New MRBC July 2021 Nominations (Free-for-All)

[JSWolf]

This category for July 2021 is Free-for-All

Everyone gets three nominations and three seconds.

We'll end the nominations on June 30 and the voting will start on July 1.

So let the nominations begin.

[JSWolf]

Nominated
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire (John F)
Call of the Wild by Jack London (Mims)
Lord of the Last Heartbeat by May Peterson (hildea)
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (hildea)

Seconded
Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey (John F, hildea)

Off to the vote
The Secret History by Donna Tartt (John F, lxpose, Mims)
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (hildea, John F, Mims)
Passage by Connie Willis (Mims, hildea, lxpose)

[John F]

I'll nominate Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey.

From Amazon:

For centuries, men and women have manned lighthouses to ensure the safe passage of ships. It is a lonely job, and a thankless one for the most part. Until something goes wrong. Until a ship is in distress.

In the 23rd century, this job has moved into outer space. A network of beacons allows ships to travel across the Milky Way at many times the speed of light. These beacons are built to be robust. They never break down. They never fail.

At least, they aren't supposed to.

[John F]

I nominate Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire. From Amazon:

The world of Faerie never disappeared; it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born.

Outsiders from birth, these half-human, half-fae children spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October "Toby" Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a “normal” life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas...

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening’s dying curse, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of solving the mystery...before the curse catches up with her.

I read Middlegame (A Locus award winner) by her and enjoyed it, so I wanted to read something else by her.

The first book in a long series.

[John F]

I'll nominate The Secret History by Donna Tartt. From Amazon:

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

[lxpose]

I will second The Secret History.

[Mims]

I nominate Passage
by Connie Willis

“One of those rare, unforgettable novels that are as chilling as they are insightful, as thought-provoking as they are terrifying, award-winning author Connie Willis's Passage is an astonishing blend of relentless suspense and cutting-edge science unlike anything you've ever read before.

It is the electrifying story of a psychologist who has devoted her life to tracking death. But when she volunteers for a research project that simulates the near-death experience, she will either solve life's greatest mystery -- or fall victim to its greatest terror. “

https://smile.amazon.com/Passage-Nov.../dp/B0030P1WSQ

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=connie%20willis

Also available at some Overdrive Libraries

[Mims]

My next nomination is Call of the Wild by Jack London.

Jack London's The Call of the Wild was written in 1903.
“This gripping story follows the adventures of the loyal dog Buck, who is stolen from his comfortable family home and forced into the harsh life of an Alaskan sled dog. Passed from master to master, Buck embarks on an extraordinary journey that ends with his becoming the legendary leader of a wolf pack.
"To this day Jack London is the most widely read American writer in the world," E. L. Doctorow wrote in The New York Times Book Review. Generally considered to be London's greatest achievement, The Call of the Wild brought him international acclaim when it was published. His story of the dog Buck, who learns to survive in the bleak Yukon wilderness, is viewed by many as his symbolic autobiography. "No other popular writer of his time did any better writing than you will find in The Call of the Wild," said H. L. Mencken."

In the public domain so available many places. A very nice version in MR’s Patricia Clark Memorial Library.

[Mims]

Originally Posted by John F

I'll nominate Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey.

From Amazon:

John, is this available anywhere besides Amazon.com? It is available to buy there but is also in Kindle Unlimited. It’s on my TBR list through KU but I could not find it at Kobo or libraries.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Mims

John, is this available anywhere besides Amazon.com? It is available to buy there but is also in Kindle Unlimited. It’s on my TBR list through KU but I could not find it at Kobo or libraries.

It is available at Overdrive and it is even an OpenEPub.

[Mims]

Originally Posted by John F

It is available at Overdrive and it is even an OpenEPub.

Great! Thanks for the reply.

[hildea]

I'll nominate three fantasy books, since there's no fantasy month this year:

Lord of the Last Heartbeat by May Peterson
(This is the first in a series of three, but from what I understand the first book is a finished story.)

Stop me. Please.

Three words scrawled in bloodred wine. A note furtively passed into the hand of a handsome stranger. Only death can free Mio from his mother’s political schemes. He’s put his trust in the enigmatic Rhodry—an immortal moon soul with the power of the bear spirit—to put an end to it all.

But Rhodry cannot bring himself to kill Mio, whose spellbinding voice has the power to expose secrets from the darkest recesses of the heart and mind. Nor can he deny his attraction to the fair young sorcerer. So he spirits Mio away to his home, the only place he can keep him safe—if the curse that besieges the estate doesn’t destroy them both first.

In a world teeming with mages, ghosts and dark secrets, love blooms between the unlikely pair. But if they are to be strong enough to overcome the evil that draws ever nearer, Mio and Rhodry must first accept a happiness neither ever expected to find.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.

Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew.

[hildea]

I second Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey. (I've read the other three nominations, and liked them all, so I wouldn't mind a reread, but won't second any of them yet.)

[John F]

I'll second The House in the Cerulean Sea. I liked this blurb:

"1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." —Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless

[hildea]

I'll second Passage. I wouldn't mind a reread.