Can you believe it’s September already? There are so many great books coming out this month and I’m excited to share them with you! 🙂
Fury of a Demon (Dragons of Terra, #3) by Brian Naslund
The conclusion to the Dragons of Terra trilogy! I’m particularly excited to see how this one ends. This series is full of memorable characters, dragons, and a really interesting focus on ecology.
Among Thieves by M.J. Kuhn
A high-stakes heist novel set in a gritty world of magic and malice.
WHO NEEDS FRIENDS WHEN YOU HAVE AXES?
Ryia ‘the Butcher’ Cautella has earned her reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the city – not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name.
A deadly secret has kept Ryia in hiding, running from city to city, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster – sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms. But even the most powerful men can be defeated.
One last impossible job is all that stands between Ryia and her freedom – but even the Butcher can’t do it alone. She teams up with the Saints, a crew of uniquely skilled miscreants, smugglers and thieves, to carry off a death-defying heist into the most tightly guarded island in the kingdoms – the Guildmaster’s stronghold.
Unfortunately for Ryia, her new allies are nearly as selfish as she is, and they all have plans of their own . . .
Thieves, heists, guilds! Among Thieves has been on my watch list for months and I can’t wait to dive into it.
Among Thieves is also the Goldsboro GSFF pick for September. Their edition will be signed, numbered, and have sprayed edges.
Daughter of the Yellow Dragon (Fractured Empire, #1) by Starr Z Davies
Genghis Khan united a nation and created a vast empire for his heirs. But after 200 years of civil war, his empire has fallen into the dark ages.
Mandukhai dreams of being a fierce warrior woman, but her dreams are shattered when she is forced to become the second wife to the Great Khan.
Unebolod spent his life in the Great Khan’s shadow, preparing for a day when he can seize control of the empire. But when he forms a dangerous alliance with Mandukhai, it swiftly transforms into a passion that could destroy them both.
Just as the two are certain their fate will one day bring them together and make Unebolod the next Great Khan, a young prince surfaces to steal the Great Khan’s attention and the hearts of the nation.
Daughter of the Yellow Dragon is the first book in a gripping, gritty historical fiction series based on the epic life of one of the most underrated women in history. The series draws you into a world of brutal Mongol steppe life, deadly political games, and supernatural beliefs.
Compared to the other books on this list, Daughter of the Yellow Dragon is a recent discovery for me. It sounds like a great story though, and it looks like it’s planned to be at least four books.
The Wisdom of Crowds (The Age of Madness, #3) by Joe Abercrombie
The conclusion to The Age of Madness trilogy! If you haven’t started this yet, there’s no time like the present! It’s a brilliant book about revolution. Plenty of morally grey characters, and Joe Abercrombie writes the best action sequences I personally have ever read!
Defy the Night (Defy the Night, #1) by Brigid Kemmerer
King Harristan rules Kandala with an iron fist. He’s had to ever since he and his brother Prince Corrick inherited a kingdom on the verge of collapse after a deadly illness killed most of the population before a cure was found. The one thing keeping his people alive is also driving them apart . . . the cure, made from the nectar of a rare flower. As sickness lingers among the people of Kandala, a sharp divide has formed, as those who control access to the medicine live in luxury–while the rest live in suffering. The only way to keep the peace is to kill anyone who threatens it, and that task falls to young Prince Corrick.
Tessa Cade is a masked outlaw marked for death, but she likes it that way. At night, she and her best friend Weston Lark ride through the streets of the poorest towns, distributing food, money, and medicine they’ve stolen from the elite ruling class. Tessa has reason to hate the king: her parents were publicly executed after they were caught selling medicine on the black market. She has reason to love Weston: he saved her life when she nearly followed her parents to the same fate. She’s come to hate the dawn, which signals that it’s time for Weston to return to his home on the other side of the city, where he spends his days working in the grueling iron forge.
