Tag: fantasybooks

May 2024 Wrap Up

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  • I read 19 books this month
  • I DNFd 4 books this month
  • Genre: 6 fantasy, 3 romance, 3 thriller, 2 murder mystery, 2 sci-fi, 2 non-fiction and 1 gothic
  • Gender of authors: 14 women and 5 men
  • Race of authors: 11 white authors, 6 asian authors, 1 black author and 1 Egyptian-Canadian author
  • Age range: 14 adult and 5 YA
  • Format: 10 ebook, 8 paperback and 1 hardback
  • 4 stars average rating for the month

DNFS

  • The Stars Too Fondly – Emily Hamilton
  • Rouge – Mona Awad
  • The Mermaid of Black Conch – Monique Roffey
  • The Duke and I – Julia Quinn

Fake Flame – Adele Buck (3 stars)

A super fun and engaging romance that took me not time at all to finish. We had characters that had incredible chemistry off the bat, engaging side plots discussing important topics, brilliant supporting cast, great use of communication. This was just such an enjoyable read and I would recommend it to any contemporary romance fan. And shoutout to the 40 year old FMC. I want to see more characters like Eva in romance fiction!

The Secret Adversary – Agatha Christie (3 stars)

I haven’t read many Christie thrillers apart from 2 many years ago. So I was excited to jump into this story and read about characters I have never met before. This was a good jumping off point for a fresh new series and brand new characters. The characters were engaging, witty and I enjoyed following them around on their escapades. The plot kept me guessing and I enjoyed how intense it was. I wasn’t expecting myself to fear for the life of a Christie protagonist. I had to pure satisfaction of guessing the elusive Secret Adversary which was a fulfilling moment. I will say I prefer her murder mysteries over her thrillers. I can only suspend so much disbelief and I find her murder mysteries to be more structured and therefore more enjoyable for me.

You Must Be This Tall to Propose, Vol. 1 – Fumi Mimifyu (3.5 stars)

A super sweet and funny YA rom com that puts my gorgeous tall girlies on a pedestal. We love to see it. With funny comedy of error moments, this manga is beautiful coming of age tale about a young man trying to grow in order to propose to his childhood crush. I devoured this volume and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series has in store. I am too invested in these characters now.

Good Girl, Bad Blood – Holly Jackson (3.5 stars)

Compared to the previous book in this series, I was underwhelmed. I found the interpersonal relationships and Pip’s character arc to be incredibly engaging and compelling. I am very interested in how Pip’s character is developing especially after the events of this book. But the plot was just not on the same level as the first book and I guessed a lot of key elements. And the elements that I didn’t guess kind of came out of left field too much for me. Hopefully, I will enjoy the last book more.

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Vol. 1 – Osamu Nishi (4 stars)

This volume genuinely had me laughing on my commute home. A perfect comedy of errors story about a boy who gets sold to a demon and has to attend Demon School. I love how the author uses very on-the-nose plot armor and coincidence to allow Iruma to get through this first initial volume. It is done with so much nuance and is incredibly hilarious. I love the message about kindness and avoiding violence. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the series has to offer.

Covenant – LySandra Vuong (4 stars)

A friend of mine had read this WebToon and for ages was raving about how incredible it was. I knew I had to try the series out for myself. This was an exhilarating, action-packed series about angels and demons and saving humanity. I feel that this volume gave us a really solid look into our key characters and the main plot points we need to understand the series going forward. How the magic system works, the politics surrounding the different churches as well as the interpersonal dynamics between our core characters. I am looking forward to seeing all of this expanded upon in future volumes!

The Devil’s Flute Murders – Seishi Yokomizo (4.5 stars)

Probably my favourite book in this series since the very first book, The Honjin Murders! I really feel that this book is Yokomizo on top form. Eerie atmosphere that builds with each chapter, complex characters that have you guessing even yourself and a plot that is liking walking through a labyrinth it has so many twists and turns. I really enjoyed every second of reading this book and read it in 2 days.

