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.
EIGHT books this week, for the 200th Must-Have Monday!
(Can you believe we’ve had 200 of these already?! I feel the need to celebrate!)
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy
Representation: Secondary F/F
Protagonist Age: 29
Published on: 20th August 2024
Goodreads
We choose our own gods here.
Karys Eska is a deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with Sabaster, a terrifying eldritch entity—three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving—who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths around the troubled city she calls home. When a job goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.
Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her shadow, an act that may doom them both. If they want to survive, they will need to learn to trust one another. Together, they journey to the heart of a faded empire, all the while haunted by arcane horrors and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts.
And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due.
I’ve loved Hall’s previous books, but Asunder is officially one of my forever-faves – mesmerising, breathtaking, and darkly wondrous. I need everyone to read it!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Caribbean-coded setting, queernorm setting, polyamorous MC, nonbinary rep
Published on: 20th August 2024
Goodreads
The magical island of Chynchin is facing conquerors from abroad and something sinister from within in this entrancing fantasy from the Grand Master Award–winning author Nalo Hopkinson.
Veycosi, in training as a griot (an historian and musician), hopes to sail off to examine the rare Alamat Book of Light and thus secure a spot for himself on Chynchin’s Colloquium of scholars. However, unexpected events prevent that from happening. Fifteen Ymisen galleons arrive in the harbor to force a trade agreement on Chynchin. Veycosi tries to help, hoping to prove himself with a bold move, but quickly finds himself in way over his head.
Bad turns to worse when malign forces start stirring. Pickens (children) are disappearing and an ancient invading army, long frozen into piche (tar) statues by island witches is stirring to life—led by the fearsome demon known as the Blackheart Man. Veycosi has problems in his polyamorous personal life, too. How much trouble can a poor student take? Or cause all by himself as the line between myth and history blends in this delightfully sly tale by one of greatest novelists.
Everything I’ve heard about Blackheart Man has me WILDLY excited for it – Caribbean influences on the worldbuilding, marriage is between three people, a non-capitalist society that takes being paid for work as an insult–!!! And of course, it’s Nalo Hopkinson, so it’s pretty much GUARANTEED to be epic!!!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans Jewish MLM MC, brown MLM love interest, MLM love interest
Published on: 20th August 2024
Goodreads
Rule #1: They can't speak. Rule #2: They can't move. Rule #3: They can't hurt you.
Ezra Friedman sees ghosts, which made growing up in a funeral home a bit complicated. It might have been easier if his grandfather’s ghost didn’t give him such scathing looks of disapproval as he went through a second, HRT-induced puberty, or if he didn't have the pressure of all those relatives—living and dead—judging every choice he makes. It’s no wonder that Ezra runs as far away from the family business as humanly possible.
But when the floor of his dream job drops out from under him and his mother uses the family Passover seder to tell everyone that she’s running away with the rabbi’s wife, Ezra finds himself back in the thick of it. With his parents’ marriage imploding and the Friedman Family Memorial Chapel on the brink of financial ruin, Ezra agrees to step into his mother's shoes and help out . . . which means long days surrounded by ghosts that no one else can see.
And then there's his unfortunate crush on Jonathan, the handsome funeral home volunteer who just happens to live downstairs from Ezra's new apartment . . . and the appearance of the ghost of Jonathan's gone-too-soon husband, Ben, who is breaking every spectral rule Ezra knows.
Because Ben can speak. He can move. And as Ezra tries to keep his family together and his heart from getting broken, he quickly realizes that there's more than one way to be haunted—and more than one way to become a ghost.
Well this sounds adorable and very sweet! Definitely lining this up as my next romance read!
Genres: Adult, Science Fantasy
Representation: West African-coded cast and setting
Published on: 20th August 2024
Goodreads
Part science fiction, part fantasy, and entirely infused with West African culture and spirituality, this novella offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a teenager whose coming of age will herald a new age for her world. Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, Firespitter is the first in the She Who Knows trilogy
When there is a call, there is often a response.
Najeeba knows.
She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What’s just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it’s not a terrible thing, just strange. So when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there’s neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it’s a dream come travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she’s only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba’s presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.
Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress.
I’m willing to bet a novella from Okorafor can hit at least as hard as a novel from anyone else! I don’t usually want to read about women having to fight for their places among men, but none of the reviews I’ve seen have said anything about Najeeba having to struggle against misogyny, so I’m tentatively hopeful. She Who Knows apparently covers the backstory of a character who appears in Okorafor’s Who Fears Death, which I admit I haven’t read – early readers seem to be divided on which is best to read first, but in agreement re She Who Knows working perfectly as a standalone. I’ll probably end up flipping a coin to decide what order to read them in!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F
Published on: 20th August 2024
Goodreads
A magical romantic comedy sparkling with spells and witchcraft.To save both her town and the woman who loves her against all odds, a witch haunted by loss must reckon with her turbulent past.
Even in a family of chaotic necromancers, Daria 'Dasha' Avramov has always been an outlier. An event planner at the Arcane Emporium occult megastore, Dasha is also a devil eater: a rare witch with a natural affinity for banishing demons and traversing the veil. Still grieving the loss of her parents and plagued by a dangerous obsession with what lies beyond the other side of the veil, Dasha is both fiery and guarded, an expert at dodging commitment. Her one real regret is a devastating breakup with Ivy Thorn.
When they are forced to work together to plan a festival, Dasha hopes that sparks might fly once again. But as they confront the fault lines and passion lingering between them, Dasha and Ivy must also stand against an otherworldly threat unlike anything Thistle Grove has faced before.
The Witches of Thistle Grove series is always fun, although I didn’t love book 4 – I’m hoping this one will be better, especially since we’re going to be back with the Avramovs again!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 20th August 2024
Goodreads
A taut high fantasy as an assassin must destroy an empire from within, eliminating wizards, their demons, and even the emperor. For the lives—for the very souls—of her people, she must succeed within a single day, or her homeland will be destroyed.
ALONE AGAINST AN EMPIRE.
When Yash of Zeltah arrives in the fortress city of Honaq she is greeted as a barbarian, a simple pawn. Her marriage to prince Chej has been arranged, they say, to avert war. Yet she knows the truth, for the armies already ravage the land. A skilled and deadly assassin, there is more to Yash than any might suspect. Before another day can pass, she must defeat the masters of the nine towers—the plagues, magics, and monsters they control, the soldiers they command. Without raising an alarm, she must kill all who oppose her—even the immortal emperor. The lives and souls of Zeltah, the people and the land upon which they live, all depend on it.
Grey Keyes is not an author I’m very familiar with, but I found myself intrigued when several reviews mention that the main character in Wind changes sex via shapeshifting? Or something like that? Plus, it allegedly goes very heavy on the worldbuilding, and if you’ve hung around here at all, you know that’s my jam!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, YA
Representation: Major Chinese character
Published on: 20th August 2024
Goodreads
A bullet-riddled train staggers into a Chinese station in 1920, and Lucy discovers that her father, a Russian officer, has been kidnapped. A mysterious feather guides her into a dangerous realm of magic and monsters to rescue him. But she knows she can’t take on the quest alone. With her friend Su, a girl as quick with words as with her fists, the two uncover the terrifying truth: a notorious warlord has seized Lucy’s father. Worse, he is about to invade their city. The friends confront the criminal underworld, cross a haunted forest, and outsmart creatures they thought lived only in fairytales. But will their wits and bravery be enough to beat the warlord’s army of human soldiers and magical beasts?
Soar into a grand adventure, a world of Chinese and Slavic myths … into the world of The Phoenix and the Firebird.
"With cinematographic crispness, this romantic vision of a distant time and culture conjures up a tale of friendship, family, and magic. Stay up all night to read it, and you’ll freshly understand the old Russian adage, 'The morning is wiser than the night.' I was enchanted."
- Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked
I’m always excited when different mythologies get to interact, and this sounds wonderful – I’m excited to see what the authors have done with this premise! And crossing my fingers that the phoenix and firebird both show up on-page! The early reviews have all been very impressed; apparently we’re going to have real-world history all mixed in to the mythology…!
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists
Published on: 22nd August 2024
Goodreads
'One delight after another. Told with an open heart, a questing curiosity, and a healthy sense of mischief, Queer as Folklore is essential for every seeker of hidden histories' Patrick Ness, author of the 'Chaos Walking' series
Queer as Folklore takes readers across centuries and continents to reveal the unsung heroes and villains of storytelling, magic and fantasy. Featuring images from archives, galleries and museums around the world, each chapter investigates the queer history of different mythic and folkloric characters, both old and new.
Leaving no headstone unturned, Sacha Coward will take you on a wild ride through the night from ancient Greece to the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race, visiting cross-dressing pirates, radical fairies and the graves of the ‘queerly departed’ along the way. Queer communities have often sought refuge in the shadows, found kinship in the in-between and created safe spaces in underworlds; but these forgotten narratives tell stories of remarkable resilience that deserve to be heard.
Join any Pride march and you are likely to see a glorious display of papier-mâché unicorn heads trailing sequins, drag queens wearing mermaid tails and more fairy wings than you can shake a trident at. But these are not just they are queer symbols with historic roots.
To truly understand who queer people are today, we must confront the twisted tales of the past and Queer as Folklore is a celebration of queer history like you've never seen it before.
!!! I backed this on Unbound way back – and got my copy a little bit ago – but this week the ebook edition goes on sale for non-backers! I’m a complete nerd for myths and folklore, and someone diving into all the queerness in them that’s been buried over the centuries?! Um, yes PLEASE! There’ll also be a hardcover edition coming in November, if you want to wait for that.
Will you be reading any of these? Did I miss any releases you think I should know about? Let me know!
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