Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne, Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews, & The City in Glass by Nghi Vo

    

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

The Fury of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga #3) by John Gwynne
Publication: October 22nd, 2024
Orbit
Hardcover. 528 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"THE FINAL BATTLE FOR THE FATE OF VIGRIÐ APPROACHES

Varg has overcome the trials of his past and become an accepted member of the Bloodsworn, but now he and his newfound comrades face their biggest challenge yet: slaying a dragon.

Elvar is struggling to consolidate her power in Snakavik, where she faces threats from within and without. As she fights to assert her authority in readiness for the coming conflict, she faces a surely insurmountable task: reining in the ferocity of a wolf god.

As Biorr and his warband make their way north, eager for blood, Gudvarr pursues a mission of his own, hoping to win Lik-Rifa's favour and further his own ambitions.

All paths lead to Snakavik, where the lines are being drawn for the final battle - a titanic clash that will shake the foundations of the world, and bear witness to the true fury of the gods."

The finale to this epic fantasy trilogy is finally coming and I'm really excited to see how Gwynne wraps it all up–although I may need some sort of recap because it's been a minute since I read the previous books, haha. Also, I've been obsessed with how epic all of the covers in this series have been. 

Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews
Publication: October 29th, 2024
Feiwel & Friends
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Protect him. Lie for him. Kill for him.

High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality—Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more.

But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won’t say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork—whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew’s wicked stories.

Desperate to figure out what’s wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster—Thomas’s drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him. To make sure no one else dies, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew begins to fear that the only way to stop the creatures might be to destroy their creator…"

I have such a good feeling about this book, and I think this premise from CG Drews will be so good.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
Publication: October 1st, 2024
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 224 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A demon. An angel. A city that burns at the heart of the world.

The demon Vitrine—immortal, powerful, and capricious—loves the dazzling city of Azril. She has mothered, married, and maddened the city and its people for generations, and built it into a place of joy and desire, revelry and riot.

And then the angels come, and the city falls.

Vitrine is left with nothing but memories and a book containing the names of those she has lost—and an angel, now bound by her mad, grief-stricken curse to haunt the city he burned.

She mourns her dead and rages against the angel she longs to destroy. Made to be each other’s devastation, angel and demon are destined for eternal battle. Instead, they find themselves locked in a devouring fascination that will change them both forever.

Together, they unearth the past of the lost city and begin to shape its future. But when war threatens Azril and everything they have built, Vitrine and her angel must decide whether they will let the city fall again.

The City in Glass is both a brilliantly constructed history and an epic love story, of death and resurrection, memory and transformation, redemption and desire strong enough to burn a world to ashes and build it anew."

The pitch that this is a fantasy city "in the tradition of Calvino, Mieville, and Le Guin" is pretty much all I needed to make me want to read this, but I also  think it sounds like an incredible promising premise! I’ve really enjoyed Nghi Vo’s writing in some of her previous books, so I'm looking forward to checking out her work again. 

Can't-Wait Wednesday: These Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones, The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel, & Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

   

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

 

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Publication: August 16th, 2022
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Hardcover. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince’s orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer’s old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both. 

The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing… but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms. 

The Drowned Woods—set in the same world as The Bone Houses but with a whole new, unforgettable cast of characters—is part heist novel, part dark fairy tale."

I still haven't gotten around to Lloyd-Jones' The Bone Houses, but I've heard great things about it and I'm really curious about the premise for this book. I also am really in love with that cover!

and...

The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel
Publication: August 2nd, 2022
Tin House Books
Paperback. 360 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"The islanders have only three rules: don’t stick your nose where it’s not wanted, don’t mention the war, and never let your guard down during October. 

Leigh Welles has not set foot in on the island in years, but when she finds herself called home from a disappointing life on the Scottish mainland by her father’s unexpected death, she is determined to forget the sorrows of the past—her mother’s abandonment, her brother’s icy distance, the unspeakable tragedy of World War II—and start fresh. Fellow islander Iain MacTavish, a RAF veteran with his eyes on the sky and his head in the past is also in desperate need of a new beginning. A young widower, Iain struggles to return to the normal life he knew before the war. 

But this October is anything but normal. This October, the sluagh are restless. The ominous, bird-like creatures of Celtic legend—whispered to carry the souls of the dead—have haunted the islanders for decades, but in the war’s wake, there are more wandering souls and more slaugh. When a local boy disappears, Leigh and Iain are thrown together to investigate the truth at the island’s dark heart and reveal hidden secrets of their own."

I tend to avoid any stories that have "World War II" in the premise, haha, but since this is a post-war story I'm ready to go for it. I think this premise and setting sound so good and I love that it seems like it'll have a touch of creepiness to it. I'm really curious about this one because I haven't heard much about it!

and...

Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi, trans. David Boyd, Lucy North
Publication: August 9th, 2022
Vikings
Hardcover. 224 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"When thirty-four-year-old Ms. Shibata gets a new job in Tokyo to escape sexual harassment at her old one, she finds that, as the only woman at her new workplace--a company that manufactures cardboard tubes--she is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she can't clear away her colleagues' dirty cups--because she's pregnant and the smell nauseates her. The only thing is . . . Ms. Shibata is not pregnant. 

Pregnant Ms. Shibata doesn't have to serve coffee to anyone. Pregnant Ms. Shibata isn't forced to work overtime. Pregnant Ms. Shibata rests, watches TV, takes long baths, and even joins an aerobics class for expectant mothers. But pregnant Ms. Shibata also has a nine-month ruse to keep up. Helped along by towel-stuffed shirts and a diary app on which she can log every stage of her "pregnancy," she feels prepared to play the game for the long haul. Before long, though, the hoax becomes all-absorbing, and the boundary between her lie and her life begins to dissolve. 

A surreal and wryly humorous cultural critique, Diary of a Void is bound to become a landmark in feminist world literature."

I'm so very into the synopsis for this book and can't wait to see what Emi Yago does with this premise! I've really enjoyed the translated Japanese fiction that I've read, so I am really excited for this one. 

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?