strange and random happenstance

The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 656 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"V.E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, opens another door to a new fantasy series set in the dazzling world of Shades of Magic.

Prepare for tangled schemes and perilous adventures with friends old and new in The Fragile Threads of Power.

Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory - Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.

But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years - and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland's absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own - but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown it instead.

And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.

These two royals from very different empires now face very similar struggles: how to keep their crowns - and their own heads.

Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.

Her name is Tes, and she's the only one who can bring them together - or unravel it all."

While there's a part of me beyond excited for this book there's a bigger part of me that despises this new cover design. I literally just can not.

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth
Published by: Titan Books (UK)
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Be gay, solve crime, take naps - A witty and quirky fantasy murder mystery in a folkloric world of witches, faeires, vampires, trolls and ghosts, for fans of Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey and T. J. Klune's Under the Whispering Door.

A magical serial killer is stalking the Occult town of Wrackton. Hypnotic whistling causes victims to chew their own tongues off, leading to the killer being dubbed the Whistler (original, right?)

Enter the Undetectables, a detective agency run by three witches and a ghost in a cat costume (don't ask.) They are hired to investigate the murders, but with their only case so far left unsolved, will they be up to the task?

Mallory, the forensic science expert, is struggling with pain and fatigue from her recently diagnosed fibromyalgia. Cornelia is suddenly stirring all sorts of feelings in Mallory. Diana is hitting up all her ex-girlfriends for information. And not forgetting ghostly Theodore: deceased, dramatic, and also the agency's first - unsolved - murder case.

With bodies stacking up and the case leading them to mysteries at the very heart of magical society, can the Undetectables find the Whistler before they become the killer's next victims?"

I am beyond here for the ghost in a cat costume!

What Became of Magic by Paige Crutcher
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Paige Crutcher, the author of The Orphan Witch and The Lost Witch, comes a new tale about a witch, a book of magic, and a beguiling and powerful creature whom she must free, even if it puts her life and soul at stake.

Aline Weir, a witch who can talk to ghosts, has kept her talents hidden ever since a disastrous middle school slumber party, choosing to be invisible and use her powers in secret to help lost souls reunite with the keys to send them home. All the while, she finds solace in a bookstore and the three mysterious women who run it....until Aline discovers the book of Mischief, and her powers are enhanced.

Living a solitary life until the age of thirty, Aline's life takes an unexpected turn when the wrong (or perhaps right) person witnesses her using her powers and she is invited to a town that doesn't exist on any map.

Arriving in Matchstick, Aline learns of a lost magic that desperately needs to be found and only her unique powers can do it. But what she's not told is that Magic is a person. One that is dangerous and seductive and has been waiting for a witch with a power like hers for centuries."

I mean, aren't all middle school slumber parties disastrous? 

The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ava Morgyn's The Witches of Bone Hill is a spellbinding, romantic novel about family secrets and two young women who discover they're Nordic witches.

Cordelia Bone's meticulously crafted life and career in Dallas are crashing down around her thanks to a philandering husband with criminal debts. When her older, carefree sister, Eustace - a cannabis grower in Boulder - calls to inform her that the great aunt they never met has died and they must travel to a small town in Connecticut to deal with the estate, she sees an opportunity to unload the house and save herself.

But once there, the sisters learn they are getting much more than they bargained for. The Victorian mansion they stand to inherit is bound in a dynasty trust controlled by their late aunt's aging attorney, who insists they retain and inhabit the house but keeps them in the dark about the peculiar rituals of their ancestors. Not to mention a sexy, tattooed groundskeeper with a shrouded past who refuses to leave the carriage house and a crypt full of dead relatives looming at the property line.

As both women grapple with their current predicament, they come face to face with a haunting family secret, the truth of what happened to their mother, and the enemy that's been stalking them from the shadows for generations. In a twisting torrent of terror and blood, the sisters must uncover the power within them to heal their fractured relationship, reverse their mysteriously declining health, and claim the lineage they wanted to escape but now must embrace if they are to survive at Bone Hill."

I'd totally take a large Victorian mansion, cursed or not.

The Grimmer by Naben Ruthnum
Published by: ECW Press
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The small-town mysteries of John Bellairs are made modern with a dash of Stranger Things in this spine-tingling supernatural horror-thriller.

After his father returns from treatment for addiction, highschooler Vish - lover of metal music and literature - is uncertain what the future holds. It doesn't help that everyone seems to know about the family's troubles, and they stand out doubly as one of the only brown families in town. When Vish is mistaken for a relative of the weird local bookseller and attacked by an unsettling pale man who seems to be decaying, he is pulled into the world of the occult, where witches live in television sets, undead creatures can burn with a touch, and magic is mathematical. Vish must work with the bookstore owner and his mysterious teenage employee, Gisela, to stop an interdimensional invasion that would destroy their peaceful town.

Bringing together scares, suspense, and body horror, The Grimmer is award-winning author Naben Ruthnum's first foray into the young adult genre. This gripping ride through the supernatural is loaded with vivid characters, frightening imagery, and astonishing twists, while tackling complex issues such as grief, racism, and addiction."

Um, how is a book made modern with a dash of a show set in the eighties? 

Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons
Published by: Tor Teen
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"AT DAWN HE'LL BE GONE AND YOU'LL BE HERE FOREVER.

Kristen Simmons's masterful breakout horror novel that's "Jumanji but Japanese-inspired" (Kendare Blake) about estranged friends playing a deadly game in a nightmarish folkloric underworld.

Four years ago, five kids started a game. Not all of them survived.

Now, at the end of their senior year of high school, the survivors - Owen, Madeline, Emerson, and Dax - have reunited for one strange and terrible reason: they've been summoned by the ghost of Ian, the friend they left for dead.

Together they return to the place where their friendship ended with one goal: find Ian and bring him home. So they restart the deadly game they never finished - an innocent card-matching challenge called Meido. A game without instructions.

As soon as they begin, they're dragged out of their reality and into an eerie hellscape of Japanese underworlds, more horrifying than even the darkest folktales that Owen's grandmother told him. There, they meet Shinigami, an old wise woman who explains the rules:

They have one night to complete seven challenges or they'll all be stuck in this world forever.

Once inseparable, the survivors now can't stand each other, but the challenges demand they work together, think quickly, and make sacrifices - blood, clothes, secrets, memories, and worse.

And once again, not everyone will make it out alive."

Because if Jumanji wasn't traumatizing enough...

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 640 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A small town is transformed when seven strange trees begin bearing magical apples in this masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.

It's autumn in the town of Harrow, but something besides the season is changing there.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: strange, beautiful, with skin so red it's nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples, and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing - and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples...and what's the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

Even if something else is buried in the orchard besides the seeds of these extraordinary trees: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. It's harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown."

I mean, I totally wouldn't touch those apples would you?

Murder at the Merton Library by Andrea Penrose
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A perplexing murder in a renowned Oxford University library and a suspicious fire at a famous inventor's London laboratory set Wrexford and Lady Charlotte on two separate investigations in this masterfully plotted, atmospheric Regency-set mystery from USA Today bestselling author Andrea Penrose.

Responding to an urgent plea from a troubled family friend, the Earl of Wrexford journeys to Oxford only to find the reclusive university librarian has been murdered and a rare manuscript has gone missing. The only clue is that someone overheard an argument in which Wrexford's name was mentioned.

At the same time, Charlotte - working under her pen name, A. J. Quill - must determine whether a laboratory fire was arson and if it's connected to the race between competing consortiums to build a new type of ship - one that can cross the ocean powered by steam rather than sails - with the potential to revolutionize military power and world commerce. That the race involves new innovations in finance and entrepreneurship only adds to the high stakes - especially as their good friend Kit Sheffield may be an investor in one of the competitors.

