Twelve
Months by Jim Butcher - Jan 20, 2026
In the battle, Harry lost people he cared about. And that's the kind of loss that takes a toll. Harry being Harry, he’s doing his level best to help the city and his friends recover and rebuild. But it’s a heavy load, and he needs time.
But time is one thing Harry doesn’t have. Ghouls are prowling Chicago and taking out innocent civilians. Harry’s brother is dying, and Harry doesn’t know how to help him. And last but certainly not least, the Winter Queen of the Fae has allied with the White Court of vampires—and Harry’s been betrothed to the seductive, deadly vampire Lara Raith to seal the deal.
It's been a tough year. More than ever, the city needs Harry Dresden the wizard—but after loss and grief, is there enough left of Harry Dresden the man to rise to the challenge?
The Poet Empress by Shen Tao - Jan 20, 2026
Official Blurb: In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.
Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.
Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House. But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.
To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.
Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead by KJ Parker - Jan 27, 2026
Official Blurb: Not even the Church of the Invincible Sun is invincible – and somebody has to do its dirty work. Enter Sister Svangerd and her accompanying priest, both first-rate practitioners. Their mission is simple: to make a meddlesome princess disappear (permanently).
To get to her, they must attend the legendary Ecumenical Council, the once-in-a-century convening of the greatest spiritual minds the world has to offer. But when they arrive, they find instead a den of villainy that would make the most hardened criminal blush.
To complicate matters further, it appears that some people who were definitely grim reapered might be not quite dead after all. What began as a little assassination is about to escalate into a theological debate with terrifying consequences for everyone.
Pendergast: The Beginning by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child - Jan 27, 2026
Official Blurb: It only took six months for the life of Special Agent Dwight Chambers to crumble around him. First, he lost his partner, and then, tragically, his wife. Returning to work at the New Orleans Field Office, Chambers is dismayed to find himself saddled with mentoring a brand new FBI agent—a certain A. X. L. Pendergast. As Chambers tries to pull himself together, his enigmatic and exasperating junior partner pulls an outrageous stunt that gets both of them suspended.
Pendergast welcomes the banishment, because it gives him the opportunity to investigate a peculiar murder in Mississippi that has captured his fancy. Chambers grudgingly goes along. What starts off as a whimsical quest swiftly turns into a terrifying pursuit, as Chambers and Pendergast uncover a string of grisly, ritualistic killings that defy any known serial killer profile.
Thanks in large part to Pendergast’s brilliance and unorthodox methods, they solve the case and find the killer… and that is when the true horror begins.
Vivian Dies Again by Caroline Hulse - Jan 29, 2026
Official Blurb: Time heals all wounds. Except blunt force trauma.
Vivian Slade is a cautionary tale. The wrong side of thirty, she's no longer the life and soul of the party - she's a party of one. But she's determined to turn over a new leaf, even if that means going to a family gathering where everyone hates her.
Turns out, someone really hates her - enough to push her off a balcony to a very messy end. But then Vivian wakes up! Only to be murdered again. And again. Stuck in a baffling time loop, Vivian's only ally is a sleep-deprived waiter who just wants to finish his shift. Will Vivian be able to solve her own murder? Only time will tell...
Hammerfall by Rob J Hayes - Feb 3, 2026
Official Blurb: How long can a cause remain just, when painted in the blood of innocence?
They named her the Starhammer once. Hero to some, monster to many more. First into the breach at the Shattering, anointed in the blood of a thousand demons. The last of the legendary Valkyr.
But the Starhammer is dead. Or so all the stories tell.
Amidst the soaring trees and haunted slopes of the Primals, Selitha relies on the forest to provide, and cares for her family. Nothing is more precious to her than her daughter.
It is a simple life. It is a peaceful life. It is a lie.
When bandits raid the Primals, burning towns and stealing children from their beds, Selitha has no choice but to lend her axe to the rescue.
Volcanic giants spew ash into the sky, demonic bears claw the forest to splinters, and there are even rumours the kin, half-men half-beasts, serve the raiders. All the Terrors of the old world stand against her.
With a severed head as guide, to rescue the children, Selitha may need to bring the Starhammer back from the dead.
But will it be the hero who rises from the grave, or the monster?
Trust No One by James Rollins - Feb 24, 2026
Official Blurb: Knowledge can be magic—until it falls into the wrong hands.
The ritualistic murder of a British professor at the University of Exeter points to a startling cast of suspects: his own students. All are enrolled in a postgraduate program covering the history of witchcraft, folklore, and spiritualism.
All evidence points to Sharyn Karr—an American student. Prior to the professor’s death, he had thrust a centuries-old book upon her. It appears to be the handwritten and encrypted diary of an eighteenth-century mystic and occultist, the Comte de Saint-Germain. The professor begged her to keep the text safe, ending with a warning.
Trust no one.
Such a responsibility forces her into cooperation with Duncan Maxwell, a fellow postgrad and the sixteenth in line to the British Crown. Already, Duncan has proven himself a savant with encryptions. Unfortunately, the pair clash at every level, but they both need one another. Especially when they discover the book’s opening words: Herein lies the secret to my immortality. Come find me, if you dare.
As dark forces close upon the pair, Sharyn and her friends are forced to flee, pursued by law enforcement and hunted by a powerful cabal. In an explosive chase across Europe—from the Tower of London to Parisian chateaus to a fortress in the Italian Alps—Sharyn must learn the true secret hidden in Saint-Germain’s text. It will send her and the others across history and deep into the heart of one of the world’s greatest mysteries, a secret buried at the roots of Western Civilization, a discovery that could topple empires and change humanity forever.
For what lies at the end of Saint-Germain’s diary is as shocking as its opening words.
The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan - Feb 24, 2026
Official Blurb: In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake.
Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel – who takes payment in living hearts – it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down.
Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.
But Gévaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian’s unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian’s arcane activities – not to mention his demonic counterpart – have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war.
The Misheard World by Aliya Whiteley - Feb 24, 2026
Official Blurb: Before wars are won, they must be witnessed.
Elize Janview is a soldier, one of the few survivors of an unimaginably terrible weapon, which ended the long détente between the North and the South and plunged them back into all-out war. She enlisted with a dream of finding those responsible, of somehow getting revenge for the deaths of everyone she knew, but was posted to guard the prison at Crag, the fortress of the South, which has never fallen to the enemy.
Janview’s life is transformed when a rough wooden box is delivered to Crag, holding the performer and spy Marius Mondegreen, agent of the North: the Misheard Word, who can read minds, breathe fire, and make objects appear and disappear. Janview is to witness Mondegreen’s interrogation by his captor, the beautiful and cruel Allynx Syld, who promises the end of the war. As recorder – and by degrees participant – in the interrogation, Janview comes to question everything she knew about the war, and the very world she lives in…
The Library of Amorlin by Kalyn J0sephson - Mar 3, 2026
Official Blurb: Kasira used to be a masterful con artist: choosing her target, building trust, judging the precise moment to make her move. Now, she’s working off a lengthy prison sentence by hunting dangerous magical creatures on behalf of the fanatical kingdom of Kalthos.
