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Burn the Sea
Mona Tewari
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To protect her homeland, one queen must fight her people's historic enemy—once and for all.
Abbakka Chowta never expected to be queen. The youngest of Ullal's two rajkumaris, Abbakka has spent years in rigorous combat training to become her sister's blade. But when the monstrous Porcugi attempt to lay claim to Ullal, Abbakka's world—and fate—are upended.
The Porcugi—giant half-men, half-snakes who attack from the sea—haven't been seen in Ullal since their failed invasion more than fifty years ago. But now, they're back with vengeance and a choice: pay their tithes or suffer total devastation. Soon, Abbakka's definitions of strength, subterfuge, and statecraft are put to the test.
Will marriage to a neighboring king give her the resources she needs to protect her people . . . or will she watch her homeland be crushed beneath the waves of would-be colonizers?
A lush historical fantasy that reimagines the Portuguese attacks on South India in the 1500s and the fierce real-life queen's story, Burn the Sea is an electrifying exaltation of female power and the value of freedom.
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jul 29
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[\ \ Join for free or login](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/9t99nW5TOQqsvIqybme8/)
EXCLUSIVE FIRST CHAPTER PREVIEW for Before I Bow [spoilers for BURN THE SEA ahead]
OPEN TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER!
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Fairly Queer Books\ \ Fareeha\ \ • Jul 28
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Back on Youtube ! Help me choose my next read
It's been a while! Here's a short video to slowly make my way back onto youtube.
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jul 9
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[\ \ Join for free or login](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/aFBzBCfefyWNkQcRh7jE/)
Get 25% Off BURN THE SEA from 7/9 to 7/13 [CODE IN POST]
open for the link and code!
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Books Right Now\ \ Rashi Dembi\ \ • Jun 14
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July Book Club Pick: BURN THE SEA by Mona Tewari
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Books Right Now\ \ Rashi Dembi\ \ • Jun 4
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This is your reminder to read South Asian books all year long!
If you’re looking for book recs, I’ve got you! Here are two pages of my favorite South Asian books as well as two pages of the South Asian books on my TBR.
47 books
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Wild Card Reads\ \ Samia (bookaroundandfindout)\ \ • Jun 1
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[Hi friends — and welcome to the very first Wild Card Dispatch. This is my newsletter to share with you my thoughts and book rants and updates to how this Bindery works! First of all, thank you so much for being here, it really means the world to me. 🥹\ \ So I literally just moved to new apartment this weekend after six years. Moving has been chaos in the best way, but the part I'm genuinely obsessed with is plotting out my little reading nook with bookshelf galore and my plants and a cosy sitting spot and ahhh!!! \ \ Because May was AAPI Month, I made a real point of filling my stack with AAPI authors. And because I'm physically incapable of staying in one genre for more than five minutes, the haul ended up being a horror, a satire, two romances, a literary mystery, and a historical fantasy epic — which is the most "me" sentence I've ever typed and exactly what Wild Card Reads is supposed to feel like.\ \ So let's get into it, in literally no particular order at all. \ \ The Winged Game — Sophie Kim ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ \ \ You know that feeling when you need a book to just remind you that reading is fun? This was that book for me. It's a fantasy SPORTS romance — yes, both of those things, together, and I had no idea I needed it — with enemies-to-lovers banter so good that Taissa and Kion's internal monologues had me cackling out loud. There's real depth under all the humor too, with backstories and a found family I got genuinely attached to, plus I learned an alarming amount of Scottish slang along the way. I'm a Sophie Kim girl now, no notes, and I will be reading 800 more pages in this world if she'll let me. It really brought joy to my heart. \ \ Out of Her League — Ava Rani ⭐⭐⭐ \ \ A cute, sparkly beach-day read, and I'm being honest with you the way I always am: it was a solid time, not a life-changer. What I loved was an FMC who refuses to sacrifice her career for anyone, real rep for women in medicine, a genuinely sweet and understanding MMC, and that supportive-best-friend energy I'm always a sucker for. It lost a little shine for me with some repeated lines and an ex-boyfriend storyline I expected more tension from. But if you want something low-stakes and warm to read with an iced coffee in the sun, this does the job nicely.