A continuing series that highlights books recently acquired for future publication. Each post features a book we’re looking forward to, and a book we’re . . . not.

The Cherry:

Peter Heather’s Empire and Barbarians: Migration, Development, and the Birth of Europe, a narrative of the first millennium AD that tells the story of the joining of Southern and Western Europe.

The Pit:

Gabi Steven’s The Time of Transition, in which the safeguards between the magical and human worlds weaken while new guardians are put in place; a magical bent on revenge plans to use the newest fairy godmother, a “Rare One,” possessor of mighty magic born of two humans, who does not yet know how to use her power, as his means of ruling both worlds.