It’s that time again! Writing these posts has turned out to be quite lethal, because since getting back into scouring the web for upcoming releases, my bookshelves have had quite a few extra additions to them … the pre-order game is strong, friends.
Jump to ⬇️
- Fantasy 🐉
- Masquerade
- Rose in Chains
- A Forbidden Alchemy
- The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy
- The Secret Market of the Dead
- Soulgazer
- Terror at the Gates
- The Enchanted Greenhouse
- Arcana Academy
- Of Flame and Fury
- A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
- In the Veins of the Drowning
- Neverthorn
- Soul of Shadow
- Immortal Consequences
- The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World
- Silvercloak
- Sci-Fi 🚀
- Historical Fiction ⏳
- Crime / Mystery 🔍
- Sequels 📚
Fantasy 🐉
Masquerade
O.O. Sangoyomi
I can’t go past a gorgeous cover, and this cover is to die for. But not only that, this is a West African-inspired historical fantasy and, oh my god, I’m so there for that. Is it just me, or does it feel like we had a few years there without any major West African-inspired fantasy books? I need more of these in my life.
Blurb
Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.
Òdòdó’s hometown of Timbuktu has been conquered by the the warrior king of Yorùbáland. Already shunned as social pariahs, living conditions for Òdòdó and the other women in her blacksmith guild grow even worse under Yorùbá rule.
Then Òdòdó is abducted. She is whisked across the Sahara to the capital city of Ṣàngótẹ̀, where she is shocked to discover that her kidnapper is none other than the vagrant who had visited her guild just days prior. But now that he is swathed in riches rather than rags, Òdòdó realizes he is not a vagrant at all; he is the warrior king, and he has chosen her to be his wife.
In a sudden change of fortune, Òdòdó soars to the very heights of society. But after a lifetime of subjugation, the power that saturates this world of battle and political savvy becomes too enticing to resist. As tensions with rival states grow, revealing elaborate schemes and enemies hidden in plain sight, Òdòdó must defy the cruel king she has been forced to wed by re-forging the shaky loyalties of the court in her favor, or risk losing everything—including her life.
Loosely based on the myth of Persephone, O.O. Sangoyomi’s Masquerade takes you on a journey of epic power struggles and political intrigue that turn an entire region on its head.
Rose in Chains
Julie Soto
I like how this one has a slightly unusual beginning point. Things pick up in a kingdom after the dark forces have won. The hero who was supposed to save everyone is dead. Like woah, I love this. Bring on the unexpected heroine to save the day, right?!
Blurb
YOUR NEXT ROMANTASY OBSESSION!
The war is over, the dark forces have won, and the hero who was supposed to save them is dead.
Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, Briony Rosewood knows that the world as she knows it is changed forever. The dark forces of Bomard have won and her people, the Eversuns, face imminent servitude, imprisonment or death. Her brother, fated to be heir twice over and unite the warring kingdoms, is dead.
Stripped of her Mind Magic and her freedom, Briony and the other survivors are quickly auctioned off to the highest bidders in an auction – and as the heir-apparent’s sister, she fetches the highest price.
After a fierce bidding war, she’s sold to none other than Toven a high ranking Bomardsun – and her long-time and ill-fated infatuation. Scion of a family known for their cruel control of Heart Magic, the Hearsts are ruthlessly ambitious, and Briony knows they will use her however they can to further their own interests.
Yet despite the horrors of her new world and the role she must learn to play within it, all is not lost. Help – and hope – may yet arise in the most unlikely of places…
A Forbidden Alchemy
Stacey McEwan
I won’t lie, I’m in two minds about this. I don’t particularly love the cover (and we all know I’m shallow like that) and the blurb is SO long, which I also find off-putting. But! It’s about people with magic(?)/a talent for alchemy who go to a prestigious school to hone their skills. And that does sound super fun.
Blurb
This stunning slow-burn romantasy follows a fated pair who uncover a world-changing secret and are thrust into a violent class war, navigating love, loss, and devastating betrayals.
Nina Harrow and Patrick Colson are twelve years old when they are whisked away from the shadows of their disenfranchised mining towns to dazzling Belavere City to discover their magical potential. Those who pass Belavere’s test will become Artisans, wielders of powerful elemental magic destined to fulfill the city’s grand ambitions. For Nina, the Artisan School symbolizes a dream and an escape from her harsh reality, while Patrick yearns to return to his Craftsman family, whose extraordinary physical strength serves the idium mines keeping the city alive.
And then they uncover a devastating truth: Artisans aren’t born, they’re chosen. They part ways on very different paths, leaving them to carry the burden of this secret alone.
In the years that follow, a Craftsman revolution ignites, thrusting Nina and Patrick into opposing factions of a brewing war. Now an elite Artisan with the very rare talent for charming earth, Nina has turned her back on the fight, haunted by the loss of her found family. But fate intervenes when she is captured by Patrick’s rebel group. Despite the years and conflict that separates them, Patrick hasn’t forgotten Nina. He desperately seeks her help for a mission that could shift the tides against Belavere City. Reluctantly, she agrees, battling the sparks flying between them. But when Nina’s first love reappears, asking her to betray Patrick for the sake of the Artisans, Nina faces an impossible choice that could alter the fate of their world.
The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy
Brigitte Knightley
Though this looks to be heavily leaning into tropes (and that is obviously the point of it), I’m totally drawn in. There’s something that seems so fun about books that are unabashedly polishing up a well-done trope. Set to be a duology focussing on an enemies-to-lovers storyline, I’m loving the combination of an assassin-in-need-of-healing teaming up with a morally squeaky-clean healer.
Blurb
The first in a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy duology featuring a scholarly healer and a gentleman assassin, set in an exquisite fantasy world, perfect for fans of The Love Hypothesis and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.
Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, is in dire need of healing. Naturally – such is the grim comedy of fate – the only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and member of an enemy Order.
Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick – so desperate that, when Osric bribes her to help him, she accepts, even if she detests him and everything he stands for.
A forced collaboration ensues: the brilliant Woman in STEM is coerced into working with the PhD in Murders, much to Aurienne’s disgust. As Osric and Aurienne work together to heal his illness and investigate the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction, which only fuels the heat between them.
The Secret Market of the Dead
Giovanni De Feo
The title, the cover, the concept *french kiss*. I need this on my shelf. We’re talking Italian-inspired gothic fantasy/historical fiction, where the main character has powers in the nocturnal world (read: underworld). The setting? Naples. The era? 18th century.
Blurb
Just beyond the waking edges of Lucerìa, an 18th-century town in the kingdom of Naples, lies the an enigmatic fiefdom governed by seven immortals and fueled by Moira, the power to reshape one’s destiny.
On this porous border separating Day from Night, Oriana spends her time fantasizing about becoming a smith in her father’s forge and eavesdropping on whispered tales of beasts and men who roam the nocturnal realm. But in the Night, these stories come alive, as Oriana saw for herself after she inadvertently trespassed into the Secret Market of the Dead, where vendors hawk Moira to those desperate enough to accept its immeasurably steep price.
Years later, when her father chooses her twin brother to succeed him, Oriana challenges her sibling to a series of trials to determine the forge’s true heir. But as the twins’ fierce competition escalates, with the town and her own family set firmly against her, Oriana realizes that to break free from the stifling confines of Day, she must once again embrace the Night—and, as always, everything comes with a cost.
Soulgazer
Maggie Rapier
This is another one where the description has won me over. The cover is … weird? I don’t like it. But we’ve got a young woman and a ‘rakish’ pirate trying to take fate into their own hands, and they’re on the hunt for a mystical isle. So, I’m interested.
Blurb
Every legend has a beginning.
With their freedom on the line, a young woman and a rakish pirate take their fate into their own hands as they attempt to find a lost mythical isle with the power to save their entire world.Saoirse yearns to be powerless. Cursed from childhood with a volatile magic, she’s managed to imprison it within, living under constant terror that one day it will break free. And it does, changing everything.
Horrified at her loss of control, Saoirse’s parents offer her hand to the cold and ruthless Stone King. Knowing she’ll never survive such a cruel man, Saoirse realizes there is only one path forward…she must break her curse.
On the eve of her wedding, Saoirse seeks out the legendary Wolf of the Wild—Faolan, a feral, silver-tongued pirate. He swears to help rid her of the deadly magic, if she’ll use it to locate a lost mythical isle first. Crafted by the slaughtered gods, it’s the only land that could absorb her power.
But Saoirse knows better than to trust a pirate’s word. With the wrath of her disgraced father and scorned betrothed chasing them, Saoirse adds one last condition to protect if Faolan wants her on his ship, he’ll have to marry her first.
Terror at the Gates
Scarlett St. Clair
This sounds curious – we’ve got a feminist retelling of Lilith’s story, which, after I Googled (I was unfamiliar), turns out to be a Jewish mythology. Keen!
Blurb
The first in an all-new fantasy series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Scarlett St. Clair. In this biting, feminist retelling of Lilith’s story, Lilith will rise from the ashes of her former life to destroy the ancient power that stole everything she loves.
She is the beginning and the end.
She is peace and chaos.
She is terror knocking at the gates.
Estranged from her powerful family, Lilith Leviathan finds refuge in Nineveh, a district in the city of Eden devoted to sin. There, she uses her magic to steal for a living, attracting the attention of the five governing families as well as the church, which expects women to remain pious and silent. When Lilith comes into possession of a beautiful blade, she thinks all her worries are over…until her usual buyer dies while inspecting it.
Frantic, Lilith turns to the only man who can help Zahariev, head of the Zareth family and ruler of Nineveh. His currency is information, and his power is extortion, though he’s always had a soft spot for Lilith. But when the dagger appears, he isn’t sure he can protect her from what’s to come.
Together, they embark on a mission to discover the true power running their world. As their lives intertwine, Lilith realizes Zahariev is more than just a friend, but their devotion to each other is a threat—to the truth, to the church, and to those who want to tear it all down.
The Enchanted Greenhouse
Sarah Beth Durst
I straight up thought this was a sequel to The Spellshop (which I’ve just finished reading, and omg, so good). But no! This is a standalone! Yay! More whimsy! I’m hoping Sarah Beth Durst keeps writing these intensely cosy fantasy novels, because they are nothing but a delight.
Blurb
Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.
This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.
But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.
This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.
Funny, kind, and forgiving, The Enchanted Greenhouse is a story about giving second chances—to others and to yourself.
Arcana Academy
Elise Kova
I’m quite a big fan of Elise Kova, having recently read the whole Air Awakens series. That was so much fun. I’ve got most of her other books lined up and ready to go on my shelf, too. Apart from having a gorgeous cover, this one is about a woman with magic tarot cards who ends up in a false engagement to the headmaster of a mysterious academy. Like, heck yes!
Blurb
A woman who wields magical tarot cards lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy in this first installment of an enthralling romantasy series from the bestselling author of A Deal with the Elf King.
Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of illegal magic. After a job gone awry, Clara is sentenced to a lifetime in prison for inking tarot cards-a rare power reserved for practitioners at the elite Arcana Academy.
Just when it seems her luck has run dry, the academy’s enigmatic headmaster, Prince Kaelis, offers her an escape-for a price. Kaelis believes that Clara is the perfect tool to help him steal a tarot card from the king and use it to re-create an all-powerful card long lost to time.
In order to conceal her identity and keep her close, Kaelis brings Clara to Arcana Academy, introducing her as the newest first-year student and his bride-to-be.
Thrust into a world of arcane magic and royal intrigue, where one misstep will send her back to prison or worse, Clara finds that the prince she swore to hate may not be what he seems. But can she risk giving him power over the world-and her heart? Or will she take it for herself?
Of Flame and Fury
Mikayla Bridge
You had me at ‘island’ and ‘phoenix’. Seriously, I’m that easy to win over. This book seems to involve some sort of (literal) race whose winner is awarded a fortune. Aside from the phoenix, this doesn’t sound overly fantastical – there is mention of a tech mogul – but it sounds cutthroat and fun. I’ll be watching out for some reviews before diving into this one.
Blurb
On an island built from ash and shrouded in fire, phoenix racing is as profitable as it is deadly.
Seventeen-year-old Kel Varra and her team of underdogs, the Crimson Howlers, are desperate to win the annual races and the fortune that comes with it. But the Howlers need a new rider, which leads Kel to join forces with Warren “Coup” Coupers – an arrogant rival she can’t get out of her head.
As tensions rise on and off the track, Kel’s home is mistakenly burned down, and she’s forced to take a job from a mysterious tech mogul with an unsettling interest in her phoenix, Savita. This sets in motion a conspiracy that threatens everyone Kel cares for, especially Coup, for whom her embers of resentment are quickly igniting into something dangerously new.
Heart-pounding pages full of steamy romance, fiery confessions, political scheming, and volatile magic culminate in a final battle where no one is safe.
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
Sangu Mandanna
I mean, this just looks cute and fun, doesn’t it? Described as ‘heartwarming’, I’m hoping this will be a delightful and funny tale (someone does accidentally resurrect their dead aunt, after all) that will be a page-turning read. I do have the author’s previous book on my shelf, so I’ll be picking that up first, possibly with this hot on its heels.
Blurb
A whimsical and heartwarming novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps her aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power…
Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and might just know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.
Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.
In the Veins of the Drowning
Kalie Cassidy
Sirens, anybody? Cruel kingdoms and blood-hungry sirens are abound in this romantasy novel. Honestly, I don’t need to know more than that to be interested.
Blurb
The monster is always slain…
Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain hidden beneath her skin.
When a neighbouring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save both their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee the kingdom together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her own ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.
Neverthorn
Shannon Mayer
Right, so we’re dealing with a nearly 30-year-old thief, magic school dropout and troublemaker. Hands up if you want to get to know this character better?! *raises all the hands*
Blurb
In a realm where magic reigns, a legendary Hero once stood against the encroaching darkness. But with his death, hope dwindled, and the best the world can muster is Harlow Daygon—a thief, magic school dropout, and notorious troublemaker.
At nearly thirty, Harlow can’t even cast a simple rune without blundering it. So why does anyone think she can take up the mantle of Hero? Reluctantly, she’s dragged back to Neverthorn Academy with seven former classmates, tasked with training to confront and defeat the Villain of their world.
But the challenges are stacked against
Professor Hot-As-Sin makes it clear she’s a failure.
Professor Used-To-Be-A-Mean-Girl has a vendetta.
And lurking in her past is a secret so dark it could reveal she’s not the Hero the world needs—but the next Villain.
With fate hanging in the balance, can Harlow embrace her destiny before the shadows claim her?
Soul of Shadow
Emma Noyes
So this one is described as The Vampire Diaries meets The Atlas Six, which is a somewhat baffling combination (and not helped by the fact that I really didn’t like The Atlas Six). But, we’re talking (magic?) schools and (presumably?) vampires, so, I’m kinda interested.
Blurb
A thrilling Norse mythology inspired contemporary romantasy sure to excite fans of The Vampire Diaries and Atlas Six.
Charlie Hudson just wants to get through junior year. Since the death of her twin sister two years earlier, she’s drifted through life, going through the motions at school and parties and even at home. The spark that once burned so brightly within her has all but flickered out.
Until her classmate goes missing in the forest, leaving nothing behind but a pair of shoes and strange symbols carved into a tree.
Drawn to the disappearances by forces she can’t explain, she finds herself investigating the mysterious, alluring newcomer in town, Elias Everhart. With piercing eyes and sharp wit, he dances around her questions, only intriguing her further. Elias has a secret. More than one.
But what Charlie doesn’t know is that those secrets will lead her to a place she never a world hiding in plain sight, made of magic, gods, and monsters – and a first love fated to fall apart.
In Emma Noyes’s Soul of Shadow, truths and temptations lurk in the darkness, and for Charlie, the only thing more dangerous than facing her past, is the boy with the power to change her future.
Immortal Consequences
I.V. Marie
Speaking of magical schools, voila! Here’s another magical-school vibe new release. The US cover really wasn’t doing it for me, so this is the UK version – and the whole plot does sound curious. Yet again, this has been compared to The Atlas Six and *do* think this one actually sounds much closer to it. Maybe it will surprise me and be better than The Atlas Six, and I will finally get a good dark academia read.
Blurb
Six students at Blackwood Academy, an enigmatic boarding school located at the edge of the afterlife, must compete for the once-in-eternity chance to change their fate—or risk remaining stuck in purgatory forever. An unputdownable debut full of hairpin twists, shock betrayals and world-defying love, for fans of The Atlas Six.
Welcome to Blackwood Academy: the legendary school located on the fringes of the afterlife. Once a pupil enters the academy’s arched gates, there is no way out . . . except for the Decennial, a once-in-a-decade celebration in which a single, worthy student is tested and given a choice: Graduate and join Blackwood’s magical elite, or cross over to the mysterious Other Side.
This time, though, the rules have changed. This Decennial isn’t a celebration—it’s a competition. And there can only be one victor.
Two academic archrivals, whose strange connection blurs the lines between obsession and hate.
One girl driven solely by ambition, and another plagued by memories of the love she lost.
And a charming playboy who never cared for anyone—until he met the academy’s newest student.
Each of these six students has their own motivation to win . . . and their own secret to hide. But what none of them know? They aren’t the only ones playing Blackwood’s game. And if they lose. . . some fates are worse than death.
The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World
J.R. Dawson
This sounds super cool! It’s all about a lighthouse which is actually a waypoint for the dead to guide them onwards (think Hades/boat crossings). BUT, one day the light starts to flicker and a live person finds their way onto the boat. So clearly everything is going to be a delightful hot mess.
Blurb
Love doesn’t die, people do . . .
At the edge of Chicago, nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, there is a waystation for the dead. Every night, the newly-departed travel through the city to the Station, guided by its lighthouse. There, they reckon with their lives, before stepping aboard a boat to go beyond.
Nera has spent decades watching her father – the ferryman of the dead – sail across the lake, each night just like the last.
But tonight, something is wrong.
The Station’s lighthouse has started to flicker out. The terrifying, ghostly Haunts have multiplied in the city. And now a person – a living person has found her way onto the boat.
Her name is Charlie. She followed a song. And she is searching for someone she lost.
Silvercloak
L.K. Steven
I LOVE this cover. Very Red Rising-vibes. This is a fantasy world where magic is fueled by pleasure and pain – SAY NO MORE. I’m sold. But seriously, we’ve got gangs of dark mages, an academy, an elite order of detectives (how wonderfully serious?!), and an undercover job. *adds to basket*
Blurb
In this addictive new fantasy series set in a world where magic is fueled by pleasure and pain, an obsessive detective infiltrates a brutal gang of dark mages—knowing that one wrong move will get her killed. . . .
Two decades ago, the Bloodmoons ruthlessly murdered Saffron Killoran’s parents, destroying her idyllic childhood. Hell-bent on revenge, she lies her way into Silvercloak Academy—the training ground for her city’s elite order of detectives—with a single goal: to bring the Bloodmoons to justice.
But when Saff’s deception is exposed, rather than being cast out, she’s given a rare opportunity: to go undercover and tear the Bloodmoons down from the inside.
Descending into a world where pleasure and pain are the most powerful currencies, Saff must commit some truly heinous deeds to keep her cover—and her life. Not only are there rival gangs and sinister smuggling rings to contend with, but there’s also her growing feelings for the kingpin’s tortured son, with his vicious pet fallowwolf, his dark past, and the curious prophecy foretelling his death at Saffron’s hand.
With each day testing her loyalties further, Saff finds her web of lies becoming harder to spin. And when one false step could destroy everything and everyone she’s ever loved . . . the detective who’s dedicated her life to vengeance just might die for it.
Sci-Fi 🚀
Sky on Fire
E.K. Johnston
Empires + magic + scientific research = angsty sci-fi novel. Sign me up! The main character in this sci-fi has no magical talent whatsoever, so she resorts to research instead – but what she’s researching could have devastating consequences for the empire, so she’s having a hard time getting funding for an expedition. It sounds like she finally gets a break when a group of rebels take an interest in her work, and we all know just how much trouble that sounds like!
Blurb
A fast-paced and thought-provoking queer sci-fi/fantasy novel from #1 New York Times bestseller E. K. Johnston.
Morgan Enni has things to do. A science prodigy in a university full of mage-scientists, she’s notable for having no magical ability, which only increases her ambition and drive to prove herself. Her research has the potential to devastate every aetherworker in the galaxy and shake the crumbled foundations of the Stavenger Empire. It’s no wonder she can’t find anyone who wants to listen to her, much less fund her expedition.
But Morgan is stubborn, and eventually her work catches the attention of a group of rebels, who hope it might turn the tide in their favour. When they try to recruit the young scientist, they get much more than they bargained for. Morgan Enni has secrets of her own.
Set in the world of Aetherbound, E. K. Johnston continues to entwine Arthurian myth and the history of North Atlantic fisheries in a clever, character-driven space fantasy.
Historical Fiction ⏳
The Whisky Widow
Karen Brooks
I’m a big Karen Brooks fan, so this is something I’m really excited for. I’ve read The Good Wife of Bath (and admittedly, that is the only book of her’s I’ve read, but shush) and it was incredible. I’ve got The Escapades of Tribulation Johnson on my shelf ready to go. And I sure as heck have this in my cart. Brooks does historical fiction like no one else, and this time, we’re in the Scottish highlands in 1780.
Blurb
1780 Scottish Highlands
In every glass of whisky lies a small act of rebellion…When Greer MacAlister’s despised husband dies, she and her young daughter Fen find themselves in a remote whisky smuggling community in the heart of the Highlands. Here, illicit whisky making is a means of survival in a Scotland under occupation by the British, decades after the disastrous Battle of Culloden. The villagers are suspicious of the widow, but when Greer tricks excise officers away from their illegal stills with a courageous and daring act, they warm to her.
But the excise men are out for revenge, smuggling is a dangerous business, and whisky – a drink that has long ignited passions, songs, stories and danger – is at the rebellious heart of it all. Greer and Fen have no choice but to fight for the life they want.
This rollicking story of bravery, adventure, love and murder brings alive the Scottish Highlands of long ago. It is a poem to the art of whisky distilling and a world now lost to us, as well as a eulogy for those who were forced to leave it.
A Bookseller in Madrid
Mario Escobar
When it comes to cliche titles/settings like this, I confess I’m tired of a Parisian setting. But as soon as you take it to literally any other city, like Madrid, I’m renewed and excited. Not to mention Escobar already haunts my shelves as an approved historical fiction writer in my household.
Blurb
Books will always be a refuge.
Madrid, 1934. The winds of change are blowing in the Spain of the Second Republic when Bárbara, a young German woman who has managed to flee Berlin after the victory of the Nazi party in the elections, opens a small bookstore.
This becomes a place to dream of a free and hopeful future, but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War threatens to destroy everything Barbara has built. It will be her love for letters and for a young Republican that keeps her clinging to a country that faces a spiral of hatred and terror that she knows all too well and that will force her to fight for her life once again.
An exciting and rigorously documented novel by one of the most translated and read Spanish authors in the world. This hopeful and inspiring story in the face of the horror of intolerance is, above all, an indisputable tribute to literature.
Fulvia
Kaarina Parker
I can’t go past anything inspired/set in ancient Rome, so we here we are. Plus, feminist vibes ahoy! Elodie Harper has given me a real taste for this genre, but this does sound more politically involved than Harper’s books. Nonetheless, I’m always game for an ancient lady who’s ready to take on the world.
Blurb
She was a woman who took no interest in spinning or housekeeping. She wanted to rule a ruler and command a commander — Plutarch
Fulvia is the daughter of a wealthy but unimportant Roman family. Raised in the countryside, she longs for a life of intrigue and influence. When her father dies and her inheritance is threatened, Fulvia makes her way to the city of Rome to secure her future.
There she marries a young aristocrat named Clodius, who is more interested in partying with his hedonistic friends than politics. Fulvia is drawn into their world of debauchery, and learns just how precarious the balance of power in the Republic is. Her ambition drives them both to political power that draws the attention of the senate, and more seedy underworld opponents. But Rome is a dangerous place, and power can become notoriety overnight. Fulvia soon learns just how high the stakes really are, and that her ambitions may come at a terrible cost.
A Resistance of Witches
Morgan Ryan
This is a really interesting book. I’ve not read such a fantasy-bent retelling of WWII, specifically involving Hitler. This features the Royal Academy of Witches, and long story short, they’re trying to protect and hide some powerful magic before Hitler can get his hands on it. Intriguing, right?
