Happy Friday, shipmates! We’re through the first week of May, and I’ve got a double dose of new releases for you, because I just could not make myself choose. (Sometimes you just have to recommend…even more new books.) As I write this to you, there’s some feline drama happening in my house. My old man baby is going in to have his teeth cleaned tomorrow, and he has now been without food for two entire hours. He hopes someone will contact the authorities on his behalf, because never before has a cat suffered like he is right now. (There, Loki, I told all the nice people your plight, please stop yelling at me now.) Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday if the cat doesn’t smother me in my sleep!
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Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: NDN Collective and Jane’s Due Process.
Bookish Goods
Sci-Fi Romance Tumbler by CalypsoBelleBoutique
This store’s got a bunch of fun reader “tarot” cards (my favorite is “The Reader: Enemies to Lovers”) that you can get on vacuum-sealed tumblers, as coasters or stickers, and so on. $36
New Releases
We Don’t Swim Here by Vincent Tirado
When Bronwyn’s grandmother goes into hospice, she travels to rural Hillwoods with her father; the idea is they’ll be in this backwater for only a year, enough time to get grandma’s affairs in order and make a few last memories with her before she passes. But an already depressing situation is made worse by the standoffishness of Hillwood’s people — and the strange interdiction on swimming, whether it’s in the gorgeous lake nearby or the pool at the abandoned rec center. One resident, Anais, has learned to hide from Hillwood — and she’ll protect Bronwyn, if she’ll let her.
The Marriage Act by John Marrs
In near-future Britain, the right-wing government has put the Sanctity of Marriage Act in place, which punishes those who choose to remain single and empowers the surveillance state to make that misery a true reality. Four couples soon learn how difficult relationships become when they are being watched over and enforced.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
I honestly couldn’t whittle down the new releases for this week any further, so you’re getting a double dose today!
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
The mermaid came to shore and married the prince, yes, but the story ends without mentioning that mermaids have teeth. After her daughters devour the kingdom, the mermaid goes on the run with a mysterious plague doctor as her companion. And if they wish to survive, they’ll have to embrace the cruelest parts of their true selves.
Spring’s Arcana by Lilith Saintcrow
Nat Drozdova is on a mission, to save her mother from the cancer consuming her — but her mother says there’s only one hope of a cure, and it’s in the form of a pitiless winter goddess who lives in a skyscraper in Manhattan. And the cure can be Nat’s, if she finds a stolen object of great power. It’s a quest that sends her across America and puts her up against hungry divinities and even more arcane dangers.
See you, space pirates. 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.