New year, so many new books! So many, in fact, that we decided to split this post into two parts. So here’s our most anticipated books publishing between January and end of May, and we’ll be back after Memorial Day to discuss the second half of what is shaping up to be a juicy year!
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Title: A Fragile Enchantment
Author: Allison Saft
Publication Date: 2024 January 2
Official Blurb:
Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.
But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.
Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.
Why I’m Excited:
I recently read Saft’s Down Comes the Night and her writing intrigued me. The setting/story sounds right up my alley and I’m curious to see how her writing has changed now that’s she’s published multiple books since Night. –Stephanie
Title: Just Happy to Be Here
Author: Naomi Kanakia
Publication Date: 2024 January 2
Official Blurb:
In this YA standalone perfect for fans of Tobly McSmith and Meredith Russo, the first out trans girl at an all-girls school must choose between keeping her head down or blazing a trail. Tara just wants to be treated like any other girl at Ainsley Academy. That is, judged on her merits—not on her transness. But there’s no road map for being the first trans girl at an all-girls school. And when she tries to join the Sibyls, an old-fashioned Ainsley sisterhood complete with code names and special privileges, she’s thrust into the center of a larger argument about what girlhood means and whether the club should exist at all. Being the figurehead of a movement isn’t something Tara’s interested in. She’d rather read old speeches and hang out with the Sibyls who are on her side—especially Felicity, a new friend she thinks could turn into something more. Then the club’s sponsor, a famous alumna, attacks her in the media and turns the selection process into a spectacle. Tara’s always found comfort in the power of other peoples’ words. But when it comes time to fight for herself, will she be able to find her own voice?
Why I’m Excited:
Naomi Kanakia has a new book! -Mandy W.
Title: Cupid’s Revenge
Author: Wibke Brueggemann
Publication Date: 2024 January 2
Official Blurb:
It was never Tilly’s intention to fall in love, but Cupid will get you when you least expect it. That’s exactly what happens when Tilly’s best friend, Teddy, ropes Tilly into a plan to woo his dream girl, aspiring actress Katherine Cooper-Bunting. It turns out Teddy’s not the only one who finds her dreamy.
But Katherine is off-limits. The only thing more important than Tilly’s feelings for someone she just met is not hurting Teddy, whose heart has been broken in the past.
Avoiding temptation is easier said than done, as Teddy convinces Tilly to help him audition for a local play as a way to get to know Katherine better―a complete horror for someone who grew up in an artsy family but doesn’t have a creative bone in her body. On top of dealing with her growing feelings for the girl she shouldn’t like (but who may like her back), Tillie is still grieving a loss while navigating her grandfather’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis. So yeah, that’s a lot for any sixteen-year-old to handle without Cupid’s vengeful arrows getting involved.
Why I’m Excited:
I will admit that I first judged this book by its cover—I mean, it’s excellent—but the blurb got me to put it on this list. It’s “for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alice Oseman,” both of whom I love, and promises laughs, swoons, and a really BFF Charm-worthy main character. – Mandy C.
Title: So Let Them Burn (Divine Traitors #1)
Author: Kamilah Cole
Publication Date: 2024 January 16
Series: Divine Traitors
Official Blurb:
Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland.
Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.
When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.
Why I’m Excited:
This blurb had me at “a nuisance to her [neighbours]”, lol. I love the idea of a washed-up prodigy being paraded around like a show pony – with dragons! -Mandy W.
Title: A Drop of Venom
Author: Sajni Patel
Publication Date: 16 January 2024
Series: A Drop of Venom
Official Blurb:
All monsters and heroes have beginnings. This is mine.
Sixteen-year-old Manisha is no stranger to monsters—she’s been running from them for years, from beasts who roam the jungle to the King’s army, who forced her people, the naga, to scatter to the ends of the earth. You might think that the kingdom’s famed holy temples atop the floating mountains, where Manisha is now a priestess, would be safe—but you would be wrong.