As they delve deeper into the baffling clues, Wrexford and Charlotte begin to realize that things are not what they seem. An evil conspiracy is lurking in the shadows and threatens all they hold dear - unless they can tie the loose threads together before it's too late..."

I've been feeling the need for an Andrea Penrose binge and I think now is the perfect time.

Murder by Invitation Only by Colleen Cambridge
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this engaging historical mystery, Agatha Christie's ever-capable housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, not only keeps the celebrated author's English country home in tip-top shape, she excels as an amateur sleuth. But when a murder-themed game goes awry, can she outfox the guilty party?

"A murder will occur tonight at Beecham House..." Who could resist such a compelling invitation? Of course, the murder in question purports to be a party game, and Phyllida looks forward to using some of the deductive skills she has acquired thanks to her employer, Mrs. Agatha, who is unable to attend in person.

The hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Wokesley, are new to the area, and Phyllida gladly offers their own overwhelmed housekeeper some guidance while events get underway. Family friends have been enlisted to play the suspects, and Mr. Wokesley excels in his role of dead body. Unfortunately, when the game's solution is about to be unveiled, the participants discover that life has imitated art. Mr. Wokesley really is dead!

In the absence of Inspector Cork, Phyllida takes temporary charge of the investigation, guiding the local constable through interviews with the Murder Game actors. At first, there seems no motive to want Mr. Wokesley dead...but then Phyllida begins to connect each of the suspects with the roles they played and the motives assigned to them. It soon becomes clear that everyone had a reason to murder their host - both in the game and in real life. Before long, Phyllida is embroiled in a fiendishly puzzling case, with a killer who refuses to play by the rules..."

A must buy author doing a very Clue meets Agatha Christie mystery? Hells yes.

Murder by Invitation by Verity Bright
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 317 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lady Swift has been cordially invited to a huge royal celebration in Little Buckford to toast the King’s birthday...but wait, is that a body in the village hall?

Lady Eleanor Swift and her loyal butler Clifford are busy lending a hand with preparations for the big day. The grand dining room at Henley Hall is overflowing with home-sewn flags, paint and royal rosettes. Even Gladstone the bulldog and his new friend Tomkins the ginger cat are invited!

But just days before the event Mr Prestwick-Peterson, the chairman of the celebrations committee, is found dead in the village hall: strangled with handmade red, white and royal blue bunting.

With the village hall in total disarray and a key part of the decorations missing, Eleanor wonders if someone dastardly is sabotaging the King's birthday celebrations? Teaming up with her handsome beau Detective Hugh Seldon to question the local butcher, baker, and pub landlord it becomes clear that the meddlesome busybody Mr Prestwick-Peterson was not universally liked in charming Little Buckford. Indeed, the only mystery is why he wasn't murdered before...

Searching Mr Prestwick-Peterson's pristinely organised rooms, Eleanor is surprised to find a faded photograph of a beautiful young woman hidden within the pages of a novel. Could this be the key to untangling this very village murder? And can Eleanor catch the killer before the party is over for her, too?"

In a small British town bunting is THE MOST British way to die.

Case of the Bleus by Korina Moss
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What in the bleu blazes is happening in Yarrow Glen now?

Cheesemongers from across the Northwest have come to the Sonoma Valley for the Northwest Cheese Invitational. As owner of the local cheese shop, Curds and Whey, Willa Bauer loves it. The event showcases custom cheese creations, and it's the perfect time to gather with old colleagues to honor her former boss, the late and grate cheese legend, Max Dumas. He was famous for journeying into the wild bleu yonder to where he aged his award-winning custom Church Bleu. Only Max knew the recipe and location to his beloved cheese, and many are eager to have these revealed at his will reading.

But instead of naming someone to inherit his cheese and its secrets, Max stuns everyone with one cryptic clue. When a fellow cheesemonger dies under mysterious circumstances - the woman they all thought would get the secrets to Max's prized possession - everyone falls under suspicion. Willa adores Church Bleu as much as the next cheese connoisseur, but it's not to die for. Is a killer trying to get away with murder...and the cheese?"

