ARC Arrival: The Athena Project by Brad Thor

The Athena Project

by Brad Thor

Atria

The world's most elite counterterrorism unit has just taken its game to an entirely new level.  And not a moment too soon. . .

From behind the rows of razor wire, a new breed of counterterrorism operator has emerged.

Just as skilled, just as fearsome, and just as deadly as their colleagues, Delta Force's newest members have only one thing setting them apart -- their gender.  Part of a top-secret, all-female program codenamed The Athena Project, four of Delta's best and brightest women are about to undertake one of the nation's deadliest assignments.

When a terrorist attack in Rome kills more than twenty Americans, Athena Team members Gretchen Casey, Julie Ericsson, Megan Rhodes, and Alex Cooper are tasked with hunting down the Venetian arms dealer responsible for providing the explosives.  But there is more to the story than anyone knows.

In the jungles of South America, a young U.S. intelligence officer has made a grisly discovery.  Surrounded by monoliths covered with Runic symbols, one of America's greatest fears appears to have come true.  Simultaneously in Colorado, a foreign spy is close to penetrating the mysterious secret the U.S. government has hidden beneath Denver International Airport.

As Casey, Ericsson, Rhodes, and Cooper close in on their target, they will soon learn that another attack -- one of unimaginable proportions -- has already been set in motion, and the greatest threat they face may be the secrets kept by their own government.

About the author: Brad Thor is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Foreign Influence, The Apostle, The Last Patriot, The First Commandment, Takedown, Blowback (recognized by NPR as one of the "100 Best Thrillers of All Time"), State of the Union, Path of the Assassin, and The Lions of Lucerne.  Visit his website at http://www.bradthor.com/.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria.  Please watch for my review in late February.~

 

The Athena Project
Publisher/Publication Date: Atria, Nov 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4391-9295-5
336 pages

ARC Arrival: The Dressmaker by Posie Graeme-Evans

The Dressmaker

by Posie Graeme-Evans

Atria

Set in 1850s London, at the height of Victoria's reign, Posie Graeme-Evans' glorious fourth historical novel tells of a woman ahead of her time. Ellen Gowan is a famous dress designer for ladies of high society and one of the very few women in England who owns her own business. But her life wasn't always one of such privilege.

The only surviving daughter of a Cambridge scholar-turned village minister and a beautiful woman who was disowned by her family for marrying for love, Ellen had a childhood plentiful in affection, if not in currency and dresses made of fine silks. Tragedy strikes on her thirteenth birthday, when her father dies suddenly, leaving Ellen and her mother penniless and dependent upon the kindness of her mother's estranged family.

Life takes Ellen down various roads of opulence and depravity until she lands in the arms of the devlishly handsome Raoul de Valentin, whom she marries. Just when Ellen realizes that she is with child, Raoul abandons her. Determined to survive, she begins her long climb to success, first by toiling at a dress factory, then opening up her own salon in the fashionable Battle Square.

Years pass, and Ellen has evolved into Madame Gowan, dress maker to royalty and the Great Six Hundred. All is truly well, until the day Raoul de Valentin unexpectedly arrives at her doorstep once more, threatening to destroy all that she has achieved.

The Dressmaker is a romantic odyssey that takes readers into the most luxurious of ballrooms and the most squalid of brothels. It is the sweeping story of a true heroine and her quest to live life fully-to find success, love, and to find herself in an era when such ideas were unheard of for a woman. Brimming with romance, social intrigue and rich, detailed illustrations of Victorian London and its varied inhabitants, he Dressmaker will captivate readers.

About the author: Posie Graeme-Evans has worked in the Australian film and television industry for the last twenty-five years as an editor, director, and producer on hundreds of prime-time television programs, including McLeod's Daughters and Hi-5. She lives in Sydney with her husband and creative partner, Andrew Blaxland.



~ I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Atria Galley Alley Promotion.Watch for my revie win early February.~

The Dressmaker: A Novel
Publisher/Publication Date: Atria, Oct 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7465-9442-3
464 pages

ARC Arrival: Book of Days by James L. Rubart

Book of Days

by James L. Rubart

B and H Fiction

"... in Your book all my days were recorded, even those which were purposed before they had come into being." - Psalm 139:16

Young Cameron Vaux's mind is slipping.  Memories of his wife, killed two years earlier in a car accident, are vanishing just as his dad predicted they would.  Memories he knows he has to remember.  His father tells Cameron that to save his mind he must find "the book with all days in it" -- the past and future record of every soul on earth.

