Category Archives: upcoming releases

May31

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 31st May, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on May 31, 2023 by sjhigbee

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – The Rowan by Davis Bunn – release date 4th July, 2023

#contemporary thriller #paranormal #feisty heroine

BLURB:
Pulitzer prize-winning investigative writer Valentina Garnier loves a good story, so when she learns that CIA director Agnes Pendalon wants her to travel to Kunashir Island in Russia’s easternmost province, she jumps at the chance. Top scientists, political aides, CIA agents and even the vice president’s daughter have all made mysterious trips to the island in recent weeks. Could it be coincidence, or is something more alarming at play?

When Val arrives in Kunashir, she’s mesmerized by a magical rowan tree and its leaves that turn to golden threads, encircling the visitors. Something incredible and transformational is happening in front of her . . . With the CIA determined to hunt down this unknown force and everyone affected by the rowan, is a new battle for the future of humanity about to commence?
I was first attracted by the cover – then thought the blurb looked enjoyably quirky. The idea of braiding a classic international thriller with a paranormal twist appeals, although I’m a tad concerned at the rather low ratings to date. However, I shall come to this one with an open mind and hope it fulfils its promise to be an unusual and satisfying read😊.

May24

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 24th May, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on May 24, 2023 by sjhigbee

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This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – In the Shadow of the Bull – Book 1 of An Ancient Crete Mystery series by Eleanor Kuhns – release date 4th July, 2023

#historical crime #Ancient Greece #murder mystery #feisty heroine

BLURB:
Ancient Crete, 1450 BC. In a world of Goddess worship, sacred snakes and sacrifice, human jealousy, resentment, and betrayal still run wild . . .

When her sister Arge drops to the floor in convulsions and then dies at her wedding, fifteen-year-old Martis, a young poet and bull leaper in training, is certain her sister was murdered. The prime suspect is the groom, Saurus, a barbarian from the Greek mainland, but when Arge’s Shade visits Martis, swearing Saurus is not her murderer, Martis vows to uncover the truth.

As Martis begins asking questions, she discovers that while her sweet sister Arge may have had no secrets, many of the people around Martis certainly do. but if the murderer is not Saurus, then who is it? The Egyptian lady who frequents the docks, one of Martis’s other sisters, her father, or someone entirely different?

Martis is in a battle against time to save her sister’s Shade from eternal unrest and uncover the killer before they strike again . . .
I love this era of history, having inhaled Mary Renault’s fabulous books back when Noah was knee-high to a hen. So when I saw this offering, I immediately requested it. Fingers crossed it proves as good as it looks!

May17

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 17th May, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on May 17, 2023 by sjhigbee

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This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – The Launch Party by Lauren Forry – release date 22nd June, 2023

#sci fi murder mystery #Moon adventure #locked room whodunit

BLURB:
Ten lucky people have won a place at the most exclusive launch event of the century: the grand opening of the Hotel Artemis, the first hotel on the moon. It’s an invitation to die for. As their transport departs for its return to Earth and the doors seal shut behind them, the guests take the next leap for mankind.

However, they soon discover that all is not as it seems. The champagne may be flowing, but there is no one to pour it. Room service is available, but there is no one to deliver it. Besides the ten of them, they are completely alone.

When one of the guests is found murdered, fear spreads through the group. But that death is only the beginning. Being three days’ journey from home and with no way to contact the outside, can any of the guests survive their stay?
I’m a sucker for space murder mysteries. While on Earth, authors have to make up all sorts of elaborate reasons why people don’t simply walk or run out of buildings where some deranged serial killer is running rampant – in Space there is nowhere to go! I love the sound of this one😊.

May10

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 10th May, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on May 10, 2023 by sjhigbee

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This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Scarlet – Book 1 of the Scarlet series by Genevieve Cogman – release date 11th May, 2023

#historical fantasy adventure #feisty heroine #French Revolution setting #vampires

BLURB:
It is 1793 and the French Revolution is in full swing. Vampires—usually rich and aristocratic—have slaked the guillotine’s thirst in large numbers. The mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel, a disguised British noble, and his League are heroically rescuing dozens of aristocrats from execution, both human and vampire. And soon they will have an ace up their Eleanor Dalton [sic].

Eleanor is working as a housemaid on the estate of a vampire Baroness. Her highest aspiration is to one day become a modiste. But when the Baroness hosts a mysterious noble and his wife, they tell Eleanor she is the spitting image of a French aristocrat, and they convince her to journey to France to aid them in a daring scheme. Soon, Eleanor finds herself in Paris, swept up in magic and intrigue—and chaos—beyond her wildest dreams. But there’s more to fear than ardent Revolutionaries. For Eleanor stumbles across a centuries-old war between vampires and their fiercest enemy. And they’re out for blood. . . .

