strange and random happenstance

When Sorrows Come by Seanan McGuire
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: September 14th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Toby's getting married! Now in hardcover, the fifteenth novel of the Hugo-nominated, New York Times-bestselling October Daye urban fantasy series.

It's hard to be a hero. There's always something needing October "Toby" Daye's attention, and her own desires tend to fall by the wayside in favor of solving the Kingdom's problems. That includes the desire to marry her long-time suitor and current fiancé, Tybalt, San Francisco's King of Cats. She doesn't mean to keep delaying the wedding, it just sort of... happens. And that's why her closest friends have taken the choice out of her hands, ambushing her with a court wedding at the High Court in Toronto. Once the High King gets involved, there's not much even Toby can do to delay things...

...except for getting involved in stopping a plot to overthrow the High Throne itself, destabilizing the Westlands entirely, and keeping her from getting married through nothing more than the sheer volume of chaos it would cause. Can Toby save the Westlands and make it to her own wedding on time? Or is she going to have to choose one over the other?

Includes an all-new bonus novella!"

Even a pandemic doesn't stop Seanan churning out the bestsellers!

Slewfoot by Brom
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: September 14th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

Connecticut, 1666.

An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him Father, slayer, protector.

The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil.

To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help.

Together, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan - one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in their wake.

"If it is a devil you seek, then it is a devil you shall have!"

This terrifying tale of bewitchery features more than two dozen of Brom’s haunting paintings, fully immersing readers in this wild and unforgiving world."

As fall comes upon us, be sure to pick up this book by Brom!

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: September 14th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!

Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.

The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its... secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.

But "running from ghosts" is just a metaphor, right?

As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks."

A new take on the classic haunted house!?! I'm in!

My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: September 14th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Paloma thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she's about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you...

Ever since she was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage, Paloma has had the best of everything - schools, money, and parents so perfect that she fears she'll never live up to them.

Now at thirty years old and recently cut off from her parents' funds, she decides to sublet the second bedroom of her overpriced San Francisco apartment to Arun, who recently moved from India. Paloma has to admit, it feels good helping someone find their way in America - that is until Arun discovers Paloma's darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her own fragile place in this country.

Before Paloma can pay Arun off, she finds him face down in a pool of blood. She flees the apartment but by the time the police arrive, there's no body - and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place.

Paloma is terrified this is all somehow tangled up in the desperate actions she took to escape Sri Lanka so many years ago. Did Paloma's secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before?"

Disappearing body AND set in San Francisco? Hells yes!

Farewell Blues by Maggie Robinson
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: September 14th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Society Scandal of the Season...

Lady Adelaide Compton had prepared herself to say goodbye forever to Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter. It would be a welcome relief not to get mixed up in any more murders, even if it meant never working alongside the handsome detective again... wouldn't it?

But then Addie's prim and proper mother, Constance, the Dowager Marchioness of Broughton, is accused of murdering her secret lover, and there can't be enough gentlemen detectives on hand to find the truth. The dead Duke of Rufford appeared to lead a blameless life, but appearances can be deceiving. And unless Addie and Dev work together, Constance will hang - which is no one's idea of a happy ending."

A murder mystery with class!

Alma Presses Play by Tina Cane
Published by: Make Me a World
Publication Date: September 14th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lyrical novel-in-verse that takes us through the journey of coming of age in New York during the 80s.

Alma's life is a series of halfways: She's half-Chinese, half-Jewish; her parents spend half the time fighting, and the other half silent; and she's halfway through becoming a woman. But as long as she can listen to her Walkman, hang out with her friends on the stoops of the Village, and ride her bike around the streets of New York, it feels like everything will be all right. Then comes the year when everything changes, and her life is overtaken by constant endings: friends move away, romances bloom and wither, her parents divorce and - just like that - her life as she knew it is over. In this world of confusing beginnings, middles, and endings, is Alma ready to press play on the soundtrack of her life?"

The 80s in my happy place.

Kevin Smith's Secret Stash by Kevin Smith
Published by: Insight Editions
Publication Date: September 14th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Being Kevin Smith is my favorite thing in the world.... I don’t have a job. I don’t even have a career anymore. I’m just me for a living."

Making the leap from convenience store worker to international film icon, Kevin Smith has spent over twenty-five years at the forefront of pop culture. In this hilariously candid treasure trove of artifacts and anecdotes, Kevin tells the full story of his incredible life for the first time, from his early days in Highlands, New Jersey, through to the breakout success of low-budget indie smash Clerks in 1994, and the series of hit films that allowed him to build his own cinematic "View Askewniverse."

• THE STORY OF KEVIN SMITH, TOLD BY KEVIN HIMSELF: Both funny and confessional, Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash sees the director hold forth on all aspects of his career, including his live shows and podcasts, plus his comics and television work, such as the hit AMC show Comic Book Men.

• NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN TREASURES: This deluxe volume is illustrated with a wealth of rare and never-before-seen items from Kevin’s personal archives, including script pages, personal letters, and concept art from beloved movies including Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Red State, Tusk, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, and more. It also features a range of special pullout features exclusive to the book, including Kevin’s application to film school and comic art from Chasing Amy.

• SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS: In addition to a foreword from Kevin’s longtime collaborator and friend Jason Mewes, the book includes contributions from J. J. Abrams, Ben Affleck, Marc Bernardin, Ming Chen, Shannon Elizabeth, Walt Flanagan, Ralph Garman, Mark Hamill, Bryan Johnson, David Klein, Justin Long, Scott Mosier, Brian O’Halloran, Seth Rogen, Jennifer Schwalbach-Smith, and Harley Quinn Smith.

• OWN THE ULTIMATE KEVIN SMITH TRIBUTE: Definitive, revelatory, and packed with exclusive surprises, Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash is the book fans have been waiting for and a must-have for pop culture aficionados everywhere."

This makes me want to do a deep dive back into the View Askewniverse!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 80s, Amanda Jayatissa, Brom, Haunted House, Kevin Smith, Kevin Smith's Secret Stash, Maggie Robinson, Mallrats, October Daye, Seanan McGuire, Slewfoot, Tiffany D. Jackson, Tina Cane

There's nothing nicer than a pleasant surprise and that's exactly what Stargirl turned out to be. Ever since the end of Smallville I haven't been a fan of the direction all the DC series have taken on the CW. I swear I tried to like them, but after I think only three episodes of Arrow I was done. That was it with me and DC. I declared myself a Marvel girl and moved on. That is until this most recent "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Yes, they lured me back in with bringing back Tom Welling! Damn you CW! But add to that Brandon Routh returning as Superman, Wil Wheaton as a doomsday protestor, Russell Tovey, Kevin Conroy as the bleakest Batman you could imagine, Ezra Miller, and Lucifer Morningstar himself, Tom Ellis, and I couldn't NOT watch! While the cameos were fantastic, the episodes were lackluster, reinforcing my opinion of the DC universe on the CW. Yet the Crisis Aftermath show hosted by Kevin Smith dissecting the episodes and seriously geeking out were wonderful. It was during this that I first heard of Stargirl. Geoff Johns, the creator of Stargirl, was on discussing his work on everything DC from Smallville to Doom Patrol. I was interested because he talked about how he turned a personal tragedy, the death of his sister Courtney on TWA Flight 800, into creating a new brand of superhero with Courtney Whitmore, AKA Stargirl. Now this could be something I could get into I said to myself. He might have also mentioned Luke Wilson... I'm hazy on that part. Mmm, Luke Wilson. Anyway when the show came around my DVR was ready and yet it took me a few weeks to finally bite the bullet. What if the CW let me down, again? Then oddly my rewatching of Upstairs, Downstairs forced my hand, how could I resist the chauffeur becoming the villain? I was delightfully surprised. This show reminds me of Smallville at it's best. It's earnest without being cloying. It's dark without being bleak. It's a light in the darkness that we're all facing right now. Even if I'm a little shaken that I'm now the age of the parents on this type of show, Stargirl is a show I'm very glad will be coming back to the small screen with a second season and MORE Joel McHale! Joel's the original Starman, FYI.        

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Courtney Whitmore, CW, DC, Geoff Johns, Joel McHale, Kevin Conroy, Kevin Smith, Luke Wilson, Marvel, Russell Tovey, Smallville, Stargirl, Tom Ellis, Tom Welling, Upstairs Downstairs, Wil Wheaton

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (Necromancer Book 1) by Lish McBride
Published by: Square Fish
Publication Date: May 8th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 343 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Sam is nothing much. He's a skateboarding slacker who wasn't cut out for college and eeks out a living at the local fast food joint with his friends, most of whom crash in his minuscule apartment. Everything changes when he breaks a tail light of a swanky car in the parking lot during a heated game of spud hockey, wherein potatoes can do serious damage to vintage cars if you're a crappy shot. The owner of the car, Douglas, is not pleased, but even more, shocked when he encounters Sam, who has more in common with Douglas then he could ever imagine. Sam might not know it yet, but he's a Necromancer, and so is Douglas. Necromancers don't really reside near each other or play well others, and Douglas is quick to make this point to Sam when he delivers the head of Sam's friend Brooke to his shitty apartment's door. Sam now has to figure out the truth that has been hidden from him his whole life and hope that he will survive his run in with Douglas, as well as other varieties of beasties he thought only lived in science fiction.

It's not a good sign when the best part of a book is an amusing title. But even the title loses a bit of it's luster when the song title gag is repeated at the start of every chapter. I had not heard of Lish McBride when I went to one of the tour stops of the Fierce Reads Tour back in 2012. I will admit I was solely there to stalk Marissa Meyer, she of the Lunar Chronicles, but all four of the authors present made a good impression, Lish was perhaps the most memorable. She was amusing, sarcastic, laid back, and had an obvious love of sleep, which she was needing desperately, and that's something I could seriously relate to at the time being in the middle of an amazingly busy time in my life, so much so that even taking the day off to go to an author signing resulted in me getting hives. The event had me wanting to read all the authors books instantly, but Lish's more then any of the others.

I thought to myself, if she could just capture part of herself on the page then it would be a truly awesome read. Sadly the only place I could sense Lish's personality was in the "Go Fish: Questions for the Author" extra at the back of the book. The book wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it was just flat. It felt like the book had had the soul drained out of it. I'm not sure how it got to this state, perhaps through over editing as Lish's personality was systematically stripped out of the book so that it lacked anything recognizable from her. Sometimes too much editing can have this effect... but for such a memorable person she has written a very forgettable book that was Reaper meets Mercy Thompson with the head in the box from season two of Deadwood and the job prospects of Being Human with a little Kevin Smith and a few moments of unforgettable weirdness. Hello zombie panda!

The writing style of the book also really grated on me. I have issues when authors are being "cute" or "clever" with their narration. In other words, when they tend to waffle back and forth between 1st and 3rd person. For every instance that it works, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, there are hundreds of instances where it fails, I'm looking at you Scalzi and that crap ending to Redshirts! Here it fails. Not on the epicness of the Scalzi scale, but it still doesn't work. The only way for this technique to really work is for it to flow with the story, but Lish seemed to be forcing it. The switching up felt like it was a writing exercise, like homework, and seeing as this book started out as part of her thesis to graduate with an MFA in fiction... that's just what it is. Homework. Do you like reading other people's homework? I didn't think so.

Yet I think, seeing as this is a first book, I could have been forgiving, I could have overlooked a lot of the flaws if it weren't for Douglas. Every book does need an antagonist. They're the stock villain that our hero must fight and whose downfall we root for. But just because you're the bad guy doesn't mean that you can just skate through the book. Oh no! A bad guy has to be just as dynamic for a book to be balanced. And I don't think my hatred of Douglas is based on the fact that his sections of the book where the ones in third person... though that did annoy me. On second thought though, just the fact that the villain has his own chapters annoys the hell out of me because it takes away the mystery knowing what he's up to, knowing his motives, and knowing how he plans to mess with Sam. In fact that might be just a general issue with this book, not having mystery makes you not in a rush to get to that last page but slowly amble in a way that you could stop or start at any time.

