It’s release day for my sapphic romantic fantasy Fireheart Tiger!

A diplomat princess, a sword princess, a mysterious fire—and a destiny to be forged in the flames and their long memories…

Award-winning author Aliette de Bodard returns with Fireheart Tiger, a powerful romantic fantasy that reads like The Goblin Emperor meets Howl's Moving Castle in a pre-colonial Vietnamese-esque world

Fire burns bright and has a long memory….

Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother's imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace.

Thanh's new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh’s home. Eldris won't take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions.

Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country’s fate—and her own?

(Cover art: Alyssa Winans)

Get yours now: Amazon US | Amazon UK |Barnes and Noble | Apple | Indiebound

Read an excerpt here, and an interview with Fadwa for Color the Shelves at Word Wonders here.

This is my first novella for Tor dot com, and it’s been a pleasure to work with them: I’m a bit anxious. Oh who am I kidding. I am a LOT anxious, and a lot of stress baking will happen this week. Also stress laundry and stress paperwork, which I apparently find soothing when trying to avoid thinking about anything else. Expect pictures of baking on twitter and lots of comments about how to make the best food (it’s also New Year at the end of the week, so definitely a lot of food pictures in the near future).

Anyway, it’s a gorgeous book into which I poured a lot of worldbuilding and feelings, and I hope you feel inclined to check it out. Thank you so much.

What people are saying:

“It’s a win for the sapphics!”

Charlotte of readsrainbow

“a high-stakes lesbian love triangle… convincingly combines sex, politics, and betrayal… an ideal pick for fantasy fans longing for non-European settings.”

Publishers Weekly

“a story of love, power, and what burns within. Highly recommended.”

Library Journal (starred review)

“What a commanding story of power and diplomacy. I was so captivated by the way this story never once flinches away from a deep sense of emotional honesty.”

Sarah Gailey, bestselling author of Magic For Liars

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK |Barnes and Noble | Apple | Indiebound

Updates

It’s that bit of the pandemic where it’s gone on long enough that I despair about seeing the end of the tunnel, and yet long enough I’ve gotten used to it and started developing more resilient coping strategies. I’m slowly making my way through the draft of the queer pirates novella, making pancakes with the children, and figuring out how to get better at making pastries.

I found out the Foyer du Vietnam delivers via Deliveroo, which means I’m probably doomed (their food is SO GOOD).

This month I’m trying out Beauty of Malawi from Thé-ritoires, an oolong reminiscent of dancongs but with its very own unique flavour, fruity and mellow. I also got a whole bunch of tea from Mei Leaf via gift voucher, and I’m looking forward to trying a bit of everything: so far the only one I’ve tried is the Black Fruit Punch, which is a fruity dancong, and it’s been interesting to contrast it with the previous one. And finally Curious Tea’s GABA Green Heart is a super interesting tea, halfway between oolong and green tea, fruity and lightly creamy, with a hint of savouriness.

Appearances

Boskone 58, Feb 12-14 (my schedule)
Nebulas 2021, June 4-6

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Release day: Fireheart Tiger!