strange and random happenstance

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: October 25th, 2022
Format: Kindle, 397 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Knowledge is carnage, you can't have it without sacrifice. They were meant to kill one of their own. So obviously it was going to be Callum. He's too dangerous and too annoying. The problem is, the sacrifice had to actually mean something, which meant that Tristan was to do the deed. And he just couldn't. Callum really meant something to him. Which didn't fit in with Atlas Blakely's plans. Callum was chosen from the very beginning to die. He was the sacrifice. But instead Libby died. So the library got it's pound of flesh and the six became five. Though they're all having trouble trusting each other what with the fallout from the murder plot. Old alliances were destroyed and new alliances were forged. And Atlas's plans imploded all because of Libby's ex Ezra Fowler. Ezra, unbeknownst to Libby, can travel in time and is technically a lot older than her. He was one of the six candidates chosen the year Atlas was an initiate. They were the best of friends and to this day he is Atlas's confidant. They thought the same and shared the same goals, to take down the society from within and replace it with an organization that would allow access to all. To let the knowledge be widely distributed not hoarded away. Once they learned that one of their number would have to die the two of them formulated their plan. They would fake Ezra's death and he would jump forward in time while Atlas worked from the inside. Only without a sacrifice there were unintended consequences. Everyone in their year died. Except Atlas and Ezra. Ezra was safely in the future and Atlas pleased the library by becoming it's caretaker and therefore it let him live. The flaw in their plan soon became obvious. Atlas grew over the intervening years and changed what he wished to do. Whereas Ezra was still the Ezra that was first approached by the Alexandrian Society. When Ezra realizes that Atlas no longer cares about access and wants to undo the past, something Ezra knows is impossible, he fakes Libby's death and secrets her away in 1989. He does not want the Society to destroy the world, which is very much something that could happen if Atlas gets his way. But Ezra doesn't count on Libby's tenacity and her friends' obsession with finding her. Nico would know in his bones if she were dead, they are two halves of a whole. He never fell for her "death" and has been determined to find her. And, eventually, they do. She's been busy in the past. The only problem is to bring her home would come at the loss of many lives. Can Libby live with herself if she does what she needs to do? Can the world survive if they reunite and listen to Atlas? And will the library claim it's pound of flesh now that they are all still alive in the present?

So, after reading the first volume I kind of thought that there is no way this series is going to turn out to be as divisive as I kept hearing. I will fully admit I was wrong. The decline in quality between The Atlas Six and The Atlas Paradox is almost incomprehensible. What had some structure now is nothing more than fanfics colliding at the speed of light, here's some Outlander, here's some Dark Materials, here's some Dark Phoenix. Oh, and just for fun, here's some pretentious preaching reminiscent of the worst parts of Sophie's World. And yet, it might have worked. Maybe. Possibly. I'm trying to not trash fanfic or fanfic adjacent here because if you're a good writer you can make that work. You just have to have the right characters and the right plot and not you know almost four pages of nothing. Here's the thing. I truly believe this in my heart of hearts and it's my personal headcanon. When Tor was negotiating the rights to publish this series it was originally written as a duology. But Tor went, hey Olivie Blake, we're only buying trilogies at the moment and she promptly said, I can do that! And what followed is four hundred pages where nothing happens. OK, that's a little unfair. There's angst and philosophy and moral dilemmas but that's just the air of ennui this series exudes. For actual plot points Libby gets back to the present. Oh and Ezra tries to kill the remaining five of the six, but that's so half-hearted that I don't know why I'm mentioning it. So the entire plot is get Libby back to the present. That could have been handled into a single chapter. Maybe, possibly two. In other words, it could have happened at the end of The Atlas Six or, if you wanted to maintain the cliffhanger, at the beginning of The Atlas Complex. The Atlas Paradox does not need to exist. Wait, is that the paradox of the book? No. It couldn't be. That would be too clever and I won't give the author that much credit. Though lovers of this book, the two of you out there, will say that we needed this book so we could have Libby Rhodes's corruption arc. She had to go all evil villain. AKA Dark Phoenix. And, I'm sorry. But no. It was stupid. She chose herself and her potential over countless lives. She could have stayed in the past, but it was her potential in the future, at that point in time with those people that was more important than the lives lost. She blew up a nuclear power plant to get home. She's a bitchier Oppenheimer, destroyer of worlds. And ironically she's going into the future to destroy worlds as well with Altas's plan. But then again, this book is all about people choosing ignorance over knowledge and the six are the most ignorant of all.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Atlas Blakely, Dark Phoenix, Duology, Ezra Fowler, His Dark Materials, Knowledge, Libby Rhodes, Olivie Blake, Outlander, Sophie's World, Summer Shcool, The Atlas Complex, The Atlas Paradox, The Atlas Six, Time Travel, Villain

Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Millions, hearts, and lives are on the line in this heart-stopping sequel to The Grandest Game by #1 bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

Seven players arrived on Hawthorne Island, each with their own secrets and motivations to win the Grandest Game. Millions are at stake, but so are hearts - and lives. The players now must race to win the game, solve myriad mysteries, and survive the twists and turns of Glorious Rivals.

The stakes get higher, the game gets twistier, and everything heats up in this newest installment in the TikTok sensation Inheritance Games Saga."

The real question I have is how much time will this book cover? The last one was only a single night! And eventful, but sole night. I need more.

We Won't All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall
Published by: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of I Am Still Alive comes a new nail-biter that's part survival story, part murder mystery, and all thriller - perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson!

Two years ago, Mercy Gray was hailed as a hero for saving lives during a mall shooting. She still carries souvenirs from that day: the fragment of a bullet lodged in her back, a mountain of medical debt, and guilt for ignoring her sister's warnings that the sweet boy next door was anything but.

So when billionaire turned TV host Damien Dare recruits Mercy to compete on his new survivalist reality show, she can't turn down a chance at the whopping cash prize that could send her sister to college. But when she and the other contestants arrive at the off-grid location, something isn't right. The set is empty. The gates close without warning, trapping them inside. And then one of them turns up dead. What appeared at first to be a tragic accident quickly transforms as more contestants start dropping like flies. With time and resources running low, surviving this show takes on a whole new meaning. Mercy must figure out who to trust. Before she's next."

This is why we NEVER trust billionaires. 

The Game Is Murder by Hazell Ward
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this fresh and immersive murder mystery that riffs on crime classics, the reader is put in the role of the Great Detective, reinvestigating an infamous never-before-solved case from 1970s England.

You are invited to a very special murder mystery party. The game is simple: Listen to the witnesses. Examine the evidence. Solve the case. Be careful. Trust no one. All might not be as it seems.

If you agree to play the role of the Great Detective, you must undertake to provide a complete solution to the case. A verdict is not enough. We need to know who did it, how they did it, and why. Are you ready? Can you solve the ultimate murder mystery - and catch a killer?

A word of warning: Unsolved mysteries are not permitted...."

Oh. Oh yes.

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda
Published by: S and S/Marysue Rucci Books
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Memories fade, but on this campus, legacies are never forgotten…or forgiven. A new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda.

Beckett Bowery never thought she'd return to Wyatt Valley, a picturesque college town in the Virginia mountains steeped in tradition. Her roots there were strong: Beckett's parents taught at the college, and she never even imagined studying anywhere else - until a tragedy her senior year ended with two local men dead, and her roommate on the run, never to be seen again...

For the last two decades, Beckett has done her best to keep her distance. Then her daughter, Delilah, secretly applies to Wyatt College and earns a full scholarship, and Beckett can only hope that her lingering fears are unfounded. But deep down she knows that Wyatt Valley has a long memory, and that the past isn't the only dangerous thing in town..."

Oh, collegiate danger! I love family legacies and when they turn dangerous.

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sparkling debut mystery set on the south side of Chicago, featuring the quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, proprietor of a soul food café.

When Savvy Summers first opened Essie's soul food café, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie's reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.

Even as the police deem Grandy’s death an accident, Savvy quickly finds herself - and her beloved café - in the middle of an entire city's worth of bad press. Desperate to clear her name and keep her business afloat, Savvy and her snooping assistant manager, Penny Lopés, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.

But with a slimy investor harassing her to sell her name and business, customers avoiding her sweet potato pie like the plague, and her police sergeant ex-husband suddenly back in the picture, will Savvy be able to clear the café’s name and solve Grandy's murder before it all falls apart?

After all, while Savvy always said her sweet potato pie was to die for, she never meant literally."

And now I want pie. 

The Kahuna Killer by Juanita Sheridan
Published by: Classic Mayhem
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hawaii just after the war is an unspoiled paradise. Any mystery fan can tell you that won't last.

Aloha! It's 1950, and the SS Lurline is steaming into Honolulu harbor. On board are Janice Cameron, coming to celebrate the novel she's written about Hawaii; a boatload of tourists eager to get their leis on; and a few people who are not what they seem. Watching them all - and missing nothing - is the beautiful and enigmatic Lily Wu. Like Janice, she's coming home: While they may have met in New York, they're both Hawaii girls of long standing. But while Janice may be surprised by the changes that the tourists (and their money) have brought to her beloved islands, very little surprises Lily.

Which is lucky for Janice, as those surprises get ugly very fast."

I love murder mysteries set in Hawaii. I plan Magnum, P.I.. 

Murder in the House of Ōmari by Taku Ashibe
Published by: Pushkin Vertigo
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Use your powers of logic and deduction to solve this classic honkaku puzzler - the Japanese tradition of detective fiction - in this delicious twisty murder mystery!

In Osaka, dark secrets haunt a wealthy merchant family throughout the first half of the 20th century...

In 1906, the young heir to the Omari family business climbs to the top of a Panorama and vanishes.

In 1914, a fight between two mysterious figures on a bridge tragically ends with one falling to their death.

In 1943, as war rages on, the once illustrious family has fallen. Both potential heirs have been drafted into war, and a string of strange and violent happenings has beset the house of Omari.

Combining the classic honkaku mystery and Golden Age crime writing with the trappings of historical fiction, it's easy to see why Murder in the House of Ōmari is an award-winning sensation in Japan! Set in Semba (modern-day Osaka), this gripping murder mystery twists and turns with dark secrets, red herrings, and the turbulent history of Japan in the early 20th century."

If you're a murder mystery fan and haven't broadened your horizons, this is a good place to start that isn't a British village. 

Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a mysterious figure shows up in the photograph an architect takes of the derelict Seabrink Hotel, ghostly encounters and murder are unleashed.

Aubrey Spencer loves photographing classic old buildings and abandoned places that hold old secrets. The Hotel Seabrink, perched overlooking the sea, is one such place. Currently abandoned but scheduled for a major renovation, it has a torrid history. Back in the 1920s it hosted A-list celebrity clientele, and now the locals insist it is haunted by the ghosts of two young women who died there. When Aubrey goes to photograph the site before the renovation begins, she bumps into a man named Dimitri Petroff, a minor online celebrity who shares her fascination with old buildings, the Hotel Seabrink in particular.

When he is found dead the next day at the base of a cliff, the police are quick to close the investigation. But Aubrey feels unsettled by locals who claim he was murdered and that it's not the first time someone interested in the hotel was killed. As she digs deeper into the property's dark history (and its origins as an asylum) as well as Dimitri's professional rivalries, she becomes mired in an unsolved murder case from several decades earlier, one with eerie parallels to the contemporary case. But someone is determined to keep her from discovering the truth - at any cost."

Well yeah, don't go digging for the truth, you've seen what happens to those who do!

The Needfire by M.K. Hardy
Published by: Solaris
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 380 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Scottish sapphic Gothic horror debut for fans of Rebecca and The Hacienda.

You are afraid of the border places. You are afraid of the fork in the road.

Fleeing her mistakes in Glasgow for a marriage of convenience, Norah Mackenzie's new home on an estate far in the north of Scotland is a chance for freedom, a fresh start. But in the dim, draughty corridors of Corrain House, something is very wrong. Despite their warm correspondence, her distant, melancholic husband does not seem to know her. She is plagued by ghost ships on the sea, spectres at the corner of her eye, by winding, grasping roots. Her only possible companion, the housekeeper Agnes Gunn, is by turns unnerving and alluring, and harbours uncanny secrets of her own.

As the foundations crumble beneath her feet, Norah must uncover the truth about Corrain House, her husband, Agnes, and herself, if she is to find the freedom she has been chasing."

Oooh, yes yes, Gothic indeed!

The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey by Kathleen Kaufman
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"As spiritualism reaches its fevered pitch at the dawn of the 20th century, a Scottish girl crosses the veil to unlock a powerful connection within an infamous asylum in this thrillingly atmospheric, exquisitely evocative exploration of feminine rage and agency for readers of Sarah Penner, Alice Hoffman, and Hester Fox.

Leaving behind a quiet life of simple comforts, Nairna Liath traverses the Scottish countryside with her charlatan father, Tavish. From remote cottages to rural fairs, the duo scrapes by on paltry coins as Tavish orchestrates "encounters" with the departed, while Nairna interprets tarot cards for those willing to pay for what they wish to hear.

But beyond her father's trickery, Nairna possesses a genuine gift for communicating with the spirit world, one that could get an impoverished country girl branded a witch. A talent inherited from her grandmother, Lottie Liath, widow of a Welsh coalminer, whose story of imprisonment and exploitation in a notorious asylum is calling out to Nairna from four decades past - a warning to break free from the manipulations, greed, and betrayals of others.

What do the cards hold for Nairna's future?

Rescued from homelessness by a well-connected stranger, Nairna is whisked into a new life among Edinburgh's elite Spiritualist circle, including visiting American star Dorothy Kellings. Researchers, doctors, psychics, and thrill-seekers clamor for the rising young medium. But after a séance with blood-chilling results, a shocking scandal ensues, and Nairna flees to a secluded community near Boston, where she assumes a new identity: Nora Grey.

But Nora can't stay hidden when Dorothy Kellings offers her the chance to face all comers and silence skeptics at a spectacular séance at Boston's Old South Meeting Hall, where Nora will come face to face at last with her spiritual guide: the courageous Lottie Liath, whose heart-wrenching story and profound messages are indelibly tied to Nora's destiny."

Yes, I'm more than a little obsessed with Spiritualism... 

Bright Dead Star by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 439 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From tales of bizarre violence and murder, haunted photographs and films, through reflections on the flexible borders of sanity and the perverse, to alien horrors from deep time, deep space, and the deep sea, Bright Dead Star is a veritable supernova of the weird and uncanny as only master fantasist Caitlín R. Kiernan can deliver. Among the collection's twenty-five tales are a dying woman's communion with the dying sea ("Strandling"), childhood recollections of a sky filled with rattlesnakes ("Crotalus"), to a loathsome couple with a far more loathsome secret ("L'homme et la femme terribles"), these are stories that pull no punches and demand that your preconceptions of genre should be checked before the book's covers are even cracked. In short, this is Kiernan doing what Kiernan does best."

And the contents are worthy of that simple stunning cover!

Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of The Night Circus, this sweeping historical fantasy set in a lush, Puerto Rico-inspired world, uses magical realism to combine Caribbean carnaval culture and the mythology of the Taíno - the Indigenous people of the region - in a gripping exploration of community, reclamation, and healing in defiance of a violent past.

When night descends, el Carnaval de Bestias rises.

Within the shores of Isla Bestia, guests from around the world discover a utopia of ever-changing performances, sumptuous feasts and beautiful monsters. Many enter, but few ever leave - the wine is simply too sweet, the music too fine and the revelry endless.

Sofía, a freedwoman from a nearby colonized island, cares little for this revelry. Born an enslaved mestiza on a tobacco plantation, she has neither wealth nor title, only a scholarly pragmatism and a hunger for answers. She travels to el Carnaval de Bestias in search of her twin brother, who disappeared five years ago.

There's a world of wonder waiting for her on the shores of this legendary island, one wherein conquerors profit from Sofia's ancestral lands and her people's labor. But surrounded by her former enslavers, she finds something familiar in the performances - whispers of the island's native tongue, music and stories from her Taike'ri ancestors...a culture long hidden in the shadows, thrust into the light.

As the nights pass, her mind begins unraveling, drowning in the unnatural, almost sentient thrall of Carnaval. And the sense that someone is watching her grows. To find her brother and break free, Sofia must peel back the glamorous curtain and face those behind Carnaval, before she too loses herself to the island..."

It's like the Fae of Northern Europe. They intoxicate and delight and are oh so deadly.

Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond
Published by: Dafina
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For readers of Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, and Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, this ingenious reimagining of the vampire origin story set during the early days of American slavery blends alternate history with supernatural horror, as the last surviving member of an ancient African vampire tribe meets a slave desperate for freedom, and together, they lead an army of enslaved people in a cinematically blood-soaked battle for freedom and revenge.

What if nobody ever freed the slaves...because they freed themselves - 150 years before the Civil War?

In the Province of Carolina, 1710, freedom seems unattainable for Willie, for his beloved Gertie, and for their unborn child. They live, suffer, and toil under their brutal master, James "Big Jim" Barrow, whose grand plantation was built by the blood, sweat, and tears of the enslaved. To flee this hell on earth is be hunted and killed. Until one strange night Willie is offered a dark hope by Rafazi, an enigmatic slave with an irresistible and blood-chilling path to liberation.

Hailing from the Kingdom of Ghana, Rafazi is the lone survivor of the Ramanga, an African vampire tribe rendered nearly extinct by plague. Rafazi has roamed the world for centuries with an undying desire to replenish the power that once defined his heritage. In Willie, Rafazi has found his first biddable subject to be turned and to help in a hungry revolt. And Willie desires nothing more than to free his people from malicious bondage. Whatever it takes.

One by one, as an army of blood slaves thirsting for revenge is gathered, the headstrong Gertie fears that no good can come from the vampiric legacy that courses through Rafazi's veins. Willie knows that only evil can fight evil. And when the woman he loves stands between the reemergence of the Ramanga and the justified slaughter of the oppressors, Willie must make an irreversible decision. Only one thing is certain: on the Barrow plantation, and beyond, blood will spill.

Part historical drama, part supernatural horror, and part alternate history, Blood Slaves is an ingenuous and defiant new creation myth of the vampire, one rooted in both justice and the sometimes - violent means necessary to achieve it."

That cover illustration so perfectly captures the essence of this book. You know what you're about to read.

Silvercloak by L.K. Steven
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates comes an addictive new fantasy series where magic is fueled by pleasure and pain and an obsessive detective must infiltrate a brutal gang of dark mages - knowing that one wrong move will get her killed....

Two decades ago, the Bloodmoons ruthlessly murdered Saffron Killoran's parents, destroying her idyllic childhood. Hell-bent on revenge, she lies her way into Silvercloak Academy - the training ground for her city's elite order of detectives - with a single goal: to bring the Bloodmoons to justice.

But when Saff's deception is exposed, rather than being cast out, she's given a rare opportunity: to go undercover and tear the Bloodmoons down from the inside.

Descending into a world where pleasure and pain are the most powerful currencies, Saff must commit some truly heinous deeds to keep her cover - and her life. Not only are there rival gangs and sinister smuggling rings to contend with, but there's also her growing feelings for the kingpin's tortured son, with his vicious pet fallowwolf, his dark past, and the curious prophecy foretelling his death at Saffron's hand.

With each day testing her loyalties further, Saff finds her web of lies becoming harder to spin. And when one false step could destroy everything and everyone she's ever loved...the detective who's dedicated her life to vengeance just might die for it."

You always have to decide if what you have is worth more than what you have to lose.

A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to the immersive, lush, and dreamlike world of the instantly bestselling dark academia fantasy A Study in Drowning as the aftermath of their first discovery pulls Effy and Preston on a final adventure and brings their haunting love story to its end in this stunning sequel and final book in the duology.

All stories come to an end.

Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairytale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.

But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university - and soon the entire nation - is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin's legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?

With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king - visions that start to follow him even in waking.

As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.

Are dreams ever truly just dreams?"

If I couldn't escape into fantasy I don't know what I would do.

Beautiful Things by Emily Rath
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Crashing a country house party in Regency England, an intrepid young woman is drawn into the orbit of three delicious gentlemen in this slow burn, very sexy, definitely-not-your-mother's historical romance from internationally bestselling author Emily Rath.

At twenty-two, Rosalie Harrow is unmarried and near destitute. She has two choices: snag a wealthy gentleman, or take work as a governess. Neither option appeals to headstrong Rosalie, who sees both futures as a kind of cage.

When Rosalie receives an invitation to Alcott Hall, she believes she's there to meet the Dowager Duchess of Norland, the mysterious childhood friend of her late mother. Instead, Rosalie is thrust in the middle of a house party of eligible high society ladies all desperate to win the hand of the new, conveniently single duke. Hilarity ensues as Rosalie dodges the attentions of the officious duke, and weathers the censure of the other guests, all while trying to unravel the mystery of her invitation.

And then there's the gentlemen...

The more Rosalie tries to avoid the high society husband hunt, the more she finds herself charmed by three very different men. There's Lord James, the duke's younger brother, who is the secret duke in all but name. Lieutenant Renley, recently returned from the West Indies, and begrudgingly looking for a wife of his own. And the tempestuous Mr. Burke, who irks Rosalie to no end.

The clock ticks down the days to the Michaelmas ball, when the duke is set to announce his bride. Marriage is a trap and Rosalie will not be easily snared...but that doesn't mean she can’t enjoy the chase while it lasts."

Well... Rosalie could always set up as a high class courtesan if marriage isn't to her liking. 

Under the Stars by Beatriz Williams
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a daughter and her famous mother return to Winthrop Island to confront their complicated past, they discover a secret trove of paintings that connect them to a mysterious woman who vanished on a luxury steamship two centuries earlier.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Husbands and Lovers comes an epic tale of family legacy, love, and truths that echo down generations.

Audrey Fisher has struggled all her life to emerge from the shadow of her famous mother by forging a career as a world-class chef. Meredith Fisher's glamorous screen persona disguises the trauma of the tragic accident that haunts her dreams. Neither woman wants to return to the New England island they left behind and its complicated emotional ties, but Meredith has one last chance to sober up and salvage her big comeback, and where else but discreet, moneyed Winthrop Island can a famous actress spend the summer without the intrusion of other people? Until Audrey discovers an old wooden chest among the belongings of her estranged bartender father, Mike Kennedy, and the astonishing contents draw the women deep into Winthrop's past and its many secrets…attracting the interest of their handsome neighbor, Sedge Peabody. How did a trove of paintings from one of America's greatest artists wind up in the cellar of the Mohegan Inn? And who is the mysterious woman portrayed on every canvas?

On a stormy November night in 1846, Providence Dare flees Boston and boards the luxury steamship Atlantic one step ahead of the law...or so she believes. But when a catastrophic accident leaves the ship at the mercy of a mighty gale, Providence finds herself trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the one man who knows her real identity - the detective investigating the suspicious death of her employer, the painter Henry Irving. As the Atlantic fights for her life and the rocky shore of Winthrop Island edges closer, a desperate Providence searches for her chance to escape...before the sea swallows her without a trace.

In Under the Stars, the destinies of three women converge across centuries, as a harrowing true disaster at the dawn of the steamship era evokes a complex legacy of family secrets in modern-day New England. Williams has written a timeless epic of mothers and daughters, of love lost and found, and of the truths that echo down generations."

It never feels like it's summer until there's a new Beatriz Williams book to read on the beach. 

The Book of Kindness by Stephanie Butland
Published by: Headline
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The unforgettable and poignant new novel from the author of Found in a Bookshop and Lost for Words.

September was adopted when she was fifteen months old. She knows nothing about her early life, but she grew up safe and loved. Now, though, it's just September and her feckless boyfriend Shaun. And she's at her wits' end. There's never enough money, and she has nothing to look forward to.

Then a letter comes. September has inherited a house - and Shaun can see endless opportunities if she sells it. But, almost as soon as she sets foot in the garden, September knows she cannot let this home go. And she longs to find out more about the mysterious Lucia who left it to her.

When the members of Lucia's book club arrive, for the first time September hears stories of her mother, of the aunt who adored her, and of the secrets that broke the family apart. And she begins to make new friends.

September feels safe here. But money alone can't bring contentment. September is at the start of a journey full of surprises, shocks - and opportunities, if she's brave enough..."

And here's hoping September ditches Shaun! 

The Winds from Further West by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: July 29th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a dazzling and uplifting novel of new beginnings and endless possibilities, in which a slew of personal and professional disasters cause a young researcher to upend his seemingly stable life in Edinburgh and move to a remote island off the Scottish coast.

Dr. Neil Anderson has just started a new position at the University of Edinburgh when he meets Chrissie, an intelligent and ambitious colleague at the institute. Before long, the two move into a gorgeous flat on the south side of the city. Things seem to be going well for Neil, until an accusation of insensitive comments lands him in hot water with the university and he discovers a troubling secret about his relationship. Suddenly feeling as though his life is unraveling, he leaves everything behind for the remote and secluded beauty of the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland.

Not long after his arrival, a ship comes in to the harbor whose cargo - two wolf cubs - will drastically change the course of his life yet again. These cubs spark controversy on the island, leading Neil to Katie, the island's resident veterinarian, and bring with them the possibility of new beginnings and a budding romance."

Yeah, I feel for Neil. I too want to move to a remote island lately.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexander McCall Smith, Ava Reid, Beatriz Williams, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Hazell Ward, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Juliet Blackwell, Kate Alice Marshall, M.K. Hardy, Megan Miranda, Rosália Rodrigo, Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: January 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Cambridge professor, Emily Wilde, PhD, MPhil, BSc, Dde, tenured, is back and this time she's going to be the one doing the rescuing! Because the Folk are calling again. And their intent is deadly. Emily and Bambleby are back at Cambridge teaching. She's now a published author with tenor and a much more spacious office that gives her a little distance from Wendell. After all she hasn't decided yet if she'll accept his marriage proposal. He is deposed faerie royalty and that is problematic. Especially when his stepmother sends several assassins after him. The attack during one of his lectures does rather out him as one of the Folk. Thankfully only one person was paying attention. But it couldn't have been a worse person to have witnessed it. The Department Head of Dryadology, Dr. Farris Rose. One doesn't know if he's angry at his own ignorance or at the danger that has been lurking nearby for his entire tenure since his predecessor was abducted by a bogle in the Hebrides. One thing is clear, he's willing to help Emily get Bambleby back to his realm as fast as possible. Which means it's time to put Emily's theory about a back door, a nexus, used by the common fae that courtly fae are unaware of, to the test. Plus it will be invaluable to her new project, a mapbook of the faerie realms. Emily believes she has located a nexus in the Alps, specifically the village of St. Liesl in western Austria. The reasoning behind this is that the famous dryadologist Danielle de Grey mysteriously disappeared there over fifty years ago while investigating fauns in the region. Tree fauns that are unique to Wendell's realm. And getting Wendell home is more dire than ever because he's losing control of his powers. It turns out that the attack on his lecture wasn't the only attempt on his life. His stepmother has also poisoned him. And on his birthday no less! Has she no decency!?! So the expedition to the Alps is happening immediately, and Bambleby and Emily won't be alone. Dr. Farris Rose has spent years studying the Folk of the Alps, he convinces them they need his expertise. This is not exactly a magnanimous gesture. He sees it as a way to help Emily and get ride of Wendell. Plus, he's willing to live with a lapse in ethics in exchange for answers to the great scientific mysteries of our times. And then there's Emily's niece, Ariadne. The brightest student Emily has ever taught with an impressive alacrity for getting what she wants, like being included on this excursion and being Emily's assistant. They are in for a dangerous adventure. The townsfolk of St. Liesl warn them that the night is full of dangers and the kingdom they are searching for has had a disproportionate number of disappearances. But it's their only option if they are to save Wendell. If they're lucky perhaps they will solve the disappearance of de Grey as well. If they're unlucky they may never be heard from again.

Oh my, I don't know when I've enjoyed a book so much recently. And while I love Emily and Bambleby and all the new characters, even Dr. Rose, my heart is in it for Danielle de Grey. The very idea of folklorists becoming folklore brings a smile to my face. To be out there, searching for the answers, theories of trade routes connecting faerie realms, and to just disappear. To have all your research, everything about you overshadowed by your disappearance. And yet this doesn't diminish her reputation, she was known as an irreverent character who has become something of a folk hero. An enduring legend of dryadology, and here is Emily accidentally solving the mystery while trying to help Wendell. Because while it was thought that she had become lost in the Otherlands, an old name for the faerie realms, she was trapped in the borderlands, wandering the edges of different overlapping realms where time lost all meaning. Which is why spottings of her around St. Liesl show her at different ages. She's in a fluid and amorphous fog enshrouded land where she can appear at any age. Was she even being seen or was she some echo imprinted on the wind? What's more, the love of her life, a fellow professor, Bran Eichorn, disappeared in 1862 searching for her in the environs of St. Liesl. He too was lost to the borderlands, forever searching for her. It was he that Emily first encountered. There was some connection between the two of them, perhaps the foot that Emily nicked that used to belong to de Grey. But he understands what she is trying to do and attempts to convince her that finding Dani is the answer. Emily can't be sure if this is altruistic or not. But just the idea of these two lovers walking through the mist for over half a century calling out to one another is so Bronte-esque that I can't help but love every second of their apparently doomed romance. Thankfully things end for them better than they did for Cathy and Heathcliff. But then again, it's not like any ending could be worse than there's now can it? Just the whole vibe here made me want to go to the Alps and hide in a cottage and wander through the fog, but only during daylight hours while being tethered to an immobile stricture. What I also find interesting is that in reading about Eichorn and de Grey's relationship, they were unmarried but lived together in the 1860s. Were the social mores of this world that different from ours? Was it because she was viewed as irreverent that this was allowed? Or was it because she was a professor? Or is it because of the interaction between the human realm and the faerie realm creating different sexual mores due to what's been observed? I mean, Emily and Bambleby are at it in a tent and I have to ask, is this socially permissible? Because I love everything about this world and if they are a lot less prudish and "Victorian," well, all the better!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alps, Ariadne Wilde, Borderlands, Bran Eichorn, Brontes, Cambridge, Cathy Earnshaw, Danielle de Grey, Dr. Farris Rose, Emily Wilde, Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, Fauns, Heather Fawcett, Summer School, Wendell Bambleby

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Published by: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 640 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Everything Violet Sorrengail has ever known is a lie, even the fact that her brother Brennan was dead. She thought folklore was just that. Folklore. Tales to tell your children to behave or else the venin will come and get you. Only the tales about the venin are real. Dark Wielders who draw their power directly from the source, not from a bond with a dragon or gryphon. And she's seen what they can do. She almost died because of them. And her ignorance could have gotten her killed. But now it's her knowledge that is just as dangerous. Because she knows the real reason behind the Tyrrish Rebellion. Tyrrendor wanted to secede from Navarre so that they could join Poromiel in the fight against the venin. And Tyrrendor still plans to fight. Aretia wasn't destroyed as everyone was told. It's still the seat of the revolution. And Xaden Riorson is one of a seven member assembly leading the revolt, along with Violet's brother, Brennan. But the revolution needs continued access to Basgiath to arm themselves. So Violet must return to the War College and pretend that everything is fine, that her mother, the great General Lilith Sorrengail, hasn't been lying to her and the people of Navarre for years in order to protect Navarre at the expense of others. And on top of everything Violet is having dragon issues. Her dragon Tairn is bonded to Xaden's dragon Sgaeyl and Xaden has been assigned to the front, so much of their time is making sure the bonded pair gets to spend as much time as possible together, damn the inconvenience to their riders. Also Violet's bonus dragon Andarna is going through some changes and is laying low. The lie that they fabricated to cover up their run-in with venin means that the new Vice Commandant, Varrish, is suspicious of them. Suspicions that he acts upon in cruel and unusual ways, from trying to keep Sgaeyl and Tairn apart to inflicting punishments on Violet when she won't produce Andarna at his command. The breaking point though is when Varrish literally almost breaks Violet with five days of torture. Violet staged a raid into the archives to get information on the history of Basgiath and the First Six and how to replicate Navarre's wards. Needless to say an extreme interrogation session wasn't the outcome she had hoped for. But her eventual escape means that Basgiath is no longer safe. The revolutionaries, those who know or have come to know the truth, flee to Aretia and Riorson House. There they continue the education of the riders while also engaging in diplomatic talks with Poromiel. But even with allies the enemy grows closer and those closest to Violet still have secrets. Will Navarre survive or will they fall? It all depends on Violet and the secret knowledge she has gleaned.

This book is just bonkers in the best possible way. I mean, some of the things, I just can't. It's too absurd but at the same time totally makes sense to the characters. The gryphon riders legitimately call the dragon riders out on their barbaric practices and how they commit wholesale slaughter of their students and everyone from Basgiath is like, no, that's totally normal right? Kill the weak and all that. Why would you let someone survive? And the gryphon riders are all like, you're mental, OK? And you know what, they are mental, and I love them for it. A large chunk of the student population abandons Basgiath to join the revolution in Aretia and what's the first thing they do? No, they don't assign them jobs or ways in which to help the war effort, they open up their own school. They literally start schooling people in the middle of a war. Damn. I love these idiots. You really just have to embrace the chaos that is contained within the pages of these books. Because if you start to question anything, well, that way insanity lies. Like, how do they have the same months as us? Really. I kind of need to know. Because August is named after Emperor Augustus, the Roman leader, and well... There's no Rome here if you get my drift. And I'm not talking about a drift of gryphons! And you know, no Latin so no October. It doesn't matter that the first of that month is Threshing! Because I don't know how they have that month. But as is my motto with these books, embrace the chaos. These are basically teenagers riding around on giant siege monsters, so, well, suspend your disbelief. Because it's like this, no matter the fantastical in the fantasy genre it's the distilled truths that are brought to the forefront that make this genre more real, more human, than any other genre. What I really connected to is the bond forged between rider and dragon. And while you could say it's more a bond of never-ending friendship to me it's deeper. It's the bond between a human and their beloved pet. The soulmating of a person and a little ball of fur, or in this case a big ball of scales. If you've never experienced this kind of love just read Andarna's speech at the end of Iron Flame. Yes, it might decimate you, and it left me a wreck and in tears, but it's about choice and how you chose your person. Andarna waited for Violet for 650 years. She heard the elders talk of a girl with the mind of a scribe and the heart of a rider and she knew that that girl would be hers. I get teary just thinking about that. About finding your soulmate, picking your destiny, and love. Because in the end that's what this book is about, love.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andarna, Basgiath, Dragons, Gryphons, Iron Flame, Navarre, Pets, Poromiel, Rebecca Yarros, Revolution, Sgaeyl, Summer School, Tairn, Torture, Tyrrendor, Venin, Vice Commandant Varrish, Violet Sorrengail, Xaden Riorson

Ink Ribbon Red by Alex Pavesi
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A wickedly plotted new thriller, in which a group of friends play a deadly game that unwraps a motive for murder, from Alex Pavesi, the author of The Eighth Detective.

Anatol invites five of his oldest friends to his family home in the Wiltshire countryside to celebrate his thirtieth birthday. At his request, they play a game of his invention called Motive Method Death. The rules are simple: Everyone chooses two players at random, then writes a short story in which one kills the other.

Points are awarded for making the murders feel real. Of course, it's only natural for each friend to use what they know. Secrets. Grudges. Affairs. But once they've put it in a story, each secret is out. It's not long before the game reawakens old resentments and brings private matters into the light of day. With each fictional crime, someone new gets a very real motive.

Can all six friends survive the weekend, or will truth turn out to be deadlier than fiction?"

Oh yes, bring on Motive Method Death! A decidedly literary thriller.

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Years after her best friend mysteriously disappeared from a remote New England island, a young woman returns in search of answers in this atmospheric and scintillating thriller from Jessa Maxwell, nationally bestselling author of the "deliciously entertaining" (Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon.

Orla O'Connor hasn't been to the isolated New England enclave of Hadley Island since she graduated from high school a decade ago. As a teenager, her best friend Alice disappeared from its shores without a trace - but with plenty of rumors.

Now, Orla returns to her family's beachfront home to clean it out before her parents sell it. The island and her best friend's house next door, abandoned after her family left in grief, are stirring up memories she would like to avoid. Then there are the locals, always gossiping and watching Orla's every move. Worst of all, David, Orla's childhood crush and son of a wealthy Manhattan family, is back for the summer with his new, impossibly pretty girlfriend, Faith.

Faith suspects that David is going to propose but as soon as she settles into his family's sprawling Hadley Island estate, she feels out of place. She anticipated a luxurious summer of fun and romance, but David is never around - lured into business conversations with his entrepreneur father from dawn to dusk. With nothing else to do, Faith begins to investigate the island's dark past, curious about what really happened to Alice all those years ago.

Meanwhile, local Henry hasn't left his house since the young girl went missing, in an attempt to let the accusations against him die down. Except they never have. For years, Henry has had an endless supply of time to pursue his only hobby, watching the island from his telescope and recording the activities of its inhabitants. But Orla's return has shaken him and lately he's been seeing strange things: shadowy figures walking on the beach in the middle of the night and a light on in the upstairs window of the long-abandoned house of the missing girl.

When there's another disappearance on the island, all three find themselves pulled into an eerie and twisty mystery that will haunt them for the rest of their lives."

I mean, wasn't the mystery already haunting two of the trio?

The Red Letter by Daniel G. Miller
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A spine-tingling new suspense-thriller from bestselling author Daniel G. Miller that will keep your heart racing to the last page.

A DEAD BODY. A MYSTERIOUS RED LETTER.

Hazel has everything she wants.

Business is booming at her boutique private investigation firm. She's dating the man of her dreams. Even her perpetually skeptical mother seems impressed. Then the NYPD finds a beloved neighborhood priest dead along with a mysterious red letter.

Hazel investigates the murder as a favor to an old friend and discovers that the priest wasn't the only recent murder victim to receive a red letter...and one victim has ties to a psychopath from a past life that Hazel thought she had buried. One by one, the red letters continue to appear, and with every letter, another killing, each more mysterious than the last.

As Hazel closes in on the killer, the killer closes in on her, and Hazel begins to question everything she thought she knew about herself and the people around her. Even worse, Hazel discovers that the only way to find the truth is to open one more...

RED LETTER."

I think tracking the killer through a stationary shop would be their best bet...

A Beautiful Way to Die by Eleni Kyriacou
Published by: Head of Zeus - An Aries Book
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Don't miss the new novel from Eleni Kyriacou, author of BBC Between the Covers pick The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou.

PLAY THEIR GAME
Hollywood, 1953. Young actress Ginny Watkins is turning heads. Even the legendary - and married - actor Max Whitman can't resist the allure of the hottest new starlet. He promises Ginny the world, in return for the right favour.

DO WHAT THEY SAY
London, 1954. Stella Hope, once the most famous actress in Hollywood, has been ousted to Ealing Studios after her divorce from the powerful Max. Just as she accepts her fate, she receives a letter, blackmailing her for a mistake she made many years ago.

OR THEY'LL BURY YOU
Two women on either side of stardom find themselves in the orbit of the same beguiling man. And one night, in the shadows of a glamorous Oscars afterparty, their lives are changed forever...

A Beautiful Way to Die delves into the decadence and depravity of the early film industry from Hollywood to London. Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Babylon."

Wait, there were fans of Babylon!?! 

The One and Only Vivian Stone by Melissa O'Connor
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in this enchanting novel about estranged lovers reconnecting over mysterious tapes found in an attic and the old Hollywood secret hidden within them.

After her grandmother's death, thirty-something Margot DuBois prepares to sell the house quickly so she can go back to her predictable life in Santa Barbara. There, no one knows she used to write and how not succeeding wrecked her confidence. While cleaning out the attic, she comes across eight unlabeled cassette tapes. Unable to use the damaged tape player, she calls in a favor from Leo - her first love and first epic heartbreak - and they strike a deal: he'll fix the player if he can hear what's on the tapes. When they manage to listen, the two are shocked to hear the voice of comedic legend Vivian Stone. Why did she record these tapes and how did Margot's grandmother get them?

Between listening to Vivian recount everything from her forbidden love for Hollywood's leading actor, to working under a misogynistic exec, to her chemistry with her costar-turned-husband on TV, Margot and Leo fall down a memory lane of their own. Margot is inspired by Vivian's tenacity and courage to keep fighting for the life she wants, but everything changes when Vivian reveals a secret tied to her past in this moving exploration of how it's never too late to start over."

Or write a tell-all that makes your name as a writer?

Blood Caste by Shylashri Shankar
Published by: Canelo Crime
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Kindle, 379 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Is Jack the Ripper at large on the streets of Victorian India?

Hyderabad, India, 1895. When three bodies are discovered with mutilations bearing an eerie resemblance to the Ripper's Whitechapel victims, Chief Inspector Soobramania - known as Soob - is summoned to investigate.

Suspicion alights upon three powerful men: a Russian grand duke and an English earl visiting the city, and their friend, a Deccani noble, who is also the stepson of one of the victims.

Faced with the thorny imperial politics of accusing relatives of Queen Victoria, Soob must ally with his rival in the British Residency Police, Inspector Wilberforce, to hunt down the killer.

So begins a deadly game of cat and mouse played in the shadow of empire, where high birth protects foul deeds and where spilt blood counts for less than wealth.

A richly textured and utterly compelling historical crime thriller from a dazzling debut voice."

Ripperologist here who can't wait to read this!

Heart Marks the Spot by Libby Hubscher
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A treasure hunter and the bestselling adventure novelist who broke her heart after one successful expedition reunite for a summer to search for lost riches.

Treasure hunter Stella Moore dreams of having it all - wealth, love, and a flourishing career - but knows she'll never be that lucky. Every summer she and her childhood friends travel to search for hidden treasure, but she can barely manage her bills, let alone a relationship. Then, a chance encounter with alluring novelist Huck Sullivan during an expedition in Iceland has Stella thinking maybe her fortune has changed.

After his last book bombed, Huck hasn't written a word. Joining Stella and her crew on an adventure seems like the perfect distraction from his problems, and when the crew finally uncovers hidden treasure, he is certain that he's found more than just inspiration for his next novel. Huck and Stella's undeniable connection gives way to an unforgettable night on a black sand beach.

After Huck disappears without a goodbye, Stella vows to put the heartbreak behind her - but that's easier said than done when, a year later, every bookstore has a life-size cutout of her ex-lover next to stacks of his latest record-breaking bestseller. Good thing it's time for another summer treasure hunt. Stella throws herself into mapping the path to a shipwreck off Key West, but the last thing she expects is an extra crew member showing up in search of material for a sequel and a second chance.

Stella and Huck are prepared for storms, sharks, sea sickness, even a tentative truce. But facing the feelings they buried and confronting the devastating truth about why Huck left is the only way to find what their hearts have been searching for all along."

You know, hunting for treasure sounds so fun until you get into all the legalities. Stick with romance.

How to Train Your Dragon School: Doom of the Darkwing by Cressida Cowell
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this exciting How to Train Your Dragon spin-off series perfect for developing readers and packed with beautiful illustrations and easy-to-read stories, follow Hiccup and his fellow Warriors-in-Training in their hilarious, hair-raising adventures.

Disastrous Lesson Number One: The Art of Battle.

It was supposed to be a quiet, sensible lesson. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third never meant to get into trouble.

But things take an unexpected turn along the way and Hiccup and his friends soon find themselves adrift on stormy seas in a sinking ship facing imminent doom.

Join Hiccup and his dragons, Toothless and Windwalker, in their hilarious adventures at the Isle of Berk's Training School for Vikings and Dragons, where they are at the bottom in pretty much everything.

Welcome to How to Train Your Dragon School, where Viking and Dragon Heroes are made!"

Because you can never have too many dragons.

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 576 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman who wields magical tarot cards lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy in this first installment of an enthralling fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of A Deal with the Elf King.

Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of illegal magic. After a job gone awry, Clara is sentenced to a lifetime in prison for inking tarot cards - a rare power reserved for practitioners at the elite Arcana Academy.

Just when it seems her luck has run dry, the academy's enigmatic headmaster, Prince Kaelis, offers her an escape - for a price. Kaelis believes that Clara is the perfect tool to help him steal a tarot card from the king and use it to re-create an all-powerful card long lost to time.

In order to conceal her identity and keep her close, Kaelis brings Clara to Arcana Academy, introducing her as the newest first-year student and his bride-to-be.

Thrust into a world of arcane magic and royal intrigue, where one misstep will send her back to prison or worse, Clara finds that the prince she swore to hate may not be what he seems. But can she risk giving him power over the world - and her heart? Or will she take it for herself?"

So apparently they don't have a rule about staff and students dating.

The Last Wizards' Ball by Charlaine Harris
Published by: S and S/Saga Press
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns with the sixth and final installment in the critically acclaimed Gunnie Rose series as sisters Lizbeth Rose and Felicia must face their fates at the last Wizards' Ball.

Lizbeth Rose's sister Felicia attends the Grand Wizards' Ball, and as one of the most powerful - and beautiful - death wizards in a generation, she is highly sought after as one of the belles of the ball.

However, war and violence are on the rise in Europe as German and Japanese wizards are also courting Felicia…and some are refusing to take no for an answer.

As the façade of genteel wizard society turns deadly, Lizbeth must learn to not only protect her sister, but also navigate the arcane world that is pulling her sister and husband into a dangerous dance with death that could change the world as they know it.

#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Charlaine Harris has crafted a murderous and magical family drama in this sixth and final installment to the beloved and bestselling Gunnie Rose series."

If you've been waiting to binge this series now's the time!

The Twilight Magus by Tim Pratt
Published by: Aconyte Books
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 322 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The enigmatic Carl Sanford is the master of all things occult in Arkham, until a charismatic newcomer threatens to take everything away from him in this dark mystery set in the world of Arkham Horror.

Carl Sanford's mastery of the Silver Twilight Lodge gives him unbridled power and influence, but unforeseen turmoil is coming to Arkham... A new occult curiosity shop in the city, opened by newcomer Randall Tillinghast, draws Sanford's ire, challenging his formerly unrivalled authority. Sanford expects to crush the newcomer like an ant and take what he wants from the wreckage, but Randall Tillinghast isn't quite as humble and harmless as he seems. In possession of an array of magical artifacts, Tillinghast begins to subvert Sanford's reputation in more ways than one, forcing Carl Sanford to call all the monsters and magic at his disposal to stop him. Will it be enough?"

I just can't get enough of Arkham Horror. Be sure to also check out the comics written by Cullen Bunn!

Ruthless Devotion by Rebecca Kenney
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"He was the other half of my soul - the mirror to my every dark desire. My destruction, my redemption, my salvation: my Heathcliff.

Cathy Earnshaw's got the devil inside her - or at least that's what the small, cultish community she's spent her whole life trapped inside would say. She can sense death coming, and every loss sends her spiraling into a violent, uncontrollable episode of grief, wailing like a banshee across the swampy forests of the Lowcountry. With a secret as dark as hers, there's no hope of relief, or escape, or finding someone with a chance of understanding.

Until she meets him.

Heathcliff's got his own trauma, and a secret just as dangerous as Cathy's. Stolen as a child, raised by necromancers, he's the most forbidden sin she could ever imagine...and the most desperately tempting. Violent in his passions, tender in his affection, he feels like the other half of her soul, but even as they claw desperately to be together, the world seems just as determined to keep them apart.

Because it turns out their little Southern community was built long ago on a graveyard of lies...and every cult needs its sacrificial lamb.

An addictive and truly original spicy New Adult retelling of Wuthering Heights with a magical twist."

I mean, Cathy and Heathcliff in a cultish community rings true.

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 3240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An eerie, hypnotic debut about friendship, desire, and memory set against the sultry backdrop of Florida's swamplands.

It's been years since Ingrid has heard from her childhood best friend, Mayra, a fearless rebel who fled their hometown of Hialeah, a Cuban neighborhood just west of Miami, for college in the Northeast. But when Mayra calls out of the blue to invite Ingrid to a weekend getaway at a house in the Everglades, she impulsively accepts.

From the moment Ingrid sets out, danger looms: The directions are difficult, she's out of reach of cell service, and as she drives deeper into the Everglades, the wet maw of the swamp threatens to swallow her whole. But once Ingrid arrives, Mayra is, in many ways, just as she remembers - with her sharp tongue and effortless, seductive beauty, still thumbing her nose at the world.

Before they can fully settle into the familiar intimacy of each other's company, their reunion is spoiled by the reemergence of past disagreements and the unexpected presence of Mayra's new boyfriend, Benji. The trio spend their hours eating lavish meals and exploring the labyrinthine house, which holds as much mystery as the swamp itself. Indoors and on the grounds, time itself seems to expand, and Ingrid begins to lose a sense of the outside world, and herself.

Against this disquieting setting, where lizards dart in and out of porches and alligators peek from dark waters, Gonzalez weaves a surreal, unforgettable story about the dizzying power of early friendship and the lengths we'll go to earn love and acceptance - even at the risk of losing ourselves entirely."

Oh so Southern Gothic!

Red Rabbit Ghost by Jen Julian
Published by: Run for It
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An impulsive young outcast confronts his small town's dark secrets in this atmospheric and haunting debut horror novel from brilliant new voice Jen Julian.

The town of Blacknot is not what it appears, and a place on its desolate edge known only as The Night House is calling...

What remains of Jesse's mother can fit inside an old jerky tin. Photos, postcards, a single, worn-out bracelet. But nothing that can explain why she was found dead eighteen years earlier on the bank of a river, her infant son left wailing by her side. When Jesse starts to receive anonymous messages promising him answers, he returns home to the regressive town of Blacknot, North Carolina so that his lifelong obsession can finally be laid to rest.

But Jesse's investigation is stirring up trouble with the locals, including his well-armed ex-boyfriend and the mysterious daughter of a local businessman, each with their own inscrutable agendas. They will soon find that this backwater town holds a power more volatile than any of them could have imagined, and that the answers they seek might be better left buried."

Of course it's better to leave things buried. Just ignore me and my shovel. 

It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ronnie doesn't know it yet, but her fate rests in the hands of the dead.

Silent film star Venita Rost's malevolent spirit lurks spider-like in her cliffside mansion, a once-beautiful home that's claimed countless unlucky souls. And she's not alone. Snared in her terrible web, Inspector Bartholomew Sloan - her eternal nemesis - watches her wreak havoc in helpless horror, shackled by his own guilt and Venita's unrelenting wrath.

Now the house has yet another new owner. This time it's Ronnie Mitchell, a grieving woman who buys the run-down place sight unseen. She arrives armed with an unexpected inheritance, a strong background in renovation, and a blissful ignorance regarding the house's blood-soaked history. But her arrival has stirred up more than just dust and decay. In the shadows, unseen eyes watch. Then, a man comes knocking. He brings wild stories and a thinly veiled jealousy, as well as a secret connection to the house that can only lead to violence.

Venita's fury awakens, and a deadly game unfolds.

Caught between a vengeful ghost and a ruthless living threat, Ronnie's skepticism crumbles. The line between living and dead isn't as sharp as it seems, and she realizes too late that in Venita's house, survival might be just an illusion."

I totally would be a vengeful ghost holding onto my house. But I don't think I could write that anywhere near as well as Cherie does.

Choose Your Own Adventure Cryptid Chronicles: Mothman by Cristin Bishara and Sofia Cavallari
Published by: Choose Your Own Adventure
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Unknowable forces are lurking in the mountains of Appalachia in this interactive book where YOU decide what happens next! Packed with 17 possible endings!

Choose Your Own Adventure books - the 4th bestselling children's series of all time - are back and as much fun as you remember. Kids and adults agree, these are the books that get 9 to 12-year-olds reading.

YOU are a kid with mysteries to solve in the heart of the Appalachian mountains, where a timeless tension between ancient creatures and alien invaders is coming to a head! You've heard stories of when the Silver Bridge collapsed into the Ohio River, and sightings of a terrifying figure in the aftermath that led many to blame the Mothman for the tragedy. Now, as another disaster looms, it's up to you to stop it!

Will the mesmerizing glow of the Mothman's eyes lure you into joining him? Will a secret government agency recruit you to help them save the Earth? Or will you be kidnapped to an alien planet, never to see your home again?

Kids who love cryptids and UFOs will be swept away by this thrilling science fiction adventure, where their choices are literally the most important thing in the world!"

Seeing as everyone I know who loved Choose Your Own Adventure books are also cryptid freaks this is the smartest line extension EVER.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alex Pavesi, Arkham Horror, Charlaine Harris, Cherie Priest, Choose Your Own Adventure, Cressida Cowell, Daniel G. Miller, Eleni Kyriacou, Elise Kova, Jessa Maxwell, Libby Hubscher, Melissa O'Connor, Shylashri Shankar