The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I discuss books I got over the last week–old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration (usually unsolicited). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.

Since last month was Women in SF&F Month, it’s been awhile since one of these posts so there’s a lot of catching up to do! This post covers the last month instead of the last week with the books I’m most intrigued by featured with covers and descriptions, as usual—except for the books that I’m most excited about, which were already featured on my anticipated 2018 releases list (but if you are curious about which ones those are, they are at the end with a link to the full list!).

Last week, I also posted a review of The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso, which came out toward the end of last month. I absolutely LOVED this book, and it’s my favorite 2018 release so far!

On to the latest ARCs and review copies, plus a couple of birthday books!

Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

Song of Blood and Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1) by L. Penelope

L. Penelope’s debut novel, Song of Blood and Stone, won the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s Self-Publishing EBook Award for Fiction in 2016. On May 1, this romantic fantasy novel became available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats through St. Martin’s Press, who will also be publishing further installments in the Earthsinger Chronicles series.

 

A treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers. 

Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive–an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart.

Jack’s mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagamiri is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must do whatever it takes to save Elsira and it’s people from the True Father and he needs Jasminda’s Earthsong to do it. They escape their ruthless captors and together they embark on a perilous journey to save Elsira and to uncover the secrets of The Queen Who Sleeps.

Thrust into a hostile society, Jasminda and Jack must rely on one another even as secrets jeopardize their bond. As an ancient evil gains power, Jasminda races to unlock a mystery that promises salvation.

The fates of two nations hang in the balance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

Space Opera was just released last month (hardcover, ebook, audiobook), and I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about it for the last month or so!

Tor.com has an excerpt from the beginning of Space Opera.

 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets the joy and glamour of Eurovision in bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente’s science fiction spectacle, where sentient races compete for glory in a galactic musical contest…and the stakes are as high as the fate of planet Earth.

A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented—something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.

Once every cycle, the great galactic civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix—part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Species far and wide compete in feats of song, dance and/or whatever facsimile of these can be performed by various creatures who may or may not possess, in the traditional sense, feet, mouths, larynxes, or faces. And if a new species should wish to be counted among the high and the mighty, if a new planet has produced some savage group of animals, machines, or algae that claim to be, against all odds, sentient? Well, then they will have to compete. And if they fail? Sudden extermination for their entire species.

This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny—they must sing.

Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes have been chosen to represent their planet on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of Earth lies in their ability to rock.

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside (Founders #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside is scheduled for release on August 21 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook). And it’s about a thief! (I love thieves.)

The publisher’s website has an excerpt from Foundryside.

 

In a city that runs on industrialized magic, a secret war will be fought to overwrite reality itself–the first in a dazzling new fantasy series from City of Stairs author Robert Jackson Bennett. 

Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.

But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.

Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.

To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine

I’ve heard such great things about this series, and I love its premise so I was thrilled to get this book for my birthday!

There are currently three books in this series with a fourth coming out in July, and excerpts from each are available on the publisher’s website:

  1. Ink and Bone
  2. Paper and Fire
  3. Ash and Quill
  4. Smoke and Iron
 

In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn.…

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

The Falconer (The Falconer #1) by Elizabeth May

This is another series I’ve been wanting to read for awhile after hearing a lot of good things about it, and this book was also a birthday present.

The entire trilogy is as follows with links to Goodreads:

  1. The Falconer
  2. The Vanishing Throne
  3. The Fallen Kingdom
 

Debutante by day. Murderess by night. Edinburgh’s only hope.

Edinburgh, 1844. Beautiful Aileana Kameron only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. In fact, she’s spent the year since her mother died developing her ability to sense the presence of Sithichean, a faery race bent on slaughtering humans. She has a secret mission: to destroy the faery who murdered her mother. But when she learns she’s a Falconer, the last in a line of female warriors and the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity, her quest for revenge gets a whole lot more complicated. The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller blends romance and action with steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.

Age of War by Michael J. Sullivan

Age of War (Legends of the First Empire #3) by Michael J. Sullivan

Age of War, the third book in Legends of the First Empire, will be released on July 3 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).

Excerpts from the first two books in the series can be found on the publisher’s website:

  1. Age of Myth
  2. Age of Swords
 

The epic battle between humankind and their godlike rulers finally ignites in the masterful follow-up to Age of Myth and Age of Swords.

The alliance of humans and renegade Fhrey is fragile—and about to be tested as never before. Persephone keeps the human clans from turning on one another through her iron will and a compassionate heart. The arrogant Fhrey are barely held in check by their leader, Nyphron, who seeks to advance his own nefarious agenda through a loveless marriage that will result in the betrayal of the person Persephone loves most: Raithe, the God Killer.

As the Fhrey overlords marshal their army and sorcerers to crush the rebellion, old loyalties will be challenged while fresh conspiracies will threaten to undo all that Persephone has accomplished. In the darkest hour, when hope is all but lost, new heroes will rise . . . but at what terrible cost?

Books Covered on My Anticipated 2018 Release List:

Additional Books: