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| It’s a magical day today, Friend. We’re chatting with Sarah Hawley about her steamy new paranormal rom-com and exploring circus-themed fantasies. Plus, these are the new romances we can’t wait to read this month. |
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Critical Love
The bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary returns with a “captivating feminist gothic tale” (Publishers Weekly) that bestselling author Nita Prose calls “atmospheric and evocative.” |
 | | The London Seance Society | | In London, 1873, a grieving woman and a famous medium team up to solve a murder case by contacting the dead, but find themselves drawn into a much bigger—and more dangerous—conspiracy. | | Add to reading list |
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The Big Debut
Claire Jimenez’s debut appeared on more “most anticipated” lists than we can count, including USA Today, Bustle, Elle. In a glowing early review, Kirkus praised Jimenez’s “strong storytelling and humor.” |
 | | What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez | | A decade after 13-year-old Ruthy Ramirez vanished after track practice, her sister Jessica spots someone she thinks is Ruthy on a reality TV show. As the family tries to reconnect with her, secrets are revealed. | | Add to reading list |
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 | Bookworld |
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💰 The prestigious (and rich) PEN America Literary Awards were announced last week.
⚖️ Literary superstar Zadie Smith has a new book coming soon.
💫 Speaking of superstars: Haruki Murakmi beats Smith off the block with a new book next month.
🎸 EW breaks down all the differences between the Daisy Jones & the Six book and series. |
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 | The Introduction |
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| Fake-Dating with a Paranormal Twist |
The Book
Sarah Hawley’s A Witch’s Guide to Fake-Dating a Demon takes a beloved trope and adds a hefty dose of off-filter magic. Despite her powerful family, witch Mariel Sparks struggles with even the simplest spells, so it’s annoying but not terribly surprising when she accidentally summons a demon instead of a sack of flour. What’s surprising is that said demon is very handsome—and refuses to leave unless he collects her soul.
The Author
Sarah Hawley’s sweet and sexy debut is one of our most-anticipated romances this spring, and we’re not alone. Bestselling author Ali Hazelwood calls it “whimsically sexy, charmingly romantic, and magically hilarious.”
Oz is a special case, but in general, the demons in your book are less terrible than readers might expect. Why did you want to re-imagine demons?
Sarah Hawley: I wanted to do a twist on the typical “sell your soul to a demon” narrative, which started with asking why demons need human souls in the first place. It ended up being a symbiotic relationship—demons can’t survive without the magic humans provide, and humans benefit from what demons offer in exchange for that magic
Read the rest of our interview with Sarah here, then check out three books that made her love romance: |
 | | Dreaming of You | | SH: “This classic story about shy author Sara Fielding, who captures the heart of dangerously sexy club owner Derek Craven, is one of Lisa Kleypas’ best.” | | Add to reading list |
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 | | Demon Forged | | SH: “It features a tough blacksmith heroine with the power to warp metal and a sexy swordsman who wields fire. It’s an angsty, complex, brilliantly crafted, and sensual novel that addresses trauma in a nuanced way.” | | Add to reading list |
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 | | The Hating Game | | SH: “Thorne’s voice is witty and fun, and this enemies-to-lovers story—featuring rival executive assistants at a publishing house—is a delight the entire way through.” | | Add to reading list |
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 | The Highlight |
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| “Like all self-mythologising rebels, Mira preferred enemies to rivals, and often turned her rivals into enemies, the better to disdain them as secret agents of the status quo.” |
 | | Birnam Wood | | A guerrilla gardening group sets their sights on a rural farm, but a billionaire mining magnate has designs on the same property, and their entanglement comes to a shocking conclusion. | | Add to reading list |
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 | 20 Words: Guess The Novel |
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| A group of former friends and co-workers spill the tea on their international success—and their sudden and dramatic downfall. | |
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| Answer in footer |
 | The Stack |
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| Enchanting Circus-Inspired Fantasies |
The big top, home to daring feats and entracing spectacles, is a natural setting for a fantasy. In Lindsay Eager’s circus family saga The Family Fortuna, a young woman born with feathers and a beak longs for life beyond the confines of the family show. When they arrive in town at the same time as a rival circus, the battle between the attractions upends the family’s life.
If you’ve already read The Night Circus and Caraval, here are three more magical books set amid the spectacle of the circus. |
 | | Where Dreams Descend | | A teenage showgirl longs to leave the small nightclub where she performs and take her magical talents to the magicians’ competition, but the owner of the night club refuses to let her go. | | Add to reading list |
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 | | The Book of Speculation | | A librarian receives the battered journal of a 19th Century freak show performer and realizes it may have an unsettling connection to his own life. | | Add to reading list |
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 | | The Bones of Ruin | | In alternate Victorian London, a teenage tightrope walker who can’t be hurt or die agrees to participate in the mysterious Tournament of Freaks, hoping to learn more about the past she can’t remember. | | Add to reading list |
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