New Edelweiss E-galleys (4/4/23)

Hello e-galley readers! Check out some of the exciting e-galleys that were recently added to Edelweiss for your downloading pleasure:

DIRTY LYING DRAGONS by Sabrina Blackburry
9781990778308 | 8/8/23

Set in the same world as DIRTY LYING FAERIES, Sabrina Blackburry’s next action-packed installment of the Enchanted Fates series introduces us to Dani—a covenless witch whose life changes the moment meets Ryker, a centuries-old dragon.

Dani has never been able to use her magic. She feels like half a witch. She’s covenless and a bit lost, and, at the moment, being hunted by a pack of very aggressive werewolves intent on claiming her for a powerful vampire’s “collection.” When she’s captured, it’s up to a centuries-old dragon named Ryker to come to her aid—and their relationship will rock the supernatural world in ways neither expected nor is prepared for . . .

THE REBEL KING by Gina L. Maxwell
9781649373489 | 7/25/23

All Tiernan Verran ever wanted was to live his life as the spare heir of the Night Court, the rebel prince. No responsibilities. No accountability. Free to service his needs however, and with whomever, he desires in the shadows of Sin City. Including Fiona, the mouthwatering red head who works for his brother. The same brother who rips away his freedom when he thrusts Tiernan into a role he was never meant for and never wanted: king.

But a forbidden tryst is the least of their worries when Fiona and Tiernan are caught in a war that force them to balance who they are against who they want. And somewhere in this maelstrom of lust, love, and rebellion is the key to the Dark Fae’s survival… but the cost will be more than either of them imagine.

MENEWOOD by Nicola Griffith
9780374208080 | 10/3/23

In the much anticipated sequel to HILD, Nicola Griffith’s MENEWOOD transports readers to seventh-century Britain, a land full of rival kings and rival religions, poised for revolutions like the world has never seen. Hild—now eighteen and married to her forbidden childhood love, battle-scarred and triumphant—is no longer a bright child who charms and dazzles the court with seemingly supernatural insight. But she remains one of the king’s most trusted advisers, both seer and warrior, which makes her formidable in a volatile court, and also subject to His Majesty’s most dangerous whims. She has never been stronger or more vulnerable.

And war is brewing: old alliances are fraying, the priests are impatient to displace the old religions, vengeful rivals are antsy, the king is greedy and dangerously confident. Change is in the air, even if Hild is the only one who can clearly sense it. She wants to protect her own—her family, her friends, her land—but is that enough? For them? For her? As she fights to survive the turbulent times, her life will be rocked by unimaginable loss and grief, and a new strength will be forged, as her vision for a new kind of future emerges and Menewood takes root.

In the last decade, HILD has become a beloved classic of epic storytelling. MENEWOOD picks up where that heroine’s journey left off, and exceeds it in every way.

SILENT CITY by Sarah Davis-Goff
9781250262622 | 10/17/23

Outside the walls of Phoenix City, where the plague has overrun Ireland, one bite from the savage skrake means death or infection. Inside, Orpen and the other survivors of the plague gather in meager numbers. They are protected from disease and death, but the city is by no means a refuge.

Phoenix City is ruled with an oppressive hand, with even the best of the leadership power hungry and ruthless. Orpen and the banshees—a fierce, all-women force of fighters—keep the peace, or shatter it, depending on their orders. But when two women are publicly executed, Orpen knows she must make a choice between guaranteed survival within a cruel society or treacherous freedom beyond the walls.

A story of friendship, justice, and belonging, SILENT CITY is a feminist, voice-driven take on leadership in dire times.

MISFIT: Growing Up Awkward in the ’80s by Gary Gulman
9781250777065 | 9/19/23

For years, Gary Gulman had been the comedian’s comedian, acclaimed for his delight in language and his bracing honesty. But after two psych ward stints, he found himself back in his mother’s house in Peabody, MA—living in his childhood bedroom at age forty-six as he struggled to regain his mental health.

That’s where MISFIT begins. Then it goes way back.

This is no ordinary book about growing older and growing up. Gulman has an astonishing memory and takes the reader through every year of his childhood education, with obsessively detailed stories that are in turn alarming and riotously funny. We meet Gulman’s family, neighbors, teachers, heroes, and antagonists, and get to know the young comedian-in-the-making who is his own worst–and most persistent–enemy.

From failing to impress at grade school show-and-tell to literally fumbling at his first big football game, in settings that take us all the way from the local playground to the local mall, from Hebrew School to his best (and only) friend’s rec room, young Gary becomes a stand-in for everyone who grew up wondering if they would ever truly fit in. And that’s not all: the book is also chock-full of ‘80s nostalgia (Scented Markers, indifference to sunscreen).

MISFIT is a book that only Gary Gulman could have written: a brilliant, witty, poignant, laugh-until-your-face-hurts memoir that speaks directly to the awkward child in us all.

BLOOD BETRAYAL by Ausma Zehanat Khan
9781250822406 | 11/7/23

In Blackwater Falls, Colorado, Harry Cooper, a police officer nearing retirement, is hot on the heels of some local vandals when the situation turns deadly: believing one of them to have a gun, Harry opens fire and Duante Reed, a young Black man, is killed. The “gun” in his hands was a bottle of spray paint.

