Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 350 Pages
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The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn and television pioneer Shonda Rhimes comes a powerful and romantic novel of Bridgerton's Queen Charlotte and King George III's great love story and how it sparked a societal shift, inspired by the original series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, created by Shondaland for Netflix.
"We are one crown. His weight is mine, and mine is his..."
In 1761, on a sunny day in September, a King and Queen met for the very first time. They were married within hours.
Born a German Princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was beautiful, headstrong, and fiercely intelligent... not precisely the attributes the British Court had been seeking in a spouse for the young King George III. But her fire and independence were exactly what she needed, because George had secrets... secrets with the potential to shake the very foundations of the monarchy.
Thrust into her new role as a royal, Charlotte must learn to navigate the intricate politics of the court... all the while guarding her heart, because she is falling in love with the King, even as he pushes her away. Above all she must learn to rule, and to understand that she has been given the power to remake society. She must fight - for herself, for her husband, and for all her new subjects who look to her for guidance and grace. For she will never be just Charlotte again. She must instead fulfill her destiny... as Queen."
I am literally more excited for this book and the accompanying series than I am for the new season of Bridgerton.
The House on Prytania by Karen White
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
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The official patter:
"A woman is haunted - both literally and figuratively - by ghosts of the past in this second novel of the Royal Street series by New York Times bestselling author Karen White.
Nola Trenholm may not be psychic herself, but she's spent enough time around people who are to know when ghosts are present, and there are definitely a few lingering spirits in her recently purchased Creole cottage in New Orleans. Something, or someone, is keeping them tethered to this world. And not all of them are benign.
But with the sudden return of Sunny Ryan, Beau Ryan's long-lost sister, Nola has plenty to distract her from her ghostly housemates. Especially when the tempting - yet firmly unavailable - Beau, wanting to mete out justice to those he blames for Sunny's kidnapping, asks Nola for a favor that threatens to derail her hard-won recovery and send her hurtling backward. He asks her to welcome Michael Hebert back into her life, even though Michael is the reason for Nola's bruised heart. Beau is convinced that Michael's powerful family was behind Sunny's disappearance and that Michael is the key to getting information the police won't be able to ignore - if Nola is willing to risk everything for which she's worked so hard.
Torn between helping Beau and protecting herself, Nola doesn't realize until it's almost too late why the ghosts are haunting her house - a startling revelation that will throw her and Beau together to fight a common enemy. Assuming Nola can get Beau to listen to what the spirits are trying to tell him, because ignoring them could prove to be a fatal mistake..."
Always listen to the ghosts. Always.
The Prodigal Women by Nancy Hale
Published by: Library of America
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 875 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Rediscover the sensational 1942 bestseller that unveiled the Jazz Age as women lived it.
Ranging from posh Beacon Hill to go-go New York City to stately Virginia, a sweeping coming-of-age story of three women's lives, loves, and ambitions in the 1920s, '30s and '40s.
Set in Boston, New York, and Virginia, The Prodigal Women tells the intertwined stories of three young women who come of age in the Roaring Twenties, not flappers and golden girls but flesh-and-blood female protagonists looking wearily - and warily - at the paths open to women in a rapidly changing world.
Leda March, "frantic with self-consciousness and envy and desire," is the daughter of poorer relations of a prominent Boston family and an aspiring poet torn between an impulse to conformity and the pursuit of personal freedom. Betsy Jekyll, newly arrived with her family from Virginia, becomes Leda's closest childhood friend, bringing a beguiling new warmth and openness into the New Englander's life. But Betsy soon abandons Boston to land a job at a fashion magazine and enjoy life as a single woman in New York before falling in love with - and marrying - an abusive, controlling man. Betsy's older sister, Maizie, a Southern belle idolized by the two younger friends and pursued by numerous men, grows tired of "running around" and fatefully looks for happiness in marriage to a turbulent artist.
When The Prodigal Women was published in 1942, its uncompromising portrayal of women's shifting roles, open sexuality, and ambivalence toward motherhood made it a succèss de scandale, spending twenty-three weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Now Library of America restores Nancy Hale's lost classic to print with a new introduction by Kate Bolick exploring how the novel measures "the gap between what liberation looks like, and what it actually is.""
