strange and random happenstance

The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City by Susanna Clarke
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

'He had already served three kings. He did not see why he should not be useful to a fourth.'

During the conquest of Northern England, the fairy host sweeps across the countryside. The city of Durham finds itself surrounded. But the encircling forces are not fairies, nor even other humans, but trees that trap the city within an eerie wood.

Ranulf, Bishop of Durham - a consummate politician - understands that the survival of the Northern English people depends on his finding a way to unite the two races, human and fairy. And he's not averse to improving his own position at the same time. With these aims in view, he sets off for the New Castle, in search of the new King - the leader of the fairy host, rumored to be a mysterious human boy, no more than fourteen years old, who speaks no word of any human language.

Set 700 years before the events of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is a bewitching, must-have addition to any fantasy reader's shelf, featuring beautiful illustrations throughout."

Whenever Susanna Clarke writes a short story everyone is hoping against hope that it is directly tied into the epic tale of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I can put your minds at ease, it is. Though from the timeline I think you'll understand it's someone important to that book's backstory. 

Royal Witch by Philippa Gregory
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Royal Witch: the gripping new novel from the international bestselling author.

Ambition. Sorcery. Treason. How far will one woman dare to go?

1420. Eleanor Cobham arrives at the court of Henry V. Pretty but not highborn, she hopes for nothing more than to marry well.

It is a golden age for England, its royal family's dynasty stretching across Europe. But chaos waits in the shadows. Betrayals and shifts of power change the flourishing world Eleanor has stepped into.

Working in the household of a Countess who commands her own army, Eleanor begins to see for the first time what a woman is capable of…what men's promises are truly worth.

As the safe, comfortable future she'd envisioned begins to shift, Eleanor changes with it. Now she must use her wits to survive - and to rise. Her newfound ambition will to carry her further than any woman before has dared. But if she is to rule England itself, she will need to turn to darker arts..."

I love that Philippa Gregory's stance is that if the people of the time viewed someone as a witch, well then she can write them as a witch. 

The Slantwise Histories by Alix E. Harrow
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Dive into a dazzling collection of short fiction from Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of The Everlasting and Starling House.

These are stories about the past as it wasn't quite, but might have been - or could still be.

These are stories about dreamers and liars and lovers and ghosts; people just like you.

These are stories about places the world has seen, and some that hide just beyond the periphery of possibility.

Most of all, these are stories for anyone who ever wanted more.

What's a legend, except a history told slantwise?

The Slantwise Histories: Collected Stories presents the best known short fiction of Alix. E. Harrow, including the Hugo-award winning "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" as well as five all-new stories. The collection also includes the author's preferred text of previously published stories "The Long Way Up", "Roadside Attraction", "Mr. Death", "The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly", "The Sycamore and the Sybil", "Do Not Look Back, My Lion", "The Whisper in the Weld", "Dustbaby", and Amazon Original short stories, "The Six Deaths of the Saint" and "The Knight and the Butcherbird.""

I am not a fan of short stories. Too short is my opinion. But when they're written by the likes of Alix E. Harrow, bring them on.

The Chosen Ones by Jasmine Ahmad
Published by: Jasmine Ahmad
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 370 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For centuries, witches have lived among humans, hidden in plain sight - their magic passed down through bloodlines, their existence shrouded in secrecy.

Then, the fear of mere mortals nearly destroyed them, and one witch paid the ultimate price, her death meant to protect the future of witch kind.

Generations later, that future has arrived.

Carmen Jimenez knew her daughters' magic was different. Powerful. Dangerous. From the moment they were born, she understood their twin destinies.

The Chosen Ones.

Carmen spent her life preparing them for the darkness hunting them all. But when she sacrifices herself to ensure their kind's survival, the countdown to the end begins.

The underworld eagerly awaits, and now, the Jimenez sisters may be the only witches powerful enough to stop the danger rising from beneath their world.

Even if it costs them everything."

The most important things cost everything.

