Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss & The Liberators by E.J. Koh

     

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

The Narrow Road Between Desires (#2.6) by Patrick Rothfuss
Publication: November 14th, 2023
DAW
Paperback. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Bast knows how to bargain. The give-and-take of a negotiation is as familiar to him as the in-and-out of breathing; to watch him trade is to watch an artist at work. But even a master's brush can slip. When he accepts a gift, taking something for nothing, Bast's whole world is knocked askew, for he knows how to bargain—but not how to owe.

From dawn to midnight over the course of a single day, follow the Kingkiller Chronicle's most charming fae as he schemes and sneaks, dancing into trouble and back out again with uncanny grace.

The Narrow Road Between Desires is Bast's story. In it he traces the old ways of making and breaking, following his heart even when doing so goes against his better judgement.

After all, what good is caution if it keeps him from danger and delight?"

People tend to have a lot of feelings about Patrick Rothfuss these days, but I'm looking forward to seeing something new in the Kingkiller universe, plus I think it'll be fun to read something more about Bast.

The Liberators by E.J. Koh
Publication: November 7th, 2023
Tin House Books
Hardcover. 240 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"At the height of the military dictatorship in South Korea, Insuk and Sungho are arranged to be married. The couple soon moves to San Jose, California, with an infant and Sungho’s overbearing mother-in-law. Adrift in a new country, Insuk grieves the loss of her past and her divided homeland, finding herself drawn into an illicit relationship that sets into motion a dramatic saga and echoes for generations to come.

From the Gwangju Massacre to the 1988 Olympics, flashbacks to Korean repatriation after Japanese surrender, and the Sewol ferry accident, E. J. Koh’s exquisitely drawn portraits and symphonic testimony from guards, prisoners, perpetrators, and liberators spans continents and four generations of two Korean families forever changed by fateful past decisions made in love and war. Extraordinarily beautiful and deeply moving, The Liberators is an elegantly wrought family saga of memory, trauma, and empathy, and a stunning testament to the consequences and fortunes of inheritance."

I really enjoy generational stories like this, so I'm curious about this one! It's only 240 pages, but I'm hoping it can fit everything into that shorter amount well.