strange and random happenstance

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Swept away to a magical kingdom, one woman's fate is to be the Elf King's bride...or watch everything she's ever known fall to ruin.

Fall in love with the Elf King in this enchanting installment of the Married to Magic novels - swoonworthy, escapist standalone reads that combine wondrous fantasy worlds with slow-burn romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Arcana Academy.

Luella lives in a quiet village near the border of the land of the humans and the realm of magic, where the townsfolk keep its heavy secret:

The elves come for war or wives.

Once every generation, the Elf King enters Luella's village to take a bride to be his Human Queen, fulfilling a centuries-old treaty that prevents the destruction of humanity itself.

Luella never thought she'd be that woman. Independent, caring, and fiercely devoted to her people, she's content in her quiet life as a humble herbalist. But when the Elf King arrives - icy, proud, and dangerously handsome - he claims her, and everything changes.

Now, Luella finds herself in the Elf King's domain, Midscape: a land filled with wild magic and unexpected beauty. But Midscape is dying, and only Luella can save it.

There's more to Luella than she ever imagined, and more to her fate than she dared dream. As the power of Midscape's Human Queen stirs within her, so does an unexpected passion. The kingdom has found a way into her heart… as has its mysterious Elf King himself.

Luella didn't choose to be the Human Queen. But will she choose to love her new kingdom - and her new husband?

Includes a bonus scene, "Springtime Rites," from Eldas' point of view."

I definitely need something escapist right about now and well, moving to a dying magical realm seems like a viable option at this point.

Burn the Kingdom Down by Addie Thorley
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An action-packed enemies-to-lovers romantasy filled with a romance that will leave you breathless, betrayals that will rip your heart out, and a princess who will stop at nothing for revenge.

One year ago, Rowenna Harrack, the crown princess of Tashir, left her homeland in a wedding dress of chains - sent away to the enemy nation of Vanzador as a captive bride.

Now, Rowenna is dead. Brought home in a coffin after an alleged fall from a cliff.

Second-born princess, Indira, knows her sister's death was no accident. Desperate for truth and vengeance, Indira agrees to wed the prince so she can infiltrate Vanzador, find Rowenna's murderer, and burn their kingdom to the ground.

Indira's plan is simple, she will make nice until she can find out how to avenge her sister and free her country from the rival nation's stranglehold. But when Indira arrives, nothing is as terrible as Rowenna described. As Indira grows closer to her new husband, Prince Alaric, and uncovers more about Vanzador, the source of its powers, and what happened during Rowenna's final days, she's no longer sure what - and who - to believe. Because everyone, even her sister, has secrets. Deadly ones."

Maybe sometimes a fall from a cliff is just a fall from a cliff...

Year of the Mer by L.D. Lewis
Published by: S and S/Saga Press
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dark, bloody epic fantasy reimagining of The Little Mermaid that goes far beyond the fairy tale to explore family legacy, war, and what we will sacrifice for vengeance - the perfect read for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and Circe.

The fairy tale mermaid Arielle might have gotten her happily-ever-after, but her granddaughter Yemi is having a much harder time. Her father, the king of Ixia, was assassinated years ago, her mother is slowly dying of a poisoned wound, and she faces whispers and slights from her own people. Yemi has been raised as the shield of the kingdom and is soon to inherit the throne, but she cannot shake her fury at how Ixia has treated her family after all they've sacrificed. Only her patient mother and steadfast personal bodyguard (and fiancée), Nova, help Yemi rein in that fury...most of the time.

When the kingdom's discontented rumblings reach a fever pitch, a coup erupts and Yemi's throne is usurped, stripping her of her family and forcing her into exile. Now, only one being has the power to help her: Ursla.

Like her grandmother before her, Yemi is tempted by a deal with the sea-witch. With powerful and ancient magic behind her, Yemi could avenge her family, take back her throne, and protect the love of her life. But she should know more than anyone that there is always a price. As much as Yemi wants vengeance, Ursla has been waiting a very, very long time for her own - and it may take more fortune than Yemi possesses to keep her from losing everything all over again."

Because the original tale is so much darker than Disney I am ALWAYS here for a dark reimagining of The Little Mermaid. 

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A former changeling must return to the land of the Fae to right a bargain that's gone terribly wrong in this delightful cozy fantasy debut packed full of charm, adventure, romance and heart.

When Poppy Hill was a child she was stolen from her family's Montana homestead and taken to the land of the fae, where she spent more than a century as a cook in the Wild King's castle. Now back in the human world, she works for a company that brokers fairy bargains, looking for loopholes in their contracts.

Then a bargain that Poppy is negotiating goes disastrously wrong and she has to return to the world she grew up in to try to rectify her mistake, facing danger, intrigue and a pesky ex-boyfriend along the way."

I think fairy bargains would be close to iron clad, but, you know, without the iron.

The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne by Summer N. England
Published by: Forever
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Love grows in the most unimaginable of places in Summer N. England's sweet and spicy cozy romantasy debut, for fans of The Spellshop and For Whom the Belle Tolls!

Most stories end with a happily ever after. But mine? Well, it begins with one...

After a lonely childhood, Clara Thorne is living out her happy ending as the magically gifted gardener for the town of Moss. Sure, her closest companion is a surly hedgehog, and she's forever stuck on the first line of her novel, but she has a home. That is, until The Goddess chooses Clara for an important quest - travel to the cursed town of Dwindle and grow them a garden. In less than a month.

Only Clara's hiding a terrible secret: her magic doesn't work outside Moss. Worse, The Goddess has assigned the absurdly sexy, annoyingly cheerful Hesper Altanfall to keep her safe. Clara would rather eat thorns than accept help - especially since Hesper insists that Clara's magic is bound to her heart, not her home.

Nevertheless, the two can't help growing closer as they traverse enchanted woods and share tavern beds. But with an ancient evil threatening from the shadows, saving Dwindle will require more than enchanted crops. Clara will need to unearth a magic she's always believed impossible."

Well, home is where the heart is...

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"She can hop into any novel, but she just can't stay there.

Come along with the Book Witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game.

Rainy March is a proud, third-generation Book Witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps in and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and rogue heroes like a modern-day magical Nancy Drew.

Book Witches live by a strict code: Real people belong in the real world; fictional characters belong in works of fiction. Do not eat, drink, or sleep inside a fictional world, lest you become part of the story. Falling in love with a fictional character? Don't even think about it.

Which is why Rainy has been forbidden from seeing the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite mystery series. If she's ever caught with him again, she'll be expelled from her book coven - and forced to give up the magical gifts that are as much a part of her as her own name.

But when her beloved grandfather disappears and a priceless book is stolen, there's only one person she trusts to help her solve the case: the Duke. Their quest takes them through the worlds of Alice in Wonderland, King Arthur, and other classics that will reveal hidden enemies and long-buried family secrets."

So, books have similar rules to fairy realms, interesting...

Strixhaven: Omens of Chaos by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Random House Worlds
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Strixhaven University welcomes you. Begin your magical studies on a faraway plane, encountering new friends, mysteries, and dangers, in this fantastical dark academia.

Eula Blue was supposed to be a mage. That was before the war came - before the fight for the Multiverse devastated Eula's home, and with it her hopes for a magical education.

But the destruction of the war also brought something new: the ability to travel to other planes. And when Eula receives an invitation to study magic at a distant school called Strixhaven, she leaps to take it.

Eula's journey brings her closer than she ever thought possible to her fellow students, including the mysterious Segante, a boy whose secrets Eula longs to share. But not everyone is thrilled by the arrival of the new class, and Eula and her new friends quickly become targets.

To make it through their first semester, they'll have to fight for their place in this new world - or else they'll be dead before their final exams."

I love it that Seanan McGuire has made it into the bookish realm of Magic: The Gathering. 

We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of The Watchers and T. Kingfisher comes a queer, post-apocalyptic horror following one woman's journey across a merciless wasteland to save her brother and confront the dark truth behind the monsters that ravaged the world - with the help of a woman she's not sure she can trust but can't help falling for.

Nearly everyone died the first night they came...

