The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world - a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues - a bee, a key, and a sword - that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians - it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose - in both the mysterious book and in his own life."
I have been waiting for this book since about five minutes after I read The Night Circus for the first time. And I have been frantically waiting to read it since ARCs made it out into the world, none which would grace my hands. You can be sure that come Tuesday morning I'm going to be the first person into my local bookstore where they're holding me a signed copy. Can. Not. Wait. One. Minutes. Longer. And yes, I have organized all my other reading and work to accommodate my disappearance into this book.
Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater
Published by: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The dreamers walk among us...and so do the dreamed. Those who dream cannot stop dreaming - they can only try to control it. Those who are dreamed cannot have their own lives - they will sleep forever if their dreamers die.
And then there are those who are drawn to the dreamers. To use them. To trap them. To kill them before their dreams destroy us all.
Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.
Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it.
Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer...and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed...."
I know I'm not the only one excited for this new trilogy!
Made Things by Adrain Tchaikovsky
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Kindle, 192 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky's Made Things is dark fantasy tale of how the most unlikely characters may become the most heroic.
Making friends has never been so important.
Welcome to Fountains Parish - a cesspit of trade and crime, where ambition curls up to die and desperation grows on its cobbled streets like mold on week-old bread.
Coppelia is a street thief, a trickster, a low-level con artist. But she has something other thieves don't...tiny puppet-like companions: some made of wood, some of metal. They don't entirely trust her, and she doesn't entirely understand them, but their partnership mostly works.
After a surprising discovery shakes their world to the core, Coppelia and her friends must re-examine everything they thought they knew about their world, while attempting to save their city from a seemingly impossible new threat."
I admit I was initially drawn to the cover, mainly because this artist did the cover of a book of my friend's, but then I read the description, and sold!
Supernova by Marissa Meyer
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"All's fair in love and anarchy...
Supernova, the epic conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer's thrilling Renegades Trilogy finds Nova and Adrian struggling to keep their secret identities concealed while the battle rages on between their alter egos, their allies, and their greatest fears come to life. Secrets, lies, and betrayals are revealed as anarchy once again threatens to reclaim Gatlon City."
Yes, I totally HAVE been waiting until this book comes out the read the whole series, it had nothing to do with how unmanageable my TBR pile is...
The Princess Who Flew With Dragons by Stephanie Burgis
Published by: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Shannon Hale, this girl-powered fantasy follows a smart young princess determined to save her kingdom.
Princess Sofia of Drachenburg is sick of being used for her older sister's political gains. At twelve years old, she's already been a hostage to invading dragons and promised to marry a wicked fairy. Now she's being sent to far-off Villene to play the part of a charming, diplomatic princess. Her only comfort lies in writing letters to her pen pal and best friend - Jasper, a young dragon she's never even met.
But when an accident leads to her exile from Villene, Sofia is free to wander as she pleases for the first time in her life. And when Jasper's magical sister Aventurine turns him into a human boy, Sofia thinks life can't get any better. Until...the legendary ice giants of the north attack, trying to reclaim the territory that was theirs centuries ago. With the dragons and royals frozen in ice, can Sofia and Jasper save their families and kingdom?
With another strong heroine and plenty of action, this is an enchanting and strong-hearted fantasy set in the same world as The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart and The Girl with the Dragon Heart."
Do yourself a favor and pick up this or ANY book my Stephanie Burgis and you will be whisked away into a magical land you won't want to leave.
The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A new fantasy series set in the world of Camelot that bestselling author Christina Lauren calls "brilliant," reimagining the Arthurian legend...where nothing is as magical and terrifying as a girl.
Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution - send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife...and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name - and her true identity - is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.
To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old - including Arthur's own family - demand things continue as they have been, and the new - those drawn by the dream of Camelot - fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land.
Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?"
I freely admit that I'm a sucker for anything Arthurian, but throw in a cover like that and an author the caliber of Kiersten White and this is obviously on my most anticipated books of fall list!
Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Onna can write the parameters of a spell faster than any of the young men in her village school. But despite her incredible abilities, she’s denied a place at the nation’s premier arcane academy. Undaunted, she sails to the bustling city-state of Hexos, hoping to find a place at a university where they don’t think there’s anything untoward about providing a woman with a magical education. But as soon as Onna arrives, she’s drawn into the mysterious murder of four trolls.
Tsira is a troll who never quite fit into her clan, despite being the leader’s daughter. She decides to strike out on her own and look for work in a human city, but on her way she stumbles upon the body of a half-dead human soldier in the snow. As she slowly nurses him back to health, an unlikely bond forms between them, one that is tested when an unknown mage makes an attempt on Tsira’s life. Soon, unbeknownst to each other, Onna and Tsira both begin devoting their considerable talents to finding out who is targeting trolls, before their homeland is torn apart..."
It's like a sweet mashup of several of my favorite Terry Pratchett series.
A Christmas Gathering by Anne Perry
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A cold case adds an extra chill to the holiday season as bestselling author Anne Perry whisks readers to an elegant home in the English countryside for a Christmas of secrets, soul-searching, and forgiveness.
As beautiful as it may be, their friends’ country house is not where Lady Vespasia wishes to spend Christmas with her new husband, Victor Narraway. She’d have preferred a relaxing holiday at home with him - especially as Victor, former head of the London Special Branch, seems to be hiding undercover dealings with the other guests who have gathered at the spacious estate.
As tensions grow, the young and beautiful Iris Watson-Watt becomes the center of several men’s focus. Unbeknownst to Vespasia, Iris carries a sensitive package that she must pass to Victor in the hope of unmasking a British traitor. While Victor plots his moves, he is reminded of a similar case from twenty years before, when a young Frenchwoman also carried a clandestine message - one that resulted in her murder, unsolved to this day. Victor has always been tormented by his failure to protect her, and now, with all eyes on Iris, Victor must act fast before history repeats itself.
With the joy of Christmas at risk of being forgotten and Vespasia feeling alone with a distracted husband, Victor must ultimately learn to forgive himself in order to save both his country and the spirit of the holiday."
English country house murders are my holiday catnip!
Upon the Midnight Clear by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Kindle, 73 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In Upon the Midnight Clear, a heartwarming new Christmas short story featuring Tasha Alexander's beloved Victorian sleuth, Lady Emily and her husband, Colin, discover a clue in a Christmas cracker that leads to a true holiday miracle.
While most of London society has fled to their country estates for the holidays, Lady Emily and her family are enjoying a few days in the city. On a shopping trip to Hamley’s Toy Shop, a kind-hearted stranger gives Emily’s son a Christmas cracker - but when he opens it to reveal a cryptic clue inside, Emily suspects there’s more to the gift than Christmas cheer.
By the next day, her suspicions seem well-founded when a Scottish stranger arrives with a heartbreaking tale and an urgent plea for help. He believes his long-lost daughter, kidnapped by her well-meaning grandparents as an infant, may be hidden away somewhere in London. As Colin and Emily trace the clues through the city’s snowy streets, more mysterious crackers arrive to guide their investigation. But who is sending them? What do they mean? Emily and Colin must find the answers as they seek to reunite a father with his beloved daughter by Christmas Eve."
I have a confession to make. I've actually had the ARC of Tasha's new book for about a month but I didn't want to read it out of order so have been desperately waiting for this Christmas tale so that I can then dive into In the Shadow of Vesuvius...
Tell Me No Lies by Shelley Noble
Published by: Forge Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Miss Fisher meets Downton Abbey in Tell Me No Lies, part of the critically acclaimed Lady Dunbridge Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble.
Rise and shine, Countess, you’re about to have a visitor.
Lady Dunbridge was not about to let a little thing like the death of her husband ruin her social life. She’s come to New York City, ready to take the dazzling world of Gilded Age Manhattan by storm. The social events of the summer have been amusing but Lady Phil is searching for more excitement - and she finds it, when an early morning visitor arrives, begging for her help. After all, Lady Phil has been known to be useful in a crisis. Especially when the crisis involves the untimely death of a handsome young business tycoon.
His death could send another financial panic through Wall Street and beyond.
With the elegant Plaza Hotel, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the opulent mansions of Long Island’s Gold Coast as the backdrop, romance, murder, and scandals abound. Someone simply must do something. And Lady Dunbridge is happy to oblige."
Because how else are you to fill the void between the Downton Abbey movie and the Miss Fisher movie?
The Missing Diamond Murder by Diane Janes
Published by: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Frances Black leaves her domestic worries behind and travels to Devon to solve a family mystery featuring a suspicious death and a missing diamond.
1930. Frances Black is worried - divorce proceedings are under way and her solicitor has learnt of a spiteful letter sent to the court claiming that there is more to her friendship with her sleuthing partner, Tom Dod, than meets the eye.
Fran takes Tom’s advice to get away, travelling down to Devon to help the Edgertons with their family mystery. After meeting the charismatic Eddie Edgerton and arriving at their residence, Sunnyside House, Fran soon learns that Eddie’s grandfather, Frederick Edgerton, died in mysterious circumstances when his wheelchair went off a cliff. Was it really an accident? And what happened to Frederick’s precious diamond which went missing at the time of his death? As Fran investigates, she uncovers family scandal, skulduggery and revenge, but can she solve the mystery of the missing diamond?"
Family secrets in Devon? Yes please!
I Lost My Girlish Laughter by Jane Allen
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A lost literary gem of Hollywood in the 1930s, I Lost My Girlish Laughter is a thinly veiled send-up of the actors, producers, writers, and directors of the Golden Age of the studio system.
Madge Lawrence, fresh from New York City, lands a job as the personal secretary to the powerful Hollywood producer Sidney Brand (based on the legendary David O. Selznick). In a series of letters home, Western Union telegrams, office memos, Hollywood gossip newspaper items, and personal journal entries, we get served up the inside scoop on all the shenanigans, romances, backroom deals, and betrayals that go into making a movie.
The action revolves around the production of Brand's latest blockbuster, meant to be a star vehicle to introduce his new European bombshell (the real-life Marlene Dietrich). Nevermind that the actress can't act, Brands' negotiations with MGM to get Clark Gable to play the male lead are getting nowhere, and the Broadway play he's bought for the screenplay is reworked so that it is unrecognizable to its author. In this delicious satire of the film business, one is never very far from the truth of what makes Hollywood tick and why we all love it."
A rediscovered classic and a must for those who love the golden age of Hollywood!
Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders by Tessa Arlen
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Charming and feisty Poppy Redfern stumbles into murder in this exciting new World War II historical mystery series from critically acclaimed author Tessa Arlen.
Summer 1942. The world has been at war for three long and desperate years. In the remote English village of Little Buffenden, Poppy Redfern’s family house and farmland has been requisitioned by the War Office as a new airfield for the American Air Force. As the village's Air Raid Warden, Poppy spends her nights patrolling the village as she tries to ease her neighbors’ fears about the “Friendly Invasion” and what it means to their quiet way of life.
When two young, popular women who were dating American servicemen are found strangled, Poppy quickly realizes that her little town has been divided by murder. The mistrust and suspicion of their new American partners in war threatens to tear Little Buffenden apart. Poppy decides to start her own investigation with the help of a charismatic American pilot and she soon unearths some chilling secrets and long-held grudges. Poppy will have no choice but to lay a trap for a killer so perilously close to home, she might very well become the next victim...."
Look at that cover! Look at that corgi!
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Be careful who you let in.
Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.
She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well - and she is on a collision course to meet them.
Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone."
Come on! How can you NOT read the teaser and be like, I NEED TO READ THIS NOW!
Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published by: Freeform
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft joined Southern high society for one reason and one reason alone: to identify and locate her biological father. But the answers Sawyer found during her debutante year only left her with more questions and one potentially life-ruining secret. When her cousin Lily ropes her into pledging a mysterious, elite, and all-female secret society called the White Gloves, Sawyer soon discovers that someone in the group's ranks may have the answers she's looking for. Things are looking up... until Sawyer and the White Gloves make a disturbing discover near the family's summer home--and uncover a twisted secret, decades in the making.
No one is quite who they seem to be in this twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing sequel to Jennifer Lynn Barnes' unputdownable Little White Lies."
I'm all about the secret societies right now!
Mobituaries by Mo Rocca
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca, an entertaining and rigorously researched book that celebrates the dead people who have long fascinated him.
Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries - reading about the remarkable lives of global leaders, Hollywood heavyweights, and innovators who changed the world. But not every notable life has gotten the send-off it deserves. His quest to right that wrong inspired Mobituaries, his #1 hit podcast. Now with Mobituaries, the book, he has gone much further, with all new essays on artists, entertainers, sports stars, political pioneers, founding fathers, and more. Even if you know the names, you’ve never understood why they matter...until now.
