Review: BROKEN SOULS AND BONES by LJ Andrews

Apr 212025
 

Booklist: Prolific romantasy author Andrews (Broken Kingdoms series, beginning with Curse of Shadows and Thorns, 2021) offers an exciting first entry in a Norse-inspired series. The power of a melder is one that kings have killed for. Lyra Bien has such power and has tried to keep it hidden it since the night of the raids. But secrets don’t stay secret forever, and Lyra is betrayed and sent to Stonegate, the royal fortress of Jorvondal. Roark Ashwood, a deadly warrior with secrets of his own, is tasked with escorting Lyra and guarding her from potential threats. Roark despises melders, whose power he views as corrupt. And how could Lyra trust a Draven, Jorvondal’s sworn enemy? Undeniably drawn together, though, they begin to really see each other. Lyra imagines the hands Roark uses to speak doing more. Roark begins to fall for the melder with silver in her eyes.  But will power and betrayal ultimately tear them apart? Expertly weaving together loyalty, love, and lore, Broken Souls and Bones offers a compelling narrative that will have romantasy readers enthralled.

Kirkus’s Best Books of the 21st Century

Apr 182025
 

Congratulations to Darcie Little Badger as Elatsoe was included in this fantastic round-up of Kirkus’s Best Books of the 21st Century (so far!)!

The cover of Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger featuring a young Lipan Apache woman.

Review: A HOME FOR UNUSUAL MONSTERS by Shaun David Hutchinson

Apr 172025
 

Horn Book: This sequel to The School for Invisible Boys (rev. 1/24) shifts its focus to twelve-year-old Samantha Osbourne, budding agent for the clandestine paranormal research group Kairos, as she navigates adolescence, grief, and…monsters. Sam is sent on a covert mission to recover a top-secret list created by recently deceased, eccentric Kairos agent Lionel Frobisher. Using her unique ability to alter her appearance in others’ minds, Sam disguises herself as Lionel’s cousin Sunny for a visit to his Seattle home. When the strange Draven family simultaneously moves in next door, Sam’s suspicions are raised. Hutchinson’s complex story line interweaves the fantastical (living buildings, magic glasses, deadly stuffed animals) with relatable tween concerns (such as feeling “exposed” in a two-piece swimsuit). Details around the loss of Sam’s parents in a fire and the surprising revelation about the Kairos organization’s true motives add narrative depth. Brief chapters, intriguing dilemmas, and near-constant twists will keep readers on edge throughout this substantial addition to a thoroughly creepy and captivating adventure series.

Starred Review: ALL THE NOISE AT ONCE by DeAndra Davis

Apr 162025
 

Publishers Weekly:Though Black high school junior Aiden loves football, he’s always believed that his reactions to overstimulation connected with his autism diagnosis would prevent him from joining his older brother, star quarterback Brandon, on the high school team. When he participates in summer tryouts, his overwhelm from a multi-person pileup triggers a meltdown. Assuming he’s doomed his chances, Aiden moves on, until a confluence of events results in his making the team, a development that not everyone—including some of his new teammates—is happy about. Then Aiden is involved in a physical altercation with a white teammate, and Brandon, having protected Aiden, is wrongfully charged with assaulting a white police officer. With the future Brandon has worked so hard for—and the brothers’ relationship—in jeopardy, Aiden determines to clear his brother’s name. Chapter titles count down the days leading up to and following the incident, grounding readers and injecting immediacy into Davis’s propulsive debut. Aiden’s intimate first-person perspective offers an organic portrayal of a Black autistic teen navigating social stigma and systemic racism. Writing nuanced and complexly rendered characters, family dynamics, and social commentary, Davis delivers a powerful portrayal of identity and siblinghood that’s as gripping as it is thoughtful. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kat Kerr, Donald Maass Literary. (Apr.)

THE HATTER’S DAUGHTER by WA Simpson

Apr 152025
 

There is more to the Vine than mortals and immortals know. It reaches its branches and tendrils into realms beyond the Riven Isles. On the night Faith was born, her mother perished, but not before sending Faith to safety, in Underneath. Discovered by The Mad Hatter, he takes Faith home to raise as his own. When the Rot invades, Faith determines to fight. She won’t do it alone. Her childhood friend, Prince Rowan accompanies her. Faith must return to her birthplace to find a Legendary Heroine. But Overland is dangerous, and the minions of the Rot are in pursuit. If she doesn’t succeed, the minions of the Rot will destroy everything they know.

Tales from the Riven Isles is a dark fantasy series set in a world outside of our own, where the characters of myth and fairy-tales exist, and their legends live on. Featuring the novels: ‘Tinderbox’, ‘Tarotmancer’, and ‘The Hatter’s Daughter’.

ALL THE NOISE AT ONCE by DeAndra Davis

Apr 152025
 

In this compelling, moving story about brotherhood, identity, and social justice, a Black, autistic teen tries to figure out what happened the night his older brother was unjustly arrested.

All Aiden has ever wanted to do was play football just like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. An overstimulation meltdown gets in the way of Aiden making the team during summer tryouts, but when the school year starts and a spot unexpectedly needs to be filled, he finally gets a chance to play the game he loves.

However, not every player is happy about the new addition to the team, wary of how Aiden’s autism will present itself on game day. Tensions rise. A fight breaks out. Cops are called.

Brandon interferes on behalf of his brother, but is arrested by the very same cops who, just hours earlier, were chanting his name from the bleachers. When he’s wrongly charged for felony assault on an officer, everything Brandon has worked for starts to slip away, and the brothers’ relationship is tested. As Brandon’s trial inches closer, Aiden is desperate to figure out what really happened that night. Can he clear his brother’s name in time?

SENSELESS by Ronald Malfi

Apr 152025
 

What do you see…?

When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the desert on the outskirts of Los Angeles, the detective assigned to the case can’t deny the similarities between this murder and one that occurred a year prior. Media outlets are quick to surmise this is the work of a budding serial killer, but Detective Bill Renney is struggling with an altogether different scenario: a secret that keeps him tethered to the husband of the first victim.

What do you hear…?

Maureen Park, newly engaged to Hollywood producer Greg Dawson, finds her engagement party crashed by the arrival of Landon, Greg’s son. A darkly unsettling young man, Landon invades Maureen’s new existence, and the longer he stays, the more convinced she becomes that he may have something to do with the recent murder in the high desert.

What do you feel…?

Toby Kampen, the self-proclaimed Human Fly, begins an obsession over a woman who is unlike anyone he has ever met. A woman with rattlesnake teeth and a penchant for biting. A woman who has trapped him in her spell. A woman who may or may not be completely human.

In Ronald Malfi’s brand-new thriller, these three storylines converge to create a tapestry of deceit, distrust, and unapologetic horror. A brand-new novel of dark suspense set in the City of Angels, as only “horror’s Faulkner” can tell it.

2025 Hugo Awards Finalists!

Apr 142025
 

The finalists for the 2025 Hugo Awards Finalists were announced a couple of days ago, and we’re over the moon to see our DMLA authors honored! Congratulations all around!

BEST NOVEL

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey, Hodderscape UK)

BEST NOVELLA

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom)

BEST NOVELETTE

“By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars” by Premee Mohamed (Strange Horizons, Fund Drive 2024)

LODESTAR AWARD FOR BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK
The Feast Makers by H.A. Clarke (Erewhon)
Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)

BEST SEMIPROZINE
Amanda Downum and E. Catherine Tobler for their work on The Deadlands
Premee Mohamed for her work on Escape Pod

Robert Jackson Bennett’s A DROP OF CORRUPTION #66 on USA Today Bestseller List!

Apr 142025
 

Congratulations to DMLA author, Robert Jackson Bennett as his novel, A DROP OF CORRUPTION rings in as a USA Today Bestseller!

Starred Review: THE FOLDED SKY by Elizabeth Bear

Apr 102025
 

The cover of The Folded Sky by Elizabeth Bear with a dramatic outerspace scene.Library Journal: Information exists all over the universe, and Sunya Song’s goal in life is to preserve it. She is an archinformist, a specialist historian who has traveled halfway across the galaxy to save as much as she can of the Baomind, an alien artificial intelligence that is in orbit around a dying red giant. Sunya is surprised—and dismayed—to discover that her academic rival (and ex-lover) Vickee Devine has also arrived, along with Sunya’s alien wife and their two children. When the research station and small fleet of ships come under attack by Freeport pirates, the group must protect themselves as well as the Baomind, which the pirates believe should be destroyed. With danger outside and inside the station, Sunya must find a way to contact help, thousands of light-years away. VERDICT The latest entry in Bear’s “White Space” series following Machine) showcases her smart and introspective command of space opera. Well-developed characters highlight not only the big ideas of artificial intelligence, xenophobia, and data preservation but family dynamics and scientific rivalries.

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