Showing posts with label Lana Harper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lana Harper. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2026

Tuesday Tomorrow

The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rachel Gillig, the queen of gothic romantasy, returns with higher stakes, darker mysteries, and deeper longings in this gorgeous sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling sensation The Knight and the Moth.

Aisling Cathedral is in ruins. Rodrick Myndacious, Bartholomew, and Maude Bauer are rumored to be dead - and the king has taken Sybil Delling as his bride. To show off their union and solidify his power over Traum, Benji proposes a series of tournaments throughout the hamlets. Captive and drugged, Sybil remains determined to vanquish him as she once did the Omens, even if she destroys the kingdom's faith - and herself - in the process.

But then a mysterious knave rises to the top of the tournament lists, a man with no name and no memory who may just be Sybil's ticket to undoing Benji's power. For in a land where stories repeat themselves, where a king can prove as cruel as a god, the only way to truly destroy the Stonewater Kingdom's faith is to save it."

Anyone else have the Barnes and Noble signed special edition on order for months? 

Hawk and Sparrow by Ayana Gray
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sparks fly in this Gilded Age novel of mystery, magic, and romance by the author of the New York Times-bestselling Beasts of Prey.

Vesper Evans has always resented Basalton's high society, and the sorcery that provides them with a luxurious life unimaginable to most. Orphaned as a child and rescued by the editor of The Basalton Globe, Vesper is now an ambitious reporter determined to keep her newspaper afloat.

While covering a lavish society gala, Vesper happens upon a shocking scene: the murdered body of a man she had spoken with just minutes before. Several of the powerful magical elite may want the man dead, but the prime suspect is wealthy industrialist Maximilian Kite.

Max soon makes Vesper a tempting offer: Find the culprit and restore his reputation in exchange for a substantial fee. Despite her distaste for Max's world, Vesper agrees - the money would save the Globe, and the story would be the scoop of a lifetime. There's only one catch: In order for her to infiltrate society, the two must pose as a courting couple.

Their investigation takes them from the highest echelons of privilege to the seediest backstreets of Basalton. As they unearth the city's secrets and scandals, Vesper finds herself in grave danger - while falling for one of the most infuriating, arrogant, handsome men she has ever met..."

Just the right level of forced proximity crime solving I love.

The Wolf Queen's Curse by Kaylee Archer
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In The Wolf Queen's Curse, the much anticipated sequel to Witch of the Wolves, Cordelia and Bishop must seek alliances with other packs and confront their Alphas in order to restore their beloved Trevelyan, no matter the cost.

The previously quiet life of Cordelia Levine, half-werewolf, all witch, has been turned upside down. Both of her parents are now dead, and her grandmother's vicious attack on Trevelyan, her pack's home, has left the Albion Pack fleeing and severely reduced in number.

As they recover and strategize a path forward, Cordelia is navigating her role in the pack as well as her feelings for her new husband, the Alpha. But even as their love grows stronger, the fate of the pack lies in their hands, and they must focus on finding a way to survive.

The pack decides that the only way to defeat the cabal and forge a path back home is to rekindle old alliances. The journey proves complicated, however, as each Alpha they encounter has an agenda of his own. But Cordelia and Bishop will stop at nothing to protect their pack - and reclaim their rightful home."

Anyone who reads about werewolves knows, Alphas do not play nice with each other. Begrudgingly so when they have to.

Rider of Dragons by A.T. Qureshi
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Genevieve's family forbids her from joining the deadly dragon races. But she won't let them stop her.

He's the trainer she doesn't want, but needs.

Without her family's money, nobody will train her. Desperate for help, she agrees to a terrible deal: Qais, an alleged member of a dragon poaching gang, will train her to win the races, if she agrees to give him her prize money.

Every race could be their last.

The dragon races aren't just about being the fastest. There will be sabotage, attacks and all out violence. The devastatingly handsome Qais will teach her to be cunning and cruel, and Genevieve will be forced to answer a ruinous question: to win, is she willing to lose everything?"

Will the dragon help you stay safe? Because I think making an alliance with a dragon would be a deal breaker. 

An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A debut Gothic horror set in 1870s Brazil - a tale of creeping suspense in which a young pregnant woman finds herself unable to escape her lover's isolated family home, and a family's deal with the devil goes terribly wrong.

1877, Pernambuco, Brazil: Raised in a deeply religious household, Madalena knows Dante's Inferno by heart and fears her mother's reaction as much as she fears God. When she falls pregnant with a child conceived in sin, her mother issues a threat: marry or surrender the baby. Madalena is confident that the father, the dashing Leandro Neves, will do right by her and propose. But just as she is about to tell him about the baby, a violent storm sends their carriage careening off the road.

Madalena awakens in Leandro's sprawling, secluded home, under the care of the mysterious and larger-than-life Doctor Lobo. Leandro is there...but he is no longer the charming poet she knew. He's silent. Obsessed. Always watching.

Strange perfume haunts a locked room. Pages vanish from books. Jewels lie untouched in a forgotten wardrobe. And mirrors begin disappearing after Madalena sees something - or someone - ghastly in the reflection.

Leandro is unraveling. Doctor Lobo may be hiding something even darker. Trapped in a decaying house of secrets, Madalena must uncover the truth before the men around her destroy her, and before the hell she fears becomes the one she’s living in."

Well this wants to be Silvia Moreno-Garcia meets Isabel Cañas. Perhaps skeewing towards Cañas with that cover...

The Other Life of Mary English by GD Harper
Published by: Ginger Cat
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 386 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two different women. One shared destiny.

Mary English, a dockworker's daughter from Faversham, England, travels to South America to escape a scandal from her past. She ends up running a cacao plantation in Colombia, at a time when women were not legally allowed to own businesses there.

Manuela Sáenz, tempestuous lover of Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar, serves as a colonel in his army. She joins him in battle to fight the Spanish and twice saves his life from assassination attempts.

This is the story of two remarkable real-life women, both fighting oppression, hardship and danger in 1820s Colombia, who come together to change the course of a nation's history."

Women changing history? Hells yes!

Pomegranate Seed and Other Ghostly Tales by Edith Wharton
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"PENGUIN HORROR: A celebration of the very best literary horror, a series of terrifying novels and tales that for generations have thrilled, captivated and kept readers wide awake at night.

Known for writing some of the most incisive and elegant novels of the early twentieth century, Edith Wharton was also a master practitioner of the ghost story, producing dozens of frightful fictions throughout her lifetime. Combining pristine prose with strange, suffocating atmospheres and a profound sense of the uncanny, Pomegranate Seed and Other Ghostly Tales, a collection of Wharton's very best haunting narratives, detail spectral handwriting, isolated houses in lonely landscapes, and a husband with a terrible secret..."

I need something uncanny for this time of year.

Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Part ghost story, part love story and steeped in magical realism, Paper Ghosts will transport you to a place where old secrets echo through the years and love finds a way of bringing us home.

Every family has its secrets...The Wester women live inside theirs.

For decades, the women of Wester House have unsettled and fascinated their small, timeless North Carolina town. Their home is full of whispers, old griefs, and uncanny knowing. But when Willamena Wester reaches out to the granddaughter she once pushed away, long-buried truths begin to stir.

1976: Restless young Willamena falls for a stranded musician who brings freedom and the promise of another life to her carefully controlled world. Their brief, incandescent love story promises to escape the pull of the Wester legacy until Willamena makes a fateful choice that changes her life forever.

