Hello dragons—er, friends. It’s all dragons—books!—it’s all new books up in this house of dragons.
It’s been nonstop dragons these past few days, what with the release of Onyx Storm, the third book in Rebecca Yarros’s shelf-storming, romantasy-defining series. We’re happy to report that everyone who pre-ordered the book went home clutching a copy of the deluxe limited edition. We should have copies of the not-as-deluxe edition in a few days as well. Plan accordingly.
And this is our regular reminder that pre-ordering a book—and pre-ordering early!—is the best way to ensure getting a copy. Lots of these sorts of books have minimum requirements (i.e., we have to order at least a case in order to get it for release day), and the earlier we know demand, the more readily we can make everyone happy.
Other books that found their way onto the shelves this week include Rina Kent’s God of Ruin (also deluxe edition), her steamy college romance series featuring elite criminal families and morally gray heroes. That’s right: it’s all anti-heroes in here, and this one has Mafia princesses, sociopathic artists, and lots of button pushing and torrid touch me-touch me! scenes. We’re sure it has a happy ending. Maybe?
And speaking of fierce female protagonists, here is P. C. Cast’s Boudicca, a epic—and lusty—retelling of the Celtic warrior queen who stood up to the Romans back when the Empire was still stomping around the British Isles. This one is for fans of recent retellings of historical female figures, ala Madeline Miller and Natalie Haynes. Recommended.
Set in a more contemporary milieu is Mask of the Deer Woman, a new indigenous thriller by Laurie L. Dove. Ex-Chicago detective Carrie Starr returns to the reservation she grew up on, where she is tapped to be the new tribal marshal. She is drawn into the disappearance of a local college student, and the investigation turns dark and creepy as she finds herself being stalked by a deer-headed woman. Is she losing her mind, or is there something supernatural at play here? You’ll have to find out, but you may need to leave the lights on after you’re done reading.
On a lighter note, here is Kemper Donovan’s Loose Lips, a cozy mystery about a ghostwriter, her frenemy from school days, a cruise ship, and some mild poisoning. Well, mostly mild. At least one person dies. And since this all takes place on a cruise ship—at sea—it’s sort of a locked room mystery. Kind of like Clue meets Knives Out, if you will. Our protagonist is plucky, the twists are twisty, and the pages almost turn themselves. This one is a definite read for fans of Richard Osman, Anthony Horowitz, and, of course, the dame herself: Agatha Christie.
And speaking of murders in interesting locales, here is Jenny Elder Moke’s She Doesn’t Have a Clue, which takes place on a private island in Puget Sound, where a young mystery writer, her editor (who happens to be the groom at this wedding event), and the writer’s biggest romantic regret: a chap nicknamed the “Hostralian.”
We don’t know why. Probably because he’s a jerk and / or he’s Australian. Or both. Probably both. That makes him much more exotic, right?
Anyway, the weather is terrible, trapping everyone on the island, more folks are probably going to die, and our young writer must juggle personal feelings, romantic crushes, and—gee!—a murder mystery if she’s going to survive the weekend. It’s equal parts “whodunit?” and “will-they-or-won’t-they?” Which is sort of like putting peanut butter and chocolate together, if you know what we mean.
And speaking of lighter fare, Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is out in paperback this week. We’re fans of his Ernest Cunningham mysteries, and this time around Ernest finds himself on a train full of writers (this seems to be a theme these days), whereupon someone dies. There are, of course, no dearth of suspects, and once again, Stevenson does a fabulous job breaking all the rules of writing mysteries while explaining exactly how he’s not breaking any of the rules. It’s like watching a stage magician explain how the trick is done, while simultaneously getting away with, well, murder, we suppose. Highly recommended.
And here is Linda H. Codega’s Motheater, which is the story of a Bennie Mattox, who discovers a half-drowned woman in a mine slough. The woman is a bit scrambled, and she insists that she’s a witch with a plan to keep land-ravaging industry off their mountain. Naturally, Bennie decides to help Motheater (the name the witch gives herself), and all sorts of things get strange and murky from there. Recommended.
And the latest doorstopper manga edition to arrive is Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond. This definitive editon of Inoue’s manga-ized version of Miyamoto Musashi’s life collects three complete volumes of the manga (728 pages!) in a lovely oversized hardbound book. Here is the early years of Musashi’s life, following our itinerant swordsman after the Battle of Sekigahara as he struggles to find his place in war-torn Japan. Naturally, there are lots of opportunities for swordplay and yelling. Plan accordingly.
And finally, here is Let’s Call Her Barbie, a novel by Renée Rosen. It’s fiction, but the core part of the story follows the creation and evolution of the iconic toy as Ruth Handler upends the marketplace with her controversial doll. With the help of an engineer with a secret and a design with a dream of elevating fashion, Handler sets out to empower women everywhere with a piece of molded plastic. And from such stuff dreams are made . . .
That’s the mood this week, dear friends. Remember to take a moment or two for self-care. Read, reflect, and rise in the morning. Wear warm socks—it’s going to get colder before it gets warmer. Wrap a colorful scarf around your heads. Not because we don’t want to see your faces, but because the cold air likes to get in through your ear holes. We’ll see you in the stacks.
