With April just around the corner, that means it’s now time for my anticipated second quarter book releases in 2024 list. Like many, I’m sure, I can’t believe how quickly the first quarter of this year flew by. While I’m sad it’s not really reading-by-the-fireplace season anymore, it’s nice to see signs of spring! There are quite a few April and May anticipated releases that caught my eye. June has a smaller selection, though I noticed an intriguing medieval France historical fiction.
As usual, my list of anticipated second quarter book releases in 2024 contains mostly fantasy books. But there are also a few nonfiction and other fiction books scattered throughout. Also, if you want more “anticipated book release” lists, check out mine from the first quarter of 2024.
* = I have an ARC of this book.
April
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke
Series: None
Genre: Magical Realism, Coming-of-age
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: April 2, 2024
Print Length: 400
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets Life of Pi in this dazzlingly epic debut that charts the incredible, adventurous life of one woman as she journeys the globe trying to outrun a mysterious curse that will destroy her if she stops moving.
Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death.
When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won’t allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days nor return to a place where she’s already been.
From the scorched dunes of the Calashino Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else’s…
Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it’s not the destination, but rather the journey–no matter how long it lasts–that makes us who we are.
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fantasy (Renaissance)
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publish Date: April 9, 2024
Print Length: 400
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age.
In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family’s social position.
What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen–and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.
Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive–even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.
The Garden by Clare Beams
Series: None
Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Publish Date: April 9, 2024
Print Length: 304
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The discovery of a secret garden with unknown powers fuels this page-turning and psychologically thrilling tale of women yearning to become mothers and the ways the female body has always been policed and manipulated, from the award-winning author of The Illness Lesson (“A masterpiece” – Elizabeth Gilbert)
In 1948, Irene Willard, who’s had five previous miscarriages in a quest to give her beloved husband the child he desperately desires and is now pregnant again, comes to an isolated house-cum-hospital in the Berkshires, run by a husband-and-wife team of doctors who are pioneering a cure for her condition. Warily, she enlists herself in the efforts of the Doctors Hall to “rectify the maternal environment,” both physical and psychological. In the meantime, she also discovers a long-forgotten walled garden on the spacious grounds, a place imbued with its own powers and pulls. As the doctors’ plans begin to crumble, Irene and her fellow patients make a desperate bid to harness the power of the garden for themselves–and must face the incalculable risks associated with such incalculable rewards.
With shades of Shirley Jackson and Rosemary’s Baby, The Garden delves into the territory of motherhood, childbirth, the mysteries of the female body, and the ways it has always been controlled and corralled.
The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldberg*
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Angry Robot
Publish Date: April 9, 2024
Print Length: 384
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Ambitious Phi Hunter and perpetual lone wolf, Ex, finds his road to glory interrupted when a heavily pregnant runaway enlists his help to escape through the ghost-infested forest…
Ex, the youngest member of the Phi Hunters Order, has spent his life slaying the ghosts and demons of Suyoram Kingdom. While he takes great pride in his mystical trade, collecting dwindling bounties and peddling butchered spirit organs lacks the glory he craves. He’s determined to hunt down Shar-Ala, a demon of nightmares, of madness – who has eluded even Ex’s masters.
In a provincial village along the way, Arinya, a charming muay-boran champion, manages to save Ex him from a brutal ass-kicking, despite being nine months pregnant. In return, she asks him to escort her through the dangerous, spirit-filled forest, where ghosts salivate over the scent of the unborn.
Feeling responsible for Arinya’s safety, Ex vows to help her return home. But as more of Arinya’s secrets emerge, and the elusive demon nears, Ex must face dangers from both men and monsters, or lose not only the respect and sanctuary of his guild, but also the woman he’s trying not to fall in love with.
The Last Phi Hunter is a mythic dark fantasy, equal parts smart, exhilarating, and delightfully fun.
File Under: Fantasy [ Ex Marks the Spot Baby Brain Phi Fi Fo Fum Eye See You ]
The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten*
Series: The Nightshade Crown, #2
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Orbit
Publish Date: April 9, 2024
Print Length: 480
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten’s lush romantic epic fantasy series, the glittering and dangerous world of the Sainted King’s royal court is upended when Prince Bastian seizes control and a mysterious dark force begins to take over.
The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore–a necromancer and former smuggler–to his right-hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the royal court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kirythean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore’s old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian has changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he’s become reckless, domineering, and cold.
And something has been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that’s telling her there’s more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything.
With Bastian’s coronation fast approaching and enemies whispering on all sides, Lore must figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her country before they all come crumbling down and whatever dark power has been creeping through the catacombs is unleashed.
Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro*
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Horror
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Publish Date: April 16, 2024
Print Length: 304
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
An ancient Aztec vampire roams the modern world in search of vengeance and love in this seductive dark fantasy from the author of The Haunting of Alejandra.
Hundreds of years ago, she was known as La Malinche: a Nahua woman who translated for the conquistador Cortés. In the centuries since, her name has gone down in infamy as a traitor. But no one ever found out what happened to La Malinche after Cortés destroyed her people.
In the ashes of the empire, she was reborn as Malinalli, an immortal vampire. And she has become an avenger of conquered peoples, traveling the world to reclaim their stolen artifacts and return them to their homelands.
But she has also been in search of something more, for this ancient vampire still has deeply human longings for pleasure and for love.
When she arrives in Dublin in search of a pair of Aztec skulls–artifacts intimately connected to her own dark history–she finds something else: two men who satisfy her cravings in very different ways.
For the first time she meets a mortal man–a horror novelist–who is not repelled by her strange condition but attracted by it. But there is also another man, an immortal like herself, who shares the darkness in her heart.
Now Malinalli is on the most perilous adventure of all: a journey into her own desires.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Series: None
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publish Date: April 23, 2024
Print Length: 400
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic–with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads –Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?
Extinction by Douglas Preston
Series: None
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Forge
Publish Date: April 23, 2024
Print Length: 384
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
With Extinction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston has written a page-turning thriller in the Michael Crichton mode that explores the possible and unintended dangers of the very real efforts to resurrect the woolly mammoth and other long-extinct animals.
Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire’s son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.
As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolent presence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection–but extinction.
May
It’s Not Hysteria by Karen Tang
Series: None
Genre: Nonfiction, Women’s Health
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publish Date: May 7, 2024
Print Length: 384
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
An inclusive and essential new resource for reproductive health–including period problems, pelvic pain, menopause, fertility, sexual health, vaginal and urinary conditions, and overall wellbeing–from leading expert and fierce advocate Dr. Karen Tang
Did you know that up to 90% of women experience menstrual abnormalities or pelvic issues in their lifetime? Yet these conditions are overwhelmingly misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or dismissed. The root causes for these issues, such as PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, PMDD, or pelvic floor dysfunction, don’t receive the stream of funding for research and new treatments that other conditions do, despite affecting up to half the population.
Dr. Karen Tang is on a mission to transform how we engage with our bodies and our healthcare. It’s Not Hysteria is a comprehensive guide to common conditions and potential treatment options, with practical tools such as symptom prompts and sample questions for your provider, to equip readers to take control of their gynecologic health.
Reproductive healthcare, from abortion to gender-affirming care, is under siege. The onus continues to fall on patients to find and advocate for the care they need. In the face of uncertainty and misinformation, It’s Not Hysteria is destined to become a new classic that educates and empowers women and those assigned female at birth.
When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
Series: None
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, Legends & Folklore
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: May 14, 2024
Print Length: 176
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give.
Pain is Dymitr’s calling. To slay the monsters he’s been raised to kill, he had to split his soul in half to make a sword from his own spine. Every time he draws it, he gets blood on his hands.
Pain is Ala’s inheritance. When her mother died, a family curse to witness horrors committed by the Holy Order was passed onto her. The curse will claim her life, as it did her mother’s, unless she can find a cure.
One fateful night in Chicago, Dymitr comes to Ala with a bargain: her help in finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga in exchange for an enchanted flower that just might cure her. Desperate, and unaware of what Dymitr really is, Ala agrees.
But they only have one day before the flower dies . . . and Ala’s hopes of breaking the curse along with it.
Queen of None by Natania Barron
Series: Queens of Fate #1
Genre: Fantasy Romance, Historical (Medieval) Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Solaris
Publish Date: May 21, 2024
Print Length: 352
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
First in a sumptuous, female-led Arthurian Fantasy Romance trilogy
“Through all the ages, and in the hearts of men, you will be forgotten.”
Married at twelve, and a mother soon after, King Arthur’s sister Anna did not live a young life full of promise. She bore three strong sons and delivered the kingdom of Orkney to her brother by way of her marriage. She did as she was asked, invisible and useful–for her name, her dowry, and her womb.
Now, twenty years after she left her home, Anna is summoned back to Carelon with the crown of her now-dead husband, to face the demons of her childhood: her sisters Morgen, Elaine and Morgause; Merlin and his scheming priests; and Bedevere, the man she once loved.
Carelon is changing, and Anna must change with it. New threats lurk in the shadows, and a strange power begins to awaken in her. If she is to be more than a pawn in others’ plans, she must bargain her own strength, and family, in pursuit of her ambition–and revenge.
Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy, Legends & Mythology
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Redhook
Publish Date: May 21, 2024
Print Length: 416
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi.
A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world.
Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse.
Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind.
Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war.
As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son.
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
Series: Dark Lord Davi, #1
Genre: Fantasy – Humorous
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Orbit
Publish Date: May 21, 2024
Print Length: 432
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Groundhog Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy in Django Wexler’s laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.
Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time.
This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side.
The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond*
Series: The Fireborne Blade, #1
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Tordotcom
Publish Date: May 28, 2024
Print Length: 176
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Kill the dragon. Find the blade. Reclaim her honor.
It’s that, or end up like countless knights before her, as a puddle of gore and molten armor.
Maddileh is a knight. There aren’t many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying. But she’s a knight, and made of sterner stuff.
A minor infraction forces her to redeem her honor in the most dramatic way possible, she must retrieve the fabled Fireborne Blade from its keeper, legendary dragon the White Lady, or die trying. If history tells us anything, it’s that “die trying” is where to wager your coin.
Maddileh’s tale contains a rich history of dragons, ill-fated knights, scheming squires, and sapphic love, with deceptions and double-crosses that will keep you guessing right up to its dramatic conclusion. Ultimately, The Fireborne Blade is about the roles we refuse to accept, and of the place we make for ourselves in the world.
Evocation by S.T. Gibson*
Series: Summoner’s Circle, #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy, LGBTQ+
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Angry Robot
Publish Date: May 28, 2024
Print Length: 304
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From The Sunday Times bestselling author of B&N’s best books of 2022 A Dowry of Blood, comes a spellbinding and vibrant new series.
The Devil knows your name, David Aristarkhov.
As a teen, David Aristarkhov was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his oppressive occultist father. Now, years after his father’s death and rapidly approaching his thirtieth birthday, he is content with the high-powered life he’s curated as a Boston attorney, moonlighting as a powerful medium for his secret society.
But with power comes a price, and the Devil has come to collect on an ancestral deal. David’s days are numbered, and death looms at his door.
Reluctantly, he reaches out to the only person he’s ever trusted, his ex-boyfriend and secret Society rival Rhys, for help. However, the only way to get to Rhys is through his wife, Moira. Thrust into each other’s care, emotions once buried deep resurface, and the trio race to figure out their feelings for one another before the Devil steals David away for good…
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis*
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy – Humorous
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Titan Books
Publish Date: May 28, 2024
Print Length: 352
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A sharp-witted, debut high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, evil wizards and a garlic festival – all at once. Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, K. J. Parker and Travis Baldree.
It’s bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard’s workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly and then turn your skull into a goblet or something.
It’s a lot worse when you realize that Dread Lord Whomever is… you.
Gav isn’t really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed.
But as he realizes that nothing – from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess – is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he’ll have to answer the hardest question of all – who does he want to be?
A high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, an evil wizard convocation, and a garlic festival. All at once. All in all, Dread Lord Gavrax has had better weeks.
June
Cull of the Wild by Hugh Warwick
Series: None
Genre: Nonfiction, Environmental Conservation & Protection
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury Wildlife
Publish Date: June 7, 2024
Print Length: 304
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Investigating the ethical and practical challenges of one of the greatest threats to biodiversity: invasive species.
Across the world, invasive species pose a danger to ecosystems. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity ranks them as a major threat to biodiversity on par with habitat loss, climate change and pollution.
Tackling this isn’t easy, and no one knows this better than Hugh Warwick, a conservationist who loathes the idea of killing, harming or even eating animals. Yet as an ecologist, he is acutely aware of the need, at times, to kill invasive species whose presence harms the wider environment.
Hugh explores the complex history of species control, revealing the global movement of species and the impacts of their presence. Combining scientific theory with gentle humour in his signature style, he explains the issues conservationists face to control non-native animals and protect native species – including grey and red squirrels on Anglesey, ravens and tortoises in the Mojave Desert, cane toads in Australia and the smooth-billed ani on the Galapagos – and describes cases like Pablo Escobar’s cocaine hippos and the Burmese python pet trade.
Taking a balanced and open approach to this emotive subject, Hugh speaks to experts on all sides of the debate. How do we protect endangered native species? Which species do we prioritise? And how do we reckon with the ethics of killing anything in the name of conservation?
Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood
Series: None
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publish Date: June 11, 2024
Print Length: 400
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science–from New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.
Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.
Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through–and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.
Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business–one that plays for keeps.
Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth
Series: None
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publish Date: June 18, 2024
Print Length: 320
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six (under the penname Olivie Blake) comes Twelfth Knight, a YA romantic comedy and coming of age story about taking up space in the world and learning what it means to let others in.
*This luxe hardcover edition will include endpaper art by Little Chmura, a foil case stamp, and designed printed edges.*
Viola Reyes is annoyed.
Her painstakingly crafted tabletop game campaign was shot down, her best friend is suggesting she try being more “likable,” and her school’s star running back Jack Orsino is the most lackadaisical Student Body President she’s ever seen, which makes her job as VP that much harder. Vi’s favorite escape from the world is the MMORPG Twelfth Knight, but online spaces aren’t exactly kind to girls like her–girls who are extremely competent and have the swagger to prove it. So Vi creates a masculine alter ego, choosing to play as a knight named Cesario to create a safe haven for herself.
But when a football injury leads Jack Orsino to the world of Twelfth Knight, Vi is alarmed to discover their online alter egos–Cesario and Duke Orsino–are surprisingly well-matched.
As the long nights of game-play turn into discussions about life and love, Vi and Jack soon realize they’ve become more than just weapon-wielding characters in an online game. But Vi has been concealing her true identity from Jack, and Jack might just be falling for her offline…
Poison In Their Hearts by Laura Sebastian
Series: Castles In Their Bones, #3
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: June 18, 2023
Print Length: 544
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Immerse yourself in the final book in the epic fantasy trilogy from the author of the New York Times bestselling Ash Pricess series. Follow three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction, conquest, and the crown.
They were promised for marriage since birth, and raised to bring down kingdoms, but the true destiny of the triplet princesses of Bessemia has always been to die–and one of them already has. Since Sophronia’s murder, princesses Daphne and Beatriz have discovered the truth: they are pawns in their mother’s game, which will end with her as empress of not just Bessemia but the entire continent of Vesteria. Only the princesses have their own plans.