Seventeen-year-old Pratyush is a famed slayer of monsters, one of the King’s most prized warriors and a frequent visitor to the floating temples. For every monster the slayer kills, years are added to his life. You might think such a powerful warrior could do whatever he wants, but true power lies with the King. Tired after years of fighting, Pratyush wants nothing more than a peaceful, respectable life.
When Pratyush and Manisha meet, each sees in the other the possibility to chart a new path. Unfortunately, the kingdom’s powerful have other plans. A temple visitor sexually assaults Manisha and pushes her off the mountain into a pit of vipers. A month later, the King sends Pratyush off to kill one last monster (a powerful nagin who has been turning men to stone) before he’ll consider granting his freedom.
Except Manisha doesn’t die, despite the hundreds of snake bites covering her body and the venom running through her veins. She rises from the pit more powerful than ever before, with heightened senses, armor-like skin, and blood that can turn people to stone. And Pratyush doesn’t know it, but the “monster” he’s been sent to kill is none other than the girl he wants to marry.
Alternating between Manisha’s and Pratyush’s perspectives, Sajni Patel weaves together lush language, high stakes, and page-turning suspense, demanding an answer to the question “What does it truly mean to be a monster?”
Why I’m Excited:
A Medusa retelling with South Asian mythology?? I need it. –Scout Luna
Seconded by: Mandy W.
Title: Destroy the Day (Defy the Night #3)
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publication Date: 2024 January 23
Series: Defy the Night
Official Blurb:
Left for dead, but desperate to survive . . . they have one last chance to save their kingdom.
Prince Corrick is out of options. Held captive by the vicious Oren Crane, he’s desperate to reunite with Tessa, but will need to ally with the rebel leader Lochlan, who until now wished him dead. An unlikely but deadly pair, Corrick and Lochlan must plot their next moves carefully.
An island away, Tessa Cade is heartbroken and angry. Grieving Corrick, and unsure how to find a way back to Kandala, she doesn’t know who to trust. Until Rian—the man she trusts least—makes an offer: aid in a plot to finally oust Oren Crane and see what the future holds . . .
Meanwhile in Kandala, Harristan is dethroned and on the run. He’s struggling to unite the rebels in his fractured kingdom, but he finds support—and maybe more—in unexpected places.
Can Harristan be the king his people need? Can Corrick and Tessa find their way back to each other? As outside threats loom and the fires of revolution burn from within, time is running out to save their kingdom.
In the thrilling conclusion to the Defy the Night series, Brigid Kemmerer crafts heartrending twists and devastating turns that will keep readers breathless to the very end.
Why I’m Excited:
Brigid rarely leads me astray and I would read pretty much anything from her. I am so ready to see the end of her “fight the man, eat the rich” revolution series. –Stephanie
Title: House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: 2024 January 30
Series: Crescent City
Official Blurb:
The stunning third book in the sexy, action-packed Crescent City series, following the global bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath.
Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she’s going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that’s no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.
Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he’s in the Asteri’s dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce’s fate. He’s desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri’s leash, his hands are quite literally tied.
In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt’s world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.
Why I’m Excited:
Why am I excited? Umm, hmm, I dunno, maybe because of the FREAKING ENDING OF HOUSE OF SKY AND BREATH?!!! I honestly can’t imagine where Sarah J. Maas is going to take Bryce’s story as she heads into ACOTAR territory, but I am SO along for the ride. – Sarah
Title: I Hope This Doesn’t Find You
Author: Ann Liang
Publication Date: 2024 February 6
Official Blurb:
Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a “pleasure to have in class.” It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She’d never send them of course — she’d rather die than hurt anyone’s feelings — but it’s a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie’s work.
All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. “You’re attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you’ve been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft…”
Sadie doesn’t have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them… that is, until they’re accidentally sent out.
Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It’s her worst nightmare — now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they’re not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there’s one person growing to appreciate the “real” Sadie — Julius, the only boy she’s sworn to hate…
Why I’m Excited:
For anyone who ever accidentally hit ‘Reply all’ on a private email message, this book should hit home. -Brian
Title: The Cursed Rose (The Bone Spindle #3)
Author: Leslie Vedder
Publication Date: 2024 February 6
Series: The Bone Spindle
Official Blurb:
Not all curses should be broken. Not all fairytales end happily ever after.
