Anticipated July 2024 Releases

Okay, so July seems almost more packed with new releases than June–and June was already filled to the brim! I have to say that July is also looking extremely vibrant–I mean, just look at how colorful all of these covers are, I love it. I am so excited about the books releasing in July and have had a chance to read some ARCs of some of these already (and have plenty to get to, I'm doing my best not to fall behind, haha) and it's shaping up to be a great month.

Be sure to take a look at some of the amazing July releases below and let me know which ones you're looking forward to–and as always, let me know if I left any out that you're looking forward to, as I can never fit all of them on these posts. 🤣

The West Passage by Jared Pechacek || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Spice Gate by Prashanth Srivatsa || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Dallergut Dream Department by Miye Lee || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves, China Mieville || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Nicked by M.T. Anderson || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman || July 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villaviceencio || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Astrology House by Carinn Jade || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

All This & More by Peng Shepherd || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant LA by Jesse Katz || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The White Guy Dies First edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker || July 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Bad Tourists by Caro Carver || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber || July 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton || July 23rd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani, Sam Bett || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith || July 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle || July 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen || July 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What are your anticipated July releases?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour & State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg

        

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour
Publication: July 9th, 2024
Dutton
Hardcover. 432 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A speculative novel about a young woman—invisible by birth and relegated to second-class citizenship—who sets off on a mission to find her older brother, whom she had presumed dead but who is now the primary suspect in a high-profile political murder.

Despite the odds, Sweetmint, a young invisible woman, has done everything right her entire life—school, university, and now a highly sought-after apprenticeship with one of the Northwestern Hemisphere’s premier inventors, a non-invisible man belonging to the dominant population who is as eccentric as he is enigmatic. But the world she has fought so hard to build after the disappearance of her older brother comes crashing down when authorities claim that not only is he well and alive, he’s also the main suspect in the murder of the Chief Executive of the Northwestern Hemisphere.

A manhunt ensues, and Sweetmint, armed with courage, intellect, and unwavering love for her brother, sets off on a mission to find him before it’s too late. With five days until the hemisphere’s big election, Sweetmint must dodge a relentless law officer who’s determined to maintain order and an ambitious politician with sights set on becoming the next Chief Executive by any means necessary.

With the awe-inspiring defiance of The Power and the ever-shifting machinations of House of Cards , This Great Hemisphere is a novel that brilliantly illustrates the degree to which reality can be shaped by non-truths and vicious manipulations, while shining a light on our ability to surprise ourselves when we stop giving in to the narratives others have written for us."

This sounds so interesting and I've not really heard much about this one, so I'm really curious to check it out!

State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg
Publication: July 9th, 2024
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Hardcover. 224 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A heart-racing fun house of uncanniness hidden in Florida’s underbelly, from a reality-warping storyteller.

Along with her husband, a ghostwriter for a famous thriller author returns to her mother's house in the Florida town where she grew up. As the summer heat sets in, she wrestles with family secrets and memories of her own troubled youth. Her mercurial sister, who lives next door, spends a growing amount of time using MIND’S EYE, a virtual reality device provided to citizens of the town by ELECTRA, a tech company in South Florida, during the doldrums of a recent pandemic. But it’s not just the ominous cats, her mother’s burgeoning cult, or the fact that her belly button has become an increasingly deep cavern―something is off in the town, and it probably has to do with the posters of missing citizens spread throughout the streets.

During a violent rainstorm, the writer’s sister goes missing for several days. When she returns, sprawled on their mother’s lawn and speaking of another dimension, the writer is forced to investigate not only what happened to her sister and the other missing people but also the uncanny connections between ELECTRA, the famous author, and reality itself.

A sticky, rain-soaked reckoning with the elusive nature of storytelling, Laura van den Berg’s Florida Diary is an interlocking and page-turning whirlwind. With inimitable control and thrilling style, she reaches deep into the void and returns with a story far stranger than either reality or fiction."

This is one that leaves me with absolutely no idea what to expect, but I'm excited about it!

Review: The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

Flatiron Books

Publication Date: April 25th, 2024

Hardcover. 336 pages.

About The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands:

"It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket.

It is the end of the 19th Century and the world is awash with marvels. But there is nothing so marvellous as the Wastelands: a terrain of terrible miracles that lies between Beijing and Moscow.

Nothing touches this abandoned wilderness except the Great Trans-Siberian Express: an impenetrable train built to carry cargo across continents, but which now transports anyone who dares to cross the shadowy Wastelands.

