Advanced Booktempting - Here to Help!
Helloooo!
I said I would had more to tempt you with. In times like this ever refreshing the news page you may always need a gentle (or not) read. So here are some more books catching my eye out this week or coming soon.
Last Car to Annum Station by Michael Merriam - Queen of Swords Press - oUt now £3.26 Kindle eBook
One week to save the child, bargain with Death and get the girl…
Child Protective Services Attorney Maeve Malveaux is sure that Chrysandra Arneson needs to be rescued from her rich, powerful and abusive family. But how? Her boss won’t listen to her and neither will the judge. But after she gets taken off the case and sent on involuntary leave to get her out of the way, she’s determined to find out what’s going on.
She’s not counting on joining forces with Jill, the gorgeous law librarian from work, and a mismatched collection of fairy folk. Or getting the ghostly assistance of the long-defunct Minneapolis streetcar system. And, perhaps, even a hand from Death himself. Mae and Jill are about to be caught up in a supernatural power struggle that will take them on an adventure from the Uptown neighborhood in Minneapolis into faery realms and beyond. All they need is a dime for the streetcar fare and a little help from their new allies to be on their way. But will it be enough to save a little girl and get them where they need to go? They’ve only got a week to find out…
QoS is an indie publisher whose work always deserves attention and this sounds an unusual tale too!
What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha Suri - Feiwel and Friends - out now £6.89 Kindle eBook
Sometimes, lost things find their way home...
Yorkshire, North of England, 1786. As the abandoned son of a lascar—a sailor from India—Heathcliff has spent most of his young life maligned as an "outsider." Now he's been flung into an alien life in the Yorkshire moors, where he clings to his birth father's language even though it makes the children of the house call him an animal, and the maids claim he speaks gibberish.
Catherine is the younger child of the estate's owner, a daughter with light skin and brown curls and a mother that nobody talks about. Her father is grooming her for a place in proper society, and that's all that matters. Catherine knows she must mold herself into someone pretty and good and marriageable, even though it might destroy her spirit.
As they occasionally flee into the moors to escape judgment and share the half-remembered language of their unknown kin, Catherine and Heathcliff come to find solace in each other. Deep down in their souls, they can feel they are the same.
But when Catherine's father dies and the household's treatment of Heathcliff only grows more cruel, their relationship becomes strained and threatens to unravel. For how can they ever be together, when loving each other—and indeed, loving themselves—is as good as throwing themselves into poverty and death?
Suri is an amazing writer whose work I’ve loved and this sounds fascinating - I’ve never read Wuthering Heights but keen to read this!
Their Heart A Hive by Fox N Locke out now £1.59 Kindle eBook
It isn’t until meeting Lowen, a lowborn boy dealing with grief and battling bad luck, that the immortal genderqueer aristocrat, Tamorna Rosen Roane, can face the shame of their past lives and move towards catharsis.
Inspired as much by the rugged beauty of south-eastern England as Cornish folklore, this summery gothic portrays a queer-normative society with an 18th century flair. A story of shanties and secrets, of long dead giants and merfolk that mind the sea, where piskies provide luck and the beast of Brasbudfand stalks the night.
Balancing the macabre and the absurd, this unconventional coming of age story promises twists and turns and lyrical prose aplenty. A story about the power of kindness and empathy and how no one is ever beyond help. If you've a love for Jane Eyre, Dracula and queer-centric stories, this debut YA novel may just be for you.
I like the author on Twitter and this sounds fun will review later this summer
Night, Rain and Neon edited by Michael Cobley - NewCon press £12.99 ebook
Produced as tribute to Neuromancer, William Gibson's genre defining novel, Night, Rain, and Neon is a volume of all new stories written by some of the sharpest and most insightful authors of cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk fiction around, curated by editor Michael Cobley.
Reading this at the moment and so far it’s GOOD and I was sceptical cyberpunk had more to give us!
Together We Burn by Isabel Ibanez - Titan - out 9th July £8.99 paperback £6.64 Kindle eBook
An ancient city plagued by dragons.
Eighteen-year-old Zarela Zalvidar is a talented flamenco dancer and daughter of the most famous Dragonador in Hispalia. People come from miles to see him fight in their arena, which will one day be hers. But disaster strikes during one celebratory show, and in the carnage, Zarela’s life changes in an instant.
A flamenco dancer determined to save her ancestral home.
Facing punishment from the Dragon Guild, Zarela must keep the arena―her ancestral home and inheritance―safe from their greedy hands. She has no choice but to train to become a Dragonador. When the infuriatingly handsome dragon hunter, Arturo Díaz de Montserrat, withholds his help, she refuses to take no for an answer. Without him, her world will burn.