Scarlet is the first book in a wildly engaging new series from Genevieve Cogman, which reinvents the beloved tale of the Scarlet Pimpernel.
This time around, it was the author’s name that snagged my attention. I loved The Invisible Library series – see my reviews of The Invisible Library, The Masked City, The Secret Chapter, The Dark Archive, my mini-review of The Lost Plot and my review of the final book in the series – The Untold Story. So when I saw she’d just started a historical fantasy adventure, I jumped at the chance of getting hold of an arc. I am rather behind with my TBR pile, but there will be a review to follow in due course…

May3

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 3rd May, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on May 3, 2023 by sjhigbee

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This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – March’s End by Daniel Polansky – release date 9th May, 2023

#portal fantasy adventure #family relationships #magic

BLURB: The Harrows are a typical suburban family who, since time immemorial, have borne a sacred and terrible charge. In the daylight they are teachers, doctors, bartenders and vagrants, but at night they are the rulers and protectors of the March, a fantastical secondary world populated with animate antiquated toys and sentient lichen, a panorama of the impossible where cities are carried on the backs of giant snails, and thunderstorms can be subdued with song.

But beneath this dreamlike exterior lie dark secrets, and for generation after generation the Harrows have defended the March from the perils that wait outside its borders – when they are not consumed in their own bitter internecine quarrels.

In the modern day the Harrow clan are composed of Sophia, the High Queen of the March, a brilliant, calculating matriarch, and her three children – noble Constance, visionary, rebellious Mary Ann, and clever, amoral Will. Moving back and forth between their youth, adolescence, and adulthood, we watch as this family fractures, then reconciles in the face of a conflict endangering not only the existence of the March, but of the ‘real world’ itself.
I absolutely loved Polansky’s Low Town trilogy – see my reviews of The Straight Razor Cure, Tomorrow the Killing and She Who Waits. So when I saw this one appear on the Netgalley dashboard and read the blurb, I knew I wanted to read it.

Apr26

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 26th April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on April 26, 2023 by sjhigbee

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This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Humanborn – Book 1 of the Shadows of Eireland series by Joanna Maciejewska – release date 6th May, 2023.

#urban fantasy adventure #feisty heroine #Ireland setting

BLURB: Less than a decade ago, the Magiclysm, a tear between Earth and another place, brought magic to Ireland—and worse, it brought back the mythborn. The war that followed left Dublin scarred, and cursed Kaja Modrzewska with chaotic magic that will eventually claim her life.

Struggling with wartime nightmares, Kaja seeks normalcy amongst the volatile peace working as an information broker when a series of explosions across Dublin threatens to reignite the war. Both sides are eager to blame the other, so Kaja reluctantly agrees to investigate.

But finding the terrorists responsible means working alongside the mythborn’s elite killers, and uncomfortable wartime secrets coming to light. Kaja, who had saved a mythborn’s life during the war, finds out she has a life debt of her own, and as she juggles her allegiances and obligations, she’ll have to decide where her loyalties lie, with her old human allies or the mythborn.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Joanna’s entertaining sand and sorcery series Pacts Arcane and Otherwise – see my reviews of By the Pact, Scars of Stone.and Shadows of Kaighal. I currently have the next one, Demon Siege, which came out in January, waiting to be read. So I was delighted when she contacted me to ask if I wanted an arc of Humanborn, which is the start of a new series. I’m hoping to get to it after I finish my current read – and I’m really looking forward to seeing what she does with this intriguing premise.

Apr19

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 19th April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on April 19, 2023 by sjhigbee

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This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Cursed Crowns – Book 2 of the Twin Crowns series by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber – release date 27th April, 2023.

#YA fantasy adventure #feisty heroines

BLURB:
Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns . . . but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.

Cool-headed Rose sets off on a Royal Tour to win over the doubters, but soon finds herself drawn to the Sunless Kingdom. Here secrets are revealed about those closest to her, and Rose finds her loyalties divided.

Meanwhile rebellious Wren steals away to the icy north to rescue their beloved grandmother, Banba. But when she accepts King Alarik’s deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom, the spell has unexpected – and far-reaching – consequences . . .

As an ancient curse begins to arise from the darkness, the sisters must come together and unite the crown. Their lives – and the future of Eana – depend on it.

The colourful cover first caught my eye – and then I was intrigued that two best-selling authors got involved in this project. I’ve always been fascinated by books written by more than one author and decided to request this one, because I liked the premise. I’ve bought the audiobook of the first in the series and will be listening to it shortly – and before I start the arc.

Apr12

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 12th April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on April 12, 2023 by sjhigbee

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This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – I, Julian: the fictional autobiography of Julian of Norwich by Claire Gilbert – release date 13th April, 2023.

