just shelved...

Death by Latte, Linda Gerber
Linda Gerber returns with a sequel to her young adult adventure, Death by Bikini, to give readers another adventure for her heroine Aphra Connolly. This time, Aphra's left the comfort and familiarity of her father's island resort to find her mother, Natalie, in Seattle, WA. Except, her mother doesn't know she's coming and, when Aphra finds her, is none too glad to see her. It seems Natalie's CIA days aren't quite as over as Aphra had been led to believe. In Death by Latte, Aphra's adventure continues as the truth about her mother's life comes out. It isn't long before the trip turns deadly and one of Natalie's colleagues is murdered. Not long after, Seth Mulo, the boy she'd met on the island previously, shows up. But Aphra's hopes for a happy reunion are dashed when Seth seems to brush her off and wants only to reclaim his father's ring, which he'd given her prior to leaving the island scant months before. It's enough to drive a sixteen year old nuts. Read on...

WebMage, Kelly McCullough
Imagine a world where magic and mythology are real and then imagine it in the here and now. But this time, magic isn't cast with old fashioned wands or elixirs or any of that, but by spewing strings of binary and some well done hacking. This is the world Kelly McCullough creates in his new series. The story is told in first person by Ravirn, a prince of the court of the Fates. Literally. His grandmother (with N number of "great"s prefixing it) is Lachesis, the Fate who measures out the length of each person's life strand. He's also a student at the University of Minnesota and a world class hacker. Well, a magical hacker, at least. With his trusty laptop familiar, Melchior, at his side, Ravirn has built up a reputation for being able to discover weaknesses and bugs. So much so that his great-to-the-nth aunt, Atropos, demands he debug her latest program. Except that by doing so, Ravirn will have helped Atropos in eradicating free will from the world, and that's not something he really wants to do. Read on...

Just Desserts, Barbara Bretton
What happens when a small town cake decorator gets an order from one of the most famous rock stars in the world? If you're Haley Goldstein, you worry, because that's what you do best. And maybe sneak looks at the hot lawyer, Finn Rafferty, who comes into your shop to offer said order. Still wary of debt collectors knocking on her door, thanks to the no-good ways of her now ex-husband, Haley is understandably suspicious of this too-good-to-be-true offer that suddenly lands in her lap. But who is she to say no? Especially when, in a few years, her precocious teenage daughter will head off to college...and probably a good one. So Haley accepts the job to bake an awesome cake for rocker Tommy Stiles, knowing the opportunity will likely change her life, but she has no idea just how much. You see, Haley is Tommy's long lost daughter. She just doesn't know it. Read on...

Highland Rogue, Tess Mallory
Maggie Graham hasn't had the easiest of lives. Her parents were killed just as she finished college, leaving her to raise her younger sisters and putting her life effectively on hold. To thank her for that sacrifice, her sisters send Maggie on her dream trip: on an archaeological dig in Scotland. However, Maggie's adventures don't stop there. She manages to activate an ancient magic and finds herself thrown 300 years in the past. Right into the arms of Quinn MacIntyre, a Highland rogue. Literally. He's a highwayman, stealing from the rich, and part of Rob Roy MacGregor's group of men. But he's not a cruel man...far from it. He stays with her as Maggie realizes just where she is and her circumstances and as she understands that she might not be able to go home again. Read on...

Armed and Magical, Lisa Shearin
Raine Benares is back, still dealing with an evil stone and, this time, even more horrifying things: lawyers and politics. This is, of course, in addition to the bad guys, black magic, and general mayhem that has become the norm for Raine. And, yes, her snark is in full force, too. A sequel to Magic Lost, Trouble Found, Armed & Magical picks up the story right away and we're thrown into a brand new adventure. This time, Raine is on the Isle of Mid, having traveled from Mermeia in an attempt to find someone to disconnect her from the Saghred, the evil stone that, even under containment, still haunts her dreams. Shearin rehashes the high points of the first book for those who need a reminder or who are just jumping right in. While it isn't strictly necessary to have read the first book, the connections will certainly make much more sense to understand what had happened. Read on...

Lost Time, Susan Maupin Schmid
Violynne Vivant was an orphan of sorts. Her parents, archaeologists, disappeared a year prior while on a dig. Except no one thinks they're dead, least of all Violynne. In fact, the leader of the planet is looking for them and seems to have orchestrated a break-in at the Vivant home. The burglar stole a violin. It soon becomes obvious they stole the wrong kind. Lost Time details Violynne's journey as she tries to figure out the mystery behind her parents' disappearance. Aided by her aunt, Madelyn, and the house butler, Einhart, Violynne takes on the planet. Almost quite literally. Set in the future on the world of Lindos, Violynne encounters a creature know as the Coil, an embodiment of the planet; the Croon, an ancient civilization whose ruins her parents were excavating; the Arbiter, the self-proclaimed ruler of Lindos; and a few other folks along the way.Read more...

Front Lines, edited by Denise Little
War. An ugly event that every society seems to have to endure. When thinking about books on war, it usually ends up being a history lesson and rarely are the lives of the soldiers or others involved in war brought out. Denise Little gathered 21 war-time stories that aren't confined to the world we know. There are thought provoking stories, like a re-telling of the OK Corral or what the world might be like if the thousand years of war in the Middle East was no longer an issue and they were the ones trying to bring peace between Canada and the United States. There are short little fun pieces, like the trailer park man who was abducted by aliens who can't seem to convince his wife that he wasn't slumming around but helping the aliens fight their enemies. Read more...