Two years ago, monstrous beings tore through Britain, leaving few survivors. Now Sara and her family live on the run, relying on scraps of folklore and fading pagan rituals to stay safe from the eldritch creatures they call "witches".

While her mother grows increasingly paranoid, Sara longs for something more than fear.

Then a strange girl appears in the garden of their current camp. Her name is Parsley, and she cannot remember where she came from or why she's there. Despite her family's suspicions, Sara feels drawn to her.

But when Sara's younger brother is taken by the Witches, she and Parsley must cross desolate moors full of merciless terrors to get him back. As their bond deepens, so do the dangers they face - and Sara begins to question whether anything is truly as it seems.

In a world ruled by terror and myth, trust is the only thing more dangerous than the Witches themselves."

Having to rely on folklore to survive is my kind of survival. 

Infinite Shores by Pascale Lacelle
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 592 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ninth House meets The Hazel Wood in this spellbinding conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Drowned Gods Trilogy, a gorgeous dark academia fantasy following a teen mage and her friends on their desperate quest through worlds and time!

Fate cannot be broken - not even by the gods who serve it.

Emory refuses to lose Romie again. Her friend's fate hangs in the balance as the monstrous Clover plans to use her as a sacrifice to steal power from the deity Atheia - and make himself into a proper god. To stop Clover, Emory needs the help of Atheia's dark counterpart, Sidraeus. Yet this enigmatic deity cannot be trusted, and if Emory is to ally with him, she must invoke an ancient magic to keep him tethered to her side.

Meanwhile, in the divine workshop of the god of balance, Baz learns he has a role to play in the coming fight to save the crumbling worlds and their weakening magics. Yet all he can think of is Kai and the gruesome fate that awaits him at Clover's side - a fate, the god tells him, that is beyond even his reach. But Baz is determined to save Kai, even if he has to rewrite time itself.

As chaos reigns and the tides of a corrupted magic threaten to consume all, Emory and Baz must contend with mercurial gods, vengeful deities, and those hell-bent on eradicating Eclipse magic to save the people they love - and write an ending to their stories that defies fate itself."

Dark academia is my catnip. 

The Museum of Unusual Occurrence by Erica Wright
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to the Museum of Unusual Occurrence - a place full of strange exhibits and even stranger murders. The first in the new Psychic City mystery series by talented author Erica Wright.

"Every small town thinks it's special - That might be true, but this one actually is."

Rational and cynical Aly Orlean's life in her psychic hometown of Wyndale, Florida couldn't be more hectic. It's all about running her business, raising a teenage sister, sending out holiday greetings - and her new task: finding a killer.

For her Museum of Unusual Occurrence not only houses odd curiosities but now has a brand-new display: The body of Rose Dempsey, a local twenty-year-old, set up in one of the exhibits as if she has been ritually sacrificed.

With the police clueless, Aly is worried that this is a vicious warning for her and her solitary way of life. Fearing for her sister Merope's well-being, she's determined to find out why the killer murdered Rose and how her body was placed in Aly's museum...But might the killer be someone hiding in plain sight?

Karen Russell's Swamplandia! meets Ruth Ware's The Death of Mrs. Westaway in this "suspenseful mystery populated with winning characters" (Booklist on Famous in Cedarville)."

Very much intrigued by how this is like Ruth Ware... 

Bodies of Work by Clay McLeod Chapman
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A murderous artist is haunted by the spirits of those he has killed in this surreal and chilling supernatural revenge novella.

From the acclaimed author of Ghost Eaters, and perfect for fans of Joe Hill and Delilah S. Dawson.

At sixty-six years old, Winston Kemper has always been a nonentity. No one notices him. His simple existence barely registers for those who come into contact with him. Some call him feeble-minded. He is a janitor at the local church, a groundskeeper by default, and that's it. No friends, no family. When he's done with work, he returns home - a remote, single room apartment located above a garage - and that is where his true work begins.

Winston Kemper is a collector of voices, and his magnum opus - The Butterfly Girls - is a sprawling epic of untapped imagination. It has no single canvas, no particular frame. It is everywhere - scribbled on the walls, the floor, and countless notebooks.

