strange and random happenstance

Twelve Months by Jim Butcher
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, has always managed to save the day - but, in this powerful entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files, can he save himself?

One year. 365 days. Twelve months.

Harry Dresden has been through a lot, and so has his city. After Harry and his allies narrowly managed to save Chicago from being razed to the ground, everything is different - and it's not just the current lack of electricity.

In the battle, Harry lost people he cared about. And that's the kind of loss that takes a toll. Harry being Harry, he's doing his level best to help the city and his friends recover and rebuild. But it's a heavy load, and he needs time.

But time is one thing Harry doesn't have. Ghouls are prowling Chicago and taking out innocent civilians. Harry's brother is dying, and Harry doesn't know how to help him. And last but certainly not least, the Winter Queen of the Fae has allied with the White Court of vampires - and Harry's been betrothed to the seductive, deadly vampire Lara Raith to seal the deal.

It's been a tough year. More than ever, the city needs Harry Dresden the wizard - but after loss and grief, is there enough left of Harry Dresden the man to rise to the challenge?"

It's been longer than twelve months waiting for this book. It feels like an eternity. 

Brides in the Dark by Jacob Steven Mohr
Published by: Quill and Crow Publishing House
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Kindle, 190 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Wicke, menfolk hunt their wives in the dim forests. On the Burning Coast, they snatch them from the sea. But in Patrick's mountain village of Blackfrye, lonely boys lure their brides down from the night sky itself. And these, everybody knows - these make the happiest marriages of them all. But when the young shepherd scales the mountain to win a wife of his own, he gets almost more than he can handle with Stella. She's got bats' wings, for one - and a tongue far sharper than her yellow fangs. And in exchange for her hand in wedlock, she wants something from Patrick in return...something that, once given, might turn his humble home upside-down forever. Can Patrick and his feral bride-on-the-wing find happiness in the world of men? Or will a silent horror rotting under Blackfrye consume them both?"

The lushness of a dark fairy tale. 

Hemlock by Melissa Faliveno
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman haunted by a dark inheritance returns to the woods where her mother vanished, in this queer Gothic novel.

Sam, finally sober and stable with a cat and a long-term boyfriend in Brooklyn, returns alone to Hemlock, her family's deteriorating cabin deep in the Wisconsin Northwoods. But a quick, practical trip takes a turn for the worse when the rot and creak of the forest starts to creep in around the edges of Sam's mind. It starts, as it always does, with a beer.

As Sam dips back into the murky waters of dependency, the inexplicable begins to arrive at her door and her body takes on a strange new shape. As the borders of reality begin to blur, she senses she is battling something sinister - whether nested in the woods or within herself.

Hemlock is a carnal coming-of-addiction, a dark sparkler about rapture, desire, transformation, and transcendence in many forms. What lives at the heart of fear - animal, monster, or man? How can we reject our own inheritance, the psychic storm that's been coming for generations, and rebuild a new home for ourselves? In the tradition of Han Kang's The Vegetarian, Hemlock is a butch Black Swan and a novel of singular style, with all the edginess of a survival story and a simmering menace that glints from the very periphery of the page."

As a Wisconsinite I am very intrigued that anyone has named their cabin. 

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.

Strange things happen in Fell, New York. A mysterious drowning at the town's roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For the Esmie siblings - Violet, Vail, and Dodie - the final straw was the shocking disappearance of their little brother. It started as a normal game of hide-and-seek. The three closed their eyes and counted to ten while Ben went to hide. But this time, they never found their brother - he was gone and the ongoing search efforts turned up no clues.

As their parents grew increasingly distant, Violet, Vail, and Dodie were each haunted by visions and frightening events that made them leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people - spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years.

And now after two decades running from their past, it's time for a homecoming. Because Ben is back, and he's ready to lead them to the answers they've longed for and long feared. If the ghosts of Fell don't get to them first.

A Box Full of Darkness is another propulsive thriller from the author of The Broken Girls and The Book of Cold Cases, a surprising horror story from a writer who is "particularly gifted at doling out twists" (The New York Times)."

Rule number one, don't go back. Never go back.

Cry Havoc by Rebecca Wait
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A humorous dark academia novel, set in a failing English girls' school in the 1980s, in which a teen running from her past becomes immersed in a dangerous and intriguing mystery involving a shady new teacher and a strange contagion afflicting her classmates.

Fleeing Scotland after a humiliating family scandal, sixteen-year-old Ida Campbell secures a scholarship at a failing girls' boarding school situated on the remote south English coast. Her new Headmistress - an eccentric woman obsessed with the Cold War and nuclear annihilation - seems surprised that the young woman accepted her offer, but Ida feels that St. Anne's could be a refuge - until she discovers that her roommate, the infamous Louise Adler, is a potential arsonist and hardened outcast.

Ida barely has time to make a good impression (or figure out what Louise's deal is) when Matthew Langfield, a new teacher, arrives. While the girls are all desperately intrigued to find out everything about him - after all, who takes a job at St. Anne's? - the school's geography teacher, Eleanor Alston, has an uneasy feeling that he is not who he says he is. And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils.

What is happening to the girls of St Anne's? Are some of the girls faking these fits? Could someone be poisoning them? Is Matthew Langfield a smooth-tongued liar? Will Louise set the school on fire, or push a girl out of a window...again? And is Ida's past going to catch up with her, despite doing everything to keep it secret?

Expertly melding the cloying atmosphere and eerie mystery of The Secret History, Ninth House, and The Fever with the sharp wit and delightful absurdity of Derry Girls, Cry Havoc is a dazzling literary introduction to a whip smart, clever, and elegant writer."

I had a friend who started the school on fire in high school. They weren't as lenient as at St. Anne's.

Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to Bleak Haven: The town you won't (or can't!) leave... Deep fake murders have taken over the high school, but what happens when they start to become real?

Would you Swipe to Die?