A look at the truth of the Jazz Age as written at the time and restored to us by Library of America.
The Nightingale Affair by Tim Mason
Published by: Algonquin Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The New Victorian Detective Thriller from the Author of The Darwin Affair.
Tim Mason's gripping new novel finds Inspector Charles Field hunting a ruthless serial killer who is terrorizing Florence Nightingale and her nurses in Crimea in 1855. But when the main suspect turns up dead, Field determines the case is closed. Or is it? Twelve years later in London, amidst the turmoil surrounding the expansion of voting rights, Field discovers a woman's body, mouth covered by the killer's signature embroidered rose. Did Field suspect the wrong man before, or is he dealing with a copycat? Either way, with his own family now at risk, he must race against time to stop the killer before more bodies turn up.
Populated with real figures of the day, from Benjamin Disraeli to Florence Nightingale herself, The Nightingale Affair offers vivid details, surprising twists, and an unforgettably creepy villain. A stand-alone novel, perfect for fans of Charles Finch's Victorian detective stories."
A serial killer targeting Florence Nightingale? Yes please!
Sepulchre Street by Martin Edwards
Published by: Head of Zeus an Aries Book
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 380 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"How can you solve a murder before it's happened?
'This is my challenge for you,' the woman in white said. 'I want you to solve my murder.'
London, 1930s: Rachel Savernake is attending renowned artist Damaris Gethin's latest exhibition, featuring live models who pose as famous killers. But that's just the warm-up act...
Unsure why she was invited, Rachel is soon cornered by the artist who asks her a haunting favour: she wants Rachel to solve her murder. Damaris then takes to the stage set with a guillotine, the lights go out - and Damaris executes herself.
Why would Damaris take her own life? And, if she died by her own hand, what did she mean by 'solve my murder'?
There are many questions to answer, and the clues are there for those daring enough to solve them...
Rachel Savernake faces her most puzzling murder yet in this glamorous gothic mystery from the winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Richard Osman."
I mean, armchair detectives that we are, our blood runs hot at the idea of being asked to solve a murder by the victim themselves right?
Playing It Safe by Ashley Weaver
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
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The official patter:
"The third in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, Playing It Safe is a delightful World War II mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit.
As the Blitz continues to ravage London, Ellie McDonnell - formerly a safecracking thief, but currently determined to stay on the straight and narrow to help her country - is approached by British Intelligence officer Major Ramsey with a new assignment. She is to travel under an assumed identity to the port city of Sunderland and there await further instructions. In his usual infuriating way, the Major has left her task as vague and mysterious as possible.
Ellie, ever-ready to aid her country, heads north, her safecracking tools in tow. But before she can rendezvous with the major, she witnesses an unnatural death. A man falls dead in the street in front of her, with a note clutched in his hand. Ellie's instincts tell her that the man's death is connected in some way to her mission.
Soon, Ellie and the major are locked in a battle of wits and a race against time with an unknown and deadly adversary, and a case that leads them to a possible Nazi counterfeiting operation. With bombs dropping on the city and a would-be assassin shadowing their every move, it will take all of Ellie's resourcefulness and Major Ramsey's fortitude to unmask the spymaster and avert disastrous consequences - for England and for their own lives."
I don't generally read WWII books, Ashley Weaver is the exception.
No One Needs to Know by Lindsay Cameron
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"When an anonymous neighborhood forum gets hacked, the darkest secrets of New York's wealthiest residents come to light - including some worth killing for - in this gripping suspense novel from the author of Just One Look.
It was all confidential. Right up to the moment when it wasn't.
UrbanMyth: It was lauded as an alternative to the performative, show-your-best-self platforms - an anonymous discussion board grouped by zip code. The residents of Manhattan's exclusive Upper East Side disclosed it all, things they would never share with their friends or their spouses: secret bank accounts, steamy affairs, tidbits of juicy gossip. The same people who, as parents, go to astonishing lengths to ensure that their children gain admission to the most prestigious boarding schools and universities. So when a "hacktivist" group breaks into the forum and exposes the real identity of each poster, the repercussions echo down Park Avenue with a force that none could have anticipated.
And someone ends up dead.
Is the murderer Heather, the outsider who would do anything to get her daughter into the elite's good graces and into their even better schools? Norah, the high-powered executive failing to balance work with the emotional responsibilities of motherhood? Or Poppy, whose perfect-on-the-outside façade conceals more than her share of secrets?
Each of them has something to hide.
Each of them will do anything to keep secrets hidden.
And each of them just might kill to protect their own."
Seeing as I live for the gossip and fighting on my neighborhood Facebook group, this book was written for me!
This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Hazel Wood are cordially invited to spend one fateful night surviving an elite private school's epic masquerade ball in Jen Wilde's debut thriller, This Is the Way the World Ends.
As an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy in New York City, Waverly is used to masking to fit in - in more ways than one. While her classmates are the children of the one percent, Waverly is getting by on tutoring gigs and the generosity of the school's charming and enigmatic dean. So when her tutoring student and resident "it girl" asks Waverly to attend the school's annual fundraising Masquerade disguised as her, Waverly jumps at the chance - especially once she finds out that Ash, the dean's daughter and her secret ex-girlfriend, will be there.
The Masquerade is everything Waverly dreamed of, complete with extravagant gowns, wealthy parents writing checks, and flowing champagne. Most importantly, there's Ash. All Waverly wants to do is shed her mask and be with her, but the evening takes a sinister turn when Waverly stumbles into a secret meeting between the dean and the school's top donors - and witnesses a brutal murder. This gala is harboring far more malevolent plots than just opening parents' pocketbooks. Before she can escape or contact the authorities, a mysterious global blackout puts the entire party on lockdown. Waverly's fairy tale has turned into a nightmare, and she, Ash, and her friends must navigate through a dizzying maze of freight elevators, secret passageways, and back rooms if they're going to survive the night.
And even if they manage to escape the Masquerade, with technology wiped out all over the planet, what kind of world will they find waiting for them beyond the doors?"
Gossip Girl goes Escape from L.A.!
I'm Not Supposed to Be in the Dark by Riss M. Neilson
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the author of Deep in Providence comes a paranormal young adult romance that follows a teen convinced that her best friend-turned-enemy is possessed by a ghost, perfect for fans of White Smoke and Twilight.
Seventeen-year-old Aria Cayetano dreams of ghosts. She used to see them too, but thanks to a special tea brewed by her grandfather, Aria's connection to the spirit world has been severed. Until a decades old rosebush suddenly dies across the street, convincing Aria that something supernatural is happening in her neighborhood.
She aches to investigate it, but the rosebush sits on her ex-best friend Derek Johnson's front lawn, and she can't question him because he hates her now. Aria doesn't know what drove them apart years ago, but she does know Derek's been acting strange for weeks, sneaking out in the dead of night to who knows where.
Then, days after the rosebush dies, Derek begins speaking to her again. At least Aria thinks it's him. Until she discovers there's a ghost inside of Derek that will take his life if it doesn't find what it's searching for.
As Aria and Derek race to uncover the mystery, another kind of magic takes them by surprise: love. But Aria has to decide how far she's willing to go to save Derek, especially when helping the ghost means tapping into whatever the tea has buried inside of her.
Bone-chilling and spellbinding, I'm Not Supposed to Be in the Dark is an alluring ghost story that's about exorcising the past to find a future to believe in."
Always here for a good ghost story!
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 528 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy - and quickly finds herself at odds with the "approved" way of doing things - in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series.
The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations - until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon's egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit - a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.
Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising - and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.
For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound - both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.
Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they're also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing - and they might just be the ones to do it."
Indian boarding schools via Game of Thrones.
Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Historical fiction with a dark twist in the spirit of Circe, Ariadne, and Mexican Gothic, Our Hideous Progeny is a brilliant revisiting of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein that unfolds with a fresh, provocative, queer twist.
It's 1853 London, and former medical student Victor Frankenstein has been missing for years. Inspired by his brilliance and daring, his great niece Mary Saville and her husband, Henry, are determined to follow in Victor's scientific footsteps. Both are intelligent and determined, yet they lack the reputation necessary to be recognized among the British Empire's most renowned paleontologists. Though Mary is admired for her sharp mind, her fierce tongue and Henry's gambling addiction hinder endorsement by their peers.