On to the platform steps a curious cast of characters: a grieving woman with a borrowed name, a famous child born on the train and a disgraced naturalist, all heading for the Great Exhibition in Moscow.

But the old rules are changing, and there are whispers that the train isn't safe. As secrets and stories begin to unravel the passengers and crew must survive their journey through the Wastelands together, even as something uncontrollable seems to be breaking in . . ."

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands is a highly atmospheric story filled with mystery and hints of horror as readers are filled with as much dread and anticipation as the characters aboard the Trans-Siberian Express. The cover and title for this book made me initially think that this would be more of a creepy mystery that leaned on the 'lighter' side in tone, but I'd like to note that that's definitely not the case, and this book feels a lot more horror-leaning (a very quiet, slow-burn feeling of horror) than I might've expected, and I loved it.

The Trans-Siberian Express travels between Beijing and Moscow, but it's no ordinary journey as it must pass through the Wastelands, an abandoned stretch of land where everything that now grows and lives within it poses both physical and mental threats to anyone who dares to pass through. A trip through the Wastelands is therefore not for the faint of heart, but the great Trans-Siberian Express boasts the strongest glass and the safest possible mode of transportation to get through the Wastelands. But all travellers must be cautious, as even looking out the window for too long at whatever resides in the Wastelands can pose risks to any person's sanity, and everyone onboard must be vigilant of succumbing to the effects of the Wastelands–and keep an eye on fellow passenger. This particular journey across the Wastelands feels especially tense, as it's the first trip to occur after a previous less-than-perfect crossing where the indestructible glass broke and the full events of what occurred are still unknown to those who were not a part of the journey.

We follow three passengers onboard, each with different experiences and reasons for being on the train. First up is Weiwei, a child of the train who has lived and worked on the train her entire life; next is Marya, a woman who has boarded the train under false pretenses in order to uncover a personal mystery; lastly, we follow Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist whose dream is to renew his reputation in the field by bringing back something groundbreaking from the Wastelands. I appreciated that each character had a very unique perspective on the Wastelands and their reason for being on the train for this journey, and Brooks did a a great job of capturing each person's personality in such a way that I felt I could fully understand each person's motivation (even if I didn't fully agree with each character's choices...) throughout the entire story. I also really loved that the train and the Wastelands themselves are characters as much as any of the humans onboard. 

This book hit such a perfect spot for me, as I love stories that tease at something entirely unknown that feels incredibly creepy and slowly feeds you more and more information while you still have no idea what's lurking around the corner the entire time. It's a very slow build up that's filled with so many hints of twisted, unnerving, and generally dark things that reside in the Wastelands that I couldn't help but feel my own curiosity constantly piqued to know what horrors lay outside the walls of the train. This story evokes an almost constant sense of trepidation–like that feeling where you really want to know why everyone is so scared and what's being alluded to, but you also aren't sure if you really want to know, and every glimpse you get just makes it that much more intense. 

There's a lot of build-up in this story and I think satisfaction with the payoff will vary from person to person. I was generally quite satisfied with what this story grew into and how it eventually concluded, but I do think there are some areas where it could feel like there was a lot of build-up that didn't quite develop into anything overly exciting. That being said, I appreciated the messages the author focused on and think this ended up being a much more meaningful and thoughtful story than I anticipated, and I liked that Brooks managed to pack so much into this story, from the more horror-tinged side to the meaning and substance portrayed through the characters' journeys as well. 

As much as I loved the slow burn style of this story, I have to admit that it was exceptionally slow-paced at times, and I ended up taking probably twice as long as I expected to to finish this book. It was a odd experience, because even enjoyed pretty much every page of this book and always looked forward to reading it, for some reason every time I sat down to read it ended up taking me a longer than usual time to get through each page and I found myself getting more distracted than usual. This could have just been on me (maybe I was feeling more stressed than usual at the time?), but it was just one of those books that had absolutely nothing wrong with it that I could pinpoint, but the writing and pacing were just so slow that it really required me to slow down as well for some reason. This may or may not be the case for everyone, but is something I felt compelled to note since it really stood out to my experience. 

Overall, I've given The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands 4.25 stars! I loved the heavily atmospheric quality of this book and how much it left me dying to find out more. I highly recommend this one and can't wait to see what Sarah Brooks may write next!

*I received a copy of The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Review: The Silverblood Promise by James Logan

The Silverblood Promise (The Last Legacy #1) by James Logan

Tor Books

Publication Date: May 7th, 2024

Hardcover. 528 pages.

