Archives de catégorie : Nos incontournables

HONEY IN THE WOUND de Jiyoung Han

Spanning ninety years as one Korean family’s lives are upended under Japanese imperialism, HONEY IN THE WOUND is a powerful and sweeping debut novel for fans of How Much of These Hills is Gold and Homegoing.

HONEY IN THE WOUND
by Jiyoung Han
Avid Reader Press, April 2026
(via The Friedrich Agency)

A daughter disappears and returns as a tiger. A mother’s voice compels those who hear it to speak only the truth. A granddaughter can see the dreams of others, revealing their deepest-held memories and desires.

Young-Ja struggles to survive after her family is killed by Japanese soldiers. The gift that once brought her comfort and joy—the ability to infuse her cooking with her feelings: love, peace, delight—transforms into something more complex as she encounters the ravages of colonialism and can’t keep the tang of her sorrow from seeping into her confections. When her talent is noticed by a Korean resistance fighter, she’s taken to Manchuria where she becomes enmeshed in a network of spies at a teahouse favored by Japanese officials.

Jiyoung Han is a Korean American woman who only learned as an adult about her grandparents’ experience under Japanese rule. She’s since committed to studying this history, in part for her BA at UChicago and Master’s at Harvard. Her debut novel is an attempt to bring this history to life for more readers and to make amends for the ignorance /of her youth.

DO WE DESERVE THIS? d’Eleanor Elliott Thomas

A mordantly funny family drama exploring questions of luck, misfortune and privilege. Do any of us get what we deserve?

DO WE DESERVE THIS?
by Eleanor Elliott Thomas
Text Publishing, October 2025

Credit: Karin Locke 2023

When Nina Halloway is left unconscious after a car accident, her three adult children— histrionic pop star Jeremy, uptight lawyer Genevieve, and hapless twenty-something Bean— think it’s the most dramatic thing that will happen to them all year. Then they discover that the lottery ticket Bean bought her mother just before the accident is worth money—a lot of money .

At first, the three of them agree that holding on to the ticket until Nina wakes up is the right thing to do. Then, as various financial problems arise for Jeremy and Genevieve, their resolution is tested. Bean, meanwhile, begins an ambiguous relationship with a colleague whose motivations are unclear: does he know about the lottery win? When she finds out that her mother’s estranged family has made their money in some problematic ways, she begins to doubt whether the Halloways deserve their good fortune at all.

This smart and snarky novel explores big themes and complicated relationships with a light touch, and will appeal to readers of The Rachel Incident, The Long Island Compromise and Such a Fun Age.

Eleanor Elliott Thomas worked for many years as a lawyer before devoting herself to writing full time. She lives in Melbourne with her partner and two daughters. Her debut, The Opposite of Success, was published in 2023 and was shortlisted for the 2024 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. Her hilarious substack can be read at: https://substack.com/@eleanorelliottthomas

THE LIBRARY OF FLOWERS de Lily Chu

Featuring poignant family dynamics, the search for love and identity, and interwoven with the narratives of other Fifth Daughters (from the Tang Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and the last days of the Qing Dynasty), THE LIBRARY OF FLOWERS is an absorbing story about finding your true heart’s desire.

THE LIBRARY OF FLOWERS
by Lily Chu
Sourcebooks Casablanca, March 2026
(via Laura Dail Literary)

Thirty-two-year-old Lucy Hua comes from an ancient, magical line of Chinese perfumers renowned for their secret ability to manipulate emotions through their ‘moli’ perfumes. Throughout history, they served the rich and powerful, from empresses to taipans and their wives to CEOs. But even among the Hua family, Lucy’s talent is rare: she can create scents that attract true love. It’s a gift that only presents itself in the eldest daughter of every fifth generation.

And her family is hoping that gift will save them now. Ever since immigrating to Vancouver after World War II, the Huas’ fortunes haven’t been the same. Eager to regain their former status and riches, they were waiting for Lucy and her powers to mark the end of their decline. Unfortunately, Lucy’s abilities never manifested and, devastated by her failure, she leaves home to open her own, thoroughly non-magical, artisanal parfumerie…until the day her past finally catches up with her again.

Lily Chu loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late reading a good book. She writes romantic comedies set in Toronto with strong Asian characters.

ASHVALE: THE VAMPIRE’S THRALL de Jade Church

The Vampire Diaries meets Vampire Academy in this deliciously bloody vampire romance filled with tension, magick, feminine rage, and morally grey characters.

ASHVALE: THE VAMPIRE’S THRALL
by Jade Church
self-published, August 2023
(via Northbank Talent Management)

Leonora Romilly was murdered. The catch? She didn’t stay dead.

Instead, she finds herself alive-ish and swept away to Ashvale to learn how to be a fully-functioning, albeit undead, member of society.

At Ashvale, the blood runs free and the sexual tension never sleeps, but under the surface, something much more sinister lurks.

With her would-be murderer still roaming free, a new-found love, and her lost memories on the line, can Leonora survive Ashvale with both her head and her heart intact?

From bestselling romance author Jade Church, ASHVALE is a new adult paranormal romance with vampires, blood bonds, an academy setting, dark forests, ‘I-hate-that-I-want-you’ tension, hidden identities, murder, a dark debut ball, and an FMC just as morally grey as the MMC. Readers who love angsty romance, bites that feel good, and bloodthirsty main characters will devour this story!

Jade Church is an avid reader and writer of spicy romance. She loves sweet and swoony love interests who aren’t scared to smack your ass and bold female leads. Jade currently lives in the U.K. and spends the majority of her time reading and writing books, as well as binge re-watching The Vampire Diaries.

THE LEGEND OF THE NINE-TAILED FOX de Katrina Kwan

A stand-alone novel and Katrina Kwan’s first venture into the realm of dark fantasy.

THE LEGEND OF THE NINE-TAILED FOX
by Katrina Kwan
Saga, October 2025
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

After a hunt gone wrong, a man-eating fox demon finds herself cast into the deepest circles of hell alongside the very hunter who banished her there. With no choice but to form a tenuous alliance, they must overcome the trials that await them in order to return to the mortal plane—provided they don’t kill each other, first.

As the reluctant pair slay monsters, endure tests of character, and attempt to thwart a sinister plot to destroy the world, they will come to realize that there is a fine line between love and hate. Weaving in inspiration from the Chinese myth of Houyi and the Ten Suns, fox and hunter will learn that the past and present are closely intertwined, and truths about their origins may well determine the fate of the world.

Katrina Kwan is a contemporary romance and fantasy writer. After graduating from Acadia University in 2017 with a BA in political science with honors, Kwan spent the next six years honing her creative skills as a freelance ghostwriter. With several ghostwritten romance novels under her belt, she’s ecstatic to finally be writing books under her own name. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two cats, and when she isn’t writing, she is desperately trying to keep her collection of houseplants alive.