New Books: 13 June 2023
Bergren, Lisa T.: Estuary (Enclave 979-8-88605-046-2, $16.99, 336pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Fantasy romance novel. Lady Tiliani Forelli is the epitome of the She-Wolves who raised her, an adept archer with a mind of her own. It is long past time for her to wed, but she deems each young lord who comes to bid for her hand lacking. With battles upon their border, and rumors of war growing louder on every front, Lady Forelli’s decision could secure her kingdom’s peace or bring about its destruction.
Collier, David A.: Earth’s Ecocide: Devastation 2647 (Atmosphere Press 978-1639888658, $16.99, 248pp, formats: trade paperback, 6/13/2023)
Science fiction novel. A one-thousand-year story of humanity struggling to cope with climate destruction and the awakening of artificial intelligence. What will life be like if global average temperatures increase 2, 4, or 8 degrees Celsius? What will life be like if sea levels increase 1, 10, or 70 meters?
Costello, Victoria: Orchid Child (Between the Lines 978-1-958901-15-1, $14.99, 312pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Fantasy novel. Unemployed neuroscientist Kate moves to Ireland with her neurodivergent nephew, and a local druid says the teen has the second sight.
Dawson, J.R.: The First Bright Thing (Tor 978-1250805546, $27.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Dark historical fantasy novel set after WWI, about the Circus of the Fantasticals, full of magical misfits and a Ringmaster, Rin, who can jump in time — but has visions about a malevolent circus out of her past.
Everson, John: The Night Mother (Flame Tree Press UK 978-1787588073, $15.95, 384pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 5/29/2023)
Erotic horror novel. Selena, a fallen angel, knew that once exposed, you could never escape the pull of NightWhere, a mysterious underground sex club run by beings called The Watchers. Cassie, a driven dominatrix, didn’t. When both are drawn into the club’s secret rooms that promise an ecstasy of forbidden pain and pleasure, they must somehow try to protect the men they love. Because the club’s Midnight Queen, the Night Mother, has a deadly plan that may break the boundaries of our world and destroy everything and everyone they’ve ever desired.
Fine, Julia: Maddalena and the Dark (Macmillan/Flatiron 978-1-250-86787-2, $28.99, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Historical novel of magic and music. Set in Venice, 1717. Lush and heady, swirling with music and magic, Maddalena and the Dark is a Venetian fairytale about the friendship between two girls and the boundless desire that will set them free, if it doesn’t consume them first.
Gregor, H.Y.: Stonewhisper (978-1959994459, $27.99, 468pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, 6/13/2023)
Fantasy novel. Erion fights the monsters of Daemanon when not working as a hired thug, but gets involved when a Guardion of Pelinin investigates some disappearances.
Halvorsen, Dale & Sam Beckbessinger: Girls of Little Hope (Titan Books UK 9781803362076, £8.99, 384pp, formats: trade paperback, 6/13/2023)
Horror novel. Three girls went into the woods. Only two came back, covered in blood and with no memory of what happened. Being 15 is tough when you live in a boring-ass small town like Little Hope, California (population 8,302) in 1996. Donna, Rae, and Kat keep each other sane with the fervor of teen girl friendships, ‘zine-making and some amateur sleuthing into the town’s most enduring mysteries: a lost gold mine, and why little Ronnie Gaskins burned his parents alive a decade ago.
Harrison, Kim: Demons of Good and Evil (Ace 978-0-593-43754-4, $28.00, 448pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Urban fantasy novel. Rachel Morgan, witch-born demon, suspected that protecting the paranormal citizens of Cincinnati as the demon subrosa would be trouble. But it’s rapidly becoming way more trouble than even she could have imagined.
Jantunen, John: Mason’s Jar (ECW Press 978-1-77041-701-4, $21.95, 360pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 6/13/2023)
Near-future science fiction horror novel. Ex-police-chief Mason Lowry wants revenge against the outlaw biker gang who killed his granddaughter, but they unleash violence first, by withholding a drug, withdrawal from which causes violent psychosis.
Keetch, Sophie: Morgan Is My Name (Penguin Random House Canada/Random House Canada 978-1-039006492, $18.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Arthurian fantasy novel. A powerful feminist retelling of the early life of Morgan le Fay, the famed villainess of Arthurian legend, this dazzling debut is the story of a woman both mortal and magical, formidable and misunderstood, told in her own words.