The Worst Ronin – Maggie Tokuda-Hall (4.5 stars)

This graphic novel was a great showcase in balance. Tokuda-Hall did a great job of giving you laughs and moments of sadness. She delivered you moments of outrage and moments of calm. I felt every emotion under the sun reading this story – it was amazing. The characters are complete opposites of each other and therefore balanced each other out. Watching them bicker and fight was hilarious but I did enjoy their more tender moments towards one another. The art-style was amazing. The fights scenes were great and Schaffer knows how to make me laugh with a single illustration. I hope we will see more books from these two and this world!

Before the Fact – Francis Iles (4.5 stars)

This book is such a compelling and thrilling read from start to finish. Diving head first into the intricacies and toxicity of a marriage based on lies and betrayal I found myself enraged for the whole 300 pages towards the main character’s husband. Looking at this book through a modern lens the way that Iles constructs a slowly growing suspenseful and harrowing narrative where each turn of a page makes you feel even more anxiety-induced is astounding. I loved the way you could watch the problem get bigger and bigger when it started off small and you get to the end and you can and cannot believe you have got to this moment.

Other books I read

  • Griz Grobus – Simon Roy (3 stars)
  • Mortal Monarchs – Suzie Edge (4 stars)
  • The Examiner – Janice Hallett (4 stars)
  • Burning Roses – S.L. Huang (4.5 stars)
  • Sorcery of Thorns – Margaret Rogerson (5 stars)
  • Unlikeable Female Characters – Anna Bogutskaya (5 stars)

June 2024 TBR

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I had a really successful May so hoping to bring that energy to June!

New Releases

  • Title: The Little Sparrow Murders
  • Author: Seishi Yokomizo
  • Series: Detective Kosuke Kindaichi
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Murder Mystery
  • Pages: 320
  • Publication Date: 06/06


Plot: An old friend of Kosuke Kindaichi’s invites the scruffy detective to visit the remote mountain village of Onikobe in order to look into a twenty-year-old murder case. But no sooner has Kindaichi arrived than a new series of murders strikes the village – several bodies are discovered staged in bizarre poses, and it soon becomes clear that the victims are being killed using methods that match the lyrics of an old local children’s song…The legendary sleuth investigates, but soon realises must unravel the dark and tangled history of the village, as well as that of its rival families, to get to the truth.

  • Title: The Sky on Fire
  • Author: Jenn Lyons
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 448
  • Publication Date: 09/07


Plot: Anahrod lives only for survival, preferring to thrive in the jungles of the Deep with the titan drake she keeps by her side. When an adventuring party saves her from capture by the local warlord, Sicaryon, she is eager to return to her solitary life, but this is no ordinary rescue. Anahrod’s past has caught up with her. And these cunning misfits intend to spirit her away to the cloud cities, where they need her help to steal from a dragon’s hoard. There’s only one in the cloud cities, dragons rule, and the hoard in question belongs to the current regent, Neveranimas―and she wants Anahrod dead.

  • Title: Babylonia
  • Author: Costanza Casati
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Historical
  • Pages: 400
  • Publication Date: 04/07


Plot: Nothing about Semiramis’s upbringing could have foretold her legacy or the power she would come to wield. A female ruler, once an orphan raised on the outskirts of an empire – certainly no one in Ancient Assyria would bend to her command willingly. Semiramis was a woman who knew if she wanted power, she would have to claim it. There are whispers of her fame in Mesopotamian myth- Semiramis was a queen, an ambitious warrior, a commander whose reputation reaches the majestic proportions of Alexander the Great. Historical record, on the other hand, falls eerily quiet.

Backlist

  • Title: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
  • Author: Kanehito Yamada
  • Series: Volume 1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 188


Plot: Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her? Decades after their victory, the funeral of one her friends confronts Frieren with her own near immortality. Frieren sets out to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades and finds herself beginning a new adventure…

  • Title: Fangirl Down
  • Author: Tessa Bailey
  • Series: Big Shots #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Romance
  • Pages: 380


Plot: Wells Whitaker was once golf’s hottest rising star, but lately, all he has to show for his “promising” career is a killer hangover, a collection of broken clubs, and one remaining supporter. No matter how bad he plays, the beautiful, sunny redhead is always on the sidelines. He curses, she cheers. He scowls, she smiles. But when Wells quits in a blaze of glory and his fangirl finally goes home, he knows he made the greatest mistake of his life. Josephine Doyle believed in the gorgeous, grumpy golfer, even when he didn’t believe in himself. Yet after he throws in the towel, she begins to wonder if her faith was misplaced. Then a determined Wells shows up at her door with a wild proposal: be his new caddy, help him turn his game around, and split the prize money. And considering Josephine’s professional and personal life is in shambles, she could really use the cash… As they travel together, spending days on the green and nights in neighboring hotel rooms, sparks fly. Before long, they’re inseparable, Wells starts winning again, and Josephine is surprised to find a sweet, thoughtful guy underneath his gruff, growly exterior. This hot man wants to brush her hair, feed her snacks, and take bubble baths together? Is this real life? But Wells is technically her boss and an athlete falling for his fangirl would be ridiculous… right?

  • Title: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
  • Author: Michiko Aoyama
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Hardback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
  • Pages: 304


Plot: This is the famous question routinely asked by Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. Like most librarians, Komachi has read every book lining her shelves—but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of her library guests. For anyone who walks through her door, Komachi can sense exactly what they’re looking for in life and provide just the book recommendation they never knew they needed to help them find it. Each visitor comes to her library from a different juncture in their careers and dreams, from the restless sales attendant who feels stuck at her job to the struggling working mother who longs to be a magazine editor. The conversation that they have with Sayuri Komachi—and the surprise book she lends each of them—will have life-altering consequences.

  • Title: Tell Me What Really Happened
  • Author: Chelsea Sedoti
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Murder Mystery
  • Pages: 416


Plot: It was all her idea. They would get away from their parents and spend the weekend camping. Down by Salvation Creek, the five of them would make smores, steal kisses, share secrets. But sometime around midnight, she vanished. Now the four friends who came back are under suspicion―and they each have a very different story to tell about what happened in the woods. The clock is ticking. What are they hiding? Who is lying? Dark truths must come to light if their friend is to be found… Told entirely through first-person police interviews, this riveting mystery asks: what really happened that night?

  • Title: A Letter to the Luminous Deep
  • Author: Sylvie Cathrall
  • Series: The Sunken Archive #1
  • Format: Hardback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 432


Plot: A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other. Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s home, and she and Henerey vanish. A year later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery of their siblings’ disappearances with the letters, sketches and field notes left behind. As they uncover the wondrous love their siblings shared, Sophy and Vyerin learn the key to their disappearance – and what it could mean for life as they know it.

April 2024 Wrap Up

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  • I read 14 books this month
  • I DNFd 3 books this month
  • Genre: 3 sci-fi, 3 memoir, 2 fantasy, 2 romance, 2 murder mystery, 1 thriller, 1 non-fiction
  • Gender of authors: 7 women and 4 men, 2 not stated, 1 non-binary author
  • Race of authors: 8 white authors, 4 asian authors, 1 black author and 1 Indo-Caribbean author
  • Age range: 12 adult, 3 new adult and 2 YA
  • Format: 6 paperback, 6 ebook and 2 hardback
  • 4.4 stars average rating for the month

DNFS

  • The Two Deaths of Ruth Lyle – Nick Louth
  • Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea – Rebecca Thorne
  • Eve – Cat Bohannon

The Butcher of the Forest – Preemee Mohamed (3.5 stars)

This is a super short horror fantasy about a haunted forest and the dangerous journey a woman goes on to free children from the forest’s clutches. Loved all the folklore and horror elements but despite this book being under 200 pages I found the pacing to be quite slow.

