Recommendations based on "Black Flame"

In the vein of The Pisces and The Vegetarian, Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, told from an adult perspective on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a society that puts pressure on young women and their bodies… a powerful, relevant novel of immigration, sapphic longing, and fierce, defiant becoming.Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach is her guiding light. If she swims well enough, she will be scouted, get a scholarship, go to a good school. Her parents will love her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life.But these are human concerns. These are the concerns of those confined to land, those with legs. Ren grew up on stories of creatures of the deep, of the oceans and the rivers. Creatures that called sailors to their doom. That dragged them down and drowned them. That feasted on their flesh. The creature that she’s always longed to become: the mermaid.Ren aches to be in the water. She dreams of the scent of chlorine, the feel of it on her skin. And she will do anything she can to make a life for herself where she can be free. No matter the pain. No matter what anyone else thinks. No matter how much blood she has to spill.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL • NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR“Defiantly populated with living women . . . beautifully drawn, dense with detail and specificity . . . Notes on an Execution is nuanced, ambitious and compelling.” —Katie Kitamura, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (Editors' Choice)"A searing portrait of the complicated women caught in the orbit of a serial killer. . . . Compassionate and thought-provoking." –BRIT BENNETT, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing HalfRecommended by New York Times Book Review • Los Angeles Times • Washington Post • Entertainment Weekly • Esquire • Good Housekeeping • USA Today • Buzzfeed • Goodreads • Real Simple • Marie Claire • Rolling Stone • Business Insider • Bustle • PopSugar • The Millions • The Guardian • and many more!In the tradition of Long Bright River and The Mars Room, a gripping and atmospheric work of literary suspense that deconstructs the story of a serial killer on death row, told primarily through the eyes of the women in his life—from the bestselling author of Girl in Snow.Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he’s done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago. But Ansel doesn’t want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood.Through a kaleidoscope of women—a mother, a sister, a homicide detective—we learn the story of Ansel’s life. We meet his mother, Lavender, a seventeen-year-old girl pushed to desperation; Hazel, twin sister to Ansel’s wife, inseparable since birth, forced to watch helplessly as her sister’s relationship threatens to devour them all; and finally, Saffy, the detective hot on his trail, who has devoted herself to bringing bad men to justice but struggles to see her own life clearly. As the clock ticks down, these three women sift through the choices that culminate in tragedy, exploring the rippling fissures that such destruction inevitably leaves in its wake.Blending breathtaking suspense with astonishing empathy, Notes on an Execution presents a chilling portrait of womanhood as it simultaneously unravels the familiar narrative of the American serial killer, interrogating our system of justice and our cultural obsession with crime stories, asking readers to consider the false promise of looking for meaning in the psyches of violent men."Poetic and mesmerizing . . . Powerful, important, intensely human, and filled with a unique examination of tragedy, one where the reader is left with a curious emotion: hope." —USA TODAY“A profound and staggering experience of empathy that challenges us to confront what it means to be human in our darkest moments. . . . I relished every page of this brilliant and gripping masterpiece."—ASHLEY AUDRAIN, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.

From Eliza Clark, the author of the brilliant novels Boy Parts and Penance and one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists, comes a fierce, visionary and darkly comic story collection.A woman welcomes a parasite into her body.A teenager longs for perfect skin.A scientist tends to fragile alien flora.A young man takes the night into his own hands.Unsettling, revelatory, and laced with her signature dark humor, Eliza Clark’s debut short story collection plumbs the depths of that most basic human feeling: hunger.

*****THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***** ''The fantasy novel that every fantasy reader has been waiting for'' Jay Kristoff ''Long Live Evil is a glorious, swoon-worthy villain romance. What a delicious read'' Tasha Suri A TALE FOR ANYONE WHO''S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN... When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He''s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she''s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor''s tale. So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they''re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor''s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page. This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain''s shoes, for an adventure that is both ''brilliant'' (Holly Black) and ''supremely satisfying'' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue''s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a charmingly homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation. ***** ''Audacious, and supremely satisfying, Long Live Evil is the chosen one we''ve been waiting for. It succeeds as both a brilliant meditation on the pleasures and perils of fiction, and a sweeping, romantic adventure in its own right. Get ready to laugh out loud, cry in public, and cheer on the villains as Brennan smashes through tropes with witty, wild glee in this delicious, subversive treat of a book'' Leigh Bardugo ''The compulsion Brennan casts over her readers is unholy. Not only could I not put Long Live Evil down, I barely remembered to blink. It was so immersive that when I finished I put my face in my pillow and screamed in actual devastation at being kicked out of the story. Utterly magical'' Shelley Parker-Chan ''Sarah Rees Brennan''s charms are unmatched. Her books makes you feel as if you''re in on the joke and always invited on the most fantastic and romantic adventure'' Rainbow Rowell ''Long Live Evil is the huge-hearted and whip-smart epic fantasy of my dreams. I went in laughing and came out crying, and so will you. I''m obsessed'' Alix E. Harrow ''Brennan''s brilliant Long Live Evil harnesses clever banter, delightful turns of phrase, and epic worldbuilding in the service of exploring the nature of stories and the freedom that comes with embracing being named a villain - and maybe actually becoming one. Most of all, it introduces us to Rae, who uses her quick-thinking, loyalty, and ferocity to sidestep (and do the occasional musical number around) doom'' Holly Black ''Utterly brilliant. I can''t stop thinking about Long Live Evil, which has rocketed to the top of my list of all time favourite fantasy novels. Pick this up immediately, Brennan will take everything you think you know about fantasy and turn it on its head'' C.S. Pacat ''A wild joyride . . . surprisingly poignant but also made me laugh until people looked at me on the train'' Everina Maxwell ''Brennan is one of the sharpest fantasy authors writing today, and Long Live Evil layers laugh-out-loud comedy and swoony romance over an emotional core of powerful anger and loss. I loved it'' Emily Tesh ''Laugh out loud, heartfelt and searing in the same breath. Simultaneously a send-up and a tribute to the tropes, fandom and power of fantasy, Long Live Evil is a romp that leaves you asking: are we all the villains in someone else''s narrative?'' Eliza Chan ''A defiant shout of a book, so entertaining and funny that you almost don''t notice its devastating, razor-sharp heart until it''s smiling sweetly into your face while it withdraws the knife'' Freya Marske ''Brennen has gifted us with a romp of a book that honours the epic tropes we all secretly (or not so secretly) love. Long Live Evil is perfect for savvy readers who know that the villain is always the best character'' Megan Bannen ''Long Live Evil is truly one of the most inventive fantasy books I''ve ever read. I can''t decide what I liked best: the witty banter, the genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, or the clever wordplay. The good news is that I don''t have to pick, and it all worked together seamlessly. If you''re looking for a fresh voice in fantasy that twists your favourite tropes into new brand-new favourites, then run, don''t walk to your nearest bookstore. Long live evil, indeed'' Nisha J. Tuli *A No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller, as reported in the hardback fiction charts on Sunday 25th August 2024.

A lyrical and dreamy reimagining of Dracula’s brides, A DOWRY OF BLOOD is a story of desire, obsession, and emancipation.Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things. Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband’s dark secrets.With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing, intensely atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror.Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration.Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar’s walls.As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness—forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy—these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle’s new masters… or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself.

Bram Stoker Award Winner for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult NovelIn Adam Cesare’s terrifying young adult debut, Quinn Maybrook finds herself caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress—that just may cost her life.Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start. But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half.On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee

The first volume in Robin Hobb's internationally bestselling Farseer series.

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer. This is the twelfth expedition. Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist--the de facto leader--and a biologist, who is our narrator. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens, to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself. They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers--they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding--but it's the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.