Winston is creating a fantasia which exists in words, images and blood. As part of his 'art' he has been murdering forgotten women. Poor souls who slip through the cracks of society, who no one's looking for. Mothers, sisters, daughters to someone, but no more.

Winston takes their lives, their voices.

But now he can hear them. They whisper to him. They talk of revenge.

Winston Kemper might not believe in ghosts, but he is about to learn they are very real. And they are very, very angry.

A surreal and dreamlike novella about the ghosts of our past and the dangerous, obsessive pursuit of art, from the "true master of horror." (CJ Leede, Maeve Fly)"

So, this novella tells us that yes, neighbors who keep themselves to themselves could be killers.

The Boatman by Alex Grecian
Published by: Bad Hand Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 150 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"HE WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.

Shortly after cruise ship the Maria Calypso embarks on its latest voyage, the passengers and crew notice someone in pursuit: An elegant figure wearing a white suit who somehow keeps pace in his rowboat.

No matter how hard the crew pushes the engines, they can't escape The Boatman...and it isn't long before sinister and mysterious events begin to unfold on the Maria Calypso.

What will it cost to learn the true nature of the man who hunts them - and will the price to keep on living prove to be too dear?"

Well, they aren't going to escape The Boatman, that's for sure. So turn and face your possible enemy.

Ellen Poe: The Forgotten Lore by Diana Peterfreund
Published by: Running Press Kids
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The first book in an exciting YA series about a teen girl, descended from Edgar Allan Poe, who must navigate the haunting legacy of her ancestor while learning to harness her own strength and intelligence, especially as she begins to commune with the dead.

What happens when your tell-tale nightmares turn into reality and the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe won't seem to let you alone? For as long as she can remember, sixteen-year-old Ellen Poe's family has claimed to be long-lost descendants of Edgar Allan Poe. But when she moves in with her aunt in a Poe-themed B and B, the nightmares that have always haunted her begin bleeding into Ellen's waking hours. When she stumbles upon a journal in the house, none other than Edgar Allan Poe himself begins visiting her. Has the journal somehow released his ghost? And what does he want with Ellen? Through secret messages in his writings, she learns that the two share the same psychic ability to interact with spirits - which is what ultimately drove him mad.

This thrilling series for young adult readers follows Ellen on her quest to learn more about her abilities, the afterlife, and the clues Poe has left for her (ciphers and cryptograms galore), in an effort to not suffer his same fate."

Or, could Edgar be looking for a new wife from beyond the grave? He did marry his thirteen year old first cousin...

The Unruly Heart of Miss Darcy by Erin Edwards
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mr. Darcy got his happily ever after in Pride and Prejudice, and now it's his sister's turn in this swoony queer romance, perfect for fans of Bridgerton.

Georgiana Darcy has only ever kissed one girl before, and the resulting blackmail almost ruined her reputation. Since then, she's carefully calibrated her life to be as quiet as possible, focusing on books and music. She certainly isn't planning on falling in love with another girl. But then she meets Kitty Bennet, and everything is thrown off kilter.

After a moonlit kiss shifts their newfound friendship into something more, Georgiana follows Kitty to the Bennets' home. The visit proves ill-timed when she encounters the one man who knows her secret and threatened her with it before. Terrified of testing the limits of her family's love and of putting Kitty in danger, Georgiana doesn't know if there's any chance of a happy ending.

Every etiquette guide she's ever read makes it clear that if she wants to protect her family name, Georgiana must pretend her heart follows society's accepted rhythm. Unless, with a little help from those who understand how it feels, she can compose the future she and Kitty both deserve."

Depends on the Bridgerton fan, because a LOT of people are mad about the genderbend in the show. Personally, I don't get what they're mad about.

The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman tests the limits of her so-called amicable divorce when she flies to Paris for the destination wedding of her former sister-in-law, only to butt heads with the deliciously gruff best man, in a poignant and romantic novel from Kate Clayborn.

Physician Layla Bailey has spent over a year telling herself she's moved on from a painful but amicable divorce from her college sweetheart. Staying friends with her ex seemed like the mature thing to do, but when Layla is invited to her former sister-in-law's destination wedding in Paris - where Layla once spent her own romantic honeymoon - she knows her commitment to maturity might be her worst enemy…especially since her ex isn't attending alone.