But Kasira’s past catches up to her when the ambassador from Kalthos arrives at her camp with a deal: her freedom in exchange for infiltrating and destabilizing the magical institution meant to protect all six kingdoms—the Library of Amorlin.
When Kasira assumes the role of the new Assistant Librarian, she enters an enchanting world brimming with books and beasts, tempting her with a life she can never have. But Kasira’s real future depends on her long con to bring down the Librarian. Unfortunately, Allaster is as prickly as he is handsome, and his monstrous secrets are about to catch up with them both . . .
Entwined by H. M. Long - Mar 10, 2026
Official Blurb: Ottilie Rushforth hides from the mighty Sorcerer’s Guild as secretary to a has-been detective. She is Entwined – threads of magic run beneath her skin, and the Guild would trap her in service.
But Ottilie has a plan to escape the Guild forever with her estranged fiancé, the enigmatic poet, soldier and smuggler Lewis Illing. All she must do is track down a mysterious artefact, claim the bounty, and leave the city forever. But Ottilie's sisters – Pretoria, a quick-witted sorceress and thief recently emerged from exile, and Madge, a guild mage to the core, appear to make equally unwelcome offers. A new life at the cost of everything she has ever wanted, or prestige and safety in a gilded cage.
With her life on the line, Ottilie must track down the artifact in a city torn apart by prejudice and violence, and choose between the two sides of herself – the fugitive and the Entwined.
Aicha by Soraya Bouazzoui - Mar 24, 2026
Official Blurb: The Portuguese empire has planted its flag across Morocco, ruling with an iron fist. But eventually, all empires must fall.
Aicha, the daughter of a Moroccan freedom-fighter, was born for battle. She has witnessed the death of her people, their starvation and torture at the hands of the occupiers, and it has awakened an anger within her. An anger that burns hot and bright and that speaks to Aicha’s soul.
Only Aicha’s secret lover, Rachid, a rebellion leader, knows how to soothe her. But as the fight for Morocco’s freedom reaches its violent climax, the creature that simmers beneath Aicha’s skin begs to be unleashed. It hungers for the screams of those who have caused her pain, and it will not be ignored.
Daughter Of Crows by Mark Lawrence - Mar 24, 2026
Official Blurb: Set a thief to catch a thief. Set a monster to punish monsters.
The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge.
The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws.
Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep.
That was a mistake.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews - Mar 31, 2026
Official Blurb: When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy, and naked in a gutter, it doesn't take her long to recognize Kair Toren, a city she knows intimately from the pages of the famously unfinished dark fantasy series she's been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel.
Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic, and mayhem? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, the setting, and the characters' ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she's coming to love―a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures, and a dangerously appealing soldier.
Soon, instead of trying to get home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes―and attentions―of dueling princes, dukes, and villains, all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the way she knows their stories will end: in a cataclysmic war.
Steel Gods by Richard Swan - Mar 31, 2026
Official Blurb: Industrial Revolution Beckons. Spiritual Catastrophe Looms. And the Empire of the Wolf teeters on the brink.
The true horror of the Great Silence has been revealed. As nation after nation succumbs to the mind-plague and Sova scrambles to enlist help from across the globe, Ambassador Renata Rainer has been given a simple task: save the world. While she travels to the Principality of Casimir to enlist the help of the Empire’s oldest enemy, Lieutenant Peter Kleist returns to the haunted forests of the New East to search for ancient answers—and finally confront the terrible fate that awaits him.
In their wake, a task force of engineers, soldiers, and arcane experts will try and unpick the final secrets of the Great Silence—on both sides of the mortal plane. But time is running out. Count Lamprecht von Oldenburg has returned to the capital, armed with a terrible vision and enough madness to see it through. Those who stand in his way face a simple choice: join the revolution, or die.
As the world tips towards chaos, all paths converge on the Eye of the Sea, where the fabric of reality wears thin—and where the Empire of the Wolf must confront the most terrible enemy it has ever known.
The Detective by Matthew Reilly - Apr 2, 2026
Official Blurb: For 150 years, women have been going missing. And all of the investigators who went in search of them have disappeared, too.
Now Sam Speedman, a most unique private detective, is on the case. Brilliant, direct and disarming, Sam is ... not your average detective. But then again, this isn't your average case. For not even Sam is prepared for the long-buried secrets he will find.
Set in the most isolated corners of the American South, tapping into the dark currents that simmer beneath the surface of the modern United States, Matthew Reilly brings you a detective thriller like no other.
Sarafina by Philip Fracassi - Apr 7, 2026
Official Blurb: Choosing to risk execution rather than be killed in a losing war, three brothers desert their posts and begin a long, arduous journey back home. After weeks of dealing with rough terrain while evading bandits and home guard soldiers—starving, injured, and exhausted—the brothers find a miracle deep in the dark woods. A home.
Living in a remote cabin is a beautiful woman, Sarafina, and her young son, Titus. Sarafina takes the soldiers in, cares for them, feeds them, offers them a place to rest. But the youngest of the brothers is wary—something is not what it seems. After discovering a mysterious creek and a strange underground cavern, he gets a strong sense that the cabin, and the fertile land surrounding it, might be harboring something nefarious, terrifying, and dangerous.
What ensues is a nightmare beyond imagination, an escalation of horrors that the brothers must somehow fight to survive. With tensions high, the country divided, and loyalties put to the test, Sarafina spotlights that Fracassi is a star of modern horror.
First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston - Apr 14, 2026
Official Blurb: Ella Pickering is drowning in debt. Once a Unity skymage trained to make aerial supply runs in the great war with the Ranneas Empire, following a crash she now uses a wheelchair and works gruelling shifts making magical weapons in the Unity workshops, thinking of better days.
One night Ella witnesses an experiment by engineer Jackan Grissom go awry. His device morphs into a crude rocket blasting skywards before falling into the war’s spell-ravaged No Man’s Land. But this inspires a dangerous dream: could such a device reach the moon – the forbidden home of the gods? Could they go and beg them to stop the war?
They will need help, but as more folk get involved in their blasphemous plot, can they keep it under wraps? Can magic get them to the moon? Or will their heresy lead them to the gallows?
Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker - Apr 21, 2026
Official Blurb: October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.
October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window.
One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.
Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it.
Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer - Apr 28, 2026
Official Blurb: Forty years ago, the world nearly ended.
Be is an old robot who was there, and doesn't want to think about what happened, or what role they played in that conflict. They have settled into a life of isolation in the abandoned ruins of an old mill in the former New York Botanical Gardens, disinterested in what has happened in the outside world since they stepped away from the war. Someone out there, though, has not forgotten about them, and when they are attacked, their person vandalized, and one of their legs stolen, they set out to find the thief accompanied by a cyborg dog and a human mechanic.
The world has changed, but the recovery from the war is uneven and faltering, and Be begins to suspect a malicious hand trying to rekindle the old conflict and finish what was started. In order to stop them, Be needs to come to terms with both their own past and who they have become, and how everything and everyone else they knew has changed in their absence. Being left alone is no longer an option, and peace may be impossible.
This is a story about coming to terms with your past, with who you’ve become and who you still want to be: a tale of resilience and hope, an ode to those struggling to become whole in a world half-broken.
A River Red With Blood by John Connolly - May 5, 2026
Official Blurb: The players call it the Game, and its aim is simple: to abduct and kill a stranger without getting caught. They're very good at it. They've been playing it for a long time. And they can keep playing so long as everyone stick to the rules: No Killing Close to Home and No Killing Outside the Game.
But those rules have been broken.
When the drowned body of a troubled teenager is recovered from a river in Maine's Kennebec Valley, and a young woman disappears from a small rural town, they draw the attention of the private investigator named Charlie Parker.
Now Parker will be forced to confront a band of men without morality and without loyalty, not even to one another, in a place where the very darkness is alive.
Because something has emerged from the shadows, something very bad. And it wants revenge.
The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean - May 5, 2026
Official Blurb: When Mercy Chan washed up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, the only place she could find refuge was in the infamous, ghost-infested slum of Kowloon Walled City. Since then, she has rebuilt her life working for the local triad as a ghost-talker and dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt the district. The filthy gutters and cramped alleyways of Kowloon now feel like home.
But the past Mercy can’t remember won’t let her go. An unusually powerful ghost has infested Kowloon’s waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. It claims to know Mercy—and secrets from her past that are best left forgotten.
As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realize that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee - May 5, 2026
Official Blurb: LIVE BY THE CODE. DIE BY THE KNIFE.
Isako is a legendary swordswoman, but every legend must come to an end. When her long-time client unexpectedly retires, she plans to follow—to walk out into the frozen wasteland of their planet with her head held high and her family enriched by her death. But when she's offered a final mission, she can't refuse, especially when she realizes who lies at the center of it all: Martim, her last—and worst—apprentice, who's somehow made his way to the top. As she's thrust into a world of corporate espionage and shadowy secrets, what she uncovers could forever change humanity's existence among the stars.
The Last Contract of Isako is epic science fiction like only Fonda Lee can write it—set in a world where money trumps loyalty, the elite have the power to extend life or end it, and one woman in the twilight of her calling must decide what's ultimately worth living—or dying—for.
Sisters of the Lizard by Jackson Ford - May 5, 2026
Official Blurb: All Sayana wanted was to enjoy her life in the rolling grasslands of the Tapestry. After she and her fellow Rakada managed to ride humongous, fire-breathing lizards to face down the Great Khan’s army, they should have been able to kick back a little for once. Not too much to ask, right?
Instead, the Tapestry is in turmoil – invading armies threaten, the other raider clans are at war, and inside his fortress city of Karkorum, the Khan broods and plots. What’s more, the Rakada’s giant lizards are getting sick, and they have no idea how to cure them. If they die, there's no telling what might happen to the Tapestry.
But then the Rakada receive a vision – apparently from the gods. A deep emerald pool surrounded by bone-white sands – one that may be able to heal their lizards. With no other option, the raiders set out on an epic quest across the mountains and into the desert.
But the danger that awaits them will be one greater than they’ve ever faced before. These guys really can’t catch a break.
Cold Wind by Andrew Givler – May 5, 2026
Official Blurb: Lost and forgotten, Castor is a prisoner of the very Iron Empire he once served.
Thought of as a common criminal, Castor guards his dangerous secret—that he has bound a second Symbol—with his life. If the Censors knew, they’d execute him on the spot.
There is only one path to freedom and avenging his family. He must earn it no longer as a member of the Iron Legions, but by spilling blood for one of the great Houses.
The dead gods stir in their rotting slumber. Dangerous enemies stalk his new master. Surrounded on all sides, Castor must learn the secrets of his Cor Heart and reach new heights of power before it is too late.
And in the wake of his Ascent comes the first sign of change – A COLD WIND.
Outlaw by Jim Butcher - May 12, 2026
Official Blurb: In a city that’s just beginning to recover from the devastation caused by the Battle of Chicago, Harry Dresden is finally pulling himself together as well. He''s ensconced in his own personal castle, healing his various wounds and training an eager new apprentice. The last thing he wants is any trouble. But, as history has consistently—and quite annoyingly—shown, what Harry wants is rarely what Harry gets.
It starts with a visit from Harry’s most powerful frenemy, Gentleman John Marcone, Baron of Chicago. He needs Harry to assist in the redemption of an underling who’s looking to go straight. And since Harry does kinda sorta owe Marcone for saving his life once (stupid honorable debt!), it’s not a request he can refuse. He’ll just wish he had.
Because this little favor is going to drag Harry into a fight he doesn’t want on behalf of a lowlife he doesn’t trust against an enemy more powerful and pestilent than he ever could’ve expected: an insatiable, demonic foe whom Harry himself may have created when he wiped out the vampires of the Red Court so long ago.
Before, all it wanted was blood. Now it wants the entire world . . .
Mortedant's Peril by RJ Barker - May 19, 2026
Official Blurb: Irody can speak to the dead. But the living want him silenced.
Mortedants can speak to the dead – and Irody Hasp is the greatest of them. Not that they’ll admit it. And not that anyone actually likes the Mortedants, or Irody in particular.
Nonetheless, Elbay is a city of tradition, and tradition calls for Mortedants to attend a death. But when Irody reads the corpse of a low-level worker, he’s dragged into a conspiracy that will see those closest to him murdered and Irody framed for the crime, the eyes of the city’s guilds, nobles and villains all fixed on him.
With only days to prove his innocence before his execution, Irody is forced to work with unlikely and unwanted allies: a street urchin and a hulking, inhuman mercenary from the sea people’s city of Oknosuka. With danger and death lurking round every corner, and trust a luxury, Irody is running out of time. He must save himself and his friends as well as Elbay – the magnificent, terrifying, complicated city that he loves. Or darkness will fall on them all.
The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty - May 19, 2026
Official Blurb: Amina al-Sirafi thinks she’s struck gold. Tasked with hunting down magical artifacts for the council of immortal peris, she can savour the occasional adventure on the high seas with her cherished criminal companions while still returning home to raise her beloved daughter.
But when Raksh, the spirit of discord with whom she is reluctantly wed, provokes the council’s wrath, Amina is charged with a seemingly impossible quest: steal a spindle capable of rewriting fate from a mysterious sorceress on an island no one can escape.
Forced to leave her daughter, Amina finds her mission almost immediately thrown into peril. But deadly storms, an erratic poison mistress, and old enemies are the least of her worries. For the peris’ story is unravelling, hinting at a far deadlier game whose rules Amina must swiftly puzzle out. A game that sets her against an adversary more cunning and powerful than she has ever faced.
A game that not everyone on her crew wants her to win.
Sister Svangerd and the Devil You Know by KJ Parker - May 26, 2026
BLURB TO BE REVEALED LATER
The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden - Jun 2, 2026
Official Blurb: Anne of Brittany was a child when her land was invaded, her castle besieged, and her royal father driven to his death.
Now Brittany is occupied by her enemies, her treasury empty, and only one thing is lacking to complete her realm’s subjugation: she is required, on pain of the sword, to marry the King of France.
But Anne cannot. She has promised her dead father that Brittany would never be conquered. Defiantly, she betroths herself in secret to France’s greatest enemy. But in a world where courts may spy on each other by magic, there is only one way to solemnize this illicit union.
Under the guise of a hunting party, Anne takes her court deep into a deep forest, a strange place dogged with rumours of ancient enchantments; a place where diviners cannot see. She tells the French that she had gone there to hunt unicorns.
It’s a ruse, a lie, a feint.
But when, against all expectations, a unicorn does appear and a wounded stranger stumbles from the trees and falls at her feet, Anne is plunged into a world of enchantment where a doomed sovereign might find the power to change the destiny of her nation - or be lost in the mist for ever.
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett - Jun 9, 2026
Official Blurb: In the canton of Sapirdad, two of the Empire’s most powerful families are moments away from going to war with each other, their hundreds of retainers gathered with swords drawn. If blood is spilled, the whole of the empire may be plunged into starvation and chaos.
To deescalate matters, someone must do the impossible: prove that one family’s eldest son is innocent of a gruesome and unforgivable murder, despite the incontrovertible evidence against him.
It is with this undertaking that the great detective Ana Dolabra is tasked, her assistant Din at her side—and the two find themselves racing with great speed and little dignity to the scene.
As ever, the impossible proves little obstacle for the deadly combination of Ana’s intellect and Din’s keen eye, and mere hours after riding into the dusty town, Ana glimpses the greater pattern behind the crime. A deeper, subtler web of death is being woven in plain sight, by a mastermind with an ancient magical technology at his disposal.
But even Ana's uncanny insight is of little use when each new suspect she uncovers ends up dead--with each new killing calculated to bring tensions between the two rival clans past the boiling point. And as Din pursues their adversary through the canton's wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses, he finds his loyalties divided in unexpected ways.
Inkpot Gods by Seanan McGuire - Jun 9, 2026
Official Blurb: The gods live and die at our whim.
More than a century has passed since Asphodel Baker refined the process allowing her to imbue alchemically created life with power in a way no one else had ever been able to achieve. More than a century since she built the Impossible City on the ruins of Olympus, forging it from nothing more than imagination and spite, and penned it in plain view, enabling it to be read and cherished and believed by children the world over.
And now, so long after her exit from the world, the descendants of her dark alchemy—who exist in a reality that inches ever closer to the hellscape of her imagination—step into a place of birth, of discovery, of horror, to make amends for the sins of the past.
Can the gods of today defeat the evils of their maker, or will the legacy of the most powerful alchemist the world has ever known prove to be their undoing?
The Tinder Box by M R Carey - Jun 23, 2026
Official Blurb: In a kingdom forgotten by history, a legend unfolds . . .
Wounded in his county's endless wars, former soldier Mag Tresti finds work in the home of a reclusive widow, Jannae Mirchella. But Jannae is more than she seems. A witch of great skill and might, she hides her powers and her deep-laid plans behind a mask of harmless respectability.
When a dead demon falls out of the sky, the fates of the soldier and the witch are irrevocably intertwined. On the demon's body Mag finds a tinderbox - an artefact of terrifying magical power that can not only grant his every wish, but also change the fate of nations.
This is a tale of spellcraft and devilry, of witchcraft and trickery - of the wickedness that resides within a few, the goodness that lies deep within us all, and the choices on which our lives turn.
The Harpy Knight by Sara Omer - Jul 28, 2026
Official Blurb: With Bataar's campaign to conquer Dumakra victorious, he turns his eyes to Aglea in the north, where pagan berserkers rule over inhospitable marshes and ritualistically butcher unicorns. Prince Nassar and his entourage have also fled to Aglea to rally his supporters—taking the ghoulish variant of vermilrot they unearthed from the abandoned depths of Anhabar with them.
Nohra and Bataar are soon to be married. Nohra has not forgiven the rhah's sins against Kalafar or her family, but her thirst for vengeance wars with her feelings for Qaira. Bataar's supernatural gifts are increasingly powerful, and his hold on Dumakra more secure by the day. Serving him is now the only path Nohra can see that ends with her younger brother one day restored to Kalafar's throne.
The power struggle between Bataar and Nassar fast becomes a swirling conflict of religions and gods: the Agleans revere Darya for her demonic powers; Nohra and Qaira are heralded as the two manifestations of Dumakra's Goddess; and Bataar is the walking embodiment of his people's Preeminent spirit. In this febrile atmosphere, the ghoul sickness is spreading rapidly, and monsters continue to encroach on human towns, causing violence and dismay.
The war, and the world, hang in the balance. Just one wrong move could tip everything into chaos.
The Infinite State by Richard Swan - Aug 4, 2026
Official Blurb: THE INFINITE STATE begins at a flashpoint in the lives of a widowed party member, a disgraced investigator, and a hypersled pilot—entangled in a plot to escape the suffocating authority of a fascist state.
WHO GIVES YOU LIFE?
PATER AETERNUS.
Katherine Fuller’s husband is dead. As an esteemed member of Pater Aeternus—governing party of the fascist, galaxy-spanning Decurion Empire—he has left behind an estate of immeasurable wealth. And Katherine is going to inherit it.
WHO GIVES YOU PURPOSE?
PATER AETERNUS.
Life under the Eternal Father is rigidly stratified, surveilled, and controlled—each new day to be endured, not lived. But with Katherine’s newfound fortune, she is presented with a rare and dangerous opportunity: purchase a virgin world, and create a better, fairer society.
WHO GIVES YOU JOY?
PATER AETERNUS.