Present day: Returning home is the last thing Bailey Wester wants. Yet as she reconnects with Willamena, the grandmother she feared, Bailey begins to understand the love, heartbreak, and impossible choices that shaped the women in her family and realizes the past may not have been trying to haunt them after all. A luminous novel filled with Sarah Addison Allen's stunning prose and signature blend of romance, Southern charm, and wonder, Paper Ghosts reminds us that in order to have the future we really want, sometimes we need to live with the past, and not let go of it."

I find it beyond tragic that when we finally want to get answers and listen to our elders it's often too late. Perhaps that's why we're drawn to these types of stories.

Divine Oaths by Elizabeth Agyemang
Published by: Requited
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ninth House meets Legendborn in this thrilling dark academia novel following a new student fueled by questions about her prestigious university and the haunting answers she uncovers as her heart pulls her in two different, dangerous directions.

Westfield University was supposed to be Sianna Adu's dream school. But just when she's on the cusp of attending the elite academic institution hidden in Virginia's swampland, an unexpected tragedy changes everything. In one day, Sianna loses her family and gains an extraordinary power - the ability to see lifelines and witness other people's pasts and futures.

With all she's lost, Sianna puts her college dreams on pause and spends her days navigating dead-end jobs and a not-so-secret crush on her coworker. But when Kasem Saint James, the undeniably handsome heir to Westfield, approaches her with a strange request, the future Sianna has long deferred becomes a dangerous new reality. Worried that her powers are now tied to Kasem, she has no choice. Fate has called her to Westfield.

At an academy where secret societies abound, connections are everything, and an ominous history - stretching back centuries - determines the future, Sianna and Kasem must piece together the past to undo a curse that binds them to each other.

With a swoony romance and jaw-dropping twists, this layered dark academia novel introduces a university where nothing is quite as it seems."

Centuries old? I'm intrigued. 

Goodnight Monsters by Suzanne Junered
Published by: She Writes Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Ariana Harwicz's Die, My Love and Ashley Audrain's The Push, a psychological horror novel that follows a woman obsessed with death who must decide if she's fit to bring new life into this world - especially after someone she's fantasized about killing turns up dead.

Southern suburban housewife Lia and her husband Evan have long dreamed of becoming parents - but when a pregnancy test shows positive, Lia questions whether she wants the child and keeps her pregnancy a secret.

As she's holding new life inside, she intentionally surrounds herself with death by blackmailing her way into a job at a forensic anthropology center endearingly called The Body Farm. At The Farm, monsters emerge from within Lia - the desire to kill - and she begins daydreaming about murder. Because fantasizing never hurt anyone. Or so she thinks.

Then a body donation to The Farm turns out to be someone she's imagined killing, and reality and fantasy begin to blur. As people around her begin to die, Lia loses trust in her loved ones and herself...and ultimately must put her monsters to bed."

Yes, put those monsters to bed before you put your baby to bed!

Tell the Ghosts I'm Gone by Kalynn Bayron
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron comes a new horror novel about a group of teens with unique - and potentially deadly - gifts.

Moll, Redd, Agnes, and Ossie are powerful - and dangerous. But they don't want people to fear them. They've spent their lives trying to understand and control their supernatural gifts, trying to help people instead of hurt them.

That's why they offer paranormal investigative services to anyone who needs them. But when the case of a missing young woman brings them to an old (and potentially haunted) Victorian mansion, soon it's the four teens who are in the greatest danger. The secrets they uncover about the paranormal forces inhabiting the house may shed light on the darkness that exists at the edge of their powers and finally help them gain control - if they can make it out alive."

I wonder if ghosts are like bees.

Cards on the Table by Lana Harper and Jilly Gagnon
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two witchy sisters find themselves framed for the disappearance of millions of dollars in this atmospheric locked room mystery - from the New York Times bestselling author of Payback's a Witch and the critically acclaimed author of All Dressed Up.

As descendants of a Salem witch, sisters Tori and Cassie Bishop have the occult credentials - but their trickle of tarot readings isn't paying the bills. On the brink of eviction, they accept a too-good-to-be-true offer: play "witches in residence" for a dying, wealthy widow in her secluded Berkshires mansion for the Fall season.

But from the minute they arrive at the gothic estate, it's clear: they've been dropped into a far riskier game than their smoke and mirrors can save them from. Rose, the widow, is desperate. Her family is conniving. The staff is ominous. And some guests in the house are drawn to the sisters in ways that lean more...personal. But just as the sisters are starting to settle into the mysterious home and their role in it, Rose dies after a séance - and her millions vanish overnight.

Trapped in a viper's nest of competing motives and twisted secrets, Tori and Cassie must untangle a web of greed and deception using every trick they have - magical or not - to clear their names. Because someone else in Berwyn House is running their own con...and they've set up the sisters to take the fall."

Imagine being so wealthy that you could have a witch in residence?

Buried in the Woods Below by Daniel G. Miller
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden's The Housemaid, Riley Sager's The Only One Left and Alice Feeney's My Husband's Wife, this addictive psychological suspense-thriller is a must-read for anyone who loves dark secrets, isolated settings, and jaw-dropping twists.

SOME MEMORIES WERE NEVER MEANT TO STAY BURIED.

When Charlotte Hoffman's picture-perfect career implodes overnight, she retreats to the one place she swore she'd never return: Big Island, Minnesota. Home to her childhood best friend, Olivia Parker, and the place where her life first fell apart.

Eighteen years ago, tragedy struck, and Charlotte's blamed herself for that bloody night ever since. Now she's back, staying with the Parkers in their isolated lakeside home, surrounded by dark woods shrouded in mist and the decaying remains of a long-abandoned amusement park.

But something isn't right.

The Parkers' young twin girls whisper about ghosts in the trees. Threatening notes appear on doors. An old carousel screams in the wind. And every night the island claims another victim.

As Charlotte wades ever-deeper into danger, she can't shake the feeling that someone brought her back to the isolated island for a reason.

Someone who wants to finish what was started all those years ago."

Do. Not. Go. Near. Abandoned. Amusement. Parks. It's like rule number one in my book.

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A late-night mayday call drives a grieving man to embark on an unexpected journey along the wild Alaskan coast, unraveling a decades-old mystery of stolen gold, missing women, and murder in this atmospheric and propulsive debut novel, perfect for fans of William Kent Krueger and Peter Heller.

After the loss of his wife, Marconi Franco is content drifting alone on his boat through the isolated waters of Southeast Alaska with no real destination in mind. But when a mysterious distress signal cuts through the static on his radio one sleepless night, Marco feels an overwhelming pull to help the woman whose plea he heard - a pull he can't explain or ignore.

His search for the missing woman draws him to Radioville, an abandoned 1930s communication outpost now decaying on an uninhabited island off the coast of Alaska. There, Marco begins uncovering fragments of a story long forgotten: a Depression-era theft, a shattered marriage, and a disturbing pattern of disappearances. As he sifts through the past, his own grief starts to mirror the tragedies that echo across decades, and his search draws the attention of someone determined to keep the truth buried.

Told across three evocative timelines - a radio operator in 1938 collecting more than just telegrams, a young woman in the 1980s fighting to survive her abusive husband, and Marco in the present day searching for a voice in the static - Untamed Coast is a story of fierce determination, missed signals, loneliness and connection, and the unseen ripples that reverberate across generations, standing the test of time and the tides."

