After stopping at the Bite Sized Islands, I decided my next jaunt would be to the Wyrd and Wonder Reaching Fingers. Reaching Fingers is where I’ll happily share some upcoming titles that I’m eager to get my hands on. I already have a list of anticipated second quarter book releases. But here at Wyrd and Wonder Reaching Fingers I’ll include some from that list and look farther into the future for upcoming fantasy books. This, of course, isn’t an exhaustive list, but consists of books I’m really looking forward to. That means there’s a higher chance I’ll actually read them.
* = I have an ARC of this book.
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.
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.
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 Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Viking
Publish Date: July 16, 2024
Print Length: 688
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium
A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, leaving no heir, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive.
They aren’t the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.
But Arthur’s death has revealed Britain’s fault lines. God has abandoned it, and the fairies and monsters and old gods are returning, led by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan le Fay. Kingdoms are turning on each other, warlords lay siege to Camelot and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they’ll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell, and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain’s dark past.
The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, full of duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It also sheds a fresh light on Arthur’s Britain, a diverse, complex nation struggling to come to terms with its bloody history. The Bright Sword is a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, who are looking for a way to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.
A Rose By Any Other Name by Mary McMyne
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Occult and Supernatural, LGBTQ+
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Redhook
Publish Date: July 16, 2024
Print Length: 384
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From the author of The Book of Gothel comes the lush, magical story behind Shakespeare’s sonnets, as told by one of his most famous subjects–the incendiary and mysterious Dark Lady.
My name has only been whispered, heretofore…
England, 1591. Rose Rushe’s passion for life runs deep–she loves mead and music, meddles with astrology, and laughs at her mother’s warnings to guard her reputation. When Rose’s father dies and a noble accuses her and her dear friend Cecely of witchcraft, they flee to the household of respected alchemists in London. But as their bond deepens, their sanctuary begins to feel more like a cage. To escape, they turn to the occult, secretly casting charms and selling astrological advice in the hopes of building a life together. This thriving underground business leads Rose to fair young noble Henry and playwright Will Shakespeare, and so begins a brief, tempestuous, and powerful romance–one filled with secret longings and deep betrayals.
In this world of dazzling masques and decadent feasts, where the stars decide futures, Rose will write her own fate instead.
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Feminist
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Publish Date: August 13, 2024
Print Length: 320
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid comes a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her.
The Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men.
The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.
The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of strategy, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.
But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world.
She does not know this yet. But she will.
The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard
Series: None
Genre: Magical Realism, Historical Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Publish Date: August 27, 2024
Print Length: 272
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A charming novel for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and How to Stop Time, following a cat through his nine lives in Edinburgh, moving through the ever-changing city and its inhabitants over centuries
Early morning, 1902. At 7/7 Marchmont Crescent, Eilidh the charlady tips coal into a fire grate and sets it alight. Overhearing, Grimalkin the cat ambles over to curl up against the welcome heat and lick his favorite human’s hand. But this is to be his last day on earth…before he becomes the Ghost Cat.Follow Grimalkin as he witnesses the changes of the next 120 years, prowling unseen among the inhabitants of an Edinburgh tenement while unearthing some startling revelations about the mystery of existence, the unstoppable march of time and the true meaning of feline companionship.
This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy Romance, LGBTQ+
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Avon Books
Publish Date: September 10, 2024
Print Length: 416
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The Princess Bride meets People We Meet on Vacation in this cozy quest romantasy about a group of friends who once defended their magical land together but haven’t spoken since, reuniting to attend a royal wedding, and ending up on a new adventure to save the realm–and hopefully themselves.
Ten years ago, they saved the realm. It ruined their lives.
Everyone in Mythria knows the story of how best friends Beatrice and Elowen, handsome ex-bandit Clare, and valiant leader Galwell the Great defended the land from darkness. It’s a tale beloved by all–except the former heroes. They haven’t spoken in a decade, devastated by what their quest cost them.
But when they receive an invitation to the queen of Mythria’s wedding, it’s a summons they can’t refuse . . . and a reunion for the ages, with Clare secretly not over his long-ago fling with Beatrice, Beatrice fighting the guilt she feels over how everything ended, Elowen unprepared for the return of her former flame (the cunning Vandra), and all of them lost without Galwell’s presence. And if reuniting with old friends and lovers wasn’t perilous enough, dark forces from their past have returned, plotting a domination that only Mythria’s one-time defenders can stop. Maybe.
Dusting off old weapons and old instincts, they face undead nemeses, crystal caves, enchanted swords, coffee shops, games of magical Truth or Dare, and, hardest of all, their past–rife with wounds never healed and romances never forgotten.
This time around, will their story end in happily ever after?
And that’s it for my stop at the Wyrd and Wonder Reaching Fingers! Are you looking forward to any of these?
The black dragon artwork is by Ehtisham Sajid. Ariana at The Book Nook created the Wyrd and Wonder map.
A Rose By Any Other Name and Lady McBeth are on my TBR, and now I need to add Ghost Cat, it sounds really good. There’s a lot of fun titles coming up!
I definitely think I’m going to request at least a couple of these books. It’s so hard to read my backlist when I see cool titles like these! ????
This would be Fun sounds quirky. It has to be good when describe as Princess Bride.
I agree! I think I’ll request that one on NetGalley because it looks like a nice change of pace.
I love that there are more humorous fantasy books coming out! Dreadful has been on my TBR for a while but Wexler’s book sounds amazing so that’s going on there too now. ???? I’m also looking forward to the final book in Sebastian’s series and I’m re-reading the series in prep for it, lol. I hope you enjoy all of these books!
Yesss! Bring on the humorous fantasy! I haven’t checked in a few weeks, but last I did check on NG US I didn’t see Sebastian’s last book up to request. I hope it’s up now because I’d really like to finish it. I’ll check when I’m back from vacation.
A wonderful list, I just added two titles from it to my tbr. A Rose by Any Other Name and This Will Be Fun. Great stop at the Reaching Fingers 🙂 !
Thank you! I’m glad some of these books piqued your interest!
I’m looking forward to A Rose by Any Other Name. I loved The Book of Gothel, so I’m hoping it will be just as good. I like Ava Reid too, so will probably read Lady Macbeth but I’m not so excited about a Macbeth retelling.
I enjoyed THE BOOK OF GOTHEL, too, so I’m hoping I’ll also like A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME. Lady Macbeth retellings seem to be a thing this year…there’s another one that was released fairly recently, I believe. I haven’t read that play, but I am mildly curious about the retelling.
I keep seeing that other Macbeth book and think it’s Ava Reid’s. Last year it was all Romeo and Juliet retellings, and I still don’t know why.