strange and random happenstance

Killing Eve: Resurrection by Luke Jennings
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: eBook, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pre-order the Brand New novel in Luke Jennings's smash hit Killing Eve series. Buckle up - Villanelle and Eve are back!

I haven't kept her safe. Someone's taken her.

It goes without saying that when I find out who that is, I'll kill them.

Ex-MI6 officer Eve Polastri and assassin Oxana Vorontsova are living off grid in Russia. Their existence is pinched and drab; both know how close they came to mutual destruction.

Oxana is approached by the Twelve. Frustrated by inaction, hungry for her old life, she allows herself to be brought in from the cold. Then she finds Eve gone, taken from her by those who think she still belongs to them.

And so Villanelle wakes, and a new game begins.

Villanelle plays her part with lethal skill, indulging the monster that has for too long been caged. As the hunt for Eve takes her from St. Petersburg to Paris and a final reckoning in London, old and new enemies surface. Soon both women are drawn back into the shadowlands of political intrigue and murder.

Villanelle and Eve are back! The eagerly anticipated next installment of this cult series, and basis for the BAFTA-winning Killing Eve TV series, will not disappoint."

Yes! This will not disappoint. Unlike season four. Scratch that. There was no season four. Villanelle and Eve forever!

Strange Houses by Uketsu
Published by: HarperVia
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of the wildly inventive Strange Pictures and a phenomenon in Japan - unnatural layouts, trap doors, windowless rooms - a sinister conspiracy is concealed within a house's warped and unsettling floor plans.

When a writer fascinated by the macabre is approached by an acquaintance, he finds himself investigating an eerie house for sale in Tokyo. At first, with its bright and spacious interior, it seems the perfect first home. But upon closer inspection, the building's floor plans reveal a mysterious "dead space" hidden between its walls. Seeking a second opinion, the writer shares the floor plans with his friend Kurihara, an architect, only to discover more unnerving details throughout.

What is the true purpose behind the house's disturbing design? And what happened to the former owners who disappeared without a trace? When a body suddenly appears and a young woman reaches out about a second house, it soon becomes clear that the writer and his friend may be in over their heads. Structured around a series of chilling floorplans, with Strange Houses, mystery-horror YouTube sensation Uketsu casts readers in the role of detective, inviting them to help map out the truth hidden within these puzzling floor plans...and the terrifying plot behind it all."

Oh my, so much yes. As I kid I actually had Colorforms that you could make house layouts with. The weirder the better!

Dear Future Me by Deborah O'Connor
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"You never know what will happen when you try to rewrite the past...

In 2003, Mr. Danler's high school class got an assignment to write letters to their future selves. Twenty years later, they receive them in the mail.

Upon opening them, the students are shocked to find that their envelopes contain old secrets that threaten to expose the truth about the tragic death of one of their classmates. And when one letter makes the beautiful and successful Miranda jump off a cliff to her death, the small community is rocked to its core.

Stunned by what has happened and armed with a clue of her own, Miranda's best-friend Audrey decides to track down her old classmates to get to the bottom of Miranda's death. And in doing so, she sets off a chain of events that could expose the truth not just about one untimely death, but two.

From bestselling author Deborah O'Connor comes a searing thriller that exposes the grief, guilt, and secrets that riddle a small town, uncovering the far-reaching consequences of a decades-old tragedy."

I wish I had a teacher that had done this "letters to your future self" thing. But if would lead to my death, perhaps it was better left as just a wish. I think there might have been a time capsule though... Vaguely.

One Final Turn by Ashley Weaver
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The fifth and final installment in the Electra McDonnell series brings safecracker Ellie on a mission across World War II-era Europe to Lisbon, Portugal to rescue a key group of escaped POWs.

Ellie McDonnell is about to embark on her most perilous mission yet: go to Lisbon, Portugal to save her beloved cousin Toby who has reportedly escaped from a German prisoner of war camp. Toby has been missing since the Battle of Dunkirk and Ellie had all but lost hope in ever seeing him again until Major Ramsey, the British military intelligence officer she had been working closely with over the past few months, shared the news he'd intercepted.

Nothing will stop Ellie from finding her cousin, not even the awkward experience of having to travel to an unknown country with Ramsey after he'd dismissed her for being untrustworthy just as she'd realized she had fallen in love with him. Under the supervision of Captain Archie Blandings, a charming intelligence officer based in Lisbon, Ellie meets with undercover operatives to track down where Toby might be hiding from the Nazis and whether they are too late to safely recover him, all the while fighting her feelings for Ramsey and the incessant burden of war looming around her at every turn."

Perhaps she's cracked the secret to a happily ever after?

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling novelist Maggie Stiefvater dazzles in this mesmerizing portrait of an irresistible heroine, an unlikely romance, and a hotel - and a world - in peril.

January 1942. The Avallon Hotel and Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society's troubles.

Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel's aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staff - many of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front lines - to offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.

Meanwhile FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, whose coal tattoo hints at an Appalachian past, presses his ears to the hotel's walls, listening for the diplomats' secrets. He has one of his own, which is how he knows that June's balancing act can have dangerous consequences: the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal.

June has never met a guest she couldn't delight, but the diplomats are different. Without firing a single shot, they have brought the war directly to her. As clashing loyalties crack the Avallon's polished veneer, June must calculate the true cost of luxury."

Personally I'd rig that entire hotel with listening devices BEFORE the Nazis arrive. But that's just me.

The Carter of "La Providence" by Georges Simenon
Published by: Picador
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A glamorous woman suddenly turns up dead in the middle of nowhere in a tragic, mysterious puzzle that only Georges Simenon's legendary detective can solve.

It's just another slow, rainy day on a French canal, until the discovery of a woman's body disrupts the placid scene. Inspector Maigret is baffled by the facts of the case: an expensively dressed woman, Mary Lampson, has been strangled in a nearby stable, with no road nearby wide enough for automobile traffic. Only by chance was her body found, without a noise, witness, or trace of mud to aid in explaining the scene. How did this glamorous, pearl-laden woman meet her end? It seems that those on board the barge La Providence - Mary's proud husband, Sir Walter; a friend named Willy Marco; and a Chilean parliament member's widow - might hold the key to the puzzle. In The Carter of "La Providence," once again, Georges Simenon orchestrates a harrowing plot of secrets and dramas that disturb, and reveal the underbelly of, the everyday."

Read before the new series! 

The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon
Published by: Picador
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An eerie mystery in which a local wine dealer is shot and a strange yellow dog starts to circle the town - Inspector Maigret must navigate small-town dynamics to find the elusive culprit.

Late at night in a small seaside town, not a single light is on, and everyone is asleep. Or almost everyone: a man, drunk, departs for home after another evening at a hotel bar, where he and a few others regularly gather. Suddenly, he collapses - struck by a gunshot. The victim turns out to be the town's most successful wine dealer, and the event soon leads to a series of other curiosities: poisoned drinks at the bar, another man found missing, and a dirty yellow dog haunting the neighborhood, accompanied by large, unfamiliar boot tracks. Detective Chief Inspector Maigret, who happens to be nearby heading up a mobile unit, arrives swiftly to resolve the growing confusion. Though a chill sets over town, with townspeople remaining tight-lipped, Maigret's pursuit of the truth in Georges Simenon's The Yellow Dog makes for a thrilling, breathless adventure."

Because the new series is why we're getting these lovely reprints!

A Queer Case by Robert Holtom
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gripping 1920s-set whodunnit, this debut features a queer sleuth who must solve a murder in a mansion on London's Hampstead Heath without revealing his sexuality, lest he be arrested as a criminal.

The Selby Bigge mysteries series debut, it will leave readers eager for the next installment. Perfect for fans of Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey novels.

London, 1929.

Selby Bigge is a bank clerk by day and a denizen of the capital's queer underworld by night, but he yearns for a life that will take him away from his ledgers, loveless trysts and dreary bedsit in in which his every move is scrutinised by a nosy landlady. So when he meets Patrick, son of knight of the realm and banking millionaire Sir Lionel Duker, he is delighted to find himself catapulted into a world of dinners at The Ritz and birthday parties at his new friend's family mansion on Hampstead Heath.

But money, it seems, can't buy happiness. Sir Lionel is being slandered in the press, his new young wife Lucinda is being harassed by an embittered journalist and Patrick is worried he'll lose his inheritance to his gold-digging stepmother. And when someone is found strangled on the billiards room floor after a party it doesn't take long for Selby to realise everyone has a motive for murder.

Can Selby uncover the truth while keeping his own secrets buried?"

I mean, unless the killer knows his secret I think it's safe...

Felix Grey and the Descendant by Mario Theodorou
Published by: Neem Tree Press
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this historical mystery, a string of abductions and rising tensions thrusts a young leader into a world of murky politics and dark secrets - written by award-winning BAFTA scriptwriter and film director, Mario Theodorou.

London, 1904.

Edward VII sits on the throne, the economy is faltering, and one of the youngest Prime Ministers in history has been thrust into office on the crest of a populist wave. Battling self-doubt and fierce opposition within the Commons, Felix Grey is plunged into a world of murky politics and hidden secrets when a lord is mysteriously abducted from a gentlemen's club.

With tensions rising between the government and trade unions amidst a series of fatal factory disasters, Felix must quickly connect the dots between the missing politicians and the growing chaos in the country. A rapidly escalating chain of events is threatening to tear apart Parliament and Nation...

Can Felix crack the case and protect his country, or will he bear witness to a grim repetition of history?"

Well, history does repeat itself when people aren't safe at their jobs and need their union's protection...

Murder at Hambledon Hall by C.J. Archer
Published by: C.J. Archer
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 252 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The genteel tranquility of a country house party is shattered when the gamekeeper is shot. Was his death the result of his recent indiscretions, or long-buried secrets?

The weekend was supposed to be an enjoyable time with her family at the neo-Gothic manor of Lord and Lady Kershaw, but when the gamekeeper is murdered, Cleo can't rest until the killer is caught. As a witness herself, she's frustrated with the incompetence of the local police who lay the blame on a man who conveniently disappeared. When she realizes their ineptitude is a result of Lord Kershaw's influence, she focuses her investigation on the earl and his family, against the wishes of her uncle.

The arrival of her suspects at the Mayfair Hotel allows Cleo to continue the investigation after the country house party ends, but what she discovers unnerves her. The gamekeeper's reputation for seducing young women has left a trail of broken hearts, from the lowest maid to the highest lady. But could there be another reason for his murder?

Meanwhile, the hotel staff have secrets of their own to hide. As loyalties are tested on several fronts, Cleo needs her friends more than ever if she is to unravel the mysteries, both old and new."

Always here for a murderous house party!

Of Silver and Secrets by Michelle Griep
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Buried underneath are truths bent on keeping them apart....

In 1889 Victorian England, Eva Inman is haunted by guilt over her parents' deaths while struggling to care for her blind sister and manage her family's crumbling estate. With the tax deadline looming, Eva's situation looks dire until an ancient silver ring is unearthed on the property. Despite superstitions warning against disturbing the supposedly cursed acres, Eva's need for funds ignites her curiosity about the potential of finding more buried relics.

Cambridge professor Bram Webb must prove a legendary Christian Roman settlement exists, or he'll risk exposing his uncle's deteriorating memory and they'll both lose their positions. Then Eva steps into his office with the prospect of an archaeological dig that might lead to the very evidence Bram requires - provided he and Eva can set aside painful memories of a time they would rather forget. As the dig forces the two to confront their pasts, the work becomes fraught with challenges that threaten Eva's and Bram's hopes, as well as the growing attraction between them.

