11 exciting new SFF releases that will blow you away in March

Bone Crier’s Moon – Kathryn Purdie

An ambitious fantasy with a truly unique premise, Bone Crier’s Moon tells the story of a group of women – known as Bone Criers – whose job it is to ferry the dead to the afterlife. But in order to become a full fledged Bone Crier, these women must complete a series of complicated tasks. First they must acquire the bones of several animals, in order to harness their graces to themselves. (A hawk, for example, would provide keen eyesight among its gifts.) Second, they must summon their amoure – their one true love – and kill them as part of a special sacrifice to prove their dedication to the gods they serve.

But when Ailesse, daughter of the Bone Crier’s matriarch, undertakes her rite of passage, something goes terribly wrong. She summons Bastien, a boy bent on revenge, whose father had been slain by a Bone Crier long ago. But now that her ritual is underway, their lives are intertwined, and if anyone should kill either of them before Ailesse can complete it, they both die.

A kidnapping, a manhunt and a crisis wherein the dead begin to prey upon the living ensue.

The official synopsis describes the story in more detail.

"Bone ​Criers have a sacred duty. They alone can keep the dead from preying on the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes from sacrifice. The gods demand a promise of dedication. And that promise comes at the cost of the Bone Criers’ one true love. Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers, a mysterious famille of women who use strengths drawn from animal bones to ferry dead souls. But first she must complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she’s also destined to love. Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Yet when he finally captures one, his vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fates are entwined—in life and in death. Sabine has never had the stomach for the Bone Criers’ work. But when her best friend Ailesse is taken captive, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means defying their traditions—and their matriarch—to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. Before they all die."

Bone Crier’s Moon is available on March 3.