The only thing that could make the week more difficult is getting through it without the distraction of the wedding.... But when what Layla thought was a harmless conversation about the choices of her younger self leads to the bride getting cold feet, Layla finds herself facing down the groom's mysterious, taciturn best man, Griffin, who will do anything to make sure this wedding happens.

Since she broke it, Griff demands she help him fix it. Going along with his plan to alleviate the engaged couple's doubts seems like Layla's best chance at maintaining a good relationship with a family she once called her own. But as she learns more about the past heartbreak that's driving Griff to help his friend, she gets closer and closer to confronting the true depth of her own pain…while finding herself more and more willing to risk it all again for Griff."

Destination weddings are such a scam.

The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Subtle Art of Folding Space, is the exhilarating debut science fiction novel from Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author John Chu channels unhinged physics, generational trauma, and the comfort of really good dim sum. This isn't your usual jaunt through quantum physics.

Ellie's universe - and this one - is falling apart. Her ailing mother is in a coma; her sister, Chris, accuses her of being insufficiently Chinese between assassination attempts; and a shadowy cabal of engineers is trying to hijack the skunkworks, the machinery that keeps the physics of each universe working the way it's supposed to.

Daniel, Ellie's cousin, has found an illicit device in the skunkworks - one that keeps Ellie's comatose mother alive while also creating destabilizing bugs in the physics of this universe. It's not a good day.

If she can confront her mother's legacy and overcome her family's generational trauma, she just might find a way to preserve the skunkworks and reconcile with her sister...but digging into her family's past is thornier than it seems, and the secrets she uncovers will force Ellie to choose between her family and the universe itself."

If you haven't heard about the buzz around this book I think you must be living under a rock or dealing with your generational trauma. Read this to help deal with the trauma, not the whole hermit lifestyle.

The Edge of Darkness by Vaseem Khan
Published by: Hodder and Stoughton
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"India, 1951. After wilfully ignoring orders, Persis Wadia, India's first female police detective, is exiled from Bombay to the wild and mountainous Naga Hills District. As India's first post-Independence election looms, and tensions rise across the country, Persis finds herself banished to the Hotel Victoria, a crumbling colonial-era relic, her career in tatters.

But when a prominent politician is murdered in his locked room at the Victoria, his head missing, she is thrust back into the fray. Is the murderer one of the foreigners staying at the hotel or an insurgent from the surrounding jungle? As the political situation threatens to explode, Persis has only days to stop a killer operating at the very edge of darkness...

The sixth rip-roaring thriller in the award-winning Malabar House series and a perfect entry point for new readers."

I love a good locked room mystery with a missing head. And yes, I've read one before.

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An unforgettable YA murder mystery set in an escape-room themed game show, by Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles, and Tamara Moss, rising star and acclaimed author of Lintang series.

It's all fun and games until someone ends up dead.

Six months ago, season four of The Escape Game ended in horror when contestant Alicia Angelos was found murdered on set.

Now season five is underway, and new contestants are ready to put their skills to the test solving the show's trickiest escape rooms. There's Adi, the cryptographer; Carter, the math whiz; Beck, the wannabe game master; and...Sierra Angelos, the girl who got away with her sister's murder. Or so everyone believes.

But Sierra's not just here to win. She's here for justice.

When the contestants begin uncovering clues that hint at the identity of Alicia's true killer, it becomes clear that the stakes aren't high in this competition, they're deadly. If these teens want to win - and survive - the game, they must solve the biggest mystery of all: who killed Alicia Angelos?

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer and rising star Tamara Moss comes a twisty thrill-ride, filled with sabotage, betrayal, and puzzles to die for."

Finally, a game themed book with actual stakes! All thanks to the glorious Marissa Meyer! 

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A PROPULSIVE DEBUT MYSTERY FROM EVELYN CLARKE, THE BRILLIANT AND DIABOLICAL CREATION OF CAT CLARKE AND V.E. SCHWAB.

