Winter’s Orbit is a captivating space romance with action, adventure, and galactic politics. Prince Kiem knows himself to be a minor player of the royal family, best known for creating minor scandals. When the Empress commands him to marry a stranger for the good of the empire, he obeys his grandmother. Count Jainan, a diplomat from vassel planet who has separated himself from his family and compatriots, is enigmatic and desperate to support his husband and liege planet. A slowburn romance, there are lots of threads twisting through the book: a murder mystery, palace intrigue, sinister plots, and a fraying empire. Kiem and Jianan must discover the truth of each other as well as the danger surrounding them; the fate of their planets is at stake. - Julie
Tobias, the Wild Man of Greenhallow, lives a quiet life in his cottage in the woods with his cat and dryad friends - until the folklore scholar Henry Silver comes to the Wood and old secrets are unearthed. This novella has a gloomy one/cheery one pairing, a sweet male male romance, a folklore feel with a dangerous tinge that makes it more real, and sassy dryads. So I'm not really sure what more you could ask for. - Jessi
Brimming with magic, romance, and mystery, A Marvellous Light is simply marvelous. Robin is a cheery, warm, nonmagical person who is thrust into a world of impossible magic and hair-raising danger when he is accidentally assigned to work in a magical bureau. He is partnered with Edwin, a cold, enigmatic magician who seemingly wants nothing to do with Robin or the liability he presents. But when Robin and Edwin encounter a terrifying curse, a mysterious fog faced man, a murderous maze, a sentient house pulsing with ancient magic, and powerful contract magic that would be deadly in the wrong hands, they realize that the only way to survive is to stick together. This historical fantasy/romance was equal parts gripping, sexy, and thrilling, and had me flipping pages for sleepless night after sleepless night. I am infatuated with Robin and Edwin and can't wait to see where Freya Marske takes them next! - Jessi
What would you sacrifice for your own ambition? Through dual POV narratives, this book tells the stories of Zhu and Ouyang, two survivors who suffered tragic losses and ruthlessly clawed their way into positions of power through manipulation and bloodshed. When they are set against each other as generals of rival armies, the threads of fate that bind them are set ablaze with their burning for power and their lives will never be the same. This enthralling epic fantasy that swept me from burning monastery to burning battlefield crushed my open heart in its brutal searing palms and I felt blessed to be present for the entire journey. Heartbreaking, lovely, bloody, and burns with a radiance of ten thousand suns. An unmissable historical fantasy debut!