The Spirit Thief – Rachel Aaron (The Legend of Eli Monpress #1)
Hachette Orbit, 2010
352 pages
RRP: AU$19.99
ISBN: 9780356500102

Reviewed by Kate Smith

After having read some novels recently that either disappointed me in their lack of creativity or required me to drag my way through their pages, I picked up The Spirit Thief hoping that the tale would live up to the blurb on the back cover.  If it didn’t, I could at least know that it would be short.  However, after rapidly devouring the book I looked hopefully around for the next and was disappointed to find it not close to hand.  I would recommend readers have Rachel Aaron’s next books close by in order to continue the story – while Aaron does not leave the story on a cliff hanger, she does leave a number of questions unanswered, a curiosity to know more and the knowledge that the story just completed is only the start of something much larger.

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Love Bites – Lynsay Sands (Argeneau Vampire series)
Hachette Gollancz, 2010
374 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780575093812

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

The Argeneau vampire series centres around a family of… you guessed it: vampires. Love Bites is the story of Etienne, a 300-year old vampire who is also a computer geek; incredibly hot and sexy but somehow still clumsy around women and has been celibate for thirty years. Somewhat of a study in contrasts. Etienne has managed to raise the suspicions of Pudge, another computer geek who, when his overtures of friendship and wanting to work for Etienne are spurned, decides to kill him instead.

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World’s Next Door – Tehani Wessely (ed)
Fablecroft, 2010
222 pages
RRP: AU$19.99
ISBN 978-0-9807770-1-7

Reviewed by Russell B. Farr

World’s Next Door is a refreshing attempt by an Australian independent press to target the young adult market. There is certainly a buzz going on with YA right now, and it’s a very savvy business approach for a press to make.

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Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits – Robin McKinley & Peter Dickinson
Penguin Putnam, 2009
298 pages
RRP: US$15.00
ISBN: 978-0441019199

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

I’d been looking forward to the next instalment to Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson’s Tales of Elemental Spirits collections since reading Water in 2002. Fire is a fantastic followup: definitely appealing to a young adult audience as well as adult readers. The collection contains five stories linked by a connection to the element of fire.

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