strange and random happenstance

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Published by: Viking Adult
Publication Date: February 8th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 592 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
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Creatures are dying out. The power of the witches is waning and they are having less children. The vampires are unable to sire successfully. As for the daemons, they are becoming more and more erratic, that which once made them brilliant is now driving them mad. They have one hope. Rumors of a book that holds all the answers to their origins and their decline. Each species has a different theory as to what is contained within its pages. Witches believe it is the first grimoire. And it is a witch who finds the book after all hope had been lost of ever finding the missing manuscript. Diana Bishop is a witch. The last descendant of Bridget Bishop who was hanged at Salem. When magic killed Diana's parents when she was seven she decided then and there that magic would have no place in her life. She has created a great academic career for herself, she is the foremost authority on alchemy and its symbology. Which is what she is studying at the Bodleian. She has taken a year-long sabbatical from Yale to conduct research in Oxford. One day she calls a book from the stacks, Ashmole 782. This book isn't what it seems, it reeks of magic and is a palimpsest. She refuses to interact with the magical so treats it as any other book. She takes her notes and as soon as she's done with it she sends it back to the stacks. But the wheels have been put in motion. The creatures know the book has been found. They start to gather at the library. Watching her intently. Hoping she will recall what was thought lost. And they are willing to do anything to get it back. Witches, vampires, and daemons aren't supposed to interact. They have a Congregation that enforces these laws. Too many of them in one place draws the attentions of the humans. And what's happening at the Bodleian is drawing their attention. Enter Matthew Clairmont. Matthew is tall, dark, and brooding, everything you'd expect a vampire to be. He takes a keen interest in Diana, not just because of the book, but because something draws her to him. Soon the two of them are inseparable. Falling for each other but denying that it is happening. But Diana, not the book, might be the answer to everything he has ever searched for. He is a scientist and has been studying creature DNA in an attempt to solve their decline. He doesn't hold with the Congregation and their segregation of the creatures. Diana proves to be an outlier. Her power isn't waning, it's unlimited. Her DNA shows traits long since forgotten. She must be protected at all costs. When Oxford becomes too dangerous for Diana Matthew spirits her away to his family estate in France, where Diana will have to face Matthew's mother and her disapproval. But Diana's problems are more than the average woman facing a potential in-law, the Congregation has heard they are consorting. Matthew and Diana are breaking their laws and the Congregation won't take this lying down. Soon nowhere is safe. Not even Diana's family home in upstate New York. They need time. Time to find out the true reason that Diana and Matthew prove such a danger, and time for Diana to embrace her heritage.

When I first read this book I couldn't help but be bemused that this is nothing more than literary Twilight. And, just like Twilight, the fanbase is fanatical. So I have rarely in the past called out the book for its absurd family dynamics, its angst, and its heroine, who is almost too dumb to live. Diana does next to nothing to protect herself while Matthew is carrying her around like a spider monkey. I mean, if you can't see the humor in that, or the parallels, I don't know what to say. To fans of the book, I get it. To detractors of the book, I also get it. But sometimes you just need an absurd book full of love and angst and a large found family that while not quite filling the Buffy sized hole that will always exist in my heart is an acceptable simulacrum with its cozy vibes on the edge of the apocalypse. Because I love my messy vampires. If The Vampire Lestat has taught me anything this year its that I need more of that level of chaos in my life and A Discovery of Witches brings a cozy version of that with ghost-filled houses and the golden spires of Oxford. While there are wonderful discussions on science and evolution and literature and language this isn't what the book is about. It's about complete and utter escapism and you have to take the book on its own terms in order to enjoy it. So knowing what it was, not the touted book in the front of Barnes and Noble for the entirety of February in 2011, but adult Twilight, I gave myself over to it. And I loved it. I unabashedly loved it. I can finally face my friends who adore this series without a guilty conscious. I was always holding back my opinions because there were scenes that I just couldn't deal with. Congregation defiant yoga classes with vampires, witches, and daemons? Seriously!?! I just couldn't get around how absurd this is. And yet this was something they in particular just adored. Maybe it's just my hatred of yoga and not this yoga in particular that is the crux of the problem. So yes, while I would have probably loved this book more had it proceeded as it had began, minus the yoga, with Diana living the dream; researching at Oxford, spending all her spare time in the Bodleian, having anxiety attacks, OK, that's not cool, but I can relate. But this book started almost with a different Diana coupled with Oxford. So what was lost was a lot. What was gained, well, I've come to love that in it's own special way. And now I do rate it higher than Twilight. Though I should note that only the first book in that series had anything slightly going for it and I have never been a Twihard. An All Souls Fan? Now that I can get behind.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Discovery of Witches, All Souls Trilogy, Ashmole 782, Buffy, Creatures, Daemons, Deborah Harkness, Diana Bishop, Matthew Clairmont, Oxford, Science, Season of the Witch, Spider Monkey, The Vampire Lestat, Twilight, Vampires, Yoga

The Salt King by Natasha Pulley
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
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The official patter:
"An apocalyptic novel about belief, religion, and the power of myth that blends the gripping, end-of-the-world storytelling of The Passage with the biting wit and epic queer romance that makes Natasha Pulley's books "delightful" (The Washington Post).

Jesuit priest Avelyn Brocken was born into a mining family in Hreodwater, a small, totally isolated salt town in the Fens of England. At age 16, he fled, abandoning his faith in the god of the mine - the Salt King - and the mythology that killed his whole family.

When a fellow priest is miraculously healed only to then be turned to salt after a visit to Hreodwater, Avelyn is sent by the Vatican to investigate. But in Hreodwater, the town's gentle doctor, Jericho, tells him that the priest is not the only one experiencing strange cures - and may not be the only one in danger from a substance in the mine that the locals call "salt light."

Avelyn and Jericho team up to protect the world from the salt light - but they may already be too late: strange happenings are occurring at mines all around the world. At an archaeological dig on the Dead Sea, electrical devices froth salt; at another salt mine in Russia, a KGB officer finds the bodies of five tourists who seem to have turned to salt; and at the huge salt works at Wieliczska in Poland, all communication is lost, and rumors circulate of total annihilation.

As salt light spreads, devastating cities around the world, Avelyn must decide what and who to believe - and whether his faith is strong enough to withstand an apocalypse."

I will read whatever Natasha Pulley writes. Bonus points for tormented priests. 

And the Sea Gave Up the Dead by William Friend
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Jennifer Thorne's Diavola and We Have Always Lived in the Castle comes William Friend's latest stunning novel where grief, mystery, and something undead haunt a young woman and her family, and soon, a dark history will repeat itself.

Some grief echoes. Some grief knocks.

When Morwenna receives a troubling call from her reclusive Aunt Bethan, she reluctantly returns to the family's crumbling chateau by the French seaside. Bethan has lived there alone for years - ever since her husband vanished in circumstances the locals are still gripped by. Some whisper she killed him. Others claim something older, and far worse, took him.