When the new craze takes over Bleak Haven High, Ava Wilson refuses to join in. As the niece of an infamous murderer, it's the last thing she needs.

The mysterious website allows people to view their own 'death' - an AI generated version of their final slasher-movie-moments. But, when some of her classmates' deepfakes are replicated in real life, Ava can either catch the killer...or be the next victim."

Yeah, never give a budding killer an idea...

Night Terror by Vincent Ralph
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to Bleak Haven: The town you won't (or can't!) leave... The second nail-biting novel in the Bleak Haven series, in Vincent Ralph's signature, terrifying style!

Bleak Haven High's senior class of 1987 have already survived the town's most horrifying tragedy to date. As a result, 17-year-old Noah understands everything there is to know about monsters.

When the bookstore that Noah works in is held up by masked attackers, he assumes they want cash. But the assailants aren't demanding a ransom. They are searching for Bleak Haven's very own urban legend - The Burning Book.

After something with a thirst for flesh creeps from the book's pages, Noah must use his knowledge of Bleak Haven's terrifying history to help his fellow hostages escape the mall, without turning their town into another bloodbath."

You know when you have to wait years and years for the second book in a series. You don't have to worry about that here! Vincent Ralph has gifted us two books on the same day!

I Don't Wish You Well by Jumata Emill
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A teen investigative podcaster decides to dig into the truth behind a grisly murder spree that rocked his hometown five years ago, but soon discovers that this cold case is still hiding deadly secrets - in this chilling thriller perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

Five years ago, the infamous Trojan murders turned the small town of Moss Pointe, Louisiana into a living nightmare. Four teen boys - all star players on Moss Pointe High's football team - were murdered one after the other by a Trojan-mask wearing killer.

Eventually, the murderer was unmasked. But the community has never forgotten - and some folks in town still wonder whether the police got it right.

Eighteen-year-old Pryce Cummings is one of them. An aspiring journalist, Pryce is pretty sure he just stumbled upon evidence that throws the killer's guilt into question. It's the perfect story for his own podcast, and a reason to go back to the hometown he's avoided since coming to terms with his sexuality while at college.

But in Moss Pointe, digging into the past is anything but welcome. There's so much more to what happened there five years ago, and Pryce is ready to crack it all wide open...if he lives to tell the tale."

If there's a chance the killer can still come for you do NOT start a podcast. 

Such a Clever Girl by Darby Kane
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Darby Kane, author of the #1 international bestseller Pretty Little Wife, returns with a gripping domestic thriller in which a family goes missing and a long-buried family mystery resurfaces.

Fifteen years ago, the Tanner family vanished without a trace, leaving behind a chilling scene: half-eaten meals, a bloodstain by the door, and a smoldering fire consuming their business across town.

The once-vibrant home stands untouched, a haunting relic of the past. As rumors fade into local folklore, the mystery of their disappearance seems destined to remain unsolved - until Aubrey Tanner returns.

Now a hardened thirty-year-old, Aubrey arrives in town with secrets etched in her silence. Why did she come back? Was she a victim of the night that changed everything, or does she hold the truth of what happened to her family? The town is rife with theories, but three women share a dangerous bond: they know more than they've ever confessed.

As the past resurfaces, old alliances fray. A teacher, a café owner, and a psychologist are drawn together by memories they'd rather forget. Each holds a piece of the puzzle - and a dark secret of their own. When a new disappearance sends shock waves through the town, blackmail begins, and the stakes climb higher.

In a race against time, these women must confront the truth or risk becoming the next victims of a past they cannot escape. With tension rising and danger lurking, one thing is clear: someone is destined to kill again."

Is it wrong that part of me wants this to be Full House slasher fic?

Murder by the Book by M.R.G. Davies
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Kindle, 347 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nothing is deadlier than angry readers...especially when you murder one of their own.

When the manager of The Quaint Bookshop is found slumped between the shelves, the four members of the shop's reading group decide to put into action all the skills they've picked up from their favourite fictional detectives.

If anyone knows how to solve a killer of a crime, it's a team of murder-mystery superfans. The police might be investigating but the reading group are on the case..."

Always beware readers, we have an odd skill set...

The Locked Room by Holly Hepburn
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: eBook, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The BRAND NEW instalment in Holly Hepburn's Baker Street Mystery series - for fans of Sherlock Holmes!

Join Harriet White in 1930's London for another glorious Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery, for fans of Helena Dixon, Nita Prose and Janice Hallett.

Harriet White is settling into life in the post room of the Baker Street building society. Until she discovers a letter in The Times challenging Sherlock Holmes to prove his status as the world's greatest detective by solving an impossible mystery. The letter, signed Professor James Moriarty, advises Holmes that the crime will be committed within the next seven days. Holmes himself must deduce which crime is the correct one to investigate. Dismissing the letter as a prank - after all, Sherlock Holmes isn't real - Harry goes about her business. But then news breaks of the theft of valuable diamond from a safe in an apparently locked room in a Mayfair townhouse.

Intrigued in spite of her misgivings, Harry dons a disguise and investigates. But as she begins to unpick the puzzle, a body is found.

And now, a stranger, and far more deadly mystery begins to unfold around her. Can Harry solve the case before the killer strikes again?"

Oh, a fictional character committing a real crime!

The Typewriter and the Guillotine by Mark Braude
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The "irresistible" (Susan Orlean) untold story of a trailblazing Paris correspondent for The New Yorker, who sounded the alarm about the rise of fascism in Europe while becoming enmeshed in the sensational case of a German serial killer stalking the streets of the French capital on the eve of WWII.

In 1925, the Indianapolis-born Janet Flanner took an assignment to write a regular 'Letter from Paris' for a lighthearted humor magazine called The New Yorker. She'd come to Paris with dreams of writing about "Beauty with a Capital B." Her employer, self-consciously apolitical, sought only breezy reports on French art and culture. But as she woke to the frightening signs of rising extremism, economic turmoil, and widespread discontent in Europe, Flanner ignored her editor's directives, reinventing herself, her assignment, and The New Yorker in the process.

