OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Aman J. Bedi was born in Mysore, India. He grew up in Vizag, studied in Bangalore, lived in Bangkok, completed a PhD in experimental psychology at the University of Canterbury, and has settled (for now) in Melbourne, Australia. His writing draws from modern Indian history and is influenced by writers and artists like David Gemmell, Brandon Sanderson, Takehiko Inoue, and Kentaro Miura.

FORMAT/INFO: Kavithri was published on May 16th, 2024. It is 448 pages long and told in first person from Kavi's point of view. It is available in hardcover, audiobook and ebook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS:  All of her life, Kavithri has been told that she is nothing. Shunned by society for her Taemu heritage, she lives on the streets, simply trying to survive. The one thing that keeps her going is the annual chance to test for admission into the magic academy known as the Vargola. Every year she is denied entrance to the exam, but every year she tries again. A chance event, however, puts her on a new trajectory, one that offers her a whole new way to join the Vargola. But it also reveals secrets about Kavithri that many wish would stay buried, putting her in the crosshairs of an entirely new enemy.

Kavithri is an enthralling, brutal, bloody book that is absolutely perfect for fans of The Rage of Dragons. I want to be clear up front, this book is as grim as can be. It is graphically violent and bleak; to be frank, I had to skim a few pages. The world constantly punches down on Kavithri. Every time she gets ahead, a new bit of misery comes to club her over the head.

This honestly pushed the boundaries of the kind of grimdark I tolerate. How many times can things go from bad to worse? (Seriously, how many times?) Despite that, the author has an undeniably captivating writing style that hooked me from the beginning.From the first chapter, the author proves his skill at giving you a sense of place, grounding you instantly in his land inspired by turn of the 20th century India and South Asia. That includes a society with a caste system. Any who are Taemu (marked by their red eyes), are considered the lowest of the low, the remnants of a berserker people; many people believe the Taemu should just be erased from the world entirely.

Kavithri (or Kavi) is a Taemu orphan, one who has survived by “knowing her place,” always taking beatings without a fight, always taking the last scraps available. But no matter how many beatings she takes, she still has a stubborn core of tenacity. It’s that tenacity that propels her on her journey to attain her dream of one day entering a prestigious magic academy.It’s Kavithri’s heart that kept me invested in the story. Despite all the bad things that happen, she’s the kind of person who cannot watch an injustice happen in front of her without trying to do something about it - especially if everyone else in the area is refusing to intervene. Her stubborn heart also propels the plot forward. Every time the world slams a door on her, she finds a grate to crawl through.

One of the few hopeful themes of this story is the healing power of community. While Kavithri has spent most of her life as the only Taemu she knows, she does eventually run into others. They accept her and remind her that she is not alone, that she always has a place. Finding a community gives Kavithri the added drive she needs to achieve her goals. She no longer fights for just herself, but for an entire people oppressed by society.

A quick shout out to the magic in Kavithri. Magic in this world comes at cost. Healers have to drain the life of a non-human creature. Warlocks are paralyzed while they use their attack magic. Artificers give up a memory every time they cast. It’s a magic system that’s right at home in this brutal setting, and great for those who like harder magic systems.

The one thing (aside from the unrelenting bleakness) that threw me off a little were the interludes sprinkled throughout the book. Without getting into spoilers, they definitely gave me whiplash in terms of content, and their purpose isn't fully explained by the end of the book. While I'm sure the author has plans for these sequences over the course of the trilogy, I found them a bit jarring and at odds with the rest of the story.

CONCLUSION: Kavithri is not my usual cup of tea. I frankly like my books to have more hope and not to be drowning in the cruelty of a world. (That’s why this isn’t a five-star book for me personally). So it’s a testament to the writing that I still couldn’t put this book down. In fact, I was constantly looking for an excuse to pick it up. Despite this pushing my boundaries, I'm surprised to find I have no hesitation about coming back for the sequel. Those of you who revel in grim tales are absolutely going to love KAVITHRI, and I highly recommend you go pick it up now.

  

OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Beth Revis grew up in the Appalachian Mountains with a cemetery in her backyard, which is probably why she prefers her stories to be dark and full of twists. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of the Across the Universe trilogy, which has been translated into more than 20 languages. Beth lives in a house full of boys—her husband, son, and two massive dogs—and she forces them all to watch reruns of Firefly and Doctor Who. Visit her at bethrevis.com.

FORMAT/INFO: How to Steal a Galaxy was published by DAW on December 3rd, 2024. It is 192 pages long and told in first person from Ada's point of view. It is available in hardcover and ebook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: When agent Rian White spots con artist Ada Lamarr's name on the guest list for one of the most exclusive charity galas of the year, he knows she's up to something. He's not wrong: Ada IS there to steal something. The fact that Rian will spend the entire evening watching her just adds a fun extra challenge to the mix. Especially because Ada isn't just there to do a job for her employer; she's also ready to tip the first domino in a long con she's been setting up for months.

How to Steal a Galaxy is another winsome adventure for Ada Lamarr, who continues to steal my heart with her chaotic cons. This time she's at a charity gala for reasons unknown, and it's up to both the reader and Rian to figure out what she's up to. This mystery aspect is one of the big highlights of the series for me. Even though the story is written first person, we aren't privy to what EXACTLY Ada is after. We can see the moves she makes and occasionally get a cryptic remark, but it's up to us to figure out how the pieces come together (at least until Ada reveals all in the final chapter).

The other big highlight is of course Ada herself. She continues to be an intentionally chaotic force. As she mentions to a character, one of the important aspects of stealing something is misdirection. Her aim is to be constantly moving, both in physical space and in conversations, so that her "real" moves are masked. I love these kinds of characters, ones who wield anarchy as a weapon, especially when you strip away the chaos and see the real game hidden beneath.

The one drawback to flag for readers is that this series is very much one big story told in three parts. While each novella is a separate adventure, Ada is playing the long game. My issue with the first book, Full Speed to a Crash Landing was in how abruptly it ended; In How to Steal a Galaxy, my issue is that this is very much set up for the big finale of the third and final novella, Last Chance to Save the World. This is very much a series I would recommend reading fairly close together, as I think the pacing will be much more satisfying when the novellas are read as one full arc.

CONCLUSION: But really, my issues are probably only issues for a reader such as myself, who is reading these books a few months apart and has to (im)patiently wait for the third and final book to release in spring 2025. Once the last book is out in the world, I highly recommend picking up the Chaotic Orbits novellas as a set and reading them in one glorious weekend. You're sure to have an absolute blast. 

OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Stephanie Burgis is a dual citizen of the US and the UK and lives in South Wales (land of dragons) with her husband, the author Patrick Samphire, and their children. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart is Stephanie's first (delicious) novel for Bloombsury.

FORMAT/INFO: Wooing the Witch Queen will be published by Bramble Romance on February 18th, 2024. It is 304 pages long and told in third person from Saskia and Felix's POV. It will be available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS:  When Archduke Felix needs a place to hide from his murderous relatives, he figures there's no place safer than the court of the wicked sorceress Queen Saskia. She's no friend to the empire, has a magical wall around her country to keep out anyone trying to invade, and needs someone to organize her magical library. She also, unfortunately, has murderous feelings about the Archduke, owing to the actions of his regent who's been using Felix as a puppet ruler. So when Queen Saskia mistakes Felix for a dark wizard, he doesn't correct her. But the more time Felix and the Queen spend with each other, the more they begin to fall for each other, until Felix realizes that if his identity is revealed, he's risking not only his life, but his heart as well.

Wooing the Witch Queen is a cozy fantasy romance mixed with a healthy dollop of "fight the patriarchy" energy. Queen Saskia brings a take-no-prisoners attitude to the table, willing and able to incinerate condescending wizards and pretenders to the throne. Of course, much of the "wickedness" ascribed to her comes from her insistence on treating non-humans as equal to humans and her refusal to let any man dictate terms to her (though I suppose her fondness for a crown of bones doesn't help).

On the other side of the pairing is Felix, a cinnamon role of a man fleeing an abusive life. He loves books and fountain pens and the extraordinarily powerful woman that is Queen Saskia. While he's a bit of a tempering influence on Saskia's more murderous inclinations, he also fully supports Saskia in her bold, brash ways.

There's a lot to adore about how this couple comes together. There's the obvious flirtations in the library, bonding over a love of books while hands briefly touch. There's the growing respect for each other as they each see the love and protection the other offers to those around them. And perhaps my favorite part of all, Felix's embracing of a Saskia in all her passionate glory.

And for those wondering about how spicy this one gets, I'd classify it as akin to PG-13. Things are more implied than explicit, everything essentially happening juuuust off page.

The one downside to this novel is that it relies fairly heavily on Queen Saskia overlooking some glaringly obvious clues as to Felix's real identity. There are a couple of moments where the leaps of logic she makes are somewhat baffling. It's the kind of contortions that are somewhat common in romance novels to keep the tension going, but some of the explanations offered were a real stretch.

CONCLUSION: Wooing the Witch Queen is the cozy power fantasy romance I didn't know I needed. It's that classic tale of finding a person who accepts you for who you are. More importantly, it's about a powerful woman finding a man who isn't threatened by her power but instead is wildly attracted to it. I had a delightful time with this tale, and I will definitely be back for the next installment of the Queens of Villainy romance series.

Official Book Blurb: The eternal light keeping demons at bay has been extinguished and Eidyn’s last bastion is under brutal siege. Aranok and his allies draw the final battle lines as the war for the kingdom nears its end. With death threatening from every shadow and truth itself at stake, Eidyn’s defenders must put aside their grudges and come together. But is it possible to save everyone when some prefer the lie?