For September 2026’s Fellowship selection, we wanted a fantasy that reminds us why epic adventures remain one of the genre's greatest pleasures; taking us to worlds so vividly realised you can almost hear the waves crashing against the hull.
Tempest by Victoria Aveyard is all of this and more, and as we were called to the sea from the pages of our advance reading copies well over a year ago, we just couldn't resist championing one of modern fantasy's most celebrated storytellers by selecting Tempest as our September pick.
Set against the backdrop of a brutal war for the high seas, Tempest follows Cat Rose, a woman who has lived two very different lives. Once a noblewoman trapped by the expectations of the Meridian Empire, she has reinvented herself as the formidable Widow Rose, ruler of a pirate tavern and determined to carve out her own destiny. But as the Empire launches its campaign to crush the pirate republic once and for all, Cat finds herself caught between survival and loyalty when she is ordered to betray the one man capable of uniting the remaining pirate fleets: the legendary Valerian Kane, the only man she has ever loved.
" What to say about Tempest other than I have been waiting for an epic pirate fantasy book for what felt like years and this has easily been my favourite book of the year.
The way that the story unfolds between ‘Now’ and ‘Then” chapters kept me guessing all throughout the novel. This book follows a main trio of characters and you can’t help but theorise how they have ended up where they have, when you first meet them at the beginning of the book. As a self-proclaimed pirate book fanatic, you really get the impression - from the worldbuilding and character descriptions, just to name a few - that Aveyard spent a lot of time researching the golden age of piracy. The world created is so vivid and lush, you really do feel like you’ve stepped into the 1700’s.
This is a love letter to all the kids that feel in love with Pirates of the Caribbean and can’t wait to sail the high seas again with Cat Rose as adults." - Chiara (London Senior Bookseller)
What makes Tempest especially engrossing is the sheer scale of its storytelling. Victoria Aveyard blends exhilarating naval battles, political intrigue, aching romance, and rich worldbuilding into an adventure that never loses sight of its characters. The Lyrian Sea becomes a world in itself, filled with pirates, empires, impossible choices, and ancient magic carried on the tides. Every page feels cinematic, balancing breathtaking action with quieter moments of longing, sacrifice, and resilience.
At one stage or another we have all fallen in love with Victoria Aveyard through her bestselling Red Queen and Realm Breaker series, and Tempest proves she's just as accomplished writing for an adult audience. It's an ambitious, emotionally charged fantasy that delivers everything we'd hope for from an epic: unforgettable heroes, impossible odds, powerful relationships, and a story that keeps surprising until the very last page. Whether you come for the pirates, the romance, the politics, or the adventure, Tempest is the kind of novel that completely sweeps you away.
For Fellowship members, we're thrilled to present Tempest as a highly limited exclusive edition, signed and numbered by Victoria Aveyard. Created exclusively for our members, this Fellowship edition features beautiful bespoke finishes that make it every bit as spectacular as the story inside. It's a fitting way to celebrate one of the year's biggest fantasy releases and an edition we're incredibly proud to add to the Fellowship collection.
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Curated by Goldsboro Books, Fellowship brings together readers who want to discover the very best new sci-fi and fantasy fiction while building a collection of beautiful, exclusive first editions, unavailable anywhere else. Every month our in-house SFF specialists carefully select a standout new release, then work with publishers to embellish a highly limited number of the first edition print run, in turn creating a bespoke edition exclusively for Fellowship members.
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