Release Week: 9 April 2024

(post in progress, pardon the dust, also sorry for delay was traveling yesterday)

PICKS:

The Familiar: A Novel By: Leigh Bardugo, read by Lauren Fortgang for Macmillan -- "In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor."
Catchpenny: A Novel By: Charlie Huston, read by Pete Cross for Random House -- "A thief who can travel through mirrors, a video game that threatens to spill out of the virtual world, a doomsday cult on a collision course with destiny, and a missing teenager at the center of it all. With the world on the brink of every kind of apocalypse, humanity needs a hero. What it gets is Sid Catchpenny."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality By: Amanda Montell, read by the author for Simon and Schuster -- "Think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven."
The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians By: James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, read by a full cast for Little, Brown and Company -- "Meet the smart and talented people who live between the pages—and who can’t wait to help you find your next favorite book."

BACKLIST WATCH:

Simon Says: A John Simon Thriller, Book 1 By: Bryan Thomas Schmidt (2019), read by Derek Stephen Prince -- "The smuggling ring is a big case ‪… that got his partner killed.‪ How will Simon go on without her?‪ In 2029 Kansas City, Master Detective John Simon is a tough cop with a disdain for technology. His new movie quoting partner doesn’t make him happy. How can you trust a robot?"

SERIES WATCH:

Valdemar: Founding of Valdemar, Book 3 By: Mercedes Lackey, read by Paul Woodson for Tantor -- "The refugees from the Empire have established a thriving city called Haven with the help of the Tayledras and their allies. But the Tayledras have begun a slow withdrawal to the dangerous lands known as the Pelagirs, leaving the humans of Haven to find their own way."

MORE FICTION:

How to End a Love Story: A Novel By: Yulin Kuang, read by Katharine Chin and Andrew Eiden for Harper -- "A sexy and emotional enemies-to-lovers romance guaranteed to pull on your heartstrings and give you a book hangover."

MORE SCI-FI and FANTASY:

Point Nemo by Jeremy Robinson, read by R.C. Bray -- "In the heart of the South Pacific lies Point Nemo, the most desolate and remote place on Earth. At its core is a dead zone, devoid of life, where government agencies crash their obsolete satellites and space stations, confident they won't harm a soul. When the International Space Station suffers a catastrophic failure and plummets through the atmosphere, it's here that Mission Specialist Julie Rohr, an astrobiologist studying living space dust called xylem, finds herself marooned. Julie's only hope for rescue lies in the hands of her estranged father, Dr. Finn Maddern, a renowned mycologist. Plucked from the depths of the Amazon rainforest, Finn is thrust into a daring rescue mission alongside a team of specialists. Their destination: an impossible island at the center of Point Nemo—an island that shouldn't exist—composed of xylem."

George Orwell’s 1984: An Audible Original adaptation
Aldous Huxley: A BBC Radio Collection Including Brave New World, Antic Hay, The Devils & More
Mal Goes to War
Wicked Problems by Max Gladstone
The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence
Forge of the High Mage by Ian C. Esslemont
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
Mania: A Novel by Lionel Shriver
The Last Phi Hunter By: Salinee Goldenberg, read by David Lee Huynh for Dreamscape Lore
A Sweet Sting of Salt: A Novel By: Rose Sutherland
Frontier By: Patrick Chiles
Threading the Needle By: Monalisa Foster
The Fates By: Rosie Garland