The Haunting of Lavender House by Natalie Kikić
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A crumbling home surrounded by lavender fields. A decades-long curse. A nightmare from Croatian folklore with a thirst for blood. The Lost Apothecary meets The Hacienda in this multigenerational, haunting gothic saga set on the Adriatic Sea.

2026. All Petra has inherited are tales of loss. Which is why, after her mother's passing, she is shocked to learn that her grandmother is not dead like she's always believed, but alive and living on Tolba, a small island in Croatia. Desperate to find her last surviving family member, Petra ventures to her ancestral home, famed for its sprawling lavender fields. While she's happy to be reunited with her grandmother, rarely does a night go by that Petra doesn't lose herself to vivid nightmares and the dizzying sense that something - or someone - is always watching in Lavender House.

1895. Whore. Sinner. Witch. No matter how many people Magdalena heals, the rumors persist. So, when she's asked to help the matriarch of Lavender House, she seizes the opportunity to rehabilitate her reputation. As Magdalena races against time to heal the ailing woman, she finds herself unexpectedly falling for the son of her greatest enemy, the man responsible for her ostracization. But are true love and acceptance possible for a woman who has always lived on the margins?

Back in the present, Petra finds it increasingly difficult to ignore the rumors plaguing her family: that a mora, a spirit from Croatian folklore, haunts Lavender House for revenge. As the sole heir to Lavender House, Petra must discover the truth of her inheritance, or else fall prey to the same curse that claimed her family.

Through the intersecting stories of Petra and Magdalena, Natalie Kikic's gorgeous debut asks us to consider the lengths to which we go to belong, the cost of choosing love, and what it really means to be a monster."

And also, what creates that "monster."

A Lady's Guide to Vampire Hunting by Michelle Maxstoke
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: eBook, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the gaslit dark, love is never tender. It's teeth at your throat. Blood on silk. It is the sweetest surrender - and the most exquisite damnation.

By day Lady Euphemia Butterworth is a dutiful daughter - corseted, perfumed, and groomed to marry a lecherous duke twice her age. By night, she dreams of freedom, the dangerous thrill of adventure and a life not dictated by men with money and cruel smiles. But when a vampire attack shatters her world, Effie is branded hysterical, locked away and desperate to prove the truth.

Liam Rafferty has ghosts of his own. Ex-orphan, ex-boxer, ex-patient of the asylum, he stalks the shadows as a reluctant hunter, his body inked with sins and his soul fraying at the edges. He finds refuge in a travelling circus, but it cannot silence the devil whispering in his ear - or the fangs waiting in the dark.

When Effie's gilded cage collides with Liam's world, the sparks are as dangerous as the bite of the monsters they hunt..."

Rule number one, if you think you've encountered a vampire, do not, I repeat, do not tell someone who has the power to have you locked up.

My Darling Girls by Marina Scott
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 251 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In 1904 Chicago, where secrets cling as thickly as the soot on every windowsill, Jo earns her living by photographing the dead. The work is quiet and cloistered, allowing her to hide from a past that haunts her: the grief over her husband's mysterious death, a spiraling addiction, and the guilt she carries over the things she's done to survive.

When a notorious crime family hires Jo to make a final portrait of their daughter Millie, it stirs up a spirit that refuses to rest. In opium-fueled dreams, Millie lures Jo into a realm called "the courtyard," where the dead burn to tell her their half-finished stories.

As Jo investigates Millie's murder, she forms a fragile bond with her sister, Grace, who's desperate for an escape of her own. Amid the whispers of the dead is a truth Jo must confront if she is to free them all from the shadows of the past."

So deliciously dark for this time of year!

Needlemouth by K-Ming Chang
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the award-winning author of Bestiary, three cousins are forced to complete an impossible and violent task set by a vengeful demon.

Cousins Cindy, Yangyang, and Mandy's hot, tedious summer unfolds in their grandmother's hauntingly familiar house. Mandy, the eldest, seeks connection online and exchanges emails with a stranger. Yangyang, the youngest, retreats into her own imagination in search of meaning. But every morning Cindy wakes with strange objects in her mouth: a button, a berry, a coin.

