| A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson BennettIn this 3rd in the Ana and Din Mysteries series, the great detective Ana Dolabra and her assistant Din have to de-escalate a conflict between rival families by exonerating one family's eldest son of murder before all-out war erupts. Fans of the immersive setting and sharp character writing of the previous series entries will want to keep digging for more. Read next: Malka Older's Mossa and Pleiti series or Melissa Caruso's Echo Archives series.
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| Witch Daughter by Tanaz BhathenaWith her father, the king, in failing health, and rumors of witchcraft hampering her marital prospects, Princess Tahmineh's situation is precarious. She seeks to fulfill a prophecy that she will marry and bear the son of a great warrior, but when tragedy strikes, Tahmineh is caught in the crossfire and must choose what to protect most. For fans of: female-focused mythical retellings with complex characters such as Louisa Morgan's "The Faerie Morgana."
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| Homebound by Portia ElanIt's 1983, and a college student is programming an adventure game to cope with the sudden loss of her uncle. This game, unbeknownst to her, will have an impact that echoes across centuries, coming into contact with a professor in the late 21st century and a sentient robot navigating a flooded Earth. Portia Elan's debut is "an ingenious narrative that explores the meaning of love and interconnectedness across time" ('Kirkus Reviews') that readers of Silvia Park's "Luminous" or Jayson Greene's "Unworld" will devour. |
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| The Dungeon Book by Gareth HanrahanStolen by a dragon as a baby and raised by goblins, Bait has never known a life outside of the dungeon beneath a sorcerer's tower. But dungeons attract adventurers, and as the outside world begins to encroach on her own, Bait will have to figure out where she truly belongs. Fans of Dungeons & Dragons and readers of classic adventure settings with humor and heart will enjoy immersing themselves in Bait's world. |
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| Palaces of the Crow by Ray NaylerIn this speculative alternate history of World War II, the blitzkrieg of 1941 brings together a Polish deserter, a Roma horse trader, a nonspeaking boy of unknown history, and a Jewish village girl with a strong connection to a murder of crows. Together, they work to survive the winter wilderness while evading enemy forces, guided by the crows who are more intelligent than they seem. This "impassioned paean to togetherness" ('Publishers Weekly') and resilience will please fans of Kira Jane Buxton's similarly corvid-centric "Hollow Kingdom." |
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| The Dorians by Nick CutterIn the Canadian wilderness, five elderly volunteers have been offered a second chance at life with a cutting edge experiment to stall or reverse their biological clocks. The secret to this new eternal youth is an implant of a symbiote whose only imperative is to survive. However, each volunteer sees this experiment go horribly wrong in Nick Cutter's latest grotesque display. For fans of: "The Graceview Patient" by Caitlin Starling. |
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| A Dark and Wild Wood by Sarah Nicole LemonSalomé has long been plagued by her spiritual visions and uncontrollable magic powers. When she flees the convent she was raised in to find her missing sister, her path intertwines with Lord Death. The Lord takes her to his home and promises to help her control her magic -- but any promise from Death must come with a price. Readers who enjoy gritty and dark fantasy stories about heroes reclaiming their power from abusive environments will be eager to read "A Dark and Wild Wood." |
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| Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul TremblayJulia Flang may be estranged from her CFO mother, but she has an offer Julia can't refuse: assume control of a comatose man with an AI implant to transport him across the country. Split between Julie's perspective and the disoriented surreal dreamscape of the remains of "Bernie's" consciousness, Paul Tremblay's latest "is injected with a squirming worm of fear that forces readers to take a critical look at AI's encroachment" ('Library Journal'). |
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Morsel
by Carter Keane
Carter Keane's "Morsel" is a delicious folk horror debut about learning to bite back when the world is determined to eat you alive. Lou did what the children of parents with backbreaking, poorly paying jobs are supposed to do: pulled up her bootstraps, went to college, and got an office gig with coworkers who won't stop talking about their multilevel marketing scheme disguised as self-betterment. When Lou accepts a property appraisal assignment in the rural hills of Ohio, she knows it's her last chance to save her job and keep making rent. But she quickly finds herself stranded in the middle of nowhere with a sabotaged truck, her dog, and someone--or something--stalking her through the ancient Appalachian woods. If she can't escape the woods in time, she'll see firsthand that her job isn't the only thing that wants to eat her alive.
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Wife Shaped Bodies
by Laura Cranehill
An exploration of gender, power, and community through the lens of mycological body horror and an ode to the unsettling beauty of the natural world. Forbidden from leaving her house from girlhood until marriage, Nicole has only her mother's lessons and what she can see from her bedroom window to draw on in forming her view of the world, and of herself. Taught that the mushrooms which cover the women in her village are repulsive and dangerous, she conforms to a rigid set of rules to protect herself and those around her. When her wedding day arrives, Nicole moves from one prison to another - an empty mansion on the very outskirts of town belonging to the husband she’s been promised to since birth. As she haunts the edges of Silas's unknowable life and decaying home, maintaining control over her own transforming body becomes increasingly impossible..
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