Can't-Wait Wednesday: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus, My Name is Iris by Brando Skyhorse, & The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

 

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
Publication: August 8th, 2023
MTV Books
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Whalefall is a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.

Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.

The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale."

How incredibly weird and awesome and kinda creepy does this sound? I definitely need to read this.

My Name is Iris by Brando Skyhorse
Publication: August 1st, 2023
Avid Reader Press
Hardcover. 272 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Iris Prince is starting over. After years of drifting apart, she and her husband are going through a surprisingly drama-free divorce. She's moved to a new house in a new neighborhood, and has plans for gardening, coffee clubs, and spending more time with her nine-year-old daughter Melanie. It feels like her life is finally exactly what she wants it to be.

Then, one beautiful morning, she looks outside her kitchen window—and sees that a wall has appeared in her front yard overnight. Where did it come from? What does it mean? And why does it seem to keep growing?

Meanwhile, a Silicon Valley startup has launched a high-tech wrist wearable called "the Band." Pitched as a convenient, eco-friendly tool to help track local utilities and replace driver's licenses and IDs, the Band is available only to those who can prove parental citizenship. Suddenly, Iris, a proud second-generation Mexican-American, is now of "unverifiable origin," unable to prove who she is, or where she, and her undocumented loved ones, belong. Amid a climate of fear and hate-fueled violence, Iris must confront how far she'll go to protect what matters to her most."

I just started an ARC of this and I can't wait to get deeper into it and see how it all goes. This sounds right up my alley!

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
Publication: August 22nd, 2023
Tor Books
Hardcover. 496 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.

Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor's soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.

Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.

Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.

Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire."

I love the sound of this fantasy, and how incredible is that cover!?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz, Horses of Fire by A.D. Rhine, & The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

     

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz
Publication: July 25th, 2023
Orbit
Paperback. 511 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"In a lush world inspired by the history and folklore of South America, a sweeping epic fantasy of colonialism, ancient magic, and two young women's quest for belonging unfolds.

Reina is desperate.

Stuck living on the edges of society, her only salvation lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never known. But the journey is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster.

Attacked by creatures that stalk the region, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn—and keep—her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesare is unwanted.

Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries her best to be perfect and to hide her oddities. But Eva is hiding a secret: magic calls to her. Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet, it’s hard to deny power when it has always been denied to you.

Eva is walking a dangerous path, one that gets stranger every day. And, in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined."

Isn't that cover gorgeous!? I am also so excited about this South American folklore-inspired setting and think this entire premise sounds like it'll make for an incredible new fantasy.

Horses of Fire by A.D. Rhine
Publication: July 25th, 2023
Dutton Books
Paperback. 528 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"I know the stories they will tell. I've heard the echoes of their songs--songs that will outlive us all. But this song is not theirs. It is mine.

Behind the timeless tale you know is the captivating story you never heard: a sweeping epic in which Troy's strong, yet misunderstood women take center stage in the most famous war in history.

Andromache is cast as the doting wife of Prince Hector, yet her Amazon warrior name means "battler of men." The only one with the cunning to outwit the invading Greeks, she must gather a band of outcasts and become the military commander she was born to be before the life she and Hector have built is reduced to ashes. Rhea is a war refugee and a horse whisperer who finally earns a place and sense of belonging in Hector's stables. To save her new home, she must become an unlikely spy and face down a forbidden love that will test all her loyalties. Helen is blamed by all for starting the Trojan War, but no one knows her real story. To escape her tormentor and foil a plot to undermine Hector, Helen must risk everything by revealing her true face to the one who despises her most.

Set in the wider landscape of the late Bronze Age collapse, this realistic and immersive Troy is a perilous battleground for warriors and politicians alike, not a playground where the fate of men and women make sport for gods and goddesses. It's a harrowing novel of palace intrigue, the transcendent bond of female friendship, and the everyday bravery of invisible heroes in times of war.

The women of Troy are threads spinning on a single loom. Can they reweave the tapestry of fate?"