One night, a starved figure with a mouth the size of a needle-tip appears at Cindy's bedside. She is hunger-afflicted, a demon with no descendants to feed from: she is Needlemouth. Part vampire, part hungry ghost, Needlemouth forces the girls into a grim task to end a man's life.

Cindy, Yangyang, and Mindy are plunged in and out of the demon realm, where they are called to break out of the indifference and numbness of their claustrophobic worlds, and where they are met with the most rageful and resistant parts of themselves. In a quest to satisfy the demon's hunger, they unravel their shared grief and reckon with the cyclical violence that shaped their family. For readers of Akwaeke Emezi and Carmen Maria Machado, K-Ming Chang has crafted a reimagined coming of age novel that asks: what does it mean to become the monster instead of slaying it?"

Another shudder inducing read.

Is It There or Not? by Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Naoko Machida
Published by: VIZ Media LLC
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""It's dark up there...I couldn't stop wondering what was up there."

Deceptively simple picture books with sinister stories.

You went to live with Grandma in her rambling old house. High above the rafters is a world of darkness. You can't shake the feeling that something is lurking there.

Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Naoko Machida spin a riveting web of fear of the unknown."

Images can inspire fear more than words.

The Boy Behind the Wardrobe by Suzanne Poulter Harris and Mira Miroslavova
Published by: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 56 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lonely, imaginative boy becomes the world-renowned author of The Chronicles of Narnia in this spellbinding biography of C.S. Lewis.

Once a boy was born to make stories: C.S. Lewis. He insisted on being called "Jack" and loved to write and draw with his older brother. But after his mother died, he was shipped to boarding school, where he longed for real friends and sought refuge in books. And words and stories would strengthen him during World War I, connect him to bookish friends like J.R.R. Tolkien, and drive him toward his destiny as a world-renowned author...

With lyrical words from Suzanne Poulter Harris and lush, fantastical art from Mira Miroslavova, The Boy Behind the Wardrobe goes beyond the traditional picture book biography to explore the history and emotional trajectory of a child who struggled to fit in, yet created books beloved by millions around the globe. Like the wardrobe transporting the Pevensies to Narnia, this biography will transport readers into Lewis's solitary childhood, his fantastic imagination, and his journey of hope. An author's note, timeline, bibliography, and other back matter offer additional insights into Jack's life and inspiration.

The Boy Behind the Wardrobe is Suzanne Poulter Harris's debut picture book, shaped by the echoes of Narnia that she found in her homeland of Northern Ireland."

I've always found C.S. Lewis more lyrical and a better writer than Tolkien, even if Narnia went a bit too religious for me in the end. This book is a wonderful insight into his becoming.

Black Moon by Stephen Wright
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An utterly wild, debauched, romantic, and violent ride inspired by the 18th-century Irish pirate Anne Bonny, reimagined here as Amethyst "Meeks" Connell, one of the most extraordinary outlaws of any age. For readers of George Saunders, Percival Everett, and Maggie O'Farrell.

Meeks is a poor Irish orphan whose energy, wit, and native sensitivity to the "main chance" take her to the unlikeliest of places. She marries into the aristocracy and follows her war-besotted husband into the latest of England and France's seemingly endless scrapes where her husband is killed and she, on her way home, is taken prisoner by pirates, resulting in a tryst with the pirate captain that sets in motion an unlikely turn of events, leading her to join his crew. Upon the open sea, her ambition and cunning become her greatest assets as she reinvents herself anew.

From Irish reformatories to the battlefields of Europe to the swashbuckling high seas, Black Moon introduces a character you'll never forget in an adventurous world you'll never want to leave. Throughout Meeks' globe-spanning narrative, we come to know a heroine of unconquerable ambition, boundless intelligence, and insatiable appetite - and to recognize a lawless, brutal, and bounteous world much like our own."

If Becky Sharp boarded a ship.

The Queen's Command by Sarah Raughley
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Inheritance Games meets Bridgerton in the riveting companion novel to The Queen's Spade, where our heroine must play a deadly game and risk everything to get to the truth that's poisoning Victorian England's royal court.

