2024 Book Releases | YA Edition

Some amazing YA books are coming out in 2024 that can’t be ignored! I included a variety of genres from fantasy to contemporary to horror.

These sixteen stories by award-winning and bestselling YA authors center a Latinx point of view in an empowering anthology that reimagines classics through fantasy, science fiction, and with a dash of magic, for fans of A PHOENIX FIRST MUST BURN and RECLAIM THE STARS

In classic stories remixed, Latinx characters take center stage

Pride and Prejudice is launched into outer space, Frankenstein is plunged into the depths of the ocean, and The Great Gatsby floats to an island off the coast of Costa Rica.

A shape-shifter gives up her life to save the boy she loves from an evil bruja. La Ciguapa covets a little mermaid’s heart of gold. Two star-crossed teens fall in love while the planet burns around them.

Whether characters fall in love, battle foes, or grow through grief, each story will empower readers to see themselves as the heroes of the stories that make our world.

Release Date: February 6th

I will always include anthologies on these lists when I find them because they are a great way to discover new authors! I am particularly drawn to Relit because one of the stories is Pride and Prejudice set in space and that sounds like everything I didn’t know I need in my life.

A painfully average teen’s life is upended by a magical apocalypse in this darkly atmospheric and sweepingly romantic novel perfect for fans of The Raven Boys , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and The Rest of Us Just Live Here .

High school is hard enough to survive without an apocalypse to navigate.

Sid Spencer has always been the most normal girl in her abnormal hometown, a tourist trap built over one of the fault lines that seal magic away from the world. Meanwhile, all Sid has to deal with is hair-ruining humidity, painful awkwardness, being one of four Asians in town, and her friends dumping her when they start dating each other—just days after one of the most humiliating romantic rejections faced by anyone, ever, in all of history.

Then someone kills one of the Guardians who protect the seal. The earth rips open and unleashes the magic trapped inside. Monsters crawl from the ground, no one can enter or leave, and the man behind it all is roaming the streets with a gang of violent vigilantes. Suddenly, Sid’s life becomes a lot less ordinary. When she finds out her missing brother is involved, she joins the remaining Guardians, desperate to find him and close the fault line for good.

Fighting through hordes of living corpses and uncontrollable growths of forest, Sid and a ragtag crew of would-be heroes are the only thing standing between their town and the end of the world as they know it. Between magic, murderers, and burgeoning crushes, Sid must survive being a perfectly normal girl caught in a perfectly abnormal apocalypse.

Only—how can someone so ordinary make it in such an extraordinary world?

Release Date: February 13th

I saw the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comp and the cat on the cover and I knew that I needed to add Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear to My TBR! Also, there is a ragtag crew and that is also something I tend to love reading about.

From Hafsah Faizal, New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame, comes the first book in a hotly-anticipated new fantasy duology about an orphan girl and her crew who get tangled in a heist with vampires, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows.

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.

Release Date: February 20th

Hafsah Faizal is a beloved author and someone who I have been wanting to read from for years now. I think A Tempest of Tea is the first of hers I will pick up because it sounds so me. Vampires, heists, and tea- I am in!

Labyrinth meets folk horror in this darkly romantic tale of a girl who wishes her baby brother away to the Lord of the Wood

Growing up in the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania feels like drowning. Leah goes to church every Sunday, works when she isn’t at school, and takes care of her baby brother, Owen. Like every girl in Winston, she tries to be right and good and holy. If she isn’t the Lord of the Wood will take her, and she’ll disappear like so many other girls before her.

But living up to the rigorous standards of the town takes its toll. One night, when Owen won’t stop screaming, Leah wishes him away, and the Lord listens. The screaming stops, and all that’s left in the crib is a small bundle of sticks tied with a ribbon.

Filled with shame and the weight of the town’s judgment, Leah is forced to cross the river into the Lord of the Wood’s domain to bring Owen back. But the devilish figure who has haunted Winston for generations isn’t what she expects. He tells her she can have her brother back–for the price of a song. A song that Leah will have one month to write.

It’s a bargain that will uncover secrets her hometown has tried to keep buried for decades. And what she unearths will have her questioning everything she’s been taught to fear.

Release Date: February 20th

Everything about My Throat An Open Grave seems creepy and eerie to me and I am so here for it! You will notice that haunted/dealy woods are a theme in a lot of the books on this list and it is a trend that I am fully embracing.

After her private school is rocked by a gruesome murder, a teen tries to find the real killer and clear her brother’s name in this psychological thriller perfect for fans of The Taking of Jake Livingston and Ace of Spades .

Sunny Behre has four siblings, but only one is a murderer.

With the death of Sunny’s mother, matriarch of the wealthy Behre family, Sunny’s once picture-perfect life is thrown into turmoil. Her mother had groomed her to be the family’s next leader, so Sunny is confused when the only instructions her mother leaves is a mysterious “Take care of Dom.”

The problem is, her youngest brother, Dom, has always been a near-stranger to Sunny…and seemingly a dangerous one, if found guilty of his second-degree murder charge. Still, Sunny is determined to fulfill her mother’s dying wish. But when a classmate is gruesomely murdered, and Sunny finds her brother with blood on his hands, her mother’s simple request becomes a lot more complicated. Dom swears he’s innocent, and although Sunny isn’t sure she believes him, she takes it upon herself to look into the murder—made all the more urgent by the discovery of another body. And another .

As Sunny and Dom work together to track down the culprit, Sunny realizes her other siblings have their own dark secrets. Soon she may have to preserve the family she’s always loved or protect the brother she barely knows—and risk losing everything her mother worked so hard to build.

Release Date: February 27th

I have an ARC of Tender Beasts and I have read the first 50 pages and I am already really into it. As you can probably tell, there are some horror elements but what has me gripped right now are the sibling relationships. I am so invested in these characters already! Hopefully I will have a full review out of this for you soon.

Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters. After Liska unleashes her own powers with devastating consequences, she is caught by the demon warden of the wood – the Leszy – who offers her a bargain: one year of servitude in exchange for a wish.

Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past.

Those who enter the wood do not always return…

Release Date: February 27th

I also have an ARC of Where the Dark Stands Still and it is one of my most prized possession because of how much I love the cover. I follow the artist on Instagram and I am not joking when I tell you I am tempted to by some prints. I also think that the story itself will work for me as it is another creepy forest story but I am guessing there is also a romance!

In a country divided between humans and witchers, Venus Stoneheart hustles as a brewer making illegal love potions to support her family.

Love potions is a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her.

Then an enemy’s iron bullet kills her mother, Venus’s life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother’s killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.’s most influential politicians.

As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it’s hard to tell who to trust…Herself included.

Release Date: March 5th

The Poisons We Drink sounds so good and unique! Our main character brews illegal love potions to support her family but finds herself in a conspiracy theory with D.C.’s most influential politicians. I am thinking about preordering this one!

In this gorgeous stand-alone fantasy romance perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Allison Saft, a rebellious witch undertakes a last-ditch quest to restore magic to medieval Wales—as two princes vie for her heart.

Ffion is the last hedgewitch in Foxhall. To work her magic, she takes only what nature can spare, unlike the witches of the powerful Foxhall coven, who sacrifice whole forests to fuel their spells. But across the warring kingdoms of Wales, all magic is fading. Even the dragons have vanished.

Prince Taliesin would love nothing more than to watch magic die. But when his father charges Tal and his brother, Dafydd, with destroying King Offa’s dyke—the massive earthen wall raised by their Mercian enemies to the east, which may be the cause of magic’s disappearance—he begrudgingly seeks aid from a witch.

Because whichever prince succeeds in destroying the dyke will win the throne, and Tal is willing to do whatever it takes to become king. Even if the Foxhall coven refuses to help him. Even if he’s forced to team up with a spitfire hedgewitch who hates him almost as much as he hates her magic. And even if Dafydd proves to be a worthier rival than he anticipated…for the crown, and for Ffion’s heart.

Release Date: March 12th

The more you look at the cover of The Hedgewitch of Foxhall the more details you notice! It is so beautiful! I love anything witchy but I have learned this year that I am particularly drawn to nature witches, so I have a good feeling about this one. Plus, there are dragons!

In Where Sleeping Girls Lie — a YA contemporary mystery by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, the New York Times-bestselling author of Ace of Spades — a girl new to boarding school discovers dark secrets and coverups after her roommate disappears.

It’s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again…

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school, after being home-schooled all her life. Misfortune has clung to her seemingly since birth, but even she doesn’t expect her new roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think Sade had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the girls collectively known as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them—especially Persephone, who Sade is inexplicably drawn to—and playing catchup in class, Sade already has so much on her plate. But when it seems people don’t care enough about what happened to Elizabeth, it’s up to she and Elizabeth’s best friend, Baz, to investigate.

And then a student is found dead.

The more Sade and Baz dig into Elizabeth’s disappearance, the more she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…secrets that rival even her own.

Release Date: March 19th

I already know that I like Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s stories, but the fact that Where Sleeping Girls Lie is giving dark academia vibes makes me even more excited for it.

A shocking, spine-chilling YA horror slasher about a girl searching for her dead mother’s body at the summer camp that was once her serial killer father’s home—perfect for fans of Friday the 13th and White Smoke

Temple Baker knows that evil runs in her blood. Her father is the North Point Killer, an infamous serial killer known for how he marked each of his victims with a brand. He was convicted for murdering 20 people and was the talk of countless true crime blogs for years. Some say he was possessed by a demon. Some say that they never found all his victims. Some say that even though he’s now behind bars, people are still dying in the woods. Despite everything though, Temple never believed that her dad killed her mom. But when he confesses to that crime while on death row, she has no choice but to return to his old hunting grounds to try see if she can find a body and prove it.

Turns out, the farm that was once her father’s hunting grounds and her home has been turned into an overnight camp for queer, horror-obsessed girls. So Temple poses as a camp counselor to go digging in the woods. While she’s not used to hanging out with girls her own age and feels ambivalent at best about these true crime enthusiasts, she tries her best to fit in and keep her true identity hidden.

But when a girl turns up dead in the woods, she fears that one of her father’s “fans” might be mimicking his crimes. As Temple tries to uncover the truth and keep the campers safe, she comes to realize that there may be something stranger and more sinister at work—and that her father may not have been the only monster in these woods.

Release Date: March 26th

Another thing I discovered in 2023 is that I love a good YA slasher, so Dead Girls Walking is high on my want to read list! There are two very different genres of books I love to read on the beach during the summer- light, contemporary romances and slashers. The fact that this book is also set at a summer camp makes it all the better. I cannot wait to pull up my beach chair and dive in!

A seductively twisted romance about loyalty, fate, the lengths we go to hide the darkest parts of ourselves . . . and the people who love those parts most of all.

Wyatt Westlock has one plan for the farmhouse she’s just inherited — to burn it to the ground. But during her final walkthrough of her childhood home, she makes a shocking discovery in the basement — Peter, the boy she once considered her best friend, strung up in chains and left for dead.

Unbeknownst to Wyatt, Peter has suffered hundreds of ritualistic deaths on her family’s property. Semi-immortal, Peter never remains dead for long, but he can’t really live, either. Not while he’s bound to the farm, locked in a cycle of grisly deaths and painful rebirths. There’s only one way for him to break free. He needs to end the Westlock line.

He needs to kill Wyatt.

With Wyatt’s parents gone, the spells protecting the property have begun to unravel, and dark, ancient forces gather in the nearby forest. The only way for Wyatt to repair the wards is to work with Peter — the one person who knows how to harness her volatile magic. But how can she trust a boy who’s sworn an oath to destroy her? When the past turns up to haunt them in the most unexpected way, they are forced to rely on one another to survive, or else tear each other apart.

Release Date: April 2nd

Your Blood, My Bones sounds truly horrific and I am intrigued by the complications that will come up considering Peter must killed Wyatt in order to gain his freedom but she was also his best friend once and I am assuming this turns into a romance.

From acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology.

In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person’s greatest sorrow. An unwanted marriage, a painful illness, and unpaid debt … gone. But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning.

Every wish demands a price.

Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.

Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign. Sam is left with two to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time – hope.

But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.

Release Date: April 9th

How cool is the cover for Dragonfruit? I appreciate that it is inspired by Pacific Island mythology and that it is set in a matriarchal society where seadragon eggs are highly coveted. Also, I think it is a friends-to-lovers romance!

In this magical epic fantasy, a young woman cursed with the power of death must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country—the first installation of a gripping new series.

Heroes die, cowards live. Daughter of a conquered world, Ruying hates the invaders who descended from the heavens long before she was born and defeated the magic of her people with technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen.

Blessed by Death, born with the ability to pull the life right out of mortal bodies, Ruying shouldn’t have to fear these foreign invaders, but she does. Especially because she wants to keep herself and her family safe.