Lately, rumors have been spreading that the cure no longer works, and people are starting to act on their worst impulses. Tessa knows that the only way to save her people–the poor–is to assassinate King Harristan. It’s a mission that is more likely to kill her than save anyone, but if her parents were willing to risk their lives, then so is she. What Tessa doesn’t expect to find is that everything she believed about her kingdom is a lie, and that tipping the balance of power will require her to work with the very people she intended to destroy. . .
Set in a fantasy world startlingly similar to our own, Brigid Kemmerer’s newest series illuminates the divide between those with power and those without. . . and what happens when someone is brave enough to flip the system upside down.
I actually have not read any of Brigid Kemmerer’s books, but I have heard great things about The Cursebreaker trilogy. Defy the Night certainly sounds like an intriguing read.
The Free Bastards (Lot Lands, #3) by Jonathan French
The Grey Bastards and The True Bastards were some of my favourite reads of 2021. Jonathan French has created such a fun culture — like a motorcycle gang, but half-orcs who ride battle hogs. Absolutely brilliant!
I’m looking forward to Oats’s point of view. Live in the saddle, die on the hog!
Into the Dying Light (Age of Darkness, #3) by Katy Rose Pool
I haven’t read the second book yet (As the Shadow Rises) but I read There Will Come a Darkness when it first came out and adored it!
I suspect I’ll do a reread of book one, then continue through the rest of the trilogy.
Traitors of the Black Crown (Black Crown, #1) by Cate Pearce
Three women will betray the black crown. A Knight. A Duchess. A Queen.
Raena Schinen narrowly escaped when the Queen’s guard murdered her entire family. If Raena’s survival is exposed, she’ll be next. For fifteen years Raena has hidden as a male Knight, “Sir Rowan”, consumed by her vengeful desire to assassinate the Queen.
The moment Raena is close enough to exact her revenge, she is unexpectedly exiled to a foreign land. There she serves the common-born Duchess Aven Colby, whose suspicious kinship with the Queen further threatens Raena’s delicate secrets.
Just as they become united in a common goal to curb a looming invasion, unexpected heat and romance blossoms between “Sir Rowan” and Aven. The peril demands they set out on a journey to form clandestine political alliances, risking the Queen’s wrath, and drawing Raena and Aven closer together.
But no one in the kingdom could have imagined the sinister foe rising from below the surface. In order to save themselves and those they love, Raena, Aven, and the Queen must recognize who are the oppressors and who will unite against the Black Crown.
Fantasy, romance, political intrigue, revenge… Just a few of my favourite things!
Wake of the Phoenix (Artifice of Power Saga, #1) by Chelsea Harper
War Hero. Thiefmaster’s apprentice. Traitors. Every title comes with a price.
Arkaen is a gods-damned saint. He sacrificed his childhood innocence fighting for the beleaguered rebellion in a civil war and relinquished a comfortable life with the man he loves to reclaim his place as high lord from corrupt nobles. Now, a hidden enemy is manipulating his lower lords into talk of rebellion, including the powerful Rogue Baron who is slowly swaying the city into questioning every move Arkaen makes.
With the help of his near-omniscient lover’s gift of foresight, Arkaen finds a potential ally in Niamsha, a reluctant thief trying to pay for her brother’s education. But Niamsha owes an insurmountable debt to the mysterious leader of her thieves guild and failing to pay means death—for her entire family. When her guild leader demands she join forces with the Rogue Baron himself, she finds herself caught in a political battle beyond her skills. Torn between protecting her family and following her conscience, Niamsha doesn’t know who to trust.
If Arkaen can win Niamsha’s loyalty, he might just prevent a second civil war and the destruction of everything he fought to protect. Or he might get them all killed.
Wake of the Phoenix popped up on my radar fairly recently. I saw the cover (and a link to a review) on Twitter and was immediately intrigued. The synopsis only pulled me in further. Thief, loyalty, traitors, civil war… this sounds amazing!