Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and we’re over the September hump, heading down to the best month of the year (in my opinion): October. But we’re not quite there yet, so I’ve got some new releases…and some more new releases because September continues to be a mass of new, awesome books. I am definitely detecting a spooky thread to the new releases, though, which I will attribute to both horror as a genre continuing with its renaissance and that, as I mentioned before, we’re approaching October. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!
Book Riot’s editorial team is writing for casual and power readers alike over at The Deep Dive! During the month of September, all new free subscribers will be entered to win Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, plus five mystery books from The Deep Dive. To enter, simply start a free subscription to The Deep Dive. No payment method required!
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s two places to start: Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, which sends support to those affected by the wildfires on Maui, particularly first responders; and Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.
Bookish Goods
Cultist Cats Coloring Pages by EccentricExprColor
I love doing a bit of coloring while I listen to audiobooks, and this seller on Etsy has a ton of fantastical coloring sheets for digital download! This one is for 50 sheets of anthropomorphic cats dressed up in fantasy religious robes, but there’s a whole array to look at…including 50 sheets of zombie Yorkshire Terriers. $4
New Releases
Candelaria by Melissa Lozada-Oliva
Candelaria’s granddaughters have all lost their way: archaeologist Bianca lost the dig of her life in Guatemala after being seduced by her advisor; after being missing for over a decade, Bianca has resurfaced as a wellness cultist in Boston renamed Zoe; Candy has the most ordinary troubles as a recovering addict left pregnant by a man who…might not actually exist. But Candelaria has kept her concerns to herself — until a cataclysmic earthquake hits Boston, and she must, for reasons known only to her, reach the Watertown Mall Old Country Buffet while battling strange monsters. We know only that doing this will save her granddaughters…and maybe the world.
The Court of Shadows by Victor Dixen, translated by Françoise Bui
Once known as the Sun King, Louis XIV embraced immortality and became the first vampire in the world, turning into the King of Shadows. Three centuries later, he still rules from the Court of Shadows in Versailles, maintaining the loyalty of his nobles with tithes of his subjects’ blood. Commoner Jeanne Froidelac survives the murder of her family by the king’s soldiers and takes on their legacy: a rebellion in its infancy that involves the secrets of alchemy. In pursuit of vengeance, she disguises herself and enrolls in a school for those who would be courtiers to the King of Shadows.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
As is my wont, I’m sneaking in more new releases for you today!
The Box by Mandy-Suzanne Wong
The box seems innocuous: small and white and made of strips of woven paper, impossible to open without being destroyed. And yet everywhere it passes in this collapsing metropolis, it causes confluences, conflicts, and disasters. Is it a truly inanimate object? And who says what is inanimate cannot have agency?
Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons
When an aspiring comedian named Raely survives a train wreck — one so disastrous that she’s the sole person to make it out — she discovers that she’s being followed by a ghost. But as ghosts go, this new friend (who may actually be a much older friend who has been following her all her life) she calls Casper is quite helpful and nice…which is good, because she’s also got a demonic spirit on her tail that would like nothing more than to destroy her.
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.