Release Week: 7 May 2024

Release Week: 7 May 2024

Posted on 2024-05-07 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

(Post in progress, pardon the mess...)

PICKS:

• Ghostroots: Stories By: Pemi Aguda, read by Délé Ogundiran and Ore Apampa-Araba for Audible -- "A debut collection of stories set in a hauntingly reimagined Lagos where characters vie for freedom from ancestral ties."

• When the Moon Hatched: A Novel By: Sarah A. Parker, read by Sarah Mollo-Christensen and Fajer Al-Kaisi for Harper -- "As an assassin for the rebellion group Fíur du Ath, Raeve’s job is to complete orders and never get caught. When a rival bounty hunter turns her world upside down, blood spills, hearts break, and Raeve finds herself imprisoned by the Guild of Nobles—a group of powerful fae who turn her into a political statement. Crushed by the loss of his great love, Kaan Vaegor took the head of a king and donned his melted crown. Now on a tireless quest to quell the never-ebbing ache in his chest, he is lured by a clue into the capitol’s high-security prison where he stumbles upon the imprisoned Raeve.... Echoes of the past race between them."

• The Ministry of Time: A Novel By: Kaliane Bradley, read by George Weightman and Katie Leung for Simon and Schuster -- "In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time. She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts."

• The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean, read by Mizuo Peck for Simon and Schuster -- "Detective Chelsey Calhoun's life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie's reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers."

• Loneliness & Company By: Charlee Dyroff, read by Annalyse McCoy for Bloomsbury -- "A timely, beautifully observed debut novel set in near future New York about a young woman who finds herself tangled in a secret government project combating loneliness."

• Phantom Orbit: A Thriller by David Ignatius, read by Edoardo Ballerini for Recorded Books -- "Ivan Volkov, a Russian student in Beijing, discovers an unsolved puzzle in the writings of the seventeenth-century astronomer Johannes Kepler. He takes the puzzle to a senior scientist in the Chinese space program and declares his intention to solve it. Volkov returns to Moscow and continues his secret work. The puzzle holds untold consequences for space warfare."

• Five Broken Blades: Five Broken Blades, Book 1 By: Mai Corland, read by Donald Chang, Greg Chun, Zion Jang, Sophie Oda, Jaine Ye, and Roger Yeh for Recorded Books -- "The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the god king Joon. He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold. And now, each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness—from the hired hit man seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance."

• A Kind of Madness: Stories by Uche Okonkwo, read by Nene Nwoko for Tantor -- "A searing, unflinching collection of stories set in Nigeria that explores themes of community expectations, familial strife, and the struggle for survival."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

• Coming Home By: Brittney Griner with Michelle Burford, read by Andia Winslow and the author for Random House -- "From the nine-time women’s basketball icon and two-time Olympic gold medalist—a raw, revelatory account of her unfathomable detainment in Russia and her journey home."

• The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger, read by the author for Harper -- "A groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom and reveals the astonishing capabilities of the green life all around us."

• The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America by Larry Tye, read by Dominic Hoffman for Harper -- "A sweeping and spellbinding portrait of the longtime kings of jazz—Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie—who, born within a few years of one another, overcame racist exclusion and violence to become the most popular entertainers on the planet."

SERIES WATCH:

• Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde (February in the UK, finally a follow up to 2009 Shades of Grey)

• Long Island: Eilis Lacey, Book 2 by Colm Toibin, read by Jessie Buckley for Simon and Schuster -- A long-awaited follow up to his 2009 novel Brooklyn: "Eilis Lacey is Irish, married to Tony Fiorello, a plumber and one of four Italian American brothers, all of whom live in neighboring houses on a cul-de-sac in Lindenhurst, Long Island, with their wives and children and Tony's parents, a huge extended family that lives and works, eats and plays together. It is the spring of 1976 and Eilis, now in her forties with two teenage children, has no one to rely on in this still-new country. Though her ties to Ireland remain stronger than those that hold her to her new land and home, she has not returned in decades."

• The Brides of High Hill: The Singing Hills Cycle, Book 5 By: Nghi Vo, read by Cindy Kay

• The Heist: Isaac Bell, Book 14 by Jack Du Brul, read by Scott Brick for Books on Tape -- "Detective Isaac Bell faces an attack on the Federal Reserve in this all-new adventure."

• The Instruments of Darkness: Charlie Parker, Book 21 by John Connolly, read by Jeff Harding for Simon and Schuster -- "The beloved series returns with a heart-wrenching crime only one man can solve."

• Abe: The Remaining By: D.J. Molles, read by Christian Rummel

MORE SCI-FI and FANTASY:

• The Last Steward: Galaxy in Flames, Book 1 by Nicholas Sansbury Smith, read by Mark Boyette and Khristine Hvam for Audible -- " Captain Axel Finn has spent his life running salvage missions with an alien crew and their war bot. This motley group has found refuge on his ship from their own tumultuous pasts. But little do any of them know, beneath his gentle demeanor, their steadfast captain is far from the peace-following, adventure-seeking giant of a man they all love. His pacifist ethos meant to safeguard them has edged them to the brink of financial ruin and drawn dangerous enemies. Forced into a risky salvage operation, the crew uncovers an alien relic not of this galaxy."

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

the silverblood promise

The Eccentrics by Tim Akers

Totality by Kim Harrison (series)

The Stepford Wives (backlist/new edition)

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40 The Best New SF & Fantasy of the Year By: L. Ron Hubbard

Black Shield Maiden By: Willow Smith, Jess Hendel Narrated by: Willow Smith

Gunpowder & Embers Last Judgment's Fire, Book 1 By: John Ringo, Kacey Ezell, Christopher L. Smith Narrated by: Matt Godfrey

Archangels of Funk By: Andrea Hairston Narrated by: January LaVoy

The Sins on Their Bones By: Laura R. Samotin Narrated by: Aaron Willis, Daniel Chichagov, Robin Wilcock

Lift: The Rise of Mathe-Lingua-Musica By: Ray Anderson Narrated by: Cindy Kay for Dreamscape Lore

An Intrigue of Witches: Secret Society Mystery, Book 1 By: Esme Addison Narrated by: Amber Battaglia for Dreamscape

The Object By: Joshua T. Calvert (2022) Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella for Podium

Bang Bang Bodhisattva By: Aubrey Wood Narrated by: Adi Cabral

The Deer and the Dragon

The Sword Unbound: Lands of the Firstborn, Book 2

Posted in Release Week