Archives par étiquette : Mushens Entertainment

HALF LIVES de Krystle Zara Appiah

A heartbreaking novel about the bond between two sisters, perfect for fans of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors.

HALF LIVES
by Krystle Zara Appiah
The Borough Press, June 2026
(via Mushens Entertainment)

No one can hurt you like a sister

Growing up in 1970s Ghana, Evelyn and Maggie are two sides of the same coin. While reliable Evelyn is entrusted to support her struggling family, Maggie skips class to flirt with boys. Despite their differences, they’ve made a promise: one day they will escape to America, and start a new life together.

Evelyn’s prospects transform when she marries Gus, a wealthy surgeon who already lives in New York, and quickly falls pregnant. Meanwhile, Maggie sees her prospects vanish when she realises she is also expecting, but without the crucial detail of a husband.

When a terrible accident causes Evelyn to lose her unborn child, the answer seems simple, and Evelyn takes her sister’s unwanted baby to the States to raise as her own. But such an act has untold consequences for both sisters, and when one of them changes their mind, an impossible decision awaits.

An emotional gut-punch of a novel, HALF LIVES is about the enduring power of love, and what it can withstand before it breaks.

Krystle Zara Appiah is a British-Ghanaian writer, editor and screenwriter based in London. She has a degree in literature and creative writing from the University of Kent. In 2020, she was one of forty writers selected for the London Library’s Emerging Writers Programme. Her debut novel, Rootless, was highly acclaimed, with Krystle heralded as ‘One of Britain’s best new writers’ by Harper’s Bazaar.

THE BRIDE PRICE d’Alyssa Pickering

The first book in a gripping romantic fantasy trilogy following Valerie Gracey, sent to be married to a man duty-bound to execute her if he discovers the forbidden magic flowing through her veins, who finds an unlikely ally in his younger brother. Containing a love-triangle where you actually like both guys, a rake with a heart of gold and a smart heroine who is willing to play the game of politics to win. For readers of The Hurricane Wars and The Red Queen.

THE BRIDE PRICE
by Alyssa Pickering
Wayward TxF/Transworld, January 2027
(via Mushens Entertainment)

Valerie Gracey never wanted the crown, but as the eldest daughter of a scheming duke, she doesn’t make the plans — she survives them. But survival seems impossible when she’s summoned to marry Crown Prince Aleksander: a man duty-bound to execute her if he discovers her forbidden inherited magic.

Valerie knows a single misstep means death not just for her, but her siblings too, so she resolves to win the prince’s heart. Surely a man who loves her is less likely to want her dead.

But ignoring her magic is not easy, and ignoring the Prince’s rebellious brother is even harder.

Alyssa Pickering has been obsessed with stories for as long as she can remember. When she wasn’t reading fantasy books, she was writing them—especially ones filled with magic. After a brief academic detour to earn a BS in Human Development and an MA in Family and Community Services, she remembered her preference for imaginary worlds and began drafting her debut novel.

THE INVITATION de Veronica Henry

Be swept away by the enchanting and devastatingly romantic new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Veronica Henry, set between post-war London and the enchanting Foxwood Manor in the rolling Somerset countryside. Filled with secret love affairs, heartbreak and friendship, expect surprises on every page.

THE INVITATION
by Veronica Henry
Orion, February 2026
(via Mushens Entertainment)

A secret love story.
A chance to stay forever…

London, 1953

Clementine falls for Alfie Arbutus and knows that life will never be the same again. Especially when he invites her to visit Foxwood Manor.

Stella lost a part of her heart when Edwin Arbutus died. Their wartime love affair changed everything, but now she has her son, Ted, to fight for.

Elizabeth hopes that throwing the Foxwood Snow Ball will bring joy to her husband, Michael, for the first time since they lost their son.

Yet as the invitations are sent, the lives of the women collide with unimaginable consequences. Will the secrets of the past break the family apart, or bring them back together?

Veronica Henry is the Sunday Times bestselling author of over 20 bestselling novels published into 25 languages over 30 territories.

Veronica Henry has always been involved in storytelling, from her first job typing scripts for The Archers to being writer-in-residence on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express. She was a scriptwriter for many years, working on some of our best-loved dramas including Heartbeat and Holby City. She has written over twenty novels, all published by Orion. She won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award with A Night on the Orient Express. She lives on the North Devon coast where she loves walking on the beach, swimming in the sea or watching the sun set with a killer negroni.

THE SUMMER WE LIED de Rebecca Hardy

THE SUMMER WE LIED
by Rebecca Hardy
Raven/Bloomsbury, Summer 2026
(via Mushens Entertainment)

Then. Bunking off school on a hot summer’s day, three young teenagers hear a brutal double murder. In the confusing aftermath, only two come forward, and one takes the stand, pointing the finger at a respected member of the community, who police seem only too happy to accuse. But did he actually do it, or do all of them have more than one reason to lie?

Now. Almost two decades later, new questions are asked about old evidence, and their part in it all is about to be discovered. Estranged since the trial, the friends are forced back together when a new attack casts doubt on the conviction, and it becomes clear that someone else knows their secret. As their lives and lies start to crumble around them, they are forced at last to confront their own culpability, the secrets they kept from each other, and the traumas that rest at the heart of their silence.

An English teacher for almost twenty years, Rebecca Hardy has recently taken a career break to pursue her love of writing. She lives in East Sussex, with her wife and teenage son, in amongst the fields and hills where her novel begins. A place which is, thankfully, far more tranquil in real life than on the page. THE SUMMER WE LIED is Rebecca’s debut.

THOUGHTS BE BLOODY d’Auden Patrick

A struggling student, a resident golden boy, and the curse that will bring them together: this queer, trans retelling is Hamlet as you’ve never read it before. Exploring classism, identity, and the true meaning of revolution, this dark academia novel is perfect for fans of R. F. Kuang’s Babel and S. T. Gibson’s An Education in Malice.

THOUGHTS BE BLOODY
by Auden Patrick
DAW, March 2026
(via Mushens Entertainment)

The summer before his sophomore year, Horatio Bithersea walks into the university library to find Carson Hamlett, resident golden boy and master magician, cradling his father’s dead body. Life at Elsinore, one of the most prestigious universities in the secretive magical world, simply goes on when the professor’s death is ruled an accident—despite the mysterious circumstances and the bloody scene.

A year later, Horatio is keeping his head down, attempting to graduate without his out-of-control magic harming his classmates. That changes when the ghost of Hamlett’s father appears and places a curse on Horatio and Hamlett: avenge his death by destroying Elsinore and its heart, lest the ghost robs them of their minds, memories, and their very souls.

Elsinore has given Horatio everything—knowledge of his magical ability, an escape from his abusive family, and freedom to pursue his life as a transgender man—and now he’s to be its doom. As the two uncover more of Elsinore’s secrets Horatio finds himself becoming more and more ensnared in Hamlett’s dark but charismatic web.

The question is not if Horatio will manage to destroy Elsinore. The question is if Hamlett will destroy him first.

Auden Patrick is a late-20s queer and trans author who most frequently writes about fear, love, and monsters. He was a student at Cat Rambo’s inaugural Wayward Wormhole Workshop in 2023, and his work has appeared in Apparition Lit, Beaver Magazine, among others.