While working tirelessly to alert American readers to the dangers of the Third Reich, Flanner became gripped by the disturbing crimes of a man who embodied all of the darkness she was being forced to confront. Eugen Weidmann, a German con-man and murderer, and the last man to be publicly executed in France - mere weeks before the outbreak of WWII. Flanner covered his crimes, capture, and highly politicized trial, seeing the case as a metaphor for understanding the tumultuous years through which she'd just passed and to prepare herself for the dangers to come.

The Typewriter and The Guillotine offers the personal and professional coming-of-age story of an indomitable journalist set against a glamorous, high-stakes backdrop - a tightly-coiled drama full of romance and intrigue."

I have not heard of Eugen Weidmann, but my high school French teacher made us watch a movie about the last woman executed in France.

Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A beautifully evocative historical novel about the perils of all-consuming love, inspired by a real-life eighteenth-century love affair, from the bestselling author of The Other Bennet Sister.

"When I love at all, it is with my whole soul - my heart must be torn to pieces before it can forget or resign the objects of its affections."

England, 1794. Now in her thirties, Lady Harriet Bessborough, already the veteran of several liaisons, finds herself pursued by a much younger man. This isn't unusual in her circle, where married women often take younger lovers. No one minds much, provided they follow the rules of the game: Don't embarrass your husband, maintain complete discretion at all times, and never ever make the mistake of falling in love.

So when Harriet meets Lord Granville - brilliantly handsome, insistently ardent, and twelve years younger than her - she's confident she can manage their affair. Until she finds herself falling uncontrollably under his spell.

As she's plunged into an all-consuming passion, Harriet's worldliness and sophistication desert her. With each besotted step, she finds herself edging ever closer to exposure and ruin. She knows she should leave Granville but can't bring herself to do it - she loves him far too deeply now to escape the scandal that threatens to engulf her."

A true dangerous liaison! 

The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Remains of the Day meets The Royal Tenenbaums in this darkly funny debut novel about a wealthy, eccentric family in decline and the secrets held within the walls of their crumbling country manor.

Thornwalk, a once-stately English manor, is on the brink of transformation. Its keys are being handed over to a luxury hotelier who will undertake a complete renovation - but in doing so, what will they erase? Through the keen eyes of an enigmatic neighbor, the reader is taken on a guided tour into rooms filled with secrets and memories, each revealing the story of the five Gilbert siblings.

Spanning the eve of World War II to the early 2000s, this contemporary gothic novel weaves a rich tapestry of English country life. As the story unfolds, the reader is drawn into a world where the echoes of an Edwardian idyll clash with the harsh realities of war, neglect, and changing times. The Gilberts' tale is one of great loves, lofty ambitions, and profound loss, and Angela Tomaski's mordantly witty yet loving account is an immersive experience. Reminiscent of the haunting atmospheres in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Infamous Gilberts offers a fresh take on a classic genre, capturing the essence of a troubled but fascinating family."

Seeing as the blurb namechecks The Remains of the Day there better be Nazis. 

Anne of a Different Island by Virginia Kantra
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman learns to be the heroine of her own life in this heartfelt novel inspired by Anne of Green Gables by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.

She believed life could follow a plotline - until the story she was living unraveled.

Anne Gallagher has always lived by the book. Anne of Green Gables, that is. Growing up on Mackinac Island, she saw herself as her namesake: the same impulsive charm, the same wild imagination, even the same red hair (dyed, but still). She followed in Anne Shirley's fictional footsteps, chasing dreams of teaching and writing, and falling for her very own storybook hero.

But when a string of real-life plot twists - a failing romance, a fight with the administration, and the sudden death of her beloved father - pulls her back to the island she once couldn't wait to leave, Anne is forced to face a truth no story ever prepared her for. Sometimes, life doesn't follow a script.

Back in the house she grew up in, Anne must confront her past and the people she left behind, including Joe Miller, the boy who once called her "The Pest." It's time to figure out what she wants and rewrite her story to create her own happy ending. Not the book version. The real one."

I've always been obsessed with Mackinac Island as well as PEI, seeing as I've visited PEI I think it's time to visit Mackinac, if only fictionally. 

Melting Point by Cici Williams
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There's a Winter Olympic medal on the line. But their toughest challenge is resisting each other...

February 2026: the Italian Winter Olympics. The only thing on Sam Harrington's mind is winning her first medal for snowboarding.

Enter Finn Bradley. They've had a 'friends forever' pact for, well, forever, so Sam pushes her growing feelings aside and tries to focus on training.

But when a major team sponsorship falls through, Sam needs to find funding, and fast. When they're told that pretending to be a couple will give them a better chance at finding sponsors, Sam and Finn agree to fake a relationship. They spend all their time together already, surely pretending to be a couple won't be a slippery slope...

There's only one problem. Finn's secretly been in love with her for years, and this Olympic season, he's decided that as well as a medal, he wants to win Sam over.

Chalet Girl meets Stephanie Archer in this spicy, fake dating, friends-to-lovers sports romance you need this Winter!"

I mean, it's time to get your Olympic reading list going for February, and Melting Point is at the top of mine!

George Falls Through Time by Ryan Collett
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Less meets the year 1300 in this exhilarating and thoughtfully genre-defying literary novel about a man transported through time in a moment of extreme stress, whose modern anxieties are replaced by medieval brutalities.

Newly laid off George's internet bill is in his ex-boyfriend's name. He's got a spider-infested apartment, and two of the six dogs he's walking in London have just escaped. It's pure undiluted stress that sends him into a spiral, all the way to the year 1300.

When he comes to, George recognizes the same rolling hills of Greenwich Park. But the luxuries and phone service of modernity are nowhere. In their place are locals with a bizarre, slanted speech in awe of his foreign clothes, who swiftly toss him in a dungeon. Despite the barbarity of a medieval world, a servant named Simon helps George acclimate to a simpler, easier existence - until a summons from the King threatens to send his life up in flames.

George Falls Through Time is as much an inward journey as an outward one: an immersive exploration of identity and dislocation that pits present-day sensibilities against a raw and alien backdrop, a strangely perfect canvas for the absurd anxieties of our modern lives. It's a profound meditation on the nature of desire perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and The Ministry of Time."

I'd also add a dash of Douglas Adams.

A Realm Undone by JL Lienhardt
Published by: Rising Action
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With its engaging magic system, high court drama, and themes of betrayal and sacrifice, A Realm Undone is perfect for fans of adult, women-led fantasy like The City of Brass and The Sword of Kaigen.

Centuries ago, mortals split the realm into two, with a magical veil placed firmly between them and their immortal rulers, the Tiarcons. Fueled by stolen magic, the mortal kingdoms flourished, but the Tiarcons never stopped trying to reclaim their magic and mortal subjects. And now, generations later, the veil between realms has begun to tear, letting immortal monsters ravage across the nations and threaten all the mortals have built.

Alia Meador would happily watch the mortal kingdoms buckle, as long as she could keep herself and her teenaged daughter, Lena, alive. After all, her own kingdom of Mandal, cast her out for her volatile magic, sending her to wander remote villages for decades. But when the treatment for Lena's illness comes along with a royal order to defend Mandal with the same magic they once spurned, Alia is caught between protecting the one person she loves and the reckoning she's so long desired.

With every moment spent in Mandal, Alia is subjected to the grasping of her ruthless family, a traitorous mage determined to understand the extent of her power, and the allure of the prince she once loved. And with every immortal confrontation, Alia's magic comes closer and closer to consuming her.

As the balance between realms shifts, Alia has to decide if her realm is worth saving, or if it all needs to be undone."

But if you sacrifice yourself for you daughter, worth it right?

The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When you lose your way in life, the Elsewhere Express just might find you. Step on board the train that may take you to your life's purpose in this wistful, Ghibli-esque fantasy from the bestselling author of Water Moon.

You can't buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it's a magical train seeming to carry very rare and special cargo: a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging.

Raya is one of those lost souls. She had dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead.

One day on the subway, as her thoughts wander, she's swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, an intriguing artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world.

Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that's also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lily pads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds.

Over the course of their long, strange night on the train, they also discover that it harbors secrets - and danger: A mysterious stranger has stowed away and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy the train.

But in investigating the stowaway's identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life's true purpose - and is it a destination the Elsewhere Express can take her to?"

Could the Elsewhere Express stop by to give me a Wonka-esque smack upside the head to discover my purpose?

A Wild Radiance by Maria Ingrande Mora
Published by: Peachtree Teen
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A searing and romantic fantasy adventure about an oligarchic state on the verge of a magical industrial revolution - perfect for fans of Arcane, Wicked, and Iron Widow!

Josephine Haven is about to find out exactly where she fits into the march of Progress. Her outbursts are infamous at the House of Industry, the school for children who can wield radiance, an electricity-like magic. She's tried to follow the rules, but her fiery nature is at odds with the core tenet of the House: Never form attachments. If she is meant to feel nothing, why are her emotions so volatile?

No one is surprised when, upon graduation, Josephine is banished from the city to a remote Mission. In Frostbrook, she must work under standoffish Julian, the former golden boy of the House of Industry who seems determined to watch her fail. And then there's Ezra, the flirtatious stranger who's a little too curious about how the Mission operates.

But there are bigger problems than Julian and Ezra's secrets. A deadly disease is spreading across the countryside, and in Frostbrook, not everyone is eager to embrace Progress. As Josephine questions the system that raised her - and gives in to desire she's been taught to suppress - she must decide what she's willing to sacrifice to expose not just corruption within the House, but the devastating truth about the radiance in her core.

An epic and romantic fantasy that reimagines the War of the Currents, A Wild Radiance explodes with the same queer chaotic tension, magical industrialization, and class revolution themes that made Arcane a #1 Netflix sensation.

Perfect for readers who love Queerplatonic and Poly Relationships, Anti-Capitalism, Hurt/Comfort, Sunshine/Grump/Gremlin Dynamics, Messy Exes, and Fantasy Road Trips!"

Um, not to throw shade, but it doesn't matter if Arcane is a #1 Netflix sensation, that's like bragging your wrote something to be like a Taylor Swift song... Get a better blurb writer Peachtree Teen.

How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by debut author Jessie Sylva is the cozy tale of a halfling and a goblin who must learn to love each other despite their differences. Called "an adorable delight!" (Sarah Beth Durst), this novel is brimming with popular romance tropes and warmth and is perfect for fans of The Honey Witch and The Spellshop.

What if cottagecore and goblincore fell in love?

When a halfling, Pansy, and a goblin, Ren, each think they've inherited the same cottage, they make a bargain: they'll live in the house together and whoever is driven out first forfeits their ownership.

Amidst forced proximity and cultural misunderstandings, the two begin to fall in love.

But when the cottage - and their communities - are threatened by a common enemy, the duo must learn to trust each other, and convince goblins and halflings to band together to oust the tall intruder."

If they can make it work their communities can too!

Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Nine Goblins, a tale of low fantasy and high mischief.

No one knows exactly how the Goblin War began, but folks will tell you that goblins are stinking, slinking, filthy, sheep-stealing, henhouse-raiding, obnoxious, rude, and violent. Goblins would actually agree with all this, and might throw in "cowardly" and "lazy" too for good measure.

But goblins don't go around killing people for fun, no matter what the propaganda posters say. And when a confrontation with an evil wizard lands a troop of nine goblins deep behind enemy lines, goblin sergeant Nessilka must figure out how to keep her hapless band together and get them home in one piece.

Unfortunately, between them and safety lies a forest full of elves, trolls, monsters, and that most terrifying of creatures...a human being."

