Witch Unexpected

Debbie Cassidy

Witch Unexpected is the first in a series about a powerful witch who reluctantly bonds with three wolf pack leaders to save the magic and peace in the world. So far it’s got hot wolves, hot witches, hot gargoyles — a true eye-candy smorgasbord. I’m excited to see who makes up the harem in this reverse harem series, and figure out who’s gunning for the main character in the meantime.

A Veil of Stardust and Savagery

Analeigh Ford

The second book in an ACOTAR-inspired reverse harem series, AVOSAS takes places in a new fae world with new fae characters surrounding our kind-of-imprisoned main character. I’ll admit I’m having a hard time getting into it, because I want more of the fae we fell in love with in book one. But the starlight setting is pretty and I know we’ve got to come back to my favorite boys (and guard) soon, so I’m pushing through. Maybe I’ll come to love these new people in the process, who knows?

Parable of the Sower

I’ve only read the first chapter, and this one is a little different from my usual fare. It was a birthday gift from a close friend. I’m already really into it after trying out the beginning. As Goodreads says, “In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future.” I get the impression the main character is young, but it’s possible she just lacks maturity. I certainly relate to her experience under a conservative religious bubble so far. Seeing that mindset in an actual apocalyptic world sounds fascinating.

Trickery

Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington

In Minatsol, being a dweller means that you are literally no better than dirt. In fact, dirt might actually be more useful than Willa. Her life will be one of servitude to the sols, the magic-blessed beings who could one day be chosen to become gods.

At least her outer village is far removed from the cities of the sols, and she won’t ever be forced to present herself to them… Until one small mistake changes everything, and Willa is awarded a position to serve at Blesswood, the top sol academy in the world—a position that she definitely did not earn.

Under the sudden, watchful eye of the gods, she will be tasked to serve the Abcurse brothers, five sols built of arrogance, perfection and power. They are almost gods themselves, and under their service she is either going to end up sentenced to death, or else they are going to ruin her so badly that she will wish for it.

Either way, she is in trouble.

The Magic of Discovery

Britt Andrews

Growing up in Emerald Lakes, population six hundred and eighty-two, had been safe and comfortable. Running my own magic shop and making a living off my green witchcraft, I have no complaints. Sure, there’s my ex, who never understood the word ‘no’, but there’s also the lovable and eccentric townspeople who feel more like one huge extended family, and let’s not forget my boy-crazed Gran who keeps us all on our toes.

…But something has apparently been missing, and the stars take it upon themselves to correct the problem, dropping four sexy men at my door. Well, not literally. They move into the apartment above my shop, so I’m their landlord. Drawn in by these mages who blew into town on a work assignment, a whole different kind of magic starts to grow between us, but my powers are doing things they shouldn’t, and there’s also a pesky prophecy to unravel.

Strange, unnatural things are brewing in Emerald Lakes, and I can’t ignore the sinking suspicion that something life-changing is headed my way.

Discovering a whole new world of magic, I can only hope I don’t lose myself in the madness.

The Vixen’s Lead

Tate James

I want vengeance so badly that I can almost taste it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. So, I did what any privileged, adopted boarding school girl would do. I slapped on a secret identity and became an internationally renowned thief, known as The Fox. Nobody knows me. Nobody can catch me.

Or so I thought…

It turns out; I have what they want. Special abilities. And trust me, these abilities are coveted–and dangerous. Now, I don’t know who to trust or where to go. Peril lurks on every corner as I try to uncover my past and origin. Teaming up with unlikely allies may be my only chance at survival or my biggest mistake. Only time will tell.

I’m Kit Davenport and this is only the beginning.

Mask of Shadows

Linsey Miller

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home.

When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen’s personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge.

But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.

Binti

Nnedi Okorafor

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive.

The Breath Between Waves

Charlotte Anne Hamilton

Penelope Fletcher gave up everything to board the RMS Titanic.

Forced to travel to America for her father’s new job, Penelope left her home in Scotland, her beloved grandmother, and even her girlfriend, who promptly got engaged to someone else. Heartbroken, Penelope isn’t looking forward to the weeklong journey. Or that her parents want her to find a husband in America. To make matters worse, she also has to share a cabin with a complete stranger.

Ruby Cole, her spunky Irish roommate, is unlike anyone Penelope ever met. They become fast friends as they bond over crushing family expectations and sneaking into lush parties together. That Ruby likes women, too, comes as a surprise to Penelope, but she knows their affair can only be temporary. Because as soon as the Titanic arrives in New York, Penelope will have to marry someone of her father’s choosing.

Before long, though, they’ll both have to decide what–and who–is really worth fighting for.