Beatriz and Daphne are still separated by a continent, and there are enemies everywhere, but now they have allies who stretch across the borders of Vesteria: Sophronia’s husband, the deposed King Leopold; Violie, a former spy for Empress Margaraux; and Beatriz’s missing husband, Pasquale, and his lover, Ambrose. Now, with their allies’ help and the magic of the stars, the princesses are ready to make their final stand.
But whispers of an ancient prophecy follow them–secrets from their past are yet to be revealed–and every move they make, the empress seems to be one step ahead them. If there’s to be any hope for the princesses, the girls will need to use every skill their mother taught them, trust in the magic in their veins, and defy fate itself. And if they can’t, all is lost for the people of Vesteria.
The Mirror of Simple Souls by Aline Kiner and Susan Emanuel (Translator)*
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fiction (Medieval France), Literary Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Publish Date: June 25, 2024
Print Length: 320
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A captivating story of love, jealousy and faith, set amid a community of independent women in medieval Paris — the perfect summer read for fans of historical fiction
This thrilling, sensual evocation of medieval Paris sold over 100,000 copies in France and offers a fascinating insight into the world of the beguines — communities of women who lived independently of men and successfully managed their own affairs all the way back in the Middle Ages.
A heretical text, a vengeful husband, a forbidden love…It’s 1310 and Paris is alive with talk of the trial of the Templars. Religious repression is on the rise, and the smoke of execution pyres blackens the sky above the city. But sheltered behind the walls of Paris’s great beguinage, a community of women are still free to work, study and live their lives away from the domination of men.
When a wild, red-haired child clothed in rags arrives at the beguinage gate one morning, with a sinister Franciscan monk on her tail, she sets in motion a chain of events that will shatter the peace of this little world-plunging it into grave danger…
This rich historical drama makes a great summer read for fans of Hamnet, The Lost Apothecary, The Wolf Den, and The Yellow Bird Sings.
And that’s a wrap for my list of anticipated second quarter book releases in 2024! What upcoming book releases are you looking forward to?
Ahhh so many interesting books coming up!! Thank you for this very comprehensive list, i’m so excited to read them <3
You’re very welcome! Making these lists keeps me on my toes (even though it’s a lot of work to format them, haha).
So many great books are coming soon! I’m really excited for The Familiar.
Absolutely! I’m intrigued by The Familiar, too, though I’ll likely not read it right away.
Such a great list! I’m also excited for The Familiar, Evocation and Immortal Pleasures. And there are some new to me books on this list. Cull of the Wild sounds fascinating!
Thanks! IMMORTAL PLEASURES might be the next one I read…either that or THE HEMLOCK QUEEN.
The Mirror of Simple Souls sounds really great. I love reading about medieval France. I hadn’t heard of this one before, but I’ll definitely be keeping it on my radar. Great list!
Doesn’t it?! When I downloaded it from NetGalley it was a “Read Now.” It might still be, fingers crossed, if you’re interested!
I got it! It was still Read Now. ????
Yay!!
I have so many of these on my TBR. lol There are so many to look forward to!
Always!!! There never seems to be a quieter month of new releases lol!
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying and Dreadful sound loads of fun, I’m enjoying the more humorous fantasy trend right now!
I can’t wait for The Familiar either, it sounds fantastic and I’ve adored the authors books so far. I’m really curious about Short Walk Through A Wide World too.
Ooh I hadn’t heard of Queen of None by Natania Barron but I’m definitely intrigued by it. Same with Mirror Of Simplier Souls.
Some of the books I’m most looking forward to are The Silence Factory & The Wren In The Holly Library. I’m currently reading A Crane Among Wolves which is fantastic so far. And I’ve already read Hera and The Sins On Their Bones which were both wonderful.
I hope you enjoy the books mentioned here whenever you get a chance to read them.