The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week – old or new, bought or received for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try t...
The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week – old or new, bought or received for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.
Since I haven’t done one of these posts in awhile with April’s series, this week I’ll just be discussing some of the books that came in since this feature has been on hiatus. I’m going to cover the books that look most intriguing and next week I’ll resume as usual.
There’s also a lot of catching up to do on reviews, and some of the books I still need to review are ones I thought were very good indeed (Shattered Pillars by Elizabeth Bear, Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson, and River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay, to name a few).
Onward to some books I’m quite looking forward to reading!
Tankborn and Awakening (Tankborn #1-2) by Karen Sandler
These books are in a young adult science fiction trilogy by Karen Sandler, who also writes romance and mystery books. Awakening, the second book in the Tankborn trilogy, was just released in April. The final book in the trilogy, Rebellion, will be released next spring. Both Tankborn and Awakening are available in hardcover, and Tankborn appears to also be available as an ebook.
I’m intrigued by the premise of this series, plus I saw some of my Goodreads friends seemed to really like these books, so I’m excited to read them.
About Tankborn:
Best friends Kayla and Mishalla know they will be separated for their Assignments. They are GENs, Genetically Engineered Non-humans, and in their strict caste system, GENs are at the bottom rung of society. GENs are gestated in a tank and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach age fifteen.
When Kayla is Assigned to care for Zul Manel, the patriarch of a trueborn family, she finds secrets and surprises; not least of which is her unexpected friendship with Zul’s great-grandson. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night.
After weeks of toiling in their Assignments, mystifying circumstances enable Kayla and Mishalla to reunite. Together they hatch a plan to save the disappearing children. Yet can GENs really trust humans? Both girls must put their lives and hearts at risk to crack open a sinister conspiracy, revealing secrets no one is ready to face.
A Study in Silks (The Baskerville Affair #1) by Emma Jane Holloway
I was basically sold on reading this book the moment I saw it was a novel about the niece of Sherlock Holmes. The cover quote by Jacqueline Carey didn’t hurt, either!
A Study in Silks will be released in mass market paperback and ebook in September. The next two books in the series will be following it closely with A Study in Darkness in October and A Study in Ashes in November. A two paragraph long excerpt from A Study in Silks is on the author’s website, but it will be replaced with a longer excerpt once the book has been copyedited.
Evelina Cooper, the niece of the great Sherlock Holmes, is poised to enjoy her first Season in London’s high society. But there’s a murderer to deal with—not to mention missing automatons, a sorcerer, and a talking mouse.
In a Victorian era ruled by a council of ruthless steam barons, mechanical power is the real monarch, and sorcery the demon enemy of the empire. Nevertheless, the most coveted weapon is magic that can run machines—something Evelina has secretly mastered. But rather than making her fortune, her special talents could mean death or an eternity as a guest of Her Majesty’s secret laboratories. What’s a polite young lady to do but mind her manners and pray she’s never found out?
But then there’s that murder. As Sherlock’s niece