#fictional autobiography #historical #Julian of Norwich #religious anchoress

BLURB:
From the author of Miles to Go before I Sleep comes I, Julian, the account of a medieval woman who dares to tell her own story, battling grief, plague, the church and societal expectations to do so. Compelled by the powerful visions she had when close to death, Julian finds a way to live a life of freedom – as an anchoress, bricked up in a small room on the side of a church – and to write of what she has seen. The result, passed from hand to hand, is the first book to be written by a woman in English.

Tender, luminous, meditative and powerful, Julian writes of her love for God, and God’s love for the whole of creation. ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.’
When I went on my writing retreats to Bexhill-on-Sea with my sister-in-law, while I was penning daft adventures for a certain elderly dragon, she was writing her doctorate thesis on how the Church coped with despair and depression in the medieval period. Part of her source material for this fascinating subject came from the writings of Julian of Norwich and I was blown away by the poetry and beauty of her prose. So when I saw this book – I jumped at it. It’s quite different from most of my reading, these days. But I’m very much looking forward to tucking into it. Apart from anything else – I don’t know nearly enough about this courageous and highly spiritual woman.

Apr5

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 5th April, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on April 5, 2023 by sjhigbee

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This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna – release date 11th April, 2023.

#feminist retelling #Arthurian legends #swords and sorcery

BLURB:
The Cleaving is an Arthurian retelling that follows the tangled stories of four women: Nimue, Ygraine, Morgana, and Guinevere, as they fight to control their own destinies amid the wars and rivalries that will determine the destiny of Britain.

The legendary epics of King Arthur and Camelot don’t tell the whole story. Chroniclers say Arthur’s mother Ygraine married the man that killed her husband. They say that Arthur’s half-sister Morgana turned to dark magic to defy him and Merlin. They say that the enchantress Nimue challenged Merlin and used her magic to outwit him. And that Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere ended in adultery, rebellion and bloodshed. So why did these women chose such dangerous paths?

As warfare and rivalries constantly challenge the king, Arthur and Merlin believe these women are destined to serve Camelot by doing as they are told. But men forget that women talk. Ygraine, Nimue, Morgana and Guinevere become friends and allies while the decisions that shape their lives are taken out of their hands. This is their untold story. Now these women have a voice.

Juliet McKenna is an expert on medieval history and warfare and brings this expertise as well as her skills as a fantasy writer to this epic standalone novel.
I am soooo excited about this one. It’s probably my most anticipated read of the year. For starters, I love McKenna’s writing – see my reviews on Dangerous Waters – Book 1 of the Hadrumal Crisis, Darkening Skies – Book 2 of the Hadrumal Crisis, Irons in the Fire – Book 1 of the Lescari Revolution, Blood in the Water – Book 2 of the Lescari Revolution, Banners in the Wind – Book 3 of the Lescari Revolution. But I think The Green Man series is something really special – see my reviews of The Green Man’s Heir, The Green Man’s Foe and The Green Man’s Silence. And then, when I read that this was a feminist retelling of the Arthurian legend – I all but danced around the room for joy. Because if anyone can do for these tales what Pat Barker and Madeline Miller have done for the classic Greek myths – then it’s McKenna. Sadly, I shan’t be getting to it for at least a couple of weeks as I’m falling badly behind with my TBR pile. But this is one that I won’t be skipping! Is anyone else reading it?

Mar29

Can’t-Wait Wednesday – 29th March, 2023 #Brainfluffbookblog #CWC #WOW

Posted on March 29, 2023 by sjhigbee

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Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – Not of This World – Book 4 of the Gideon Sable series by Simon R. Green – release date 4th April, 2023

#fantasy heist adventure series #troubled hero #magic #humour

BLURB:
The Preserve in Bath – the British Area 51 – is the secret government dumping ground for all things supernatural and out of space. It is one of the most heavily-guarded places in the world. However, it’s not what protects it that makes it so dangerous but the things that are inside . . .

Gideon Sable – master thief, con artist and self-proclaimed vigilante – faces a challenge he can’t refuse. His client, the former Head of the British Rocketry Group, Professor Neil Sharpe, wants him to break into the Preserve. Once inside, Gideon and his crew of supernatural misfits can get any mystical artefact they desire out of the Preserve’s collection. The catch? To reach it, they must go through the treacherous Box Tunnel complex and not only face trained guards and booby traps but steal something that can’t normally be stolen – a ghost!

Sharpe’s obscure motive leaves Gideon uncertain and suspicious. The only thing he knows for sure is that he can steal anything with just the right amount of preparation – but will he be prepared enough to face whatever the Preserve holds, or will he find himself a permanent part of the government’s collection?
I am a solid fan of Green’s writing. See my review for the previous books in this series if you are interested in learning what makes it tick –The Best Thing You Can Steal , A Matter of Death and Life and What Song the Sirens Sang. So when I saw this offering pop up on Netgalley, I was delighted to get hold of a copy.