The third novel of the Onyx court, the secret fae city below London, is set nearly a century after the second, In Ashes Lie (2009). In 1666, London was nearly destroyed by a disastrous fire that had both natural and faerie natures. The faerie part was an elemental spirit of fire in the form of a great dragon. The fae could not destroy the dragon, but they managed to banish it to a comet moments before its light disappeared from the sky. It is now 1757, and Sir Edmond Halley's calculations have predicted the comet's and the dragon's return in 1759. The fae's traditional powers are dwindling, and few humans are prepared to believe in, let alone fight, a mythic dragon. Lune, queen of the Onyx court, places great reliance on her current human consort, Galen. That young man loves learning, and has an entrée to the Royal Society. He is also under orders from his father to find a rich bride as soon as possible. Will they be in time? This question hounds both humans and fae, from the drawing rooms and observatories of London to the hidden chambers and gardens of the Onyx court. Brennan's historical research is as impeccable as ever, and the twining of the two worlds is the best yet. Fans of the Onyx court novels, and anyone who enjoys historical fantasy, should like A Star Shall Fall.

-- Booklist

Trotter sends up Nordic myth in this delightfully incongruous tale of midlife crisis, redemption and mythical sea monsters. Allen Warrener has long dreamed of doing "something memorable," but his life has been less than spectacular: he does not become a war hero like his father, nor does he complete the great American novel he sets out to write. His marriage fails, and by age 40, Warrener finds himself in a dead-end professorship. So, when an old acquaintance asks him to organize a North Atlantic expedition to search for the mythical Vardinoy Monster, Warrener agrees and assembles an unlikely crew, including his girlfriend, an old flame from his student days and a former porn director and his wife, "the Queen of Quality Porn." The expedition is quickly unsettled by strange discoveries, hostile Nordic islanders and a sabotaged boat. As bodies begin to pile up and an impending volcanic eruption looms, Warrener may finally have his shot at glory. Immensely entertaining, this sprawling adventure straddles the lines between sci-fi, fantasy and thriller and will find a readership in each camp.

- Publishers Weekly Reviews

Megan, a dreamy young artist, resides in a Pacific Northwest coastal village with her pragmatic lover, Jonah, who runs a curio shop. When Megan's drawings of the ocean and its tidal pools begin to take on a life of their own, acquiring such elements as a sea hare that she does not remember executing, she seeks to understand the meaning of these changes. As if in response, Adam Fin, a mysterious artist whose medium is jewelry, arrives in the community. Meagan is drawn to Fin, but Jonah mistrusts him and, for his part, begins to obsess about another mystery, that of a woman singer he hears in a local pub and later encounters as a mermaid in a sea cave. Though warned by a local eccentric, Megan and Jonah pursue their obsessions, with their distinct ties to the sea, until Jonah is lured away and Megan must pay a price to find him.

-- Publishers Weekly Reviews