What's On My Hold List?

Picture from YaBookNerd's blog,
because, though, I started this meme
she created a much cuter pic for it!

Welcome to the July 2014 edition

of

"What's on My Hold List?"

One of the most beautiful things about working in a Library is that I have the ability to put lots of things on hold and read them *before* I buy!! These are some of the books that I'm currently waiting for, though I may buy one or two of them after reading, as well.

These are the books I'm waiting for right now:

The Ashford Affair 
by Lauren Willig

Breaking Point 
by Kristen Simmons
Article 5, book two

Brunette Ambition 
by Lea Michele

The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton
and Brenna Yovanoff

Graduation Day
by Joelle Charbonneau
The Testing, book three 

You can click on each title to go to their Goodreads page for a description...

So, these are the books I'm waiting anxiously to get my hands on...what are you waiting for??

Steampunk!

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

ed. by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant

Imagine an altrnate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, utopian revolutionaries, and intrepid orphans solve crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships. Here, fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, embrace the genre's established themes and refashion them in surprising ways and settings as diverse as Appalachia, Ancient Rome, future Australia, and alternate California. Visionaries Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant have invited all-new explorations and expansions, taking a genre already rich, strange, and inventive in the extreme and challenging contributors to remake it from the ground up. The result is an anthology that defies the genre even as it defines it. (description from Amazon.com)

I adore steampunk.  It's old, it's new, it's mechanical and magical, full of adventure and romance.  It is a brilliant sub-genre. 

That being said, I loved the concept of this anthology. It's like...steampunk twisted.  These are tales that all have strong steampunk elements, yet push beyond what we think of as steampunk to become even more.  Not a one is set in Victorian London, either! 

My favorites from this anthology were Libba Bray's story about girl thieves who use a device to stop time so that they can rob trains, Kelly Link's tale of a girl who is bound to serve fairies and is only somewhat mollified by their mechanized trinket gifts, and Dylan Horrock's story about a girl from another world, trying to find herself in a flatter version of her own life. Each of these tales literally *sparkled* at me from off of the pages.  *grins* The other tales were really well done, as well. 

Reading this book felt like traveling the world in a dirigible with dashing young lads and lasses hanging off of the anchor ropes... *whoops, just had a Scott Westerfeld moment there, lol.* Anyway, though I didn't read it all in one go, each tale was enthralling in it's own way. 

I should also mention that two of the tales are in graphic novel format.  These were short and fun to read.  In fact, my only complaint about the well done audio book was that it neglects to include these two tales...even just by reading the text.

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for AudioFile Magazine.

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love
ed. by Trisha Telep

If you can possibly thirst for more mysterious metaphysical accounts of love, Trisha Telep has organized some of the greatest and most thrilling tales of paranormal paramours since The Eternal Kiss. She presents the acclaimed literary talent of thirteen unique authors, creating a collection of stories that will undoubtedly capture the imagination of every soul who dares to read them. Werewolves, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and fallen angels drive the plot of these riveting romances. (description taken from Amazon.com)

I liked this anthology. It was full of some interesting stories by great YA authors. I really loved, too, that authors like Michelle Zink got to write something outside of the series they are now famous for...it was a real chance to show off their diverse abilities. Then, there were also stories like "Errant" by Diana Peterfreund and "Hare Moon" by Carrie Ryan that just delved even deeper into the fantastic worlds they've already created. For paranormal fans, this anthology is a must!

Zombies Vs. Unicorns

Zombies Vs. Unicorns
ed. by Holly Black and Justine Larbaleister

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?
(description from Amazon.com)

I am not generally a short story person. I like more meat...I want more action...I want deeper character studies...I just want...more. This book, however, is a compilation that becomes one giant book. No, I did not read it all in one sitting, but with the running commentary between Holly Black and Justine Larbaleister interspersed between tales, it became one long story battling out the ultimate question.

I was torn! I have been Team Unicorn for as long as I can remember, yet lately I have been strongly drawn to Team Zombie. (see my reviews for The Dead-Tossed Waves and I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It as examples) I was so drawn into all of these stories that I couldn't really decide which team to ultimately join!

Some of my favorite stories in the book were "Princess Prettypants" by Meg Cabot, "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn" by Diana Peterfreund, "Prom Night" by Libba Bray...oh god, they were all good! This one book encompassed stories by so many of my favorite authors. There was tongue in cheek humor, there was chill-inducing realism, there was hope, and there was romance.

This is a book that I would highly recommend to all fantasy readers. Even if you only read one or two of the stories, you would still be guaranteed a great time!

Full disclosure: ARC received to review for SLJ