Contemporary Authors

• Wyoming Trucks, True Love, and the Weather Channel: A Woman's Adventure ( memoir) University of New Mexico Press (Albuquerque, NM), 2004
• Master of the Opera ( novel) Lyrical Press (New York, NY), 2015
• The Pages of the Mind ( "Uncharted Realms" series) Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2016
• The Edge of the Blade ( "Uncharted Realms" series) Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2017
• The Mark of the Tala Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2014
• The Tears of the Rose Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2014
• The Talon of the Hawk Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2015

Library of Congress Online Catalog 1. The edge of the blade LCCN 2017288157 Type of material Book Personal name Kennedy, Jeffe, 1966- author. Main title The edge of the blade / Jeffe Kennedy. Published/Produced New York, NY : Kensington Books, [2017] Description x, 342 pages ; 21 cm. ISBN 9781496704269 (pbk.) 1496704266 (pbk.) CALL NUMBER PS3611.E5636 E34 2017 Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms 2. The pages of the mind LCCN 2016287134 Type of material Book Personal name Kennedy, Jeffe, 1966- author. Main title The pages of the mind / Jeffe Kennedy. Published/Produced New York, NY : Kensington Books, [2016] Description x, 358 pages ; 21 cm. ISBN 9781496704245 (paperback) 149670424X (paperback) CALL NUMBER PS3611.E5636 P34 2016 CABIN BRANCH Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE 3. Master of the Opera LCCN 2016297664 Type of material Book Personal name Kennedy, Jeffe, 1966- author. Main title Master of the Opera / Jeffe Kennedy. Edition First paperback edition. Published/Produced New York, NY : Lyrical Press, Kensington Publishing Corp., 2015. ©2014 Description 295 pages ; 22 cm ISBN 9781616509484 (paperback) 1616509481 (paperback) Shelf Location FLS2016 063790 CALL NUMBER PS3611.E5636 M375 2015 OVERFLOWJ34 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLS2) 4. The talon of the hawk LCCN 2014504535 Type of material Book Personal name Kennedy, Jeffe, 1966- author. Main title The talon of the hawk / Jeffe Kennedy. Published/Produced New York, NY : Kensington Books, [2015] ©2015 Description vii, 438 pages : map ; 21 cm. ISBN 9780758294470 (paperback) 0758294476 (paperback) Shelf Location FLS2016 002168 CALL NUMBER PS3611.E5636 T35 2015 OVERFLOWJ34 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLS2) 5. The tears of the rose LCCN 2015295852 Type of material Book Personal name Kennedy, Jeffe, 1966- author. Main title The tears of the rose / Jeffe Kennedy. Published/Produced New York, NY : Kensington Books, [2014] Description 326 pages : map ; 21 cm ISBN 9780758294456 (pbk.) 075829445X (pbk.) Shelf Location FLS2015 076196 CALL NUMBER PS3611.E5636 M37 2014 OVERFLOWJ34 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLS2) 6. The mark of the Tala LCCN 2014434028 Type of material Book Personal name Kennedy, Jeffe, 1966- author. Main title The mark of the Tala / Jeffe Kennedy. Published/Produced New York : Kensington Books, [2014] Description 338 pages : map ; 21 cm ISBN 9780758294432 (pbk.) 0758294433 (pbk.) Shelf Location FLS2015 026717 CALL NUMBER PS3611.E5636 M37 2014 OVERFLOWJ34 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLS2) 7. Wyoming trucks, true love, and the Weather Channel : a woman's adventure LCCN 2003018565 Type of material Book Personal name Kennedy, Jeffe, 1966- Main title Wyoming trucks, true love, and the Weather Channel : a woman's adventure / Jeffe Kennedy. Edition 1st ed. Published/Created Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, c2004. Description ix, 165 p. ; 22 cm. ISBN 0826333699 (alk. paper) Links Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip048/2003018565.html CALL NUMBER CT275.K45745 A3 2004 Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms CALL NUMBER CT275.K45745 A3 2004 Copy 2 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ONLINE CATALOG Library of Congress 101 Independence Ave., SE Washington, DC 20540 Questions? Ask a Librarian: https://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-contactus.html

• Author Homepage / about - http://www.jeffekennedy.com/about/

  Biography

  IMG_47902 small

  Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include novels, non-fiction, poetry, and short fiction. She has been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award.

  Her award-winning fantasy romance trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms hit the shelves starting in May 2014. Book 1, The Mark of the Tala, received a starred Library Journal review and was nominated for the RT Book of the Year while the sequel, The Tears of the Rose received a Top Pick Gold and was nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2014. The third book, The Talon of the Hawk, won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2015. Two more books followed in this world, beginning the spin-off series The Uncharted Realms. Book one in that series, The Pages of the Mind, has also been nominated for the RT Reviewer’s Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2016 and is a finalist for RWA’s RITA Award. The second book, The Edge of the Blade, released December 27, 2016.

  She also introduced a new fantasy romance series, Sorcerous Moons, which includes Lonen’s War, Oria’s Gambit, The Tides of Bàra, and The Forests of Dru. With Last Dance, Jeffe is introducing a new contemporary erotic romance series, Missed Connections.

  Her other works include a number of fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion; an erotic contemporary serial novel, Master of the Opera; and the erotic romance trilogy, Falling Under, which includes Going Under, Under His Touch and Under Contract.

  She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.

  Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the popular SFF Seven blog, on Facebook, on Goodreads and pretty much constantly on Twitter @jeffekennedy. She is represented by Sarah Younger of Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

  Additional Photos

  Click on a photo for the high-resolution image.

  JeffeKennedy1JeffeKennedy2

  ===books by date===

  Jeffe Kennedy
  Fantasy. Power. Passion
  HomeAuthor Books

  Extras BlogConnect
  Jeffe's Books

  Missed Connections #5
  March 2017

  Sorcerous Moons #6
  February 2018

  Missed Connections #4
  December 2017

  Sorcerous Moons #5
  October 2017

  Missed Connections #3
  September 2017

  The Shift of the Tide
  August 29, 2017
  KindleKobo

  With a Prince
  May 30, 2017
  Kindle
  Sorcerous Moons I
  Sorcerous Moons I: (Books 1-3) (Volume 1) Paperback & Ebook
  March 22, 2017
  AmazonKindleNookKoboSmashwords
  Last Dance
  Last Dance
  February 28, 2017
  Kindle

  The Forests Of Dru: Sorcerous Moons – Book 4
  January 24, 2017
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleiBooksKoboSmashwords

  The Edge of the Blade
  December 27, 2016
  AmazonKindleiBooksKoboThe Book Depository

  Blood Currency
  12/20/2016
  Kindle

  The Crown of the Queen
  November 22, 2016
  KindleiBooksKoboSmashwords

  Exact Warm Unholy
  November 17, 2016
  Kindle

  The Tides of Bára: Sorcerous Moons – Book 3
  October 29, 2016
  KindleiBooksKoboSmashwords

  Teeth Long and Sharp
  October 6, 2016
  KindleNookiBooksKobo

  Sexy Games – Ton emprise, mon destin (French)
  September 01, 2016
  KindleiBooksKobo

  Oria’s Gambit: Sorcerous Moons – Book 2
  August 19, 2016
  KindleNookiBooksKoboSmashwords

  Lonen’s War: Sorcerous Moons – Book 1
  July 19, 2016
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleiBooksKoboSmashwords
  Sword hilt on blue background
  For Crown and Kingdom
  May 31, 2016
  KindleNookiBooksKobo

  The Pages of the Mind
  May 31, 2016
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleNookBooks-A-MillioniBooksKoboThe Book Depository
  French translation of Under His Touch
  Sexy Games – Ton désir, mon plaisir (French)
  May 01, 2016
  KindleiBooks

  The Devil’s Doorbell
  April 26, 2016
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleNookiBooksKobo
  Hopeful Monsters
  Hopeful Monsters
  April 11, 2016
  KindleAudible

  Heart’s Blood
  March 07, 2016
  KindleNookiBooksKoboSmashwords

  Sexy Games – Ton fantasme, mon secret (French)
  March 01, 2016
  KindleiBooks

  Birdwoman
  January 20, 2016
  KindleAudible

  Dark Secrets
  September 29, 2015
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleNookAll RomanceGoogle PlayiBooksKoboThe Book Depository

  Master of the Opera
  August 01, 2015
  AmazonBooks-A-MillioniBooksThe Book Depository

  Under Contract
  July 13, 2015
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleCarinaiBooksKobo

  The Talon of the Hawk
  May 26, 2015
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleNookiBooksIndie BoundKoboPowells

  Negotiation
  May 24, 2015
  AmazonKindleiBooksKoboSmashwords

  Sexy Games (Italian)
  3/26/2015
  iBooks

  Under His Touch
  01/19/2015
  AmazonKindleNookAll RomanceBookishCarinaGoogle PlayiBooksKobo

  The Tears of the Rose
  November 25, 2014
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleNookBooks-A-MillionBookishGoogle PlayiBooksIndie BoundKoboPowellsTargetWalmart

  Rogue’s Paradise
  09/08/2014
  AmazonKindleNookBooks-A-MillionBookishCarinaGoogle PlayiBooksKobo

  Going Under
  7/14/2014
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleBookishCarinaiBooksKobo

  The Mark of the Tala
  May 27, 2014
  AmazonKindleAudibleBarnes & NobleNookBookishiBooksIndie BoundKoboPowells

  Master of the Opera, Act 6: Crescendo
  03/20/2014
  AmazonKindleNookAll RomanceGoogle PlayiBooksKobo

  Master of the Opera, Act 5: A Haunting Duet
  03/06/2014
  AmazonKindleNookAll RomanceiBooksKobo

  Master of the Opera, Act 4: Dark Interlude
  02/20/2014
  AmazonKindleNookiBooksKobo

  Master of the Opera, Act 3: Phantom Serenade
  02/06/2014
  AmazonKindleNookAll RomanceBlioGoogle PlayiBooksKobo

  Master of the Opera, Act 2: Ghost Aria
  01/16/2014
  AmazonKindleNookiBooksKobo

  Master of the Opera, Act 1: Passionate Overture
  01/02/2014
  AmazonKindleNookiBooksKobo

  Five Golden Rings
  11/21/2013
  AmazonKindleAudibleNookAll RomanceBookishCarinaiBooksKobo

  Season of Seduction Anthology
  11/17/2013
  AmazonKindleNookCarinaiBooksKobo

  Rogue’s Possession
  10/07/2013
  AmazonAudibleBarnes & NobleBookishCarinaiBooksKobo

  Pearl
  September 8, 2013 (Re-release)

  Thunder on the Battlefield, Vol. II
  08/08/2013
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleNookiBooksKobo

  Ruby
  05/13/2013
  AmazonAudibleBarnes & NobleBookishCarinaiBooksKobo

  Platinum
  02/25/2013
  AmazonBarnes & NobleAll RomanceBooks-A-MillionBookishCarinaiBooksKobo

  Hunting the Siren
  08/31/2012
  Rogue's Pawn Cover
  Rogue’s Pawn
  07/16/2012
  AmazonAudibleBarnes & NobleCarinaiBooksKobo

  Sapphire
  10/24/2011
  AmazonBarnes & NobleAll RomanceCarinaiBooksKobo
  Feeding the Vampire
  Feeding the Vampire
  08/03/2011

  Petals & Thorns
  07/13/2010
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleiBooksKoboSmashwords
  Puerto Del Sol 2009-Winter
  Puerto del Sol-Winter 2009
  12/01/2009
  Going Green
  Going Green: True Tales from Gleaners, Scavengers, and Dumpster Divers
  05/15/2009
  AmazonBarnes & NobleBooks-A-MillionPowells
  Aeon Thirteen
  Aeon Thirteen
  03/04/2008
  Bombshells: War Stories and Poems by Women on the Homefront
  Bombshells: War Stories and Poems by Women on the Homefront
  02/14/2007
  AmazonBarnes & Noble

  Wyoming Trucks, True Love and the Weather Channel
  03/02/2004
  AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleBooks-A-MillioniBooksIndie BoundKoboPowells
  News
  Jul 24, 2017: Coming Soon
  Jun 13, 2017: “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing Event
  May 16, 2017: Nebula Awards
  Apr 05, 2017: Yay for Cheap Books!
  Mar 21, 2017: RITA Finalist!!
  Connect

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• Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-teitelbaum/post_12511_b_10818916.html

  QUOTED: "The heroine of Pages is a librarian, a secondary character from the original trilogy who serves as a kingmaker. When the trilogy ended, I had so many readers asking for Dafne’s story that I knew she had to be next. But what does a kingmaker do when the kingmaking is done? I figured she’d have to go on a quest of her own—and that she’d make an excellent spy."
  "I also wanted my heroine of order and quiet, of books and learning, to be confronted with something totally outside her experience. Thus a barbarian king she couldn’t talk to. It seemed like a great concept at the time, but it was hell to write. So much gesturing!"

