The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Dark Fantasy

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle

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Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
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Curious Tides centers a lush magic system unlike anything I’ve seen before. The celestial lore was beautifully crafted, and Lacelle’s prose is as captivating as a high tide. I deeply appreciated the subtle LGBTQIA rep and the care with which each interpersonal entanglement was treated. I’ve no doubt that Curious Tides will become a staple in the dark academia/fantasy niche, and I cannot wait for the sequel.

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle, (List Price: 21.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781665939270, October 2023)

Reviewed by Isabel Agajanian, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, Florida

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto

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Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto
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Wren wants nothing more than to be a valkyr, a highly trained warrior who protects reapyrs as they make sure the dead stay dead. But when a betrayal sabotages her qualifying trial, Wren finds herself disgraced and shunned with only one chance to redeem herself: rescue a prince from a wasteland of the dead. Harrowing and thrilling, with a richly imagined world and magic system, Bonesmith is the start of a duology that should be at the top of every fantasy fan’s reading list.

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto, (List Price: 21.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781665910590, July 2023)

Reviewed by Charlie Williams, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley

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The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley
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Elodie was going to be queen, until her youngest sister was born. The third daughter of a third daughter has been prophesied as the second coming of their deity. But there’s tension between the crown and the church, and Elodie, wanting to save her kingdom, accidentally puts her sister into an eternal sleep. The apothecary who sells her the potion, Sabine, is the only one who can help Elodie save her sister and the country, and the two set off to do just that. But while Sabine and Elodie grow closer, secrets have a way of coming out, and all is not as it seems among the clergy. An emotional adventure full of court intrigue that’s sure to appeal to fans of other YA royal reads like Three Dark Crowns and Dance of Thieves.

The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley, (List Price: 18.99, Christy Ottaviano Books, 9780316465694, July 2023)

Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
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After her deadly daughters devour their father’s kingdom, the mermaid princess knows she is too soft to return to the ocean’s depths. Adrift, she decides to travel with the kingdom’s plague doctor, the only person who saw what a monster she truly was even bedecked in sugar and froth in her role of a princess. Together, they journey north into a village of children and saints and discover beauty and horror in equal measure. As always, Khaw writes beautiful, elegant prose of graphic scenes of bodies being taken apart and, sometimes, devoured. Her writing is top-notch and the ending is sweet, without being saccharine, as the monsters in this story stay true to their vicious nature. Highly recommended!

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw, (List Price: 21.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250830913, May 2023)

Reviewed by Kelly McLeod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen

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A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen
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Magic, murder, and class struggle blend together in a satisfying start to a YA fantasy sequence. Ren and her classmates are transported to a dark realm through a magical accident. One is dead, but won’t be the last to die. As they fight for survival and a way home, their secrets are their worst enemy. Until they meet one with teeth. I can’t wait for Scott Reintgen’s follow-up.

A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen, (List Price: 19.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781665918688, March 2023)

Reviewed by Rosemary Pugliese, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina

Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb

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Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb
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Wow, what a beautifully written book that deals with a lot of complex issues while still feeling like a wonderful fantasy novel. What was so beautiful you may ask? First of all, the characters. Normally I find childhood bestfriends/lovers turned enemies to be very unbelievable but M.K. Lobb found the best way to do it. Roz and Damian were very believable characters with trauma that manifests in very different ways. PTSD isn’t always hiding in a corner or freaking out at loud noises. Second of all, the plot of which I’d say there are really two plot lines and then a third of when they finally converge together. A murder mystery and a rebellion don’t really seem to fit together until they finally do and I was excited for every second. This book didn’t feel like it was almost 400 pages because I just kept wanting to find out what happened next. Third of all, that twist. The villain of this story honestly blind-sided me. I went for the obvious choice because no one else met the qualifications for the big bad. Now don’t get me wrong, my guess was a very terrible person but they just weren’t the real villain we were looking for. This book also handled multiple POVs very well. There’s really only two POVs for this book, Damian and Roz, and they don’t spend time recapping events that happened in the other character’s chapter, they just move on with a maybe a line saying "I don’t know what they’re thinking so I’m just going to continue to solve this mystery" and that was it. Which I really appreciate. I don’t like being told things and M.K. Lobb delivered the story brilliantly.

Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb, (List Price: $19.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316386883, February 2023)

Reviewed by Cass W, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood

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Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood
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I devoured this gorgeous novel like I was one of the hungry jungle ghosts. I absolutely adore Victoria’s relationship with Mumma River and how nature speaks to her. Every moment they were in the jungle was absolutely magical. With a super unique magic system, high stakes, untrustworthy men, a lush, protective jungle, and a fierce, loyal main character, Blackwood’s Wildblood is not to be missed for YA fantasy lovers!

Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood, (List Price: $18.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250787132, February 2023)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire

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Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
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The powerful combination of otherworldly magic with this world’s grit gets me every time, in every Wayward Children novella. This one’s for anyone who’s ever experienced loss as a kid, been a lost kid, or lost their innocence—for all of us in one way or another. For Antsy, it’s the loss of her father and all the loss that occurs in its wake, and then Antsy finds the Shop Where the Lost Things Go and a vast series of doors to incredible and unusual places—but it’s easy to lose track of yourself when you’re busy finding new things, new people, and new worlds…

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire, (List Price: $21.99, Tordotcom, 9781250213631, January 2023)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw

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A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw
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A 2022 December Read This Next! Title

This is an absolute gem of a book! Part science-fiction, part romance, Shea Ernshaw delivers another YA novel that is a delight to read. For lovers of stars and post apocalyptic literature!

A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw (List Price: $19.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781665900249, December 2022)

Reviewed by Hallie Smith, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

Lucky Girl by M. Rickert

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Lucky Girl by M. Rickert
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Rickert packs a lot of horror in just over 100 pages! Four friends meet up in a diner on Thanksgiving and start a tradition of getting together for Christmas dinner and telling scary stories. Ro, an aspiring writer, learns that sometimes the scariest stories are so terrifying because they stem from fact – and no one is safe!

Lucky Girl by M. Rickert, (List Price: $15.99, Tordotcom, 9781250817334, September 2022)

Reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

What We Harvest by Ann Fraistat

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What We Harvest by Ann Fraistat
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Wren Warren is one of the four founding families of Hollow’s End that holds one of the mysterious crops that tourists flock to. Everything in her life was perfect until the corruption started seeping into the town. Now they’re all trapped in quarantine trying to fight back the “Blight” with no help from a mysterious government agency. Wren will have to ask her ex Derek for help before it’s too late for her and the farms. This was a delightfully dark and delicious read. Not only do we have a very good doggo named Teddy, we also have real and raw characters that leap off the page into your heart. If you like your horror with a bit of small town gothic, this is for you and it’s perfect for fans of Wilder Girls.

What We Harvest by Ann Fraistat (List Price: $18.99, Delacorte Press, 9780593382165,  March 2022)

Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia

Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. Cooney

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Saint Death's Daughter by C. S. Cooney
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I snagged the book because of the necromancy, but the tagline of “fun, froofy, and glorious: a coming-of-age story” is absolutely correct. The comparisons to Gideon the Ninth will be inevitable, but the tone of this book tends more towards the cheerful morbidity of the Addams family than the grimness I felt at the core of Gideon.The story follows Miscellaneous Stones, a necromancer born with an allergy to violence into a house of assassins and murderers as she grows into her power. As important to the book as her growing necromancy is the way she comes to terms with her family’s legacy and the burden of their sins. Despite the solemnity of the topic, Lanie herself has such a joyous attitude that infects the book and makes me smile even now. I really enjoyed the entire book and look forward to reading her continued adventures. In particular, I can usually predict story beats long before they happen but the author managed to surprise me with the depth and complexity of the characters, especially the antagonists.

Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. Cooney, (List Price: $27.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781786184702,  April 2022)

Reviewed by Kelly McLeod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

Gallant by V. E. Schwab

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Gallant by V. E. Schwab
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Olivia Prior has grown up in an orphanage, unable to speak, the only one able to see the ghouls around her. Her mother’s journal is her only link to her unknown past, until she gets a letter from an uncle she didn’t know she had, summoning her to her family home, Gallant — a place her mother had warned her against in her journal, even as her words spiraled into madness. But Olivia longs for a place to belong, and so she goes. It turns out, though, that Gallant is more than just a house. When Olivia crosses the crumbling garden wall, she finds herself in a shadow Gallant, ruled by death, and she has to decide which world she really belongs in. Schwab has a way of telling stories that really gets to the root of the story — yes, this is a story about family and loss, life and death, a doorway between them, and a girl who can live in both worlds, but Schwab makes it so much more, breathing life and meaning into everything Olivia is and does and wants to be. A beautiful book for fans of Holly Black and Neil Gaiman..

Gallant by V. E. Schwab, (List Price: $18.99, Greenwillow Books, 9780062835772,  March 2022)

Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

Strange Folk You’ll Never Meet by A.A. Balaskovits

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Strange Folk You’ll Never Meet by A.A. Balaskovits
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Strange folk populate these dark tales, fevered nightmares, and twisted fairytales. Readers beware, things most definitely go bump in the night here, and sometimes they bite. Lots of body horror and lots of gore, but if you like your stories fairly bloody, this book is for you!

Strange Folk You’ll Never Meet by A.A. Balaskovits, (List Price: $14.95, Santa Fe Writer’s Project, October 9781951631130)

Reviewed by Kate Towery, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia


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