Hi everyone! Hard to believe, but it is time to vote for our Q3 Book Club picks! For those of you who are new around here, we pick our books out quarterly to give people time to find the books and prepare their reading plans. We are now selecting our books for July -September 2026.

If you are just here on Bindery and not on our Discord server, we take proposals on Discord. Everyone has a week to post suggestions, react, and comment. I then whittle them down based on the following:

• Popularity: How many emojis/comments did a book get.

• Content of comments - does it seem like the group is interested, have a large number read or not, etc.

• Ensuring a diversity of reads, authors, book/story types, and sizes.

• Last but not least, my interest is the tiebreaker when things are close.

We had 31 submissions for this quarter, and so many amazing books to choose from! We had 5 clear top choices, 3 that were pretty clearly next in line, and then one that I picked amongst a few that were all pretty close.

This poll will close in one week, and the final choices will be announced June 1. You may select up to 3 choices! And don't forget, if you are looking for more beyond the book club, consider upgrading to the paid tier where paid member's get to choose a book to read with me each month, or check out our many buddy reads we have going at all times over on Discord!

Happy voting!

On this episode of Rebel Ever After, my guest is romance cover illustrator Leni Kauffman. She is the creator of iconic covers like Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker, as well as covers for books by Olivia Dade, Ashley Herring Blake, Emma R. Alban, and many more. I guarantee that you have some of Leni’s work on your bookshelf or Kindle. 

We talked about how she started working in the romance genre, what the process of cover design looks like, whether or not she reads the books she illustrates, and many more questions you've always wanted to ask a cover designer. We also talked about our mutual loathing of AI and how it is impacting visual artists. 

Follow Leni on Instagram @lenikauffman or go to her website www.lenikauffman.com

Listen on:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Castbox

• Libsyn

Format: Audiobook (graphic audio via Hoopla)
Rating: 5 🌟

What I've loved:
Shout out to my local bookclub for this pick. I've seen this book so much but never picked it up and I am glad I listened via graphic audio. I never listened to a mystery/horror with graphic audio but it was chef's kiss. I absolutely loveeeed it.
There are discussions and references to domestic life through the "typical" women's lens, centered in the 90s. It felt real because it referred to things in a realistic way. This is a twist on your typical vampire story and in this, I actually feel like they aren't the only monsters at play here. This was a bookclub hit and so many readers enjoyed this.
If you so happen to read the physical, there are questions in the back that really make you rethink about the story you read. This isn't a typical "who dunnit" type of mystery, it's more about the power and downfalls of friendships and the power in standing in your truth.

What I wanted more of: 
I actually don't have any complaints. I do wonder, the special interests that Patricia's son is invested in, I wonder what was the point of highlighting that so frequently?

Patricia's husband get's on my ever last nerve. I wish I had more from his consequences towards the end of the book. 


Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I wish I didn't wait so long to read it but if you have the option to listen via graphic audio, I HIGHLY recommend it.  

Hi everyone! It’s time to vote for the books we will be reading in June :) as always we will have three fantasy and three thriller/horror reads to choose from. Everyone will get two votes, one for each category. Voting will end on May 31st!

Hey y'all,

The Children of Diaspora Book Club will be discussing One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad on Saturday, May 30th at 1 PM EST on the Discord. There will be a voice channel for it.

We'll be discussing Call of the Dragon by Natasha Bowen the following week on Sunday, June 7th at 3 PM EST on Discord, as well. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

XoXo,

Rae

Welcome to the first ever Must Read Monday! Every Monday, I'm going to spotlight a backlist book that I think didn't get the love it deserved.

Today's book is SOMETHING KINDRED by Ciera Burch.  

If you are a fan of authors like Jas Hammond or Courtney Gould, this book needs to go on your TBR right now. SOMETHING KINDRED is, at its core, about relationships between women and how generational trauma can affect them.

I loved all the women in this book, and watching them grapple with the choices they had made in their lives. These relationships dovetailed so beautifully with the exploration of small town life; how something can feel like home and be stifling at the same time. The imagery and feelings it evoked will stay with me for a long time. 

Amid all of this emotional plot, there is also a supernatural story happening at the same time. The grief is both real and unreal in this book, and I loved the way they interweaved.

Also, I haven't even gotten to the part where the main character is bisexual! This book truly has everything.

I started reading this one and have laughed, giggled and screamed at the book characters 🫶

If you liked the movie Miss Congeniality, then you would enjoy this one!

#harperperennialpartner

💕 Grace is a biologist who is passionately working on saving frogs 🐸. With her family, she feels isolated because they all these extroverted influencers who do not understand her at all. But what happens when her mom puts her in a dating show 💘 and suddenly she is surrounded by hot models and is expected to find love. AND did I tell you she has made a nemisis - the shows HOT AND HANDSOME lawyer 🔥?

The book is chaos in the best possible way!

💕 What I liked-
Grumpy meets sunshine ☀️
The funny challenges 🍌
The friendships 🩷
Andrew and Grace's email and dates ;) 🔥
Her change of perspective - I took some notes for my personal life too.
Animals 🐸 🦊

💕 What I would have liked more -
More about Andrew and how he gets the know Grace.

✨ 3/5 ✨

Publisher - @harperperennial

Author - @amymasswriter

Thank you so much for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

#datingshow #womeninstem #funny #romcoms

Hi friends! Happy Sunday!

I'm still undecided on if I will be sending out one or two newsletters per week, but for now, I'm bursting at the seams to share what I've been reading and my thoughts on those books. (I currently hadn't read any books for the month of May, and then BAM two books in two days - that were absolute bangers.)

Have you ever listened to an audiobook and just wished you had a physical copy to annotate and highlight important sentences? These two books were that way for me. I had to break out my Notes app and hit that rewind button quite a few times to ensure I got them down correctly. The two books I'm referencing?:

The first book I read (in one day) was The Rainbow Ain't Never Been Enuf: On The Myth Of LGBTQ+ Solidary by Kaila Adia Story. There were several, several important pieces to capture in this book. Namely about how critical it is for white queer people to show up for the ENTIRE community and how racism, misogyny, and transphobia run rampant and go unchecked throughout the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole. In addition to the white washing and capitalistic approach Pride has become in general now.

What stood out to me was in the Epilogue, though - when Story spoke about being an "Ally" v. being an "Accomplice." One would argue that being an Ally is important, but now we see it in every Instagram bio., and to me, it makes me pause and question the validity and sincerity of the intent behind the word. Story goes on to discuss how being an Ally is now viewed as performative and takes over marginalized spaces meant for others. Being an Accomplice, however, is a call to action. In my own words, it's Ally (talking) v. Accomplice (doing.) The first time I heard the term Accomplice was in The Black Friend: On Being A Better White Person by Frederick Joseph, and that altered my mind and how I show up for my neighbors, community members and friends. Am I talking, or am I doing? And that's an important question to ask yourself daily. Interested in reading it before I circle back to the more in-depth discussion? You can order it here.

I could dive deeper into this book, but I'll save it for later, because, honestly, there's some things I'm still stewing on and need the physical book to put more words into what I'm feeling/thinking. So, stay tuned for that. Or join the Discord community for further discussions/questions you have.

The SECOND book I finished last week was A Committee Of One: How Faith + Action = A Purposefull Life by Opal Lee. Y'all. This book is absolute FIRE. It releases June 2nd. You can pre-order the book here. Dr. Opal Lee delivers such an important book. The Grandmother of Juneteenth. An elder who speaks truth into the future generations who dare to read her words and then put them into action. Yes, there is some religious talk, but (and I don't remember who, I deeply apologize. If I find it, I will credit them) a Black content creator on Threads stated it was like sitting with your grandma, and truly, it is. It's sitting at the feet of someone with lived experience, showing you the way. There's no many nuggets of wisdom I wrote down, but this one in particular just propelled me forward:

"What have you started that you haven't finished?... Stop counting yourself out before you get halfway through the journey... Honor what's in you."