Dive into the past in this clean historical romance as Michelle Griep transports you to Victorian England with an appealing mix of mystery, Roman archaeology, and charming banter. This enthralling tale will appeal to fans of Mimi Matthews, Andrea Penrose, Anna Lee Huber, and Miss Scarlet and the Duke."

Oh, I like the Roman archaeology angle!

To Love A Spy by Andrea Pickens
Published by: Oliver-Heber Books
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 322 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a mission of critical importance arises, Lord Lynsley, the enigmatic head of Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Extraordinary Young Ladies, is forced to take on the assignment himself. But when things take an unexpected turn, he has has no choice but to ask for help from a former agent whose injury during a botched mission ten years ago forced her to retire from the elite unit of unconventional lady spies.

Can old wounds - both physical and emotional - be put aside in order for them to work together to destroy a new weapon that may give Napoleon and the French an insurmountable edge in the war against Britain and its allies? The mission takes them into the heart of enemy territory, where danger threatens from all angles, and to have any hope of survival they will have put aside old hurts and trust each other..."

I was lucky enough to get to read the first book in this series as part of the "street team" to get out the news about it's rerelease. This book though is the forth and ALL NEW book in the series about Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Extraordinary Young Ladies and I could not be more excited.

A Most Unlikely Lady by Darcy McGuire
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: eBook, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Preorder the Brand New installment in Darcy McGuire's gorgeously funny, spicy romance series, featuring Queen Victoria's Deadly Damsels!

She may be innocent...but she's also deadly!

When seemingly fragile Miss Ivy Cavendale takes the headmistress position in an orphanage, it is her chance to stay anonymous in society. But not all is what it seems with Miss Ivy. When an intruder breaks in one night, she's quick to draw her weapon, and while fear - her constant companion - has mysteriously disappeared, one thing is very clear: she and her charges are the next target of The Devil’s Sons.

Commissioner Edward Worthington owes the head of The Queen's Deadly Damsels a debt. So, he must keep an eye on the Duchess's new protégé. How much trouble can the shy Miss Cavendale be? Rather a lot, actually. The diminutive wallflower has been overlooked and forgotten by society's elite, but Edward sees a woman full of fascinating contradictions he's compelled to unravel.

Burdened by secrets and childhood trauma, Ivy is stunned as Edward ignites a breathless curiosity within her. And when he asks her to join forces to identify the dangerous intruder at The Widow's Ball, she cannot refuse. She may not trust many, but something tells her she should trust Edward...with more than just this mission."

Diminutive wallflowers are always more fascinating than the average person thinks!

Kill Creatures by Rory Power
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Last year, Nan's three best friends ventured into the canyons near their small town and never returned. Now one of them is back, and Nan can't believe it...because she's the one who killed them. From the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls comes another dark thriller about friendship, jealousy, desire, and revenge, with a twist ending that needs to be talked about.

Last summer, Luce, Edie, Jane, and Nan took a boat out for one final swim in the river. It was a perfect summer night.

But the only one who returned that night was Nan. Edie, Jane, and Luce disappeared, and Nan's story has always been the same: She has no idea what happened. The girls went ahead, and it was as though they vanished into thin air.

Now, one year later, all of Saltcedar has gathered at the river for a memorial. Nan even recreated the outfit she wore that fateful day last summer. And when Luce climbs out of the water, no one is more surprised than Nan.

Because Nan killed her. Right before she killed Edie and Jane."

You know you need to know if it's ghost, revenant, zombie, or manifested guilt!

The Beautiful Maddening by Shea Ernshaw
Published by: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw comes a haunting romantic contemporary fantasy about a teen navigating her family's love curse that blooms with their enchanted tulips every year.

Seventeen year-old Lark Goode wants only one thing: to escape her small town of Cutwater and the history of her family name. It's a history that began during the Dutch tulip mania of 1636, when Lark's ancestor stole the last remaining tulip bulbs and fled to America. But when the tulips bloomed on American soil, madness sprouted from their snowy white petals.

The madness was love.

Now, generations later, the Goodes remain cursed - the unnatural flowers outside their home causing locals to fall helplessly in love with anyone carrying Goode blood in their veins. While her brother embraces the strange power, Lark wants nothing more than to be free from it.

But when she meets a boy who seems unaffected by the family curse, Lark finds herself falling headlong into a feeling she's spent her whole life trying to avoid. Yet, all curses and magic come with a price, and the town of Cutwater soon sinks into a dangerous sickness tied to Lark and the ill-fated tulips.

To save the town, Lark will need to sacrifice everything - even true love - to break the spell. Because in the Goode family, love has a way of destroying everything."

Damn, that cover is art!

The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this dazzling debut novel, a hidden and nearly forgotten magic - of Reforging pencils, bringing the memories they contain back to life - holds the power to transform a young woman's relationship with her grandmother, and to mend long-lost connections across time and space.

Monica Tsai spends most days on her computer, journaling the details of her ordinary life and coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. A self-proclaimed recluse, she's always struggled to make friends and, as a college freshman, finds herself escaping into a digital world, counting the days until she can return home to her beloved grandparents. They are now in their nineties, and Monica worries about them constantly - especially her grandmother, Yun, who survived two wars in China before coming to the States, and whose memory has begun to fade.

Though Yun rarely speaks of her past, Monica is determined to find the long-lost cousin she was separated from years ago. One day, the very program Monica is helping to build connects her to a young woman, whose gift of a single pencil holds a surprising clue. Monica's discovery of a hidden family history is exquisitely braided with Yun's own memories as she writes of her years in Shanghai, working at the Phoenix Pencil Company. As WWII rages outside their door, Yun and her cousin, Meng, learn of a special power the women in their family possess: the ability to Reforge a pencil's words. But when the government uncovers their secret, they are forced into a life of espionage, betraying other people's stories to survive.

Combining the cross-generational family saga and epistolary form of A Tale for the Time Being with the uplifting, emotional magic of The Midnight Library, Allison King's stunning debut novel asks: who owns and inherits our stories? The answers and secrets that surface on the page may have the unerasable power to reconnect a family and restore a legacy."

This is the most beautiful and ingenious cover design I have seen in years.

The God and the Gwisin by Sophie Kim
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this swoony sequel to The God and the Gumiho, a trickster god must work with his reincarnated lost love to solve his brother's murder on board a luxury underworld cruise ship.

Seokga the No-Longer-Fallen is working on himself. Reinstated as a god, the trickster now attends much-needed therapy, even as he desperately searches for his lost love, Hani. But when the red thread of fate tangled around his finger - signaling Hani's reincarnation - leads Seokga to a luxury cruise down the river of the dead, the woman he finds waiting for him isn't Hani...she's Yoo Kisa, and she has no memory of him.

Yoo Kisa is exhausted with her afterlife. While she'd hoped the underworld would be peaceful, whoever she was in a past life racked up quite the karmic debt, and now she must pay it, working thanklessly aboard the SRC Flatliner. Even worse, the red thread wrapped around her pinky followed her into the underworld...and although her fated partner has found her, he seems to find her lacking.

When the heavenly emperor is murdered aboard the ship, Seokga and Kisa must solve the crime before the cruise ends. As the mystery draws them closer, the god and the gwisin will have to decide what they truly mean to each other. But there's something bigger at play aboard the SRC Flatliner, something that holds the key to Kisa and Seokga's fated connection - and the fate of the mortal and heavenly realms."

I mean, this sounds far out there, but the fact that the cruise ship in hell is called the SRC Flatliner slays me.

Ten Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi comes an epic and daring novel that imagines an alternate version of 1960s India that was never liberated from the British, and a young woman's struggle to change the tides of history.

Kalki Divekar grows up a daughter of Kingston - a city the British built on the ashes of Bombay. The older generation, including her father, have been lost to the brutal hunt for rebels. Young men are drafted to fight wars they will never return from. And the people of her city are more interested in fighting one another than facing their true oppressors.

When tragedy strikes close to home, Kalki begins to play a dangerous game with small acts of resistance, tempered by cautious, level-headed Yashu and fortified by Fauzia, whose dreams of the future awaken Kalki's heart. Together, they found Kingston's new independence movement, obtaining jobs working for the British while secretly planning to destroy the empire from the inside out. But one wrong move means certain death, and when facing threats from all quarters, Kalki must decide whether it's more important to be a hero or to survive.

Set over the course of a decade and told as ten moments from Kalki's life that mirror the Dashavatara, the ten avatars of Vishnu, Ten Incarnations of Rebellion is a sweeping, deeply felt speculative novel of empowerment, friendship, self-determination, and the true meaning of freedom."

And the importance for independence!

Lady's Knight by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Published by: Storytide
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An undeniably fierce, unforgettably funny, unapologetically queer feminist romp through the England of medieval legend. Bestselling and acclaimed authors Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner bring readers along on an epic quest for valor, freedom, and, above all, love. A Knight's Tale meets the Lady Jane series, with a dash of The Great!

Gwen is sick of hiding - hiding the fact that she's taken over her father's blacksmithing duties, hiding her attraction to girls, hiding her yearning for glory as a knight.

Meanwhile, Lady Isobelle of Avington, queen bee of the castle, has never once considered hiding who she is - until now. She's been chosen as the grand prize in the Tournament of Dragonslayers, to be given to whichever knight can claim her hand. And for the first time in her life, she can't talk her way out of trouble.

When Isobelle discovers Gwen's knightly ambitions, they hatch a scheme together - Gwen will joust in the tournament, disguised as Sir Gawain. Winning means freedom for Isobelle, and glory for Gwen. Losing means...well, let's not go there.

One thing's for sure: Falling in love was never the plan.

But the best laid plans…are often trampled all over by dragons."

I need something to fill the My Lady Jane hole in me. This will do nicely.

A Fellowship of Librarians and Dragons by J. Penner
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Spilling the tea has never been so cozy...

In the quaint town of Adenashire, Doli Butterbuckle, a people-pleasing sunshine dwarf, is content with her simple tea magic and circle of friends. It's true she's never quite lived up to family expectations, but life is just fine - until her parents arrive with an inherited dragon egg and a charming gargoyle harboring a secret stroll into her life.

As Doli grapples with her newfound responsibility and discovers a long hidden side of herself, she must face an overbearing family, a sinister plot, and a mischievous dragon that refuses to stay out of trouble.

But with the help of her loyal friends and newfound love, Doli embarks on a heartwarming adventure, revealing that embracing her true self is the most enchanting path of all."

Dragons! But nice cozy dragons. 

Firerend by Emma Kennedy
Published by: Of the Page Press
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 3166 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One last job, one last chance.

Allara will do anything for her sick sister, but in a city like Oberon, gold is hard to come by and even harder to earn without selling your soul. With no marketable skills and high costs to keep up, Allara's conscience might be the price she pays.

Nymm fled her past to survive, leaving everything behind, but when her guild falls on tough times, she'll have to rebuild their reputation or risk losing the only family she has left. The odds are stacked against her, but she'll do anything to keep them together.

Auren has been living for himself for so long, he's forgotten what it means to have a purpose. With the chance of unimaginable wealth - and a shot at redemption - he jumps at the opportunity. But is this job enough to make up for his mistakes, or will it drag him deeper into the shadows?

When forces align to offer a job with more gold than most would see in their entire lives, no one is in a position to turn it down. But as the job starts to unravel, they're reminded all gold comes at a price - and the question is, can they survive the cost?"

Can they survive is one question, but will the succeed in keeping the gold is the bigger one...