\ \ Yellowface — R.F. Kuang ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ \ \ The moral of the story? White women are crazy. June steals the work of her Asian friend Athena (who's dead) and then somehow convinces herself she's the victim, and watching her gaslight everyone — including herself — was a hilarious ride. It's a razor-sharp look at how publishing decides which books are "bestsellers" and how Asian authors basically have to be brilliant just to get in the door. I listened on audio and cannot recommend it enough; the narrator's sarcasm is hysterical. This is literary satire for sure and I know a lot people didn't like it but I think I came in with such low expectations that I ended up being surprised. \ \ The Girl with a Thousand Faces — Sunyi Dean ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ \ \ This one starts as a ghostly detective tale set in 1940s Hong Kong, post-invasion, and slowly unfolds into something so much bigger — a story about war's scars, revenge, and how generational trauma lingers even thirty-plus years later. The layered structure absolutely hooked me, and the blend of real history with the supernatural felt both completely fresh and deeply moving. There were parts of the book told in second person as well and it was weird because I don't think I've read that much second person POV. If you're drawn to ghost stories that actually have a beating heart and historical weight behind them, this might be for you. It's not really scary or horror I would say, so if you were apprehensive let that change your mind and try it out! \ \ Men Like Ours — Bindu Bansinath ⭐⭐⭐⭐ \ \ Let me be upfront: this book made me deeply uncomfortable, and I think that was entirely the point. It's set in a South Asian suburban enclave in New Jersey where a man is found dead in his BMW and the women of the neighborhood get pulled into figuring out what happened. The mystery kept me turning pages, but what it's really about is what happens to people when community becomes a pressure cooker of unfulfilled lives. It takes some of the most painful tendencies that can exist in South Asian culture and concentrates them all into one street, and it's stressful precisely because none of it is invented — but it's also not all of us. One of the main characters, Anita, lived in my head rent-free because you wanted to hate her but you also deeply sympathized with the cards she got. It was bleak, dark, strange, but oddly hard to put down. \ \ Burn the Sea — Mona Tewari ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ \ \ I genuinely did not expect a book about Portuguese colonizers reimagined as giant half-snake sea monsters to wreck me this much, but here we are. Watching Abbakka go from a reluctant queen shoved onto a throne she never asked for into an actual hero for her whole country was everything — you feel every ounce of her doubt and grief, so by the end she's earned every inch of that strength. What stuck with me most was how the book handles grief: the way sometimes you don't get to stop and fall apart, you just keep moving until you're somewhere safe enough to actually feel it. The South Asian culture on the page was so beautiful I felt genuinely seen, and knowing this is Mona's debut, written because she wanted to see herself in fiction, makes it land even harder. (Tiny proud-aunt moment: this one's a Bindery Books title, and championing debuts like this is exactly why I'm here.)I am THIRSTING for book two. \ \
- *\ \ Suprise: the Wild Card Book Club is officially happening 📚! \ \ Woooo! So, the whole reason I built Wild Card Reads was to have a place where we could actually talk about books beyond a 60-second video where I'm gesturing wildly at a cover. So I'm genuinely thrilled to tell you the Wild Card Book Club is here.\ \ Here's how it works:\ \
- Everyone — free members too — gets into the Discord, where we hang out, scream about plot twists, and post unhinged reactions in real time. Come say hi!\ \
- $5 members get the heart of it: our monthly live virtual book club session (real faces, real conversation, actual humans!), potential guest appearances by authors, early reveals of what we're reading next so you can grab the book in time, and a say in what we pick together. You and me, building the TBR of our lives.\ \
- $12 members get everything above, plus first dibs on the bigger stuff I'm dreaming up for down the road — including, fingers crossed, some in-person meetups one day. 🤞\ \ \ Our first pick and the full details — how to join the live session, the date, and a guest I'm very excited about — are dropping in a dedicated post later this week. Keep your eyes peeled. 👀\ \
- *\ \ okay, now help me out of my slump \ \ I hope you pick up one of these books or if you have already read one message me in the Discord chat so we can yap! \ \ Now I need you, what should I read next? I've started a few books while I wait for my copy of The Ballad of Fallen Dragons to arrive so I need some recs. What did you read for AAPI Month that I have to get my hands on? Come yell at me in the Discord — and not for nothing, a few of these picks could be on the book club shortlist. 👀\ \ Thank you for being here for dispatch #1. I hope someone read this to the end because I YAPPED. \ \ Talk soon, Samia 🌷](https://thebookaroundlounge.binderybooks.com/item/vZNlN0iq1olAzHTGDnAw/)
Newsletter: Wild Card Dispatch ✦ AAPI Month Recap + Hello!
