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[Blog Tour] The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks, Q&A With the Author of This Beautifully Icy Fantasy!

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It’s my tour stop with MTMC Tours to talk about The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks!

A beautifully written fantasy, iced over with complex magic systems, dangerous undercurrents, and an enemies to lovers romance. It’s full of villages, witch magic and god knives, ancient customs and feasts, and frost stealing across the earth. I also absolutely adored that it has disability rep, with Raina unable to speak verbally and instead using fantasy-sign-language!! More of this in fantasy please đŸ˜đŸ™ŒđŸ» This is definitely not a book to miss if you love thrilling romantic fantasy adventures with complex subplots. Perfect for fans of Naomi Novik and Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Also head over to my instagram for the INTL giveaway! And see my interview with the author below đŸ€—âœš

Title:The Witch Collector (Book 1)
Author: Charissa Weaks
Publication Date:November 2nd, 2021
Genres: Epic Fantasy
Purchase a copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add on Goodreads
Every harvest moon, the Witch Collector rides into our valley and leads one of us to the home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever.
Today is that day—Collecting Day.
But he will not come for me. I, Raina Bloodgood, have lived in this village for twenty-four years, and for twenty-four years he has passed me by. His mistake.
Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the ashes is the Collector, Alexus Thibault, the man she vowed to slay and the only person who can help save her sister.
Thrust into an age-old story of ice, fire, and ancient gods, Raina must abandon vengeance and aid the Witch Collector in saving the Frost King or let their empire—and her sister—fall into enemy hands. But the lines between good and evil blur, and Raina has more to lose than she imagined. What is she to do when the Witch Collector is no longer the villain who stole her sister, but the hero who’s stealing her heart?
The Witch Collector is book one in a thrilling romantic fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, Sarah J. Maas, and Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Hi Charissa! Thanks for chatting with me today about your novel, The Witch Collector! Can you tell us a little about your publishing journey and how your book went from idea to finished novel? 

Hi there! Thanks for having me 🙂 I’ve been writing forever, but haven’t pursued publishing my work until the last five years. Back in 2017, I decided to put together an anthology based around the Wheel of the Year/pagan festivals. The old ways are very interesting to me. The first anthology’s theme was vampires and was set around the Winter Solstice. That book published in December of 2018 and contained short stories, novelettes, and novellas from all genres and many talented authors. I knew that the 2019 volume would center around Mabon/Autumnal Equinox and witchcraft/witches. So the seeds for The Witch Collector were born then. Once I wrote the novella though, I could see the larger story. I published The Witch Collector in the 2019 anthology and later contracted all three novellas with City Owl Press. The plan was to expand The Witch Collector a little and keep all three novellas around 45K words each. At the time, novellas seemed like all I could manage. I was a caregiver to my father, and the time and mental energy to turn the tale into a trilogy of full-length novels didn’t exist. My father passed in 2020, and I had to postpone the novella’s release. In the months after my dad’s death, I poured myself into Raina Bloodgood’s world to help busy my mind as I coped with the loss, and before I knew it, I had a 400-page novel on my hands. Thankfully, my publisher was cool about this and now here we are. 

What’s your favourite thing about writing fantasy? 

I love creating worlds for readers to slip into. For myself, as a reader and writer, fantasy is an escape. When I’m writing, I get caught up in the story I’m developing. I can’t imagine not having these lush worlds to lose myself inside.

Creating worlds is honestly the best ✹😍 Do you have a favourite moment from your publishing journey so far?

There have been several. It’s tough to choose between getting my first gushy reader review and holding the hardback. I am so thankful for everything that has happened during the unexpected journey of this story.

That first moment of holding your own book đŸ˜­đŸ‘ŒđŸ» So special. How did you choose your character names? Do they ever change as you write?

I am so weird on this. For me, stories arrive in my head because the characters already exist. It’s like they’re floating around in the ether looking for a writer to tell their story. When they find me, it’s like they whisper in my ear: “Hi, I’m so and so. These are my friends and this is our tale, and you’re going to tell it.” Sometimes I have to dig for the names of supporting cast members, but most names just pop into my head with a fully-formed character attached.

That is very very helpful of your characters to do that 😂 So tell us your favourite thing about Raina Bloodgood!

I adore Raina. I suppose my favorite thing is that she is so fierce. She loves and hates with the fire of a thousand suns. She can provide warmth and light or she can burn you to ash. Literally.

It’s impossible not to adore Raina. I loved her from the first page ahhh. Now lastly! Was any chocolate harmed in the making of this novel? 😌

HAHA. Sadly, SO MUCH chocolate was sacrificed to the Writing Gods. You have no idea. But my waistline does 😉

Is it possible to write without chocolate anyway  đŸ˜ȘđŸ‘ŒđŸ» That’s  the real question. Thank you  so much for  the super fun interview, Charissa!! And congrats again on your beautiful novel đŸ€—.

 

About Charissa Weaks

Charissa Weaks is an author of historical fantasy and speculative fiction. She crafts stories with magic, time travel, romance, fantasy, and history, and the occasional apocalyptic quest. Her favorite books span genres, from Outlander, The Nightingale, and All The Light We Cannot See, to Dark Matter, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Bridges of Madison County, and The Humans. She also loves the short stories of Kelly Link and Helen Maryles Shankman. When she’s not writing, you can find Charissa digging through four-hundred-year-old texts for research or lost inside a book. Charissa lives just south of Nashville with her husband, children, two wrinkly English Bulldogs, and the sweetest German Shepherd in existence. Website | Instagram | Twitter

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14 Horror & Spooky Book Recs For All Your Scary Needs

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It’s October, therefore time to be terrified!

And honestly what is more terrifying than realising there are only 2 months left of the year and you have accomplished nothing đŸ˜ȘđŸ™ŒđŸ» So I do agree that October is the Spooky Month. Usually I am woeful at seasonal-reading (organisation? we do not know her) but this year I’ve been really into reading horror, so both September and October have been stuffed with creepy books for me and quite frankly I am here for it.

I’m quite excited to be putting together a recommendation list for the horror books I’ve been loving! This list is best for (a) horror newbies, and (b) light horror readers. I have yet to read a really hardcore horror that terrifies me, but there’s still time đŸ˜ŒđŸ‘ŒđŸ»

As with all genres, horror comes in so many styles. So if you think “ugh I can’t handle horror” but you love epic fantasy…then look you’ll be fine with these books. Most horror just reads like thriller with a splash of supernatural creepery going down. But I do love the psychological disturbing ones with emotionally ruining endings too. Give me the peculiar, the witchy, the compellingly awful, the monsters, the gorgeous writing elegantly transcribing how the darkness breathes.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these or have any on your TBR! And recommend me your favourite horrors!

This list will have both adult and YA reads.

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo | Goodreads

  • adult dark academia x horror, with massive Raven Cycle vibes (but all grown up)
  • so gay, gays everywhere, also trans and polyam rep
  • Andrew’s best friend Eddie is murdered while researching his family history, and Andrew inherits his research + his roommate + and Eddie as a clawing, horrific revenant haunting Andrew until he solves the mystery. He falls in with Eddie’s new friends who are basically nerds by day at university and bad boys with fast cars by night.
  • Southern USA gothic vibes, and lots of legend and folklore nods.
  • Sam Halse and Rylie are the cousin bros who you cannot help but adore. Sam will protec and he will attac đŸ˜ȘđŸ™ŒđŸ»
  • Andrew is incredibly messy and broken, and his grief is so palpable on page.
  • Beautiful writing and imagery and it is DARK.

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht | Goodreads

  • adult horror / epic fantasy Tor novella
  • it’s fast and dark and reads a lot like Schwab’s monster books (but genuinely queer)
  • Johann wakes up a monster with no idea how he became one, and he cannot die. It’s set in a rotting, crumbling sea-side city with fantastic aesthetics of monsters and decay, add in a little sorcery as Johann attaches himself to the local delicate sorcery and promises to be his body guard if Florian will figure out why Johann is a monster. It’s knifey and dark, and the power dynamic between Johann and Florian is ever shifting as they prove to be as monstrous as each other.
  • Johann literally flirts or stabs his way through the whole book.
  • Super fast read, bit confused at times though so I wish it had been longer 😂 Me: “I love novellas!” Also me: “….make it longer.”

The Nesting by C.J. Cooke | Goodreads

  • Adult haunted house horror
  • Set in Norway! Lexi Ellis poses as a reputable nanny in order to escape her miserable life and get a free aesthetic trip/board/work in Norway looking after two little girls. Their mother recently killed herself, and now their father is still building a new eco-friendly, highly-expensive house in the Norwegian wilds.
  • Lexi is, quite frankly, a hot mess and utterly sketchy as she has issues up to her eyeballs and yet is in charge!! of young kids!! The horror is subtle at first, ghosts and haunts and it turns into a real environmental and land-strikes-back horror which I loved. The characters? Did not love 😂 but the book was still super compelling and I wanted answers.
  • It isn’t super terrifying, and focuses more on solving the mystery. So a good horror intro!

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon | Goodreads

  • Adult haunted house horror
  • The premise of this one is: “What if you built YOUR OWN HAUNTED HOUSE.” Which is a terrible idea, but look, we’ll let them have at it. Helen and Nate have a midlife crisis (or mid-30s crisis) and decide to build their own house in the wilderness and live all eco-friendly and grow vegetables and be self-sustaining. Except they buy a haunted plot of land and then Helen, a historian who gets obsessed with the town’s witch history, ends up sourcing housing material from murder sites to build into their house. (No, she doesn’t let her husband know this đŸ˜Ș) It’s very much about BUILDING, which was fascinating to read, and the #1 way to ruin your marriage through unending stress. I could have told them this.
  • Simple storytelling and reads like a ghost story without too many terror moments or jump scares. I personally liked the premise more than the characters, but the ending had such a surprising twist so that was fun.

It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan | Goodreads

  • Adult haunted house horror
  • This is a more traditional haunted house story, with a young woman living in her family’s renown old home of ghosts. The ghosts just go about their daily lives and death loops and the family works around it. Like, oh there’s that old ancestor killing themselves again in the living room, she’ll be right.
  • It also has futuristic ghosts + messy sister relationships + a lot of history woven in about a historical family who hid escaped slaves in the nearby bog until they could get them to freedom.
  • The beginning was very slow as we wander through Sam’s languorous storytelling, but the end is fast-paced and horrible in the best possible way. It gets snarly and dark with some really sharp twists.

Amity by Micol Ostow | Goodreads

  • YA haunted house this time!
  • It’s told in 2 parts: half by Conor as he moves into this old house called Amity, and half by Gwen, 10 years later as her family moves in. So immediately you want to know what happened to Conor and why his family left (or what happened to them) and the way the two storylines meshed was very well done. The house is creepy and has a disturbing history, and basically it possesses and changes people’s personalities. It’s subtly creepy until it’s outright hostile by the end.
  • The characters are not exactly likeable, but this is horror so eh, I get that. Conor is maybe an untreated sociopath and Gwen is a very damp, limpet of a person. In the end I loathed Conor but I also feel like he needed help and was denied it by his toxic/abusive family.
  • There’s a lot of creep factors in the house + a ton of animal death.
  • It’s very atmospheric and super compelling, so I just whisked right through quite fast. I did like it! Although the characters weren’t very proactive and just reacted to the house instead of searching for answers.

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest | Goodreads

  • Adult haunted house
  • This one is about a family business of salvagers who are hired to gut a very old ancestral home….and OH YEAH it’s haunted by the owner neglected to say so. We basically follow Dahlia as she leads a team of workers through this job, and there’s plenty of family drama and grown-up-sibling-rivalry and chaos as Dahlia is meant to be the boss and her brother is a lowkey jerk about falling in line.
  • It is SO very factual about how to dismantle a house. I am literally an expert on the value of chestnut staircases okay. However 😂 the detail in the house descriptions and demolishing was interesting to start, and got weary fast. So go into this one expecting a slower, methodical pace. The haunts pick up speed towards the end.
  • I do love family drama and construction work though đŸ‘€đŸ‘ŒđŸ»

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare | Goodreads

  • YA Slasher Horror
  • Okay this was fast-paced and gory and WILD. I didn’t really know what I was getting into, and then it’s like, BAM, chainsaws in the cornfield and who is getting out of this alive. We don’t know!!!
  • The story mostly Quinn, a new arrival to a creepy little USA town where the adults are sick of all the teens’s shit. She has no idea about the town’s tension and blithely goes to a party where everything proceeds to go very badly.
  • It’s a simple plot, tropey and face-paced (takes place mostly over one night) and there’s blood and gore and some seriously big twists and wtf (in a good way) moments. Also a little dash of gay and a little bit of trauma bonding.
  • I liked this one! It had literally no chill.

Things We Say In The Dark by Kristy Logan | Goodreads

  • Adult Horror Novella
  • This was super disturbing so !! it did it’s JOB and it did it well. It’s a collection of short stories (some incredibly small, like under a page) of disturbing tales that end up building into a bigger tale. Between the bite-sized disturbing little stories, there’s an anonymous author slowly telling their own unravelling tale of creepiness.
  • The stories were often just really peculiar or disturbing, and it was quite riveting to read. Teeth and things in the walls and cutting creepy babies out of stomaches and living in a nest of rotting mushrooms. The imagination was magnificent.
  • It’s also utterly queer, lesbians everywhere.

Horrid by Katrina Leno | Goodreads

  • YA haunted house x family with dark secrets
  • After her father dies, Jane and her mum move back to her family’s old home, planning to fix it up and live there for a fresh start. Because when you want to escape your bad past, you look for an absolutely definitely haunted house FOR SURE. Solid decision making. Right up, you know things are a bit off with Jane and her mum as well — Jane literally eats books and has a clear rage issue.
  • Small creepy town atmosphere x weird house leaving chills crawling down your spine.
  • Super open ending, left there for you to either make your own interpretation or just scream.
  • A subtle and slowly crawling, chilling horror that takes place in October and Halloween!

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters | Goodreads

  • YA horror about family secrets and cursed fiddles that can raise ghosts.
  • We do like a good music-centric tale around here đŸ‘€đŸ‘ŒđŸ» This is the southern horror of ghosts and curses and family drama that you’ve been waiting for.
  • Shady Grove’s family falls apart when her step-father is murdered and her brother, Jesse, is jailed for it. She’s not even over her real father’s death and begins to search for his magic fiddle that can raise ghosts so she can get answers about the real murderer. It’s part creepy and part typical YA story, with Shady heading off to school and being disappointed by her bestie (who she has a crush on) while crushing on the soft cowboy named Cedar.
  • Actually really loved Jesse and think he deserved better đŸ„ș
  • Shady is bisexual!! She is trying her best but is still somewhat a disaster.
  • It’s a highly emotional story with a riveting murder mystery and ghosts with sharp teeth and anguished tears, very focused on the stages of grief.

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass | Goodreads

  • YA horror x mostly set in a highschool
  • This one follows Jake (surprise!!) who is a medium, and he constantly sees the world of the dead and ghosts playing out their death loops, as he tries to go through day to day life. He’s very reserved and quiet, constantly zoned out, so it’s to his surprise that he gets caught up and targeted by the vengeful ghost of a school shooter — who is doing a lot of killing from the grave as well.
  • CONFESSION…….I’m still reading this 😂 I have a little of the audiobook left, but I wanted it on the list, so here it goes!!
  • This one is deep into the supernatural aspects, and it has a lot of dark and creepy vibes going on. Featuring traumatised kids lashing out, and lots of moral questions about the consequences and ripple effect of violence. We also have journal entries from the school shooter’s diary, so it’s very much a book about exploring perspectives.
  • Focuses on Black kids in a mostly-white-high-school, and the everyday racism they face.

Harrow Lake by | Goodreads

  • YA small creepy town horror
  • Lola Nox is the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker, but when her dad is stabbed, she is sent back to his hometown of Harrow Lake to stay with her (super weird) grandmother. From the moment she enters that town, everything IS WEIRD. From her grandma making her wear her missing (possibly dead) mother’s clothes, to just the towns people being balls of oddness, to all creepy obsession with Mister Jitters — a legendary puppet creature who maybe is not so fake after all.
  • Lola is utterly unreliable which makes for a scintillating read because you realise YOU are getting screwed over the more pages you turn.
  • There’s some haunting and weird stuff and teeth turning up in places teeth shouldn’t be, and just general lowkey disturbing aspects the whole way through. It wasn’t bloody/gory but definitely nails the harrowing part of its title.

Burn our Bodies Down by Rory Powers | Goodreads

  • Another YA small town creepy horror!
  • This one features Margot who slips away from her super weird mother to track down her family roots and get answers from her estranged grandma. Again this nails the small-town-everyone-is-lowkey-disturbing vibes. You just have to wonder what these small American outback towns are putting in the water, honestly. đŸ˜Ș This one leans into creepy farming vibes, and family secrets that people refuse to let budge.
  • Margot is queer too! Although there is no romance.
  • I found it very, very slow and repetitive, but the aesthetic was utterly transfixing and it nailed that monstrous ending.

Q&A With Angela Armstrong, author of The Unflinching Ash (Let’s talk Witch Trials and Magicians!)

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I’m back with a special Q&A with the author of The Unflinching Ash today!

Angela Armstrong has been so kind as to give us a sneak peek into her research and author life đŸ‘€đŸ‘ŒđŸ» so I’m really excited to share this interview with you today! And if you missed my review of The Unflinching Ash, do give it a read!

Hi Angela! Such a pleasure to have you on Paper Fury today! Can you tell us a little about how The Unflinching Ash went from seed of an idea to published novel?

I wouldn’t be anywhere else! *rings bells I have on*

Once upon a time, I went to a fancy schmancy magic show with my three daughters. We walked out of the theatre, and my girls gushed in the afterglow the entire walk back to the car. That guy had been amazing! (The guy was fine.) What they didn’t mention, was everything the female “assistant” had done. And reader, she had done a lot. Worse still, no female magician was springing to my mind as a reference! I wanted to tout the name of someone who proved a woman could command the lead role, maybe google her together when got home as damage / balance control? I did not like that no name readily came to me. I mulled on this. The disparity goes way back – magic has generated household names for centuries – all of them male. An alternative history began taking shape.

I got a bite on the idea fast, and began working on the manuscript with a great editor from a great publishing house for months, before she was cut loose in a restructure. Next, I sought representation, and got an offer from an experienced agent and signed up, hopeful we’d find a new home for Ash’s story. We followed her process during a pandemic and without the Bologna book fair. After a year of sub-and-waits and some lovely industry feedback but no contract, I was tired of keeping Ash in the wings. I was losing years to the pipeline when this rewrite of history was already overdue. So I mobilised a team, incorporated a company, and published The Unflinching Ash as an Indie. And I think going Independent suits Ash nicely. I don’t know what the future holds, but for now, I can say this: telling this story feels a lot better than sitting on it.

I, for one, am definitely glad Ash is out in the world right now đŸ˜đŸ™ŒđŸ» And it’s true that more women magicians need their well deserved spotlight. On that note, can you tell us a bit about your research into magicians and mentalists?

I was conducting research for this book before I knew I was going to write this book. My dad is obsessed with circuses, shows, and magic. My childhood was peppered with exposure to all of it. I grew up with him performing tricks too – the man has a stash of illusion props! (And now, I do *deadpan blink*) For years, I’ve been that person who knows how tricks are done while I’m watching a magic show. It hasn’t spoiled it for me, it’s a game. When I started writing The Unflinching Ash, it was more of an exercise in assembling a favourites reel than it was doing a deep dive on magic. The witch trials, on the other hand, I had to read up on. I thought I knew a fair amount going in, but the further I got with the story, the less qualified I felt, so I read a lot of articles and books on trials from our world’s dark ages.

I loved how you described the tricks and sleight of hand!! So please introduce us to the infamous Ash! Also what is your favourite thing about her?

Ash is fierce, determined, loyal, charming but cocky, and unapologetic about all of it. Part of what’s made her those things, is trauma. There are a myriad of ways people grieve and grow. One alternative way to respond to trauma is demonstrated by Ash’s sister, Grete. These two sisters are loosely: fight and flight. While serious pain leads Grete to disavow the Mystic life, Ash’s resolve is only sharpened by it. But the best part: they accept each other’s different responses; both ways of being and reacting are okay. I dig that. It’s my favourite thing about both of them.

Ash was so magnetic. Loved her so much 😭💛 Can you walk us through your typical writing routine?

For the past 18 months, my family has been constantly on the move, so my routine consists of a scramble for space and time wherever we are while my kids are happily engaged, and in between animal chores (we currently house-sit full-time). I’ve written in libraries, on hallway floors, in beds, at desks, on decks, and standing at kitchen benches. A lot changes about what writing looks like, for me, but my constants are these: 1) sometimes social media is as good a treat as any; 2) power through blocks; and 3) the earlier in the day, the better.

I also tend to use a bit of mindless scrolling time as a writing-break-treat 😂 Are we able to beg a secret or two about your next writing project? 👀

I wish there was only one! Then maybe they’d roll out faster! The project getting the most type-time is a magical realism novel, set in contemporary New Zealand. I’ve also started writing a sequel to an earlier book I published (Unnatural) – those poor characters have waited for their ending while Ash stole the stage, I do need to get back to them. A small revolt for more set in Mórlough is gaining traction though.

Sounds like a very Ash thing to do, stealing the stage đŸ˜ŒđŸ‘ŒđŸ» We forgive her for it though. But magical realism in NZ sounds amazing, am wishing you all the luck with it!! Now lastly! Was any chocolate harmed in the making of this novel? 😉

Oh no, I have to ease chocolate from its wrapper like a potter working at her wheel – with quiet finesse – else I’m descended upon by undeserving, ruthless scavengers. So, you see, my chocolate never comes to harm, it’s pampered until the very last. There’s no kinder way to go than in the hands of a gentle sneak.

It truly has gone to a better place, for a worthy cause đŸ˜ȘđŸ‘ŒđŸ» Thanks so much for this marvellous interview, Angela!! And thank you for sharing The Unflinching Ash with the world!

AD | Thank you to the author for providing a copy of the book for a review & feature!

In a world like ours, Mystics once ruled the night. Well, so long as they were men. On Ash’s day of naming, she chose the Mystic path nonetheless. The same illusions that garner gasps of awe from the lamp-lit crowds earn her scorn from the basilica. There is only one way forward: a perilous quest – earn the Queen’s Seal, a badge of honour, and immunity. She’ll simply have to avoid being hanged, burned or drowned first.

Goodreads | Author Website | Author’s twitter | Book Depository | Amazon | Amazon AUS

2021 New Young Adult Book Releases I Need (Badly) Ft. Sept to November

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Hiiii and I am back with more books for your towering TBR piles!!

I know, I know 😭 our wallets and overcrowded bookshelves do not need this, but do our hearts need it? Yes. That’s what’s important here alright. Snatching that fleeting moment of happiness while burying your face into a new book.

This will be my last YA new releases anticipation list for the year!! I will start in on 2022 books soon though so 😌 there will be no true rest. (Okay but the 2022 covers are already looking gorgeous.)

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➱ 2021 YA New Releases (Jan to April)
➱ 2021 YA New Releases (May to August)
➱ Why It’s Perfectly Acceptable To Have An Enormous TBR Pile

Dark & Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain | Goodreads

Ngl this cover made it an instant preorder for me 👀 but also small creepy towns and sinister vibes are my thing, so I’m super excited for this!

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide. This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World–and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey’s best friend, disappeared six months earlier.
Grey can’t believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something – her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.
When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou – a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town’s bloody history – Grey realizes that La Cachette’s past is far more present and dangerous than she’d ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn’t know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent–and La Cachette’s dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.
A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.
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So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow | Goodreads

I have absolutely not read the original Little Women but pfft 😂 let’s not let that stop me. This looks incredible! And I loved this author’s book, A Song Below Water.

North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the old life. It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters:
Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own.
Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained.
Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.
Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family’s home.
As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together. 
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A Clash of Steal: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee | Goodreads

This cover though 😍 I believe this is part of the same series as the above book (but from different authors obviously!) And I LOVE retellings so this is so exciting. I always loved Treasure Island (and Disney’s Treasure Planet let’s be real.)

Two intrepid girls hunt for a legendary treasure on the deadly high seas in this YA remix of the classic adventure novel Treasure Island.
1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Xiang has grown up with stories about the Dragon Fleet and its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Dragon Queen, all her life. Xiang desperately wants to set sail and explore—mainly to find her father, a presumed dead crew member of the Dragon Fleet. Her only memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewelry.
But the pendant’s true nature is revealed when a mysterious girl named Anh steals it, only to return it to Xiang in exchange for her help in decoding the tiny map scroll hidden inside. Rumor has it that the legendary Dragon Queen had one last treasure—the plunder of a thousand ports—hidden away on an island shrouded in mist that only can be seen once in a blue moon.
Xiang is convinced this map could lead to the fabled treasure. Captivated with the thrill of adventure, she joins Anh and her motley crew off in pursuit of the island. But the girls soon find that the sea—and especially those who sail it—are far more dangerous than the legends led them to believe.  
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The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Goodreads

Yessss I need this one badly after the cliffhanger of book 1! Also this series is just me living my indulgent dream of inheriting a billionaire’s fortune đŸ˜Ș I am getting tips.

The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions—including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons. 
Thanks to a DNA test, Avery knows that she’s not a Hawthorne by blood, but clues pile up hinting at a deeper connection to the family than she had ever imagined. As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, two of the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture—by any means necessary. 
With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, Knives Out-like family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike. 
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Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles | Goodreads

I’ve been waiting for a new book from this author since Tyler Johnson Was Here so !! Am keen for this and maaaaybe preordered it 😌

There’s always been a hole in Gio’s life. Not because he’s into both guys and girls. Not because his father has some drinking issues. Not because his friends are always bringing him their drama. No, the hole in Gio’s life takes the shape of his birth mom, who left Gio, his brother, and his father when Gio was nine years old. For eight years, he never heard a word from her . . . and now, just as he’s started to get his life together, she’s back.
It’s hard for Gio to know what to do. Can he forgive her like she wants to be forgiven? Or should he tell her she lost her chance to be in his life? Complicating things further, Gio’s started to hang out with David, a new guy on the basketball team. Are they friends? More than friends? At first, Gio’s not sure . . . especially because he’s not sure what he wants from anyone right now.
There are no easy answers to love — whether it’s family love or friend love or romantic love. In Things We Couldn’t Say, Jay Coles, acclaimed author of Tyler Johnson Was Here, shows us a guy trying to navigate love in all its ambiguity — hoping at the other end he’ll be able to figure out who is and who he should be. 
From one of the brightest and most acclaimed new lights in YA fiction, a fantastic new novel about a bi Black boy finding first love . . . and facing the return of the mother who abandoned his preacher family when he was nine. 
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Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao | Goodreads

I heard this had a love triangle that ends in polyam so đŸ˜ŒđŸ‘ŒđŸ» finally a triangle that makes sense. Also it sounds really epic!!

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed. 
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White Smoke by Tiffany D Jackson | Goodreads

All of her books are brilliant and utterly HARROWING and now she’s doing horror?!? Yes please. I’m ready to be ruined. (Monday’s Not Coming haunted me enough as is đŸ˜©đŸ˜­)

Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.
The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.
But “running from ghosts” is just a metaphor, right?
As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.
The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!  
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Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber | Goodreads

Jacks is back with his own book!! Although I actually thought it would be narrated by him but I don’t think so 😂 Either way, ready for more lush Stephanie Garber prose after Caraval!

Evangeline Fox was raised in her beloved father’s curiosity shop, where she grew up on legends about immortals, like the tragic Prince of Hearts. She knows his powers are mythic, his kiss is worth dying for, and that bargains with him rarely end well.
But when Evangeline learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, she becomes desperate enough to offer the Prince of Hearts whatever he wants in exchange for his help to stop the wedding. The prince only asks for three kisses. But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’s pledged. And he has plans for Evangeline that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy
 
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Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo | Goodreads

I’m sneaking one adult book onto here (more like a dark academia YA/adult crossover) because I’m absolutely dying with need for this one! It’s like a checklist of everything I adore in books 😭

Andrew and Eddie did everything together, best friends bonded more deeply than brothers, until Eddie left Andrew behind to start his graduate program at Vanderbilt. Six months later, only days before Andrew was to join him in Nashville, Eddie dies of an apparent suicide. He leaves Andrew a horrible inheritance: a roommate he doesn’t know, friends he never asked for, and a gruesome phantom with bleeding wrists that mutters of revenge.
As Andrew searches for the truth of Eddie’s death, he uncovers the lies and secrets left behind by the person he trusted most, discovering a family history soaked in blood and death. Whirling between the backstabbing academic world where Eddie spent his days and the circle of hot boys, fast cars, and hard drugs that ruled Eddie’s nights, the walls Andrew has built against the world begin to crumble, letting in the phantom that hungers for him. 
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Social Queue by Kay Kerr | Goodreads

I had the honour of blurbing this one!! After loving Kay Kerr’s debut (Please Don’t Hug Me) I was super excited for more authentic and relatable autistic and australian teen experiences – and this didn’t disappoint!

Zoe Kelly is starting a new phase of her life. High school was a mess of bullying and autistic masking that left her burnt out and shut down. Now, with an internship at an online media company—the first step on the road to her dream writing career—she is ready to reinvent herself. But she didn’t count on returning to her awkward and all-too-recent high-school experiences for her first writing assignment.
When her piece, about her non-existent dating life, goes viral, eighteen-year-old Zoe is overwhelmed and more than a little surprised by the response. But, with a deadline and a list of romantic contenders from the past to reconnect with for her piece on dating, she is hoping one of her old sparks will turn into a new flame.
Social Queue is a funny and heart-warming autistic story about deciphering the confusing signals of attraction and navigating a path to love.  
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Honourable Mentions!

Aristotle And Dante Dive into The Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire SĂĄenz | Goodreads

I’ve been waiting for this forever đŸ„ș a sequel to Ari & Dante!? The anticipation is so high I JUST–

In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, two boys in a border town fell in love. Now, they must discover what it means to stay in love and build a relationship in a world that seems to challenge their very existence.
Ari has spent all of high school burying who he really is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he can’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once.
The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he’ll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully his own.  
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That Dark Infinity by Kate Pentecost | Goodreads

This COVER 😍 I’m smitten. But also it sounds like an exciting epic fantasy of monsters and curses so I’m here for it.

By night, the Ankou is a legendary, permanently young mercenary. By day, a witch’s curse leaves him no more than bones. Caught in an unending cycle of death and resurrection, the Ankou wants only to find the death that has been prophesied for him, especially once he begins to rot while he’s still alive….
After the kingdom of Kaer-Ise is sacked, Flora, loyal handmaiden to the princess, is assaulted and left for dead. As the sole survivor of the massacre, Flora wants desperately to find the princess she served. When the Ankou agrees to help her find the princess, and to train her in exchange for her help in breaking his curse, she accepts. But how can she kill an immortal? Especially one whom she is slowly growing to understand—and maybe even to love?
Together, they will solve mysteries, battle monsters, break curses, and race not only against time, but against fate itself. 
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Vial of Tears by Cristin Bishara | Goodreads

This sounds super unique?! And the cover truly caught my eye too!!

Two sisters become trapped in the underworld–and in the machinations of deities, shapeshifters, and ghouls–in this lush and dangerous Phoenician mythology-inspired fantasy.
Sixteen-year-old sisters Samira and Rima aren’t exactly living the dream. Instead, they live with their maddeningly unreliable mother in a rundown trailer in Michigan. Dad’s dead, money’s tight, and Mom disappears for days at a time. So when Sam’s grandfather wills her the family valuables–a cache of Lebanese antiquities–she’s desperate enough to try pawning them before Mom can.
But she shouldn’t. Because one is cursed, forbidden, the burial coin of a forgotten god. Disturbing it condemns her and Rima to the Phoenician underworld, a place of wicked cities, burning cedar forests, poisoned feasts of milk and lemons, and an endless, windless ocean.
Nothing is what it seems. No one is who they say. And down here, the night never ends.
To get home–and keep her sister safe–Sam will have to outwit beautiful shapeshifters, pose as a royal bride, sail the darkest sea… and maybe kill the god of death himself. 
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The Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker | Goodreads

This just sounds extremely badass with soul collecting and death goddesses and a sister/brother duo!

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.
When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death
 only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task—find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons—and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side. 
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Tink And Wendy by Kelly Ann Jacobson | Goodreads

A queer peter pan retelling (with a love triangle?!) is basically always what I want so đŸ˜ȘđŸ™ŒđŸ» I have an eARC of this and am super keen to read it!

What happens when Tinker Bell is in love with both Peter Pan and Wendy? In this sparkling re-imagining of Peter Pan, Peter and Wendy’s granddaughter Hope Darling finds the reclusive Tinker Bell squatting at the Darling mansion in order to care for the graves of her two lost friends after a love triangle gone awry. As Hope wins the fairy’s trust, Tink tells her the truth about Wendy and Peter—and her own role in their ultimate fate. Told in three alternating perspectives—past, present, and excerpts from a book called Neverland: A History written by Tink’s own fairy godmother—this queer adaptation is for anyone who has ever wondered if there might have been more to the story of Tinker Bell and the rest of the Peter Pan legend. 
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The Heartbreak Bakery A.R. Capetta | Goodreads

Just say MAGIC BAKERY and I’m there, and make it queer and it’s just a done deal. Also I really loved A.R. Capetta’s The Brilliant Death too!

Teenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin’s queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical—and makes everyone who eats them break up.
“What’s done is done.”
Unless, of course, it was done by my brownies. Then it’s getting undone.
Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies . . . breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.  
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Honourable Mentions!

A Snake Falls To Earth by Darcie Little Badger | Goodreads

As a huge fan of Elatsoe last year, I need more from this author!! I’m not sure if this one also has ace rep but kind of hoping. And the cultural storytelling aspect sounds amazing already 😍

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She’s always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.
Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he’s been cast from home. He’s found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.
Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli’s best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries.
And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.
Darcie Little Badger introduced herself to the world with Elatsoe. In A Snake Falls to Earth, she draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. It is not to be missed. 
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The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath | Goodreads

Queerness, disability rep, historical fiction !!! This has it all đŸ„ș And I think it has some queer-platonic triangles happening? Will read asap to see đŸ˜©đŸ‘ŒđŸ»

A genre-defying debut, this queer historical YA centers a wild and reckless trio who fly in the face of small town tradition—full of compassion, love, and determination to live the lives of their choosing.
It’s Norway 1904, and Asta Hedstrom doesn’t want to marry her odious betrothed, Nils—even though a domestic future is all her mother believes she’s suited for, on account of her single-sided deafness, unconventional appearance, and even stranger notions. Asta would rather spend her life performing in the village theater with her friends and fellow outcasts: her best friend Gunnar Fuglestad and his secret boyfriend, wealthy Erlend Fournier.
But the situation takes a dire turn when Nils lashes out in jealousy—gravely injuring Gunnar. Shunning marriage for good, Asta moves with Gunnar and Erlend to their secluded cabin above town. With few ties left with their families, they have one shot at gaining enough kroner to secure their way of life: win the village’s annual horse race. 
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You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus | Goodreads

It’s funny because the first time I read a McManus thriller I didn’t love it…and then every single one after that I’ve adored 😂 So I need this!! I really love her characters and the mysteries in the plots.

Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Now all they have in common is Carlton High and the beginning of a very bad day.
Type A Ivy lost a student council election to the class clown, and now she has to face the school, humiliated. Heartthrob Mateo is burned out–he’s been working two jobs since his family’s business failed. And outsider Cal just got stood up . . . again.
So when Cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They’ll ditch and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Except they’ve barely left the parking lot before they run out of things to say . . .
. . . until they spot another Carlton High student skipping school–and follow him to the scene of his own murder. In one chance move, their day turns from dull to deadly. And it’s about to get worse.
It turns out Ivy, Mateo, and Cal still have some things in common. They all have a connection to the dead kid. And they’re all hiding something.
Now they’re all wondering–could it be that their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all?
From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand-new pulse-pounding thriller. It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder when three old friends relive an epic ditch day, and it goes horribly–and fatally–wrong.
 
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Spin Me Right Around by David Valdes | Goodreads

This sounds really fun and twisty! A queer Back to the Future!

From lauded writer David Valdes, a sharp and funny YA novel that’s Back to the Future with a twist, as a gay teen travels back to his parents’ era to save a closeted classmate’s life.
All Luis Gonzalez wants is to go to prom with his boyfriend, something his “progressive” school still doesn’t allow. Not after what happened with Chaz Wilson. But that was ages ago, when Luis’s parents were in high school; it would never happen today, right? He’s determined to find a way to give his LGBTQ friends the respect they deserve (while also not risking his chance to be prom king, just saying
).
When a hit on the head knocks him back in time to 1985 and he meets the doomed young Chaz himself, Luis concocts a new plan-he’s going to give this guy his first real kiss. Though it turns out a conservative school in the ’80s isn’t the safest place to be a gay kid. Especially with homophobes running the campus, including Gordo (aka Luis’s estranged father). Luis is in over his head, trying not to make things worse-and hoping he makes it back to present day at all.
In a story that’s fresh, intersectional, and wickedly funny, David Valdes introduces a big-mouthed, big-hearted queer character that readers won’t soon forget.  
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Starling by Isabel Strychacz | Goodreads

This is promising lush prose which is my THING. I absolutely can’t wait and may have this preordered. 😍

Strange things have always happened in the small town of Darling
Yet Delta Wilding and her sister Bee are familiar with the peculiar. Raised by an eccentric father always on the hunt for the spectacular, they’re used to following weather patterns that twirl onto strange paths, a car that refuses to play any artist but one, and living in a sentient house with whims of its own. But when a mysterious boy falls from the stars into the woods behind the Wilding sisters’ farmhouse, nothing can prepare them for the extraordinary turn their lives are about to take.
Extraordinary, and dangerous.
Starling Rust is not from this world and his presence in the Wilding home brings attention. As the terrified locals, Delta’s ex-boyfriend, and the unscrupulous mayor descend onto the Wilding’s home, both Delta and her sister go to incredible lengths to protect their mystical visitor–especially as Delta’s growing feelings for Starling could prove the greatest risk of all.
Filled with atmospheric prose and lush and vivid descriptions, Starling has the spectacular waiting with every flip of the page.
Edward Scissorhands meets When the Moon Was Ours in this enchanting, lushly romantic novel about two teen sisters who fight to protect the mysterious stranger who literally fell from the stars and into their backyard. 
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Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen | Goodreads

Am very excited for mermaids meets West African Mythology here! And the cover is so pretty!!

A way to survive.
A way to serve.
A way to save.
Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata–a mermaid–collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.
But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi does the unthinkable–she saves his life, going against an ancient decree. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy it.
To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But something is amiss. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail. . . .
Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she doesn’t, then she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.
An unforgettable fantasy debut inspired by West African mythology, this is Children of Blood and Bone meets The Little Mermaid, in which a mermaid takes on the gods themselves.
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Honourable Mentions!

[Blog Tour] Macario’s Scepter by MJ McGriff – A Swashbuckling Author Q&A!

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It’s my blog tour stop with MTMC Tours to interview the author of Macario’s Scepter!

You might remember my review for Macario’s Scepter by M.J. McGriff back in February, where I talked about this action-packed adventure of sisters and pirate schemes and dazzling plot twists. Now today I get to interview the author!! But first đŸ‘€đŸ‘ŒđŸ» a little recap on why this book should be on your tbr…

Reasons To Read Macario’s Scepter

  • Think PIRATES (including charming roguish pirate love interests)
  • enemies to lovers romance
  • destines and prophecies and a search for magic and secrets
  • it features twin sisters, Seraphina and Samara, who are like ice and fire (and we love them for it!!) Samara is the headstrong badass who wants to dive into adventure, while Seraphina is the nun, trying to live a quiet and contemplative life but ends up chasing after her sister’s mad and reckless adventure.
  • banter and bickering and sibling bonds
  • reluctant Chosen Ones
  • sea serpents and fights
  • magic and mayhem

It’s definitely the kind of fun pirate adventure that you won’t want to put down!

She belonged out on the sparkling sea, sailing into that beautiful sunset. No more veils. No more prayers. No more judging eyes. This time when she left, she’d leave for good.

An unlikely Chosen One, her pirate captain ex-lover, and a treasure-hunting nun. A prophecy that unleashes a fire-breathing sea serpent pouring its wrath on the isles. A magical scepter with the power to destroy—or save—the world.
Samara is a ship wrecked at sea. She can’t seem to get anything right, especially her love life. Her former pirate captain, the famous Baz Blackwater, broke her heart and stranded her on an island of religious hypocrites. Samara wants nothing more than to escape to the freedom of the sea, so when her ex-lover shows up offering a chance at a magical treasure—and secret revenge—she jumps at the chance.
Seraphina prays every day for her wayward twin sister to stop chasing the pirate life and find the peace she’s discovered in her own quiet life at the convent. But Samara has nothing but contempt for her sister’s beliefs and religious rituals. Yet when Seraphina uncovers an ancient prophecy revealing the horrifying curse of the treasure Samara and Baz seek, she must leave her convent—risking the wrath of her Order—and search for the truth about Macario’s scepter.
In a world of friendship and betrayal, monsters and magic, seedy pubs and adventure on the high seas, will Samara’s magical powers, Baz’s cunning plans, and Seraphina’s unshakable faith be enough to slay a cursed sea serpent destroying everything they love?

Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | Book Depository  | Blackwell’s | Goodreads!

MJ McGriff writes fast-paced YA fantasy and sci-fi stories featuring pirates, exotic locations, and amazing characters of color. She loves all things Marvel, Star Wars, and whatever she can find on a dessert menu. She lives in sunny South Florida with her two daughters who love to play pretend just as much as she does. Find her online at Website | Instagram | Goodreads | Twitter

Hi MJ! Thanks so much for chatting with us about Macario’s Scepter! Can you tell us a bit about how it went from first idea to published novel?

I first got the idea to write a story about a female pirate back in the summer of 2017. I was on maternity leave with my second daughter and had my 4-year old  home with me too. So in between nap times I was watching Black Sails, a pirate drama on Starz and got the idea for a story. It would take another year to get the first draft to my editor.

I thought the story was solid, thinking I would only need to do a couple of tweaks.

Boy was I wrong!

I had to cut out 30,000 words and an entire main character and get the draft back to my editor — in a month. 😭

After a 2-day pity party with cheesecake and wine, I got to work taking apart the story, putting it back together with \ stronger characters and a better storyline..

By the time the second round of edits were completed we were in the middle of a very nasty pandemic. But we pulled it together and I self-published Macario’s Scepter in ebook, paperback, and hardcover in April of 2020.

Honestly cheesecake helps ALL writing crises. So glad Macario’s came together so marvellously in the end đŸ˜©đŸ™ŒđŸ» What’s your favourite part about writing epic fantasy?

Creating the worlds is my absolutely favorite part! I’m a bit of a history nerd so I get to mash up my favorite historical events as well as weave in rich cultures you don’t see often in the YA fantasy genre. By doing that I get to create worlds that truly reflect what I love as well as what I want to change about the world we live in.

Escapism is such an incredible part of the reading experience for sure too. Now to talk about the stars of the book…can you introduce us to Samara and Seraphina?

Samara and Seraphina are identical twins but that’s where their similarities end. Samara is brave but impulsive, who took the first opportunity to leave her island home for a life on the seas. After the pirate captain she served left her stranded and broken-hearted, she’s back in the Majestic Isles trying to scrape together a new life.

Seraphina chose a life of religion and service, committing herself to a life as a nun for the Order, the religious government of the Majestic Isles. She would love nothing more than to keep her nose in the books and spread the light and love.

What I love about their relationship is that they learn to love each other for who they are and not in spite of who they are. It’s an amazing thing to watch unfold.

I adored their relationship too!! I have such a soft spot for sister stories (I have 4 sisters of my own!!) and Samara and Seraphina are the bessst 😍 A sneaky question now … 👀 Can you give us a sneak peek on what you’re working on next?

I’m in the second round of developmental edits for The Spell Keeper, the third book in the series. After the events of The Secret Library, the 2nd book in the series that was released this past April, the gang from both books are all back together. They’re in a new land where they have to work with a new set of heroes to defeat evil monsters and the sorceress controlling them. This book is so much fun because I finally get to have a story that’s very Avenger’s-like in style and action.

We are so looking forward to it!! Would you rather spend a day in Samara and Seraphina’s world…or bring them into our modern world for a day?

Oh I would LOVE to spend a day in Samara and Seraphina’s world! The island realm is heavily inspired by Santorini, Greece and it’s just absolutely breathtaking. Plus, I get to play on a pirate ship — and who wouldn’t want to do that for a day?

I absolutely would choose to be a pirate for a day too 😂 And lastly! Was any chocolate harmed in the making of this novel? 😉

No chocolate, but many slices of cheesecake have lost their lives during the making of the story! LOL

Cheesecake is the best anyway so I highly approve. So lovely to have you, MJ, and learn more behind-the-scenes details about Macario’s Scepter!! Good luck with writing book 3!! 😍

Enter the Rafflecopter below to win a hardcover of Macario’s Scepter via Book Depository! This is open internationally & it ends on August 4th, 2021 at 11:59pm EST.

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MTMC TOURS Schedule

July 26
Paper Fury
July 27
Review Thick & Thin
@anabellasbooks
July 28
GivernyReads
@chapter.mjthomas
July 29
The Reader and the Chef
@clockwork.bookdragon
July 30
@regallywritten
July 31
The Lady With Books
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August 1
The Bookish Raven

2021 Mid Year Book Freak-Out Tag (Wherein I Have Read A Lot And Yet Nothing)

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We’re halfway through the year and I have read a lot and also nothing!!

I never understand how this works đŸ˜Ș Apparently if you read 1 book and add 3 to your TBR pile, it will, in fact, never go down. Trying to ignore this. I am a bit late with this tag as it’s already July, but always excited to do a bit of a mid-year-recap!

So far for me, 2021 has been more dedicated to writing. I’m always disappointed when I don’t read as much as I used to. (Cannot fathom the year I read 300+ books. Who was that. WHO.) But at the same time, I’m fiercely proud of the writing I’ve been doing lately. I’ve written over 200,000 words so far this year (estimating) and am having a small lull for July to catch up on reading.

I always feel I should apologise for the way my blog slid. But it is what it is, and writing + managing health issues is a lot, plus I just use instagram as my micro-blog anyway. Do join me over there. Many memes, much explosions of obsessive book love. And I do have exciting reviews coming up for Paper Fury here soon too so keep an eye out.

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Open Here To Grab The Tag Questions For Your Own Blog
Note: I’ve used a few different ones and made up some haha. But these are the original questions:

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2019
2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2019
3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
5. Biggest disappointment
6. Biggest surprise
7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)
8. Newest fictional crush
9. Newest favorite character
10. Book that made you cry
11. Book that made you happy
12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)
13.What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
14. Favorite book community member

1. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU READ?

This time last year I’d already read 100 so đŸ„ș missing those days of reading hard and fast. But I am stressing less about reading and THAT I enjoy.

2. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN READING?

This is a question I add in each year for an excuse to make pie charts. I do love pie (who doesn’t?!).

Okay so my star-ratings are not GREAT and I feel a bit sheepish here 😂I don’t actually do public star-ratings unless it’s 4 or 5 these days, so these are just recorded on my spreadsheet. Basically only 47% of my reeds have been good (I consider 3 a meh rating) which is a statistic that is a solid yikes. As for my genres, I pretty consistently favour contemporary (and contemporary fantasy) so this isn’t a surprise.

3. Best book you’ve read so far in 2020

I have literally only had ten 5-star ratings; and most were rereads so đŸ’€đŸ‘ŒđŸ»again we are improving that later. But I’ve already reread These Violent Delights TWICE and I’m dying. It is so downright phenomenal that it has wrecked my life.

 4. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020

The Theft of Sunlight was incredible. I thad the thoughtful political and social commentary that I crave from YA fantasy (and sadly rarely get đŸ˜Ș) coupled with gorgeous prose and dimensional characters. Such an underrated series truly. I also really appreciate Rebecca Westscott & Libby Scott’s autistic middle-grade contemporary series. It is the BEST and absolutely captures the heart of what it is to be autistic.

5. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

Was just laughing as I looked at least year’s list for this question and I still haven’t read a single one. Let me lay down softly and weep. For this year I will say…

6. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

I am most thoroughly dying for Summer Sons. Like if I could only have ONE more book in 2021, it would be this. But also the others too because I want all the books and cannot be stopped.

7. Out of Your Comfort Zone

I technically haven’t finished A Little Life buuuuut…it’s an adult literary novel so that’s definitely out of my comfort zone. (Cannot say I’m “enjoying” it but it is deeply, deeply affecting me.) Also Winter’s Orbit! I rarely read adult sci-fi but I adored this one.

8. Biggest surprise

Maybe Rain City Lights because this book absolutely hit me in the guts and I loved it (as well as suffered for it 😭) and it’s super underrated so please pick up a copy!!

I also adored Lifestyles of Gods & Monsters which is a super bizarre modern Ariadne and the Minotaur retelling, and it got me so emotional!!

9. New Favourite author (debut or new to you)

Into The Heartless Wood came out of nowhere for me and I just ADORED it with my whole soul!! I listened to an audio and never wanted to turn it off (also the narrator was so peaceful). It’s almost a cozy fantasy, but also feral tree girls who eat hearts and soft boys who bake. đŸ„șGhostwood Song is a southern lowkey horror about grief and ghosts and heavily features a fiddle and messy family relationships and it was just excellent. The Boy From The Mish is such a heartfelt and beautiful story of an indigenous teen coming out and fitting being gay in with his culture. Tweet Cute was just so so CUTE, like downright funny and adorable.

 

10. underrated gems you’ve discovered recently

Tap through for my reviews on these but they’re AMAZING and I want everyone to take notice of these perfect books. I’ve actually read more underrated than popular this year, and just fell in love with so many.

11. rereads this year

THE WAY I’VE REREAD THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS TWICE WITHIN 3 MONTHS THOUGH. I do need to do more rereads before the year ends because I miss prioritising them. I also reread a few first books with intentions of reading the sequels finally…can report I still have not read the sequels.

12. Book that made you cry

Will say These Violent Delights again just to suffer with myself. It didn’t make me cry, I suppose? Just my soul ached. I actually haven’t felt teary this year for anything. Getting tough in my old, old age. Although Heartstopper’s unconditional love themes always make me đŸ„șand Volume 4 was beyond perfect.

13. Book that made you happy

Tweet Cute for the levels of adorable!! And Roman and Jewel was also just one of those books that is so fun, you can’t help but smile. Also Social Queue! It’s not out yet but the it nailed the autistic experience with such finesse I just đŸ˜™đŸ‘ŒđŸ».

14. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

Ariadne (UK edition) has stolen my heart!! But also Ghost Wood Song and Things That Grow were total cover buys and I do not regret it.

 

15. goals for the rest of the year

  • I am aiming for 150 reads and will probably overachieve a bit but not aiming for 200 this year. Less pressure đŸ˜©đŸ‘ŒđŸ»
  • I would like to write another book! Maybe for NaNoWriMo, still?
  • Dreaming of hitting 90K on instagram but that one is a little far-fetched.
  • Read more ebooks and eARCs đŸ€šđŸ™ŒđŸ»actually TRY for this and get my Netgalley ratio back up.
  • I’d like to have read all my books from book boxes by the time 2021 ends.
  • Challenge myself to pick up more adult books because I’m really enjoying them this year for some reason. Probably because of all my white hair.

| What about you? |

time to tell me all your half-yearly news!! are you behind or on track with your Goodreads goal? what have been your highlight reads of 2021 so far? have you done any writing?

 

2021 New Young Adult Releases For Your Towering TBR Pile!! [Ft May to August]

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It’s that time again, when I do not help your TBR piles!!

In fact! I am the opposite of help and probably will make you add 394092 new books to your pile đŸ˜Ș I’d say sorry but I’m not. What I WILL say is that I need to fall down a goldmine and accidentally inherit it all to be able to afford these. (Why have book prices in Australia exploded so steeply 😭 it hurts.)

So below I’ve picked out a ton of new Young Adult book releases coming out in May, June, July and August, 2021! All are linked to Goodreads so enjoy đŸ€— You can also catch my first releases post from early this year (the January to April edition).

Note: I have included a few adult titles in here, just because they caught my eye and I am here to break the rules of my own post.

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➱ 2020 New YA Releases January, March, April
➱ 2020 New YA Releases May, June, July
➱ 2020 New YA Releases August, Sept, Oct, Nov
➱ Why It’s Perfectly Acceptable To Have An Enormous TBR Pile

The House of Always (#4) by Jenn Lyons | Goodreads

This is one of my top anticipated books of the YEAR okay  đŸ˜‚đŸ™ŒđŸ» I am so hyped! Chorus of Dragons is my new favourite series and this is book 4. I will never stop recommending it!!

What if you were imprisoned for all eternity?
In the aftermath of the Ritual of Night, everything has changed.
The Eight Immortals have catastrophically failed to stop Kihrin’s enemies, who are moving forward with their plans to free Vol Karoth, the King of Demons. Kihrin has his own ideas about how to fight back, but even if he’s willing to sacrifice everything for victory, the cost may prove too high for his allies.
Now they face a choice: can they save the world while saving Kihrin, too? Or will they be forced to watch as he becomes the very evil they have all sworn to destroy. 
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Off The Record by Cameron Garrett | Goodreads

I really loved the author’s debut and this sounds so fascinating too! A teen journalist, the #MeToo movement, and a story that’s dangerous to unravel.

The behind-the-scenes access of Almost Famous meets the searing revelations of #metoo in this story of a teen journalist who uncovers the scandal of the decade.
Ever since seventeen-year-old Josie Wright can remember, writing has been her identity, the thing that grounds her when everything else is a garbage fire. So when she wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine, she’s equal parts excited and scared, but also ready. She’s got this.
Soon Josie is jetting off on a multi-city tour, rubbing elbows with sparkly celebrities, frenetic handlers, stone-faced producers, and eccentric stylists. She even finds herself catching feelings for the subject of her profile, dazzling young newcomer Marius Canet. Josie’s world is expanding so rapidly, she doesn’t know whether she’s flying or falling. But when a young actress lets her in on a terrible secret, the answer is clear: she’s in over her head.
One woman’s account leads to another and another. Josie wants to expose the man responsible, but she’s reluctant to speak up, unsure if this is her story to tell. What if she lets down the women who have entrusted her with their stories? What if this ends her writing career before it even begins? There are so many reasons not to go ahead, but if Josie doesn’t step up, who will?
 
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Burn It All Down by Nicolas DiDomizio | Goodreads

So this just sounds thoroughly chaotic and I am intrigued. 😂 An Italian queer teen boy and his mum end up ditching their problematic respective boyfriends and go on a petty crime spree? Am in 😌

Eighteen-year-old aspiring comic Joey Rossi just found out his boyfriend has been cheating on him for the past ten months. But what did he expect? Joey was born with an addiction to toxic jerks—something he inherited from his lovably messy, wisecracking, Italian-American spitfire of a mom (and best friend): 34-year-old Gia Rossi.
When Gia’s latest non-relationship goes up in flames only a day later, the pair’s Bayonne, New Jersey apartment can barely contain their rage. In a misguided attempt at revenge, Joey and Gia inadvertently commit a series of crimes and flee the state, running to the only good man either of them has ever known—Gia’s ex, Marco. As they hide out from the law at Marco’s secluded lake house, Joey and Gia must confront all the bad habits and mistakes they’ve made that have led them to this moment—and find a way to take responsibility for what they’ve done. 
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Mister Impossible (#2) by Maggie Stiefvater | Goodreads

You know am always dying for the next book about Ronan Lynch đŸ˜©đŸ™ŒđŸ»The blurb gives absolutely NO information 😂 but I’m expecting more typical Stiefvater chaos.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Boys, a mesmerizing story of dreams and desires, death and destiny.
The stakes have never been higher as it seems like either the end of the world or the end of dreamers approaches.
Do the dreamers need the ley lines to save the world . . . or will their actions end up dooming the world? As Ronan, Hennessy, and Bryde try to make dreamers more powerful, the Moderators are closing in, sure that this power will bring about disaster. In the remarkable second book of The Dreamer Trilogy, Maggie Stiefvater pushes her characters to their limits – and shows what happens to them and others when they start to break.  
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Black Water Sister by Zen Cho | Goodreads

The blurb of this one has me enthralled! Reluctant mediums, Malaysian-set fantasy, estranged grandmother ghosts!! I think this is also adult and I need it.

A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.
Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there’s only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god–and she’s decided Jess is going to help her do it.
Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she’ll also need to regain control of her body and destiny. If she fails, the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good. 
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All Kinds of Other by James Sie | Goodreads

I only recently heard about this one and it sounds like it’ll pack a punch to the feels đŸ„ș Coming-of-age with trans kids and new schools. The cover is also super gorgeous. 

In this tender, nuanced coming-of-age love story, two boys—one who is cis and one who is trans—have been guarding their hearts to protect themselves, until their feelings for each other give them a reason to stand up to their fears.
Two boys are starting at a new school.
Jules is just figuring out what it means to be gay and hasn’t totally decided whether he wants to be out at his new school. His parents and friends have all kinds of opinions, but for his part, Jules just wants to make the basketball team and keep his head down.
Jack is trying to start over after a best friend break-up. He followed his actor father clear across the country to LA, but he’s also totally ready to leave his past behind. Maybe this new school where no one knows him is exactly what he needs.
When the two boys meet, the sparks are undeniable. But then a video surfaces linking Jack to a pair of popular transgender vloggers, and the revelations about Jack’s past thrust both Jack and Jules into the spotlight they’ve been trying to avoid. Suddenly both boys have a choice to make—between lying low where it’s easier or following their hearts. 
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In The Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland | Goodreads

When the pitch is, “A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead” yeah I know I need it 😌 Also from an ace author!

In Thanopolis, those gifted with magic are assigned undead spirits to guard them—and control them. Ever since Rovan’s father died trying to keep her from this fate, she’s hidden her magic. But when she accidentally reveals her powers, she’s bound to a spirit and thrust into a world of palace intrigue and deception.
Desperate to escape, Rovan finds herself falling for two people she can’t fully trust: Lydea, a beguiling, rebellious princess; and Ivrilos, the handsome spirit with the ability to control Rovan, body and soul.
Together, they uncover a secret that will destroy Thanopolis. To save them all, Rovan will have to start a rebellion in both the mortal world and the underworld, and find a way to trust the princess and spirit battling for her heart—if she doesn’t betray them first. 
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The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk | Goodreads

I have an ARC of this one so I’m really excited to dive in! It’s about ballet dancers and disability and also deals with racism in the dance industry.

Alina Keeler was destined to dance, but one terrifying fall shatters her leg–and her dreams of a professional ballet career along with it.
After a summer healing (translation: eating vast amounts of Cool Ranch Doritos and binging ballet videos on YouTube), she is forced to trade her pre-professional dance classes for normal high school, where she reluctantly joins the school musical. However, rehearsals offer more than she expected–namely Jude, her annoyingly attractive cast mate she just might be falling for.
But to move forward, Alina must make peace with her past and face the racism she had grown to accept in the dance industry. She wonders what it means to yearn for ballet–something so beautiful, yet so broken. And as broken as she feels, can she ever open her heart to someone else?
Touching, romantic, and peppered with humor, this debut novel explores the tenuousness of perfectionism, the possibilities of change, and the importance of raising your voice.
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Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar | Goodreads

Another one where I loved the author’s debut  (The Henna Wars!) so I’m excited for their next book. đŸ„°Fake dating is SUCH a fun trope too. I have this one preordered đŸ‘€đŸ‘ŒđŸ»

Everyone likes Humaira “Hani” Khan—she’s easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she’s in a relationship
with a girl her friends absolutely hate—Ishita “Ishu” Dey. Ishu is the complete opposite of Hani. She’s an academic overachiever who hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for college. But Ishita agrees to help Hani, if Hani will help her become more popular so that she stands a chance of being elected head girl.
Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.  
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Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean | Goodreads

This is the “girl discovers she’s secretly a princess” like Princess Diaries! But JapaneseÂ đŸ‘€đŸ™ŒđŸ»I am so, so intrigued. I also enjoyed the author’s epic fantasy, Empress of All Seasons, a few years ago!

Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity
and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.
In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.
Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after?  
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Honourable Mentions!

The Coming Storm by Regina M. Hansen | Goodreads

It had me at “music, myth, and horror” to be honest đŸ‘€đŸ‘ŒđŸ»I’m a huge fan of music stories (my debut is about a pianist!!) so this was a preorder for me too 😂

There’s a certain wild magic in the salt air and the thrum of the sea. Beet MacNeill has known this all her life. It added spice to her childhood adventures with her older cousin, Gerry, the two of them thick as thieves as they explored their Prince Edward Island home. So when Gerry comes up the path one early spring morning, Beet thinks nothing of it at first. But he is soaking wet and silent, and he plays a haunting tune on his fiddle that chills Beet to the bone. Something is very, very wrong.
Things only get worse when Marina Shaw saunters into town and takes an unsettling interest in Gerry’s new baby. Local lore is filled with tales of a vicious shape-shifting sea creature and the cold, beautiful woman who controls him—a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Marina. Beet is determined to find out what happened to her beloved cousin, and to prevent the same fate from befalling the handsome new boy in town who is winning her heart, whether she wants him to or not. Yet the sea always exacts a price… 
Music, myth, and horror blend in this romantic, atmospheric fantasy debut about a teen girl who must fight a powerful evil that’s invaded her Prince Edward Island home—perfect for fans of An Enchantment of Ravens. 
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The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver | Goodreads

The author’s debut (I Wish You All The Best) was one of my absolute favourites! So of course I am stoked about for their newest book 😭💛 This one seems to be dealing with grief, so ready for these tough themes.

When Liam Cooper’s older brother Ethan is killed in a hit-and-run, Liam has to not only learn to face the world without one of the people he loved the most, but also face the fading relationship with his two best friends.
Feeling more alone and isolated than ever, Liam finds themself sharing time with Marcus, Ethan’s best friend, and through Marcus, Liam finds the one person that seems to know exactly what they’re going through, for the better, and the worse.
This book is about grief. But it’s also about why we live. Why we have to keep moving on, and why we should.
Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli, this book will rip your heart out before showing you how to heal from tragedy and celebrate life in the process. 
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The Marvelous by Claire Kahn | Goodreads

Okay this one sounds SO FUN! Like a diverse, queer Westing Game! It’s pitched as “six teens locked together in a mansion, contending for a life-changing cash prize in a competition run by a reclusive heiress” and I want it 😂

Everyone thinks they know Jewel Van Hanen. Heiress turned actress turned social media darling who created the massively popular video-sharing app, Golden Rule.
After mysteriously disappearing for a year, Jewel makes her dramatic return with an announcement: she has chosen a few lucky Golden Rule users to spend an unforgettable weekend at her private estate. But once they arrive, Jewel ingeniously flips the script: the guests are now players in an elaborate estate-wide game. And she’s tailored every challenge and obstacle to test whether they have what it takes to win–at any cost.
Told from the perspective of three dazzling players–Nicole: the new queen of Golden Rule; Luna: Jewel’s biggest fan; and Stella: a brilliant outsider–this novel will charm its way into your heart and keep you guessing how it all ends because money isn’t the only thing at stake. 
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Sisters of the Snake by Sarena & Sasha Nanua | Goodreads

This sounds like an Indian genderbent Prince & The Pauper style!! And I quite am here for it! Also the cover is so golden and lovely. Also the authors are sisters!

A lost princess. A dark puppet master. And a race against time—before all is lost.
Princess Rani longs for a chance to escape her gilded cage and prove herself. Ria is a street urchin, stealing just to keep herself alive.
When these two lives collide, everything turns on its head: because Ria and Rani, orphan and royal, are unmistakably identical.
A deal is struck to switch places—but danger lurks in both worlds, and to save their home, thief and princess must work together. Or watch it all fall into ruin.
Deadly magic, hidden temples, and dark prophecies: Sisters of the Snake is an action-packed, immersive fantasy that will thrill fans of The Crown’s Game and The Tiger at Midnight. 
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Ace of Spades by Faridah ÀbĂ­kĂ©-ÍyĂ­mĂ­dĂ© | Goodreads

Dark academia from a POC author!! I am very much needing all dark academia books please and thank you.

An incendiary and utterly compelling thriller with a shocking twist that delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism, from an exceptional new YA voice. Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high-school game…  
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This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron | Goodreads

This is from the author of Cinderella Is Dead!! Which I loved đŸ€—and this is about gardens and poisonous plants and that aesthetic is also what I love. So HERE I am.

Briseis has a gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch.
When Briseis’s aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined–it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri’s unique family lineage.
When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for tinctures and elixirs, Bri learns she has a surprising talent for creating them. One of the visitors is Marie, a mysterious young woman who Bri befriends, only to find that Marie is keeping dark secrets about the history of the estate and its surrounding community. There is more to Bri’s sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it . . . until a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir. Up against a centuries-old curse and the deadliest plant on earth, Bri must harness her gift to protect herself and her family.
From the bestselling author of Cinderella Is Dead comes another inspiring and deeply compelling story about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her. 
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The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon | Goodreads

Faeries and witches and trans main characters!!! The cover isn’t my favourite style but I do love the diversity there?! So I’m really keen for this one.

Wyatt would give anything to forget where he came from—but a kingdom demands its king.
In Asalin, fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft
don’t. Wyatt’s betrothal to his best friend, fae prince Emyr North, was supposed to change that. But when Wyatt lost control of his magic one devastating night, he fled to the human world.
Now a coldly distant Emyr has hunted him down. Despite transgender Wyatt’s newfound identity and troubling past, Emyr has no intention of dissolving their engagement. In fact, he claims they must marry now or risk losing the throne. Jaded, Wyatt strikes a deal with the enemy, hoping to escape Asalin forever. But as he gets to know Emyr, Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist. And as the witches face worsening conditions, he must decide once and for all what’s more important—his people or his freedom.  
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The Sea Is Salt and So Am I by Cassandra Hartt| Goodreads

I so so love sea aesthetics so this one caught my eye immediately! Also promises queer and mental health rep!

West Finch is one hurricane away from falling into the sea.
Yet sixteen-year-old Harlow Prout is determined to save her small Maine hometown. If only she could stop getting in her own way and find someone, anyone, willing to help. But her best friend Ellis MacQueen “fixes” problems by running away from them―including his broken relationship with his twin brother, Tommy. And Tommy’s depression has hit a new low, so he’s not up for fixing anything.
In the wake of the town’s latest devastating storm, Tommy goes out for a swim that he doesn’t intend to survive. It’s his unexpected return that sets into motion a sea change between these three teens. One that tests old loyalties, sparks new romance, and uncovers painful secrets. And nothing stays secret in West Finch for long. 
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Honourable Mentions!