FOUR books this week – although in the interests of full disclosure, only two of them are outright SFF!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 21st February 2023
Goodreads
Sister, Maiden, Monster is a visceral story set in the aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation and told through the eyes of three women trying to survive the nightmare, from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder.
To survive they must evolve.
A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together.
Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?
Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.
Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.
Inspired by her Bram Stoker Award-winning story “Magdala Amygdala,” Lucy A. Snyder delivers a cosmic tale about the planet’s disastrous transformation ... and what we become after.
This has been described as ‘queer eldritch horror’, which, YES PLEASE??? Reviews have been a little mixed, but I’m eager to check it out for myself!
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 21st February 2023
Goodreads
Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test in this debut crime novel.
When Saint Sebastian's School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding community are thrust into chaos. Unsatisfied with the officials' response, sardonic and headstrong Sister Holiday becomes determined to unveil the mysterious attacker herself and return her home and sanctuary to its former peace. Her investigation leads down a twisty path of suspicion and secrets in the sticky, oppressive New Orleans heat, turning her against colleagues, students, and even fellow Sisters along the way.
Sister Holiday is more faithful than most, but she's no saint. To piece together the clues of this high-stakes mystery, she must first reckon with the sins of her checkered past-and neither task will be easy.
An exciting start to Margot Douaihy's bold series for Gillian Flynn Books that breathes new life into the hard-boiled genre, Scorched Grace is a fast-paced and punchy whodunnit that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
Mysteries aren’t really my thing, but I’m happy to read them when there’s something else about the book to hold my interest – lovely prose, a great setting, interesting SFF elements…
OR, YOU KNOW. A TATTOOED QUEER NUN MAIN CHARACTER.
This sounds like it has a lot of potential to be a ridiculous amount of fun!
Published on: 21st February 2023
Goodreads
From the diabolical imagination of Edgar Award–winning novelist, playwright, and story-songwriter Rupert Holmes comes a devilish thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a luxurious, clandestine college dedicated to the fine art of murder where earnest students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim.
Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate…and where one’s mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world a much better place to live.
Prepare for an education you’ll never forget. A delightful mix of witty wordplay, breathtaking twists and genuine intrigue, Murder Your Employer will gain you admission into a wholly original world, cocooned within the most entertaining book about well-intentioned would-be murderers you’ll ever read.
I love the idea of a ‘Poison lvy League’ (even if poison ivy isn’t particularly deadly…) but the fact that there assassins are training only to kill ‘deserving’ victims does have me raising an eyebrow a bit. Depending on how it’s written, that could be a bit of a cop-out – an attempt to keep characters likable rather than embracing the awfulness of assassination and daring readers to enjoy it. Does that make sense? But I guess we’ll see – I HAVE to check out this premise and see how it goes!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 24th February 2023
Goodreads
Briar Hunt has always been lauded for his grace on stage, except by one person from whom he wants it the most. Desperate to earn the affection he craves, Briar makes a late night deal with a high fey lady: If he can perform a single perfect dance at one of her woodland revels, she will make him the most enchanting thing on two legs.
However, Briar quickly learns the fey lady is impossible to please. Not only that, her demands are never-ending, enough to slowly unravel his life and his health. Only when a handsome stranger, Mal, arrives claiming he can help Briar break his deal and earn his freedom back, does Briar think he might be saved.
Lord Malric d'Alarie has finally broken free of dancing on command for his mother at her fey revels. But after hearing he's been replaced, he attends one of her parties to see for himself. The human performing in his place is breathtaking--but Malric dreads what kind of deal the dancer made with his mother in order to be there.
Wanting to rescue Briar from the same woman who stole his own love for ballet, Malric inserts himself into Briar's life from every angle possible. From posing as a dance instructor in the human world to hiding behind a mask in the fey world, Malric promises he can set Briar free of his fateful deal. Malric only has to keep his identity--and his intentions--secret, from both the dancer he's quickly falling for, and his mother, who controls their every move.
I have a weak spot for stories about dancers, but I don’t see then often in SFF – so my ears definitely perked up at the sound of The Fox and the Dryad! I parted on very poor terms will the last book of Graves’ I read, but I’m hopeful it’ll be different this time around!
Will you be reading any of these? Let me know!
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