And going back to The Rainbow Ain't Never Been Enuf discussion from above, Dr. Opal Lee also stated this zinger that made me do a double and triple listen: "You can't just talk about change, you have to be change... talk is easy, change is work." Damn, Okay, Ma'am!

Y'all. Some books just go in one ear and out the other... and some just stick with you and alter your brain chemistry. These two altered my brain in the best way.

So, as I leave you for the day, tell me in the comments, what book(s) have altered YOUR brain?

To continue this conversation, Friends, join my Discord community for free.

With all my trans joy,

Sawyer Cole

Hey Besties!

Coming to you live from Joshua Tree where no reading is happening! We’re here for a show (Afghan Whigs) tonight at Pappy and Harriet’s and definitely enjoying all the desert things. We went for a brief hike this morning and then had late brunch, which is why this is a little late today. Alas, let’s catch up on books!

I finished Cleopatra this week and LOVED IT so much. In fact, I think it’s surpassed When We Were Brilliant as my favorite book of the year. It was masterful and exactly what I hoped it would be! I’ll be back soon with a video dedicated specifically to Cleopatra, likely for paid subscribers only. 5⭐️s

I also finished The Woman and Her Stars, which finally motivated me to finish my Women in STEM blog post. I really enjoy Haw’s character development. She has a knack for crafting a compelling character and story arc without frills. It’s clean with no romance and very period-driven. 4.25⭐️

I finally picked up Lonesome Dove again and was surprised at how easy it was to dive back into the story after having last read it months ago. My goal is to finish this behemoth by the end of summer!

Lastly, I started A Far Flung Life on audio, and to be honest I’m not sure about it yet. It’s well written, but I can already tell it’s going to be SLOW and very character-driven, which is not what I’m in the mood for right now. I owe the publisher a review, but I’m not sure it’s the right time for me to read this. We shall see if I continue it vs return to it later. 

As voted on by YOU, the BBFL, my Fable Book Club, is currently deciding between several East Coast summer reads. I’m really eager to see what they select. It’s neck-and-neck between the Beatriz Williams and Elin Hilderbrand books. I was in the mood for a popcorn read, something low stakes that will get the book club chatting. 

I also posted my first-ever paid subscriber-only content this week, and it's the first of MANY new things I'll be sharing exclusively to paid subs. This week was a review of the film Nuremberg along with a few reading suggestions to accompany the film. While I know times are hard, if you've ever wanted to support me and my content this is the perfect way to do that! I appreciate you!

ICYMI

• 55 Women in STEM Historical Fiction Books

• Women in STEM IG Infographic

• The Hired Man book review

• Unveiling the latest in my Portland Leather Goods collection

Hear It Hear First:

There are SO many things coming soon, so be sure to subscribe to the newsletter and Youtube. I'll be sharing my first ever paid product: over 300 TBR Jar Prompts perfect for historical fiction lovers. I'm also finalizing a reading vlog/review of Yesteryear. Lastly, the June newsletter is already in the works, full of great finds and a look ahead at July historical fiction releases.

Thanks for all your support, my friends! Until next time, happy reading!

xoxo

c

I've been diving deep into some urban legends for research on something special. Most times, urban legends start from a truth before embellishment and fabrication make the tale more sinister than it originated. But let's be real, as horror fans, we live for the scary details that are added in. We chase that thrill of possibly summoning Bloody Mary in front of a mirror, or exploring a supposedly haunted house.

Below, you can find some urban legend horror books that will hopefully scratch that urban legend itch you have. Next week I will feature some Cryptic/Creature Feature Urban Legends :D

The graphic novels Bad Dreams In The Night and Let Me In Your Window by Adam Ellis both feature beautiful artwork with amazing, scary stories. Many of these stories feature urban legends and tales of folklore.

Jack O' Dander by Priya Sharma

This short story follows a family are not only impacted by their choices, but also by a mysterious urban legend.

Killer on The Road/The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones

Both of these novels play on common urban legends. Killer on The Road deals with the legend of a serial killer on the road picking up hitchhikers. The Babysitter Lives centers around the babysitter receives a call/knock on the door urban legend. Both are great books and I love that they are featured together.

Daphne by Josh Malerman

Did you ever play "The Game" back in school. Oops... sorry just made you lose it. This book is very similar to The Game. The urban legend named Daphne comes to life when you think of her. The more you think of her, the higher chance she will come and kill you...better stop thinking of her or else...you may be next.

Schrader's Chord by Scott Leeds

Ahh the good ole cursed object. Schrader's Chord follows a man who inherits a supposed cursed record from his recently deceased father. Legend has it that all four records are played at the same time, the listener will open a gate to the land of the dead...

Narcissus by Adam Godfrey

After hearing about a subterranean pool that's rumored to be the one by which Narcissus once wasted away by, a group of college kids learn the hard way that legends can be true.

A few on my tbr

Books Of Blood by Clive Barker

Scanlines by Todd Keisling

Maggie's Grave by David Sodergren

The House On Abigail Lane by Kealan Patrick Burke

What are some of your favorite Urban Legends?

It's time to wrap up The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight and kick off Go Eat Worms.

WRAP UP

The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight had some creepy scarecrows that came to life. I loved the building dread showcased in this one. I actually don't remember this one as a kid and don't think I read it, so getting to read it now was a pure delight.

In case you missed it, here are some readalikes that feature some farms and creepy scarecrows.

1. Do scarecrows scare you?

2. What part of farm life would you love? Hate?

KICK OFF

And now on to book #21 Go Eat Worms

My fourth grade class went and saw How To Eat Fried Worms in theater, so I'm surprised I never read this one! Worms are gross. They're slimy and squirmy. I'm sure this book grossed out a ton of kids back in the day.

Synopsis:

Obsessed with worms? That's putting it mildly. Todd is so fascinated with worms, he keeps a worm farm in his basement! Most of all, Todd loves torturing his sister and her best friend with worms. Dropping them in their hair. Down their backs.
Until one day, after cutting a worm in half, Todd notices something strange. The rest of the worms seems to be staring at him! Suddenly worms start showing up in the worst places for Todd. In his bed. In his homework. Even in his spaghetti!
What's a worm lover to do when his own worms are starting to gross him out?

Hello my froomies and lovelies!

It has been bit! Things are finally slowing down with school ending (Cue HSM 2) and I've been taking things slowly. When a chapter comes to a close, it's so easy to be wrapped up in keeping busy as well as mourning the routine, that you kinda forget to be a human.

Or a fae in my case.

So I'm keeping with the schedule that I set in the last post, but allowing myself the time to breathe this month.

Plus, I need to prep for all my TBR in June for Pride month!!!

Current reads:

Heir of Prophecy by Analeigh Sbrana

Oathbound by Tracey Deonn

I Accidentally Locked Down a Witch by Jessica Cage!

Every Sunday, I post a walking reading recap over on Instagram where I take my blue heeler Link out for a walk and completely yap about all the books I’ve read that week. 🐾📚

Those videos are usually very chaotic, very unfiltered, and very much me trying to summarize eight books before Link decides we need to investigate every leaf in the neighborhood.

But because those recaps are more high-level first impressions, I wanted this space to be where I share the slightly longer thoughts. The books that surprised me, frustrated me, emotionally damaged me, made me laugh, or completely consumed my brain for a few days.

And this week’s reading lineup somehow included:
✨ cruise ship wedding chaos
🎯 dark romantic suspense
🌊 cozy coastal small towns
🏳️‍🌈 queer found family
⚔️ treasure hunts and Midwest chaos
💍 emotionally obsessed historical romance husbands
🐉 monster girl fantasy romance
🕵️‍♂️ aggressively unserious gay spies
📖 banned books and historical yearning

Let's dive right in!

The Shippers

This definitely was not my favorite romance of the year, but I still ended up having a pretty good time with it.

The setup is pure romcom chaos: after Jojo’s estranged best friend Cooper crashes her wedding and convinces her not to marry her fiancé, she decides the solution to her life choices is reconnecting with the guy who gave her her first kiss during her sister’s cruise ship wedding.

And honestly? Jojo stressed me OUT 😂 She was messy, impulsive, and missed painfully obvious emotional cues constantly. There were multiple moments where I wanted to lovingly grab her shoulders and yell “PLEASE CONNECT THE DOTS.”

But despite that, the chemistry between her and Cooper genuinely worked for me. Their relationship felt believable in that very specific “we’ve known each other forever and know exactly how to annoy one another” way. The emotional intimacy ended up carrying the romance more than anything else, and I appreciated that this didn’t feel overly polished or manufactured. It was awkward and messy and occasionally frustrating, but still cute.

The Final Target

Nora Roberts really reminded me why she’s considered such a legend in romantic suspense.

This follows Arden, an author rebuilding her life while a stalker’s obsession with her becomes increasingly dangerous and psychologically unsettling. And while I expected suspense, I genuinely did not expect this book to get as dark as it did at certain points. Definitely check content warnings going in.

But the tension throughout this was SO well done. Roberts slowly escalates the danger in a way that keeps this constant unease simmering underneath the story.

And I genuinely need to scream about the audiobook narration for a second because January LaVoy absolutely crushed this performance. This was technically a single narrator audiobook, but there were multiple moments where I forgot it wasn’t full cast because every single character felt distinct and fully realized.

Dolly All the Time

This book felt like sitting on a wraparound porch in coastal New England while drinking coffee and gossiping with your neighbors.

It follows a single mom navigating complicated family dynamics, romance, small-town drama, and the lingering feeling of trying to figure out where exactly you fit into your own life.

This had fake dating, lovable neighbors, rich family chaos, and all the cozy emotional warmth I wanted from it. The relationships throughout the story were honestly my favorite part because even when characters frustrated each other, there was still so much underlying love and comfort woven into the dynamics.

Very much a “curl up under a blanket” kind of read.

This Must Be the Place

This YA sapphic romance ended up surprising me in the best way.

Louisa inherits a queer bar from her great-uncle and becomes determined to save it from being demolished while uncovering pieces of his hidden history and legacy along the way.

What I appreciated most here was how much the story focused on grief, identity, community, and preserving queer spaces. The emotional core of the book felt far stronger than just the romance itself, and I really loved the conversations surrounding found family and the importance of protecting places where people feel safe and seen.

Berserkers

This book genuinely feels like the kind of chaotic adventure movie I would’ve obsessed over as a kid.

A group of friends in small-town Minnesota go searching for hidden treasure after learning one of them is moving away, and naturally the entire thing spirals into weird local legends, historical mysteries, and nonstop chaos.

This absolutely has The Goonies energy everyone keeps comparing it to. Fast pacing, treasure hunts, cinematic action, quirky town vibes… it fully commits to the adventure movie atmosphere.

I did struggle a little with the narration style and some of the exaggerated Midwest stereotypes after a while, but underneath all the chaos there’s actually a pretty emotional story about friendship, growing up, and fearing the loss of the people and places that ground you.

The Dove and the Rogue

Marriage of convenience historical romance where the emotionally unavailable rake accidentally becomes obsessively devoted to his wife almost immediately? Yeah. Inject that directly into my bloodstream.

Jenny proposes a practical marriage to David in order to maintain her independence and help secure her sister’s inheritance. The arrangement is supposed to be simple: marry, spend one night together, then separate and continue living independently.

Unfortunately for David, he immediately ruins the plan by falling completely in love with his wife.

The chemistry here was fantastic. Sweet, emotional, spicy, and ridiculously bingeable. And I loved that despite David’s reputation, he genuinely respected Jenny’s independence and ambitions instead of trying to change her.

Reformed rakes who are embarrassingly obsessed with their wives will continue working on me every single time.

A Curse of Beasts and Magic

This reminded me exactly why Jeaniene Frost works so well for me as a fantasy romance writer.

Raine is secretly struggling with a terrifying creature living inside her that feeds on pain. After a violent encounter exposes her to a hidden supernatural world, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with Remy, a powerful Warden tasked with helping her control the beast within her.

And yes… this is basically a Beauty and the Beast retelling where Beauty is the beast.

