Mid May Reviews (2024)

Greetings

Welcome to the Books That Burn Fortnightly Roundup! Releasing every two weeks (one week early for Patrons).

News and Events

I track upcoming book releases by authors we've previously covered on a shareable google calendar.

Notable May Releases:

• Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams

• The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo

• Disobedience by Daniel Sarah Karasik

• Evocation by S.T. Gibson

• Wheel of Fate by A.K. Faulkner

Signal Boost

If there's no ceasefire in Gaza by the time you read this, please use resources like Ceasefire Now to contact your representatives and ask them to support a ceasefire in the crisis in Gaza. The link includes information on planned protests and demonstrations, and has information for people internationally on what they can do to get involved.

WHEEL OF FATE, the tenth book of the Inheritance Trilogy by A.K. Faulkner, is in the middle of its Backerkit campaign to fund the audiobook. The campaign runs for two weeks and ends on May 31st. It’s also currently the only way to get a paperback of HAUNTED HEARTS, which I reviewed recently.

Recent Reviews

HAUNTED HEARTS by A.K. Faulkner, book 1 of An Untimely Frost is Fantasy/Romance, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Basil found a glowing book and is investigating a haunting for the first time. He meets Jon, a man who feels like death with a dry wit and tenderness to him. Told in Third Person with Single POV.

THEIR HEART A HIVE by Fox N. Locke is Fantasy, with queer character(s), marketed as Young Adult. Lowen is summoned to an aristocrat's castle after killing a bee. Told in First Person with Single POV.

WHAT FEASTS AT NIGHT by T. Kingfisher, book 2 of Sworn Soldier is Horror, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Alex returns to their home in Gallacia to show Miss Potter around, but a breath-stealing creature haunts the house. Told in First Person with Single POV.

DISOBEDIENCE by Daniel Sarah Karasik is Dystopian/Speculative Fiction, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Shael is born in a prison, then escapes to a community where they can try to be themself. Told in Third Person with Single POV.

GODKILLER by Hannah Kaner, book 1 of Fallen Gods is Fantasy, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Kissen kills gods for a living, but there's a god living in a little girl who she can't kill. Told in Third Person with Ensemble POVs.

MOST ARDENTLY by Gabe Cole Novoa, book 9 of Remixed Classics is Historical/Romance/Retelling, with queer character(s), marketed as Young Adult. Oliver is a boy whose family still thinks he's a girl, Darcy can't stand him as Elizabeth but gets to know him as Oliver. Told in First Person with Single POV.

Reviews forthcoming for WORLD RUNNING DOWN by Al Hess and GLITTERLAND by Alexis Hall.

Rereads and Older Reviews

I re-read a bunch of books by Alexis Hall, specifically A LADY FOR A DUKE, BOYFRIEND MATERIAL, HUSBAND MATERIAL and 10 THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED. I’m working on an essay about their writing, so some of these re-reads are happening before my initial review has even posted.

Current Reads

I’m trying DUKING IT OUT by E.J. Russell, I’m not sure if I like the setting, but I’ll see. It’s short, so I’ll either DNF soon or finish it within a day or so.

I’m paused on a bunch of books, kind of a frustrating number, actually, I might need to accept that some of these are DNFs, but I’m not there quite yet.

• A CROWN SO CURSED by L.L. McKinney (finishing a trilogy)

• BLOOD JUSTICE by Terry J. Benton-Walker (ARC)

• SAVAGE BOUNTY by Matt Wallace (checked it out when I wasn’t actually ready)

• UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld (for the next, next essay)

• ORPHIA AND EURYDICIUS BY Elyse John (ARC)

• NICKED by M.T. Anderson (ARC)

• THE WINGS OF ASHTAROTH (ARC)

In Case You Missed It

This time last year I read BACKPACKING THROUGH BEDLAM by Seanan McGuire. At that time it was the most recent Incryptid book, but the thirteenth has come out since then.

Pluggables and Podcast News

If you're looking for a place to buy any of the books I've reviewed, please consider our Bookshop page (if you use our links to purchase any books we get a small commission). Let us know if there's a category you'd like to see curated and we'll see if we can get some titles together.

Speaking of Bookshop, I've put together top picks lists for 2021 onwards. Books are included based on the year they were published, so occasionally older lists might get new titles. To be in the Top Picks list a book needs to get a five-star rating from me, and be published in the year of the list. You can find the 2024 list here.

As for the podcast, hopefully you're enjoying our most recent episode. If you'd like to receive episodes early, as well as bonus content, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Patrons receive this newsletter one week early, as well as a list of upcoming podcast episodes and even more planned reviews.

Patrons pledging $20 or more each month receive a bonus episode. Patrons pledging $50 or more can vote once per month on what we'll cover in the podcast. You can find all of those polls here. Patrons at any level receive the booklist with our planned episodes for up to three months at a time.

Thanks for reading, the next roundup will be in two weeks!

-Robin

Co-host of Books That Burn

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