This week is PACKED with amazing new releases and especially beautiful covers!!!

(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)

Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3) by Tamsyn Muir
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Science Fantasy
Representation: Queer MC, queernorm world
Published on: 13th September 2022
Goodreads

Her city is under siege.

The zombies are coming back.

And all Nona wants is a birthday party.

In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona's not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger's body, and she's afraid she might have to give it back.

The whole city is falling to pieces. A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon, ready to tear the planet apart. Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling. Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses. Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves, with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes, but she also knows that nothing lasts forever.

And each night, Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face...

IT’S

NONA

THE

NINTH

!!!

I just finished my reread of the first two books at 5am Sunday morning (I regret NOTHING) and I mean, I was already hyped for Nona, but wow did I fall in love with this series all over again. It continues to be The Best, and I’m kind of in a daze that book three is actually! almost!! here!!!

Notorious Sorcerer (The Burnished City #1) by Davinia Evans
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bi/pansexual MC, M/M, queernorm world
Published on: 13th September 2022
Goodreads

Since the city of Bezim was shaken half into the sea by a magical earthquake, the Inquisitors have policed alchemy with brutal efficiency. Nothing too powerful, too complicated, too much like real magic is allowed–and the careful science that’s left is kept too expensive for any but the rich and indolent to tinker with. Siyon Velo, a glorified errand boy scraping together lesson money from a little inter-planar fetch and carry, doesn’t qualify.

But when Siyon accidentally commits a public act of impossible magic, he’s catapulted into the limelight. Except the limelight is a bad place to be when the planes themselves start lurching out of alignment, threatening to send the rest of the city into the sea.

Now Siyon, a dockside brat who clawed his way up and proved himself on rooftops with saber in hand, might be Bezim’s only hope. Because if they don’t fix the cascading failures of magic in their plane, the Powers and their armies in the other three will do it for them.

This was EVEN MORE EPIC than I was expecting it to be, and I was already expecting it to be amazing! Gorgeous prose, an amazing cast, worldbuilding I adored, and a plot that was so deliciously twisty! I haven’t seen NEARLY enough hype for Notorious Sorcerer and I need absolutely EVERYONE to read it!!!

You can read my review here!

Thief Mage Beggar Mage by Cat Hellisen
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: MC with chronic pain, amputee MC, M/M
Published on: 13th September 2022
Goodreads

Tet is no longer a priest-mage; thrown out from his temple and cursed by his gods to return a stolen relic. With every passing year, the curse works deeper into his flesh, breaking and twisting him until finally, driven by pain, Tet makes a drastic play to escape the gods.

His luck turns sour, and the escape costs him his soul, drawing his death even closer when he is captured by the despotic White Prince. In order to escape the prince, retrieve his soul and break the curse, Tet must form a fragile alliance with a man he cannot trust. An alliance made brittle by lies and deception; one that may take his heart as well as his soul.

Thief Mage, Beggar Mage is a lush, queer reimagining of Andersen’s The Tinderbox, embroidered with dreams, secret identities, stolen magic, giant spectral dogs, clockwork monsters, prophetic dragons, and the grand games of gods and humans.

I love the Tinderbox fairytale, I love lush prose and queer stories, and I love Cat Hellisen. Thief Mage Beggar Mage is another that subverted my expectations at every turn, and altogether is just utterly *chef’s kiss*

You can read my review here!

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F, nonbinary secondary character
Published on: 13th September 2022
Goodreads

In the tradition of modern fairytales like American Gods and Spinning Silver comes a sweeping epic rich in Eastern European folklore--a debut novel about the ancestral hauntings that stalk us, and the uncanny power of story.

The Yaga siblings--Bellatine, a young woodworker, and Isaac, a wayfaring street performer and con artist--have been estranged since childhood, separated both by resentment and by wide miles of American highway. But when they learn that they are to receive a mysterious inheritance, the siblings are reunited--only to discover that their bequest isn't land or money, but something far stranger: a sentient house on chicken legs.

Thistlefoot, as the house is called, has arrived from the Yagas' ancestral home in Russia--but not alone. A sinister figure known only as the Longshadow Man has tracked it to American shores, bearing with him violent secrets from the past: fiery memories that have hidden in Isaac and Bellatine's blood for generations. As the Yaga siblings embark with Thistlefoot on a final cross-country tour of their family's traveling theater show, the Longshadow Man follows in relentless pursuit, seeding destruction in his wake. Ultimately, time, magic, and legacy must collide--erupting in a powerful conflagration to determine who gets to remember the past and craft a new future.

An enchanted adventure illuminated by Jewish myth and adorned with lyrical prose as tantalizing and sweet as briar berries, Thistlefoot is an immersive modern fantasy saga by a bold new talent.

I love Baba Yaga – especially her amazing house!!! – so I’ve been looking forward to Thistlefoot for absolutely AGES. I only fell more in love after reading the first few pages via the Big River site, and the excerpt posted on Tor.com!

Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Latina MC
Published on: 13th September 2022
Goodreads

A part-time reporter and club owner takes on crooked city councilmen, mysterious and deadly mobsters, and society's deeply rooted sexism and racism, all while keeping her true identity and magical abilities hidden --inspired by an ancient Mexican folktale.

Yo soy quien soy.
I am who I am.

Luna--or depending on who's asking, Rose--is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother who has seen what happens to people from her culture. This world is prejudicial, and she must hide her identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club. Using her cunning powers, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City's bootlegging ladder. Luna, however, runs the risk of losing everything if the crooked city councilmen and ruthless mobsters discover her ties to an immigrant boxcar community that secretly houses witches. Last thing she wants is to put her entire family in danger.

But this bruja with ever-growing magical abilities can never resist a good fight. With her new identity, Rose, an unabashed flapper, defies societal expectations all the while struggling to keep her true self and witchcraft in check. However, the harder she tries to avoid scrutiny, the more her efforts eventually capture unwanted attention. Soon, she finds herself surrounded by greed and every brand of bigotry--from local gangsters who want a piece of the action and businessmen who hate her diverse staff to the Ku Klux Klan and Al Capone. Will her earth magic be enough to save her friends and family? As much as she hates to admit it, she may need to learn to have faith in others--and learning to trust may prove to be her biggest ambition yet.

I’ll be honest, I fell in love with the cover first, but once I read the blurb I was completely hooked. Luna sounds like an amazing character, and I really want to know more about the folktale Bindle Punk Bruja is inspired by.

Glorious Fiends by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer cast
Published on: 13th September 2022
Goodreads

When infamous hot mess vampire Roxanne resurrects her deceased best friends, she’s confronted by a dream-dwelling Guardian of the Underworld, who demands that she replace them in his afterlife with three equally nefarious creatures—or he’ll drag her there instead.

Reunited with Medusa and Mx. Hyde, Roxanne and her macabre girl gang must become monster hunters themselves and fight for the future of their friendship.

Gory, sexy, silly, touching—Glorious Fiends asks who the real monsters are, and if the bonds that we think are solely human are really ours alone. This Hammer-inspired odyssey is a nostalgic trip through ‘80s horror tropes—with modern sensibilities.

I have seen mixed reviews for this – it seems to be a love it or hate it kind of book – but I’m still excited to give it a go. Marvellous cover, either way!

Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Representation: Asexual cast
Published on: 13th September 2022
Goodreads

What happens in Vegas when an all-asexual online friend group attempts to break into a high-stakes gambling club? Shenanigans ensue.

Some people join chess club, some people play football. Jack Shannon runs a secret blackjack ring in his private school’s basement. What else is the son of a Las Vegas casino mogul supposed to do?

Everything starts falling apart when Jack’s mom is arrested for their family’s ties to organized crime. His sister Beth thinks this is the Shannon family’s chance to finally go straight, but Jack knows that something’s not right. His mom was sold out, and he knows by who. Peter Carlevaro: rival casino owner and jilted lover. Gross.

Jack hatches a plan to find out what Carlevaro’s holding over his mom’s head, but he can’t do it alone. He recruits his closest friends—the asexual support group he met through fandom forums. Now all he has to do is infiltrate a high-stakes gambling club and dodge dark family secrets, while hopelessly navigating what it means to be in love while asexual. Easy, right?

I’m far from the only one looking forward to Aces Wild – there was a big buzz when the publishing deal was announced, and again when the cover was revealed – but as an asexual person myself, I’m doubly excited for such a ridiculously cool premise. ‘Always have an ace up your sleeve’, indeed!

The Gingerbread Witch by Alexandra Overy
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 13th September 2022
Goodreads

Maud has grown up in a house made of gingerbread, wanting nothing more than to be a witch like Mother Agatha. But just like all of Agatha's creations—from the magical house made of sweets to the chocolate mousse squirrel, right down to the little sugar mice—Maud will turn back into gingerbread if anything ever happens to Agatha. After a terrible fight, Maud storms off only to return home to learn that Hansel and Gretel, a pair of witch hunters, have pushed Agatha into the cottage's oven.

To save herself and the other gingerbread creations, Maud will have to go into the dangerous forest of the Shadelands to find the First Witch's spellbook. But with witch hunters on her trail and other people interested in the book for their own means, it'll be far from easy. Can Maud claim the book and bring back the only mother she's ever known…or will witch hunters capture her before she can save her gingerbread family?

This sounds very very sweet – and I did not mean for that to be a pun, I swear! – and gives all the vibes of being a perfect snuggle-book. I’m very much looking forward to curling up with it!

Lioness of Punjab by Anita Jari Kharbanda​
Representation: Punjabi Sikh cast
Published on: 17th September 2022
Goodreads

“We will fight here,” I commanded the warriors. “We are strong. We will have no fear. As Sikh warriors, we are ready to fight for justice. Vahiguru Ji Ka Khalsa! Vahiguru Ji Ki Fateh!”

It is the winter of 1705, and the tenth Guru of the Sikhs is under attack by the armies of the mighty Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. Under siege and isolated, Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s men are exhausted beyond measure, and forty soldiers decide to head home. Back in the villages of Punjab, these forty men are met by a fiery Sikh woman—a warrior who has been preparing all her life for this very moment—who leads the deserters back to the Guru. This is the story of that warrior, the fierce Mai Bhago, who chose the sword to symbolize her unwavering loyalty and devotion to her people and her faith.

This energetic coming-of-age young adult novel brings us closer to Mai Bhago—a woman revered in the Sikh community and beyond—to imagine her growing to embrace her many roles in a way that was entirely her own and, in the process, becoming a shining inspiration for young women everywhere.

I feel as if I have vaguely heard of Mai Bhago before, but I’d love to learn a lot more about her, and a novel that puts her front and centre seems like a good place to start!

Will you be reading any of these? Let me know!

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