Well, human beings are the most dangerous animal...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Angela Tomaski, Darby Kane, Holly Hepburn, Jacob Steven Mohr, Janice Hadlow, Jim Butcher, Jumata Emill, M.R.G. Davies, Mark Braude, Melissa Faliveno, Rebecca Wait, Simone St. James, T. Kingfisher, Vincent Ralph, Virginia Kantra

Mona of the Manor by Armistead Maupin
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set in the early 1990s, the long-awaited tenth novel in Armistead Maupin's beloved and enduring Tales of the City series follows the adventures of Mona Ramsey, now the widowed Lady of a glorious old manor in Britain's golden Cotswolds, and her fabulous adopted son Wilfred, as they come to the aid of an American visitor with a troubling secret.

When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton to secure his visa - allowing him to remain in San Francisco to fulfill his wildest dreams - she never imagined she would, by age 48, be the sole owner of Easley House, Teddy's grand, romantic country manor in the UK. She also didn't imagine that she'd need to open the manor's doors to paying guests to afford the electric bill and repair the leaking roof. Yet somehow she and her young friend Wilfred - whom guests assume is serving as Easley's charming-but-clumsy butler - and the loopy old gardener Mr. Hargis, are making it work.

This delicate equilibrium is upended when Americans Rhonda and Ernie Blaylock arrive for a weekend vacation at Easley, and Wilfred stumbles onto their terrible secret. Now, instead of being able to focus on the imminent arrival of her old friend Michael Tolliver and beloved parent Anna Madrigal, Mona will need to focus all of her considerable charm, willpower, and wiles - and the help of Wilfred and Mona's girlfriend Poppy, the town's postmistress and local calligraphy whiz - to set things right before the Midsummer ceremony when the whole town will descend on Easley's historic grounds"

I knew that Mona was too iconic a character to just die of Breast Cancer offstage. Here she finally takes center stage in a book I've longed!

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death.

Who gets to leave a legacy?

1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn't. By 1998 Anita's name has been all but forgotten - certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.

But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.

Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite."

Having been a bit in this world I'm fascinated to get a different and real point of view.

Death and Fromage by Ian Moore
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A laugh-out-loud mystery perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club.

Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B and B in the Val de Follet. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that's the way he likes it. Until scandal erupts in the nearby town of Saint-Sauver, when its famous restaurant is downgraded from three Michelin stars to two. The restaurant is shamed, the town is in shock, and the leading goat cheese supplier drowns himself in one of his own pasteurization tanks. Or does he?

Valérie d'Orçay, who is staying at the B and B while house-hunting in the area, isn't convinced that it's a suicide. Despite his misgivings, Richard is drawn into Valérie's investigation, and finds himself becoming a major player in solving the crime. After all, the French do take their cheese quite seriously and it's quite clear there's nothing gouda happening in the close-knit, small village that Richard calls home."

Was it that the number one thing I took away from looking up this author is that he likes to make chutney? This isn't a slight, I think we need more author blurbs like this.

Murder Road by Simone St. James
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases.

July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They're looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.

When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all."

First, just never pick up hitchhikers, second, avoid the supernatural.

The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets and They're Watching You, a compelling new thriller!

Last summer, they searched for Audrey Covington.

This summer, they'll search for the truth.

Paige Redmond has always felt lucky to spend her summers in Clearwater Ridge, with lazy days sunning at the waterfalls and nights partying at the sprawling houses of the rich families who vacation there. The Covingtons are one of these families, and beautiful, brilliant Audrey Covington is Paige's best friend. And last year, when Audrey's crush-worthy brother Dylan finally started noticing Paige, she was sure it would be the best summer ever.

Except Audrey didn't seem quite like herself. Then one night, she didn't come home. Though Audrey wasn't the first girl to disappear in Clearwater Ridge, she left behind more lies than clues. Now, one summer later, her case has gone cold, and nobody, least of all Paige, can make sense of what happened.

When Paige stumbles across a secret hidden in Audrey's room, however, it changes everything she thought she knew about last summer. She and Dylan set out on their own investigation, discovering things even the police don't know about the people of Clearwater Ridge. But tracking down missing girls - girls who might be beyond saving by now - means entering a world far darker than Paige has ever imagined. And if she isn't careful, she'll become the next girl to vanish."

I love the Lolitaness of the cover.

The Hunter by Tana French
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher and "one of the greatest crime novelists writing today" (Vox), a spellbinding new novel set in the Irish countryside.

It's a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.

Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He's found it, more or less: he's built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he's gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey's long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn't want protecting. What she wants is revenge.

From the writer who is "in a class by herself," (The New York Times), a nuanced, atmospheric tale that explores what we'll do for our loved ones, what we'll do for revenge, and what we sacrifice when the two collide."

It's a good day where there's a new Tana French, which are too few and far between.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?

After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy's blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It's been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can't remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.

But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie," and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy's murder for the show's second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend's murder, even if she is the one that did it.

The truth is out there, if we just listen."

I love how the True Crime aspect works in the plot.

The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A couple inherits an apartment with a spine-tingling past in this unputdownable thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six.

Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news: Chad's late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in glamorous Murray Hill. With its prewar elegance and impeccably uniformed doorman, the building is the epitome of old New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade.

At first, the building and its eclectic tenants couldn't feel more welcoming. But as the Lowans settle into their new home, Rosie starts to suspect that there's more to the Windermere than meets the eye. Why is the doorman ever-present? Why are there cameras everywhere? And why have so many gruesome crimes occurred there throughout the years? When one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie must get to the truth about the Windermere before she, too, falls under its dangerous spell."

Any book with Dakota vives is a must read for me.

The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 351 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil mines the subtle horrors of 1950s America in a gripping novel about a woman under pressure - from the living and the dead.

The first day of autumn brought the fever, and with the fever came the voices.

Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They're the picture of domestic tranquility - until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they're real - and frightening.

