Highly Anticipated Upcoming Reads

Hello again! I work in a bookstore and thus am surrounded by…books. This is excellent for my desired profession and everything I want for my life, but less than ideal for my wallet, which I’ve already expressed does not fill quickly from the bookstore’s pay. There is a solid forty percent discount, though, so if anything, that encourages even more employee purchases (though that is probably the point).

I thought I’d compile a list of the books I’ve recently purchased and am remarkably excited to read. While it’s not a comprehensive list, it also gives me a chance to show off just how pretty some of these books are. I spent the money on them, so may as well show them off. Plus if it encourages anyone else to read them, I’m elated to be able to show off other author and artist works. So, here they are:

The Belles by Lacey N. Dunham

From Goodreads:

Belles never tell…

It’s 1951 at the secluded Bellerton College, and Deena Williams is an outsider doing her best to blend in with her wealthy and perfectly groomed peers. Infamous for its strict rules as much as its prestige, attending Bellerton could give Deena the comfortable life she’s always dreamed of.

She quickly forms an alliance with the five other freshmen on her floor, and soon they are singled out by the president’s wife as the most promising girls of their class, who anoints The Belles. They walk the college’s halls in menacing unison, matching velvet ribbons in their hair. But no sisterhood comes without secrets, and the Belles are no exception. Playing cruel pranks on their dormitory housemother and embarking on boundary-shattering night games, the Belles test the limits of the campus rules.

But as Deena begins to piece together the sinister history of Bellerton, her own past threatens to come to light, forcing her to make a dangerous choice. A chilling and seductive coming-of-age story, The Belles is an excavation of the dark side of girlhood, the intricacies of privilege, and the unbridled desire to belong at any cost.

Luminous by Silvia Park

From Goodreads:

In a reunified Korea of the future, robots have been integrated into society as surrogates, servants, children, and even lovers. Though boundaries between bionic and organic frequently blur, these robots are decidedly second-class citizens. Jun and Morgan, two siblings estranged for many years, are haunted by the memory of their lost brother, Yoyo, who was warm, sensitive, and very nearly human.

Jun, a war veteran turned detective of the lowly Robot Crimes Unit in Seoul, becomes consumed by an investigation that reconnects him with his sister Morgan, now a prominent robot designer working for a top firm, who is, embarrassingly, dating one of her creations in secret.

On the other side of Seoul in a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through scraps looking for robotic parts that might support her failing body. When she discovers a robot boy named Yoyo among the piles of trash, an unlikely bond is formed since Yoyo is so lifelike, he’s unlike anything she’s seen before.

While Morgan prepares to launch the most advanced robot-boy of her career, Jun’s investigation sparks a journey through the underbelly of Seoul, unearthing deeper mysteries about the history of their country and their family. The three siblings must find their way back to each other to reckon with their pasts and the future ahead of them in this poignant and remarkable exploration of what it really means to be human.

A Sin So Pure by G.B. Bancroft

From Goodreads:

Death is a wicked kind of magic to wield…

Nora is a soul-stealer, one of the few fae who can kill with just a touch. Taken in by the leader of House Pride after her parents’ murder, Nora’s been groomed into the perfect weapon: a killer who can lead.

And when the opportunity to seize power from her manipulative adoptive father arises… well, she’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

A year later, Nora and her Second, Josie, are ready to expand House Pride’s influence in both the Unseelie Court and the Human Realm. Nothing will stand in their way—except for the person attacking their House. Nora is no stranger to bloodshed, but this isn’t a run-of-the-mill raid by exiled fae; this attack is personal, mirroring the tragic night her parents died.

Nora vows to find the fae responsible, but soon realizes that the closer she gets to the culprit, the more she risks revealing a secret that could ruin everything she’s built: her House, her title, and the love she’s been cultivating with the leader of House Lust, Imogen.

But the thing about Nora is that no one threatens her family and lives—and there’s no sin quite as sweet as revenge.

The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart

From Goodreads:

From the co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast Morbid, a thrilling debut novel told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and the medical examiner following where his trail of victims leads

Something dark is lurking in the Louisiana bayou: a methodical killer with a penchant for medical experimentation is hard at work completing his most harrowing crime yet, taunting the authorities who desperately try to catch up.

But forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is the best there is. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes, and years of experience working in the Medical Examiner’s office, she’s never encountered a case she couldn’t solve. Until now. Case after case is piling up on Wren’s examination table, and soon she is sucked into an all-consuming cat-and-mouse chase with a brutal murderer getting more brazen by the day.

An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide, The Butcher and the Wren promises to ensnare all who enter.

The Dreamer and the Marked by Airic Fenn

From Goodreads: In the wake of her Mam’s death, Krystal Monarain has turned to escapism, throwing herself into the fantastic stories she was told as a child and the strange, recurring dreams she has at night. But she never quite believed her Mam’s tales that her birth mother wasn’t human-That is until Draqa, a stranger from one of her dreams, appears in her life and tells her she’s part fae. So she does the unthinkable and risks following him into Arai, the realm where the fae have lived unbothered for hundreds of years. For Draqa, however, Krystal’s arrival in his world could mean his execution, and he must do everything he can to get her off his hands before they’re caught.

Meanwhile, unrest is growing between the fae and those they deem a threat to the safety of their realm, and when someone from Draqa’s past comes to him seeking aid, he and Krystal may have no choice but to get involved.

The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw

From Goodreads:

The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.

Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told when she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled.

But there’s more to Hellebore than meets the eye. On graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, feasting on Alessa’s class. Only Alessa and a group of her classmates escape the carnage. Trapped in the school’s library, they must offer a human sacrifice every night, or else the faculty will break down the door and kill everyone.

Can they band together and survive, or will the faculty eat its fill?

We Come Bearing Curses by Zachariah Chamberlin

From Goodreads:

Nestled in primeval forests and misty valleys is the isolated community of Haven Shire. This quiet town holds a terrible secret that only the brothers Thatch know- this is where the world ends.Born and raised in the shadows of Haven Shire, George and Phineas Thatch must face their past and worst fears and prevent cosmic horrors from invading our plane of reality.Along with an eclectic team of misfits, they will put their lives on the line to stop a family of murdering cultists from summoning the apocalypse. Against an army of horrors from beyond the Veil, these unlikely heroes will use every weapon at their disposal. Even those that bear the curse of their past. They just have to resolve their family trauma at the same time.

The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, first book The Shadow of the Gods

From Goodreads:

This is the age of storm and murder.

After the old gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrio.

Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame and fortune for those brave – or desperate – enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people: a huntress searching for her missing son, a jarl’s daughter who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who has cast off his chains and now fights alongside the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.