Hello, everyone! Spring is here . . . and so, naturally, the cold has returned after a week and a bit of sunshine, because that's how the world works apparently. Happily, this spring is also full of so many exciting releases, which provide a very handy distraction from the weather. In fact, there's enough releases that have me really hyped that I can't actually cut down my list to just five — so I'm posting the full version on both Light and Shadows and Dreams and Dragons! (I actually have an ulterior motive for doing this as well, but I'll get into that in a week or two.) What has me so excited? Let's find out.

Spring 2024 Reads

1. The Queen's Curse by J.F. Rogers (February 27). Ok, yes, this released in February, which is not spring by any means, and it's the third in a trilogy that I haven't actually started. However, the trilogy does sound pretty cool — it's an epic portal fantasy (a genre that used to majorly dominate my reading), but with the hero coming from one fantasy world into another, which I've always thought is an underused concept. Better still, apparently at least one of these worlds is steampunk with elves and fae. If that isn't worth a try, I don't know what is.

2. What Monstrous Gods by Rosamund Hodge (March 5). Past experience with Rosamund Hodge's work gives a roughly 50/50 chance on whether I like it . . . but that past experience also suggests that if I end up liking it, I'll really like it. And What Monstrous Gods sounds like it potentially has a lot in common with Cruel Beauty (which I liked enough to buy), so I am hopeful that this will will end up in that "really like it" category. It's a Sleeping Beauty retelling with what sounds like secrets and quests and an unexpectedly arranged marriage romance, and a lot of people with excellent taste in books have recommended it. I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, but I will request it from the library as soon as it becomes available in one of the systems.

3. Water Horse by Katie Hanna (March 19). I already read and reviewed this one! So, go read that post if you want my full thoughts. But in short: I think the fantasy and Western genres are an underrated combination, and I'm pleased that at least one author has also realized that and started to fill that void with this book. Water Horse blends Western adventure and drama with Irish mythology, and aside from having more swearing than I expected and a few quibbles with the writing style, I quite enjoyed it.

4. Nobody's Hero by Janeen Ippolito (March 21). This one actually released just yesterday, but I got an ARC, so I got to read it early. You can check out my Goodreads review for my full thoughts, but in short, this is a fun, fast-paced superhero adventure that has a lot in common with H.L. Burke's SVR-verse books. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline, and I also thought Ippolito had an interesting take on what a world populated in part by people with superpowers might look like, especially in the early stages when supers are a relatively new phenomenon.

5. No Man Left Behind by W.R. Gingell (March 23). And here we get to the part of the season when I possibly start exploding from an overload of awesomeness — otherwise known as what happens when four (four!) of my favorite authors release new books in rapid succession. First up: No Man Left Behind, the final book in the Worlds Behind series. I have very steadily enjoyed each book in this series more than the last, so I have very high hopes for how this tale will turn out, especially after all the revelations and general awesomeness of Book 4's ending. And the snippets Gingell has been releasing only reassure me that this book is going to be so, so good.

6. Dark & Dawn by Suzannah Rowntree (April 5). I have an ARC of this book waiting on my Kindle right now, and the only reason I haven't already devoured it is that I had a book club (or group read, whatever you want to call it) read I had to get through first. But I desperately, desperately, need to find out what happens next to Molly, Vasily, and the rest of the crew . . . particularly because there's a part of me that hasn't stopped screaming since I finished Dark & Stormy. Plus, this one is apparently going to delve into some mysteries of Molly's own past, and given that I have been wondering if foul play is somehow afoot for a while now . . . well, all I can say is that Rowntree's Miss Dark's Apparitions never fail to deliver, and I can't wait to see what's in store next.

7. Castle of the Winds by Christina Baehr (April 14). Speaking of stories that consistently deliver: I am so looking forward to returning to the cozy Gothic world of the Secrets of Ormdale series. Even better, this story sees Edith venturing off to Wales (in some interesting company, no less! — though I can't say more than that), apparently to encounter a legendary Red Dragon, and I just know this will be quite the adventure. I'm excited to find out what mysteries Edith will uncover next, and I'm also eager to see how certain relationships continue to develop.

8. The Erlking's Daughters by Claire Trella Hill (April 19). Wrapping up our streak of awesomeness-overload: The Erlking's Daughters is by the same author as Black and Deep Desires — aka that historical paranormal romance that I went uncharacteristically feral over last year — but this time she's giving us a dark fae fantasy tale with a slowburn romance and strong sibling bonds. We all know that fae and slowburn romance and sibling bonds are like catnip to me . . . and while I can go either way on dark, I trust Hill to handle it well. (I also have an ARC of this one, so I'll be reading it well before the release date — the only reason I haven't gotten to it yet is because I've had other books-with-deadlines that had to be read first.)

9. Shattered Resistance by Madisyn Carlin (May 28). This is the third book in the series that began with Shattered Reflection, which came out as part of the Arista Challenge Shattered Mirrors release. I liked Reflection, so I'm kind of ashamed to have missed the fact that the sequel is already out! But I'm eager to get my hands on both Shattered Reaction (the sequel) and Shattered Resistance and return to this world and these characters.

What book releases are you excited for this spring? Am I missing any? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!