New Books: 30 August 2022
Acker, Ben: Stories to Keep You Alive Despite Vampires 
(Simon & Schuster 978-1665917001, $17.99, 192pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, August 30, 2022)
Collection of scary stories to tell vampires so they’ll keep you alive.
Bannen, Megan: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy 
(Orbit 978-0-356-51866-4, $17.99, 448pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, August 23, 2022)
Humorous fantasy romance novel. Small town Marshal Hart Ralston unwittingly gets his nemesis, the undertaker Mercy Birdsall, as an anonymous penpal.
Burton, Jessie: The House of Fortune 
(Bloomsbury USA 978-1635579741, $28.00, 304pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, audio, June 30, 2022)
Historical fantasy novel, set in 1705 Amsterdam in the world of The Miniaturist. Thea Brandt, just 18, finds refuge from family financial problems in the theater and a secret romance.
Chokshi, Roshani, Menon, Sandhya, et al.: Three Kisses, One Midnight 
(St. Martin’s/Wednesday Books 978-1-250-79723-0, $18.99, 288pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Young-adult Halloween fantasy romance novel. Three best friends brew a love potion and set out to find their forever loves.
Farizan, Sara: Dead Flip 
(Workman/Algonquin Young Readers 978-1-61620-220-0, $16.95, 272pp, formats: hardcover, audio, August 30, 2022)
Young-adult horror novel set in the ’90s. Two teens investigate when a long-missing friend suddenly returns, the same age he was when he disappeared six years before.
Grace, Adalyn: Belladonna 
(Little, Brown 978-0-316-15823-7, $18.99, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Gothic fantasy novel with elements of mystery and romance. Signa, a 19-year-old orphan raised by a series of family members only interested in her wealth, who all die untimely deaths, makes an alliance with Death himself to investigate a murder in her latest home.
Gratton, Tessa: Moon Dark Smile 
(Simon & Schuster/McElderry 978-1-5344-9815-0, $19.99, 432pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Young-adult fantasy novel. The isolated daughter of the Emperor takes one last journey before she comes of age and is bound to her best friend, the great demon, Moon, and will no longer be able to leave the palace.
Jimenez, Simon: The Spear Cuts Through Water 
(Penguin Random House/Del Rey 978-0-593-15659-9, $28.99, 544pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Fantasy novel, a queer reimagining of Princess Mononoke. Two soldiers shepherd an ancient god across a broken land to end a tyrannical empire.
Kilmer, Maureen: Suburban Hell 
(Penguin Random House/Putnam 978-0-593-42237-3, $17.00, 336pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Satirical horror-comedy of suburban life. A group of women accidentally open a portal to hell and one is possessed by a demon.
Kloos, Marko: Centers of Gravity 
(Amazon/47North 978-1542032810, $14.95, 331pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Military SF novel, eighth in the Frontlines series. Nine hundred light-years from home, Major Andrew Grayson and the crew of NACS Washington are marooned in a sunless system.
McGuire, Seanan: Be the Serpent 
(DAW 978-0-7564-1686-7, $27.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, August 30, 2022)
Fantasy novel, 16th in the October Daye series. Toby, finally married to Tybalt, King of Cats, investigates a brutal attack on a friend’s family that leads to Titania herself. Includes a bonus original novella.
Norman, John: Warriors of Gor 
(Open Road 978-1-5040-7671-5, $9.99, 626pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, August 30, 2022)
SF novel, the 37th book in the Gor series. Seeking the hefty bounty on her head, Talena of Ar is captured by her former colleague, but he must get her across the wilderness to claim it.
Owen, Abigail: The Liar’s Crown 
(Entangled Teen 978-1-6493-7152-2, $18.99, 448pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Young-adult fantasy novel, the first in The Dominions trilogy. Meren, a second-born twin princess, is kept hidden until she replaces her sister when she’s courted by a sinister king.
Rowland, Alexandra: A Taste of Gold and Iron 
(Tordotcom 978-1-250-80038-1, $27.99, 512pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Fantasy romance novel involving a shy prince who can touch-taste precious metals with his fingers, and investigates a break-in at a guild.
Snyman, Monique: Dark Country 
(Vesuvian Books 978-1-64548-073-0, $17.95, 282pp, formats: trade paperback, hardcover, ebook, August 30, 2022)
Horror novel. South African occult crime expert Esmé Snyder investigates murder and finds a paranormal serial killer intent on becoming a god, while a new Satanic Panic builds.
Socha, Kelsey: An Archive of Brightness 
(Lanternfish Press 978-1-941360-65-1, $16.00, 144pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, August 30, 2022)
Fantasy novella of queer human romances as observed by birds.
Spector, Elijah Kinch: Kalyna the Soothsayer 
(Erewhon 978-1-64566-038-5, $29.95, 464pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, August 30, 2022)
Fantasy novel. Kalyna is the only member of her family that doesn’t have the gift of soothsaying, though that doesn’t stop her from pretending she knows the future too. But when she is pressed into service to predict threats against the king, she has to scramble to investigate.
Valentine, Danielle: How to Survive Your Murder 
(Penguin Random House/Razorbill 978-0-593-35201-4, $17.99, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, August 30, 2022)
Young-adult horror novel, a slasher version of It’s a Wonderful Life.