When an obscure clue leads Cameron to a small central Oregon town, he meets enigmatic Taylor Stone, a possible guide to finding the book who seems to carry secrets far deeper than anyone imagines.  Local hotshot TV personality Ann Bannister thinks the legend of the book is a farce, but she has her reasons to join Cameron's search anyway.  Finally, there is fanatical New Age guru Jason Judah, who will stop at nothing to find the book of days before Cameron does.

About the author:  James L. Rubart is a professional marketer, speaker, and writer.  He serves on the board of the Northwest Christian Writers Association and lives with his wife and sons in Washington State.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from JKS Communications.  Watch for my January review (and giveaway!)~



Book of Days: A Novel
Publisher/Publication Date: B and H Books, Jan 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4336-7151-7
400 pages

ARC Arrival: Endgame by Frank Brady

Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall -- from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness

by Frank Brady

Endgame is acclaimed biographer Frank Brady's decades-in-the-making tracing of the meteoric ascent -- and confounding descent -- of enigmatic genius Bobby Fischer.  Only Brady, who met Fischer when the prodigy was ten years old and shared with him some of his most dramatic triumphs, could have written this book. Drawing from Fischer family archives, recently released FBI files, and Bobby's own e-mails, this account is unique in that it limns Fischer's entire life -- an odyssey that took the Brooklyn-raised chess champion from an impoverished childhood to the covers of Time, Life, and Newsweek to recognition as "the most famous man in the world" to notorious recluse.

Possessing a 181 IQ and remarkable powers of concentration, Bobby was only thirteen when he became the youngest chess master in U.S. history.  But his strange behavior nearly halted his Cold War championship match with Soviet star Boris Spassky, he turned down millions of dollars in sponshorship offers, and by 1992 he was an international fugitive, wanted by American law enforcement for having violated U.S. sanctions.

Woven into Fischer's late-life odyssey are bizarre flirtations with apocalyptic religions, Nazis, and mafiosi, and bouts of paranoia that had him traveling with gun-toting bodyquards and railing against perceived conspiracies.

Who was Bobby Fischer, and what does his life say about the flowering of genius and the distorting effects of fame?  In Endgame, Frank Brady gives us the fascinating answer.

About the author:  Frank Brady is internationlly recognized as the person most knowledgeable about the life and career of Bobby Fischer.  He is the author of numerous critically acclaimed biographies, including Citizen Wells; Onassis: An Extravagant Life; and Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy (the first edition of which appeard in the mid-1960s and focuses on the young Bobby).

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House.  Watch for my review in February 2011.~

Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall - from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness
Publisher/Publication Date: Crown, Feb 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-307-46390-6
416 pages

ARC Arrival: A Stitch Before Dying by Anne Canadeo

A Stitch Before Dying

by Anne Canadeo

When Maggie Messina, owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, is invited to give knitting workshops at a Berkshires spa resort, she manages to negotiate a cottage that fits all five of the Black Sheep for what promises to be a weekend of knitting bliss. But while the friends are expert at counting stitches, they haven't counted on murder.

Guests and staff at the Crystal Lake Inn are as varied as a mixed bag of yarn, but most colorful is certainly the owner, charismatic self-help guru and former psychiatrist Dr. Max Flemming.  The doctor may have told all in a revealing autobiography, but from his ex-wife to the widow of his former business partner -- both employees at the inn -- Max seems mired in shadows from his past.  And when a killer strikes during a mountaintop retreat, the Black Sheep wonder what the good doctor might be hiding.

The police seem to be following the wrong thread.  But while Maggie's workshops have given the knitters a unique view of the tensions at the little inn, can they make sense of a crime that is as complexly stranded as a Fair Isle sweater?  When the killer murders a second time, the Black Sheep wonder if they've dropped a stitch and put themselves in mortal danger.

About the author:  Anne Canadeo began her Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series with While My Pretty One Knits.  She is the author of more than 30 books, including the bestselling Cape Light series, which she writes as Katherine Spencer.  A novice with needles, she finds many similarities between knitting and writing -- inspiration, persistence, and good things happening by accident.  Anne lives in Northport, New York.  You can contact her at anne@annecanadeo.com.

~I received a copy of this book for review from Gallery Books.  Watch for my review in early January.~

 

A Stitch Before Dying
Publisher/Publication Date: Gallery, Dec 28, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4391-9139-2
288 pages



ARC Arrival: The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean

The Secret Lives of Dresses

by Erin McKean

5 Spot

Dora has always taken the path of least resistance.  She went to the college that offered her a scholarship, is majoring in "vagueness studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt.  She falls into a job at the campus coffee shop and a crush on her cute boss. . . and has no idea what she's going to do next.

But when Mimi, the grandmother who raised her, suffers a stroke, Dora rushes back home to Forsyth, NC, and finds herself running Mimi's vintage dress shop.  The store has always been a fixture in Dora's life, though she grew up more of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl. Before Dora even knew how to write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's spirit.  While there, Dora befriends Mimi's adorable contractor, Conrad.  Is he after Dora, or is he working from a different blueprint?  She also makes a curious discovery: Mimi has been writing down -- and giving away -- the stories of the dresses in her shop.

Battling building codes and selfish relatives, Dora ultimately finds herself willing to face whatever may stand in the way of her staying in Forsyth.  She can trade her boring clothes for vintage glamour, but can she trade her boring life for one she actually wants?

About the author: Erin McKean is the blogger behind A Dress A Day, the inspiration for this novel. Her writing has been featured in many media outlets from The NY Times Magazine to Foreign Affairs. She currently works as the editor of VERBATIM, and was previously at OUP.

Follow Erin at her blog A Dress a Day or on Twitter.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Books.  Watch for my review in February.~

The Secret Lives of Dresses
Publisher/Publication Date: 5 Spot, Feb 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-446-55572-2
304 pages

ARC Arrival: Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress

Georgia Bottoms

by Mark Childress

Little, Brown and Company

From the author of Crazy in Alabama and One Mississippi comes a hilarious and heartfelt story about an Alabama socialite with an unusual secret.

Georgia Bottoms is known in her small community of Six Points, Alabama, as a beautiful, well-to-do, and devoutly Baptist Southern belle.

Nobody realizes that the family fortune has long since disappeared, and a determinedly single woman like Georgia needs an alternative, and discreet, means of income.  In Georgia's case it is six well-heeled lovers -- one for each day of the week, with Mondays off -- none of whom knows about the others.

But when the married preacher who has been coming to call (Saturdays) decides to confess their affair in front of the whole congregation, Georgia must take drastic measures to stop him.  What ensues is a hearty stew of hilarity, absurdity, and wholehearted mischief such as only Mark Childress can cook up.

About the author: Mark Childress was born in Monroeville, Alabama.  He is the author of six previous novels and three books for children.  He has lived in Ohio, Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, California, and Costa Rica, and currently lives in Key West, Florida.  Visit his website at www.crazyinalabama.com. 

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Books. Watch for my February review.~

Georgia Bottoms: A Novel
Publisher/Publication Date: Little, Brown and Company, Feb 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-316-03304-6
288 pages

ARC Arrival: THR3E by Ted Dekker

THR3E

by Ted Dekker

Center Street

By all accounts Kevin Parsons is leading a virtuous life.  But like all people, Kevin has his secrets.  And someone wants them revealed.

While driving home from graduate school, Kevin receives a call from a deluded stranger who calls himself Slater.  Slater demands that Kevin confess his sin in the next three minutes or the car he's driving will be blown to pieces.  With the threat, he offers a riddle:  What falls but never breaks, what breaks but never falls?

Thus starts a harrowing chain of threats with progressively higher stakes.  Another riddle, another three minutes.  Confess your sin, Kevin.

The problem is Kevin has no idea what sin.  And Slater's cycle won't stop until he's dead.

Now only Samantha, the woman he once loved more than life itself, can help him uncover the secrets of a mysterious past.  But Samantha may soon be dead as well.

About the author: TED DEKKER is a New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels with a total of more than 3 million books in print. He is known for thrillers that combine adrenaline-laced plots with incredible confrontations between good and evil.



~ I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Books and hope to have it reviewed by the end of the month.~



Thr3e
Publisher/Publication Date: Center Street, Nov 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59995-314-4
416 pages

ARC Arrival: Trapped by a Dream: When Fates Collide by Leola Butler

Trapped by a Dream: When Fates Collide (A True Account Taken From the Journals of Boots Butler)

by Leola Butler

XLibris

Trapped By a Dream: When Fates collide is the true account of a young Russian girl who is deceived and abducted.  Her rescue mission is detailed from the personal journals of Boots Butler, the team leader.  This story involves the collective abilities of Boots, working with an extraordinary group of comrades in arms, to extract a prisoner.  The rescue takes Boots and his clan to Amsterdam where their most hated enemy, the Russian Mafia, stands between them and the object of the operation.  They do this with complete selflessness and courage.  Once engaged they will not quit.  Their motto is "failure is not an option."  These are the words they live by, and will die by, if necessary.

About the author:  Leola butler is an emerging author recounting the true stories of the recovery of abducted and exploited children performed by A.E. "Boots" Butler, her husband of thirty-six years.  Since 1994 she has been the secretary/treasurer and case assignment controller for the non-profit organization,  Somewhere Out There.  The stories that she writes about tell of the bravery and perseverance of the heroic men that rescue stolen and kidnapped children.  She earned an Associate of Arts degree at Peninsula College and majored in criminal Justice at Washington State University.  Leola and Boots now reside in the scenic Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.  When she is not writing, Leola enjoys spending time with her family, working as a care-giver and is a devoted mother and grandmother of four.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book - but I don't know who sent it!  I have searched my email for any reference to this title and cannot find one.  I feel so bad as I am usually more careful that that.  So if you happen to be the sender - or if someone has received a review copy themselves - please let me know who sent it to me!  Watch for my review sometime in January.~


Trapped By A Dream: When Fates Collide: A true account taken from the journals of Boots Butler
Publisher/Publication Date: Xlibris, May 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4500-9129-9
346 pages

ARC Arrival: The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship by Lisa Verge Higgins

The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship

by Lisa Verge Higgins

Grand Central Publishing

What makes a wife a lover?

For Kate, the spark went out of her marriage long ago but her husband doesn't seem to notice.  Their role as parents consumes their lives so they need to rekindle the romance they once shared.

What makes a woman a mother?

For Jo, a high-powered career has led her to believe that she doesn't have a single maternal instinct.  When an orphan unexpectedly enters her life, she is forced to confront her own unhappy childhood -- and the wall it has built around her heart.

What makes a man the love of your life?

For Sarah, home is the steamy jungles of Africa while the man of her dreams waits in the air-conditioned confines of Los Angeles.  Her longing for this man from the past is blinding her to a new love standing right in front of her.

What these women all have in common is a friend named Rachel, a brave, vibrant woman whose life has been cut tragically short.  But she's left a legacy of hope for her three closest friends.  Through her final letters, Rachel dares them to change the course of their lives and to value the friends who will always be there.

About the author:  While studying for her Ph.D. in chemistry, RITA finalist Lisa Verge Higgins penned twelve romance novels under her maiden name.  The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship is her first foray into mainstream women's fiction. 

She lives in New Jersey with her husband, an attorney, and their children.

Read an Excerpt

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Books.  Watch for my review in late January, 2011.~

The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing, Jan 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-446-56351-2
352 pages

ARC Arrival: Magel's Daughter by Nancy Baker

Magel's Daughter

by Nancy Baker

North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc

Everyone in the Olina family, living and dead, knows that Magel keeps human body parts in her freezer.

From the beginning of the novel, the provocative nature of the text defies the Minnesota-nice stereotype, which is, at once, refreshing and original.

Magel's Daughter highlights the deadly manipulations and subterfuge of matriarchal power within a Norwegian family.  It is a dark comedy with a touch of magical realism.  On the surface it's a rapidly paced, episodic blitz through the last days of Karin Brix's sanity.

She's lost it by the end, and it's all her mother's fault.  Magel is a classic femme fatale who grows old and spoils everyone's lives just like her mother and her mother before her.  This is all set in Northern Minnesota, a chilly world of hallucination, incest, and severed heads.

Magel is the reigning matriarch of the family, and Karin is on her way to becoming just like her, struggling to regain herself as an artist after years of raising her two sons.  Karin is assisted in her endeavors by the hallucinations of her grand and great-grandmothers.  Karin's father's glass eye weaves through her imagination as the only sound counsel amid the chaos.

Watch for the Sequel: Magel's Ghost continues the story of Karin as she re-locates to Minneapolis, and follows the characters caught in Karin's web. Her quest for power in the art community, involves her with the grandfather, father, and son of a wealthy Minneapolis family. The ripple effect of her destructive psychosis is hilarious.

~I received a copy of this book from Bostick Communications and Nancy Baker.  Watch for my review by early February.~

 

About the author: Magel's Daughter is Nancy's first published novel, and the sequel is Magel's Ghost. The stories are dark comedies laced with magical realism, and take place in her home state of Minnesota.

She has finished her third novel, Island Adrift, the first in The Mac Books series. The novel is also laced with magical realism while giving us a more serious base to the storyline. She is currently working on the next book in the series.

Her education has taken a varied and unusual route. She holds a BFA from the college of Art and Design in Minneapolis and worked in graphic design for ten years. At the same time she took night classes at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis,Minnesota, and has been writing ever since.

Early in her writing career, she tried her hand at children's stories and adult short stories. She is married and the mother of four children who supply her with endless material.


Magel's Daughter
Publisher/Publication Date: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc, Sept 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-87839-364-1
320 pages

ARC Arrival: Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

Goodnight Tweetheart

by Teresa Medeiros

Gallery Books

@WhatTheHeckHappenedToMyLife

Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing.  Namely writing her next novel.  A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah's stamp of approval, she is stuck at Chapter Five and losing confidence daily.  But when her publisher signs her up for a Twitter account, she's intrigued.  What's all the fuss about?

Trending Topic: True Love

Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, "MarkBaynard" -- a quick-witted, quick-typing professor on sabbatical -- Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time.  And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life.  After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living?

Or is he?

Told almost entirely in tweets and DMs, Goodnight Tweetheart is a truly modern take on a classic tale of love -- a Griffin and Sabine for the Twitter generation.

Read the first chapter.

About the author: Teresa Medeiros is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.  She currently has more than seven million books in print and is published in more than seventeen languages.  She lives in Kentucky with her husband and her cats Willow and Buffy the Mouse slayer.  Visit her web site Teresa Medeiros, follow her on Twitter, and join her on Facebook.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Gallery Books.  Watch for my review on December 16.~ 

Goodnight Tweetheart
Publisher/Publication Date: Gallery Books, Dec 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4391-8815-6
240 pages

ARC Arrival: Chasing Shadows by Fred Burton

Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice

by Fred Burton with John Bruning

Palgrave Macmillan

In July 1973, a gunman stepped out from behind a tree and fired five shots, point blank, into Josef Alon, a kind, unassuming Israeli Air Force pilot.  Sixteen-year-old Fred Burton was deeply shocked by this crime that rocked his sleepy suburban neighborhood in Bethesda, Maryland.  Alan wasn't just a pilot and family man -- he was a high-ranking Israeli military official with intelligence ties.  His assassin was never found.  In 2007, Fred Burton -- now a former State Department counterterrorism special agent -- reopened the case.  From swirling dogfights over Egypt and Hanoi to gun battles on the streets of Beirut, this action-packed history shows how power is used, misused, and sold to the most convenient bidder.  Chasing Shadows spins a gripping tale of secret agents, double agents, terrorists, and heroes as Burton chases leads around the globe in an effort to solve this decades old murder.

About the author:  Fred Burton is one of the world's foremost experts on security, terrorists, and terrorist organizations.  He was deputy chief of the Counterterrorism Division of the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service and is currently a vice president at Stratfor, known as the "Shadow CIA."  He is the author of Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent and appears regularly on The Daily Show, Glenn Beck, and Anderson Cooper 360, and on Fox, ABC, and CBS radio.  He lives in Austin, Texas.

John Bruning is a military historian and the coauthor of House to House.  He lives in Independence, Oregon.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Palgrave Macmillan.  Watch for my review in April 2011.~

Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice
Publisher/Publication Date: Palgrave Macmillan, April 12, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-230-62055-1
272 pages

ARC Arrival: Aksandar by Judith Montgomery

Aksandar

by Judith Montgomery

AuthorHouse

Aksandar is a quest for truth and justice by Aziz Rashani who understands that tradition in a land of mountains and desert is a matter of surviving when unrealistic odds favor invaders who use the same tactics as Ghenghis Khan.  For him, the ideal of an independent Afghanistan is a matter of honor.  It is a matter of doing the right thing because that is the right thing to do.  Political blackmail and the corruption of ideals force drastic and dangerous change onto the streets and into the villages where the struggle goes on every day.

Ms. Montgomery has traveled extensively in Afghanistan and over the years has developed a great love and respect for the Afghan people and their struggle to survive as citizens of an independent country.  Much of that struggle to maintain their culture has not been recognized, and through Aksandar, she has put forth a meaningful picture of what it means to wait in a land where waiting means death from strangers and outsiders.  her own personal search for trugh has become the inspiration for Aksandar.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bohlsen PR. Watch for my review by early February.~

Aksandar
Publisher/Publication Date: AuthorHouse, Aug 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4490-1208-3
272 pages

ARC Arrival: Angel Harp by Michael Phillips

Angel Harp

by Michael Phillips

FaithWords

Widowed at thirty-four, amateur harpist Marie Buchan realizes that her life and dreams are slowly slipping away.  A longed-for summer in Scotland offers far more than a change of scenery. Not only does the music of her harp capture the fancy of the small coastal village she visits, but she is unexpectedly drawn into a love triangle involving the local curate and the local duke.

The boyhood friends are estranged as adults because of their mutual love for a woman (now dead) some years before.  History seems destined to repeat itself, with Marie in the thick of it.  Her involvement in the lives of the two men, as well as with quirky characters in the community, leads to a range of exciting relationships and lands Marie in the center of the controversy over a mysterious death.  Eventually she must decide: What is the truth? And with whom will she cast her lot?

In this sparkling new novel, acclaimed author Michael Phillips takes readers on a romantic journey along Scotland's beautiful shores and into a young widow's search for love, faith, and fulfillment.  Only the Giver of dreams can show the way to all she hopes for -- and more.

About the author: Michael Phillips has been writing in the Christian marketplace for 30 years. All told, he has written, co-written, and edited some 110 books. Phillips and his wife live in the U.S., and make their second home in Scotland.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Books.  Please watch for my review in late January.~

Angel Harp: A Novel
Publisher/Publication Date: FaithWords, Jan 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-446-56771-8
464 pages

ARC Arrival: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe

by Beth Revis

Razorbill

A story of love, murder, and madness aboard an enormous spaceship bound for the future.

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed.  she expects to wake up on a new planet, 300 years in the future.  But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense.  Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder.  But can she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Penguin.  Watch for my review in January.~

About the author:  Beth Revis lives in rural North Carolina with her husband and dog, and believes space is nowhere near the final frontier.  Across the Universe is her first novel.  Visit her blog at http://www.bethrevis.com/.

Across the Universe
Publisher/Publication Date: Razorbill, Jan 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59514-397-6
416 pages
Ages 12 and up

ARC Arrival: Beyond the Wall by Dolores E. Cross

Beyond the Wall: A Memoir

by Dolores E. Cross

WestBow Press

Dolores Cross got a wake-up call, literally and figuratively, at 2:00 one morning, from a man asking who she was and where she was.

As she glanced at the electronic bracelet around her ankle, she made a decision to answer the question of who she was.  Not just to her caller, but to all people who have given themselves to a cause, only to be accused of a crime.

This timely and inspiring memoir emerged from a respected educational administrator's harrowing year under house arrest.  Cross's ordeal became a personal journey to find new understanding, new strength, and hope.  To sustain herself, she drew upon the lessons of memories, taught by her roots, her ancestors, her family, and her personal heroes, in the face of injustice, betrayal, and relentless prosecution.

In Beyond the Wall, Cross examines the external forces that pulled her down into a darkness far from everything she believed in and had accomplished.  To weather the storm, she reflected on the life experiences that had motivated her to accept the presidency of a financially fragile college and the arduous climb from the abyss that followed her resignation.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bohlsen PR.  Watch for my review in January.~

Beyond the Wall: A Memoir

Publisher/Publication Date: WestBow Press, Apr 2010

ISBN: 978-1-4497-0094-2

268 pages

ARC Arrival: The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor

The Anatomy of Ghosts

by Andrew Taylor

Hyperion

1786, England. John Holdsworth, a bookseller and novelist fallen upon hard times, is approached by a man with an odd commission.  Lady Anne Oldershaw's husband has passed away.  Now a wealthy widow, she would like to hire Holdsworth to catalogue her late husband's extensive library in order to donate it to Cambridge University.  However, before he undertakes that task, he must complete a more pressing one:  find Lady Anne's son Frank -- who is committed to a home for the mentally unstable under the claim that he has seen a ghost -- and return him to London.

Once in Cambridge, Holdsworth finds Frank in a manic state that is somehow connected to the mysterious death of Sylvia Whichcote, the wife of one of Frank's colleagues at Jerusalem College.  As Holdsworth tries to help Frank and unravel the mystery of Sylvia's death, he is drawn deeper into the secretive Cambridge community and encounters scholars, louche young men, enigmatic women, and street urchins in ready supply -- many connected to a secret society that meets within the college's walls.

Andrew Taylor delivers his most suspenseful thriller yet with fascinating characters, numerous twists and turns, and a compelling narrative that propels the reader along to a surprise ending.

About the author:  Andrew Taylor is the author of several crime and suspense novels.  He is the recipient of the Crime Writers' Association 2009 Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing, among other awards.  His website is http://www.andrew-taylor.co.uk/ or www.facebook.com/TheAnatomyofGhosts.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hyperion.  Watch for my review in late January.~

The Anatomy of Ghosts
Publisher/Publication Date: Hyperion, Jan 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4013-0287-0
432 pages

ARC Arrival: Kick by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman

Kick

by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman

Harper Teen

For the very first time in his decades-long career writing for teens, acclaimed and beloved author Walter Dean Myers writes with a teen, Ross Workman.

Kevin Johnson is thirteen years old. And heading for juvie. He's a good kid, a great friend, and a star striker for his Highland, New Jersey, soccer team. His team is competing for the State Cup, and he wants to prove he has more than just star-player potential. Kevin's never been in any serious trouble . . . until the night he ends up in jail. Enter Sergeant Brown, a cop assigned to be Kevin's mentor. If Kevin and Brown can learn to trust each other, they might be able to turn things around before it's too late.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harper Teen.  Please watch for my review in February 2011.~

About the authors: Critically acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers has garnered much respect and admiration for his fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for young people.  Winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award, five Coretta Scott King Awards, two Newbery Honors, and the first-ever Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, he is considered one of the preeminent writers for children.  He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his family.  You can visit him online at http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/.

When Ross Workman was thirteen, he wrote a fan email to his favorite author.  When Walter Dean Myers wrote back and asked him whether he would be interested in writing a book, Ross was amazed -- and incredibly excited.  Four years later, Ross is seventeen and in eleventh grade at Westfield Senior High School.  In addition to writing, Ross plays a sport every season:  high school soccer in the fall, high school wrestling in the winter, and club travel soccer in the spring.  He has attended the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, plays alto and baritone saxophones, and has competed at the state level in the National Geographic Bee.  He lives in Westfield, New Jersey.

Kick
Publisher/Publication Date: Harper Teen, Feb 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-200490-1
195 pages

ARC Arrival: Unforgivable by Laura Griffin

Unforgivable

by Laura Griffin

Pocket Star Books

Tracing killers is Mia Voss's business...

And her work just got personal...

At first, Mia Voss thinks it's just bad luck when her already lousy day ends with a carjacking, but what seems like a random incident is followed by another sinister episode.  A DNA expert, Mia has made it her mission to put away vicious criminals.  Suddenly, she's become the target of one.  And the only way to protect the people she loves most is to deliberately destroy her reputation and risk letting a killer walk free.

Once, Mia trusted Detective Ric Santos, but that was before Ric let his turbulent past ruin his chances with Mia, the sexiest, most intriguing woman he's ever met.  But he can tell when she's lying -- and when she's scared.  The key to catching a sadistic madman lies within a long-buried cold case that has haunted Mia for years.  Only she can uncover the truth, but first, Ric will have to get her to entrust him with her secrets. . . and her life.

About the author: Laura Griffin started her career in journalism before venturing into the world of romantic suspense with her novels for Pocket Books.  Her books have won numerous awards, including a 2010 RITA and a 2010 Daphne du Maurier Award.  Laura currently lives in Austin, where she is working on the next book in her popular Tracers series.  Visit http://www.lauragriffin.com/ and be sure to follow Laura on Twitter @Laura_Griff.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Pocket Books.  Please look for my review in early January.~

Unforgivable

Publisher/Publication Date: Pocket Star Books, Nov 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4391-5296-6
416 pages