Do we really need more stories focused on the women of Troy? The answer is yes. I love the sound of this one and can't wait to see A.D. Rhine's take on this!

The Sint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
Publication: July 11th, 2023
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"The Saint of Bright Doors sets the high drama of divine revolutionaries and transcendent cults against the mundane struggles of modern life, resulting in a novel that is revelatory and resonant.

Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy.

He walked among invisible devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.

Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world."

I've had an ARC of this sitting around for a while now because I've been waiting til closer to its release, but my curiosity is getting far too high for me to wait much longer. This sounds like a really unique story and I have no idea what to expect from it. 

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Beast You Are by Paul Tremblay, The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec, & The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella

    

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

The Beast You Are: Stories by Paul Tremblay
Publication: July 11th, 2023
William Morrow
Hardcover. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Paul Tremblay has won widespread acclaim for illuminating the dark horrors of the mind in novels and stories that push the boundaries of storytelling itself. The fifteen pieces in this brilliant collection, The Beast You Are, are all monsters of a kind, ready to loudly (and lovingly) smash through your head and into your heart.

In "The Dead Thing," a middle-schooler struggles to deal with the aftermath of her parents' substance addictions and split. One day, her little brother claims he found a shoebox with "the dead thing" inside. He won't show it to her and he won't let the box out of his sight.In "The Last Conversation," a person wakes in a sterile, white room and begins to receive instructions via intercom from a woman named Anne. When they are finally allowed to leave the room to complete a task, what they find is as shocking as it is heartbreaking.

The title novella, "The Beast You Are," is a mini epic in which the destinies and secrets of a village, a dog, and a cat are intertwined with a giant monster that returns to wreak havoc every thirty years.

A masterpiece of literary horror and psychological suspense, The Beast You Are is a fearlessly imagined collection from one of the most electrifying and innovative writers working today."

I've enjoyed a number of Paul Tremblay's books in the past, so I'm intrigued by a short story collection from him! These sound like they'll be quite a ride. 

The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec
Publication: July 25th, 2023
Ace
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"The lives of two women—one desperate only to save her missing sister, the other a witch destined to become queen of Norway—intertwine in this spellbinding, powerful novel of Viking Age history and myth from the acclaimed author of The Witch’s Heart.

Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in tenth century Norway, and they could not be more different: Oddny hopes for a quiet life, while Gunnhild burns for power and longs to escape her cruel mother. But after a visiting wisewoman makes an ominous prophecy that involves Oddny, her sister Signy, and Gunnhild, the three girls take a blood oath to help one another always.

When Oddny’s farm is destroyed and Signy is kidnapped by Viking raiders, Oddny is set adrift from the life she imagined—but she's determined to save her sister no matter the cost, even as she finds herself irresistibly drawn to one of the raiders who participated in the attack. And in the far north, Gunnhild, who fled her home years ago to learn the ways of a witch, is surprised to find her destiny seems to be linked with that of the formidable King Eirik, heir apparent to the ruler of all Norway.

But the bonds—both enchanted and emotional—that hold the two women together are strong, and when they find their way back to each other, these bonds will be tested in ways they never could have foreseen in this deeply moving novel of magic, history, and sworn sisterhood."

I adored Gornichec's The Witch's Heart and have no doubt that this is going to be just as beautifully written. I have been a little burnt out on Norse-related stories lately, but I think this one will hit the spot anyway!

The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella
Publication: July 11th, 2023
Flatiron Books
Hardcover. 384 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"For fans of Shuggie Bain and A Burning, a queer coming-of-age novel set in 1990s India, about a young man who joins a traveling theater troupe

Shagun knows he will never be the kind of son his father demands. After the sudden deaths of his beloved twin sisters, Shagun flees his own guilt, his mother’s grief, and his father’s violent disapproval by enrolling at an all-boys boarding school. But he doesn’t find true belonging until he encounters a traveling theater troupe performing the Hindu myths of his childhood.

