Since the posts for the last couple weeks have been on the late side, I'm excited to say that this one was actually written and scheduled early. Perfect for everyone to discover this week's new books before they come out on Tuesday! And there are approximately a million new books to choose from!
Young Adult
The Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar
A lush tapestry of dreams, myth, and magic—perfect for fans of Holly Black, Roshani Chokshi, and Margaret Rogerson.
Seven years ago, Tanvi was spirited away to the subterranean realm of Nagalok, where she joined the ranks of the dream runners: human children freed of all memory and emotion, who collect mortal dreams for the entertainment of the serpentine, immortal naga court.
But when one of Tanvi’s dream harvests goes awry, she begins to remember her life on earth. Panicked and confused, she turns to the one mortal in Nagalok who might be able to help: Venkat, the dreamsmith responsible for collecting the dream runners’ wares and shaping them into the kingdom’s most tantalizing commodity. And as they search for answers, a terrifying truth begins to take shape—one that could turn the nagas’ realm of dreams into a land of waking nightmare.
From the author of the Indie Next selection and Andre Norton Award finalist Star Daughter, this stand-alone contemporary fantasy, inspired by the nagas and garudas of Hindu mythology, is full of slow-burning romance, haunting intrigue, and shimmering magic.
Places to Purchase:
Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty
In Erin Beaty's fantasy mystery-thriller, Blood and Moonlight, an orphan with a secret, magical sight gets caught between a mysterious genius and the serial killer he’s hunting.
Rising above the city of Collis is the holy Sanctum. And watching over its spires is Catrin, an orphan girl with unique skills—for she alone can spot the building’s flaws in construction before they turn deadly.
But when Catrin witnesses a murderer escaping the scene of his crime, she’s pulled into a dangerous chain of events where the only certainty is that the killer will strike again. Assigned to investigate is the mysterious and brilliant Simon, whose insights into the mind of a predator are frighteningly accurate.
As the grisly crimes continue, Catrin finds herself caught between killer and detective while hiding her own secret—a supernatural sight granted by the moon, destined to make her an outcast, and the only thing that might save her and those she loves from becoming the next victims...
Places to Purchase:
This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede
Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.
Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.
Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?
Emily Thiede's exciting fantasy debut, This Vicious Grace, will keep readers turning the pages until the devastating conclusion and leave them primed for more!
Places to Purchase:
The Song That Moves the Sun by Anna Bright
This sweeping YA fantasy romance full of star-crossed love, complex female friendship, and astrological magic is perfect for fans of Laini Taylor, Alexandra Bracken, and V.E. Schwab. From the acclaimed author of The Beholder.
Best friends Rora and Claudia have never felt more like their lives are spiraling out of control. And when they meet Major and Amir--two boys from one of the secret cities of the spheres, ruled by the magic of the astrological signs--they discover they're not alone. There is a disruption in the harmony between the spheres, and its chaos is spreading.
To find the source of the disharmony, Rora and Claudia will embark on a whirlwind journey of secrets, romance, and powerful truths--about themselves, each other, and two long-ago explorers named Dante and Beatrice, who were among the first to chart this course toward the stars.
Inspired partly by the classic works of Dante Alighieri, this gorgeous stand-alone contemporary fantasy will captivate readers of Lore and Star Daughter.
Places to Purchase:
Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow
I Killed Zoe Spanos meets The Cheerleaders in this haunting mystery about an island town with a history of unsolved deaths—and a girl desperate to uncover the mystery behind it all.
Luca Laine Thomas lives on a cursed island. To the outside world, Parris is an exclusive, idyllic escape accessible only to the one percent. There’s nothing idyllic about its history, though, scattered with the unsolved deaths of young women—deaths Parris society happily ignores to maintain its polished veneer. But Luca can’t ignore them. Not when the curse that took them killed her best friend, Polly, three years ago. Not when she feels the curse lingering nearby, ready to take her next.
When Luca comes home to police cars outside her house, she knows the curse has visited once again. Except this time, it came for Whitney, her sister. Luca decides to take the investigation of Whitney’s death into her own hands. But as a shocking betrayal rocks Luca’s world, the identity Whitney’s killer isn’t the only truth Luca seeks. And by the time she finds what she’s looking for, Luca will come face to face with the curse she’s been running from her whole life.
Places to Purchase:
Sometime in Summer by Katrina Leno
From critically acclaimed author Katrina Leno comes a tender love letter to books and summertime, with a touch of magic.
Anna Lucia Bell believes in luck: bad luck. Bad luck made her best friend stop talking to her. Bad luck caused her parents’ divorce. Bad luck is forcing her mother, Miriam, to sell the family’s beloved bookstore. And it is definitely bad luck that Anna seems to be the only person in the world Miriam is unable to recommend a life-changing book.
When Anna finds out that she and her mom are spending two months in a New England seaside town called Rockport, she expects a summer plagued with bad luck too. But Rockport has surprises in store for Anna, including a comet making its first appearance in over twenty years and two new—but familiar—friends.
In what will prove to be the most important summer of her life so far, Anna learns about love, herself, and the magic that an ordinary summer can bring.
Places to Purchase:
Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
In the sequel to Victoria Aveyard’s instant #1 New York Times bestselling Realm Breaker, a divided world must rally, an unstoppable enemy must be defeated, and the fate of the world rests on a blade’s edge.
Andry, a former squire, continues to fight for hope amid blood and chaos.
Dom, a grieving immortal, strives to fulfill a broken oath.
Sorasa, an outcast assassin, faces her past when it returns with sharpened teeth.
Valtik, an old sorceress, summons a mighty power.
And Corayne, a pirate’s daughter with an ancient magic in her blood, steps closer to becoming the hero she’s destined to be.
Together they must assemble an army to face Queen Erida and Taristan’s wicked forces. But something deadly waits in the shadows, something that might consume the world before there’s any hope for victory.
The sequel to the instant #1 New York Times bestselling Realm Breaker features breathless action, deadly twists, and gripping magic, making it perfect for fans of Garth Nix and J. R. R. Tolkien.
Places to Purchase:
The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman
In Juliana Goodman's powerful young adult debut The Black Girls Left Standing, Beau Willet will stop at nothing to clear her sister's name.
Sixteen-year-old Beau Willet has dreams of being an artist and one day leaving the Chicago projects she’s grown up in. But after her older sister, Katia, is killed by an off-duty police officer, Beau knows she has to clear her sister’s name by finding the only witness to the murder; Katia’s no-good boyfriend, Jordan, who has gone missing. If she doesn't find him and tell the world what really happened, Katia's death will be ignored, like the deaths of so many other Black women who are wrongfully killed.
With the help of her friend, Sonnet, Beau sets up a Twitter account to gather anonymous tips. But the more that Beau finds out about her sister's death, the more danger she finds herself in. And with a new relationship developing with her childhood friend, Champion, and the struggle to keep her family together, Beau is soon in way over her head. How much is she willing to risk to clear her sister's name and make sure she's not forgotten?
Places to Purchase:
Stealing Infinity by Alyson Noël
These days, I’ve been killing it when it comes to letting people down. Now I’ve been kicked out of high school, arrested, and accepted into a remote, off-the-grid school owned and operated by an inscrutable billionaire tech guru.
Gray Wolf Academy is looking for a certain kind of student. Ones that no one will miss. Like me.
Then there’s Braxton. The beautiful, oddly anachronistic guy who showed up right when the trouble started. And he’s a total enigma—which means that I definitely can’t trust him, even if there’s something about him that makes me want to.
They all tell me I have a gift. A very rare gift. And Gray Wolf Academy wants me to learn it. To use it. Because if what they say is true, I have all the time in the world.
And that makes me the most dangerous high school student you’ll never know…
Places to Purchase:
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
The New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood returns with a darkly gripping, contemporary fantasy full of secrets, lies, mystery, and witchcraft
The suburbs, right now . . .
Ivy’s summer break kicks off with an accident, a punishment, and a mystery: a stranger whose appearance in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, heralds a string of increasingly unsettling events. As the days pass, Ivy grapples with eerie offerings, corroded memories, and a burning question: What if there's more to her mother than meets the eye?
The city, back then . . .
Dana has always been perceptive. And the summer she turns sixteen, with the help of her best friend and an ambitious older girl, her gifts bloom into a heady fling with the supernatural. As the trio’s aspirations darken, they find themselves speeding toward a violent breaking point.
Years after it began, Ivy and Dana's shared story will come down to a reckoning among a daughter, a mother, and the dark forces they never should’ve messed with.
Places to Purchase:
Ride With Me by Lucy Keating
In this charming, contemporary YA novel, neighborhood rideshare driver Charlie Owens embarks on a collision course with love when she crashes into the school’s cute but annoying party boy and wrecks his car and her no-strings-attached attitude toward life.
As a driver for her local ride share app, Charlie Owens loves what the open road gives her: freedom, extra cash for an epic road trip, and a path to getting out of her sleepy town of Chester Falls, Massachusetts. She’s seen her fair share of mysterious passengers and explosive break-ups in the backseat of her car, but Charlie lives a no-strings-attached lifestyle and never gets involved.
But when a routine post-party pick-up ends with Charlie crashing into Andre, her school’s notorious party boy, she’s forced to make a deal to drive him anywhere he needs to go, anytime, until his car can be repaired. Suddenly Charlie and Andre are stuck together, and they couldn’t be more different. But Andre’s charm wins over Charlie’s passengers, and she soon finds herself at risk of breaking her most sacred rule: don’t fall in love.
Places to Purchase:
A Secret Princess by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz
A surprising and romantic YA retelling-mashup of A Little Princess and The Secret Garden by bestselling authors Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz.
Best friends Mary Lennox, Sara Crewe, and Cedric Erroll are best friends. And thank goodness, since their boarding school is basically insufferable. When one of the friends suffers a personal tragedy, a plan—and a secret—change everything for the trio . . . for good.
Filled with charm and romance, and inspired by some of classic literature's most beloved characters, The Secret Princess is the perfect blend of A Little Princess and The Secret Garden—and the perfect companion to Jo & Laurie.
Places to Purchase:
Katzenjammer by Francesca Zappia
American Horror Story meets the dark comedy of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis as Cat searches for a way to escape her high school. A tale of family, love, tragedy, and masks—the ones others make for us, and the ones we make for ourselves. Katzenjammer will haunt fans of Chelsea Pitcher’s This Lie Will Kill You and E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars.
Cat lives in her high school. She never leaves, and for a long time her school has provided her with everything she needs. But now things are changing. The hallways contract and expand along with the school’s breathing, and the showers in the bathroom run a bloody red. Cat’s best friend is slowly turning into cardboard, and instead of a face, Cat has a cat mask made of her own hardened flesh.
Cat doesn’t remember why she is trapped in her school or why half of them—Cat included—are slowly transforming. Escaping has always been the one impossibility in her school’s upside-down world. But to save herself from the eventual self-destruction all the students face, Cat must find the way out. And to do that, she’ll have to remember what put her there in the first place.
Using chapters alternating between the past and the present, acclaimed author Francesca Zappia weaves a spine-tingling, suspenseful, and haunting story about tragedy and the power of memories. Fans of Marieke Nijkamp’s This Is Where It Ends and Karen McManus’s One of Us Is Lying will lose themselves in the pages of this novel—or maybe in the treacherous hallways of the school.
Places to Purchase:
Godslayers by Zoe Hana Mikuta
Godslayers--Zoe Hana Mikuta's high-octane sequel to Gearbreakers--is perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu's Legend series.
The only way to kill a god is from the inside...
The Gearbreakers struck a devastating blow against Godolia on Heavensday, but the cost of victory has been steep. Months later, the few rebels who've managed to escape the tyrannical empire's bloody retribution have fled to the mountains, hunted by the last Zenith--Godolia's only surviving leader.
Eris has been held prisoner since the attack on the capital city, which almost killed her. And she begins to wish it had when she discovers Sona--the girl she loves, the girl she would tear down cities for--also survived, only to be captured and Corrupted by the Zenith. The cybernetic brainwashing that Sona has forcibly undergone now has her believing herself a loyal soldier for Godolia, and Eris' mortal enemy.
With the rebellion shattered and Godolia moving forward with an insidious plan to begin inducting Badlands children into a new Windup Pilot program, the odds have never been more stacked against the Gearbreakers. Their last hope for victory will depend on whether Eris and Sona can somehow find their way back to each other from opposite sides of a war...
Places to Purchase:
Romance
A Matter of Temptation by Stacy Reid
Miss Wilhelmina "Mina" Crawford is desperate. Having been ruined in the eyes of society years ago for one foolish, starry-eyed mistake, she spends her days secreted away at her family's crumbling estate, helping her brother manage the land but not able to truly live life the way she's always dreamed. When her brother admits to just how dire their finances have gotten, she takes it upon herself to procure employment...but the only one who will even consider the scandalous idea of a female secretary is the brilliant, ruthless, and infuriating Earl of Creswick.
Simon Loughton, the Earl of Creswick, needs help if he wants to finally pass the reform bill he's been championing for years and secure the vote for England's most vulnerable constituents. Too bad help comes in the form of a woman with breathtaking nerve, fiery red hair, and a sense of humor to match.
Now temptation--disguised as a lovely, clever-mouthed devil--lives and works under Simon's very roof. And Mina finally feels as though she's truly living life to her wildest dreams. But even the most incendiary of kisses can't incinerate Mina's past...or the shocking secret that could ruin them both.
Places to Purchase:
Up All Night With a Good Duke by Amy Rose Bennett
"I can think of the perfect way to keep you occupied and your mind diverted," she murmured. "Come to my room. If you're not too tired..."
Lust flashed in his gaze, and then, he caught her face between his hands and kissed her. "For you, my beautiful Artemis, I'd stay up all night."
Artemis Jones―"respectable" finishing-school teacher by day and Gothic romance writer by night―has never lost sight of her real dream: to open her own academic ladies' college. When Artemis is unexpectedly called upon by a dear friend, a fellow Byronic Book Club member, to navigate her first London Season, she comes at once. Who knows, perhaps she can court the interest of a wealthy patron for her school. As long as she can avoid her high-handed aunt's schemes to marry her off.
Dominic Winters, the widowed Duke of Dartmoor, needs a wife―someone who will provide him with an heir and help him to manage his spitfire adolescent daughter. The problem is, Society has dubbed him "The Dastardly Duke." Rumors are rife that he murdered his mad wife, so his choices for a suitable bride are limited. But then, he meets the ravishing and passionate Artemis Jones, who might just be everything he needs.
Places to Purchase:
You Were Made to Be Mine by Julie Anne Long
In the fifth installment of USA Today bestselling author Julie Anne Long's charming Palace of Rogues series, a rakish spy finds more than he bargained for in his pursuit of an earl's enchanting runaway fiancee.
The mission: Find the Earl of Brundage's runaway fiancee in exchange for a fortune. Child's play for legendary British former spymaster, Christian Hawkes. The catch? Hawkes knows in his bones that Brundage is the traitor to England who landed him in a brutal French prison. Hawkes is destitute, the earl is desperate, and a bargain is struck.
Fleeing a savagely shattered dream, the sheltered Lady Aurelie Capet finds refuge in an alias and the warmth and kindness of the Grand Palace on the Thames—until a gorgeous, mysterious disturbance to her peace literally topples through the door.
An unexpected, fierce desire that feels destined, dangerous—and devastatingly sweet—ignites between the sheltered beauty and the jaded spy, and as they slowly unravel each other's shocking secrets Hawkes closes in on the truth about the earl. Soon it's clear they can have no future without vanquishing the past: Hawkes knows that loving her means avenging her. Aurelie knows that loving Hawkes means freeing him to do that, no matter the cost.
Places to Purchase:
Four Weeks of Scandal by Megan Frampton
If you love the sparkle of Tessa Dare and the wit of Sarah MacLean, then you won't want to miss this newest historical romance by Megan Frampton, who returns with a delicious story about a will in dispute, a four-week bargain, and a pretend engagement with romantic consequences.
It only takes one moment to cause a scandal...and four weeks to live it down!
Week one: Lovely, lively Octavia Holton arrives in the village, determined to claim her inheritance--the home she grew up in with her late father. Surely he meant for his daughter to have the property, and owning it means she could fix it up, sell it, and use the money to pay off her debts. But when she arrives, she discovers the house is also claimed--by one Gabriel Fallon.
Week two: Gabriel claims his father won the property in a bet, but he can't bring himself to toss Octavia out on her very delightful derrière, so he makes her a four-week bargain: Together they'll pretend to be engaged, all the while seeking out any will, letter, or document that proves who gets the ownership.
Weeks three and four: But that means togetherness...a lot of togetherness, and long days--and evenings--in each other's company. The pair seems destined to "duke it out," staking their claims...but it's all too soon that they realize their rivalry might lead to something much more intimate. And suddenly four weeks seems like a long time. And yet not enough.
Places to Purchase:
Never Marry a Scandalous Duke by Renee Ann Miller
A stolen kiss at a ball and mistaken identities leads to a marriage of convenience in USA Today bestselling author Renee Ann Miller’s latest Infamous Lords novel. Featuring a spunky, scientist, spinster heroine and a deliciously dashing duke, readers can expect smoldering passion, engaging characters, and roguish antics set against the compelling backdrop of Victorian London. Perfect for fans of Victoria Alexander and Betina Krahn!
A thoroughly roguish nobleman and a devoted lady entomologist have absolutely nothing in common—or do they? Love is far from scientific when it truly blooms …
In the eyes of the ton, Lady Sara Elsmere is so firmly on the shelf, she might as well be nailed in place. Not that Sara minds. She is far more concerned about her study of butterflies than society’s gossip. Of course, it’s also true that the nervous laughter that ruined Sara’s debut—and every social event thereafter—is a bit embarrassing. She can hardly help it—men are quite nerve-wracking. Except for one: the rake who pulls her into a dark room during a costume ball and kisses her senseless. He doesn’t make her titter, he makes her burn . . .
Ian McAllister, the Duke of Dorchester, is perfectly satisfied to remain a rogue for the rest of his days. But when he finds he has kissed the wrong shepherdess, albeit a decidedly luscious one, he’s faced with a dilemma. His indiscretion with an innocent may cost him a lucrative business arrangement—and his two scapegrace wards need a maternal influence they can’t scare away. Promising Sara the use of her dowry to fund her studies seals the pair’s businesslike deal. But as they embark on their life together, they discover that their mutual attraction has sparked a desire not easily tamed—and certain feelings each of them are surprised to own. Can their matrimonial experiment possibly end in real love?
Places to Purchase:
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston.
Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.
When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.
For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.
Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.
Romance is most certainly dead . . . but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.
Places to Purchase:
Look at all these great books! I've got a bunch of preorders and books I want to read, especially Blood and Moonlight, The Song That Moves the Sun, Up All Night With a Good Duke, Four Weeks of Scandal, and The Dead Romantics!