But the Empire cannot allow its wayward daughter to succeed. And as Katherine works in secret, recruiting allies she's not even sure she can trust, she will discover exactly how far Pater Aeternus is willing to go to stop her. Because Katherine is going to create something nobody has seen for many years.
A democracy.
The Dungeon Book by Gareth Hanrahan - Aug 11, 2026
Official Blurb: Enter a world of dungeons and dragons, magic and manticores, and goblins and gargoyles . . .
Bait doesn't remember a time before the dungeon. Before the dragon stole her from her cot. She doesn't know what her name was before she was handed over to the monstrous denizens of the dungeon beneath the sorcerer's tower. Luckily for Bait, they decided not to eat her. And so she grew up in the dark – the goblins her adopted family, a vengeful minotaur her protector, a sentient skull her tutor, and a blob of corridor slime her main source of nutrition.
But the labyrinthine dungeon, with its haunted halls, buried temples and forgotten magics, draws treasure hunters like moths to flame. And as the outside world starts to intrude, Bait will learn what it means to be monstrous and she will have to decide where she truly belongs.
The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig - Sep 1, 2026
Official Blurb: Aisling Cathedral is in ruins. Rodrick Myndacious, Bartholomew, and Maude Bauer are rumored to be dead—and the king has taken Sybil Delling as his bride. To show off their union and solidify his power over Traum, Benji proposes a series of tournaments throughout the hamlets. Captive and drugged, Sybil remains determined to vanquish him as she once did the Omens, even if she destroys the kingdom’s faith—and herself—in the process.
But then a mysterious knave rises to the top of the tournament lists, a man with no name and no memory who may just be Sybil'''s ticket to undoing Benji’s power. For in a land where stories repeat themselves, where a king can prove as cruel as a god, the only way to truly destroy the Stonewater Kingdom’s faith is to save it.
Blacktail by Scott Hawkins - Sep 1, 2026
Official Blurb: The wolf Blacktail is faithful to his Forest God, but in these times, faith is not enough. His world is besieged by men. Soon his territory will be overrun, and then there will be nowhere left to go. When his mate, a house dog, is killed, Blacktail rebels. He invades the house of her owners, seeking vengeance.
Blacktail’s fury catches the notice of an ancient and terrible feline witch, who makes an offer. What if Blacktail could end the human race responsible for the death of his family and for the destruction of the natural world, altogether? To do so, Blacktail must find and wake the Forest God. Only He might stand against the plague of men. Blacktail knows that his north woods are dwindling to nothing. He sees no other choice.
As Blacktail journeys farther from his wild home and deeper into the world of man, he encounters strangers—animal, mortal, and otherworldly—who, for their own reasons, want to help Blacktail rid the world of humans. Along the way, it becomes clear that he is more than just a wolf. The Forest God is sleeping, yes. But what will be the price of waking him?
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mendel - Sep 15, 2026
Official Blurb: Los Angeles, 2031: The first spring after the collapse of the United States, peacekeeping troops withdraw from the city, the Jacaranda trees blossom, and the curfew is finally lifted. Ari Waker and her roommate pass the gauntlet of bomb-sniffing dogs, the shanty towns, and the Red Cross tents as they walk across Silverlake to a party. The mood is ecstatic inside the apartment, people drink and dance, a woman wears a silver dress, pleated like tinfoil. And then: A shift. A bewildered twin, an uncanny doppelganger stumbles through the crowd and out into the night, and Kareem, the party’s host, vanishes into thin air.
As Ari Waker unravels the mystery of this inexplicable night, Emily St. John Mandel unfurls a story that takes us from a future America splintered by civil war to the seaside cliffs of Greece where weapons dealers hide in an elegant resort, and from the domed city of Paris to a colony on the moon. An unforgettable literary feat, Exit Party is a novel about the price of safety, the perils of the surveillance state, a requiem for a world not unlike our own, and a breathtaking story of resilience in the face of cataclysmic change.
Incarnate by Alma Katsu - Sep 22, 2026
Official Blurb: Beauty doesn’t fade. It feeds.
Marion Wagner has spent her whole life wanting nothing more than to be seen. But after failing to make her mark (any mark, really) as an influencer, she takes a job at a company focused on cutting-edge deepfake technology. And there, in secret, is where creates her salvation.
Isabella. An impossibly gorgeous girl who takes social media by storm. Marion’s code is brilliant, and Isabella seems real. So real that she garners millions of followers. Brands beg to partner with her. Everyone wants to meet her IRL. The adoration—and the cash—flows in. Marion is finally happy. She's getting all the attention she ever wanted—isn't she?
Then the cracks begin to show. Marion can barely stay ahead of the partnership requests, and love letters and the rabid fans filling her DMs trying to track Isabella down. All this time working in secret with all this pressure is getting to Marion—she can’t tell where she ends, and her creation begins. And when someone gets a little too close to her secret, a violent confrontation sends Marion on the run, forcing her to confront what she’s willing to sacrifice to keep her secrets.
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt - Sep 29, 2026
Official Blurb: One rainy night on a first date, Luke Oshel’s new crush never comes back from the restroom. But she leaves an old photograph under her napkin―Luke as a child, a dead body in the shadows of his bedroom, and a terrifying masked man. He has no recollection of this event.
Then more photos disrupt his life���Luke posing with murder victims, covered in blood―and he falls back into the deep paranoia and repressed memories he’s tried to leave behind. All the drugs and alcohol, therapy, and hypnosis sessions have never conquered his deepest fear��that he hasn'''t escaped the hidden legacy of his father, who killed his victims by exsanguination before his own death. But now there is a new string of serial killings, and the evidence all points to Luke.
As his journey to uncover the truth unfolds in the North Georgia Appalachians, a threat arises that will risk everything he holds close, including his ex-wife and their young daughter. Now Luke must chase his father’s darkness through a centuries-old secret and learn what monsters truly are. And decide if he’s one of them.
The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo - Oct 6, 2026
Official Blurb: Judith Ban – convent girl, courtesan, and failed thief – is looking for her next identity. She’s no stranger to wealth or danger, but the glitter of New York’s Gilded Age hides a darkness even she has never imagined. Here, the city’s elite maintain their grip through opulent balls, whispered rituals, and marriages with demons hungry for human devotion.
When she crosses paths with the formidable matriarch of the Howard family, Judith is offered an irresistible bargain: to take the place of a missing debutante in the coming season. With Miss Iphigenia Marshall’s face stitched over her own, Judith becomes white, rich, and ready to risk it all. If she can hold onto her charm, her wits, and her life, her reward will be a husband with undreamt-of power.
But in a world ruled by appetite and ambition, the most dangerous hunger of all might be her own.
The Splintered Sun by Tad Williams - Oct 6, 2026
Unofficial Summary: From the much-loved, Sunday Times bestselling author comes a thrilling new tale set in the legendary world of Osten Ard. This fast-moving adventure follows bandit and chieftain Flann Alderwood - a mythic, swashbuckling figure whose name is whispered across the realm-and his band of misfit rebels as they navigate a kingdom menaced by dark sorcery and war.
With the old King of Hernystir's health failing, warlords carve up the land and rival factions clash over the rightful heir. Into this chaos steps Flann, joined by allies both noble and common, to help the King's one legitimate heir claim his father's blessing and restore stability. But enemies, human and inhuman, stalk their every move, determined to end Flann's quest before it begins.
Packed with action, unforgettable characters, and the sweeping imagination that has made Tad Williams one of fantasy's most beloved voices, this is Osten Ard as you've never seen it before.
The Thrice-Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman - Oct 13, 2026
Official Blurb: Professional thief and inveterate trickster Kinch Na Shannack has always enjoyed a good book. But now his life, and the future of all of Manreach, depends on him deciphering a very bad book indeed; a stolen, sentient tome that tries to kill him every time he opens it-and often when it's closed.
Galva, veteran of the goblin wars and death's sworn handmaiden, has vowed to protect Kinch while he mines the book for its dark magic and even darker secrets. She does so not for Kinch's sake-though the cheeky bastard is growing on her-but because the book is the key to stopping the shadowy tyrants out to kill the queen she serves, and loves.
The ruthless, all-seeing Taker's Guild dogs their every step, and thief and knight must flee the known world entirely if they hope to succeed in their mission. But trouble finds Kinch wherever he goes, and the pair may have traded the devil they know for horrors far darker and hungrier as they enter lands unknown.
Other Forthcoming titles currently without any covers or blurbs:
- The 5th & final volume of TEAR DOWN HEAVEN by Rachel Aaron
- The next DANIEL FAUST/HARMONY BLACK/CASTAWAYS/NEON MERIDIAN book by Craig Schaefer
- The Third Volume of the SHARDED FEW Saga by Alec Hutson
- The War Of Woves by John Gwynne
- A new SF book by James Islington
- The Ashen Viper by Joseph John Lee
- Any new release by Dyrk Ashton, Michael R. Fletcher, Brian Staveley, Gourav Mohanty, RR Virdi, Ben Galley and Richard Nell
- Jay Kristoff's new series which will be a mix of Inglorious Bastards & Game Of Thrones
As soon as we hear more, we will be shouting about any of the aforementioned titles and other new titles....
12:00 AM | 
Posted by
The Reader |
Labels:
SPFBO Champions' League has found its winner. The Sword of Kaigen took the first place by a comfortable margin. Using a simple Borda-style aggregation (1st = 10 pts … 10th = 1 pt) the results were as follows:
- The Sword of Kaigen (89/100)
- Orconomics (77/100)
- By Blood, By Salt (73/100)
- Small Miracles (61/100)
- The Lost War (54/100)
- The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids (48/100)
- Murder at Spindle Manor (45/100)
- Gray Bastards (43/100)
- Where Loyalties Lie (33/100)
- Reign & Ruin (29/100)
Here are the score results each finalist got (yearly SPFBO are rated) in the year they won:
- The Grey Bastards 8.65
- The Sword of Kaigen 8.65
- Orconomics 8.65
- Small Miracles 8.65
- The Lost War 8.35
- Where Loyalties Lie 8.10
- The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids 8.00
- Murder at Spindle Manor 7.85
- Reign & Ruin 7.70
- By Blood, By Salt 7.70
As you see, the results don't align very well. Let's play with data and try to get some insights.
The Sword of Kaigen never placed dead last and appeared in the top 2 for 5 judges. It’s also one of only two books (Kaigen and By Blood, By Salt) that multiple judges ranked #1. Crucially, it avoids the “love it / hate it” split that drags down other entries. While it's not universally considered best, it's almost universally respected.
It seems the real race was for second place, where Orconomics beat By Blood, By Salt. Orconomics rarely won outright but almost never crashed. It was rarely anyone’s favorite, but almost never disliked and lived comfortably in the 2-6 range.
By Blood, By Salt peaked higher (more #1s) but also hit several bottom placements, which hurted its aggregate. In other words, polarization hurted it. It was the most divisive pick with multiple #1s and multiple bottom-3 placements. Judges either connected hard or bounced off completely.
Speaking of polarization, it hurted more books:
- Reign & Ruin: regularly bottom 3, almost never top 3.
- Where Loyalties Lie: multiple 10th-place finishes killed its chances despite some mid-tier love.
- Gray Bastards: scattered placements with no strong center of gravity.
- Meanwhile, Small Miracles benefited from mid-to-high consistency, landing a solid 4th without dominating anyone’s list.
- The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids won outright for some judges, but crushed near the bottom for others. Clearly, it hit some judges' preferences hard, but lacked broader appeal.
I found it fascinating that historical high scores don't align with the results of Champions' League. Four books tied at 8.65, yet they aged very differently. Now, it's good to emphasize that SPFBO Champions' League asks different question than any SPFBO finals. SPFBO scoring tries to answer the question “How good is this?” whereas ranking asks “Would you pick this over that?”. With that in mind, it's still fun to try to answer this question.
Gray Bastards scored 8.65 historically, got a deal from Orbit and was traditionally published. And yet, it dropped to 8th in the Champions' League. There are many reasons, but I think the most important one is that SPFBO began in dark fantasy/grimdark-adjacent circles, and it shows. The first few winners were on the darker side of the fantasy. With time and new judges with a wide variety of tastes, the scores in the finals generally dropped and it became trickier to find a clear winner. Gray Bastards didn't got worse, but the audience and its tastes changed. The same is true for Where Loyalties Lie.
By Blood, By Salt's final results is the most striking reversal: despite lowest historical score for SPFBO winner (7.70) it won 3rd place in Champions' League. And frankly, I have no explanation for this except for the fact that it may appeal to more craft-focused and detail oriented readers but irk those craving more action, here and now (that was my case). Objectively, it's a well-written book and, clearly, many readers adore it.
Anyway, it seems that early SPFBO scoring rewarded excellence within a narrow subgenre and technical success at executing a specific and rather dark vibe. With time we saw the shift of preference toward cross-genre literacy, emotional accessibility and structural clarity.
If SPFBO winners were decided by collective critical consensus, The Sword of Kaigen still wins. And while I know there are readers who don't understand its phenomenon, they're clearly in the minority. With almost 90 000 GR ratings (still growing) The Sword of Kaigen is one of the most successful fantasy-adjacent books of the last decade.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cameron Johnston is a Scottish writer of fantasy and lives in the city of Glasgow in Scotland. He is a member of the Glasgow Science Fiction Writers' Circle, loves archaeology and mythology, enjoys exploring ancient sites and camping out under the stars.
