All the July reading you need 

July is off to a promising start, at least where fantasy and science fiction are concerned. Expect a variety of exciting releases in both genres in the coming weeks.

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman (July 16) is a retelling of the King Arthur legend. Collum, the novel’s protagonist, is a young, gifted knight who hopes to land a spot on King Arthur’s Round Table. However, he arrives at Camelot two weeks too late.

The King is dead and, of the famous knights of the Round Table, only a handful remain: oddball characters like Sir Palomides and Sir Dagonet with little to no acclaim. With Arthur dead and his half-sister emerging to lead an army of old gods and monsters against Camelot, Collum and the new Knights of the Round Table must take up arms, reclaim Excalibur, and defend the kingdom.

Grossman is not my cup of tea. He wrote The Magicians (2009) which, for a time, was the worst novel I had ever read. However, fans of The Magicians Trilogy cannot get enough of The Bright Sword. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (July 9) is every cozy novel you have ever read, boasting a friendly community of quirky characters, handsome neighbours, and low-stakes adventures.

However, this one has magic. Kiela, the protagonist, works at the Great Library of Alyssium. Because she has trouble dealing with people, her only companion is a sentient spider plant called Caz. After spending her career caring for the empire’s spellbooks, Kiela’s life takes a drastic turn when a revolution burns the library to the ground.

Kiela flees to her childhood home on a remote island with every book she can carry in the hopes of starting over. Unfortunately, her neighbour keeps pocking his nose in her business. When Kiela uses unsanctioned spells to open a secret spell shop on the island, she does not expect the consequences to upend her life once more.

If you are looking for a romantic comedy in the vein of a Hallmark classic, but with mythical creatures, The Spellshop is a decent starting point. The Night Ends With Fire by K. X. Song (July 2) is the first novel in a new series (The Night Ends With Fire). This is also the author’s second published manuscript.

The book has received mixed reviews thus far. The protagonist, Meilin, is facing a bleak future. Her father is an ill-tempered man with an opium addiction who refuses to answer the imperial draft. He intends to sell Meilin for her dowry, a decision Meilin may have tolerated if her husband-to-be was not equally ill-tempered and violent.

After realizing that her destiny won’t change unless she takes matters into her own hands, Meilin disguises herself as a boy and joins the military in her father’s stead. There is a prince in her army that Meilin likes, an infuriating enemy that compels her to question her heart, and a sea dragon spirit hoping to use Meilin to fulfill its murky agenda.

If you think The Night Ends With Fire sounds a lot like Mulan, you are not alone, although this book has more in common with G.R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones than it does with a family-friendly Disney film. We can end on Farrah Noorzad and the Ring of Fate by Deeba Zargarprur (July 2), which targets middle school readers (9 -13).

The protagonist, Farrah Noorzad, is a 12-year-old girl who learns that her father is a jinn and someone trapped him in a magic ring. Farrah must undertake a quest to rescue her father, all the while coming to terms with her new identity as a half-jinn.

Deeba is an Afghan-Uzbek American, so naturally, she takes inspiration from Islamic culture and Persian Mythology. Happy reading.

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