Billie Anna's Picks
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062973139
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Voyager - February 8th, 2022
Inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology, The Wolf and The Woodsman is a lush tale of blood, magic, and prejudice. Évike is a battle-axe of a protagonist, filled with bitterness and rage. She's hungry for power and revenge, and none too willing to trust the one-eyed prince who challenges her every belief. A blend of magic, romance, and politics - this book will hook you!
$13.99
ISBN: 9781534441613
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Margaret K. McElderry Books - February 1st, 2022
A spectacular contemporary fantasy that combines the classic magic of Arthurian legend with the emotionally steeped experience of a black teenager discovering her ancestry in the American South. This book grapples with racism, grief, corruption, and young love - all while the characters learn about magic, combat, and their own mysterious history. It's exciting, it's romantic, it's badass, and it's heartfelt. Read it!
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593491973
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - April 18th, 2023
Fans of Bridgerton and Pride and Prejudice will love this delightful romance! Kitty Talbot heads to London to secure a wealthy husband, and her family's future, by whatever means necessary. After her initial plan is foiled by the serious Lord Radcliffe, the two begrudgingly take on the London season as allies. Featuring witty banter, dry humor, and a host of loveable characters, this book will have you giggling and laughing out loud!
$18.99
ISBN: 9781250313188
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tordotcom - July 14th, 2020
Hilariously bawdy and sharp, Gideon the Ninth is an unbelievably cool necromantic gay space opera. The stakes are impossibly large - immortality and galactic war - yet also undeniably personal. This series is heavy on the science, magic, gay panic, swords, skeletons, and dumb comebacks. Truly not to be missed!
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250621993
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Nightfire - April 25th, 2023
Think Salem Witch Trials, but the so-called "Devil" is real and the Witch gets her revenge. Deliciously spooky, awesomely gruesome, and tastefully gory. It filled me with rage, then gave me the bloody pay off I so desperately wanted. The writing is atmospheric and creepy, yet also glowing and alive. Slewfoot is a spooky treat!
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593438480
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Published: Ace - September 5th, 2023
Perfect for fans of Jane Eyre and Crimson Peak, this book is dripping with gore and drenched in gothic creepiness and seduction. Hunger (unsurprisingly) features heavily as a theme. The unnatural appetites of the nobles, the bloodmaids' desperate desire for a better life, Marion's inexplicable draw to her new mistress. And always, always, Lisavet's hunger. Seductive and thrilling, this book will devour you!
$20.00
ISBN: 9780063021433
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Voyager - August 29th, 2023
Astonishing in its scope and depth, this book is devilishly intelligent. At Oxford's translation institute, Robin attends fascinating courses that wrap you in cozy dark academia imagery, all while grappling with imperialism, complicity, and violence. His difficult feelings around his guardian, his identity, his professors, and his brilliant yet prickly cohort of friends further complicate his multi-layered experience at Babel. This book is witty, well-researched, biting, and full of heart. I highly recommend it, and anything by R.F. Kuang!
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593500156
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Del Rey - October 24th, 2023
This is the fictional journal of Emily Wilde - Faerie expert and force to be reckoned with. She's brilliant, logical, blunt, and a genius at everything except getting along with people. Enter her irritating and good-looking colleague, Wendell. The writing is utterly enchanting, and if you love the melodramatic man/ no-nonsense woman pairing from Howl's Moving Castle, you'll love Wendell and Emily. Their romance has a slow and grumpy start, taking a backseat to the mysteries of Emily's research. Full of gruff villagers, beautiful and terrifying faeries, and a lazy wolfhound, this book is a cozy fantasy dream. One of my favorites!
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593498286
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Del Rey - May 9th, 2023
This book masterfully explores themes of colonization, racism, coming-of-age, and maintaining cultural identity, all while grounding itself in a fascinating steampunk-esque dragon academy setting. Anequs is delightful as a narrator, facing down those who oppose her presence with an unbothered indignance that is both admirable and amusing. Featuring a diverse array of characters, a tender found family dynamic, and interesting dragon lore, this book will make you cheer!
$18.99
ISBN: 9780316229296
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Orbit - August 4th, 2015
This series took my breath away - as I've come to expect with N.K. Jemisin. It delves into systemic oppression, exploitation, love, motherhood, identity, and environmental calamity on a scale both global and horrifically personal. The characters and relationships are so real, so twisted and imperfect, they will make you ache with the beauty and pain of them. The scientific imagining of this world is so unique and excellent it nearly defies explanation, and the mounting tension in the first 2/3 builds to the most unbelievable final act. Superbly human, truly unique, and undeniably extraordinary.
$26.99
ISBN: 9781250892461
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - August 8th, 2023
Take a concept (Death), add a grandson (troublesome), sprinkle in a vampire realtor, a poor excuse for a poltergeist, a family curse, a demonic mastermind, and the most annoying archangels you've ever met, and you've barely scraped the top layer of this book. I loved the many storylines, I loved the twisting ways in which they secretly intertwined, and I loved slowly unwinding them as the book went on. Come for the ambitious tackling of mythology and metaphysics, stay for the tender exploration of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.
$27.99
ISBN: 9781250815651
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - April 18th, 2023
With a grumpy narrator and slightly slower pace, this book manages to be cozy even as Aelis investigates spooky ruins and fights off the undead servants of evil wizards. The magic system is classic and cool, and the side characters are delightful - especially the innkeeper husbands, half-orc tracker, and heart-flutteringly gorgeous elfling. Although Aelis may prefer a good book and a glass of wine, she'll prove she has what it takes to be Warden of the wild, lawless North!