Meanwhile in nearby Denver, a drug raid goes south and a Latino teen, Mateo Ruiz, is also killed. The officer thought to be responsible is Kelly Broda, a name Detective Inaya Rahman is all too familiar with. Kelly is the son of the police officer who led a violent attack on her when they were both in Denver: John Broda. No one is more surprised than Inaya when John turns up on her doorstep, pleading for her help in proving the innocence of his son, who he insists is a much different breed of man than John himself.

With the Denver Police force spread thin between the two cases, protests on both sides of the cases begin and Lieutenant Wagas Seif and Inaya have their work cut out for them. Harry was by all accounts an officer dedicated to the communities he served: was this shooting truly a terrible mistake? Duante was a street artist with no prior record: can his death ever be justified? Was Mateo in the wrong place at the wrong time, or truly a dangerous drug dealer: either way, was lethal force necessary? And can Kelly’s apple really have fallen so far from the rotten tree that is his father, or are Inaya’s own prejudices working against her?

A complex and timely mystery, BLOOD BETRAYAL is the stunning follow up to BLACKWATER FALLS, proving once again that Ausma Zehanat Khan is a writer at the peak of her powers.

THE GUEST ROOM by Tasha Sylva
9781250863959 | 7/11/23

When Tess is forced to rent out her late sister’s old room to pay the bills, the urge to rummage through her guests’ belongings overtakes her every thought. Teasing herself with forbidden glimpses into the lives of strangers is a momentary thrill, but it’s the closest she’s felt to anyone since the mysterious death of her sister, Rosie.

When her newest lodger, Arran, takes the room, Tess finds his salaciously detailed diary, which chronicles his infatuation with a beautiful stranger. The diary, which appears harmless at first, slowly takes a darker, more menacing tone with each new entry.

Her compulsion to know the truth leads to Tess shadowing Arran through the streets of London, hoping to catch a glimpse of this unnamed woman. And as she continues to peruse his diary, she can’t help but notice the similarities between the woman on the pages and herself, leaving her to wonder, Who has truly been watching whom?

THE JINN-BOT OF SHANTIPORT by Samit Basu
9781250827517 | 10/3/23

Shantiport was supposed to be a gateway to the stars. But the city is sinking, and its colonist rulers aren’t helping anyone but themselves.

Lina, a daughter of failed revolutionaries, has no desire to escape Shantiport. She loves her city and would do anything to save its people. This is, in fact, the plan for her life, made before she was even born.

Her brother, Bador, is a small monkey bot with a big attitude and bigger ambitions. He wants a chance to leave this dead-end planet and explore the universe on his own terms. But that would mean abandoning the family he loves—even if they do take him for granted.

When Shantiport’s resident tech billionaire coerces Lina into retrieving a powerful artifact rumored to be able to reshape reality, forces from before their time begin coalescing around the siblings. And when you throw in a piece of sentient, off-world tech with the ability to grant three wishes into the mix… None of the city’s powers will know what hit them.

VALLEY OF REFUGE by John Teschner
9781250827357 | 10/3/23

What would you do if you. . .

. . .were offered an obscene amount of money for your family’s ancestral land? For Nalani and her mother, the money that could change their lives—at the sacrifice of everything they believe—is a double edged blade, and they’re not sure they can trust the secretive tech billionaire holding it out to them as if it were an olive branch. But what happens when a man with unlimited wealth is given an answer he doesn’t want to hear?

. . .woke up on a plane en route to a tiny Hawaiian island, with no memory of who you are or why you’re there? Janice, whose only clues are the passport in her pocket, and a locked phone with increasingly alarming text alerts about a situation she may or may not be part of, barely knows where to start. Navigating an unfamiliar place, and her own unfamiliar mind, Janice seeks to discover who she is, and answer the question of why she is here, and exactly whose side is she on?

As plans are set in motion that carry them down dangerous and unexpected paths, all involved must decide just how far they are willing to go to reach their goals, before turning back is no longer an option.

ABOVE THE SALT by Katherine Vaz
9781250873811 | 11/7/23

John Alves, son of a famous Presbyterian martyr on the Portuguese island of Madeira, spends his childhood in jail and in poverty. When he meets Mary Freitas—though the adopted daughter of a master botanist, her true lineage is the subject of dangerous rumor—a spark kindles a lasting bond. But soon their families must confront the rising blood tide of warfare between Catholics and Protestants. Fleeing with only what they can carry, John and Mary are separated and arrive at different times and places in a rapidly growing and changing mid-nineteenth century Illinois.

Years later, John settles into his life as an educator at Jacksonville’s nationally renowned School for the Deaf, and Mary is a gardener in Springfield for handsome, wealthy Edward Moore. After John and Mary reconnect, the home of rising politician Abraham Lincoln provides a prime setting for their courtship. But conflict looms on the horizon, and John is torn. Should he join the Union Army to prove his loyalty to his new country, or should he stay to fight for the chance to make a life with the one he loves?

And should Mary accept Edward’s marriage proposal, since he is a partner in her business of selling the miracle-berry fruit she transported from Madeira, or should she choose her passion for John? Social jealousies and betrayals compound the obstacles unleashed by the Civil War.

In poignant and lyrical prose, Katherine Vaz’s ABOVE THE SALT is a captivating and beautiful tribute to the power of true love and the sacrifices we make to harness it.