June Hype Post!

June is going to be another epic month of great books – I once again send you to my huge 2021 post where I talk about some great books that I’m very excited about (find it here) to avoid using this space to repeat myself. It talks about The Nature of Witches, Daughter of Sparta and The Jasmine Throne (review here) among others. There are some more, like The Wolf and the Woodsman and For the Wolf, which I’m expecting to review in the next couple of weeks, so I’m not going to talk about them at length here.

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag is a YA graphic novel that will be released on the first of June. It sounds incredibly cute: Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. Because really, Morgan’s biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl. That is, until she is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. They soon become close and Morgan finds life on the island not as confining anymore… But Keltie has secrets of her own, and their secrets will find their way out into the open whether they are ready or not. Honestly, just inject it into my veins now. I’ve developed a hankering for adorable queer graphic novels, and it looks like this one fits the bill perfectly. Order a copy from Portal Bookshop here.

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sanbury is a YA fantasy out on the 15th of June. After years of waiting for her Calling – a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers – the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. When Voya’s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees, and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic. But there’s just a tiny problem. She hasn’t been in love with anyone yet. So she sets out to find a match, caught between morality and duty to her bloodline, all the while trying to master her witchcraft. This sounds like such a fun light fantasy – and the cover is absolutely stunning. I’m a sucker for a good witch and Voya sounds like a wonderful leading lady. Order a copy via Bookshop here (affiliate link) – though be warned, it looks like UK release is later!

Star Eater by Kerstin Hall is the last book on my list for this month. It will be released on the 22nd of June and is very much aimed at the adult end of the SFF readership. This sounds like a delightfully weird science-fantasy of cannibalistic nuns in space. And if that doesn’t persuade you that you need to check this book out, I’m not sure what will. From the blurb: Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her. Though she’s able to stomach her gruesome day-to-day duties, the reality of preserving the Sisterhood of Aytrium’s magical bloodline horrifies her. She wants out, whatever the cost. This is a story of sacrifices, of hard choices and of how far women are willing to go when they don’t see a choice. This sounds dark and morally murky and right up my alley. Order yourself a copy from Blackwell’s here.