A busy month! With the release of two of the three books I have eagerly anticipated in 2010 this month (on the same day, in fact), not to mention some free books from a writer friend of mine, I have had a veritable reading feast laid before me. I haven’t even finished all the books! But here are the ones I did read.

Before I got ahold of my The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker ARC, I reread its predecessor, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber. Since it’s not been long since I blogged about and reviewed Strangely Beautiful, I won’t say much about it here, only that it’s a Victorian ghost story with some very fresh twists, and that I loved it. Check out my review for more info.

As for The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker, it is a worth sequel, complete with all the ghosts, gods, and ghastly apparitions of the first book. War between the spirit and mortal realms looms, threatening to take first London, then the world. And only Percy Parker can stop it, by traveling into the land of the dead. At times lovely, at times chilling, Darkly Luminous lives up to its name. (My review)

Since I was in rereading mood, I also pulled out The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett again. I. Love. This. Book. Looooove it. I totally cannot wait for the sequel this fall. A comedy of manners, a romance, a mystery, and a dazzling fantasy tale, The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is a book I could read (have read) again and again. Now, Tia, supreme overlord of Debuts and Reviews, read it recently and wasn’t quite as enamored as I am, so you may want to get a less giddy opinion. Or if not, here’s my full review, posted last fall.

I tried another steampunk novel this month, one of the freebies I mentioned–The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia. Though beautifully written, it was a little melancholy for me. I’m still looking for my ideal steampunk novel, one which has all the wonder of a good old-fashioned fantasy book, except with steam engines and tophats. Still, The Alchemy of Stone was an engaging read. (Review forthcoming; I’ll update this page with the link when the review goes live.)

And last but not least! Lisa Shearin’s Bewitched and Betrayed came out this month, on the same day as Leanna Renee Hieber’s book. (Thank goodness I got that ARC of Darkly Luminous, or I’d have been beside myself trying to decide which to read first.) I have been waiting desperately for this book since finishing the previous one a year ago. Let me attempt to hook you with Bewitched and Betrayed‘s first line: “I was being chased by a pissed-off naked guy with a knife.” I mean, how could that line not hook you? (My review) So I am definitely looking forward to the next one, Con and Conjure, and even moreso to the one after that, because…

…I forgot to tell you that I won the contest! Yes, Lisa Shearin held a Name Raine Book #6 contest, and I won. So how exciting is that? In 2012, I will be able to walk into a bookstore, grab this book and a random stranger, and say, “You see this book? I named it.” Very awesome. (It’s called All Spell Breaks Loose, by the way.)

So that wraps up April Reading. But before I sign off, I wanted to alert you to a couple changes I’ve made to this site. I’ve posted a brief excerpt of my in-revision novel Hex (you can see it there on the sidebar; click “My Writing” to read my brief synopsis). Also, I finally managed to upload a photo to my “About” page. So. Look if you dare.

See you next time!