M.K. Hobson is the author of  THE NATIVE STAR, a historical fantasy full of magic, romance, and laced with steampunk elements.  Julia’s review will be up soon, but in the meantime, M.K. is here to share a few "gateway" historicals for urban fantasy junkies.  Plus she’s giving away her book and a couple other goodies. See details below. 

Historical Fantasy for Urban Fantasy Readers
by
M.K. Hobson

If you're reading this blog, it's likely that you're a fan of urban fantasy. (Gee, Mary, what gave it away?) And maybe, like many voracious readers, you've already discovered how much fun historical fantasy can be. But if you haven't, I'm here to tell you that this rich, up-and-coming subgenre is not just about steampunk (which is not intended to take anything away from undeniably fantastic works in that era such as Gail Carriger's SOULLESS and Cassandra Clare's hotly-anticipated CLOCKWORK ANGEL to name just two.)

Where urban fantasy is often defined by a sense of place—corrupt, big-shouldered locales like New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago—historical fantasy is defined by a sense of time. In successful historical fantasy, readers are immersed in a bygone era. When you find books that do both—combine urban intrigues with sweeping historical vistas—the results can be truly spectacular.

The following are a few historicals that I think would be right up the (dark) alley of any hard core reader of urban fantasy. Some of them might already be old favorites, but I hope you'll find something new and tempting.

1. The Vampire Files (series), P.N. Elrod. BLOODLIST (the first in the 12-book Vampire Files series) was published in 1990 which makes P.N. Elrod an éminence grise of historical urban fantasy. Set in 1930s Chicago, the books (often described as "vampire-noir") follow ex-reporter (and vampire) Jack Fleming as he navigates his way through a Raymond Chandleresque world of floozies, mob bosses and society dames. If you happen to be a fan of the old soap opera "Dark Shadows" then you must run, not walk, and buy all of these books immediately.
2. MOONSHINE, Alaya Dawn Johnson. Set in New York in the roaring '20s, this thrilling novel follows the adventures of social activist (and former demon hunter) Zephyr Hollis as she works with a mysterious stranger to bring down a vampire crime boss. Zephyr is a truly multilayered heroine; while she possesses the standard urban-fantasy "demon-ass-kicking" skills, as a defender of the downtrodden (including the supernatural downtrodden) she's conflicted about using them and prefers more peaceful methods. A perfect mashup of historical and urban fantasy that gives the period term "vamp" a whole new meaning.
3. BLOODY GOOD, Georgia Evans. The first in a trilogy set in Britain during World War II, BLOODY GOOD chronicles the adventures of country doctor Alice Doyle who joins forces with a handsome conscientious objector (and pixies) to fight vampire Nazis. I mean, just typing out that plot description makes me happy—and should make you get your hands on a copy if you haven't already.

So there you have it—"gateway" historicals for urban fantasy junkies. I promise, once you've plowed your way through these, you'll find yourself jonesin' for an even harder fix. You'll find yourself mainlining Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Naomi Novik, C.C. Finlay, or Madeleine Robins. Just one word of warning: if anyone tries to offer you some Harry Turtledove, just walk away. That stuff will kill you.

M.K. Hobson's debut novel, THE NATIVE STAR, is a historical fantasy romance set in an alternate 1876 America with magic. In it, a timber camp witch from the Sierra Nevadas and a snooty New York City warlock are thrown together on a journey across the United States by horse, train, and biomechanical flying machine to unlock the secrets of a mysterious artifact. Now available from Spectra at fine retailers nationwide!

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Thanks M.K. for stopping by.  Come back anytime.

Visit M.K. online:

• Website
• Facebook
• Goodreads
• Library Thing
• LiveJournal
• Twitter

Giveaway

Giveaway courtesy of M.K. Hobson

One copy of THE NATIVE STAR by M.K. Hobson, plus a signed bookplate and a lavender sachet.

This title will be published on August 31, 2010

In the tradition of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, this brilliant first novel fuses history, fantasy, and romance. Prepare to be enchanted by M. K. Hobson’s captivating take on the Wild, Wild West.

