New Books 4 March 2025
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New science fiction, fantasy, and horror books for the week of March 4, 2025.
Andrew, Kelly: I Am Made of Death (Scholastic Press 978-1546104483, $19.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult contemporary dark fantasy novel. Thomas, trying to pay his mother’s medical bills, becomes the interpreter for a wealthy girl who communicates through sign language. She does so because her voice kills anyone who hears it. Thomas falls for Vivienne, even as she tries to shake him off as she pursues a surgical exorcism. Simultaneous with the UK edition.
Bassoff, Jon: The Memory Ward (Blackstone Publishing 979-8212912105, $28.99, 256pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Horror-thriller novel about a small town in Nevada, where the neighborhoods and beautiful and everyone is friendly. But the mailman Hank starts noticing something odd: all the letters he delivers are just blank pages. As he starts to investigate, things get weirder and weirder.
Bazterrica, Agustina: The Unworthy (Simon & Schuster/Scribner 978-1668063705, $28.99, 192pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Dystopian apocalyptic SF horror novel. A woman in a convent for the Sacred Sisterhood writes down her life of strict punishment and obedience, hoping to join the ranks of the Enlightened. Outside, the world has collapsed, and survivors fight in the ruined landscape. Simultaneous with the UK (Pushkin Press) edition.
Burnett, E. Stephen: Above the Circle of Earth (Enclave 979-8886051827, $26.99, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
SF novel. A repairman on Mars faces encroachment from the terrestrial government. He’s recruited into a secretive organization that aims to organize missions to share the Gospel in the planets beyond Earth.
Butcher, James J.: Cold Iron Task (Ace 978-0593440452, $29, 480pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Urban fantasy novel, the third book in the Unorthodox Chronicles series. Grimsby, a junior Auditor in the Department of Unorthodox Affairs, needs to repair his relationships and standing at the Department. He takes on a heist project, but learns his partner has been keeping secrets from him.
Carey, M.R.: Once Was Willem (Orbit US 978-0316505024, $18.99, 320pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Dark medieval fantasy novel. In medieval England, grieving parents let a sorcerer raise their boy from the dead, but he’s so repulsive he’s rejected from the village. Now, Once-Was-Willem unites a group of similar outcast beings to thwart the evil wizard’s plans.
Clare, Cassandra: The Ragpicker King (Penguin Random House/Del Rey 978-0525620020, $32, 576pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young Adult fantasy novel, sequel to Sword Catcher. Kel is the body double for a prince, and to investigate a massacre at the palace, he needs to seek the Ragpicker King, a notorious crime lord. Simultaneous with Tor UK release.
Dalglish, David: The Radiant King (Orbit US 978-0316576673, $19.99, 544pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Fantasy novel about a class of immortal humans blessed with gifts of radiance. They pledged to forswear power and help humanity, but one of them rebels and appoints himself a prophet, spreading a violent faith.
Deonn, Tracy: Oathbound (Simon & Schuster Young Readers 978-1665951906, $21.99, 656pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult contemporary fantasy novel, third in the Legendborn Cycle. Bree Matthews goes into exile after making a deal with the Shadow King. He can train her to harness her incredible powers, but she may be bound to do his bidding. Meanwhile, chaos fractures the Round Table.
El-Mohtar, Amal: The River Has Roots (Tordotcom 978-1250341082, $24.99, 144pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Daughters Esther and Ysabel tend to their family’s enchanted willows in the town of Thistleford, on the edge of the Faerie realm. When Esther rejects a suitor for a fae lover, she incites conflict.
Flint, Eric & Hunt, Walter H.: 1637: The French Connection (Baen 978-1668072462, $30, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 03/04/2025)
Time-travel/alternate history novel, the 38th book in Flint’s Ring of Fire series. A succession war erupts in France after Gaston ascends the throne after murdering his brother. Unfortunately, his brother’s infant heir survives, and factions rise to support him.
Flint, Eric & Cooper, Iver P.: 1637: The Pacific Initiative (Baen 978-1668072486, $18, 368pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 03/04/2025)
Time-travel/alternate history novel, the 39th book in Flint’s Ring of Fire series. In this alternate history, Japan has repealed its isolationist policies and spread out towards the west coast of North America. Now, samurai, Natives, Jesuits, and more clash over the New World.
Gray, R.M.: Nightweaver (Little, Brown Young Readers 978-0316583367, $19.99, 432pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult fantasy novel. Nightweavers are powerful beings who took over human lands, sending humans like Aster Oberon and her family out to sea. When the Oberons are forced back on land, the handsome Nightweaver Will offers them protection.
Holmberg, Charlie N.: Wizard of Most Wicked Ways (Amazon/47North 978-1662516825, $16.99, 271pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Fantasy novel, the fourth in the Whimbrel House series. At Wimbrel House, Owein is drifting towards marriage, but the wizard Silas Hogwood is back from the dead and out for revenge. Queen Victoria dispatches her League of Magicians, and Owein seeks some buried secrets to protect the family.
Lalami, Laila: The Dream Hotel (Penguin Random House/Pantheon 978-0593317600, $29, 336pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Near-future dystopian SF novel. An art archivist is detained by the Risk Assessment Administration at the airport, who claim her Dreamsaver implant predicts she’ll murder her husband. She is transferred to a Kafkaesque facility where minor infractions prolong her stay. Simultaneous with the UK Bloomsbury Circus edition.
Lam, L.R.: Emberclaw (Astra House/DAW 978-0756418441, $29, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 03/04/2025)
Epic fantasy/queer romance novel, the second in the Dragon Scales duology. Hero Arcady poses as a student at the magic University of Vatra, trying to clear their name; the dragon, Everen, is imprisoned and dreams of Arcady. Author has also written as Laura Lam. Simultaneous with the UK (Hodder & Stoughton) edition.
Maberry, Jonathan: Burn to Shine (St. Martin’s Griffin 978-1250892669, $21, 500pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
SF thriller in the Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International series. A group has infiltrated secret disease-research sites, and now its members are acting as human “disease bombs”, infecting themselves and spreading disease in public places. Joe, grieving, has to get back into action.
Marks, Robert B.: The Fairy Godmother’s Tale (Legacy Books Press 978-1927537930, $35.35, 434pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 03/07/2025)
Fantasy novel mixing historical and fairytale elements. Elisa discovers she’s a fairy godmother when she turns 15, but when a wish goes wrong, she destroys what she loves. She goes on a journey to do penance, and gets mixed up in human history and other fairy tales. A print-on-demand edition; ebook also available.
McConaghy, Charlotte: Wild Dark Shore (Macmillan/Flatiron 978-1250827951, $25.99, 320pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Near-future SF mystery novel. The Salt family are caretakers of a phased-out seed bank on an island near Antarctica, after rising sea levels have led researchers to abandon it. When a woman washes ashore, they nurse her back to health, but she notices a freshly-dug grave on the site.
O’Brien, Cory: Two Truths and a Lie (Penguin Random House/Pantheon 978-0593687284, $28, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Near-future SF mystery novel. Orr, who’s scraping by selling information to cops, gets approached about the murder of a datatech executive. He cooperates, but then his boyfriend shows up as the number one suspect. Digging deeper, Orr discovers a conspiracy. A first novel.
Randall, Breanne: Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things (Penguin Random House/Dell 978-0593875001, $18, 382pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Fantasy novel. A small-town witch and her sisters are cursed with losing bits of memory when they cast spells. When evil comes to town, the sisters’ magic bonds fray, and Calliope accidentally binds herself to a handsome leader from a rival coven. This includes recipes and a book club guide. First US edition.
Reid, Ava: Fable for the End of the World (HarperCollins 978-0063211551, $19.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult SF novel. Inesa and her brother live in a world where debtors’ children are killed in a livestreamed assassination spectacle. Inesa’s mother, deep in debt, offers her, and she is hunted by Melinoe, a biologically-altered human weapon. Simultaneous with the Del Rey UK edition.
Ring, Seth: Advent (Blackstone Publishing 979-8874692575, $28.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Military SF novel, the first in the Exlian Syndrome series about a dishwasher who dreams of joining the war against the alien Exilian. An encounter with a dying woman gives him the abilities he needs to join the forces.
Sain, Ginny Myers: When the Bones Sing (Penguin Random House/Putnam 978-0593625484, $19.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult paranormal romance novel. Dovie hears the bones of the dead sing, and deals with the constant demands of the dead in the Arkansas Ozarks. But when hikers start disappearing on a nearby trail, she helps the police search for bodies with the help of her best friend Lo, who deals with darker visions. Simultaneous with the Electric Monkey UK edition.
Steven, Laura: Our Infinite Fates (St. Martin’s/Wednesday Books 978-1250333889, $20, 352pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult fantasy romance novel. Evelyn can remember her past lives, and in every incarnation she’s killed by the demon Arden by her 18th birthday. But this time, her younger sister needs her to survive. Evelyn tries to break the curse.
Thakrar, Shveta: Divining the Leaves (HarperCollins 978-0063255265, $19.99, 416pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult contemporary fantasy novel. Ridhi loves nature and flower crowns, longing to join the yakshas in their forest kingdom. Her former friend Nilesh once mocked her for magic, but when he receives a magic deal before her, she rushes into a magic world with more consequences than she anticipates.
Thorne, Rebecca: Tea You at the Altar (Tor/Bramble 978-1250333254, $19.99, 336pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Fantasy romance novel, third in the Tomes & Tea series. Lesbian pirates Kianthe and Reyna are getting ready to tie the knot, but mayhem abounds, from baby dragons to annoying in-laws to royal plots. Simultaneous with the Tor UK edition.
Tran, Trang Thanh: They Bloom at Night (Bloomsbury USA 978-1547611119, $19.99, 272pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult horror novel. A red algae bloom takes over Mercy, Louisiana. Teenage Noon and her mom trawl for mutated wildlife to trade the corrupt harbormaster. Something is itching in Noon’s skin.
Various Authors: Critical Role: Vox Machina: Stories Untold (Penguin Random House/Random House Worlds 978-0593874233, $30, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/05/2025)
Anthology of ten fantasy stories based on the livestreamed show Vox Machina, involving characters from the Critical Role universe. Foreword by cast member Liam O’Brien. Authors include Rebecca Coffindaffer, Sam Maggs, Rory Power, and Nibedita Sen.
Weber, David & Lindskold, Jane: Friends Indeed (Baen 978-1668072455, $18.99, 576pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult SF novel, fifth in the Star Kingdom series featuring Stephanie Harrington. Teenage Stephanie was one of the first humans to bond with a treecat on the planet of Sphinx, and she’s determined to protect them as their sapient status is debated amongst humans.
Zhao, Amélie Wen: The Scorpion and the Night Blossom (Delacorte 978-0593813843, $22.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 03/04/2025)
Young-adult fantasy romance novel based on Chinese mythology. A girl must enter a deadly competition to save her mother’s soul. Simultaneous with the US (Delacorte) edition. Ebook also available.
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