His Majesty's Hope (Maggie Hope #3)

His Majesty's Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal is the third book in her Maggie Hope series. Maggie is a code breaker and mathematician in 1940s London during WWII.

Britain is under attack by the Nazis. Almost nightly air raids has been causing havoc in London. Maggie Hope has been able to miss a lot of the bombing by being at Windsor castle for the last couple of months. But now her country needs her more than ever. She is going back to school to finish her training to be a spy.

Maggie will be working for the SOE, or Special Operations Executive), also known as Churchill's private army. She will be trained to be dropped into Germany. Her training combined with her quick thinking and intelligence may be enough to keep her alive for the mission.

But when Maggie sees an opportunity to get more information for Britain, she goes off of the mission and begins to infiltrate the highest levels of Berlin society.

MacNeal's character Maggie Hope is brilliant. She is a strong, smart woman in a male dominated world. Her adventures and well-written and will keep readers up all night to find out what happens next. Fans of Maisie Dobbs or Gabriel Allon should read these books along with everyone else!

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2013). His Majesty's Hope. New York: Bantam Books.

Rebel (Reboot #2)

Rebel by Amy Tintera is the second book in her Reboot series - a virus that kills people and then brings them back with less emotion and more strength, known as a Reboot, has swept the United States. A city was walled off in Texas to try to keep unaffected humans safe. The Reboots were at first destroyed, but later used as a police force by HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corp). It is thought that the longer you are dead before you come back, the stronger you are and the less human.

Wren 178 and Callum 22 escaped and are looking for a rumored Reboot settlement in the desert of Texas. They are done being used by HARC and kept lock in cages. If they can find the other Reboots, they may have a chance at a normal life.

But the Reboot reservation is not all they had hoped. The people there are lead by Micah who has a plan to release all of the Reboots still held by HARC and to kill the remaining humans. Wren and Callum have to decide what to do: join Micah, run away by themselves, or save the humans.

Tintera has created a great dystopian world. The Reboots are a cross between zombies and the next step in human evolution. This two book series is a must read for science fiction fans.

Tintera, Amy. (2014). Rebel. New York: HarperTeen.

The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2)

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith is the second book in the Cormoran Strike mystery series. Strike is an ex-Army private investigator who is doing better after the publicity of his last case.

Since Strike solved the mystery of the death of a famous actress, he is a popular choice for a private eye. He has numerous cases - mostly messy divorce or cheating cases. With the help of his secretary and assistant, Robin, he is doing well.

When the wife of author Owen Quine hires Strike to find her husband she is under the assumption that he is off finishing a book. While she doesn't have money to pay for Strike's services, she assures him that her husband's agent will pay. Besides, she is sure he is at a writer's retreat somewhere.

Owen Quine disappeared after turning in his latest manuscript. He thinks it is brilliant - others think he will be taken to court for libel. The book, Bombyx Mori, may give quite a few people motive for murder - if they have read it.

Cormoran and Robin have their work cut out for them on this case. Galbraith has created two great characters who readers will follow through many a strange and twisty mystery.

Galbraith, Robert. (2014). The Silkworm. New York: Mulholland Books.

Princess Elizabeth's Spy (Maggie Hope #2)

Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal is the second book in her Maggie Hope mystery series which takes place during World War II.

After successfully proving herself as one of Mr. Churchill's secretaries, Maggie Hope is being trained to use her brain more to its potential. As a mathematician she could do more than take dictation, she has a flair for breaking codes. And she is fluent in German and French.

Now Maggie is training to be a spy. She is hoping for an assignment in Europe, but those in charge have another idea for her. Maggie is to be undercover at Windsor Castle - teaching Princess Elizabeth maths. At the same time she is to keep her eyes and ears open. As the heir to the throne, Elizabeth is a very likely target of the Nazis.

Maggie is a great character and a woman not willing to let the men of the time talk down to her. She is a brilliant mathematician and good with puzzles. And she will need all of her skills to find the threat at the castle before it is too late.

MacNeal's series is a must read for any fans of historical fiction, mystery, England or just great books.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2012). Princess Elizabeth's Spy. New York: Bantam Books.

The Engines of God (Priscilla Hutchins #1)

The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt is the first book in his science fiction series featuring Priscilla Hutchins.

In the early 23rd century, humans are exploring space. A small number of planets have been found with the ruins of past civilizations. One planet, Quragua, has a team of archeologists excavating an ancient temple. If they can find more examples of the language, they can start to decode the language of the creatures who lived there. But the Academy team is running out of time. The space corporation, Kosmik, intends to start terraforming  the planet for human settlement - which will make the planet uninhabitable for close to 100 years.

Pilot Priscilla Hutchins has been to many of the planets and  with artifacts and ruins and is being sent to collect the Academy team. She will be joined by one of her favorite archaeologists, Richard Wald, who thinks a new discovery will lead to connections between Quragua and the people he has been studying.

McDevitt has created a great beginning to a series with a complete idea of the world he is writing about and an excellent main character who readers will follow through adventures where ever she flies. Great science fiction.

McDevitt, Jack. (1994). The Engines of God. New York: Ace Books.

Lies My Girlfiend Told Me

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters is about a young woman coming to terms with the fact that her girlfriend who just died lied to her about everything.

Alix Van Pelt is having a great junior year. She is in love. Since the school ski trip, she has been dating Swanee Durban - one of the most popular girls in school and star of the track team. But six weeks into their relationship Swan dies. Alix is destroyed. To get some closure she goes to Swan's house and goes into her room for a memento. When she finds Swan's phone, she sees new texts. How can someone not have heard about the death. And who is telling Swan she loves her?

Alix begins to investigate who "LT" is from the phone. LT seems to think she is dating Swan. It seems there is someone Swan lied to more than she lied to Alix. Liana Torres goes to another school almost an hour away.

Alix and Liana have a lot in common. If they can work together they may have a chance to unravel the lies Swan told each of them.

Peters is well known for her young adult novels featuring GLBTQ characters. Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is not so much about Alix and Liana being lesbians, their families accept them from the first page, but the story of grief and renewal. This is Peters' best book yet.

Peters, Julie Anne. (2014). Lies My Girlfriend Told Me. New York: Megan Tingley Books.

To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has won many awards - including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - with good reason: it is an important and excellent book.

Jean Louise "Scout" Finch and her brother Jem live in the Maycomb, Alabama. Their father is Atticus Finch, a lawyer, who is about to go to trial defending a black man who is accused of raping a white woman - in 1935... in the South.

Scout and Jem are raised by their father and the cook, Calpurnia. As their world view slowly grows - first with their neighborhood, then school and the larger town - Scout learns lessons about life. Written with intelligence and wit, Lee captures the development of childhood in a time of racial prejudice. When the trial starts, she must learn to stop fighting the people who say mean things about her father.

And as the trial unfolds, the family reflects on the state of affairs - how some people can treat other differently based only on the color of their skin, not on their own merit. And how people can ignore fact in the face of that prejudice.

Though written in 1960 and set in 1935, To Kill A Mockingbird still has lessons to teach readers. It is a sad fact that we, as a society, are not as evolved as we like to think and books like this one are important lenses into our past and possible futures.

Lee, Harper. (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Harper.

Talker 25

Talker 25 by Joshua McCune is a book about a war between dragons and humans.

Years ago dragons appeared. At first there was war between them and the humans. Now they are mostly under control - or in territories humans to not visit. The blue dragons, being less likely to attack are on a reservation in the middle of the United States, surrounded mostly by corn fields. The Blues did tunnels and are rarely seen. They have been fitted with collars that restrict their ability to breathe fire.

Melissa Callahan lives in the military town next to the dragon reservation. She is a senior in high school and is scared but fascinated by the dragons. As a prank Melissa and her friends break into the reservation to take pictures of themselves with Old Man Blue - a dragon who sleeps all of the time. But when Melissa discovers she can talk to dragons her world changes.

The military has been collecting talkers to use to lure out dragons to kill them. And there are various rebel groups trying to save the dragons from the military. Melissa is caught in the middle and must choose sides.

Talker 25 is a read alike for Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn - but when humans take a different  path to how to live with dragons.

McCune, Joshua. (2014). Talker 25. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Leap

Leap by Z Egloff takes place in Wakefield, Ohio in the summer of 1979.

Rowan Marks has graduated and is leaving for college in a couple of months. In the mean time, she is working at the Sugar Shack, hanging out with her best friend and wasting time. When her boss decides to explore a franchise for her restaurant, Rowan meets Catherine - and instantly doesn't like her. But for some reason, Rowan invites Catherine to join them for her eighteenth birthday.

Catherine is twenty-one and has just graduated from college. She is working for her father evaluating the books of a few restaurants interested in becoming part of the franchise. And she knows right away that she likes Rowan.

Rowan stops hanging out with her best friend Danny to spend time with Catherine. Then an accident in her family leads to a long suppressed truth coming out and Rowan's world is turned upside down.

Egloff has written a novel around a young woman who needs to escape her small town - even if she doesn't yet realize why. Leap is a must-read lesbian coming-of-age story that will take readers back to a quieter time.

Egloff, Z. (2013). Leap. Ann Arbor, MI: Bywater Books.

Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope #1)

Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal is the first book in her series set during WWII in London featuring Maggie Hope - a brilliant woman with a head for math, puzzles and codes.

Maggie Hope was upset when her Aunt Edith told her she had to postpone graduate school at MIT to sell her grandmother's house in England. She did not even know she had a grandmother. The only family she had ever known was the aunt who raised her after her parents were killed in an auto accident.

Now Maggie has made London her home. And though it is below her skill level, when a friend offers her a job as one of Prime Minister Churchill's secretaries, she takes it. With the war in Europe Maggie is thrown into the stream of information flowing through No. 10 Downing Street.

Capturing life in London during World War II, MacNeal has created a wonderful series. Maggie Hope is a strong, compelling character who readers will follow through anything MacNeal writes for her. The Maggie Hope series feels like a cross between Jacqueline Winspears' Maisie Dobbs and PBS's The Bletchley Circle. Great espionage; great historical fiction.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2012). Mr. Churchill's Secretary. New York: Bantam Books.

Starglass (Starglass #1)

Starglass by Phoebe North is the first book in her Starglass series about a ship of humans whose ancestors left Earth and are about to reach the planet the ship has been flying toward for 500 years.

When it became apparent that Earth was going to be destroyed by an asteroid, people began to sign up for ships being sent toward planets that appeared inhabitable. The people who joined the Asherah were agreeing to live a following Jewish traditions. Each person was to be married and have two children - a boy and a girl - to keep the population up for the long journey.

Now, less than a year from reaching the planet Zehava, Terra Fineberg is graduating from school and getting her work assignment. The only life she has ever know is the ship. Life on the ship is well regulated - it would have to be to house nearly a thousand people for almost five hundred years. The ship's Council will assign her a job and she will be eligible to declare her intentions to marry.

Terra is nervous and excited to start her job. She currently lives with her father who pays little attention to her. Her mother died four years ago - a rare occurrence for someone so young. And her brother has married and move in with his wife. Terra is eager for a new life of her own.

But when she takes a shortcut home from work she sees something she was never meant to see. A murder committed by a guard leads her to a secret group within the ship - those who are planned to rebel against the rigid rules of the ship. And Terra must decide what side she is on and what she is willing to do for that side.

North has created a science fiction series with a great lead character. Reader will be interested to see what Terra does when give the choice over her own fate.

North, Phoebe. (2013). Starglass. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Suspicion

Suspicion by Joseph Finder is a thriller from page one to the very end.

Single father Danny Goodman is a writer. He is working on a second book, but the advance he is living off of is about to run out. And his daughter's school is very expensive. He is about to tell her that she will not be able to go on the junior class trip, when another parent tells him it is taken care of.

Thomas Galvin is a very wealthy man. His daughter has never been as happy as she is now that she has a best friend. And Tom would give anything to keep her that way, so paying for her friend to go on the trip is no problem.

As Danny and Tom become friends, Tom gives Danny a loan to make sure school is paid for - a loan of 50,000 dollars. But the next day the DEA comes to talk to Danny. They say that he has accepted drug money and that if he does not help them in their case against Tom, he will go to prison for racketeering.

As Finder weaves the plot through twists and turns, Danny becomes more desperate to get away from the DEA who are putting his life in danger. His life is becoming more and more intertwined with the Galvins. Finder is a master of the thriller. His books will keep you up all night reading until the last page - and craving more.

Finder, Joseph. (2014). Suspicion. New York: Dutton.

Moon at Nine

Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis is the story of two girls who fall in love in Iran in 1988 - based on the true story of one of the characters.

Fifteen year old Farrin lives in Terran. She has many secrets. In a society where people can be arrested by the Revolutionary Guard for saying anything that can even loosely be seen as anti-government, it is likely that there are things to keep hidden in every family. But Farrin's parents have parties celebrating the Shah and hoping for his return to power - acts that could have them executed.

Farrin goes to a school for academically talented girls. She has no friends and is watched by the student monitor who loves her role as a tattle-tale. Then one day at school, Farrin meets Sadira.

Farrin is instantly intrigued by Sadira. She cannot stop thinking about her. And as their friendship grows, they come to realize that they feel more than friendship toward each other - feeling that, if discovered, could lead to imprisonment or death.

Ellis has written a book based on the story of someone she knows. The story is true but names and dates have been changed to protect family members still living in Iran. She captures both the oppression and the hope of Iran after the revolution - and the desperation two young women feel within a society where they do not control their own lives.

Ellis, Deborah. (2014). Moon at Nine. Toronto: Pajama Press. 

Viral

Viral by James Lilliefors is a thriller featuring two brothers trying to stop a genocide in Africa. Charles Mallory is an ex-CIA spy who has discovered a plot to kill hundreds of thousands of people in Africa. His brother, Jon, is a reporter who Charles wants to be a witness to the atrocities and get the word out to the public.

Though Jon has not seen or heard from Charlie in years, they have been working together to write a series of stories about what is happening in the (made up) nation of Sundiata, Africa. Now Jon is to go and meet with a doctor who has been trying to treat the victims of a mysterious sickness that kills them in hours.

But Jon's increased involvement also makes him more visible. He must first survive the pandemic sweeping the country and then find his way to safety before he can post his story.

Working together from different sides, the Mallory brothers travel the world following clues as to what is really going on in Africa and who is behind it. Lilliefors has written a fast-paced thriller with a virus at the base but without the gore of previous book in the medical thriller genre.

Lilliefors, James. (2012). Viral. New York: Soho Crime.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy (Chathrand Voyage #1)

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick is the first book in his Chathrand Voyage series.

In a world divided between two powers, Arqual and Mzithrin, peace is being cemented by a marriage between nations. Tasha Isiq is to be married to a Mzithrin prince and will be traveling on the giant sailing ship Chathrand, the last of her kind. The Chathrand is an historic ship that will have one of many outcomes based on the different factions on the ship and their ideas about peace with Mzrithin.

Tasha Isiq has been away at school. It is a school with little comfort. The young women who graduate are usually married off to someone who will advance their family's status. Tasha has had enough of it. She is about to quit when she is told that her father is sending for her. She will not be amused to find out it is because she is to be wed to someone she has never met - whose language she doesn't even speak.

Pazel Pathkendle is an Ormaeli - one of the islands conquered in the last war. He is now a tarboy on a ship - practically an indentured servant. While his life is hard and there is much prejudice toward his people, he is looking forward to getting to see the legendary ship Chathrand. Through a series of obviously planned events, Pazel is left by his current ship and will end up working on the Chathrand.

Redick has created a fantasy series set in a complete world. His characters include many races and even species. If this first installment is any indication, this is going to be an epic fantasy series.

Redick, Robert. (2008). The Red Wolf Conspiracy. New York: DelRey.

Heaven's Queen (Paradox #3)

Heaven's Queen by Rachel Bach is the final book in her Paradox trilogy - a military science fiction series.