The year is 1876. In the small Sierra Nevada settlement of Lost Pine, the town witch, Emily Edwards, is being run out of business by an influx of mail-order patent magics. Attempting to solve her problem with a love spell, Emily only makes things worse. But before she can undo the damage, an enchanted artifact falls into her possession—and suddenly Emily must flee for her life, pursued by evil warlocks who want the object for themselves.

Dreadnought Stanton, a warlock from New York City whose personality is as pompous and abrasive as his name, has been exiled to Lost Pine for mysterious reasons. Now he finds himself involuntarily allied with Emily in a race against time—and across the United States by horse, train, and biomechanical flying machine—in quest of the great Professor Mirabilis, who alone can unlock the secret of the coveted artifact. But along the way, Emily and Stanton will be forced to contend with the most powerful and unpredictable magic of all—the magic of the human heart.

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open to US only
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. Your favorite historical fantasy or a comment for M.K.
   2. A way to contact you if you win
3. Entries must be received by Midnight MST on October 12th.

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Interested in guest blogging on All Things Urban Fantasy?  CONTACT ME

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Book Description

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere.

Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help.

Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

 Review

Book 2 in The Iron Fey Series

Most young girls would fall head over heels for a book about a normal girl who turns out to be a faerie princess, gets pursued by two gorgeous faery guys (one is a prince and the other is the most famous faery ever), gets to go to her school dance with said gorgeous guys, has not one but two makeover scenes, and finally gets to ride a unicorn into battle!

I’m a huge fan of paranormal YA even though I’m well into my twenties, and there are many great titles that readers of all ages love.  I wanted this book to be another addition to that list, but when your not exactly thirteen anymore, you might find THE IRON DAUGHTER somewhat lacking.

Like the first book in The Iron Fey series, The Iron King, the main plot and unique world building of THE IRON DAUGHTER are excellent. After the demise of the Iron King in the previous book, the Iron fey are divided and half are planning another assault to takeover Faerie, destroying both the human and faerie worlds in the process. Megan and her friends (Ash, Puck, Grimilkin, and a few others who might surprise you) take up the quest of stopping them.  A string of somewhat disjointed scenes (see the first paragraph) lead them to a massive battle scene that easily trumps The Iron King’s excellent final fight.

I had hoped that Meghan’s adventures would have matured her and given her more insight into the guy she claims to love. Sadly, she was as juvenile as ever mouthing off and foolishly jumping to the wrong conclusions time after time after time.  Which made it all the harder to understand why Puck openly threw his hat in the race for Meghan’s heart in this book.

I liked both books in this series, but found they shared the same strengths (great meta-narrative and creative world building) and weaknesses (juvenile main character and a string of filler scenes).  The ending was again the strongest part of the book and it’s making me gloss over some of the rougher elements of THE IRON DAUGHTER and has me excited to read the conclusion to this trilogy, The Iron Queen, when it releases in February 2011.

Sexual Content: Kissing.

My Rating (out of 5):
Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from THE IRON DAUGHTER

Previous books in the series:

1. The Iron King
2. Winter's Passage eBook (novella)

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (August 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373210132
• ISBN-13: 978-0373210138
• Cover Art: N/A 

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*This title will be released on August 31, 2010*

 

Book Description

WITHOUT A TRACE

Anya Kalinczyk is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern, who holds down a day job as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department—while working 24/7 to exterminate malicious spirits haunting a city plagued by unemployment and despair. Along with her inseparable salamander familiar, Sparky, Anya has seen, and even survived, all manner of fiery hell—but her newest case sparks suspicions of a bizarre phenomenon that no one but her eccentric team of ghost hunters might believe: spontaneous human combustion.

After fire consumes the home of elderly Jasper Bernard, Anya is stunned to discover his remains—or, more precisely, a lack of them; even the fiercest fires leave some trace of their victims—and she is sure this was no naturally occurring blaze. Soon she's unearthed a connection to a celebrity psychic who preys on Detroit's poor, promising miracles for money. But Hope Solomon wants more—she's collecting spirits, and in a frantic race against time, Anya will face down an evil adversary who threatens her fragile relationship with her lover, her beloved Sparky's freshly hatched newts, and the wandering souls of the entire city.