Welcomed by the other storytellers, Shagun thrives, easily embodying mortals and gods, men and women, and living on the road, where his father can’t catch him. When Shagun meets Marc, a charming photographer, he seems to have found the love he always longed for, too. But not even Marc can save him from his lingering shame, nor his father’s ever-present threat to send him to a conversion center. As Shagun’s past begins to engulf him once again, he must decide if he is strong enough to face what he fears most, and to boldly claim his own happiness.

Utterly immersive and spellbinding, The Sea Elephants is both dark and beautiful, harrowing and triumphant. An ode to the redemptive joys of art, Shastri Akella’s debut novel is a celebration of hard-won love—of others and for ourselves."

This premise sounds like a wonderful mix of all the things I love. I can't wait to have a chance to read it!

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs, The Militia House by John Milas, & The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

   

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs
Publication: July 11th, 2023
Grand Central Publishing
Paperback. 448 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"In Victorian London, where traveling sideshows are the very pinnacle of entertainment, there is no more coveted ticket than Ashe and Pretorius' Carnivale of Curiosities. Each performance is a limited engagement, and London's elite boldly dare the dangerous streets of Southwark to witness the Carnivale's astounding assemblage of marvels. For a select few, however, the real show begins behind the curtain. Rumors abound that the show’s proprietor, Aurelius Ashe, is more than an average magician. It's said that for the right price, he can make any wish come true. No one knows the truth of this claim better than Lucien the Lucifer, the Carnivale's star attraction. Born with the ability to create fire, he's dazzled spectators since he was a boy.

When Odilon Rose, one of the most notorious men in London, comes calling with a proposition regarding his young and beautiful charge, Charlotte, Ashe is tempted to refuse. After revealing, however, that Rose holds a secret that threatens the security of the troupe's most vulnerable members, Ashe has no choice but to sign an insidious contract.

The stakes grow higher as Lucien finds himself drawn to Charlotte and her to him, an attraction that spurs a perilous course of events. Grave secrets, recovered horrors, and what it means to be family come to a head in this vividly imagined spectacle—with the lives of all those involved suspended in the balance."

As we know, I'm always down for a good circus book, and this one sounds like it will be packed with all sorts of intrigues and drama and hopefully a bit of darkness. I can't wait to check it out!

The Militia House by John Milas
Publication: July 11th, 2023
Henry Holt and Co. 
Hardcover. 272 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Stephen King meets Tim O’Brien in John Milas’s The Militia House, a spine-tingling and boldly original gothic horror novel.

It’s 2010, and the recently promoted Corporal Loyette and his unit are finishing up their deployment at a new base in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Their duties here are straightforward―loading and unloading cargo into and out of helicopters―and their days are a mix of boredom and dread. The Brits they’re replacing delight in telling them the history of the old barracks just off base, a Soviet-era militia house they claim is haunted, and Loyette and his men don’t need much convincing to make a clandestine trip outside the wire to explore it.

It’s a short, middle-of-the-day adventure, but the men experience a mounting agitation after their visit to the militia house. In the days that follow they try to forget about the strange, unsettling sights and sounds from the house, but things are increasingly . . . not right. Loyette becomes determined to ignore his and his marines’ growing unease, convinced that it’s just the strain of war playing tricks on them. But something about the militia house will not let them go.

Meticulously plotted and viscerally immediate in its telling, The Militia House is a gripping and brilliant exploration of the unceasing horrors of war that’s no more easily shaken than the militia house itself."

This sounds so original and weird and leaves me with no idea what to expect from it. I've just discovered it's on NetGalley so fingers crossed I get a chance to read it!

The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
Publication: July 18th, 2023
Flatiron Books
Hardcover. 416 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"TYume Kitasei's The Deep Sky is an enthralling sci fi thriller debut about a mission into deep space that begins with a lethal explosion that leaves the survivors questioning the loyalty of the crew.

They left Earth to save humanity. They’ll have to save themselves first.

It is the eve of Earth’s environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity’s last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course.

Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect. Asuka already felt like an impostor before the explosion. She was the last picked for the mission, she struggled during training back on Earth, and she was chosen to represent Japan, a country she only partly knows as a half-Japanese girl raised in America. But estranged from her mother back home, The Phoenix is all she has left.

With the crew turning on each other, Asuka is determined to find the culprit before they all lose faith in the mission—or worse, the bomber strikes again."

The cover is really what first grabbed me about this book, but the premise is what kept me around! I love a deep space thriller, so this sounds right up my alley.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Killingly by Katharine Beutner & The Only One Left by Riley Sager

     

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

Killingly by Katharine Beutner
Publication: June 6th, 2023
Soho
Hardcover. 360 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Based on the unsolved real-life disappearance of a Mount Holyoke student in 1897, Killingly weaves a haunting spell of intrigue, longing, and terror, perfect for fans of Donna Tartt and Sarah Waters.

Bertha Mellish, “the most peculiar, quiet, reserved girl” at Mount Holyoke College, is missing. One cold November morning the junior is spotted walking through the Massachusetts woods; then, she vanishes. As a search team dredges the pond where she might have drowned, Bertha’s panicked father and sister arrive at the campus desperate to find some clue as to her fate or state of mind. Bertha’s best friend, Agnes, a scholarly loner studying medicine, might know the truth, but she is being unhelpfully tight-lipped, inciting the suspicions of Bertha’s family, her classmates, and the private investigator hired by the Mellish family doctor. As secrets from Agnes and Bertha’s lives come to light, so do the competing agendas driving each person who is searching for Bertha.

Where did Bertha go? Who would want to hurt her? And could she still be alive?

Edmund White Award–winning author Katharine Beutner crafts a real-life unsolved mystery into an immersive, unforgettable work of literary crime fiction--a beautifully drawn historical portrait of queerness, family trauma, and the risks faced by women who dared to pursue unconventional paths at the end of the 19th century."

I'm intrigued that this is based off a true story, and I think this sounds like a perfect dark read. I'm also  always a little bit intrigued when something is "for fans of Donna Tartt,"--I always fall for it, haha.

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca
Publication: June 20th, 2023
Dutton
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope

Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.

Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life

It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.

“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead

As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought."

I've enjoyed some of Riley Sager's past books, and the premise of this book sounds one hundred percent up my alley. 

What books are you looking forward to?

Anticipated June 2023 Releases!

   

Well, after having to skip last month's anticipated releases post due to simply not having enough time (sorry!), I'm happy to be back sharing some exciting new books coming out next month! This year has just been packed full of amazing books and I'm really looking forward to a lot of these. So far, I've only had a chance to read Maeve Fly and The First Bright Thing, and they were both amazing, so I have high hopes for the rest. I'm hoping to get through my ARCs of Gods of the Wyrdwood, Maddalena and the Dark, The Antiquity Affair, and Night Will Find You before their respective publication dates in June, but we'll see if that works out for me, haha. Let's take a look at (some of) June's releases!

Gods of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker  || June 27th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric Larocca  || June 20th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson  || June 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Grimoire of Grave Fates edited by Hanna Alkaf, Margaret Owen  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Wolfpack by Amelia Brunskill  || June 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Antiquity Affair by lee Kelly, Jennifer Thorne  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Only One Left by Riley Sager  || June 20th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Killingly by Katharine Beutner  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao  || June 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Night Will Find You by Julia Hearberlin  || June 20th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Shanghai Immortal by A.Y. Chao  || June th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Edge of Sleep by Jake Emanuel  || June 20th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding  || June 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Maddalena and the Dark by Julia Fine  || June 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Library of Broken World by Alaya Dawn Johnson  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Night's Edge by Liz  || June 20th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis  || June 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor  || June 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

My Murder by Katie Williams  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Faint of Heart by Kerilynn Wilson  || June 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

You Won't Believe Me by Cyn Balog  || June 27th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Warning by Kristy Acevedo  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende  || June 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Hotel Laguna by Nicola Harrison  || June 20th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Beach at Summerly by Beatriz Williams  || June 27th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What are your anticipated June releases?