I was thrilled when I received an email from Brunonia Barry announcing the upcoming release of her new book, The Map of True Places. I read and LOVED her first book, The Lace Reader and can’t wait to read more of her work. According to the email, The Map of True Places is “a story about relationships and family and finding your true place in the world when you have no map to follow.”

The release date is May 4th, but you can download the prologue here.

I read about Dark Life on Abby the Librarian’s blog.  Here’s her synopsis and comments.  You’ll see why I have to read this one:

In a future America where rising seas have claimed much of the land, leaving Topsiders to pack themselves in tiny stacked apartments, some people have taken to the ocean. These pioneers live on the ocean floor, farming the sea and sending crops to the government in exchange for their homesteads. This is where Ty Townsend has lived all his life. He was the first child to be born in the undersea community of Benthic Territory and he loves it there. But when outlaws threaten the safety of the settlers, Ty must do what he can to save the only home he’s ever known. And when a Topsider girl appears, searching for her prospector brother, she’ll join him on his quest and together they’ll find that there are secrets being kept about the Dark Life. 


This one’s going to be big, folks. The action is non-stop and it’s set in a really well-developed future world. I wouldn’t hesitate to hand it to fans of City of Ember and The Hunger Games. (Yes, I just compared it to The Hunger Games. That shows you how much I loved it.) 

Understand now why I can’t wait to read this one!? Dark Life is due out in May.  I already have it preordered!

Words cannot describe how excited I was when I learned from Trish that Tana French is releasing another book.  I’m a huge fan of French’s writing; I totally engulfed The Likeness  and In the Woods when I read them.  They completely took over my life; I wanted to devote all my time to reading them.

Here’s a summary of Faithful Place from Amazon:

The course of Frank Mackey’s life was set by one defining moment when he was nineteen. The moment his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, failed to turn up for their rendezvous in Faithful Place, failed to run away with him to London as they had planned. Frank never heard from her again. Twenty years on, Frank is still in Dublin, working as an undercover cop. He’s cut all ties with his dysfunctional family. Until his sister calls to say that Rosie’s suitcase has been found. Frank embarks on a journey into his past that demands he reevaluate everything he believes to be true.

Sounds great, doesn’t it!?  Faithful Place is scheduled to be published on July 13, 2010.