About The Silverblood Promise:

"Lukan Gardova is a cardsharp, academy dropout, and―thanks to a duel that ended badly―the disgraced heir to an ancient noble house. His days consist of cheap wine, rigged card games, and wondering how he might win back the life he threw away.

When Lukan discovers that his estranged father has been murdered in strange circumstances, he finds fresh purpose. Deprived of his chance to make amends for his mistakes, he vows to unravel the mystery behind his father's death.

His search for answers leads him to Saphrona, fabled city of merchant princes, where anything can be bought if one has the coin. Lukan only seeks the truth, but instead he finds danger and secrets in every shadow.

For in Saphrona, everything has a price―and the price of truth is the deadliest of all."

This review is long overdue, but I had to make sure to get one up given how much I loved The Silverblood Promise. This book kept me sane during some long airport waits for delayed flights and subsequently long flights, so I am enormously grateful I had it as a companion while traveling!

The Silverblood Promise is everything I've been looking for in a fantasy lately: adventure, well-developed characters, intricate world-building, and layers of intrigue to get lost in. I've seen it compared to The Lies of Locke Lamora (which is one of my favorite fantasy books), and while I agree in terms of general vibe and atmosphere, I wouldn't compare them too closely. While both books have plenty of careful plotting and subterfuge, The Lies of Locke Lamora is a heist novel, whereas The Silverblood Promise embarks on a much different type of adventure.

The story centers around Lukan, who has recently learned that his father has been murdered and takes it upon himself to figure out why someone wanted his father dead. This purpose takes him to a city known as Saphrona, where Lukan is somewhat sidetracked (due to reasons beyond his control) and drawn into a seemingly endless series of additional secrets and quests that lead to a myriad of twists and turns that made this a book I couldn’t put down.

Logan somehow found the perfect balance between a fun fantasy adventure with quippy characters and a story where you can find something more sinister and serious in almost every corner. Because of this, I never felt overwhelmed with grittiness or heavier topics, but rather found myself enjoying a really well-rounded fantasy that offered a little bit of everything. This is also a single POV story that follows Lukan exclusively in the present, and I cannot tell you how much I liked that. Somehow it felt like a breath of fresh air when every other book out there lately seems to be multiple POVs or jumps around in time and has constant flashbacks thrown in. The simplicity in the present single perspective was something I really loved about this book.

Lukan is a really lovable character and feels a bit like a personality that I’ve seen around in fantasy stories before, but I don’t mind at all because he made a fantastic protagonist. He’s a little on the morally grey side, but I think he’s pretty ‘good’ overall, and I found his humor and perspective on the world around him were aspects I really connected with and enjoyed. I also absolutely loved his friendship with Flea, which turned into more of a father-daughter sort of role as the story progressed and really made for a perfect team. Their personalities bounced off of one another perfectly and made each conversation between them a true joy to read.

The world James Logan has created for The Silverblood Promise is fascinating and richly layered, and I really loved the mix of more “normal” everyday areas and places that felt much darker and lent themselves to more of an underbelly of the city where the real action occurs.  I was really pleased with everywhere we got to explore in this book–though I’m certainly looking forward to exploring even more of it in the sequel. There’s really nothing I love more than the sense that there’s a big new fantasy world sprawled out for me to explore, and this book really delivered on that feeling which I thought added a lot of depth to the narrative. There’s also tons of other intrigue in this book and an abundance of hidden plots and conspiracies to keep you hooked, so I promise that despite it being 500+ pages, you really won’t get bored while reading it.

I was also really curious about the magic system in The Silverblood Promise and appreciated how Logan incorporated it in as something central but not overwhelming to the story. While we don't see too much magic up close through the main characters, what we do see was primarily composed of darker magic that I think was executed with a perfect amount of awe and wariness of its power. There was some explanation of the magic itself, but I’m hopeful that future books will delve a bit deeper in the magic and expand upon it.

I could probably keep raving about this book for a while yet, but I’ll save you the time and just encourage you to give this one a read. Overall, I’ve given The Silverblood Promise five stars! If you can’t already tell, I had a blast with this book and am eagerly anticipating the sequel. If you’re looking for a big fantasy that’s packed full of adventure, mystery, magic, endearing characters and friendships, and plenty of twists, then The Silverblood Promise should be your next read.

*I received a copy of  The Silverblood Promise in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones, The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer, & The Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

       

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephan Graham Jones
Publication: July 16th, 2024
Saga Press
Hardcover. 384 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic."

