Sponsored by Tor Books.
Ryan Van Loan’s The Sin in the Steel is a sparkling debut fantasy featuring dead gods, a pirate queen, shapeshifting mages, and a Sherlockian teenager determined to upend her society. It’s been weeks since ships last returned to Servenza with bounty from the Shattered Coast. When Buc and Eld are hired to investigate, Buc discovers that the trade routes have become the domain of a pirate queen who sinks all who defy her. Now all Buc and Eld have to do is sink her ship….
Unfortunately for Buc, the gods have other plans.
Unfortunately for the gods, so does Buc.
Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’m going to keep this short because there are SO MANY BOOKS coming out today, I want to save all the words for them. Stay safe and keep reading!
Looking for non-book things you can do to help in the quest for justice? blacklivesmatter.card.co and The Okra Project.
New Releases
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson – Immanuelle’s existence is blasphemy in Bethel, where the Prophet reigns supreme. She is of mixed race, and the daughter of an outsider. But when she ventures into the forbidden woods that surround Bethel, the spirits of the four powerful witches murdered by the Prophet give her a gift: the journal of her long-dead mother. Soon, Immanuelle is struggling with the truth about the Church, about witches, and about herself.
Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters – Shady Grove has inherited a powerful gift from her deceased father; she can call ghosts from the grave by playing his fiddle. But she also knows this gift brings only trouble and wants to avoid it… until her brother is accused of murder, one for which only the dead can clear his name.
The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee – Kiyoshi, now the Avatar but at high cost, journeys across the four nations in an attempt to keep peace. But a mysterious threat emerges from the Spirit World, and Kiyoshi must unite with reluctant allies if the nations and their people are to survive.
Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson – As World War II is about to start burning across Europe, Phyllis works as an assassin in New York City, cutting through any target her underworld bosses pay enough to point her toward. But when she falls in love, she must face the ever-present ghosts of her past–and find if there is ever enough blood to wash clean the generations of injustice that loom over her and all she cares for.
Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood – Once upon a time, a stranded but extremely cheerful xeno-archaeologist from Earth got lost in space and fell in love with Lahra, a warrior from an almost extinct race capable of massive destruction through the power of song. Now married, they hunt artifacts to keep themselves from falling too deeply into debt, and in hopes that it will show Max the way home. But when they unwittingly pick up an incredibly powerful artifact, they find themselves in the middle of a web of galactic intrigue that leaves them dodging space fascists and trying to kick off a rebellion.
Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis – In 2007, a leak reveals that the US government has secretly had first contact with aliens. Cora wouldn’t even care, but her estranged father is in the center of the cover-up… and the more she learns, the more she realizes how deep the lies go, to both her and the public. And the best way she can bring the truth to light is as a whistleblower—but as an intermediary with the aliens.
Savage Legion by Matt Wallace – The Savages are the Empire’s greatest weapon: the dregs of the cities, culled by the thousands and thrown against all enemies. There is no escape but death for the Savages; if they survive a battle, their reward is to be flung into another. Evie is a warrior who joins the Savage Legion as she searches for the man she once loved, who may also hold the key to ending this mass conscription or the poor and powerless once and for all. (Full disclosure: Matt and I have the same agent.)
The Rightful Queen by Isabelle Steiger – War has returned to Lantistyne at the hand of Imperator Elgar, though the rogues who were once forced into his service have scattered into hiding. As the situation on the continent worsens and kingdoms struggle to remain standing against the Imperator, Adora Avesti is revealed as the rightful queen of Issamira. But Adora has drawn the attention of beings older than the lands currently being watered with blood, and they offer magic and knowledge to those strong enough to take it.
On Book Riot
SFF Yeah! has Sharifah and Jenn’s Spring 2020 favs
20 Must-Read Books by Women and Non-binary Authors
10 Great 2020 Adult LGBTQ+ Science Fiction Books
Enter before the end of the month and you could win The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, a year of free books, or a $250 Barnes and Noble gift card.
See you, space pirates. You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.