Must-Have Monday is a feature highlighting which of the coming week’s new releases I’m excited for. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all books being published that week; only those I’m interested in out of those I’m aware of! The focus is diverse SFF, but other genres sneak in occasionally too.
FIVE books this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: African-coded cast and setting
Published on: 23rd July 2024
Goodreads
A cosmic war reignites and the fate of the orisha lie in the hands of an untried acolyte in this first entry of a new epic fantasy novella duology by Tobi Ogundiran, for fans of N. K. Jemisin and Tomi Adeyemi.
"The novella of the year has arrived!"—Mark Oshiro, #1 New York Times bestselling author
A Most Anticipated Pick for The Millions | Book Riot | Gizmodo | IGN
Ashâke is an acolyte in the temple of Ifa, waiting for the day she becomes a full priest and can go out into the world to serve her orisha. But there is just one problem.
The orisha have refused to speak to her. Not for lack of trying. She’s watched her peers enter the Inner Sanctum—where they’re chosen and bestowed favor by the orisha—and emerge as full priests. She’s endured the jeers and ridicule of younger acolytes, she’s suffered the pity of the senior priests, she’s wallowed in self-pity. No more.
In her desperation, Ashâke builds a device to trap an orisha—any orisha. But when she performs the Rite of Summoning, she experiences a vision so terrible it destroys the device in a blaze of fire, draws the attention of a powerful enemy sect, and thrusts Ashâke into the center of cascading events that will shatter the very foundations of her world.
I think the US has to wait until early next month, but In The Shadow of the Fall is out in the UK this week! This is Ogundiran’s debut novella, and it’s been garnering a lot of love – which doesn’t surprise me, because it sounds EPIC. Definitely pouncing on this first thing tomorrow!
You can read an excerpt here!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 23rd July 2024
Goodreads
From the award-winning and bestselling author of Feed comes a raucous and slyly funny adult fiction debut. Based on a bizarre but true quest to steal the mystical corpse of a long-dead saint, Nicked is a fantastical, genre-defying, and delightfully queer historical romp
"Miracles, marvels, saints, sinners, love, plague, and treachery! M. T. Anderson has laid out a medieval feast of a novel, stuffed with everything I could have wished for. If I could canonize him for it, I would. But I’ll settle for shouting about how much I love this book."—Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love
"M. T. Anderson is one of our greatest and most precious voices. His books aren't just brilliantly witty and vastly entertaining, they're fixed stars of wisdom and sanity in our increasingly unhinged universe. When lost, I use them to steer by."—Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians Trilogy
The year is 1087, and a pox is sweeping through the Italian city of Bari. When a lowly monk is visited by Saint Nicholas in his dreams, he interprets the vision as a call to serve the sick. But his superiors, and the power brokers they serve, have different plans for the tender-hearted Brother Nicephorus.
Enter Tyun, a charismatic treasure hunter renowned for “liberating” holy relics from their tombs. The seven-hundred-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas are rumored to weep a mysterious liquid that can heal the sick, Tyun says. For the humble price of a small fortune, he will steal the bones and deliver them to Bari, curing the plague and restoring glory to the fallen city. And Nicephorus, the “dreamer,” will be his guide.
What follows is a heist for the ages, as Nicephorus is swept away on strange tides, and alongside even stranger bedfellows, to commit sacrilegious theft. Based on real historical accounts, Nicked is a swashbuckling saga, a medieval novel noir, a meditation on the miraculous, and a monastic meet-cute, filled with wide-eyed wonder at the world that awaits beyond our own borders.
I’m reading this at the moment, and I was NOT expecting it to be so funny! Nicked is a wry, tongue-in-cheek saint heist; it’s not a comedy, and it’s definitely not your typical heist story, but it is surprisingly fun and very clever, and the writing is excellent. Recommended for those who like their historical fiction a little weird; any and all ex-Catholics; and everyone who knows what a cynocephalus is and is excited about it.
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Gay MC
Published on: 23rd July 2024
Goodreads
The Ragpicker wanders the lush, deserted Earth, haunted by failing avatars and fragmented texts. He’ s searching for traces of his long-dead husband but his journey is interrupted by a girl, Ysmeny, fleeing her remote village. Together they cross the flourishing, treacherous landscape towards sanctuary. Yet the signals and static of the previous age echo in the Ragpicker’ s mind and whisper in the girl’ s dreams, drawing them toward the gap between map and territory— while offering precious hope.
Meerkat Press is an indie publisher with great taste, and my ears definitely pricked when I heard about Ragpicker. Mysterious blurb! And that cover??? I also read a snarky excerpt (which I enjoyed immensely) somewhere that I can’t find now, which is annoying, but you can find the link to several other excerpts here!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 23rd July 2024
Goodreads
Supernatural circus performer Leathan doesn't let herself get close to anyone. It's too painful when her curse literally rips those connections out of her heart. That's why she does her best to weed out the friendship sprouting between her and Renni, the gregarious star of the show.
When Renni is murdered, the ringmaster tasks Leathan with catching his killer. But all signs indicate the culprit is one of the Extravaganza's own, and the more she learns about her fellow troupers, the farther she feels from the truth—and the closer she is to forming fatal new attachments.
A darkly fantastical mystery reminiscent of The Night Circus and Even Though I Knew the End, THE EXTRAVAGANZA ETERNIA will enchant and delight.
Praise for The Extravaganza
"The Extravaganza Eternia is a mesmerising journey through a magical circus full of wondrous creatures with friendship and love as our final destination."
—Eugenia Triantafyllou, author of The Giants of the Violet Sea
"A glittering tale of big top murder that will swing you breathlessly from the dark depths of loneliness and betrayal to the sparkling heights of hope and human perseverance. The circus is in town! Get excited. Osani’s work is not to be missed."
— C.J. Lavigne, author of In Veritas
Between the beautiful cover and an endorsement from C.J. Lavigne, whose In Veritas made my Best of 2020 list, I am VERY willing to check out this novella. I’m not generally into murder mysteries, but unusual curses, a fantastical circus, and the gorgeous prose I’ve been promised? Yessssssssssss!
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Queer MC(s?)
Published on: 23rd July 2024
Goodreads
If boys will be boys, girls will fight back.
For high school senior Nell and her friends, a vacation house on a private Florida island sounds like the makings of a dream spring break. But Nell brings secrets with her—secrets that fuse with the island's tragic history, trapping them all with a curse that surrounds the island in a toxic, vengeful mist and the surrounding waters with an unseen, devouring beast.
Getting out alive means risking her friendships, her sanity, and even her own life. In order to save herself and her friends, Nell will have to face memories she'd rather leave behind, reveal the horrific truth behind the encounter that changed her life one year ago, and face the shadow that's haunted her since childhood.
Easier said than done.
But when Nell's friends reveal that they each brought secrets of their own, a solution even more dangerous than the curse begins to take shape.
Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Rory Power and reading like a YA feminist spin on Stephen King’s The Mist, So Witches We Became is a diverse, queer horror about female friendship, the emotional aftermath of surviving assault, and how to find power in the shadows of your past.
Not gonna lie, the tagline in the blurb – ‘if boys will be boys, girls will fight back’ – sounds Most Excellent, and I love me some vengeful girls turning to witchcraft. The reviews are very mixed, though, so I might wait and see what some other reader-friends think before I pick it up.
Will you be reading any of these? Did I miss any releases you think I should know about? Let me know!
Funnily enough, I recently read an entry in Wikipedia about the saint stealing, and said “oooh, I’d love to read a novel about that! Where’s that fantasy?” and ta-dah! It’s now on my list.
That is both funny and fantastic! I hope it was recently, so the book showed up for you soon after you went looking for it :D
I finished it yesterday and it’s SO GREAT. Very low-magic, barely fantasy at all, but I love it.