List: Most Anticipated Books of 2024 - July to December

Here are my most anticipated books for the second half of the year, in order of publication.

"A Thousand Times Before", by Asha Thanki (pub July 9, 2024)

"Yoke of Stars", by R.B. Lemberg (pub July 16, 2024)

"Queen B: The Story of Anne Boleyn, Witch Queen", by Juno Dawson (pub July 23, 2024)

"The Phoenix Keeper", by S.A. MacLean (pub August 13, 2024) 

"Mistress of Lies", by K.M. Enright (pub August 13, 2024)

"Lucy Undying", by Kiersten White (pub September 10, 2024) 

"Countess", by Suzan Palumbo (pub September 10, 2024)

"Emberclaw", by L.R. Lam (pub October 1, 2024)

"Swordcrossed", by Freya Marske (pub October 8, 2024)

"The Lotus Empire", by Tasha Suri (pub November 1, 2024) 

 

Review: Til Death Do Us Bard, by Rose Black

It's been almost a year since Logan 'The Bear' Theaker hung up his axe and settled down with his sunshiny bard husband, Pie. But when Pie disappears, Logan is forced back into a world he thought he'd left behind. Logan quickly discovers that Pie has been blackmailed into stealing a powerful artifact capable of creating an undead army. With the help of an old adversary and a ghost from his past, Logan sets out to rescue his husband.
But the further the quest takes him, the more secrets Logan uncovers. He'll need all his strength to rescue his husband - but can he save their marriage?

"Everything's a story."

Rose Black's Til Death Do Us Bard is an adventure that attempts to be cozy and funny, but the humor falls flat and the coziness disappears very quickly. The main characters' relationship, which is established by the time the book starts, is recounted from its inceptions in vignettes in-between chapters, painting a sweet story of grabbing second chances and finding love in one's forties.

The main plot reveals secrets and lies that should color at least a bit of the relationship, but the conflict solves pretty quickly as the two husbands focus on saving the realm from a threat. The world was generic, painted quickly, which is a shame, because there were interesting things about necromancy and unicorns, and an intriguing backstory about the world was introduced towards the end, which didn't give enough time to really appreciate the sudden dramatic paradigm shift.

The supporting cast was strong, with a ghost ex-wife, a sheltered shepherd, and an old necromancer countess whose sexual harassment of all the male characters was unfortunately used as a source of humor.

The ending ties up all loose threads, and it's certainly creative.

Til Death Do Us Bard is a book that had great potential.

✨ 3.5 stars

Snippet: Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire, by Erica Hollis

Most dragontongues don’t live long enough to learn from their mistakes. Lotte Meer is luckier than most, surviving long enough to communicate with the fierce, sullen, and temperamental dragons who are not above enjoying a human as a light snack. And she has the scars to prove it. Now a massive, foul-tempered dragon has taken over the town of Morwassen's Pass, taking the citizens hostage. As long as they bring him their gold and treasure, he won’t reduce their city to a smoking heap of ash and death. Only, the treasure is running out and Lotte—with the help of sharp-tongued, unbelievably cute Maryse Basvaan—is their last and only hope. But this dragon is more cunning—and more cruel—than any other. Not only is he holding Lotte’s estranged mom captive, but he has a taste for betrayal…and somehow he’s stricken some kind of secret deal with the girl who’s already gone and stolen Lotte’s heart.

“Pride and bravery kill more than weapons.”

Erica Hollis' Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire is a sapphic YA adventure that doesn't live up to its great premise. Set in a queernormative world, it sees the main character fall in love with a girl with a secret, navigate a newfound family, and attempt to save the city from a bloodthirsty dragon with her power that allows her to understand the language of dragons. The execution is very linear, the plot twists easy to see, and the narration very simple, but it's not a bad thing in itself; the book has things to say about learning that your parents are people, and it could be a very important book for a young reader who's just starting reading SFF. The mini-dragons are a delightful addition.

✨ 3 stars

Review: The Emperor and the Endless Palace, by Justinian Huang

In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor—but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue. In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead. And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they’ve met before.
Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them. As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love—a power that transcends time itself…but one that might consume them both.

"Just because something is true, doesn't mean it is good."

Justinian Huang's The Emperor and the Endless Palace is inexplicably marketed as a romantasy, but it's more than that and it's not that at all. It is romantic, in the truest sense of the word, but it's not a romance: it's a story about love and lust, obsession and revenge. We follow three apparently unrelated storylines, ranging from the distant past in Imperial China to the present, but realize very quickly how these storylines are related. One could say that it's obvious, since it's right there on the blurb, but the way the story is told makes the beauty of it, and it surprises with a few well-placed twists that stun and confound and yet, seem inevitable.

Everything moves like clockwork, every lingering question is answered. The author paints with deft strokes the life at Court of an ambitious clerk, the life of a restless innkeeper in the woods, the life of a present-day gay man coming to terms with his orientation; and the characters breathe to life, with all their contradictions. The reveal of the tangled web of lust and love, of the way the circle of reincarnation drives the characters' lives, is done beautifully.

The prose really is incredible. The narration is vivid, and quite explicit, with unforgettable imagery. There are quite a few sex scenes, and each is described with metaphors suited to the time, which I found very clever. There's quite a few quotes from ancient poetry, and the author seamlessly works in folk tales and real history to make a grand tale of unbridled passions and toxic behavior.

The story presents some triggering scenes of sexual assault.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace is a gorgeous cautionary tale.

✨ 5 stars

Review: Bookshops & Bonedust, by Travis Baldree

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it. What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?
Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine. Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

"Sometimes, we aren't the right people yet."

Travis Baldree's Bookshops & Bonedust is the perfect prequel to the lovely Legends & Lattes, a prequel the author hadn't anticipated but that allowed him to flesh out more the protagonist, Viv, and expand on her backstory and her motivations. This is another low-stakes story wherein Viv learns the art of staying still in one place, finds friends, has a fling, and makes connections; she starts to read, and learns the magic of books.

This books is soft and tender and charming, and it has very poignant things to say about there being a time for everything, about missing chances and growing and finding one's place. The characters are all so vivid, we even see some old faces, and the epilogue especially was delightful. New races are explored, the worldbuilding grows, and there's more of a coherent plot regarding a magical threat, than in the first book of the series. It takes what worked so well in the first installment, and gives more, for a beautiful exploration of the ties that bind people.

Bookshops & Bonedust is a worthy prequel/sequel and a cozy marvel.

✨ 4 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* The Bookshop and the Barbarian, by Morgan Stang

for: low-stakes, bookshops

Review: A Necessary Chaos, by Brent Lambert

In a world of magical empires and the anarchists that would tear them down, two mages, Althus and Vade, are each assigned to spy on the other by opposing sides. But when they both catch feelings, what happens when they’re commanded to kill their target? They must each decide if they'll follow orders or find a way to make their romance thrive beyond the lies.

"Grief never performed a single resurrection."

Brent Lambert's A Necessary Chaos is a sci-fi novella with magical aspects, a thrilling enemies-to-lovers romance between two men tasked to spy on each other. The dual POV allows to delve into the psyche, the past, and the motives of the main characters; we begin in medias res, with the deception of their love affair having gone on for years, and follow the inevitable shattering of the illusion when both characters are tasked to get rid of each other.

On the background is the larger conflict between an Empire that meddles with demons and human experiments, and the rebels who try to stop the carnage. When the truth is finally revealed, we race towards a high-stakes ending where characters need to learn to trust each other in order to avoid untold horrors. The novella was perfectly contained, giving tantalizing glimpses of a larger worldbuilding while managing to stick the landing. The main characters are skilled operatives, competent fighters with secrets, and the explosive finale is well-earned.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of typos.

A Necessary Chaos is a solid novella debut.

