So what have you been reading?

There is fun knowing you are going into a book and certain things will happen. You know that Eve and Roarke will have a few romantic evenings during the book and Eve will catch the bad guy. Eve is primary on the scene as she sees the victim die but doesn’t see the actual cut that bled out the gossip columnist in the bar. As the case progresses we find out that no one liked the dead woman and it comes out she has been blackmailing people and making a tidy amount of money for herself in the process. By the end you find out why the victim is the way she is and the reader is reminded that Eve will get justice for her no matter the type of person she is.

When a princess doesn’t speak her royal parents will do anything to get her to talk. A tiger takes them up on the offer and gets her to talk. A simple kids story with very good art.

I enjoy reading Saga even though it likes to kick you in the feels. It reminds you over and over that life isn’t fair especially when you are on the run from the government. And yet the deaths in the last issue of this one were the worst. Bounty hunters are still after them, the tree needs fuel and Prince Robot still want to get to his son. The overall plot doesn’t move and this is more of the time spent in one place but since this is Hazel telling the story of her life it makes sense since she makes friends on the comet.

Overall a great read and now I have to wait for the next collection.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher

The second book starts a few months after the Discount Armageddon. Dave’s Fish and Strips is now a burlesque club that features the cryptids so the customers think it is all fake. But not everything is right. The Covenant is coming to town to check on Dominic and get ready to purge NYC of the cryptic population. Verity does come do a decision about living two lives in New York as she is working hard to protect the cryptid population and gather forces that can fight back against the Covenant while the ones that can’t fight try and flee or find safety somewhere. A good conclusion to this story arc and the next book will feature one of Verity’s siblings.

The Martian Queen has been mothballed for a long time and a few people see this a gold mine waiting to be plundered. But all is not right with the ship that Saga has been hired to raid. Her boss knows secrets about the ship because she has been there before with another crew and has an agenda that she hasn’t shared with Saga or her husband. This is a tight story that goes from space piracy to something else in the end. A good story and possibly a nice setup to a future story but isn’t needed for closure to this one.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This is a new series from John Scalzi and I haven’t been disappointed with his books yet. The setup is there is a vast empire that relies on “The Flow “for FTL travel. But the Flow is moving away from where it has always been and only a few people know that the empire that is built on the travel and trade using the Flow is coming to an end. When the new Empress takes the throne she never expected to inherit and had only a few months of training before her father’s death she is only given a small clue by her father about what will happen. As the few people that do know what is going on try to get to her and somehow mitigate some of the collapse to their society when the Flow ends.

The book was interesting and a solid setup for more books to come. Will be interesting how it proceeds from here.

Friday

2 PM A J Hartley
2:30 PM Patricia Briggs
4 PM Clay and Susan Griffith
5 PM Melissa F Olson
Saturday


Noon Delilah S Dawson
1 PM Kim Harrison
3 PM Jack Campbell
4 PM Jane Yolen
5 PM Myke Cole
6 PM Cherie Priest
Sunday

10:30 AM. Jonathan Maberry
11:30 AM Claudia Gray
1 PM C Robert Cargill
2 PM Gail Z Martin
3 PM Faith Hunter
4 PM Scott Sigler
5 PM Fran Wilde


Table Two The Baen Publishing Signings

Friday
4 pm Larry Correia
5 pm David Afsharirad
6 pm D.J. Butler

Saturday
Noon 1632 Signing (Eric Flint, Charles E. Gannon, Griffin Barber, Alistair Kimble)
1 pm David B. Coe
3 pm Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon, Cody Martin
5 pm Black Tide Rising (John Ringo, Gary Poole, Eric Flint, Jody Lynn Nye, Kacey Ezell, Mike Williamson, Christopher Smith, Mike Massa)
6 pm Forged In Blood (Mike Williamson, Larry Correia, Mike Massa, Kacey Ezell, Christopher Smith)

Sunday
1 pm Les Johnson
2 pm Charles E. Gannon
4 pm Straight Outta Tombstone (David Boop, Larry Correia)
5 pm John Ringo
6 pm Timothy Zahn

Monday
10 am David Boop
11 am David B. Coe


FAQ
1. Do you have to buy a book to get something signed? No, but it sure would be nice if you did.
2. How many can I get signed? Limit 3 items and then back in line please so everyone has a chance.
3. How long will they sign? About an hour
Visit our website sit at www.themissingvolume.com

After only reading this comic when someone shares it on social media I knew I would enjoy this and boy was I right. I wasn’t planning on tearing through it in one read but it was impossible to stop. Now I need to get the rest of the comics. I didn’t feel at all left out since this isn’t the first collection. Most of these comics are self-contained and self-explanatory. Brain is being logical and heart lets his emotions take control. A fun and entertaining read and I now need to pick up more of them.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

My library was offering several short stories as audio books so I gave it a try.

I read a lot of Seanan’s McGuire’s stuff and I wasn’t disappointed in this at all. It is a standalone story and give a good sense of what makes a great writer. The story covers a teen girl whose mother is a real mermaid with the carnival she travels with. As the story unfolds you find out that this is the only life she has ever known and everyone is family. But they have returned to a town they haven’t been to in 17 years and some people have a long memory. A good buildup and a bittersweet ending to this story.

No spoilers on this one. This book starts out with a karaoke bachelorette party and things are going great but this is a Toby book and that will not last. Amandine shows up and demands that Toby do her detective thing and find her older half-sister that she doesn’t know and has been missing for over 100 years. Things that have been hinted about for in previous books are stated outright in this one. There is a prophecy that has been hinted at in the series that is mentioned in this one. Toby’s mother will never win any awards as mother of the year and even with her saving Toby’s life in previous books you have to wonder even more about her in what she says and does in this book.
As much as I like Toby I think I like the Seawitch even more. Luidaeg has gotten the short end of the stick thanks to geas placed on her. She does what she can within the framework that she is bound to and she tries very hard in this book to do it.
I really need to do a reread especially on everything that Amandine shows up in. And for the reader there is a bit of a reminder of past books in this one. Actions from previous books always seem to shape the future stories in this series and that is a good thing.

There is a novella at the end told from the viewpoint of April O’ Leary and Toby does make and appearance in it. All I will say is reread A Local Habitation to remind yourself of things that happened to get the best out of this story. I do admit that I really like the extra stories at the end of the books lately and that they are a different viewpoint character in the series is just the cherry on top.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley