strange and random happenstance

Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""This isn’t London. The rules are different up here..."

All Detective Sergeant Peter Grant wanted was a nice holiday up in Scotland.
He'll need one once this is over...

Sea: check.
Sand: some.
Sun: sort of - but that's not the only thing in the sky..."

Yes. It's finally here. The newest Rivers of London book. No London this time, but plenty of holiday fun in Scotland. Work can be fun right?

The Lavender Blade by E.L. Deards
Published by: She Writes Press
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 344 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For readers who loved New York Times bestseller Gideon the Ninth, Deards delivers a queer speculative fiction novel about what happens when a con artist exorcist becomes possessed for real.

A pair of con artist demon exorcists scam the nation's wealthiest...until one of them is possessed for real.

Colton and Lucian make a living conning the desperate with fake exorcisms - Lucian is the charm, Colton the trick, and together, they've turned deception into survival. Their work is dangerous, their romance even riskier, but they've always found a way to stay ahead.

Until Lucian is truly possessed.

A powerful demon takes hold, twisting his body into something unnatural, horrific, wrong - and no priest, no con, no desperate lie can fix it. With time running out and Lucian slipping further away, Colton has no choice but to learn real magic, break every rule, and attempt the impossible.

Because if he fails, Lucian won't just be lost. He'll be something else entirely."

I mean, isn't that always the risk of faking being an exorcist? Getting possessed. For real.

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Cold cases are a lot easier to solve when you can travel back in time to find new evidence. Unless, that is, you get stuck in the nineteenth century...

Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they're frozen - or so their inside joke goes. Nobody knows that her team has a secret: they can travel back in time to look for evidence.

The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London to clear the name of Cain Templeton, an eccentric patron of the arts. Rumor has it that Cain is part of a sinister group called The Collectors. Ali arrives in the Victorian era to another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions.

As the clock counts down, Ali becomes more entangled in the mystery, yet danger lurks around every corner. She soon finds herself trapped, unable to make her way back to her beloved son, Finn, who is battling his own accusations in the present day.

Could the two cases be connected? In a race through and against time, Ali must find out before it's too late."

I mean, I'd totally use time travel to solve crime. It's been a dream of mine. 

The Bone Hunters by Joanne Burn
Published by: Sphere
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"1824, and Lyme Regis is as tumultuous as the sea that surrounds it. When twenty-four-year-old Ada Winters - poor, peculiar and brilliant - uncovers a set of unusual fossils on the cliffs, she believes she has found the answer to her scientific frustrations and her family's financial struggles.

Meanwhile, Doctor Edwin Moyle has come to Dorset in search of the discovery that will place him amongst the greatest geologists of the age. What he finds instead is a strange young woman who seems to hold the key to everything he seeks.

But what is the creature that Ada and Edwin seek to unearth? And will it be their means to greatness, or destruction?"

I mean, this right here sounds like my dream holiday, so of course I'm going to read it!

Ascension by S.T. Gibson
Published by: Angry Robot
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the international bestselling author of Evocation comes it's hotly anticipated and spellbinding sequel, where Rhys steps into his new role as High Priest. A magical read for lovers of traditional urban fantasy.

Ever since Rhys McGowan was a boy, he's only wanted two things: power and love.

Now, as High Priest of Boston's premiere Secret Society, husband to his adoring witch wife Moira, and partner to David - his psychic rival-turned-boyfriend, Rhys is finally at peace. But when a strange ritual rocks Boston's occult community, and opens the Society up to sabotage, Rhys delves even deeper into the dark world of demon-summoning. He's used to carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, but the strain of managing so many spirits (not to mention the stress of his loved ones exploring other people) will push him to the brink.

As heaven and hell play tug of war for Rhys' soul, he'll have to face the greatest demon of all: his own insatiable ambition.

The second book in the bestselling Summoner's Circle series sees beloved characters return for an all new dark and enthralling adventure."

I mean, when disaster is one the doorstep talking about opening up your relationship isn't ideal.

The Bloodless Queen by Joshua Phillip Johnson
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Part ecological Orpheus and Eurydice myth and part Gothic thriller, discover this atmospheric near-future sci-fi novel about fae mysteries deep within strange nature preserves.

On the autumnal equinox of 1987, after fencing off half of the Earth's land for huge nature reserves called Harbors, the leaders of the world called on their peoples to celebrate. Then began the horror and the magic.

Everyone who died that day - all 132,329 of them - instead of going cold and still, turned odd and fae. They became mischievous and murderous, before disappearing into their nearest Harbor, never seen again. And each year after that on the autumnal equinox, the same terrible transformations would occur: the wretched dead not dying, but instead riddling and whispering of a faerie queen - bloodless and powerful - while fleeing into the wild confines of the Harbors.

