In debut author Barycz’s rowdy launch of the Pilgrim Archives series, a young woman navigates an alternate Detroit brimming with supernatural beings. Brigitte Laveau Fitzpatrick has impeccable magical lineage: her mother is a descendant of Vodou queen Marie Laveau and her father was Senior Pilgrim, tasked with keeping the city’s magical denizens in line, a position Brigette inherited. Now she has her hands full investigating several disturbing cases with her partner, Graceland, a Greek god. Someone is killing sirens who work in a gentlemen’s club, the Tomes & Bones magic shop is ransacked and a box of arrowheads stolen, and the vlkodlak (werewolves) are causing trouble by spreading a rumor of a cure for lycanthropy. As Brigette investigates how these strange occurrences may be connected, she struggles to keep the peace among the city’s bickering mystical factions. Barycz whisks together American and European folklore into a gumbo of murder mystery, political drama, and urban fantasy. While at times the overabundance of subplots and worldbuilding details make it difficult to get one’s bearings, Barycz tells the tale with enthusiasm and vigor. Readers will hope for more clarity but just as much fun in future installments. (July)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

A maiden falls in love with her captor in this sizzling romantasy from Hewitt (the Mage series). Fenna Terrigan believes that her brother, Dasos, died when his ship, the Polperro, sank. So when he appears unexpectedly in the middle of the night, she’s shocked—and even more so when she learns he’s being pursued by The Specter, aka Captain Devlin Cato, who’s cursed to helm the ghost ship Phantom Night and can only be freed by offering 50 souls to the sea god, Liddros. Dasos admits he’s in hot water: he owes Devlin 25 years of his life. Noble Fenna offers to take on his debt in exchange for his freedom. Aboard the ship, things heat up fast between Fenna and Devlin, who enter into a steamy affair almost immediately. Fenna finds herself increasingly drawn to Devlin as she learns the supernatural secrets that have kept him sailing the seas for over a century. The fairy tale–esque worldbuilding feels somewhat cramped, with many intriguing concepts mentioned but few fully fleshed out. Far more successful is the romance, which delivers both heat and heart. Readers who like their romantasies extra spicy will want to check this out. (Self-published)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

Tsai (Bitter Medicine) opens the Consecrated series by overlaying a tense political thriller onto a vividly rendered dystopian landscape. Archaeologist Kiana “Key” Strade is skilled at diving into others’ long-lost memories using blood chalice mushrooms. Her loyalties are torn between the Temple led by her mother and the information-hoarding curators of the Institute of Human Memory, for which she’s chosen to work. When she takes on an unauthorized memory-seeking expedition, she uncovers an intriguing bit of ancient ritual history that she feels the ancestors want her to further pursue. Valerian, the guardian assigned to protect Key during her dives and confirm that she comes neatly out of the experience of inhabiting others’ memories, balances the responsibilities of her role, her personal fondness for Key, and the impact of supporting Key’s transgressions on her own ability to provide for her family in their stormy, climate change–ravaged home. Tsai subtly brings the details of a brutal world to light across two distinctly different social milieux: the formal manipulations of Key’s family and colleagues, and the jocular if violent world of Valerian and her fellow guardians. The result works both as postapocalyptic adventure and a meditation on the nature of history, told with remarkable richness and depth. (July)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

Simmering romance, broody dark academia aesthetics, and an inventive magic system combine in YA author Kova’s fascinating adult debut (after Dragon Cursed). Petty criminal Clara Graysword has been trapped in Halazar Prison for nearly a year, languishing in her cell unless she’s inking illegal tarot cards for the warden, a magic that only the highly trained elite are meant to have access to. Then comes a visit from Prince Kaelis, who learns of her ability and offers her an opportunity to escape the prison—though it comes with strings attached. Kaelis enrolls her in Arcana Academy, where he is headmaster, to formally hone her talents, and introduces her to everyone as the noble Clara Redwin of Clan Hermit, his intended bride. It’s all part of Kaelis’s desperate hunt for the rarest tarot card, considered by most to be a myth, in order to remake the world. Unsure of who to trust—least of all her future husband—Clara attempts to navigate the perils of the court and academy. Kova’s characters are well-shaded and her tarot-based magic system feels fresh and exciting. The worldbuilding here is largely limited to the confines of the academy, leaving much to explore in future installments. Fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas are sure to be pleased. (July)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

Johnson (The Endless Song) builds a robust and bizarre world in this wildly original and wholly transportive fantasy. During the Reagan presidency, a strange mathematical text circulated among world leaders, persuading them to set aside half of all land on Earth for natural “Harbors” to preserve the planet’s biodiversity. Upon completion of this massive project, however, it was revealed to have a far more sinister aim: 132,329 died that day only to transform into grotesque faeries. Every year since, anyone who dies on the autumnal equinox similarly transforms, becoming magical, mischievous, and often murderous, and disappearing into the nearest Harbor to join their kind. Meanwhile, “Fencers,” humans upon whom prime number tattoos have mysteriously appeared, also develop magical abilities and may be humanity’s only defense against the fae. In the present day, two such fencers, couple Calidore and Evangeline, prepare for the equinox at the Midwest Harbor. The process is complicated when their team is assigned to raid the local Sylvan Church, human worshippers of the fae. There, they find evidence that the Sylvans are surveilling the local fencing agency for purposes unknown. Balancing the dizzyingly high-concept worldbuilding are the very human relationships at the story’s center. Johnson’s writing perfectly fits his unfettered tale, lyrical and lilting at moments and skittering wildly at others. This is magical stuff. (July)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

A mystical carnival with dark secrets takes center stage in this immersive if unfocused fantasy debut by Rodrigo. Sofia, a mestiza freedwoman, travels from her colonized home of Etérea to Isla Bestia, a tropical pleasure island for the rich, to search for her twin brother, Sol, who disappeared five years ago. Sofia and her former enslaver turned close friend, Adelina, are soon swept up in the dazzle of Carnaval, from its acrobats and parade floats, to its sumptuous feasts and endless supply of wine. Sofia senses something is amiss, however, when she begins to lose her memory and fall into uncontrollable fugue states. Her investigation into why these strange things are happening pulls back the curtain on Carnaval and reunites her with Sol while also leading her to learn more about the hidden history and present resilience of her Indigenous Taike’ri ancestors. Rodrigo creates a lush and vibrant setting that is easy to get sucked into, but the dreamy, magical atmosphere dissipates in the back half of the novel as the tone and plot abruptly shift. Still, Sofia is an admirable heroine, and themes of identity, found family, and Indigenous culture add weight. It’s not perfect, but this will surely win Rodrigo some fans. (July)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

A witch angles to regain her power in this pleasurable cozy fantasy from Mandanna (The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches). At 15, Sera Swan, egged on by enchanted fox Clemmie, loses her magic in the process of casting a forbidden spell to resurrect her late aunt Jasmine. When Albert Grey, her tyrannical mentor, discovers this transgression, he banishes Sera from the witch guild. Fifteen years later, Sera runs the enchanted Batty Hole Inn in Lancashire, which has gathered an assortment of oddball long-term lodgers, including Sera’s younger cousin, Theo; older hippie Matilda; and Nicholas, a young man deeply committed to his role as a knight at a nearby medieval fair. When Theo and Clemmie sneak into the witch guild headquarters to steal a book with a spell that could restore Sera’s powers, Albert’s daughter, Francesca, now chancellor of the guild, catches them—and surprises Sera by dispatching researcher Luke Larsen to help them make sense of the spell’s cryptic instructions. Luke is initially reluctant to help, having his hands full with caring for his autistic younger sister Posy who doesn’t understand the need to keep her magic secret, but the Batty Hole’s quirky community soon thaws his steely shell. Fans of mellow magical stories centering found family will gobble this one up. (July)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

Hetherington (A Girl Made of Air) breathes new life into a minor character mentioned in Shakespeare’s The Tempest in this lyrical fantasy. Born from mortal but magically gifted parents—Atlas, blessed by the moon, and Sunny, by the sun—the witch Sycorax is a complex figure whose life is marked by passion, disability, and misunderstood magic. The plot follows her from childhood to just before the events of Shakespeare’s play, showing how her good intentions are misinterpreted by her hostile community, forcing her into the role of villain. Somewhat oddly, Hetherington picks and chooses which elements of Sycorax’s identity to emphasize, writing in a preface that “Sycorax’s North African heritage has been intelligently written about by writers who have a great understanding of the subject and often lived experience.... As such, it’s not something my novel focuses on.” Leaving race and colonialism largely aside, Hetherington instead explores how chronic illness, ableism, and misogyny impact Sycorax’s life. The supernatural elements and historical backdrop are well conjured, and Hetherington tenderly captures Sycorax’s emotional resilience in the face of relentless prejudice. At times the slow pace dilutes tension, but the lush prose is easy to sink into. This slots neatly into the recent slew of fantasies reclaiming villainous women of myth and legend. (July)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this page-turning novella, Cargill returns to the postapocalyptic future of Day Zero and Sea of Rust, in which robots threaten the extinction of humanity in a civil war. Nanny, a sophisticated robot designed to care for young children, is grieving the death of one of his charges. When Nanny takes refuge from a violent storm in a damaged home, he finds two other robots who are protecting Celeste, a teenage girl, thus making themselves traitors to the majority of robotkind. Nanny joins the trio on their journey back to the one safe haven left for humans, a massive shelter capable of withstanding a nuclear bomb and stocked with supplies that could last its inhabitants for centuries. But Nanny’s relief upon reaching this haven is short-lived after he learns that Celeste is one of the very few female residents, putting her in an uncomfortable position, and that despite a co-mayoralty consisting of one human and one robot, tensions between the two groups remain high. The uneasy calm of the encampment is further threatened by a murder, which Nanny is enlisted to help solve. The result is a taut, suspenseful, and ultimately moving tale that will be fully accessible to first-timers. Cargill continues to prove his storytelling chops. (July)

Reviewed on 05/23/2025 | Details & Permalink

Sixteen authors, including big names like Martha Wells, Andy Duncan, and Nisi Shawl, celebrate the late World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Tanith Lee in this passionate and playful anthology of stories inspired by her work. Editor Day writes of Lee in the introduction that she “always focused on the damaged, the forgotten, the cast off, and the power she saw within them, both for dark and for light,” an ethos that is reflected across these diverse tales, which range from the medievalesque to the futuristic. The fairy tale–like opener, “Makers,” by C.L. Hellisen, follows Ru, who is cast off by their parents but harbors hidden magical talents and a burning desire to make something of themself. In Mike Allen’s opulent sci-fi piece “Vortumna,” performance artist Roxia genetically programs tobacco leaves to grow from her body. Much more mundane though no less impactful magic flows through Starlene Justice’s “After the Light Fails,” about a teenager who is slowly going blind and, while taking photos in the forest in an effort to record what she can still see, spots a malevolent fairy. The result is both a fitting tribute to a master and an enchanting compendium in its own right. (July)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink