Not only does she yearn to have freedom and privileges—a sin in her mother's eyes—but Aoife also covets the love of Wyl, a prince promised to another.

When the secret about the golden roads gets back to Prince Raef—Wyl’s more sinister brother—along with the legend of a dragon that guards a vast treasure, the new lands become vulnerable to Raef’s plague of greed.

After Wyl is dispatched to survey the lands, Aoife secretly follows him, and together they find the hoard of treasure, as well as consummate their love. Upon their return the kingdom is elated by the news of riches and shocked by the impending betrothal of Wyl and Aoife.

Usually levelheaded and kind, Prince Wyl is quickly consumed by his brother’s lust for power. Fearing for their safety, Aoife risks her life and those of her twin infants to warn the people who had shown her such kindness.

Charged with treason, Aoife is exiled and returns to the magical new land, which has already been devastated by war.

Despite the circumstances, Aoife is shown kindness and understanding far beyond what she feels she deserves. Through the help of the people and searching deep within herself, Aoife must find a way to reconcile the pain and guilt for all she has caused and the twin babies she was forced to leave behind.

Told in the second person, The Mapmaker’s War reads like a tapestry commemorating the life of a courageous warrior who dared challenge the traditions and norms of her culture.

Through Aoife, the author illustrates an Oedipus-like tale in that despite Aoife’s conscious efforts to escape domesticity, she is unable to outrun her destiny. Through her own actions she ends up commuting herself to the very life she worked so hard to avoid.

Though the tale is positioned as a legend, Ms. Domingue taps into contemporary traditions, norms, and issues, creating a female protagonist who chooses the love of her work over societal norms.

Using Aoife as a symbol, Ms. Domingue does a wonderful job of rendering the deep introspection, pain, and guilt that many women go through in an effort to balance their life paths.

Aoife is given the opportunity to be selfish, fallible and, above all, honest. She says and does things that are considered taboo in her culture then and now. Yet these things provide her with an opportunity to fully evolve as a person and learn from her mistakes.

Beautifully capturing the tone and voice of a classically told tale, Ronlyn Domingue crafts a deeply intelligent, richly enhanced tale of magic, power, greed, and the infinite resilience of the human heart.
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Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Atria Books (March 5, 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-1451688887

When Mama returns at 3 A.M. with a random guy named Bob on her arm, Zora has pretty much reached her limit. When Bob offers a birthday three-some—it’s the last straw.

Zora decides to take a beauty school scholarship in the small coastal town of Davenport; where, by special arrangement, she can live rent-free in exchange for cooking dinner for the gorgeous, but emotionally-damaged Winston Sawyer.

As Zora tries desperately to live her own life, she can’t help but watch Winston drown his sorrows in alcohol; convincing herself that she can save him and finally have the true love she has only dreamed about.

What Zora doesn’t realize is that the only person she can ever change is herself, and sometimes true love finds us in the most unexpected ways.

Infused with just the right amount of southern charm, The Wisdom of Hair is an engaging story of friendship, family and the quest for love.

Kim Boykin’s debut offering is wise, witty and poignant. Fans of Karen White and Wendy Wax will immediately gravitate towards Boykin’s gentle voice and vivaciously endearing characters.
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Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (March 5, 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-0425261057

With promises of a good education and medical assistance for Annie, Fia agrees to attend the Keane School despite her entire body screaming that it’s wrong. Not long after their arrival, the girls realize that they’re nothing more than pawns in a dangerous game being played by the school’s owner.

By the time the girls realize the school is only interested in exploiting their abilities, it’s too late. With little hope for escape Fia is forced to use her gift in horrible, and often deadly ways. To refuse will cost Annie her life.

Kiersten White takes a little detour from the lighter fare of her Paranormalcy trilogy and attempts to write a dark and intense thriller—an attempt that feels half-hearted.

Told in an alternating non-lineal narrative structure that exhibits a lack of depth and a surplus of momentum-killing and poorly-placed flashbacks, all while being mired in endless repetition.

From Fia’s often random mutterings about her hands and her OCD tap, tapping, to the constant reminders of the sisters’ bond and fearing for the other’s life, patience for this already lean novel quickly wears thin.

Despite a few character flaws, Fia is at least fairly solid and serves a productive purpose, while Annie feels like little more than a carrot on a stick used to motivate Fia to cooperate. Annie’s life will be spared as long as Fia plays the game. Fia’s decision to contemplate suicide at one point practically illustrates the point that her own sister is nothing more than a weight around her neck.

Seemingly satiated by her persistent reiteration, Ms. White doesn’t take the time to delve into anything of significance, but instead chooses to tell the reader what they need to know, rather than allow them to experience it.

Overall, the series looks to have plenty of potential, however, if Ms. White plans to write about espionage, bombing, brutal violence, and girls who kick ass, she needs to leave all that candy-coated sweetness behind her, put on her big girl pants and commit to making this series the psychological thrill-fest that she promised.
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Reading level: Ages 13 and up
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (February 19, 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-0062135315

During his time in the Korean War, David humanely ended the lives of two badly suffering fellow soldiers and, after losing his own life the next day, found himself back on the battlefield collecting souls.

Currently, David is training newbie and former cop Adam Javorski, who by decree of the big boss is to be fast-tracked. David hopes Adam’s accelerated training means that his own debt has been satisfied.

After being badly injured, David is given aid by his concerned neighbor Sarah Griffith. The first thing David notices about Sarah is that he can’t compel her with his thoughts, and the second: she’s the first woman he has been attracted to in the past six decades.

A dedicated scientist, Sarah doesn’t believe in the supernatural, despite coming from a long line of psychics. However, her deep attractive to David cannot be ignored. Unable to resist her, David opens his heart to Sarah.

Sarah quickly becomes the only thing holding David together—so when her name shows up on his reap schedule, David must decide if he’s willing to risk everything in order to save the woman he loves.

“Death never took a holiday.” Such is the first line in Lori Sjoberg’s new para-romance series about the day in the life of metro Orlando, Florida reapers. Even more amusing than the cold opening, is Sjoberg’s comparison of Death’s persistence with the diligence of the U.S. Post Office in getting the job done, causing one to wonder if Death will also be modified to a five-day workweek.

Ms. Sjoberg’s decision to shirk the norm and make her reapers into flesh and blood, corporeal beings is a good one. Seeing them live a fairly normal human existence makes the story that much more relatable, and, no doubt, cuts way down on the cheese-factor that usually accompanies an author’s attempt to write sex scenes between a human and a wraith.

Along with hope-filled Adam, and the gorgeous leading man, David, Ms. Sjoberg manages to refrain from skimp on the quality of the secondary characters, and instead provides intriguing supporting roles that have a well- established sense of identity, as well as the promise of an interesting backstory.

Though it’s not exactly rocket science, Grave Intentions is a highly enjoyable, intelligently written story that is sure to entertain and keep you coming back for more.
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File Size: 586 KB
Print Length: 260 pages
Publisher: eKensington (January 3, 2013)
ASIN: B009T9SCDA