Hello everyone! I'm a little late on my post given we're already a week into the month, but better late than never I suppose! I've been lucky to read two of the books on this list as advanced reader's copies (currently reading the third!), so be sure to look out for my reviews of those on my wrap-up posts! Let's dive in:
1. Herc - Phoenicia Rogerson (Sep. 5)
Synopsis:
This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless
adventures…everyone’s favourite hero, right? Well, it’s not. This is the story of everyone else:
Alcmene: Herc’s mother (She has knives
everywhere)
Hylas: Herc’s first friend (They were more than friends)
Megara: Herc’s wife (She’ll tell you about their marriage)
Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc’s labours (Definitely did not hide in a
jar)
His friends,
his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims. It’s time to hear
their stories. Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this
feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.
Why I'm Excited: I'm not super familiar with the story of Heracles beyond the very basics, but I know he's a controversial one and I really enjoy the idea of the heroic tale being turned on its head to expose its reality. Normally I'm not big into mythology retellings, but I just might have to snag this one.
2. Rouge - Mona Awad (Sep. 12)
Synopsis: For as long as she can remember, Belle has been insidiously obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts and grappling with lingering questions about her death. The stakes escalate when a strange woman in red appears at the funeral, offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. With the help of a pair of red shoes, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse , the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror—and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass.
Why I'm Excited: I'm lucky enough to have received a physical ARC of this book (!!), so I've already read it! Check out my review here .
3. In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology - Various Authors (Sep. 12)
Synopsis:
In these stories, dear student, retribution visits a lothario lecturer; the
sinister truth is revealed about a missing professor; a forsaken lover uses a séance for revenge; an
obsession blooms about a possible illicit affair; two graduates exhume the secrets of a reclusive
scholar; horrors are uncovered in an obscure academic department; five hopeful initiates must complete a
murderous task and much more!
Featuring brand-new
stories from Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio, David Bell, Susie Yang, Layne Fargo, J.T. Ellison, James Tate Hill,
Kelly Andrew, Phoebe Wynne, Kate Weinberg, Helen Grant, and Tori Bovalino.
Why I'm Excited: I have not read a lot of anthologies, but not from lack of wanting to. Dark academia is my absolute favorite subgenre, and this sounds like it could be right up my alley. The collection doesn't have the best of reviews right now, but this could be a great library pick. None of the books on this list are really Indie, but this one is going to be my Sleeper Pick of the Month.
4. Godkiller - Hannah Kaner (Sep. 12)
Synopsis:
Kissen’s family were killed by zealots of a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing gods, and enjoys
it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, has somehow bound himself to a
young noble, and they are both on the run from unknown assassins.
Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, they must travel to the ruined
city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favour.
Pursued by demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a
reckoning – something is rotting at the heart of their world, and only they can be the ones to stop it.
Why I'm Excited: Normally I have more self-control when I see a beautiful cover, but this might be one of the best I've seen this ever. I like the idea of a protagonist who goes around killing gods. Reviews are saying it's well-written, which is always a major plus. So I'm excited even if it didn't have the great cover.
5. The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff (Sep. 12)
Synopsis:
A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness. She carries
nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her. What
she finds in this terra incognita is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in
everything that her own civilization has taught her.
Lauren Groff’s new novel is at once a thrilling adventure story and a
penetrating fable about trying to find a new way of living in a world succumbing to the churn of
colonialism. The Vaster Wilds is a work of raw and prophetic power that tells the story of America in
miniature, through one girl at a hinge point in history, to ask how—and if—we can adapt quickly enough
to save ourselves.
Why I'm Excited: I am on a big historical fiction kick at the moment, and my love for Babel has me all interested in books that explore colonialism. Those themes mixed with a survival/adventure story make for a title that I can't wait to pick up from the library.
6. North Woods - Daniel Mason (Sep. 19)
Synopsis:
When a pair of young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know
that their humble cabin in the woods will become home to an extraordinary succession of inhabitants . An
English soldier, destined for glory, abandons the battlefields of the New World to devote himself to
apples. A pair of spinster twins survive war and famine, only to succumb to envy and desire. A
crime reporter unearths a mass grave, but finds the ancient trees refuse to give up their secrets. A
lovelorn painter, a conman, a stalking panther, a lusty as each one confronts the mysteries of the north
woods, they come to realize that the dark, raucous, beautiful past is very much alive.
Traversing cycles of history, nature, and even
literature, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment and
to one another, across time, language and space. Written along with the seasons and divided into the
twelve months of the year, it is an unforgettable novel about secrets and fates that asks the timeless
how do we live on, even after we’re gone?
Why I'm Excited: I'm enchanted by this idea of a plot that follows a singular inanimate object and its journey through time and history. The fact that the themes and framing are centered around nature and the season just add to its intrigue and uniqueness. I don't hear a lot of people talking about this one, so I hope it gets the recognition I think it's going to deserve.
7. Red Rabbit - Alex Grecian (Sep. 19)
Synopsis:
Sadie Grace is wanted for witchcraft, dead (or alive). And every hired gun in Kansas is out to collect
the bounty on her head, including bona fide witch hunter Old Tom and his mysterious, mute ward, Rabbit.
On the road to Burden County, they’re joined by two
vagabond cowboys with a strong sense of adventure – but no sense of purpose – and a recently widowed school
teacher with nothing left to lose. As their posse grows, so too does the danger.
Racing along the drought-stricken plains in a stolen red stagecoach, they
encounter monsters more wicked than witches lurking along the dusty trail. But the crew is determined to get
that bounty, or die trying.
Why I'm Excited: I'm lucky enough to have received an e-ARC of this book, but I just finished reading it this month, so my review isn't up yet. Check this month's wrap up at the end of the month (or on Goodreads/Storygraph) to see what I thought!
8. Bright Young Women - Jessica Knoll (Sep. 19)
Synopsis:
An extraordinary novel inspired by the real-life sorority targeted by America's
first celebrity serial killer in his final murderous spree.
January 1978. A serial killer has terrorized women across the Pacific
Northwest, but his existence couldn’t be further from the minds of the vibrant young women at the top
sorority on Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee. Tonight is a night of promise, excitement,
and desire, but Pamela Schumacher, president of the sorority, makes the unpopular decision to stay
home—a decision that unwittingly saves her life. Startled awake at 3 a.m. by a strange sound, she makes
the fateful decision to investigate. What she finds behind the door is a scene of implausible
violence—two of her sisters dead; two others, maimed. Over the next few days, Pamela is thrust into a
terrifying mystery inspired by the crime that’s captivated public interest for more than four
decades.
On the other side of the country, Tina
Cannon has found peace in Seattle after years of hardship. A chance encounter brings
twenty-five-year-old Ruth Wachowsky into her life, a young woman with painful secrets of her own, and
the two form an instant connection. When Ruth goes missing from Lake Sammamish State Park in broad
daylight, surrounded by thousands of beachgoers on a beautiful summer day, Tina devotes herself to
finding out what happened to her. When she hears about the tragedy in Tallahassee, she knows it’s the
man the papers refer to as the All-American Sex Killer. Determined to make him answer for what he did to
Ruth, she travels to Florida on a collision course with Pamela—and one last impending
tragedy.
Why I'm Excited: I'm lucky enough to have received a physical ARC of this book (!!), and I'm reading it right now! Check back at the end of the month for my review.
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Hope you all had a wonderful August! Our book club read for September is Eight Bears, so if you want to grab a copy before our meeting at the beginning of October, please join us!
Let me know if there are any books you're looking forward to in the comments!