What Morwenna finds is a house warped by grief. Rooms shift when no one is looking. Time seems to shift there, too. And the deeper Morwenna digs, the more the chateau seems aware of her presence...hungry for it. Worse, it seems drawn to her children.

Local folklore speaks of revenants rising from the sea, of creatures returning when the veil thins and old hungers wake. As strange events escalate, Morwenna must uncover the truth about her uncle's fate and the beings the villagers believe still haunt the estate  - before history repeats itself. Because if the tales are true, something long buried is stirring...and it has been waiting for her family to return. The dead are not done with this house."

If H.P. Lovecraft went even more Gothic. 

The Halls of the Dead by S.M. Hallow
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
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The official patter:
"A queer, gothic horror romance set in a necromancy-tinged London, sure to entrance fans of The Death of Jane Lawrence and Mexican Gothic.

London, December 1849

Irene Shallcross Haley has dedicated her life to necromancy, a forbidden, reviled art that is passed along through sentient grimoires bound in human skin. With her undead husband St. John - a marriage of kindred spirits and platonic convenience - she has been protecting the knowledge of generations of witches that came before her. Like any magic, it has come at a cost: her reputation, her relationship with her sister, and her soul. But when Irene's love, Agnes, is hanged for witchcraft, Irene refuses to let Agnes be one more thing that is taken from her.

A true resurrection has not been achieved in two thousand years, but Irene is determined. With the help of St. John, Irene bangs on the doors of the Halls of the Dead, demanding the third part of their triumverate back...or did she? Because the Agnes that awakens comes with both a hunger for raw flesh and a malignant ghost tied to her soul.

Necromancy is the art of saying no - no, I won't let you go; no, I won't let you be destroyed - and Irene's work is not yet done. She must find a way to bring Agnes back to her true self, she must navigate her feelings for her resurrected lover as well as St. John, and she must do all of this without catching the attention of Sir Silas Underhill, the man who sentenced Agnes to death.

Death is not the end of love. But Irene may realize it can actually be the beginning."

Well, if a resurrection goes bad, I do think it's the end of love...

The Last Day of H.P. Lovecraft by Romuald Giulvo and Jakub Rebelka
Published by: BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gothic meditation on legacy and mortality from the world of Lovecraftian horror.

Translated for the first time from the acclaimed French graphic novel, this imaginative blend of fiction and reality reimagines the final hours of the literary icon through a haunting, dreamlike lens.

As Lovecraft confronts the legacy of his life's triumphs and regrets, his world becomes an otherworldly cathedral of memory and reckoning - filled with cosmic echoes of the mythos he helped shape.

Written by Romuald Giulivo (Le Sourire De Sang) and with breathtaking art by Jakub Rebelka (Origins, Judas), this collection presents the thrilling five-issue limited series in one complete volume.

Collects The Last Day of H.P. Lovecraft #1-5."

Being such a fan of Jakub Rebelka because of the art in When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee, this is a must buy. 

Never Whistle at Night, Part II: Back for Blood edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Aist Jr.
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The bestselling Indigenous dark fiction anthology returns with a new selection of even more daring and sinister stories. From monsters to mutilation, Never Whistle at Night is back for revenge.

Featuring stories by:

Jessica Doe • P.C. Verrone • Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. • Jim Terry • Jessica Johns • A.J. Eversole • Sonia Marie Barry • Shane Hawk • Stephen Graham Jones • Alicia Elliott • Mat RudeWalker • Shaawan Francis Keahna • Billy-Ray Belcourt • Jake Arrowtop • Alina Pete • Debra Magpie Earling • Joshua Whitehead • Tommy Orange • Ramona Emerson • Erica Tremblay • Kimberly Blaeser

They're baaaaaaaaaack!

As any savvy horror fan knows: the monster never truly dies. The team that brought you the bestselling dark fiction anthology Never Whistle at Night has risen, hungry, from the grave to summon more dark delicacies for your delectation. In these twenty-one brand-new, groundbreaking, gruesome stories - authored by both established and newly unearthed Indigenous talent and illustrated by renowned Cheyenne and Arapaho painter Brent Learned - the contributors are fully embracing horror: both supernatural horrors and the everyday horror of living under colonialist rule.

Featuring stories of unspeakable yet satisfying terror, from twisted psychological tales to gore-filled monster hunts, this new selection of sinister stories will sate your darkest appetites and leave you slavering for more. Never Whistle at Night, Part II: Back for Blood is a further celebration of Indigenous survival and the enduring tradition of transforming adversity into art."

Embrace the power of the written word!

The Sleeping Sisters by Jennifer Givhan
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A threatened mother and a relentless detective collide when a series of murders awaken something long buried in the New Mexican desert in this mesmerizing novel of literary horror, perfect for fans of Carmen Maria Machado and Stephen Graham Jones.

A mother's love is the oldest curse.

Fortuna Miércoles has finally moved her family to a better neighborhood across the Rio Grande, desperate to outrun the curse that's stalked her bloodline since her greatest grandmother crossed the desert with a cactus thorn splitting her throat. But burying a family's violent legacy - or her own haunting secret - isn't so easy. Twenty years ago, girls and women vanished into the Albuquerque night, their bones later unearthed on the mesa. The so-called Reaper was never caught. Now, beneath the dormant volcanoes called the Sleeping Sisters, the killings have begun again, and they've called forth something in Fortuna that she has long fought to keep buried...

Detective Jeanette Palacio has spent decades promising justice to the ghosts of her murdered cousins - alongside the memory of the other women she couldn't avenge. When a new body turns up in Fortuna's backyard, both women are pulled into a dangerous, ancient plot. Are the Sleeping Sisters awakening - or has someone in Fortuna's family set a trap?

Inspired by true events, The Sleeping Sisters begins as a taut mystery shot through with myth and a Chicana-Indigenous reimagining of the legend of the headless woman - but by its cataclysmic end has spiraled into a fevered, feral hymn to motherhood and a mesmerizing portrait of trauma and the monstrous bargains we make to protect those we love."

True events!?! Tell me more.

These Walls Remember by Del Sandeen
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When two estranged sisters inherit a home possessed by the horrors of its dark past, they must work together to survive in this viscerally chilling Southern gothic novel from the critically acclaimed author of This Cursed House.

Do not go into the attic, the note warned.

But that's exactly what sisters Mickie and Delilah do when they inherit a distant relative's house in Savannah, Georgia. They intend to sell the property, divide the proceeds, and go their separate ways once and for all.

But 724 Hartford Street has other plans.

As the sisters learn about this house and its history, past wounds begin to fester and spill into the present: strange visions, memory lapses, unexplained accidents, and surreal echoes of the house's previous inhabitants - some of whom disappeared after living in the home. The sisters suspect the residents of the sleepy Savannah neighborhood know more than they're saying about what really happened there.

And then Delilah, once adamant about selling and never looking back, develops an uncanny attachment to the house, her personality changing in alarming ways. Mickie knows that she'll have to pull her sister from the home's clutches or they will both succumb to that which hungers in its walls."

As much as I would love to inherent a house I'm sure it would be haunted and try to kill me, so thanks but no thanks.  

The House That Eats the Dead by Max Doty
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A family moves into their dream home - only to discover that it hides an insatiable hunger - in this dread-laced and darkly outrageous domestic horror novel.

The new house is a fresh start for Claire and her family. It's a move away from the cityscape of a declining San Francisco and towards the quiet suburban life she has craved since her turbulent childhood; a step up the corporate ladder for her husband, Tom; and a safe haven for their two children.

Yet as they unpack their boxes, she senses something is wrong. Fresh flowers dry up, store-bought eggs are inexplicably hollow, and her daughter's favorite toy disappears. Claire soon confronts a series of impossible truths: The house is hungry. It's devouring anything that was once alive. And only Claire and Tom, the owners of the house, will remember that this "food" ever existed.

When Claire exploits the house's power in a moment of weakness, she and the house forge a fragile bond. But as its hunger intensifies and Claire loses control, she fears who else might be drawn to her home - and what sinister appetites they'll bring."

I mean, feeding the house is viable depending on how nice it is and the school system...

A (Dead) Thing Like Me by E.G. Young
Published by: Holiday House
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A teenage ghost in love with life becomes bound to the house of the grieving artist who summoned her via Ouija board in this darkly funny YA paranormal.

One hot dog with banana peppers. That's all Hot Dog wants. An invisible teenage ghost, she haunts a food cart outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Until one night, she's accidentally summoned via Ouija board to a house party in Florida...where finally finally finally, people can see her.

All the party guests scatter, except for Logan: the cool artist girl who doesn't just see Hot Dog, she actually wants to talk to her. Logan, who isn't scared of Hot Dog's stitched mouth or chattering dress. Logan, who's grieving her own dead BFF - and called Hot Dog by mistake.

Hot Dog wants to prove it's not a mistake.

She can be Logan's new best friend. She can go to Logan's Halloween party. She can eat snacks, have sleepovers, and hang out. She can definitely smile without scaring people. Exactly like a real, human girl.

There's one problem: Hog Dog's not a real, living human girl, and something in Logan's sprawling house knows it. It scratches like rats in the walls. It opens a secret door in Logan's attic. It wants to drag Hot Dog into the nothingness where dead things go. And unless Hot Dog can confront the dark truth of how she died, it will unmake Logan too.

Gorgeously strange and stunningly written, this YA paranormal masterfully melds camp and creep into a beyond-the-grave coming-of-age."

I mean, at least haunting the steps of the MET means good people watching...

The Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Four childhood friends, eager for a taste of city life, swap rural Brazil for an apartment in Copacabana, Rio. But they have no idea of the fate that awaits them there....

Dante, Piglet, Miguel, and Hugo are your average students trying to make ends meet with part-time jobs, excited about the bright futures at their fingertips. So when their rent skyrockets, they struggle to keep their new lives and big dreams afloat. They need to make money however they can. In order to keep their apartment, the friends adopt an unorthodox plan and are soon sucked into a dark world of secret dinner parties catering to the twisted fantasies of Rio's elite.

What starts as a joke quickly spirals out of their control. As the four friends fall deeper into this dark underworld and earn more money, the stakes get higher and the consequences deadlier, revealing the devious depths that lurk within each of them and threatening not only their friendship but also their lives."

I mean, just like that episode of Atlanta, they're eating people right?

The Calamities by Chuck Wendig
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 592 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The heir to one of the world's most influential families reckons with the demonic secret of their power in this contemporary dark fantasy that melds occult magic with shocking family drama, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents.

Mourning Mayne knows he'll one day bear the duty of managing his family's vast empire of wealth and power. But the feckless Mourning has always struggled to accept this legacy of cruelty, domination, and exploitation...and something even darker.

Because the Maynes are no ordinary family: Hidden in our world are the fiends - half-human, half-demon, and possessed of a dark magic born from buying human souls - and the Maynes are one of the oldest and most influential fiendish families.

But when Mourning's estranged father, the formidable and terrifying Hadrian Mayne, demands that Mourning return to the fold, he has to decide whether to accept his legacy and embrace his role in the family or to forge his own destiny, and with it, change the course of the world.

Because along the way home, he will meet Key, a black-market seller of human souls, and Quinn, an artist who may hold the dark truth behind the fate of the fiends. Alone, they have all struggled with the darkness of their natures...but together, they might find a path out of the shadows."

Tear it all down! Even it that means dragging the demons back to hell!

The Black Bird Oracle Deck by Deborah Harkness
Published by: Random House Worlds
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Cards, 52 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Diana Bishop's family oracle deck from the beloved novel The Black Bird Oracle comes to life in this magical 52-card deck from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness.

The Black Bird Oracle Deck is a recreation of the seventeenth-century deck that plays a pivotal role in The Black Bird Oracle, the fifth novel in the beloved All Souls series. Handed down in the Proctor family for centuries before witch and Oxford scholar Diana Bishop discovered its secrets, The Black Bird Oracle Deck features 52 oracle cards and a guidebook that invites readers into this powerful world of magic and divination. Wholly original and beautifully illustrated, the deck includes cards in the following categories:

I. Elements
II. Birds
III. Covens
IV. Tools
V. Principles
VI. Alchemical Processes
VII. Moon Phases
VIII. Magics

Cards are printed on high-quality paper with rounded edges and textural graining, and they are contained within a deluxe, clamshell box with a ribbon pull. A perfect gift for fans of the All Souls series or tarot enthusiasts, The Black Bird Oracle Deck will help readers divine the twisting paths of life."

I love when objects that are in books become a reality. It's like making the magic of reading that much more magical. 

Siren Says by Jennifer Michelle Herrera
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lush, spellbinding tale about a tenacious young woman who must harness her family's dangerous magic to put a stop to the sacrifices they've been making for more than a century.

Twenty-five-year-old Raven Wynn knows that the ancient plant magic running through her veins brings nothing but destruction. It doomed her Welsh ancestors. It killed her mother. It's the reason she's now bound by a painful curse - one that will destroy her if she can't find a way to break its hold.

When her estranged Aunt Delilah bursts into her life promising a cure, Raven seizes the chance. However, her freedom comes at a steep price: Once her magic is fully unleashed, she is more powerful - and more dangerous - than anyone thought possible.

Desperate to tame powers she never wanted, Raven makes a pact with Delilah: In exchange for learning to control her magic, Raven will capture one of the spirits that roam Delilah's hometown on May's Eve so that it may grant Delilah's secret wish. With the help of an enigmatic new friend, Cherry, as well as an infuriatingly handsome stoneworker, Idris, Raven learns that her task is even more perilous than she imagined - one false move and the spirits could trap her soul - forever.

A sumptuous escape into a world of Celtic spirits and botanical magic, Siren Says is a bewitching story of the unbreakable bonds between women, the interplay between goodness and power, and the capacity of love to mend our very souls."

Botanical magic has always fascinated me. 

The Blue Moon Café and 24-Hour Occult Emporium by Lexie Sharabianlou
Published by: Dell
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A magical witness protection program, a town in need of saving, and a sorceress-in-training...oh, and the human woman she's not supposed to fall for. The Blue Moon Café has a little bit of everything (except, you know, decent coffee).

In the tiny town of Pine Hollow, barista and fledging sorceress Talula Smith runs The Blue Moon Café and 24-Hour Occult Emporium, aka the worst coffee shop in town. The café's horrible reputation hides its true purpose: providing new identities and safe passage to at-risk magical beings while keeping humans far, far away. That is, except for town local Dahlia. Dahlia's devastating dimples, addiction to Talula's cocoa recipe, and keen observation skills keeps the smitten barista scrambling to ensure that her magical abilities (or, lack thereof) stay a secret.

But when big game hunters start preying on magical beings, her powerful sorceress mother is called away to track them down, leaving Talula and her barely-there magic in charge of The Blue Moon. With the impending Samhain festival to organize, magical refugees to help, half of the town turning against her, and her ever-growing feelings for Dahlia, Talula's magical destiny feels further away than ever. But as the hunters set their sights closer to home, it'll be up to Talula to master her craft, trust her heart, and bring her magical and human communities together...before she loses everything she loves."

I mean, can't they sure like two kinds of coffee, the bad for the ignorant and the good for those in need?

A Fellowship of Curses and Cats by J. Penner
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The cat distribution system is about to get magical.

Woodland elf Theo Brylar should be basking in bliss. He and his human partner, Arleta, have a thriving bakery, a baby on the way, and a bright future in Adenashire. But beneath his calm exterior, Theo's anxiety simmers - stirred by old grief, complicated family, and emotions he doesn't always understand.

Hoping to steady his nerves, Theo turns to eccentric wizard Ibus Ironflame, who offers him a supposedly soothing potion. What Theo gets instead is a magical mix-up: stray cats begin appearing on his doorstep...then multiplying until the bakery becomes Adenashire's first cat café.

As the cats take over his life, Theo worries he's juggling more than he can handle, and that was before his mother complicated things with a surprise visit. But with guidance from his forest lynx companion, Faylin, and Arleta's steady love, Theo may come to realize that even the messiest moments can lead to something unexpectedly beautiful - especially when surrounded by cats."

Everything is better with cats around.

Homeward for a Spell by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this cozy queer romantic fantasy from the award-winning authors of Homegrown Magic, two members of a motley crew of adventurers must confront monsters, hostile landscapes - and their growing attraction to each other.

Sage has made her living as a ranger, moving constantly between adventuring parties, but she's never had the chance to lead one. So when she's offered the opportunity to hire a crew of her own in pursuit of a rare magical artifact, it seems a dream come true - until she learns that they're headed into the most inhospitable part of the kingdom with winter looming. Still, it's a way to finally put her name on the map...and how bad could it really be?

Araphi has always loved music, in defiance of her powerful family's priorities. All she wants is one last occasion to perform before she marries a man she does not love for the good of the family. So when she sees a poster seeking a bard for a party, she eagerly sneaks away to audition, only to discover that the party in question is no festival but an adventuring party, led by a woman she's been fascinated with since she first laid eyes on her. It's an unexpected twist, but if she takes the job, she'll still be back in time for her own wedding...and how bad could it really be?

What follows is a life-altering journey for them both, filled with danger and misfortune as their ragtag band of adventurers - most of whom have just met - must learn to work together to overcome the many obstacles before them, not least the explosive chemistry between the rugged party leader used to watching her own back and the pampered city-girl bard, who may be far out of her element but is beginning to feel at home for the very first time."

I might be naive, but perhaps don't head out on a journey with winter looming?

I Punched an Alien and Now We're in Couples Therapy by Kimberly Lemming
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A zany and sexy romance about a woman who finds herself stranded on a far-off planet and mated to the warlord alien king, from USA Today bestselling author Kimberly Lemming.

It's not in Blair's nature to just give up. Not when she's beamed up to a spaceship and then dropped on an alien planet. Not even when she's in the middle of a forest fire surrounded by dinosaurs. And definitely not when she's captured by an arrogant alien king. If King Osid thinks he can break her, he's in for a shock. Blair lives by one motto: If you stay ready, you never have to get ready.

But absolutely nothing could have prepared her for finding out that she's that arrogant King Osid's mate.

Despite recent hiccups, the alien researchers are determined to get their breeding program back on track. With that in mind, Blair and Osid are bundled off to the research center for what they're told is couples counseling. As they face a series of increasingly dangerous challenges, it soon becomes clear the research aliens may have confused an episode of The Bachelor with Survivor. Bonding over their common enemy, and shall we say...encouraged by love darts, Blair and Osid let down their walls (and take off their clothes). When they discover that there are - somehow - even more secret plans in the works, another hilarious, steamy, over-the-top adventure is in store."

It's exhausting always having to be ready. But then again, apparently that will serve Blair well.

Guardians of Dawn: Suhwa by S. Jae-Jones
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The stunning conclusion to the richly imagined Guardians of Dawn fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

Shadows fade. Illusions break. The dawn returns.

Min Suhwa has always longed to see the greater world outside the small, cloistered convent in which she was raised. Hidden there for her safety when she was a small child, Suhwa has learned to keep her unusual illusion magic to herself, but when the Bangtan Brothers come to town to perform, she can't resist the chance to go see them for herself. But the world outside her convent is dangerous - the Morning Realms have fallen to civil war, and Huntsmen prowl the land in search of magicians and the fabled Guardians of Dawn, legendary elemental warriors with incredible powers. When Suhwa's illusion magic brings her afoul of one of the Huntsmen, she must flee for her life.

Meanwhile, the Guardians of Dawn and their allies are fighting a war on two fronts - against the northern insurrection seeking to claim the Sunburst Throne and destroy all magicians, and against the rising threat of the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons. Zhara, Ami, and Yuli must travel to the Azure Isles to seek the Guardian of Water and save the Morning Realms from annihilation, restoring balance to order and chaos once and for all."

I know you want to read a stunning conclusion! 

The Queen's Bodyguard by Lauren Blackwood
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this sizzling modern fantasy romance, a magic-less queen intertwines her fate with a fierce Warrior, but their undeniable chemistry ignites a passionate struggle, growing hotter as their fiery personalities clash - from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blackwood.

Queen Theora grudgingly agrees to make peace with the neighboring enemy who killed her predecessor and friend, making her the new monarch of Aranea, over a year ago. But that doesn't mean she's going to the negotiations unprotected.

Theora quickly selects Argos, a prickly and formidable Warrior with a ruthless reputation, to act as her bodyguard in disguise. They are technically married, but Theora has no intention of finishing the ritual that would bind their souls together. Argos is merely a means to end the conflict safely.

Argos may have his reasons for accepting this arrangement, but he refuses to be a pawn in Theora's political games. If she wants a bodyguard, she'll have to obey his sacred Warrior rituals, each one a show of defiance that frustrates Theora as much as it arouses her.

Theora doesn't expect to find her temporary husband so sexy, his possessive nature so addicting. And as peace talks begin, pretending to be married and in love is not nearly as difficult as pretending she doesn't desperately want him - all of him."

Hey, if you gotta sell the lie, then really sell it.

Lovers of the Empire Vol. 1 by Yudori
Published by: Takumigraphics
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"South Korea, 1929. Arisa Jo, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is the most eligible bachelorette in all of Gyeongsung (the capital city). With her Western dresses, movie star hairstyle, and assertive attitude, she embodies bold "Modern" values. Meet her opposite, Jun Seomoon, a young man from the countryside deeply rooted in tradition. When Jun is charged by Arisa's father to be her escort in the big city, these opposing forces create sparks. Through this unlikely connection, these teenagers open their eyes to new perspectives amidst the rapidly changing world they live in.

Coming off the heels of her acclaimed Raging Clouds, Lovers of the Empire proves Yudori to be a comic artist at the height of her creative powers. On the surface a sweet and funny will they, won't they romance, this story garners depth from its depiction of Korea at a crossroads: a city occupied by Japan, molded by Western influences, and facing a modernity that stirs inner conflicts within its citizens. Rendered in gorgeous full color, this period piece portrays a fascinating city in a tumultuous time, with two winsome characters at its heart."

If you need proof that graphic novels are truly art, pick up this volume. 

Unprecedented Times by Malavika Kannan
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Malavika Kannan establishes herself as an inimitable voice of Gen Z in this piercing coming-of-age debut novel.

Which comes first: experience or narrative? Rishi thinks she knows the answer as she arrives on campus for her first year at Stanford. A burnt-out youth climate activist, she used to want to save the world, but now she just wants to have gay sex. Her plan is set - she's going to leave behind the strict trappings of her Indian American childhood in Florida, study literature, experiment with love, and write all about it. Within a few months, she makes her first best friend, falls in love with her situationship, and promptly gets her heart broken.

What is not a part of Rishi's plan is the onset of the COVID pandemic. As the outside world becomes a terrifying place, she increasingly finds solace in the friendships she's made. Instead of virtual college, however, Rishi and her classmates join a farm collective, where their political discussions and growing disillusionment collide with sexual tension and responsibility. It's only when those relationships start fracturing under the stress of careless decisions, unrequited crushes, jealousies, and, yes, unprecedented times, that Rishi begins to question her own story.

Unprecedented Times captures the beauty, humor, pain, and straight-up chaos that exist in relationships between best friends and lovers, mothers and daughters, and between storytellers and themselves. Malavika Kannan's fresh, arresting novel is a testament to the power of self-narrative for Gen Z American women: of writing oneself into existence where no previous script exists."

Embrace the chaos of being.

The Crying Killer by Jess Lourey
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 317 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman's secret. A small town with a dark past. A serial killer bent on revenge. Lies kill in a shocking true crime-inspired thriller by the Edgar-nominated author of The Quarry Girls.

Tuesday Hendrickson has spent eight years running from memories of that night. Her sister's screams. Blood on the walls. And Arsen Bauer, a monster known as the Crying Killer, shot down in a barrage of bullets as he fled. Case closed.

Intending to build a safe new identity out of the ashes, Tuesday changed her last name and moved away. She's now a private investigator who guards herself and her daughter, Julia, like their lives depend on it. And maybe they do. Because unless she's imagining things, Tuesday has seen Arsen on the streets of Saint Paul. She'd know her sister's killer anywhere.

When bodies begin surfacing bearing the Crying Killer's brutal and unmistakable signature, Tuesday is certain he's coming for them. Except no one believes that but her. As her paranoia intensifies, she is left with a terrible choice: unearth the shocking secret she buried with her sister, or become the Crying Killer's next victim."

If you're trying to protect yourself perhaps change your distinctive first name? 

Murder on Charity Lane by Jo Nichols
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Months after the shocking murders at Marigold Cottages, eccentric landlady Mrs. B finds the peace and quiet a little too peaceful. That's why she invites her young friend CJ Moore to move into a now-vacant cottage: CJ is a suspect in the death of her employer, a wealthy Santa Barbara philanthropist who tumbled down the stairs of his mansion during a dinner party. The dead man's much-younger widow claims she saw CJ push him, but Mrs. B is certain that she's innocent. Why? Oh, just a feeling.

That's enough for her to summon the Marigold Cottages Murder Collective. Lily-Ann will marshal the facts, Hamilton will dig around online, Sophie and Nicholas will offer eyewitness testimony, and everyone will hope that Ocean keeps Mrs. B out of trouble.

Just as the tenants begin to suspect that Elsa is in fact the perpetrator, there's a second murder. A bloodier one. And with their tight-knit community in the crosshairs, they must prove her innocence - or accept her guilt."

Yeah, it wouldn't look good to be harboring a killer...

Maisy Bell is Missing by Kirsty Manning
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Intrepid reporter Charlotte "Charlie" James investigates the mysterious disappearance of a well-connected American tourist, unaware of the trouble that awaits her...

At a glitzy gala in the ballroom of the Ritz Hotel in pre-War Paris, young American tourist Maisy Bell meets an intriguing man and accepts his charming offer to take her on a day-trip. But when Maisy doesn't return to the Ritz the following day, alarm bells ring and Maisy's aunt Clementine files a missing persons report. The Paris police laugh the request away. Plenty of tourists 'disappear,' having lost themselves in foolish flings. After all, summer in Paris is the perfect time for pour un beau couple d'amoreux. Weeks pass with no sign of Maisy. Then Clemetine Bell starts to receive telegrams and ransom notes...

Enter investigative reporter Charlotte 'Charlie' James. As a young Australian journalist who moved to Paris to reinvent her life, Charlie James feels a kinship with this missing American graduate on the cusp of a dazzling career and adventure. As she follows Maisy Bell's designer footsteps around Paris, Charlie is plunged headlong into the heady world of diamonds, haute couture, opera, bohemian wine bars and soirees in grand country chateaux, before being pulled headlong into the sordid underworld.

Readers will adore this next adventure with Charlie James: glamourous, fearless and taking on the world, glass of champagne in hand."

Because the sordid underworld is always there, keeping pace with the wealthy. 

