In a world of automatons, Kristane has been chosen alongside her brother and other thieves to fix the mistakes of the past. Guiding the group is an old story about a lonely princess and her automaton—created to be both her playmate and protector—who gives her his heart, though she must destroy it. But not everything is as the story says, and they must work to uncover the truth of the tale to mend the automaton’s broken heart.
A Tale of the Broken Heart has been sitting on my shelf for about two years now. I actually picked up this book at the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books, and had the pleasure of meeting the authors—Haley Rose and Russel Plieseis—whose enthusiasm for this debut made me excited to read it. Unfortunately life got in the way, so it’s just been collecting dust—until now! This fall I’m excited to dive into the world of Kairos and see how they’ve incorporated steampunk elements into this fantasy novel.
Amidst the second world war, two teenagers with ancient magic coursing through inherited family relics find themselves drawn to each other when their worlds get turned upside down. Ren Hamada and Violet Aratani are forced into internment camps by the United States government because of their Japanese American status. At the camp they come across a god, trapped in mortal form within the camp—and Ren and Violet set out to free him. But can they do so when their own lives are at risk?
The Gods Will Sing Our Song releases August 31st this year, and I discovered it while browsing the fantasy books on Libby. I’ve been getting more curious about historical fiction lately, and to see a book that combines historical fiction with fantasy really intrigued me. Even more so was the perspective being from Japanese Americans, as I feel a lot of historical fiction written about WWII takes place in Europe—I haven’t seen much written about the camps the US made. I’m excited for when it releases!
Soraya, a high school senior in New York, must deal with the stress any other high schooler must face… on top of the anxiety of shapeshifting into an inhuman beast at any moment. But then Soraya is whisked away to the world of Angoleth, plagued by dark magic that is actively harming the citizens of the land. Will she be able to help the people of Angoleth? Can she even help herself?
Angoleth’s Heir is another book I picked up from the Tucson Festival of Books, this one from this year’s festival! Meagan Poetschlag was running a booth all about dragons and I just had to stop by, and I bought Angoleth’s Heir after Poetschlag described the portal world and shapeshifting main character to me. Portal worlds are always intriguing and I’m interested to see how Soraya navigates it, as well as how her abilities affect the primary world before she enters Angoleth.
Rat, a young thief just trying to get by, is recruited by a wizard clan because of his shadow magic—the very shadow magic that Rat is oblivious to having. So long as the clan doesn’t kill him, however, Rat doesn’t mind; in fact, being adopted by a bunch of wizards might just be one of the few good things to happen to him.
The final book I picked up at the Tucson Festival of Books two years ago, Child of the Sword, is the first installment in The Gods Within series. When Doty mentioned the protagonist’s name was Rat, and that he was a thief, I was immediately curious. But much like A Tale of the Broken Heart, I just haven’t had time to read it. I’m hoping I’ll be able to begin this series over the fall!
Essun must continue her search for her missing daughter, whose power may bring the destruction of the world. To complicate Essun’s mission is Alabaster, back in her life after years, and he comes with a catastrophic request. It’s the end of the world either way—will Essun’s decisions really make a difference?
The Obelisk Gate, unlike the other books on this list, is an adult book; however, after reading Jemisin’s The Fifth Season I just fell in love with this world. The switching points-of-view (POVs) and the constantly rising stakes were so gripping that I couldn’t put the first book down. I haven’t been able to read the sequels yet, and I’m really hoping to dive into the second one this fall between all my other readings.
And that’s my list! I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through all of these novels during the fall, seeing as I don’t have all of the books I’ll need to read for my classes yet. But, I’m hopeful that I can knock out at least a few off this list!
Grace McCool, Pine Reads Review Writer & Editor