strange and random happenstance

A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Romance, danger, and intrigue await you in the breathtaking sixth book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series.

What was broken will be remade.

Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he's been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories, attracting powerful allies hell-bent on reclaiming what was once theirs: the human lands.

The Night Court will not stand idly by while innocents are attacked. But with Prythian still piecing itself together in the wake of the devastating Hybern War, the task of uniting is proving more difficult by the day.

To make matters worse, those who rule and protect the Night Court are reeling from recent betrayals and revealed truths. The rifts dividing them seem insurmountable.

But to defeat Koschei's creeping shadow, they must find a way back to each other and resurrect their former alliances. To survive, they must find a way to repair the splintered harmony all around them."

This book might be important to plans for my blog next year.

The Jewel of Corlivo by Kathleen Carr Foster
Published by: Erewhon Books
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In a reimagined Byzantine empire, a runaway courtesan and her disgraced suitor are on the hunt for ancient treasure. But in Kathleen Carr Foster's glittering debut, what they find will be far more troublesome...

Raised for the most luxurious pleasure house in mountain-ringed Corlivo, Anna has no illusions about her future. She'll be a courtesan, as her mother was before she disappeared - and like her mother, gamble that her charms attract a patron rich enough to pay her debts.

But when a gruff explorer with connections at the capital notices Anna, it's her sharp eye that draws him in. Sebastianus thinks Anna's found a clue within the pages of an ancient book to the lost city of treasure he seeks, and she might well discover more.

Together they escape to the imperial court, where marvels are commonplace - and so is treachery. Anna's courtesan training has hardly prepared her for the dangers of court life, let alone for delving into artifacts from the empire's past. But when she uncovers a secret tied to her mother's fate, Anna realizes more than her life is at stake. She holds the key to untold possibilities not only for herself, but for any of the women of Corlivo...if she can use it."

Personally, I think training for court intrigue is lesson number one for a courtesan...

Where We Go at Night by Ikwo Ntekim
Published by: HarperCollins Us
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"To name a thing is to see it, and no one can see the folk if they don't want to be seen.

As far as seventeen-year-old Trixie Godfrey is concerned, her hometown of Woods Crossing would be perfect - if not for the dark world of fae and magic lurking in the shadows. Growing up, her grandfather, Pops, never allowed her to get close to them - those aberrations, Mama used to say.

But on graduation night, when Trixie sneaks home past curfew she witnesses Pops' brutal murder in a moment so sudden, so inhuman she can no longer avoid the fae. Those without the Sight will blame wild animals, calling Pops' death an accident, a tragedy, but Trixie knows the truth because she has the Sight. She spent years burying her "gift", but she needs to revive it now.

Determined to get justice for Pops and rid Woods Crossing of its monsters, Trixie ventures into the intriguing but deceitful world of the fae - only to find herself caught in a power struggle between ancient families more terrible and crueler than hers could ever be. Or so she thinks...."

Never willingly deal with the fae. Even if you're out for revenge.

Elderwitch by Lucie Bowins
Published by: Cranthorpe Millner Publishers
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sixteen-year-old Emeline de Gournay has always dreamed of adventure.

But as the only daughter of a wealthy Norman baron, she knows her future is to marry a stranger her parents have chosen for her and remain by his side as a dutiful wife and mother.

That is, until the morning of her betrothal, when her younger brother is abducted by a terrifying, shapeshifting Elderwitch. To make things worse, her only hope of rescuing him is to join forces with Owain ap Hywel, a young Welsh half-Hazelwitch she is inexplicably drawn to...and the boy accused of her brother's kidnapping.

As they journey from her home in the turbulent Welsh Marches to a world of fighting Treewitches and mythical beasts, Emeline comes to realise that rescuing her brother will not be enough.

The only way for peace to be restored, in both her own world and the world of the Treewitches, is to destroy the Elderwitch for good."

I mean, two sides to every coin, at least she won't have to marry a stranger...

Scorpion Deep by CG Drews
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"CG Drews, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Don't Let the Forest In and Hazelthorn, weaves a disturbing and intoxicating siren-call in Scorpion Deep, about a lonely boy who accidentally awakens an obsessive eldritch sea god.

The only thing Jonathan Covey wants from the gloomy, moldering isle of Kelcarrow is to leave it. Summer is ending, and his friends are looking forward to college on the mainland, unaware that Jonathan was not accepted to join them. He'll be left behind with nothing but the ocean's haunts and a rising dread of being abandoned.

In an act of wild desperation, Jonathan pays a tithe to Scorpion Deep, an eldritch sea god who many of the locals have dismissed as myth. He wants to forget the past, he wants to follow his friends, and most of all he wants to finally escape.

To his shock and horror, the ritual works - Scorpion Deep awakens. And despite his terror, Jonathan can't help but feel drawn toward the ageless entity that seems just as mutually obsessed with him. As scales start growing down his spine and Scorpion Deep's adoration of him turns bloody, Jonathan realizes the only way to end the nightmare is to destroy the monster one way or another.

But once a god has awoken, the only way to be free is to pay a price of blood."

If H.P. Lovecraft wrote Widow's Bay.

Château Reverie by Natasha Siegel
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Another sweeping speculative, romantic novel from the author of As Many Souls as Stars, in which attendees of a magical auction must bid secrets in exchange for their greatest desires. Perfect for fans of Erin Morgenstern or V.E. Schwab.

Reverie and Sons humbly requests your attendance at THE AUCTION OF SECRETS.

Genevieve de Vienne does not remember the journey to the Château Reverie. She only remembers receiving her invitation to the Auction of Secrets, writing upon it her greatest desire - to forget the woman she once loved - and setting it aflame.

Leander Sterne does not remember a life outside of the Château Reverie. When he receives his own invitation, he does not have any secrets to bid, but his greatest desire - his liberty - is worth risking everything. He has nothing to lose.

Alongside five fellow attendees, Leander and Genevieve must survive three nights in the Château in order to bid their secrets and win their hearts' desire. But the Château has a mind of its own. As guests begin to disappear and Leander and Genevieve become more and more entangled, it becomes clear that the rules of the Auction might not be in anyone's favor...and even those who win might not be allowed to leave.

Written in Natasha Siegel's transportive, lush prose and set amidst the final days of the French Revolution, Château Reverie is a rococo fairytale full of horrors and wonders: both a sweeping romance and a twisting speculative mystery."

Whomever has the ability to grant your greatest desire should not be trusted. 

Rosemary and Thyme by Olivia Atwater
Published by: Starwatch Press
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: eBook, 344 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Olivia Atwater offers up another gothic fantasy romance, full of dark magic, deceitful faeries, and "witty and nuanced enchantment" (Stephanie Burgis), in the second instalment of the Victorian Faerie Tales.

An ancient evil has awoken in Victorian England, and it knows Clarimonde Betony's name.

London is no longer safe for Clarimonde Betony. Branded as a black magician, cut off from her staid and sensible life, and hounded by a mysterious pursuer, Clarimonde has little choice but to make common cause with her foppish, self-appointed faerie adviser, Lord Foxglove - a beautiful coward with absolutely no affection for the truth.

Clarimonde's last, best hope is a weapon that lies in Whitby, under the watch of a lovely, bloodthirsty lady known as the Leanansidhe. Foxglove's keen talent for duplicity could gain them both hospitality beneath the monster's roof...but the Leanansidhe's temptations are endless, and her unearthly beauty hides a cruelty beyond mortal understanding. One wrong word might lead to a fate much worse than death…and Clarimonde always has been far too honest for her own good."

A rule I abide by, read anything Stephanie Burgis recommends.

Brown Eyed Earl by Jenny Holiday
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton in USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday's laugh-out-loud bromantic comedy featuring three Regency-era Earls on their annual trip. These ride-or-die buddies offer one another unconditional support in everything from Lady problems to family woes, but this year, the country house retreat will be earls-plus-girls as our trio of heroes is joined by two beloved wives...and an exceedingly charming lady's companion.

Simon Courteney isn't like the other earls. He was never supposed to be the heir or the spare. Yet when his older brothers tragically died in an accident, he suddenly found himself a peer of the realm. Strait-laced and scholarly, Simon is resigned to a quiet life of work and service. The two bright spots in his calendar are the annual Earls Trip with his best friends, Effie and Archie, and his visits to Archie's mother - where he trades books with her beguiling lady's companion.

Miss Diantha Brown has long been settled into her role as Lady Harcourt's companion. On the shelf and alone in the world, it's a better life than Diantha ever imagined for herself. But her boring yet peaceful existence is upended when an old enemy returns, threatening blackmail and forced marriage.

Determined to escape her fate - and to protect Lady Harcourt - Diantha devises a shocking solution: her ruination. She needs just one thing: a kind, intelligent, brave man to help her..."