Devi Morris is an armored mercenary. She took a job working on the Glorious Fool because it was supposed to be a stepping stone to her dream job working in an elite army for the king of her world. Now she is floating in space in an escape pod with no way to get home and being chased not only by humans, but most of the other sentient beings in the known galaxies.

They are after for two reasons: there is an alien species attacking planets and she is one of the few people who can see them and may be able to defeat them, and because the plan she has could destroy human kind if it fails - so others are reluctant to let her try her idea.

The Paradox trilogy is a combination of military science fiction with a few other genre elements thrown in. The story is fast-paced and will keep readers engaged. There are also elements of romance and humor, a strong female lead character and a well-developed universe. Fun read!

Bach, Rachel. (2014). Heaven's Queen. New York: Orbit.

Invisible City (Rebekah Roberts #1)

Invisible City by Julia Dahl is the first book in her Rebekah Roberts mystery series about a New York journalist. Dahl has been a reporter and editor in print and television. This is her first novel.

Rebekah Roberts is a stringer for the New York Tribune and is sent wherever the paper needs a journalist in the five boroughs. Her latest assignment will be her most important story - one she will not let go after one day's reporting and will change the way she looks at her own story.

When the body of a woman is found in a Gowanus scrap yard, Roberts is there to report what she sees. But when the woman turns out to be Jewish, the police allow the Hasidic community to take the body. Roberts is sent into a world she has often wondered about but never visited. Her past and her current assignment collide while Roberts tries to find a killer the NYPD does not seem to want to find.

When Rebekah Roberts was very small, her mother left her father to return to the Orthodox community. Rebekah has been mad at the mother she does not remember, but this case could give her insight into why her mother left. Maybe as an adult she will be able to understand better why her mother abandoned her.

Combining a mystery with a great character, Dahl has started a series readers will devour. Her writing is excellent, her ability to describe an event or setting honed in years of award-winning journalism, and her plot is one that will draw fans of more than just mysteries. Invisible City is an excellent start to a series readers wait impatiently to continue.

Dahl, Julia. (2014). Invisible City. New York: Minotaur.

Changers: Drew (Changers #1)

Changers book one: Drew by T. Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper is the first book in a series that looks at gender roles in an interesting way.

It is almost time for Ethan Miller to start high school. He has just moved from New York to a small town in Tennessee. The reason his parent moved him will become clear on his first morning of high school.

Ethan is a Changer. Changers are an ancient human race that change into a different person four times during the ages of fourteen and eighteen. Doctrine states that Changers are the "last hope of the human race on the whole to reverse the moral devolution that has over come it." Living as four different people teaches them empathy.

But Ethan knows none of this until he wakes up for school and is a girl. After some understandable confusion, she is off to school as Drew. Changers are encouraged to participate fully and Drew tries her best to fit in with her new self - while remaining the same person on the inside.

Changers is an interesting look at our genders and the perceived roles that go along with them - nowhere more well illustrated than high school. T Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper have created a series that will allow readers to look at gender differently and possibly evolve along with the main character.

Cooper, T. and Allison Glock-Cooper. (2014). Drew. New York: Black Sheep.

Transhuman

Transhuman by Ben Bova is a medical science fiction novel that follows a man on his quest to cure his granddaughter of cancer.

Angela is only eight years old, but she is months away from dying from an inoperable brain tumor. Her grandfather, Luke Abramson, is a brilliant cellular biologist who cannot sit by and watch her die. When the hospital board will not approve the use of his untested cure, Luke signs Angela out of the hospital. He has outfitted an SUV as an ambulance and he plans to make his way across the country to a former student's lab where he is sure he can help Angela.


Being chased by the FBI, Dr. Abramson will get Angela help. Of course, being a 75 year old man, he is not in the best shape of his life. He plans to inject himself with a serum that has shown to reverse aging - in mice.

Bova has written a chase across the country within a race for a cure. Many people have a stake in the outcome of the race - either personally or politically - and Dr. Abramson will be changing lives, one way or another.

Bova, Ben. (2014). Transhuman. New York: Tor.

Acid

Acid (Agency for Crime Investigation and Defense) by Emma Pass is set in a future where a police force controls the government of Britain - now the Independent Republic of Britain.

Jenna Stone is in one of the most secure prisons in the IRB - Mileway Maximum Security. She has been there since she was convicted of killing her parents. She is surrounded by criminals who think they can take advantage of her because she is small. At seventeen her only friend - or the only person who is nice to her - is the prison doctor. He taught her how to defend herself. Now he is helping her more. She doesn't know why, but he is helping her escape.

There are groups at work against Acid, which is not an easy thing to organize in a land where you can be jailed for speaking against the government. Even just a casual comment that seems like a complaint will get the attention of the Acid agents.

Now Jenna is out of prison, living in disguise. But no one has told her why they got her out. Or what her role she will play in the attempt to overtake Acid.

Pass has created a dystopian novel with a strong female character. Her world is well-formed and readers will get lost in the fast-paced plot. Great read.

Pass, Emma. (2014). Acid. New York: Delacourte Press.

Music: Rogrigo y Gabriela

Rodrigo y Gabriela are an amazing duo of guitarists who will blow you away. If you don't see them live it is hard to believe there are only two musicians on stage.

With backgrounds in flamenco, jazz and rock - including being members of a metal band - Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero attract fans of all ages and musical preferences. They are both amazing musicians. Rodrigo uses the guitar in the traditional manner with skills that would rival the best of the best - even including some slide guitar. Gabriela, while playing a mean traditional guitar also uses the instrument to provide the percussion in the songs.

Go to their website or YouTube and watch one video - you will become a fan. Their latest album 9 Dead Alive came out this week. Previous albums include their self-titled Rodrigo y Gabriela (2006), 11:11 (2009), a collaboration with the 13-piece Cuban Orchestra on Area 52 (2012) and a few live albums from concerts in UK, Japan and France.

Taken with You (Kowalski #8)

Taken with You by Shannon Stacey is the eighth book in her Kowalski romance series.

Hailey Genest is the librarian in Witford, Maine. She loves her job, her house and her town, but she does wish she could find a guy to share her wonderful life with like all of her friends seem to be doing lately. The problem is that she has known most of the guys in town her whole life. If she hasn't found someone by now, she may be out of luck.

Matt Barnett is a game warden who is moving to Witford to help police the new ATV trails that lead all over the woods and into town - an expansion that is helping all of the local businesses including the Northern Star Lodge with came up with the idea. On his vacation before the move he just wants to spend time with his dad in the family cabin, but his ranger instincts kick in when he overhears two women who are lost in the woods.

Hailey would never in a million years guess that the unkempt mountain man who walked her and Tori back to their car is the clean shaven warden who is moving into the empty house next door. Of all of the embarrassing things that have happened to her in her life, why him. And they have already decided they are not right for each other based on their love/hate of the woods, but they may have to rethink that...

Stacey has created a wonderful series of romance novels featuring the Kowalski family and now expanding to their friends. Her books are fast reads that will keep your attention until after the last page.

Stacey, Shannon. (2014). Taken with You. New York: Carina Press.

Honor's Knight (Paradox #2)

Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach is the second book in her Paradox series of science fiction about a female mercenary.

Devi Morris is working as security on the spaceship Glorious Fool. But she is missing memories. She knows she was in a fight but she cannot remember with whom or why she would remove the helmet of her armor - which she know she did from the bruise and the memory loss. Luckily, she has retained all of her fighting skills.

Her first order of duty is to hire a new mercenary to replace the one who was killed in battle. Then she will hopefully get her memories back. Oh, she is also seeing little space bugs that seems to exist in a different dimension. She has not mentioned this to the ship doctor or captain.

Even with her memories gone, Devi is sure that the captain is more than he appears. The is no other explanation for how much trouble he seems to find. And she better remember quickly because there are some out there who see her as a threat and she will need all of the information to survive their attention.

Bach has created a genre blend of science fiction with a great lead character. If you are not a usual science fiction reader, this is a good series with which to begin.

Bach, Rachel. (2014). Honor's Knight. New York: Orbit.