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The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
by Roshani Chokshi
What it is: a "dizzying, dazzling, and foreboding" (Publishers Weekly) retelling of "Bluebeard," redolent with Gothic atmosphere.
What happens: The unnamed narrator weds mysterious heiress Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada and accompanies his new bride to her family's estate, the House of Dreams, where he ignores her instructions not to delve into her past.
For fans of: Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic, Isabel Cañas' The Hacienda, or Caitlin Starling's The Death of Jane Lawrence.
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Flux
by Jinwoo Chong
What happens: Brandon experiences his reality unraveling when he begins losing chunks of time and finding himself in an apartment he doesn't recognize and starts to suspect his new employers have discovered time travel and are covering up violent crimes.
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Meru
by S.B. Divya
In a (far-future) world... where humanity remains confined to Earth while posthuman "alloys" explore the galaxy, 22-year-old human Jayanthi and alloy pilot Vaha must explore the newly discovered planet Meru.
Series alert: Meru marks the opening installment of the Alloy Era series, which is set to continue with the forthcoming Loka.
About the author: Engineer-turned-novelist S.B. Divya is the author of Machinehood.
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| Bitter Medicine by Mia TsaiStarring: calligrapher Elle Mei, a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, currently hiding from the brother who wants to kill her and steal her magic; and her favorite customer, half-elf Agent Luc Villois, whose latest assignment may get Elle and her entire family killed.
Read it for: an inventive mash-up of xianxia tropes and European mythology, a fast-paced romantic adventure plot, and a diverse cast of well-drawn characters. |
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Song of Silver, Flame Like Night
by Amâelie Wen Zhao
What happens: When Zen, one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom, saves her life, Lan, a practitioner with a powerful ability hidden in the mark on her arm, finds an ally on her quest to overthrow the Elantian regime and fulfill her destiny.
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Celebrate Jewish Heritage Month in May
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The Mimicking of Known Successes
by Malka Older
What it's about: Investigator Mossa's latest case involves a return to her alma mater, Jupiter's Valdegeld University, where her success will depend on convincing Pleiti, her ex-girlfriend, to assist her inquiries.
Read it for: a classic mystery feel, a detecting duo reminiscent of Holmes and Watson, and evocative world-building.
For fans of: Mary Robinette Kowal's The Spare Man or Dorothy L. Sayers' Gaudy Night.
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Lost Places: And Other Stories
by Sarah Pinsker
What is in it: A half-remembered children's TV show. A hotel that shouldn't exist. A mysterious ballad. A living flag. A group of girls goes camping. Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author Sarah Pinsker's second collection brings together her touchstones of music and memory, secret subversions and hidden messages.
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Bone Weaver
by Aden Polydoros
What happens: The Kosa empire roils in tension, on the verge of being torn apart by a proletarian revolution...but seventeen-year-old Toma lives blissfully disconnected from the conflict in the empire with her adoptive family of benevolent undead. When she meets Vanya, a charming commoner branded as a witch by his own neighbors, and the dethroned Tsar Mikhail himself, the unlikely trio bonds over trying to restore Mikhail's magic and protect the empire from the revolutionary leader, Koschei, whose forces have stolen the castle.
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The Ghosts of Rose Hill
by R. M. Romero
"A must-read for lost souls everywhere." -Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
What it's about: Staying with her aunt in Prague, aspiring violinist Ilana finds a forgotten Jewish cemetery where she meets a kindhearted ghost named Benjamin who introduces her to the enchanted side of the city where she resolves to save the boy she loves.
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Neom
by Lavie Tidhar
Series Alert: The 2nd installment of the Central Station series
What it's about: In Neom, a tech wonderland for the rich and beautiful, an urban sprawl along the Red Sea, and a port of call between Earth and stars, one robot can change this city's destiny with a single rose, searching for a lost love.
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| Antimatter Blues by Edward AshtonWhat it is: the sequel to Mickey7, in which the retired Expendable must negotiate with aliens to recover the fuel source on which the colony's survival depends.
For fans of: Andy Weir's Artemis or Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries.
Should you start here? Because Antimatter Blues' plot references events from the previous novel, you'll want to start at the beginning (or wait for director Bong Joon-ho's upcoming film adaptation of Mickey7). |
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| The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon ChakrabortyOne last job: Retired pirate and single mother Amina al-Sirafi reluctantly agrees to search for the kidnapped granddaughter of a wealthy woman with ties to Amina's past.
Getting the band back together: Amina rounds up the remaining members of her old crew and embarks on a rescue mission -- but, of course, there's more to the job than she's been told.
Series alert: This swashbuckling novel by the author of the Daevabad trilogy is the 1st book in a planned trilogy that draws inspiration from the seafaring cultures of the 12th-century Indian Ocean. |
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| Rubicon by J.S. DewesWhat happens: Resurrected for the 96th time and assigned to a shadowy special forces unit, Sergeant Adrienne Valero must deal with a suddenly sentient virtual intelligence (VI) as she battles enemy Mechans.
Why you might like it: This standalone novel by the author of the Divide series offers action-packed military science fiction with sympathetic characters.
For fans of: the indestructible soldiers of Kameron Hurley's The Light Brigade or John Scalzi's Old Man's War series. |
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| Dead Country by Max GladstoneWhat it is: the opening installment of the Craft Wars series, a spin-off of author Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence.
Starring: Craftswoman Tara Abernathy, who returns to the hometown that cast her out, only to discover that she must now defend it from enemies; and Tara's accidental apprentice, Dawn, a girl with powerful and uncontrolled magic.
Can you start here? Yes! Knowledge of Tara's previous exploits is not necessary to follow the events of Dead Country. |
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| The Foreign Exchange by Veronica G. HenryStarring: Vodou priestess and amateur sleuth Mambo Reina Dumond, who works as a healer in New Orleans' French Quarter when she's not solving crimes.
What happens: In this 2nd book in the Mambo Reina series (after The Quarter Storm), a client's request for help with a financial matter soon turns into a murder investigation.
For fans of: New Orleans-set contemporary fantasies such as Alex Jennings' The Ballad of Perilous Graves or Bryan Camp's Crescent City novels. |
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| The God of Endings by Jakki HollandIntroducing: vampire Collette LeSange, an immortal artist whose quiet life as a preschool teacher in 1980s upstate New York comes crashing down when her past finally catches up to her.
Why you might like it: Collette's first-person narrative spans 150 years, covering her 1830s childhood, her World War II resistance activities, and her 20th-century brush with Satanic Panic.
For fans of: V.E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, or Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. |
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| The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose UtomiThe premise: "There is no water in the City of Lies," which leads the City to strike a costly bargain with the Ajungo Empire: in exchange for this precious resource, citizens 13 and older must forfeit their tongues.
What happens: To save his dying mother, 12-year-old Tutu ventures into the Forever Desert on an impossible quest and finds unexpected allies.
Series alert: This "mesmerizing debut novella" (Publishers Weekly) is the 1st book in the Forever Desert series. |
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| The Foxglove King by Hannah WhittenIntroducing: Lore, a young woman who escaped from a subterranean cult and now works as a poison-runner on the streets of Dellaire while concealing her forbidden Mortem, or death magic, from the authorities.
What happens: Captured by the Presque Mort, who serve the Sainted King, Lore must spy on the king's heir, Sun Prince Bastian, with the aid of her assigned bodyguard Gabe, a disgraced monk.
Why you might like it: This opening installment of the Nightshade Kingdom series offers courtly intrigue, a sinister state religion, and a complex love triangle. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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