Brittany M. Willows stuns in Bloody Spade, a young adult urban fantasy novel that explores trauma through a richly imagined magic system that relies on aptitude and willpower. Influenced by card suits and realized in magical transformations in the same vein as Sailor Moon or Persona, Amberlye ...
Romance
Pairing Science with Self-Discovery in Trope Filled, Charming Debut, Grumpy Meets Sunshine in Ali Hazelwood’s ‘The Love Hypothesis’
Ali Hazelwood conducts the experiment of a lifetime in The Love Hypothesis, a clever, self-aware contemporary romance that explores bias, harassment, and the stark reality of working in academia from the bold and quirky Olive Smith, a third year Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University. hy∙poth∙e∙sis ...
In Striking Yet Complicated Debut, Suzanne Park Explores the Toxic Side of Gaming, Pairing Romance with Much-Needed Social Commentary
Suzanne Park deftly (and unabashedly) tackles workplace inequality, harassment, and toxicity in the gaming community in her debut romance, Loathe at First Sight, as seen through the eyes of Melody Joo, an up-and-coming production assistant at Seventeen Studios. Intent on entering a predominantly ...
Raw, Honest and Unflinching, Helen Hoang Pairs Romance with Reality in ‘The Heart Principle’
Helen Hoang stuns in The Heart Principle, a complex romance that explores self-discovery and mental health with unflinching honesty in one woman’s journey to find herself amid the pressure of unexpected fame and familial expectation. When Anna Sun stumbles into the spotlight as a classical ...
Needle-Sharp Rage, Climatic, Fast-Paced Battles, and an Unforgettable Poly Power Trio Unite in Xiran Jay Zhao’s Devastating Debut, ‘Iron Widow’
Fueled by seething rage and unquenchable desire in the peasant-turned-mech-pilot, Wu Zetian, Xiran Jay Zhao devastates in their YA science fiction debut, Iron Widow. Drawing from Chinese culture – social, political, religious – Zhao blends brutal reality with mythology, unleashing a powerhouse in ...
With Gorgeous Prose, Nghi Vo Breathes New Life into a Classic with Enchanting Debut, ‘The Chosen and the Beautiful’
Nghi Vo transports the reader to 1920s New York, lulled in by lush, melodic prose and the promise of power, magic found in money and infernal deals – in the fine powder of broken antique charms and drops of Demoniac: demon’s blood, often mixed with high class cocktails. Demoniac shows itself in ...