This week a few books came out on my shopping expedition (online orders) that may attract your eye. And a few came in from publishers and authors!

The Truants by Kate Weinberg – published by Bloomsbury Orbit £8.99 paperback Out Now

 Jess Walker, middle child of a middle class family, has perfected the art of vanishing in plain sight. But when she arrives at a concrete university campus under flat, grey, East Anglian skies, her world flares with colour.

Drawn into a tightly-knit group of rule breakers - led by their maverick teacher, Lorna Clay - Jess begins to experiment with a new version of herself. But the dynamic between the friends begins to darken as they share secrets, lovers and finally a tragedy. Soon Jess is thrown up against the question she fears most: what is the true cost of an extraordinary life?

I’m fascinated by the comparisons I’ve heard about Donna Tartt’s Secret History and an Agatha Christie novel so this looks promising

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant – Published by Harper Voyager Orbit £12.99 Hardback out Now

Liberty

1828 and the citizens of Paris still mourn in the wake of their failed revolution. Among them, in the dark alleys and crumbling cathedrals of the city, the most wretched have gathered into guilds of thieves, assassins – and worse. Together they are known as The Court of Miracles.

Family

Eponine has lost more than most. When her father, Thénardier, sells her sister to the Guild of Flesh she makes a promise to do anything she can to get her sister back, even if that means joining the Court of Miracles, the very people keeping her sister a slave.

Treachery

Eponine becomes perhaps the greatest thief the Court has ever known, finding a place among them and gaining another sister, Cosette. But she has never forgotten the promise she made, and if she’s to have any hope of saving one sister, she will have to betray the other.

Described as Les Mis mixed with fantasy - what is not to like?

The Empire of Gold by S A Chakraborty – Published by Harper Voyager £8.99 Paperback – 25/6

 Daevabad has fallen.

After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people.

But the death of his people and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara’s dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.

Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad’s deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. Though Nahri is finding peace in the rhythms of her old home, she is haunted by the knowledge that the loved ones she left behind and the people who considered her a savior, are at the mercy of a new tyrant.

Ali, too, cannot help but look back, and is determined to return to rescue his city and the family that remains.

As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved…and take a stand for those they once hurt.

I admit this is a series I’ve not read – the endless moving house saga got me in 2018 - so all three books lined up now and I have that trilogy to read in my own TBR challenge sooooo….

The Guardians of Erum by A Ali Hasan Ali – out now in Kindle £2.38

Pursued by a powerful jinn master and a mysterious sect of occultists, Fada sets out across the lush and unforgiving ancient Arabian Peninsula on a quest to rescue his son.

Legend has it that the sacrifice of a calamitous child, a child born under the Serpent-Neck star, can bring about the end of the world. Born under the Serpent-Neck star himself, jinn master Behas has sought out and killed many calamitous children to avert the destruction they portend. His next target is a boy named Dileel, the newborn son of a date farmer outside the great city of Erum. However, his plans are foisted when an occultist apprentice interferes to save the boy, and in the resulting confusion, Dileel is abducted by an unknown force. Determined to rescue his son, the humble date farmer Fada must leave behind everything he knows, enlisting powerful allies and risking his life on an unforgettable journey.

A nicely worded self published request and an intriguing plot pulled me to this one

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay – Published by Titan £8.99 paperback 7/7

When it happens, it happens quickly.

New England is locked down, a strict curfew the only way to stem the wildfire spread of a rabies-like virus. The hospitals cannot cope with the infected, as the pathogen's ferociously quick incubation period overwhelms the state. The veneer of civilisation is breaking down as people live in fear of everyone around them. Staying inside is the only way to keep safe.

But paediatrician Ramola Sherman can t stay safe, when her friend Natalie calls her husband is dead, she's eight months pregnant, and she's been bitten. She is thrust into a desperate race to bring Natalie and her unborn child to a hospital, to try and save both their lives.

Their once familiar home has becoming a violent and strange place, twisted in to a barely recognisable landscape. What should have been a simple, joyous journey becomes a brutal trial.

One of the most interesting names in horror at the moment. Their Headful of Ghosts is deliciously creepy and their Growing Pains collection was pure brilliance and while the subject matter may be a bit on the nose for 2020 I am very much here for the results!

Anything catch your eye?