2020 Nebula Award Finalists

Nino Cipri's Finna is a rambunctious, touching story that blends all the horrors the multiverse has to offer with the everyday awfulness of low-wage work. It explores queer relationships and queer feelings, capitalism and accountability, labor and love, all with a bouncing sense of humor and a commitment to the strange.

When an elderly customer... Read more »

The City We Became

“What did I just listen to and why did I like it so much? Part of falling in love with this book was the listening experience, to be certain. The narration was stellar. The production was on point. But the story... the story itself is sublime. N.K. Jemisin has written a love letter to New York City - but not the one in bright, bold letters on the silver screen - the real city, and the real people who inhabit it and call it home, even if only temporarily. And it was beyond my wildest dreams (and nightmares). "The City We Became" is so incredibly layered and nuanced - diving into discussions of racism and sexism and the fallacy of good vs evil. I wanted nothing more than to steep in its long chapters, and get to know its boroughs as intimately as Jemisin would allow - not mere stereotypes but fully fleshed and brilliant, blinding avatars. Witty, subversive, imaginative, unbelievable. Get on this wild ride.”

Britt, Second Star to the Right

If you enjoyed The Castle of Otranto, then you’ll love Mexican Gothic.

“If what you loved about "Northanger Abbey" was its sly twist on the gothic romance, you're going to love this new setting for an old gem. Set in 1950's Mexico, it follows a capable but callous young woman who agrees to check on a cousin in exchange for tuition for a master's degree, then begins to discover what inspired the cousin's apparent descent into madness. A wealthy and controlling old man, a manipulative new husband? Yes... and also something very unpleasant to do with mushrooms. Think "The Girl With All the Gifts" meets "Stranger Things", with a clever surprise of a romance--not a Sleeping Beauty story--it's Beauty and the Beast, and the Beast is not whom you'd expect!”

Nialle, The Haunted Bookshop

The Midnight Bargain

“If you had to decide between your magical ability and love, which would you chose? Of course, it’s not that simple when your marriage will save your family from bankruptcy, but also take away more freedoms than you know. Sorcery, historical romance, feminism, female friendships, and reproductive rights — this enjoyable novel had everything I needed. Readers of Gail Carriger and Naomi Novik will gobble this up.”

Marika McCoola, Porter Square Books

If you enjoyed Gods of Jade and Shadow, then you’ll love Black Sun.

“‘Today he would become a god.’ From the first line, Black Sun pulls you in and keeps you enthralled until the very end. Roanhorse submerges the reader into a cinematic world full of adventure, lore, magic, mystery, destiny, culture, political maneuvering, and a touch of romance. Her world building is complex, detailed, and beautiful springing off the page and into the mind....I found myself rooting for all of the characters despite potentially not all being on the same side. Set in a world inspired by mythos from pre-colonial Americas, this is a must read for any epic fantasy lover. Black Sun will keep you engaged until the last page and jumping up and down for the next book in the trilogy (Spring 2022!).”

Emma, Content

Network Effect

“Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries has become one of my favorite series of all time, and Network Effect is a perfect addition. Murderbot is still trying to figure out what it wants after hacking its governor module. In the meantime, it spends its days protecting the humans it cares about. Of course, everything goes terribly wrong when a friend shows up to kidnap Murderbot and its humans are along for the ride. Network Effect isn’t just fun and action-packed, it’s also emotional and thought-provoking. I love Murderbot!”

Sophie Giroir, Cavalier House Books

If you enjoyed Lovecraft Country, then you’ll love Ring Shout.

“Great for fans of Lovecraft Country, Ring Shout takes very real terrors and mixes them with demonic horrors that feed off hatred and racism in a fast paced novella you won't want to put down. ”

Dany, Rediscovered Books

Two transgender elders must learn to weave from Death in order to defeat an evil ruler—in the debut full-length work set in R. B. Lemberg's award-winning queer fantasy Birdverse universe

The Surun' nomads do not speak of the master weaver, Benesret, who creates the cloth of bone for assassins in the Great Burri Desert. But aged Uiziya must find... Read more »

Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor’s son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven’t happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her...

Raybearer

“Immerse yourself in a rich fantasy world with wishes to cheat death, struggles for power, and hopes to find love. Jordan Ifueko has given us the start of a series where peace may not be as it seems and who you are vs. who the world tells you to be can have life-threatening and history-shaping consequences. One of my favorite aspects is the chants, prayers, and songs that are essential to the story and the narrator rhythmically enriches the reading.”

Jessica, Once Upon A Time

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly every day, like the ability to make an orb of...

Andre Norton Award finalist Jenn Reese explores the often thin line between magic and reality, light and darkness in her enchanting middle grade standalone.

After an incident shatters their family, eleven-year old Samantha and her older sister Caitlin are sent to live in rural Oregon with an aunt they've never met. Sam wants nothing more than to...

*Chosen as a 2020 Kids’ Indie Next pick * A Locus Reading List recommendation * An Andre Norton Nebula Award Finalist*

“Shveta Thakrar's prose is as beautiful as starlight.”—New York Times bestselling author Holly Black

This gorgeously imagined YA debut blends shades of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a...