Crueler Mercies by Maren Chase
Published by: Bindery Books
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 424 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Vita's rage overflowed until she was prepared to drown in it, and she knew that she would never again dam this anger to please another."

After nine years as the people's beloved princess in the sun-soaked Kingdom of Carca, Vita witnesses the execution of her mother by her father's hand. Forced into exile, Vita fades into obscurity with her only friends - the crows that visit her window.

Eleven years later, Vita is given a choice: marry an enemy general, granting him legitimacy to take the throne, or die as the forgotten princess. With time running out, Vita meets Soline, an intriguing lady-in-waiting who introduces her to the powerful-but-unstable magic of alchemy.

If Vita and Soline can learn to control it - and the undeniable spark between them - they could burn the world of men to the ground."

Do it! Burn the world of men to the ground!

Deathbound by Alyssa Chappell
Published by: Alyssa Chappell
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Kindle, 502 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Aera Nightwing always dreamed of mastering her summoning powers, but at 22, she's little more than a novice - and to her family, little more than a vessel for future heirs. Overlooked, underestimated, and reduced to her ability to produce children, Aera has spent her life longing to prove herself. However, when her family is slaughtered, vengeance becomes her sole purpose, leading her to the one being she's been taught to fear above all: the Death-Breaker, a centuries old Necromancer and the King of the Dead.

Burdened by guilt for failing to protect her village, Meridiana, from its wicked rulers, Aera's world fractures further when the Death-Breaker spares her life, leaving her with the realization that the man she's been taught to hate, might not be her enemy at all. Beneath the canopy of the dark forest he rules, and the race against a prophecy seeking to take her life, Aera begins to uncover a labyrinth of lies surrounding her past, destroying everything she once knew.

In this gripping dark fantasy where even the light has claws, dark secrets, mythical creatures, and a kingdom teetering on the brink of ruin await. Will Aera find the strength to wield her wickedness in time, or will the shackles of her looming destiny take her life once and for all?"

I mean, given how her family treated her... Ditch the revenge and go off with the Death-Breaker!

Blonde Dust by Tatiana De Rosnay
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A "Hollywood tale with heart" about a reimagined friendship between Marilyn Monroe and a young maid whose life will be changed forever, from the New York Times bestselling author of Sarah's Key. (Adriana Trigliani)

Pauline, a young chambermaid who works at the legendary Mapes Hotel in Reno, Nevada, is asked to step in for a colleague and clean Suite 614. Although she was told the rooms were empty, a dazed, sleepy woman appears before her. This is Mrs. Miller, aka Marilyn Monroe, whose stay in Reno coincides with the breakdown of her marriage to Arthur Miller and the filming of what was to be her last film, The Misfits.

Set in the American West in 1960 where the mustang horses run wild, an unexpected friendship unfolds between the most famous movie star in the world and a young cleaning woman whose life will be changed forever through the course of a few weeks. A testament to the enduring power of female friendship and a reimagining of a side of Marilyn Monroe that has never been seen before."

A female empowerment version of My Week with Marilyn!

A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern
Published by: Crown
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world's youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to a new generation of leaders.

What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first? Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-town New Zealand, but as the 40th Prime Minister of her country, she commanded global respect for her empathetic leadership that put people first. This is the remarkable story of how a Mormon girl plagued by self-doubt made political history and changed our assumptions of what a global leader can be.

When Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister at age thirty-seven, the world took notice. But it was her compassionate yet powerful response to the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, resulting in swift and sweeping gun control laws, that demonstrated her remarkable leadership. She guided her country through unprecedented challenges - a volcanic eruption, a major biosecurity breach, and a global pandemic - while advancing visionary new policies to address climate change, reduce child poverty, and secure historic international trade deals. She did all this while juggling first-time motherhood in the public eye.

Ardern exemplifies a new kind of leadership - proving that leaders can be caring, empathetic, and effective. She has become a global icon, and now she is ready to share her story, from the struggles to the surprises, including for the first time the full details of her decision to step down during her sixth year as Prime Minister.

Through her personal experiences and reflections, Jacinda is a model for anyone who has ever doubted themselves, or has aspired to lead with compassion, conviction, and courage. A Different Kind of Power is more than a political memoir; it's an insight into how it feels to lead, ultimately asking: What if you, too, are capable of more than you ever imagined?"

Oh, I hope she promotes this book on Colbert!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrea Pickens, Ashley Weaver, C.J. Archer, Darcy McGuire, Georges Simenon, Jacinda Ardern, Killing Eve, Luke Jennings, Maggie Stiefvater, Michelle Griep, Robert Holtom, Rory Power, Shea Ernshaw, Uketsu

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

Gilded by Marissa Meyer
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Gilded, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer returns to the fairytale world with this haunting retelling of Rumpelstiltskin.

Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller's daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue.

Or so everyone believes.

When one of Serilda's outlandish tales draws the attention of the sinister Erlking and his undead hunters, she finds herself swept away into a grim world where ghouls and phantoms prowl the earth and hollow-eyed ravens track her every move. The king orders Serilda to complete the impossible task of spinning straw into gold, or be killed for telling falsehoods. In her desperation, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious boy to her aid. He agrees to help her… for a price. Love isn't meant to be part of the bargain.

Soon Serilda realizes that there is more than one secret hidden in the castle walls, including an ancient curse that must be broken if she hopes to end the tyranny of the king and his wild hunt forever."

Marissa Meyer retelling a fairy tale again? Oh, I've been waiting for this for so long! I might have preordered my copy months and months ago.

Terciel and Elinot by Garth Nix
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bestselling novelist Garth Nix returns to the Old Kingdom for the never-before-told love story of Sabriel’s parents, Terciel and Elinor, and the charter magic that brought them together - and threatened to tear them apart. A long-awaited prequel to a classic fantasy series.