Favored by Queen Victoria, Vicky Davies has survived royal courts, financial ruin, and the loss of her mother, Sarah Forbes Bonetta - the famous African princess turned royal goddaughter - but Cheltenham Ladies' College is about to test her in new and wicked ways.

Every Thursday evening, the senior girls play a secret game and Vicky just became their latest pawn. Truths must be confessed, commands obeyed, and whoever claims the coveted title of winner will have her wish granted, no matter how outrageous and seemingly impossible it may be.

But when the game yields frightening and fatal results, Vicky vows to put an end to this ghoulish tradition that twists minds and makes enemies out of friends. With dangerous foes closing in and truths that could shatter her world clawing to the surface, Vicky must uncover the secrets buried not only in Cheltenham but by her own mother. In a school where survival is a gamble, will she emerge victorious - or fall victim to its deadly game?"

Well if her mother in this book is anything like how she's portrayed in A Thousand Blows.... Watch out!

The Betrayal of Cora Wexford by Bethany Joy Lenz
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Dinner for Vampires, Bethany Joy Lenz, comes a romantic psychological suspense set in Victorian-era London amidst the Jack the Ripper murders.

1880s London. Cora Wexford is alone at thirty-eight, with secrets that drove her to flee life in America and come to London. Now, she makes a living by painting the dead. On the evening of her birthday, she is introduced through friends to a charming stranger named Miles Vale. As Cora falls deeper into trust and surrender with Miles, she's given an opportunity to catapult her career. A suffragist and esteemed gallery owner commission Cora to create a series of portraits featuring ordinary women whose recent deaths have been caused or enabled by a system that ignores them. Then a killer in Whitechapel begins murdering women in the same gruesome way.

As Cora works tirelessly to honor the victims of this "Jack the Ripper," she finds herself increasingly disoriented within her own relationship. Her unraveling leads to one question: will anyone notice a woman being dismantled over time by someone sharing her bed?

The Betrayal of Cora Wexford is a haunting novel of psychological suspense that examines themes of desire, manipulation and community complicity, showing how easily someone surrounded by witnesses can disappear - and how truly terrifying love can be."

I need an ARC of this book! I NEED IT! The artist and Ripperologist in me needs it!

The Body at Waterloo Station by Emily Organ
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 292 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A murdered clerk. A body at Waterloo. A letter with a deadly secret.

London, 1889. In the gloomy Dead Letter Office at St Martin's Le Grand, young clerk Andrew Peverell spends his days sorting through letters that never found their intended reader. When three anonymous notes cross his desk - each inviting a stranger to a public house near Buckingham Palace - Andrew makes a decision that will cost him his life.

Four days later, a foul smell leads to a black leather trunk in Waterloo Station's left-luggage office. Inside is Andrew's body.

When the story reaches the morning papers, Emma Langley recognises the victim's name - a man her late brother once knew as a boy. Together with her friend Penny Green, she sets out to find the truth. Their investigation takes them from the hushed rooms of the Dead Letter Office to the grand halls of Marlborough House, where a footman has vanished and a menacing lawyer is hunting him down.

But the truth about Andrew's death lies somewhere no one has thought to look. And by the time Emma understands what she is really searching for, the killer is closer than she has ever imagined..."

Huh. Naming a murder victim after a Harry Potter character sure is a choice.

Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas - a sweeping, richly layered Victorian novel about a trailblazing female economist who's determined to build Britain's first women's bank, but she must fight both financial corruption and a system intent on destroying the newly found family she's created.

In Victorian England, no woman - not even a brilliant economist like Reina Martin - is allowed to open her own bank account. Men will take care of everything, women are told. But Reina knows better. As the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish immigrant mother, she's haunted by the memory of living with unpaid grocer's bills and no coal for the hearth.

So together with her mentor, the powerful banker William Farlow, Reina will build the first all-women's bank, where women can manage their own financial security.

At home, Reina's domestic staff of recently paroled prisoners are building new lives and becoming a found family. But soon Reina is shocked to discover that her enigmatic butler, John Pembroke, is an undercover police detective. He's been assigned to investigate Farlow, who's suspected of financial crime on a scale so massive, it could destabilize the British economy. Pembroke needs Reina's expertise for a high-stakes nighttime heist to obtain incriminating evidence.

Now Reina faces the agonizing choice of betraying her mentor or turning her back on thousands of working-class families who stand to lose everything. Either way, her dream of the women's bank may be over.

But courage and sacrifice aren't limited to the battlefield - they also occur at the kitchen table, where women who believe in compassion and community are working to remake the future. And when the stakes are highest, Reina knows to trust her heart as well as her intellect.

Based on real-life trailblazers such as Mary Paley Marshall, Britain's first female economist, and financial titan Hetty Green, Queen of Lombard Street brings to light the hidden history of extraordinary women whose achievements should be celebrated. How can we know who we are, if we don't know who we were?"

Lisa Kleypas in her Barbara Taylor Brandford era!

The Queen of Roses by Julia Kelly
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Spanning the ballrooms of Pasadena and the sunlit gardens of Altadena, a new novel of love and sacrifice from the internationally bestselling author of The Light Over London and The Last Garden in England.

1960: Frustrated reporter Theresa Johnson's life changes when she receives a phone call from a Miss Pearce who claims her obituary about one of Pasadena's last great hoteliers is wildly inaccurate. Seeking the truth, Theresa drives to the mysterious Rosewood House nestled high in the Altadena foothills. Even more intriguing than the house's beautiful garden is Miss Pearce's proposal that Theresa help her settle old scores by writing her biography.

1903: Beautiful but haughty, Adele Pearce is reluctant to leave the London Season and her last hope of a proposal. When she arrives in California, she discovers the startling truth of why her mother has called her there: her father has squandered his fortune and Adele must marry a wealthy American to save the family.

Stifled by expectation as Pasadena's newest doyenne, Adele's only comfort is Rosewood House and the beautiful garden she creates with the help of taciturn gardener Alexander Macalister. However, as Adele's feelings for Alex flourish, a fire ignites in the San Gabriel Mountains above Rosewood House, threatening everything Adele holds dear, while in 1960, Miss Pearce learns that history has a terrible habit of repeating itself."

Of course she falls for the gardener. Honestly I would too.

Miss Wolcott's Ghost by Louise Penny
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Armand Gamache returns!

"There's a body in Lost Nation."

"Where?" demands Armand as he scribbles on the pad by his bed.

But the line goes dead before Chief Inspector Gamache can question the caller.

The head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec has no idea where Lost Nation is, or who woke him in the small hours of the morning at his home in Three Pines. What he does know is that the man was terrified.

And so Armand is thrust out of a deep sleep and into the surrounding forests in search of the mythical Lost Nation. And a body.

When he and his team of Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste find both, the situation only grows more bizarre. The unidentified dead man appears to be from an era more than a century old. He's lying in a long-abandoned cemetery, on top of a grave with a date, but no name.

Adding to the mystery, the early morning call appears to have come from Gamache's friend and neighbor, Clara Morrow. While she denies any knowledge of it, it becomes clear there is some connection between her, the Morrow family, and Lost Nation.

Soon, Gamache and his team are faced with tracking down not just the legend of Lost Nation, but a lost ship, lost documents belong to an eccentric Victorian botanist, and a mysterious plant not seen in a century, that might save, or take, countless lives.

As the murder investigation deepens, nightmarish spectres from the past begin to haunt the Sûreté officers, only heightened by the appearance of one of Gamache's former and now disgraced proteges, with whom he must form an uneasy alliance.

As the ghosts begin to gather, Gamache, Beauvoir, and Lacoste, with the help of Reine-Marie, Clara, and the other villagers of Three Pines, realize that the body on the grave is far from the only death. To solve the crime and avert catastrophe they must look to rancid secrets and old lies no longer dead and buried."

Score! Victorian botanist and a mysterious plant not seen in a hundred years!

The Key to a Killer by Olivia Blacke
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman and her ghost roommate investigate their most personal case yet in Olivia Blacke's The Key to a Killer, the next book in the Anthony Award winning Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries.

When Ruby Young discovered that her Boston apartment was haunted, she did what any reasonable person would do: befriend the ghost. Their relationship overcame a shaky start - Cordelia Graves never wanted a roommate in life, she certainly didn't want one in death. After working together to solve a few murders, the two are close friends, but there's a lingering question neither of them have been able to answer: what led to Cordelia's death?

Lately things have been adding up that suggest foul play. And when Cordelia's memories of that day start to come back, the roommates can't ignore it anymore: Cordelia was murdered. Ruby and Cordelia are going to have to piece together what Cordelia's final days looked like - otherwise a killer could go free."

Just saying, you'd think that solving Cordelia's death might be more urgent than to wait until the third book...

A Reunion to Die For by K.J. Whittle
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"They all wanted their bully dead. Now someone's granted the wish. From the author of Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests comes the twisted tale of a school reunion turned murderous - and the suspects must catch the real killer before they're framed. Perfect for fans of Benjamin Stevenson and We Solve Murders.

In a dingy pub, a high school reunion brings five old friends back together. As they catch up after twenty years, painful memories surface, all centered around the disastrous prom night that broke them all apart and the school bully at the heart of it all. King of the class turned handsome sport superstar, Eric Stewart poses as a charming local celebrity, but his old friends know of his hidden cruel streak that made each of them miserable. The more they drink, the more a morbid plan takes shape, with everyone tossing in ideas for how they could get the ultimate form of revenge.

The next morning, heads-pounding and hearts racing, they discover Eric has been found dead, exactly the way they drunkenly planned it.

When a cryptic, anonymous message containing a recording of their conversation from the night before starts to circulate, the group knows they need to act, and fast. Who was listening to them? Who arranged the reunion? And, most importantly, who carried out their murderous plans? Soon, they find themselves dragged into a series of sinister games devised to reveal the truth about prom night and Eric's death. Before they become the main suspects, the group will need to share their secrets from all those years ago, or risk going down for murder."

Things are going to get messy!

The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson
Published by: Union Square and Co.
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this festive whodunit, set in a cozy snowed-in country house, an innocent mystery game goes horribly wrong, leaving the real-life couple who invented the game Clue to solve a real murder.

It is Christmas Eve, 1943, when Anthony and Elva Pratt arrive at a snowy English country house to host a murder mystery game, but instead find themselves solving a real murder.

The Pratts had planned on a festive game to liven up the dreary wartime atmosphere, where guests using prop weapons as clues would explore the house to solve the whodunnit.

It is all fun and games until Anthony discovers the cook's sister Miss Silver beaten to death, leaving the sleuthy couple to solve an all-too-real murder. The hotel manager Mr. Browning is trying to keep calm, but the guests are agitated, Colonel Colman seizes the opportunity to take over the hotel for the war effort - and the enigmatic Mrs. Threadgold's whereabouts remain a mystery.

Snowed-in with a murderer in their midst, the Pratts must investigate the novel's colorful cast. But can they solve this Christmas mystery before someone else is killed?"

This is the number one book I'm reading this Christmas! Country House and Clue!?! 

Death Under the Hammer by E.C. Bateman
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: eBook, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brilliant new whodunnit from fan favourite E.C. Bateman, perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton and Richard Osman!

It may be the season of goodwill, but when auctioneer Felicia Grant finds herself in the frame for murder, suddenly life doesn't feel so festive...."

For those who want a festive murder and are going through Lovejoy withdrawal. AKA, this was written for me.

Daphne and Me by Jane Leeves and Isabella Kathryn Coben
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Oh, hello! Caught me with me hand in the biscuit tin!"

