Can't-Wait Wednesday: Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton & Exordia by Seth Dickinson

 

 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:

Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton
Publication: January 2nd, 2024
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A New York City fairy tale about two sisters that fall under the spell of an underworld cabaret troupe that might be a dangerous cult—but one that makes the materialist world left in its wake feel like a sinister cult itself.

Rose has come a long way. Raised—and often neglected—by a wayward mother in New York City’s chaotic bohemia, Rose has finally built the life she’s always a good job at a self-help startup, a clean apartment, an engagement to a stable if self-satisfied tech CEO who shares her faith in human potential, hard work, and the sacrifice of childish dreams.

Rose’s sister Cecilia, on the other hand, never grew up. Irresponsible and impetuous, prone to jetting off to a European monastery one month and a falcon rescue the next, Cecilia has spent her life in pursuit of fairy-tale narratives of transcendence and true love—grand ideas Rose knows never work out in the real world. When Cecilia declares she’s come home to New York for good, following the ending of a whirlwind marriage, Rose hopes Cecilia might finally be ready to face compromises and all.

But then Cecilia gets involved with the a cultish-sounding cabaret troupe—one that appears only at night, on a mysterious red boat that travels New York’s waterways—and soon one of a growing number of suspicious disappearances among the city’s lost and loneliest souls. The only way Rose can find Cecilia is by tracking down the Avalon herself.

But as Rose gets closer to solving the mystery of what happened to her sister, the Avalon works its magic on her, too. And the deeper she goes into the Avalon’s underworld, she more she begins to question everything she knows about her own life, and whether she’s willing to leave the real world behind."

This sounds a little all over the place so I have no idea what to really expect, but I'm excited for it and can't wait to get started on it. I was kindly provided an ARC by Danielle Prielipp at Simon & Schuster, so huge thanks for that!

Exordia Seth Dickinson
Publication: January 23rd, 2024
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 544 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"'Anna, I came to Earth tracking a very old story, a story that goes back to the dawn of time. it’s very unlikely that you’ll die right now. It wouldn’t be narratively complete.'


Anna Sinjari―refugee, survivor of genocide, disaffected office worker―has a close encounter that reveals universe-threatening stakes. While humanity reels from disaster, she must join a small team of civilians, soldiers, and scientists to investigate a mysterious broadcast and unknowable horror. If they can manage to face their own demons, they just might save the world."

I did not care for The Traitor of Baru Cormorant, but I'm holding out hope that I can still love Seth Dickinson's work as much as everyone else and that maybe Exordia will be that book for me.

First Chapter Tuesday: The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

It's another busy week, so I thought I'd share with you all one of the books I just recently picked up! It is:

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
 

Excerpt:

"CHAPTER 1 

Trade season came around again. Baru was still too young to smell the empire wind. 

The Masquerade sent its favorite soldiers to conquer Taranoke: sailcloth, dyes, glazed ceramic, sealskin and oils, paper currency printed in their Falcrest tongue. Little Baru, playing castles in the hot black sand, liked to watch their traders come in to harbor. She learned to count by tallying the ships and the seabirds that circled them. 

Nearly two decades later, watching firebearer frigates heel in the aurora light, she would remember those sails on the horizon. But at age seven, the girl Baru Cormorant gave them no weight. She cared mostly for arithmetic and birds and her parents, who could show her the stars.

 But it was her parents who taught her to be afraid."

Goodreads

I think this is a fairly interesting and engaging start. I have been seeing people talking about how incredible this book is everywhere and I knew I'd have get to it eventually, but it kept popping up everywhere so I just decided to give in and request it from my library. I'm only ~100 pages in and I'm slightly on the fence still. It seems like it has a lot of potential and I have faith that it will pick up, but I've just had a bit of a time trying to get into it, so we'll see! I'm still really excited about finally reading it, though! It has a really fascinating premise.

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

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*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.