11 exciting SFF book releases to kick off your New Year right this January
By Lacy Baugher
Wench – Maxine Kaplan
Wench is a fierce, feminist fantasy about a young girl who heads off on a quest in order to try and keep hold of the tavern at which she’s spent her whole life. Tanya thought her guardian would leave the tavern to her, but when that doesn’t happen, she decides to take matters into her own hands and petition the queen for the deed herself.
Along the way, there are many dangers and misadventures as Wench puts a character that’s often sidelined and forgotten in these sorts of stories – the tavern wench – front and center. But just because Tanya isn’t a princess, a highly-skilled assassin, or an infamous thief, that doesn’t mean her story isn’t an important one.
The official synopsis offers more story details.
"Tanya has worked at her tavern since she was able to see over the bar. She broke up her first fight at 11. By the time she was a teenager she knew everything about the place, and she could run it with her eyes closed. She’d never let anyone—whether it be a drunkard or a captain of the queen’s guard—take advantage of her. But when her guardian dies, she might lose it all: the bar, her home, her purpose in life. So she heads out on a quest to petition the queen to keep the tavern in her name—dodging unscrupulous guards, a band of thieves, and a powerful, enchanted feather that seems drawn to her."
Wench is available on January 19.