  HuffPost
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  THE BLOG 07/06/2016 05:02 pm ET | Updated Jul 06, 2017
  Crossing The Line: An Interview With Fantasy Romance Author Jeffe Kennedy
  By Ilana Teitelbaum
  Readers who love romance and fantasy have a good chance of loving the novels of Jeffe Kennedy, who freely crosses genre lines in her epic fantasy romance series, The Twelve Kingdoms and The Uncharted Realms. These trilogies take place in the same world, a rich fantasy realm of shape-shifting, magic, and diverse cultures. The first novel of The Uncharted Realms series, The Pages of the Mind, is about a shy librarian who unexpectedly becomes a political linchpin and finds love on the way.

  Jeffe builds bridges between the fantasy and romance communities, in person as well as in her writing, and offers insights for new and aspiring authors. We spoke about her new novel, the cover of her upcoming novel (revealed below!), and the joys and challenges of genre-bending in publishing.

  2016-07-05-1467745627-8839596-thepagesofthemind.jpg

  I’m interested in your journey to becoming a writer—you had a career unrelated to writing before this. What made you change gears, and how do you think that wealth of experience influences your present career as an author?

  I actually changed gears a long time before I had any visibility as a writer, as is the case for so many of us. In my early twenties, I was getting my PhD in neurophysiology, studying auditory processing in bats. The work was fascinating, but I was profoundly unhappy, though not sure why. At the Neuroscience convention that year — 60,000 people meeting for a week, who talked about nothing but their work, and none of whom seemed happy — it all came to a head. I had a total meltdown, burst into tears in front of my adviser at a poster session and had to literally flee the building. After that, I sat myself down and faced that I didn’t want to be a research scientist. I asked the question, if I took away all the ifs, ands, and buts — what would be the perfect life? To my vast surprise, the answer was to be a writer. So I figured I’d better find a way to make that happen.

  As for wealth of experience — I’m so glad to have it! I’m good at study, research and discipline. When people ask how I research my books, the answer is frequently that I don’t because it was information I knew already. I also took a day job with an environmental consulting firm for eighteen years while I built up my writing chops and career. That contributed, too, working in a corporate environment. I learned a lot of things about professionalism and dealing with people that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

  You resist being pigeonholed. On the one hand, you’re established in the romance community, but also just as much at home in fantasy. I see you as someone who is very independent and blazes their own path. What draws you to writing this sort of hybrid work? Are there challenges to marketing work that’s not easily categorized?

  That struck me as funny at first, that you blame the resistance on me. In years past I might have argued that it’s the genre communities that fence me out... but, I think you’re right on many levels. I have resisted being groomed into the mainstream of any given genre or subgenre. I don’t know that I’m drawn to writing hybrid work so much as that’s how my stories come out. I often joke that I’m a fencesitter in many areas of my life — I come out exactly even between left and right brain, between Type A and B, etc. Rarely am I ever in the mainstream of thought on anything. My mother would say I’m stubborn, but I am probably pretty strong-willed and independent, with little regard for rules. That’s helped along the way. Catherine Asaro told me early on that being successful with the cross-genre sort of thing I write would be like wading through hip-deep snow. She was right! But I’m glad I didn’t compromise. I feel like doing otherwise would have been apologizing for one or the other of my loves.

  And, sure, there are challenges in marketing. I get a lot of fantasy reviewers saying there’s too much romance — “ubiquitous lovemaking” is one of my favorite sneers — and romance reviewers complaining about the time spent on worldbuilding and politics. Interestingly, the readers don’t seem to have the same issues. Also, in the time I’ve been writing, Fantasy Romance has really gained ground as a legit subgenre and thus is much easier to market than it used to be.

  What was the inspiration for Pages of the Mind? On the one hand it’s a departure from the original Twelve Kingdoms series, but it’s also a continuation of the earlier storylines.

  The heroine of Pages is a librarian, a secondary character from the original trilogy who serves as a kingmaker. When the trilogy ended, I had so many readers asking for Dafne’s story that I knew she had to be next. But what does a kingmaker do when the kingmaking is done? I figured she’d have to go on a quest of her own - and that she’d make an excellent spy. I also wanted my heroine of order and quiet, of books and learning, to be confronted with something totally outside her experience. Thus a barbarian king she couldn’t talk to. It seemed like a great concept at the time, but it was hell to write. So much gesturing!

  Can you give us a preview of what’s next in The Uncharted Realms series?

  Ooh, yes! The next book is The Edge of the Blade and is Jepp’s story. She’s a scout and a warrior, who accompanied Dafne on her quest as a bodyguard. When Dafne is waylaid *cough* Jepp has to pick up her mission, which means going to a foreign empire as a spy. Jepp is a lusty, free-spirited woman, who’s committed an indiscretion with the emissary of that empire. She has no filter, which makes her mission that much more difficult. I adore the cover to this one and can’t wait to share it. Jepp looks totally badass.

  Note: Jeffe’s publisher gave us the go-ahead to reveal the cover of The Edge of the Blade, below:

  2016-07-05-1467746140-8161285-THEEDGEOFTHEBLADE.jpg

  You’re active in the writing community and generous with writers who are just getting their start. What is some of the top advice you’d give someone looking to break into publishing romance, or fantasy, or both?

  Oh thank you - I’m also so pleased to be called “generous.” It’s the writers who were generous to me who made all the difference in the hip-deep snow-slogging. I’m assuming this writer I’m giving advice to has already handled the basics - read widely in the genres, developing a good writing habit and honed their writing skills. At that point I advise networking in the community. I’m a believer in going to conferences, but online networking is great, too. Do both. Remember that “networking” is another word for making friends. Be sincere with other people, regardless of your or their jealousy. Be generous!

  2016-07-05-1467745680-2513427-JeffeKennedy1.jpg

  Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include non-fiction, poetry, short fiction, and novels. She has been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award. Her essays have appeared in many publications, including Redbook.

  Her most recent works include a number of fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion, and an erotic contemporary serial novel, Master of the Opera. A fourth series, the fantasy trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms, hit the shelves starting in May 2014 and book 1, The Mark of the Tala, received a starred Library Journal review was nominated for the RT Book of the Year while the sequel, The Tears of the Rose was nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2014 and the third book, The Talon of the Hawk, won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2015. Two more books will follow in this world, beginning with The Pages of the Mind May 2016. A fifth series, the erotic romance trilogy, Falling Under, started with Going Under, and was followed by Under His Touch and Under Contract.

  She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.

  Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the popular SFF Seven blog, on Facebook, on Goodreads and pretty much constantly on Twitter @jeffekennedy. She is represented by Connor Goldsmith of Fuse Literary.

  *
  Ilana Teitelbaum’s writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Salon. Her epic fantasy debut, Last Song Before Night, was published in October 2015 by Tor/Macmillan under the pen name Ilana C. Myer.

  Follow Ilana Teitelbaum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/IlanaCT
  Ilana Teitelbaum
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  Crossing The Line: An Interview With Fantasy Romance Author Jeffe Kennedy
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• Fantastic Fiction - https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/jeffe-kennedy/

  Jeffe Kennedy

  Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include non-fiction, poetry, short fiction, and novels. She has been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award. Her essays have appeared in many publications, including Redbook.

  Her most recent works include a number of fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion, and an erotic contemporary serial novel, Master of the Opera, which released beginning January 2, 2014. A fourth series, the fantasy trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms, hit the shelves starting in May 2014 and book 1, The Mark of the Tala, received a starred Library Journal review and has been nominated for the RT Book of the Year while the sequel, The Tears of the Rose, has been nominated for best fantasy romance of the year. A fifth series, the highly anticipated erotic romance trilogy, Falling Under, released starting with Going Under in July.

  She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.

  Jeffe Kennedy's books for adults only

  New Books
  July 2017
  (kindle)

  Sorcerous Moons I
  (Sorcerous Moons) August 2017
  (kindle)

  The Shift of the Tide
  (Uncharted Realms, book 3)
  Series
  Covenant of Thorns
  1. Rogue's Pawn (2012)
  2. Rogue's Possession (2013)
  3. Rogue's Paradise (2014)
  thumbthumbthumb

  Twelve Kingdoms
  0.5. Negotiation (2015)
  1. The Mark of the Tala (2014)
  2. The Tears of the Rose (2014)
  3. The Talon of the Hawk (2015)
  3.5. The Crown of the Queen (2016)
  Heart's Blood (2016)
  thumbthumbthumbthumb
  thumbthumb

  Uncharted Realms
  1. The Pages of the Mind (2016)
  2. The Edge of the Blade (2016)
  3. The Shift of the Tide (2017)
  thumbthumbthumb

  Sorcerous Moons
  1. Lonen's War (2016)
  2. Oria's Gambit (2016)
  3. The Tides of Bara (2016)
  4. The Forests Of Dru (2017)
  Sorcerous Moons I (omnibus) (2016)
  thumbthumbthumbthumb
  thumb

  Omnibus
  Dark Secrets (2015) (with Rachel Caine, Cynthia Eden, Megan Hart, Suzanne Johnson and Mina Khan)
  thumb

  Collections
  Wyoming Trucks, True Love, and the Weather Channel (2004)
  For Crown and Kingdom (2016) (with Grace Draven)
  Teeth, Long and Sharp (2016) (with Grace Draven, Antioch Grey, Aria M Jones and Mel Sterling)
  thumbthumbthumb

  Novellas
  Birdwoman (2016)
  Hopeful Monsters (2016)
  thumbthumb

  Jeffe Kennedy recommends
  thumb
  Assassin Queen (2016)
  (Majat Code, book 3)
  Anna Kashina
  "Anna Kashina has created a magically enthralling world. Love this series!."

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  Jeffe Kennedy Bio

  Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author with a writing career that spans decades. Her works include non-fiction, poetry, short fiction, and novels.

  She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, a border collie, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.

  Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the popular Word Whores blog and pretty much constantly on Twitter @jeffekennedy.

  Books by Jeffe Kennedy
  Viewing 1-11 of 11 books previous1 next
  Rogue's Paradise
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Rogue's Paradise
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Jun 2016
  Rogue's Possession
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Rogue's Possession
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Apr 2016
  Rogue's Pawn
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Rogue's Pawn
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Jan 2016
  Under Contract
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Under Contract
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Jul 2015
  Under His Touch
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Under His Touch
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Jan 2015
  Going Under
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Going Under
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Jul 2014
  Five Golden Rings
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Five Golden Rings
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Nov 2013
  Season of Seduction
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Season of Seduction
  by Jeffe Kennedy, Christine d'Abo, Jodie Griffin
  Nov 2013
  Ruby
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Ruby
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  May 2013
  Platinum
  Browse InsideBrowse Inside
  Platinum
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Feb 2013
  Sapphire
  Sapphire
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  Oct 2011
  Viewing 1-11 of 11 books previous1 next
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• USA Today Happily Ever After - http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2016/05/31/jeffe-kennedy-interview-the-pages-of-the-mind/

  QUOTED: "The Pages of the Mind is the fourth novel that takes place in the world of The Twelve Kingdoms. In the initial trilogy, my three princesses, daughters of the high king and each more beautiful than the last, took on epic journeys to right old wrongs. Along the way, Dafne the librarian, a spinster orphan raised a ward of the high king, assisted them with advice and wisdom—and according to her deep agenda to depose the tyrant who killed her family and razed the castle she’d called home."
  "Now—to her vast surprise—it’s time for her to take center stage and go on a quest of her own. Dafne’s book kicks off a new chapter in the series, The Uncharted Realms."

  Interview: Jeffe Kennedy, author of ‘The Pages of the Mind’
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  By: Joyce Lamb | May 31, 2016 12:01 am
  Jeffe Kennedy (Photo: Pritschow Photography)
  Jeffe Kennedy (Photo: Pritschow Photography)

  Joyce: Welcome back to HEA, Jeffe! Please tell us a bit about your new release, The Pages of the Mind.

  Jeffe: The Pages of the Mind is the fourth novel that takes place in the world of The Twelve Kingdoms. In the initial trilogy, my three princesses, daughters of the high king and each more beautiful than the last, took on epic journeys to right old wrongs. Along the way, Dafne the librarian, a spinster orphan raised a ward of the high king, assisted them with advice and wisdom — and according to her deep agenda to depose the tyrant who killed her family and razed the castle she’d called home. Now — to her vast surprise — it’s time for her to take center stage and go on a quest of her own. Dafne’s book kicks off a new chapter in the series, The Uncharted Realms.

  Joyce: Is there an idea out there that you wish you’d thought of?

  Jeffe: Oh yes! Although, as we all know, it’s not so much the idea as the execution. I wish I had the chops to pull off what Nora Roberts has done with her J.D. Robb In Death books. And I really wish I’d written Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series. I love what both have done with long-term romances — something I’d love to do.

  Joyce: Do you have any particular rituals that help you get into the writing frame of mind?

  Jeffe: I used to use a lot of rituals when I was first starting out as a writer — as in during the first few years — but now writing all day, every day is such an ingrained habit that I don’t need the rituals as much. That said, I do my best work while walking at my treadmill desk. The rhythm of walking induces a kind of trance state that both invigorates me physically and lets the words flow.

  Joyce: What do you do when you get stuck?

  Jeffe: I keep going! For me, getting “stuck” usually means I’m at a breakthrough point. I think of it more as hitting a wall — and the really good stuff is on the other side. It takes some judgment to discern when I’m just bloodying my skull banging it against that wall and when my head is actually making a dent, but I always keep digging at that point, because it will give way with patience and persistence.

  Joyce: Do you write by the seat of your pants (pantser), or do you carefully plot your stories (plotter)? Has that changed at any point in your career or maybe it changes depending on the book?

  Jeffe: I’m an extreme end pantser or, as George R.R. Martin frames it, I’m much more of a gardener than an architect, planting my seeds to see what grows. For my work, the best analogy is taking a road trip — I usually know that I want to drive from Seattle to New Orleans. At some point I know I’ll have to cross the Rocky Mountains, but I’m not sure where. Also it’s entirely possible I won’t make it past Denver or St. Louis — it just depends on what happens along the way.

  As for how it’s changed … I think I have a better idea of how long it takes me to “drive” these days. For example, in the second Twelve Kingdoms book, The Tears of the Rose, I got stuck in the equivalent of St. Louis. That was OK because I made it to New Orleans in book three, The Talon of the Hawk, but it meant a lot of journeying in that story. If anything, I’m a lot more at peace with my process now and don’t fret nearly so much when that happens. (Fair warning: If you ask me that when I’m in the middle of a book, I’ll likely give you a very different, much angstier answer!)

  Joyce: Do you have a pet that hangs out with you while you’re working?

  Jeffe's Jackson, left, and Isabel. Life is clearly rough for them.
  Jeffe’s Jackson, left, and Isabel. Life is clearly rough for them.

  Jeffe: I have two cats who make sure I take frequent breaks by opening doors for them. Jackson is the black and white tuxedo kitty and Isabel is the floofy blue smoke one.

  Joyce: What’s your ideal scenery while you’re writing?

  Jeffe: I’m lucky to live in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico. From my writing desk I look down the Galisteo Basin to the Ortiz Mountains and Sandia.

  Joyce: I don’t suppose you’d want to share a prom picture?

  Jeffe all dressed up for her senior prom.
  Jeffe all dressed up for her senior prom.

  Jeffe: Because I just recently scanned one in, here you go! I’m really wishing I still had this dress …

  Joyce: LOL! Thanks for sharing!

  Have you ever had a really bad date?

  Jeffe: Actually, my first date with my husband of 25 years now was plain awful. It was on a Super Bowl Sunday, fairly late in the evening, -20 degrees F, and he picked me up in this beat-up Ford pickup truck that barely ran. We went for a drink and then to see Havana with Robert Redford and Lena Olin. The movie theater was freezing, the movie dreadfully boring, and I was … not a pleasant date. He made me nervous and I rarely dated to begin with. We didn’t kiss good night or anything — and didn’t even see each other again for a couple of weeks. Fortunately, my man is a determined one!

  Joyce: What’s coming next? For books, not bad dates. J

  Jeffe: Next in The Uncharted Realms is Jepp’s story. She’s the lead scout for Ursula’s elite fighting squad, The Hawks. She accompanied Dafne on her journey — only in part because the high queen banished her in the wake of one too many sexual indiscretions, this time with a tenuous political frenemy — and must find a way to watch her mouth and actions in The Edge of the Blade.

  Also out today is The Crown of the Queen, which is a novella that bridges the aftermath of The Twelve Kingdoms trilogy and sets the stage for The Pages of the Mind. That novella can be found in the duology with Grace Draven, For Crown and Kingdom.

  Joyce: Thanks, Jeffe!

  The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe KennedyAbout The Pages of the Mind:

  An orphan’s throne

  Magic has broken free over the Twelve Kingdoms. The population is beset by shapeshifters and portents, landscapes that migrate, uncanny allies who are not quite human…and enemies eager to take advantage of the chaos.

  Dafne Mailloux is no adventurer—she’s a librarian. But the High Queen trusts Dafne’s ability with languages, her way of winnowing the useful facts from a dusty scroll, and even more important, the subtlety and guile that three decades under the thumb of a tyrant taught her.

  Dafne never thought to need those skills again. But she accepts her duty. Until her journey drops her into the arms of a barbarian king. He speaks no tongue she knows but that of power, yet he recognizes his captive as a valuable pawn. Dafne must submit to a wedding of alliance, becoming a prisoner-queen in a court she does not understand. If she is to save herself and her country, she will have to learn to read the heart of a wild stranger. And there are more secrets written there than even Dafne could suspect…

  Find out more at www.jeffekennedy.com.

  fantasy romance, Author interviews

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• Lawrence M Shoen blog - http://www.lawrencemschoen.com/plugs/eating-authors-jeffe-kennedy/

  Lawrence M. Schoen
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  Eating Authors: Jeffe Kennedy
  1 Comment » Written on May 22nd, 2017 by Lawrence Schoen
  Categories: Plugs
  Tags: Eating Authors
  Jeffe Kennedy
  If you’re reading this on time then you know who won which Nebula Awards over the weekend, something I don’t know yet because I wrote this up prior to the conference and awards banquet. All I know with any certainty is it’s wasn’t me (I had no dogs in this race, thus ending my four year streak of nominations — hey, maybe next year).

  What I can tell you, by way of a nice EATING AUTHORS segue, is that this week’s guest Jeffe Kennedy has been elected to the SFWA Board as one of our new Directors-at-Large. She takes office on July 1st, and I’m looking forward to having her join the Board as she continues her history of service.

  But let’s talk a bit about her accomplishments as an author. She has dozens of published novels, including her award-winning Fantasy romance series Twelve Kingdoms. Last year she started two new series.Sorcerous Moons has already spawned four volumes in just six months. And her Uncharted Realms series has released a more modest two books in seven months, with a third due out this summer. It’s an impressive — and intimidating — pace, but one that her fans surely appreciate.

  LMS: Welcome, Jeffe. What’s your most memorable meal?

  JK: When the waiter suggested the halibut cheeks, I was not tempted. I mean, I’d never had them, they don’t sound remotely appealing, and the biologist in me immediately set to wonder if the bony fishes even have cheeks. Were they somehow referring to the gills – maybe the operculum or, heavens forbid, the rakers and filaments? Regardless, none of that sounded edible, much less appealing.

  Lonen's War
  But the waiter waxed on about the special, how this delicacy was local, available only seasonally, exquisitely prepared, and so forth. My fish pathologist husband allowed as how cheeks had to be a misnomer, a colloquialism, but he’d heard of this dish.

  We were not warm-water fish savvy. Coming from our land-locked home in Wyoming, he knew everything about trout and other cold-water fishes. But there we were, on Mackinac Island, sitting at a little table on the pier in the early season. I’d been sent to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for my day job, and David had tagged along, to see this part of the country neither of us had visited before. We went out a few days early and played it by ear, something easy to do since tourist season hadn’t yet kicked in. The restaurant was largely empty, and the few other patrons elected to sit inside.

  The Pages of the Mind
  But, coming from our still frozen high-altitude home, the evening felt still and warm and perfect. The sun set, illuminating the lake water, and we drank wine by the light of a single candle.

  And, Oh. My. God. Those halibut cheeks!

  I’ve since learned that this a Thing. People wait for halibut-cheek season and go bananas concocting the best recipes. If you’re an anatomy stickler like me, the “cheek” is the fleshy part on top of the operculum. They’re crazy tender and very nearly sweet. That night we had them simply prepared in light wine butter sauce that brought out every nuance of the subtle flavor, like spring time and fresh water, melting snow and warm winds.

  One of the loveliest evenings of my life.

  Thanks, Jeffe. Fish cheeks. Wow. The mind croggles. Or, to paraphrase Shakespeare, o brave new world, that has such meals in ’t!

  Next Monday: Another author and another meal!

  #SFWApro

  Tags: Eating Authors

  This entry was posted on Monday, May 22nd, 2017 at 7:30 am and is filed under Plugs. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  One Response to “Eating Authors: Jeffe Kennedy”
  Halibut CHEEKS. And thanks for hosting me, Lawrence! I’m all aflutter that you called my pace intimidating. A girl has to pay the bills, yanno. (And I like diamonds just fine, but not pawning them to pay the rent.)

  Jeffe Kennedy
  05.22.17 at 11:35 am
  Permalink Reply

  Leave a Reply
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  Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
  Notify me of new posts by email.

  - = < * EATING AUTHORS * > = -
  Every Monday A New Author & Meal
  BARSK Audio Sample
  Veteran actor and director, J. G. Hertler (General Martok to Star Trek: DSN fans) narrates the audio version of Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard. Click here to hear him read the first chapter!
  Subscribe to me on YouTube
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  Eating Authors: Jeffe Kennedy
  1 Comment » Written on May 22nd, 2017 by Lawrence Schoen
  Categories: Plugs
  Tags: Eating Authors
  Jeffe Kennedy
  If you’re reading this on time then you know who won which Nebula Awards over the weekend, something I don’t know yet because I wrote this up prior to the conference and awards banquet. All I know with any certainty is it’s wasn’t me (I had no dogs in this race, thus ending my four year streak of nominations — hey, maybe next year).

  What I can tell you, by way of a nice EATING AUTHORS segue, is that this week’s guest Jeffe Kennedy has been elected to the SFWA Board as one of our new Directors-at-Large. She takes office on July 1st, and I’m looking forward to having her join the Board as she continues her history of service.

  But let’s talk a bit about her accomplishments as an author. She has dozens of published novels, including her award-winning Fantasy romance series Twelve Kingdoms. Last year she started two new series.Sorcerous Moons has already spawned four volumes in just six months. And her Uncharted Realms series has released a more modest two books in seven months, with a third due out this summer. It’s an impressive — and intimidating — pace, but one that her fans surely appreciate.

  LMS: Welcome, Jeffe. What’s your most memorable meal?

  JK: When the waiter suggested the halibut cheeks, I was not tempted. I mean, I’d never had them, they don’t sound remotely appealing, and the biologist in me immediately set to wonder if the bony fishes even have cheeks. Were they somehow referring to the gills – maybe the operculum or, heavens forbid, the rakers and filaments? Regardless, none of that sounded edible, much less appealing.

  Lonen's War
  But the waiter waxed on about the special, how this delicacy was local, available only seasonally, exquisitely prepared, and so forth. My fish pathologist husband allowed as how cheeks had to be a misnomer, a colloquialism, but he’d heard of this dish.

  We were not warm-water fish savvy. Coming from our land-locked home in Wyoming, he knew everything about trout and other cold-water fishes. But there we were, on Mackinac Island, sitting at a little table on the pier in the early season. I’d been sent to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for my day job, and David had tagged along, to see this part of the country neither of us had visited before. We went out a few days early and played it by ear, something easy to do since tourist season hadn’t yet kicked in. The restaurant was largely empty, and the few other patrons elected to sit inside.

  The Pages of the Mind
  But, coming from our still frozen high-altitude home, the evening felt still and warm and perfect. The sun set, illuminating the lake water, and we drank wine by the light of a single candle.

  And, Oh. My. God. Those halibut cheeks!

  I’ve since learned that this a Thing. People wait for halibut-cheek season and go bananas concocting the best recipes. If you’re an anatomy stickler like me, the “cheek” is the fleshy part on top of the operculum. They’re crazy tender and very nearly sweet. That night we had them simply prepared in light wine butter sauce that brought out every nuance of the subtle flavor, like spring time and fresh water, melting snow and warm winds.

  One of the loveliest evenings of my life.

  Thanks, Jeffe. Fish cheeks. Wow. The mind croggles. Or, to paraphrase Shakespeare, o brave new world, that has such meals in ’t!

  Next Monday: Another author and another meal!

  #SFWApro

  Tags: Eating Authors

  This entry was posted on Monday, May 22nd, 2017 at 7:30 am and is filed under Plugs. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  One Response to “Eating Authors: Jeffe Kennedy”
  Halibut CHEEKS. And thanks for hosting me, Lawrence! I’m all aflutter that you called my pace intimidating. A girl has to pay the bills, yanno. (And I like diamonds just fine, but not pawning them to pay the rent.)

  Jeffe Kennedy
  05.22.17 at 11:35 am
  Permalink Reply

  Leave a Reply
  Name (required)
  Mail (will not be published) (required)
  Website

  Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
  Notify me of new posts by email.

  - = < * EATING AUTHORS * > = -
  Every Monday A New Author & Meal
  BARSK Audio Sample
  Veteran actor and director, J. G. Hertler (General Martok to Star Trek: DSN fans) narrates the audio version of Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard. Click here to hear him read the first chapter!
  Subscribe to me on YouTube
  * * Newsletter * *
  Click here for more details!
  Read my Wikipedia entry

  Links
  Klingon Language Institute
  Paper Golem LLC
  Search for:

  Buffalito Destiny Buffalito Contingency Buffalito Contingency Buffalito Contingency
  ©2011 Lawrence M. Schoen
  Simple WordPress Themes
  ShareThis Copy and Paste:) Lawrence M. Schoen About Press Kit Bibliography » Books Ebooks Schedule Blog Freebies Conroyverse » Contact Me Eating Authors: Jeffe Kennedy 1 Comment » Written on May 22nd, 2017 by Lawrence Schoen Categories: Plugs Tags: Eating Authors If you’re reading this on time then you know who won which Nebula Awards over the weekend, something I don’t know yet because I wrote this up prior to the conference and awards banquet. All I know with any certainty is it’s wasn’t me (I had no dogs in this race, thus ending my four year streak of nominations — hey, maybe next year). What I can tell you, by way of a nice EATING AUTHORS segue, is that this week’s guest Jeffe Kennedy has been elected to the SFWA Board as one of our new Directors-at-Large. She takes office on July 1st, and I’m looking forward to having her join the Board as she continues her history of service. But let’s talk a bit about her accomplishments as an author. She has dozens of published novels, including her award-winning Fantasy romance series Twelve Kingdoms. Last year she started two new series.Sorcerous Moons has already spawned four volumes in just six months. And her Uncharted Realms series has released a more modest two books in seven months, with a third due out this summer. It’s an impressive — and intimidating — pace, but one that her fans surely appreciate. LMS: Welcome, Jeffe. What’s your most memorable meal? JK: When the waiter suggested the halibut cheeks, I was not tempted. I mean, I’d never had them, they don’t sound remotely appealing, and the biologist in me immediately set to wonder if the bony fishes even have cheeks. Were they somehow referring to the gills – maybe the operculum or, heavens forbid, the rakers and filaments? Regardless, none of that sounded edible, much less appealing. But the waiter waxed on about the special, how this delicacy was local, available only seasonally, exquisitely prepared, and so forth. My fish pathologist husband allowed as how cheeks had to be a misnomer, a colloquialism, but he’d heard of this dish. We were not warm-water fish savvy. Coming from our land-locked home in Wyoming, he knew everything about trout and other cold-water fishes. But there we were, on Mackinac Island, sitting at a little table on the pier in the early season. I’d been sent to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for my day job, and David had tagged along, to see this part of the country neither of us had visited before. We went out a few days early and played it by ear, something easy to do since tourist season hadn’t yet kicked in. The restaurant was largely empty, and the few other patrons elected to sit inside. But, coming from our still frozen high-altitude home, the evening felt still and warm and perfect. The sun set, illuminating the lake water, and we drank wine by the light of a single candle. And, Oh. My. God. Those halibut cheeks! I’ve since learned that this a Thing. People wait for halibut-cheek season and go bananas concocting the best recipes. If you’re an anatomy stickler like me, the “cheek” is the fleshy part on top of the operculum. They’re crazy tender and very nearly sweet. That night we had them simply prepared in light wine butter sauce that brought out every nuance of the subtle flavor, like spring time and fresh water, melting snow and warm winds. One of the loveliest evenings of my life. Thanks, Jeffe. Fish cheeks. Wow. The mind croggles. Or, to paraphrase Shakespeare, o brave new world, that has such meals in ’t! Next Monday: Another author and another meal! #SFWApro Tags: Eating Authors This entry was posted on Monday, May 22nd, 2017 at 7:30 am and is filed under Plugs. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. One Response to “Eating Authors: Jeffe Kennedy” Halibut CHEEKS. And thanks for hosting me, Lawrence! I’m all aflutter that you called my pace intimidating. A girl has to pay the bills, yanno. (And I like diamonds just fine, but not pawning them to pay the rent.) Jeffe Kennedy 05.22.17 at 11:35 am Permalink Reply Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. - = < * EATING AUTHORS * > = - Every Monday A New Author & Meal BARSK Audio Sample Veteran actor and director, J. G. Hertler (General Martok to Star Trek: DSN fans) narrates the audio version of Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard. Click here to hear him read the first chapter! * * Newsletter * * Click here for more details! Read my Wikipedia entry Links Klingon Language Institute Paper Golem LLC Search for: ©2011 Lawrence M. Schoen Simple WordPress Themes Lawrence M. Schoen About Press Kit Bibliography » Books Ebooks Schedule Blog Freebies Conroyverse » Contact Me Eating Authors: Jeffe Kennedy 1 Comment » Written on May 22nd, 2017 by Lawrence Schoen Categories: Plugs Tags: Eating Authors If you’re reading this on time then you know who won which Nebula Awards over the weekend, something I don’t know yet because I wrote this up prior to the conference and awards banquet. All I know with any certainty is it’s wasn’t me (I had no dogs in this race, thus ending my four year streak of nominations — hey, maybe next year). What I can tell you, by way of a nice EATING AUTHORS segue, is that this week’s guest Jeffe Kennedy has been elected to the SFWA Board as one of our new Directors-at-Large. She takes office on July 1st, and I’m looking forward to having her join the Board as she continues her history of service. But let’s talk a bit about her accomplishments as an author. She has dozens of published novels, including her award-winning Fantasy romance series Twelve Kingdoms. Last year she started two new series.Sorcerous Moons has already spawned four volumes in just six months. And her Uncharted Realms series has released a more modest two books in seven months, with a third due out this summer. It’s an impressive — and intimidating — pace, but one that her fans surely appreciate. LMS: Welcome, Jeffe. What’s your most memorable meal? JK: When the waiter suggested the halibut cheeks, I was not tempted. I mean, I’d never had them, they don’t sound remotely appealing, and the biologist in me immediately set to wonder if the bony fishes even have cheeks. Were they somehow referring to the gills – maybe the operculum or, heavens forbid, the rakers and filaments? Regardless, none of that sounded edible, much less appealing. But the waiter waxed on about the special, how this delicacy was local, available only seasonally, exquisitely prepared, and so forth. My fish pathologist husband allowed as how cheeks had to be a misnomer, a colloquialism, but he’d heard of this dish. We were not warm-water fish savvy. Coming from our land-locked home in Wyoming, he knew everything about trout and other cold-water fishes. But there we were, on Mackinac Island, sitting at a little table on the pier in the early season. I’d been sent to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for my day job, and David had tagged along, to see this part of the country neither of us had visited before. We went out a few days early and played it by ear, something easy to do since tourist season hadn’t yet kicked in. The restaurant was largely empty, and the few other patrons elected to sit inside. But, coming from our still frozen high-altitude home, the evening felt still and warm and perfect. The sun set, illuminating the lake water, and we drank wine by the light of a single candle. And, Oh. My. God. Those halibut cheeks! I’ve since learned that this a Thing. People wait for halibut-cheek season and go bananas concocting the best recipes. If you’re an anatomy stickler like me, the “cheek” is the fleshy part on top of the operculum. They’re crazy tender and very nearly sweet. That night we had them simply prepared in light wine butter sauce that brought out every nuance of the subtle flavor, like spring time and fresh water, melting snow and warm winds. One of the loveliest evenings of my life. Thanks, Jeffe. Fish cheeks. Wow. The mind croggles. Or, to paraphrase Shakespeare, o brave new world, that has such meals in ’t! Next Monday: Another author and another meal! #SFWApro Tags: Eating Authors This entry was posted on Monday, May 22nd, 2017 at 7:30 am and is filed under Plugs. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. One Response to “Eating Authors: Jeffe Kennedy” Halibut CHEEKS. And thanks for hosting me, Lawrence! I’m all aflutter that you called my pace intimidating. A girl has to pay the bills, yanno. (And I like diamonds just fine, but not pawning them to pay the rent.) Jeffe Kennedy 05.22.17 at 11:35 am Permalink Reply Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. - = < * EATING AUTHORS * > = - Every Monday A New Author & Meal BARSK Audio Sample Veteran actor and director, J. G. Hertler (General Martok to Star Trek: DSN fans) narrates the audio version of Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard. Click here to hear him read the first chapter! * * Newsletter * * Click here for more details! Read my Wikipedia entry Links Klingon Language Institute Paper Golem LLC Search for: ©2011 Lawrence M. Schoen Simple WordPress Themes ShareThis Copy and Paste:)

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  << BACK Pandora's Box The Edge of the Blade Jeffe Kennedy Buy This Book AAR staffers Maggie Boyd and Caroline Russomanno discuss Jeffe Kennedy’s latest fantasy novel The Edge of the Blade, book two in her The Uncharted Realms series in our latest Pandora’s Box. In the Thirteen Kingdoms, a woman may sample the pleasures of a man with no strings attached. Jepp, part of the queen’s elite guard and an artist with sharp blades, has sampled more than her share. When a scouting party arrives from far-away Dasnaria, with the handsome and virile Prince Kral at its head, she is more than happy to add a bit of variety to her sexual repertoire. She is far less happy when she learns that simply lying with him creates a bond between them and she is now expected to practice monogamy. Adding insult to injury, events conspire so that the enraged couple is forced to go on a diplomatic mission trip to Dasnaria together. Naturally, the mission is anything but smooth sailing and along the way their diplomat is coerced into becoming a barbarian king’s wife (Pages of the Mind, book one in the series). This leaves Jepp as the sole ambassador to Dasnaria, and since she is as likely to wound with her words as she is to kill with her knives, that does not bode well for the mission. Headed towards a dangerous land with strange customs and no respect for women, Jepp can’t determine what she wants most from Kral: to put the argument about their relationship status to bed and gain some peace or to take him to bed and have their mission explode in passion? Maggie: What are your thoughts on the novel? Caroline: The first half of the story (before they crossed the barrier) felt very repetitive to me, and went on longer than it should have. There’s such a fine line between “sexy but snippy banter” and “childish bickering,” and I thought Jepp and Kral were on the wrong side of it. I get that the author wanted to establish Kral’s patriarchal attitudes and Jepp’s fighting skills, but it could have been done much more efficiently. Maggie: I totally agree. In fact, I would go a step further because I not only found their bickering childish but thought both of them were pretty childish as well. Jepp had none of the traits that make a good battle commander – the ability to think on your feet, adapt to new surroundings and focus on a mission. I found her unbelievable and very much the kind of character you would only find in a romance novel: superficial warrior skills with none of the cool, watchful reserve the discipline needed to acquire those skills would bring. Kral was a bit better but I felt that his character’s sole reason for existing was to impart an important lesson and as a result, I found him flat. This was probably one of my biggest issues with the story. I felt the author didn’t match her characters to her plot. It was supposed to be a book about a diplomatic mission, an opportunity to learn about a new culture and a chance for her hero/heroine to possibly learn some new skills, but instead became a treatise on feminism and how any culture that doesn’t value that is just wrong, wrong, wrong. A square peg in a round hole tale can usually work for me but I need to see growth and change to make that happen and I saw none here. What did you think of the plotting/characterizations? Caroline: While I agree with you that Kral didn’t start out well, I actually enjoyed his change in the second half of the story. I have read a LOT of misogynist Harlequin heroes and I’m always happy when an author tackles making one grow. The fact that he had a second conflict, about the politics of his home country, also made me see him as less one-note. More… one-track minded. Too often, in a fantasy setting, you know exactly what the plot is from the beginning (the princess must be rescued, the object must be captured/destroyed/returned, blah blah blah). I liked the fact that I could never have told you what was coming next in this story. We know that Kral is taking Jepp back to Dasnaria, where she’s taking the place of the woman who was supposed to be the ambassador. She’s supposed to look for someone, but we don’t know much about them. And that’s really all the clues we have. The author hardly tells us anything about Dasnaria until we get there, and the problems Jepp faces aren’t at all the ones I’d have presumed she’d encounter based on the first hundred pages. I appreciated that. It made the story feel more natural and less inevitable/arc-y. Maggie: I think the fact that I dislike “bickering” romance where the H/h snark their way to love probably colored my thinking. I just couldn’t get into them or their love story. Also, having read the other books in the series I knew who Jepp was looking for and why. I expected pretty much everything she encountered, most especially the person at the end. I expected what was happening to be happening given the events of The Tears of the Rose and The Talon of the Hawk. Caroline: Ah. This was my first book in the series so that definitely explains that difference. Maggie: I think that it speaks well of The Edge of the Blade that you can still follow the story, even if you aren’t up on the books in the series. Moving on, since this is a fantasy novel I want to address the world building in the story. I thought it was one of the stronger aspects – I especially appreciated how Kral’s sisters had adapted to – and learned to work around – their surroundings and cultural limitations; but I still had trouble wrapping my head around a Middle Eastern culture in a Northern climate. As someone who has spent the last twenty years in the North I can tell you that our climate impacts our behavior greatly. Wearing what amounted to a sari and walking around barefoot made no sense in a stone fortress. And to be honest, I felt a sense of intense judgment coming from the author towards the actual cultures that incorporate some of the practices listed in here. What did you think about the world building? Caroline: Oh, those outfits! Silk wrapping? Jarring. I couldn’t get past the fact that you could never have sericulture at those temperatures, and thus it’s essentially impossible for silk to be your culture’s staple garment. I think, though, that if the author had abandoned the silk trappings and the explicit harem, we could have approached the Dasnarians with less Orientalist baggage and appreciated some of the good stuff that’s actually there. After all, it’s not like any one culture has a monopoly on sequestering women and granting political power to men. I enjoyed the political scheming, and that the author didn’t underestimate the influence and information even sidelined women had. I liked the reaction of one female character to being offered a way out. The Emperor’s mother is also clearly no fool, and I believed in her as a survivor/manipulator character. It was intriguing and original that the author created a world with extremely powerful magicians, ranging from priests to shapeshifters – and then didn’t make either Kral or Jepp magical in the slightest. You almost never get fantasy stories about the ordinary people moving through the realms, unless you’re dealing with someone who discovers that they were lost at birth or whatever and are secretly super-powerful. I found it original and enjoyable. I also liked that Jepp was shown constantly exercising and going through forms to maintain her military skill. Maggie: Yes, the sisters and mother were shining stars in the characterization of the book. I liked the subtle way they handled their power, wielding it from the shadows. And I’ll admit, the first book, Mark of the Talla is my only DIK in the series and both characters were magical. Caroline: How did you like the writing, technically? Maggie: As far as the writing goes, her prose is fine but for me part of any good writing is meshing the world and characters into the plot and the fact that those things kept pulling me out of the story meant I didn’t really like the writing. Caroline: I was really, really tired of Jepp’s references to her goddess Danu. I was reading on my phone and I seldom got more than two or three screens without Jepp thanking Danu, blaming Danu, asking Danu to save her or take Kral, or, most annoyingly, wondering “What in Danu?” Is Jepp really unsure about her goddess’s internal organs, or was the author just find/replacing Christian religious expressions like “What in the name of God?” Maggie: LOL, I had noticed the Danu references but they sort of slid past me. Overall, I found it a bit of a chore to read this book. I couldn’t get into the romance, I couldn’t get into the fantasy and I had no real interest in seeing what would come next. My grade would be a C. Fine prose, adequate completion of the elements of fiction writing but nothing that raised it above a job averagely done. Caroline: I felt the first half was very sloggy, but unlike you, I had fun with the second half. I enjoyed seeing Jepp and Kral break out of their first-half tough girl/jerk guy ruts and oscillate between ally and obstacle instead of childishly bickering and boinking. They had conflicting goals so the character and plot tension became authentic. By the end, I was definitely sucked in enough to give a B. Buy The Edge of the Blade by Jeffe Kennedy: Buy from Amazon.com Get it on iBooks Nook Kobo Book Details Reviewer : Maggie Boyd Grade : B- Sensuality : N/A Book Type : Fantasy Romance Review Tags : Uncharted Realms series Recent Comments HBO on Hot in Hellcat Canyon HBO on Pretty Face by Lucy Parker HBO on Pretty Face by Lucy Parker Keira Soleore on Pretty Face by Lucy Parker Caz Owens on A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas Leave A Comment Comment ABOUT AAR FAQS BLOG REVIEWS SUBSCRIBE SITEMAP CONTACT US LOGIN FacebookTwitterInstagramEmailPower SearchPower Search

8/10/17, 10(47 AM
Print Marked Items
The Edge of the Blade
Ilene Lefkowitz
Booklist.
113.7 (Dec. 1, 2016): p36. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
The Edge of the Blade. By Jeffe Kennedy. Jan. 2017.400p. Kensington, paper, $9.95 (9781496704269); e book (9781496704276).
Kennedy (.Pages of the Mind, 2016) continues the Uncharted Realms series with Jepp, a member of the queen's guard more comfortable on a mission than in society, being named as an ambassador. Luckily, Jepp has Prince Kral, once her lover, to help her along. Jepp's view of how women are to behave clashes with the norms of the Dasnaria hierarchy. She chafes under Dasnarian restrictions until she is summarily banished from court. She just wants to sleep with whomever she wants, whenever she wants. And she wants Kral--again. That's not too much to ask, is it? Despite her ejection and reluctance to embrace her new role, Jepp ultimately takes to it in her own way, earning respect from the royal family. Fantasy adventure, snarky dialogue, and hot sex help Jepp find her way back to her beloved queen for her next assignment. Readers new to Kennedy's series will do well to read it from the beginning, though this book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.--Ilene Lefkowitz
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Lefkowitz, Ilene. "The Edge of the Blade." Booklist, 1 Dec. 2016, p. 36. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA474719147&it=r&asid=510ca91347943eb86f2cb7239e1cbd27. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A474719147

QUOTED: "Satisfying quantities of action spur the plot forward, creating new conflicts for future volumes."

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The Edge of the Blade
Publishers Weekly.
263.48 (Nov. 28, 2016): p55. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Edge of the Blade
Jeffe Kennedy. Kensington, $9.95 trade paper (400p) ISBN 978-1-4967-0426-9
In Kennedy's second Uncharted Realms fantasy romance (after The Pages of the Mind), warrior Jepp struggles with her new diplomatic assignment to patriarchal Dasnaria while fighting her attraction to powerful Dasnarian general Krai. He insists that their recent one-night stand gives him rights over her; Jepp vehemently disagrees. As they battle through desperate encounters with vicious magical creatures, however, bantering and sexual play gradually bring Jepp and Krai closer emotionally. Krai is confined by an unconsummated royal marriage, and Jepp fears that their cultural conflicts mean they have no future together. After an exceedingly long trip to Dasnaria, the two are separated and Jepp's mission takes center stage. Jepp connects with Dasnarian women, both servants and royalty, who help her out, but she needs to be reunited with Krai to succeed against overwhelming odds and new challenges. Krai is a boring avatar of his oppressively sexist culture, and his eventual changes of heart are unconvincing; Jepp is much more interesting and well-developed. Satisfying quantities of action spur the plot forward, creating new conflicts for future volumes. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Edge of the Blade." Publishers Weekly, 28 Nov. 2016, p. 55+. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473149930&it=r&asid=74c8efad29d37bb1c05673d7a991cdc5. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A473149930
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The Pages of the Mind
First for Women.
.1626 (June 27, 2016): p109. From Book Review Index Plus.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Pages of the Mind." First for Women, 27 June 2016, p. 109. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA455872474&it=r&asid=db132beac72b6d214222464659b37654. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A455872474

QUOTED: "Fairy-tale storytelling mixes with mythology and romance as Kennedy begins her new Uncharted Realms series."

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The Pages of the Mind
Ilene Lefkowitz
Booklist.
112.19-20 (June 1, 2016): p63. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
The Pages of the Mind. By Jeffe Kennedy. June 2016. 368p. Kensington, paper, $9.95 (9781496704245); e-book, $7.99 (9781496704252).
The Twelve Kingdoms are in chaos and it is up to Dafne Mailloux to restore order and save the realm. Dafne isn't sure she is up to the challenge that lies ahead of her. She has spent years learning how not to be a victim. She is now a librarian skilled in many languages, but will this help her? When forced by her queen to take up a quest, she has no idea she would be forced to marry a man whose language she doesn't speak as part of an alliance to keep the peace. Dafne is not above using her language skills to her advantage both in the library and in the bedroom as she and Nakoa slowly learn to trust one another and to allow themselves to feel the passion that lies below the surface. Fortunately some things don't require spoken language. Fairy-tale storytelling mixes with mythology and romance as Kennedy begins her new Uncharted Realms series, a spin-off from her Twelve Kingdoms books.--Ilene Lefkowitz
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Lefkowitz, Ilene. "The Pages of the Mind." Booklist, 1 June 2016, p. 63. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA456094202&it=r&asid=84469e34d8e2dc52d8b6536ab27c8ab8. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A456094202

QUOTED: "the development of a gripping and realistic relationship between two well-drawn characters."

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Under His Touch
Publishers Weekly.
261.50 (Dec. 1, 2014): p41. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Under His Touch
Jeffe Kennedy. Carina, $3.99 e-book (169p) ISBN 978-1-4268-9946-1
Kennedy follows Going Under with this strong contemporary BDSM romance. Ambitious financial assistant Amber Dolors suspects her boss, Alec Knight, might share her love of kink. Alec, a British transplant to New York who's still glum about his recent divorce, is captivated by his young assistant but is unwilling to do anything to jeopardize either of their careers. As their attraction grows, Alec and Amber must decide what they want from life and each other. Kennedy seamlessly mixes domination play and genuine equality without ignoring the potential problems that kink and romance could bring to the couple's power dynamic at work and vice versa. Internal and personal tensions drive the narrative. Some external obstacles are thrown in as afterthoughts late in the book, making them less effective than they could be, and contemporary references may date this sooner than desired, but the core of the story is the development of a gripping and realistic relationship between two well-drawn characters. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Under His Touch." Publishers Weekly, 1 Dec. 2014, p. 41+. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA392899733&it=r&asid=1e1b417564c344b71b799f8431f25861. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A392899733

QUOTED: "Kennedy creates a well-constructed world, and Amelia has a solid character arc."

