The finalists for the 2014 William C. Morris Award...

...have been announced, and they are:

Charm & Strange, by Stephanie Kuehn

Sex & Violence, by Carrie Mesrobian

Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets, by Evan Roskos

Belle Epoque, by Elizabeth Ross

In the Shadow of Blackbirds, by Cat Winters

I've read Belle Epoque and In the Shadow of Blackbirds, but (surprise!) haven't written about either (that seems to be the Name of My Game this year, sigh).

Belle Epoque, I enjoyed very much—it's an atmospheric historical about the rather hideous practice of hiring "ugly" girls to stand around and make their patrons look more attractive by comparison. Blackbirds, though, I... just didn't get the hoopla. The book has a lovely design, and the story has lots of cool factors—it's set during the Spanish influenza pandemic, and deals with WWI, shell shock and Spiritualism—but the mystery wasn't remotely mysterious, and most of the character interactions just fell flat for me. But maybe I read it on an off day.

Anyway! I shall have to read the other three!