Fyre by Angie Sage

Fyre by Angie Sage - 705 pages
Septimus Heap series: book 7

Marcellus and Marcia are actually going to work together to destroy the Darke ring.  They need both alchemie and magic to destroy it.  Unfortunately, the Darke ring is trying its hardest to escape.  When it does it's going to take finding an ancient Committal spell and bringing the very first ExtraOrdinary Wizard Hotep-Ra back to do it.
This is the final book in the Septimus Heap series.  It is a good conclusion to the series.  It ties up almost every loose end that I can think of.  It also shows how the characters have grown and progressed over the course of the series.  I also like that it sets it up for Angie Sage's new series which looks like will be based on a character we only get a tiny glimpse of in this book.

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whelan Turner

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner - 368 pages

This is one of my favorite fantasy series.  I love how it weaves fantasy, mythology, political intrigue, romance, and adventure together to make fascinating stories.  I recently discovered the series on audio and decided to listen to them.  This is the second audio in the series and it was well worth my time listening. 

Mercury, by Lesley-Ann Jones

Mercury: an Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury, by Lesley-Ann Jones, 368 pages

Freddie Mercury was quite an interesting character who did a lot in his short life.  The title is misleading, however- the author did not know Mercury, and certainly not enough to put "intimate" in the title.  The book is really more of a collection of excerpts from interviews by the author and others- at least, I presume so, since she doesn't include any source notes.  (Unacceptable for non-fiction, in my humble opinion)  There are a few photos of Freddie I've never seen, and a handful of interesting fourth-hand anecdotes, but there must be a better biography of this musical legend out there.