Kornher-Stace, Nicole: Flight & Anchor (Tachyon Publications 978-1-61696-392-7, $16.95, 192pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 6/13/2023)
Science fiction prequel novella set in the world of Firebreak. Two young modified soldiers escape from a prison lab.
Lynch, Molly: The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman (Catapult 978-1646221424, $27.00, 288pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 6/13/2023)
Literary fantasy novel mixing classical myth, feminist theory, and environmental disaster. Mothers disappear across the world; one, returning two weeks later, struggles to recall what happened.
Mulford, A.K.: The Evergreen Heir (Harper Voyager US 978-0-06-329174-4, $30.00, 416pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Fantasy romance novel, following a bookish heir’s fight to save their mother and kingdom when an unexpected romance blossoms. The crown is calling their name, yet can their head bear the weight when passion sets hearts racing?
Rao, Kritika H.: The Surviving Sky (Titan Books UK 978-1-803361246, $16.99, 528pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Epic near-future science fantasy novel inspired by Hindu philosophy, the first in the Rages trilogy. Enter a lush world of cataclysmic storms, planet-wide jungles, floating cities and devastating magic in this first book of an explosive new science fantasy trilogy.
Rhodes, Morgan: Legends and Liars (Penguin Random House/Razorbill 978-0-593-35173-4, $19.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Young-adult fantasy novel, second in the Echoes and Empires duology. This riveting sequel to Echoes and Empires sees Joss and Jericho team up with some of their greatest enemies to bring an end to the queen’s empire of lies, from New York Times bestselling author Morgan Rhodes.
Simpson, W.A.: Tarotmancer (Flame Tree Press US 978-1787587885, $26.95, 256pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, 6/13/2023)
High fantasy novel. Following Tinderbox, the acclaimed first title in the The Tales of the Riven Isles, the story of magic and revenge continues with Tarotmancer. Harper holds the Gift of Divination. Red is the infamous Reynard the Fox, fugitive shapeshifter. When his past finds him Red is taken to the Kingdom of Vale within Underneath so he can pay for his crimes and Harper is taken as hostage. With the Rot drawing on the hatred of the citizens, including Harper she realizes she must put her feelings aside and save Red from the punishment of the Cesspit. As the Rot continues to grow, all must take control of their emotions and join to protect Vale.
Trussoni, Danielle: The Puzzle Master (Penguin Random House/Random House 978-0-593-59529-9, $27.00, 384pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, audio, 6/13/2023)
Dark fantasy/thriller novel. Reality and the supernatural collide when genius puzzle-solver Mike Brink’s investigates a convicted murderer’s mysterious drawing, leading to historical puzzles and Jewish mysticism.
Turnbull, Cadwell & Josh Eure: Many Worlds, or The Simulacra (Radix Media 978-1-7377184-3-7, $24.95, 180pp, formats: trade paperback, 6/13/2023)
Many Worlds, or The Simulacra is an anthology of reality-bending stories from a one-of-a-kind collective of authors building a shared multiverse. The stories in this anthology range from quietly strange to ambitiously speculative. Humans transform into cosmic energy or sentient algae. A man wakes up in a new body in a world with continents cut out, months absent from the calendar year, and souls misplaced. Students at a high school regularly vanish without a trace. A woman descends into the depths of the ocean and encounters all-knowing creatures who may have the answers to her deepest questions. Mech-suits and parallel selves, conspiracy forums and interstellar telepaths, and a mysterious cosmic force connecting it all; the stories in this collection are revelatory and offer a breathtaking portal into worlds far more mysterious than our own. Subversive, transgressive, and utterly original, this collection compels the reader to believe in the fantastical.
Wilson, Karilynn: The Faint of Heart (HarperCollins/Greenwillow 978-0-06-311621-4, $26.99, 304pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, 6/13/2023)
Young-adult science fiction novel. Not that long ago, the Scientist discovered that all sadness, anxiety, and anger disappeared when you removed your heart. And that’s all it took. Soon enough, the hospital had lines out the door—even though the procedure numbed the good feelings, too.
