Portal fantasy grows up in this immersive series kickoff featuring “a life-changing adventure, . . . compelling characters and a fascinating world” (Martha Wells, author of The Murderbot Diaries) When Saffron Coulter stumbles through a hole in reality, she finds herself trapped in Kena—a magical realm on the brink of civil war. It’s there that her fate becomes intertwined with that of three very different Zech, the fast-thinking acolyte of a cunning, powerful exile; Viya, the spoiled, runaway consort of the empire-building ruler, Vex Leoden; and Gwen, an Earth-born worldwalker whose greatest regret is putting Leoden on the throne. But Leoden has allies, too, and chief among them is the Vex’Mara Kadeja, a dangerous ex-priestess who shares his dreams of conquest. Pursued by Leoden and aided by the Shavaktiin—a secretive order of storytellers and mystics—the rebels flee to Veksh, a neighboring matriarchy ruled by the fearsome Council of Queens. Saffron is out of her world and out of her depth, but the further she travels, the more she finds herself bound to her friends with ties of blood and magic. Can one girl—and an accidental worldwalker at that—really be the key to saving Kena? Or will she die trying?

GODBURNED, first in a sharp queer epic series in the vein of Martha Wells’s WITCH KING, about a man thrice-touched by the gods who is forcibly conscripted into an organization ostensibly standing for justice, only to unravel a much deeper corruption than he could have dreamed. The touch of a single god? A blessing. The touch of two gods? A miracle. Three gods? A damned curse. In the Jaosi Empire, the magic of the gods is a rare and prized gift, sought by the devout who wish for a higher calling. But sometimes the gods arrive uninvited. They did for Kas, twice, taking advantage of immense pain and fear to place their power in him while he could not resist. Kas has tried to keep his magic private. He wants only to live freely on his own terms, discreetly helping his friends and neighbors in the poorest parts of Jahovai. So when three neighborhood boys go missing, the city watch uncaring as usual, Kas is determined to track them down on his own. But the investigation goes devastatingly wrong, and Kas is left deathly ill from a third divine visitation before he is finally found and conscripted by the Measure—for the godtouched are required to serve. The Measure is dedicated to doing justice, even outside the constraints of law, but here, everything has a rule and all things have a cost. As part of his new role, Kas is partnered with Nema, a grieving nobleman who represents everything Kas despises. Nema, twice-touched himself, has served the Measure faithfully for over a decade as a peacekeeper and arbiter of justice. Attempting to win the trust of the scarred, snappish Kas, Nema offers to help find the missing teenagers. But the case soon turns ugly, pointing to corruption in the highest circles of Jaosi society, and calling into question the Measure’s commitment to justice. Kas and Nema must learn to cooperate, and fast: facing threats from outside the Measure—and perhaps within it as well—the more they uncover, the more they have to lose.

“Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.” Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different plans: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead. Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock. With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love―as both will learn―is quite another. Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry, Foz Meadows' A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.

On a hotly-contested battlefield, a prince whose touch creates life meets a soldier chosen by death. But can they forge a future together, from opposite sides of a great war? This is a lyrical and character-driven queer fantasy for those who loved She Who Became the Sun, The Song of Achilles and Lucy Holland's Sistersong. Prince Elician is a Giver. With a touch he can heal any wound and bring the dead back to life. He also can't be killed, so is cursed to watch his country fight an endless war he can do nothing to stop. Reapers can kill with a single touch. And when one attacks Prince Elician near the battlefield, but fails, the Reaper expects to harshly punished. Instead, Elician offers him a chance at a new life and a new name on enemy territory. The Reaper didn’t realise he could still find something, or someone, to make life worth living - until Elician. And the prince is unaware that his kindness is part of his enemy’s plan, until danger engulfs him in turn. As the pieces of a deadly plot come together, featuring abduction, treachery and forbidden magic, the stakes rise and tensions escalate at court and on the battlefield. As the fires of conflict burst into new flame, who will wield the powers of life and death? And could love really change a world and stop a war? A powerful and richly-imagined tale from a bold new voice in fantasy fiction.

The wise and charming international bestseller and hit Japanese movie—about a young woman who loses everything but finds herself—a tale of new beginnings, romantic and family relationships, and the comfort that can be found in books. Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a relatively easy existence—until the day her boyfriend Hideaki, the man she expected to wed, casually announces he’s been cheating on her and is marrying the other woman. Suddenly, Takako’s life is in freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into a deep depression. In the depths of her despair, she receives a call from her distant uncle Satoru. An unusual man who has always pursued something of an unconventional life, especially after his wife Momoko left him out of the blue five years earlier, Satoru runs a second-hand bookshop in Jimbocho, Tokyo’s famous book district. Takako once looked down upon Satoru’s life. Now, she reluctantly accepts his offer of the tiny room above the bookshop rent-free in exchange for helping out at the store. The move is temporary, until she can get back on her feet. But in the months that follow, Takako surprises herself when she develops a passion for Japanese literature, becomes a regular at a local coffee shop where she makes new friends, and eventually meets a young editor from a nearby publishing house who’s going through his own messy breakup. But just as she begins to find joy again, Hideaki reappears, forcing Takako to rely once again on her uncle, whose own life has begun to unravel. Together, these seeming opposites work to understand each other and themselves as they continue to share the wisdom they’ve gained in the bookshop.

From USA Today bestselling author Nghi Vo comes a beautiful new tale in the Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle, drawn from the earliest days of Chih's career as a wandering cleric. "Nghi Vo is so good."—NPR on The Brides of High Hill Every story begins somewhere. On the banks of the Ya-lé River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midst—lazy, violent, unwanted—while the refugees themselves grieve the loss of the home they loved. Cleric Chih, very recently still Novice Chih, is also a stranger in Luntien. A moment of carelessness and bad luck leaves them waiting tables as they struggle to establish themself as a real cleric. A cleric’s job is to listen and record, but the stories emerging in Luntien are ugly and violent, as hard to predict as the river itself. With their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant by their side, Chih must help the refugees while also unraveling a mystery that may have roots in their own faraway home in the abbey of Singing Hills. In the seventh entry of the award-winning Singing Hills series, we meet Chih and Almost Brilliant just beginning their journey together as Chih assumes their place on the road and in the world. The novellas of the Singing Hills series are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.

From USA Today bestselling author Nghi Vo comes a beautiful new tale in the Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle, drawn from the earliest days of Chih's career as a wandering cleric. "Nghi Vo is so good."—NPR on The Brides of High Hill Every story begins somewhere. On the banks of the Ya-lé River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midst—lazy, violent, unwanted—while the refugees themselves grieve the loss of the home they loved. Cleric Chih, very recently still Novice Chih, is also a stranger in Luntien. A moment of carelessness and bad luck leaves them waiting tables as they struggle to establish themself as a real cleric. A cleric’s job is to listen and record, but the stories emerging in Luntien are ugly and violent, as hard to predict as the river itself. With their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant by their side, Chih must help the refugees while also unraveling a mystery that may have roots in their own faraway home in the abbey of Singing Hills. In the seventh entry of the award-winning Singing Hills series, we meet Chih and Almost Brilliant just beginning their journey together as Chih assumes their place on the road and in the world. The novellas of the Singing Hills series are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.