Take Herbert Hoover: before he was president, he was the “Great Humanitarian,” the man who saved tens of millions from starvation. But after less than a year in the White House, the stock market crashed, and all the good he had done seemed to be forgotten. Then there’s Marlene Dietrich, well remembered as a screen goddess, less remembered as a great patriot. Alongside American servicemen on the front lines during World War II, she risked her life to help defeat the Nazis of her native Germany. And what about Billy Carter and history’s unruly presidential brothers? Were they ne’er-do-well liabilities…or secret weapons? Plus, Mobits for dead sports teams, dead countries, the dearly departed station wagon, and dragons. Yes, dragons.
Rocca is an expert researcher and storyteller. He draws on these skills here. With his dogged reporting and trademark wit, Rocca brings these men and women back to life like no one else can. Mobituaries is an insightful and unconventional account of the people who made life worth living for the rest of us, one that asks us to think about who gets remembered, and why."
I've loved Mo Rocca for so long I don't even remember when it started. But how I missed Mobituaries, his podcast, until he was recently on Colbert I will never know! This book is perfect for fans of Mo, history, and those who just can't quite get into podcasts...
Mudlark by Lara Maiklem
Published by: Liveright
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A quixotic journey through London’s past, Mudlark plumbs the banks of the Thames to reveal the stories hidden behind the archaeological remnants of an ancient city.
Long heralded as a city treasure herself, expert “mudlarker” Lara Maiklem is uniquely trained in the art of seeking. Tirelessly trekking across miles of the Thames’ muddy shores, where others only see the detritus of city life, Maiklem unearths evidence of England’s captivating, if sometimes murky, history - with some objects dating back to 43 AD, when London was but an outpost of the Roman Empire. From medieval mail worn by warriors on English battlefields to nineteenth-century glass marbles mass-produced for the nation’s first soda bottles, Maiklem deduces the historical significance of these artifacts with the quirky enthusiasm and sharp-sightedness of a twenty-first century Sherlock Holmes.
Seamlessly interweaving reflections from her own life with meditations on the art of wandering, Maiklem ultimately delivers - for Anglophiles and history lovers alike - a memorable treatise on the objects we leave in our wake, and the stories they can reveal if only we take a moment to look."
I've always thought I'd be a good mudlark. FAR better than a tosher.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey
Published by: Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The official behind-the-scenes book of the record-breaking, award-winning play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is one of the most celebrated stage productions of the past decade. Opening in London's West End in 2016, on Broadway in 2018, in Melbourne in 2019 -- and with more productions worldwide still to come (including San Francisco later this year) -- the play has smashed records, collected countless rave reviews and awards, and captivated audiences night after night. Now readers are invited behind the scenes to experience the show's journey to the stage -- from the earliest phases of development with producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, to the crafting of the eighth Harry Potter story with J.K. Rowling, director John Tiffany, and playwright Jack Thorne, to the gathering of an extraordinary team of artists and actors together to bring this new part of Harry Potter's story to life.
With stunning photography, insightful interviews, and never-before-seen sketches, notes, candid backstage photos, and more, this full-color deluxe edition offers readers unparalleled access to this unique production, and is a beautiful gift for Harry Potter fans and theater lovers alike."
A MUST READ for those who went to the show or those who longed to but couldn't.
Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Lady Takes the Case by Eliza Casey
The Apple Tree by Daphne Du Maurier
Our Encounters with Evil by Mike Mignola and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell
Nightmare City by P.S. Newman
The Princess in Black and the Bathtime Battle by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
The Dark Days Deceit by Alison Goodman
The Mermaid's Call by Katherine Stansfield
Firefly: The Sting by Delilah S. Dawson
Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker and Zoe Persico
The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H. Wilson
Otherlife by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
A Sanctuary of Spirits by Leanna Renee Hieber
Lethal Pursuit by Will Thomas
The Body on the Train by Frances Brody
The Glass Thief by Gigi Pandian
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance by Daniel Wallace
Bowie's Bookshelf by John O'Connell
Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge by Sheila Weller
It's Garry Shandling's Book by Judd Apatow