✨ 4 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

for: espionage, enemies to lovers

Review: Faebound, by Saara El-Arifi

Yeeran is a warrior in the elven army and has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future. When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven lands, they are both forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders. There they encounter the impossible: the fae court.
The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world – torn between their loyalty to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts.

"Our ignorance made victims of us."

Saara El-Arifi's Faebound is a romantasy that follows two sisters in their in their journey to discover that a species that was supposed to be extinct isn't so extinct after all. The fae are cursed to live underground, and their abode is explored fully, filled as it is with magic and mysteries. Plot twists abound; the revelations are woven into the story well. But the main characters, while being in their thirties, often act like they are much younger.

The relationship between the sisters is at the center, exploring the bounds of sisterhood, grief, resentment, and love. Prophecies are a thing that isn't taken seriously in the elven realms, and Yeeran doesn't always believe in her younger sister. Constrained by duty and love, Yeeran wasn't always there for Lettle, and that puts a burden on their relationship. The sisters' romantic relationships, while being a focus of the narration, feel unearned and a bit tropey, but at least the sapphic relationship of the older sister is executed well in contrast to the fated F/M romance of the younger.

The magical system is interesting, intricate and layered, with many possibilities explored. The fae can bind themselves to animals, becoming two halves of a whole, sharing a beautiful connection. The world isn't explored much, past what we know of the feud between various tribes of Elves, but one gets the sense that will change in the following books of the series. I would have liked the religion, and the three gods, to be explored more, but again that seems like it will be better developed in the coming books.

Faebound is a nice romantasy with little focus on plot.

✨ 3.5 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* Walk Between Worlds, by Samara Breger

for: fae world, forest

Review: The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, by Natasha Pulley

1888. Five years after they met in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Thaniel Steepleton, an unassuming translator, and Keita Mori, the watchmaker who remembers the future, are traveling to Japan. Thaniel has received an unexpected posting to the British legation in Tokyo, and Mori has business that is taking him to Yokohama. Thaniel's brief is odd: the legation staff have been seeing ghosts, and Thaniel's first task is to find out what's really going on. But while staying with Mori, he starts to experience ghostly happenings himself. For reasons Mori won't--or can't--share, he is frightened. Then he vanishes.
Meanwhile, something strange is happening in a frozen labor camp in Northern Japan. Takiko Pepperharrow, an old friend of Mori's, must investigate. As the weather turns bizarrely electrical and ghosts haunt the country from Tokyo to Aokigahara forest, Thaniel grows convinced that it all has something to do with Mori's disappearance--and that Mori may be in serious danger.

"Grace is not a thing you performed, but a weight you carried".

Natasha Pulley's The Lost Future of Pepperharrow is the stunning conclusion to the duology that began with The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. The journey of Thaniel and Mori, together with their adoptive daughter, reaches new highs and lows as we learn more about Mori, his morality and the lengths he's willing to go to to protect who he loves.

Mori is such an intriguing character because in another book, he could easily be a villain (in fact, some characters think he is). But we see him through Thaniel's loving eyes, we see his vulnerabilities and strengths, and we can't help but be completely enamored with him, with his quiet strength and his resolve. His are the lines that make us dissolve into a sobbing mess, his the trials and tribulations, in the pursuit of something he eventually can't even remember.

Thaniel gets a much needed depth too, and it's fascinating to see how he navigates his relationship with Mori, with the orphan Six, and with the new character Pepperharrow, a tragic and compelling figure. All the new characters felt alive and believable, with complex motivations of their own, and I was delighted to even find some old faces from the first book.

This sequel was so much better, both in composition and pacing. The prose was of course lovely already in the first book, but the author has such graceful writing, like a warm hug even in the direst circumstances. I loved that we got some more information about how Mori's clairvoyance works, and the ether, and glimpses of this alternate history. I especially loved the change in setting, with the author taking us to Japan and demonstrating a deft hand in painting the country through the eyes of a stranger. I enjoyed her choices in terms of dialogue and her note about it at the end.