I love a good ruination that is secretly a love match. 

To All the Earls I've Loved Before by Emma Orchard
Published by: Boldwood Books Ltd
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 258 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bianca Constantine has no intention of surrendering her freedom to marriage. Newly wealthy and determined to make her name as an artist, she plans to avoid the dangers of Society altogether - until a chance encounter with a charming young lord draws her back into London's glittering world.

Commissioned to paint the boy's portrait, Bianca expects nothing more scandalous than long afternoons in an elegant townhouse. Instead, she comes face to face with the one man she hoped never to see again.

The summer Bianca spent in Venice with Xan Challender was filled with passion, freedom, and lies. She never told him she was an heiress. He never revealed that he was set to inherit an earldom.

Now Xan has returned to England to claim his title, and neither has forgotten the betrayal that tore them apart - or the desire that still burns between them.

What happened in Venice should stay in Venice - but some secrets are just too explosive to stay hidden..."

Kind of reminds me of what they're trying to do on the new version of The Forsytes.

The Killing of a Chestnut Tree by Oliver K. Langmead
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Meet Havelock Harper, gentleman detective. Dapper, delightful, and decidedly queer, he's here to solve your most magical mysteries.

Everyone in England knows Havelock Harper, the celebrated consulting detective from the papers. But if any of them read his private files, they would discover secrets that must never reach the public eye - extraordinary cases, impossible crimes, and a committed love affair with his formidable companion Major Sebastian Wright.

And their next case might be the queerest yet.

Havelock and Sebastian have been summoned to investigate the murder of the Duke of Farleigh. When they arrive at the scene of the crime - a secluded, enchanting forest - they discover that the victim is a tree!

The trees of Farleigh have begun to write words in their bark and branches, expressing themselves for all to read. The Duke is an ancient chestnut, cruelly chopped down, and to the villagers of Farleigh, he is a beloved friend. They want justice.

Havelock and Sebastian must use all their wits and wisdom to find the murderer who has shattered the peace of Farleigh."

Perhaps inspired by the Sycamore Gap tree?

Murder at Pellhurst Pond by Clara McKenna
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Viscount "Lyndy" Lyndhurst and his wife Stella, an American "Dollar Princess," dive into a new investigation after discovering a body in a pond on the estate of a man rumored to have killed his wife...

When a hot air balloon lands near Morrington Hall, it draws the attention of Stella and Lyndy as well as others, including Quentin Lockyear, son-in-law of Reuben Woodridge, a recluse who is suspected of murdering his wife. Quentin is keen to invest in aeronautic ships and automobiles, and invites Stella and Lyndy to Woodridge's estate, Exbury Lodge.

Upon their arrival, they meet the mysterious patriarch, accompanied by his nurse, and his daughter, Enid. Reuben takes Stella and Lyndy on a tour of his stables and a large mill pond on the property, encouraging them to take his skiff out whenever they like. Returning the next day for a bird shoot, the couple go for a ride in the skiff only to discover a body in the pond.

The woman is dressed in expensive clothes but has no identification on her. An accidental drowning? Suicide? What is she doing on the property? When an autopsy reveals traces of poison, Stella and Lyndy attempt to discover who she was and who might have had a reason to do her harm. Rumors aside, what secrets are they hiding at Exbury Lodge?"

Please say she also fell from the sky!

Death Down the Aisle by Colleen Cambridge
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Agatha Christie's cherished housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, not only keeps the celebrated author's home running smoothly, but she has also proven herself an accomplished sleuth. So when a murderer brings mayhem to a wedding, in this USA Today bestselling series' latest installment, she's on hand to sweep up the mystery...

Phyllida is delighted to receive an invitation to the wedding of her friend Dr. John Bhatt. It's a chance to get to know his fiancée, Emily Hartparker, and to explore Coatesworth Manor - the grand seaside estate that belongs to Emily's distant relatives. Coatesworth is now managed by Lady Artemis Coatesworth and offers ample space for a celebration. But it's soon clear that some of the guests have intentions beyond cheering on the happy couple.

As is often the case when extended family gathers, there is bickering, not to mention an awkward love triangle between Emily's lovely cousin Lily, her handsome ex-husband Heath, and his new wife, Tibby. Besides that, some of the other cousins - all of whom are there simply to appease Lady Artemis, who has the power to enact a morals clause in her late husband's will that could impact the heirs' inheritances - don't seem to get along. Discomfiting, certainly. Dramatic for sure.

And the drama gets infinitely worse when a wedding guest is discovered dead in the small chapel only hours after the ceremony.

Phyllida immediately agrees to help discover what happened, and brings some of her staff over from Mallowan Hall, Mrs. Christie's manor house, for cover. But with plenty of dark secrets and ugly family dynamics, it seems the killer could be any one of the Coatesworths - and that killer is dangerously motivated to keep the grisly truth from being revealed..."

I think I'm going to bequeath the title of most prolific cozy author to Colleen Cambridge. Her output is starting to keep pace with Seanan McGuire! 

The Spiral by Rosanne Limoncelli
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When Nina finds the dead body of a woman who could easily be her twin, she must divide the men in her life into two groups: the ones she can trust and the ones who might be the killer.

A refreshing new take on the noir-thriller genre, The Spiral is perfect for fans of Tana French and Stieg Larsson.

It's 1979, and nineteen-year-old Nina Esposito survives gritty Greenwich Village by tending bar with plenty of sarcasm and elbow grease. She can navigate the lewd customers, dirty streets, and danger-after-dark of NYC until a serial killer arrives on the scene targeting women who look exactly like her. Now survival for Nina means finding the killer before he finds her.

She has the constant feeling that she is prey surrounded by predators and every man she meets could be the killer: the guy following her on the subway, her leering acting coach, the restaurant owner pressuring her for a date. But is she really a target, or are the demons of her past clouding her judgment? Detective Frankie Lopez seems to be on her side - but she knows that trusting the wrong person could make her the next victim.

Set in crime-ridden New York City, when the subways were covered in graffiti and the burned-out buildings of the East Village were homes for squatters and punk rock teens, this psychological thriller is a dark murder mystery, one that will keep you guessing until the very end when the final twist is revealed."

Sometimes it's all about the atmospherics! And boy, does this book have those in spades. Like an art house thriller from the seventies. 

A Classic Case of Murder by Daryl Wood Gerber
Published by: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Personal chef and caterer Allie Catt combines her love of fiction with her love of food in the scenic North Carolina mountains - but amid her latest themed event, based on Dickens's beloved classic, A Christmas Carol, a rare-book expert's goose is cooked...

In the charming town of Bramblewood, not far from Asheville, Allie's preparing for a special seasonal soiree: a literary-themed dinner party that's a tribute to Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It'll take place at the Amber Lantern, the quaint inn recently opened by her best friend's mother, Noeline - and the holiday spirit has even led a Scroogelike local businessman to lend his prized first edition of the nineteenth-century novella for the event.

With the voices of carolers ringing in the air and the community theater staging a special performance, it looks like it will be a happy Christmas - until the priceless book disappears and someone murders the expert who authenticated it. And if the police have their way, Allie's lawyer friend Freddy will be dragged away in chains like Marley's ghost...

The crime has also cast a shadow over Noeline's fledgling business, so Allie feels doubly obliged to find the real killer among the gathered guests and local visitors - and put an end to this nightmare. It's time to investigate them all, every one..."

My question is, is the party going to be more Fezziwig or more ghostly?

Murder in the Upper Crust by Mindy Quigley
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The sixth book in the delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria.

Chef Delilah O'Leary is going where no deep dish pizza chef has gone before: a swanky wellness retreat, where she's agreed to cater for a crowd of the who's who. Instead of cashing a fat check for an easy gig, though, she encounters a diabolical plot with more layers than one of her signature pies.

The exclusive event, hosted by superstar guru Rhiannon Frost, promises inner transformation - but when a spiteful attendee turns up dead during the guided meditation, Delilah smells more than incense in the air. Every guest has a motive…and access to a sinister walled garden brimming with exotic poisonous plants.

With her restaurant short-staffed, and her boyfriend, Detective Calvin Capone, splitting his time between bartender duties and undercover sleuthing, Delilah's got her hands full. Can she slice through the lies before the killer strikes again? Or will this luxe getaway turn into a one-way trip to the great beyond?"

Only in Wisconsin would deep dish be on the menu at a wellness retreat! We CAN NOT LIVE without our cheese!

The Moriarty Murders by Jack Gatland
Published by: Simon Stream
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to Moriarty and Co: who would have thought that solving crimes is more fun than committing them?

Investigative journalist Abigail Wren has spent her career chasing cases no one else cares about. But everything changes when Abbie learns she's the last living heir to the Moriarty criminal empire (yes, that Moriarty). Now, not only has she inherited a crumbling country house, she's also acquired a cellar full of ageing operatives who've spent their lives on the wrong side of the law. She wants none of it.

Her new 'employees' aren't too thrilled either. They want a Moriarty in charge - not someone who's only ever solved crimes, rather than committed them. But when Maurice Finch, one of the old guard, is found dead in circumstances nobody believes were accidental, the team wants revenge.

Abbie sees an opportunity: she decides they're switching sides and going straight to find Finch's killer. But pulling at the threads of his death turns up a second body, and a name that keeps surfacing where it shouldn't. Because someone thinks the Moriarty inheritance should have been theirs, and he's only just getting started...

With time running out to catch the killer, can they solve the case before another body turns up? Or is the world's most unconventional detective agency also going to be its most short-lived?

The Moriarty Murders is a cozy crime novel with a Sherlock Holmes twist - the first in a new series from Multi-Million Selling and #1 New York Times bestselling author Tony Lee, writing as Jack Gatland."

I'm assuming Abbie survives given that this is a series, but otherwise she'd be at the top of my list of potential victims. 

The Poison Pen Murders by Dee MacDonald
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 242 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Anonymous letters, a years-old mystery and...a dead body? Ally McKinley is on the case!

Ally McKinley might be the owner of the cosiest little guesthouse in the Scottish Highlands, but she also has a reputation as an amateur detective! So when a threatening note drops through her elderly neighbour Juliet Munro's door, Ally is called in to investigate. But what first seems like a nasty prank soon proves lethal, when the very next day, Juliet is found murdered...

Her faithful dog Flora by her side, Ally soon learns that more than one woman in Locharran has received a poison pen letter. And though locals' lips are sealed over coffee and cake, Ally skilfully unlocks the old Locharran mystery that connects the recipients: they were all rumoured to be involved in the death of a young woman called Marie McKay. Is someone trying to stamp out Marie's killer? And if so, who in Locharran is not who they seem?

A faded photo of a little blond boy with pale eyes has Ally on the right track, but when a woman's scream shatters the village's gentle calm, can Ally sort through the secrets before the post delivers another murder?

Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Clare Chase will love this totally addictive and cozy mystery set in the beautiful Scottish Highlands from bestselling author Dee MacDonald."

If any of the recipients of the letters had a hand in the young woman's death.... Well, let them die.

Venus, Vanishing by Rebecca Birrell
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In raucous 1928 Berlin, Hannah Sherman has deviated from the traditional arc of a woman's life. An artist and a runaway, she revels in the city's underground art scene and her newfound freedom. Working as a tailor while studying art in every spare moment, Hannah comes to know women and their bodies, first with measuring tape and silk, and later through sensuous layers of paint.

Hannah feels like she can finally call herself an artist when an intoxicating, wealthy female collector commissions an elaborate series of nude portraits. But after Hannah finishes the acclaimed Venus paintings, she discovers that her work has been tampered with and exhibited under a man's name. When lines between artist and muse are crossed in a heady but perilous affair, Hannah transforms her work into an act of revenge, finding herself caught up in a devastating game of betrayal.

Laced with queer desire and life-threatening secrets, Venus, Vanishing pulses with the hedonism and danger of 1930s Berlin as history comes to Hannah's door, offering a heart-pounding story of Jewish survival, creativity, and resistance."

And hopefully vengeance on the man exhibiting her art!

The Resurrection of Evania James by Jaime Jo Wright
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"If walls could talk, what nightmare might they expose?

1879
When Eloise James's sister, Evania, goes missing after being admitted to an asylum, Eloise is determined to find her sibling but instead discovers evidence of dying patients and missing remains. Wannabe journalist Silas Dobbs has his own suspicions that something more nefarious is at work, and that black market sales may originate at the asylum. Together, they are intent on learning whether Evania is alive, or if her body has also been stolen. But unraveling a web of underground resurrectionists proves daunting, and the dead cannot share their secrets.

Present Day
Tilly Thompson is horrified to find historical human remains entombed in a wall of the Gothic mansion her grandfather just purchased, launching her into an investigation of the original owners' questionable past. The James family legacy harbors a darkness tightly woven through decades of secrets, but the past refuses to remain ensnared by silence. Will revealing the truth resurrect dangers best kept buried forever?

Jaime Jo Wright masterfully weaves a dual-timeline gothic suspense novel that brings together a haunting historical tale and a shadowy modern-day mystery. For fans of atmospheric thrillers, spooky reads, the Victorian era, creepy mansions, and dark family secrets."

1879 is a bit late for resurrectionists...

From the Library of Jurgen Leitner by Premee Mohamed with Jonathan Sims
Published by: Random House Worlds
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Enter the library of an enigmatic collector, where occult books are guarded and researched at a fatal cost, with this uncanny eldritch horror novel from Nebula Award-winning author Premee Mohamed and The Magnus Archives' Jonathan Sims.

Fear comes before the fall.

In the winding, perilous corridors of Jurgen Leitner's private library, you never know what you'll find. A starving cookbook. An ancient scroll that casts cool, predatory breezes. A cloth-bound hardback that compels you to DIG, DIG, DIG, DIG.

Free, these books are more than simply unnerving - they're deadly. But the library keeps their dangers in check and their would-be readers safe....

Or so Leitner claims.

For two of his employees, the risks are worth it. Hugh Franklin, research assistant, has finally found a place he belongs, where his skill in translation is valued, even if his employer is a bit odd. Sebastian Everett, acquisition specialist, can indulge his arcane ambitions, even if it means pretending to care about Leitner's mission.

Though their tenures at the library were years apart, Hugh and Sebastian's stories unfold in parallel, and their footsteps echo down the same eerie aisles, caught in a web spun long before either ever heard the name "Jurgen Leitner."

Will they find a way out...or will the library consume them before it's too late?"

For anyone doubting the power of books.

Public Access Aferworld by Jane Schoenbrun
Published by: Hogarth
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 608 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A mysterious realm on the other side of our screens. A dark force that draws victims into its static. The unlikely hero called to save them and herself from this electric hell. Public Access Afterworld is the profound, binge-all-night, headrush of a novel by the celebrated filmmaker of I Saw the TV Glow and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.

Find the receiver. Make it real.

At 5:35 p.m. on September 3, 1988, Dallas weatherman Ray "Can You Say Sunshine" Davino makes passing reference to Public Access Afterworld during a rambling monologue, right before he puts a gun to his head on live television and pulls the trigger.

On June 12, 2009, David Sawyer and Erin Morrison, two lonely, TV-obsessed suburban teens who might be falling in love, gather in Erin's basement to watch TV's analog-to-digital transition. But in the static that follows, Erin witnesses surreal broadcasts from a pirate TV network called Public Access Afterworld, and their lives are changed forever.

Seventeen years later, Bethany Peters toils through the night shift at megacorp GlobalVill's bleak Austin campus. A trans content moderator, she spends her evenings reviewing an endless stream of horrific videos. But then a young streamer begins to crop up in her feed calling out to Public Access Afterworld.

But what is Public Access Afterworld?

Spanning decades and realities, with an unforgettable ensemble of outcasts and nerds - especially the messy but wholly relatable Bethany, who must overcome paranoia and self-doubt to transform into a hero of our times - Public Access Afterworld will have you reading through the night and rooting for its characters to survive. A mesmerizing mash-up of speculative fiction, horror, and conspiracy, it marks the arrival of a major new force in contemporary fiction by a groundbreaking filmmaker who's been compared to David Lynch and Paul Thomas Anderson."

Just the thought of being trapped in an afterlife that is just Public Access gives me the goosebumps. 

Wandering Cat's Cage by Akane Torikai
Published by: Takumigraphics
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 344 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Akane Torikai's Wandering Cat's Cage, it is the near future. Only a few women are still able to menstruate, and even fewer men will be born to them. Reproduction is limited to medical intervention controlled from on high, and the structures and lives of the past hold no weight: they are only hinted at through the remaining scraps of a world that no longer exists. Life can be good, though, if you fall in line, and the women of The City live bright, happy, tightly controlled lives. But complete obedience isn't for everyone. For the women across the river, who live in a rundown shantytown, viewing the opulence of the city from afar each night, life is different. It is humble, and often dangerous, but it is free. It is here that Sanada, a young acupuncturist, lives with the mysterious Reiho, the only male she's ever met, and who sells himself to the rich women who sneak across the river for something they've never experienced...The two form a small "family," taking in other young women ousted from the city. But a real, living, breathing male might be too precious to leave to the shabby streets. When Reiho is kidnapped at gunpoint and taken to the breeding program in the city, Sanada must join with the other outcasts to try and rescue him, and learn the difficult truths of love, self-actualization, society, community, safety, and the future itself.

Master manga-ka Akane Torikai (Sensei's Pious Lie) has produced a stunning work of relational SF through a gender-bent looking glass. Torikai pulls no punches examining the deeply messy subjects of our day - sexuality, gender dynamics, romantic love, familial trauma, freedom, and control, through immaculately realized settings and character-rich, emotive body language. Produced in partnership with MSX: Mangasplaining Extra."

You'll find me across the river.

An Uncertain Magic by A.M. Kvita
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Brooklyn's most chaotic coven is back in An Uncertain Magic. This time all they have to do is take on ancient gods (yes, gods), avoid a magical apocalypse, and save New York City. No big deal. Joan Greenwood has been adjusting nicely to her life away from her powerful family of witches. She has an apartment full of friends, her dream job at an architecture firm, and a constant companion in the sentient magic that makes up New York City. For once, everything's coming up Joan.

Until her best friend gets possessed.

There's a god wearing his skin, a new cult is springing up around him, and magic is going haywire. Things go from bad to worse when Joan's rival-turned-crush, Astoria Wardwell, arrives from California with the news that her best friend is also possessed. That's one hell of a coincidence, and the two have to work together to save their best friends before these gods corrupt them. Unless their pesky feelings for each other get in the way."

Possession is never good. Especially with higher powers involved.

The Coven of Redthorn Manor by D.M. Million
Published by: Midnight Haus
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 348 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Her ancestors are calling on her to stop The Second Burning...

All Davina wants is to finish her dissertation on the connection between Seventeenth-Century Witch Hysteria and modern witch intolerance to change the way the world perceives witch-kind. Inside Redthorn Manor, Davina is the reluctant high priestess of the Divine Moon Coven. She can't seem to wield magic with authority. Now, with the rise of a Puritan revivalist group and their leader, Patrick Parris, and the group's frequent live-streams of witch-burnings, she knows she must step up and protect her coven at all costs.

When one of her sisters is attacked outside of the coven's apothecary, Davina uses her family's grimoires and academic research skills to find a solution to keep them safe. During her research, and with the help of an old acquaintance, Nathan Graham, Davina learns of an ancient prophecy that she must fulfill to stop The Second Burning Times. Her ancestral lineage is the key to Davina accessing an ancient form of magic that will help her defeat Parris and his lackeys, the King James Brotherhood (KJB). Her destiny is written in the stars: she either defeats Parris or he burns every last witch.

Redthorn Manor is no longer a safe haven for the coven. Davina can no longer ignore the prophecy - she must fight back! Saved by new allies, The Equinox, a secret coven of elemental sorcerers, and their sexy yet infuriating high priest, Cato, the Divine Moon Coven must leave Redthorn behind to help prepare Davina for her battle with Parris.

To accomplish her goal, she needs to access sorcery magic before Parris does. He's already ten steps ahead, and the clock is ticking."

The fact that she thinks that a dissertation could change minds is so naively sweet.

Supernatural Machines by David Brandon Hodge
Published by: Insight Editions
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Supernatural Machines is a groundbreaking visual history of the devices invented to speak with the dead.

From the spectral raps of the Fox Sisters to the rise of the Ouija board, Brandon Hodge guides readers through two centuries of spiritual innovation - exploring the haunted technologies born from our longing to pierce the veil between life and death. A unique fusion of esoteric history, visual culture, and ghost story, this richly illustrated, large-format volume reveals the occult ingenuity of mediums, inventors, and mystics who crafted writing planchettes, talking boards, spirit trumpets, and other strange apparatus to reach beyond the grave. With original photography, archival ephemera, and gripping historical narratives, Supernatural Machines brings to light a forgotten chronicle of technological mysticism. Each of its 14 chapters is a portal to the past, a captivating read accompanied by stunning photographs, detailed illustrations, and haunting accounts that breathe life into the arcane artifacts that have captivated the imagination of our ancestors and ourselves."

Here's hoping the book also details how their ingenuity was used to create cons.

In My Own Time by Christopher Lloyd
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Emmy Award-winning actor Christopher Lloyd - one of the most iconic performers of his generation - shares an intimate portrait drawn from the defining moments of his life, from his early years in theater to his time on the sets of iconic television and film, his struggles with addiction, and an isolated childhood of privilege.

Whether appearing as a disembodied head in Wednesday or taking on the title role in a stage production of King Lear, Christopher Lloyd has become known for portraying larger-than-life characters with a singular intensity and imagination. Now, for the first time, Christopher shares stories from his life that he has rarely spoken about before.

In My Own Time begins with Christopher's childhood at Waveny, the sprawling Connecticut estate. Raised primarily by governesses and wandering the grounds, he became a quiet observer of the people and relationships around him, including the complicated dynamic between his creative mother and his stern father.

With New York already a familiar part of his world, Christopher immersed himself in the demanding life of the theater. On stage he developed the intensity, imagination, and fearlessness that would come to define his work. From there, Christopher's career expanded across television and film, where audiences came to know him as the intense and unpredictable Taber in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the eccentric and beloved Reverend Jim Ignatowski on Taxi, and the wild-eyed genius Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy - performances that helped define some of the most enduring films and television of their time.

Christopher Lloyd offers a rare and deeply personal reflection on a life spent both onstage and on screen, told with charm, dry wit, and honesty. In sharing the stories behind his work, his struggles, and the people and places that shaped him, In My Own Time reveals the thoughtful and deeply observant man behind the iconic characters."

This detestable Fester's the echt Fester Addams!

We'd Thought They'd Never Leave by Tony Shalhoub with Josie Adams
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: October 27th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe winner Tony Shalhoub comes a delightful, heartfelt memoir about food, family, recipes, and the stories we pass down around the table.

Every summer for over five decades, more than fifty members of the Shalhoub family have gathered in Door County, Wisconsin, for a week of home-cooked meals, fiercely competitive card games, old stories, new memories, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.

Written with his daughter Josie Adams, We Thought They'd Never Leave is Tony Shalhoub's warm and deeply personal reflection on the people who shaped him. Through stories spanning four generations - from an orphaned Lebanese boy who survived wartime hunger to the sprawling family he would one day help create - Tony traces the Lebanese American family traditions, meals, and rituals that continue to bring the Shalhoubs back together year after year.

Along the way, the beloved actor known for Monk and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel reflects on growing up as one of ten children in a lively Lebanese American household in Green Bay, Wisconsin; navigating family life, work, and parenthood; and helping preserve a reunion that has become a beloved family institution. Also included are twenty treasured family recipes, ranging from stuffed grape leaves and tabbouleh to Midwestern chili and cherry pie.

Filled with unforgettable characters, deeply moving stories, and Tony's signature humor, We Thought They'd Never Leave is an invitation to join the Shalhoub table, where everyone has an opinion, everyone is expected to pitch in, and there's always room for one more."

A table my father has been at a time or two. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Christopher Lloyd, Clara McKenna, Colleen Cambridge, Daryl Wood Gerber, Dee MacDonald, Emma Orchard, Jaime Jo Wright, Jenny Holiday, Mindy Quigley, Natasha Siegel, Olivia Atwater, Premee Mohamed, Sarah J. Maas, Tony Shalhoub

Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: September 18th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Phoebe Taylor is about to become Phoebe Alice Najima Catherine Taylor de Clermont. In just ninety days. Ninety days that will test her and Marcus's sanity because they have decided to abide by vampiric tradition after Diana and Matthew did things their inimitable way, upending all customs and decrees, which means Phoebe and Marcus aren't allowed contact during this time. For mated supernaturals it is nearly impossible to remain apart. Yet their family will make sure they follow the rules, no matter how weak their own resolve becomes. While Phoebe is transformed in luxurious surroundings with every need catered to, from delivered kills to a banquet of blood, Marcus is visiting Diana and Matthew at their home in Limousin, France, Les Revenants. Vampires are notorious for hoarding secrets. And a vampire will never tell another's story. It is forbidden. Yet being unsettled in mind and body Marcus feels the need to unburden himself. As Phoebe undertakes the journey he himself took hundreds of years earlier, he wants to tell his story. He wants to talk about Marcus MacNeil and Diana is only too happy to oblige. Filling in the blanks of his past with Philippe's correspondence and information she gleans from the internet. Marcus was born in Western Massachusetts in the year 1757. His father was a violent drunk and Marcus would do anything to leave the small town of Hadley. The first time he ran away he ended up fighting in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He might have been young be he was a crack shot. Little did he know that that day was his first exposure to the supernatural world he would one day inhabit. At the advice of an ancestor of Diana's he returns home. His entire life is consumed with learning what medicinal knowledge he can and rereading Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Because what the war needs more than a crack shot is doctors who understand what Washington and his men are fighting for. When he murders his father to save his mother and sister during one of his drunken rages Marcus flees. He takes on the assumed name of Galen Chauncey and is soon helping the sick and wounded wherever he finds them. When he helps a wounded Marquis de Lafayette he seals his fate. The Marquis is there with Matthew and under Philippe's protection. So years later, when Matthew finds Marcus dying of the fever, Matthew explains to him that he can be saved. He can live forever. Marcus was so delirious he would have agreed to anything. Needless to say what came next was quite a confusing time. Revolutions weren't living up to their ideals and Marcus had traded one overlord for another. Yet as his dear friend Thomas Paine said, "Time makes more converts than reason." And Marcus had all the time in the world. And soon enough Phoebe will be by his side.

When it was announced that there was going to be a companion book in the All Souls series focused on Marcus I was, without exaggeration, completely indifferent. I actually wasn't even going to buy it but I'm a completest and one day when I was at Barnes and Noble it was majorly discounted so I figured I'd pick it up. It's now been sitting on my bookshelves for almost a decade gathering dust. The reason to finally read it wasn't just because I was rereading the original trilogy with an eye to finally picking up The Black Bird Oracle, the main reason was Edward Bluemel. So Edward Bluemel played Marcus in the television adaptation of the original trilogy. He was well cast and was in the ascendant, with roles on Killing Eve and Sex Education. I particularly enjoyed him on Belgravia: The Next Chapter. And then came My Lady Jane. I can not adequately express my obsession with this series and Edward Bluemel and his bubble butt as Lord Guildford Dudley. I randomly think of this show and his wicked smile and bedroom eyes and for a few moments in this chaotic world I am at peace. And I also just realized that for Carrie I have Prime Video Ultra so I could watch the series again without ad interruptions. Excuse me for the next few hours.... OK, I'm back. So Edward Bluemel gave me an image of Marcus that let me connect with the character and be willing to dive into Time's Convert. Previously in this series there have been glimpses of Marcus's life, a talented doctor turned during the American Revolution who has grown to be a snarky scientist who finds the love of his life while searching for clues as to his father's survival when Matthew and Diana timewalked. Here we get his history, but it felt like we were doing it as a speedrun. Here's his abusive childhood, here's his revolutionary ideals being crushed in America and France, here's what happened in New Orleans. A key point of the series up until now is how secretive vampires are. Their histories have to be prized out of them and here's Marcus trauma dumping because he has to stay away from the love of his life for ninety days while she transforms into a vampire. Yeah, so there's the whole parallels between him and Phoebe, whatever, it all just felt too slight because the trouble with Marcus is that it all boils down to Daddy Issues and a desire for freedom. First there was Obadiah, whom he killed, then there was Matthew AND Philippe, and then he made himself a Daddy in an attempt to find his "true father" and it was all a bit too much of the same. Because his Daddy Issues tie in to his desire for freedom, so I guess we could even label George III and Louis XVI as Daddy's, because they too don't understand his desire for freedom. The true freedom Thomas Paine wrote about. So Marcus spends a hundred some years trading one tyrannical overlord for another until Diana comes along and changes Matthew for the better and Marcus finally gets the found family of his dreams. Isn't that sweet? No. Not really. It was kind of pathetic. Deborah Harkness threw in some Diana and Matthew to bulk out the book, and the least said about Phoebe's transformation the better. I don't want to say that it was a self-fulfilling prophecy that I assumed Time's Convert would be the weakest in the series, because I really wanted to like it. The problem is it is the weakest in the series.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: All Souls Trilogy, Deborah Harkness, Edward Bluemel, France, French Revolution, Marcus Witmore, Marquis de Lafayette, My Lady Jane, Phoebe Taylor, Revolutionary War, Season of the Witch, Thomas Paine, Time's Convert, Vampires

The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City by Susanna Clarke
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

'He had already served three kings. He did not see why he should not be useful to a fourth.'

During the conquest of Northern England, the fairy host sweeps across the countryside. The city of Durham finds itself surrounded. But the encircling forces are not fairies, nor even other humans, but trees that trap the city within an eerie wood.

Ranulf, Bishop of Durham - a consummate politician - understands that the survival of the Northern English people depends on his finding a way to unite the two races, human and fairy. And he's not averse to improving his own position at the same time. With these aims in view, he sets off for the New Castle, in search of the new King - the leader of the fairy host, rumored to be a mysterious human boy, no more than fourteen years old, who speaks no word of any human language.

Set 700 years before the events of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is a bewitching, must-have addition to any fantasy reader's shelf, featuring beautiful illustrations throughout."

Whenever Susanna Clarke writes a short story everyone is hoping against hope that it is directly tied into the epic tale of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I can put your minds at ease, it is. Though from the timeline I think you'll understand it's someone important to that book's backstory. 

Royal Witch by Philippa Gregory
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Royal Witch: the gripping new novel from the international bestselling author.

Ambition. Sorcery. Treason. How far will one woman dare to go?

1420. Eleanor Cobham arrives at the court of Henry V. Pretty but not highborn, she hopes for nothing more than to marry well.

It is a golden age for England, its royal family's dynasty stretching across Europe. But chaos waits in the shadows. Betrayals and shifts of power change the flourishing world Eleanor has stepped into.

Working in the household of a Countess who commands her own army, Eleanor begins to see for the first time what a woman is capable of…what men's promises are truly worth.

As the safe, comfortable future she'd envisioned begins to shift, Eleanor changes with it. Now she must use her wits to survive - and to rise. Her newfound ambition will to carry her further than any woman before has dared. But if she is to rule England itself, she will need to turn to darker arts..."

I love that Philippa Gregory's stance is that if the people of the time viewed someone as a witch, well then she can write them as a witch. 

The Slantwise Histories by Alix E. Harrow
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Dive into a dazzling collection of short fiction from Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of The Everlasting and Starling House.

These are stories about the past as it wasn't quite, but might have been - or could still be.

These are stories about dreamers and liars and lovers and ghosts; people just like you.

These are stories about places the world has seen, and some that hide just beyond the periphery of possibility.

Most of all, these are stories for anyone who ever wanted more.

What's a legend, except a history told slantwise?

The Slantwise Histories: Collected Stories presents the best known short fiction of Alix. E. Harrow, including the Hugo-award winning "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" as well as five all-new stories. The collection also includes the author's preferred text of previously published stories "The Long Way Up", "Roadside Attraction", "Mr. Death", "The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly", "The Sycamore and the Sybil", "Do Not Look Back, My Lion", "The Whisper in the Weld", "Dustbaby", and Amazon Original short stories, "The Six Deaths of the Saint" and "The Knight and the Butcherbird.""

I am not a fan of short stories. Too short is my opinion. But when they're written by the likes of Alix E. Harrow, bring them on.

The Chosen Ones by Jasmine Ahmad
Published by: Jasmine Ahmad
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 370 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For centuries, witches have lived among humans, hidden in plain sight - their magic passed down through bloodlines, their existence shrouded in secrecy.

Then, the fear of mere mortals nearly destroyed them, and one witch paid the ultimate price, her death meant to protect the future of witch kind.

Generations later, that future has arrived.

Carmen Jimenez knew her daughters' magic was different. Powerful. Dangerous. From the moment they were born, she understood their twin destinies.

The Chosen Ones.

Carmen spent her life preparing them for the darkness hunting them all. But when she sacrifices herself to ensure their kind's survival, the countdown to the end begins.

The underworld eagerly awaits, and now, the Jimenez sisters may be the only witches powerful enough to stop the danger rising from beneath their world.

Even if it costs them everything."

The most important things cost everything.

The Haunting of Lavender House by Natalie Kikić
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A crumbling home surrounded by lavender fields. A decades-long curse. A nightmare from Croatian folklore with a thirst for blood. The Lost Apothecary meets The Hacienda in this multigenerational, haunting gothic saga set on the Adriatic Sea.

2026. All Petra has inherited are tales of loss. Which is why, after her mother's passing, she is shocked to learn that her grandmother is not dead like she's always believed, but alive and living on Tolba, a small island in Croatia. Desperate to find her last surviving family member, Petra ventures to her ancestral home, famed for its sprawling lavender fields. While she's happy to be reunited with her grandmother, rarely does a night go by that Petra doesn't lose herself to vivid nightmares and the dizzying sense that something - or someone - is always watching in Lavender House.

1895. Whore. Sinner. Witch. No matter how many people Magdalena heals, the rumors persist. So, when she's asked to help the matriarch of Lavender House, she seizes the opportunity to rehabilitate her reputation. As Magdalena races against time to heal the ailing woman, she finds herself unexpectedly falling for the son of her greatest enemy, the man responsible for her ostracization. But are true love and acceptance possible for a woman who has always lived on the margins?

Back in the present, Petra finds it increasingly difficult to ignore the rumors plaguing her family: that a mora, a spirit from Croatian folklore, haunts Lavender House for revenge. As the sole heir to Lavender House, Petra must discover the truth of her inheritance, or else fall prey to the same curse that claimed her family.

Through the intersecting stories of Petra and Magdalena, Natalie Kikic's gorgeous debut asks us to consider the lengths to which we go to belong, the cost of choosing love, and what it really means to be a monster."

And also, what creates that "monster."

A Lady's Guide to Vampire Hunting by Michelle Maxstoke
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: eBook, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the gaslit dark, love is never tender. It's teeth at your throat. Blood on silk. It is the sweetest surrender - and the most exquisite damnation.

By day Lady Euphemia Butterworth is a dutiful daughter - corseted, perfumed, and groomed to marry a lecherous duke twice her age. By night, she dreams of freedom, the dangerous thrill of adventure and a life not dictated by men with money and cruel smiles. But when a vampire attack shatters her world, Effie is branded hysterical, locked away and desperate to prove the truth.

Liam Rafferty has ghosts of his own. Ex-orphan, ex-boxer, ex-patient of the asylum, he stalks the shadows as a reluctant hunter, his body inked with sins and his soul fraying at the edges. He finds refuge in a travelling circus, but it cannot silence the devil whispering in his ear - or the fangs waiting in the dark.

When Effie's gilded cage collides with Liam's world, the sparks are as dangerous as the bite of the monsters they hunt..."

Rule number one, if you think you've encountered a vampire, do not, I repeat, do not tell someone who has the power to have you locked up.

My Darling Girls by Marina Scott
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 251 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In 1904 Chicago, where secrets cling as thickly as the soot on every windowsill, Jo earns her living by photographing the dead. The work is quiet and cloistered, allowing her to hide from a past that haunts her: the grief over her husband's mysterious death, a spiraling addiction, and the guilt she carries over the things she's done to survive.

When a notorious crime family hires Jo to make a final portrait of their daughter Millie, it stirs up a spirit that refuses to rest. In opium-fueled dreams, Millie lures Jo into a realm called "the courtyard," where the dead burn to tell her their half-finished stories.

As Jo investigates Millie's murder, she forms a fragile bond with her sister, Grace, who's desperate for an escape of her own. Amid the whispers of the dead is a truth Jo must confront if she is to free them all from the shadows of the past."

So deliciously dark for this time of year!

Needlemouth by K-Ming Chang
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the award-winning author of Bestiary, three cousins are forced to complete an impossible and violent task set by a vengeful demon.

Cousins Cindy, Yangyang, and Mandy's hot, tedious summer unfolds in their grandmother's hauntingly familiar house. Mandy, the eldest, seeks connection online and exchanges emails with a stranger. Yangyang, the youngest, retreats into her own imagination in search of meaning. But every morning Cindy wakes with strange objects in her mouth: a button, a berry, a coin.

One night, a starved figure with a mouth the size of a needle-tip appears at Cindy's bedside. She is hunger-afflicted, a demon with no descendants to feed from: she is Needlemouth. Part vampire, part hungry ghost, Needlemouth forces the girls into a grim task to end a man's life.

Cindy, Yangyang, and Mindy are plunged in and out of the demon realm, where they are called to break out of the indifference and numbness of their claustrophobic worlds, and where they are met with the most rageful and resistant parts of themselves. In a quest to satisfy the demon's hunger, they unravel their shared grief and reckon with the cyclical violence that shaped their family. For readers of Akwaeke Emezi and Carmen Maria Machado, K-Ming Chang has crafted a reimagined coming of age novel that asks: what does it mean to become the monster instead of slaying it?"

Another shudder inducing read.

Is It There or Not? by Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Naoko Machida
Published by: VIZ Media LLC
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""It's dark up there...I couldn't stop wondering what was up there."

Deceptively simple picture books with sinister stories.

You went to live with Grandma in her rambling old house. High above the rafters is a world of darkness. You can't shake the feeling that something is lurking there.

Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Naoko Machida spin a riveting web of fear of the unknown."

Images can inspire fear more than words.

The Boy Behind the Wardrobe by Suzanne Poulter Harris and Mira Miroslavova
Published by: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 56 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lonely, imaginative boy becomes the world-renowned author of The Chronicles of Narnia in this spellbinding biography of C.S. Lewis.

Once a boy was born to make stories: C.S. Lewis. He insisted on being called "Jack" and loved to write and draw with his older brother. But after his mother died, he was shipped to boarding school, where he longed for real friends and sought refuge in books. And words and stories would strengthen him during World War I, connect him to bookish friends like J.R.R. Tolkien, and drive him toward his destiny as a world-renowned author...

With lyrical words from Suzanne Poulter Harris and lush, fantastical art from Mira Miroslavova, The Boy Behind the Wardrobe goes beyond the traditional picture book biography to explore the history and emotional trajectory of a child who struggled to fit in, yet created books beloved by millions around the globe. Like the wardrobe transporting the Pevensies to Narnia, this biography will transport readers into Lewis's solitary childhood, his fantastic imagination, and his journey of hope. An author's note, timeline, bibliography, and other back matter offer additional insights into Jack's life and inspiration.

The Boy Behind the Wardrobe is Suzanne Poulter Harris's debut picture book, shaped by the echoes of Narnia that she found in her homeland of Northern Ireland."

I've always found C.S. Lewis more lyrical and a better writer than Tolkien, even if Narnia went a bit too religious for me in the end. This book is a wonderful insight into his becoming.

Black Moon by Stephen Wright
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An utterly wild, debauched, romantic, and violent ride inspired by the 18th-century Irish pirate Anne Bonny, reimagined here as Amethyst "Meeks" Connell, one of the most extraordinary outlaws of any age. For readers of George Saunders, Percival Everett, and Maggie O'Farrell.

Meeks is a poor Irish orphan whose energy, wit, and native sensitivity to the "main chance" take her to the unlikeliest of places. She marries into the aristocracy and follows her war-besotted husband into the latest of England and France's seemingly endless scrapes where her husband is killed and she, on her way home, is taken prisoner by pirates, resulting in a tryst with the pirate captain that sets in motion an unlikely turn of events, leading her to join his crew. Upon the open sea, her ambition and cunning become her greatest assets as she reinvents herself anew.

From Irish reformatories to the battlefields of Europe to the swashbuckling high seas, Black Moon introduces a character you'll never forget in an adventurous world you'll never want to leave. Throughout Meeks' globe-spanning narrative, we come to know a heroine of unconquerable ambition, boundless intelligence, and insatiable appetite - and to recognize a lawless, brutal, and bounteous world much like our own."

If Becky Sharp boarded a ship.

The Queen's Command by Sarah Raughley
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Inheritance Games meets Bridgerton in the riveting companion novel to The Queen's Spade, where our heroine must play a deadly game and risk everything to get to the truth that's poisoning Victorian England's royal court.

Favored by Queen Victoria, Vicky Davies has survived royal courts, financial ruin, and the loss of her mother, Sarah Forbes Bonetta - the famous African princess turned royal goddaughter - but Cheltenham Ladies' College is about to test her in new and wicked ways.

Every Thursday evening, the senior girls play a secret game and Vicky just became their latest pawn. Truths must be confessed, commands obeyed, and whoever claims the coveted title of winner will have her wish granted, no matter how outrageous and seemingly impossible it may be.

But when the game yields frightening and fatal results, Vicky vows to put an end to this ghoulish tradition that twists minds and makes enemies out of friends. With dangerous foes closing in and truths that could shatter her world clawing to the surface, Vicky must uncover the secrets buried not only in Cheltenham but by her own mother. In a school where survival is a gamble, will she emerge victorious - or fall victim to its deadly game?"

Well if her mother in this book is anything like how she's portrayed in A Thousand Blows.... Watch out!

The Betrayal of Cora Wexford by Bethany Joy Lenz
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Dinner for Vampires, Bethany Joy Lenz, comes a romantic psychological suspense set in Victorian-era London amidst the Jack the Ripper murders.

1880s London. Cora Wexford is alone at thirty-eight, with secrets that drove her to flee life in America and come to London. Now, she makes a living by painting the dead. On the evening of her birthday, she is introduced through friends to a charming stranger named Miles Vale. As Cora falls deeper into trust and surrender with Miles, she's given an opportunity to catapult her career. A suffragist and esteemed gallery owner commission Cora to create a series of portraits featuring ordinary women whose recent deaths have been caused or enabled by a system that ignores them. Then a killer in Whitechapel begins murdering women in the same gruesome way.

As Cora works tirelessly to honor the victims of this "Jack the Ripper," she finds herself increasingly disoriented within her own relationship. Her unraveling leads to one question: will anyone notice a woman being dismantled over time by someone sharing her bed?

The Betrayal of Cora Wexford is a haunting novel of psychological suspense that examines themes of desire, manipulation and community complicity, showing how easily someone surrounded by witnesses can disappear - and how truly terrifying love can be."

I need an ARC of this book! I NEED IT! The artist and Ripperologist in me needs it!

The Body at Waterloo Station by Emily Organ
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 292 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A murdered clerk. A body at Waterloo. A letter with a deadly secret.

London, 1889. In the gloomy Dead Letter Office at St Martin's Le Grand, young clerk Andrew Peverell spends his days sorting through letters that never found their intended reader. When three anonymous notes cross his desk - each inviting a stranger to a public house near Buckingham Palace - Andrew makes a decision that will cost him his life.

Four days later, a foul smell leads to a black leather trunk in Waterloo Station's left-luggage office. Inside is Andrew's body.

When the story reaches the morning papers, Emma Langley recognises the victim's name - a man her late brother once knew as a boy. Together with her friend Penny Green, she sets out to find the truth. Their investigation takes them from the hushed rooms of the Dead Letter Office to the grand halls of Marlborough House, where a footman has vanished and a menacing lawyer is hunting him down.

But the truth about Andrew's death lies somewhere no one has thought to look. And by the time Emma understands what she is really searching for, the killer is closer than she has ever imagined..."

Huh. Naming a murder victim after a Harry Potter character sure is a choice.

Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas - a sweeping, richly layered Victorian novel about a trailblazing female economist who's determined to build Britain's first women's bank, but she must fight both financial corruption and a system intent on destroying the newly found family she's created.

In Victorian England, no woman - not even a brilliant economist like Reina Martin - is allowed to open her own bank account. Men will take care of everything, women are told. But Reina knows better. As the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish immigrant mother, she's haunted by the memory of living with unpaid grocer's bills and no coal for the hearth.

So together with her mentor, the powerful banker William Farlow, Reina will build the first all-women's bank, where women can manage their own financial security.

At home, Reina's domestic staff of recently paroled prisoners are building new lives and becoming a found family. But soon Reina is shocked to discover that her enigmatic butler, John Pembroke, is an undercover police detective. He's been assigned to investigate Farlow, who's suspected of financial crime on a scale so massive, it could destabilize the British economy. Pembroke needs Reina's expertise for a high-stakes nighttime heist to obtain incriminating evidence.

Now Reina faces the agonizing choice of betraying her mentor or turning her back on thousands of working-class families who stand to lose everything. Either way, her dream of the women's bank may be over.

But courage and sacrifice aren't limited to the battlefield - they also occur at the kitchen table, where women who believe in compassion and community are working to remake the future. And when the stakes are highest, Reina knows to trust her heart as well as her intellect.

Based on real-life trailblazers such as Mary Paley Marshall, Britain's first female economist, and financial titan Hetty Green, Queen of Lombard Street brings to light the hidden history of extraordinary women whose achievements should be celebrated. How can we know who we are, if we don't know who we were?"

Lisa Kleypas in her Barbara Taylor Brandford era!

The Queen of Roses by Julia Kelly
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Spanning the ballrooms of Pasadena and the sunlit gardens of Altadena, a new novel of love and sacrifice from the internationally bestselling author of The Light Over London and The Last Garden in England.

1960: Frustrated reporter Theresa Johnson's life changes when she receives a phone call from a Miss Pearce who claims her obituary about one of Pasadena's last great hoteliers is wildly inaccurate. Seeking the truth, Theresa drives to the mysterious Rosewood House nestled high in the Altadena foothills. Even more intriguing than the house's beautiful garden is Miss Pearce's proposal that Theresa help her settle old scores by writing her biography.

1903: Beautiful but haughty, Adele Pearce is reluctant to leave the London Season and her last hope of a proposal. When she arrives in California, she discovers the startling truth of why her mother has called her there: her father has squandered his fortune and Adele must marry a wealthy American to save the family.

Stifled by expectation as Pasadena's newest doyenne, Adele's only comfort is Rosewood House and the beautiful garden she creates with the help of taciturn gardener Alexander Macalister. However, as Adele's feelings for Alex flourish, a fire ignites in the San Gabriel Mountains above Rosewood House, threatening everything Adele holds dear, while in 1960, Miss Pearce learns that history has a terrible habit of repeating itself."

Of course she falls for the gardener. Honestly I would too.

Miss Wolcott's Ghost by Louise Penny
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Armand Gamache returns!

"There's a body in Lost Nation."

"Where?" demands Armand as he scribbles on the pad by his bed.

But the line goes dead before Chief Inspector Gamache can question the caller.

The head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec has no idea where Lost Nation is, or who woke him in the small hours of the morning at his home in Three Pines. What he does know is that the man was terrified.

And so Armand is thrust out of a deep sleep and into the surrounding forests in search of the mythical Lost Nation. And a body.

When he and his team of Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste find both, the situation only grows more bizarre. The unidentified dead man appears to be from an era more than a century old. He's lying in a long-abandoned cemetery, on top of a grave with a date, but no name.

Adding to the mystery, the early morning call appears to have come from Gamache's friend and neighbor, Clara Morrow. While she denies any knowledge of it, it becomes clear there is some connection between her, the Morrow family, and Lost Nation.

Soon, Gamache and his team are faced with tracking down not just the legend of Lost Nation, but a lost ship, lost documents belong to an eccentric Victorian botanist, and a mysterious plant not seen in a century, that might save, or take, countless lives.

As the murder investigation deepens, nightmarish spectres from the past begin to haunt the Sûreté officers, only heightened by the appearance of one of Gamache's former and now disgraced proteges, with whom he must form an uneasy alliance.

As the ghosts begin to gather, Gamache, Beauvoir, and Lacoste, with the help of Reine-Marie, Clara, and the other villagers of Three Pines, realize that the body on the grave is far from the only death. To solve the crime and avert catastrophe they must look to rancid secrets and old lies no longer dead and buried."

Score! Victorian botanist and a mysterious plant not seen in a hundred years!

The Key to a Killer by Olivia Blacke
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman and her ghost roommate investigate their most personal case yet in Olivia Blacke's The Key to a Killer, the next book in the Anthony Award winning Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries.

When Ruby Young discovered that her Boston apartment was haunted, she did what any reasonable person would do: befriend the ghost. Their relationship overcame a shaky start - Cordelia Graves never wanted a roommate in life, she certainly didn't want one in death. After working together to solve a few murders, the two are close friends, but there's a lingering question neither of them have been able to answer: what led to Cordelia's death?

Lately things have been adding up that suggest foul play. And when Cordelia's memories of that day start to come back, the roommates can't ignore it anymore: Cordelia was murdered. Ruby and Cordelia are going to have to piece together what Cordelia's final days looked like - otherwise a killer could go free."

Just saying, you'd think that solving Cordelia's death might be more urgent than to wait until the third book...

A Reunion to Die For by K.J. Whittle
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"They all wanted their bully dead. Now someone's granted the wish. From the author of Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests comes the twisted tale of a school reunion turned murderous - and the suspects must catch the real killer before they're framed. Perfect for fans of Benjamin Stevenson and We Solve Murders.

In a dingy pub, a high school reunion brings five old friends back together. As they catch up after twenty years, painful memories surface, all centered around the disastrous prom night that broke them all apart and the school bully at the heart of it all. King of the class turned handsome sport superstar, Eric Stewart poses as a charming local celebrity, but his old friends know of his hidden cruel streak that made each of them miserable. The more they drink, the more a morbid plan takes shape, with everyone tossing in ideas for how they could get the ultimate form of revenge.

The next morning, heads-pounding and hearts racing, they discover Eric has been found dead, exactly the way they drunkenly planned it.

When a cryptic, anonymous message containing a recording of their conversation from the night before starts to circulate, the group knows they need to act, and fast. Who was listening to them? Who arranged the reunion? And, most importantly, who carried out their murderous plans? Soon, they find themselves dragged into a series of sinister games devised to reveal the truth about prom night and Eric's death. Before they become the main suspects, the group will need to share their secrets from all those years ago, or risk going down for murder."

Things are going to get messy!

The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson
Published by: Union Square and Co.
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this festive whodunit, set in a cozy snowed-in country house, an innocent mystery game goes horribly wrong, leaving the real-life couple who invented the game Clue to solve a real murder.

It is Christmas Eve, 1943, when Anthony and Elva Pratt arrive at a snowy English country house to host a murder mystery game, but instead find themselves solving a real murder.

The Pratts had planned on a festive game to liven up the dreary wartime atmosphere, where guests using prop weapons as clues would explore the house to solve the whodunnit.

It is all fun and games until Anthony discovers the cook's sister Miss Silver beaten to death, leaving the sleuthy couple to solve an all-too-real murder. The hotel manager Mr. Browning is trying to keep calm, but the guests are agitated, Colonel Colman seizes the opportunity to take over the hotel for the war effort - and the enigmatic Mrs. Threadgold's whereabouts remain a mystery.

Snowed-in with a murderer in their midst, the Pratts must investigate the novel's colorful cast. But can they solve this Christmas mystery before someone else is killed?"

This is the number one book I'm reading this Christmas! Country House and Clue!?! 

Death Under the Hammer by E.C. Bateman
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: eBook, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brilliant new whodunnit from fan favourite E.C. Bateman, perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton and Richard Osman!

It may be the season of goodwill, but when auctioneer Felicia Grant finds herself in the frame for murder, suddenly life doesn't feel so festive...."

For those who want a festive murder and are going through Lovejoy withdrawal. AKA, this was written for me.

Daphne and Me by Jane Leeves and Isabella Kathryn Coben
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Oh, hello! Caught me with me hand in the biscuit tin!"

With one iconic line, Daphne Moon burst onto the set of Frasier and Jane Leeves's life changed forever. A former ballerina from a small English town that David Hyde Pierce lovingly nicknamed "Muffin-on-Poot," Leeves perfectly embodied her character - a live-in physical therapist for Frasier Crane's father and a quirky, down-to-earth foil to pompous Frasier and his equally pretentious brother, Niles.

In Daphne and Me, Leeves offers a surprising, behind-the-scenes look at Frasier, filled with unexpected stories from the show's eleven seasons and beyond. She opens the door to the fabled - and shockingly cramped - greenroom, where John Mahoney started each morning with a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper, and where the tight quarters quickly bonded the cast into a family. (Nothing brings people together like sharing a bathroom.) She recounts the times Kelsey Grammer broke his scene-mates by delivering lines in a spot-on Bette Davis impression, and how Moose - the talented terrier who starred as Eddie - was a holy terror on set and upstaged the entire cast with his popularity, even flying in first class.

As Daphne and Niles were falling head over heels for each other in a great television romance, Leeves was finding her true love on the Paramount lot, too, and when she started a family of her own, it was Peri Gilpin who held her hand in the hospital.

Written with Leeves's daughter Isabella, Daphne and Me is the story of a young woman taking a risk, discovering herself, and finding a family on and off screen, and a love letter to one of the most successful sitcoms of all time."

I adore the cover for this book so much, the sketch looks so much like Niles it's eerie. 

Last Night I Dreamed of Home by Sophie Li
Published by: Norton Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After botching the only exam that matters in China, Alice arrives at college eager to party like the North Americans on TV - not to hang out with a studious boy who reminds her why she left home.

All Haoran wants is a business degree. His father has spent all his money sending Haoran overseas, and in return, he must graduate and find a stable job. If only he could get rid of the nagging itch to draw a comic book.

From burnt cooking, a stuck elevator, and late-night bubble tea, Alice and Haoran's unlikely friendship promises something more - unless their differences drive them apart. When a creative opportunity arrives, Haoran must choose between his passion and his family, and Alice must discover her own identity or lose touch with her roots altogether.

Last Night I Dreamed of Home is a richly nuanced and sweetly satisfying rom-com from a brilliant new graphic novel creator."

Can I get a late-night bubble tea?

The Little Shop of Gentle Magics by Jessica Rosenberg
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 300 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Meg MacIntosh comes from a long line of kitchen witches - women who can work miracles with a pinch of flour and a ray of moonlight. But there's nothing magical about Meg, or the beautiful hand-decorated sugar cookies she pours her heart into.

When her marriage falls apart, instead of going home to the family she never fit into, Meg impulsively buys a run-down tea shop in the tiny Scottish town of Banhaven.

Then Art walks through the door. One perfect date back home was all it took for Meg to feel truly seen - and to panic and end things. Now, thanks to a job transfer, a very meddling assistant and a housing disaster, he's suddenly here. With his two kids.

Before Meg can talk herself out of it, the rooms above her shop are full: a moody teenager, a boisterous five-year-old, a stray cat, and a man who already feels like home. It's all happening so fast. But as visions start to swirl in her teacup, Meg begins to wonder if some things are simply meant to be...

Falling apart isn't the end...it's the beginning. With the right people by your side, what comes next is magical. Perfect for fans of The Ex Hex and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches."

Oh, I really am feeling the vibe that falling apart is the beginning. 

Enchanted Village by Lily Starling
Published by: Avon a
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A cozy, magical, slice-of-life holiday romance set in a village adjacent to a magic school - if the Dream Harbor series were set at Hogsmeade!

I solemnly swear not to fall in love...

Silas Birchwood wasn't sure what to expect when he joined Emberwind Academy as the school's first non-magical teacher. But he knows he's found his calling, even if his wand-wielding pupils struggle with the scientific method.

Living in Hex Hollow, the quirky village adjacent to the magical school, certainly has its charms - most notably Margaret Nettle, the witch proprietor of The Toasty Owl. Every night, villagers gather in the glow of the fireplace to sip her warming magical drinks.

Margaret has devoted her life to running the pub left to her by her beloved mother and grandmother, even if it stings living so close to the magical school that rejected her.

When a rival bar opens across the street, Silas is determined to help Margaret save her business. And despite herself, Margaret finds herself warming to the man who can fix anything in her pub - with a smile that melts her grumpy heart.

When the secret to her magical drinks is stolen, Margaret fears she's destroyed her family's legacy. Can Silas help her see what he's always known…that the magic was hers all along?"

A bit tone-deaf to be so overtly Harry Potter fanfic. 

Creatures and Corridors by Brandon Auman and Andrea Mutti
Published by: The Lab Press
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 120 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the line between player and character disappears, a group of friends must face the consequences of the game they started.

In the summer of 1992, a forbidden role-playing game, Creatures and Corridors, takes a dark turn for five high school students, warping reality into a nightmarish fantasy. With orcs, tentacled horrors, and deadly traps, their living room, yard, and basement become a battleground. Now, they must navigate the game's perilous challenges, playing for their lives under the sinister scrutiny of a devilish Gamemaster. Blending fantasy, horror, and tabletop RPG storytelling, Creatures and Corridors explores what happens when survival becomes part of the story."

Here for everything RPG right now!

Goblin Market by A.J. Hackwith
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A goblin changeling caught between the human and fey worlds must find a way to save her home in this warm and heartfelt fantasy from the author of Toto and the Hell's Library series.

Being a changeling is hard enough, but Toast was older than most changeling children when her goblin parents stole her back from her human family and returned her to the harsh, bustling world of the Goblin Market, where anything from your fondest dream to your strongest talent can be bought - or sold.

Nearly a decade later, Toast has grudgingly cobbled together a life there as the Market's guide for mortal visitors. But when the next arrival is her long-lost sister and the ancient beast whose magic the Market depends on disappears under strange circumstances, everything starts falling apart.

Now the Market itself is dying. With the Summer Court of noble fey plotting to claim the weakened Market for themselves, Toast, her friends, and an infuriatingly charming fey knight with an agenda of her own must negotiate their differences to make the trade of a lifetime and win back the Market's future. To do so, Toast will have to decide what home - and the flawed community within - is ultimately worth."

I've always wondered how I would have fared as a goblin changeling. 

Knight of the God King by Lauren Blackwood
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A powerful knight and her handsome squire must stop the deadly schemes of a savior king in this romantic fantasy of dark deeds and court intrigue.

Calliope's wish has always been to become a knight, an elite healer and protector who uses music to summon magic. Yet despite her exceptional skill, she's stuck lifting up her talentless cousin, whose family begrudgingly took Cali in as a child. But when an opportunity to become the royal knight of the immortal God King arrives, Cali finally gets a chance at a fairytale life - until her cousin blackmails her.

Forced to bring her cousin to court so she won't share Cali's shameful past, Cali immediately snubs Beric, the alluring, handsome squire tending to her. Now she must contend with his ire, even while feeling helplessly drawn to him. If that wasn't enough, her duty means accompanying the king into The Dark, a demonic entity that only the king's magic is powerful enough to battle - a fight he has been waging for centuries. She must also keep the king's secret under pain of death: He's not a god at all, and the only thing keeping him alive is the magic held by the royal knight. It seems serving the God King isn't a fairytale at all, and when people start dying around her, she and Beric realize that they have no choice but to take their fate - and that of an entire kingdom - into their own hands.

In Lauren Blackwood's thrilling fantasy, Knight of the God King, a knight's power and her squire's love are the only things that can help her defeat a man playing at being a god."

When your leader isn't capable of leading you might be the one who has to save the kingdom. Never forget, you have the power.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A.J. Hackwith, Alix E. Harrow, Emily Organ, Jane Leeves, Jessica Rosenberg, Julia Kelly, K.J. Whittle, Lauren Blackwood, Lily Starling, Lisa Kleypas, Louise Penny, Nicola Upson, Olivia Blacke, Philippa Gregory, Susanna Clarke