In the Dragon's Eye: A telepathic vet in peril, and a cross-dressing pirate princess

In the Dragon's Eye is where I share the books I've got my acquisitive eye on: the ones I'm really excited about and hope to read and perhaps add to the hoard.  I also link to "Waiting On" Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  Cover links take you to Goodreads; all blurbs are also from Goodreads.

There are a lot of books coming in the beginning of August! Here are two I'm really looking forward to reading:

Guarded (Tidewater #2)

 Mary Behre

Berkley, 8/05/14

She’s given up on finding love…

Veterinarian Shelley Morgan has always preferred animals to humans, and not simply because she can communicate with them psychically. Unlike most people she’s known, animals have never broken her heart. But after six months in her new town, some of her favorite four-legged companions begin disappearing from the local zoo. Determined to track down the animals and their thief, the telepathic vet decides to investigate, unknowingly delving into a deadly mystery…

He’s ready to make her heart go wild…

Although his bear-like physique has been an advantage in the Tidewater Police Department, Dev Jones’s size often intimidates people. Only Shelley has seen past his massive build to the intelligent man inside, but that was years ago. So when she contacts him requesting his help to solve a series of animal kidnappings, he’s eager to reconnect with her. But the thefts escalate to murder and all the evidence points to Shelley as the killer, and Dev faces a devastating choice: forsake his career or risk losing the woman he’s grown to love…

I'm almost finished with the first book in this series, and turning pages as fast as I can! Book 2 comes out next Tuesday. If you haven't heard of Mary Behre yet, you should check her out -- especially if you like romantic suspense with humor and a psychic twist.

The House of the Four Winds
 (One Dozen Daughters #1)

 Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

Publisher, Date

Mercedes Lackey is the New York Times bestselling author of the Valdemar series and romantic fantasies like Beauty and the Werewolf and The Fairy Godmother. James Mallory and Lackey have collaborated on six novels. Now, these New York Times and USA Today bestselling collaborators bring romance to the fore with The House of Four Winds.
The rulers of tiny, impoverished Swansgaard have twelve daughters and one son. While the prince’s future is assured, his twelve sisters must find their own fortunes.

Disguising herself as Clarence, a sailor, Princess Clarice intends to work her way to the New World. When the crew rebels, Clarice/Clarence, an expert with rapier and dagger, sides with the handsome navigator, Dominick, and kills the cruel captain.

Dominick leads the now-outlawed crew in search of treasure in the secret pirate haven known as The House of Four Winds. They encounter the sorceress Shamal, who claims Dominick for her own—but Clarice has fallen hard for Dominick and won’t give him up without a fight.

Full of swashbuckling adventure, buoyant magic, and irrepressible charm, The House of the Four Winds is a lighthearted fantasy romp by a pair of bestselling writers.

Once one of my very favorite authors, Lackey has been a little hit-or-miss for me recently. But when she's on her game, she still tells one heck of a story. (Even when she's a bit off her game, she's usually entertaining.) Lackey and Mallory's earlier collaborations were high/epic fantasy, resulting in the Obsidian Mountain and Enduring Flame trilogies. I read the first trilogy they wrote together; it had a good if not highly original story, but suffered from bloat. I'm hoping they've overcome that problem in this new, unrelated series, which looks like it combines Lackey-style romantic fantasy with piratical action-adventure. Fingers crossed for a win with this one!