It's apparently wild cage match season here in literary-land, because the cage matches are everywhere, and Toby is making a decent showing for herself. Over in the Fourth Annual BSC Review Tournament, she's managed to make it to round three, defeating both Butcher's Turn Coat and Brett's The Warded Man.

This brutal tourey pits a year's-worth of book releases against one another in bloody single combat, and only one can emerge victorious. And Toby's in trouble. Her latest match is against Juliet Marillier's Heart's Blood, and she's getting the smackdown. Rally! Help Toby progress! Especially since catvalente's Palimpsest is still swinging (currently against The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick), and there's a wacky bonus comic strip in it for you if we wind up facing off in the final round.

In somewhat less serious cage fight news, there's a GIRL FIGHT TONIGHT, and Toby is currently facing off against Neil Gaiman's Door. Now, Door is a badass, it's true, but she needs a Hunter to rescue her (be it Hunter or Richard). Toby'll just shoot her kneecaps out.

Go forth, vote, and keep Toby kicking ass!

(Some of these links may be getting posted for the second time. I had a minor browser crash, and I think it restarted from an earlier session. Sorry about any confusion this may cause.)

First up for tonight's roundup, there's a discussion of A Local Habitation going on over at the dawbooks community. This is a great community for discussing the latest releases from my beloved publisher, and sometimes there are even giveaways (and other awesome things). Go, discuss, and hang out for the possibility of free books! It's a win-win situation.

Book Lovers Inc. has posted a lovely review of A Local Habitation, and says "Where A Local Habitation becomes art is that while it has so much that speaks to a classic detective story, you feel like you have fallen down the rabbit hole at the same time. The two divergent feelings co-exist with neither completely canceling the other out. You lose yourself in this wonderland, continuing to look for clues and nothing seems outrageous. The mythical and the dark realism flow seamlessly one into the other. By the end you are left with a feeling of being trapped inside the haunted house in a classic horror flick. That my friends, is art."

...um, wow. Okay; there's really nothing I can add to that. Moving along...

Don D'Ammassa included A Local Habitation in his review list, and says "Like the first in the series, this rises above the limitations of its format. It would be a shame if this got lost in the crowd of similarly conceived though far less well executed novels." Cool. Hopefully, I can get found instead.

Rhymes With Truculent has posted a review of A Local Habitation, and says "I think that this is the first time I've read a novel about fairies set in the "real" non-faerie world, and believed it." Again...um, wow. That's just a wonderful thing to hear, and I couldn't be happier. This whole review makes me happy, but that's the bit I just want to stare at for a while.

Ava has posted a review of Rosemary and Rue, and says "I loved this book. I was a little hesitant at first. From the blurbs I read, I knew the book must be a mixture of fantasy and hard-boiled, two genres I enjoy a lot but that seemed to have the potential to make a big mess when put together. I couldn't be more wrong. The narrative is consistent and concise, the characters are well-rounded and believable and the story is intriguing."

She also says "I was especially fascinated by the excellent job the author did of building a realistic main character. Let's face it, the woman's name is October Daye, she's half-fairy, she has a certain air of Legolas about her and she behaves like Humphrey Bogart minus the Y chromosome; it's a cocktail that you'd expect to turn out strange at least, or most likely awful. But McGuire shows such skill in handling her ingredients that the result is someone so believable you wouldn't be surprised to find her on the street."

That's more than I usually quote from a single review, but that's just so...this is a really "um, wow" roundup, for me. I'm getting better. I can see it, and so can the reviewers, and that just delights me all the way from my tip to my toes.

And now, bed.