In the Old Kingdom, a land of ancient and often terrible magics, eighteen year-old orphan Terciel learns the art of necromancy from his great-aunt Tizanael. But not to raise the Dead, rather to lay them to rest. He is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Tizanael is the Abhorsen, the latest in a long line of people whose task it is to make sure the Dead do not return to Life.

Across the Wall in Ancelstierre, a steam-age country where magic usually does not work, nineteen year-old Elinor lives a secluded life. Her only friends an old governess and an even older groom who was once a famous circus performer. Her mother is a tyrant, who is feared by all despite her sickness and impending death...but perhaps there is even more to fear from that.

Elinor does not know she is deeply connected to the Old Kingdom, nor that magic can sometimes come across the Wall, until a plot by an ancient enemy of the Abhorsens brings Terciel and Tizanael to Ancelstierre. In a single day of fire and death and loss, Elinor finds herself set on a path which will take her into the Old Kingdom, into Terciel’s life, and will embroil her in the struggle of the Abhorsens against the Dead who will not stay dead."

The contents are as good, but I miss the gorgeous cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

There's a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers
Published by: Philomel Books
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 80 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A captivating and utterly unique picture book with interactive, transparent pages about a girl who lives in a haunted house from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers.

A young girl lives in a haunted house, but she has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? Step inside and help the girl as she searches under the stairs, behind the sofa, and in the attic for the ghost.

From New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers comes a delightful picture book that breaks the fourth wall about young girl's determination to find the ghost haunting her house. Includes tracing paper pages that make the silly ghosts appear on each page. Perfect for Halloween."

SO perfect for Halloween. That cover just draws you in!

Parting the Veil by Paulette Kennedy
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Paperback, 367 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Some houses hold secrets that are meant to be kept forever...

When Eliza Sullivan inherits an estate from a recently deceased aunt, she leaves behind a grievous and guilt-ridden past in New Orleans for rural England and a fresh start. Eliza arrives at her new home and finds herself falling for the mysterious lord of Havenwood, Malcolm Winfield. Despite the sinister rumors that surround him, Eliza is drawn to his melancholy charm and his crumbling, once-beautiful mansion. With enough love, she thinks, both man and manor could be repaired.

Not long into their marriage, Eliza fears that she should have listened to the locals. There's something terribly wrong at Havenwood Manor: Forbidden rooms. Ghostly whispers in the shadows. Strangely guarded servants. And Malcolm's threatening moods, as changeable as night and day.

As Eliza delves deeper into Malcolm's troubling history, the dark secrets she unearths gain a frightening power. Has she married a man or a monster? For Eliza, uncovering the truth will either save her or destroy her."

Has a very Rebecca vibe!

Lost in Darkness by Michelle Griep
Published by: Barbour Fiction
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Even if there be monsters, there is none so fierce as that which resides in man’s own heart.

Enchanting Regency-Era Gothic Romance Intertwined with Inspiration from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Travel writer Amelia Balfour’s dream of touring Egypt is halted when she receives news of a revolutionary new surgery for her grotesquely disfigured brother. This could change everything, and it does...in the worst possible way.

Surgeon Graham Lambert has suspicions about the doctor he’s gone into practice with, but he can’t stop him from operating on Amelia’s brother. Will he be too late to prevent the man’s death? Or to reveal his true feelings for Amelia before she sails to Cairo?"

Regency-Era, check. Gothic, check. Egypt, check. Must read, check.

A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Red White and Royal Blue meets Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell in debut author Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light, featuring an Edwardian England full of magic, contracts, and conspiracies.

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.

Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it - not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.

Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles - and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep."

Edwardian England full of magic in the vein of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell... Can you hear my heavy breathing from here?

Isolate by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. 
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 608 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"L. E. Modesitt, Jr., bestselling author of The Mongrel Mage, has a brand new gaslamp political fantasy Isolate.

Industrialization. Social unrest. Underground movements. Government corruption and surveillance.

Something is about to give.

Steffan Dekkard is an isolate, one of the small percentage of people who are immune to the projections of empaths. As an isolate, he has been trained as a security specialist and he and his security partner Avraal Ysella, a highly trained empath are employed by Axel Obreduur, a senior Craft Minister and the de facto political strategist of his party.

When a respected Landor Councilor dies of "heart failure" at a social event, because of his political friendship with Obreduur, Dekkard and Ysella find that not only is their employer a target, but so are they, in a covert and deadly struggle for control of the government and economy.

Steffan is about to understand that everything he believed is an illusion."

Gaslamp political, oh yes! 

The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan
Published by: Hodder and Stoughton
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A priceless manuscript. A missing scholar. A trail of riddles.

For over a century, one of the world's great treasures, a six-hundred-year-old copy of Dante's The Divine Comedy, has been safely housed at Bombay's Asiatic Society. But when it vanishes, together with the man charged with its care, British scholar and war hero, John Healy, the case lands on Inspector Persis Wadia's desk.

Uncovering a series of complex riddles written in verse, Persis - together with English forensic scientist Archie Blackfinch - is soon on the trail. But then they discover the first body.

As the death toll mounts it becomes evident that someone else is also pursuing this priceless artefact and will stop at nothing to possess it...

Harking back to an era of darkness, this second thriller in the Malabar House series pits Persis, once again, against her peers, a changing India, and an evil of limitless intent.

Gripping, immersive, and full of Vaseem Khan's trademark wit, this is historical fiction at its finest."

Indian The Name of the Rose!

Out of the Rain by V.C. Andrews
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Following the events of The Umbrella Lady, young Saffron Faith Anders searches for family and love in this spine-tingling gothic fairy tale from the New York Times bestselling author of the Flowers in the Attic series and Landry series - now popular Lifetime movies.

After escaping the trauma of the Umbrella Lady’s home, thirteen-year-old Saffron Faith Anders is determined to find the father who abandoned her all those years ago. But when she finds him in a nearby town, Saffron is shocked to discover that he has married a woman he clearly had been involved with before her mother’s death. Worse, her father insists Saffron pretend to be his niece so he can continue to con his new wife’s family. Desperate for her father’s love, she goes along with the farce, but it soon becomes clear that perhaps it is better to face the world alone than trapped in a toxic and potentially dangerous family."

MORE V.C. ANDREWS! Bring it all to me! Books, movies, everything! 

The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to the house on Tradd Street one last time in this hauntingly spectacular finale to the bestselling series featuring psychic medium Melanie Trenholm.

After the devastating events of the past few months, the last thing Melanie Trenholm wants is to think about the future. Why, when her husband, Jack, has asked for a separation - a separation that might have been her fault? Nevertheless, with twin toddlers, a stepdaughter leaving for college soon, a real estate career to resume and a historic home that is still being restored, Melanie doesn’t have much time to wonder where it all went wrong - but that doesn’t stop her from trying to win her husband back.

Their relationship issues are pushed aside, however, when longtime nemesis, Marc Longo, comes to them with a proposition: allow their Tradd Street house to be used as the filming location for the movie adaptation of Marc’s bestselling book, and he will help Jack re-establish his stalled writing career. Despite Melanie’s hesitation, Jack jumps at the chance. But Melanie’s doubts soon prove to be well founded when she uncovers ulterior reasons for Marc wanting to be back in their house - reasons that include a hidden gem so brilliant that legend links it to the most infamous jewel of all, the Hope Diamond.

But Melanie has an unexpected ally in protecting the house and its inhabitants - the ghost of a Civil War era girl warns her of increasing threats to her family. But she’s not the only spirit who is haunting Melanie. A malevolent ghost seems determined to stop Melanie from investigating the decades-old murder of a friend’s sister, and this spirit will stop at nothing to protect its secrets - even from beyond the grave.

Melanie and Jack must work together to find the answers before evil spirits of past and present destroy everything they love."

Final!?!?!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Edwardian, Egypt, Frankenstein, Freya Marske, Garth Nix, Gothic, Halloween, India, Karen White, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Marissa Meyer, Michelle Griep, Oliver Jeffers, Paulette Kennedy, V.C. Andrews, Vaseem Khan

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Things are slow, and October “Toby” Daye couldn’t be happier about that. The elf-shot cure has been approved, Arden Windermere is settling into her position as Queen in the Mists, and Toby doesn’t have anything demanding her attention except for wedding planning and spending time with her family.

Maybe she should have realized that it was too good to last.

When Toby’s mother, Amandine, appears on her doorstep with a demand for help, refusing her seems like the right thing to do…until Amandine starts taking hostages, and everything changes. Now Toby doesn’t have a choice about whether or not she does as her mother asks. Not with Jazz and Tybalt’s lives hanging in the balance. But who could possibly help her find a pureblood she’s never met, one who’s been missing for over a hundred years?

Enter Simon Torquill, elf-shot enemy turned awakened, uneasy ally. Together, the two of them must try to solve one of the greatest mysteries in the Mists: what happened to Amandine’s oldest daughter, August, who disappeared in 1906.

This is one missing person case Toby can’t afford to get wrong."

Eleven books in a October Daye is going hardcover! Not that there was any doubt that Seanan wasn't "making it."

White Trash Zombie Unchained by Diana Rowland
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Angel Crawford has finally pulled herself together (literally!) after her disastrous dismemberment on Mardi Gras. She’s putting the pieces of her life back in order and is ready to tackle whatever the future holds.

Too bad the future is a nasty bitch. There’s a new kind of zombie in town: mindless shamblers, infectious and ravenous.

With the threat of a full-blown shambler pandemic looming, and a loved one stricken, Angel and the “real” zombies scramble to find a cure. Yet when Angel uncovers the true reason the plague is spreading so quickly, she adds “no-holds-barred revenge” to her to-do list.

Angel is busting her ass dealing with shambling hordes, zombie gators, government jerks, and way too many mosquitos, but this white trash chick ain’t giving up.

Good thing, since the fate of the world is resting on her undead shoulders."

Yeah, I like me some zombies!

Glow by Megan Bryant
Published by: Albert Whitman and Company
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When thrift-store aficionado Julie discovers a series of antique paintings with hidden glowing images that are only visible in the dark, she wants to learn more about the artist. In her search, she uncovers a century-old romance and the haunting true story of the Radium Girls, young women who used radioactive paint to make the world's first glow-in-the-dark products—and ultimately became radioactive themselves. As Julie’s obsession with the paintings mounts, truths about the Radium Girls—and her own complicated relationships—are revealed. But will she uncover the truth about the luminous paintings before putting herself and everyone she loves at risk?"

Come on, art history and adventure!?! Yes!

The Princess in Black and the Mysterious Playdate by Shannon and Dean Hale
Published by: Candlewick
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Noseholes and elephants! A pet-eating monster interrupts a perfect playdate with Princess Sneezewort . . . but who is that new masked avenger?

Princess Magnolia and Princess Sneezewort have plans . . . mysterious plans, like a princess playdate! They dress-up slam! They karaoke jam! They playhouse romp and snack-time stomp! But then a shout from outside Princess Sneezewort's castle interrupts their fun. It’s a monster trying to eat someone’s kitty! This is a job for the Princess in Black. Yet when the Princess in Black gets there, she finds only a masked stranger and no monster in sight . . . or is there? Action and humor abound in this ode to friendship that proves that when shape-shifting monsters intrude on your plans, two heroes are better than one."

New book by Shannon Hale? It's time to party!

12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep
Published by: Shiloh Run Press
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A mysterious invitation to spend Christmas at an English manor home may bring danger...and love?

England, 1851: When Clara Chapman receives an intriguing invitation to spend Christmas at an English manor home, she is hesitant yet feels compelled to attend—for if she remains the duration of the twelve-day celebration, she is promised a sum of five hundred pounds.

But is she walking into danger? It appears so, especially when she comes face to face with one of the other guests—her former fiancé, Benjamin Lane.

Imprisoned unjustly, Ben wants revenge on whoever stole his honor. When he’s given the chance to gain his freedom, he jumps at it—and is faced with the anger of the woman he stood up at the altar. Brought together under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Ben discover that what they’ve been striving for isn’t what ultimately matters.

What matters most is what Christmas is all about . . . love.

Pour a cup of tea and settle in for Book 1 of the Once Upon a Dickens Christmas series--a page-turning Victorian-era holiday tale--by Michelle Griep, a reader and critic favorite."

A manor house? Christmas? Charles Dickens? This is on my TBR pile come December.

The Essence of Malice by Ashley Weaver
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"“For pity’s sake, darling, let me finish my coffee before you begin concocting schemes.”

When Amory Ames’s husband Milo receives a troubling letter from his childhood nanny, Madame Nanette, the couple travel to Paris where they become embroiled in a mystery surrounding the death of a famous parfumier. Helios Belanger died suddenly, shortly before the release of his new, highly anticipated perfume, and Madame Nanette, who works for his family, is convinced that her employer’s death was not due to natural causes.

The more Amory and Milo look into the motives of industry rivals and the Belanger heirs who are vying for control of his perfume empire, the more they are convinced that Madame Nanette may be right. When secrets unfold and things take a dangerous turn, Amory and Milo must work quickly to uncover the essence of the matter and catch a killer before the scent goes cold."

And cozy fun of a different sort...

The Property of Lies by Marjorie Eccles
Published by: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"DI Herbert Reardon is drawn into a world of secrets and lies when a body is discovered at a girls’ boarding school.

1930. When a body is discovered on the premises of the newly-established Maxstead Court School for Girls, Detective Inspector Herbert Reardon is called in to investigate. His wife Ellen having just accepted a job as French teacher, Reardon is alarmed to find the school a hotbed of scandalous secrets, suppressed passions, petty jealousies and wanton schoolgirl cruelty. As he pursues his enquiries, it becomes clear that the dead woman was not who – or what – she claimed to be. Who was she really – and why is Reardon convinced that more than one member of staff is not telling him the whole truth?

Then a pupil goes missing – and the case takes a disturbing new twist..."

Sounds like some Christie-esque fun!

The Last Weekend by Laura DiSilverio
Published by: Midnight Ink
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 312 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A terrible accident. A killer among friends.

A woman risking everything for answers.

Every year for a decade, five college friends spent a weekend together at the atmospheric Chateau du Cygne Noir. Then, tragedy struck.

Ten years later, Laurel Muir returns to the castle for the first time since the accident, hoping to reconnect with her friends and lay the past to rest. When a murderer attacks, it rips open old wounds and forces the women to admit there’s a killer in their midst. The remaining friends make a pact to unearth the truth, but suspicion, doubt, and old secrets threaten to tear them apart. Unsure who to trust, Laurel puts herself in harm’s way, risking it all for friendship and long-delayed justice."

YAS! Old secrets, a new murder! I'm so easily sold on certain books. 

The Seagull by Ann Cleeves
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper – and Vera played a key part in his downfall.

Now, Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer who disappeared in the mid-nineties, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, and that his body is buried close to St Mary’s Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two.

This cold case case takes Vera back in time, and very close to home, as Brace and Marshall, along with a mysterious stranger known only as ‘the Prof’, were close friends of Hector, her father. Together, they were the 'Gang of Four’, regulars at a glamorous nightclub called The Seagull. Hector had been one of the last people to see Marshall alive. As the past begins to collide dangerously with the present, Vera confronts her prejudices and unwanted memories to dig out the truth...

The Seagull is a searing new novel by Sunday Times bestselling author Ann Cleeves, about corruption deep in the heart of a community, and fragile, and fracturing, family relationships."

A Vera, I've missed ya!

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A modern American epic set against the panorama of contemporary politics and culture—a hurtling, page-turning mystery that is equal parts The Great Gatsby and The Bonfire of the Vanities.

On the day of Barack Obama’s inauguration, an enigmatic billionaire from foreign shores takes up residence in the architectural jewel of “the Gardens,” a cloistered community in New York’s Greenwich Village. The neighborhood is a bubble within a bubble, and the residents are immediately intrigued by the eccentric newcomer and his family. Along with his improbable name, untraceable accent, and unmistakable whiff of danger, Nero Golden has brought along his three adult sons: agoraphobic, alcoholic Petya, a brilliant recluse with a tortured mind; Apu, the flamboyant artist, sexually and spiritually omnivorous, famous on twenty blocks; and D, at twenty-two the baby of the family, harboring an explosive secret even from himself. There is no mother, no wife; at least not until Vasilisa, a sleek Russian expat, snags the septuagenarian Nero, becoming the queen to his king—a queen in want of an heir.

Our guide to the Goldens’ world is their neighbor René, an ambitious young filmmaker. Researching a movie about the Goldens, he ingratiates himself into their household. Seduced by their mystique, he is inevitably implicated in their quarrels, their infidelities, and, indeed, their crimes. Meanwhile, like a bad joke, a certain comic-book villain embarks upon a crass presidential run that turns New York upside-down.

Set against the strange and exuberant backdrop of current American culture and politics, The Golden House also marks Salman Rushdie’s triumphant and exciting return to realism. The result is a modern epic of love and terrorism, loss and reinvention—a powerful, timely story told with the daring and panache that make Salman Rushdie a force of light in our dark new age."

If it's anything like the book it's compared to, well, new classic? 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ann Cleeves, Ashley Weaver, Charles Dickens, Diana Rowland, Glow, Laura DiSilverio, Marjorie Eccles, Megan Bryant, Michelle Griep, October Daye, Salman Rushdie, Seanan McGuire, Shannon Hale, Zombies