Six authors.
One private island.
Seventy-two hours to write the ending that will change their lives.

Arthur Fletch, one of the world's bestselling novelists, is a reclusive genius known for his iconic protagonists and fiendish twists. When six struggling authors are invited to spend a weekend on his private Scottish island, they arrive to discover a shocking secret: Arthur Fletch is dead...and his last book is unfinished.

Desperate to publish the novel, Fletch's agent and editor have summoned these writers in the hope that one of them will imagine a worthy ending for this final book. To sweeten the deal, they are offering an irresistible prize: in addition to ghost-writing the last chapter - for a mind-boggling sum - they will also help the lucky writer successfully re-launch their own career, guaranteeing future bestsellers. The catch: the writers have just seventy-two hours to finish Fletch's magnum opus.

It's the perfect plot. All it needs is a killer ending."

The collaboration everyone is talking about!

A Cruise to Die For by Heather Graham
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Special agents face deadly, uncharted waters in this tense romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham.

Special Agent Chloe McMurray has been asked to do many things in the name of her job. Going undercover on a cruise ship leaving from her home port of Miami, however, is a new one. Not only that, but she's tasked with posing as the wife of her federal counterpart, Special Agent Wesley Law.

Their investigation? A string of murders and suicides across three states that seem unrelated, until they uncover a deadly technological connection. Every victim was an expert in technology and had some connection to Milestones, a megacorporation with ties to many industries...including the cruise industry.

Chloe and Wesley must successfully go undercover as tech employees on the ship hosting the ten-year anniversary of the Milestones cruise company. A tough ask when the two have never met before. They'll infiltrate the technology events, investigate their fellow passengers and try to uncover what's really going on.

However, danger is never far behind. Their killer can use tech to do the job without lifting a finger, and at sea, there's no escape if their covers are blown."

I love killers on cruise ships because it's just a bigger venue for a locked room mystery.

Now I See Spring by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Board Book, 24 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From multi-award winning, New York Times bestselling duo Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, Now I See Spring is one in a unique quartet of board books that playfully shows the changing seasons from a kid's point of view.

the house / the tree / the garden / me

Sparse and rhythmic text invites readers to explore a rural setting through different seasons, gently introducing everyday words. Envisioned as a set that also can be read as standalone books, each of the four volumes in this eye-catching series has identical text but different images that reflect the time of year. In spring, the tree's leaves are budding, rain falls from the sky, a sweet treat is a cookie and the perfect hat is a yellow one that keeps you dry. Now I See Spring celebrates all the wonderful things about the season through a child’s eyes - and shows why it’s their favorite time of year."

These books are beyond delightful.

Now I See Summer by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Board Book, 24 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From multi-award winning, New York Times bestselling duo Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, Now I See Summer is one in a unique quartet of board books that playfully shows the changing seasons from a kid's point of view.

the house / the tree / the garden / me

Sparse and rhythmic text invites readers to explore a rural setting through different seasons, gently introducing everyday words. Envisioned as a set that also can be read as standalone books, each of the four volumes in this eye-catching series has identical text but different images that reflect the time of year. In spring, the tree's leaves are budding, rain falls from the sky, a sweet treat is a cookie and the perfect hat is a yellow one that keeps you dry. Now I See Summer celebrates all the wonderful things about the season through a child’s eyes - and shows why it’s their favorite time of year."

They are a meditation on the seasons. 

Now I See Fall by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Board Book, 24 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From multi-award winning, New York Times bestselling duo Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, Now I See Fall is one in a unique quartet of board books that playfully shows the changing seasons from a kid's point of view.

the house / the tree / the garden / me

Sparse and rhythmic text invites readers to explore a rural setting through different seasons, gently introducing everyday words. Envisioned as a set that also can be read as standalone books, each of the four volumes in this eye-catching series has identical text but different images that reflect the time of year. In spring, the tree's leaves are budding, rain falls from the sky, a sweet treat is a cookie and the perfect hat is a yellow one that keeps you dry. Now I See Fall celebrates all the wonderful things about the season through a child’s eyes - and shows why it’s their favorite time of year."

As seen through the eyes of a child.

Now I See Winter by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
Format: Board Book, 24 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From multi-award winning, New York Times bestselling duo Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, Now I See Winter is one in a unique quartet of board books that playfully shows the changing seasons from a kid's point of view.

the house / the tree / the garden / me

Sparse and rhythmic text invites readers to explore a rural setting through different seasons, gently introducing everyday words. Envisioned as a set that also can be read as standalone books, each of the four volumes in this eye-catching series has identical text but different images that reflect the time of year. In spring, the tree's leaves are budding, rain falls from the sky, a sweet treat is a cookie and the perfect hat is a yellow one that keeps you dry. Now I See Winter celebrates all the wonderful things about the season through a child’s eyes - and shows why it’s their favorite time of year."

Showing you the wonder and love all year long.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Addie Thorley, Alex Grecian, Cat Clarke, Elise Kova, Evelyn Clarke, Heather Graham, Jon Klassen, Kate Clayborn, Mac Barnett, Marissa Meyer, Meg Shaffer, Pascale Lacelle, Seanan McGuire, Tamara Moss, V.E. Schwab, Vaseem Khan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Period nostalgia and summer horror in one!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is it wrong to really really want a poison garden?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Week three and we're at the grand finale!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

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

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A high society amateur detective at the heart of Regency London uses her wits and invisibility as an 'old maid' to protect other women in a new and fiercely feminist historical mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

Lady Augusta Colebrook, "Gus," is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents itself: to rescue their friend's goddaughter, Caroline, from her violent husband.

The sisters set out to Caroline's country estate with a plan, but their carriage is accosted by a highwayman. In the scuffle, Gus accidentally shoots and injures the ruffian, only to discover he is Lord Evan Belford, an acquaintance from their past who was charged with murder and exiled to Australia twenty years ago. What follows is a high adventure full of danger, clever improvisation, heart-racing near misses, and a little help from a revived and rather charming Lord Evan.

Back in London, Gus can't stop thinking about her unlikely (not to mention handsome) comrade-in-arms. She is convinced Lord Evan was falsely accused of murder, and she is going to prove it. She persuades Julia to join her in a quest to help Lord Evan, and others in need - society be damned! And so begins the beguiling secret life and adventures of the Colebrook twins."

Alison Goodman's Dark Days Club series set in Regency England is a favorite of mine and this thankfully fills the void left by that series ending.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection - a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.

For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements - books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.

All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries...

In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue - and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction."

Family library of magical books? Sold!

Game by Shirley Day
Published by: Nielsen
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 313 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Scratch, Becca, and Finn grew up roaming the moors, scaring themselves silly with ghost stories. One place they loved to 'haunt' was Old Man Byrde's - a creepy farmhouse high on the escarpment. The old guy was always in his window scribbling away in a tattered old book. Scratch said it was the Devil's book and that the thing could grant wishes. Only there was a catch; once the last page was written, the Devil would come banging at the door for your soul.

Years later, the three friends hire Byrde's old house. Scratch soon discovers that Finn has Byrde's book, only now it's practically full, and the past is all too eager to come knocking."

But will the Devil come knocking on the moors?

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children's author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner's life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.

Make a wish....
Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it's like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher's aide, she is able to share her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability.

But be careful what you wish for....
Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he's finally written a new book. Even better, he's holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy.

For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack "the Mastermind" Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.

...You might just get it."

Willy Wonka for book lovers!

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
Published by: Razorbill
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In a world where the children of the gods inherit their powers, a descendant of the Greek Fates must solve a series of impossible murders to save her sisters, her soulmate, and her city, for fans of Song of Achilles.

Descendants of the Fates are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. The Ora sisters are no exception. Io, the youngest, uses her Fate-born abilities as a private investigator in the half-sunken city of Alante.

But her latest job leads her to a horrific discovery: somebody is abducting women, maiming their life-threads, and setting the resulting wraiths loose in the city to kill. To find the culprit, she must work alongside Edei Rhuna, the right hand of the infamous Mob Queen - and the boy with whom she shares a rare fate-thread linking them as soul mates before they've even met.

