Jennifer Jackson – Literary Agent

Endurance by Jay Lake

Assassin and ex-courtesan Green has saved a city and birthed a god (in 2009’s Green). Now she wants to move on—but she’s hunted by enemies from her past, the city council is mired in a power struggle and can’t provide much aid, and something is stalking goddesses, including the one Green serves. Lake deftly weaves complicated, stubborn characters into a plot that reaches the grandest and most personal scales without ever straining credulity. Green’s basically solitary nature, expressed in extensive internal monologue, is balanced by her feelings of tenderness, responsibility, and exasperation toward her fellow humans, the catlike Pardines, and the gods. Her pragmatic acceptance of killing is likewise mitigated by her refusal to trivialize death and her emotional reactions to pregnancy’s effects on her body, self-control, and expectations. This complex, lonesome, haunting novel will appeal to fans of Valente, Monette, and Miéville. –Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Wayfinder by C.E. Murphy

Lara Jansen has an uncanny ability to know when the truth is being told (or not) and in this second half of the story, she continues to grow in power. Much less meek and subdued than she was at the beginning of her story, she embarks on a quest to rescue her lover, the Faerie prince Dafydd, from the Drowned Lands. Lara must face three trials if she wants to be given the opportunity to save Dafydd, and accompanied by Aerin, Dafydd’s childhood companion, she faces them with aplomb — only to find herself in the middle of a tragedy that is both thousands of years old and sadly modern at the same time.

Not only is this a compelling and fast-paced read from veteran writer Murphy, this novel also has a lot to say about women and their voices. Turning the usual inside out, in this book it’s the woman who saves the prince and redeems the land. Filled with thoughtful dialogue and witty banter, Wayfinder is a satisfying and well-written conclusion to a fantastic story that began with last year’s Truthseeker. –Romantic Times, 4 1/2 Stars!

The Shattered Vine by Laura Anne Gilman

The final volume of Gilman’s Vineart War trilogy is both compulsively readable and full of complicated characterization… The constraints of Jerzy’s world become apparent as the story builds to a climax, which is both unexpected and utter perfection. — Romantic Times, 4 1/2 Stars

Available today : Weight of Stone (Book 2) in paperback.

Ganymede by Cherie Priest

The smashing third volume in Priest’s Clockwork Century steampunk alternate-history Civil War series (after 2010’s Dreadnought) stars Josephine Early, New Orleans brothel owner and Union spy, who must deliver Ganymede, a prototype submarine, to the North. There are only a few problems: no one has ever successfully piloted the craft, and the Texian and Confederate armies are actively searching for it. Josephine’s former lover, Andan Cly, agrees to help while completing his primary mission of retrieving supplies for blighted Seattle, where noxious gas forces residents to live underground and zombies remain a constant peril. Priest is at the top of her game, equally deft with pirate battles and mature romance: Cly is tentatively connecting with earlier protagonist Briar Wilkes, sheriff of Seattle, making him elegantly cautious around Josephine as they both try to focus on their mission. Clockwork Century fans will dub this installment the best yet. –Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Also available:
Clockwork Century: Boneshaker
Clockwork Century: Dreadnought

The Wounded Heart by Adina Senft

Widow Amelia Beiler, struggling to make ends meet for the sake of her two small children, is relieved when Eli Fischer offers to buy her late husband’s business. But then she’s diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Amelia wants to get treatment so that she can have a future with Eli. Doing so, however, will get her shunned from the only community she has ever known. VERDICT With this quaint, gentle read, Senft’s promising series is off to a good start and will make a nice alternative for Jerry S. Eicher readers who want to try a new author. (Includes instructions for making a block quilt.) –Library Journal