Tuesday Tomorrow
Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, must face her greatest fears in this chilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.
The vampire Wulfe is missing. Since he's deadly, possibly insane, and his current idea of "fun" is stalking me, some may see it as no great loss. But, warned that his disappearance might bring down the carefully constructed alliances that keep our pack safe, my mate and I must find Wulfe - and hope he’s still alive. As alive as a vampire can be, anyway.
But Wulfe isn't the only one who has disappeared. And now there are bodies, too. Has the Harvester returned to the Tri-Cities, reaping souls with his cursed sickle? Or is he just a character from a B horror movie and our enemy is someone else?
The farther I follow Wulfe's trail, the more twisted - and darker - the path becomes. I need to figure out what’s going on before the next body on the ground is mine."
I do not joke when I say that Patricia Briggs is my most anticipate author every year.
Babel by R.F. Kuang
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
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The official patter:
"From award-winning author R.F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation - also known as Babel.
Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working - the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars - has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire's quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide...
Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?"
Oxford and a certain Susanna Clarke retort? Yes please!
A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The enthralling conclusion to Judy I. Lin's Book of Tea duology - #1 New York Times bestseller A Magic Steeped in Poison and A Venom Dark and Sweet - is sure to enchant fans of Adrienne Young and Leigh Bardugo.
A great evil has come to the kingdom of DÃ xi. The Banished Prince has returned to seize power, his rise to the dragon throne aided by the mass poisonings that have kept the people bound in fear and distrust.
Ning, a young but powerful shénnóng-shi - a wielder of magic using the ancient and delicate art of tea-making - has escorted Princess Zhen into exile. Joining them is the princess' loyal bodyguard, Ruyi, and Ning's newly healed sister, Shu. Together the four young women travel throughout the kingdom in search of allies to help oust the invaders and take back Zhen's rightful throne.
But the golden serpent still haunts Ning's nightmares with visions of war and bloodshed. An evil far more ancient than the petty conflicts of men has awoken, and all the magic in the land may not be enough to stop it from consuming the world..."
Whomever at Feiwel and Friends thought to release both volumes of this duology this year I salute you!
A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In this wickedly whimsical Gothic murder mystery brimming with romance, betrayals, and chills, a fake spiritualist is summoned to hold a séance for a bride who died on the eve before her wedding, but as nefarious secrets are revealed, the line between hoax and haunting blurs.
Be careful what you conjure...
In Victorian London, Genevieve Timmons poses as a spiritualist to swindle wealthy mourners - until one misstep lands her in a jail cell awaiting the noose. Then a stranger arrives to make her a peculiar offer. The lord he serves, Mr. Pemberton, has been inconsolable since the tragic death of his beautiful bride-to-be. If Genevieve can perform a séance persuasive enough to bring the young lord peace, she will win her freedom.
Soothing a grieving nobleman should be easy for someone of Genevieve's skill, but when she arrives at the grand Somerset Park estate, Mr. Pemberton is not the heartbroken lover she expected. The surly - yet exceedingly handsome - gentleman is certain that his fiancée was murdered, even though there is no evidence. Only a confession can bring justice now, and Mr. Pemberton decides Genevieve will help him get it. With his knowledge of the household and her talent for illusion, they can stage a haunting so convincing it will coax the killer into the light. However, when frightful incidents befall the manor, Genevieve realizes her tricks aren’t required after all. She may be a fake, but Somerset's ghost could be all too real...
A Dreadful Splendor is delicious brew of mystery, spooky thrills, and intoxicating romance that makes for a ghoulishly fun and page-turning read."
In a true moment of syncronicity I was just reading the blurb of this book and thinking how much I wanted to read it when my friend Johnnie posted how awesome it is. Must read. For sure.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family - and a new love - changes the course of her life.
As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.
But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and...Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.
As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when peril comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for...."
British witches! Sqwee!
Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck
Published by: Graydon House
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"There's no such thing as witches...right?
Emerson Wilde has built the life of her dreams. Youngest Chamber of Commerce president in St. Cyprian history, successful indie bookstore owner, and lucky enough to have her best friends as found family? Done.
But when Emerson is attacked by creatures that shouldn't be real, and kills them with what can only be called magic, Emerson finds that the past decade of her life has been...a lie. St. Cyprian isn't your average Midwestern river town--it's a haven for witches. When Emerson failed a power test years ago, she was stripped of her magical memories. Turns out, Emerson's friends are all witches.
And so is she.
That's not all, though: evil is lurking in the charming streets of St. Cyprian. Emerson will need to learn to control what's inside of her, remember her magic, and deal with old, complicated feelings for her childhood friend - cranky-yet-gorgeous local farmer Jacob North - to defeat an enemy that hides in the rivers and shadows of everything she loves.
Even before she had magic, Emerson would have done anything for St. Cyprian, but now she'll have to risk not just her livelihood...but her life."
All about the witches!
A Catalogue of Catastrophe by Jodi Taylor
Published by: Headline
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 512 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Finally - finally! - Max has that nice office job she's always wanted. The one with no heavy lifting and no one tries to kill her. Well, one out of two's not bad...
Punching well above their weight, Max and Markham set out to bring down a sinister organisation founded in the future - with a suspicious focus on the past.
Max's focus is staying alive long enough to reunite with Leon and Matthew, alternately helped and hindered by St Mary's. Who aren't always the blessing they like to think they are.
But non-stop leaping around the timeline - from witnessing Magna Carta to disturbing a certain young man with a penchant for gunpowder - is beginning to take its toll. Is Max going mad? Or are the ghosts of the past finally catching up with her?"
Because I know SO MANY people who are addicts of The Chronicles of St. Mary's!
The Forty Elephants by Erin Bledsoe
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 350 Pages
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The official patter:
"Inspired by the true story of Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants, the first all-female gang of London.
London in the 1920s is no place for a woman with a mind of her own. Gang wars, violence, and an unforgiving world have left pickpocket Alice Diamond scrambling to survive in the Mint, the gritty neighborhood her family has run for generations. When her father goes to jail yet again and her scam artist brother finds himself in debt to the dangerous McDonald crime syndicate, Alice takes over. Fighting for power at every turn, she struggles to protect her father's territory and keep the people she loves safe from some of London's most dangerous criminals.
Recruited by the enigmatic Mary Carr, Alice boldly chooses to break her father's edict against gangs and become part of a group of notorious lady shoplifters, the Forty Elephants. Leaving the Mint behind, she and the other girls steal from the area's poshest department stores, and for the first time in her life, Alice Diamond tastes success. But it's not long before she wants more - no matter the cost. And when her past and present collide, there's no escaping the girl from the Mint."
When I first heard about Alice Diamond in a book I read I was like, tell me more! Here's Erin Bledsoe to do so!
A Treacherous Tale by Elizabeth Penney
Published by: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A Treacherous Tale is the second in a charming new cozy series from Elizabeth Penney, set in an English bookshop and following Molly Kimball, who has a habit of bookmarking trouble...
Lately, Molly has been feeling that she might have fallen into a fairy tale: she's reinvigorated the family bookshop Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios, made friends in her new home of Cambridge, England, and is even developing a bit of a romance with the handsome Kieran - a bike shop owner with a somewhat intimidating family pedigree.
Having recently discovered The Strawberry Girls, a classic children's tale, Molly is thrilled to learn the author, Iona York, lives nearby. But while visiting the famous author at her lovely cottage in nearby Hazelhurst, an old acquaintance of Iona's tumbles off her roof to his death.
Then, when one of Iona's daughters - an inspiration for the original Strawberry Girls - goes missing, Molly begins to worry this story might be more Brothers Grimm than happily-ever-after. Especially after Molly learns about the mysterious long-ago death of Iona's husband and co-author of The Strawberry Girls…could past and present crimes be linked? Molly must put the clues together before someone turns this sweet tale sour."
Darkness in children's classics? YES!
Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley
Published by: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Fresh mozzarella, tangy tomato sauce, and murder: the perfect recipe for a delicious first entry in Mindy Quigley's Six Feet Deep Dish, a delectable new series...
Delilah O'Leary can’t wait to open her new gourmet deep-dish pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin - a charming resort town with a long history as a mobsters' hideaway, millionaires' playground, and vacation mecca. Engaged to a hunk with a hefty trust fund, Delilah is poised to begin a life that's just about as delicious as one of her cheesy creations.
Just before opening night, though, Delilah's plans for pizza perfection hit the skids when her fiancé dumps her and leaves her with a very large memento from their relationship - Butterball, their spoiled, plus-sized tabby cat.
Delilah's trouble deepens when she discovers a dead body and finds her elderly aunt holding the murder weapon. Handsome local police detective Calvin Capone, great grandson of the legendary gangster, opens an investigation, threatening to sink Delilah's pie-in-the-sky ambitions before they can even get off the ground. To save her aunt and get her pizza place generating some dough, Delilah must deliver the real killer."
Set in Wisconsin and featuring deep-dish pizza and a plus-sized cat? Um, yes, please! This book was written for me!
Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean follows her highly acclaimed Bombshell with Heartbreaker, featuring a fierce, fearless heroine on a mission to steal a duke's secrets...and his heart.
A Princess of Thieves
Raised among London's most notorious criminals, a twist of fate landed Adelaide Frampton in the bright ballrooms of Mayfair, where she masquerades as a quiet wallflower - so plain and unassuming that no one realizes she’s the Matchbreaker...using her superior skills as a thief to help brides avoid the altar.
A King of Reputation
Henry, Duke of Clayborn, has spent a lifetime living in perfection. He has no time for the salacious gossip that arises every time the Matchbreaker ends another groom. His own reputation is impeccable - and the last thing he needs is a frustrating, fascinating woman discovering the truth of his past, or the secrets he holds close.
A Royal Match
When the two find themselves on a breakneck journey across Britain to stop a wedding, it's impossible for Clayborn to resist this woman who both frustrates and fascinates him. But late-night carriage rides make for delicious danger…and soon Adelaide is uncovering Clayborn’s truths, throwing his well-laid plans into chaos…and threatening to steal his heavily guarded heart."
I have done a deep dive into Sarah MacLean these year and all I can say is more!
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis - with explosive results.
Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project - a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia - Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.
Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school - archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.
Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it's her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas…devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?"
I want to someday be a "purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe!"
Big Red by Jerome Charyn
Published by: Liveright
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Narrated by a starry-eyed lesbian, Big Red reimagines the tragic career of Rita Hayworth and her indomitable husband, Orson Welles.
Since he first appeared on the American literary scene, Jerome Charyn has dazzled readers with his "blunt, brilliantly crafted prose" (Washington Post). Yet Charyn, a beloved comedic novelist, also possesses an extraordinary knowledge of Golden Age Hollywood, having taught film history both in the United States and France.
With Big Red, Charyn reimagines the life of one of America's most enduring icons, "Gilda" herself, Rita Hayworth, whose fiery red tresses and hypnotic dancing graced the silver screen over sixty times in her nearly forty-year career. The quintessential movie star of the 1940s, Hayworth has long been objectified as a sex symbol, pin-up girl, and so-called Love Goddess. Here Charyn, channeling the ghosts of a buried past, finally lifts the veils that have long enshrouded Hayworth, evoking her emotional complexity - her passions, her pain, and her inner turmoil.
Charyn’s reimagining of Hayworth's story begins in 1943, in a roomette at the Hollywood Hotel, where narrator Rusty Redburn - an impetuous, second-string gossip columnist from Kalamazoo, Michigan - bides her time between working as a gofer in the publicity offices of Columbia Pictures, volunteering at an indie movie house, and pursuing dalliances with young women on the Sunset Strip. Called upon by the manipulative Columbia movie mogul Harry "The Janitor" Cohn to spy on Hayworth - then, the Dream Factory's most alluring "dame," and Cohn's biggest movie star - Rusty becomes Rita's confidante, accompanying her on a series of madcap adventures with her indomitable husband, the "boy genius" Orson Welles.
But Rusty, an outlaw who can see beyond the prejudices of Hollywood's male-dominated hierarchy, quickly becomes disgusted with the way actresses, and particularly Rita, are exploited by men. As she struggles to balance the dangerous politics of Tinseltown with her desire to protect Rita from ruffians and journalists alike, Rusty has her own encounters - some sweet, some bruising - with characters real and imagined, from Julie Tanaka, an interned Japanese-American friend, to superstars like Clark Gable and Tallulah Bankhead, as well as notorious Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons.
Reanimating such classic films as Gilda and The Lady from Shanghai, Big Red is a bittersweet paean to Hollywood's Golden Age, a tender yet honest portrait of a time before blockbusters and film franchises - one that promises to consume both Hollywood cinephiles and neophytes alike. Lauded for his "polymorphous imagination" (Jonathan Lethem), Charyn once again has created one of the most inventive novels in recent American literature."
Classic Hollywood, reimagined or not, is my jam.
Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From one of America’s most renowned storytellers - the best-selling author of Blonde - comes a novel about love and deceit, and lust and redemption, against a backdrop of shocking murders in the affluent suburbs of Detroit.
In the waning days of the turbulent 1970s, in the wake of unsolved child-killings that have shocked Detroit, the lives of several residents are drawn together with tragic consequences.
There is Hannah, wife of a prominent local businessman, who has begun an affair with a darkly charismatic stranger whose identity remains elusive; Mikey, a canny street hustler who finds himself on a chilling mission to rectify injustice; and the serial killer known as Babysitter, an enigmatic and terrifying figure at the periphery of elite Detroit. As Babysitter continues his rampage of abductions and killings, these individuals intersect with one another in startling and unexpected ways.
Suspenseful, brilliantly orchestrated, and engrossing, Babysitter is a starkly narrated exploration of the riskiness of pursuing alternate lives, calling into question how far we are willing to go to protect those whom we cherish most. In its scathing indictment of corrupt politics, unexamined racism, and the enabling of sexual predation in America, Babysitter is a thrilling work of contemporary fiction."
I love crime set in the seventies.
This Much is True by Miriam Margolyes
Published by: John Murray
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"BAFTA-winning actor, voice of everything from Monkey to the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit, creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes, OBE, is the nation's favourite (and naughtiest) treasure. Now, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story - and it's well worth the wait.
Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?'
From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with brilliant, hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo DiCaprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as warm and honest, as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author."
The release date of this book has been moved so much I'm sure I've posted this before, but seeing as you can never have too much Miriam, here you go again!
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