The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains
Neil Gaiman & Eddie Campbell
William Morrow
This is the illustrated version of the short story previously featured in the Stories: All New Tales collection. The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains is available to read online, and is a dark, ominous tale full of beauty and death. Most of the story is about a journey to the mountains and the traveler’s encounters there, both friendly and not, and the truth that they find.
— Sarah
Dark Skye (Immortals After Dark series)
Kresley Cole
Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
Kresley Cole finally tells the story of Thronos, a dark angel, and Lanthe, the sorceress who caused him to fall. Once young and in love, Thronos now seeks to kill Lanthe. This series is full of explicit sex and melodramatic love between various immortals termed the Lore. Both Lanthe and Thronos have been mentioned in previous books, but you don’t need to read the previous books to enjoy some steamy angel/sorceress action.
— Sarah
Mr. Mercedes
Stephen King
Scribner
I have a love/hate relationship with Stephen King. Sometimes his work is amazing (i.e., The Shining, It, 11/22/63), other times not so much (Salem’s Lot, The Tommyknockers, The Stand). This time he might have another winner. Mr. Mercedes is a straight-forward mystery thriller set in a Mid-Western US town. Bill Hodges is a retired detective who is biding his time until his death. His life has no purpose without his work. In comes Brady Hartfield, a spree killer that Hodges failed to apprehend. The two get into the usual cat-and-mouse game of crime thrillers, but we’re promised twists and turns with an ending nobody sees coming. It seems to have all of the ingredients for a perfect summer read.
— Lana
(Don’t) You Forget About Me
Kate Karyus Quinn
HarperCollins
(Don’t) You Forget About Me opens on a sleepy southern town in the middle of a midnight May Day parade. A strange girl named Piper is leading a group of teenage sleepwalkers to jump off a bridge. And that’s only the beginning! As soon as I entered the strange town of Gardnerville I couldn’t look away. It is a town full of secrets and every new revelation raises more questions and makes you want to keep reading. To say this is a page turner would be a gross understatement.
— Christa
Robogenesis
Daniel H Wilson
Doubleday
The sequel to 2011’s fabulous, action packed sci-fi adventure, Robopocalypse, is finally here! The robots are back and this time it’s personal (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Robopocalypse was a brilliant look at war and our over-reliance on technology. Robogenesis, on the other hand, is about the survivors trying to rebuild society and protect themselves against future threats. If you’re interested in robotics, artificial intelligence, and technoethics, Daniel H Wilson (who holds a PhD in robotics) handles the topics with ease and expertise.
— Christa
Ruin and Rising
Leigh Bardugo
Henry Holt and Co.
Chaos and destruction open the final novel in the Shadow & Bone trilogy, and Alina must carry out one final mission to save her home. Bardugo’s writing style merges beautifully with the mythology that the first two novels have brought to life, and her characters are unpredictable enough to keep readers guessing. The series is an excellent way to graduate from the younger spectrum of YA, and begin exploring the fantasy genre.
— Angel
Skin Game
Jim Butcher
Roc Hardvoer
The Dresden Files is the long-running, best-selling series about a scrawny young wizard who started out with the odds against him, and grows to be a badass who still has the odds against him. The stories are filled with a lot of pop culture tips of the hat, and the character is an unrepentant smart aleck, which makes for a mostly fun read. The cast is large, if not as diverse as I’d like; Butcher has been criticized for being a little misogynist with his “chivalrous” main character’s treatment of women, and for his diversity being reduced to quite literal magical Native Americans and magical negros. While I do see the point, I don’t entirely agree with it and find the books mostly entertaining. The previous book, Cold Days, was a bit of a misstep, so I’m looking forward to seeing Butcher back on his stride.