Yeah, I'm a sucker for cheese based crimes...

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
Published by: Mulholland Books
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 960 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the seventh installment in the "outrageously entertaining" Strike series, Cormoran and Robin must rescue a man ensnared in the trap of a dangerous cult. (Financial Times)

Private Detective Cormoran Strike is contacted by a worried father whose son, Will, has gone to join a religious cult in the depths of the Norfolk countryside.

The Universal Humanitarian Church is, on the surface, a peaceable organization that campaigns for a better world. Yet Strike discovers that beneath the surface there are deeply sinister undertones, and unexplained deaths.

In order to try to rescue Will, Strike's business partner, Robin Ellacott, decides to infiltrate the cult, and she travels to Norfolk to live incognito among its members. But in doing so, she is unprepared for the dangers that await her there or for the toll it will take on her...

Utterly page-turning, The Running Grave moves Strike's and Robin's story forward in this epic, unforgettable seventh installment of the series."

Yep, she's taking on religion now. This won't end well. Why am I still reading these?

Cunk on Everything by Philomena Cunk
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the creator and star of the "deeply funny, unexpectedly informative" (The Daily Beast) Netflix mockumentary Cunk on Earth, a helpful guide covering every single topic in the known universe, from Adam and Eve to Top Gun.

Once in a blue moon, a book comes along that changes the world. The Origin of Species. War and Peace. 1984. And now, Cunk on Everything: The Encyclopedia Philomena, by Philomena Cunk.

Philomena Cunk is one of the greatest thinkers of the 21st century, and in Cunk on Everything she turns her attention to our biggest issue: why are there so many books? Wouldn't it be better if there was just one? This is that book - an encyclopedia of all human knowledge, delving into not only life's greatest mysteries but our most important political figures and cultural touchstones.

Read it, and you'll never have to read another book again."

Seriously, do yourself a favor and delve into the world of Philomena Cunk.

What About Men? by Caitlin Moran
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With her signature candor and wit, New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Moran attempts to answer society's weirdly unasked question: What About Men?

Like anyone who discusses the problems of girls and women in public, Caitlin Moran has often been confronted with the question: "But what about men?" And at first, tbh, she dgaf. Boys, and men, are fine, right? Feminism doesn't need to worry about them.

However, around the time she heard an angry young man saying he was "boycotting" International Women's Day because "It's easier to be a woman than a man these days," she started to wonder: are unhappy boys, and men, also making unhappy women? The statistics on male misery are grim: boys are falling behind in school, are at greater risk of depression, greater risk of suicide, and, most pertinently, are increasingly at risk from online misogynist radicalization. Will the Sixth Wave of feminism need to fix the men, if it wants to fix the women?

Moran began to investigate - talking to her husband, close male friends, and her daughters' friends: bringing up very difficult and candid topics, and receiving vulnerable and honest responses. So: what about men? Why do they only go to the doctor if their partner makes them? Why do they never discuss their penises with each other - but make endless jokes about their balls? What is porn doing for young men? Is sexual strangling a good hobby for young people to have? Are men ever allowed to be sad? Are they ever allowed to lose? Have Men's Rights Activists confused "power" with "empowerment"? Are Mid-Life Crises actually quite cool? And what's the deal with Jordan Peterson's lobster?

In this thoughtful, warm, provocative book, Moran opens a genuinely new debate about how to reboot masculinity for the twenty-first century, so that "straight white man" doesn't automatically mean bad news - but also uses the opportunity to make a lot of jokes about testicles, and trousers. Because if men have neither learned to mine their deepest anxieties about masculinity for comedy, nor answered the question "What About Men?," then it's up to a busy woman to do it."

Eh, I kind of couldn't care less about rebooting men, it sounds like a lot of work.

The Fractured Dark by Megan E. O'Keefe
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: September 26th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Dying planets, dangerous conspiracies, and secret romance abound in the second installment of the Devoured Worlds trilogy by award-winning author Megan E. O'Keefe.