Publisher: Angry Robot (August 13, 2024) Length: 386 Formats: audiobook, ebook, paperback
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael R. Fletcher is a science fiction and fantasy author, a grilled cheese aficionado, and a whiskey-swilling reprobate. He spends his days choreographing his forklift musical (titled "Get Forked"), and using caffeine as a substitute for sanity. Any suggestions that he is actually Dyrk Ashton in disguise are all lies.
Publisher: Michael R. Fletcher (December 15, 2025) Page count: 295 pages Formats: ebook, paperback
Read a review of book one, The Serpent and the Wolf
FORMAT/INFO: The Wicked and the Damned will be published on February 24th, 2026 by Saga Press. It is 416 pages long and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook..
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Forced to return home to spare the ones she loves, Vaasa finds herself in dire straits. Her marriage to Reid has been annulled, her magic is no longer hers to use, and a hostage keeps her acting like a demure heiress, nothing more than a figurehead. But Vaasa is done being used. She may act like a damsel in public, but she will do whatever it takes to reclaim her power and return to the man she loves - even if that means manipulating an old flame.
The Wicked and the Damned is a stellar sequel that brings a more focused plot, a calculating heroine, and tense stakes. While I enjoyed the first book, The Serpent and the Wolf, there were times where I felt like the plot was a bit all over the place, and the political maneuvering lacking. I’m happy to report that the sequel has a much more streamlined, cohesive storyline that isn’t trying to do too much in one go. I was far more engaged overall and loved watching Vaasa work.
The author does a great job of balancing two sides to Vaasa. On the one hand, she is conniving and proactive, determined to rescue herself and to use any tool at her disposal to do so. If that means emotionally manipulating the men around her, so be it. After all, they only see her as a stepping stone to the ultimate prize: the throne. Vaasa is on the knife’s edge of trying to convince multiple men that she only has eyes for them, well aware that if they suspect she’s betraying them, they’ll turn on her in a heartbeat.
On the other hand, Vaasa is also forced to encounter reminders of her traumatic past, which sometimes absolutely cripples her. While these scenes make her vulnerable, they never make her fully passive. She understands that she has to take her fate in her hands if she is to survive, and that means that eventually, she'll have to find a way to cope with her trauma.
While I did love the tense stakes and the manipulative use of courtship politics, I do admit this comes a bit at the expense of the romance. Reid, by necessity, doesn’t have as much to do in this book, though he is most definitely a man on a mission to get back to the side of his woman. And when the two ARE reunited, it is every bit as sweet as you would hope.
The Wicked and the Damned succeeds at bringing a tense and engaging story, with magical secrets, intrigue, and a tense negotiation of allies. I was thoroughly hooked from start to finish and absolutely cannot wait for the trilogy finale.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Forced to return home to spare the ones she loves, Vaasa finds herself in dire straits. Her marriage to Reid has been annulled, her magic is no longer hers to use, and a hostage keeps her acting like a demure heiress, nothing more than a figurehead. But Vaasa is done being used. She may act like a damsel in public, but she will do whatever it takes to reclaim her power and return to the man she loves - even if that means manipulating an old flame.
The Wicked and the Damned is a stellar sequel that brings a more focused plot, a calculating heroine, and tense stakes. While I enjoyed the first book, The Serpent and the Wolf, there were times where I felt like the plot was a bit all over the place, and the political maneuvering lacking. I’m happy to report that the sequel has a much more streamlined, cohesive storyline that isn’t trying to do too much in one go. I was far more engaged overall and loved watching Vaasa work.
The author does a great job of balancing two sides to Vaasa. On the one hand, she is conniving and proactive, determined to rescue herself and to use any tool at her disposal to do so. If that means emotionally manipulating the men around her, so be it. After all, they only see her as a stepping stone to the ultimate prize: the throne. Vaasa is on the knife’s edge of trying to convince multiple men that she only has eyes for them, well aware that if they suspect she’s betraying them, they’ll turn on her in a heartbeat.
On the other hand, Vaasa is also forced to encounter reminders of her traumatic past, which sometimes absolutely cripples her. While these scenes make her vulnerable, they never make her fully passive. She understands that she has to take her fate in her hands if she is to survive, and that means that eventually, she'll have to find a way to cope with her trauma.
While I did love the tense stakes and the manipulative use of courtship politics, I do admit this comes a bit at the expense of the romance. Reid, by necessity, doesn’t have as much to do in this book, though he is most definitely a man on a mission to get back to the side of his woman. And when the two ARE reunited, it is every bit as sweet as you would hope.
The Wicked and the Damned succeeds at bringing a tense and engaging story, with magical secrets, intrigue, and a tense negotiation of allies. I was thoroughly hooked from start to finish and absolutely cannot wait for the trilogy finale.
I picked up The Women of Wild Hill on audio, and that turned out to be the right call. The narration smooths over some structural bumps and makes things more entertaining. We get multiple timelines, a long family history, and a present-day plot built more on mood and reckoning than on action.
Wild Hill is a place where power pools, and the Duncan women have been shaped by it for generations. When Brigid, Phoebe, and Sybil are called back, it isn’t a cozy homecoming. They're not exactly a poster family. Heck, they're barely on speaking terms.
The characters are the novel’s greatest strength. Brigid, Phoebe, and Sybil are three-dimensional and emotionally distinct. In contrast, many of the men are villains, exploiters, or smug enablers. That feels intentional, by the way. This is an angry book about the damage men in power have done to women, to the planet, to history itself. Subtlety is not the goal, and fairness isn’t either.
Structurally, the novel jumps often into the past, telling the stories of earlier Duncan witches. These sections are interesting but they come at a cost. The constant time-hopping kills momentum in the present-day plot. Just when things start to move, the narrative detours again. Still, those historical chapters stand well on their own. They’re grim, clever, and often more focused than the main storyline.
The present-day arc builds slowly and resolves quickly. The ending feels compressed after such a long setup, which is frustrating, but not fatal. Anyway, the present-day plot revolves around reunion of the witches and its purpose. Brigid and Phoebe return after decades of estrangement, and Sybil (Phoebe's daughter) arrives without the full truth of who she is or what she might become. Then there is the Old One, a furious, ancient force that has decided powerful men has pushed the world too far. Climate collapse and systemic abuse are the reason things get into motion.
This isn’t a perfect book. It’s uneven, occasionally indulgent, and very pointed in its politics. But it’s also confident, character-driven, and unapologetic about its anger. And thanks to the audiobook format, it’s easy to stay engaged even when the pacing wobbles.
In short it's a good character-driven story.
Friday, December 12, 2025
Book review: Goddess from the Machine: A Prequel to the Ark Saga Daniel Rodrigues-Martin
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Daniel Rodrigues-Martin began writing in 2004. Since then, he's become the author of books, articles, essays, shorts, scripts, poems, a master’s thesis, and countless rants. His debut novel, GODDESS FROM THE MACHINE earned a Kirkus Star, and is available from most major sellers.
Publisher: Daniel Rodrigues-Martin (March 26, 2025) Length: 528 pages Formats: audiobook, ebook
Buy The Poet Empress
FORMAT/INFO: The Poet Empress will be published by Bramble on January 20th, 2026. It is 400 pages long and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: To save her family and her village from starvation, Wei will do anything - including offering herself as a consort to the cruel Prince Terran. But upon arriving at the palace, it becomes clear that the fate of more than just her village is at stake. A succession crisis threatens to tear the country apart, and if Prince Terran is victorious, he will bring only more war and suffering to the land. Determined to protect her people, Wei begins to learn to read and write - skills forbidden to women - so that she can craft a spell to kill the prince, despite his magical protections. But for such a spell to work, Wei must find the words to capture the truth of the prince and how he was shaped into the monster he is today.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: To save her family and her village from starvation, Wei will do anything - including offering herself as a consort to the cruel Prince Terran. But upon arriving at the palace, it becomes clear that the fate of more than just her village is at stake. A succession crisis threatens to tear the country apart, and if Prince Terran is victorious, he will bring only more war and suffering to the land. Determined to protect her people, Wei begins to learn to read and write - skills forbidden to women - so that she can craft a spell to kill the prince, despite his magical protections. But for such a spell to work, Wei must find the words to capture the truth of the prince and how he was shaped into the monster he is today.
The Poet Empress is a dark tale of quests for power that walks the line of finding empathy for damaged people without absolving them of their own actions. I want to say off the top that I find it odd that this is being published by a romance imprint, as it doesn't fit any of the usual hallmarks of a romance story. This is a fantasy tale that examines the relationships that drive our lives, including the love between brothers. But this is not a tale with a happily ever after, nor a sweeping love story.
I also want to note that this book does deal with dark themes and actions, but it is not an explicit book. Any sex scenes happen off-page or are described vaguely in terms like "the childmaking act." There are still elements in the plot that are dark and disturbing (check the content warnings at the front of the book), but you will not be subjected to overly detailed descriptions of violent assaults or encounter any broader explicit sex scenes.
So if The Poet Empress isn't a romance, what is it? It is a court drama mixed with a dash of mystery. In order to do anything in her new home, Wei has to survive, and to do that, she needs power. But in her quest for power, will she lose her own moral compass? It's the dilemma Wei has to reckon with as she shapes what kind of consort she will be. Is violence the only way to earn respect or is there another way? Wei is offered no easy solutions, and is often forced into split-second decisions to survive yet another plot to kill or discredit her. I love games of social chess, where people are trying to trap each other through societal rules and clever words, and The Poet Empress delivered.
At the same time Wei is grappling with court politics, she is also trying to craft a poetry spell to kill Prince Terren, and for the spell to work, she has to be able to capture the truth of him in verse. This is where the mystery element comes in: how did Terren go from a timid but friendly child to the cruel despot he is today? Wei has to get the story of Terren's life from multiple people, as each one only has one part of the story. While one person can report on an incident in Terren's life, it's only by speaking to someone else that Wei can get the context and motivations for Terren's actions. I enjoyed the slow unraveling of the prince's life, to have the pieces click into place as we begin to understand what drives not only him, but the other people in Terren's life.
Even while enjoying this exploration of Terren, I was worried that this story would end up hand-waving away the prince's horrific acts because of the trauma in his life. Thankfully, while this tale gives us empathy for the struggles a person can secretly be going through, it still holds them accountable for their actions. As Wei points out, people endure great suffering all the time without becoming monsters themselves.
As for Wei herself, she is great to watch and a complicated character. While she comes to the palace as part of a selfless act, she isn't above being petty and vindictive. As she grows from naive farm girl to calculating consort, she relishes the fear she can instill in others. She goes on her own journey of how far she will go to amass power and what she will use that power for.
The Poet Empress is an intriguing tale of power, the fate of nations, and the secret pains we keep from the world. It's a tale of haves and have nots, about how common folk are left to suffer because those in power are too busy trying to protect their own legacy. And while it's not a romance, it's certainly about how the relationships in your life can define you for both good and for ill.
I also want to note that this book does deal with dark themes and actions, but it is not an explicit book. Any sex scenes happen off-page or are described vaguely in terms like "the childmaking act." There are still elements in the plot that are dark and disturbing (check the content warnings at the front of the book), but you will not be subjected to overly detailed descriptions of violent assaults or encounter any broader explicit sex scenes.
So if The Poet Empress isn't a romance, what is it? It is a court drama mixed with a dash of mystery. In order to do anything in her new home, Wei has to survive, and to do that, she needs power. But in her quest for power, will she lose her own moral compass? It's the dilemma Wei has to reckon with as she shapes what kind of consort she will be. Is violence the only way to earn respect or is there another way? Wei is offered no easy solutions, and is often forced into split-second decisions to survive yet another plot to kill or discredit her. I love games of social chess, where people are trying to trap each other through societal rules and clever words, and The Poet Empress delivered.
At the same time Wei is grappling with court politics, she is also trying to craft a poetry spell to kill Prince Terren, and for the spell to work, she has to be able to capture the truth of him in verse. This is where the mystery element comes in: how did Terren go from a timid but friendly child to the cruel despot he is today? Wei has to get the story of Terren's life from multiple people, as each one only has one part of the story. While one person can report on an incident in Terren's life, it's only by speaking to someone else that Wei can get the context and motivations for Terren's actions. I enjoyed the slow unraveling of the prince's life, to have the pieces click into place as we begin to understand what drives not only him, but the other people in Terren's life.
Even while enjoying this exploration of Terren, I was worried that this story would end up hand-waving away the prince's horrific acts because of the trauma in his life. Thankfully, while this tale gives us empathy for the struggles a person can secretly be going through, it still holds them accountable for their actions. As Wei points out, people endure great suffering all the time without becoming monsters themselves.
As for Wei herself, she is great to watch and a complicated character. While she comes to the palace as part of a selfless act, she isn't above being petty and vindictive. As she grows from naive farm girl to calculating consort, she relishes the fear she can instill in others. She goes on her own journey of how far she will go to amass power and what she will use that power for.
The Poet Empress is an intriguing tale of power, the fate of nations, and the secret pains we keep from the world. It's a tale of haves and have nots, about how common folk are left to suffer because those in power are too busy trying to protect their own legacy. And while it's not a romance, it's certainly about how the relationships in your life can define you for both good and for ill.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
