Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 672 Pages
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The official patter:
"A STUNNING NEW WORK OF HISTORICAL FANTASY, J. M. MIRO'S ORDINARY MONSTERS INTRODUCES READERS TO THE DARK, LABYRINTHINE WORLD OF THE TALENTS.
England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness - a man made of smoke.
Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn't have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When Alice Quicke, a jaded detective with her own troubled past, is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.
What follows is a story of wonder and betrayal, from the gaslit streets of London, and the wooden theaters of Meiji-era Tokyo, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh where other children with gifts - like Komako, a witch-child and twister of dust, and Ribs, a girl who cloaks herself in invisibility - are forced to combat the forces that threaten their safety. There, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, Komako, Marlowe, Charlie, Ribs, and the rest of the talents will discover the truth about their abilities, and the nature of what is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.
Riveting in its scope, exquisitely written, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world - and of the gifted, broken children who must save it."
THIS is exactly what I wanted from The Nevers! That didn't deliver, THIS does.
The Maker of Swans by Paraic O'Donnell
Published by: Tin House Books
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"It is no small matter, after all, to create something - to make it so only by setting down the words. We forget the magnitude, sometimes, of that miracle.
In the dead of night, shots ring out over the grounds of a sprawling English estate. The world-weary butler Eustace recognizes the gunman - his longtime employer, Mr. Crowe - and knows he must think and act quickly. Who is the man lying dead on the lawn? Who is the woman in his company? Can he clean up his master’s mess like he always has before? Or will this bring a new kind of reckoning?
Mr. Crowe was once famed for his gifts - unaccountable gifts, known only to the members of a secretive order. Protected and privileged, he was courted by countesses and great men of letters. But he has long since retreated from that glittering world, living alone but for Eustace and Clara, his mysterious young ward. He has been content to live quietly, his great library gathering dust and his once magnificent gardens growing wild. He has left the past behind. Until now.
Because there are rules, even for Mr. Crowe and his kind, that cannot be broken. And this single night of passion and violence will have consequences, stirring shadows from the past and threatening those he now cares for. He and the faithful Eustace will be tested as never before. So too will Clara, whose own extraordinary gifts remain hidden, even from herself. If she is to save them all, she must learn to use them quickly and unlock the secret of who she is.
It is a secret beyond imagining. A secret that will change everything."
Secrets on a sprawling English estate, sqwee!
The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Cat Sebastian returns to Georgian London with a stunning tale of a reluctant criminal and the thief who cannot help but love her.
Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, just shot her husband. Of course, the evil, murderous man deserved what was coming to him, but now she must flee to the countryside. Unfortunately, the only person she can ask for help is the charismatic criminal who is blackmailing her - and who she may have left tied up a few hours before...
A highwayman, con artist, and all-around cheerful villain, Rob Brooks is no stranger to the wrong side of the law or the right side of anybody’s bed. He never meant to fall for the woman whose secrets he promised to keep for the low price of five hundred pounds, but how could he resist someone who led him on a merry chase all over London, left him tied up in a seedy inn, and then arrived covered in her husband’s blood and in desperate need of his help?
As they flee across the country - stopping to pick pockets, drink to excess, and rescue invalid cats - they discover more true joy and peace than either has felt in ages. But when the truth of Rob’s past catches up to him, they must decide if they are willing to reshape their lives in order to forge a future together."
High Georgian times where blackmail could lead to love!
Edward and Amelia by Karen Thornell
Published by: Covenant Communications
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The last thing Amelia Kennington wants is to participate in the London Season. But the daughter of a duke is not afforded such opinions. She must put forth a subdued facade, but beneath it is a well-hidden fire that surfaces only when provoked - such as when an overly familiar gentleman startles her and she falls into the Serpentine.
Edward Drayton, the Earl of Norwich, has gained a reputation as Society’s most decorated rake. And while there are benefits to such a reputation, it no longer gives him the satisfaction it once did. This Season, he plans to find a wife - except she seems to find him instead. And she is nothing like he expected.
Scandal is inevitable following Edward and Amelia’s ill-conceived meeting, forcing them to marry. Amelia’s disdain for this man she hardly knows is more than clear, and Edward’s pride is wounded before their marriage has even truly begun. Yet, against all odds, the two slowly let their guard down, discovering the truth of who they married. But when Society gossip, a sister’s jealousy, and long-held secrets threaten their budding relationship, the unlikely couple must determine if their unconventional love is strong enough to withstand the opposition they face."
Ah, Regency Romance, you know it's my jam!
A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The Lost Apothecary meets Dead Dead Girls in this fast-paced, STEMinist adventure.
