Waiting on Wednesday- "Trickster" by Jeff Somers

Waiting on Wednesday is a blog meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming books.

This week's WoW pick is:

Trickster (The Ustari Cycle) by Jeff Somers
Publisher: Pocket Books
Date: February 26, 2013
Pages: 384

Praised by the Guardian for stories that are “exhilarating . . . powerful and entertaining,” Jeff Somers returns with a darkly original urban fantasy series featuring a cadre of mages operating just under the radar of human society.

Magic uses blood—a lot of it. The more that’s used, the more powerful the effect, so mages find “volunteers” to fuel their spells. Lem, however, is different. Long ago he set up a rule that lets him sleep at night: never use anyone’s blood but your own. He’s grifting through life as a Trickster, performing only small Glamours like turning one-dollar bills into twenties. He and his sidekick, Mags, aren’t doing well, but they’re getting by.

That is, until they find young Claire Mannice— bound and gagged, imprisoned in a car’s trunk, and covered with invisible rune tattoos. Lem turns to his estranged mentor for help, but what they’ve uncovered is more terrifying than anybody could have imagined. Mika Renar, the most dangerous Archmage in the world, is preparing to use an ocean of blood to cast her dreams into reality— and Lem just got in her way.

I don't read a lot of sci-fi, but I've heard a lot of good things about Somers' Avery Cates Series. So much so that when I saw his name pop up on an UF title I was immediately intrigued. Add a pretty cool cover and an interesting plot and I'm in. I'll be picking this one up when it's released in two weeks for sure.