It's Monday! What Are You Reading #742, August 25th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #741
Teaser Tuesday #749
WWW Wednesday #749
WOW #745
Will the Time Come #742
Third Sentence Thursday #732
Random Reads #718
First Lines Friday #745
Book Blogger Hop #411

Monthly ARC's Update 128
The Reward Challenge Update #727
Wheel of TBR #274
How Well I Stuck to It #579
Wrote that Review Update #576

Week 34 Reviews:
The Dragon Wakes With Thunder

The Twisted Throne

The Revenge

We're Not Safe Here

The Serpent's Bride

Toni and Addie Go Viral

How to Fake a Haunting

Vampires, Hearts & Other Dead Things

How to Read a Killer's Mind

Dream by the Shadows

Tomes Apprentice  

First of Tomes 

Master of Tomes 

ARC August:

Update 18

Update 19

Update 20

Update 21

Update 22

Update 23

Update 24

OK, so I got 32 posts in 7 days, and it was a pretty quite week, it's been hard finding a new routine without Jax, but it's not like I can do anything else. What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Lady Dragon!

Rachel Hartman's Seraphina meets The Priory of the Orange Tree in Lady Dragon, a sapphic YA romantasy from A.M. Strickland.

Since the last war between humans and dragons left the leaders of both species slain—the last human king of Andrath and the legendary dragon queen—both queendoms have been living under a tentative truce: only women will sit on the throne of Andrath, the dragons will have free passage through the human lands . . . and if men ever try to retake the throne, the draconic realm will retaliate.

Samansa and Kirek are two new leaders coming of age in war-scarred lands—Samansa a reluctant human princess and Kirek the favored contender for the draconic queenship. Per tradition, Kirek must undergo the distasteful task of using a mysterious gem called the Heartstone to shift into human form and maintain the strained ties between the species . . . and study human weaknesses, a new and secret task she's been given by her queen. As the princess and the dragon girl grow closer, they are sent to investigate a potential breach of the treaty and encounter a plot that could reignite an even bloodier war. While fighting to maintain the peace their ancestors fought for and uncovering centuries-old secrets, Samansa and Kirek must grapple with betraying their clashing nations . . . or their unexpected feelings for each other.

Week 34 Review: Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things

From Goodreads:

In this "equal parts heartbreaking and joyful" (School Library Journal) debut YA novel that's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown meets They Both Die at the End, a teen girl takes a trip to New Orleans with her estranged best friend to find a vampire to save her dying father.

Victoria and her dad have shared a love of the undead since the first vampire revealed his existence on live TV. Public fear soon drove the vampires back into hiding, yet Victoria and her father still dream about finding a vampire together. But when her dad is diagnosed with terminal cancer, it's clear that's not going to happen. Instead, Victoria vows to find a vampire herself—so that she can become one and then save her father.

Armed with research, speculations, and desperation—and helped by her estranged best friend, Henry—Victoria travels to New Orleans in search of a miracle. There she meets Nicholas, a mysterious young man who might give her what she desires. But first, he needs Victoria to prove she loves life enough to live forever.

She agrees to complete a series of challenges, from scarfing sugar-drenched beignets to singing with a jazz band, all to show she has what it takes to be immortal. But truly living while her father is dying feels like a betrayal. Victoria must figure out how to experience joy and grief at once, trusting all the while that Nicholas will hold up his end of the bargain…because the alternative is too impossible to imagine.

My Review:


Author: Margie Fuston
Read: August 20th, 2025
Source: Bought
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded fantastic, and it's a DAC Book and SAC 2025 Book! 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: August 24th 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

WWW Wednesday #749, August 20th

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Thanks to MizB of Should Be Writing now A Daily Rhythm for starting this meme! And thanks now to Taking on a World of Words for reviving it! 

I'm currently reading How to Fake a Haunting, and I'm really enjoying it! 

