13 new fantasy and science fiction books to read in May 2023
By Daniel Roman
Dragonfall by L.R. Lam (The Dragon Scales Trilogy #1) — May 2
Dragonfall by L.R. Lam is a fantasy tale that combines staples of the genre like magic, romance, dragons and politics. At the center of the book is a queer enemies-to-lovers story. One of the people in that relationship is a dragon, which is sure to make the whole thing very complicated and impossible to put down.
Long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. But the “gods” remember, and they do not forgive.
Thief Arcady scrapes a living on the streets of Vatra. Desperate, Arcady steals a powerful artifact from the bones of the Plaguebringer, the most hated person in Lumet history. Only Arcady knows the artifact’s magic holds the key to a new life among the nobles at court and a chance for revenge.
The spell connects to Everen, the last male dragon foretold to save his kind, dragging him through the Veil. Disguised as a human, Everen soon learns that to regain his true power and form and fulfill his destiny, he only needs to convince one little thief to trust him enough to bond completely–body, mind, and soul—and then kill them.
Yet the closer the two become, the greater the risk both their worlds will shatter.
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THE SERPENT AND THE FIREFLY by Courtney Davis — May 2
Sticking with romance, consider Courtney Davis’ new urban fantasy book The Serpent and the Firefly. It’s got magical item shops, a forbidden tryst with the King of Hell, and a prophecy that will seal the fate of various warring realms. This book sounds like a perfect fit if you enjoyed shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Jade is in witness protection and finds herself in possession of a store full of magical items. Her presence there alerts her existence to Baal, a serpent shifter and the first king of Hell. He arrives to kill her before she can become what has been prophesied and kill him, but he is enchanted by what he finds. She is everything he feared she would be, but she is also enticingly beautiful and pulls at something deep within him. She has no idea what she is, and he decides to try and use her for his own plans.
Jade tentatively trusts Baal as she embraces her new powers and his reasons for seeking the keys to a gate in Hell. She agrees to help him, but along their journey she discovers that four planes of existence have crashed together; the fae realm, the angel realm, the demon realm and the earth realm. They are all fighting for control of earth and its inhabitants.
She is the one prophesied to choose the winner. She is the one prophesied to kill the first king of Hell.