User menu

Shopping cart

Mystery, SFF, & Romance from Summer 2018

Our staff recommends some of the new genre books they are most excited about this season, fully written by female-identifying authors.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Oh, Naomi Novik, is there anything you can’t do? This beautifully written blend of Jewish and Russian folklore, fantasy, and faerie tale will absolutely enchant and delight you. Though not a sequel to Uprooted, it has that same unique take on classic faerie stories that Novik is so very good at spinning. Identity and the nature of what makes a villain are thoughtfully explored, as well as how family and tradition shape you in unexpected ways. I have all the love for this book!

—Jax

Staff Pick Badge
Spinning Silver: A Novel By Naomi Novik Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780399180996
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Del Rey - May 7th, 2019

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Grab your bike and hop on for a fantastical ride through the magical countryside. Polk’s choosing of the setting to be World War I was a refreshing take from current urban and medieval fantasy settings. And the story plays out more as a historical drama than an enchanting adventure, also a welcome turn. If you like your magic mixed with history, give this one a read. - Ian

Staff Pick Badge
Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle #1) By C. L. Polk Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781250162687
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tordotcom - June 19th, 2018

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

This is a riveting novel that, while at times a slow burn, builds relentlessly to a brutal, heartbreaking climax. Roanhorse has created a captivating world built from Navajo culture and mythology, and her novel shines with a superb story and gorgeously rendered (and heartbreakingly real) characters. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a captivating, innovative, post-apocalyptic science-fiction/fantasy novel. - Stuart

Staff Pick Badge
Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) By Rebecca Roanhorse Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781534413504
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: S&S/Saga Press - June 26th, 2018

Temper by Nicky Drayden

Temper is a tale both harrowing and humorous about the adventures of twin brothers who battle their demons, literally and figuratively, in a culture where a person’s worth is determined by the virtues and vices assigned to them as a child. A craving for blood along with lechery, deceit, and vanity run rampant through a vividly imagined world in this dark fantasy that is riddled with mysteries and secrets at every surprising turn. - Trey

Staff Pick Badge
Temper: A Novel By Nicky Drayden Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062493057
Availability: Not On Our Shelves, But Available from Warehouse - Usually Delivers in 3-14 Days
Published: Harper Voyager - August 7th, 2018

The Seas by Samantha Hunt

The re-release of this book is a wonderful thing, we are lucky to have it back in the collective unconscious. If The Little Mermaid 2 met Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace it might look something like this. But this is better, because it’s real. It’s a story of unrequited love, and madness, and war, and mermaids, and all the ways a small town can shape a big life. It’s a story of the ocean, and its unwavering loyalty to itself. And it’s a story of family, of the ways we mark and are marked by our kin. I will be recommending this book to the people I love for a very long time. - Wren

Staff Pick Badge
The Seas By Samantha Hunt, Maggie Nelson (Introduction by) Cover Image
By Samantha Hunt, Maggie Nelson (Introduction by)
$19.95
ISBN: 9781941040959
Availability: Not On Our Shelves, But Available from Warehouse - Usually Delivers in 3-14 Days
Published: Tin House Books - July 10th, 2018

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

A new novel in the old style of speculative fiction, answering “What if?” with real-world science and a social conscience. Mary Robinette Kowal has penned a thoroughly believable 1950’s where humanity must suddenly race to space for weightier motivations than a Cold War. Elma York, WWII pilot, computer, reluctant spokeswoman, will face disaster, loss, ignorance (her own and others’), social injustice, and disbelief in science to guarantee our survival among the stars, and that all are included. - Jocelyn

Staff Pick Badge
The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel By Mary Robinette Kowal Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780765378385
Availability: Not On Our Shelves, But Available from Warehouse - Usually Delivers in 3-14 Days
Published: Tor Books - July 3rd, 2018

Enigma by Catherine Coulter

While I’m not familiar with the earlier books in this series, that fact didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment. A wonderful mix of kidnappings, escapees, and amazing shenanigans, Enigma managed to hit all of my favorites elements in a mystery. An FBI team is pulled in two directions: one half chasing down a recently escaped Most Wanted, while the rest struggle to find a missing baby taken from under their noses. Toss in a comatose John Doe, and your summer beach read is complete! - Rachel

Staff Pick Badge
Enigma (An FBI Thriller #21) By Catherine Coulter Cover Image
$16.99
This item may be available from the publisher! Give us a call or send us an email to find out.
ISBN: 9781501189838
Published: Gallery Books - February 27th, 2018

Look for Her by Emily Winslow

Jane Doe January was the stunning memoir which first hooked me on Emily Winslow's work. As a mystery writer, Winslow delivers! Look For Her orbits the era-defining case of a missing girl from the 70’s. Winslow’s nonlinear narrative builds intense psychological suspense, a cold-case mystery with new threat of active violence, which wraps up neatly into a satisfying, divine-able yet unexpected bow. One of a series, this is also an ideal standalone summer read. - a.c.

Staff Pick Badge
Look for Her: A Novel (Keene and Frohmann #4) By Emily Winslow Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9780062572585
Availability: Not On Our Shelves, But Available from Warehouse - Usually Delivers in 3-14 Days
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - February 13th, 2018

Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton

This compulsively readable book is as much about NYC as it is about the two toxic friends who roam the city in pursuit of the next Thing -- party, selfie, gala, boy. It’s a wild and heart-pounding ride through private clubs and penthouses as Lavinia introduces Louise to a lifestyle any girl would kill for. A delicious blend of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Gossip Girl, you won't be able to put this down until the last bloody page. - Kelly

Staff Pick Badge
Social Creature: A Novel By Tara Isabella Burton Cover Image
$26.95
This item may be available from the publisher! Give us a call or send us an email to find out.
ISBN: 9780385543521
Published: Doubleday - June 5th, 2018

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

Edgar award winner Megan Abbott is wonderful at portraying doomed female friendships with the sizzling tension usually reserved for forbidden romances. This claustrophobic psychological thriller examines the way a dark secret between two old high school friends re-emerges when they reunite as adults, threatening to tip them both into insanity. Just like the high school friend your mother didn’t approve of, this book will shock you, make you cackle, and get under your skin. - Ilana

Staff Pick Badge
Give Me Your Hand By Megan Abbott Cover Image
$27.00
This item may be available from the publisher! Give us a call or send us an email to find out.
ISBN: 9780316547185
Published: Little, Brown and Company - July 17th, 2018

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Mystery, SFF, & Romance from Summer 2018