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Science fiction/fantasy
Megan M. McArdle
Library Journal.
139.19 (Nov. 15, 2014): p66. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2014 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
THE WONDERFUL THING about reading in the speculative fiction genres is that there is a book for every mood. As readers, we sometimes look for titles that throw us into the action: noisy narratives with fighting and running and page- turning adventure. This month brings plenty of offerings that scratch the action itch, from new military sf series from Mel Odom (Master Sergeant) and Mike Resnick (Fortress in Orion) to the cutthroat politics and vicious conflicts in Pierce Brown's Golden Son.
Urban fantasy often delivers high-stakes, adrenaline-filled stories, and here several series get new entries, including the entertaining New Orleans--set City of Eternal Night by Kristen Painter. But when you want quieter tales that let you breathe and think, there are great books to choose from as well. For example, Jo Walton gets philosophical in her latest, The Just City, and a shapeshifter looks for happiness in The Turning Season from Sharon Shinn.
A short story collection is the perfect choice for when readers can't find a novel that satisfies their reading appetite. Newly released and forthcoming anthologies feature horror (Best New Horror), hard sf (Carbide Tipped Pens), and a grab bag from a shuttered zine (The Best of Electric Velocipede). So dip into these collections and find something to suit any temperament, loud or quiet.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
CHECK THESE OUT
Bauers, W.C. Unbreakable. Tor. Jan. 2015. 384p. ISBN 9780765375421. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466847293. SF
Promise Paen, a Republic of Alligned Worlds marine, fled her home world of Montana when raiders killed her father. But when pirates attack Montana, the military brass ask Promise to return to help ease tensions with the locals as they try to keep the peace. Things go south fast once Promise arrives with a company of marines. VERDICT If readers can get past the protagonist's ridiculous name, they might still decide that military jargon and lots of "oo-RAH" yelling doesn't substitute for character development in this debut. The action scenes are plentiful; however, while Bauer sketches in the outline of the politics shaping Montana's history, a strong picture of why the various forces are fighting for control of the planet is never really conveyed.
Kennedy, Jeffe. Tears of the Rose. Kensington. (Twelve Kingdoms, Bk. 2). Nov. 2014. 336p. ISBN 9780758294456. pap. $15; ebk. ISBN 9780758294463. FANTASY
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Amelia, the spoiled youngest daughter of the high king, was always more interested in dresses and her hairstyle than affairs of state. But she has changed since the death of her husband, Hugh, at the end of Mark of the Tala and spends the rest of this novel growing up and into her position of power. Even though Amelia is carrying Hugh's child, all those around her still see her as a pawn in the power struggles among the 12 kingdoms, her father, and the Tala. With the help of a mysterious priest of the goddess Glorianna, Amelia will seize her own destiny. VERDICT Like the first book, this one is mostly a romantic story within a fantasy landscape. Kennedy creates a well-constructed world, and Amelia has a solid character arc, moving from unlikable to heroic in her own way.
Leake, Jessica. Arcana. Talos. Nov. 2014. 288p. ISBN 9781940456140. $24.99; ebk. ISBN 9781940456218. FANTASY
Katherine Sinclair is going to her grandmother's home in London for the 1905 debutante season and has a lot of secrets to keep as she enters society. She has inherited her mother's Sylvani abilities to harness the power of the sun and turn it into magic. Katherine will have to rein in her temper and exert some impulse control unless she wants all of London to realize she isn't completely human, which could put a crimp in her grandmother's plan to find her a husband. VERDICT This is an uneasy mix of Edwardian-era historical romance and fantasy that succeeds better on the romantic front, even if debut novelist Leake has borrowed heavily from the Pride and Prejudice playbook. Neither the historical nor magical worldbuilding are particularly new. The book is helped a great deal by the chemistry between the hero and heroine.
Lord, Karen. The Galaxy Game. Del Rey: Ballantine. Jan. 2015. 336p. ISBN 9780345534071. pap. $15; ebk. ISBN 9780345534088. SF
Rafi Delarua needs to get away from Cygnus Beta, where he has been attending a school for those with psionic abilities. His Aunt Grace helps him travel to the planet Punartam, and his school friend Ntenman goes along to help smooth his way through the complex currents of Punarthai society. An aptitude for the game Wallrunning puts Rafi in contact with a wide range of influential people, which might be what saves him when galactic rivalries erupt. VERDICT Fans of Lord's exceptional The Best of All Possible Worlds will enjoy seeing more of the complex universe she established and revisiting some of the characters from that novel, while shifting the focus to a younger generation. Teen protagonists give this work a powerful coming-of-age narrative, although frequent point-of-view switches between Rafi and Ntenman can be disorienting. The complex politics will work better with adults; younger audiences will find the game mechanics of Wallrunning a blast.
Painter, Kristen. City of Eternal Night. Orbit: Hachette. (Crescent City, Bk. 2). Dec. 2014. 400p. ISBN 9780316278331. pap. $16; ebk. ISBN 9780316278317. FANTASY
Harlow and Augustus share the New Orleans home they inherited from Harlow's mother when she died in the series opener, House of the Rising Sun. They are still dealing with their mutual attraction but bigger problems arise, including the kidnapping of the daughter of one of the city's fae elite. It is Augustus's responsibility as Guardian of the city to get her back, even if the demanded ransom is his own corpse. Harlow wants to help, yet when it brings her into conflict with her monstrous father, she learns some startling things about her own powers. VERDICT Building on the strength of the first book, this series blends an irresistible near-future setting with characters who continue to develop. Urban fantasy fans will enjoy entering Painter's vividly drawn world.
Rice, Christopher. The Vines. 47North: Amazon. Nov. 2014. 250p. ISBN 9781477826638. pap. $10.99; ebk. ISBN 9781477876626. HORROR
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Wealthy New Orleans heiress Caitlin Chaisson had no idea her husband was cheating until she caught him in the act during her lavish birthday party. Betrayed and despondent, Caidin flees the house for the gazebo that sits on the estate's lush grounds and tries to slit her wrists. However, instead of her death, she unleashes a dark power tied to the bloody past of the former slave plantation. VERDICT As gothic as one could expect from the author (The Heavens Rise) and son of Anne Rice, this tale of evil vegetation that feeds on the blood of those seeking revenge for past wrongs is gruesome (and somewhat overwrought). While the racial tensions underlying the story could have been more nuanced, there are dark thrills for horror fans.
Sanderson, Brandon. Legion: Skin Deep. Subterranean. Nov. 2014. 208p. ISBN 9781596066908. $45. FANTASY
Stephen Leeds (last seen in the 2012 novella "Legion") has a condition that causes him to hallucinate a variety of uniquely useful companions. Of his many "aspects" are a trained soldier, a psychological expert, and a librarian, all of whom help him solve problems, even if they are probably the manifestations of a deep schizophrenia. These aspects make Leeds a rather versatile intelligence agent, and in this outing he is hired to find out who has stolen a corpse that contains experimental technology from a company attempting to use the human body as an information storage device. VERDICT This quick, entertaining read has the pulse of a thriller and the hook of a fascinating hero balancing on the edge of psychosis. It reads like a ready-made tale for a TV show, and, indeed, one is in the works.
* Shinn, Sharon. The Turning Season. Ace: Berkley. (Shifting Circle, Bk. 3). Nov. 2014. 352p. ISBN 9780425261699. $25.95; ebk. ISBN 9781101589755. FANTASY
The life that Karadel has built for herself is carefully constructed around her being a shifter. She lives in a rural area, running a veterinary practice that also caters to the small and secretive shifter community, and relies on her friends when her shifts come upon her unexpectedly. Karadel is content, if not happy, but two things shake her quiet routine: her best friend and fellow shifter Celeste has attracted the attention of a stalker, and Karadel has met a human man with whom she would like to share her life. VERDICT Shinn's latest is part of a loose series about shapeshifters and their loved ones (The Shape of Desire; Still Life with Shape Shifter) and focuses on the human side of the problem: making connections, dealing with loss, fear of change. However, the author's shifters and the many variations of cycles and creatures are fascinating and add dimension to these always exciting urban fantasies that are calmer than typical titles in this genre.
* Walton, Jo. The Just City. Tor. Jan. 2015. 368p. ISBN 9780765332660. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466800823. FANTASY
A host of men and women who prayed to the goddess Athena are transported to the island of Kallisti (better known as Atlantis) to create a society based on the writings of Plato, specifically his concept of the Just City from The Republic. Intrigued by the experiment, Apollo, Athena's brother, agrees to participate, allowing himself to be reborn as a mortal to grow up in Athena's city.
The older residents who prayed to be there serve as masters, mentors to the 10,000-plus children whom they steal out of time to populate the city, hoping those exposed early enough to Plato's ideal society will grow up to become philosopher kings. The reality is more complicated, as utopian ideals rarely play out as expected on actual human beings. VERDICT As skilled in execution as it is fascinating in premise, Walton's new work (after 2013's My Real Children) doesn't require a degree in classics, although readers might well be inspired to read Plato after seeing the rocky destruction of his dream. Although rich with philosophical discussions, what keeps this novel from becoming too chilly or analytical are its sympathetic female characters.
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COLLECTIONS & ANTHOLOGIES
Best New Horror. Vol. 25. Skyhorse. (Best New Horror). Nov. 2014.608p. ed. by Stephen Jones. ISBN 9781628738186. pap. $15.95. HORROR
The 25th anniversary edition of this anthology series (published in Britain as The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror) ranges from mildly spooky to all-out gory. Creepy children's books haunt both Joel Lane's dark story of murder, "By Night He Could Not See," and Reggie Oliver's "Come Into My Parlour." Another winner is Robert Shearman's "The Sixteen Steps," a story of a bed-and-breakfast that houses secrets. Some tales are brief but land with a punch, such as Neil Gaiman's "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" or longer, yet still affecting, including Michael Marshall Smith's "The Gist," about a translator who learns to regret ever encountering a mysterious book. VERDICT The 21 stories collected here, while more uneven than expected in a "best of ' anthology, also include two long excerpts from Kim Newman's latest "Anno Dracula" novel, a bloated roundup of the year's news, and an equally overlong memorial chapter dedicated to those who died in 2013.
The Best of Electric Velocipede. Fairwood. Nov. 2014.348p. ed. by John Klima. ISBN 9781933846477. pap. $17.99. SF
The fanzine Electric Velocipede was a reliable outlet for over ten years of compelling short speculative fiction until it ceased publication at the end of 2013. Luckily, those who never read the zine can still get a sampler of its typically wide array with this collection of its best short stories and poems. Strong pieces include the creepy, steampunky "Indicating the Awakening of Persons Buried Alive" from Liz Williams. Catherynne M. Valente flips the Snow White fairy tale in "Milk and Apples," and a folklorist finds love in Cyril Simsa's "Daughter of Fortune." VERDICT Arranged chronologically, the anthology gets stronger as the reader moves along, but the diverse range of genres and styles means there is something for almost every reader to enjoy.
Carbide Tipped Pens. Tor. Dec. 2014. 400p. ed. by Ben Bova & Eric Choi. ISBN 9780765334305. $27.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466810198. SF
Compiled by Bova, a six-time Hugo Award winner, and Choi, a rising star of the short form, these 17 stories, all original to this collection, are considered "hard" sf. As Choi explains in his introduction, hard sf is the "literature of change," interested in the effects of science and technology on society, while still telling human stories. This is a solid anthology, with only a few missteps; some of the best selections include Doug Beason's "Thunderwell," a tense tale of efforts to save a human mission to Mars; "Skin Deep" by Leah Peterson and Gabrielle Harbowy, about a lawyer who confronts a company that makes medical tattoos; and David DeGraff's "SIREN of Titan" in which an artificially intelligent rover on the surface of Saturn's Titan moon decides to go off-mission and explore, much to the consternation of her handlers back on Earth. VERDICT A pleasing sampling of stories, all showing the range found even within a subgenre like hard sf. Well-known novelists such as Gregory Benford appear alongside Aliette de Bodard and other top writers of the short form, plus some talented newcomers are featured.
ADDITIONAL SF/FANTASY
Resnick, Mike. The Fortress in Orion. Pyr: Prometheus. (Dead Enders, Bk. 1). Dec. 2014.303p. ISBN 9781616149901. pap. $18; ebk. ISBN 9781616149918. SF
Five-time Hugo Award winner Resnick ("Weird West Tales"; The Cassandra Project, coauthored with Jack McDevitt)
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begins a new series in his Birthright Universe with more of a whimper than a bang. Col. Nathan Pretorius is the Democracy's go-to officer for impossible missions, and this one is the craziest yet. Pretorius must smuggle a clone of the leading alien general into a fortress deep in enemy space, establish him there, and kill or kidnap the actual general. Rather than use a military force, Pretorius insists on choosing his team, which includes a cyborg, a computer whiz, a contortionist, and a not-quite shapeshifter. Once the team is assembled, everything goes pretty much according to plan, which is the novel's weakness. The characters are provocative enough, as is the mission, but Pretorius, as written, is just too clever. He anticipates and plans for all obstacles. This works out well for the characters but leaves little in the way of excitement or suspense for the reader. VERDICT This series opener establishes characters with potential; however, future volumes will need to ratchet up the peril in order to satisfy fans.--Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids
Shannon, Samantha. The Mime Order. Bloomsbury USA. (Bone Season, Bk. 2). Jan. 2015. 528p. ISBN 9781620408933. $25; ebk. ISBN 9781620408940. FANTASY
Paige Mahoney, aka the Pale Dreamer and recent escapee of the penal colony Sheol I, is back in her beloved London, but her situation is far from ideal. Branded as Scion's most wanted, she is forced to go back to Jaxon Hall, her former mime lord, and resume her life as his mollisher so the syndicate will protect her from Scion. But when syndicate Underlord Haymarket Hector and his entire gang are brutally murdered, both Paige and Jaxon see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity--Jaxon wants to be the new Underlord, and Paige thinks she can finally turn the selfiserving, corrupt syndicate toward her cause of bringing down Scion. What Paige doesn't know is that, just as in Sheol I, things in the syndicate are not at all what they seem, and when Warden and his Rephaite allies return, Paige once again finds herself the leader in a fight to change, and quite possibly save, the world. VERDICT Full of the action, turns, and surprising revelations that readers have come to expect front Shannon, this new installment ends on a wholly unexpected twist. [See Prepub Alert, 4/21/14.]--Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola
* Sherman, Delia. Young Women in a Garden. Small Beer. Nov. 2014. 320p. ISBN 9781618730916. pap. $16; ebk. ISBN 9781618730923. FANTASY
In this first collection from Sherman (The Porcelain Dove; The Freedom Maze), what seems ordinary consistently veers into the extraordinary and often downright surprising. From a scientist studying a merman in her pond to two neighbors connected by matching ominous red pianos, these 14 stories are all full of surprising fantasy details (fairies, ghosts, werewolves, witches, magic), and distinctive voices. Ranging in length and style, these tales are captivating and odd, with characters and settings fully and memorably fleshed out. VERDICT Sherman has won several awards for her fiction, and her literary talent is reflected in the depth and variety of stories presented here. For fans of the author's previous works as well as those seeking quirky, fantastical short stories.--Katie Lawrence, Chicago
* Sinisalo, Johanna. The Blood of Angels. Peter Owen. Dec. 2014.240p. tr. from Finnish by Lola Rogers. ISBN 9780720610048. pap. $15.95. FANTASY
Colony Collapse Disorder is overtaking the world, and as the bees disappear, so do the food supplies. In Finland, amateur beekeeper Orvo is hit with dual losses; two of his hives are empty, and his son,' the ecoblogger Eero, has died. As Orvo deals with these tragedies, he makes an amazing discovery in his old barn: a doorway into another world. Trying to separate fact from fiction, Orvo learns that bees may be able to travel among universes and are also associated with the afterlife. With the truths about Eero's ecological values revealed and the planet's agricultural disasters looming, could this portal to another reality not only save Orvo but lead to his son's resurrection as well? VERDICT At the intersection of science and fiction, award-winning Finnish author Sinisalo (Not Before Sundown; Troll) digs deep into a character who's searching for answers about his child, his life, and what may come after. Stunning prose takes the reader down a twisting path between gritty ecoterrorism and another world, with winged messengers leading the way.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., South Deerfield
NEWSWORTHY At the end of September, Lou Anders stepped down as editorial and art director of Pyr, the sf/fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books. Anders had been at Pyr since the imprint began ten years ago; in 2011, he won a Hugo Award for Best Editor, Long Form. With Anders's first novel for middle-grade readers, Frostborn, appearing earlier this year, he has said that he will be focusing on his writing, with Rene Sears taking over interim editorial duties at Pyr.
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Angry Robot Books, a marvelous UK publisher, has been purchased by Etan Ilfield, the new owner of British mind/body publisher Watkins Books. The company will resume its publishing schedule in March 2015, so look for more Angry Robot titles to be reviewed soon.
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Ursula K. Le Guin (I.) is to be awarded the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Le Guin, a giant talent in the speculative fiction field, will receive the honor from Neil Gaiman at the National Book Awards ceremony on November 19.
PICK OF THE MONTH
* Brown, Pierce. Golden Son. Del Rey: Ballantine. (Red Rising, Bk. 2). Jan. 2015. 464p. ISBN 9780345539816. $25; ebk. ISBN 9780345539823. SF
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After winning the Institute in Red Rising, Darrow has pinned his star to that of Mars governor Augustus. He continues to work toward the goal with which he started this journey; bring down the society that subjugates his people and empowers a mostly spoiled and vicious ruling class. Darrow still moves undetected among the Golds, having been genetically altered from his Red nature to pass as one of the ruling elite. However, when a rival from a Mars family feuding with House Augustus schemes to bring him down, Darrow will have to take extreme measures to stay near Augustus and keep assisting the Sons of Ares, the rebels working to end the society. VERDICT Moving the story from the tight confines of the Institute actually makes this an even better novel than Brown's breakout debut. The scope of the conflict is larger--it's not a child's game anymore but a real battle for the future of the solar system. Darrow remains a fascinating yet tortured martyr, never able to grab any personal happiness when he knows how much rests on his shoulders. [See Prepub Alert, 7/7/14.]
MASS-MARKET PAPERBACK OF NOTE
Odom, Mel. Master Sergeant. Harper Voyager. (Makaum War, Bk. 1). Feb. 2015. 368p. ISBN 9780062284426. pap. $7.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062284433. SF
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Newly arrived on the planet Makaum, Sgt. Frank Sage has a tough task ahead of him. The army brass use Makaum as a dumping ground for raw recruits, the Terrans corps are trying to start a drug trade, the war with the scorpionlike alien race of Phrenorians looks like it's heading his way, and everything on the planet will try to kill you. Sage works on pulling together a crew of soldiers to help close down the drug operations, while seeking allies among the native
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population in this exciting series opener. VERDICT Odom (Hunters of the Dark Sea) is known for media tie-in novels, but here the author delivers thrilling action with a well-rendered alien world and a creepy alien enemy to fight. As a first book in a series, this volume mostly serves to set up future conflicts and does so in a way that is a compelling example of military sf.
QUOTABLE "Everyone has their own fate, that they chose before they were born. But they're just choosing a chance of filling out as much as they can of the shape of it. What actually happens is up to the choices they make...."--Jo Walton, The Just City
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] STEAMPUNK DIY
VanderMeer, Jeff & Desirina Boskovich. The Steampunk User's Manual: An Illustrated Practical and Whimsical Guide to Creating Retro-Futurist Dreams. Abrams. 2014.256p. illus. index. ISBN 9781419708985. $24.95; ebk. ISBN 9781613127087. DIY
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Sf author VanderMeer's first comprehensive work on steampunk, The Steampunk Bible, focused on the subgenre's culture, from its history and technology to the art, fashion, and music that is associated with the category. This new volume, with coauthor Boskovich (contributor to The Steampunk Bible), covers the same variety but this time emphasizes the creative aspect of the field by providing ample information for the DIY crowd. Detailed plans for producing many of the artifacts identified with steampunk are generously illustrated with colorful, voluminous photos of resourceful art and paraphernalia. Five chapters offer directions and advice for the aspiring steampunk artist, fashion designer, musician and performer, and/or potential author. Each section provides examples of professional work and guidance on how to enhance your flair for the genus.
VERDICT Though the covers and layout of both titles are very alike, this volume adds to the earlier one with its concentration on the DIY audience. With an easy-to-browse format and an index for handy reference, this title will work in either the circulating or the reference collection.--Deb West, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA
SERIES LINEUP
Brennan, M.L. Tainted Blood: A Generation V Novel. Roc: NAL. Nov. 2014. 320p. ISBN 9780451418425. pap. $7.99; ebk. ISBN 9781101612996. FANTASY
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Although he has always resisted the family business, Fortitude Scott steps in to track a killer of the leader of the local shifters when his brother is incapacitated with grief over his wife's death. The third entry in Brennan's inventive new take on vampires (after Iron Night).
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Green, Chris Marie. Another One Bites the Dust; Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire. Roc: NAL. Nov. 2014.416p. ISBN 9780451417008. pap. $7.99; ebk. ISBN 9781101600849. FANTASY
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A young woman hires psychic Amanda Lee and her ghostly housemate Jensen Murphy to stop the man who has been threatening her best friend. But Amanda and Jensen discover this man is dangerous to both the living and the dead in this second series installment (after Only the Good Die Young).
Henry, Christina. Black Spring: A Black Wings Novel. Ace: Berkley. Nov. 2014. 288p. ISBN 9780425266786. pap. $7.99; ebk. ISBN 9781101618172. FANTASY
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Madeline Black was an Agent of Death, but now, just as she has a baby on the way, Chicago's mayor plans to round up the city's supernatural residents into internment camps. In the seventh and final series title (after 2013's Black Heart), Maddy will deal with pregnancy, impending violence on her city's streets, and what could be the most harmful of all-- Lucifer's upcoming wedding.
Megan M. McArdle's career has focused on building and promoting library collections. She has served as the Manager for Collection Development, Adult and Teen Services at the Berkeley Public Library, CA, and as the Director of Collection Development for the Chicago Public Library system. Active in ALA, she has chaired the Readers' Advisory Committee and the Reading List Award for genre fiction. In addition to writing LJ's SF/Fantasy column, Megan runs the website genrify.com about genre-blended books. She lives in San Diego
McArdle, Megan M.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
McArdle, Megan M. "Science fiction/fantasy." Library Journal, 15 Nov. 2014, p. 66+. PowerSearch,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA389645663&it=r&asid=956140d7d4b859e5c858a0ce98fb4dc4. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A389645663