Alaska is all one big mystery to me, which is why I love reading about it.

The Filbert Steps by Lila Blake
Published by: Sutro House Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 311 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A body on the steps. A neighborhood that saw nothing.

Vivian Salvatore came back to Telegraph Hill with a cat, a divorce settlement, and a book she cannot seem to write.

At fifty-two, newly single and trying to rebuild her life, she has settled into the rhythms of San Francisco's most beautiful staircase: coffee at the corner café, morning walks on the Filbert Steps, old neighbors on three corners, and the comforting illusion that everyone knows everyone.

Then, on a bright October morning, Vivian finds one of the city's most ambitious developers dead on the third landing.

The police are ready to call it a fall. But Vivian spent twenty-seven years reading teenagers' faces for a living, and she knows when a story does not fit. A coat buttoned wrong. A cigarette ground out where it should not be. Storefronts quietly sold to a post-office box in Delaware. And a neighborhood full of people who had reason to want one man gone.

As Vivian begins asking questions, she discovers that Telegraph Hill has been keeping secrets for years - about money, loyalty, grief, and who really gets to call a place home.

The Filbert Steps introduces Vivian Salvatore, a sharp-eyed, warm-hearted sleuth who notices everything and forgives almost as much.

Perfect for readers who love older women sleuths, atmospheric San Francisco mysteries, neighborhood secrets, found community, and fair-play cozy mysteries with literary depth."

I adore everything about San Francisco. But what I adore even more, is a mystery set in my favorite literary city. 

Muriel and the Mystery by Charlotte Parent
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 56 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A little shrew encounters the unexpected in this charming picture book that explores change and the fear of the unknown. For fans of Little Witch Hazel and The Hidden World of Gnomes.

Muriel is having a perfectly ordinary day in the forest she knows by heart, when, while gathering snails in the underbrush, she encounters a mystery!

It's different from anything she's seen before, and it certainly doesn't belong in her well-ordered life. Though she tries to put it out of her mind, that becomes difficult when the mystery won't leave her alone...

Muriel will need to muster her courage to face the unknown and embrace the changes it brings to her forest. And maybe, just maybe, she will make a new friend along the way."

Even moles deal with mysteries! 

Goldie Vance Book One by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams
Published by: KaBOOM!
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Intrepid teen detective Goldie Vance is on the case in this acclaimed upper middle-grade graphic novel mystery that reads like Nancy Drew meets Only Murders in the Building.

Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad and dreams of one day becoming the hotel's in-house detective. Armed with endless curiosity and unstoppable determination, she's ready to prove she has what it takes to solve any mystery, big or small!

When the current Crossed Palms Resort detective encounters a case he can't quite crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help. Will this budding sleuth be the key to revealing the truth? Or is Goldie in over her head?

Uncover secrets and adventures around every corner with this double-length detective adventure full of retro flair from New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award-winning writer Hope Larson (All Summer Long) and fan-favorite artist Brittney Williams (Mixed-Up, Girl on Fire)!

Collects Goldie Vance #1-8."

This looks like it would be the perfect read for me. It sadly wasn't. Goldie Vance and her mid-century Florida conspiracies of Communists and cosmonauts left me cold.   

The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate Westbury
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set against the backdrop of post-WWII Oxford University, The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies is the irresistible debut from Kate Westbury that seamlessly layers mystery, romance, and a dash of academia to introduce the Crown's newest undercover operatives.

Oxford, England, 1951 - The Honorable Ginevra Bishop likes red lipstick, clever retorts, and earning top marks in her tutorials. She's following her mother's footsteps by studying at Oxford, eager to prove she's more than a debutante.

Sidney Braithwaite likes brooding, Latin, and ignoring his nightmares. He's determined to forge a new life for himself at Oxford, far from his childhood mining village and free from memories of the war.

Though Gin and Sidney have little in common, the British Security Service is keen to unite her charm with his espionage experience: there's a Soviet spy at the university, and the agent tracking them down was poisoned. MI5 wants Gin and Sidney to pick up the trail and identify the informant before more sensitive information is compromised. As a team, the pair of undergraduates clash in personality, upbringing, and taste - but have a connection neither can deny. Gin and Sidney must unite their respective talents to follow the clues before they're caught in the traitor's crosshairs...if the sparks flying between them don't blow up the operation first."

I wonder if I should take up brooding as a pastime. I'd be willing to solve crimes against Britain in my spare time.

An A-List for Murder by Amy Patricia Meade
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An irresistible historical cozy series featuring Evelyn Galloway, Hollywood script supervisor turned sleuth!

The list you'd die to be on...

March, 1940, and script supervisor Evelyn Galloway is enjoying being reunited with Alfred Hitchcock on his new film. Until twenty-three-year-old Phoebe Dillon, an aspiring actress hoping to be an extra in the movie, is found strangled in downtown L.A. Evelyn encountered Phoebe in the studio just hours before she died. Did she really have audition jitters as she claimed, or was she frightened of something - or someone?

When Evelyn learns that Phoebe attended a birthday party for film producer Monty Carpenter the previous weekend, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood's A-list, she quickly makes disturbing discoveries about some of the guests. It seems that powerful dark forces are at play in the film industry during war - and the reason for Phoebe's murder is more shocking than Evelyn could ever have imagined.

Effortlessly combining murder and glamour, the Evelyn Galloway mysteries are perfect for fans of Verity Bright and Nicola Upson's Shot With Crimson."

I love dark Hollywood and I love Hitchcock, so a perfect combo!

Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink
Published by: Love Inspired Trade
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this witty historical murder mystery set in a San Francisco hotel, an unlikely trio of amateur sleuths must uncover a killer before another guest checks out for good. This first book in the Murder Most Fowl Mysteries is perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building.

In 1905, the Grand Mallard Marquee is well known for its iconic style, as well as its daily duck parade. For Saul Niffler, a reformed jewel thief, working at the luxurious hotel offers a much-needed second chance. Staying out of trouble and in gainful employment is essential. Which makes seeing a body plummet from a penthouse window extra complicated.

Except...did he see it? There's no body to be found, and Saul knows he should concentrate on his new duties as "Duck Commandant" rather than meddle. If only Kitty Rossi, a persistent young guest yearning to be a Pinkerton detective, would leave well enough alone. Kitty has already roped in Henry, the elevator man, to investigate suspicious goings-on around the hotel. And against his better judgment, Saul feels compelled to join them.

Between the mystery of Saul's missing predecessor and a grisly discovery in a drain, all signs point to murder most fowl. And with a cold-blooded killer roaming the Marquee's lavish corridors, keeping his job may be the least of Saul's problems..."

A jewel thief named Niffler? I hope Dana Mentink has some good lawyers.

Murder in St. James's Park by Vanessa Riley
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for readers who love Bridgerton with a dark twist - a vibrant historical mystery series that embraces the true diversity of the Regency era.

Confessions from beyond the grave throw Lady Worthing into turmoil...

London, 1807. Lady Abigail Worthing's marriage of convenience to James Monroe, the Lord Worthing, is over. But James is out of her life quicker than Abigail anticipated when she finds his body in St. James's Park.

Shocked by her husband's brutal murder, Abigail is determined to catch his killer. But when she discovers that James's transgressions ran far deeper and darker than she thought possible, Abigail questions her own judgment. Did she make a terrible mistake when solving a past crime, and does the key to James's death lie in the letters he was writing shortly before his demise?