6 books
Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jun 1
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\ \ Join for free or login](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/NkTU5NJlaS7gKSPGTfYY/)
June 2026 Newsletter! New Perks & Reminders!
open for important updates!
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Books Right Now\ \ Rashi Dembi\ \ • May 30
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Some quick reviews of my recent reads!
I've had a record number of 5 star reads this year!
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • May 21
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BURN THE SEA Book Discussion Over Zoom?
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ofpagesandprint\ \ Dahlia\ \ • May 20
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[With a little over a week left in May, I wanted to share some of the incredible AANHPI stories on my TBR to continue celebrating AANHPI voices all year long!\ *Pitches from the publishers.\ \
- Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow - Two scholars of magical veterinary science must put aside their lust and loathing to save the world in the first installment of this whimsical, romantic, dark academia duology. ( Strange Familiars is also the July pick for Musings of the Nine Book Club! Keshe will join the club to comment insight about Strange Familiars and chat with the club as we read. We hope you join us!)\ \
- For No Mortal Creature by Keshe Chow - In this romantic, gothic fantasy inspired by Wuthering Heights, a teen girl with the power to move between life and death must journey into the afterlife. But to survive, she’ll need the help of her two sworn enemies—both dangerously captivating, both hiding secrets that could destroy her.\ \
- Unfinished Business by Clare Osongo - In this funny, warmly chaotic tale of love, a floundering office worker discovers her mother's ghost is trapped in the company Slack server, and must free her by resolving her own troubled love life.\ \
- The Fast Track by Angelica Cheng - An ambitious racer who dreams of becoming the first female F1 champion finds her plans going off track when she catches feelings for her biggest competition in this dishy, delicious contemporary romance for fans of love, Lynn Painter, and Lewis Hamilton.\ \
- The Revenant of Surolifia by Florence Chien - In the vein of The Traitor Baru Cormorant and The Unbroken, The Revenant of Surolifia is a gripping political fantasy of empire, identity, and impossible choices, where rebellion blazes in the streets, loyalty is a double-edged sword, and the price of peace may be too steep to pay.\ \
- The Game of Oaths by S.C. Bandreddi - In this heart-pounding, richly imagined fantasy set in the Belle Époque, a trapeze artist fights to win a deadly tournament amid the glamour and illusions of a magical circus. But survival isn’t her only goal—she wants revenge.\ \
- Witch Daughter by Tanaz Bhathena - In her adult debut, award-winning author Tanaz Bhathena expertly weaves a tale of love and loss in ancient Persia with her take on the timeless tragedy of Tahmineh, a temptress, a witch, a victim, or, perhaps, a woman trying her hardest to protect her loved ones.\ \
- Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari - A fierce Indian queen must defend her country against both the colonizing monsters attacking from the sea and the cowardly manipulations of a neighboring king…who happens to be her husband.\ \
- The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham - A lush and immersive queer “Sleeping Beauty” retelling about escapism, grief, and dreaming of a better world.\ \
- A Kiss of Crimson Ash by Anuja Varghese - Inspired by medieval India’s most epic love stories, this debut Romantasy blends rich storytelling, lush worldbuilding, and spice of every variety. Perfect for fans of Nisha J. Tuli and Tasha Suri.\ \
- The Book of Fallen Leaves by A.S. Tamaki - Shogun meets Game of Thrones in this epic fantasy debut of ambition, vengeance, and sacrifice.\ \
- Coldwire by Chloe Gong - The start of a daring new dystopian series where humanity has moved to virtual reality to flee their deteriorating world, following two young soldiers who must depend on unlikely allies in their fight for survival.\ \
- The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim - In this sly and dazzling contemporary fantasy, the most notorious nine-tailed fox in Korea pairs up with a trickster god–turned–detective to track down a wrathful demon . . . before it can destroy the mortal world.\ \
- Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang - The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever, in this standalone dark fantasy from the author of The Sword of Kaigen.\ \
- Double Happiness by Heather Eng - Caught between a relentless tech job, her adoring fiancé, and an unexpected new flame, Mei must learn what it means to choose herself.\ \
- Brighter Than Nine (sequel to Darker By Four) by June C.L. Tan - The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets the Chinese underworld, drawing inspiration from diaspora folklore, in this epic, sweeping contemporary fantasy duology.\ \
- Checking You Out by Jennifer Chen - XO, Kitty meets Dash & Lily in this rom com about two teens falling in love via letters left in their favorite library books—even if in real life they think they have nothing in common.\ \
- Roar by Varsha Bajaj - The gripping story of a boy whose eye-opening trip to a tiger sanctuary ignites his desire to join those who are roaring to protect the animals.\ \
- Babel by R.F. Kuang - A historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire.\ \
- Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim - A mother and daughter must break their family’s curse through trials of war and immigration, love, loss, and redemption in this riveting multi-generational saga with a shimmer of magic.\ \
- The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe - In this spellbinding fantasy debut set in a future where language magic reigns, a young Hawaiian woman must solve a murder to clear her name.\ \
- Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker - In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds.\ \ \ Happy AANHPI Heritage Month!](https://ofpagesandprint.binderybooks.com/item/w8ybreAz4RMi6uF1KFu5/)
22 books
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Books Right Now\ \ Rashi Dembi\ \ • May 15
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[I absolutely love reading Indian fantasy books, particularly when they’re written by Indian authors who portray our culture with the love and care it deserves.\ \ Here are five of my favorite Indian fantasy books of all time and their synopses!\ \
- Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari\ \ \ \ Abbakka Chowta never expected to be queen. The youngest of Ullal’s two rajkumaris, Abbakka has spent years in rigorous combat training to become her sister’s blade. But when the monstrous Porcugi attempt to lay claim to Ullal, Abbakka’s world―and fate―are upended.\ \ The Porcugi―giant half-men, half-snakes who attack from the sea―haven’t been seen in Ullal since their failed invasion more than fifty years ago. But now, they’re back with vengeance and a choice: pay their tithes or suffer total devastation. Soon, Abbakka’s definitions of strength, subterfuge, and statecraft are put to the test. Will marriage to a neighboring king give her the resources she needs to protect her people . . . or will she watch her homeland be crushed beneath the waves of would-be colonizers?\ \ A lush historical fantasy that reimagines the Portuguese attacks on South India in the 1500s and the fierce real-life queen’s story, Burn the Sea is an electrifying exaltation of female power and the value of freedom.\ \
- To Bargain with Mortals by R.A. Basu\ \ \ \ In the colonized nation of Viryana, Poppy Sutherland lives between cultures. As the brown-skinned adopted daughter of the Viceroy, she is both rejected by white high society and alienated from the people of her native island. When she discovers her opportunistic fiancé’s plot to exile her, Poppy flees—straight into the clutches of the Jackal. \ \ Hasan Devar, the ruthless criminal known as the Jackal, has long been targeted for his family’s divine magic, a gift the colonizers have tried to stamp out. When his brother is arrested, he seizes Poppy as leverage. But Poppy has powerful secrets—and political ambitions—of her own. As allies, they could do more than just free Hasan’s brother and keep Poppy safe. They could topple the very power structures that hold them all back. \ \ The first book in the Reckoning Storm duology, To Bargain with Mortals is a stunning reflection on politics and purpose, blood and allegiance—and what we do with the histories we inherit. \ \