But even if he agrees, there’s someone out to ruin the Zalvidar family, and Zarela will have to do whatever it takes in order to prevent the Dragon Guild from taking away her birthright.
Reviewing soon and this I’m told has amazing writing so sounds a treat plus DRAGONS
Hooked by AC Wise - Titan Out 12/7 - £6.64 Kindle eBook £13.99 paperback
Once invited, always welcome.
Once invited, never free.
Captain James Hook, the immortal pirate of Neverland, has died a thousand times. Drowned, stabbed by Peter Pan’s sword, eaten by the beast swimming below the depths, yet James was resurrected every time by one boy’s dark imagination. Until he found a door in the sky, an escape. And he took the chance no matter the cost.
Now in London twenty-two years later, Peter Pan’s monster has found Captain Hook again, intent on revenge. But a chance encounter leads James to another survivor of Neverland. Wendy Darling, now a grown woman, is the only one who knows how dark a shadow Neverland casts, no matter how far you run. To vanquish Pan’s monster once and for all, Hook must play the villain one last time…
Wise’s Wendy, Darling was an amazing dark tale looking at the dark side of the Peter Pan tale and this story moved to Captain Hook and I am very much looking forward to reviewing this soon!
Flame of Mira by Clay Harmon - Solaris - out now £16.99 hardback £7.99 Kindle eBook
An epic new fantasy in a world of ice, fire and magic!
Born through life-threatening trials that bind chemical elements to the human body, Ig was forged in the boiling volcanoes under Mira’s frozen lands. One of the most powerful known elementals, he serves as an enforcer for Magnate Sorrelo Adriann, cursed with flesh binding magic that will kill him at the first sign of disobedience.
When Sorrelo is overthrown, Ig quickly learns he can do far worse than what has been asked of him so far. If he can’t escape the flesh binding in time, Ig will have to kill friend and foe alike to stop his master reclaiming the throne, or sacrifice himself trying.
Heard a few impressed things about this tale of rebellion so expect a review this month!
The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itaranta - Titan - out now £8.99 £6.99
Sol has disappeared. Their Earth-born wife Lumi sets out to find them but it is no simple feat: each clue uncovers another enigma. Their disappearance leads back to underground environmental groups and a web of mystery that spans the space between the planets themselves.
Told through letters and extracts, the course of Lumi's journey takes her not only from the affluent colonies of Mars to the devastated remnants of Earth, but into the hidden depths of Sol's past and the long-forgotten secrets of her own.
Part space-age epistolary, part eco-thriller, and a love story between two individuals from very different worlds.
A tale being described as similar to the work of Octavia E Butler is bound to catch my eye and a bit of cool SF is what I need!
Classic Monsters Unleashed edited by James Aquilone - Crystal Lake and Black Spot Books - out 12/7 - £19.99 paperback £4.95 Kindle eBook
Stories of famous monsters in a new horror anthology featuring Joe R. Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Ramsey Campbell, and many others.
Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Moreau, the Headless Horseman, the Invisible Man, the Phantom of the Opera, the Wicked Witch of the West—they're all here, in this collection of horror short stories that reimagine, subvert, and pay homage to our favorite monsters and creatures.
Written by the biggest names in the genre—including Joe R. Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Morton, Owl Goingback, Richard Christian Matheson, Maurice Broaddus, Dacre Stoker, Seanan McGuire, Linda D. Addison, Alessandro Manzetti, Tim Waggoner, John Palisano, Mercedes M. Yardley, Lucy A. Snyder, Gary A. Braunbeck, Rena Mason, and Monique Snyman.
And monstrously illustrated by Colton Worley and Mister Sam Shearon.
That’s an impressive list of authors and sounds a fun summer read!
Silk Fire by Zabe Ellor - Solaris - Out now £14.99 hardback £7.99 Kindle eBook
In the world-sized city of Jadzia, magic and ancient science merge into something dark and wondrous. Koré’s life is consumed by power, politics, sex and vengeance, and as courtesan to the wealthy and powerful, he is privy to all manner of secrets. He knows meddling in politics is dangerous ─ still, he is willing to risk everything to stop his father from seizing the Imperial Throne of the War District. But Koré soon finds the corruption runs far deeper than just one man. During a tryst in an ancient tomb ─ in the pursuit of political influence ─ Koré encounters a dying god, who imbues him with the powers of one of the city’s sacred dragons. Suddenly Koré finds himself a hunted man, threatened with becoming a pawn by whoever finds him first.
Sone strong reactions to this story so interested what I will make of it!