I read Toni and Addie Go Viral, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

I'm going to be reading Vampires, Hearts & Other Dead Things, and I can't wait, it sounds so good! 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #735, July 7th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #734
Teaser Tuesday #742
WWW Wednesday #742
WOW #738
Will the Time Come #735
Third Sentence Thursday #725
Random Reads #711
First Lines Friday #738
Book Blogger Hop #404

Monthly ARC's Update 122

The Reward Challenge Update #720
Wheel of TBR #267

How Well I Stuck to It #572
Wrote that Review Update #569

Week 27 Reviews:

The Revenant Games

The Death Mask

The Savior's Champion

The Savior's Sister

Across the Green Grass Fields

Where the Drowned Girls Go

In Mercy, Rain

Skeleton Song

Lost in the Moment and Found

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known

Stillhouse Lake

The Pairing 

Mirage City

Swallowing Darkness

Divine Misdemeanours

A Shiver of Light 

Terrors at the Gate

Isles of the Emberdark

Tenderly, I Am Devoured 

Bitter Spirits

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Update 43

Update 44

Update 45

Camp SeasonAthon: 

Update 14 and Wrap Up

Phase Out Your TBR: 

Phase Ten July 2025 Sign Up

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

Update 5

Random:

Book Battle July 2025 TBR

Margie Fuston Author Page

OK, so I got 38 posts in 7 days, and it was a pretty good week, though I have been sucked into playing a mobile game, and having less time for reading, let alone blogging, since I'm about a week behind right now, but I'm catching up! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Through Gates of Garnet and Gold! 

A fan-favorite character returns in this action-packed instalment of the Hugo Award-winning Wayward Children series.

After Nancy was cast out of the Halls of the Dead and forced to enroll at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children, she never believed she'd find her door again, and when she did, she didn't look back. She disappeared from the school to resume her place in the Halls, never intending to return.

Years have passed. A darkness has descended on the Halls, and the living statues who populate them are dying at the hands of the already dead. The Lord and Lady who rule the land are helpless to stop the slaughter, forcing Nancy to leave the Halls again, this time on purpose, as she attempts to seek much-needed help from her former schoolmates.

But who would volunteer to quest in a world where the dead roam freely?

And why are the dead so intent on adding to their number?

Margie Fuston Author Page

The Story: I saw Cruel Illusions around on the book world, and it sounded really good, and I picked it up and loved it, and then loved The Revenant Games, and I can't wait to read more by Margie Fuston! 

Website

Stand Alone's: Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things and her site, my review, Cruel Illusions and her site, my review.

Series: The Revenant Games.

The Revenant Games: The Revenant Games and her site, my review, The Hallow Hunt and and her site, my review.

Week 27 Review: The Revenant Games

From Goodreads:

All of Us Villains meets Kingdom of the Wicked in this action-packed fantasy following a teen determined to win the competition held by warring vampire and witch kingdoms, only to develop complicated feelings for the vampire she's supposed to hand over.

Blood is survival for seventeen-year-old Bly, who lives in the poverty-stricken human villages caught between enemy vampire and witch kingdoms. Most of the time, vampires and witches live in uneasy truce, buying human blood for their food and spells. But for two weeks a year, the ceasefire dissolves, and they hold the Revenant Games.

Any human can play in the games for either the witches or the vampires. Alongside life-changing riches, the witches will raise one person from the dead for whoever captures the highest-ranking vampire. In turn, the vampires offer immortality to whoever captures the most powerful witch. For most humans, the games are a ticket out of poverty. For Bly, it's a chance to get back her dead sister, Elise, and save the life of her dying best friend, Emerson.

Together, she and Emerson forge a dangerous plan to play both sides and win both prizes: resurrection for Elise and immortality for Emerson. But when the vampire they capture stirs a passion in Bly that she hasn't felt in a long time, she'll have to make a choice: her sister or the boy who's shown her there's more to life than just survival.

My Review:


Author: Margie Fuston
Series: The Revenant Games #1 
Read: June 28th, 2025 
Source: Bought  
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded really great, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book! 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: Mary 19th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Waiting on Wednesday #721, March 5th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating! 

Sunrise of the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Expected Publication: March 18th, 2025
From Goodreads:

When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.

As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

The Hallow Hunt by Margie Fuston

Expected Publication: March 18th, 2025
From Goodreads:

Bly has nothing left to lose in her quest to save her sister in this thrilling sequel to The Revenant Games that’s perfect for fans of All of Us Villains meets Kingdom of the Wicked.

Bly won the Revenant Games, but she lost everything else.

In her desperation to resurrect her sister, Bly betrayed Kerrigan, the vampire who she’d planned to sacrifice to the witches before she fell in love with him—only to find out that Elise was never dead. With nothing left, Bly will do whatever it takes to locate her sister.

