Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got your second dose of new releases for the week, and a second dose of witchy fantasy books in keeping with this glorious season. There’s a bite in the air, which requires drinking a lot of hot tea to shake it off. Perfect reading weather, if you ask me. May you get to take advantage of it! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday next week!
Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are 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
Hand Painted Wide Brim Hat by RarefiedandRaw
I went looking for “witchy western” thanks to one of the books in the recommendations this week. What I found is this hat, which I am now utterly obsessed with. For anyone who wants a nontraditional — and gorgeous — witch hat! $110
New Releases
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 edited by R.F. Kuang
This is a collection of SFF short stories curated by R.F. Kuang. Authors include Alix E. Harrow, S.L. Huang, Malka Older, Sofia Samatar, and more!
Red River Seven by A. J. Ryan
Seven people wake in a boat lost in mist-shrouded waters, and none of them remember who they are, how they got here, or anything else helpful. Each of them also has a gun. This is already a recipe for suspicion, paranoia, and someone getting shot…and then the screams start up out in the mist.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
I’m still in the mood for witch books, so here are two more coming at you for this October!
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
This was one of my favorite books of 2021, so you can bet your butt I’m going to take this opportunity to recommend it again. Immanuelle has been raised isolated in a cult where her existence is a blasphemy because her mother loved an outsider — and one of a different race at that. But when she accidentally ends up in the woods where the first prophet killed four powerful witches, their spirits give her an unexpected gift: a chance to know more about her mother, even if it comes with the unpleasant truth that she once consorted with witches…and had good reason to.
The Black Tree Atop the Hill by Karla Yvette
Marisol is the witch of Jack Boyd’s ranch, hired to notice threats that edge into the otherworldly. Thus, she’s the first one to look past the disastrous calving season and notice the tree that’s appeared atop the hill. But the tree is not alone, and soon Marisol and the ranch’s resident ghost must work together to stop the trees from taking over the ranch, California, and maybe even the world.
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.