June 2024 Wrap-Up
Hall of Mirrors
John Copenhaver
When a popular mystery novelist dies suspiciously, his writing partner must untangle the author’s connection to a serial killer in award-winning John Copenhaver’s new novel set in 1950s McCarthy-era Washington, DC.
In May 1954, Lionel Kane witnesses his apartment engulfed in flames with his lover and writing partner, Roger Raymond, inside. Police declare it a suicide due to gas ignition, but Lionel refuses to believe Roger was suicidal.
A month earlier, Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson—the tenacious and troubled heroines from The Savage Kind—attend a lecture by Roger and, being eager fans, befriend him. He has just been fired from his day job at the State Department, another victim of the Lavender Scare, an anti-gay crusade led by figures like Senator Joseph McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, claiming homosexuals are security risks. Little do Judy and Philippa know, but their obsessive manhunt of the past several years has fueled the flames of his dismissal.
They have been tracking their old enemy Adrian Bogdan, a spy and vicious serial killer protected by powerful forces in the government. He’s on the rampage again, and the police are ignoring his crimes. Frustrated, they send their research to the media and their favorite mystery writer anonymously, hoping to inspire someone, somehow, to publish on the crimes—anything to draw Bogdan out. But has their persistence brought deadly forces to the writing team behind their most beloved books?
In the wake of Roger’s death, Lionel searches for clues, but Judy and Philippa threaten his quest, concealing dark secrets of their own. As the crimes of the past and present converge, danger mounts, and the characters race to uncover the truth, even if it means bending their moral boundaries to stop a killer.
Hall of Mirrors is book two of the Nightingale trilogy.
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
Sarah J. Maas
Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution.
Celaena Sardothien has been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to a remote island in a tropical sea in order to collect on a debt owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes-and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about.
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord is the first of five prequel novellas to the Throne of Glass series.
The Assassin and the Healer
Sarah J. Maas
Meet the Assassin: beautiful, defiant, destined for greatness. Celaena Sardothien has challenged her master. Now she must pay the price. Her journey to the Red Desert will be an arduous one, but it may change the fate of her cursed world forever…
The Assassin and the Healer is the second of five prequel novellas to the Throne of Glass series.
The Assassin and the Desert
Sarah J. Maas
The Silent Assassins of the Red Desert aren’t much for conversation, and Celaena Sardothien wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s not there to chatter, she’s there to hone her craft as the world’s most feared killer for hire. When the quiet is shattered by forces who want to destroy the Silent Assassins, Celaena must find a way to stop them, or she’ll be lucky to leave the desert alive.
The Assassin and the Desert is the third of five prequel novellas to the Throne of Glass series.
The Assassin and the Underworld
Sarah J. Maas
A look at Celaena Sardothien’s life before the events of Throne of Glass.
When the King of the Assassins gives Celaena Sardothien a special assignment that will help fight slavery in the kingdom, she jumps at the chance to strike a blow against an evil practice. The misson is a dark and deadly affair that takes Celaena from the rooftops of the city to the bottom of the sewer-and she doesn’t like what she finds there.
The Assassin and the Underworld is the fourth of five prequel novellas to the Throne of Glass series.
The Assassin and the Empire
Sarah J. Maas
A look at Celaena Sardothien’s life before the events of Throne of Glass.
One final mission could be the beginning…or the end.
Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom. But Celaena won’t be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel-so she and Sam decide to take a last daring assignment that will liberate them forever. And that’s how Celaena learns that having everything means that everything can be taken away.
The Assassin and the Empire is the fifth of five prequel novellas to the Throne of Glass series.
Oath of Betrayal
Olena Nikitin
She yearned for death. He needed a weapon. Her magic was the answer.
Tormented by guilt and grief, with her power crippled after losing her bonded mates, Annika feigned her death and sought refuge in a secluded town. After a chance encounter with a dragon exposes her power to its riders, she escapes without revealing her identity, but the relentless Commander of the Dragon Riders tracks her down, determined to make her his weapon.
Ormond will sacrifice everything to defend his kingdom, even if it means bonding with a broken mage—unless Alaric, his dark fae necromancer, claims her first. Under the Commander’s touch, Annika’s magic rekindles, but she resists until a sudden attack unveils a devastating truth: when your enemy is the Lich King, death is not the worst that could happen. Desperate to survive, she needs to ground her power with an anchor.
Torn between Ormond, who ignites her magic, and Alaric, who tames its roaring inferno, Annika faces an impossible choice. Can she overcome her grief and become the weapon she was meant to be? With war threatening all she holds dear, will one anchor be enough to save her and the people she has sworn to protect?
The decision lies in her heart—to sacrifice her soul or sacrifice the kingdom.
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For the readers seeking a unique blend of Epic Fantasy and unusual adult romance. If you like mature characters entangled in an intricate plot infused with Slavic mythology and monsters and dusted with the spice of unconventional pairings, this is the book for you.
Buy now and immerse yourself in the world where a dragon can take a piece of your soul.
THE SERIES CONTAINS ADULT M/F CONTENT, AND FURTHER IN THE SERIES, YOU WILL FIND M/F/M AND M/M PAIRINGS, AS WELL AS COARSE LANGUAGE AND INJURY DETAIL. SUITABLE FOR READERS 18+.
Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas
Lethal. Loyal. Legendary.
Enter the world of Throne of Glass with the first book in the #1 bestselling series by Sarah J. Maas.
In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not come to kill him. She has come to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three murderers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she will be released from prison to serve as the King’s Champion.
Her name is Celaena Sardothien.
The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. And a princess from a faraway country will befriend her. But something rotten dwells in the castle, and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying mysteriously, one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival-and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
Thrilling and fierce, Throne of Glass is the first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series that has captivated readers worldwide.
Crown of Midnight
Sarah J. Maas
Never trust an assassin.
Celaena’s story continues in this second book in the #1 bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.
Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become the King’s Champion. But she is far from loyal to the crown. Though she goes to great lengths to hide her secret, her deadly charade becomes more difficult when she realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. Her search for answers ensnares those closest to her, and no one is safe from suspicion-not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a princess with a rebel heart.
Then, one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena’s world shatters, she will be forced to decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie . . . and what she is willing to fight for.
The second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Crown of Midnight returns readers to a land destroyed by liars, where one woman’s truth is the only thing that can save them all.
Heir of Fire
Sarah J. Maas
The heir of ash and fire bows to no one.
Celaena Sardothien has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak, but now she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth. That truth could change her life-and her future-forever.
Meanwhile, monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. To defeat them, Celaena will need the strength not only to fight the evil that is about to be unleashed but also to harness her inner demons. If she is to win this battle, she must find the courage to face her destiny-and burn brighter than ever before.
The third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Heir of Fire continues Celaena’s epic journey from woman to warrior.
Queen of Shadows
Sarah J. Maas
No masters. No limits. No regrets.
Aelin Galathynius takes her place as queen in the fourth book of the #1 bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.
Celaena Sardothien has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.
She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.
Everyone Aelin loves has been taken from her. Everything she holds dear is in danger. But she has the heart of a queen-and that heart beats for vengeance.
In this fourth book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Queen of Shadows, no one will escape the queen’s wrath.
Now it’s your turn!
Share your June reads and let’s discuss — what were your favorite reads from the past month? Or is there a book you’re looking forward to this month? Any new discoveries or treasured rereads? I’d love to see your recommendations and thoughts!