But after uncovering clues to her great uncle's disappearance, Mary devises a plan to realize her ambitions. Like Victor Frankenstein did long ago, she and Henry will create life. No one will be able to ignore their achievement - the scientific community must accept them if they succeed.
When they construct their Creature, Henry's ambition soars, yet Mary finds herself contemplating disturbing questions - and unexpected feelings - she cannot ignore. As Henry's desire for fame grows, Mary must decide how far she will go to protect this Creature - the hideous progeny - she has grown to love."
A Mary Shelly twist worthy of Penny Dreadful!
The Department of Truth by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds
Published by: Image Comics
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 520 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Cole Turner has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn't prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true: the JFK Assassination, Flat Earth Theory, Bigfoot, Mothman, and so much worse. One organization has been covering them up for generations, controlling the narrative for what they claim is the greater good. What is the deep, dark secret behind the Department of Truth - and will learning it destroy Cole's life from the inside out? The first three arcs of the critically acclaimed series by Eisner Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (Something is Killing the Children, The Nice House on the Lake) and art Martin Simmonds (Dying is Easy) are collected here for the first time in deluxe hardcover format. Experience...The Complete Conspiracy. Collects The Department of Truth #1-#17."
Love James Tynion IV and quite enjoyed Martin Simmonds's art on Dying is Easy. So this is a must buy.
With the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice A and E had a legitimate hit on their hands. This was something new for the cable channel known mostly for their show Biography, an attempt at a "classier" celebrity expose. Therefore when The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling was announced, it wasn't just announced, the red carpet was rolled out, Max Beesley was going to be the next Colin Firth, and if that wasn't enough, look, they have Mr. Bennet playing Squire Allworthy! Yet they forgot the old maxim about catching lightning in a bottle... There was no way that any ad campaign they could come up with would generate the same buzz as Colin Firth in a pond. And not to slight Henry Fielding, but it's not like he has the fan base of Jane Austen. And yes, I bought the official tie-in hardcover edition that Modern Library released and I honestly tried to read it. Honestly I did... But I literally gave up not even a full chapter into the book. There's something about me and Tom Jones that just doesn't connect unlike me and Austen. In fact, and this is slightly embarrassing to admit, I'm not even sure I watched the whole 1997 adaptation, which I might possibly rectify one day soon. I remember the beginning, vaguely, and then there was a happy ending... But don't hold me to anything in-between other than apparently Jackie Tyler from Doctor Who was in it. I did tape it. I just didn't bother to watch it. And after five minutes of this new version I would have been glad to go back and watch the 1997 version instead. The thing about the story of Tom Jones is that it's a romp. It's very farcical, I mean just look at the characters' names! There should be rumpy-pumpy music and, well, rumpy-pumpy. Just think of the version in the sixties with Albert Finney and that's what is expected. This was just joyless. It was a slog to watch and there were only four episodes! What's more, despite having many actors I like and admire I didn't have a single character I was rooting for and I felt embarrassed for Hannah Waddingham. Not to mention the complete lack of chemistry between the leads. The only thing that was positive about this adaptation was Sophia Western being born to Squire Western's son and one of his slaves. They used this as an opportunity to actually talk about slavery and the worth of a human being unlike in Queen Charlotte, where they create a fictional "great experiment" to move society forward into a fictional realm. Here we have a grounding in reality which makes sense historically and might also be why the show doesn't work. But I don't want to be the one saying that slavery is the reason this doesn't work, because every chance you get to decry slavery you should, I'm saying it's endemic of a greater issue, they didn't understand the source material. They could have gone the way of many adaptations of late and done their own thing, and that might have been better, more real, because to attempt to balance the history of the times with the sexual shenanigans of Tom just didn't work. You can't choose the middle ground, it's lazy storytelling, you have to pick a side so pick wisely.
When Queen Charlotte was announced I honestly think that I was more excited to see it than I was another season of Bridgerton. I have many issues with 