Debut author Kate Khavari deftly entwines a pulse-pounding mystery with the struggles of a woman in a male-dominated field in 1923 London.
Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh is determined to blaze a new trail at the University College London, but with her colleagues' beliefs about women's academic inabilities and not so subtle hints that her deceased father’s reputation paved her way into the botany department, she feels stymied at every turn.
When she attends a dinner party for the school, she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon. What she doesn’t expect is for Mrs. Henry, one of the professors' wives, to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin.
Dr. Maxwell, Saffron's mentor, is the main suspect and evidence quickly mounts. Joined by fellow researcher - and potential romantic interest - Alexander Ashton, Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons to clear Maxwell's name.
Will she be able to uncover the truth or will her investigation land her on the murderer's list, in this entertaining examination of society's expectations."
You know, I might have been more willing to embrace STEM as a child had I been allowed to focus on poisons. Just saying...
Lasy Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 302 Pages
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The official patter:
"First in a captivating Jazz age mystery series from author Katharine Schellman, Last Call at the Nightingale beckons readers into a darkly glamorous speakeasy where music, liquor, and secrets flow.
New York, 1924. Vivian Kelly's days are filled with drudgery, from the tenement lodging she shares with her sister to the dress shop where she sews for hours every day.
But at night, she escapes to The Nightingale, an underground dance hall where illegal liquor flows and the band plays the Charleston with reckless excitement. With a bartender willing to slip her a free glass of champagne and friends who know the owner, Vivian can lose herself in the music. No one asks where she came from or how much money she has. No one bats an eye if she flirts with men or women as long as she can keep up on the dance floor. At The Nightingale, Vivian forgets the dangers of Prohibition-era New York and finds a place that feels like home.
But then she discovers a body behind the club, and those dangers come knocking.
Caught in a police raid at the Nightingale, Vivian discovers that the dead man wasn't the nameless bootlegger he first appeared. With too many people assuming she knows more about the crime than she does, Vivian finds herself caught between the dangers of the New York's underground and the world of the city's wealthy and careless, where money can hide any sin and the lives of the poor are considered disposable...including Vivian's own."
Lately I've been all about the speakeasy lifestyle!
Spineless by Samantha San Miguel
Published by: Union Square Kids
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"This exciting middle-grade adventure is Hoot for the Gilded Age - with scientific discoveries, secret plots, and surprisingly enormous fauna.
When his asthma lands him at a health resort in the wilds of Gilded Age South Florida, twelve-year-old Algie Emsworth is over the moon. The scientific treasure trove of unexplored swamps may launch his dream career as a naturalist. But even Algie is startled when he happens upon a brand-new species and her brood in the karst springs surrounding the resort. Algie quickly realizes he must keep his discovery a secret: a famous collector of exotic animals is also staying at the hotel, and the new species is threatened by his very presence. An apparent curse has also descended upon the hotel, bringing with it a deadly red tide. But when the pool starts filling with ink and guests start getting mysterious, sucker-shaped wounds, Algie must pluck up his courage to find the truth about the goings-on at the Grand Hotel - and save the new species from destruction."
Florida during the Gilded Age? Oh yes!
We All Fall Down by Rose Szabo
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The first book in a dark fantasy YA duology by Rose Szabo, the author of What Big Teeth, about the power and danger of stories and the untold costs of keeping magic alive, perfect for fans of Aiden Thomas and Marie Rutkoski.
In River City, where magic used to thrive and is now fading, the witches who once ruled the city along with their powerful King have become all but obsolete. The city's crumbling government is now controlled primarily by the new university and teaching hospital, which has grown to take over half of the city.
Moving between the decaying Old City and the ruthless New, four young queer people struggle with the daily hazards of life - work, school, dodging ruthless cops and unscrupulous scientists - not realizing that they have been selected to play in an age-old drama that revives the flow of magic through their world. When a mysterious death rocks their fragile peace, the four are brought into each other's orbits as they uncover a deeper magical conspiracy.
Devastating, gorgeous, and utterly unique, We All Fall Down examines the complex network of pain created by power differentials, even between people who love each other - and how it is possible to be queer and turn out just fine."
I would also say for fans of Leigh Bardugo!
Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor
Published by: Headline
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"BOOK 12 IN THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING CHRONICLES OF ST MARY'S SERIES,
For fans of Jasper Fforde, Doctor Who, Genevieve Cogman and Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club.
'It's time, Max.' And so, a whole new chapter opens up...
It's long been known that if a thing can go wrong, it will. With knobs on, usually. Disasters start to pile up. A new colleague with no respect for the past and a great deal to prove. Historians lost in time. And - worst of all - Rosie Lee on her very first jump. Then there's the small matter of Max's dishonourable discharge.
From Tudor England to the Tower of Babel - it's all going horribly wrong.
Jobless and homeless, Max receives an offer she can't refuse. Another time, another place. A refuge, perhaps.
She's got that wrong, too."
The series I am literally recommended to read by everyone all the time.
Witch 13 by Patrick Delaney
Published by: Oblivion Publishing
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 354 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"On the eve of her resignation, Sheriff Sterling Marsh prepares for a bleak winter in Drybell, Connecticut, after a string of bad decisions leaves her life in shambles. Two weeks before Christmas and expecting a long night of paperwork and quiet celebration with the friends she's grown to know and love, she's surprised when an unnerving stranger appears in the form of a witch.
A silent, menacing figure, the witch appears to be ripped straight out of a fairy tale, complete with a tall, pointed hat, and black clothing. But when strange things begin happening all over town, Sterling begins to suspect that there may be more to the witch than meets the eye.
As she works to maintain order as the world crumbles around her, the witch's mysterious presence throws her world into a frenzy, threatening to send the sleepy town spiraling face-first into the darkest night it's ever seen."
A witch who is a harbinger of bad tidings, yes please!
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In every person's story, there is something to hide...
The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning - it just happens that one is a murderer.
Award-winning author Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with The Woman in the Library, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all."
THE BOOK everyone is talking about right now, probably even those four strangers in the library!
A Secret About a Secret by Peter Spiegelman
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Looming high above the cliffside along a remote coastline, Ondstrand House is the headquarters of the shadowy biotech firm Ondstrand Biologic. When the body of the organization’s most gifted young scientist, Allegra Stans, is discovered in a walk-in refrigerator - her neck has been broken - Agent Myles is called in to investigate. Myles works for Standard Division, the most feared element of a vast state security apparatus, and he’s been dispatched to the brooding manor, a massive stone campus that once housed a notorious boarding school, to do what Standard Division agents do best - complete the task at hand.
As his investigation proceeds, Myles discovers that "gifted scientist" is only one thread in the complicated fabric of Allegra’s life. There are darker strands as well - of ambition, manipulation, and bitter grievance - all woven into a pattern of secrets, each presenting a reasonable motive for murder. It appears everyone has something to hide, including Allegra’s colleagues, lovers, and former lovers - even the very halls of Ondstrand House itself.
Questions continue to pile up: What interest does Standard Division, an organization best known for intelligence gathering and clandestine international operations, have in this seemingly straightforward case? Could the killing have anything to do with the sprawling estate’s sordid past? And what, exactly, is this research facility researching? Before long, another murder is discovered, and Myles finds himself an increasingly unwelcome presence in an ever more hostile landscape with few allies and fewer answers."
A sprawling estate's sordid past that now houses a biotech firm? Michael Crichton meets Agatha Christie!
Cold Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Finn’s search for his memory of one fateful night leads him to Iceland - only to be followed by an unhinged assassin intent on stopping him - in the riveting follow-up to Steel Fear, from the New York Times bestselling writing team Webb and Mann, combat-decorated Navy SEAL Brandon Webb and award-winning author John David Mann.
Disgraced Navy SEAL Finn is on the run. A wanted man since he jumped ship from the USS Abraham Lincoln, he’s sought for questioning in connection to war crimes committed in Yemen by a rogue element in his SEAL team. But his memory of that night - as well as the true fate of his mentor and only friend, Lieutenant Kennedy - is a gaping hole.
Finn learns that three members of his team have been quietly redeployed to Iceland, which is a puzzle in itself; the tiny island nation is famous for being one of the most peaceful, crime-free places on the planet.
His mission is simple: track down the three corrupt SEALs and find out what really happened that night in Yemen. But two problems stand in his way. On his first night in town a young woman mysteriously drowns - and a local detective suspects Finn’s involvement. What’s worse, a SEAL-turned-contract-killer with skills equal to Finn’s own has been hired to make sure he never gets the answers he’s looking for. And he’s followed Finn all the way to the icy north."
ICELAND!!!
The City Inside by Samit Basu
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The City Inside, a near-future epic by the internationally celebrated Samit Basu, pulls no punches as it comes for your anxieties about society, government, the environment, and our world at large - yet never loses sight of the hopeful potential of the future.
"They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they'd be multiple choice."
Joey is a Reality Controller in near-future Delhi. Her job is to supervise the multimedia multi-reality livestreams of Indi, one of South Asia’s fastest rising online celebrities - who also happens to be her college ex. Joey’s job gives her considerable culture power, but she's too caught up in day-to-day crisis handling to see this, or to figure out what she wants from her life.
Rudra is a recluse estranged from his wealthy and powerful family, now living in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood. When his father's death pulls him back into his family's orbit, an impulsive job offer from Joey becomes his only escape from the life he never wanted.
But as Joey and Rudra become enmeshed in multiple conspiracies, their lives start to spin out of control - complicated by dysfunctional relationships, corporate loyalty, and the never-ending pressures of surveillance capitalism. When a bigger picture begins to unfold, they must each decide how to do the right thing in a world where simply maintaining the status quo feels like an accomplishment. Ultimately, resistance will not - cannot - take the same shape for these two very different people."
Surveillance capitalism will never not be a relevant topic.
Tracy Flick Can't Win by Tom Perrotta
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Tracy Flick is back and, once again, the iconic protagonist of Tom Perrotta's Election - and Reese Witherspoon’s character from the classic movie adaptation - is determined to take high school politics by storm.
Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New Jersey. Still ambitious but feeling a little stuck and underappreciated in midlife, Tracy gets a jolt of good news when the longtime principal, Jack Weede, abruptly announces his retirement, creating a rare opportunity for Tracy to ascend to the top job.
Energized by the prospect of her long-overdue promotion, Tracy throws herself into her work with renewed zeal, determined to prove her worth to the students, faculty, and School Board, while also managing her personal life - a ten-year-old daughter, a needy doctor boyfriend, and a burgeoning meditation practice. But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be.
Among her many other responsibilities, Tracy is enlisted to serve on the Selection Committee for the brand-new Green Meadow High School Hall of Fame. Her male colleagues' determination to honor Vito Falcone - a star quarterback of dubious character who had a brief, undistinguished career in the NFL - triggers bad memories for Tracy, and leads her to troubling reflections about the trajectory of her own life and the forces that have left her feeling thwarted and disappointed, unable to fulfill her true potential.
As she broods on the past, Tracy becomes aware of storm clouds brewing in the present. Is she really a shoo-in for the Principal job? Is the Superintendent plotting against her? Why is the School Board President's wife trying so hard to be her friend? And why can’t she ever get what she deserves?
In classic Perrotta style, Tracy Flick Can't Win is a sharp, darkly comic, and pitch-perfect reflection on our current moment. Flick fans and newcomers alike will love this compelling novel chronicling the second act of one of the most memorable characters of our time."
Because I'm sure just like me everyone else has been wondering what happened to Tracy Flick!
Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 7th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"An American woman and her son stumble upon the dark history of a rambling English manor house in this "masterful, riveting, and atmospheric" (Alka Joshi, author of The Henna Artist) novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Belfer.
When a close relative falls ill, Hannah Larson and her young son, Nicky, join him for the summer at Ashton Hall, a historic manor house outside Cambridge, England. A frustrated academic whose ambitions have been subsumed by the challenges of raising her beloved child, Hannah longs to escape her life in New York City, where her marriage has been upended by a recently discovered and devastating betrayal.
Soon after their arrival, ever-curious Nicky finds the skeletal remains of a woman walled into a forgotten part of the manor, and Hannah is pulled into an all-consuming quest for answers, Nicky close by her side. Working from clues in centuries-old ledgers showing what the woman’s household spent on everything from music to medicine; lists of books checked out of the library; and the troubling personal papers of the long-departed family, Hannah begins to recreate the Ashton Hall of the Elizabethan era in all its color and conflict. As the multilayered secrets of her own life begin to unravel, Hannah comes to realize that Ashton Hall's women before her had lives not so different from her own, and she confronts what mothers throughout history have had to do to secure their independence and protect their children.
"Infused with the brooding, Gothic atmosphere of Jane Eyre or Rebecca" (Melanie Benjamin, author of The Children’s Blizzard) and rich with female passion, strength, and ferocity across the ages, Ashton Hall is a novel that reveals how the most profound hauntings are within ourselves."
The ghosts within ourselves and our roles in society taking place within a manor house!?! YAS!
The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty
The Path of Thorns by A.G. Slatter
Taproot by Keezy Young
Daughter of Redwinter by Ed McDonald
City of Magic by Avi
Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard
For the Love of the Bard by Jessica Martin
Harlem Sunset by Nekesa Afia
In Place of Fear by Catriona McPherson
Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo
The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths
Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
A Crochet World of Creepy Creatures and Cryptides by Rikki Gustafson
This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron
Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid
In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan
The Last Dress from Paris by Jade Beer
A Thousand Miles by Bridget Morrissey
Vera Kelly Lost and Found by Rosalie Knecht
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Trouble with the Cursed by Kim Harrison
Go Hunt Me by Kelly Devos
Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino
The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell
Alchemy and Rose by Sarah Maine
Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter by Lizzie Pook
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
Sanditon and Other Stories by Jane Austen