With her neighbor and good friend Stapleton Henderson by her side, Abigail confronts jealousy, resentment, and stunning betrayal that will shake her to her core...

This sharply observed, captivating Regency mystery series featuring a smart and fearless mixed-race aristocrat heroine with a notorious family history is a must-read for historical mystery fans."

A touch of Tasha Alexander. 

The Case of Bingley's Missing Aphrodite by Emma Aubrey
Published by: Emma Aubrey
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 374 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pride and Prejudice meets Sherlock Holmes in this sharp-witted Regency mystery, featuring a crime-solving Bennet/Darcy team-up in a Jane Austen variation where the Bennet sisters lost their estate before marriage saved them.

Fitzwilliam Darcy believes his worst problem is the mistake he made a year and a half ago, when he snubbed Miss Elizabeth Bennet and separated his friend Bingley from her sister Jane. That is, until a corrupt viscount is found murdered, just after Bingley's antique Aphrodite statue vanishes during a ball. The crimes appear to be linked - and Darcy's oldest adversary, Mr Wickham, may be trying to frame him for both.

They enlist an investigator, coincidentally the Miss Bennets' cousin, who has entirely the wrong impression of Darcy and Wickham's history. When Elizabeth Bennet finally re-enters the picture, Darcy must open up to her about the blackguard's lies - for in the end, they will need both her keen character observations and the investigator's cutting-edge methods to prove Darcy's innocence.

In a tangle of secrets and deceit, Darcy and his friends must race to uncover the true culprit - before he pays the ultimate price."

Here for all Pride and Prejudice variations! 

The Heiress of Northanger Abbey by Nancy Bilyeau
Published by: Admiral Road Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 260 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Steeped in the atmospheric charm of classic historical fiction, The Heiress of Northanger Abbey weaves a captivating Jane Austen sequel that breathes new life into Catherine Morland's world. Twenty-two years after her marriage to Henry Tilney, the imposing estate of Northanger Abbey passes to a new generation. When their spirited daughter Phoebe looks poised to inherit the grand estate, she inherits more than just wealth - she uncovers a web of long-buried secrets, hidden corridors, and a haunting legacy that refuses to stay buried. This spellbinding Gothic mystery masterfully balances Austen's signature wit and social commentary with the spine-tingling suspense of a classic Regency thriller.

Gloucestershire, 1820: Catherine Tilney receives a letter that resurrects her darkest fears. Her daughter Phoebe has fallen under the influence of the unscrupulous Thorpe family - the very figures who once nearly destroyed Catherine's happiness.

Determined to protect her child from dangerous fortune hunters, Catherine follows Phoebe to an isolated manor on Dartmoor. There, she finds a landscape of reckless passions, family secrets, and a dangerously charming aristocratic neighbor. It all feels eerily like the plot of the latest Gothic sensation, The Vampyre - but is Catherine once again letting her imagination run wild?

In this psychologically charged sequel to Jane Austen's classic, award-winning historical novelist Nancy Bilyeau transforms Catherine's youthful adventures into a mystery with the highest of stakes. The Heiress of Northanger Abbey is a story of mothers and daughters, deception and desire - and of a woman who must learn to trust her power of perception before it's too late.

For Austen fans who adore a high-spirited Regency tale, savor a hint of the Gothic - and long to be transported to the mist-shrouded moors."

But how would Catherine's daughter inherit? I have so many questions. I guess I just have to read the book!

Land of Oz edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"13 original stories of dark fantasy inspired by the classic tales of L. Frank Baum and the land of Oz, from the masters of fantasy and science fiction, including M.R. Carey, Christina Henry and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Journey beyond the yellow brick road, click your heels together and enter the dark heart of the tornado...if you dare.

Join the award-winning Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane as they bring together some of genre fiction's bestselling and acclaimed authors as they explore the wild imagination of L. Frank Baum and his wonderful Land of Oz.

Featuring stories by
Simon R. Green
Caitlin Rozakis
Louise Carey
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Ian Whates
M. R. Carey
Paul Magrs
Delilah S. Dawson
Robert Shearman
Stark Holborn
Christina Henry
Una McCormack
Jonathan Maberry"

My friend Paul has a story in this. I'm so excited for him! And me! And you! Because we all get to enjoy it!

The Snow Witch by Kirsty Ferry
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: eBook, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Discover the next enchanting, atmospheric read from Kirsty Ferry, perfect for fans of C.J. Cooke and Laura Purcell.

In the dead of winter, 1650...

As the Newcastle Witch Trials spread fear across the north, suspicion takes hold in Newbrough, near Hadrian's Wall. Meg Noble - healer, midwife, and the so-called 'Snow Witch' - finds solace at Coventina's Well. But when tragedy strikes, whispers of witchcraft begin to swirl, and something ancient is stirred - bound to a sacred dagger and a forgotten goddess.

Now, beneath the same well...

Historian Violet Marsh arrives at Hadrian's Wall to research the legend of the Snow Witch, but what begins as curiosity soon turns personal. As visions haunt her and the past bleeds into the present, Violet uncovers a story that was never laid to rest - and a presence that has been waiting centuries to reclaim what was taken.

The Snow Witch is a chilling, atmospheric tale of buried vengeance and unyielding female power - where the past doesn't die, it freezes and waits."

Because Witch Trials are nothing more than men trying to destroy powerful women, if they're witches or not...

A Time of Witches by Madeline Martin
Published by: Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two women, bound by blood and betrayal, must break silence across centuries - or be silenced forever, in the dazzling new novel by New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin.

Lilith Legare's life is unraveling. Since her mother's death, strange things have been happening - plants turn toward her touch, animals linger in her path, and the birthmark on her arm has started tingling. Worse still is her recurring nightmare of being burned alive at the stake.

Her search for answers brings her from Savannah to England, to the decaying Brackenmere Manor where the past blurs with the present. There, Lilith discovers a legacy she never asked for and along with it, the threat of peril. History must be rewritten, or she too will die.

In 1645 Suffolk, Sybil Brantham stands accused as a witch. An educated, wealthy widow, she is branded a threat by men who fear her independence. As arrests begin and suspicion abounds, Sybil must protect her younger sister, even as betrayal takes root within her household.

Across centuries, Lilith and Sybil are bound by blood and by danger. To save themselves, and each other, they must confront the silence that has stolen women's power for generations - and dare to claim their voices before it's too late."

Take back your voice! It is you power!

The Pumpkin Bride by Fiona Buttercup
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 3652 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Shrek meets The Princess Bride in this cozy, low-stakes romantic fantasy. The Pumpkin Bride delivers all the autumnal feels, a dash of spice, and a guaranteed HEA!

Some curses just need a cozy fire, a little magic, and a second chance to break them.

A cursed knight.
Sir Bram Duncan was once a knight of legend in Harvest Hollow - until the whim of a jealous prince and the trickery of an autumn sprite turned him into the hulking orc Jask Bone-Cracker, and tethered him to Grimroot Farm. For three long, lonely years, he's hidden his monstrous form and the truth of what happened the night he lost everything, including his true love, Princess Marigold.

A runaway princess.
Fleeing an arranged marriage to the vain and intolerable Prince Crispin, Marigold finds a safe haven when she stumbles across Jask's charmed pumpkin farm deep in the forest. Sensing glimmers of gentleness - and a surprising talent for baking - beneath the grumpy orc's imposing exterior, she begins to feel a familiar longing she believed dead when her Bram disappeared.