QUOTED: "The setting shows promise, but the story lacks substance."

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The Tears of the Rose
Publishers Weekly.
261.40 (Oct. 6, 2014): p49. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Tears of the Rose
Jeffe Kennedy. Kensington, $15 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-7582-9445-6
The second Twelve Kingdoms fantasy novel (after The Mark of the Tala) concerns itself with the second of three princesses, a young woman who's half human and half Tala demon. Princess Amelia has never had to be anything other than a petulant child with a pretty face, and unfortunately, that is who she remains for the first half of the book. The setting shows promise, but the story lacks substance, and while copious time is spent on establishing the princess as a spoiled brat, comparatively little is given to her transformation into a wise and noble lady--a transformation that happens with astounding speed and little explanation. The political intrigue and maneuvering, much of it involving a powerful church that Amelia somehow knows very little about, are crammed into a few rushed final chapters, but most readers will have given up long before that point. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Tears of the Rose." Publishers Weekly, 6 Oct. 2014, p. 49. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA385260798&it=r&asid=865fbba8d5a3627c22188b8c8e632d16. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A385260798

QUOTED: "Kennedy ... shows her talent for organic relationship-building in this erotic romance."
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Going Under
Publishers Weekly.
261.21 (May 26, 2014): p42. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Going Under
Jeffe Kennedy. Carina, $3.99 e-book (164p) ISBN 978-1-4268-9869-3
Emily Bartwell has reinvented herself on the isolated island of Lyra, hiding from her past in the misogynistic video game industry and anyone who might uncover her identity as the elusive game designer Phoenix. Reporter Fox Mullins is on Phoenix's trail, and as soon as he meets Emily, he becomes determined to make her reveal her secrets to him. The lies and lust between them soon become too tangled to unravel without damaging both their lives. Kennedy (Master of the Opera) shows her talent for organic relationship-building in this erotic romance; both Emily and Fox display emotional growth and maturity, and their relationship develops from tentative flirting to domination to equality without feeling forced or implausible. The secondary characters, however, are little more than archetypes, and the broad-strokes overview of the video games industry will disappoint anyone with more than a superficial knowledge of the gaming community. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Going Under." Publishers Weekly, 26 May 2014, p. 42. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA369729468&it=r&asid=fab9ca040dd6c457c3ac850395a04831. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A369729468
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Wyoming trucks, true love, and the Weather Channel
Doris R. Meredith
Roundup Magazine.
11.5 (June 2004): p35. From Book Review Index Plus.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Meredith, Doris R. "Wyoming trucks, true love, and the Weather Channel." Roundup Magazine, June 2004, p. 35.
PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA119653937&it=r&asid=cbbf5e8e5dcc20038cb9263cb42cb4f2. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A119653937
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Lefkowitz, Ilene. "The Edge of the Blade." Booklist, 1 Dec. 2016, p. 36. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA474719147&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. "The Edge of the Blade." Publishers Weekly, 28 Nov. 2016, p. 55+. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473149930&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. "The Pages of the Mind." First for Women, 27 June 2016, p. 109. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA455872474&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. Lefkowitz, Ilene. "The Pages of the Mind." Booklist, 1 June 2016, p. 63. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA456094202&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. "Under His Touch." Publishers Weekly, 1 Dec. 2014, p. 41+. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA392899733&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. McArdle, Megan M. "Science fiction/fantasy." Library Journal, 15 Nov. 2014, p. 66+. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA389645663&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. "The Tears of the Rose." Publishers Weekly, 6 Oct. 2014, p. 49. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA385260798&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. "Going Under." Publishers Weekly, 26 May 2014, p. 42. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA369729468&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. Meredith, Doris R. "Wyoming trucks, true love, and the Weather Channel." Roundup Magazine, June 2004, p. 35. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA119653937&it=r. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017. about:blank Page 1 of 1

• Smart Bitches Trashy Books
  http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/pages-mind-jeffe-kennedy/
  Word count: 2132

  RITA READER CHALLENGE REVIEW
  The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy
  by Guest Reviewer · Jun 18, 2017 at 10:00 am · View all 4 comments

  The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy
  The Pages of the Mind
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  MAY 31, 2016 · KENSINGTON

  Order →
  VIEW SBTB MEDIA PAGE
  B-
  GENRE: Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance

  THEME: Marriage of Convenience, Arranged Marriage, Opposites Attract

  ARCHETYPE: Royalty

  This RITA® Reader Challenge 2017 review was written by Malin. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Paranormal Romance category.

  THE SUMMARY:
  An Orphan’s Throne

  Magic has broken free over the Twelve Kingdoms. The population is beset by shapeshifters and portents, landscapes that migrate, uncanny allies who are not quite human…and enemies eager to take advantage of the chaos.

  Dafne Mailloux is no adventurer–she’s a librarian. But the High Queen trusts Dafne’s ability with languages, her way of winnowing the useful facts from a dusty scroll, and even more important, the subtlety and guile that three decades under the thumb of a tyrant taught her.

  Dafne never thought to need those skills again. But she accepts her duty. Until her journey drops her into the arms of a barbarian king. He speaks no tongue she knows but that of power, yet he recognizes his captive as a valuable pawn. Dafne must submit to a wedding of alliance, becoming a prisoner-queen in a court she does not understand. If she is to save herself and her country, she will have to learn to read the heart of a wild stranger. And there are more secrets written there than even Dafne could suspect…

  Here is Malin's review:

  This year, when selecting my choices to review for the RITA Reader Challenge, I made sure to choose books I actually own. I got this in one of many e-book sales, intrigued by the notion of a fantasy romance with a librarian heroine, not exactly something you see that often. It turns out that Dafne, as well as being a devoted librarian and archivist, is a scholar and a linguist who delights in learning new languages. Her actual age is never mentioned, but it’s clear that she’s probably in her late thirties, possibly even early forties, and has kept herself under the radar and voluntarily lived a sheltered life. She lost her entire family during the rule of the previous High King, a brutal and ruthless ruler, and feels the loss of siblings greatly. Now more or less acknowledged as an adopted sister to the prior High King’s daughter, the new High Queen (it’s clear that she usurped her father in previous books), she is unaccustomed to with any kind of affection.

  While this book is the first in a series called Uncharted Realms, it’s part of a world already established by Jeffe Kennedy, referencing events and characters from The Twelve Kingdoms, so this book is both a stand-alone and part of a bigger whole. The beginning of the the book felt a bit like I was missing out on something and made me wish I’d read at least the book about High Queen Ursula of the now Thirteen Kingdoms, but once Dafne leaves the court and goes off on her journey, the book was a lot more engaging.

  Again due to events that took place before this book started, the realm that these characters live in is now full of unexpected magic, which has affected not only the Thirteen Kingdoms ruled over by warrior Queen Ursula, but also the neighbouring Dasnaria, where her lover is from and a small island nation who are petitioning the crown for reparation from damages. Being the only one from her close circle that the High Queen can spare, she sends Dafne to be her ambassador. She’s intelligent, speaks more languages than anyone in the palace and, thanks to her extensive reading, knows a great deal about a lot of the strange things happening around the kingdoms. Ursula also sends one of her elite guards, a woman named Jepp, tasked with training Dafne in self defense, and a shapeshifter from one of her sisters’ courts who can be useful in information gathering. The three women, while very different, bond during their journey.

  When they get to the island kingdom of Nahanua, things get complicated, however. The king mentioned in the blurb (I pictured Jason Momoa in my head the whole time), King Nakoa KauPo, seems very taken with her from the first. Straight after their arrival on the islands, he makes her take off her shoes and stockings to walk barefoot on the volcanic rock the ground seems mostly made from, then when her feet get to sore to walk, carries her up to the mouth of an active volcano, where there is some sort of mysterious ritual that brings a dragon out of the mountain, culminating in the burly native kissing our inexperienced virgin heroine. She’s previously admitted to her female companions that while she’s been kissed before, she’s never really felt anything out of the ordinary and she’s never felt anything close to desire enough to want to have sex. The island king, on the other hand, clearly affects her very differently and it’s clear that the two are linked in some way after the kiss by the volcano.

  Her feet are badly wounded by walking on the volcanic rock and she’s tended lovingly by the women of the court, her chief attendant clearly the King’s own sister. The Nahanuans speak a language completely unfamiliar to her, so communication is extremely difficult, but Dafne begins to realise that the ritual (which she was not in any way given a choice to take part in) led to her at least being the King’s fiancee, or possibly even his wife. While he sleeps elsewhere while she recovers, she’s quite clearly in King Nakoa’s private rooms, and he keeps showering her with kindness and affection. As the stop at the Nahanuan islands was only supposed to be a brief one to try to negotiate an understanding between the High Queen and the islanders, before Dafne continued her diplomatic journey to Dasnaria, her bodyguards try to extract her, but find that the King has no intention of letting her go.

  To avoid outright conflict between her companions and the King’s forces, Dafne is forced to stay behind, sending her friends back to notify the High Queen of the new developments. She discovers that she was indeed married to the King in that strange ceremony and once she learns more of the language, that he believes them to be fated mates, having felt a link to her throughout her life. It’s also clear that while Dafne initially tries her very best to fight her attraction to the imposing, yet seemingly very kind man who married her against her will, dissenting forces on the islands will challenge Nakoa’s claim to the throne if the marriage is not consummated and the link to the dragon (which it seems their relationship can strengthen) further improved.

  If you overlook the part where he pretty much abducts her from her people and marries her without her consent, Nakoa seems to be a pretty great guy. He’s clearly a mostly popular ruler, even though he has one rival determined to steal his throne. He’s deeply possessive and spends a lot of time carrying Dafne around (since her feet take quite some time to heal), but is always gentle and affectionate towards her. He tries to seduce her, but every time she needs him to step back and take things more slowly, he respects her boundaries.

  It’s also clear that the marriage ritual to link him and Dafne was necessary to free the ancient dragon from its volcanic mountain and secure the future prosperity of his nation, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. Dafne also seems to accept that she’s been forced into a marriage a bit too easily, probably because despite being described as intelligent and capable in the first half of the book, she becomes almost addled with lust for her new husband, and once they finally consummate the marriage, she certainly makes up for lost time with all the love making they engage in.

  Even if she’s very much in lust with Nakoa, Dafne is very reluctant to be referred to as his queen, and she feels torn in her loyalties to her High Queen. Though it’s quite clear that they share some sort of mystical bond, not just to one another, but to the dragon as well, Dafne is sure she will have to leave and return to her old home eventually. She therefore hesitates to commit fully to the relationship and this causes further tensions.

  I liked the world-building of the book and will probably go back and read about Ursula and her two sisters in the previous three books. The next book in the series is about Jepp and the leader of the Dasnarian warriors that take Dafne to the islands, and that also seems intriguing to me. I really wish the central romance wasn’t based on a forced marriage – while Nakoa is always very respectful and doesn’t force Dafne into anything she’s not ready sexually, he didn’t give any indication of his intentions before carrying her up to the volcano, and it’s revealed that he clearly conspired with the Dasnarians to get her to the islands in the first place. We are never really given an entirely satisfactory reason why an orphaned librarian and a warrior island king from quite a distance away from one another would be fated mates, either, but then I find the trope of the fated mate incredibly exasperating.

  I loved that Dafne was a middle-aged virgin, a librarian and a scholar and that she uses her skills throughout the book to try to understand her new position and then to try to solve the riddle of the dragon and its supposed treasure. I liked that the hero, for all his heavy-handed, withholding information ways, was from a culture clearly based on those of the Pacific islands. I think we could have found out more about him, there is a lot more character development given to Jepp and the shapeshifter Zynda, both supporting characters in the book, than to Nakoa (he’s big, strong, handsome, possessive, has a lot of tattoos and is extremely good in bed, despite being a virgin like Dafne – having saved himself for her).

  I didn’t like that Dafne seemed to lose all her critical faculties because she was so overcome with lust. I didn’t think the subplot with the challenger to the throne was dealt with all that satisfactorily. I think a bit too much of the start of the book should have been easier to get into for someone who had not read the previous books. I’m still going to check out more of this series, though, and hope there’s less of the fated mate and forced marriage stuff.

  Judging a book a book by its cover: Dafne is described as quite plain and nearing middle age, so I think the cover model is both prettier and younger than she’s supposed to be, but perhaps this scholar beauty with her hair flowing about her head as if by magic, with her billowing gown and the pages of the tome she carries fluttering in the wind, is supposed to be King Nakoa’s image of her? While it doesn’t entirely fit with the contents of the story, it’s a striking enough cover that it made me take a closer look at the description when the book was on sale, and I ended up buying it, so I suppose the marketing department did a good job.

  I rated this 3.5 stars out of 5 – so a B-? It was a good read, but I had some misgivings.

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  The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy
  May 31, 2016

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  QUOTED: "Jeffe Kennedy is an unparalleled world builder enriching her readers with fascinating cultures and characters. The Twelve Kingdoms, full of superstitions and magic with its three princesses who persevere and come out winners despite all odds, is a wonderful series. The Uncharted Realms series continues the adventure taking readers on a voyage of discovery."

  Tags: 2016, December 2016, Fantasy Romance, Grade A, jeffe Kennedy, Kensington, Review, The Edge Of The Blade, The Uncharted Realms, Veena
  REVIEW: The Edge of the Blade by Jeffe Kennedy
  by veena | Dec 27, 2016 | Review |

  Book CoverVeena’s review of The Edge of the Blade (Uncharted Realms, Book 2) by Jeffe Kennedy
  Romantic Fantasy published by Kensington 27 Dec 16
  Jeffe Kennedy is an unparalleled world builder enriching her readers with fascinating cultures and characters. The Twelve Kingdoms, full of superstitions and magic with its three princesses who persevere and come out winners despite all odds, is a wonderful series. The Uncharted Realms series continues the adventure taking readers on a voyage of discovery that will keep them enthralled and coming back for more.
  Jepp is a warrior, a member of the Queen’s elite guard. When circumstances force her into the role of ambassador to Dasnaria, she picks up the gauntlet and resolves to deliver her best to Queen and country. I like how the lessons of the past play such a big role for both protagonists in this book and govern their decisions and actions. In an interesting twist, Jepp is highly sexed and the seething desire that simmers between her and her escort, Prince Krai, is off the charts, especially since he has forbidden his men to engage with her after she walks out of his bed and refuses to become his bed slave.
  During their perilous journey to his kingdom, they encounter strange and fascinating creatures who attack them. Between battle and bed sport, their journey proceeds apace until they reach Dasnaria. The protocol and the place that women hold in this world make for very interesting reading. Despite Krai’s best intentions, Jepp immediately sets the cat amongst the pigeons at court and is swiftly relegated to the women’s quarters under guard. This is when the story gets interesting, as readers are treated to the political machinations and intrigue that exists under the smooth service of the King’s court.
  Of course, all is not well in the kingdom of Dasnaria, as Jepp soon finds in her nocturnal wanderings. Krai tries to keep her safe, despite herself, but he has his own political agenda and ambitions, but in the end sacrifices all to keep Jepp safe. Can Jepp and Krai escape from Dasnaria to find a future together? As the story unfolds, it captures a reader’s imagination and keeps you at the edge of your seat as one adventure morphs into the next. A fascinating testament to the power of love, women, and friendship.
  Grade: A
  Summary:
  he Twelve Kingdoms rest uneasy under their new High Queen, reeling from civil war and unchecked magics. Few remember that other powers once tested their borders—until a troop of foreign warriors emerges with a challenge . . .

  Jepp has been the heart of the queen’s elite guard, her Hawks, since long before war split her homeland. But the ease and grace that come to her naturally in fighting leathers disappears when battles turn to politics. When a scouting party arrives from far-away Dasnaria, bearing veiled threats and subtle bluffs, Jepp is happy to let her queen puzzle them out while she samples the pleasures of their prince’s bed.
  But the cultural norms allow that a Dasnarian woman may be wife or bed-slave, never her own leader—and Jepp’s light use of Prince Kral has sparked a diplomatic crisis. Banished from court, she soon becomes the only envoy to Kral’s strange and dangerous country, with little to rely on but her wits, her knives—and the smolder of anger and attraction that burns between her and him . . .

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