Welcome to this week’s news post and it has been pretty eventful with the news of the DOJ greenlighting the merger between Random House and Penguin, an award for best critical reviewer of the year as well much more news!

I am horrified to see that Amazon is investigating after claims and video footage by a German channel that says that the conglomerate warehouses hired a security firm called Hess. They found out that the security guards are affiliated with a neo nazi group and were harassing immigrant workers in warehouses in Germany. There have been  previous claims in the past about warehouse conditions for workers in the US which were awful but to see that that a group like this is guarding let alone abusing and intimidating people like this makes me question on whether I should support a company like Amazon.

The DOJ has allowed the proposed merger of Random House and Penguin this week in the US. This will merge both Random House and Penguin trade publications in under one umbrella but their editorial and imprint arms will be unchanged. However this merger is still undergoing approval in Canada and in the EU which is still investigating under anti-trust laws.

I was not aware of this award but the best Hachet Job of the Year for the best critical review and reviewer had its second winner awarded of the prize of a year’s supply of potted shrimp. The winner Camilla Long’s review of Rachel Cusk’s Aftermath – which she described as ‘quite simply, bizarre.’  – you can check out the winning review as well as the runner ups for the award here.

Barnes and Noble are predicting lower Nook sales this year and there is worrying signs that the book chain store is really struggling and may follow in the footsteps of Borders. It is also restructuring and refocusing sales other than books as well as closing over a 3rd of its stores in the next ten years. But the fact that its Nook arm is not doing well which should help the struggling chain due to the popularity of ebooks and tablets is a surprise. However because the Nook tablets are restricted to accessing the android market and there is no digital content unlike Amazon and Google which offers this – it does look like the Nook wont save Barnes and Noble.

News in Brief:

Syfy is teaming up with The X-Files producer, Frank Spotnitz, for a mini series adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s Man In the High Castle. 

Sylvia Day likes to tease us – she has posted another snippet in time for Valentines Day from Entwined with You. 

And JR Ward has also posted another snippet from her long anticipated Lover at Last.

And now books to watch out for!

 

This just literally broke on twitter – Rae Carson has posted the cover for the 3rd book in her fantasy trilogy. The Bitter Kingdom is slated for the summer! 

 

 

 

Kresley Cole has unveiled the 13th book in her Immortals After Dark series.

 

In this next searing tale of the Immortals After Dark Series, #1New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole delves deeper into the mysterious Clan MacRieve, a family tormented by ancient agonies and forbidden wolven hungers.

Uilleam MacRieve, a centuries-old Lykae warrior, was captured, caged, and experimented on by a shadowy human order, along with other immortals. During a prison break that devolved into one of the bloodiest massacres in recent history, he escapes. But the aftermath of his unspeakable torture preys on his damaged mind, while the wolf inside him roars for vengeance and carnage. In the days leading up to the full moon, can MacRieve rein in his beast, even when he encounters his mate—a vexingly impossible female unlike anything he’d ever dreamed for himself?

 

And finally – Sherry Thomas has unveiled her YA cover The Burning Sky which just looks beyond lush!

 

 

 

 

It all began with a ruined elixir and an accidental bolt of lightning…

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she’s being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.

Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he’s also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to revenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.

But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

 

So what do you think of the idea of a best critic award? And what do you think about any of the other stories I highlighted this week? 

About Has

Has is a bookaholic and feeds her addiction whenever she can. She usually can be found lost in a Romance or an Urban Fantasy novel. Her favourite sub genres are Paranormal, Fantasy and some Scifi. Her most treasured authors are, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Ann Aguirre, Lisa Kleypas and Tamora Pierce. She loves that discovery of finding a brand new author and falling in love with their books. Has also blogs a The Book Pushers - Book chatter and reviews

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