One true love.
As magic stirs and pies are baked, truths about Jask's curse begin to surface. But curses don't break easily, and wronged princes don't capitulate. As their peace is threatened, Jask and Marigold must decide: cling to the lies that protect them, or risk everything for a love that could set them free."

I mean, who can resist an orc that can bake? Cursed true love or not.

The Hocus Pocus Handbook by Ann Aguirre
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From NYT bestselling author Ann Aguirre comes a cozy fae fantasy romance featuring a sunshine-shadow slow burn, a grumpy-but-secretly-tender love interest, an unforgettable found family, and a world lush with wildcraft magic. Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries.

Thea Winter didn't choose to be a changeling - stolen from the mortal world as a baby, raised in the wildlands by a hobgoblin named Mudge who taught her everything worth knowing. How to read the weather in a crow's wing. How to barter with brownies. How to stay alive in a world of capricious fae courts. What Mudge couldn't teach her was how to stay out of trouble. Which is why she's entangled in a objectionable marriage of convenience.

Or would be, but her spouse bolted. Now she has to hunt down Devan J. Fenelon, but she's been saddled with a taciturn, humorless hunter known as Winter's Hound. He answers only to his cousin, and she's not looking forward to this quest at all.

Kerboros has survived the Winter Court by being exactly what they made him: relentless, invisible, and careful never to want anything at all. His life is an endless series of ceaseless commands from his reprehensible cousin, Lord Liskaal. Since his father's failed rebellion, Kerboros has been permitted to survive only as an example to others, an object lesson as to how far one may fall. But traveling with Thea - wild, warm, impossible Thea - is a glorious torment for an enforcer who has never known freedom.

She is sunshine. He is shadow.

Their love is forbidden, but when irresistible force sweeps up an immovable object, the resulting reaction might be magical..."

I mean, if the groom bolts it seems a shame to have to chase after him if you never wanted him in the first place...

Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Every wedding guest's worst nightmare is on repeat in this wild and twisty new horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of So Thirsty and Play Nice.

It's the picture-perfect wedding weekend: The venue is dreamy, the weather is beautiful, love is in the air - and Willa Sullivan is having a bad time. She's excited to celebrate her best friends' finally having the big wedding they've always wanted, but this is the first time she's seen her ex-fiancé in months, and he brought a date. Everything feels off, like she stumbled into an alternate universe. But things start to look up when Willa meets Danny, the groom's charming and single childhood best friend. When they sneak off together, their rendezvous is interrupted by a masked killer terrorizing the reception. Willa and Danny fight to save the ones they love and survive the night, but the killer is unrelenting. A final girl Willa is not.

Or is she? She wakes up and it's the morning of the wedding. She just had the most intense nightmare of her life. Only as the day unfolds, there are some uncanny coincidences that make her question whether it was really a dream, déjà vu, or something more sinister. After a horrifying turn of events, Willa comes to understand that she's stuck in a loop of carnage and terror that she must learn how to escape or else suffer a fate worse than death - being an eternal wedding guest."

I mean, as long as the cake is good and you can avoid the killer, things could be worse?

The Treasure House by Amy Matthews
Published by: Dell
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this tender-hearted novel, a single mom's fixer-upper may also open a new door to love - from the award-winning author of Someone Else's Bucket List.

Zoe Copeland and her daughter Florence need a new start. The only problem is, Zoe can't really afford one.

So when she stumbles across a listing for a charming cottage in Maine that is in her price range, she has no choice but to seize the opportunity. The catch? It's a treasure house - filled to the brim with junk, and being sold as is.

Eleven-year-old Florence, who's always longed for a room of her own, loves the old house full of cat figurines and other people's memories, but Zoe is daunted by the mess and the cost of fixing up the place. Their grumpy new neighbor, Jake, thinks Zoe's crazy for undertaking this task - though that doesn't stop him from lending a hand, and it's not long before Zoe starts daydreaming about the handsome handyman.

As the air turns crisp and fall sets in, Zoe becomes increasingly intrigued by the woman who lived in the house before them. Who was Marly, and how did her beloved home end up in such disrepair? As Zoe digs for more information, she can't help but draw parallels between herself and Marly...but what does it say about her future if she's still stuck in the past?

This was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to give Florence the security she never had. But as Zoe uncovers Marly's secrets and her own past comes crashing into the present, Zoe's life is quickly becoming even messier than the coastal house she's renovating. With her heart and her home on the line, can Zoe put all of the broken pieces of her life back together?"

How can I get a treasure house? Yes, I get it's a lot of work, but I'm up to the challenge!

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
Published by: David R. Godine Publisher
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 250 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sometimes a second chance comes in the most unexpected way....

Following the loss of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. She retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit: "Each day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle - as though even for death there is a queue."

Then, one cold winter night, a chance encounter with a mouse sets Helen on a surprising journey. Over the course of two weeks in a small English town, this reclusive widow discovers an unexpected reason to live.

Sipsworth is a reminder that there is always reason for hope. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes life has plans of its own. With profound compassion, Simon Van Booy illuminates not only a deep friendship forged between two lonely creatures, but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from that unique bond."

The littlest thing can literally change everything. 

Monday, August 19, 2024

Tuesday Tomorrow

The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the acclaimed author of the #1 international bestseller The Binding - a captivating story of Gothic suspense about a powerful family, the magical and dangerous silk their fortune is built upon, and the exploitative history they are desperately trying to hide.

1820: Sophia Ashmore-Percy reluctantly accompanies her husband James to a remote Greek island, where he searches for rare biological specimens. Once there, however, she sets on her own voyage of discovery - stumbling across the very creature he is looking for, making an unexpected connection with a local woman, and ultimately reconsidering her marriage, life, and own desires.

Decades later, audiologist Henry Latimer is sent to the home of industrialist Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy and tasked with curing the man's young daughter, Philomel, of her deafness. But Henry, eager to escape a troubled past, quickly becomes obsessed with the fascinating nature of Sir Edward's business: spinning silk with a rare and magical breed of spiders. The extraordinary silk shields sound, offering respite from bustling streets and noisy neighbors. The result is instant tranquility, as wearers experience a soothing calmness. Yet, those within earshot of the outward-facing silk are subjected to eerie murmurs that amplify with proximity. Bystanders suffer the consequences of this unnerving phenomenon, manifesting in physical and mental afflictions ranging from headaches and drowsiness to severe cases of madness.

As Henry becomes entangled in the allure of the silk and Sir Edward's charm, he glimpses a more sinister family history. The closer he ventures into the inner circle of Carthmute House, the more he unravels the horrifying underbelly of the silk business.

With Bridget Collins's signature, stunning prose, The Silence Factory is an equally enthralling and unsettling Gothic story about complicity, desire, and corruption - a novel to lose yourself in."

Oh my, silk capable of inducing insanity? How soon can I visit the looms?

Death and the Visitors by Heather Redmond
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The ties between a young Mary Shelley, her stepsister Jane "Claire" Clairmont, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the already-infamous Lord Byron grow increasingly tangled as they're drawn into a dangerous investigation in this vivid historical mystery exploring the birth of teenaged Mary's creative genius and the roots of a real-life trio who would later scandalize 19th century England even as they transformed the literary world.

