The New Books Roundup, January 17: Of Dragons and Kings
This week’s new books roundup includes a fantastical take on Pride & Prejudice, a memoir from an oft-forgotten woman, and still more.
It’s a new week, even though it might feel like Monday due to the holiday. In fact, today is Tuesday, and Tuesday means that it’s time for new books. This week, we’ve added a special memoir into the mix among the pair of science fiction and fantasy titles we’re going to highlight.
Title links, as always, take you directly to Amazon.
Heartstone
We promised you dragons in the title, and so it seems fitting to start with the dragons. Heartstone, Elle Katharine White’s debut novel, has plenty of dragons, and it also has the honor of being another retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Our heroine is Aliza Bentaine; our hero, Alistair Daired. Presumably, since we’re given his first name in the descriptions, we’ll also get to see it in print. He’s a dragon rider, too, by the way, sent to help protect Merybourne from some not-so-nice magical creatures. Need we say much more than that? Goodreads reviews praise the book’s worldbuilding and creativity. Harper Voyager; paperback, 352 pages; list price: $15.99.
My Life, My Love, My Legacy
However, we also promised Kings, but we’re talking here about Coretta Scott King. The wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Scott King went on to found The King Center, worked to establish the holiday we just celebrated yesterday here in the States, and became an activist in her own right. This book is her story, told to Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds in a series of interviews before she passed away in 2006. This is the first time it’s been printed, however. It also includes an afterword from Reynolds detailing how this book came to be, according to an Amazon review. Goodreads reviews call it an excellent look into her life. Henry Holt and Co.; hardcover, 368 pages; list price: $30.00.
Indelible
Our second debut novel of this roundup comes from Adelia Saunders. Indelible focuses on Magdalena, a young woman who sees details about people literally printed onto their skin. She can’t read herself. However, she can read Neil, and her name is on him. A dash of romance seems to have been sprinkled in the book, alongside the promise that Magdalena’s powers may very well be the key to unlocking the story of Neil’s father’s mysterious mother. Also, our heroine pointedly refuses to wear glasses just so that she doesn’t have to read other people’s skin all the time. Goodreads praises the large amount of plot squeezed in. Bloomsbury USA; hardcover, 288 pages; list price: $26.00.
Next: Review: Poison's Kiss, Breeana Shields
Also out today are Veronica Roth’s new series starter, Carve the Mark; Han Kang’s latest novel, Human Acts; and the official Buffy the Vampire Slayer coloring book, with 45 illustrations of everyone’s favorite Slayer and her Scooby Gang.
Which of these books will be first on your reading list?