Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’m coming at you with new releases for this last week of May, plus a couple of indie new releases from earlier in the month. I hope everyone who got a holiday weekend had a good one. Mine was…not the most fun, since I got exiled from my own room all weekend while my floor was being repaired, and my idea of a good time is not sleeping on the floor while my old man cat randomly screams because he’s mad there’s a closed door — in his house. But at least that’s over now! The only way to go is up. Stay safe out there, space pirates, get some extra sleep for me — and I’ll see you on Friday!
Make this your most bookish summer yet with personalized reading recommendations from Tailored Book Recommendations! Our bibliologists (aka professional book nerds) are standing by to help you find your next favorite read. Get your recommendations via email, or opt to receive hardcovers or paperbacks delivered right to your door. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Get started today from just $18!
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
DarkKitsune Enamel Pin by Dragibuz
My weakness for a good enamel pin strikes again! To honor the nine-tailed foxes we’ve got a book about this week, I found this absolutely gorgeous pin. $20
New Releases
Ninetails by Sally Wen Mao
This collection of nine stories imagines the fox spirit seen across East Asian mythology as different figures united in solidarity, vengeance, and liberation.
The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond
Maddileh is a rarity in her land: a female knight, and in some ways the misogyny of her peers is a greater foe than the dragons she’s called on to slay. And this might well be why a minor infraction becomes a major stain on her honor. The only way to redeem herself is to retrieve a fabled sword from the legendary dragon called the White Lady.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Here are a couple of small/indie press new releases from this month for you to check out!
The Man Who Saw Seconds by Alexander Boldizar
Preble has a strange and mostly useless ability — he can see five seconds into the future. Then those five seconds give him the chance to literally dodge a bullet, leaving another man to die in his place. This revelation of his ability makes him the most wanted for a lot of agencies and groups — some above board, many not. It’s up to Preble to protect his family, his freedom, and his humanity.
Cecilia by K-Ming Chang
Seven and Cecilia knew each other once, back in their school days. A chance meeting brings the two women together, and they end up on the same bus, each claiming they are definitely not following each other. But their desire for each other is so deep and profound that soon they are lost in memory, in bodily transformation, and becoming unmoored from time itself.
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.