Naira and Tarquin have escaped vicious counter-revolutionaries, misprinted monsters, and the pull of a dying planet. Now, bound together to find the truth behind the blight that has been killing habitable planets, they need to hunt out the Mercator family secrets. But, when the head of Mercator disappears, taking the universe's remaining supply of starship fuel with him, chaos breaks loose between the ruling families. Naira's revolution must be put aside for the sake of humanity's immediate survival."

Romance and survival!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrea Penrose, Caitlin Moran, Chuck Wendig, Colleen Cambridge, Korina Moss, Kristen Simmons, Megan E. O'Keefe, Naben Ruthnum, Paige Crutcher, Philomena Cunk, Robert Galbraith, V.E. Schwab, Verity Bright

Such Good Friends by Stephen Greco
Published by: John Scognamiglio Book
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Reveling in the star-studded parties, fashionable restaurants and gilt-edged inner circles of its most exclusive events, Truman Capote and his flock of glamorous socialite "swans" rule the highest echelons of 1960s and 70s high society New York. Stephen Greco brings this scandalous world to life in a fascinating recreation of the tumultuous friendship between Capote and his most elegant yet unconventional swan: princess and sister of Jackie Kennedy, Her Serene Highness Lee Radziwill.

On a Thursday morning in May 1961, a well-mannered twenty-one-year-old named Marlene enters the Fifth Avenue apartment of Lee Radziwill to interview for the position of housekeeper and cook. The stylish wife of London-based Prince Stanislaw Radziwill, Princess Lee is intelligent and creative, with ambitions beyond simply jet-setting. But to the public, she is always First Lady Jackie Kennedy's little sister.

As Marlene becomes a trusted presence in the Radziwill household, she observes the dazzling array of famous figures who flit in and out of Lee's intimate circle, including Gloria Vanderbilt, Rudolf Nureyev, Jackie and the President, Ari Onassis, Gore Vidal, Andy Warhol, and, most regularly, celebrated author Truman Capote. At the height of his fame following the success of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman has granted Lee place of honor in his flock of glamorous socialite "swans."

Their closeness stems from an unexpected kinship. Both know too well the feeling of being second-best. Seeing his shadow in the woman he refers to as his most unconventional swan, Truman uses his influence and talent to try and make Lee a star.

Their bond deepens through the decade's extraordinary events, from JFK's assassination to the era-defining Black and White Ball. But Marlene, who Truman has taken under his wing as an aspiring writer, can see Truman's darker side - especially his penchant for mining his friends' private lives for material. And there are betrayals on either side that may signal the end not just of a friendship, but of the shared expectation that wealth and fame can shield against every heartbreak."

Everything's coming up Capote these days!

A Starlet's Secret to a Sensational Afterlife by Kendall Kulper
Published by: Holiday House
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A budding starlet and her handsome-but-moody co-star go from bitter enemies to reluctant partners when they get tangled up in the disappearance of a beautiful young actress in 1930s Hollywood.

Eighteen-year-old Henrietta arrives in Los Angeles in 1934 with dreams of trading her boring life for stardom.

She's determined to make it as an actress, despite her family's doubts and rumors of would-be starlets gone missing. And by the skin of her teeth, she pulls it off! A serendipitous job offer arrives and Henrietta finds herself on a whirlwind publicity tour for a major film role - with a vexingly unpleasant actor tapped by the studio to be her fake boyfriend.

But fierce Henrietta has more in common with brooding Declan than she realizes. They both have gifts that they are hiding, for fear of being labeled strange: he is immune to injury and she can speak to ghosts. When the co-stars get tangled up in the disappearance of a beautiful young actress, they go from bitter enemies and pretend lovers to reluctant partners - and possibly even friends.

Together, they might be the only people in Hollywood who can do something about these poor missing girls. And in doing so...they might just fall in love for real.

This whip smart, seductive caper by the author of Murder for the Modern Girl has the perfect combination of romance, vengeance, and a hint of the supernatural, set in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Hand to fans of These Violent Delights and My Lady Jane."

