Can't-Wait Wednesday: Marvelous by Molly Greeley, Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones, & Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood

 

 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: 

Marvelous by Molly Greeley
Publication: February 28th, 2023
William Morrow & Company
Hardcover. 416 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"1547: Pedro Gonzales, a young boy living on the island of Tenerife, understands that he is different from the other children in his village. He is mercilessly ridiculed for the hair covering his body from head to toe. When he is kidnapped off the beach near his home, he finds himself delivered by a slave broker into the dangerous and glamorous world of France’s royal court. There “Monsieur Sauvage,” as he is known, learns French, literature, and sword fighting, becoming an attendant to the French King Henri II and a particular favorite of his queen, the formidable Catherine de’ Medici. Queen Catherine considers herself a collector of unusual people and is fascinated by Pedro… and determined to find him a bride.

Catherine Raffelin is a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl whose merchant father has fallen on hard times and offers up his daughter to Queen Catherine. The queen will pay his debts, and his daughter will marry Monsieur Sauvage.

Catherine meets Pedro for the first time on their wedding day. Barely recovered from the shock of her father’s betrayal, she soon finds herself christened “Madame Sauvage” by the royal courtiers, and must learn to navigate this strange new world, and the unusual man who is now her husband.

A mesmerizing novel set in the French royal court of Catherine de’ Medici during the Renaissance, which recreates the touching and surprising true story behind the Beauty and the Beast legend, from the acclaimed author of The Clergyman’s Wife and The Heiress. Gorgeously written, heartbreaking and hopeful, Marvelous is the portrait of a marriage, the story of a remarkable, resilient family, and an unforgettable reimagining of one of the world’s most beloved fairy tales."

This sounds like such a unique and compelling historical fiction and fantasy retelling and I can't wait to have a chance to check it out myself!

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Publication: February 7th, 2023
Gallery/Saga Press
Hardcover. 464 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"December 12th, 2019, Jade returns to the rural lake town of Proofrock the same day as convicted Indigenous serial killer Dark Mill South escapes into town to complete his revenge killings, in this riveting sequel to My Heart Is a Chainsaw from New York Times bestselling author, Stephen Graham Jones.

Four years after her tumultuous senior year, Jade Daniels is released from prison right before Christmas when her conviction is overturned. But life beyond bars takes a dangerous turn as soon as she returns to Proofrock. Convicted Serial Killer, Dark Mill South, seeking revenge for thirty-eight Dakota men hanged in 1862, escapes from his prison transfer due to a blizzard, just outside of Proofrock, Idaho.

Dark Mill South’s Reunion Tour began on December 12th, 2019, a Thursday.

Thirty-six hours and twenty bodies later, on Friday the 13th, it would be over."

Don't Fear the Reaper is the sequel to My Heart is a Chainsaw, which was a brilliant horror novel and homage to slashers. I can't wait for the sequel to see what's in store for Jade. 

Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood
Publication: February 28th, 2023
Bloomsbury YA
Hardcover. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Eighteen-year-old Victoria is a Wildblood. Kidnapped at the age of six and manipulated by the Exotic Lands Touring Company, she’s worked as a tour guide ever since with a team of fellow Wildbloods who take turns using their magic to protect travelers in a Jamaican jungle teeming with ghostly monsters.

When the boss denies Victoria an earned promotion to team leader in favor of Dean, her backstabbing ex, she’s determined to prove herself. Her magic may be the most powerful on the team, but she’s not the image the boss wants to send their new client, Thorn, a renowned goldminer determined to reach an untouched gold supply deep in the jungle.

Thorn is everything Victoria isn't - confident, impossibly kind, and so handsome he leaves her speechless. And when he entrusts the mission to her, kindness turns to mutual respect, turns to affection, turns to love. But the jungle is treacherous, and between hypnotic river spirits, soul-devouring women that shed their skin like snakes, and her ex out for revenge, Victoria has to decide - is promotion at a corrupt company really what she wants?"

Does this not sound so fun and original? I'm honestly way more excited for this than I expected to be, especially given the fact that I don't tend to read too much YA anymore, but... this may need to be another exception!

What do you think of these upcoming releases?

The Friday Face-Off: Horror

         

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

Horror

There are so many options for horror and it was hard to choose. In the end, I chose to go with a favorite: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. I was pleasantly surprised by how many different editions there were for this one and I had so much fun exploring all of them. Let's have a look!

2020 US Hardcover | 2021 Spanish | 2022 Portuguese

2020 Russian | 2020 US ebook | 2021 German

2021 Large Print | 2022 Polish | 2020 SST Publications

My choice(s):

I honestly love so many of these, so it's hard to choose. I'd have to say the original US hardcover, Russian, and German ones are some of my favorites, probably! I'm really impressed by how unique the Russian edition is and also how beautiful it is, and the rest are just at stunning. 

What cover(s) do you like the most?

Review: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Gallery/Saga Press

Publication Date: July 14th, 2020

Hardcover. 320 pages

About The Only Good Indians:

"The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones. 

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way."

The Only Good Indians was one of the most pleasantly surprising and hard-hitting books that I've read so far this year. This book was a huge gut punch at times, incredible raw and haunting, but also stunning and I genuinely loved it. This was a tough read at times (especially pertaining to animals), but absolutely worth it.

This story centers around a traumatic event that four Blackfeet Indian men, Lewis, Gabe, Cass, and Ricky were a part of about ten years ago involving some elk--an event that has stayed with the four men and has begun to follow them around in different ways, haunting each. The Only Good Indians is divided into three main sections, each following a different POV. The first follows Lewis as he finds himself being haunted by the image of the dead elk that he hunted and killed years ago with his friends. The second follows an unnamed woman that I don't want to say too much about, and the third section follows Gabe's daughter, Denorah. When I first realized that the book was going to have such drastic changes between sections, I was a little unsure if it would feel like a smooth transition or not, but I regret doubting Jones because it turned out to be so carefully done and effortless in transitioning from one perspective to the next, all while maintaining the same overall tone and atmosphere of some darkness and unease that seeps into the story from page one.

One of the things that stood out to me the most about The Only Good Indians and Stephen Graham Jones' writing was his strong attention to detail. Nothing mentioned was ever extraneous, but always served a purpose in the either the plot, in creating atmosphere, or in exploring themes and ideas. Lewis' sort of slow descent in paranoia was a particularly striking and compelling section for all the small details that Jones litters throughout that stick in your mind in the creepiest and best way possible. As an added plus, this book really was an unpredictable journey that had me verbally exclaiming at different unexpected or shocking moments, which made this an even better and more entertaining experience than it already was.

Jones has created something really special with this book. This is a book that will make you feel uncomfortable, possibly anxious, uncertain, and he does it all in such a deft and meaningful way that makes it hard not to fall into the story and become a part of everything the characters struggle with. This isn't just a story about revenge, but rather one that focuses on the cultural identity of the Native Blackfeet and everything that comes with that identity in this world.

As a word of caution to anyone who is sensitive to violence and/or violence involving animals, this book does have a few more disturbing moments that you should be aware of going into it.

Overall, it's an easy five stars from me. This book has stayed with me ever since I first picked it up, as it is a truly masterful work of heartbreak, horror, and devastation, as well as a breathtakingly haunting piece of fiction that will grab you and not let you go. I am already planning to dive into more of Stephen Graham's Jones work!

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