With one iconic line, Daphne Moon burst onto the set of Frasier and Jane Leeves's life changed forever. A former ballerina from a small English town that David Hyde Pierce lovingly nicknamed "Muffin-on-Poot," Leeves perfectly embodied her character - a live-in physical therapist for Frasier Crane's father and a quirky, down-to-earth foil to pompous Frasier and his equally pretentious brother, Niles.

In Daphne and Me, Leeves offers a surprising, behind-the-scenes look at Frasier, filled with unexpected stories from the show's eleven seasons and beyond. She opens the door to the fabled - and shockingly cramped - greenroom, where John Mahoney started each morning with a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper, and where the tight quarters quickly bonded the cast into a family. (Nothing brings people together like sharing a bathroom.) She recounts the times Kelsey Grammer broke his scene-mates by delivering lines in a spot-on Bette Davis impression, and how Moose - the talented terrier who starred as Eddie - was a holy terror on set and upstaged the entire cast with his popularity, even flying in first class.

As Daphne and Niles were falling head over heels for each other in a great television romance, Leeves was finding her true love on the Paramount lot, too, and when she started a family of her own, it was Peri Gilpin who held her hand in the hospital.

Written with Leeves's daughter Isabella, Daphne and Me is the story of a young woman taking a risk, discovering herself, and finding a family on and off screen, and a love letter to one of the most successful sitcoms of all time."

I adore the cover for this book so much, the sketch looks so much like Niles it's eerie. 

Last Night I Dreamed of Home by Sophie Li
Published by: Norton Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After botching the only exam that matters in China, Alice arrives at college eager to party like the North Americans on TV - not to hang out with a studious boy who reminds her why she left home.

All Haoran wants is a business degree. His father has spent all his money sending Haoran overseas, and in return, he must graduate and find a stable job. If only he could get rid of the nagging itch to draw a comic book.

From burnt cooking, a stuck elevator, and late-night bubble tea, Alice and Haoran's unlikely friendship promises something more - unless their differences drive them apart. When a creative opportunity arrives, Haoran must choose between his passion and his family, and Alice must discover her own identity or lose touch with her roots altogether.

Last Night I Dreamed of Home is a richly nuanced and sweetly satisfying rom-com from a brilliant new graphic novel creator."

Can I get a late-night bubble tea?

The Little Shop of Gentle Magics by Jessica Rosenberg
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 300 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Meg MacIntosh comes from a long line of kitchen witches - women who can work miracles with a pinch of flour and a ray of moonlight. But there's nothing magical about Meg, or the beautiful hand-decorated sugar cookies she pours her heart into.

When her marriage falls apart, instead of going home to the family she never fit into, Meg impulsively buys a run-down tea shop in the tiny Scottish town of Banhaven.

Then Art walks through the door. One perfect date back home was all it took for Meg to feel truly seen - and to panic and end things. Now, thanks to a job transfer, a very meddling assistant and a housing disaster, he's suddenly here. With his two kids.

Before Meg can talk herself out of it, the rooms above her shop are full: a moody teenager, a boisterous five-year-old, a stray cat, and a man who already feels like home. It's all happening so fast. But as visions start to swirl in her teacup, Meg begins to wonder if some things are simply meant to be...

Falling apart isn't the end...it's the beginning. With the right people by your side, what comes next is magical. Perfect for fans of The Ex Hex and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches."

Oh, I really am feeling the vibe that falling apart is the beginning. 

Enchanted Village by Lily Starling
Published by: Avon a
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A cozy, magical, slice-of-life holiday romance set in a village adjacent to a magic school - if the Dream Harbor series were set at Hogsmeade!

I solemnly swear not to fall in love...

Silas Birchwood wasn't sure what to expect when he joined Emberwind Academy as the school's first non-magical teacher. But he knows he's found his calling, even if his wand-wielding pupils struggle with the scientific method.

Living in Hex Hollow, the quirky village adjacent to the magical school, certainly has its charms - most notably Margaret Nettle, the witch proprietor of The Toasty Owl. Every night, villagers gather in the glow of the fireplace to sip her warming magical drinks.

Margaret has devoted her life to running the pub left to her by her beloved mother and grandmother, even if it stings living so close to the magical school that rejected her.