Hollywood and a hint of the supernatural, those are my magic words!

An Unsuitable Heiress by Jane Dunn
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Kindle, 376 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"'Do you realise, Corinna, just how hard it is for a young woman of irregular birth, without family, fortune or friends in the world? Marriage is the only way to get any chance of a life.'

Following the death of her mother, Corinna Ormesby has lived a quiet life in the countryside with her cantankerous Cousin Agnes. Her father's identity has been a tantalising mystery, but now at nineteen Corinna knows that finding him may be her only way to avoid marriage to the odious Mr. Beech.

Deciding to head to London, Corinna dons a male disguise. Travelling alone as a young woman risks scandal and danger, but when, masquerading as a youth, she is befriended by three dashing blades, handsome and capable Alick Wolfe, dandy Ferdinand Shilton and the incorrigible Lord Purfoy, Corinna now has access to the male-only world of Regency England. And when she meets Alick's turbulent brother Darius, a betrayal of trust leads to deadly combat which only one of the brothers may survive.

From gambling in gentleman's clubs to meeting the courtesans of Covent Garden, Corinna's country naivety soon falls away. But when she finds her father at last, learns the truth about her parentage and discovers her fortunes transformed, she must quickly decide how to reveal her true identity, while hoping that one young man in particular can see her for the beauty and Lady she really is.

Sunday Times bestselling author Jane Dunn brings the Regency period irresistibly to life in a page-turning novel packed with romance, scandal, friendship and colour. Perfect for fans of Jane Austen. Janice Hadlow, Gill Hornby, and anyone with a Bridgerton-shaped hole in their lives."

Oh, I think everyone has a Bridgerton-shaped hole in their lives... 

The Duchess Takes a Husband by Harper St. George
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A scandalous arrangement between a London rogue and an American duchess leads to lavish stakes - perfect for fans of Bridgerton!

Despite her illustrious title, Camille, Duchess of Hereford, remains what she has always been - a pariah. Though her title means she's technically accepted by London Society, the rebellious widow with her burgeoning interest in the suffrage movement and her American ways isn't exactly high on every hostess's guest list. But Camille starts to wonder if being an outcast is not without its perks when the tantalizing answer to her secret fear appears in the shape of Jacob Thorne, the illegitimate son of an earl and co-owner of London's infamous Montague Club.

Jacob is used to making deals with his club members - he's just not accustomed to them being beautiful women. Nor have the terms ever been so sweetly seductive as Camille's shocking proposition. To finally buy his own club and gain the crucial backing of investors, Camille offers Jacob the respectability of a fake engagement with a duchess. In return, the tempting widow has one condition: she wants Jacob to show her if it's possible for her to experience pleasure in bed.

The lure of such a bargain proves too delicious to resist, drawing the enterprising rogue and the wallflower duchess into a scandalous game and an even more dangerous gamble of the heart."

I'd say more for fans of Lisa Kleypas personally...

The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A modern-day homicide detective is working as an undertaker's assistant in Victorian Scotland when a serial poisoner attacks the men of Edinburgh and leaves their widows under suspicion.

Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she's not housemaid Catriona Mitchell - even though Mallory is in Catriona's body - and Mallory is now officially an undertaker's assistant. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows... the latest of which is Gray's oldest sister.

Poison is said to be a woman's weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it's as simple as that. But she must tread carefully. Every move the household makes is being watched, and who knows where the investigation will lead.

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong is known for her exquisite world building, and this latest series is no exception. The Poisoner's Ring brings the intricacies of Victorian Scotland alive as Mallory again searches for a 19th-century killer as well as a way home."

A time slip with a twist!

The Big Sugar by Mary Logue
Published by: University of Minnesota Press
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 216 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A grisly death near her new homestead draws Brigid Reardon into a complicated mystery soon after her arrival in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1881.

After the harrowing events that entangled her in Deadwood, Brigid Reardon just wants to move west and get on with her new life in America. But shortly after traveling to Cheyenne to join her brother Seamus, she finds herself caught up in another deadly mystery - beginning with her discovery of a neighbor's body on the plains near their homes. Was Ella murdered? Are either of the two men in Ella's life responsible? With Seamus away on a cattle drive, her friend Padraic possibly succumbing to a local's charms, and the sheriff seemingly satisfied with Ella's fate, it falls to Brigid to investigate what really happened, which puts her in the crosshairs of one of Cheyenne's cattle barons, called "big sugars" in these parts. All she really wants is something better than a crumbling, soddy homestead on the desolate plains of Wyoming - and maybe, just maybe, she wants Padraic - but life, it seems, has other plans: this young immigrant from Ireland is going to be a detective on the western frontier of 1880s America, even if it kills her.

Loosely based on the true story of Ellen Watson in Cheyenne in 1889, The Big Sugar continues the adventure begun in Mary Logue's celebrated mystery The Streel, which introduced a "gritty, charming, clever protagonist" (Kirkus Reviews). With a faultless sense of history, a keen eye for suspense, and a poet's way with prose, Mary Logue all but guarantees that readers, like Brigid, will find the mystery at the heart of The Big Sugar downright irresistible."

I'm glad I recently watched all of Ballykissangel so I know how to pronounce Padraic.

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dream girls trip to a luxurious French chateau devolves into a deadly nightmare of secrets and murder in this stylish, twisty thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell.

Welcome to picturesque Provence, where the Lady of the Chateau, Séraphine Demargelasse, has opened its elegant doors to her granddaughter Darcy and three friends. Twenty years earlier, the four girlfriends studied abroad together in France and visited the old woman on the weekends, creating the group's deep bond. But why this sudden invitation?

Amid winery tours, market visits, and fancy dinners overlooking olive groves and lavender fields, it becomes clear that each woman has a hidden reason for returning to the estate after all these years. Then, following a wild evening's celebration, Séraphine is found brutally murdered.

In the midst of this shocking crime, a sinister Instagram account pops up, exposing snapshots from the friends' intimate moments at the chateau, while threatening to reveal more.

As they race to uncover who murdered Séraphine - and is now stalking them - the friends begin to suspect each other. Because the chateau houses many secrets...several worth killing for."

Big old chateau and murder? Yes and yes.

Hard Dough Homicide by Olivia Matthews
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Someone in Brooklyn's Little Caribbean neighborhood has an appetite for murder in Olivia Matthews' Hard Dough Homicide.

Spice Isle Bakery owner Lyndsay Murray is always looking for new ways to grow her family's business. But she already regrets agreeing to host the retirement dinner for local high school principal Emily Smith. The tyrant used to be her mother's boss and they did not get along. Six guests arrive for the celebration, but only five survive. Emily starts convulsing - right after eating the curry chicken - and dies soon after. It's not long before the police are knocking on Spice Isle's door, bringing the Murray family back into the heart of another murder investigation - driving away customers in the process. Lyndsay can't help but wonder if this is the end of the bakery, even though it's just begun. She must put aside her reservations about investigating another crime, because the Murrays refuse to go down without a fight."

The real mystery, why is a bakery making curry chicken?

Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams
Published by: Doubleday Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of While Justice Sleeps returns with another riveting and intricately plotted thriller, in which a blackmailed federal judge, a secret court and a brazen murder may lead to an unprecedented national crisis.

Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is back, trying to get her feet on solid ground after unraveling an international conspiracy in While Justice Sleeps. But as the sparks of Congressional hearings and political skirmishes swirl around her, Avery is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, an unassuming young man and fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she died. Desperate to understand what happened, he gives Avery a file, a burner phone, and a fearful warning that there are highly dangerous people involved.

Another shocking murder leads Avery to a list of names - all federal judges - and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America's "secret court." It is this body which grants permission to the government to wiretap Americans or spy on corporations suspected of terrorism. As Avery digs deeper, she begins to see a frightening pattern - and she worries that something far more sinister may be unfolding inside the nation's third branch of government. With lives at stake, Avery must race the clock and an unexpected enemy to find the answer.

Drawn from today's headlines and woven with her unique insider perspective, Stacey Abrams combines twisting plotlines, wry wit, and clever puzzles to create another immensely entertaining suspense novel."

Damn I love Stacey Abrams.

The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a spy is stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, she must first figure out how to survive before she can uncover the conspiracy that landed them there. This first book in a new epic space opera trilogy by award-winning author Megan E. O'Keefe is perfect for fans of Children of Time, Semiosis, and Ancillary Justice.

She's a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they're found and Naira Sharp thinks she knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity's expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.

He's the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin's father has tasked him with monitoring the settlement of a new planet, and he doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

Disguised as Tarquin's new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy the settlement ship before they make land. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she's sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that's bigger than both of them."

What about fans of Enemy Mine?

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An immortal Knight of the Round Table faces his greatest challenge yet - saving the politically polarized, rapidly warming world from itself - in this slyly funny contemporary take on Arthurian legend.

Legends don't always live up to reality.

Being reborn as an immortal defender of the realm gets awfully tiring over the years - or at least that's what Sir Kay's thinking as he claws his way up from beneath the earth yet again.

Kay once rode alongside his brother, King Arthur, as a Knight of the Round Table. Since then, he has fought at Hastings and at Waterloo and in both World Wars. But now he finds himself in a strange new world where oceans have risen, the army's been privatized, and half of Britain's been sold to foreign powers. The dragon that's running amok - that he can handle. The rest? He's not so sure.

Mariam's spent her life fighting what's wrong with her country. But she's just one ordinary person, up against a hopelessly broken system. So when she meets Kay, she dares to hope that the world has finally found the savior it needs.

Yet as the two travel through this bizarre and dangerous land, they discover that a magical plot of apocalyptic proportions is underway. And Kay's too busy hunting dragons - and exchanging blows with his old enemy Lancelot - to figure out what to do about it.

In perilous times like these, the realm doesn't just need a knight. It needs a true leader.

Luckily, Excalibur lies within reach.

But who will be fit to wield it?

With a cast that includes Merlin, Morgan le Fay, the Lady of the Lake, and King Arthur himself - all reimagined in joyous, wickedly subversive fashion - Perilous Times is an Arthurian retelling that looks forward as much as it looks back...and a rollicking, deadpan-funny, surprisingly touching fantasy adventure."

You know I'm a sucker for a good Arthurian retelling.

The Tales Behind Tarot by Alison Davies
Published by: Leaping Hare
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In an introduction to the tarot unlike any other, join storyteller, tarot reader and teacher, Alison Davies, and read 78 unforgettable tales behind all the cards in the modern tarot deck.

Every tarot card has a story to tell and is rich in symbolic meaning. In this gorgeous book for aspiring and experienced tarot readers alike, expert practitioner Alison Davies brings the stories of the cards alive. With key words and themes to help you understand the meanings of the cards, use this storybook as a tool to learn the tarot, or take your tarot readings to the next level.

Follow The Fool on his journey through the Major Arcana as he travels down the path of life, meeting iconic characters along the way such as The Magician, The Hermit, Death, and The High Priestess. Follow the stories of the four suits in the Minor Arcana, and watch three sisters rise to power in the Suit of Pentacles, and a world-changing idea is born in the Suit of Wands.

Stories give us context, context gives us knowledge, and knowledge is empowerment. Enhance your tarot practice, and learn to understand, decode, and apply the wisdom and meaning of the tarot in your life through the power of these stories."

It's the story that helps in the understanding.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Arthurian, Bridgerton, Harper St. George, Jaclyn Goldis, Jane Dunn, Kelley Armstrong, Kendall Kulper, Mary Logue, Megan E. O'Keefe, Olivia Matthews, Stacey Abrams, Stephen Greco, Tarot, Thomas D. Lee, Truman Capote