For Services Rendered by Will Thomas
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In London, 1896, private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker's world is upturned when his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Nightwine, previously believed dead, turns up with evil on his mind, launching devastating and secretive attacks against not just Barker, but his network of friends and close associates.

In 1896, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, would be reformer and revolutionary, turns up in London, running away from China's Imperial Qing Secret Service, who has placed a substantial bounty on his head for his political activities. Captured by those agents, he's imprisoned in the Chinese Embassy until he can be smuggled back to China to face execution.

In the meantime, private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn receive the unbelievable news that Sebastian Nightwine is both alive and in London. Not just that, it seems he's taking action against Barker and his close associates. At the same time, they've been hired to find this missing Sun Yat-Sen. With elements of the Chinese secret service, elements of the British government, and Nightwine himself all working against them, Barker and Llewelyn are at risk of being cornered by the deadliest set enemies they've yet faced."

Never good when you have three sets of people after you.

A Shroud of Snow by Sarah Hawkswood
Published by: Allison and Busby
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"December, 1145.

Hamelin Isenmongere, trader in iron and charcoal from Gloucester, is considered by many to be the most popular man in Worcester.

Why then is he found on the quayside near his warehouse with his head beaten in?

As the winter bites, Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Walkelin begin the hunt for a killer.

However, matters are complicated when evidence leads them to Worcester Castle itself and the hunt for a spy in the midst of complicated political crosscurrents.

Bradecote, Catchpoll and Walkelin must uncover whether the murder was an act of betrayal from close to home, or one that casts a shadow over the fight for England's crown."

Hints of Cadfael with a little Lovejoy. I approve.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Chuck Wendig, Deborah Harkness, Del Sandeen, J. Penner, Jamie Pacton, Jess Lourey, Jo Nichols, Kimberly Lemming, Kirsty Manning, Lauren Blackwood, Malavika Kannan, Natasha Pulley, S. Jae-Jones, Sarah Hawkswood, Will Thomas, Yudori

Threadneedle by Cari Thomas
Published by: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: May 27th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 559 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

The Dark Times are long gone. Or so most witches believe. Not the Binders. They believe magic is the first sin and the Hunters will rise again. They bind their powers to avoid temptation and exert control. Anna Everdell's parents where killed by magic and love. It might have been her father's hands that killed her mother but they were controlled by magic. Raised by her Aunt under the tenants of the Binders Anna hasn't been allowed to practice magic. She's not even allowed to dream. Which makes Selene's visits so enticing. Selene was her mother's best friend and she has floated in and out of Anna's life bringing with her presents and stories of a world where magic isn't repressed. I life Anna might have had had her parents not died. Needless to say her Aunt doesn't approve. Especially this year. It's Anna's sixteenth birthday and the date of her binding is fast approaching. Selene is expected for a birthday lunch, so of course she shows up for dinner with two teenagers in tow. Selene has never mentioned her daughter Effie before, an odd omission as she is the same age as Anna. And wherever Effie goes Attis follows. Effie, Attis, and particularly Selene are the type of witches Anna's Aunt has warned her about, those who flaunt their magic. It is dangerous to do so. Or so Anna has been taught. Her Aunt warns her that she is to avoid Effie and Attis at all costs, but when Effie Fawkes's name is read at morning assembly at St. Olave's avoiding Effie has just become a lot harder. Especially as Anna doesn't have any friends at school. The mean girls; Darcey, Olivia, and Corinne, have held the reigns of power at St. Olave's for as long as Anna can remember and they set their sights on Effie. But Effie isn't one to shy away from a fight. She looks around her and sees the outcasts, the students who have been ground under Darcey's heel, and she draws them to her; Rowan, Miranda, and of course, Anna. They have been chosen by Effie to form a coven. Something Anna's Aunt would heartily disapprove of. But in the bowels of St. Olave's in room 13B they come together to experiment with magic. At first it's just little things. Things you learn as a child. Then wonders unveiled of a magical London Anna never knew existed. Though teenage girls have desires, teenage girls have enemies, and soon things start to sour. And what magic Anna does is off. Something is wrong. But it's not just her magic, six faceless women have been hanged in Big Ben. Could her Aunt have been right? Is magic a sin and are the Hunters rising? Effie would laugh at her for thinking such thoughts, but her Aunt might be more right than Anna ever knew.

If you were a teen of a certain bent in the nineties The Craft is seminal. Yes, you probably also watched Charmed, but that was more of a guilty pleasure you didn't talk about. With The Craft it was something entirely different. If you heard someone hadn't seen the movie you would just sit them down and make them watch it. Immediately. It didn't matter if you were in the middle of something else or even at a party, it was time for The Craft. You even have strong opinions about Robin Tunney's wig. I mean, we all know it's horrible, but here shaving her head for another equally influential film, Empire Records, means that we are stuck with The Craft not being completely perfect. But maybe that makes it all the more beloved. I honestly didn't know what I was getting into with Threadneedle. I bought the book under a misapprehension. I thought it was going to be like the second book in Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy, Shadow of Night. In other words historical witches doing magic with needle and thread. I don't know where I got this idea from but about five minutes into reading I didn't care because this was a British version of The Craft! And being an acolyte of The Craft, I instantly started harassing all my bookish friends with this knowledge I had just learned. They HAD to read Threadneedle. Immediately. I mean, Anna is Sarah, Effie is Nancy, Rowan is Bonnie, and Miranda is Rochelle. Though saying this is just a British version of The Craft takes away from the amazingly dark and complicated world that Cari Thomas has built. Yes, there's Anna's introduction to the "wonders" of magic, stores that sell memories, astonishing snow globes, libraries for the lost, but that is what every kid who checked the back of a wardrobe would expect of a story with teen witches. The added layer of menace and the Binders is just horrific and riveting. I find it a little ironic that what so many people found off-putting is what I embraced. Sometimes a story needs to be dark to do justice to the characters. The world we live in right now isn't exactly rainbows and sunshine and to show these kids growing up in fear and rage shines a mirror on us. We need to do better, we need to destroy the Hunters among us. We need to offer protection and love, because look at what can happen. Look how easy it is to just accept that this is your lot in life. Anna was willing to bind her true self because it's all she knew. She still has an uphill battle, but at least she is no longer ignorant. Ignorance is the real danger. And of course the Hunters. Because they are real.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anna Everdell, Big Ben, British, Cari Thomas, Deborah Harkness, Effie Fawkes, Empire Records, England, Shadow of Night, Summer School, The Binders, The Craft, The Hunters, The Language of Magic, Threadneedle, Witch Hunt, Witches

The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Diana Bishop journeys to the darkest places within herself - and her family history - in the highly anticipated fifth novel of the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series.

Deborah Harkness first introduced the world to Diana Bishop, an Oxford scholar and witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew de Clermont in A Discovery of Witches. Drawn to each other despite long-standing taboos, these two otherworldly beings found themselves at the center of a battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Since then, they have fallen in love, traveled to Elizabethan England, dissolved the Covenant between the three species, and awoken the dark powers within Diana's family line.

Now, Diana and Matthew receive a formal demand from the Congregation: They must test the magic of their seven-year-old twins, Pip and Rebecca. Concerned with their safety and desperate to avoid the same fate that led her parents to spellbind her, Diana decides to forge a different path for her family's future and answers a message from a great-aunt she never knew existed, Gwyneth Proctor, whose invitation simply reads: It's time you came home, Diana.

On the hallowed ground of Ravenswood, the Proctor family home, and under the tutelage of Gwyneth, a talented witch grounded in higher magic, a new era begins for Diana: a confrontation with her family's dark past and a reckoning for her own desire for even greater power - if she can let go, finally, of her fear of wielding it.

In this stunning new novel, grand in scope, Deborah Harkness deepens the beloved world of All Souls with powerful new magic and long-hidden secrets, and the path Diana finds at Ravenswood leads to the most consequential moments yet in this cherished series."

I know everyone else has been like me waiting impatiently for more of Diana's adventures. I just think seeing as it's only a month off AND on a Tuesday they should have released it on Diana's birthday. Which is August the 13th. And happens to be mine as well.

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 688 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium.

A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find that he's too late. The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, leaving no heir, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive.

They aren't the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They're the oddballs of the Round Table, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur's fool, who was knighted as a joke. They're joined by Nimue, who was Merlin's apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.

But Arthur's death has revealed Britain's fault lines. God has abandoned it, and the fairies and monsters and old gods are returning, led by Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay. Kingdoms are turning on each other, warlords lay siege to Camelot and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they'll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell, and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain's dark past.

The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, full of duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It also sheds a fresh light on Arthur's Britain, a diverse, complex nation struggling to come to terms with its bloody history. The Bright Sword is a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, who are looking for a way to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves."

Everyone has been waiting to see what Lev Grossman would do next. The answer? Awesomely it's Arthurian Legend!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inspired by C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes - just in case - from the author of The Wishing Game.

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they'd gone or how they'd survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons' investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie's sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie's sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months - for only then can they get back everything and everyone they've lost."

It's not just Narnia I'm looking for, it's secret passages!

The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A palace the size of a city, ruled by giant Ladies of unknowable, eldritch origin. A land left to slow decay, drowning in the debris of generations. All this and more awaits you within The West Passage, a delightfully mysterious and intriguingly weird medieval fantasy unlike anything you've read before.

When the Guardian of the West Passage died in her bed, the women of Grey Tower fed her to the crows and went back to their chores. No successor was named as Guardian, no one took up the fallen blade; the West Passage went unguarded.

Now, snow blankets Grey in the height of summer. Rats erupt from beneath the earth, fleeing that which comes. Crops fail. Hunger looms. And none stand ready to face the Beast, stirring beneath the poisoned soil.

The fate of all who live in the palace hangs on narrow shoulders. The too-young Mother of Grey House sets out to fix the seasons. The unnamed apprentice of the deceased Grey Guardian goes to warn Black Tower. Both their paths cross the West Passage, the ancient byway of the Beast. On their journeys they will meet schoolteachers and beekeepers, miracles and monsters, and very, very big Ladies. None can say if they'll reach their destinations, but one thing is for sure: the world is about to change."

The whole plague of rats and crops failing might sound a little too close to home...

Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead
Published by: Mysterious Press
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Victor Silvius has spent nine years as an inmate at The Grange, a private sanatorium, for the crime of attacking judge Sir Giles Drury. Now, the judge's wife, Lady Elspeth Drury, believes that Silvius is the one responsible for a series of threatening letters her husband has recently received. Eager to avoid the scandal that involving the local police would entail, Lady Elspeth seeks out retired stage magician Joseph Spector, whose discreet involvement in a case Sir Giles recently presided over greatly impressed her.

Meanwhile, Miss Caroline Silvius is disturbed after a recent visit to her brother Victor, convinced that he isn't safe at The Grange. Someone is trying to kill him and she suspects the judge, who has already made Silvius' life a living hell, may be behind it. Caroline hires Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard to investigate.

The two cases collide at Marchbanks, the Drury family seat of over four hundred years, where a series of unnerving events interrupt the peace and quiet of the snowy countryside. A body is discovered in the middle of a frozen pond without any means of getting there and a rifle is fired through a closed window, killing a man but not breaking the glass. Only Spector and his mastery of the art of misdirection can uncover the logical explanations for these impossible crimes.

An atmospheric and puzzling traditional mystery that pays homage to the greatest writers of the genre's Golden Age, Cabaret Macabre is the third book in Tom Mead's Joseph Spector series, hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "a recipe for pure nostalgic pleasure." The books can be enjoyed in any order."

Heavy breathing. Family estate? Body in the middle of a frozen pond? More heavy breathing.

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Published by: S and s/Saga Press
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist - perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton - and a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic."

Period nostalgia and summer horror in one!

Where Are You, Echo Blue? by Hayley Krischer
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A smart, juicy, and page-turning novel about celebrity, fandom, and the price of ambition following a journalist's obsessive search for a missing Hollywood starlet.

When Echo Blue, the most famous child star of the nineties, disappears ahead of a highly publicized television appearance on the eve of the millennium, the salacious theories instantly start swirling. Mostly, people assume Echo has gotten herself in trouble after a reckless New Year's Eve. But Goldie Klein, an ambitious young journalist who also happens to be Echo's biggest fan, knows there must be more to the story. Why, on the eve of her big comeback, would Echo just go missing without a trace?

After a year of covering dreary local stories for Manhattan Eye, Goldie is sure this will be her big break. Who better to find Echo Blue, and tell her story the right way, than her? And so, Goldie heads to L.A. to begin a wild search that takes her deep into Echo's complicated life in which parental strife, friend break ups, rehab stints, and bad romances abound. But the further into Echo's world Goldie gets, the more she questions her own complicity in the young star's demise...yet she cannot tear herself away from this story, which has now consumed her entirely. Meanwhile, we also hear Echo's side of things from the beginning, showing a young woman who was chewed up and spit out by Hollywood as so many are, and who may have had to pay the ultimate price.

As these young women's poignant and unexpected journeys unfold, and eventually meet, Where Are You, Echo Blue? interrogates celebrity culture, the thin line between admiration and obsession, and what it means to tell other peoples' stories, all while ushering us on an unruly ride to find out what did become of Echo Blue."

A fictional yet all to realistic look into what celebrity did to female stars at the turn of the century.

The White Guy Dies First edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker
Published by: Tor Teen
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"13 Scary Stories. 13 Authors of Color. 13 Times We Survived...The First Kill.

The White Guy Dies First includes thirteen scary stories by all-star contributors and this time, the white guy dies first.

Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don't stay dead....

A museum curator who despises "diasporic inaccuracies." A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever....

These stories are filled with ancient terrors and modern villains, but go ahead, go into the basement, step onto the old plantation, and open the magician's mystery box because this time, the white guy dies first.

Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming contributors: Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.

A collection you'll be dying to talk about...if you survive it."

It's about time that the white guy dies first!

The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Eustacia has always been better with plants than people...

Eustacia Rose is a Professor of Botanical Toxicology with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. Her life is quiet, her schedule is unchanging, and her closest friends are the specimens she tends to. But she does have one other hobby: watching her neighbors through her telescope, taking extensive notes on their lives for "research."

When Eustacia hears a scream one evening, the temptation to investigate proves irresistible. Through her telescope she catches a glimpse of her extraordinarily beautiful new neighbor, Simone, and soon becomes obsessed with her and her life. But who are these four men that orbit Simone? And why does Eustacia get the feeling she needs to protect her from them?

One day, Eustacia comes home to find her precious garden destroyed, and learns that someone close to Simone has been murdered with a rare poisonous plant. As she is drawn deep into the crime, Eustacia's closed-off life begins to crumble, forcing her to break free from the walls of her secret garden and take matters into her own hands. Soon, she's forced to realize that the world is filled with people who are just as toxic as her plants...

Fans of The Maid will revel in this perfectly tended tale of obsession. The Woman in the Garden explores the delicate balance between beauty and danger - infatuation and obsession - tightly woven together in a tense and unsettling mystery."

Is it wrong to really really want a poison garden?

The Perfect Sister by Stephanie DeCarolis
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman's search for her missing sister on the sandy white beaches of the Hamptons uncovers a wealth of secrets worth killing for - a sultry and sumptuous psychological suspense from USA Today bestselling author Stephanie DeCarolis.

Alex Walker has always looked up to her perfect older sister. Maddie has succeeded in all the ways Alex has not: She escaped their hometown and seems to have put the memories of their unstable childhood behind her. But despite the different paths their lives have taken, the two sisters made a pact to spend one week together every summer. It was a promise they'd never broken...until now.

When Maddie suddenly cancels her annual trip home, Alex begins to worry. But when Maddie stops returning her calls altogether, Alex is certain something is wrong. Relying on the only clues Maddie left behind, Alex follows her sister's footsteps to the Hamptons where she meets the Blackwell family - the last people to have seen Maddie before she vanished into thin air. The Blackwells seem to have it all: wealth, beauty, and a beachside mansion on a private stretch of Hamptons real estate. It's a world unlike any Alex has ever known, but she quickly discovers that looks can be deceiving, and that a life of luxury always comes at a cost."

Oh, murder and mayhem in the Hamptons! Yes please!

Things Don't Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins
Published by: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 272Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A heart-wrenching mystery about sisters, lovers, and a dinner party gone wrong.

Twenty-five years ago, a young girl left home to walk to school. Her younger sister soon followed. But one of them arrived, and one of them didn't.

Her sister's disappearance has defined Willa's life. Everyone thinks her sister is dead, but Willa knows she isn't. Because there are some things that only sisters know about each other - and some bonds only sisters can break.

Willa sees fragments of her sister everywhere - the way that woman on the train turns her head, the gait of that woman in Paris. If there's the slightest resemblance, Willa drops everything, and everyone, and tries to see if it is her.

When Willa is invited to a dinner party thrown by her first love, she has no reason to expect it will be anything other than an ordinary evening. Both of them have moved on, ancient history. But nothing about Willa's life has been ordinary since the day her sister disappeared, and that's not about to change tonight.

Sarah Easter Collins has written an extraordinary novel about memory, lost love, and long-buried secrets that sometimes see the light of day."

I mean, just for Willa's sake we all need to find out what happened to her sister! Yes, I know they're fictional. But still...

Women in the Valley of the Kings by Kathleen Sheppard
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The never-before-told story of the women Egyptologists who paved the way of exploration in Egypt and created the basis for Egyptology.

The history of Egyptology is often told as yet one more grand narrative of powerful men striving to seize the day and the precious artifacts for their competing homelands. But that is only half of the story. During the so-called Golden Age of Exploration, there were women working and exploring before Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut. Before men even conceived of claiming the story for themselves, women were working in Egypt to lay the groundwork for all future exploration.

In Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age, Kathleen Sheppard brings the untold stories of these women back into this narrative. Sheppard begins with some of the earliest European women who ventured to Egypt as travelers: Amelia Edwards, Jenny Lane, and Marianne Brocklehurst. Their travelogues, diaries and maps chronicled a new world for the curious. In the vast desert, Maggie Benson, the first woman granted permission to excavate in Egypt, met Nettie Gourlay, the woman who became her lifelong companion. They battled issues of oppression and exclusion and, ultimately, are credited with excavating the Temple of Mut.

As each woman scored a success in the desert, she set up the women who came later for their own struggles and successes. Emma Andrews' success as a patron and archaeologist helped to pave the way for Margaret Murray to teach. Margaret's work in the university led to the artists Amice Calverley's and Myrtle Broome's ability to work on site at Abydos, creating brilliant reproductions of tomb art, and to Kate Bradbury's and Caroline Ransom's leadership in critical Egyptological institutions. Women in the Valley of the Kings upends the grand male narrative of Egyptian exploration and shows how a group of courageous women charted unknown territory and changed the field of Egyptology forever."

Well any true fan of Egyptology already knows that women ruled Egypt in more ways that one... Now it's time for everyone else to find out!

Emergence by Kim Harrison
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 190 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For better or worse, a solar eclipse brought humans and paranormal beings together, sparking one woman's battle to master magic or lose our world, in this riveting serialized adventure from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Hollows series.

As time has passed, Dr. Renee Caisson has begun to see the demonic, alien August as more than a research subject or an unlikely colleague - they've become friends. And together she and August have helped the two societies of Nextdoor and Earth through the confusion of first contact, the danger of misunderstandings, and the anger of mistreatment.

But when a popular blogger and conspiracy theorist twists August's words, an uproar ensues, turning a powerful section of human society against the Neighbors - and resulting in Renee's house arrest. Her could-be boyfriend, Major Jackson, says it's to protect her, though that’s not how Renee sees it.

Torn between duty and friendship, August jumps Renee to freedom, fully aware that the journey might reveal more to her than she should know. The wily Neighbor has pieced together that Renee has been unconsciously using their magic, a fact that, if revealed, will cause more, not less, conflict between the humans and Neighbors.

For if the people of Earth can master magic and exile August's people again, the Neighbors will not survive...."

Week three and we're at the grand finale!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Deborah Harkness, Hayley Krischer, Jared Pechaček, Jill Johnson, Kathleen Sheppard, Lev Grossman, Meg Shaffer, Sarah Easter Collins, Stephanie DeCarolis, Stephen Graham Jones, Terry J. Benton-Walker, Tom Mead