Anxiously Awaiting

This is a pretty diverse group of books that I am looking forward to -- mostly because of the authors involved. Most are titles I've known about for a while, that just seem like they are forever on the horizon.

Hide in Plain Sight
by Michele Albert
Pocket, 25 April 2006
I discovered Albert after being pointed to her blog at some point because she likes anime. So after reading her for a while, I decided to try out one of her books, which was One Way Out (which, interestingly, came out a year ago today). Since then, I've read some of her backlist and look forward to anything from her in the future.


Duke of Scandal
by Adele Ashworth
Avon, 1 May 2006
Ashworth is one of the few romance authors who I feel consistently writes outside of the romance box -- despite the uproar over her last book and the "virgin widow" issue. This keeps me waiting for each of her books. I hope the cover looks better "in the flesh" than it does here.


Lying in Bed
by M. J. Rose
Harlequin Spice, 1 June 2006
I have enjoyed Rose's mysteries and I like that she is an author comfortable with pushing boundaries and trying new things. When I heard about the Spice line, it was this title that interested me. And I do like the cover. Very elegant.


Kushiel's Scion
by Jacqueline Carey
Warner, 12 June 2006
When I first read Carey's Kushiel's Dart, I couldn't believe how good it was, and how emotional the ride through that trilogy was. And though I have both of the books she's written since then, I haven't gotten around to reading them yet. I was waiting for this one, which is finally in the near future.


Mysteria
by MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, P. C. Cast, and Gena Showalter
Berkley, 30 June 2006
I feel like I am frequently one of the few romance readers who actually enjoys anthologies. I like the chance to try new authors, and I like the chance for authors to explore ideas that wouldn't always work as a full-length novel. I look forward to this one because Grant is consistently good, Showalter is a fountain of amazing ideas, and Cast and Davidson are both good storytellers (though I also have a hit-and-miss relationships with each). A good group of authors.


Whispers of the Night
by Lydia Joyce
Signet, 30 June 2006
Joyce is one of the most unique voices to emerge in the last few years in romance. This probably pegs me as a reader type, but I think it's quite possible that Joyce will fit in the Ivory-Gaffney-Kinsale-Ashworth-Chase group in the future.


Code Noir
by Marianne de Pierres
Roc, 30 June 2006
I like science fiction as much as I like romance, and one of my favorite sci-fi books of last year was de Pierres' Nylon Angel. It was a dark book -- the world isn't a happy place, there are people barely making it, the media runs everything and the only truth is what the TV says is truth. Parrish is a true kick-ass heroine. That's a term that's been tossed around a lot in romance-land lately and is rarely lived up to, but here it fits absolutely. I'm very much looking forward to this sequel.


The Next
by Dan Vining
Berkley, 1 August 2006
Vining's debut novel, The Quick, was a basically a supernatural mystery, but the supernatural elements were blended in so well that it actually took me a while to catch on to them. No scary monsters or legendary creatures shoved down your throat, just some mysterious men called Sailors who existed in the world alongside everyone else. Figuring out the primary mystery and the mystery of who and what these men are/were made for a great book.