Jennifer Jackson – Literary Agent

Jim Butcher’s SKIN GAME is on the New York Times hardcover bestsellers list for a second week, this time at #2!

Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal

When it comes to writing historical fantasy that is at once absorbing, exciting and incredibly moving, Kowal is in a class by herself. Just as Kowal’s previous book, Without a Summer, blended elements of fantasy with a very real depiction of class struggle, Valour and Vanity balances the adventure of a heist with a poignant portrayal of sudden poverty. Kowal’s skill for writing characters who have fantastic abilities and yet remain deeply human, as susceptible to their own insecurities as anyone you or I know, is just part of what makes her one of the best talents in fantasy.

Married glamourists Jane and Vincent set sail for the Italian port of Murano to study with glassblowers and perfect their “glamour in glass” technique, before meeting up with rakish poet Lord Byron. But before their trip can even begin, their ship is assailed by Barbary corsairs. The small band of travelers is forced to pay heavy ransoms to secure freedom.

Now penniless in a strange city, and with Lord Byron distracted by a romantic intrigue, Jane and Vincent are sans resources. A kind gentleman from their ship offers to help them in Murano, welcomes them to his estate and even finds a glassblower to aid them. But no sooner do Jane and Vincent begin their work, than they discover their benefactor is a fraud and a thief. The Vincents come up with a plan to recover what was stolen from them — a heist. — RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars

Jim Butcher’s SKIN GAME, the newest Dresden Files novel, has debuted on the New York Times hardcover bestsellers list at #1, and is also #1 on both the e-book list and the combined print & e-book list!

In the U.K., SKIN GAME has debuted at #1 on the Sunday Times bestsellers list!

Congratulations, Jim!

Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Butcher (Cold Days) brings back wizard Harry Dresden for his 15th adventure fighting a rogue’s gallery of supernatural villains, but this time in a caper story. Harry has recently taken on the mantle of the Winter Knight, servant to Mab, the Faerie Queen of Air and Darkness, and she has a job for Harry. Mab has a debt to pay to Nicodemus Archleone, Knight of the Blackened Denarius, so she is loaning him Harry’s assistance. As holders of one of Judas’s pieces of silver imbued with a fallen angel, the Knights are very bad news. Worse for Harry is that the job Nicodemus plans is a raid on the vault of Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Dresden is no cream puff himself, but something of an amalgam of his own intelligence and cunning mixed with Harry Potter-like devotion to his friends and the cause of good. VERDICT This is urban fantasy par excellence, with magical action, moral dilemmas, and a wonderful cast. Series fans will love this, and there is enough backstory for newcomers. — Library Journal, Starred Review

Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal

Renowned glamourists Lord and Lady Vincent become the victims of an elaborate scam that leaves them in dire straits until they conceive of a daring strategy to strike back.

After an extended voyage with her family, Jane and Vincent are anxious to find some time to themselves, traveling to Murano. They have a letter of introduction from the prince regent and hope to work with an artisan to experiment on infusing glamour­magical illusions of sight, sound and light­into glass. On the way, they’re waylaid by pirates, then rescued by a fellow passenger who takes them under his wing in the city. Without papers or money and with Vincent suffering a concussion from the attack, they’re grateful for the gentleman’s help. Once they make progress on their revolutionary glamour process, however, they’re detained by the local police and accused of fraud. Realizing their “friend” is a con man who has disappeared with all their notes and finished work, Jane and Vincent are left broke, in debt and under suspicion: “They had no funds and no friends at all. The only resources they had were the clothes upon their backs, and even those they owed money for.” Unable to find employment, Vincent becomes dispirited, especially when he must depend on the meager salary Jane manages to secure from a nearby convent. Things look up when a chance sighting of one of the crooks enables Vincent and Jane to turn the tables on them: “[S]he could see his mind working and putting together pieces of a plan, as surely as if he was plotting a glamural.” Kowal continues her creative Regency-set Glamourist Histories series with a clever, captivating plot that culminates in a magical heist storyline. Before we get there, though, we are treated to a touching examination of a loving marriage under duress and the connections and collaborations these extraordinary partners must create and reaffirm with each other and those around them in order to thrive.

Combining history, magic and adventure, the book balances emotional depth with buoyant storytelling. — Kirkus Reviews