Archives par étiquette : KT Literary

HOW TO FAKE A LOVE STORY d’Aashna Avachat

She wants to break his heart. He wants her to fall in love. A messy revenge romcom for fans of Lynn Painter and Sandhya Menon.

HOW TO FAKE A LOVE STORY
by Aashna Avachat
Penguin Workshop, January 2027
(via KT Literary)

Photo Credit: Emily Zeng

Now that Lakshmi has returned to her hometown for her senior year of high school, she’s determined to “live a little”—as her new friend Emily would say. That means searching for love, chasing an adrenaline rush, and of course, studiously ignoring her former best friend and crush, Adil.

But after Adil carelessly meddles in Em’s relationship, her heartbreak leaves the girls wanting to give him a taste of his own medicine. What if Lakshmi broke his heart? She has her own reasons for wanting to get revenge, after all.

Meanwhile, Adil isn’t sure why Lakshmi left without so much as a goodbye. He’s been doing his usual thing. But when his romantic expertise is called into question, his friends issue him a challenge: to prove himself, Adil will have to get a girl of their choosing to fall in love with him. And they know one who never would—Lakshmi.

Adil needs to win Lakshmi over and Lakshmi needs to break his heart. They might know how to fake a love story, but as ulterior motives give way to genuine feelings, will they be able to build a real one?

Aashna Avachat is the author of Love Craves Cardamom (Penguin Random House/Joy Revolution, Spring 2025) and the editor of the anthology Study Break (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, 2023). She is a graduate of Harvard Law and lives in Chicago.

Aashna Avachat is a writer, reader, and lawyer from California. She studied English and Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley and law at Harvard Law School. She is also the author of Love Craves Cardamom (Penguin Random House/Joy Revolution, Spring 2025) and Mischief Girls (Delacorte, September 2026). When she’s not working, she’s probably reading on a sunny patch of grass, going on long walks to grocery stores, or being cozy with one of her many foster cats. Visit her online at aashnaavachat.com.

THE HOUSE OF GARDENIAS d’Isabel Cañas

A stunning YA debut from gothic master Isabel Cañas, bestselling author of The Hacienda, Vampires of El Norte, and The Possession of Alba Díaz.

THE HOUSE OF GARDENIAS
by Isabel Cañas
Dutton Books for Young Readers, September 2026
(via KT Literary)

Despite near-constant political violence in the city and an abusive father at home, Minerva Treviño’s cowardice has kept her alive for sixteen years. But even she has a limit. Unable to take another beating or miss another meal, Minerva musters enough courage to flee to a neighborhood full of rich people loyal to the deposed fascist viceroy and take a job as lady’s maid to a wealthy widow.

Minerva is happy serving Encarnación del Valle. She has food in her belly and the safety of a warm house lit by magical chispa. Why should she care who runs the country or how her employer affords the magic?

When the viceroy sweeps back into power, Encarnación gleefully retreats to the family’s mountainside estate to wait out the inevitable slaughter of the viceroy’s enemies—and of course Minerva may join her. At la Casa de las Gardenias, Minerva is surrounded by more experienced servants and the cruel, scheming del Valles. But the living residents of the house are the least of anyone’s worries, and Minerva quickly discovers that the ancient estate is home to forces far older and more bloodthirsty than anything she could have imagined.

Isabel Cañas is a Mexican American speculative fiction writer. After having lived in Mexico, Scotland, Egypt, Turkey, and New York City, among other places, she has settled in the Pacific Northwest. She holds a doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and writes fiction inspired by her research and her heritage. Her adult novels include The Hacienda, Vampires of El Norte, and The Possession of Alba Díaz.

TANGLED ROOTS de S.T. Gibson

In this lush, sin-stained sequel to the Sunday Times bestselling Savage Blooms, Eileen, Finley, and Nicola embark on a quest to rescue kidnapped Adam from the faery underworld, plunging into a centuries-old power struggle between humans and the fae.

TANGLED ROOTS
(Unearthly Delights, Book 2)
by S.T. Gibson
Orbit, February 2027
(via KT Literary)

There is only one rule they must follow in the faery court, where pain and pleasure are elevated to art: entertain the king, or suffer the consequences of his boredom.

Getting close to the enigmatic and alluring faery king isn’t just a matter of survival; it is the only hope Eileen and her lovers have of escaping Craigmar’s curse.

Adam, Nicola, Finley and Eileen must scheme and seduce their way through court, all in the name of breaking the others free. But it’s so hard to want to be a hero when the faery king offers them each the fulfillment of their wildest desires… for a price.

Voir le résumé du premier tome, SAVAGE BLOOMS (Orbit, octobre 2025)

S.T. Gibson is the British Fantasy Award-nominated and Goodreads Choice -nominated author of the USA Today bestseller Evocation and Sunday Times bestseller A Dowry Of Blood. She holds a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from UNC and Masters of Theological Studies from Princeton Seminary.

EX ROMANA TRILOGY de Sophie Burnham

Perfect for readers of Saara El-Arifi and C. L. Clark and stories with strong, queer voices, this is a speculative imagining of a world on the brink of revolution. Here, Rome never fell, but the apocalypse is coming—if it hasn’t arrived already.

EX ROMANA TRILOGY
by Sophie Burnham
DAW, 2024 – 2027
(via KT Literary)

Book 1: SARGASSA (DAW, October 2024)

An unlikely group of rebels are ready to burn down the Roman empire like you’ve never imagined it before. From the halls of the Senate floor to the bloody sands of the gladiatorial pits, Sophie Burnham’s debut is full of riveting political danger, thoughtful worldbuilding, and a tightly-knit group of conspirators.

The role of Imperial Historian is Selah Kleios’s birthright, but she was supposed to have more time to learn the role from her father, the previous Historian. In the wake of her father’s sudden and shocking assassination, Selah finds herself custodian of more than just the Imperial Archives when an old flame returns intending to steal the Iveroa Stone—a seemingly harmless artifact containing secrets that could destroy the empire.

Theo Nix is a damn good spy, and they know it. By day, they work in Senator Naevia Kleios’s office; smart, unobtrusive, and grateful, they’re the model of a perfect plebeian. By night, their time belongs to Griff: master strategist, commander of the Revenants, the spider at the center of a very large and very dangerous web. When Griff gives Theo an assignment, they move, no questions asked, so it’s really no surprise Theo is flirting with Arran Alexander—Selah’s low-caste half brother is an obvious target. It is a surprise, however, that they’re enjoying it so much.

After a year away in the legions, Arran has recently returned home, only to find the cracks beneath his feet widening. Struggling with his own identity and purpose, drawn into an underground independence movement through his growing feelings for Theo, Arran must choose between the sister he loves and the chance to take control of his own life for the very first time.

SARGASSA is the first book in a new speculative trilogy that is equal parts political intrigue, queer romance, and revolution.

« Sargassa is a masterclass in world-building, with its realistic politics, complex and brutal caste system, and gorgeous settings. It takes time to get the lay of the land, but the payoff is worth the effort. The expansive scope multiplies the emotional and conceptual weight of the narrative. » —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Book 2: BLOODTIDE (October 2025)

The fate of the empire hangs in the balance in the second installment of the genre-bending Ex Romana trilogy.

Cracks are forming in the empire’s facade.

In the wake of startling revelations and personal betrayals, Tair finds herself the Iveroa Stone’s new custodian as she embarks on a battle for Luxana’s streets. As the fallout of the fighting pit massacre leads to a rise in legionary crackdowns and vigilante justice, Tair is determined to find a better path forward for Sargassa’s future. Up in the Imperial Archives, meanwhile, Selah tries to make sense of her family’s tangled history within the Imperium’s shadowed beginnings.

Elsewhere, in the far-flung reaches of Roma Sargassa’s badlands, Arran and Theo undertake a covert mission for the Revenants, one that could tip the scales between victory and defeat in Griff’s upcoming war. But long-laid plans and careful maneuvering are nothing compared to the forces of nature, and Sargassa’s future might just be determined by the coming storm.

Book 3: DAWNLANDS (October 2027)

In the third and final installment of the Ex Romana trilogy, the battle for Sargassa’s future has arrived. As skirmishes break out across the eastern seaboard, Selah and Tair fight to hold Luxana’s tenuous alliance together against both the Imperium and the looming threat of reinforcements from Roma. But the return of long-missing friends and unexpected allies also brings news that will force them to contend with impossible questions: Just how much are they willing to sacrifice for a different tomorrow? And is it already too late to try?

Sophie Burnham is a queer, nonbinary novelist and screenwriter, backed by an Acting BFA and a concentration in playwriting from Syracuse University. Honored with a We Need Diverse Books writing grant and a placement in ScreenCraft’s 2020 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Screenplay competition, Burnham’s debut novel promises to enthrall and enlighten readers. Follow them on Twitter at @sophielburnham.

THE SECRETS WE CARRY de Tiffany Wang

A new YA duology inspired by Chinese folklore: featuring sibling relationships; fickle, feral, and fallible gods; enemies-to lovers-tropes; and good-hearted people doing terrible things in the name of the ones they love.

THE SECRETS WE CARRY
by Tiffany Wang
HarperCollins, Winter 2027
(via KT Literary)

Ailan, immortal goddess of weaving, has many older sisters, but Xifei is the one she loves most—and the one she’s secretly betrayed. When Xifei goes missing, Ailan is wracked with guilt, convinced her sister has disappeared into the mortal realm—and she’ll stop at nothing to get her back.

Kai despises immortals. Ever since his brother died at the hands of a god, Kai and his ba have only one all-consuming desire: vengeance. Kai will seek out a god, lure them to the capital, and deliver them to his ba to enact their revenge. It’s said that immortals cannot be killed, but Kai intends to test that theory for himself.

When Ailan descends from the heavens in search of her sister, Kai seizes his chance. He tells her of an oracle in the city who will be able to locate her sister anywhere in the mortal realm, and Ailan enlists him as her guide. The journey through the Middle Kingdom is a treacherous one, and before long Ailan and Kai are caught in the throes of a political plot that could scorch the mortal realm and topple the heavens. And as they begin to fall for one another, they are forced to grapple with the pain they have caused their loved ones, and whether or not they can live with the consequences if blood truly is thicker than water.

Tiffany Wang hails from a town in North Texas, although she’s currently wandering her way through New York City. She studied communication and international relations at the University of Pennsylvania.