 Review

Book 2 in The Anya Kalinczyk Series

~Reviewed by Julia~

SPARKS is many things: a funny tale of a girl and her salamander, an ode to the city of Detroit, a startlingly unique romance, and a gritty, noir mystery.  These first qualities worked much better for me than the last.  I found the villain tepid and uninteresting when juxtaposed with Anya’s dark past, an impending newt hatching, or the romantic antics of the Detroit Museum of Arts ghost population.  This flaw ultimately made me unmotivated to finish the book, despite the aspects that I enjoyed.

As in Bickle’s previous book, I thought the relationships in SPARKS were nuanced and well written.  In Embers Anya has a brief fling with a man she knows to be an arsonist.  Drake Ferrer was a bit too creepy for me to understand Anya’s attraction to him (think Batman if Bruce Wayne had chosen the dark side), though I applauded Bickle’s willingness to deviate from the normal proscribed relationships a heroine can explore.  Similarly, in SPARKS, I found myself more impressed with the unusual realism of Anya’s relationship with Brian than with Brian himself.   Anya is allowed to have both positive and negative feelings for Brian, and as a reader, I never felt that great sex was meant to signal Anya finding her soul-mate.  In breaking common romance clichés, Bickle writes a more noteworthy relationship.  Not since Charlaine Harris or Kim Harrison have I found an author who so deftly keeps you wondering about a romantic “happily ever after.”

There are some shades of HEA in this book, just not where you might expect it.  Anya may date Brian, but the true love of her life is her salamander.  Sparky was a bright spot in Embers, and he truly shines in SPARKS.  His hi-jinx are utter entertainment, leavened with real-world consequences.  As odd as it might sound, the large, invisible salamander was portrayed with both realism and charm.  Bickle takes every child’s imaginary friend and gives it depth by adding the joys (and difficulties) of owning a real pet.  The scenes with Sparky are what I laughed at and read out to my husband.

Despite all of the individual aspects of this book that I admired, I still found their combination to be missing some essential spark.  I am interested in reading more about Anya in the future, but will look for the next book at the library.

Sexual Content: Brief sensuality and a non-graphic sex scene.

My Rating (out of 5):
Okay – Somewhat disappointing with significant flaws.  Library/swap/borrow if you want.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from SPARKS

Books in this series:

1. Embers

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (August 31, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439167680
• ISBN-13: 978-1439167687
• Cover Art: Chris McGrath

*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of Laura Bickle

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Sorry for the delay in posting these.  I’m sure you’ve probably seen the Frost and Singh covers already, but hopefully there will be a few new ones you haven’t seen.

*Covers may not be final*

Blood Challenge (World of the Lupi #7) by Eileen Wilks

Publication Date/Publisher: January 4th 2011 from Berkley

Cover Artist: N/A

Cover Source: Wicked Scribes

Author Comments:	My Thoughts:
N/A	This is a popular pose for UF covers, but it’s popular for a reason. I love this whole look, especially the smoking gun.

Previous Book in the Series:

Book Description:

Ex-cop Lily Yu and werewolf Rule Turner’s engagement announcement is stirring up ugly passions in the Humans First camp. There’s hate mail, followed by death threats. And when a lupus in Tennessee goes on a killing spree, Lily realizes that it’s only the opening skirmish in an all-out war.

 

Accidentally Catty (Accidental Friends #5) by Dakota Cassidy

Publication Date/Publisher: March 1st 2011 from Berkley

Cover Artist: N/A

Cover Source: Escape Between The Pages

Author Comments:	My Thoughts:
N/A	Cute, but I’m not a big huge fan of these cartoony style chick-lit covers in general.

Previous Book in the Series:

Book Description:

Katie Woods never thought she’d be forty-one,divorced, and thrust back into the dating world. To start fresh, Katie uproots her veterinary practice to upstate New York—not exactly the hottest dating scene on the planet. But when an unconscious cougar appears at her clinic, Katie’s newly single life gets a much needed jolt of the supernatural kind. After Katie examines the cougar and leaves him caged overnight, she’s shocked to find a big strapping specimen of young, hot man in its place. And when the scratch she got during the exam results in some unnatural side effects, Katie has more to deal with then her animal attraction to a much younger guy—she has to figure how to stop herself from becoming a cougar of the fourlegged variety.

