New Books: 22 August 2023
Creagh, Kelly: Strange Unearthly Things
(Penguin Random House/Viking 9780593116081, $19.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 08/22/2023)
Young-adult paranormal romance, a reimagining of Jane Eyre. Orphan Jane Reye is a psychic artist who sees spirits and the supernatural. After graduating from the girls’ school she’s spent most of her life at, she gets an invitation to join a study at the English manor Fairfax Hall, where the elusive proprietor is a handsome boy her age, and supernatural activity and secrets are rife.
Grace, Adalyn: Foxglove
(Little, Brown 9780316162500, $19.99, 464pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Gothic fantasy romance novel, second in the Belladonna series. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed for a duke’s murder, while Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence nearby. He wants revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago, and he’s determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost.
Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save their family member from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time the girls spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate’s past.
Graham, Heather: Cursed at Dawn
(Harlequin/Mira 9780778334262, $9.99, 352pp, formats: paperback, hardcover, ebook, 08/22/2023)
Supernatural/vampire thriller/romance novel, third in the Blackbird trilogy, part of the overall Krewe of Hunters series. FBI agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter are still catching their breaths after the apprehension of two monstrous killers when they’re met with horrific news: Stephan Dante, the self-proclaimed king of the vampires, has escaped from prison, followed only by a trail of blood. As Dante claims more and more victims, a chilling message arrives. The vampire seeks his eternal bride—Della herself.
Grosvenor, Rachel: The Finery
(Fly on the Wall Press 9781915789037, $13.99, 298pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 08/25/2023)
Humorous feminist dystopian fantasy novel about talking wolves and underground rebellions, and a cranky 100-year-old female professor who takes down a totalitarian government. A first novel.
Harper, Lana: In Charm’s Way
(Penguin Random House/Berkley Romance 9780593637968, $17.00, 304pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Queer, paranormal romance-comedy novel, fourth in the Witches of Thistle Grove series. Delilah Harlow tries a spell to fix her magic-damaged memory, accidentally turns herself into a monster-magnet, and gets help from stunning monster hunter Catriona Quinn.
Huang, S.L.: The Water Outlaws
(Tordotcom 9781250180421, $28.99, 496pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Queer martial arts fantasy novel inspired by the Chinese classic Water Margin. Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong, former arms instructor to the Emperor, is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice―for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.
James, Alexander: The Woodkin
(CamCat Books 9780744302356, $26.99, 288pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Horror novel. Josh Mallory finds a body while out hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to escape his marital problems. In the nearby small town, missing hiker posters flutter in the windows, and residents show no interest in hearing about the dead hiker. Uneasy, he returns to the trail. But night falls too quickly and he becomes trapped on a mountain ridge beneath the light of a full moon. Josh soon realizes that he may not be alone on the mountain.
Maberry, Jonathan: Long Past Midnight
(Kensington 9781496743923, $17.95, 368pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 08/22/2023)
Collection of short horror stories set in the world of the Pine Deep trilogy. Foreword by Josh Malerman.
Miller, George Allen: Eugene J. McGillicuddy’s Alien Detective Agency
(Wild Rose Press 9781509249909, $19.99, 358pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 08/23/2023)
Humorous SF novel about a psychic PI in Washington DC after Earth has joined galactic society as an endangered planet under the supervision of the Galactic Congress. Thousands of aliens arrive every day to visit, see the silly humans that almost blew up their world, and sometimes make a new home. And sometimes, those aliens need a detective to find their missing wallet or six-limbed two-headed puppy dog on a bender playing poker at the local speakeasy.
Moore, James A.: The War Born
(Angry Robot UK 9781915202611, $19.99, 344pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 08/22/2023)
Epic fantasy novel, the sixth and final book in the Seven Forges series. The Overlords have risen, tearing apart the steppes, raising mountains, and creating an army of shapechangers called the War-Born to do their bidding, as they fight against the gods themselves. The final war is on, one that will change the shape of the Fellein Empire.
Nix, Garth: Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz
(Harper Voyager US 9780063291966, $30.00, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Collection of nine short fantasy stories for adults, including one new story about Sir Hereward and his sorcerous puppet companion Mister Fitz.
North, Claire: House of Odysseus
(Orbit US/Redhook 9780316444002, $29, 432pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Fantasy novel based on Greek myth, the second in the Songs of Penelope series. On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power, after her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace—a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra. Meanwhile Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes’ throne—and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims. Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope fights to keep her home from being crushed by a war that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the summit of Mount Olympus itself.
Parker-Chan, Shelley: He Who Drowned the World
(Tor 9781250621825, $28.99, 496pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Fantasy alternate-history novel, the second in the Radiant Emperor series set in Ancient China. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she wants seize the throne and crown herself emperor. But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions.
Ritter, William: Rook
(Workman/Algonquin Books 9781643752402, $18.99, 354pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Standalone urban fantasy novel, set in the world of the Jackaby series. With the power of the Sight, Abigail Rook sees the essential truth of everything, every human, fairy, werewolf, enchanted slip of paper, and municipal building, at all times. With this overwhelming new gift, it’s down to her to solve the mystery of why New Fiddleham’s local witches and other magical beings are going missing. Except she has no idea what she’s doing.
Sim, Tara: The Midnight Kingdom
(Orbit US 9780316458931, $18.99, 592pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 08/22/2023)
Fantasy novel, the second in the Dark Gods trilogy. A cataclysmic battle to save the city of Nexus has left the four noble heirs scattered across the realms. All will encounter old friends and new enemies as they attempt to restore the balance of the universe. But the gods grow stronger, and their descendants will need more than their magic and their wits to survive the war that is coming.
Tuttle, Lisa: Riding the Nightmare
(Valancourt Books 9781954321892, $18.99 234pp, formats: trade paperback, hardcover, ebook, 08/22/2023)
Collection of 12 stories including novella “The Dragon’s Bride” newly revised and expanded for this edition. Introduction by Neil Gaiman.
