The Monitor: Tanzer’s writing, as always, is a delightful meld of period-authentic language and modern sensibilities. Snappy, often hilarious dialogue is embedded in a deftly written narrative thread that gives plenty of room for characters to breathe and evolve. Vermilion abounds with relatable, human characters of various genders and sexual orientations. LGBTQ issues are folded into the supernatural plot with respect and care, focusing on the emotional and interpersonal repercussions in a refreshingly gentle but frank manner.
Apr 012015
Publishers Weekly: Griep’s captivating debut weaves together traditional fairy tales with scenes of 21st-century Los Angeles to create an exploration of the conflicts between destiny and desire, with parental influence or absence as a strong subtheme. CeCi (Cinderella), Bianca (Snow White), and Rory (Sleeping Beauty), three princesses of Grimmland, are devastated when their friend Zell (Rapunzel) unexpectedly moves to Oz to manage a unicorn preserve. The three friends each write letters to Zell, both to deal with her abandonment of them and to keep her involved in their lives despite her physical absence. Through the letters, they all reveal the events, tensions, and misunderstandings that make up their lives, particularly CeCi’s trips to the human world, where she hopes to obtain a culinary degree, and Rory and Bianca’s attempts to reconcile their predetermined destinies with their own dreams. 
RT Book Reviews: Top Pick! The vampyre (aka Nightkind) world is once again at the center of Harrison’s latest fabulous release. Events pick up where the previous book, Night’s Honor, left off as ancient vampyre Justine attempts a coup against Julian, the Nightkind King. Treachery and betrayal, both old and new, place Julian and Melisande (“Melly”), the daughter of Tatiana, the Light Fae Queen, in a desperate fight for their lives. A true gift for storytelling is rare, but Harrison unquestionably has it!
Publishers Weekly: Datlow fills this sprawling fourth annual collection with 26 richly envisioned short and mid-length works of speculative fiction from innovative online magazine Tor.com, an independent offshoot of Tor Books. Postapocalyptic futures include alien invaders in Ken Liu’s “Reborn,” earthquakes in Charlie Jane Anders’s humorous “As Good as New,” and a traveling carnival in Seanan McGuire’s “Midway Relics and Dying Breeds.” 
Publishers Weekly: Starting his junior year at new school, Adam Higgs is a loser, and he knows it. He barely has any friends, has never been kissed, and has started working at Pizza Hut. After Adam devises a lucrative homework-selling scheme, suddenly he has an adorable girlfriend and is getting invited to the best parties, but this taste of fame and wealth leads him down a path of escalating risk, selling fake IDs and drugs. In chapters often no longer than a few paragraphs, Matthews (who writes adult thrillers as Owen Laukkanen) employs an irreverent narrative that makes it seem as though readers are seeing Adam through the shrewd perspective of a slacker sitting in the back of class (“You probably figured this out already, but, our boy doesn’t get to many parties”). Witnessing Adam’s descent into delinquency is both painful to watch and addictive. 
Booklist: May and Libby came up with Princess X, a katana-wielding cartoon girl with a crown and red Chucks, on the day they met in fifth grade, and for the next several years of their friendship, they wrote enough stories about her to fill a closet. But then Libby and her mother die in a car accident, and May tries to move on with her life, but she can’t shake the feeling that not everything adds up about Libby’s death. Three years later, May notices a faded vinyl sticker that is unmistakably Princess X. Then she discovers a webcomic about her, which includes characters that look alarmingly like Libby and May, and clues that only May can decipher. With the help of her tech-savvy neighbor, Trick, May looks all over (and under) Seattle to uncover the truth about her best friend. Interspersed with Ciesemier’s webcomic-style illustrations, Priest’s YA debut is an engrossing cyberthriller packed with a puzzling mystery, crackerjack detective work, and an eerie, atmospheric sense of place. The unembellished style is a perfect match for the noir-lite tone, and May and Trick, whose banter crackles with energy, rival any team of gumshoes out there. Teens who roll their eyes at adults out of touch with Internet culture will eat this up.
Wall Street Journal: 
Kirkus: To say I loved this book would be such an understatement. It’s a great, intensely fun, quick read that satisfied my Dresden Files itch in a year during which I’m not sure we’ll get a new novel in the series.