Release Week: 6 May 2025
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Release Week: 6 May 2025
Posted on 2025-05-06 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame By: Neon Yang, read by Nancy Wu for Recorded Books -- "A stunning queer novella about a dragon hunter finding home with a dragon queen."
Overgrowth By: Mira Grant, read by Caitlin Kelly for Macmillan -- "Since she was three years old, Anastasia Miller has been telling anyone who would listen that she's an alien disguised as a human being, and that the armada that left her on Earth is coming for her. Since she was three years old, no one has believed her. Now, with an alien signal from the stars being broadcast around the world, humanity is finally starting to realize that it's already been warned, and it may be too late."
My Friends: A Novel by Fredrik Backman, read by Marin Ireland for Simon and Schuster -- "An unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later."
My Name Is Emilia del Valle: A Novel By: Isabel Allende, translated by Frances Riddle, read by Coral Peña and Johnathan McClain for Random House -- "In San Francisco in 1866, an Irish nun, abandoned following a torrid relationship with a Chilean aristocrat, gives birth to a daughter named Emilia del Valle. Raised by a loving stepfather, Emilia grows into an independent thinker and a self-sufficient young woman. To pursue her passion for writing, she is willing to defy societal norms. At the age of seventeen, she begins to publish pulp fiction using a man’s pen name. When these fictional worlds can no longer satisfy her sense of adventure, she turns to journalism, convincing an editor at The Daily Examiner to hire her. There she is paired with another talented reporter, Eric Whelan. As she proves herself, her restlessness returns, until an opportunity arises to cover a brewing civil war in Chile."
Girls with Long Shadows: A Novel by Tennessee Hill, read by Hallie Ricardo and Nan McNamara for Harper -- "An intoxicating Southern Gothic debut novel about identical triplets whose lives are devastated when their burgeoning desires turn deadly."
Misophonia: A Novel by Dana Vowinckel, read by Gilli Messer for Harper -- "An insightful, heartfelt, and hilarious debut exploring cultural diaspora through one teenager’s summer across Berlin, Jerusalem, and Chicago."
Felony Juggler: A Crime Novel by Penn Jillette, read by the author for Audible -- "A street performer finds himself enmeshed in a crime and must outwit his fellow conspirators in his greatest juggling act yet."
BACKLIST WATCH:
- The Pilgrimage by John Broderick (1961), foreword by Colm Toibin, read by Patrick Moy for Tantor -- "Wealthy and devout, Michael and Julia Glynn are the envy of their neighbors and the model Irish Catholic couple, bearing Michael's increasingly painful and crippling arthritis with stoicism. In hope of a miracle, their priest suggests a family pilgrimage to Lourdes. Yet these pious holiday plans are thrown into doubt when anonymous, obscene letters begin to arrive, full of terrible accusations."
NON-FICTION WATCH:
When No Thing Works: A Zen and Indigenous Perspective on Resilience, Shared Purpose, and Leadership in the Timeplace of Collapse by Norma Wong, read by the author for North Atlantic Books
We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life's 20 Questions by Glennon and Amanda Doyle and Abby Wambach, read by the authors for Books on Tape -- "When you travel through a new country, you need a guidebook. When you travel through love, heartbreak, joy, parenting, friendship, uncertainty, aging, grief, new beginnings—life—you need a guidebook, too. We Can Do Hard Things is the guidebook for being alive."
Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind by Nate Bargatze, read by the author for Hachette -- " From one of the hottest stand-up comedians, Nate Bargatze brings his everyman comedy to the page in this hilarious collection of personal stories, opinions, and confessions."
The Peepshow: The Murders at Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale, read by Nicola Walker for Books on Tape -- "The tale of two journalists competing to solve the notorious Christie murders in postwar London."
MOST MISSING:
- Magelight by Kacey Ezell (Baen Books) -- "Fleeing her sheltered life, a noblewoman must trust a warrior, a forester, and a thief to unlock her true power and face her destiny."
(in progress)
The Bell Witches: Savannah Red, Book 1 by Lindsey Kelk, read by Ashleigh Haddad for Magpie -- "After sixteen-year-old Emily’s father tragically dies, she is forced to live with the only family she has left, an aunt and grandmother in the heart of Savannah, Georgia in a house as beautiful as it is mysterious. But all is not what it seems with the Bell family; they’re hiding a magical secret. When Emily meets the alluring Wyn, she forms a connection that feels like it was always meant to be. As the spark between them grows more powerful, her life takes an exhilarating and terrifying turn; but every step closer to him, takes her a step further away from her family."
Daughter of Tides: Born to Sea and Storm, Book 1 by Kit Rocha, read by Shane East, Avery Caris, Tim Campbell, and Joel Froomkin for Brilliance -- "A scorching romantasy novel full of courtly intrigue and erotic crackle riding the swells of immortal love."
Silver Elite by Dani Francis, read by Amanda Dolan for Books on Tape -- "In the first book of a sizzling dystopian romance series, psychic gifts are a death sentence and there are rules to survival: Trust no one. Lie to everyone. And whatever you do, don’t fall for your greatest enemy."
The Vengeance: Vampires of Dumas, Book 1 by Emma Newman, read by the author for Tantor -- "A swashbuckling adventure set in a version of Alexandre Dumas's world haunted by vampires."
Late to the Search Party: Poems by Steven Espada Dawson, read by the author for Simon and Schuster -- "A raw, crystalline debut poetry collection exploring themes of family, addiction, belonging, and loss—a searching elegy of the fissures that have come to define contemporary American life."
The Ones We Loved: A Novel by Tarisai Ngangura, read by Janina Edwards for Harlequin -- "A wrenching love story and literary debut following two strangers whose paths converge in a series of seemingly chance encounters and shared histories."
Dear Teacher: A Novel by Maddalena Vaglio Tanet, read by Natalie Naudus for Harper -- "A poignant and evocative debut novel from an exhilarating new international talent, based on a true story, about the heartwarming bond that develops between a grieving teacher and a student."