In the present day, Evangeline and Calidore are working as fencers, government-employed protectors whose magical powers come from mysterious tattoos of prime numbers. When they aren't fixing the fences of the Midwest Harbor that separates the human world from Faerie or patrolling on the equinox, they are parents of an almost-seven-year-old daughter named Winnie.

But as the new year's autumnal equinox approaches, Evangeline and Calidore find themselves thrust into a vast conspiracy that stretches across governments, religions, and fencers worldwide. As they race to untangle this web of power and intrigue, they will need to confront the questions that have haunted the world since the fences were built:

What lies at the heart of the Harbors? Who waits there?"

I adore this cohesion of science and fantasy. 

The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy
Published by: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A "haunting...addictive" (Publishers Weekly) novel about a teen who must delve into her past if she wants to live long enough to have a future when murders eerily similar to the dark stories her brother used to tell start happening in her hometown - now with updated text and a brand-new look!

You swore on summer.

Ben was Lana's world. He was her big brother, her best friend, her summer. And then he was murdered in a grisly carjacking, and her world ended.

Now, six months after Ben's death, Lana is trying to reinvent herself. She's found her way into the inner circle of popular kids, and the Lana she is now - bold, daring, brash, adventurous - barely resembles the shy, unpopular Lana she used to be.

And then a body turns up. At first, everyone thinks it's just a horrible accident. But when more corpses are discovered, Lana realizes the details of the murders eerily match the dark fairy tales Ben used to tell her - stories that only she and Ben knew.

Is Ben seeking vengeance from the grave? Or has a darker phantom from their past come to haunt Lana's present?"

It's gotta be a darker phantom!

The Rabbit Club by Christopher J. Yates
Published by: Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The author of Black Chalk, "the smart summer thriller you've been waiting for" (NPR), returns with a mesmerizing new novel about a dangerous secret society at Oxford University, and the first-year Literature student whose life begins to unravel in its shadow.

When Ali McCain, an eighteen-year-old from Los Angeles, is accepted at Oxford, it's a chance to fulfill his dreams. To study English literature in England; to meet true intellectuals; and to glimpse the life he might have lived had his father - British rock star Gel McCain, legendary frontman of the Pale Fires - not abandoned him and his mother when he was a toddler.

But not long after he arrives at the storied campus, Ali is drawn into a dark, disorienting world where events grow more and more curious by the day. Trading on his father's name, he gains entry into one of Oxford's oldest and most selective secret societies, the Saracens. As he immerses himself in this rarefied world, he inadvertently sets in motion a series of events that might culminate in disaster.

A mind-bending literary house of mirrors, replete with bookish allusions and Easter eggs ranging from Brideshead Revisited to King Lear, The Rabbit Club is an arresting work of dark academia by the category's finest writer."

I mean, seeing as we're in the middle of a dark academia celebration here hells yes to this book!

How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Seven authors enter the manor.

Can they survive the story within?

When legendary horror author Mortimer Queen passes, a group of writers find themselves invited to his last will and testament reading expecting a piece of his massive fortune. Each have their own unique connection to the literary icon, some known, some soon to be discovered, and they've been waiting for their chance to step into the author's shoes for some time.

Instead, they arrive at his grand manor and are invited to play a game. The rules are simple, solve the riddle and progress to the next room. If they don't, the manor will take one of them for itself.

You see, the Queen estate was built on the bones of Mortimer's family, and like any true horror story, the house is still very, very hungry.

With the clever, locked-room thrills of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone with the ghostly horror of The Fall of the House of Usher, How to Survive a Horror Story is a bright, biting, thrill-ride that begs us to contemplate how the best horror stories come to be."

I mean, this, right here, is my idea of a good time. From the safety of my armchair of course.

Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In what Jeneva Rose declares a "chilling and atmospheric" tale, Nola Strate, a late night radio host in Portland, Oregon, listens to stories of hauntings and cryptic sightings for a living. But one foggy evening, a caller describes an eerie scene that triggers memories of Nola's childhood escape from a serial killer, and she fears he's back to finish what he started. Nola Strate is being watched, again.

After an encounter with a notorious serial killer in the Pacific Northwest as a child, Nola has grown up and tried her best to forget her traumatizing night with the Hiding Man. She installed security cameras outside her Oregon home, never spoke of her experience, and now hosts Night Watch, a popular radio call-in show her semi-famous father used to run. When coincidences lead Nola to believe that she is being stalked, and a caller on Night Watch has a live incident with an intruder in the caller's home - the description of whom is chillingly familiar - Nola is convinced that the Hiding Man has resurfaced and is coming for her.

With a mysterious next-door neighbor lurking in the shadows, more people getting hurt, the police not taking her concerns seriously, and evidence pointing towards her own father, Nola decides to become, like her listeners, a Night Watcher herself, and uncover the monster behind the Hiding Man's mask."

I mean, if you really want to avoid stalkers perhaps being a late night radio host of the uncanny isn't the best thing to do...

The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware
Published by: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this follow-up to #1 New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware's multi-million copy mega-hit The Woman in Cabin 10, Lo Blacklock returns to attend the opening of a luxury hotel, only to find herself in a white-knuckled race across Europe.

When the invitation to attend the press opening of a luxury Swiss hotel - owned by reclusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann - arrives, it's like the answer to a prayer. Three years after the birth of her youngest child, Lo Blacklock is ready to reestablish her journalism career, but post-pandemic travel journalism is a very different landscape from the one she left ten years ago.

The chateau on the shores of Lake Geneva is everything Lo's ever dreamed of, and she hopes she can snag an interview with Marcus. Unfortunately, he proves to be even more difficult to pin down than his reputation suggests. When Lo gets a late-night call asking her to come to Marcus's hotel room, she agrees despite her own misgivings. She's greeted, however, by a woman claiming to be Marcus's mistress, and in life-or-death jeopardy.

What follows is a thrilling cat-and-mouse pursuit across Europe, forcing Lo to ask herself just how much she's willing to sacrifice to save this woman...and if she can even trust her?"

I mean, Ruth Ware has become a household name since The Woman in Cabin 10 but until now she's never revisited those characters... Until now!

Like a Bullet by Andrew Cartmel
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Humorous cosy-crime caper from the author of the beloved, bestselling Vinyl Detective series in which a feisty, amoral book dealer uses her unique skills to solve fiendish crimes. A love letter to Agatha Christie murder mysteries and classic whodunnits.

When Erik Make Loud, retired rock star and a major World War Two nut, hires Cordelia, the Paperback Sleuth, to track down a series of lurid paperbacks about his favourite global conflict - the "Commando" novels by the blatantly pseudonymous Butch Raider - it seems like a routine job. But Cordelia soon discovers the final novel in the series, the incredibly rare Commando Gold, is all but impossible to track down.

The books' creator - real name Monty Harrington, once a promising young poet and now a depraved drunk - proves easier to find. Writing pulp war stories didn't come naturally to Monty. Until he met someone who knew all about such stuff during a pub crawl; a genuine ex-commando who, for the price of a pint or two, was willing to provide Monty with authentic anecdotes.

Too authentic, it turns out...

Because Commando Gold reveals the details of a real-life commando mission.

At the time the mission was top secret.

And all these years later, someone is quite prepared to kill to keep it so."

Perfect synchronicity to have a new Andrew Cartmell book and a new Ben Aaronovitch book on the same day!

Stay Away from Him by Andrew DeYoung
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"On the evening she met exonerated murderer Thomas Danver, Melissa Burke let him help put her five-year-old son to bed before coming back upstairs to enjoy the dinner party. Thomas was so nice, and a pediatrician. She didn't know anything then about his wife's suspicious death...

Relocating with her 5-year-old son to a new city after an ugly divorce, Melissa Burke isn't looking for a new relationship right away - only distance from her ex, and space to rest and heal from the emotional scars of a broken marriage. But an unexpected relationship is exactly what she finds at a friend's dinner party when she meets Thomas Danver, a charming widower who asks for her number at the end of the night. Intrigued, Melissa learns from her neighbors that Thomas is a dedicated father of two girls, one of the most respected pediatricians in the city - and an exonerated murderer.

Thomas's first wife went missing three years ago, presumed dead, and Thomas was eventually cleared of her murder in an investigation that became a local media sensation. But while some still believe he killed his wife, Melissa's friends insist that he was unfairly targeted by the police and couldn't hurt a fly. Attracted to Thomas and also fascinated by the case, Melissa agrees to one date - and finds herself quickly swept into an obsessive, whirlwind romance.

But when Melissa receives a chilling, anonymous threat - or perhaps it's a warning - she begins to question how much she truly knows about the man she's falling in love with. Is he really innocent?"

I think Melissa Burke has terrible taste in men.

The Myth Maker by Alie Dumas-Heidt
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Someone is killing women and staging their bodies in strange, evocative scenes in this Greek-mythology-inspired serial killer thriller perfect, for fans of Alex Michaelides and Tana French.

Cassidy Cantwell has devoted her life to becoming a detective, never forgetting the cold case that has influenced her entire career: the unsolved murder of her best friend. Cassidy tries to balance her demanding job with her suffocatingly close-knit family and her increasingly clingy boyfriend, but when a strange new murder case comes across her desk, she's determined to solve it, especially when it turns out the victim was the wife of her college ex-boyfriend.

While Cassidy's partner, Bryan, works to prove that her ex is their suspect, Cassidy can't shake the feeling that there's something more to the case that they're not seeing. After the medical examiner finds a strange ring among the victim's personal effects that the husband insists didn't belong to his wife, Cassidy is struck by similarly odd details from a previous crime scene - details that seem to have an uncanny connection to a Greek myth.

When another body attracts public attention and the FBI joins the hunt, the case gets increasingly complicated - and solving it seems further and further out of reach. With anonymous taunts about her best friend's death dragging her attention away, Cassidy finds herself pulled in different directions - sacrifice her personal life for the sake of her career, or put everything she has into finding years-old answers to a case that haunts her still.

And the killer behind the murders isn't done yet."

Maybe Cassidy can't move on until she finds the answers? I know I wouldn't.

The Finer Things by J.D. Barker and Kyle Dunn
Published by: Hampton Creek Press
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"His art will take your breath away.

In the shadows of 1950s New York, a brilliant mind teeters on the edge of madness. Edgar Maguire's sculptures are taking the art world by storm, but behind each masterpiece lies a horrifying secret.

When Fiona, the object of Edgar's lifelong obsession, reenters his life, it ignites a passion that blurs the lines between creation and destruction. As his art evolves into something terrifyingly beautiful, a trail of bodies begins to surface across the city.

Detective George Snyder is closing in, but can he unravel the connection between the murders and Edgar's rising star before it's too late?"

That intersection of art and murder is very Hannibal. I approve. 

Arsenic and Old Lies by Benedict Brown
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 319 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dead body in the study, a terrible wrong to put right, and a trail that leads to murder...

London, 1928. Mystery writer and amateur detective Marius Quin is reeling from his friend's murder in his own home. Forced to stay away from the case, he's in urgent need of distraction when fate points him towards Felicity Mortimer, a woman imprisoned for poisoning her husband fifteen years earlier.

Marius soon becomes convinced of Felicity's innocence, and when he discovers a key witness with his throat cut, it's clear that the real killer is still on the loose. Determined to uncover the truth, Marius drags his partner-in-crime-solving, Lady Bella Montague, (not to forget his basset hound, Percy) to a manor house deep within the New Forest. But what dark secrets are concealed at the picturesque estate where Felicity once lived?

As their search for answers stirs up more violence, can Marius and Bella expose a deadly plot before death stalks the halls of Rhinefield House...again?"

I'm obviously here for the house.

Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator by Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar
Published by: HarperVia
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this imaginative cozy mystery, the search for a missing maid leads Miss Caroline Bingley from Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice into murder and mayhem in the gritty underbelly of Regency London.

Two years after her brother Charles Bingley weds Miss Jane Bennett, Miss Caroline Bingley is visiting her brother's country estate near Pemberley, the home of their best friends, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. Restless and out of sorts, Caroline wonders if there's more to life than playing cribbage and paying calls on country neighbors.

When Georgiana Darcy's maid, Jayani disappears and Georgiana sets off to find her, Caroline races to to find them in London, where she stumbles on a shocking, cold-blooded murder. Reunited with Georgiana, the pair careen through the gritty, grimy underbelly of London, a world unfamiliar to two genteel aristocratic ladies. Assisted by Caroline's trusty manservant, Gordon, the tenacious Caroline demands answers of shady characters, police magistrates, and mysterious East India Company men to discover the killer. Their search will reveal the cost of Empire on India and its people...and Miss Bingley's incomparable powers of investigation.

As Caroline puts her superior new talents to work, she finds out exactly what an accomplished, independent woman with a sharp mind and a large fortune can achieve - even when pitted against secrets, scandal, and a murderer with no mercy."

No one ever doubted that Miss Caroline Bingley was smart, she always saw what others didn't, which makes her the perfect detective.

The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgewick by S. Isabelle
Published by: Storytide
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bridgerton meets The Davenports in this wildly entertaining standalone romance, following a young Black woman trying to balance her independence with her future in 1860s London's high society.

Stella Sedgwick is a lost cause.

Banished from etiquette lessons and unsure of her future, Stella dreams of a writing career and independence, but 1860s England offers little opportunity beyond marriage or servitude for a sharp-tongued, dark-skinned girl.

When her late mother's former employer summons Stella to London, he tells her of his intention to bequeath one of the family's great estates to her. It's a life-changing inheritance, but one that will precipitate a legal battle that would be easier if Stella were married. With her cousin Olivia by her side, Stella is thrust into London society and must navigate fashion and balls, insults and stares, and a rekindled connection to Nathaniel, her childhood best friend with a rakish reputation.

Beyond the marriage market, living in London presents intriguing opportunities to Stella, like picking up her mother's anonymous advice column to guide readers through upper-class perils. As new acquaintances are made and old secrets are uncovered, Stella must decide when to play by the rules, when to break them, and when to let herself follow her heart."

That cover and this story are just the summery breath of romantic air you've been waiting for.

The Homemade Gods by Rachel Joyce
Published by: The Dial Press
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With sparkling wit and insight, this powerful novel from the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry reminds us that family is everything, even when it falls apart.

There is a heatwave across Europe, and four siblings have gathered at their family's lake house to seek answers about their father, a famous artist, who recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his long-awaited masterpiece.

Now he is dead. And there is no sign of his final painting.

As the siblings try to piece together what happened, they spend the summer in a state of lawlessness: living under the same roof for the first time in decades, forced to confront the buried wounds they incurred as his children, and waiting for answers. Though they have always been close, the things they learn that summer - about themselves - and their father - will drive them apart before they can truly understand his legacy. Meanwhile, their stepmother's enigmatic presence looms over the house. Is she the force that will finally destroy the family for good?

Wonderfully atmospheric, at heart this is a novel about the bonds of siblinghood - what happens when they splinter, and what it might take to reconnect them."

If you can't spend the summer in Italy feuding with family, this can transport you there!

Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A teen girl's dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported - a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse - but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath, in this atmospheric and lush novel from the author of Those We Drown.

When Lara Williams gets a summer job aboard the luxury train the Banebury, she thinks she's landed a five-star escape from her past. Even after she learns that her ex-friend Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her coworkers, she's determined to make things work.

But on the first day of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn. Two mysterious carriages filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants are attached to the Banebury in the middle of the night.

And with them comes a pair of siblings. Wealthy, mysterious, and charismatic, Gwen and Gwydion claim the plants they're transporting are for research, but Lara can't shake the feeling that there's something...otherworldly about the strange blooms. Something that will stop at nothing to ensure the Banebury never reaches its destination.

Soon Lara will learn: You can't outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can't unearth the secrets of the Banebury, they might drag her down for good..."

I would never want to work on a train, just three days on a train once and I couldn't even walk on solid ground without feeling it was trying to rise up and attack me.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alie Dumas-Heidt, Amy Goldsmith, Andrew Cartmel, Andrew DeYoung, Ben Aaronovitch, Benedict Brown, Elly Griffiths, J.D. Barker, Kelly Gardiner, Kyle Dunn, Rachel Joyce, Ruth Ware, S. Isabelle, S.T. Gibson, Sharmini Kumar

The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Get ready for a new series that brings readers deeper into the lush, romantic, and puzzle-filled world of the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games series (over 3 million copies sold!), set a year after we last saw Avery and the Hawthornes.

Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime.

Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year's game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win.

Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year's game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits - physically, mentally, and emotionally - it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers a brand-new series in the world of The Inheritance Games, where fan-favorite and new characters collide in a game you'll never forget.

Do you have what it takes to play?"

I have somehow become addicted to this Hawthorne Universe (HU?) and can not wait for this book.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor and Park and Attachments comes Slow Dance - a bright, beaming power ballad of a novel about a love so true it refuses to be forgotten.

Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together...everybody but Shiloh and Cary.

They were just friends. Best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh's porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha - Shiloh would go to go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change.

Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed.

Now Shiloh's thirty-three, and it's been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. She's been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she's back living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.

When she's invited to an old friend's wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there - and whether she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything?

The answer is yes. And yes. And yes.

Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.

It's the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start."

And hopefully, maybe, ending up together.

Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water comes "an utter white-knuckle ride that took me into a heart of darkness" (Lucy Foley, author of The Paris Apartment).

Nina, still grieving from the loss of her father, discovers that she has inherited property in the British Virgin Islands - a vacation home she had no idea existed, until now. The house is extraordinary: state-of-the-art, all glass and marble. How did her sensible father come into enough money for this? Why did he keep it from her? And what else was he hiding?

Maria, once an ambitious medical student, is a nanny for the super-rich. The money's better, and so are the destinations where her work takes her. Just one more gig, and she'll be set. Finally, she'll be secure. But when her wards never show, Maria begins to make herself at home, spending her days luxuriating by the pool and in the sauna. There's just one rule: Don't go in the basement. That room is off-limits. But her curiosity might just get the better of her. And soon, she'll wish her only worry was not getting paid."

Dood, with the super rich, NEVER go where it's off-limits.

Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Jane Eyre meets The Thirteenth Tale in this new modern gothic mystery from two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award-winner Carol Goodman, about a reclusive writer who is desperate to rewrite the past.

Losing yourself inside of a book can be dangerous. Not everyone finds their way out.

Agnes Corey, a junior editor at a small independent publisher, has been hired by enigmatic author Veronica St. Clair to transcribe the sequel to her 1993 hit phenomenon, The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights. St. Clair has been a recluse since the publication of the Jane Eyre-esque book, which coincided with a terrible fire that blinded and scarred her. Arriving in the Hudson Valley at St. Clair's crumbling estate, which was once a psychiatric hospital for "wayward women," Agnes is eager to ensure St. Clair's devoted fans will get the sequel they've been anticipating for the past thirty years.

As St. Clair dictates, Agnes realizes there are clues in the story that reveal the true - and terrifying - events three decades ago that inspired the original novel. The line between fact and fiction becomes increasingly blurred, and Agnes discovers terrible secrets about an unresolved murder from long ago, which have startling connections to her own life. As St. Clair's twisting tale infiltrates Agnes's psyche, Agnes begins to question her own sanity - and safety. In order to save herself, Agnes must uncover what really happened to St. Clair, and in doing so, set free the stories of all the women victimized by Wyldcliffe Heights."

I don't know... never finding your way out of a book sounds nice right about now.

The Most by Jessica Anthony
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From "one of our most thrilling and singular innovators on the page" (Laura Van Den Berg), a tightly wound, consuming tale about a 1950s American housewife who decides to get into the pool in her family's apartment complex one morning and won't come out.

It is an unseasonably warm Sunday in November 1957. Katheen, a college tennis champion turned Delaware housewife, decides not to join her flagrantly handsome life insurance salesman husband, Virgil, or their two young boys, at church. Instead, she takes a dip in the kidney-shaped swimming pool of their apartment complex. And then she won't come out.

A riveting, single-sitting read set over the course of eight hours, The Most breaches the shimmering surface of a seemingly idyllic mid-century marriage, immersing us in the unspoken truth beneath. As Sputnik 2 orbits the earth carrying Laika, the doomed Soviet dog, Kathleen and Virgil hurtle towards each other until they arrive at a reckoning that will either shatter their marriage, or transform it, at last, into something real."

There's something so nostalgic about this book.

Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In post-WWII London, the matchmakers of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau are involved in yet another murder.

In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, if necessary, business venture - The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with a dangerous - and never discussed - past in British intelligence and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a genteel war widow with a young son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family. Looking to throw a New Year's Eve soiree for their clients, Sparks and Bainbridge scout an empty building - only to find a body contained in the walls. What they initially assume is a victim of the recent Blitz is uncovered instead to be a murder victim - stabbed several times.

To make matters worse, the owner of the building is Sparks' beau, Archie Spelling, who has ties to a variety of enterprises on the right and wrong sides of the law, and the main investigator for the police is her ex-fiancée. Gwen, too, is dealing with her own complicated love life, as she tentatively steps back into the dating pool for the first time since her husband's death. Murder is not something they want to add to their plates, but the murderer may be closer to home than is comfortable, and they must do all they can to protect their clients, their business and themselves."

Love, marriage, and murder!

A Lethal Lady by Nekesa Afia
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Louise Lloyd's time away in Paris is everything she was hoping it would be until a shocking murder turns her entire world upside down.

Louise Lloyd is finally living the quiet life she'd longed for, working in a parfumerie by day and spending time with her new friends every night at the Aquarius club in Paris. When a desperate mother asks for help locating her artist daughter, Louise initially refuses to keep her hard-won but fragile peace intact. But the woman comes with a letter of introduction from an old friend in Harlem, and Louise realizes she has no choice but to do what she can to find the missing young woman.

The woman's daughter, Iris Wright, is part of an elite social circle. Louise soon finds herself drawn into a world of privilege and ice-cold ambition - a young group of artists who will do anything to get ahead - but would they murder one of their own? With the help of some friends from home, Louise must untangle a web of lies, jealousy, and betrayal to find out what really happened to Iris while fighting to keep her new life from crashing down around her."

Ah, the duplicitous lives of starving and striving artists!

Into the Goblin Market by Vikki Vansickle and Jensine Eckwall
Published by: Tundra Books (NY)
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 48 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A picture book ode to Christina Rossetti's classic poem and a clever homage to familiar fairy-tale villains, this story about two sisters will enthrall readers with its beautifully detailed art and enchanting writing.

Millie loves her quiet life on the farm, but Mina longs for adventure.

When the Goblin Market comes to town, Millie knows it's a bad idea. They've been told stories their whole lives about the dangers of the Goblin Market. But Mina just can't resist...

When Mina doesn't come back, it's Millie's turn to brave the market to bring her home. She will use all her smarts and all her courage to try to outwit the goblins and save her sister...but will it be enough?

This gorgeous and intriguing tribute to both "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti and classic fairy-tale villains is also a story about the bond between sisters and a celebration of courage, intelligence and resilience."

Two things I love coming together to form a third!

Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A teen girl's attempt to make amends with her former friend group takes a sinister turn during a weekend getaway at an ancestral Irish estate in this atmospheric, literary horror from the author of Those We Drown.

There's something in the lake at Wren Hall. At least, that's what the locals say. Not that Meg cares much about the rumors. When she's asked to spend Halloween weekend at the Ireland retreat of the wealthy Wren twins, she recognizes the invitation for exactly what it is: her last, and only, chance to save her spot at Greyscott's, the exclusive British art school she attended on scholarship until last summer. Clever, beautiful, and talented, the twins are the pride of Greyscott's, and kindhearted Lottie Wren was once Meg's closest friend. But not anymore.

None of Meg's old friend group have talked to her since she left school - and they especially don't talk about the incident that resulted in her suspension. Now, Meg is willing to do whatever it takes to earn their forgiveness.

But Wren Hall turns out to be far from the idyllic country manor Meg was expecting. The house is damp and drafty, the mirrors are all covered, and the weed-choked lake is at the center of legends that haunt the property to this day - a tainted legacy the estate seems unable to shake.

The truth is, people aren't the only ones who keep secrets. Places can keep them too - and Wren Hall is drowning in them. When the past bleeds into the present and ancient sins rise to the surface, Meg must ask herself how well she really knows her one-time best friends...or whether any of them will survive the weekend."

Sometimes the secrets of places are far more dangerous than the secrets of people.

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A delicious and dark Gothic romance from bestselling author Romina Garber!

THE HOUSE IS ALWAYS HUNGRY...

After a mysterious attack claims the lives of her parents, all Estela has left is her determination to solve the case. Suffering from survivor's guilt so intense that she might be losing her grip on reality, she accepts an invitation to live overseas with an estranged aunt at their ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra.

Beneath its Gothic façade, la Sombra harbors a trove of family secrets, and Estela begins to suspect her parents' deaths may be linked to their past. Her investigation takes a supernatural turn when she crosses paths with a silver-eyed boy only she can see. Estela worries Sebastián is a hallucination, but he claims he's been trapped in the castle. They grudgingly team up to find answers and as their investigation ignites, so does a romance, mistrust twined with every caress.

As the mysteries pile up, it feels to Estela like everyone in the tiny town of Oscuro is lying and that whoever was behind the attack has followed her to Spain. The deeper she ventures into la Sombra's secrets, the more certain she becomes that the suspect she's chasing has already found her...and they're closer than she ever realized."

I'm all about spooky Spanish castles.

The Mirror of the Beasts by Alexandra Bracken
Published by: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken is back with the electrifying sequel to Silver in the Bone, in which fresh betrayal ignites ancient magic to wake the dead, and a cursed girl with no magic of her own must put the past to rest.

With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death's plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. As the Wild Hunt carves a bloody path across continents, Tamsin is mustering allies, tracking down powerful artifacts, and traversing into new otherlands in search of a way to stop him.

Legend tells of a "Mirror of Beasts," powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror's strength to defeat her enemies.

Arthurian legend bleeds into contemporary action, and scars of the past are torn open anew by a starcrossed love that refuses to go quietly. This riveting conclusion to the Silver in the Bone duology will hold you in its thrall until the very last page."

Oh my, I'm such a sucker for anything Arthurian! 

It Came from the Trees by Ally Russell
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The legend of Bigfoot gets a bone-chilling update in this scary story about a young girl and her scout troop who are willing to brave the woods to find her missing friend when no one else will. Perfect for fans of Daka Hermon and Claribel A. Ortega!

The wilderness is in Jenna's blood. Her Pap was the first Black park ranger at Sturbridge Reservation, and she practically knows the Owlet Survival Handbook by heart. But she's never encountered a creature like the one that took her best friend Reese. Her parents don't believe her; the police are worthless, following the wrong leads; and the media isn't connecting the dots between Reese's disappearance and a string of other attacks. Determined to save her friend, Jenna joins a new local scout troop, and ventures back into the woods.

When the troop stumbles across suspicious signs: huge human-like footprints near the camp, scratch marks on trees, and ominous sounds from the woods, Jenna worries that whatever took Reese is back to take her too. Can she trust her new scout leader? And will her new friend Norrie - who makes her laugh and reminds her so much of Reese - believe her?

After the unthinkable happens, the scouts, armed with their wits and toiletries, band together to fight the monster and survive the night."

A cryptid caper!

Brothersong by T.J. Klune
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Brothersong is the fourth and final book in the Green Creek Series, the beloved fantasy romance sensation by New York Times bestselling author T.J. Klune, about love, loyalty, betrayal, and family.

The Bennett family has a secret: They're not just a family, they're a pack. Brothersong is Carter Bennett's story.

In the ruins of Caswell, Maine, Carter Bennett learned the truth of what had been right in front of him the entire time. And then it - he - was gone. Desperate for answers, Carter takes to the road, leaving family and the safety of his pack behind, all in the name of a man he only knows as a feral wolf. But therein lies the danger: wolves are pack animals, and the longer Carter is on his own, the more his mind slips toward the endless void of Omega insanity. But he pushes on, following the trail left by Gavin.

Gavin, the son of Robert Livingstone. The half-brother of Gordo Livingstone.

What Carter finds will change the course of the wolves forever. Because Gavin's history with the Bennett pack goes back further than anyone knows, a secret kept hidden by Carter's father, Thomas Bennett. And with this knowledge comes a price: the sins of the fathers now rest upon the shoulders of their sons."

Get ready for a final trip to Green Creek!

The X-Files: Perihelion by Claudia Gray
Published by: Hyperion Avenue
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Truth Is Out There...But So Are Lies.

#1 New York Times best-selling author Claudia Gray extends the story of The X-Files beyond its eleventh season into thrilling new territory!

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are still reeling from the death of their son William as they struggle to find purpose away from the X-Files. Though their current relationship is tenuous, they hope to seize their second chance to be a family, despite the many questions surrounding Scully's pregnancy.

Then the FBI asks for their help on a case that hits all too close to home: a serial killer in the Washington, DC area who targets pregnant women. The killer appears to possess a mysterious, uncanny power over electricity, which is enough for the Bureau to re-open the X-Files - if Mulder and Scully are willing.

They cautiously agree, concerned about the safety of their own unborn child yet committed to finding justice for the killer's victims. But their return to the FBI sparks the interest of a shadowy cabal, the heirs to the now-dead Syndicate, and Mulder and Scully soon discover that what at first seems to be just another X-File is connected to a worldwide threat on an unprecedented scale...one with their own future at its heart."

If there's anyone I'd trust to continue The X-Files it's Claudia Gray. Heck, maybe if she'd been working on them longer we wouldn't have Scully pregnant. Again.

Maria by Michelle Moran
Published by: Dell
Publication Date: July 30th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Maria von Trapp. You know the name and the iconic songs, but do you know her real story? This dramatic novel, based on the woman glamorized in The Sound of Music, brings Maria to life as never before.

In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to write the lyrics to a musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. He's intrigued to learn that she was once a novice who hoped to live quietly as an Austrian nun before her abbey sent her away to teach a widowed baron's sickly child. What should have been a ten-month assignment, however, unexpectedly turned into a marriage proposal. And when the family was forced to flee their home to escape the Nazis, it was Maria who instructed them on how to survive using nothing but the power of their voices.

It's an inspirational story, to be sure, and as half of the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein duo, Hammerstein knows it has big Broadway potential. Yet much of Maria's life will have to be reinvented for the stage, and with the horrors of war still fresh in people's minds, Hammerstein can't let audiences see just how close the von Trapps came to losing their lives.

But when Maria sees the script that is supposedly based on her life, she becomes so incensed that she sets off to confront Hammerstein in person. Told that he's busy, she is asked to express her concerns to his secretary, Fran, instead. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship as Maria tells Fran about her life, contradicting much of what will eventually appear in The Sound of Music.

A tale of love, loss, and the difficult choices that we are often forced to make, Maria is a powerful reminder that the truth is usually more complicated - and certainly more compelling - than the stories immortalized by Hollywood."

While I've never been a fan of The Sound of Music due to an unfortunate incident of Chickenpox I am a big fan of Michelle Moran and can't wait to learn more about Maria von Trapp!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexandra Bracken, Allison Montclair, Ally Russell, Amy Goldsmith, Catherine Steadman, Claudia Gray, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Michelle Moran, Nekesa Afia, Rainbow Rowell, Romina Garber, T.J. Klune, Vikki Vansickle