When a rival bar opens across the street, Silas is determined to help Margaret save her business. And despite herself, Margaret finds herself warming to the man who can fix anything in her pub - with a smile that melts her grumpy heart.

When the secret to her magical drinks is stolen, Margaret fears she's destroyed her family's legacy. Can Silas help her see what he's always known…that the magic was hers all along?"

A bit tone-deaf to be so overtly Harry Potter fanfic. 

Creatures and Corridors by Brandon Auman and Andrea Mutti
Published by: The Lab Press
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 120 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the line between player and character disappears, a group of friends must face the consequences of the game they started.

In the summer of 1992, a forbidden role-playing game, Creatures and Corridors, takes a dark turn for five high school students, warping reality into a nightmarish fantasy. With orcs, tentacled horrors, and deadly traps, their living room, yard, and basement become a battleground. Now, they must navigate the game's perilous challenges, playing for their lives under the sinister scrutiny of a devilish Gamemaster. Blending fantasy, horror, and tabletop RPG storytelling, Creatures and Corridors explores what happens when survival becomes part of the story."

Here for everything RPG right now!

Goblin Market by A.J. Hackwith
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A goblin changeling caught between the human and fey worlds must find a way to save her home in this warm and heartfelt fantasy from the author of Toto and the Hell's Library series.

Being a changeling is hard enough, but Toast was older than most changeling children when her goblin parents stole her back from her human family and returned her to the harsh, bustling world of the Goblin Market, where anything from your fondest dream to your strongest talent can be bought - or sold.

Nearly a decade later, Toast has grudgingly cobbled together a life there as the Market's guide for mortal visitors. But when the next arrival is her long-lost sister and the ancient beast whose magic the Market depends on disappears under strange circumstances, everything starts falling apart.

Now the Market itself is dying. With the Summer Court of noble fey plotting to claim the weakened Market for themselves, Toast, her friends, and an infuriatingly charming fey knight with an agenda of her own must negotiate their differences to make the trade of a lifetime and win back the Market's future. To do so, Toast will have to decide what home - and the flawed community within - is ultimately worth."

I've always wondered how I would have fared as a goblin changeling. 

Knight of the God King by Lauren Blackwood
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A powerful knight and her handsome squire must stop the deadly schemes of a savior king in this romantic fantasy of dark deeds and court intrigue.

Calliope's wish has always been to become a knight, an elite healer and protector who uses music to summon magic. Yet despite her exceptional skill, she's stuck lifting up her talentless cousin, whose family begrudgingly took Cali in as a child. But when an opportunity to become the royal knight of the immortal God King arrives, Cali finally gets a chance at a fairytale life - until her cousin blackmails her.

Forced to bring her cousin to court so she won't share Cali's shameful past, Cali immediately snubs Beric, the alluring, handsome squire tending to her. Now she must contend with his ire, even while feeling helplessly drawn to him. If that wasn't enough, her duty means accompanying the king into The Dark, a demonic entity that only the king's magic is powerful enough to battle - a fight he has been waging for centuries. She must also keep the king's secret under pain of death: He's not a god at all, and the only thing keeping him alive is the magic held by the royal knight. It seems serving the God King isn't a fairytale at all, and when people start dying around her, she and Beric realize that they have no choice but to take their fate - and that of an entire kingdom - into their own hands.

In Lauren Blackwood's thrilling fantasy, Knight of the God King, a knight's power and her squire's love are the only things that can help her defeat a man playing at being a god."

When your leader isn't capable of leading you might be the one who has to save the kingdom. Never forget, you have the power.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A.J. Hackwith, Alix E. Harrow, Emily Organ, Jane Leeves, Jessica Rosenberg, Julia Kelly, K.J. Whittle, Lauren Blackwood, Lily Starling, Lisa Kleypas, Louise Penny, Nicola Upson, Olivia Blacke, Philippa Gregory, Susanna Clarke

The Salt King by Natasha Pulley
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: August 18th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

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
To Buy

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