebook only means they don’t need to put the same type of story telling effort – or writing effort – into these little short stories/in-between stories/prequels/extras/etc. (since everyone seems to be doing it and they all call them something different!).  However, that is not the case with Mr. Scott.  If you read the first one, The Death of Joan of Arc: A Lost Story from the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, you know that Mr. Scott put the same effort into that one.  And I expect nothing less from Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas.  Let’s face it, that kind of title is more creative and illustrative of more effort that most authors put into those extras.  So, I am eagerly awaiting November 22nd (and 2012 for the Enchantress!) so I can sink my teeth into that story.

The synopsis from the RH page:  Years before Sophie & Josh Newman met Nicholas Flamel, two legendary warriors fought together for the first time. Billy the Kid & Scathach the Shadow. Now that lost story can be told…

The Warlock is out!

I will be busy the next few days reading The Warlock, book 5 in the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott and not posting pages or posts.  

I haven’t added a ton of detail about that series because I want to steer readers to the forum and portal.  But, I will add at least a review as soon as I am done.

Pick it up – the series is great!

On another note, I am sooo bummed I couldn’t get these at Borders since my local Borders closed.  So, I had to settle for B&N.  But, they had a display as soon as you walk into the door and they had a cool sign that said “If you like…” and named this great series!  They can be seen here – as soon as I figure out how to rotate the pics, I will! EDIT:  I think I did it…