Flowers are blooming, allergies are settling in, and we’re all quietly dreading the return of the humidity of summer, even if we’re still happy about the sun and warm weather! But this is the perfect time to get out with a good book before the heat truly settles in, and here are few we’re looking forward to this month!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “When Among Crows” by Veronica Roth
Publication Date: May 14, 2024
Why I’m Interested: Veronica Roth is now a “must read” author for me, but even without that fact, I think I would have jumped at the chance to read her upcoming novella! It’s an urban fantasy story that pulls from Russian folklore and looks to promise much inner angst between its myriad of paranormal leading characters! I’m hopeful that this is one of those reading situations where my only complaint is that its a novella instead of a full-length book. Plus, the cover is just really fantastic!
Book: “Heavenbreaker” by Sara Wolf
Publication Date: May 21, 2024
Why I’m Interested: I’ve really loved the rise of “romantasy”(though I could perhaps write an entire series on popular subgenres and editing/quality decisions), but there are still few and far between romantic story that fall into the the larger science fiction genre! I read “Calamity” last year (and the sequel will likely show up on this list next month), but that’s about it. So I was very excited when I saw this book slated for release this May. The description for this one is a bit all over the place, but it sounds like a revenge plot that involves a should-be-dead young woman pairing up with a war machine to take on her enemies. And, of course, she may fall for one of those very same enemies. Crossing my fingers that this one is as good as it sounds!
Book: “The Fireborne Blade” by Charlotte Bond
Publication Date: May 28, 2024
Why I’m Interested: I mean, it’s probably no surprise that this one is on my list! Look at that cover! A dragon! A female main character with a sword! All right up my alley. This is another novella, so that seems to be a theme for me this month. The story follows a disgraced knight as she seeks to reclaim her honor by killing one of the legendary dragons of the realm. But to do so she must venture into its magic-infused lair and survive. This sounds like a classic fantasy in all of the best ways, and I’m super excited to check it out!
Kate’s Picks
Book: “Lore Olympus: Volume Six” by Rachel Smythe
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Why I’m Interested: I’m still absolutely head over heels for this re-imagining of the Hades and Persephone love story, and Smythe has made such a creative, emotional, and at times quite funny adaptation that this is obviously going to be a high priority for me. When we last left off, Persephone had fled into hiding in the Underworld, just as Zeus has declared her and her mother Demeter as wanted by Olympus due to Persephone’s meltdown that ended with the death of many mortals, and which was covered up by Demeter to hide it from Zeus. Now Hades, desperate to find her, confronts Zeus, creating a rift between the brothers that could shake up the peace of the heavens and the Underworld. When Hades finds her, he wants to hear her side, in hopes of helping her, and Persephone has to decide if she is ready to open up, and tell her side of the story. I just love seeing where Smythe takes these characters and look forward to seeing where my favorite mythological love birds go next.
Book: “My Darling Dreadful Thing” by Johanna van Veen
Publication Date: May 14, 2024
Why I’m Interested: I’m already on board when a book has some themes about séances and spiritualism, but when it also has a vague possession element, and it’s one that MAY actually upend the trope, I’m even more excited! “My Darling Dreadful Thing” follows Roos, a young woman in 1950s Netherlands, whose abusive mother has forced her into phony séances because of her attachment to a spirit named Ruth, who is obsessed with Roos and can enter her body to act as anyone a client wants to be speaking to. And when a mysterious widow meets Roos at a séance and finds her intriguing enough to whisk her away to her Gothic mansion, Roos thinks that maybe she’s finally finding her freedom. But there are secrets in the mansion, and Roos’s new freedom may be a cage of another kind. This has been on my radar awhile and I am sure it will have lots to offer.
Book: “When She Was Me” by Marlee Bush
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Why I’m Interested: Sisters with secrets? An isolated cabin? A missing girl? All of these things are very much up my alley, so “When She Was Me” by Marlee Bush was almost guaranteed to make my must read list. Twins Cassie and Lenora have isolated away from the world in a cabin off the beaten path, hoping that they will be left alone by nosy people and fans of salacious true crime tales. But when a teenager at a cabin nearby goes missing, and it sets off a frenzy, they start to worry that eyes will be back on them in no time, and that they will have to face some things that they did and were hoping they could just walk away from. It sounds vague and it sounds strange, so obviously it has my attention
What books are you most looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!
The Library Ladies 