The investigation turns personal when Io's estranged oldest sister shows up on the arm of her best suspect. Amid unveiled secrets from her past and her growing feelings for Edei, Io must follow clues through the city's darkest corners and unearth a conspiracy that involves some of the city's most powerful players before destruction comes to her own doorstep."

I love modern Greek myths, Greek myths themselves? Not so much.

Man of Shadow and Mist by Michelle Griep
Published by: Barbour Fiction
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Papaerback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""The world seems full of good men - even if there are monsters in it."
-Bram Stoker, Dracula

England, 1890
Vampires are alive and well in North Yorkshire, leastwise in the minds of the uneducated. Librarian Rosa Edwards intends to drive a stake through the heart of such superstitions. But gossip flies when the mysterious Sir James Morgan returns to his shadowy manor. The townsfolk say he is cursed.

James hates everything about England. The weather. The rumours. The scorn. Yet he must stay. His mother is dying of a disease for which he's desperately trying to find a cure - an illness that will eventually take his own life.

When Rosa sets out to prove the dark gossip about James is wrong, she discovers more questions than answers. How can she accept what she can't explain - especially the strong allure of the enigmatic man? James must battle a town steeped in fear as well as the unsettling attraction he feels for the no-nonsense librarian.

Can love prevail in a town filled with fear and doubt?"

Or will it end in a bonfire?

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A puzzling locked room mystery...who better to investigate than the ladies of the Marlow Murder Club?

It's been an enjoyable and murder-free time for Judith, Suzie and Becks - AKA the Marlow Murder Club - since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding, and Judith and Co. are looking forward to a bit of free champagne.

But during the soiree, there's a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study.

The study was locked from the inside, so the police don't consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she's concerned, Peter was murdered! And it's up to the Marlow Murder Club to find the killer before he or she strikes again..."

Anyone else know that the creator of Death in Paradise writes books too? Maybe I'm just not paying enough attention... Not a good trait if I want to be an armchair detective.

A Good Family by Matt Goldman
Published by: Forge
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award-winner Matt Goldman's A Good Family is a gripping, emotional thrill ride about the secrets hidden underneath a picture-perfect neighborhood.

Katie Kuhlmann's marriage is falling apart. But she has a secure job, her children are healthy, and her house, a new construction in the prestigious Country Club neighborhood of Edina, Minnesota, is beautiful. She can almost ignore the way her husband, Jack, has been acting - constantly checking his phone, not going to work, disappearing from the house only to show up again without explanation.

Tension in the Kuhlmann house only gets worse when Adam "Bagman" Ross, a mutual friend from college, happens to be in the neighborhood and in need of a place to stay. Jack is quick to welcome him into the sanctity of their home, but Jack's strange behavior only gets worse, and Katie fears their new guest is also harboring a dark secret. As she begins to uncover the truth, she realizes that something is terribly wrong - and she must race to protect her family as danger closes in."

Because everyone knows that even behind the doors of the most prestigious neighborhoods there's darkness.

Divinity 36 by Gail Carriger
Published by: GAIL CARRIGER LLC
Publication Date: May 30th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 332 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The aliens are coming for us and they want our voices.

New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger brings you a gloriously warm and unique scifi about the power of art, celebrity, and found family.

Phex is a barista on a forgotten moon. Which is fine - he likes being ignored and he's good at making drinks. Until one day an alien hears him singing and recruits him to become a god. Now Phex is thrust headfirst into the galaxy's most cutthroat entertainment industry, where music is visible, the price of fame can kill, and the only friends he has want to be worshiped.

Welcome to the divinity. Where there is no difference between celebrity and religion, love and belief, acolyte and alien. Where the right kind of obsession can drive a person crazy or turn them divine.

Becky Chambers meets The Voice in the first of the Tinkered Starsong trilogy in which the mysterious Dyesi are trying to take over the universe, but they're doing it so beautifully we might just let them."

I'm here for whatever Gail writes!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alison Goodman, Emma Torzs, Gail Carriger, Greek Mythology, Kika Hatzopoulou, Matt Goldman, Meg Shaffer, Michelle Griep, Robert Thorogood, Shirley Day, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies