Summer is upon us, and with it a season that’s tailor-made for book lovers. Long days, warm weather, extra time poolside or in your vacation destination of choice, these are all opportunities to finally tackle that TBR list we’ve all been putting off since….well, since probably last summer. Fantasy fans, in particular, have a lot to look forward to throughout the warmer months, with titles from some of the biggest names in the genre landing next to some of the buzziest titles of the year.
So whether you’re looking for epic adventure, swoony romance, disturbing dystopia, a fairytale reimaging, or a historical tale with a decidedly magical bent, you’ll find it on this list.
Here are our picks for the biggest fantasy books hitting shelves this summer.
A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde
Release Date: June 3 from S&S/Saga Press
Why We’re Excited: A good old-fashioned sprawling sci-fi/fantasy epic that follows a clan of warriors who stand against monsters by invoking the spirits of their ancestors, A Song of Legends Lost is an African-inspired story that explores lost truths and forgotten history, bursting with complicated worldbuilding and internal lore.
Publisher’s Description: The people of Nine Lands know their history. The kingdom once belonged to the Scathed people, until their greyblood servants rose up and slaughtered them. King Ahiki and his warlords laid claim to the realm by defeating the rebels and driving them out to the Feverlands.
Now, thousands of years later, attacks by the greybloods are rebuffed by the invoker clans, warriors of noble blood who summon their ancestors to fight with them in battle. But the war has gone on too long. A general draft is called to take the battle to the Feverlands and defeat the greybloods once and for all. A plan that seems doomed to fail.
When Temi, a commoner, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she believes it could be the key to ending the centuries-long war. But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor, and some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.
Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race
Release Date: June 10 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: This adult debut from YA author Holly Race puts a deliciously fantastical twist on the world of Tudor England (and puts all of Henry VIII’s queens on the same side, for once). Featuring dragons, political intrigue, romantic yearning between two of the wives, and a story that allows a group of women who’ve been set against one another throughout history to reject the idea that they should be enemies, it’s twisty and satisfying.
Publisher’s Description: As tradition has it, the king of Elben must marry six queens and magically bind each of them to one of the island’s palaces or the kingdom will fall.
Clever, ambitious Boleyn is determined to be her beloved Henry’s favorite queen. She relishes the games at court and the political rivalries with his other wives. Seymour is the opposite – originally sent to Boleyn’s court as a reluctant spy and assassin, she ends up catching Henry’s eye and is forced into a loveless marriage with the king.
But when the two queens become the unlikeliest of things – friends and allies – the balance of power begins to shift. Together, they uncover a dark and deadly truth at the heart of the island’s magic. Boleyn and Seymour’s only hope of survival rests on uniting all six of the rival queens – but Henry will never let that happen.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Release Date: June 10 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: It’s a new book from V.E. Schwab, of course, we’re excited. Described by the author herself as a more feral version of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil crosses centuries, continents, and cultures to tell the story of three female vampires whose afterlives are not what they expected. The end result is something that feels an awful lot like a modern-day spin on Interview with the Vampire, just with more female perspectives and overt queer relationships. Schwab has rarely been better.
Publisher’s Description: Santo Domigo de la Calzada, 1532. London, 1827. Boston, 2019.
Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.
One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.
And all of them grow teeth.
The Palace of Illusions by Rowenna Miller
Release Date: June 10 from Redhook
Why We’re Excited: A lavish retelling of The Nutcracker from the author of The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill, The Palace of Illusions follows Clara Ironwood, whose mysterious Christmas gift proves the key to entering a dazzling alternate version of early 1900s Paris full of both wonders and very real dangers.
Publisher’s Description: In the run up to the 1900s World’s Fair Paris is abuzz with creative energy and innovation. Audiences are spellbound by the Lumiere brothers’ moving pictures and Loie Fuller’s serpentine dance fusing art and technology. But for Clara Ironwood, a talented and pragmatic clockworker, nothing compares to the magic of her godfather’s mechanical creations, and she’d rather spend her days working on the Palace of Illusions, an intricate hall of mirrors that is one of the centerpieces of the world’s fair.
When her godfather sends Clara a hideous nutcracker for Christmas, she is puzzled until she finds a hidden compartment that unlocks a mirror-world Paris where the Seine is musical, fountains spout lemonade, and mechanical ballerinas move with human grace. The magic of her godfather’s toys was real.
As Clara explores this other Paris and begins to imbue her own creations with its magic, she soon discovers a darker side to innovation. Suspicious men begin to approach her outside of work, and she could swear a shadow is following her. There’s no ignoring the danger she’s in, but Clara doesn’t know who to trust. The magic of the two Parises are colliding and Clara must find the strength within herself to save them both.
A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry
Release Date: June 17 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: A fantasy riff on Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, H.G. Parry’s A Far Better Thing is a twisty, thorny story of faerie changelings, revenge, and family secrets. (With no small amount of heartbreak thrown in.)
Publisher’s Description: The faeries stole Sydney Carton as a child, and made him a mortal servant of the Faery Realm. Now, he has a rare opportunity for revenge against the fae and Charles Darnay, the changeling left in his stead.
It will take magic and cunning—cold iron and Realm silver—to hide his intentions from humans and fae and bring his plans to fruition.
Shuttling between London and Paris during the Reign of Terror, generations of violence-begetting-violence lead him to a heartbreaking choice in the shadow of the guillotine.
The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death by Helen Marshall
Release Date: June 24 from Titan Books
Why We’re Excited: Described as perfect for fans of The Night Circus, The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death is a dark fantasy tale that follows the story of a young woman seduced by the glamour of the circus and captivated by the prospect of revenge.
Publisher’s Description: As Sara Sidorova hovers between life and death, she is visited by Amba, the tiger god who will devour creation if he is released from the chains that bind him. Amba gives Sara an extraordinary gift: a glimpse into the future.
Years later, her granddaughter Irenda will grow up in a war-torn country where survival means obedience. When a devastating attack robs her of her parents, she travels to Hrana City. There, her grandmother agrees to teach her the ultimate secret: how to tame death. In the circus, amongst the magicians, the strongmen and the contortionists, she will start down a dangerous road, to carry out a revenge decades in the making… and bring justice into the world for herself and for her family.
Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
Release Date: July 1 from Random House Worlds
Why We’re Excited: This tale of a merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure and falls for a brooding stranger is technically part of the larger universe of Critical Role. But the story—which is sweet, saucy, and hails from the author of The Hurricane Wars—is charming enough to appeal to any fantasy lover, and you don’t need any previous Critical Role knowledge going in to enjoy it.
Publisher’s Description: As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure.
Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.
Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down—even if the spark between them sizzles with promise.
Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance.
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigette Knightley
Release Date: July 8 from Ace
Why We’re Excited: One of the buzziest romantasies of the summer is this snarky enemies-to-lovers tale about an injured assassin who must join forces with a healer from an enemy faction to cure a fatal disease. Trope-filled and full of banter, watching these two characters try not to kill each other (or fall in love) is delightful. An excellent summer treat.
Publisher’s Description: When Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, falls ill, he realizes he needs the expertise of a very specific healer. As fate would have it, that healer belongs to an enemy faction, the Haelan Order.
Aurienne Fairhrim and her fellow Haelan are inundated by sick children suffering from an outbreak of a long-forgotten Pox. Unable to get the funding needed to launch an immunization program, the Haelan Order is desperate for money – so desperate that when Osric breaks into their headquarters to bribe Aurienne to heal him, she is forced to accept.
As Osric and Aurienne work together to solve not only his illness but the mysterious reoccurrence of the Pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction which only fuels the tension between them.
The Secret Market of the Dead by Giovanni De Feo
Release Date: July 8 from S&S Saga Press
Why We’re Excited: An imaginative folklore-tinged historical fantasy about a young girl in eighteenth-century Italy who finds her purpose in the nocturnal realm beneath her town that holds the power to shape human destiny. But all magic, as we all know, comes with a price. Delightfully atmospheric and deftly plotted.
Publisher’s Description: Just beyond the waking edges of Lucerìa, an 18th-century town in the kingdom of Naples, lies the Night: an enigmatic fiefdom governed by seven immortals and fueled by Moira, the power to reshape one’s destiny.
