Tuesday Tomorrow
Claws and Contrivances by Stephanie Burgis
Published by: Five Fathoms Press
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Kindle
To Buy
The official patter:
"Passionate, idealistic Rose Tregarth may have been invited into her uncle's remote home in the heart of Wales as an act of kindness to a poor relation, but it doesn't take her long to realize that her newly-met family members are eccentric, creative, deeply lovable - and in need of all the help they can get. If the crumbling medieval walls of Gogodd Abbey aren't to collapse around their heads at any moment, someone will have to step up and take charge of the situation. Fortunately for all of them, Rose has never lacked in determination."
I was surprised and delighted by the first book in this series, Scales and Sensibility, and about two minutes after I finished it I preordered the sequel. Thankfully it's coming out now and not in November. I don't think I could wait that long for Rose's story!
The Secrets of Wycliffe Manor by Patricia Rice
Published by: Book View Cafe
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 332 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Be wary of what you wish for...
In Regency England:
The descendant of adventuring - dead - aristocrats, Clarissa Knightley supplements a modest inheritance by penning Gothic novels that cost more than they earn. Upon learning that she has mysteriously inherited a share of an earl's estate, she rashly packs up her household. In remote Gravesyde Priory, she hopes to find a safe haven and family who will welcome her and her young nephew.
Instead, she discovers a drunken American army captain, his African servant, and ancient, surly caretakers. Terrified, prepared to flee, Clare is lured to linger by the prospect of secret diaries, hidden jewels, and an increasingly intriguing man. Then a killer strikes.
The crumbling manor's ominous and baffling history offers fascinating fodder for Clare's horror novels - if only she can survive real-life madmen and a spectral murderer who may seek the jewels at any price."
What Gothic author doesn't want to live in their own books?
Thief Liar Lady by D.L. Soria
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
""Happily Ever After" is a total scam, but at least this time the princess is the one controlling the grift - until her true love arrives and threatens to ruin the whole scheme. Intrigue, magic, and wit abound in this Cinderella fairytale reimagining, perfect for fans of Heather Walter and Naomi Novik.
I'm not who you think I am.
My transformation from a poor, orphaned scullery maid into the enchantingly mysterious lady who snagged the heart of the prince did not happen - as the rumors insisted - in a magical metamorphosis of pumpkins and glass slippers. On the first evening of the ball, I didn't meekly help my "evil" stepmother and stepsisters primp and preen or watch forlornly out the window as their carriage rolled off toward the palace. I had other preparations to make.
My stepsisters and I had been trained for this - to be the cleverest in the room, to be quick with our hands and quicker with our lies. We were taught how to get everything we wanted in this world, everything men always kept for themselves: power, wealth, and prestige. And with a touchingly tragic past and the help of some highly illegal spells, I would become a princess, secure our fortunes, and we would all live happily ever after.
But there's always more to the story. With my magic running out, war looming, and a handsome hostage prince - the wrong prince - distracting me from my true purpose with his magnetic charm and forbidden flirtations, I'm in danger of losing control of the delicate balance I've created...and that could prove fatal.
There's so much more riding on this than a crown."
Cinderella grifter? Tell me more!
The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A dazzling Gothic tale of Faustian bargains, jealousy, and murder set in a spectacular circus, where star-crossed lovers' destinies are forged at an unexpected price - perfect for readers of V. E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
In Victorian London, where traveling sideshows are the very pinnacle of entertainment, there is no more coveted ticket than Ashe and Pretorius' Carnivale of Curiosities. Each performance is a limited engagement, and London's elite boldly dare the dangerous streets of Southwark to witness the Carnivale's astounding assemblage of marvels. For a select few, however, the real show begins behind the curtain. Rumors abound that the show's proprietor, Aurelius Ashe, is more than an average magician. It's said that for the right price, he can make any wish come true. No one knows the truth of this claim better than Lucien the Lucifer, the Carnivale's star attraction. Born with the ability to create fire, he's dazzled spectators since he was a boy.
When Odilon Rose, one of the most notorious men in London, comes calling with a proposition regarding his young and beautiful charge, Charlotte, Ashe is tempted to refuse. After revealing, however, that Rose holds a secret that threatens the security of the troupe's most vulnerable members, Ashe has no choice but to sign an insidious contract.
The stakes grow higher as Lucien finds himself drawn to Charlotte and her to him, an attraction that spurs a perilous course of events. Grave secrets, recovered horrors, and what it means to be family come to a head in this vividly imagined spectacle - with the lives of all those involved suspended in the balance."
Say the word "carnivale" and I'm there!
Barbarian's Mate by Ruby Dixon
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The next novel in the international publishing phenomenon the Ice Planet Barbarians series, now in a special print edition with a bonus novella!
Josie has always dreamed of finding The One, but the hunter chosen for her is nothing like what she expected (or wanted) - but he might be exactly what she needs.
"Resonance" is supposed to be a dream - that's when your soulmate is chosen for you. And every woman on the ice planet has hooked up with a big, hunky soulmate of their own - except me. So do I want a mate? Heck yeah. More than anything, all I've ever wanted is to be loved by someone.
But the soulmate chosen for me? My least favorite person on the darn ice planet. Haeden's the most cranky, disapproving, unpleasant, overbearing male alien...so why is it that my body sings when he gets close? Why is he working so hard to prove to me that he's not as awful as I think he is?
I hate him...don't I?"
Finding your soulmate can be complicated even on an ice planet of barbarians.
The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Ann Aguirre comes the magical town of St. Claire, where anything is possible...
Iris Collins is the messy one in her family. The "chaos bunny." Her sisters are all wildly successful, while she can't balance her budget for a single month. It's no wonder she's in debt to her roommates. When she unexpectedly inherits a house from her great aunt, her plan to turn it into a B and B fails - as most of her plans do. She winds up renting rooms like a Victorian spinster, collecting other lost souls...and not all of them are "human."
Eli Reese grew up as the nerdy outcast in school, but he got rich designing apps. Now he's successful by any standards. But he's never had the same luck in finding a real community or people who understand him. Over the years, he's never forgotten his first crush, so when he spots her at a café, he takes it as a sign. Except then he gets sucked into the Iris-verse and somehow ends up renting one of her B and B rooms. As the days pass, Eli grows enchanted by the misfit boarders staying in the house...and even more so by Iris. Could Eli have finally found a person and a place to call "home"?"
I love found family stories, it's like a magical Tales of the City.
Light Comes to Shadow Mountain by Toni Buzzeo
Published by: Holiday House
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Cora Mae Tipton is determined to light up her Appalachian community in this historical fiction novel from an award-winning author and former librarian.
It's 1937 and the government is pushing to bring electricity to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. It's all Cora can think of; radios with news from around the world, machines that keep food cold, lightbulbs by which to read at night! Cora figures she can help spread the word by starting a school newspaper and convincing her neighbors to support the Rural Electrification Act.
But resistance to change isn't easy to overcome, especially when it starts at home. Cora's mother is a fierce opponent of electrification. She argues that protecting the landscape of the holler - the trees, the streams, the land that provides for their way of life - is their responsibility. But Cora just can't let go of wanting more.
Lyrical, literary, and deeply heartfelt, this debut novel from an award-winning author-librarian speaks to family, friendship, and loss through the spirited perspective of a girl eager for an electrified existence, but most of all, the light of her mother's love and acceptance.
Back matter includes an Author's Note; further information on the Rural Electrification Act, the herbs and plants of Appalachia, the Pack Horse Library Project, and more; and a "Quick Questions" historical trivia section for readers."
Sometimes it's hard to grasp that even electricity is not that old an invention.
Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The Exorcist meets Lord of the Flies, by way of Midnight Mass, in Boys in the Valley, a brilliant coming-of-age tale from award-winning author Philip Fracassi.
St. Vincent's Orphanage for Boys.
Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania.
Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future...a family.
Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent's and the children within. Soon, boys begin acting differently, forming groups. Taking sides.
Others turn up dead.
Now Peter and those dear to him must choose sides of their own, each of them knowing their lives - and perhaps their eternal souls - are at risk."
Because you're going through Yellowjackets withdrawal and this can help.
Cult Classic by Stephen Blackmoore
Published by: Daw Books
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The ninth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.
Eric Carter has a lot on his plate.
He's hunting the Oracle of Las Vegas, a literal talking head that manipulates the future to make its prophecies come true. But it has a new trick. It can change the past, too.
Now Jazz Age Los Angeles is invading the present. Long gone buildings suddenly restored, decommissioned Red Car trains appearing on paved over tracks, miles of the city changing back to orange groves.
Throw in a hundred-year-old doomsday cult, time magic, and a terrifyingly powerful spell to raise the dead and it makes for a busy week. Carter knows the Oracle is behind it all but he can't figure out how. Or why.
But he better figure it out soon or he, the city, and everyone he knows might be wiped from existence.
Cult Classic is noir urban fantasy at its finest, with a cutting voice, sharp wit, and a plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat."
Oh be still my heart, Jazz Age L.A. bleeding through to the present? Which is good because the art on the front doesn't look as much like Richard Armitage this time out...
Thriller by Don Bruns
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 228 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From Beat It to Billie Jean, the songs we know and love take on a brand-new, thrilling connotation in this anthology edited by Don Bruns.
In this second collection in the Music and Murder Mystery series, nine award-winning, bestselling authors have written their own interpretations of the Thriller song list. With original work from some of the best mystery authors out there, the anthology includes stories from Heather Graham, Jeffery Deaver, William Kent Krueger, Dahlia Rose, and David R. Slayton, among others.
With poignant, frightening, and intriguing stories from some of the best writers in the genre, this eerie collection is sure to keep you up at night - and maybe even haunt your dreams."
I just love this idea of reinterpreting pop culture because who hasn't written their own stories in their heads listening to songs?
Burn the Negative by Josh Winning
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In this incendiary mash-up of horror and suspense, a notorious slasher film is remade...and the curse that haunted it is reawakened.
Arriving in L.A. to visit the set of a new streaming horror series, journalist Laura Warren witnesses a man jumping from a bridge, landing right behind her car. Here we go, she thinks. It's started. Because the series she's reporting on is a remake of a '90s horror flick. A cursed '90s horror flick, which she starred in as a child - and has been running from her whole life.
In The Guesthouse, Laura played the little girl with the terrifying gift to tell people how the Needle Man would kill them. When eight of the cast and crew died in ways that eerily mirrored the movie's on-screen deaths, the film became a cult classic - and ruined her life. Leaving it behind, Laura changed her name and her accent, dyed her hair, and moved across the Atlantic. But some scripts don't want to stay buried.
Now, as the body count rises again, Laura finds herself on the run with her aspiring actress sister and a jaded psychic, hoping to end the curse once and for all - and to stay out of the Needle Man's lethal reach."
Scream meets the curse of The Crow!
Shadow Drive by Nolan Cubero
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 300 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In this thrilling debut from award-winning filmmaker Nolan Cubero, a young father must investigate his mysterious new tenant and discover what secrets she's hiding - while trying to keep his own.
Landlord Gabriel Angueira is trying to put his life back together. His teenage daughter, Megan, was seriously injured in a car accident caused by her own drunk driving, though Gabe blames himself. Since the accident he has spent every day taking care of her, reflecting on his failures as a father, and trying to rebuild his relationship with his ex-wife, Anya.
So, when a woman wants to rent the house on Shadow Drive, Gabe hands her the keys without a second thought - or doing a background check. Once she moves in, he discovers everything she told him was a lie: her name, her story, her previous address. Gabe knows nothing about this mysterious woman, but she knows a lot about him - and quickly begins destroying the house from the inside out. Gabe soon realizes she's specifically targeted him and the house on Shadow Drive but has no idea why.
Now Gabe must figure out who this woman is before she unearths his family's secrets and takes down the house - along with his entire life as he knows it."
Here's a hot tip, if you have secrets don't rent to someone without doing a background check.
Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From bestselling author Darcy Coates comes Dead of Winter, a remote cabin in the snowy wilderness thriller that will teach you to trust no one. There are eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run.
When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm.
She couldn't be more wrong.
Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing...only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport...and they're far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb."
It's July, you need some chills and thrills to cool off and Dead of Winter will do the trick!
The Skull by Jon Klassen
Published by: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 112 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Caldecott Medalist and #1 New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Jon Klassen delivers a deliciously macabre treat for folktale fans.
Jon Klassen's signature wry humor takes a turn for the ghostly in this thrilling retelling of a traditional Tyrolean folktale. In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both? Steeped in shadows and threaded with subtle wit - with rich, monochromatic artwork and an illuminating author's note - The Skull is as empowering as it is mysterious and foreboding."
If you don't like Jon Klassen I'm sorry but we can't be friends.
Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Acclaimed historical novelist Vanessa Riley is back with another novel based on the life of an extraordinary Black woman from history: Haiti's Queen Marie-Louise Coidavid, who escaped a coup in Haiti to set up her own royal court in Italy during the Regency era, where she became a popular member of royal European society.
The Queen of Exiles is Marie-Louise Christophe, wife and then widow of Henry I, who ruled over the newly liberated Kingdom of Hayti in the wake of the brutal Haitian Revolution.
In 1810 Louise is crowned queen as her husband begins his reign over the first and only free Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. But despite their newfound freedom, Haitians still struggle under mountains of debt to France and indifference from former allies in Britain and the new United States. Louise desperately tries to steer the country's political course as King Henry descends into a mire of mental illness.
In 1820, King Henry is overthrown and dies by his own hand. Louise and her daughters manage to flee to Europe with their smuggled jewels. In exile, the resilient Louise redefines her role, recovering the fortune that Henry had lost and establishing herself as an equal to the kings of European nations. With newspapers and gossip tracking their every movement, Louise and her daughters tour Europe like other royals, complete with glittering balls and princes with marriage proposals. As they find their footing - and acceptance - they discover more about themselves, their Blackness, and the opportunities they can grasp in a European and male-dominated world.
Queen of Exiles is the tale of a remarkable Black woman of history - a canny and bold survivor who chooses the fire and ideals of political struggle, and then is forced to rebuild her life on her own terms, forever a queen."
I recently read about the Haitian revolution so this is a perfect book to pair with my previous reading.
The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead
Published by: Mysterious Press
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In London, 1938, young and idealistic lawyer Edmund Ibbs is trying to find any shred of evidence that his client Carla Dean wasn't the one who shot her husband dead at the top of a Ferris Wheel. But the deeper he digs, the more complex the case becomes, and Edmund soon finds himself drawn into a nightmarish web of conspiracy and murder. Before long he himself is implicated in not one but two seemingly impossible crimes.
First, a corpse appears out of thin air during a performance by famed illusionist "Professor Paolini" in front of a packed auditorium at the Pomegranate Theatre. Then a second victim is shot dead in a locked dressing room along one of the theatre's winding backstage corridors. Edmund is in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time, and attracts the suspicion of Scotland Yard inspector George Flint. Luckily, conjuror-turned-detective Joseph Spector is on the scene. Only Spector's uniquely logical perspective can pierce the veil of deceit in a world of illusion and misdirection, where seeing is not always believing.
Tom Mead continues to pay homage to the locked room mysteries of the Golden Age in this second Joseph Spector novel."
Who doesn't want to find out how ingenious and impossible crimes are committed?
Alchemy of a Blackbird by Claire McMillan
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"For fans of The Age of Light and Z, a mystical, historical novel based on the true story of the 20th-century painters and occultists Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington, each beginning as the muse of a famous lover and then breaking away to become an icon in her own right through a powerful friendship that springs from their connection to the tarot.
Desperate to escape the Nazis, painter Remedios Varo and her lover, poet Benjamin Peret, flee Paris for Villa Air Bel, a safe house for artists on the Riviera. Along with Max Ernst, Peggy Guggenheim, and others, the two anxiously wait for exit papers. As the months pass, Remedios begins to sense that the others don't see her as a fellow artist; they have cast her in the stifling role of a surrealist ideal: the beautiful innocent. She finds refuge in a mysterious bookshop, where she stumbles into a world of occult learning and intensifies an esoteric practice in the tarot that helps her light the bright fire of her creative genius.
When travel documents come through, Remedios and Benjamin flee to Mexico where she is reunited with friend and fellow painter Leonora Carrington. Together, the women tap into their creativity, stake their independence, and each find their true loves. But it is the tarot that enables them to access the transcendent that lies on the other side of consciousness, to become the truest Surrealists of all.
From an author with "an enchanting, intoxicating voice" (Cristina Alger, author of The Darlings), Alchemy of a Blackbird is about a dynamic female friendship that became a historic artistic collaboration between two giants of the art world."
Art and the mystical, who could ask for anything more?
Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch
Published by: Doubleday Books
Publication Date: July 11th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"As character actress Edie O'Dare finishes the final year of her contract with FWM Studios, the clock is ticking for her to find a new gig after an undistinguished stint in the pictures. She's long supplemented her income moonlighting for Hollywood's reigning gossip columnist, providing her with the salacious details of every party and premiere. When an up-and-coming starlet hands her a letter alleging an assault from an A-list actor at a party with Edie and the rest of the industry's biggest names in attendance, Edie helps get the story into print and sets off a chain of events that will alter the trajectories of everyone involved.
Now on a new side of the entertainment business, Edie's second act career grants her more control on the page than she ever commanded in front of the camera. But Edie quickly learns that publishing the secrets of those former colleagues she considers friends has repercussions. And when she finds herself in the middle of the trial of the decade, Edie is forced to make an impossible choice with the potential to ruin more than one life.
Debut novelist Lindsay Lynch brings the golden age of Hollywood to glittering life, from star-studded opening nights to backlot brawls, on-location Westerns to the Hollywood Canteen. Through Edie's wry observations, Lynch maps the intricate networks of power that manufacture the magic of the movies, and interrogates who actually gets to tell women's stories."
If old time Hollywood had a little Me Too.
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