Read excerpts from "Hope Ablaze" and "The Villain's Dance"

Enjoy excerpts from two upcoming releases: Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana and the English translation of The Villain's Dance by Fiston Mwanza Mujila.

Hope Ablaze, which comes out February 27, is Rana's debut novel.

It stars Nida, a Muslim teen whose experiences with Islamophobia inspire her to write a furious poem.

Her poem goes viral ... and wins a contest that she never actually entered, which leads to even more turmoil in her life.

You can read the excerpt of Hope Ablaze at Book Riot.

The Villain's Dance, translated by Roland Glasser, comes out March 12.

It takes place in the late 1990s, during a time of political uncertainty in Zaire, with one character seeking an escape from life on the streets, another hunting diamonds in Angola, and yet another serving as ghostwriter for a charismatic figure.

You can read an excerpt from The Villain's Dance at Literary Hub.