On this porous border separating Day from Night, Oriana spends her time fantasizing about becoming a smith in her father’s forge and eavesdropping on whispered tales of beasts and men who roam the nocturnal realm. But in the Night, these stories come alive, as Oriana saw for herself after she inadvertently trespassed into the Secret Market of the Dead, where vendors hawk Moira to those desperate enough to accept its immeasurably steep price.
Years later, when her father chooses her twin brother to succeed him, Oriana challenges her sibling to a series of trials to determine the forge’s true heir. But as the twins’ fierce competition escalates, with the town and her own family set firmly against her, Oriana realizes that to break free from the stifling confines of Day, she must once again embrace the Night—and, as always, everything comes with a cost.
Ascension by S.T. Gibson
Release Date: July 8 from Angry Robot
Why We’re Excited: The highly anticipated follow-up to last year’s excellent Evocation, this sequel continues S.T. Gibson’s urban fantasy series with a heady mix of longing, chaos, and emotional devastation.
Publisher’s Description: Ever since Rhys McGowan was a boy, he’s only wanted two things: power and love.
Now, as High Priest of Boston’s premiere Secret Society, husband to his adoring witch wife Moira, and partner to David – his psychic rival-turned-boyfriend, Rhys is finally at peace. But when a strange ritual rocks Boston’s occult community, and opens the Society up to sabotage, Rhys delves even deeper into the dark world of demon-summoning. He’s used to carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, but the strain of managing so many spirits (not to mention the stress of his loved ones exploring other people) will push him to the brink.
As heaven and hell play tug of war for Rhys’ soul, he’ll have to face the greatest demon of all: his own insatiable ambition.
The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten
Release Date: July 15 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: The third and final installment in Hannah Whitten’s Nightshade Crown trilogy has been on the top of many most anticipated lists (read: mine) since its second installment, The Hemlock Queen, dropped last year. Picking up from the second installment’s brutal cliffhanger, which saw Lore imprisoned on the Burnt Isles, Gabe exiled, and Bastian possessed by the god Apollius, the stakes couldn’t be higher or more deadly. And Lore will have to sacrifice more than most to find a way to defeat him in this banger of a series ender.
Publisher’s Description: Lore has failed. She couldn’t save King Bastian from the rotten god speaking voices in his mind. She couldn’t save her allies from being scattered across the continent—their own lesser gods whispering to them in their dreams. She couldn’t save her beautiful, corrupt city from the dark power beneath the catacombs. And she couldn’t save herself
Banished to the Burnt Isles, Lore must use every skill she earned on the streets of Dellaire to survive the prison colony and figure out a way to defeat the power that’s captured everything and everyone she holds dear. When a surprise ally joins her on the Burnt Isles she realizes the way forward may lie on the island itself. Somehow, her friends must help her collect the far-scattered pieces of the broken Fount—the source of all the god’s powers—and bring them back together on the Burnt Isles, returning all magic to its source and destroying, once and for all, the gods corrupting the land
But as Lore gets closer to her goal, her magic grows stronger… and to a woman who’s always had to fight for survival, that kind of power may be hard to give up.
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
Release Date: July 15 from Bramble
Why We’re Excited: A soft, deeply empathetic tale about finding both love and your place in the world, Sarah Beth Durst’s The Enchanted Greenhouse more than secures her spot as one of the peak cozy fantasy writers in the business today. (If that’ts not enough this story has singing flowers. I’m not kidding.)
Publisher’s Description: Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.
This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes―at least until she’s ready to sail home.
But Terlu doesn’t want to return home, and as she grows closer with the unwittingly charming gardener, Yarrow, she learns that the magic that sustains the greenhouses is failing―causing the death of everything within them. Terlu knows she must help, even if that means breaking the law again.
This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by Yarrow and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island―and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.
The Jasad Crown by Sara Hashem
Release Date: July 15 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: This conclusion to Sara Hashem’s Scorched Throne duology, The Jasad Crown picks up where its predecessor, The Jasad Heir, left off, following the story of a fugitive queen who must risk everything to restore her lost kingdom. Throw in some weapons-grade enemies-to-lovers angst and incredibly complex political intrigue, and you’ve got a summer banger.
Publisher’s Description: Held deep in a mountain refuge, Sylvia has been captured by the Urabi, who believe the Jasad Heir can return their homeland to its former power. But after years of denying her legacy and a forbidden alliance with Jasad’s greatest enemy, Sylvia must win the Urabi’s trust while struggling to hide the dangerous side effects her magic is having on her mind.
In a rival kingdom, Arin must maneuver carefully between his father’s desire to put down the brewing rebellion and the sacred edicts Arin is sworn to uphold. He is determined to find Sylvia before it’s too late, but Arin’s search unravels secrets that threaten the very core of his beliefs about his family and the destruction of Jasad.
War is inevitable, but Sylvia cannot abandon her people again. The Urabi plan to raise the Jasadi fortress, and it will either kill Sylvia or destroy the humanity she’s fought so hard to protect. For the first time in her life Sylvia doesn’t just want to survive. She wants to win.
Three Shattered Souls by Mai Corland
Release Date: July 15 from Entangled/Red Tower Books
Why We’re Excited: The highly anticipated conclusion to Mai Corland’s truly excellent Five Broken Blades series, Three Shattered Souls will see the protagonists wrestle with grief, betrayal, and more as they face off in a final confrontation that’s been building since the beginning of the series.
Publisher’s Description: The Blades were never supposed to survive this long. But after the battle in Quu Harbor, escaping is no longer enough. The most dangerous liars in the four realms have one last mission—return to Yusan and finish what they started.
But now a usurper sits on the serpent throne. And he may be more dangerous than the god-king.
With three relics of the Dragon Lord in their possession, the Blades will face the might of the four realms. Enemies will become allies. Allies will become traitors. And the ones they love most? They’ll be the ones to break them.
Grief will carve the Blades into something ruthless and unrecognizable. But only by losing everything can they win this game of kings and crowns.
Silvercloak by L.K. Steven
Release Date: July 29 from Del Ray
Why We’re Excited: Set in a world where pleasure and pain fuel magical abilities, Saffron Killoran is determined to get revenge for the murder of her family at the hands of the powerful Bloodmoons. A complex, gritty, and morally grey revenge tale ensues, which sees its heroine make dark choices, commit heinous acts, and get what’s perhaps get a little too close to the kingpin’s son. One of the buzziest titles of the summer.
Publisher’s Description: Two decades ago, the Bloodmoons ruthlessly murdered Saffron Killoran’s parents, destroying her idyllic childhood. Hell-bent on revenge, she lies her way into Silvercloak Academy—the training ground for her city’s elite order of detectives—with a single goal: to bring the Bloodmoons to justice.
But when Saff’s deception is exposed, rather than being cast out, she’s given a rare opportunity: to go undercover and tear the Bloodmoons down from the inside.
Descending into a world where pleasure and pain are the most powerful currencies, Saff must commit some truly heinous deeds to keep her cover—and her life. Not only are there rival gangs and sinister smuggling rings to contend with, but there’s also her growing feelings for the kingpin’s tortured son, with his vicious pet fallowwolf, his dark past, and the curious prophecy foretelling his death at Saffron’s hand.
With each day testing her loyalties further, Saff finds her web of lies becoming harder to spin. And when one false step could destroy everything and everyone she’s ever loved . . . the detective who’s dedicated her life to vengeance just might die for it.
The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson
Release Date: July 29 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: The latest novel from The First Bright Thing author J.R. Dawson, is a contemporary fantasy that mixes Greek myth, Jewish tradition, and a slow-burning queer romance to create an emotional love letter to life, death and the city of Chicago itself. The book follows the story of a young woman who’s spent her life helping her father ferry the souls of the dead across Lake Michigan, and has serious Hadestown vibes.
Publisher’s Description: At the edge of Chicago, nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, there is a waystation for the dead. Every night, the newly-departed travel through the city to the Station, guided by its lighthouse. There, they reckon with their lives, before stepping aboard a boat to go beyond.
Nera has spent decades watching her father―the ferryman of the dead―sail across the lake, each night just like the last.
But tonight, something is wrong.
The Station’s lighthouse has started to flicker out. The terrifying, ghostly Haunts have multiplied in the city. And now a person―a living person―has found her way onto the boat.
Her name is Charlie. She followed a song. And she is searching for someone she lost.
Scorched Earth by Danielle L. Jensen
Release Date: August 5 from Tor Teen
Why We’re Excited: The long-awaited (and much anticipated) final installment of Danielle L. Jensen’s Dark Shores series promises to hold plenty of secrets, sacrifices, and shocking twists before we reach the final page.
Publisher’s Description: Lydia and Killian escaped their enemy’s grasp, but not without consequences. While they race to destroy the blight, Lydia fights an internal war against the Corrupter’s influence knowing defeat means death for those she loves. Tormented by a battle that can’t be won with blades, Killian must find the queen they risked everything to rescue without falling prey to Corrupter’s weapons, both living and dead.
Teriana and Marcus thwarted assassination, but now must live with the dark truths that have been revealed. As Teriana hunts for allies, she must face the dire circumstances of her imprisoned people, driving her to strike a dangerous deal with the Empire. Consumed by guilt over his crimes, Marcus embarks on an ambitious campaign to save those he condemned, which risks him becoming the conqueror the Empire desires him to be.
With the blight consuming everything in its path and the Empire crushing everyone who stands before it, Reath is falling beneath the tide of evil. Secrets will be revealed that break hearts even as they forge new alliances, but only the greatest sacrifices of all will turn the tide in the battle for the liberty of every nation on Reath.
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
Release Date: August 5 from Ace
Why We’re Excited: The adult debut from the popular author of children’s favorite Holes, The Magician of Tiger Castle is a fairytale-esque story of a magician forced to concoct a potion to convince the princess he loves like a daughter to agree to an arranged marriage. His subsequent crisis of conscience helps the self-proclaimed coward find his courage and concoct a plan to save the kingdom. Charming, and lots of The Princess Bride vibes.
Publisher’s Description: Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia’s father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the “wedding of the century,” Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe.
The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures—the latest being an attempt to transform sand into gold—he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. The only one who still believes in him is the princess.
When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. With one chance to save the marriage, the kingdom, and, of most importance to him, his reputation, will he betray the princess—or risk ruin?
The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown
Release Date: August 12 from William Morrow
Why We’re Excited: The latest novel from the author of last year’s The Book of Doors, The Society of Unknowable Objects is a story of a group whose job is to safeguard magical objects and keep them out of the hands of bad or dangerous actors. But any secret society is likely to have plenty of secrets of its own, and when newest member, Magda Sparks is sent to Hong Kong to retrieve a newly discovered artifact, she discovers more than her share.
Publisher’s Description: The world of unknowable objects—magical items that most people have no idea possess powers—has been quiet for decades, but the three current members of a secret society have remained watchful, meeting every six months in the basement of a bookshop in London. They are pledged to protect their archive of magical items hidden away, safe from the outside world—and the world safe from them. But when Frank Simpson, the longest-standing member of the Society of Unknowable Objects, hears of a new artifact coming to light in Hong Kong, he sends Magda Sparks—author by day and newest member—to investigate.
Within hours of arriving in Hong Kong, Magda is facing death and danger, confronted by a professional killer who seems to know all about unknowable objects, specifically one that was stolen from him a decade before. Magda is forced to flee, using an artifact that not even the rest of the Society knows about.
Returning to London, Magda learns hers is not the only secret being kept from the other two members. And that the most pernicious secret is about the nature of the Society’s mission. Her discoveries will lead her on a perilous journey, across the Atlantic to the deep south of the United States, now in pursuit of not an unknowable object, but an unknowable person: the professional killer she first faced in Hong Kong. In doing so, Magda begins to understand that there are even more in the world who are chasing these magical items, and that her own family’s legacy is tied up in keeping all these secrets under wraps.
Magic has always been too powerful to reveal to the world. But Magda will learn there might be something even more powerful.
Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer
Release Date: August 12 from Avon
Why We’re Excited: The steamy adult fantasy debut from megapopular YA author Brigid Kemmerer, Warrior Princess Assassin follows the story of three characters who lives are irresistibly entangled with one another: A princess caught between duty and desire, the king she’s meant to wed, and the assassin charged with hunting them both down.
Publisher’s Description: King Maddox Kyronan’s fire magic has earned him a ruthless reputation on the battlefield, but now his land is slowly burning. Ky’s only chance to save his people is to enter a marriage alliance with the neighboring nation of Astranza, and hope that their royal family’s power to manipulate the weather will help his kingdom flourish once more. He just needs to ensure no one finds out how this blaze began.
With enemies advancing on Astranza, Princess Jory’s home needs the protection of the fearsome warrior king, but she is hiding a dangerous secret: her family’s magic is fading. Tempting as it is to reject her duties and run away with her childhood friend, Asher, Jory knows that she is the kingdom’s last hope. When she meets her intended, Jory is surprised to discover that beneath Ky’s daunting exterior is a compassionate and sharp-witted man who sets her heart aflame. But what will he do when he realizes she’s deceiving him?
Asher’s done what he must to survive, even if that means getting his hands dirty. Once a young nobleman in Astranza’s palace, where he and Jory caused mischief together, now he’s part of the Hunter’s Guild, employing much darker skills. When a lucrative job comes his way, Asher can’t say no—until he discovers the targets. Someone wants Ky and Jory dead. With the Guild watching, Asher must decide what he’s willing to do to protect the woman he loves.
Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
Release Date: August 19 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: At this point, after books like Nettle & Bone, Thornhedge, and A Sorceress Comes to Call, you could tell me that T. Kingfisher was writing a fantasy take on the post office, and I’d line up on release day to read it. But a dark Snow White reimagining? Be still my heart.
Publisher’s Description: Healer Anja knows little of politics but much of poisons. When she is summoned to treat the mysterious illness afflicting the king’s daughter, she finds herself against the clock, desperate to track down the source of the poison killing Princess Snow. But the chance discovery of a strange alternate world inside a magic mirror leads Anja to darker discoveries, including what really happened to Snow’s dead sister, Rose, and why their mother seemingly went mad and cut out her heart.
Aided by a taciturn bodyguard, a narcissistic cat, and a late Renaissance understanding of the scientific method, Anja must navigate the mysteries of the mirror world before the dark queen that dwells within rises to threaten them all.
Dot Slash Magic by Liz Shipton
Release Date: August 19 from Angry Robot
Why We’re Excited: Any book that’s described as perfect for fans of I Am Number Four, Wreck It Ralph, and A Court of Thorns and Roses will always grab my attention. Urban fantasy meets dystopian cyberpunk is maybe something this genre could use some more of.
Publisher’s Description: When twenty-something coder Seven Jones goes back to school at a community college in San Diego, the last thing she wants is to join some stupid club. And the last thing she expects is to walk into an underground magic club. Like, actual wizards and shit.
Seven reluctantly joins the motley crew of magic weirdos and discovers her own power. But she struggles to control it…until she figures out how to channel her magic through an artificially intelligent computer program.
Unfortunately, there is literally nothing Seven’s new friends hate more than AI, and when a student mysteriously turns up dead, blame falls on Seven. Is her “creepy artificial magic” summoning terrifying creatures to hunt students? Or is someone trying to frame her?
With only one person – cute ex-Navy seal Logan – on her side, Seven fights monsters (Dragon? Check. Kraken? Check) while struggling to convince everyone that her AI has nothing to do with them.
But how can she convince her peers when she isn’t totally convinced herself?
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Release Date: August 28 from Harper Voyager
Why We’re Excited: Any new book from the author of Babel and Yellowface automatically has our attention, but this weird combination of Dante’s Inferno and Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi that follows two rival PhD students who must descend into Hell to rescue the soul of their advisor sounds particularly intriguing.
Publisher’s Description: Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world.
That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.
Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams….
Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion.
With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like.
But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn’t always the answer, and there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB