Publishers Weekly: Buck (Fast Acting) brings the heat in this scorching rom-com. After professor Eva Campbell’s ex, Darren, stages a ridiculous romantic gesture at her place of work to try to get her back, Eva snaps and tries to fend him off with an improvised flamethrower created from the combination of a cigarette lighter and a can of bug spray—and the fire department is called. Hunky firefighter Sean Hannigan, 36, is immediately attracted to Eva, 41, and when Darren tries […]
The Bulletin: At the prestigious Bastille Invitational, three Asian American would-be teen tennis stars vie for the title under enormous pressure to win: newbie Alice Wu, who’s anxious to show she’s worth her family’s sacrifices; Lê “Leylah” Ha, determined to prove the viability of a tennis career to her high-achieving immigrant parents; and Violetta Masuda, rising social media star, desperate to please her former champion mother. Assigned to share a room, these should-be rivals soon turn could-be friends. Past betrayals, […]
Booklist: In Harrison’s (Demons of Good and Evil, 2023) new urban-fantasy series, Petra Grady is just a sweeper, specializing in collecting the magical waste, or dross, left behind when mages cast light spells. Like many sweepers, she has no talent for magic and is looked down upon by most of the mages as a result. As one of the best sweepers on the mages’ university campus, she’s assigned to help former classmate Benedict Strom’s research project. When the research goes terribly wrong, Benedict and Petra […]
Publishers Weekly: Three elite tennis players randomly assigned as roommates compete at Bastille, a tournament where they go head-to-head both on and off the court, in this multilayered novel by Gracia (Boys I Know). When 16-year-old Japanese American Violetta Masuda arrives at Bastille’s tennis academy, she’s expecting to have a roommate with whom she’ll share her dorm for the duration of the tournament. What she’s not expecting, however, is that along with Taiwanese American high school sophomore Alice Wu comes […]
Library Journal: Recently dumped by her boyfriend and fired, Anna, a Kurdish refugee, already has enough to deal with before her close encounter with the wounded alien on her kitchen floor. Being that he’s an officer in the Joint Special Operations Command, Erik’s life mission is to bring order to chaos, and he’s sorely tested as he investigates what appears to be an alien starship. Clayton schemes in the background, willing to do anything to protect humanity. Hostile first contact […]
Kirkus: When three queer best friends in Alabama are inspired by The First Wives Club to exact revenge on their terrible exes, a homophobic school initiative takes their mission in an unexpected direction. Ezra Hayes, who’s coded white, is accustomed to hiding in plain sight, but he feels that he’s fallen by the wayside once his two best friends, Lucas Rivera, who’s cued Mexican American, and Finley Lewis, who’s Black, get into relationships. Ezra thought his summer romance with Presley, the school’s […]
The British Science Fiction Association Awards Longlist has been announced and many congratulations to the following DMLA authors who have been nominated for this year’s award in the following categories! Best Collection: Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction 2022 – Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Eugen Bacon, Milton Davis (Arc Manor) Languages of Water – Editor, Eugen Bacon (MVMedia) The Skin Thief – Suzan Palumbo (Neon Hemlock) No One Will Come Back for Us – Premee Mohamed (Undertow) Best Novel: A Second […]
Library Journal: Magic users may be able to manipulate light energy, but dross—the waste left behind—is something few consider or deal with. This is where sweepers, people who can handle dross without its bad luck effects or development into the more dangerous shadow, come in, and Petra Grady is one of the best sweepers in St. Unoc. Working at the university has its perks, but when Doctor Benedict Sexy—er, Strom—wants Petra to help with a research project to render dross […]
Library Journal: Scales is a mechanic and enforcer in Ashtown, working under the powerful, deadly Emperor to help keep balance in their desert town. When a close friend dies horrifically in front of Scales, she is tasked with finding out the truth about their violent death—especially when there was no murderer in sight. When it is discovered that more deaths have occurred, both in Ash and in the walled and wealthy Wiley City, Scales must work with two frustrating men—her […]
Booklist: Audrey’s mom, Camilla St. Vrain, wrote the self-help book Letters to My Someday Daughter that made her a household name; Audrey only wants to spend time with her boyfriend and work toward her own someday medical career. But Camilla has other plans, bringing Audrey on a tour to discuss the book Camilla wrote years ago. Pushed to answer invasive questions and constantly surrounded by her mother’s interns—including the irresistible Silas—at least Audrey gets a national tour of doctors out […]