Fi is a prisoner. Briar, a monster.
Shane’s a warrior. And Red is a traitor.
What was once a formidable group of four fighting to reawaken the kingdom is now ruptured, torn apart by the wicked Spindle Witch.
Confined to a tower with the monstrous Briar Rose, Fi is caught in the Spindle Witch’s ever-tightening web. With the Spindle Witch on the verge of finding the Siphoning Spells and crushing Andar—with Fi’s help, no less—Fi’s only hope lies in decoding the ancient riddle of the Rose Witches before she loses Briar forever.
Shane is desperate to save Andar—and her partner. She’s on the hunt for a weapon left by the mysterious Lord of the Butterflies, which holds the key to the Spindle Witch’s demise. Her love for Red has only fortified. But Red’s betrayal puts her in danger from a new enemy—the Spindle Witch’s executioner, the Wraith, a witch as powerful as he is cruel.
The future of Andar lies in the secrets of its past. Fi and Shane must take on the greatest lost ruin of them all—the Tomb of Queen Aurora.
Filled with vicious bone monsters, new alliances, and surprises at every turn, prepare to be swept away by this taut, clever, and heart-filled series conclusion.
Why I’m Excited:
I have loved this supremely entertaining series since The Bone Spindle, and although I’ll have a major case of TEABS once it’s over, I am really looking forward to diving back into Fi and Shane’s world. – Mandy C.
Title: With a Little Luck
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: 2024 February 13
Official Blurb:
Jude is determined to fly under the radar. He just wants to draw his comics, host regular D&D night with his friends, work at his parents’ vinyl record store, and escape high school as unscathed as possible. That is, until the night he comes across a mysterious twenty-sided dice and finds himself inexplicably gifted with a bout of supernatural good luck.
Suddenly, everything Jude has ever wanted is within reach. His first art submission is accepted to his favorite fanzine. He helps his friend’s song become a finalist in a songwriting competition. And he’s the 100th caller to a local radio contest, winning him a pair of coveted concert tickets, which he uses to ask out the popular girl he’s been crushing on since elementary school. For a few blissful weeks, he feels invincible.
But when he loses the magic dice at a local music festival, his luck takes a turn for the worse. He struggles to reclaim his good fortune while fighting off long-buried feelings for his best friend―who is definitely not the girl he’s supposed to be in love with. Can Jude risk stepping into the spotlight long enough to win the true girl of his dreams? Or is he doomed to be unlucky in love forever?
Why I’m Excited:
I rarely dislike a Marissa Meyer novel, and this new contemporary magical realism about a boy who’s “magically gifted with incredible luck” sounds like it’ll be another success. – Mandy C.
Title: The Warm Hands of Ghosts
Author: Katherine Arden
Publication Date: 2024 February 13
Official Blurb:
January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, she receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about haunted trenches, and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?
November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two men form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.
As shells rain down on Flanders, and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.
Why I’m Excited:
Another Katherine Arden book???! It’s an adult historical and seems a bit different than anything else she’s done before, so I’m curious to see how it will be. I know she’s got an eye and love of historical detail, so I expect that to come through strongly in this book. –Stephanie
Title: A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea #1)
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Publication Date: 2024 February 20
Series: Blood and Tea
Official Blurb:
On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.
Calling upon a band of misfits, Arthie formulates a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not every member of her crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.
Why I’m Excited:
Vampire heist?! Six of Crows comp to fill the Shadow and Bone void in my heart?! GIMME GIMME. -Mandy W.
Seconded by: Mandy C.
Title: We Are Mayhem
Author: Beck Rourke-Mooney
Publication Date: 2024 March 19
Official Blurb:
When Birdie’s parents move the family from their gated New Jersey community to the Catskills, Birdie thinks life as she knows it is once again—just like it was when she quit gymnastics—completely over. But when Birdie’s friends ditch her during a dare gone wrong, she finds herself staring down the barrel of a shotgun wielded by Mad Mabel the Mother of Mayhem, and Birdie strikes a deal with Mabel to work off her crime.
Abigail Rose, Mabel’s granddaughter, is convinced that Birdie—whose big, strong arms have always felt like the bane of her existence — is destined to help pull her family’s male-dominated indie wrestling promotion in a more feminist direction.
With no way to return to or escape her past and no clear course into her future, Birdie has to find a way to somehow make her new town a home. But if Birdie is going to be the future of Mayhem, she first has to find a way to embrace who she is – no matter the cost.
Why I’m Excited:
Any book that features a shotgun-wielding character named “Mad Mabel the Mother of Mayhem” has to be a good one. Plus, indie wrestling (Mad Mabel’s family’s profession) is a hoot. – Mandy C.
Title: Icarus
Author: K. Ancrum
Publication Date: 2024 March 26
Official Blurb:
Icarus Gallagher is a thief.
He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target, revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t get caught.
Until one night, he does. Not by Mr. Black, but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous—a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus’s rules.
As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the bars of the gilded cage that has trapped both of their families for years. One Icarus is determined to escape. But his father’s thirst for revenge shows no sign of fading, and soon it may force Icarus to choose: the escape he’s dreamed of, or the boy he’s come to love. Reaching for both could be his greatest triumph—or it could be his downfall.
Why I’m Excited:
A Greek retelling by the very awesome K. Ancrum? HADES YES. -Mandy W.
Seconded by: Mandy C.
Title: Every Time You Hear That Song
Author: Jenna Voris
Publication Date: 2024 April 2
Official Blurb:
They say to never meet your idols. But they never said anything about upending your life for a quest designed by one.
Seventeen-year-old aspiring journalist Darren Purchase has been a lifelong fan of country music legend Decklee Cassel, who’s as famous for her classic hits as she is for her partnership with songwriter Mickenlee Hooper. The same Mickenlee who mysteriously backed out of the limelight at the height of their careers, never to be heard from again. Now, Decklee’s televised funeral marks the unveiling of her long-awaited time capsule. But when it’s revealed to be empty, a long trail of scavenger hunt clues unfolds, leading to a whopping cash prize for whoever finds the real capsule. Darren knows there’s a story there—and she’s going to be the one to break it. Even if it means a spontaneous road trip with her coworker, Kendall.
Flashback to 1963, where a young, runaway Decklee has her sights set on fame and glory. As she claws her way to the top over the years that follow, it’s Mickenlee’s lyrics that help rocket her to stardom. But as their relationship evolves beyond the professional, it threatens everything Decklee has worked for. What else will she sacrifice to hold on to her dreams?
Told in alternating perspectives, Every Time You Hear That Song is a queer coming-of-age story celebrating country music, complicated women, and living authentically. There’s more to Decklee’s story than Darren ever could have guessed, but the real story she has to tell is her own.
Why I’m Excited:
Scavenger hunt, romance, and a Dolly Parton look-alike? Hell, yeah! -Brian
Title: Otherworldly
Author: F.T. Lukens
Publication Date: 2024 April 2
Official Blurb:
Seventeen-year-old Ellery is a non-believer in a region where people swear the supernatural is real. Sure, they’ve been stuck in a five-year winter, but there’s got to be a scientific explanation. If goddesses were real, they wouldn’t abandon their charges like this, leaving farmers like Ellery’s family to scrape by.
Knox is a familiar from the Other World, a magical assistant sent to help humans who have made crossroads bargains. But it’s been years since he heard from his queen, and Knox is getting nervous about what he might find once he returns home. When the crossroads demons come to collect Knox, he panics and runs. A chance encounter down an alley finds Ellery coming to Knox’s rescue, successfully fending off his would-be abductors.