1814, London Foreign diplomats are descending on London in advance of the Congress of Vienna meetings to formulate a new peace plan for Europe following Napoleon's downfall. Mary and Jane's father, political philosopher William Godwin, is hosting a gathering with an advance party of Russian royal staff. The Russians are enthusiastic followers of Mary's late mother, philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, which leads to a lively dinner discussion.

Following their visit, Jane overhears her father reassuring his pushiest creditor that the Russians have pledged diamonds to support his publishing venture, the Juvenile Library, relieving his financial burden. But when Godwin is told the man who promised the diamonds was pulled from the River Thames, his dire financial problems are further complicated by the suspicion that the family may have been involved in the murder.

Stepsisters Mary and Jane resolve to find the real killer to clear the family name. Coming to their aid is Godwin's disciple, the dashing poet Percy Shelley, who seems increasingly devoted to Mary, despite the fact that he is married. And a young woman Jane befriends turns out to be the mistress of the celebrated poet - and infamous lover - Lord Byron.

As both sisters find themselves perhaps dangerously captivated by the poets, their proximity to the truth of the Russian's murder puts them in far greater peril..."

As great a peril as falling in love and having sex on your mother's grave?

The Third Wife of Faraday House by B.R. Myers
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two brides band together to unravel the secrets at the heart of a crumbling island manor in this delicious love letter to Gothic fiction from the award-winning author of A Dreadful Splendor.

'Til death do us part...

November 1816: Restless but naive Emeline Fitzpatrick is desperate to escape her stifling life in foggy Halifax. Her guardian is lining up repugnant suitors, but Emeline has her eyes set on a lieutenant in the British Navy. She just needs to persuade him to propose, or her one chance at happiness will be gone forever.

But when Emeline's hopes end in scandal, she finds herself with only one suitor left: the wealthy and enigmatic Captain Graves. Having already lost two wives to tragic circumstances, the widower is seeking a new companion in his cloistered seaside manor, Faraday House. Or at least that is what Emeline has been told, because when she arrives, she is horrified to discover that the second Mrs. Graves, Georgina, is still alive - though fading fast.

Emeline is only certain of two things: something ghastly is afoot at Faraday House, and no one is going to save her. She will have to rely on her own courage, her burgeoning bond with Georgina, and the aid of a handsome reverend with a mysterious past to shed light on a ghostly truth."

Can't blame a man who's lost one wife to line up the third in advance of the death of the second...

A Scandal in Mayfair by Katharine Schellman
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sometimes danger lurks in plain sight, and in the cutthroat London Season socialite Lily Adler must race against time to catch a killer.

Fans of Bridgerton will delight in this Regency-era mystery featuring an intrepid sleuth, plenty of intrigue, and a touch of romance.

London, 1817. The London Season is beginning once more, and Lily Adler's return to her home on Half Moon Street feels different this year. No longer a recent widow, she has a life and friends waiting for her. Lily also has new responsibilities in the form of her protégée Amelia, the sister of her longtime friend Jack Hartley, who is escaping her own brush with scandal and murder.

It doesn't take long for Lily's growing reputation as a lady of quality who can discreetly find what is missing or solve what is puzzling to bring a desperate young woman to her doorstep. But helping her means unraveling a tangled web of family secrets. Soon, a missing will, a dead body and the threat of blackmail leave Lily facing danger every way she turns.

The glittering society of Mayfair conceals many secrets, and the back alleys of London hide even more. Lily Adler will need to find the connection between them quickly if she wants to stop a killer before it's too late."

Bridgerton but better because there's murder!

Miss Morton and the Deadly Inheritance by Catherine Lloyd
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Social standing is everything in Regency England - and no one knows better than Miss Caroline Morton, a lady's companion from a disgraced line. But when she has a chance to claim what's rightfully hers, the one obstacle in her way is a dangerous murder mystery...

Miss Caroline has doubts when she receives an urgent invitation from a London law firm to discuss her late father's estate. After all, the dishonored Earl of Morton died without a pound sterling to pass on to his two daughters. But while immersing herself in helping Mrs. Frogerton's capricious daughter navigate the high social season, Caroline meets with a cagey lawyer, Mr. Smith, who shares life-altering news - the earl composed a second will, leaving behind an undisclosed fortune.

Mrs. Frogerton, however, is thoroughly unimpressed with the firm's conduct and suspicious of their true motives. Her instinct proves right when the two ladies find the office ransacked, staff in turmoil, and Mr. Smith missing. The full weight of the situation doesn't sink in until Mr. Smith dies following a brutal attack on the street - discovered with an empty envelope bearing Caroline's name in his pocket.

With a connection forming between two deaths at the firm, Caroline can't imagine why anyone would kill twice over the contents of a will. Further complicating matters is the amorous Mr. DeBloom - who claims his mother goaded the earl into making bad investments and promises to link Caroline to her inheritance - and the disappearance of Susan, her younger sister. As Caroline unwittingly becomes the center of both a criminal case and a sordid love triangle, she must tread with caution while seeking the truth...because someone is waiting to reduce her to nothing more than a signature on a dotted line."

It might be Regency but it smacks of Wilkie Collins.

The Four by Ellie Keel
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An international bestseller!

One secret could destroy them all. The brand new dark academia debut for 2024 and a gripping tale of revenge, guilt, privilege, and loyalty, perfect for fans of The Secret History and If We Were Villains.

We were always The Four. From our very first day at High Realms.

The four scholarship pupils. Outsiders in a world of power and privilege. And, according to everyone else, we were dangerous.

It would have made our lives a lot easier if Marta had simply pushed our prefect Genevieve out of our bedroom window that day. Certainly, it would have been tragic. She would have died instantly.

But Marta didn't push her then, or - if you choose to believe me - at any other time. If she had, all of what we went through would not have happened.

I've told this story as clearly as I could - as rationally as I've been able, in the circumstances, to achieve. I don't regret what we did. And I would do it all again."

Not just the dark academia book but THE book I've been hearing buzz about all year.

Her Last Summer by Emily Freud
Published by: Quercus Publishing
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"No body. No crime?

Twenty years ago, Mari vanished while backpacking through Thailand with her boyfriend, Luke. He was accused of murder, but has always insisted he's innocent. Besides, her body was never found.

Now, he's finally ready to talk. And filmmaker Cassidy Chambers wants to be the one to uncover what really happened, back then, in the dark of the jungle.

But as she delves deeper into the past, Cassidy begins to fear what lies ahead, and the secrets buried along the way."

I love mysterious cold cases.

Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inspired by Kailee Pedersen's own journey being adopted from Nanning, China in 1996 and growing up on a farm in Nebraska, this rich and atmospheric supernatural horror debut explores an ancient Chinese mythology.

The last thing Nick Morrow expected to receive was an invitation from his father to return home. When he left rural Nebraska behind, he believed he was leaving everything there, including his abusive father, Carlyle, and the farm that loomed so large in memory, forever.

But neither Nick nor his brother Joshua, disowned for marrying Emilia, a woman of Asian descent, can ignore such summons from their father, who hopes for a deathbed reconciliation. Predictably, Joshua and Carlyle quickly warm to each other while Nick and Emilia are left to their own devices. Nick puts the time to good use and his flirtation with Emilia quickly blooms into romance. Though not long after the affair turns intimate, Nick begins to suspect that Emilia's interest in him may have sinister, and possibly even ancient, motivations.