- The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma\ \ \ \ The Ravani kingdom was born of a prophecy, carved from unforgiving desert sands and ruled by the Ravence bloodline: those with the power to command the Eternal Fire.\ \ Elena Aadya is the heir to the throne—and the only Ravence who cannot wield her family’s legendary magic. As her coronation approaches, she will do whatever it takes to prove herself a worthy successor to her revered father. But she doesn’t anticipate the arrival of Yassen Knight, the notorious assassin who now claims fealty to the throne. Elena’s father might trust Yassen to be a member of her royal guard, but she is certain he is hiding something.\ \
- Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel\ \ \ \ A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world.\ \ Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse.\ \ Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind.\ \ Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war.\ \ As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son.\ \
- The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao\ \ \ \ Across the mortal and immortal realms, celestial dancers known as apsaras are revered for their beauty, allure, and enchanting magic. But Meneka knows that is not all they are. Trained as a weapon—a warrior—Meneka despises leaving each of her marks in thrall to her potent illusions. With every seduction Lord Indra, king of heaven, demands of her for his political gain, she craves her freedom more and more.\ \ When a mortal sage’s growing powers threaten Indra’s supremacy in his own realm, Meneka seizes a rare opportunity. She strikes a deal—if she can seduce this dangerous man, Indra will allow her to forgo future missions. But upon meeting the sage, Kaushika, Meneka finds herself captivated by his energy, ignited by his empathy and passion, even though he threatens everything she’s ever known. Can she overthrow the man who is—little by little—stealing her heart, or is Kaushika seducing her instead? As war looms in the skies, Meneka must choose between her duty to protect her home, and the sage who is showing her what true love can mean.\ \ Romantic, spellbinding, and empowering, The Legend of Meneka breathes new life into Hindu mythology to weave a lustrous tale of a woman discovering the cosmic power within herself. This first book in the Divine Dancers duology is a completely unputdownable adventure for lovers of romantasy and myth retellings.](https://booksrightnow.binderybooks.com/item/7x7r46ffqBBdkLFMRRHA/)
5 Indian Fantasy Books by Indian Authors!
5 books
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Betty's Bookish Thoughts\ \ Betty\ \ • May 10
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The ARC gods have been good to me ✨ 2026 is already looking FABULOUS for our Asian-authored reads and I’m not taking any moments for granted about how lucky I am to read them early! 🤍
Spread the word, alllll of these books are worth the read, add them to your TBR asap 🫶🏻
Thank you @netgalley and all the publishing groups for making the first few months of the year so full and fruitful. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve learned from history, contemplated existential philosophy, and I’ve grieved friends I’ve never met. So much love for every single one of these authors who’ve had me lost in their gorgeous stories 💝
☁️Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim 7/28 ☁️This Wretched Alchemy by Tina Mars 11/10 ☁️Kitten by Stacey Yu 8/4 ☁️Just a Highland Fling by Naina Kumar 7/21 ☁️The Typing Lady by Ruth Ozeki 6/2 ☁️The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung 5/5 ☁️Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu 4/28 ☁️The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue by Zoulfa Katouh 6/2 ☁️Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari 4/21 ☁️The Winged Game by Sophie Kim 6/30
10 books
Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • May 7
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\ \ Join for free or login](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/zLMnPNfXDNSd9wpYYjwk/)
What's in a year? Lessons learned and plans for the future on Fat Forward Books' first anniversary.
