BBNYA2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Lost Distillation by D.G. Redd

 

When the world loses its magic, will those who rely on it band together, or will personal problems and petty greed still take precedence?

Varista isn’t a wizard, she’s a thief, and not a well-accomplished one. But after an accidental fire, she ran and hid in the first place she could find, the wizard academy tower. So for months she’s spent her time dodging questions and the notice of her fellow students. In the city outside, Peronyl Landowe continues his quest to climb the council ladder and eventually rule the city. Capturing the fugitive will go a long way to securing his place, if only he could find her.

Now, hidden external forces relieve the world of magic. Varista, thrust from the safety of anonymity, must solve the crisis while avoiding the authorities. Meanwhile, Landowe has tasked himself with benefiting from the calamity and outmanoeuvring his opponents. Their worlds are about to collide.

Will the wizards and politicians of the city set aside their vendettas and games to protect the citizens? Or will Landowe finally capture Varista and bring her to an undeserved justice?

BBNYA2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Lianna and the Hombit by Valinora Troy

 

A grieving girl in need of a friend. A magical creature with a secret task. Can they end the ancient curse threatening their new home?

When 13-year old Lianna, devastated by the loss of her father, is sent to the distant land of Nivram, she finds her new home and guardian every bit as horrible as she expected. When she meets a magical birdlike creature called a hombit, they strike an alliance: Lianna will help it complete its secret mission if it helps her get home.

But her plan goes awry and she accidentally awakens a creature that threatens both her and her new home. Lianna must uncover family secrets to avoid a terrible fate…

A heart-warming story of the healing power of friendship when all seems lost.

BBNYA2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Killer Quill by Sheda Ketzer

 

Murdered in cold blood and resurrected through forbidden powers, Quill becomes her world’s legendary assassin. She can never part with her eponymous quill. It keeps her alive, heals her wounds, and enables her to transform colors into animate objects doing her bidding. In exchange, the quill feeds on her victims’ souls. When her latest mission sparks the higher power’s wrath, Quill must avenge the death of her people and her own murder. Failure will cost more than just her life.

AVR Weekly News ~ 672nd Edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by 
Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. 
~ Recap the past week ~ 
~ Show what's upcoming ~ 
~ Share news ~ 
~ Display book hauls ~

BBNYA2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Jester by Tim Carter

 

In a realm ruled by idiots, their only hope is the Fool.

You’d think an army of zombie trolls and undead ogres would catch the nobility’s attention. You’d be wrong. The rulers of Halfsock are deeply in denial. Besides, they have taxes to avoid, neighbors to plunder, and relatives to backstab.

With war looming, a goblin latrine slave named Shelly resolves to save Castle Halfsock from itself. He must take on many roles… jester, detective, spy, and political fixer. But his most challenging role—especially after a lifetime spent cleaning other people’s toilets—is as a confident secret agent worthy of trust, friendship, and maybe even love.

Can the least powerful person in the realm overcome his insecurities to depose rulers, forge alliances, and fend off an undead horde?

A comic tale of politics, friendship, and found family for fans of Nicholas Eames, Terry Pratchett, and J. Zachary Pike.

BBNYA2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Involuntarily Immortal by Emily Barlow

 

Sable Montgrief wishes her curse would let her die. Unfortunately for her, fate has other plans.

Sable longs for release from her centuries-old fate. Living alone in a remote cabin, she's close to breaking the spell keeping her alive—until her solitude is shattered by a desperate father, Adem Ozturk.

Adem is in a race against time to save his daughter, Ailith, who is haunted by terrifying visions of a future she cannot control. Their only hope lies with Sable, whose unique abilities could prevent a coming catastrophe—but convincing her to help means binding her to another lifetime of torment.

Dive into a gripping tale of sacrifice, fate, and the thin line between life and death in this spellbinding urban fantasy adventure!

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ The Write Reads Blog Tour: He Loves Me (Not) by Márie Zepf

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

BBNYA2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Insider by K.B. Gazeena

 

Yang Lin is a rising star at Hauser Incorporated, one of the three corporations that rule Earth. But Lin has a secret that could destroy everything she’s worked to achieve.

She wasn’t born on Earth, but on a refugee ship fleeing a faraway colony. Lin has lived her whole life in two worlds, associating with other refugees from the colonies at home but passing as a successful Earth-born woman at work and school.

Now Lin has to choose.

Her mother and a group of fellow colonists have a plan to get more refugees past the deadly defenses guarding Earth, and they need Lin’s help. Joining the cause could mean losing everything—even her life. Refusing to help will mean the death of thousands from her homeworld.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Lin, someone powerful is about to blow her cover. In Insider, a gripping sci-fi thriller, Lin’s next move could save her people or doom them all.

BBNYA2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Holtondome by Ryan Southwick

 

Seg Holton yearns to leave his isolated farming dome and travel the ravaged Earth, or even to Mars Colony. Only a few things stand in his way: an authoritarian government, deadly storms, and an enchanting outsider who may be the most dangerous of all.

Fast-forward 500 years. Civilization has nearly wiped itself out of existence, and is on the long, slow road to recovery, held together by an agreement called the Pact between cities, agricultural domes, and a new global government.

Seg is a farmer in Holtondome. Like his ancestors, he's chosen a life of ignorance about technology and the outside world in favor of a simple existence, free of the corruption that almost destroyed the human race.

His world turns upside down when Fi arrives. Tall, exotic, and far too wise for her age, she challenges everything he's been taught to believe, making him question for the first time if a simple life is right for him or, indeed, for the rest of humanity.

But Fi has secrets darker than her black-ringed eyes — bigger than the Pact — that have implications far beyond Seg and the residents of Holtondome.

BBNYA2026 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Her Quiet Hunt by Luisa Perez

 

Some monsters are born. Others are made.

Caroline Landers has always known the darkness lived inside her. Not hidden. Not controlled. Simply waiting for the right moment to be unleashed.

That moment came the night she crossed paths with Samuel Corby—a man who stalked her from the shadows, only to awaken a hunger in her that even she couldn’t tame.

Samuel is everything the world warns you about: obsessive, lethal, untouchable. But the most dangerous thing about him isn't what he does—it's how deeply he loves her. How completely he sees her for what she truly is... and still demands she belongs to him.

When a sadistic new enemy rises from the wreckage of her past, threatening everything Caroline has fought to protect, she doesn’t break. She doesn’t run. She does what monsters do best.

She hunts.

As secrets unravel, betrayals ignite, and another shadow steps forward—one who has loved her from the dark all along—Caroline must face the brutal truth:

She was never the prey.

She was always the predator.

And sometimes... you don't have to choose between your monsters at all.

You can have them both—and let the world burn.