The worldbuilding honestly surprised me in a really good way. Hidden realms, magical politics, supernatural hierarchies, monsters, romance tension… it balanced all of those elements without ever feeling overwhelming.

Also the audiobook narration was excellent and made Raine feel incredibly emotionally immediate as a character.

The Tuxedo Society

This book is genuinely absurd and I mean that affectionately.

A struggling actor turned scented candle salesman gets recruited into a secret society of glamorous gay spies trying to stop political conspiracies and save the world.

And honestly? The SECOND you stop asking questions and fully commit to the chaos, this becomes such a fun time.

This book feels like James Bond, The Naked Gun, Knives Out, and a fever dream all smashed together. It’s campy, self-aware, wildly over-the-top, and constantly escalating into more ridiculous situations.

Not every joke landed for me and there are definitely moments where the narration spirals into tangents, but overall this just felt like pure entertainment.

Behind Five Willows

June Hur truly never misses for me.

Set in 1700s Korea during a period of censorship and banned literature, this Pride & Prejudice re-telling follows Haewon as she secretly helps circulate outlawed books through an underground bookshop while slowly falling for nobleman Yu Seojun.

And first of all: THE YEARNING.

This book is absolutely overflowing with restrained emotional tension in the best possible way. Every interaction somehow felt emotionally loaded because of everything left unsaid between them.

But beyond the romance, what really hit me was the theme surrounding censorship and preserving stories. Watching characters risk everything because they believe knowledge matters felt incredibly timely and emotionally impactful.

And that’s a wrap for this week’s reading adventures!

As always, let me know which of these you’ve read (or which one you’re adding to your TBR immediately).

Happy Sunday, mis internet amigxs!

I'm thrilled to announce that we'll be chatting with Natalia Hernandez, author of our May book club selection, Asiri and the Amaru on Monday, June 1st at 8:00 PM EST. The Zoom invite is below!

If you're wondering why I didn't say our chat was in lieu of weekly sprints, it's because sprints have been moved to a monthly schedule as I work on some other initiatives. Our schedule now is the second Monday of the month, meaning our next official Discord sprint session is Monday, June 8th at 8:00 PM EST.

Be on the lookout for future announcements and changes to our Bien Leidos schedule coming up very soon.

If you have questions for Natalia, there is a thread on Discord open through May 31st for you to drop our questions.

As always, the chat link below is for Bien Leidos Bindery members only. DO NOT SHARE THIS LINK WITH OTHERS:

Topic: Bien Leidos Author Chat: Natalia Hernandez
Time: Jun 1, 2026 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Meeting ID: 880 8976 3992
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I just wanted to share that all of you who are preordering the ebook of What Feeds Below right now- you’re all MVPs! We are the number one overall most popular preorder in Kobo right now AND we are an Amazon Top Release!

So many people have told me that hitting a best seller list as an indie is incredibly difficult- but difficult is not impossible. I believe in the possibility of this book, and of this community!

I don’t know when the $3.99 ebook sale ends, so I would grab it now, while it’s hot!!

amazing to see What Feeds Below, the first book from this imprint! At number one in so many categories!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who has already preordered.

The last time I checked the numbers, we were at 303. Our goal is 1,000! Since over 2,000 of you follow me here, I know some of you haven’t preordered yet! (See, mom! I CAN math!)

Hoping that this $3.99 ebook sale might convince those of you who haven’t had a chance to preorder yet! You can grab it anywhere ebooks are sold!

I’ve seen a lot of reviews (did I mention we currently have over 400 reviews on Netgalley with an average 5⭐️!) say they can’t wait to own a physical copy! Don’t wait until the book comes out before you grab it!

I will keep saying it: preordering is one of the best things we can do as literary citizens! Preorders can completely change the trajectory of a book and could change an author’s life. The goal at Boozhoo Books is to give our author’s THE BEST LAUNCH!

If you have already preordered, drop a comment below to let other members know why you ordered early!

Thank you to early readers and reviewers who are hyping this book up! Tatiana and I appreciate you so much!

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.