A-DO, Vol. 1 – Amano Jaku (4 stars)

This was a vibrant, action-packed and tense start to what I think will be a highly praised and exhilarating series. Fans of Akira will love this! The illustrations were so well done and perfectly represented the pace and chaos in this series. The characters are intriguing and I am excited to learn more about them and especially more about their powers. I am excited to see where the rest of the series goes.

My Love Story with Yamada-kun, Vol.1 – Mashiro (4 stars)

This was a super sweet and engaging contemporary romance in the era of modern gaming. The first volumes of manga series I take super seriously as they are make or break. We all know I am a solid DNFer so if I don’t enjoy them straight away it’s a no-go. This was easy reading, with a super engaging main character who I just want to see good things happen to and hilarious illustrations. I am excited to see more development in the romance as it’s very early days in their story but I did want a bit more from our love interest. I loved all the gaming references and all the scenes set in the world of the game. It was probably my favourite part of the volume.

A Magical Girl Retires – Park Seolyeon (4 stars)

For Sailor Moon fans who want a more realistic look at what being a magical girl is like. This book is for you! Satirical, witty, and fast-paced this book just captured me from the first chapter. I loved following our main character’s journey as she learns all about 21st-century magical girls and threats to the world as we know it. Our MC is super relatable and reflects modern issues and I felt like I would honestly react so similarly to her in most of her situations. I loved the illustrations in this book – they just paired so beautifully with the story and the vibe of the novel. That being said I do wish it was longer as I wanted the story to be drawn out and a bit more developed.

The Spook’s Apprentice – Joseph Delaney (4 stars)

This seemed like a book that I thought might just not be for me. This was purely due to the fact that I am not the target age or audience for this book so going into this young YA novel I was expecting to maybe not love it. I WAS WRONG. A perfect balance of fantasy and horror with a protagonist that you just want to see succeed and overcome every obstacle in his way.

Night Shift – Annie Crown (4.5 stars)

I picked this up after a very long and busy day at work looking for an easy and fun read and boy did I get that. I ended up reading over 200 pages in one setting on my day off as I just couldn’t put it down. For all my girlies who love romance novels, and poetry and just love to romanticise their life this book is for you! This was just a super engaging read with two great characters who you just want to see succeed.

The Trees – Percival Everett (4.5 stars)

If you have ever watched the movie Blackkklansman by Spike Lee and loved it, you would love this book. This satirical thriller following the investigation into multiple interconnected deaths in Mississippi was a book I flew through. I literally could not put it down. Percival Everett’s writing style is perfect for me. Too the point, doesn’t waste a single word, incredibly punchy dialogue, exciting plot. Ugh loved it.

Homebody – Theo Parish (5 stars)

This is a vibrant, accepting and reassuring graphic memoir about Theo’s journey into accepting themselves and their non-binary identity and the journey they took to get there and feel at home within their body. The illustrations in this GN are some of the most beautiful and engaging pieces of artwork I have seen in a graphic novel. Not only was I engaged in the story but the imagination that went into visualising this story was phenomenal. My favourite has to be the D&D section. Since this memoir is being published for the younger generation I feel that this book documents the journey so beautifully and clearly for young people who may be navigating a similar path. Even myself, who thought I knew quite bit about what it’s like being trans and non-binary, due my friends, learnt a lot! A book I would highly recommend!

It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth – Zoe Thorogood (5 stars)

Words cannot begin to adequately describe the genius, the heart and the baring of the soul that went into the creation of this graphic memoir. The creativity of the use of multiple forms, the loose time structure, varying art style just puts this above many visual stories I had read over the past couple of years. I have not seen anyone do something so raw and vast both emotionally but creatively. I was completely blown away by the book!

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone – Benjamin Stevenson (5 stars)

This book feels as if The Gentleman and Knives Out had a baby. A meta-narrative, family saga, murder mystery, and criminal dealings all rolled into a snowstorm on a ski resort! I had so much fun reading this book – probably the most fun I have ever had reading a crime book. The writing style in this book is wholly unique, for all my books about books fans you will love this, I loved the narrative voice of Ernest as a character but also as an author. I loved how the story was structured adhering to Ronald Knox’s 10 Commandments for crime writing. The constant referring to the text as a text with jokes about editors and chapter/page numbers. It was just such a refreshing read.

Reading Lessons – Carol Atherton (5 stars)

As someone who had complicated feelings about school and English, I was intrigued to see how I would feel reading a book about all the boring books I read and studied in school. Will this change my thoughts about any of the books? Will it make me appreciate my English classes more? Overall, yes. I thoroughly enjoyed dissecting these stories and learning that we can still learn something from these texts even today many years/decades/centuries later. While in school I hated analysing texts, now as an adult and a bookseller who reviews and promotes books for a living, I love diving in and seeing what I can take away or notice from a story. I liked looking at these texts from different lenses and I enjoyed hearing all the anecdotes that Atherton shared about her time in the classroom both when she was a student and as a teacher. My favourite section had to be the one on A Kestral for a Knave. It nearly had me crying on my commute home!

The Ferryman – Justin Cronin (5 stars)

Now this is my kind of sci-fi. I feel this book has a mass appeal to many audiences. The sci-fi fans, the thriller fans, the character-focused fans, and people who love to focus on the nitty-gritty of interpersonal relationships. This book has it all. I flew through this book at what felt like lightspeed. It’s a great sign that a book is phenomenal if all I can think about is getting back to reading it. Working? Thinking about the book. Food shop? Thinking about this book. Part of this is down to how easily this story flows. We follow two characters in this novel, one in first person and the other POV in 3rd person, and the way Cronin seamlessly weaves his way around these differing POVs and narrative styles is amazing. You just get so lost in the story that so much time has passed and the sun is setting.

May 2024 TBR

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A lot of books this month as I am going on holiday and I am hoping to read a lot on holiday.

New Releases

  • Title: Four Eids and a Funeral
  • Author: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Romance
  • Pages: 320
  • Publication Date: 06/06


Plot: Let’s get one thing straight: this is a love story. These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian Ms. Barnes dies, he must return home to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex-best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor. Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly staying through the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on, between grieving her broken family and helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center—a place that means so much to Tiwa. But when the Islamic Center accidentally catches fire, it turns out the mayor plans to demolish the center entirely. Things are still tense between the ex-friends but Tiwa needs Said’s help if there’s any hope of changing the mayor’s mind, and Said needs a project to submit to art school (unbeknownst to anyone). Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe save their relationship?

  • Title: The Stars Too Fondly
  • Author: Emily Hamilton
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Sci-Fi
  • Pages: 336
  • Publication Date: 11/06


Plot: So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace, but then the stupid dark-matter engine started on its own. Now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri and unable to turn around while being harangued by a hologram that has the face and snide attitude of the ship’s missing captain, Billie. Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about. But as the ship travels deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting; old mysteries come crawling back to life; and Cleo’s initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman was prepared for.

  • Title: Daughter of Calamity
  • Author: Rosalie M. Lin
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Historical Fantasy
  • Pages: 352
  • Publication Date: 18/06


Plot: Jingwen spends her nights as a showgirl at the Paramount, one of the most lavish clubs in Shanghai, competing ruthlessly to charm wealthy patrons. To cap off her shifts, she runs money for her grandmother, the exclusive surgeon to the most powerful gang in the city. A position her grandmother is pressuring her to inherit…  When a series of cabaret dancers are targeted―the attacker stealing their faces―Jingwen fears she could be next. And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai’s glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price. Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers―women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends―Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city’s underworld. In this treacherous realm of tangled alliances and ancient grudges, silver-armed gangsters haunt every alley, foreign playboys broker deals in exclusive back rooms, and the power of gods is wielded and traded like yuan. Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai’s bones.

  • Title: Lies and Weddings
  • Author: Kevin Kwan
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Romance
  • Pages: 400
  • Publication Date: 20/06


Plot: Rufus Leung Gresham, future Duke of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel, is drowning in debt. The only solution, according to his scheming mother, is for him to attend his sister’s wedding and seduce a woman with money. Will it be the French hotel heiress with a royal bloodline? Or the venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or will Rufus betray his family and confess his love to the literal girl next door? When a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans – and their reputation – go up in flames.

Backlist

  • Title: Good Girl, Bad Blood
  • Author: Holly Jackson
  • Series: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #2
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: YA
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Pages: 417


Plot: Pip is not a detective anymore. With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her. But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh. The police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way… and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it’s too late?

  • Title: The Secret Adversary
  • Author: Agatha Christie
  • Series: Tommy and Tuppence #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Pages: 324


Plot: Tommy and Tuppence, two young people short of money and restless for excitement, embark on a daring business scheme – Young Adventurers Ltd. Their advertisement says they are ‘willing to do anything, go anywhere’. But their first assignment, for the sinister Mr Whittington, plunges them into more danger than they ever imagined…

  • Title: The Serpent and the Wings of Night
  • Author: Carissa Broadbent
  • Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #1
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Romantasy
  • Pages: 504


Plot: The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself. But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival. Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him. But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

  • Title: The Last Unicorn
  • Author: Peter S. Beagle
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Middle Grade
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Pages: 320


Plot: She was magical, beautiful beyond belief—and completely alone…The unicorn had lived since before memory in a forest where death could touch nothing. Maidens who caught a glimpse of her glory were blessed by enchantment they would never forget. But outside her wondrous realm, dark whispers and rumours carried a message she could not “Unicorns are gone from the world.”Aided by a bumbling magician and an indomitable spinster, she set out to learn the truth. but she feared even her immortal wisdom meant nothing in a world where a mad king’s curse and terror incarnate lived only to stalk the last unicorn to her doom…

  • Title: Howdunit
  • Editor: Martin Edwards
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: Paperback
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Literary Criticism
  • Pages: 544


Plot: Howdunit offers a fresh perspective on the craft of crime writing from leading exponents of the genre, past and present. The book offers invaluable advice to people interested in writing crime fiction, but it also provides a fascinating picture of the way that the best crime writers have honed their skills over the years. Its unique construction and content mean that it will appeal not only to would-be writers but also to a very wide readership of crime fans.

  • Title: The Duke and I
  • Author: Julia Quinn
  • Series: Bridgerton #1
  • Format: eBook
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Historical Romance
  • Pages: 433


Plot: In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable. Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen. Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar. The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: Love ignores every rule…

  • Title: The Mermaid of Black Conch
  • Author: Monique Roffey
  • Series: Standalone
  • Format: eBook
  • Age Rating: Adult
  • Genre: Speculative Fiction
  • Pages: 272


Plot: In 1976, David is fishing off the island of Black Conch when he comes upon a creature he doesn’t expect: a mermaid by the name of Aycayia. Once a beautiful young woman, she was cursed by jealous wives to live in this form for the rest of her days. But after the mermaid is caught by American tourists, David rescues and hides her away in his home, finding that, once out of the water, she begins to transform back into a woman. Now David must work to win Aycayia’s trust while she relearns what it is to be human, navigating not only her new body but also her relationship with others on the island–a difficult task after centuries of loneliness. As David and Aycayia grow to love each other, they juggle both the joys and the dangers of life on shore. But a lingering question remains: Will the former mermaid be able to escape her curse? Taking on many points of view, this mythical adventure tells the story of one woman’s return to land, her healing, and her survival.