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SMOKE AND SCAR by Gretchen Powell Fox

Apr 072026
 

A Splintered Kingdom

An ancient grudge has kept humans and the magical races of Arcanis at odds for centuries. The Arcane Crucible, a legendary series of trials that occurs every 25 years, offers a chance for peace.

A Haunted Warrior

Elyria Lightbreaker, once a celebrated fae war hero, is a shadow of her former self. Drowning in grief after losing the man she loved to the previous Crucible, now she must rise to stop his sister from falling to the same fate.

A Vengeful Knight

Hardened by loss and fueled by hate, Cedric Thorne’s lifelong goal to conquer the Crucible on humanity’s behalf is finally within reach. The only problem? Getting through the trials alive means working with Elyria—the very fae he blames for his parents’ deaths.

An Unwinnable Challenge

With alliances fragile as spun glass and betrayal lurking at every turn, Elyria and Cedric must navigate deadly trials that test their strength, spirit, and magic… as well as their increasingly complex feelings for each other.

This is the Arcane Crucible.

 April 7, 2026  Tagged with: ,

Review: SECONDS TO SPARE by Rachel Reiss

Apr 062026
 

Booklist: Groundhog Day meets Murder on the Orient Express in this audacious airborne thriller that’s sure to have you on the edge of your aisle seat. Evelyn and Orion are two teens on a flight home from Hawaii who are running from problems in their daily lives. But when they find themselves reliving the same terrifying 28 minutes over and over, our heroes must team up to save a plane full of passengers from a deadly time loop. Writer and scuba diver Reiss (Out of Air, 2025) brings her tight plotting and vivid characterization to a more contained setting than her underwater debut, but her ability to wring tension out of a plot structure that repeats the same beats is genuinely impressive. Readers with a fear of flying and an aversion to gore should steer clear, but anyone seeking a metaphysical page-turner for their layover should rush to the nearest Hudson Books to buy the latest work from this exciting new voice in YA suspense.

 April 6, 2026  Tagged with: ,

March Audio Deals

Mar 312026
 

a pair of black ear budsMelissa K Roehrich’s RAIN OF SHADOWS AND ENDINGS, STORM OF SECRETS AND SORROW and TEMPEST OF WRATH AND VENGEANCE, books 1-3 of the Legacy series,  to Anji Cornette at GraphicAudio, in a very nice deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier (NA).

 March 31, 2026  Tagged with: , ,

March Translation Deals

Mar 312026
 

Bulgarian rights to Robert Sheckley’s STORE OF INFINITY to Alto, by Tamara Vukicevic at Prava i Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

Czech audio rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ROGUE PROTOCOL, EXIT STRATEGY, NETWORK EFFECT, FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, and SYSTEM COLLAPSE, books 3-7 in The Murderbot Diaries, to OneHotBook, by Nada Popovic at Prava i prevodi in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

French renewal rights to New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s MARKED IN FLESH and ETCHED IN BONE, the fourth and fifth books in the Others series, to Bragelonne, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

French omnibus rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, and EXIT STRATEGY, the first four books in The Murderbot Diaries, to Editions L’Atalante, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

German rights to J.M. Kearl’s THE ASSASSIN’S WAY, to Piper, at auction, in a three-book deal, by Sarah Knofius at Thomas Schlueck Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier at Donald Maass Literary Agency.

Japanese rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ PLATFORM DECAY, the eighth book in the Murderbot Diaries series, to Tokyo Sogensha, by Shreya De Sousa at The English Agency (Japan) in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Ukrainian rights to British Fantasy Award winner Simon Jimenez’s THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER, to Athena, by Tamara Vukićević at Prava i Prevodi in association with Michael Curry.

 

 March 31, 2026  Tagged with: , , , , ,

RAIN OF SHADOW AND ENDINGS by Melissa K. Roehrich

Mar 312026
 

Out of all their creations, the gods favored their children the most. But with that favor came the fear that their Legacy would one day become too powerful . . .

A World the Gods Forgot
Devram is a realm hidden amongst the stars. The gods gave their Legacy the best of all the worlds, and then they left—having sworn to never return and to never interfere.

A Historical Event
Forced into a life of servitude, the Fae provide for the Legacy in more ways than one. Every five years, eligible Fae are gathered for the Selection and assigned to serve in one of the six Kingdoms. To be chosen as the personal Source for a Kingdom Heir is the greatest honor, and for the first time in millennia, all six Kingdoms have heirs choosing a Source. But their selections could tip the power balance a little too far.

A Chosen That Was Never Meant to Be
Tessalyn Asura was as forgotten as the realm. But when she finds herself the personal Source to the Heir of Endings, she winds up serving in the darkest Kingdom of them all. The secrets within the Arius Kingdom are meant to be learned and kept, but this was never the life she wanted. Fighting not only the fate thrust upon her, but the temptation to lose herself to desire, Tessa will do anything to escape her new destiny. Until she begins to realize that maybe their world isn’t as forgotten as they thought—and that maybe she’s the reason why.

 March 31, 2026  Tagged with: ,

Deal: Matthew Hubbard

Mar 302026
 

Matthew Hubbard’s HOW TO BREAK HIS HEART, pitched as Heated Rivalry meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, following two collegiate hockey teammates with a complicated history of hooking up; one wants to make the other fall in love using romance tropes for a lit paper, and the other wants to break his heart for a psychology project, only real feelings get in the way of their mastermind schemes, to Katie Holt at Saturday Books, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2027, by Katie Shea Boutillier (world English).

 March 30, 2026  Tagged with: ,

Review: SECONDS TO SPARE by Rachel Reiss

Mar 252026
 

Shelf Awareness: Two teenagers are stuck in a time loop, reliving the last few minutes before a plane crash, in Rachel Reiss’s clever and arresting YA locked-door mystery, Seconds to Spare.

Characterization is sometimes thin–for example, little information is shared about Evelyn’s relationship with her still-living mother or her plans as a recent high school graduate–but kinetic pacing and unexpected plot twists make Seconds to Spare a gripping narrative. The time loop element, reminiscent of movies like Groundhog Day and YA novels such as Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, adds an intriguing speculative element to the mystery, and the clock ticking toward a permanent plane crash raises the stakes. Reiss (Out of Air) develops visceral action scenes–“everything lurches forward at an entirely unnatural angle. Nothing’s where it should be. Side is now down, down and up are now to the side”–and the plane cabin setting creates an atmosphere of claustrophobic suspense. Mystery fans will enjoy deciphering clues alongside the characters as this propulsive mystery reveals its secrets.

Shelf Talker: Two teens who keep repeating the same 28 minutes in a crashing plane must work together to break the time loop and prevent the crash in this gripping YA mystery.

 

 March 25, 2026  Tagged with: ,

THIS WILL BE INTERESTING by E.B. Asher

Mar 242026
 

Galwell True was the perfect hero, the legend who sacrificed himself to save the realm…only for his friends to unexpectedly resurrect him ten years later. These days, he’s feeling less “Galwell the Great” and more “Galwell the Lost.”

River Pricemark is an excellent assassin. When the Deathrose Guild, an organization known for banishing evil, tasks her with eliminating Galwell, she sees her chance to climb the ranks. So, it’s bad luck when her ambush is interrupted by Celine Hazelton, a scribesheet reporter who questions why the Guild is targeting Galwell at all. It’s worse luck that Celine is also her childhood crush.

Queen Thessia of Mythria is tired of being the damsel. She’s just married the kind and handsome King Hugh and is meant to live happily ever after—but her story feels incomplete. Upon learning Galwell, her ex, is in danger, she turns her royal honeymoon into a rescue, bringing everyone overseas to the opulent land of Vestriya.

Between underground lairs, magical grottos, horseball matches, and masquerades, Galwell must rely on his newfound questmates—including beautiful Vestriyan criminal Mona Grandhart, who seems determined to corrupt him in more ways than one. Good thing he’s set a single rule for everyone on this quest: no romance.

But we all know how this ends, don’t we?

 March 24, 2026  Tagged with: ,

HEIR OF TWISTED LIES by LJ Andrews

Mar 242026
 

Lyra Bien never expected to leave the royal house at Stonegate in one piece after her rare melder magic was revealed. Once she discovered the truth behind the need for her magic and the brutality of her kingdom, Lyra vowed to put an end to the corruption of the crown. But is the enemy of her enemy her friend? Lyra must put her trust in the man who stole her heart . . . then deceived her.

Roark Ashwood rose through the ranks to become Sentry of Stonegate and personal guard to the prince, despite being born of the enemy clan, the Dravens. But in a single heartbeat he destroyed his ruthless reputation all to save Lyra. With his true identity unveiled, Roark revealed years of plotting and betrayal to everyone he loves.

As Roark’s two lives collide, he must fight to protect the woman he loves and outsmart those throughout the kingdoms who want his power for themselves. Lyra must wade through long-kept secrets, rising battles, and vicious court intrigue—all while keeping her feelings for Roark at bay.

 March 24, 2026  Tagged with: ,

Starred Review: SECONDS TO SPARE by Rachel Reiss

Mar 162026
 

School Library Journal: The nail-biting action starts with the very first sentence of this superb thriller. Evelyn has been trapped in a 28-minute time loop 194 times on an airplane that’s about to crash. Each time the plane starts to nosedive, she sees a flash of white light and wakes up in her original seat, reliving the same terrifying sequence. She has memorized every passenger’s name and seat number, and has had conversations with all them, except one: Rion, the boy she met briefly in the airport. Sparks flew when their hands accidentally touched. Rion sleeps through every loop, and from what she’s discovered in his bags, he is hiding a secret. Evelyn experiments with new actions to break the cycle, but when she accidentally awakens Rion, she realizes he remembers the loops, too. The other passengers and the flight crew have no memory of the loops, leaving the pair isolated in their knowledge of the crisis and heightening every moment of suspense. Chapters alternate between Evelyn’s and Rion’s points of view, with just enough backstory to make readers care about the characters and briefly take the story beyond the airplane. Even though the tension is high, it is often relieved by moments of levity as the humanity and quirks of the others on the plane shine through. Main characters cue white.VERDICT An absolutely wild ride that deserves a place in every teen collection.

 March 16, 2026  Tagged with: ,
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