Punctuated by scenes from Nick's adolescent years, when memories of a queer awakening and a shadowy presence stalking the farm altered the trajectory of his life forever, Sacrificial Animals explores the violent legacy of inherited trauma and the total collapse of a family in its wake."

Yep, here for the total family collapse.

She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
Published by: Daw Books
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Part science fiction, part fantasy, and entirely infused with West African culture and spirituality, this novella offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a teenager whose coming of age will herald a new age for her world. Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, this is the first in the She Who Knows trilogy.

When there is a call, there is often a response.

Najeeba knows.

She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What's just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it's not a terrible thing, just strange. So when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there's neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it's a dream come true: travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she's only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba's presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.

Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress."

I love that acceptance leads to change.

Asunder by Kerstin Hall
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sabriel meets Witch King in Nommo Award finalist Kerstin Hall's beguiling new standalone novel. A LitHub most anticipated book of 2024.

We choose our own gods here.

Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch being - three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving - who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with some very dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.

Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her shadow, an act that may doom them both. If they want to survive, they will need to learn to trust one another. Together, they must journey to the heart of a faded empire, all the while haunted by arcane horrors, and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts.

And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due."

Isn't it wonderful to sometimes just pick up a magnificent fantasy that isn't part of a series?

My Salty Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
Published by: Harperteen
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, New York Times bestselling authors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows are back with a fantastical, romantical, and piratical historical fantasy remix that marries the story of The Little Mermaid with the life and times of infamous lady pirate Mary Read.

Don't call this mermaid "little" - call her "captain," unless you want to walk the plank.

Mary is in love with the so-called prince of Charles Town, except he doesn't love her back. Which is inconvenient. Since she's a mermaid, being brokenhearted means she'll - poof! - turn into sea-foam.

But instead, Mary finds herself pulled out of the sea and up onto a pirate ship. To survive, she joins them. But Mary isn't willing to just sing the yo-ho-hos. She wants the pirate life, all of it, and she's ready to make a splash...by becoming captain. But when Blackbeard dies suddenly, Mary has a chance to become so much more: Pirate King...or Queen. She won't let anyone stop her - not Blackbeard's cute son, not her best friend from back under the sea who's having a bit too much fun with his new legs, and certainly not everyone who says she can't be a pirate just because she's a girl.

She may not be the best man for the job, but she'll definitely prove that she's worth her salt."

If you watched and fell in love with My Lady Jane and are desperately awaiting a season two pickup, good news, the authors who wrote that book have written tons of others, including this new one!

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Translated from the Japanese bestseller, a charming and magical novel that reminds us it's never too late to follow our stars.

In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they'll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon.

This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and it seemingly appears at random.

It's also run by talking cats.

While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes and coffees and teas, the cats also consult their star charts, offering cryptic wisdom, and letting them know where their lives veered off course.

Every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. For a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the coffee shop's feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. For there is a very special reason the shop appeared to each of them..."

I want to go to there.

Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
Published by: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The hardest thing for a paranormal conspiracy theorist and a web series producer to believe in is finding love in this swoony debut romantic comedy.

Hallie Barrett's life has imploded after she's dumped by her hotshot ex, who also happens to be her coworker and the star of the online series she was producing. Without a new show to present for the company competition, she'll be out of a job. But inspiration can come from the strangest places...like the most handsome guy she's ever seen passionately discussing Bigfoot on a late-night docuseries.

Hayden Hargrove made a name for himself as a cryptid expert on his hit podcast, and is intrigued by the plucky, blue-haired producer who offers him the opportunity to lead his own web show. When the production team sees that Hayden's solo on-screen presence is bad enough to make a ghost blanch, Hallie jumps on camera too, hitting him (and his cryptids) with a healthy dose of skepticism - and enough chemistry to electrify their show to the top of the competition.

As Hayden and Hallie investigate the unknown, they unearth feelings for each other that shake their beliefs to the core. In their search for Mothman, aliens, and the truth, the most elusive discovery might just be learning to love again."

Aw, cryptid love.

Rise and Divine by Lana Harper
Published by: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"To save both her town and the woman who loves her against all odds, a witch haunted by loss must reckon with her turbulent past, in the next magical romance in the Witches of Thistle Grove series by New York Times bestselling author Lana Harper.

Even in a family of chaotic necromancers, Daria "Dasha" Avramov has always been an outlier. An event planner at the Arcane Emporium occult megastore, Dasha is also a devil eater: a rare necromantic witch with an affinity for banishing demons and traversing the veil, the boundary between this realm and the next.

Still grieving the loss of both beloved parents years ago, and plagued by a dangerous obsession with the world beyond the veil, Dasha is fiery yet guarded, an expert at dodging commitment. Her worst regret is a devastating breakup with the wise, empathetic, and sensual Ivy Thorn, her event-planning counterpart at Honeycake Orchards, and probably the love of Dasha's life. Dasha has managed to break Ivy's heart not once, but twice, so things are more than a little tense between them.

When they're thrown together to plan the Cavalcade - a month-long festival celebrating Thistle Grove's ceremonial founding with dazzling spectacles held by the town's witch families - Dasha hopes that the third time might be the charm, while Ivy refuses to let herself be hurt again. As they confront the pain and passion lingering between them, Dasha and Ivy must also stand against an otherworldly threat unlike anything Thistle Grove has faced before."

Oh, what is with me falling for books with necromancers lately?

The Divide by Morgan Richter
Published by: Knopf Publishing Group
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A failed actress turned grifting psychic searches for her missing doppelgänger and is plunged into a web of murder and corruption among Hollywood A-listers.

When Jenny St. John was eighteen, she moved to Los Angeles from her rural midwestern hometown and scored the lead role in an independent film called The Divide. Under the intimate direction of young auteur Serge Grumet, Jenny was on her way to becoming the next indie darling. But then the movie tanked, and Jenny never caught a second break. Now, two decades later, after floundering on the fringes of the entertainment industry, she's barely keeping afloat running a low-level grift as a psychic life coach.

But when news surfaces that Serge has been murdered, Jenny's life is turned upside down. Unbeknownst to Jenny, Serge's ex-wife, painter Gena Santos, looks alarmingly similar to Jenny. So much so that when Gena goes missing, the cops think Jenny is Gena.

Jenny finds herself pulled into Gena's world and manages to leverage both her resemblance to Gena and her faux psychic abilities to infiltrate the affluent yet unstable inner circle of friends, which include a Korean pop idol-turned-social media star and an Oscar-winning actress-turned-wellness guru. Soon Jenny's search to find Gena unearths dark secrets about her own past while putting her squarely in the sights of a killer."

A Hollywood version of The Likeness!

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor by Darci Hannah
Published by: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of the charming Beacon Bakeshop Mysteries, the first in a new set at a haunted English manor and featuring chef Bunny MacBride, whose big break on her first reality TV show may be cut short by an unscripted murder...

It isn't how chef Bridget "Bunny" MacBride imagined her own cooking show unfolding. But, if preparing historic meals with a modern flair is what it takes to get her cooking on the air, she can deliver, even if her dinner guest is a ghost. That's the premise of the new reality TV show Food and Spirits, where Chef Bunny teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady to visit haunted locales around the world and tempt lingering spirits back to the table with a beloved meal. For their first episode, the Food and Spirits team sets off to investigate Bramsford Manor, a historic house turned famously haunted hotel, in picturesque Hampshire, England. The sprawling estate is said to be home to the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died in the 18th century, the victim of a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night.

Disliking spooks but loving food, Bunny leaves the spectral search to the pros and focuses on the feast, creating a traditional English holiday wedding dinner, complete with a gorgeous prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and rustic apple tarts. It's a sumptuous meal she hopes will entice the ghostly Mistletoe Bride to take a seat and join them while the cameras roll. But Bunny's task is made more difficult when someone steals a boning knife from her custom kit. Alas, when the blade finally turns up again - in the chest of an all-too-human dinner guest - Bunny's woes only grow as she is named a lead suspect in the case! Now, with a haunted house full of living residents, staff, and crew, Bunny will need the help of Brett, Giff, and her clairvoyant Grandma Mac, to solve this murder before the manor gains another ghost!"

It's The Supersizers... meets Ghosts!

Murder at Vinland by Alyssa Maxwell
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Reporter and sleuth Emma Cross Andrews must stop a bold poisoner who is targeting the society wives of the Four Hundred in Gilded Age Newport, Rhode Island...

August 1901: A fundraiser for a new Rhode Island Audubon Society brings Emma to Vinland, the Viking-themed seaside home of her relative, Florence Vanderbilt Twombly, where the guest of honor is Edith Roosevelt, wife of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. Listening to the speakers and observing the ladies in attendance, Emma is struck by the contrast of the Viking warrior-inspired elements in the house and the admirable but admittedly genteel cause of bird protection. Vinland bears the name of the Vikings' first landfall in North America, but in this room today there is most assuredly no one to fear.

Emma's observation of harmless philanthropy is proven wrong the following morning when one of Mrs. Twombly's houseguests from the luncheon becomes mysteriously and dangerously ill. Accompanying police detective Jesse Whyte, Emma discovers a box of petit fours supposedly sent by Mrs. Roosevelt. They promptly rule out the Second Lady as a suspect, but someone has poisoned the cakes.

Soon another box of desserts as well as letters tainted with ink containing caustic toxins show up at other grand Newport cottages. Are the ladies from the luncheon being targeted? Emma and Jesse must sort through possible motives and means because now more than the birds need protection..."

Getting the Hallmark movie wasn't enough this year. Yeah for a new volume!

The Paris Gown by Christine Wells
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From perennially popular historical novelist Christine Wells, the delightful tale of three young women in 1950s Paris who share a single dazzling Christian Dior gown.

Paris, 1955

Three friends - Claire, Gina, and Margot - who parted as very young women with their whole lives ahead of them, reunite in Paris years later, determined to start life anew.

Parisian Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef one day, but ever since the heady time she spent in the company of socialites Gina and Margot, her dream has been to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric and wealthy Madame Vaughn, who lives above Claire's family brasserie, abruptly leaves Paris, asking Claire to mind her apartment. More bafflingly, Madame Vaughn also makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown.

Meanwhile Gina, a cool American blue blood, lands on Claire's doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement after her father lost all of the family money in a risky business venture. A journalist aspiring to be a novelist, Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball in the hopes of persuading Hal Sanders, her former fiancé, to invest in her father's new business venture, she is torn. She wants to help her father, but seeing Hal again will be exquisitely painful. And what on earth is she going to wear?

Warm-hearted Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball, and after some hesitation, Gina accepts. At Dior for Gina's fitting, who should assist them but Margot, the friend they thought had gone back to Australia to be married. But Margot is living in Paris and working at Dior under an assumed name, and clearly, she is not happy to have been found.

Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?

Gorgeous, perfectly fitted, lustrous and luxurious, the Dior gown has the power to change lives - as these three remarkable women are about to discover..."

The only version of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants I'm interested in!

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an "inspiring" (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart - one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare's plays - who are both forced to hide behind another name.

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn't level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.

In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage - by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on...no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten."

We're back to the Shakespeare was a woman. And yes, it changes every few years, but this is a nice twist with the modern timeline.

The Last Witch in Edinburgh by Marielle Thompson
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Sarah Penner's The Lost Apothecary and Alix E. Harrow's The Once and Future Witches, this lush, atmospheric novel from the author of Where Ivy Dares to Grow blends witchcraft, queer love, a vibrant Edinburgh setting, and Scottish folklore for a propulsive and emotional story exploring what it means to resist the patriarchy and find your voice.

In an alternate Edinburgh of 1824, every woman lives in fear that she will be the next one hanged for witchcraft. All it takes is invoking the anger, or the desire, of the wrong person. Nellie Duncan, beautiful and unwed, keeps to herself until she encounters the Rae Women's Apothecary. There, fiery Jean Rae and the other women provide cures and teach others that they too can aid the winter deity, the Cailleach, embracing her characteristic independence, agency, and craft, in turn becoming witches themselves.

Nellie finds a place and a purpose at the shop, and a blossoming romance with Jean, as she learns about nature-based craft and a witch's ability to return to life after death. But the Cailleach has an ancient enemy intent on stripping the power of the deity and all her witches, leaving a wake of patriarchal violence and destruction. When heart-breaking disaster strikes, Nellie flees and spends the next two centuries hiding from the world - until love gives her the courage and the motivation to come back.

Nellie's past is waiting for her there, and hanging witches is no longer the only means of oppression. But this time, Nellie refuses to run - either from her foes, or from her resolve to awaken others to the unimaginable power that can come with fighting the patriarchy in its many forms - and finding one's own magical inner-strength."

I'd like to hide away for a century or two...

The Royal Palaces: Secrets and Scandals by Kate Williams and James Oses
Published by: Frances Lincoln
Publication Date: August 20th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Royal expert and TV historian Kate Williams opens the doors to 30 palaces, castles and houses that have been connected with the British royals over the centuries.

Well known for her expert insights in the media and on countless royal documentaries, Kate takes you on a tour of the UK's most fascinating palaces, past and present, to unveil the scandalous and little-known stories hidden between their walls.

Included in the book are such famous royal residences as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, but also lesser-known locations such as Falkland Palace and Beaumaris Castle. Covering the breadth of British history, there are tales from the medieval era to the present.

Among the palaces included are:

  • St James's Palace, wedding venue for the disastrous union of Caroline of Brunswick and the debauched Prince of Wales, George IV, who turned up drunk and already secretly married.
  • Holyroodhouse, where staff once ran a flourishing side hustle, charging visitors money to see the bloodstains from the murder of Mary, Queen of Scots' secretary in the queen's chamber.
  • Whitehall Palace and Banqueting Hall, home to Charles II's secret laboratory, where he tried to create an elixir of youth using human skulls.
  • Tower of London, the site of the unsolved mystery of the 'Princes in the Tower' - the disappearance of the two young sons of Edward IV.
  • Glamis Castle, the inspiration for Shakespeare's Macbeth.
  • Greenwich Palace, where Elizabeth I survived an assassination attempt when poison was placed in her saddle.
  • Windsor Castle, where princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were evacuated to during the Second World War, with a secret biscuit tin full of the Crown Jewels.
  • Marlborough House, home of Sarah Churchill, the passionate confidante of Queen Anne, before her cousin Abigail usurped her as the new favourite.
Revel in the glory and glamour of royal life, as well as the salacious scandals that defined these palaces. The book is vividly brought to life by numerous beautiful illustrations by James Oses, and will be irresistible to anyone interested in British royalty and the history of the United Kingdom."

For the Anglophile in all of us.

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