Ellery can’t quite believe what they’ve seen. And they definitely don’t believe the nonsense this unnervingly attractive guy spews about his paranormal origins. But Knox needs to make a deal with a human who can tether him to this realm, and Ellery needs to figure out how to stop this winter to help their family. Once their bargain is struck, there’s no backing out, and the growing connection between the two might just change everything.
Why I’m Excited:
Lukens is quickly becoming an auto-read author for me, and this new book, which features a skeptic and a supernatural being making a crossroads deal (and likely falling for each other in the process), sounds like this is another of their books that will be right up my alley. – Mandy C.
Title: Canto Contigo
Author: Jonny Garza Villa
Publication Date: 2024 April 9
Official Blurb:
In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional; and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met.
Now eight months later, Rafie’s ready for one final win. What he didn’t plan for is his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life—his beloved abuelo. Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist, Rey Chavez—the boy Rafie made out with—who now stands between him winning and being the great Mariachi Rafie’s abuelo always believed him to be. Despite their newfound rivalry for center stage, Rafie can’t squash his feelings for Rey. Now he must decide between the people he’s known his entire life or the one just starting to get to know the real him.
Canto Contigo is a love letter to Mexican culture, family and legacy, the people who shape us, and allowing ourselves to forge our own path. At its heart, this is one of the most glorious rivals-to-lovers romance about finding the one who challenges you in the most extraordinary ways.
Why I’m Excited:
Mariachi boys. Rival mariachi boys. Rival mariachi boys KISSING. –Mandy W.
Title: The Familiar
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publication Date: 2024 April 9
Official Blurb:
In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.
What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.
Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.
Why I’m Excited:
Not YA, but I will read (and review) anything Bardugo writes. And the plot of this book, about magic and intrigue during the Spanish Golden Age, sounds extremely promising. – Mandy C.
Title: Ghost Station
Author: S.A. Barnes
Publication Date: 2024 April 9
Official Blurb:
Space exploration can be lonely and isolating.
Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS—a space-based condition most famous for a case that resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. When she’s assigned to a small exploration crew, she’s eager to make a difference. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that crew is hiding something.
While Ophelia focuses on her new role, her crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizer’s hasty departure than opening up to her.
That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia’s worst nightmare starting—a wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something more sinister?
Terrified that history will repeat itself, Ophelia and the crew must work together to figure out what’s happening. But trust is hard to come by…and the crew isn’t the only one keeping secrets.
Why I’m Excited:
Barnes got her start as a YA author (under Stacey Kade) with some books I really enjoyed. Her 2022 adult horror space-cruise-ship voyage gone wrong, Dead Silence, was super satisfying and did so many horror tropes I love well. I’m so amped for this! –Stephanie
Title: This Is Me Trying
Author: Racquel Marie
Publication Date: 2024 April 16
Official Blurb:
Growing up, Bryce, Beatriz, and Santiago were inseparable. But when Santiago moved away before high school, their friendship crumbled. Three years later, Bryce is gone, Beatriz is known as the dead boy’s girlfriend, and Santiago is back. The last thing Beatriz wants is to reunite with Santiago, who left all her messages unanswered while she drowned alone in grief over Bryce’s death by suicide. Even if she wasn’t angry, Santiago’s attempts to make amends are jeopardizing her plan to keep the world at arm’s length–equal parts protection and punishment–and she swore to never let anyone try that again. Santiago is surprised to find the once happy-go-lucky Bea is now the gothic town loner, though he’s unsurprised she wants nothing to do with him. But he can’t fix what he broke between them while still hiding what led him to cut her off in the first place, and it’s harder to run from his past when he isn’t states away anymore. Inevitably drawn back together by circumstance and history, Beatriz and Santiago navigate grief, love, mental illness, forgiveness, and what it means to try to build a future after unfathomable loss.