5 books
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Jana’s Book Recs\ \ Jana\ \ • May 6
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • May 1
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GIVEAWAY!!! ENTER TO WIN THIS EXCLUSIVE BOOK BOX FOR BURN TH SEA BY @monatewariwrites 🔥 out now fro
GIVEAWAY!!! ENTER TO WIN THIS EXCLUSIVE BOOK BOX FOR BURN TH SEA BY @monatewariwrites 🔥 out now from @boundless_press via @bindery_books 🥰
To enter: 1. Follow @monatewariwrites and @boundless_press 2. Add Burn the Sea to your Goodreads or Storygraph 3. Become a free follower at boundless.binderybooks.com and comment on the pinned post there! 4. [bonus] reshare this post!
Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only! (Sorry international friends!) Giveaway ends on May 5th at 11:59 PM ET!
#bookgiveaway #bookbox #burnthesea #fantasybooks
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 30
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AAPI Asian Heritage Month Book Recs
watch for some recs to read in May!
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The Cavanaughts\ \ Kate\ \ • Apr 30
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[Hello friends!\ \ I'm home. I'm home. After one week, two cities, and four different bookstores, I'm home from my very first book tour.\ \ There hasn't been enough time to recalibrate that this incredible life is, somehow, my reality. So instead, I'd like to chat about books. Specifically! All the books I bought while on tour. :)\ \ Because that was one of the most delightful parts of the trip. Getting to meet so many new-to-me faces and explore new-to-me places. And what friendlier faces and places than at independent bookstores???\ \ Here's a look at my fifteen best purchases:\ \ \ \ (Samwise is also happy I'm home so he can become the star of all my pictures again.)\ \ \ \ (I'm so ready to cozy up and get my puzzle on, perhaps with an audiobook for company.)\ \ Please excuse the preponderance of stats I'm about to throw at you. The books I bought were:\ \
- 53% hardcover vs. 47% paperback\ \
- 80% new-to-me stories (since I bought a copy of my own book, Becca's book that I beta read, and the Agatha Christie classic)\ \
- 20% nonfiction (Now Departing, How to Write Erotica, and The Haves and Have-Yachts)\ \
- From 7 different independent bookstores (Liz's Book Bar, Love & Legends, Mysterious Bookshop, The Fountain Bookshop, Books Are Magic, The Ripped Bodice, and McNally Jackson Books)\ \
- 20% Fantasy (Jade City, Burn the Sea, Graceless Heart), 20% Romance (Love Bites, The Princess and the P.I., Gwen and Art Are Not In Love), 7% Contemporary (Superfan), 7% Horror (Thrall), and 26% Mystery/Thriller (The Ending Writes Itself, And Then There Were None, Grandma's Little Secret, and my book, Thanks For Watching)\
\
\
I'd love to get a stat on how many of the books have death as a central theme or plot point, but I might need to wait until I read them all. 👀 Dare I guess 50%???\
\
One of these stories is also going to be our first ever book club pick, coming in May! I am so very excited. (And I'll give you a hint: it's in the
fantasycategory.)\ \ Thanks, Story Scouts! Chat with you as soon as I've finished recovering from all the travel. In the meantime, happy reading! 📖](https://thecavanaughts.binderybooks.com/item/lzy4QN83TIFZeFFTjW0G/)
All the Books I Bought on My 1st Book Tour
15 books
Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 26
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Was Book Con 2026 As Bad As People Are Saying? My experience at Book Con 2026 vs 2019!
Let's talk about Book Con! I would love to hear the experiences of those who went! Obviously this is MY experience and everyone is different, but in this video I go through what Book Con was like in 2019 vs 2026 and how things have changed plus my take on the whole situation.
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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Apr 25
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Community Event: Support Indie Bookstores Day
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 21
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Thank you for making BURN THE SEA possible 💖 Happy Pub Day! 🌊🔥
i am so emotional today 🥹
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Books Right Now\ \ Rashi Dembi\ \ • Apr 14
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Here are some new South Asian books (+ their blurbs) coming out in April!
These upcoming releases are by South Asian authors, feature South Asian main characters, or are set in South Asia or in worlds inspired by South Asia.
—
What new releases are you looking forward to? 📚
#bookstagram #southasianbooks #newreleases #booktok #books
10 books
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 13
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RSVP & Grab Tickets for BURN THE SEA Events!
RSVP before tickets are gone!!!
1 book
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 7
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Is Bindery working? How traditional publishing works & how I run my own imprint, Boundless Press 📚
open to find out if you won the giveaway!
2 books
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Children of Diaspora\ \ Rae the Reviewer\ \ • Apr 7
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What are you looking forward to reading in April?
There are so many great books coming out this month including some from independent publishers like Devil of the Deep and Burn the Sea from @bindery_books and The Mystery of the Bitten Peach from @neonhemlock that you can support by ordering for yourself, a friend, or requesting through your local library 📚
I’m also super excited for The Genie Game by @jordanifueko (which I have an ARC of but I’ve been waiting for the audiobook that she narrates herself) and A Fishboy Named… Sashimi by @dsantat which I went to a virtual @macmillanusa event for and it sounds absolutely hilarious 😁
The Subtle Art of Folding Space by @j0hnchu is also high on my anticipated reads. I’ve gone to a couple of his author readings at ICFA and he’s so good at blending in the speculative with the mundane of day to day life in ways that are super entertaining
And shoutout to @thereadingblackgirls whose recent list made me realize I’d missed the release date of To Steal a Throne by @queryqueen339 👑
#booklist #newreleasetuesday #newbooks #diversebooks
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The Alchemist Society\ \ Shay\ \ • Apr 6
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[March was Women's History Month, and I had some great reads that I need you to read too). One was my second 5-star read of the year (and was only 164 pages). \ \ Just a reminder, as with any other month of the year, whether it's Black History Month, Pride Month, Women's History, or any other month recognizing a marginalized group of people... these months are given these titles in order to allow for the opportunity to highlight and be intentional about celebrating them! It doesn't stop once the month is over. Keep reading diversely and continue to open up your world!\ \ Ok, first up; I want to highlight my 5-star read, which was I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. \ \ \ \ This book was only ~164 pages, yet it packs quite the punch. This book is a speculative dystopian work of fiction following a young women who can not remember her past and who relies on the memories of the 39 other women of varying ages who are imprisoned with her, to shape her knowledge of the world "before" and provide perspective into their imprisonment and their current existence. \ \ I Who Have Never Men explores the world where there are no men. Initially, there were guards but they disappear and we don't see another man again. The story itself explores life without men, both through the lens of our MC who really has never known any men, and through the perspective of the 39 other women who have their memories and are able to miss the companionship and presence. One of the things I found the most interesting was in the novel was the way in which the women work together and have their small community together, while working to survive. The lack of men helps to subtlety highlight how each sex "lacks" in a way. \ \ The novel is an incredibly moving look into a foreign world where we never know what is going on. The loneliness, despair, confusion all cut like a knife, and regularly choked me up or caused me to tear up. It is a look at the human spirit to persist, or choose not to. To survive, and how community shapes how that survival looks. \ \ The author was a Belgian Jewish refugee. Her family fled from Belgium during the Nazi occupation, moving to Morocco, where they had built a successful business exporting fabrics and laces. The book itself never explicitly references the holocaust, but we can see the effect it had on her writing and imagery in I who have Never Known Men, especially when discussing the guards and their treatment, the prison and the various ways in which other prisoners were found. The novel was originally published in its original French and translated into English in 1997. \ \ I'm so happy to see so many people talking about recently. The exploration of female friendships, intimacy, support, community and friendships, which are only highlighted by the setting and events, are devastatingly moving, heartbreaking, and beautiful. I can only hope that it will receive similar treatment to Lord of the Flies and get its own adaptation someday. \ \ \ \ Burn the Sea is an upcoming novel (1st in a planned duology) which will be released on April 21, 2026. The novel explores a reimagining of the Portuguese invasion of southern India in the 1500's and the efforts of the warrior queen, Abbakka Chowta at repelling them. In Burn the Sea, the Portuguese are replaced by sea monsters half man half snake. We see her fight for her family and her country's freedom from these invaders, rising to the office of ruling, something which Abbakka's sister was born to do. \ \ The novel features a love triangle, lush imagery, moving friendships and a look into the female support that surrounds Abbakka, and political intrigue and machinations that are essential for preserving the sanctity and freedom of Ullal. \ \ Growing up, I devoured books about the Tudor women, Boudicca, Zenobia, and Cleopatra. The Royal Diaries were well-read in my household. This is a fictionalized version of events, but it takes heavy inspiration of the real world events that Rani Abbakka Chowta went through while fighting the Portuguese invaders. I can't wait to see what happens in book two. If you want some follow up reads to learn more about the history and events that inspired Burn the Sea, see the following: \ \
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070807132003/http://www.boloji.com/history/028.htm\\ \
- https://kamat.com/kalranga/itihas/abbakka.htm\\ \
- Yugal Joshi (2019). Women Warriors of India. Rupa Publications. pp. 78–82. ISBN9789353334079.\ \ \ Lastly, I have to talk about The Poet Empress (one of my February reads). This was (unbelievably) a debut novel by the author, Shen Tao. \ \ \ \ The story follows a young peasant women who finds herself as a part of the royal harem and is then set to become the future empress of her country. She is searching for a way to save her home from famine and her people from starvation. All of this leads to her being selected to become a part of the Crown Princes harem, and then later chosen as the future Empress. Her new husband, the next Emperor is a despot, with a magical penchant for violence and weapons (and several brothers with other varying magical abilities). Wei Yin, our fmc, decides she must kill him in order to bring about peace and save her country (and by extension her family), but the only way she can kill him is to write a spell. It just so happens that the only spell that can kill her husband requires that she love him. We see deep and heavy familial bonds and and the breaking of those bonds, court politics, difficult decisions, magic and lies, but also moments of kindness and empathy. \ \ We see a young woman who is abused and hurt, but who pushes through for the love of her family and for those around her. Wei Yin is an intelligent, capable and empathetic young women. We see things through her eyes, we learn of other through her eyes. I really enjoyed the empathy that she has for those around her, but also the nuance that was a central the her character and growth. \ \ I can not wait to see more from Shen Tao in the future because this was a wonderful and moving standalone novel.\ \ I'm currently reading Aisha, by Soraya Bouazzaoui a novel inspired by the Moroccan warrior goddess, Aisha. The story follows a young freedom fighter and rebel who has much more under the surface than meets the eye. Literally. Coincidentally, this rebellion in this novel is also set in opposition to the Portuguese. \ \ \ \ I love stories of strong and powerful women and I'm all the happier when they are inspired by reality, like with Rani Abbakka Chowta, who kept the Portuguese at bay from her homeland for decades. \ \ Drop some recs for me if there are any similar stories you love that I should add to my tbr <3](https://the-alchemist-society.binderybooks.com/item/FryiWySQYVMwk4QLGloi/)
Women's History Month Reads: Female rage, loneliness, and empathy
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She's Becoming Bookish\ \ Carlie Dayle\ \ • Apr 4
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ICYMI: The April Historical Fiction Heads-Up is Live!
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 2
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Apr 1
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BURN THE SEA is a Goodreads & Amazon Editors' Pick!!!
exciting news!!!
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Mar 28
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March Mail Club Reveal! Last chance to OPT-IN by April 2nd 11:59PM ET
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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Mar 24
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B&N PREORDER SALE: Get 25% off BURN THE SEA!
the sale you've been waiting for!!
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