Defying Pete's demands, Loretta finds an encouraging supporter in parapsychologist Dr. Curtis Hansen. He sees a woman with a rare gift, more blessing than curse. With Dr. Hansen's help, Loretta's life opens up to an empowering new purpose. But for Pete, the God-fearing image he's worked so hard to cultivate is under threat. No longer in control of his dutiful wife, he sees the Devil at work.

As Loretta's powers grow stronger and the pleading spirits beckon, Pete is determined to deliver his wife from evil. To solve the mysteries of the dead, Loretta must first save herself."

Parapsychologists are my catnip.

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste
Published by: S and s/Saga Press
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Bram Stoker Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes a chilling novel about three childhood friends who miraculously survive the night everyone in their suburban hometown turned into ghosts - perfect for fans of Yellowjackets.

The Velkwood Vicinity was the topic of occult theorists, tabloid one-hour documentaries, and even some pseudo-scientific investigations as the block of homes disappeared behind a near-impenetrable veil that only three survivors could enter - and only one has in the past twenty years, until now.

Talitha Velkwood has avoided anything to do with the tragedy that took her mother and eight-year-old sister, drifting from one job to another, never settling anywhere or with anyone, feeling as trapped by her past as if she was still there in the small town she so desperately wanted to escape from. When a new researcher tracks her down and offers to pay her to come back to enter the vicinity, Talitha claims she's just doing it for the money.

Of all the crackpot theories over the years, no one has discovered what happened the night Talitha, her estranged, former best friend Brett, and Grace, escaped their homes twenty years ago. Will she finally get the answers she's been looking for all these years, or is this just another dead end?

Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste has created a suburban ghost story about a small town that trapped three young women who must confront the past if they're going to have a future."

Yeah, so really it's own unique thing and not Yellowjackets at all...

Song of Carcosa by Josh Reynolds
Published by: Aconyte
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An occult thief takes on a sinister society threatening to tear the fabric of this world apart, in this daring noir-thriller from the bestselling world of Arkham Horror.

Countess Alessandra Zorzi, reformed thief and acquirer of occult artifacts, faces her greatest challenge yet as she searches for an elusive artist in possession of the powerful Zanthu Tablet; the only thing that can stop the strange psychic malaise afflicting Alessandra's assistant, Pepper.

The countess's quest takes her to the crooked heart of Venice, where an eerie organization is planning a grand performance that will engulf the city in chaos. As Pepper slips into an inescapable alien world, Alessandra must defeat powerful forces to save her friend. One wrong move could bring the curtain down on them all."

I just love the ever expanding worlds of Arkham Horror.

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 299 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has vanished, and production for his next film is pending. MGM Studios offers a huge reward, and that's exactly what young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt need for their struggling business to survive. Celebrity dognapping now a growing trend, when the police and city pound ridicule Basil Rathbone and ask, "Sherlock Holmes has lost his dog?" Basil also hires the B. Norman Agency to find his missing Cocker Spaniel.

The three concoct a plan for Basil to assume his on-screen persona and round up possible suspects, including Myrna Loy and William Powell; Dashiell Hammett, creator of The Thin Man; Nigel Bruce, Basil's on-screen Doctor Watson; Hollywood-newcomer, German philanthropist and film financier Countess Velma von Rache, and the top animal trainers in Tinseltown. Yet everyone will be in for a shock when the real reason behind the canine disappearances is even more sinister than imagined.

Jump into Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, Book One of the Babs Norman Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery series. Finalist in the Killer Nashville Claymore Awards for Comedy and First Prize winner in the Chanticleer Review's Mark Twain Awards for Comedy and Satire. Get ready for its sequel, Bye, Bye, Blackbird, featuring Humphrey Bogart and the cast of The Maltese Falcon."

I love this new twist on classic Hollywood, especially because Asta is here.

Trouble by Lex Croucher
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 3536 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Regency-era romantic comedy with a deliciously feminist and queer twist, from the author of Reputation and Infamous.

There's a new governess at Fairmont House, and she's going to be nothing but trouble.

Emily Laurence is a liar. She is not polite, she's not polished, and she has never taught a child in her life. This position was meant to be her sister's - brilliant, kind Amy, who isn't perpetually angry, dangerously reckless, and who does (inexplicably) like children.

But Amy is unwell and needs a doctor, and their father is gone and their mother is useless, so here Emily is, pretending to be something she's not.

If she can get away with her deception for long enough to earn a few month's wages and slip some expensive trinkets into her pockets along the way, perhaps they'll be all right.

That is, as long as she doesn't get involved with the Edwards family's dramas. Emily refuses to care about her charges - Grace, who talks too much and loves too hard, and Aster, who is frankly terrifying but might just be the wittiest sixteen-year-old Emily has ever met - or the servants, who insist on acting as if they're each other's family. And she certainly hasn't noticed her employer, the brooding, taciturn Captain Edwards, no matter how good he might look without a shirt on...

As Fairmont House draws her in, Emily's lies start to come undone. Can she fix her mistakes before it's too late?"

Oh, you KNOW you need to read this Regency Romp!

An Unlikely Proposition by Rosalyn Eves
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A standalone companion to An Improbable Season, this Regency romance - perfect for fans of Bridgerton - is about following your heart, pursuing your dreams, and falling head over heels in love.

Eleanor did not come to London to be proper and boring. After the death of her husband and a year of mourning, the seventeen year old wants nothing more than her independence and to have a little fun. She's hardly looking to remarry, despite pressures from her late husband's nephew, who is keen on obtaining her inheritance. Eleanor quickly devises a plan that includes a fake engagement. What's not a part of the plan? Falling for a dashing, quiet man outside of her social circle - a man who is not her betrothed. Can she survive the Season with her heart and her fortune intact?

