Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I have a combination of paranormal-stuff-happens and second-in-series new releases. Kind of a funky Friday, but it’s been kind of a funky week where I’m at, between the weird March weather and the randomness of every day (non-paranormal) life. Stay safe out there, space pirates, have a great weekend, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!
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Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical and humanitarian relief to children in the Middle East regardless of nationality, religion, or political affiliation; and Ernesto’s Sanctuary, a cat sanctuary and animal rescue in Syria that is near and dear to my heart.
Bookish Goods
Federal Bureau of Control Mug by Steamtowers
The rather paranormal new releases this week put me in mind of Control, which is a fun video game if you like “weird stuff happens and ordinary items can alter reality in disturbing ways.” Highly recommend if you’re a video game person! $15
New Releases
The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Y. Ham
The hotel is a place Yewon dreams of, a place she both wants to understand and escape. Her waking life is unfortunately entirely inescapable; she’s lost her job at a convenience store, she’s living with her mother in a small South Korean village, and her brother is stationed near the North Korean border in the endless Forgotten War. Every house in the village holds rotting fragments of ancestral bones that must be constantly bathed and cared for — and fill everywhere with the stench of death. When Yewon’s brother is held in a North Korean prison, her dreams intensify until reality and dream blur together…
The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste
The Velkwood Vicinity is an area — and an event — that has captivated occult kooks and scientists alike in the 20 years since a block of homes disappeared and left only three survivors who can enter the strange veil left in its place. One of the survivors, Talitha, has finally returned, though she claims she’s only doing it for the money. But really, what she wants are answers.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
It’s hard to balance the desire to point out brand new beginnings in books with sequels and series continuations. So let me call your attention to two new releases that are second books in series!
The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi
Five hundred years after The Lies of the Ajungo, the Forever Desert has been attacked repeatedly by the Cult of Tutu until the City of Truth is the last remaining bastion of freedom. The cult is led by a mysterious leader known as the Aleke. When the Aleke commits a massacre and steals the God’s Eyes, Junior Peacekeeper Osi is tasked with destroying the cult, discovering what the Aleke really is, and bringing the God’s Eyes home.
The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black
After The Stolen Heir, Prince Oak is paying heavily for his betrayal with imprisonment in the icy north, where he must rely on his charm and calculating mind if he wants to survive. He must decide if he will attempt to regain the trust of the girl he loves or if he will remain loyal to Elfhame and end her reign — and 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.