Shadow Fallen

November 1, 2021

In Flint and Mirror, with the Irish battling English encroachment, Hugh O'Neil, Lord of the North, is torn between England's Elizabeth the Great, who signals her devotion to him with an obsidian mirror, and the flint-bearing ancient Irish arising from the underworld to make him the country's savior; from Crowley, winner of the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement (75,000-copy first printing). In Davenport's debut, a young Black woman faces both racism and misogyny when she commits herself to the Praetorian Trials--better called The Blood Trials, as only a quarter of the participants survive--to find out who assassinated her grandfather and seek revenge (75,000-copy first printing). Award-winning author Ford was working on Aspects at his untimely death in 2006, and the novel--set in an alternate 18th century and blending swords and machine guns, magic fantasy and politics--has finally achieved publication (60,000-copy first printing). With Spear, Nebula and Lambda award-winning Griffith offers a queer retelling of the Arthurian legend, with a girl raised in a cave following her destiny to the court of King Artos of Caer Leon (100,000-copy first printing). In Kenyon's Shadow Fallen, set during the Norman Conquest, an invading knight--actually son of one of the universe's more deadly powers--realizes that a noblewoman he encounters is an immortal transformed by sorcery into a flesh-and-blood human, and he must restore her to her rightful place or tragedy awaits (250,000-copy first printing). In the Hugo and Nebula award-winning Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone, reticent Marra is fed up with the way her kingdom's prince mistreats her sisters and seeks the help of a gravewitch so that she can get rid of him for good. Reimagining J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Martinez's God of Neverland features the adult Michael Darling on a rescue mission to his erstwhile home, where magic is threatened and Peter Pan (whose real name is Maponos) has gone missing (75,000-copy first printing). Star-dusted singer, songwriter, and actor, Mon�e puts to page the Afrofuturistic world evident in her celebrated album Dirty Computer in The Memory Librarian, exploring how race, gender identity, and love fare in a totalitarian environment as Jane 57821 decides that she does not want to lead the life intended for her (200,000-copy first printing). From Power, the New York Times best-selling author of Wilder Girls, In a Garden of Burning Gold features twins Rhea and Lexos, who must contend with activists challenging their irascible father's governance of their small, ever-teetering country. Having won Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards, Roanhorse follows up her award-finalist epic Black Sun with the sequel Fevered Star, set in the Meridien, where magic is controlled, the gods smashed down, and sea captain Xiala caught up in the ensuing chaos (75,000-copy first printing). Ward returns with Love Arisen, next in the "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series, stark, shadowy, and erotic but no details yet (125,000-copy first printing).

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February 15, 2022
Valteri the Godless is a Norman warrior and brother to the king, who has reluctantly put down his sword to preside over Ravenswood Hall. His tenants fear him and his mismatched eyes, and a childhood of torture at the hands of monks left Valteri with the belief that he is worthy of his cruel reputation. Ariel is an Arel, a sort of angel, who ferries souls from the battlefield to heaven, until a curse makes her lose her wings, and a trick of the demon Belial has her forgetting who she really is. When she lands at Ravenswood Hall, she immediately sees the good in Valteri, and despite his efforts to keep her at bay, he is soon smitten. But larger forces are working to keep the two apart. In this medieval mash-up of Beauty and the Beast and the Little Mermaid, Kenyon continues her Dark-Hunter series (after Stygian, 2018) with the ongoing battle between cosmic good and evil. Though best appreciated by series fans, readers of dark romance will root for Valteri and Ariel.

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March 28, 2022
Bestseller Kenyon (the Dark-Hunter series) gets her Dream-Hunter series off to an exciting start, set against the Norman invasion of England. Ariel is a supernatural creature called a Naşāru, and her role is to escort the souls of men who die on the battlefield to the afterlife. But a sorceress blames Ariel for her son’s death and seeks revenge by cursing Ariel and transforming her into a human. The only way to break the curse and return to her former self is to fall in love—and then watch the one she loves die in her arms. Human Valteri, abused his entire life because of his mismatched eyes, has no interest in romance—until he meets Ariel. And, though loving a human is a sin to the Naşāru, her feelings grow just as quickly. The pair will either end up saving each other, or bring about each others’ demise. Kenyon packs the angst into their romance, and their conflicted emotions can sometimes grow a bit repetitive. Still, the struggle between fate and freedom makes for fascinating reading, and Kenyon does a good job imbuing all her characters—even the villains—with complexity. Fans are sure to devour this.