Her only lead on Elise lies with Kerrigan’s brother, Donovan, who she turned over to the witches in place of Kerrigan. She spends her nights tracking down witch prisons to rescue him. Meanwhile, Kerrigan is also searching for Donovan, but after Bly’s treachery, he refuses her help.

But when the vampire queens accuse the two of them of treason, they’re only offered one escape from retrieving a mystical root that only grows on the banks of the Hallow Pool, where legend says that vampires and witches were created. Now Kerrigan and Bly must find a way to work together if they want to keep their lives and save their siblings.

But they’re not the only ones hunting in the forest, and as their feelings for each other rekindle, they risk being torn apart once more.

His Mortal Demise by Vanessa Le

Expected Publication: March 18th, 2025
From Goodreads:

These Violent Delights meets Divine Rivals in the explosive finale to The Last Bloodcarver duology -- with a riveting medical magic system and lush Vietnam-inspired romantasy world.

Kochin is a heartsooth -- a rare being with the ability to heal any wound. Any wound, that is, except death.

Intent on defying nature and bringing Nhika back to life, Kochin keeps her body in a life-preserving casket and waits for a miracle. Stricken with grief and descending into madness, Kochin realizes the answer to his desperate quest can only lie in one place: Yarong, the lush yet battle-ridden island the first heartsooths called home.

Months later, Nhika wakes in a familiar manor-house, with Kochin nowhere to be found. As she traces his footsteps across Theumas, she discovers the haunting path he walked to bring her back, and a world changed by war.

When Kochin discovers the true and grisly way to resurrect a person from the grave, he must decide exactly how much he is willing to sacrifice, in order to reunite with the woman he loves...

Don't miss this stunning dual-POV follow up to THE LAST BLOODCARVER, where morals will be tested, hearts pushed to the limit, and fates determined once and for all. Vanessa Le's jaw-dropping sequel is a bloody and luscious spectacle to be devoured in one sitting.

3 books that I can't wait to come out, I love these authors and these series, and I can't wait for these latest installments! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Week 39 Review: Cruel Illusions

From Goodreads:

Caraval meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this deliciously dark young adult fantasy about a girl who makes a deal with a magical secret society to enter a potentially deadly competition for the chance to avenge her mother's death.

Ever since a vampire murdered her mother, Ava has been determined to get revenge. This all-encompassing drive has given her the fuel she needed to survive foster home after foster home.

But it's been ten years since anyone's seen a vampire, and Ava has lost hope that she'll ever find one…until she stumbles across a hidden magic show where she witnesses impossible illusions. The magicians may not be the bloodsuckers she's hunting, but Ava is convinced something supernatural is at play, so she sneaks backstage and catches them in acts they can't explain.

But they've been waiting for her.

The magicians reveal they're part of an ancient secret society with true magic, and Ava has the same power in her blood that they do. If she joins them, they promise to teach her the skills she needs to hunt vampires and avenge her mother. But there's a catch: if she wants to keep the power they offer, she needs to prove she's worthy of it. And to do so, she must put on the performance of her life in a sinister and dangerous competition where illusion and reality blur, and the stakes are deadly.

My Review:
This book was fantastic! I've been meaning to read it since it came out, but it's a pretty hefty book, and I just  never managed to make the time. But I did, and oh, did I love it! The world of the vampires and the magicians, I couldn't get enough!

Absolutely loved reading this book, it was so fantastic, and I can't wait to read more by Margie Fuston! 

Author: Margie Fuston
Read: September 24th, 2023
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2023 Book, Sophomore Challenge 2022 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: November 1st 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Becca's Spookoplathon Update 14

So I read my next book for Becca's Spookoplathon, and it was Junkyard War which was for the prompt Jigsaw, and I'll be reading The Witch is Back next! 