Blurb
A historical fantasy debut set against the backdrop of World War II, where a witch journeys to find a book of unspeakable power before it lands in Nazi hands
Stubborn, plain-spoken and from an unimpressive family, Lydia Polk never expected to be accepted into the Royal Academy of Witches. Eight years later, with Hitler’s army rampaging across Europe, the witches of Britain have joined the war effort, and Lydia is key to the she must use her magic to track down magical relics before Hitler—known to be obsessively seeking the artifacts himself—and his sycophants can. Then a Nazi witch infiltrates the Academy with heart-breaking consequences, leaving the coven shaken, exposed and the elder British witches have no interest in further loss of coven life in service of a government that has forced them into hiding for decades, no matter the consequences to the world. But with the discovery of the Grimorium Bellum, an ancient book that leaves a trail of death and destruction wherever it goes—one the Nazi coven is desperate to get their hands on—Lydia’s mission has never been more urgent.
Alone and woefully outnumbered, Lydia makes her way to the heart of occupied France, where she finds allies in Rebecca Gagne—a fierce French resistance fighter chockful of secrets—and Henry Boudreaux—a handsome Haitian-American art historian with a little magic of his own. Together, they traverse the country, stalked by the natural and supernatural alike, in search of the grimoire. But, as Lydia soon discovers, finding the Grimorium Bellum is only half the the book has a dark agenda of its own. Lydia must subdue it before the witches of the Third Reich can use it—but she’ll have to survive the book herself, first.
Crime / Mystery 🔍
Not Quite Dead Yet
Holly Jackson
I haven’t read anything but A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, but I did seriously love that. So I thought this was worthy of going on this list (and my radar) because I suspect I will enjoy more of her books. Plus this is about someone trying solve their own murder mystery, and doesn’t that sound intriguing?
Blurb
In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.
Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time.
Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder.
She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm.
Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.
She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something:
Jet is going to solve her own murder.
The Game Is Murder
Hazell Ward
Everyone loves a whodunnit mystery, particularly those set in the past (though to be fair, the 1970s is more recent than most in this subgenre). But what really drew me into this one, was the tone of the blurb. It almost sounds … interactive?
Blurb
In this fresh and immersive murder mystery that riffs on crime classics, the reader is put in the role of the Great Detective, reinvestigating an infamous never-before-solved case from 1970s England.
You are invited to a very special murder mystery party. The game is simple: Listen to the witnesses. Examine the evidence. Solve the case. Be careful. Trust no one. All might not be as it seems.
If you agree to play the role of the Great Detective, you must undertake to provide a complete solution to the case. A verdict is not enough. We need to know who did it, how they did it, and why. Are you ready? Can you solve the ultimate murder mystery—and catch a killer?
A word of warning: Unsolved mysteries are not permitted. . . .
Sequels 📚
The Jasad Crown
Sara Hashem
The Scorched Throne #2
I’m so excited about this, you have no idea. I’ve been WAITING forever for this sequel – you NEED to read The Jasad Heir if you haven’t. It’s such a good Egyptian-inspired fantasy series. I’d almost given up hope that we would get a sequel, but here we are!! Hoorayyy!! *pre-orders enthusiastically*
Blurb
In the thrilling conclusion to the Egyptian-inspired Scorched Throne duology, a fugitive queen may be the key to restoring her lost kingdom of Jasad, but it could cost her everything and everyone she loves.
Held deep in a mountain refuge, Sylvia has been captured by the Urabi, who believe she can return their homeland to its former power. But after years of denying her legacy and a forbidden alliance with Jasad’s greatest enemy, Sylvia must win the group’s trust while struggling to keep control of both her magic and her mind.
In the rival kingdom, Arin is caught between his father’s desire to put down the brewing rebellion and the sacred edicts he’s sworn to uphold. Arin must find Sylvia before his father’s army, but his search will call into question the very core of Arin’s beliefs about his family and the destruction of Jasad.
War is inevitable and Sylvia cannot abandon her people again. The Urabi plan to raise the Jasadi fortress, and it will either kill Sylvia or destroy the humanity she’s fought so hard to protect. For the first time in her life Sylvia doesn’t just want to survive. She wants to win.
The fugitive queen is ready to come home.
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