Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme to spotlight a future release that you’re excited about. It’s hosted by Wishful Endings and was previously hosted by Breaking the Spine.
This week’s anticipated book is:
Songbird of the Sorrows
Title: Songbird of the Sorrows
Author: Braidee Otto
Series: Myths of the Empyrieos #1
Page Length: 400
Pub. Date: Feb. 3, 2026
Synopsis: An outcast princess turned spy embarks on a mission to infiltrate a rival kingdom, but the secrets she uncovers force her to decide whether to follow orders or defy them.
Ask no questions. Obey your orders. Respect your masters. But most of all, love no one.
Spy. Thief. Princess. Songbird.
Princess Aella was ousted from the Palace of Sorrows as a child, shattering her world and forcing her to abandon the truth of her royal lineage. Instead, she was raised in The Aviary, which disguises itself as a school for orphaned children but is actually a secret order designed to train its students as spies for an intelligence network embedded throughout the Empyrieos.
Now twenty-three years old and having completed her final tests, Aella is summoned to join Alpha Flight, the Aviary’s elite team of assassins that’s led by none other than her former flame, Raven. Everything about him calls to her—he’s brave, loyal, and lethal. But is Raven worth breaking the rules and risking everything she’s worked so hard to achieve?
Before she can decide, the Alpha Flight team is sent on a dangerous mission that tests Aella’s resolve in every way. Her role is crucial and she must assume her former title of Princess of the Sorrows, the identity she once had to forsake, to compete in the bridal trials held by the Prince of Eretria. As old sparks reignite and the harsh realities of the realm reveal themselves, the mission begins to unravel, and Aella must decide if she is brave enough to disobey her superiors in order to do what she believes is right.