Why I’m Excited:
I fell in love with Racquel Marie with Ophelia After All, and You Don’t Have A Shot (her sophomore novel) was just as good, if not better. I am waiting with baited breath for her book about navigating “grief, love, mental illness, forgiveness, and what it means to try to build a future after unfathomable loss,” per the official blurb. I have a feeling I’m going to cry for this one. – Scout Luna
Title: Dark Parts of the Universe
Author: Samuel Miller
Publication Date: 2024 April 23
Official Blurb:
In the small town of Calico Springs, Willie’s life has been defined by two powerful forces: God and the river. The “Miracle Boy” died for five minutes as a young child and ever since, Willie is certain he survived for a reason, but that purpose didn’t become clear until he found the Game.
The Game is called Manifest Atlas, and the concept is simple: enter an intention, and the Game provides a target, a blinking blue dot on the map. Willie’s second time playing Manifest Atlas, his intention takes him to an ominous target: three empty graves. Willie is sure the Game is telling him he’s going to die.
Willie’s older brother Bones doesn’t believe him, but their friends are intrigued. Sarai, a girl from across the river, sets the next intention: something bloody. The group follows the Game’s coordinates, and they discover something even more unsettling than the graves. A dead body. Sarai’s stepfather’s body. The Game is suddenly personal.
Willie is dedicated to proving the Game works while Sarai is set on finding out what happened to her stepdad. Bones just wants to enjoy his last summer before real life begins. As the group digs deeper into Manifest Atlas, stranger and wilder things begin to appear, unlocking a much deeper mystery running like an undercurrent in the small town.
Why I’m Excited:
I love a good book about a scavenger hunt and dead bodies, though I just remembered that I didn’t care for the last book I read by this guy. – Brian
Title: Harley Quinn: Redemption (DC Icons: Harley Quinn #3)
Author: Rachael Allen
Publication Date: 2024 April 23
Series: DC Icons: Harley Quinn
Official Blurb:
When girls in Gotham City go missing, Harley Quinn is determined to track down their kidnapper. But the only way to outsmart a villain is to engage in a little villainy herself. Don’t miss the adrenaline-racing conclusion to the Harley Quinn trilogy.
In Gotham City even the heroes are wicked.
Harley Quinn and Ivy can’t wait to cross off the final items on their summer bucket list. They still need
But their to-do list gets more dangerous when young girls vanish from the streets of Gotham City. The only clues left behind are the dolls on Harley’s doorstep from a mysterious sender known as the Dollmaker. The message is come find me…if you dare.
Award-winning author Rachael Allen delivers the fast-paced and fiercely feminist conclusion to the Harley Quinn trilogy.
Why I’m Excited:
Admittedly not the biggest fan of the Batmanverse, I was surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed the first two books in this series. Allen has crafted a Harley Quinn who is (deservedly) complex and a worthy successor (although the book version is younger?) to Margot Robbie’s take on the character. – Mandy C.
Title: Funny Story
Author: Emily Henry
Publication Date: 2024 April 23
Official Blurb:
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads —Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?
Why I’m Excited:
It’s a new Emily Henry! That’s all I need to know! But, okay, also, Emily posted on IG that Miles, in her editor’s opinion, is the hottest dude she has ever written. WHAT!!! – Sarah
Title: Off With Their Heads
Author: Zoe Hana Mikuta
Publication Date: 2024 April 23
Official Blurb:
In a world where Saints are monsters and Wonderland is the dark forest where they lurk, it’s been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to that forest for a crime they didn’t commit—and four years since they shattered one another’s hearts, each willing to sacrifice the other for a chance at freedom.
Now, Caro is a successful royal Saint-harvester, living the high life in the glittering capital and pretending not to know of the twisted monster experiments that her beloved Red Queen hides deep in the bowels of the palace. But for Icca, the memory of Caro’s betrayal has hardened her from timid girl to ruthless hunter. A hunter who will stop at nothing to exact her On Caro. On the queen. On the throne itself.
But there’s a secret about the Saints the Queen’s been guarding, and a volatile magic at play even more dangerous to Icca and Caro than they are to each other…
Lush, terrifying, and uncanny, Zoe Hana Mikuta—author of Gearbreakers and Godslayers —takes a delicate knife straight through the heart of this beloved surrealist fairytale.
Why I’m Excited:
A Korean folklore-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling? Yes, please. – Mandy C.
Title: Song of the Six Realms
Author: Judy I. Lin
Publication Date: 2024 April 23
Official Blurb:
Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn’t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.
With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. The young man is strangely kind and awkward for nobility, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he’ll set her free of her indenture.
But the Duke’s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he’s not just some country noble: He’s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.
The Duke needs Xue’s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war… but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms.
Why I’m Excited:
I liked Lin’s debut (although I didn’t like the second in the duology as much), and I’m willing to give her another shot. This cover is beautiful!! I’m hoping if it’s a one-shot novel that the pacing problems I had issues with in her second book are resolved. –Stephanie
Title: Kill Her Twice
Author: Stacey Lee
Publication Date: 2024 April 23
Official Blurb:
Los Angeles, 1932: Lulu Wong, star of the silver screen and the pride of Chinatown, has a face known to practically anyone, especially to the Chow sisters—May, Gemma, and Peony—Lulu’s former classmates and neighbors. So the girls instantly know it’s Lulu whose body they discover one morning in an out-of-the-way stable, far from the Beverly Hills mansion where she moved once her fame skyrocketed.
The sisters suspect Lulu’s death is the result of foul play, but the LAPD—known for being corrupt to the core—doesn’t seem motivated to investigate. Even worse, there are signs that point to the possibility of a police cover-up, and powerful forces in the city want to frame the killing as evidence that Chinatown is a den of iniquity and crime, even more reason it should be demolished to make room for the construction of a new railway depot, Union Station.
Worried that neither the police nor the papers will treat a Chinese girl fairly—no matter how famous and wealthy—the sisters set out to solve their friend’s murder themselves, and maybe save their neighborhood in the bargain. But with Lulu’s killer still on the loose, the girls’ investigation just might put them square in the crosshairs of a coldblooded murderer.
Why I’m Excited:
I’m a simple person; I hear Stacey Lee has a new book coming out, and I immediately need to read it. Hollywood, murders, and amateur sleuthing? What’s not to like?? –Stephanie
Title: Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Author: Claire Kann
Publication Date: 2024 May 21
Official Blurb:
Lucky Hart has a special affinity for the supernatural but almost no one takes parapsychology seriously. She’s estranged from her family, lost her friends, and has been rejected from graduate school. Twice. But her big break finally arrives when she gets insider info about a troubled production company. Every actor on their new show mysteriously quits after spending three nights inside Hennessee House, an old Victorian with a notorious reputation.
After scheming her way onto the show to investigate, Lucky meets Maverick Phillips and chemistry instantly crackles between them. He tempts her in ways no one ever has, challenging and supporting her, and making her finally feel seen. Their connection is so palpable everyone notices it–including Hennessee House.
Now Lucky and Maverick’s relationship has a challenger: the lonely, sentient house desperate for her undivided attention. As love begins to clash with career, Lucky refuses to choose one over the other because everyone deserves a happily ever after, even houses with haunted hearts. But when all her plans begin backfiring one-by-one, she realizes that if she wants to have it all? She’ll have to risk everything…
Why I’m Excited:
The author of FYA book club pick, Let’s Talk About Love, has written another love story, this one about a parapsychologist heroine, a hero who believes in her, and her “patient”: a lonely sentient house jealous of her attention. It’s a unique premise that sounds spooky and swoony at once. – Regina
Title: A Crane Among Wolves
Author: June Hur
Publication Date: 2024 May 14
Official Blurb:
Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.
1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.
Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.
Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.
When Iseul’s and Daehyun’s fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen.
Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.
Why I’m Excited:
I love the way Hur’s writing transports me to these moments in time I’ve never read about before. There’s always thoughtful takes on themes of fathers and daughters, sisters, and finding your own quiet strength. And let’s not forget the lovely, soft romances! –Stephanie
Let us know in the comments if we missed one of your most anticipated for the first half of 2024! What are you looking forward to most?
oh no, so many books I want to immediately preorder now.