But really, I meant to be talking about Douglas. He's unrepentant evil. There is nothing interesting about him. He is not compelling, he is not dynamic, he is just evil. Sometimes the most fun in a book is gotten in uncovering a back story, finding a grain of goodness, where good turned evil. But the only person that Douglas reminded me of was Patrick Bateman in American Psycho... a comparison that isn't in Douglas's favor. Because of the structure of American Psycho, by being in Bateman's mind we get a depth, even amongst the evil. Douglas was just flat, blah, evil. Evil for evils sake and nothing more. I just hated him outright. In fact, I hated him so much I didn't want to read any part of the book he was in. If you're reading a book the worst thing that could happen is to have a character that makes the book so unenjoyable that you would rather put the book down then read another line about them. While Sam was meh in my opinion, just a few lines in a Douglas chapter and I was begging for Sam's return! I just hope Douglas stays dead, but via horror conventions, I know he's not. Douglas is truly sapping my will to pick up Necromancing the Stone...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American Psycho, Being Human, Deadwood, Fierce Reads, Hold Me Closer Necromancer, John Scalzi, Kevin Smith, Lish McBride, Marissa Meyer, Mercy Thompson, Necromancer, Necromancing the Stone, Reaper

Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby
Published by: Hougton Mufflin
Publication Date: March 20th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, step inside Mosco’s Traveling Wonder Show, a menagerie of human curiosities and misfits guaranteed to astound and amaze! But perhaps the strangest act of Mosco’s display is Portia Remini, a normal among the freaks, on the run from McGreavy’s Home for Wayward Girls, where Mister watches and waits. He said he would always find Portia, that she could never leave. Free at last, Portia begins a new life on the bally, seeking answers about her father’s disappearance. Will she find him before Mister finds her? It’s a story for the ages, and like everyone who enters the Wonder Show, Portia will never be the same."

I'm really into circuses right now. Not the creepy clowns, but the olde tyme air of mystique ones.

A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink
Published by: Dial
Publication Date: March 20th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Even angels make mistakes in this page-turning epic romance

When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.

Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal."

Ok, read that discription and then tell me you dont' want to read this book. I don't think it's possible.

Tough Sh*t by Kevin Smith
Published by: Gotham
Publication Date: March 20th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Profane, honest, and totally real advice from comedian and director Kevin Smith - one of America's most original voices

Take one look at Kevin Smith: He's a balding fatty who wears a size XXL hockey jersey, shorts, and slippers year-round. Not a likely source for life advice. But take a second look at Kevin Smith: He changed filmmaking forever when he was twenty-four with the release of Clerks, and since then has gone on to make nine more profitable movies, runs his own production company, wrote a bestselling graphic novel, and has a beautiful wife and kids. So he must be doing something right.

As Kevin's millions of Twitter followers and millions of podcast listeners know, he's the first one to admit his flaws and the last one to care about them. In early 2011, he began using his platform to answer big questions from fans-like "What should I do with my life?"- and he discovered that he had a lot to say. Tough Sh*t distills his four decades of breaking all the rules down to direct and brutally honest advice, including:

Why he has accepted Ferris Bueller as his personal savior, and what the Tenets of Buellerism can teach about hiding in plain sight and lip-syncing in the face of danger

Why it's really fun to eat but not so fun to be fat

What to do about people who don't like your policies ( for starters, tell them to pucker up and smooch your big ol' butt)

What Kevin's idol Wayne Gretzky can teach us about creativity and direction

For anyone who's out of a job, out of luck, or just out of sugary snack foods, Tough Sh*t is an unabashedly honest guide to getting the most out of doing the least."

I will admit that Kevin Smith is a love him or loath him figure. I love him. I will admit his comedy is VERY hit or miss. So this book, while I'm interested, I'm going to wait till the reviews are in before it's a MUST BUY.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Temptation of Angels, Hannah Barnaby, Kevin Smith, Michelle Zink, Tough Sh*t, Wonder Show

As a kid, Easter was almost a bigger holiday than Christmas. My parents, being far more imaginative for this holiday than just the presents under a tree had jelly bean trails leading to candy throughout the house. So not only cool candy, but a fun time. Of course, now that I'm older, all I really associate with Easter is either Monty Python's Life of Brian, or Mallrats. I chose to share a moment of zen, as it were, with you from Mallrats. Have fun eating those Cadbury eggs!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Easter, Holidays, Kevin Smith, Mallrats, Monty Python, Monty Python's Life of Brian