I'm always ready for another slasher-themed horror from Stephen Graham Jones (or any type of book from him, really)!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Publication: July 16th, 2024
Ballantine Books
Hardcover. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost."

Books about nostalgic fantasy dreams seem to be ones that continuously tempt me, and I'm so curious to see where Meg Shaffer takes this story and idea. "Fairy tales for grown-ups" is right up my alley!

Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
Publication: July 16th, 2024
Atria Books
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.

Òdòdó’s hometown of Timbuktu has been conquered by the the warrior king of Yorùbáland. Already shunned as social pariahs, living conditions for Òdòdó and the other women in her blacksmith guild grow even worse under Yorùbá rule.

Then Òdòdó is abducted. She is whisked across the Sahara to the capital city of Ṣàngótẹ̀, where she is shocked to discover that her kidnapper is none other than the vagrant who had visited her guild just days prior. But now that he is swathed in riches rather than rags, Òdòdó realizes he is not a vagrant at all; he is the warrior king, and he has chosen her to be his wife.

In a sudden change of fortune, Òdòdó soars to the very heights of society. But after a lifetime of subjugation, the power that saturates this world of battle and political savvy becomes too enticing to resist. As tensions with rival states grow, revealing elaborate schemes and enemies hidden in plain sight, Òdòdó must defy the cruel king she has been forced to wed by re-forging the shaky loyalties of the court in her favor, or risk losing everything—including her life.

Loosely based on the myth of Persephone, O.O. Sangoyomi’s Masquerade takes you on a journey of epic power struggles and political intrigue that turn an entire region on its head."

I am unbelievably intrigued by the setting of a reimagined 15th century South Africa and can't wait to have a chance to read this!

Review: Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin

Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin

St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: June 18st, 2024

Hardcover. 352 pages.

About Daughter of Calamity:

"Jingwen spends her nights as a showgirl at the Paramount, one of the most lavish clubs in Shanghai, competing ruthlessly to charm wealthy patrons. To cap off her shifts, she runs money for her grandmother, the exclusive surgeon to the most powerful gang in the city. A position her grandmother is pressuring her to inherit…

When a series of cabaret dancers are targeted―the attacker stealing their faces―Jingwen fears she could be next. And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai's glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price.

Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers―women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends―Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city's underworld. In this treacherous realm of tangled alliances and ancient grudges, silver-armed gangsters haunt every alley, foreign playboys broker deals in exclusive back rooms, and the power of gods is wielded and traded like yuan. Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai's bones."

Daughter of Calamity takes place in the dazzling yet dangerous world of 1930s Shanghai and provides for a highly entertaining fantasy historical fiction read. 



The story follows Jingwen who is a showgirl at the popular Shanghai club the Paramount in the 1930s. She also occasionally runs errands for her grandmother who works as a surgeon for a Shanghai gang, something that her grandmother has been working to slowly shape Jingwen to do one day as well. The trouble starts when dancers at both Jingwen's club and other local clubs are attacked and parts of their faces are stolen, which is about as horrifying as it sounds. Jingwen suspects that the rich are using these stolen faces for themselves, and she eventually undertakes the task of figuring out just what is happening and what she can do to stop the attacks.

One of my favorite things about Daughter of Calamity was the setting. Rosalie Lin brought 1930s Shanghai to life in the best way possible and I was easily immersed in this world. The contrast between the exciting and glitzy cabaret world and the gritty reality of the city’s underbelly is executed extremely well. You can really see Lin’s passionate for this story, the setting, and her characters through her writing, which felt vibrant and beautiful in its telling.

I also appreciated some of the themes explored, such as how colonial rule can affect the culture and experiences of a place. I think Lin did a really great job of highlighting this through the many diverse experiences of her characters, from Jingwen to her grandmother to the other cabaret dancers and everyone in between–the specifics may be different for different people, but the influences and overall impact is similar.

Unfortunately, I did have a few issues with this book. The pacing was a bit uneven in areas that left me struggling to get through it in areas and harder to remain engaged. The writing felt somewhat convoluted and almost lacking direction at times. I also thought the more magical elements could have used a bit more explanation or focus in order to feel better integrated with the rest of the story, as I felt it wasn’t balanced overly well as it was. I loved the concept of this story a bit more than the execution, but I am still so glad I had a chance to read this imaginative story.

Overall, I’ve given Daughter of Calamity 3.5 stars! I am unsure if there will be a sequel to this, but if so I would be curious to find out more about Jingwen and this world, and if not I’d love to read more from Rosalie Lin in the future to see what else she has up her sleeve!

*I received a copy of  Daughter of Calamity in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org