Archangel’s Consort (Guild Hunter #3) by Nalini Singh

Publication Date/Publisher: January 25th 2011 by Berkley Sensation

Cover Artist: Tony Mauro

Cover Source: Nalini Singh's Weblog

Author Comments:	My Thoughts:
I adore this cover!!!! ADORE!! Huge thanks to the Berkley Art Dept. and artist Tony Mauro!!	The covers for this series started out okay with the first book, then the second cover was stunning, and this third one is the best yet.  I’m crazy in love the purple wings.

Previous Book in the Series:

Book Description:

When vampire hunter Elena Deveraux became an angel, with magnificent wings the colours of midnight and dawn, it turned her world upside down. Her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, is used to being in control even when it comes to the woman he considers his own.

But Elena has never done well with authority ...especially not when it seems Raphael is the one who needs her help. The archangels may be almost all-powerful, but there are some things that only a Guild Hunter can get done, and Elena and Raphael may be heading for their most dangerous investigation yet.

This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress #5) by Jeaniene Frost

Publication Date/Publisher: February 22nd 2011 by Avon

Cover Artist: Tom Egner

Cover Source: Jeaniene Frost

Author Comments:

My Thoughts:

I’ve wanted gargoyles in the background for AGES, and of course, I always love cemetery settings.  As I mentioned in another post, yes, I know that Bones’s tattoo doesn’t match the description in the book, but if it had, you wouldn’t see it. Also, Cat’s not wearing her ring, but as my editor pointed out, when Cat’s out hunting, she’d leave it at home because she wouldn’t want something happening to it. So that’s why those things differ from the book description, but I am very happy with the cover and stepback. Big shout out to my cover artist, Tom Egner! - Jeaniene

Another beauty in this series.  I’m glad Jeaniene finally got her gargoyles, plus the spotlight effect is fantastic.

Previous Book in the Series:

Stepback

Book Description:

N/A

Vicious Grace (The Black Sun’s Daughter #3) by M. L. N. Hanover

Publication Date/Publisher: November 30th 2010 by Pocket

Cover Artist: N/A

Cover Source: Stomping on Yeti

Author Comments:	My Thoughts:
N/A	Beyond stunning.  Darker Angels is still my favorite in the series because of the snake, but she’s certainly working the shotgun this time.

Previous Book in the Series:

Book Description:

The third book in M.L.N Hanover’s bold, highly acclaimed Black Sun’s Daughter series featuring a strong-willed demon hunter and her colorful crew of supernatural helpers.

There’s only one thing wrong with being on top of the world: falling. Jayné Heller has it all. Trusted friends, a gentle lover, a huge fortune, and a mission in life that she inherited from her uncle along with his money and power. But half a century ago a vast and terrible rite took place at Grace Memorial Hospital, and now something under the hospital is knocking against the walls of its coffin. Something huge.With every secret she uncovers, Jayné comes closer to understanding what happened before, but the truth will take away her friends, her lover, the uncle who protected her, and the past she thought she knew.

Real Vampires Have More to Love (Glory St. Claire #6) by Gerry Bartlett

Publication Date/Publisher: December 7th 2010 by Berkley Trade

Cover Artist: N/A

Cover Source: Michelle's Book Blog

Author Comments:	My Thoughts:
N/A	Nicely in keeping with the previous covers, but it is a little to cutesy for my taste.

Previous Book in the Series:

Book Description:

Glory St. Clair is a vampire with man trouble. Between her on-again, off-again lover Jeremy Blade, smoking hot rock star Ray Caine, and former bodyguard turned apartment mate Valdez, there's enough man-candy around to make even a gal with a liquid diet feel a sugar rush.
Glory's got no time to enjoy it, though, considering that she's in the middle of planning her best friend's wedding. And let's not forget that there happens to be a hit on her head, thanks to when she took out a techno-freak billionaire.
Now, between planning a bachelorette party and dodging stakes, Glory has to decide which man she really wants, before her love life meets an early grave...