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow is a masterful conclusion to a lovely duology.

✨ 5 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* The Kingdoms, by Natasha Pulley

for: memory, time

Review: An Education in Malice, by S.T. Gibson

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold. On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.
But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

"Face death bravely, and greet her as a lover."

S.T. Gibson's An Education in Malice is a sapphic dark academia with vampires, loosely connected to the author's A Dowry Of Blood and inspired by the classic Carmilla, although the inspiration ends at the names. The titular character enters a heated academic rivalry with the seemingly innocent Laura, while the two work under the tutelage of their poetry professor, a mysterious figure with her own agenda.

Their two POVs entwine as they navigate their attraction and their battle for their teacher's attention; Laura struggles with her own desires, which she can only safely explore with the help of erotic fiction, while Carmilla is trapped in an inappropriate relationship with her mentor. Gradually, the two will come together and overcome their hurdles, while also coming into their own.

The prose is exquisite, with lovely turns of phrase, and the obsessive nature of their fascination is mirrored by the lush descriptions and the carnality of the world they come into. The attraction between Carmilla and Laura culminates when they are invited to a vampiric bacchanalia, with voyeuristic plays and public sex. We also meet a few older vampires, expanding the world and giving it depth.

The book seems to be a standalone, but I would love something else with the same characters. Perhaps I would have preferred a singular POV, to add to the intrigue, but this worked as well.

An Education in Malice is a deliciously debauched retelling.

✨ 4 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* In the Roses of Pieria, by Anna Burke

for: academia, deeper history

Review: A Market of Dreams and Destiny, by Trip Galey

Below Covent Garden lies the Untermarkt, where anything and everything has a price: a lover’s first blush, a month of honesty, a wisp of fortune. As a child, Deri was sold to one of the Market’s most powerful merchants. Now, after years of watchful servitude, Deri finally spots a chance to buy not only his freedom but also his place amongst the Market’s elite when he stumbles into the path of a runaway princess desperate to sell her royal destiny.
But news of the missing princess and her wayward destiny spreads. Royal enforcers and Master Merchants alike are after it. Outmanoeuvring them all would all be hard enough had Deri not just also met the love of his life, a young man called Owain, whose employers are using the Market for their own nefarious schemes. Deri soon finds that the price of selling the royal destiny, making a name for himself, and saving the man he loves is dear. The cost of it all might just change the destiny of London forever.

"True Love? That’s worth far more".

Trip Galey's A Market of Dreams and Destiny is a fun adventure set in an alternative England where Henry VIII turned to druidry to achieve his divorce, and Elizabeth I made a pact with Titania; where magic permeates every dealing, and the goblin market is the place where one can find anything, ruled by its own fay rules, but also a place where great injustice abounds.

The setting is intriguing, and yet the execution feels a little lacking; much more could have been explored. We follow the lives of two indentured servants as they navigate the market and face new threats, attempt to buy back their contracts, fight against the system, and fall in insta-love. Their relationship isn't fully explored, and this takes away from the shock that the big resolution should provoke.

Deri is a great protagonist, mischievous and very smart, able to male do with less than nothing and find new ways out of trouble. A thorough planner, it's a joy to watch him outmaneuver almost everyone in his quest to find the best solution with the least loss, even though his more altruistic plans are almost an afterthought. His ability to hear words when the London bells ring makes for an interesting power that could have been explored further.

The prose is phenomenal, lyrical and vivid and filled with great imagery, clever turns of phrase, and memorable characters populating the goblin market, from Deri's master who can speak with gold, to the cat that decides to take an interest in Deri's affairs, and many others. The goblin and fae, being genderless, are referred to exclusively with a neutral pronoun of the author's design.

A Market of Dreams and Destiny is a book that's filled with wonder.

✨ 3.5 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* Lava Red Feather Blue, by Molly Ringle

for: faerie, mischief