My Reading Journey:

Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani

Prompt Fulfilled: Community Shelf 2

Started On: September 11th

Finished On: September 11th, 10:39 AM

Pages Read: 256

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Prompt Fulfilled: Purple

Started On: September 11th

Finished On: September 11th, 9:00 PM

Pages Read: 578

A Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Prompt Fulfilled: Pumpkin Spice

Started On: September 12th

Finished On: September 12th, 8:35 PM

Pages Read: 432

The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong

Prompt Fulfilled: Mood Read 1

Started On: September 13th

Finished On: September 13th, 7:57 PM

Pages Read: 352

What the Spell by Brittany Geragotelis

Prompt Fulfilled: They're Burning The Witches Even If You Aren't One

Started On: September 14th

Finished On: September 14th, 9:41 AM

Pages Read: 352

Demons of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison

Prompt Fulfilled: Dice Roll Roulette

Started On: September 14th

Finished On: September 14th, 3:23 PM

Pages Read: 464

Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty

Prompt Fulfilled: Spooky

Started On: September 15th

Finished On: September 15th, 7:15 PM

Pages Read: 448

Tides of Fire by James Rollins

Prompt Fulfilled: Mood Read 2

Started On: September 17th

Finished On: September 17th, 3:06 PM

Pages Read: 448

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Prompt Fulfilled: Stephen King

Started On: September 18th

Finished On: September 18th, 10:21 AM

Pages Read: 385

The September House by Carissa Orlando

Prompt Fulfilled: What A Ghostly Scene

Started On: September 18th

Finished On: September 18th, 10:23 PM

Pages Read: 352

Red Tigress by Amelie Wen Zhao

Prompt Fulfilled: Most Recent Purchase

Started On: September 20th

Finished On: September 20th, 2:47 PM

Pages Read: 464

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Prompt Fulfilled: Green

Started On: September 22nd

Finished On: September 22nd, 1:12 PM

Pages Read: 469

Junkyard War by Faith Hunter

Prompt Fulfilled: Mary Shelley

Started On: September 23rd 

Finished On: September 23rd, 11:43 AM

Pages Read: 200

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston

Prompt Fulfilled: Jigsaw

Started On: September 24th

Finished On: September 24th,  1:21 PM

Pages Read: 512

The Witch is Back by Brittany Geragotelis

Prompt Fulfilled: Candy Corn

Started On: September 24th 

Currently On: Page 0 of 352

Prompts Left: There Is Nothing I Do Better Than Revenge, Community Shelf 1

Read: 14

Pages Read: 5327

Becca's Spookoplathon Update 13

So I read my next book for Becca's Spookoplathon, and it was Junkyard War which was for the prompt Mary Shelley, and I'll be reading Cruel Illusions next! 

My Reading Journey:

Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani

Prompt Fulfilled: Community Shelf 2

Started On: September 11th

Finished On: September 11th, 10:39 AM

Pages Read: 256

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Prompt Fulfilled: Purple

Started On: September 11th

Finished On: September 11th, 9:00 PM

Pages Read: 578

A Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Prompt Fulfilled: Pumpkin Spice

Started On: September 12th

Finished On: September 12th, 8:35 PM

Pages Read: 432

The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong

Prompt Fulfilled: Mood Read 1

Started On: September 13th

Finished On: September 13th, 7:57 PM

Pages Read: 352

What the Spell by Brittany Geragotelis

Prompt Fulfilled: They're Burning The Witches Even If You Aren't One

Started On: September 14th

Finished On: September 14th, 9:41 AM

Pages Read: 352

Demons of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison

Prompt Fulfilled: Dice Roll Roulette

Started On: September 14th

Finished On: September 14th, 3:23 PM

Pages Read: 464

Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty

Prompt Fulfilled: Spooky

Started On: September 15th

Finished On: September 15th, 7:15 PM

Pages Read: 448

Tides of Fire by James Rollins

Prompt Fulfilled: Mood Read 2

Started On: September 17th

Finished On: September 17th, 3:06 PM

Pages Read: 448

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Prompt Fulfilled: Stephen King

Started On: September 18th

Finished On: September 18th, 10:21 AM

Pages Read: 385

The September House by Carissa Orlando

Prompt Fulfilled: What A Ghostly Scene

Started On: September 18th

Finished On: September 18th, 10:23 PM

Pages Read: 352

Red Tigress by Amelie Wen Zhao

Prompt Fulfilled: Most Recent Purchase

Started On: September 20th

Finished On: September 20th, 2:47 PM

Pages Read: 464

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Prompt Fulfilled: Green

Started On: September 22nd

Finished On: September 22nd, 1:12 PM

Pages Read: 469

Junkyard War by Faith Hunter

Prompt Fulfilled: Mary Shelley

Started On: September 23rd 

Finished On: September 23rd, 11:43 AM

Pages Read: 200

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston

Prompt Fulfilled: Jigsaw

Started On: September 24th 

Currently On: Page 0 of 512

Prompts Left: Candy Corn, There Is Nothing I Do Better Than Revenge, Community Shelf 1

Read: 13

Pages Read: 4815

Waiting on Wednesday #594, September 28th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!
 

Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Ocean's Echo is a stand-alone space adventure about a bond that will change the fate of worlds, set in the same universe as Everina Maxwell's hit debut, Winter's Orbit.

Rich socialite, inveterate flirt, and walking disaster Tennalhin Halkana can read minds. Tennal, like all neuromodified “readers,” is a security threat on his own. But when controlled, readers are a rare asset. Not only can they read minds, but they can navigate chaotic space, the maelstroms surrounding the gateway to the wider universe.

Conscripted into the military under dubious circumstances, Tennal is placed into the care of Lieutenant Surit Yeni, a duty-bound soldier, principled leader, and the son of a notorious traitor general. Whereas Tennal can read minds, Surit can influence them. Like all other neuromodified “architects,” he can impose his will onto others, and he’s under orders to control Tennal by merging their minds.

Surit accepted a suspicious promotion-track request out of desperation, but he refuses to go through with his illegal orders to sync and control an unconsenting Tennal. So they lie: They fake a sync bond and plan Tennal's escape.

Their best chance arrives with a salvage-retrieval mission into chaotic space—to the very neuromodifcation lab that Surit's traitor mother destroyed twenty years ago. And among the rubble is a treasure both terrible and unimaginably powerful, one that upends a decades-old power struggle, and begins a war.

Tennal and Surit can no longer abandon their unit or their world. The only way to avoid life under full military control is to complete the very sync they've been faking.

Can two unwilling weapons of war bring about peace?

Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

The fifth novel in the bestselling and award winning Graceling Realm series focuses on Hava, Queen Bitterblue's spy, and her harrowing journey back to Monsea after the events of 2021's Winterkeep.

In the immediate aftermath of the events of Winterkeep, Bitterblue and her entourage begin the journey back to Monsea with the only copies of the formulas for the zilphium weapon. Bitterblue must decide what she will do with her world-shaping power. But before they've even made it halfway home, storms drive their ship off course and then wrecking them in the ice far north of the Royal Continent. The survivors must make a harrowing trek across the ice in order to make it back to Monsea.

Seasparrow is told entirely from the point of view of Hava, Bitterblue's personal spy and secret half-sister. And while Bitterblue grapples with how to carry the responsibility of a weapon of mass destruction, Hava must decide what she will do with herself in the new world Bitterblue will make.

Bonds of Passion by Larissa Ione

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

He was an assassin. She was his lover.

And his victim.

Now, years later, she’s back from the dead and looking for vengeance.

Thanks to an unexpected and fortuitous disaster, Tavin’s contract with the underworld’s Assassin Guild was broken decades early. But instead of freedom, he’s suffocated by guilt and regret. In many ways, he’s more trapped than he was before. In an attempt to numb his pain, he works at Underworld General Hospital, saving people instead of killing them. But nothing can diminish the memory of assassinating the female he loved…not even the knowledge that he’d done it to spare her an even worse fate.

Deja remembers all of her dozens of former lives, and she knows that she only found love in one of them…until her lover murdered her. As a soul locked inside the nightmarish boundaries of demon hell, she stewed in hatred until a single, fateful event gave her one more shot at life.

And at revenge.

Now another specter from the past is threatening them both. Can two damaged people overcome their history to save not only themselves, but a second chance at love?

A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

'Tis the season for a Bromance Book Club matchmaking mission! This time, they're pulling out the mistletoe for everyone's favorite country music star, Colton, and his second chance at love.

Country music’s golden boy Colton Wheeler felt the most perfect harmony when he was with Gretchen Winthrop. But for her, it was a love him and leave him situation. A year later, Colton is struggling to push his music forward in a new direction. If it weren’t about to be the most magical time of year and the support of the Bromance Book Club, he’d be wallowing in self-pity.

It’s hard for immigration attorney Gretchen not to feel a little Scrooge-ish about the excess of Christmas when her clients are scrambling to afford their rent. So when her estranged, wealthy family reaches out with an offer that will allow her to better serve the community, she’s unable to say no. She just needs to convince Colton to be the new face of her family’s whiskey brand. No big deal…

Colton agrees to consider Gretchen’s offer in exchange for three dates before Christmas. With the help of the Bromance Book Club, Colton throws himself into the task of proving to her there’s a spark between them. But Gretchen and Colton will both need to overcome the ghosts of Christmas past to build a future together.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

From Susan Dennard, the New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series, comes a haunting and high-octane contemporary fantasy, about the magic it takes to face your fears in a nightmare-filled forest, and the mettle required to face the secrets hiding in the dark corners of your own family.

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

Honor and Shadows by Jessie Mihalik

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Captain Octavia Zarola needs an infusion of credits—fast—if she’s going to keep her close-knit bounty hunting crew paid and fed. Tracking down an escaped embezzler on a backwater planet should be a piece of cake, but bounties are rarely as easy as they seem.

As the crew closes in on their quarry, the hunt becomes entangled with a local criminal overlord, and Tavi will have to decide what’s more important: money or honor, and how much she’s willing to risk for either one.

Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Eight years ago, everything changed for Devlin: Her country was attacked. Her father was killed. And her mother became the Whisperer of Aris, the head of the spies, retreating into her position away from everyone… even her daughter.

 

Joining the spy ranks herself, Dev sees her mother only when receiving assignments. She wants more, but she understands the peril their country, Aris, is in. The malevolent magic force of The Mists is swallowing Aris’s edges, their country is vulnerable to another attack from their wealthier neighbor, and the magic casters who protect them from both are burning out.

Dev has known strength and survival her whole life, but with a dangerous new assignment of infiltrating the royal court of their neighbor country Cerena to steal the magic they need, she learns that not all that glitters is weak. And not all stories are true.

The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Love and duty collide in this richly imagined, atmospheric young adult debut about a witch whose dark powers put her at the center of a brewing war between the only family she’s ever known and the enemy who makes her question everything.

Monster. Butcher. Bloodwinn.

Ranka is tired of death. All she wants now is to be left alone, living out her days in Witchik’s wild north with the coven that raised her, attempting to forget the horrors of her past. But when she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the human kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her south with a single directive: kill him. Easy enough, for a blood-witch whose magic compels her to kill.

Except the prince is gentle, kind, and terrified of her. He doesn’t want to marry Ranka; he doesn’t want to be king at all. And it’s his sister—the wickedly smart, infuriatingly beautiful Princess Aramis—who seems to be the real threat.

But when witches start turning up dead, murdered by a mysterious, magical plague, Aramis makes Ranka an offer: help her develop a cure, and in return, she’ll help Ranka learn to contain her deadly magic. As the coup draws nearer and the plague spreads, Ranka is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her power, her past, and who she’s meant to fight for. Soon, she will have to decide between the coven that raised her and the princess who sees beyond the monster they shaped her to be.

But as the bodies pile up, a monster may be exactly what they need.

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Caraval meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this deliciously dark young adult fantasy about a girl who makes a deal with a magical secret society to enter a potentially deadly competition for the chance to avenge her mother’s death.

Ever since a vampire murdered her mother, Ava has been determined to get revenge. This all-encompassing drive has given her the fuel she needed to survive foster home after foster home.

But it’s been ten years since anyone’s seen a vampire, and Ava has lost hope that she’ll ever find one…until she stumbles across a hidden magic show where she witnesses impossible illusions. The magicians may not be the bloodsuckers she’s hunting, but Ava is convinced something supernatural is at play, so she sneaks backstage and catches them in acts they can’t explain.

But they’ve been waiting for her.

The magicians reveal they’re part of an ancient secret society with true magic, and Ava has the same power in her blood that they do. If she joins them, they promise to teach her the skills she needs to hunt vampires and avenge her mother. But there’s a catch: if she wants to keep the power they offer, she needs to prove she’s worthy of it. And to do so, she must put on the performance of her life in a sinister and dangerous competition where illusion and reality blur, and the stakes are deadly.

Yeah, the start of November has some really great books, authors, and series coming out! Can't wait for them! What about you guys? Happy reading!