Here is a list of the August 2023 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Releases I am excited about or sound interesting – take a look!
Esrahaddon by Michael J. Sullivan
Check our our recent Interview with Michael J. Sullivan!
Expected publication: August 15, 2023
Series: The Rise and Fall #3
From the blurb:
A hero to some. A villain to many. The truth forever buried.
The man who became known as Esrahaddon is reported to have destroyed the world’s greatest empire—but there are those who believe he saved it. Few individuals are as divisive, but all agree on three facts: He was exiled to the wilderness, hunted by a goblin priestess, and sentenced to death by a god—all before the age of eight. How he managed to survive and why people continued to fear his name a thousand years later has always been a mystery…until now.
Guardian Zhen Hun (Novel) Vol. 1 by Priest
Expected publication: August 29, 2023
Series: Guardian: Zhen Hun (Seven Seas Edition) #1
From the blurb:
Zhao Yunlan is Chief of the Special Investigations Department: a secret group of uniquely skilled individuals who investigate strange happenings in modern-day Dragon City. Although laid-back and cheeky to those who don’t know him, this tenacious and cunning man fits well into his role of the Guardian.
While investigating a mysterious death at a local university, Zhao Yunlan meets Shen Wei, a calm and cold professor who proves as intriguing as the case itself. Something about this reserved man feels strangely familiar. Zhao Yunlan can’t help but notice the intensity of the professor’s gaze, and wonders why their lives begin to intertwine—as if by fate.
One Piece, Vol. 103 by Eiichiro Oda
Expected publication: August 4, 2022
Series: One Piece #103
From the blurb:
As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally gained the power to stretch like rubber…at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, Luffy sets off in search of the One Piece, said to be the greatest treasure in the world…
With Zolo and Sanji’s fights having concluded in victory, Luffy and Kaido’s rematch starts to really heat up. But that’s not all that’s boiling up on the battlefield, as Big Mom prepares to finish off Law and Kid!
Foxglove by Adalyn Grace
Expected publication: August 22, 2023
Series: Belladonna #2
From the blurb:
The captivating sequel to the Gothic-infused Belladonna, in which Signa and Death face a supernatural foe determined to tear them apart.
A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He’s hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago…and now he’s determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost.
A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty by Stacia Stark
Expected publication: August 18, 2023
Series: Kingdom of Lies #2
From the blurb:
In a world darkened by deceit, the truth is a light that won’t be dimmed. Even when it illuminates Lorian’s betrayals more starkly than I could ever want to see. They call him the Bloodthirsty Prince. His reign of terror has left a trail of blood across this continent. A trail that intertwines with my own past–not even my parents were spared from his merciless slaughter. To save my brother’s life, I agreed to another bargain with the fae prince...
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
Expected publication: August 22, 2023
Series: The Radiant Emperor #2
From the blurb:
How much would you give to win the world?
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.
But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband—and she’s strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky alliance with an old enemy: the talented but unstable eunuch general Ouyang, who has already sacrificed everything for a chance at revenge on his father’s killer, the Great Khan.
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Expected publication: August 15, 2023
From the blurb:
There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
But nothing with fairies is ever simple.
Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey
Expected publication: August 1, 2023
Series: Kushiel’s Legacy #1.5
From the blurb:
In Kushiel’s Dart , a daring young courtesan uncovered a plot to destroy her beloved homeland. But hers is only half the tale. Now see the other half of the heart that lived it.
Cassiel’s Servant is a retelling of cult favorite Kushiel’s Dart from the point of view of Joscelin, Cassiline warrior-priest and protector of Phèdre nó Delaunay. He’s sworn to celibacy and the blade as surely as she’s pledged to pleasure, but the gods they serve have bound them together. When both are betrayed, they must rely on each other to survive.
From his earliest training to captivity amongst their enemies, his journey with Phèdre to avert the conquest of Terre D’Ange shatters body and mind… and brings him an impossible love that he will do anything to keep.
Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney
Expected publication: August 1, 2023
From the blurb:
An eleven-year-old boy lives an idyllic childhood exploring the remote coastal plains and wetlands of South Carolina alongside his parents and his dog Teach. But when the boy’s eerie and estranged grandfather shows up one day with no warning, cracks begin to form as hidden secrets resurface that his parents refuse to explain.
The longer his grandfather outstays his welcome and the greater the tension between the adults grows, the more the boy feels something within him changing —physically—into something his grandfather welcomes and his mother fears. Something abyssal. Something monstrous.
The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma
Expected publication: August 31, 2021
Series: The Ravence Trilogy #1
From the blurb:
The Ravani kingdom was born of a prophecy, carved from unforgiving desert sands and ruled by the Ravence bloodline: those with the power to command the Eternal Fire.
Elena Aadya is the heir to the throne—and the only Ravence who cannot wield her family’s legendary magic. As her coronation approaches, she will do whatever it takes to prove herself a worthy successor to her revered father. But she doesn’t anticipate the arrival of Yassen Knight, the notorious assassin who now claims fealty to the throne. Elena’s father might trust Yassen to be a member of her royal guard, but she is certain he is hiding something.
As the threat of war looms like a storm on the horizon, the two begin a dangerous dance of intrigue and betrayal. And the choices they make could burn down the world.
House of Odysseus by Claire North
Expected publication: August 22, 2023
Series: The Songs of Penelope #2
From the blurb:
In the palace of Odysseus, a queen lies dreaming . . .
On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace—a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.
Orestes’ hands are stained with his mother’s blood. Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra’s life on Ithaca’s sands. Now, wracked with guilt, he grows ever more unhinged.
Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
Expected publication: April 30, 2024
Series: Iron Widow #2
From the blurb:
After suffering devastating loss and making drastic decisions, Zetian finds herself at the seat of power in Huaxia. But she has also learned that her world is not as it seems, and revelations about an enemy more daunting than Zetian imagined forces her to share power with a dangerous man she cannot simply depose. Despite having vastly different ideas about how they must deconstruct the corrupt and misogynist system that plagues their country, Zetian must join this man in a dance of truth and lies and perform their roles to perfection in order to take down their common enemy, who seeks to control them as puppets while dangling one of Zetian’s loved ones as a hostage.
