In My Mailbox: September 12

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. This meme is about books that you received or bought during the week.

Is everyone gearing up for all the wonderful Book Blogger Appreciation Week festivities starting tomorrow? I know I am. I had so much fun discovering new sites last year that I already anxious for this year to begin!

And so, onto the books! Here we have yet another week of my shameless book acquiring for your viewing pleasure. Seriously, I'm not sure how these books pile up so fast. They seem to multiply faster than tribbles! For review, I got Freefall by Anna Levine - which was really wonderful (review to come soon) - and an ARC of Rich and Mad. The others I snagged at my local second hand bookshop for next to nothing [happy dance]. I'm particularly excited about Elantris as I've never read anything by Brandon Sanderson and this looked like a good place to start.

Freefall by Anna Levine

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

Rich and Mad by William Nicholson

Thankfully this week I was also able to make it back to the library and found plenty of lovely books to occupy my time. I was most excited about the Dark and Stormy Knights anthology and the fantastic Kate Daniels novella within. I haven't gotten around to reading any of the other short stories as I not really familiar with the other authors, but I'm tempted. Any particular favorites? The other books were ones that caught my eye while browsing - as if I didn't already have enough to tide me over or anything ;) For the past year I've been steadily winding my way through Sharon Shinn's Samaria series and I'm now down to the final installment Angelica. It's a series I've read fairly slowly because I'm enjoying them so much and want to savor every one. I can't recommend them enough!

Dark and Stormy Knights edited by P.N. Elrod

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

Angelica by Sharon Shinn

Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

"A Questionable Client" by Ilona Andrews

I'm not sure if it's because I'm so used to reading all the wonderful snippets Ilona Andrews posts on her blog or if the husband-wife writer duo is just excellent at writing period (I'm thinking it's the latter), but I was exceptionally pleased with their latest novella "A Questionable Client" found in the Dark and Stormy Knights anthology. After Magic Bleeds rocked my world earlier this year, I was in need of another Kate fix fast and this short and sweet little story did the job nicely.

"A Questionable Client" is set a few months prior to Magic Bites; a few months prior to Kate Daniels' move to Atlanta and her first meeting with the Beast Lord Curran  - so don't expect his Furriness to make an appearance in this one. In the absence of Kate's favorite sparring partner, our fearless mercenary for the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid winds up meeting the slippery Saiman for the very first time. After Saiman's original bodyguards bail while still on duty, Kate is called in as a quick replacement and winds up spending one hectic night facing down all sorts of nasties that would like to see Saiman very dead. In the course of the eventful evening, Saiman becomes fascinated with the smart and capable mercenary who is immune to his constant shape-shifting.

Saiman has always been a favorite character for me, so the explanation of how he and Kate first became 'business associates' is truly intriguing. As is her bottomless wealth of knowledge: this time featuring a good deal of Russian folklore which went a long way in making this reader happy. As for Kate herself? Despite it's short format, "A Questionable Client" still contained plenty of Kate's trademark wit and sarcasm as well as her deadly sword-swinging skills. All very good things. But man, how much longer do we have to wait until Magic Slays?

Read an excerpt here.

series reading order:
~ "A Questionable Client" (novella in Dark and Stormy Knights anthology)
~ Magic Bites
~ Magic Burns - my review
~ Magic Strikes - my review
~ "Magic Mourns" (novella in Must Love Hellhounds anthology) - my review
~ Magic Bleeds - my review

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
All Things Urban Fantasy review
Inside of a Dog review
My Book Addiction review

book source: my local library