Thalia is determined to begin afresh after a disastrous first Season in London. No romantic distractions, but only her work as a poet and newfound companion to Eleanor. Determined to get her poems published, she struggles to be taken seriously as a female writer. As the spring progresses, Thalia does not expect to take interest in a man from her past (a man who is engaged to her employer, no less!), but some feelings demand to be felt even if the timing isn't quite right.

Rosalyn Eves's An Unlikely Proposition is a transportive Regency drama that captures the sparkle of London, thrill of friendship, and swoon of new love."

So... Um... Eleanor was married at sixteen? Bit Lydia Bennet that...

An Inconvenient Letter by Julie Wright
Published by: Shadow Mountain
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Complications arise when Marietta's secret love letters are accidentally found by the wrong man.

1828, the London countryside.

For years, Marietta Stone has harbored a secret infatuation for the handsome Frederick Finch and has poured out her deepest feelings in a series of passionate love letters that she keeps in a locked drawer. But when Marietta's private letters are accidentally delivered to Frederick's house, she must retrieve them immediately before they fall into the wrong hands. If the letters were read by anyone else, the resulting scandal could jeopardize her reputation.

Gerard Hartwell has no time for infatuations, courtship, or even love. He must find a wife with a substantial inheritance if he wishes to save his late father's bankrupt estate. When he accidentally discovers Marietta's love letters at his cousin Frederick's estate, he strikes a bargain with her. If she helps him court her older sister, Anne, he will return the letters and help Marietta win Frederick's heart.

Marietta agrees, and the two quickly pretend to be courting in order to spend time with their individual love interests. Yet, what appeared to be a straightforward bargain becomes complicated when Gerard realizes that the more time he spends with Marietta, the more he wishes he could court her for real. But can he persuade Marietta to give him a chance when her heart might belong to another man?"

Aww.

The Witch of New York by Alex Hortis
Published by: Pegasus Crime
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Before the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony - before even Lizzie Borden - there was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in our nation's debut media circus.

On Christmas night, December 25, 1843, in a serene village on Staten Island, shocked neighbors discovered the burnt remains of twenty-four-year-old mother Emeline Houseman and her infant daughter, Ann Eliza. In a perverse nativity, someone bludgeoned to death a mother and child in their home - and then covered up the crime with hellfire.

When an ambitious district attorney charges Polly Bodine (Emelin's sister-in-law) with a double homicide, the new "penny press" explodes. Polly is a perfect media villain: she's a separated wife who drinks gin, commits adultery, and has had multiple abortions. Between June 1844 and April 1846, the nation was enthralled by her three trials - in Staten Island, Manhattan, and Newburgh - for the "Christmas murders."

After Polly's legal dream team entered the fray, the press and the public debated not only her guilt, but her character and fate as a fallen woman in society. Public opinion split into different camps over her case. Edgar Allen Poe and Walt Whitman covered her case as young newsmen. P. T. Barnum made a circus out of it. James Fenimore Cooper's last novel was inspired by her trials.

The Witch of New York is the first narrative history about the dueling trial lawyers, ruthless newsmen, and shameless hucksters who turned the Polly Bodine case into America's formative tabloid trial. An origin story of how America became addicted to sensationalized reporting of criminal trials, The Witch of New York vividly reconstructs an epic mystery from Old New York - and uses the Bodine case to challenge our system of tabloid justice of today."

I mean, let's just admit, we have always had an insatiable need for true crime...

Eliza Mace by Sarah Burton and Jem Poster
Published by: Duckworth
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Enola Holmes meets the novels of Laura Purcell in this Victorian mystery featuring quick-witted would-be detective Eliza Mace.

The Welsh borders, 1870s: on the cusp of adulthood, Eliza Mace is battling for her independence. Stuck in a crumbling manor house on the fringe of a small town, she is thwarted by powers that conspire to protect, control and deceive her. But when her father goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Eliza's determination to uncover the truth is unstoppable.

Joining forces with the charismatic new police constable, Dafydd Pritchard, she sets out to solve the case, but that's no easy task. Her father has run up debts in town and beyond, and there are many who bear him a grudge. As she searches for evidence, Eliza exposes dark secrets that threaten to tear her world apart..."

Oh yes, I need something to fill the void left by Enola Holmes!

The Queen of Thieves by Johan Rundberg
Published by: Amazon Crossing Kids
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 207 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mika will do what it takes to uncover a string of thefts in the city - and keep her fellow orphans safe.

After a merciless winter, spring has sprung in 1880 Stockholm, and the city awaits the arrival of the SS Vega, the first ship to have sailed the Northeast Passage. Life is busy at the orphanage, but twelve-year-old Mika quickly notices that the older orphans are up to something - and it doesn't look good.

When Constable Hoff approaches her with information about thefts around the city, Mika becomes even more concerned about what the other kids are up to - and what they might be planning for the Vega celebration. The police will have no sympathy for orphans, and she'd hate to see her friends condemned to life in jail.

But Mika soon finds herself in a bind she can't get out of - one that could condemn her own life. Can Mika uncover who is really behind the thefts in the city and keep her friends safe, without getting caught? Find out in this breathless sequel to The Night Raven."

Personally I'm all for pickpocket orphans getting away with it...

The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov
Published by: Harpervia
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Ukraine's most celebrated novelist, a perplexing mystery that introduces rookie detective Samson Kolechko in Kyiv as he is tackling his first case, set against real life details of the tumultuous early twentieth century.

Kyiv, 1919. World War I has ended in Western Europe, but to the East, six factions continue to vie for control of Ukraine. Amidst the political turmoil, young Samson Kolechko is forced to place his engineering career on hold. But in the city of Kyiv everything remains up for grabs and new opportunity lurks just around the corner...

When two Red Army soldiers commandeer his home, Samson's life is completely upended. But as Samson juggles his personal life - including a budding romance with the ingenious Nadezhda, a statistician helping run the city's census - with the soldiers' intrusion, he winds up overhearing their secret plans. Deciding to report them, Samson instead finds himself unwittingly recruited as an investigator for the city's new police force.

His first case involves two murders, a long bone made of pure silver, and a suit of decidedly unusual proportions tailored from fine English cloth. The odds stacked against him, Samson turns to Nadezhda, who proves to be more than his match. Inflected with Kurkov's signature humor and off kilter universe, The Silver Bone takes its inspiration from the archives of Kyiv's secret police, crafting a propulsive narrative bursting to life with rich historical detail."

We should all be learning and reading more about Ukraine, and that includes supporting it's authors who write wonderful mysteries.

The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A captivating historical novel set in post-war Casablanca about a young man marked by djinns who must decide where his loyalties lie as the fight for Moroccan independence erupts.

Hamou Badi is born in a village in the Anti-Atlas Mountains with the markings of the zouhry on his hands. In Morocco, the zouhry is a figure of legend, a child of both humans and djinns, capable of finding treasure, lost objects, and even water in the worst of droughts. But when young Hamou finds the body of a murdered woman, his life is forever changed.

Haunted by this unsolved murder and driven by the desire to do good in the world, Hamou leaves his village for Casablanca to become an officer of the law under the French Protectorate.

But Casablanca is not the shining beacon of modernity he was expecting. The forcible exile of Morocco's sultan by the French sparks a nationalist uprising led by violent dissident groups, none so fearsome as the Black Crescent. Torn between his heritage and his employers, Hamou will be caught in the crossfire.

The lines between right and wrong, past and future, the old world and the new, are not as clear as the magical lines on his palms. And as the danger grows, Hamou is forced to choose between all he knows and all he loves."

You had me at djinns.

What Monstrous Gods by Rosamund Hodge
Published by: Balzer and Bray/Harperteen
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A rich and romantic new standalone fantasy loosely inspired by the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, from the New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Beauty! Perfect for fans of These Violent Delights and The Shadow Queen.

Centuries ago, the heretic sorcerer Ruven raised a deadly briar around Runakhia's palace, casting the royal family into an enchanted sleep - and silencing the kingdom's gods.

Born with a miraculous gift, Lia's destiny is to kill Ruven and wake the royals. But when she succeeds, she finds her duty is not yet complete, for now she must marry into the royal family and forge a pact with a god - or die.

To make matters even worse, Ruven's spirit is haunting her.

As discord grows between the old and new guards, the queen sends Lia and Prince Araunn, her betrothed, on a pilgrimage to awaken the gods. But the old gods are more dangerous than Lia ever knew - and Ruven may offer her only hope of survival.

As the two work together, Lia learns that they're more alike than she expected. And with tensions rising, Lia must choose between what she was raised to believe and what she knows is right - and between the prince she is bound to by duty...and the boy she killed."

The fairy tale Sleeping Beauty was one of my first obsessions.

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame.

Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude willing to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, Oak will have to decide whether to attempt regaining the trust of the girl he's always loved or to remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign - even if it means ending Wren, too.

With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak's guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. It's just a question of whom he will doom. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology."

I love Holly Black. I love duologies.

Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Daw Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Seanan McGuire's New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated urban fantasy InCryptid series continues with the thirteenth book following the Price family, cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures living in secret all around us.

Mary Dunlavy didn't intend to become a professional babysitter. Of course, she didn't intend to die, either, or to become a crossroads ghost. As a babysitting ghost, she's been caring for the Price family for four generations, and she's planning to keep doing the job for the better part of forever.

With her first charge finally back from her decades-long cross-dimensional field trip, with a long-lost husband and adopted daughter in tow, it's time for Mary to oversee the world's most chaotic family reunion. And that's before the Covenant of St. George launches a full scale strike against the cryptids of Manhattan, followed quickly by an attack on the Campbell Family Carnival.

It's going to take every advantage and every ally they have for the Prices to survive what's coming--and for Mary, to avoid finding out the answer to a question she's never wanted to know: what happens to a babysitting ghost if she loses the people she's promised to protect?"

It's March so this should easily be her third book of the year... How is she so productive without sacrificing quality?

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a spirited young woman with a penchant for adventure finds herself locked away in a dragon's tower, she realizes that fate has a peculiar sense of humor when it comes to her romantic prospects, in this laugh-out-loud fantasy rom-com.

All children are told fairytales. Some are epic adventures with high stakes and exciting twists, while others are tales of pitiful princesses trapped in boring towers pining for their Prince Charmings to come and rescue them. Growing up, Cherry always hated those stories. Why didn't the princesses just get up and rescue themselves? Little did she know that her own fate would take an ironically similar turn. Because now, here she is. Stuck. In a tower. Turns out, when a dragon holds you hostage, he doesn't just let you get up and leave.

Who knew?

And just when Cherry thinks she sees hope on the horizon, that hope is smashed to bits by - you guessed it - another damn dragon."

I just love the whole vibe of this series, it brings a smile to my face.

I Am Rome by Santiago Posteguillo
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Discover the runaway #1 international bestseller that has captured readers the world over - and reminds us all why we remember the name Julius Caesar.

Every legend has a beginning...

Rome, 77 B.C. The corrupt Senator Dolabella is about to go on trial for his crimes.

But Dolabella owns the jury. He's hired the best lawyers in the city. And he's very willing to use violence against those who oppose him.

In all of Rome, no man dares accept the role of prosecutor - until, against all odds, an unknown twenty-three-year-old steps out to lead the case, defend the people of the city, and defy the power of the ruling elite. That lawyer's name is Gaius Julius Caesar.

So begins Santiago Posteguillo's acclaimed masterpiece of historical fiction - a tale as epic as Caesar's life itself. An irresistible page-turning novel of politics and betrayal, grand battles and impossible odds, shocking villainy and even greater acts of courage, I Am Rome brilliantly animates the moments that shaped this extraordinary young man's fate - and in so doing, changed the course of history itself."

After watching all of I, Claudius, I'm now obsessed with all things Roman.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

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