RTW: Book of the Month for July, 2012

Road Trip Wednesday is a blog meme hosted by YA Highway. They set the topic, we post our response articles on our blogs, and they let us link to our articles in the comments on their site. We can all then check out what everyone else said, discover new books, and perhaps make some new friends.

Once a month, usually at the end of the month, we post our Book of the Month pick–of all the books we read that month, which was our favorite? And that’s the topic for today.

For my response, I have three books I want to showcase. These are all books that will be familiar to my regular readers, and those that follow my Goodreads reviews. But I want to do more than simply showcase these books; I want to showcase the authors too since I’ve actually got to know each of them through Twitter or email, and they are all really nice people:

THE COVER	THE BOOK	THE AUTHOR
	BOUND by Erica O’Rourke When her best friend is murdered, Mo’s life will never be the same. Not only does she have to deal with her friend’s death, but she has to come to terms with the fact that she was keeping some very important secrets, not least the fact that she was “The Chosen One” and her magical kin were relying upon her to restore order. Now, Mo finds herself torn between two worlds as her friend’s mantle becomes her own. This is the third and final book in an excellent series. I reviewed it on Goodreads, so see what I had to say there.	Erica lives in Chicago with her husband and kids. I first came across her when she co-hosted a Doctor Who bloghop last December (yes, she’s a Doctor Who fan). I enjoyed the article she posted, and I determined to read her books. She has commented on this blog a few times (and I on hers), and we’ve “spoken” on Twitter. Erica’s a fun and witty person, and definitely worth getting to know. You can find her website here, her blog here, and you can follow her on Twitter here.
	FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH by Stephanie Jaye Evans “Bear” Wells is the pastor of a Church of Christ congregation in the small Texas town of Sugar Land. It’s a quiet community, where rich people go to relax on the golf course, and regular people go about their business. That small town atmosphere is disturbed when a dead body turns up near the golf course. The fact that the deceased’s wife is active in Bear’s church draws him into the mystery. And the plot thickens when it transpires that his rebellious 14-year-old daughter is seeing the deceased’s son. I reviewed this book on the blog here.	I first came across Stephanie and her debut novel from an article her agent, Janet Reid, posted on her blog. All good agents like to promote their clients, and Janet’s no exception. In this case, I’m very glad she did. I’ve commented on Stephanie’s blog, and she’s been kind enough to respond, and leave comments here. We’ve also had some email exchanges. Stephanie’s kind and generous with her time, even though she’s in the midst of working on her next novel, and at least as nice a person as you might think from reading her blog. She’s also a Goodreads author.
	THE IONIA SANCTION by Gary Corby I actually read this book at the end of June, after the June “Book of the Month” post. That’s why I’m allowing it to be considered for July. The year is 460 BC, and an important official has been murdered in Athens. Pericles, rising star in the political field, once again calls upon the young Nicolaos to investigate. His search for answers takes him to Ephesus and Magnesia, and involves eunuchs, Persians, young slaves, and some very nasty forms of capital punishment! I reviewed the book on the blog here.	Gary lives in Australia with his wife and family. He’s passionate about ancient history, especially Ancient Greece, which shows in the quality of his work. I’m also fascinated by ancient history, and Gary posts some interesting articles on his blog on the subject. We’ve talked on Twitter, and he’s another writer who is generous with his time, and as witty as his books. His blog is here, you can follow him on Twitter here, and he’s a Goodreads author.

Of these three, my Book of the Month selection is: THE IONIA SANCTION. I enjoyed all three books, and will definitely read more from all these authors. There was just something about Gary’s style, his wit, and the way he brings ancient Athens to life, that particularly appealed to me. But I would recommend any of these three to you.

What was your favorite read last month?