A stunning YA fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Justina Ireland, about a Black girl (and sword expert) fighting a Fae uprising in Shakespearean London.

THAT SELF-SAME METAL
by Brittany N. Williams
Amulet/ Abrams, April2023
(via Writers House)

Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is a gifted craftswoman who creates and upkeeps the stage blades for William Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men. Joan’s skill with her blades comes from a magical ability to control metal—an ability gifted by her Head Orisha, Ogun. Because her whole family is Orisha-blessed, the Sands family have always kept tabs on the Fae presence in London. Usually that doesn’t involve much except noting the faint glow around a Fae’s body as they try to blend in with London society, but lately, there has been an uptick in brutal Fae attacks. After Joan wounds a powerful Fae and saves the son of a cruel Lord, she is drawn into political intrigue in the human and Fae worlds.
Swashbuckling, romantic, and full of the sights and sounds of Shakespeare’s London, this series starter delivers an unforgettable story—and a heroine unlike any other.

Brittany N. Williams is an actress, writer, Co-Artistic Director of The NOLA Project, and nerd of many fandoms. She’s performed across three continents—including a year spent as a principal vocalist at Hong Kong Disneyland—and her writing has been featured on BlackNerdProblems.com, Tor.com, in The Indypendent, The Gambit, Fireside Magazine, and in the Star Wars anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.