New Book Releases – September 2024 Edition

Songlight by Moira Buffini

Fantasy

Expected Release: 03 September 2024 by HarperCollins

We’re two songs joined. And there’s a word for that. A harmony. 

Star-crossed lovers, against-all-odds friendship, and a brutally unforgiving world make this first in a trilogy utterly unforgettable.  From an award-winning screenwriter making her novel debut comes this powerful, page-turning trilogy perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Adrienne Young.

Read more on Goodreads.

Learn more about the The Torch Trilogy series here.

When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

Romance, YA

Expected Release: 03 September 2024 by Wednesday Books

After the death of his best friend, Eric Ly creates imaginary scenarios in his head to deal with his grief. Until one of them becomes real when a boy he met last summer in Japan finds his way back into his life. When he least expects it, Haru Tanaka walks into the coffee shop and sits down next to him. The only thing is, nobody else can see him. 

In a magical turn of events, Eric suddenly has someone to connect with, making him feel less alone in the world. But as they spend more and more time together, he begins to question what is real. When he starts losing control of the very thing that is holding him together, Eric must finally confront his reality. Even if it means losing Haru forever.

Read more on Goodreads.

The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart

Fantasy

Expected Release: 05 September 2024 by Orbit

The series is set in a world ravaged by ancient magic, where precious gemstones bestow magical abilities on the few individuals able to harness their power. Full of clandestine power struggles and the battles between gods, the story follows Hakara, a young woman searching for her missing sister and who will do anything to find her — even lead a rebellion against the gods themselves.

Read more on Goodreads.

Learn more about the The Hollow Covenant series here.

Imbued by Helyna L. Clove

Fantasy

Expected Release: 06 September 2024, Self-Published

Calla has no memories of her childhood except for hazy, recurring nightmares. Working as a servant in Kiriong, the picturesque terrace garden home to one of the most influential families in the Kamphua Dominion, she’s content to live a simple life. As long as no one finds out about the forbidden magic stirring under her skin.

When the estranged family heir, Gray—a magehunter in servitude of the royal hold—unexpectedly returns home, Calla’s secret threatens to surface. Instead of turning her in, however, Gray offers her the one thing she always feared: to teach her how to use her powers. And as the turbulent tides of long-forgotten magic draw them together, Calla finds it harder and harder to deny her potential.

But Gray knows more than what he admits. In the aftermath of a vile political plot targeting him and with the shadow of a mage uprising cast upon the land, finding out what happened to Calla in her forgotten years might be their only chance to survive.

Except the knowledge could break them both.

It could break the world.

Read more on Goodreads. This is the first book in the Imbued series.

The Sea Spirit Festival by Claudie Arseneault

Fantasy

Expected Release: 09 September 2024 by The Kraken Collective

Fate and friendship brought Horace, Rumi, Keza, and Aliyah together in Rumi’s sentient self-propelling wagon. They seek the forest haunting Aliyah’s dream, hoping for answers about the elf’s past and unique abilities—but first, they need to traverse a world haunted by Fragments, dangerous shards that can possess travellers. 

The Sea Spirit Festival is the third of nine novellas in a fantasy adventure wrapping the high stakes of epic fantasy in the warmth of cozy fantasy, all imbued with an aspec-focused queernormative world and strong platonic bonds. Learn more about the The Chronicles of Nerezia series here.

Read more about this book on Goodreads.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Mystery

Expected Release: 10 September 2024 by Crown

If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate? 

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.  Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all. 

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.

Read more on Goodreads.

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

Non-Fiction

Expected Release: 10 September 2024 by Signal

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sapiens comes the groundbreaking story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world. 

For the last 100,000 years, we Sapiens have accumulated enormous power. But despite all our discoveries, inventions, and conquests, we now find ourselves in an existential crisis. The world is on the verge of ecological collapse. Misinformation abounds. And we are rushing headlong into the age of AI—a new information network that threatens to annihilate us. For all that we have accomplished, why are we so self-destructive?  Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of the Bible, early modern witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism, and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval Noah Harari asks us to consider the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power. Read more on Goodreads.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T. J. Klune

Fantasy

Expected Release: 10 September 2024 by Tor Books

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade. Featuring gorgeous orange sprayed edges! 

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.  Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.  He’s the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there. 

This is Arthur’s story. 

Read more on Goodreads. Learn more about the Cerulean Chronicles series here.

Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari

Historical Fiction

Expected Release: 10 September 2024 by Random House

A young Yemeni Israeli woman learns of her mother’s secret romance in a dramatic journey through lost family stories, revealing the unbreakable bond between a mother and a daughter—the debut novel of an award-winning literary voice.1950.

Read more on Goodreads.

The Capital of Dreams by Heather O’Neill

Fantasy

Expected Release: 10 September 2024 by HarperCollins Publishers

A breathtaking dark fairytale of survival and betrayal, from the vivid imagination of Heather O’Neill  Sofia Bottom lives in a small country that Europe has forgotten. But inside its borders, the old myths of trees that come alive and faeries who live among their roots have given way to an explosion of the arts and the consolations of philosophy. No one, from the clarinetists to the cabaret singers, is as revered in the arts as Sofia’s brilliant mother, the writer Clara Bottom. How can 14 year old Sofia, with a tin ear and an enduring love of the old myths, ever hope to win her mother’s love? 

In a stunning dark fairytale of a novel, Heather O’Neill reveals once again that she is a master of language that is as delicious as cake and serious as a gunshot.

Read more on Goodreads.

The Light Between Us by Elaine Chiew

Historical Romance

Expected Release: 10 September 2024 by Neem Tree Press

The Light Between Us is a Southeast Asian historical romance that defies time and space as an archivist explores Singapore’s tumultuous past through a supernatural connection.  Inspired by her research into Singaporean historical archives, Elaine Chiew weaves Chinese mythology and early 20th century colonial Singapore into this speculative epic.

Read more on Goodreads.

The Scarlet Throne by Amy Leow

Fantasy

Expected Release: 10 September 2024 by Orbit

Binsa is a “living goddess,” chosen by the gods to dispense both mercy and punishment from her place on the Scarlet Throne. But her reign hides a deadly secret. Rather than channeling the wisdom of an immortal deity, she harbors a demon.  But now her priests are growing suspicious. When a new girl, Medha, is selected to take over her position, Binsa and her demon strike a To magnify his power and help her wrest control from the priests, she will sacrifice human lives. She’ll do anything not to end up back on the streets, forgotten and alone. But how much of her humanity is she willing to trade in her quest for power? Deals with demons are rarely so simple.

Read more on Goodreads.

Learn more about the The False Goddess series here.

Vilest Things by Chloe Gong

Fantasy

Expected Release: 10 September 2024 by S&S/Saga Press

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong comes the thrilling sequel to Immortal Longings, inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra. 

Calla Tuoleimi has succeeded in the impossible. Despite the odds, she has won San-Er’s bloody games and eliminated King Kasa, her tyrant uncle and the former ruler of Talin. She serves now as royal advisor to Kasa’s adopted son, August Shenzhi, who has risen to the throne.  Only Calla knows it isn’t really August. 

Anton Makusa is still furious about Calla’s betrayal in the final round of the games. In an impossible feat, he took over August’s body to survive, and has no intention of giving up this newfound power. But when his first love, the beautiful, explosive Otta Avia, awakens from a years-long coma and reveals a secret that threatens the monarchy’s authority over Talin, chaos erupts. As tensions come to a boiling point, Calla and Anton must set their conflicts aside and head to the kingdom’s far reaches to prevent anarchy… even if their empire might be better off burning.

Read more on Goodreads. Learn more about the Flesh and False Gods series here.

The World Within by Dani Finn

Romance, Fantasy

Expected Release: 14 September 2024 by Dragonheart Press

Lila’s life is almost perfect.  She’s finally opened her luxury sex shop and wellness center in a rehabilitated ancient temple. The painted faces are lining up to buy the new alchemical vibrators and unwind in the spa and baths. And she gets to work with her two best friends every day.  So why is there an empty place in her chest? 

This steamy sapphic fantasy romance stars a transfeminine heroine and includes meditation magic, alchemical trans healthcare, and family lost & found. 

Read more on Goodreads. It’s set in the Weirdwater universe and includes some characters from The Living Waters and Unpainted but is meant as a standalone. Intended for adult audiences.

A Place to Hide by Ronald H. Balson

Historical Fiction

Expected Release: 17 September 2024 by St. Martin’s Press

Powerful and dramatic, National Jewish Book Award winner Ron Balson’s A Place to Hide explores the deeply-moving actions of an ordinary man who resolves, under perilous circumstances, to make a difference. Theodore “Teddy” Hartigan is the scion of a wealthy Washington, D.C. family who place him into a comfortable job at the State Department and a placid diplomat’s career. In 1938, as Hitler’s inexorable rise continues, Teddy is re-assigned to the US Consulate in Amsterdam to replace fleeing staff  Teddy’s job is to process visa applications, and by 1939, refugees from Nazi-conquered Poland, Austria, and other countries are desperate to secure safe passage to America. When Teddy and his girlfriend Sara are introduced to an orphaned young girl named Katy, who has been abandoned on the grounds of a nursery school, they agree to adopt her. Teddy comes to realize that he holds the key to saving lives, whether five, fifty, or five hundred—and makes the dangerous and selfless decision to join with underground groups and use his position at the Consulate to rescue those with no other avenue of escape. 

Check it out on Goodreads.

An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson

Fantasy

Expected Release: 17 September 2024 by Ace

A student will find that the hardest lessons sometimes come outside the classroom in this stunning dark academia novel from the acclaimed author of The Year of the Witching and House of Hunger.  Lennon Carter’s life is falling apart.  Then she gets a mysterious phone call inviting her to take the entrance exam for Drayton College, a school of magic hidden in a secret pocket of Savannah. Lennon has been chosen because—like everyone else at the school—she has the innate gift of persuasion, the ability to wield her will like a weapon, using it to control others and, in rare cases, matter itself.  After passing the test, Lennon begins to learn how to master her devastating and unsettling power. But despite persuasion’s heavy toll on her body and mind, she is wholly captivated by her studies, by Drayton’s lush, moss-draped campus, and by her brilliant classmates. But even more captivating is her charismatic adviser, Dante, who both intimidates and enthralls her. Read more on Goodreads.

Bringer of Dust by J. M. Miro

Historical Fantasy

Expected Release: 17 September 2024 by Flatiron Books

In this highly anticipated second book in the Talents Trilogy, the world of the dead is closer than you think.  

The dark journey begun in Ordinary Monsters surges forward, from the sinister underworld of the London exiles, to the mysteries of a sunlit villa in nineteenth-century Sicily, to the deep catacombs hidden under Paris. Against bone witches, mud glyphics, and a house of twilight that exists in a netherworld all its own, the Talents must work together—if they are to have any hope of staving off the world of the dead, and saving their long-lost friend.

Read more on Goodreads. Learn more about the The Talents Trilogy series here.

A Place to Hide by Ronald H. Balson

Historical Fiction

Expected Release: 17 September 2024 by St. Martin’s Press

In the first book of a gripping new dark fantasy series, nightmares and humans unite to stop a vicious demon’s conquest. Wren, a deadly manifestation of human fears, is bound to Para Warwick, the only night creature capable of crossing between dreams and reality. After a failed mission and harsh punishment, Wren allies with a rebellious nightmare, Alaric, to find a weapon to end Warwick’s reign. Meanwhile, Prince Caine, Warwick’s son, is betrothed to Queen Ila, a weaver who guards the Boundary between realms. When Caine discovers Ila’s connection to the dream realm, he follows her, uncovering his father’s true monstrous nature. Their fates intertwine with Wren and Alaric as they join forces to overthrow Warwick and prevent reality’s collapse.

Check it out on Goodreads. Learn more about the Nightstrider series here.

Your Brain on Pregnancy: A Guide to Understanding and Protecting Your Mental Health During Pregnancy and Beyond by Dawn Kingston

Non-Fiction

Expected Release: 17 September 2024 by Simon & Schuster

An enlightening and practical guidebook for mothers to help them navigate mental health challenges during and after pregnancy—based on cutting-edge science by one of the world’s foremost researchers of maternal mental health.  

In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Dawn Kingston, world-renowned expert on mental health and pregnancy, reveals that more women are affected by mental health issues during pregnancy rather than after it. While postpartum depression is a real and serious issue, depression during pregnancy is lesser known but just as pernicious, if not more so. 

With real-life stories, easy-to-use self-assessments, and advice on how to talk to your doctor, this definitive and practical book breaks down stigma and gives women the tools they need to safeguard their health and their baby’s health for all the milestones to come. Read more on Goodreads.

Everything I Couldn’t Tell You by Jeff D’Hondt

Non-Fiction

Expected Paperback Release: 24 September 2024 by Playwrights Canada Press

Revived from a coma after a traumatic event, Megan’s injuries leave her capable of great violence, forcing her desperate physician Cassandra to recruit Alison, an Indigenous clinician, as her consultant. Alison uses an innovative form of technologically enhanced expressive arts therapy to augment the rehabilitative effects of speaking Lenape, their shared (and almost extinct) language. However, this reminder of cultural expression and identity triggers Megan, putting herself into a life-threatening situation. With Megan’s safety in jeopardy, Alison must internalize a life-changing lesson to be able to save pain is often unjust, but it also reminds us that we’re alive. Everything I Couldn’t Tell You is a potent reminder of the healing and rehabilitative power within Indigenous languages. Read more on Goodreads.

A Mom Like That: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis by Aaisha Alvi

Non-Fiction

Expected Release: 24 September 2024 by Dundurn Press

A powerful exploration of postpartum psychosis and motherhood — and a call to end the stigma and blame.  Early motherhood is supposed to be joyous, but for Aaisha Alvi, those early days were ruined by terrifying, delusional thoughts about her baby and family. Far beyond the trials of breastfeeding and getting her baby to sleep, Aaisha’s experience was the antithesis of everything she had ever been told about motherhood. 

With unflinching honesty, Aaisha takes readers beyond the vitriol and blame flung at women — particularly women of colour — suffering from postpartum psychosis. Her story is a clarion call to increase awareness of a condition that need never result in tragedy and to build support for those affected by it. Read more on Goodreads.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Contemporary

Expected Release: 24 September 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family, from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney. Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common. Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable.  Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother.

When their father passes away, for two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking. Read more on Goodreads.

Superficial by Diane Billas

Fantasy

Expected Release: 24 September 2024 by Creative James Media

Embark on a thrilling adventure with Lea and Jake as they navigate the unexpected twists and turns at the biggest superhero fan convention of the year. When Lea finds herself trapped in an elevator during the event with superstar Jake, also known as The Amazing Boy, they realize something sinister is afoot. With everyone at the convention frozen, including Lea’s friends, Lea and Jake must team up to unravel the mystery behind the villainous acts plaguing Philadelphia. Read more on Goodreads.

A Place to Hide by Ronald H. Balson

Historical Fiction

Expected Release: 17 September 2024 by St. Martin’s Press

The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi is a heartwarming novel about a magical photo studio that serves as a gateway to the afterlife. Owned by Mr. Hirasaki, a collector of antique cameras, the studio allows the departed to view their life’s key moments and relive one cherished memory before passing on. The story introduces characters like Hatsue, a 92-year-old former nursery teacher; Waniguchi, a compassionate yakuza overseer; and Mitsuru, a young girl who suffered at the hands of abusive parents. As Mr. Hirasaki helps these souls sort through their memories, he offers them a final chance to capture a treasured moment. Filled with nostalgia and whimsy, the novel explores themes of love, loss, and the significance of memories.

Read more on Goodreads.

The Last Secret by Maia Caron

Historical Fiction

Expected Release: 24 September 2024 by Doubleday Canada

A sweeping, dazzling dual-timeline novel centering on two unforgettable women—and their inextricable link to each other decades apart. 

Ukraine, 1944  Savka Ivanets works as a medic for the Ukrainian resistance during World War II. As she navigates the dangers of war, including delivering a coded message for her husband and facing the kidnapping of her son by the KGB, Savka’s world is torn apart.

Salt Spring Island, 1972  Jeanie Esterhazy lives in isolation after a traumatic accident left her scarred and with no memory of the event. Her life changes when a stranger’s arrival triggers flashbacks to her wedding night, revealing hidden truths.

The novel intricately weaves together Savka and Jeanie’s stories, creating a powerful narrative of love, hope, and the enduring strength of women. Read more on Goodreads.

Unravelling by Preethi Nair

Contemporary

Expected Release: 27 September 2024 by Kiss the Frog Press

The stories we tell ourselves and others are very often not true… 

To the outside world, Bhanu seems to have a perfect a beautiful home and a wonderful husband and family… No one knows that each superficial layer has been carefully constructed to hide the dark secrets of her past and to bury the utter disappointment that what was written in the stars did not come to pass. 

Then, on the eve of her fortieth wedding anniversary and vow renewal ceremony, a chance encounter shatters Bhanu’s pretence, when a face from her past reappears.  Deep, her first love who was etched into her heart, the man who lingered in her dreams throughout her married life, reappears, asking her to abandon everything for a second chance at love. 

Forced to confront the consequences of choices made long ago, Bhanu begins to unravel as her life is thrust into chaos. But by reaching for a different future, can she heal the wounds of her past?  An extraordinary story about the complex tapestry that makes up a woman’s life and how facing the truth can change everything…

Read more on Goodreads.