The weather has turned once again, hasn't it? While we had a few days of "Hey, where did you hide my short pants?", it's back to long sweaters and wooly fleeces again this week. Fortunately, the publishing world anticipated this mercurial change by dropping a bunch of hot titles on us this week. Curl up with these babies, and you'll be sure to stay warm through the last gasp of winter. 

First up is the next volume in Sarah J. Maass's decidedly not YA Crescent City series. The House of Sky and Breath continues the story of—oh, we don't get a publisher provided summary? We just get "Sarah J. Maas's sexy, groundbreaking CRESCENT CITY series continues . . ." All right then. I guess we can check out the Library of Congress subjects: "Magic," "Angels," "Insurgency," "Imaginary Places," "Fairies," "Assassins," and "Fellowship." 

For the record, the Library of Congress didn't put air quotes around "Fellowship," that was us. But we're sure they meant to. Anyway, Bryce and Hunt saved the world in the last book, and all they want is some "fellowship" time, but naturally, villainy isn't going to let them get that time. So, of course, they put on their action pants and set out to save the world again. 
 

Meanwhile, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child return with their third book in the series featuring archeologist Nora Kelly and FBI agent Corrie Swanson. This one is called Diablo Mesa, and it's about what happens when you dig for bones in a certain location in New Mexico. Come on, you know the place. It starts with an "R." It rhymes with the last name of a Scottish biographer. 

That last clue too obscure? Yeah, well, look, his biography of Samuel Johnson is only considered to be the greatest biography ever written in the English language. 

Anyway, we're talking Roswell, New Mexico. Where the aliens are buried. Where Nora digs up some old secrets in Diablo Mesa. And where things go terribly wrong thereafter. Look, basically, Preston and Child go full X-Files in this book. Diablo Mesa isn't like one of Preston and Child's books about Special Agent Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast, who would totally have gotten the Boswell reference (undoubtedly, one of his ancestors dined with Boswell and Johnson a few times). 

Oh, what? Kelly and Swanson are characters from earlier Pendergast novels. Whatever. Diablo Mesa is about aliens and government conspiracies and terrible ways to die! Plan accordingly. 
 

And speaking of too many characters to readily keep track of, here is Marlon James's new book, Moon Witch, Spider King, the sequel to the sprawling Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Billed as a fabulous reimagining of Africa, James's trilogy (of which Moon Witch, Spider King is the second book) is a stunningly original fantasy series that blends together old mythologies, modern cinematic references, and a powerful voice. 

In Moon Witch, Spider King, James provides us with the rich backstory of Sogolon, the antagonist of the first book. We learn how Sogolon came to be known as the "Moon Witch," and this knowledge deepens an already rich tale. If you dug the first book, this one is only going deepen your love for the world James has created. Recommended. 
 

Somewhat lighter in the world-building is Josie Silver's One Night on the Island. This romantic comedy starts with the classic set-up of a double-booked rental. Naturally, the two characters dislike each other instantly, but a sudden storm and the loss of ferry service back to the mainland means these two are going to have to figure out who gets the sofa and who gets the bedroom. Matters progress in a time-honored fashion from there, and yes, it's all as cozy as it sounds. 

What? The weather sucks this week. Do you really need an excuse to cuddle up with a good book? Not every book has to be a National Book Award winner and reinvent an entire continent's mythology. Sometimes a good old "He said, She said, and then they got naked" comedy is exactly what the evening requires. 
 

Look, here's M. C. Beaton's Death of a Green-Eyed Monster. It is the thirty-sixth in the Hamish Macbeth series, a series that co-writer R. W. Green explicitly says was created to provide readers with "some gentle escapism for a rainy afternoon read." And clearly, we've had a rainy afternoon or two or thirty-five, so let's just agree that soup is good for you and move on, okay? 

Anyway, in Death of a Green-Eyed Monster, Hamish meets a girl, someone gets shot in the head, and gangsters from Glasgow threaten to crash a wedding. Can our rural copper keep the peace and make it to the altar on time? 
 

