It’s almost June, and that means it’s time to pick our next book club read! I wanted to give us three fun and fresh options, so I’ve been keeping a close eye on new fantasy releases and have picked three that snagged my attention. Like many of you, I read Veronica Roth as a teenager and am very intrigued by her new adult fantasy release 👀 Sunyi Dean is the author of one of my favorite fantasy standalones, The Book Eaters, and I’m confident that her latest release will be just as good! And of course, we’ve read R.J. Barker together in the past (remember The Bone Ships?). His newest release is bound to be incredible!
Voting will close on Tuesday, May 26th and our June pick/giveaway winner will be announced on the 27th (which also happens to my birthday heyooo) ☺️ Can’t wait to see what we settle on!!
Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth
Elegy Ahn did not ask for destiny to find her. She is happy with her life as a soldier, defending her small country from the Talusar, a powerful nation who worships a deadly Fever. A fever that blesses half of its victims with mysterious gifts. But then she’s summoned to hear a prophecy—her, and the most ruthless of Talusar generals, Rava Vidar. Brought face to face, they learn that one of them will lead their people to victory over the other… but they don’t know which. And at the center of both of their fates: a man. A man that, Elegy is told, she will fall in love with. In just one day, Elegy’s old life—her job, her purpose, and her future—is over. She and Rava are destined to collide, with the fate of their nations hanging in the balance. And when they do, only one will be left standing. Elegy intends to make sure it’s her.
The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
When Mercy Chan washes up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, the only refuge she finds is 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 have become her home. But the past Mercy can’t remember isn’t done with her. 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.
Mortedant’s Peril by R.J. Barker
Irody Hasp is a Mortedant, a cleric tasked with reading the last thoughts of the dead—though no one thanks him for it. No Mortedant is popular, but Irody is scarcely tolerated even by the other members of his own guild, and rarely selected for anything but the lowliest of jobs. This impoverished existence would be dismal enough—but after reading the corpse of a low-level records keeper, Irody’s troubles quickly multiply when his own apprentice is murdered, and all fingers point to him as a suspect. The only way to save his own skin is to find the real culprit himself, an investigation that quickly attracts powerful enemies with few scruples, and draws him into a plot that threatens the entire corrupt yet wondrous city he calls home.
