Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author's content note at the beginning of the book.

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story, and translated by Polly Barton. There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine. Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back. Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought? Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, "The Konkatsu Killer", Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan

Perfect for fans of The White Lotus, Knives Out and anyone who’s ever wanted to strangle someone over Christmas lunch. All Olivia wanted was one last miserable Christmas with her husband’s awful family before moving to Australia. She didn’t expect a murder. Now the snow has cut them off and she’s stuck in a stately country house, with her increasingly deranged relatives and the rising suspicion that someone is picking them off one by one. As the bodies pile up and the festive façade starts to crack, Olivia must survive the season, or, at the very least, get through lunch without anyone else choking on a sprout. Sharp, smart and deliciously twisted, this is Christmas with all the cold cuts, warm lies and at least one suspicious pudding.

Enjoy this holiday hockey monster romance from Ashley Bennett and Clio Evans… Getting stuck in the hockey locker room was not how I envisioned catching my next story. After a fateful encounter with two of the hottest players in the NMHL, I’m swept into an unforgettable first date. Klaus is a famous Krampus, one of the biggest players in the league. He’s gruff and hot, with a teddy bear heart hidden underneath. Frank the “Flurry” Murry is an up-and-coming Yeti who dreams big and loves hard. These two monsters make me feel things I’ve never felt before. After a night the three of us can’t forget, we want more. The only problem is—someone is out there, trying to ruin it all… What you’ll find in this novella: Plus Sized FMCTwo hot hockey monsters that fall for her hardSize differenceSnow ballingKnotty and naughty times

An aimless young woman starts writing to an accused serial killer while he awaits trial and then, once he’s acquitted, decides to move in with him and take the investigation into her own hands in this dark and irresistibly compelling debut thriller. Recently ghosted and sick of watching her friends fade into the suburbs, thirty-something Hannah finds community in a true-crime forum that’s on a mission to solve the murders of four women in Atlanta. After William, a handsome lawyer, is arrested for the killings, Hannah begins writing him letters. It’s the perfect outlet for her pent-up frustration and rage. The exercise empowers her, and even feels healthy at first. Until William writes back. Hannah’s interest in the case goes from curiosity to obsession, leaving space for nothing else as her life implodes around her. After she loses her job, she heads to Georgia to attend the trial and befriends other true-crime junkies like herself. When a fifth woman is discovered murdered, the jury has no choice but to find William not guilty, and Hannah is the first person he calls upon his release. The two of them quickly fall into a routine of domestic bliss. Well, as blissful as one can feel while secretly investigating their partner for serial murder…

True love takes many forms. As one of the few survivors of her generation, Lark wants to live a quiet, peaceful life. All she needs is a tolerable husband. On her 24th birthday, Lark offends the local faerie lord, the shapeshifter Tamlin, who punishes her with a rose rooted in her flesh. In her efforts to convince Tamlin to undo his handiwork, Lark visits the forest daily and discovers the breathtaking and terrifying wonders of his realm. Despite her pragmatic nature tugging her toward a mortal huntsman, Lark falls for Tamlin. After a near-fatal accident exposes Tamlin’s cruel deception, Lark moves to the capital to accept a marriage of convenience. Yet when she learns of Tamlin’s capture, Lark must choose whether to secure her future or risk it all to save the love of her life from his cannibal ex. -- MY THORNS FOR YOUR ROSES is a "Tam Lin" retelling written in the spirit of the Scottish faerie tale and folksong - for readers who enjoyed the fae in Heather Fawcett's EMILY WILDE series, retellings like Naomi Novik's SPINNING SILVER, and the complicated family dynamics of Kell Woods' AFTER THE FOREST and UPON A STARLIT TIDE. Book cover artist: Yinan Sun (Grey)

The Spellshop is Sarah Beth Durst’s romantasy debut–a lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweeter love. Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite. When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home. In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries. But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop. Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.

Alexandra grew up hungry. Hungry for food, hungry for safety, hungry for love. Which is why she's worked so hard to have it a beautiful home, a gorgeous doctor boyfriend, and an ambitious job matching individuals with... unconventional emotional responses. Sure, her clients may sit somewhere on the psychopathy scale. But they're not the dangerous, murderous kind. They're doctors, lawyers, teachers, and everyone deserves love.And that's exactly what Alex thinks she's found. Love. So she's floored when she arrives to her dinner with her boyfriend, expecting a ring in a little box, and instead finding her best friend sat at the table with him. They have news. They're together now. And apparently her birthday dinner is the best time to share the news.Suddenly, Alex's world implodes. She has lost the two people in the world closest to her, her only support. She's utterly alone, her future in pieces. So when she unexpectedly bumps into a client, Rebecca, and Rebecca seems to want to be friends, it feels like a lifeline. But then Alex's now ex turns up dead, then more people around her seem to be dropping like flies. And she can't help but wonder if this new friendship is a match made in hell.

A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed! Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea. It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here. Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games. “Let’s get them together,” she says. It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead. “It’ll be easy” she says. There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other. But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be? Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage. Beth’s not mature enough for this… Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé. That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.