Meanwhile, Mark Greaney is back with Sierra Six, the latest Gray Man novel. We get two stories in this one: the first is Courtland Gentry's first mission for the CIA, back when he was merely "Sierra Six," and the second begins with Gentry spots the target he thought they killed back in the day. Naturally, the Gray Man isn't the sort to have unfinished business lying around . . . 
 

And speaking of "Didn't we kill you once already?", Veronica Speedwell is back this week in Deanna Raybourn's An Impossible Imposter. Speedwell, one of our favorite Victorian-era lady sleuths, is tasked with discovering the true identity of a man who purports to be the heir of the Hathaway fortune. Well, it turns out that "Jonathan Hathaway" is actually an old lover of Speedwell's, who supposedly died in the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. Oh, and she may have forgotten to mention him to her current beau. Oops. 

Eh, he fell into a volcano. We can excuse that oversight, can't we? 

Either way, Volcano Villain is back, and his return causes all sorts of problems? Naturally, there are fantastic chase sequences and harrowing adventures, but come on, all we want to know is if Speedwell can fix her relationship with hunky Revelstoke "Stoker" Templeton-Vane. 

And speaking of historical times, Louisa Morgan is back with The Great Witch of Brittany, a prequel to her bestselling A Secret History of Witches. In The Great Witch of Brittany, we meet Ursule Orchière, a 13-year old Romani girl who, while escaping witch hunters, has a number of exciting adventures across Europe. While we know the ending (this girl is the ancestor of the Orchire familly), it's the ride-along that is fun, and watching Ursule grow into a big girl witch is a joy. Recommended. 
 

And speaking of growth opportunities, local author Kimberly Derting is back this week with Vivi Loves Science: Sink or Float, the latest in her charming STEM-themed readers. Like her fellow science enthusiasts, Vivi is conducting foundational experiments that teach an important aspect of how the world works. In this case, Vivi is learning about buoyancy, which is to say that if something floats, it is a duck, and if it sinks, it is a witch. 

Well, that's the way they used to do it in Ursule Orchière's time. We suspect, however, that Derting (along with co-author Shelli R. Johannes and illustrator Joelle Murray) take a more modern approach to this experiment. 
 

And speaking of a modern approach to science, Ben Rawlence's The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth explores the forest-tundra ecotone, which is the range of trees that exist as the transition zone between everywhere else and the northerly ecosystems. It is this zone, known as the "treeline," where most of the world's oxygen is produced. As you can imagine, Nature's "lungs" are in danger, and if these trees go, we go. Rawlence produces a marvelously passionate exploration of bark and branch, and we're reminded of both John Muir and John McPhee is his writing. Highly recommended. 
 

And speaking of recommended reads, here is Mickey7, a new SF novel by Edward Ashton. Mickey7 is part of an early colony outpost on the ice planet Niflheim, and his job is to do those things that are necessary, but are also likely to kill you. Which is okay, because Mickey7 is an Expendable, i.e. a vat-grown iteration of a person who has signed up to do the rough stuff and die over and over again. Life gets complicated for Mickey7 when he accidentally survives a life-ending assignment, and discovers that the home corporation has already grown his replacement. Oops. Additionally, Mickey7 knows something about Niflheim that is critically important to the survival of the colony, but he can't reveal this knowledge without revealing his existence. What's a vat-grown disposable person to do? 
 

And finally, if you were wondering what James S. A. Corey was going to do after wrapping up The Expanse, well, your question has an answer. Daniel Abraham, half of the Corey writing duo, has just released Age of Ash, the first book in a sprawling fantasy novel about thieves, politics, and intrigue in a fabulously well-realized city called Kithamar. Abraham, who wrote at least one fantasy series before embarking on making space opera sexy again, is setting a broad board with lots of pieces in Age of Ash, and we're delighted to let him take his time. 

And speaking of time, we should refill our mug with hot cocoa and find a pair of fuzzy socks. Take care of yourselves out there. Stay warm. Remember to use your kind eyes when passing in the aisle at the grocery store. And you have our permission to set aside those yard projects for another week and spend that time reading. Your lawn won't mind.