This week I have FIVE releases to present to you – one of which isn’t even SFF!
Representation: Chinese-American mc, cast of colour
Published on: 3rd August 2021
Goodreads
The debut novel from Jadie Jang is an action-packed urban fantasy delivering a bold new take on the Monkey King in San Francisco - complete with murder and mayhem!
San Francisco has a Monkey King - and she’s kinda freaked out.
Barista, activist, and were-monkey Maya McQueen was well on her way to figuring herself out. Well, part of the way. 25% of the way. If you squint.
But now the Bay Area is being shaken up. Occupy Wall Street has come home to roost; and on the supernatural side there's disappearances, shapeshifter murders, and the city’s spirit trying to find its guardian.
Maya doesn’t have a lot of time before chaos turns up at her door, and she needs to solve all of her problems. Well, most of them. The urgent ones, anyhow.
But who says the solutions have to be neat? Because Monkey is always out for mischief.
I was able to read an arc of this, and you can read my review here, but the short version is that it’s a really diverse urban fantasy, with bonus points for thinking outside the usual boxes. It’s a fun read, and I’m hoping it’s the start of a series because I need to know what happens next!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 3rd August 2021
Goodreads
“Spellbinding...A captivating debut.” —
Harper’s Bazaar
In this stirring and lyrical debut novel—perfect for fans of The Water Dancer and the Legacy of Orïsha series—the Yoruba deity of the sea, Yemaya, is brought to vivid life as she discovers the power of Black resilience, love, and feminine strength in antebellum America.Shallow Waters imagines Yemaya, an Orïsha—a deity in the religion of Africa’s Yoruba people—cast into mid-1800s America. We meet Yemaya as a young woman, still in the care of her mother and not yet fully aware of the spectacular power she possesses to protect herself and those she holds dear.
The journey laid out in Shallow Waters sees Yemaya confront the greatest evils of this era; transcend time and place in search of Obatala, a man who sacrifices his own freedom for the chance at hers; and grow into the powerful woman she was destined to become. We travel alongside Yemaya from her native Africa and on to the “New World,” with vivid pictures of life for those left on the outskirts of power in the nascent Americas.
Yemaya realizes the fighter within, travels the Underground Railroad in search of the mysterious stranger Obatala, and crosses paths with icons of our history on the road to freedom. Shallow Waters is a nourishing work of ritual storytelling from promising debut author Anita Kopacz.
I really don’t know much about this one, but I do know a little about the goddess Yemaya and I’m fascinated by the idea of her living as an immortal human. Really interested to see what Kopacz does with that premise!
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MCs, F/F, secondary M/M
Published on: 3rd August 2021
Goodreads
Courtney Gould’s thrilling debut The Dead and the Dark is about the things that lurk in dark corners, the parts of you that can’t remain hidden, and about finding home in places―and people―you didn’t expect.
The Dark has been waiting for far too long, and it won't stay hidden any longer.
Something is wrong in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are disappearing, some turning up dead, the weather isn’t normal, and all fingers seem to point to TV’s most popular ghost hunters who have just returned to town. Logan Ortiz-Woodley, daughter of TV's ParaSpectors, has never been to Snakebite before, but the moment she and her dads arrive, she starts to get the feeling that there's more secrets buried here than they originally let on.
Ashley Barton’s boyfriend was the first teen to go missing, and she’s felt his presence ever since. But now that the Ortiz-Woodleys are in town, his ghost is following her and the only person Ashley can trust is the mysterious Logan. When Ashley and Logan team up to figure out who—or what—is haunting Snakebite, their investigation reveals truths about the town, their families, and themselves that neither of them are ready for. As the danger intensifies, they realize that their growing feelings for each other could be a light in the darkness.
I read this one early too, and while I didn’t love it, I think a lot of other readers will! Small town + missing kids + the Return of The Queers = plenty of small-town nastiness even before things start getting spooky. And they do get plenty spooky. Also, one of the main characters has dads who hunt ghosts on tv, and I will never stop loving that detail!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 3rd August 2021
Goodreads
There's a vacancy in Haven. The One High God has gone missing, sending those in power to cover up the sudden silence. Doubters fall from grace. Insurgents and the despondent rip out their own hearts, turning to Hell for solace in a new, uncertain world. A human drinks from the discarded heart of a seraph and taints mortal blood with witchcraft. After three thousand years, the world stands at a precipice. Falling is inevitable. Brishen, plagued by visions of a dark and painful future, sells his soul at a young age to a demon to escape death. Ushered into the care of Alec, the demon's most trusted and oldest soulless, Brishen finds some semblance of protection from the seraph who hunt him for what he sees. Alec is exhausted after two thousand years of servitude, but finds redemption in Brishen—as well as a reminder of those he failed to save. Brewing in the pits of Hell, the mother of all demons concocts a plan to put a demon god on the throne of Haven. Procuring a powerful witch mad enough to test the limits of body and spellwork, she sets a dangerous plan in motion, making Alec and Brishen realize there are more monsters hunting them than their pasts.
I love stories that really mess with and explore more biblical angels and demons, but I admit I really have no idea what to expect from Soulless, since I couldn’t find any early reviews. But I’m crossing my fingers that it’ll be good (and that the ‘mother of all demons’ is Lilith!)
Published on: 7th September 2021
Goodreads
"You shall never have a penny of my money. Leave me alone or I will shoot you dead!"
1924. After six months in Hollywood, young British widow Emma Blackstone has come to love her new employer, glamourous movie-star Kitty Flint - even if her late husband's sister is one of the worst actresses she's ever seen. Looking after Kitty and her three adorable Pekinese dogs isn't work Emma dreamed of, but Kitty rescued her when she was all alone in the world. Now, the worst thing academically-minded Emma has to worry about is the shocking historical inaccuracies of the films Kitty stars in.Until, that is, Rex Festraw - Kitty's first husband, to whom she may or may not still be married - turns up dead in her dressing room, a threatening letter seemingly from Kitty in his pocket.
Emma's certain her flighty but kind-hearted sister-in-law has been framed. But who by? And why? From spiteful rivals to jealous boyfriends, the suspects are numerous. But as Emma investigates, she begins to untangle a deadly plot - and there's something Kitty's not telling her . . .
This gripping first in a brand-new series from NYT-bestselling author Barbara Hambly brings the sights and sounds of Hollywood to life and is a perfect pick for fans of female-fronted historical mysteries set in the roaring twenties.
Every so often, I do dip my toes outside of only beloved SFF, and Hambly is one of the few authors I will follow into any genre. Scandal is the start of a new historical mystery series, this time in 1920s Hollywood, but honestly, the premise really doesn’t matter to me; Hambly’s prose is so beautiful that I’ll read whatever she writes, no questions asked!
And that’s it! Will you be reading any of these? Let me know!
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