When Ruying’s Gift is discovered by an enemy prince, he offers her an impossible deal: If she becomes his private assassin and eliminates his political rivals—whose deaths he swears would be for the good of both their worlds and would protect her people from further brutalization—her family will never starve or suffer harm again. But to accept this bargain, she must use the powers she has always feared, powers that will shave years off her own existence.

Can Ruying trust this prince, whose promises of a better world make her heart ache and whose smiles make her pulse beat faster? Are the evils of this agreement really in the service of a much greater good? Or will she betray her entire nation by protecting those she loves the most?

Release Date: April 16th

I have this feeling that Ruying from To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is going to become one of my favourite characters. She is hired as the enemy prince’s private assassin and it sends her down a journey of self discovery. That is definitely a theme I like to explore in YA fantasy!

Fans of Chloe Gong and Judy I. Lin will devour this Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling about two very wicked girls, forever bonded by blood and betrayal . . .

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.

Release Date: April 23rd

If you could not tell by the title, Off With Their Heads is a Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling! It is also sapphic and lovers-to-enemies to-lovers romance. I cannot wait to see what Zoe Hana Mikuta does with the world of Wonderland!

Mariel, a newly blooded captain of the Merry Men, is desperate to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, the legendary Robin Hood. Clem, a backwoods assistant healer known for her new-fangled cures, just wants to help people.

When Mariel’s ramshackle band kidnap Clem as retribution for her guardian helping the Sheriff of Nottingham, all seems to be going (sort of) to plan … until Jack Hartley, Mariel’s father and Commander of the Merry Men, is captured in a deadly ambush. Determined to prove herself, Mariel sets out to get him back – with her annoyingly cheerful kidnappee in tow.

But the wood is at war. Many believe the Merry Men are no longer on the right side of history. Watching Clem tend the party’s wounds, Mariel begins to doubt the cause to which she has devoted her life. As the two of them grow closer, one thing is clear. They must prepare to fight for their lives – and for the lives of everybody in the greenwood.

Release Date: May 7th

I have read something by Lex Croucher and keep meaning to pick up something else by them because I really appreciate their sense of humour. Not for the Faint of Heart sounds like such a fun time. It follows Mariel, who is Robin Hood’s granddaughter! It is also a sapphic romance and appears to be grumpy/sunshine.

June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.

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

Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.

Release Date: May 14th

I have heard amazing things about all of June Hur’s books but there is something about A Crane Among Wolves that is really calling to me. I think it is because it is based on a true story in Korean history.

Unlike the other residents of the small Caribbean Island of St. Virgil, Selina DaSilva does not believe in magic. With a logical mind and a knack for botany, Selina used to dream of leaving the island to study Pharmacology—until a vicious, unsolved attack left her father dead and her mother in a coma.

Now her guilt over her mother’s condition keeps her tethered to the island, relegated to conning gullible tourists with useless talismans and phony protection rituals. But when one of those tourists ends up at the center of a string of strange murders, the truth that Selina has been denying can no longer be there is evil lurking in the forests that surround St. Virgil. Another thing that can’t be avoided? Selina’s ex-boyfriend Gabriel, newly employed at the local newspaper and eager to put his investigative skills to use.

Desperate to put an end to the killings and claim justice for Selina’s family, these two former lovers race to find answers. But evil bides its time. And as long-buried feelings and long-hidden secrets about Selina’s family’s past begin to reveal themselves, only one answer remains—and it waits in the forest.

Release Date: May 14th

I loved the YA contemporary romance I read from Sarah Dass, so I am excited that she is getting into fantasy! The fact that It Waits in the Forest is obviously another one of those creepy forest books that I love is a bonus.

The Soler sisters are infamous in polite society—brazen, rebellious, and raised by their fashionable grandmother who couldn’t care less about which fork goes where. But their grandmother also knows the standards that two Latina young ladies will be held to, so she secures them two coveted places at the Alarie House, a prominent finishing school that turns out first ladies, princesses, and socialites.

Younger sister Isla is back home within a day. She refuses to become one of the eerily sweet Alarie girls in their prim white dresses. Older sister Renata stays. When she returns months later, she’s unfailingly pleasant, unnervingly polite, and, Isla discovers, possibly murderous. And the same night she returns home, she vanishes.

As their grandmother uses every connection she has to find Renata, Isla re-enrolls, intent on finding out what happened to her sister. But the Alarie House is as exacting as it is opulent. It won’t give up its secrets easily, and neither will a mysterious, conniving girl who’s either controlling the house, or carrying out its deadly orders.

Tautly written, tense, and evocative, this is a stunning YA novel by award-winning and critically acclaimed author Anna-Marie McLemore.

Release Date: May 28th

Speaking of authors I adore, Anna-Marie McLemore is another one of my favourites! The cover of Flawless Girls is just too good and it sounds like it is dark academia and a story about sisterhood.

Ex-best friends, Tiwa and Said, must work together to save their Islamic Center from demolition, in this romantic story of rekindling and rebuilding by award-winning authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar!

Let’s get one thing straight: this is a love story.

These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian Ms. Barnes dies, he must return home to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex-best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor.

Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly staying through the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on, between grieving her broken family and helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center—a place that means so much to Tiwa.

But when the Islamic Center accidentally catches fire, it turns out the mayor plans to demolish the center entirely. Things are still tense between the ex-friends but Tiwa needs Said’s help if there’s any hope of changing the mayor’s mind, and Said needs a project to submit to art school (unbeknownst to anyone). Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe save their relationship?

Release Date: June 4th

I realize that I have not included a lot of YA contemporary on this list, but Four Eids and a Funeral fits in that category. It is co-written by two popular authors and is a friends to lovers romance.

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming a brilliant engineer just like her beloved father – but her life is torn apart when she arrives a moment too late to stop his murder, and worse, lets the killer slip out of reach. Left with only a journal containing his greatest engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, Ying vows to take revenge into her own hands.

Disguised as her brother, Ying heads to the capital city, and discovers that the answer to finding who killed her father lies behind the walls of the prestigious Engineers Guild – the home of a past her father never wanted to talk about. With the help of an unlikely ally – Aogiya Ye-yang, a taciturn (but very handsome) young prince – Ying must navigate a world fraught with rules, challenges and politics she can barely grasp, let alone understand.

But to survive, she must fight to stay one step ahead of everyone. And when faced with the choice between doing what’s right and what’s necessary, Ying will have to decide if her revenge is truly worthwhile, if it means going against everything her father stood for . . .

Release Date: June 18th

I only have to look at the cover of Of Jade and Dragons to know it is something I want to read! Ying is another character who I think I am going to love.

Frankenstein meets Indian mythology in this twisty, darkly atmospheric fantasy where the horror is not the monsters you face but the ones you create.

After her sister Lasya’s sudden death, Kajal vows to do whatever it takes to bring her back. No cost is too great, even if it means preventing Lasya’s soul from joining the cycle of reincarnation. But as Kajal prepares for the resurrection, her sister’s trapped soul warps into a bhuta—a violent, wraith-like spirit hell-bent on murdering those who wronged it in life. With each kill, the bhuta becomes stronger and fiercer, and Kajal’s chances of resurrecting Lasya with her soul intact grow slimmer.

Blamed for Lasya’s rampage and condemned as a witch, Kajal is locked away with little hope of escape. That is, until two strangers who label themselves rebels arrive and offer to free her. The catch: She must resurrect the kingdom’s fallen crown prince, aiding their coup to overthrow the usurper who sits the throne. Desperate to return to Lasya’s body, Kajal rushes to revive the crown prince . . . only to discover that she’s resurrected another boy entirely.

All her life, Kajal has trusted no one but her sister. But with Lasya dead and rebels ready to turn her over to the usurper’s ruthless soldiers, Kajal is forced to work with the boy she mistakenly revived. Together, they must find the crown prince before the rebels discover her mistake, or the bhuta finally turns its murderous fury on the person truly responsible for Lasya’s death: Kajal.

Release Date: June 25th

Tara Sim is the author of The City of Dusk and I am excited to see a YA fantasy from her. We Shall Be Monsters is Frankenstein meets Indian mythology and is another book about sisterhood!

A group of friends fight to choose their own fates in this trope-savvy, self-referential young adult thriller from the acclaimed author of Their Vicious Games , about a demonic force that acts according to horror movie rules in the spirit of the Scream movies.

Devon is always being left behind by her genius twin sister, Drew. At this point, it’s a fact of life. But Devon has one last plan before Drew leaves for college a whole year early—The Best Summer Ever. After committing to the bit a little too much, the twins and their chaotic circle of friends learn why you don’t ever mess with a Ouija board if you want to actually survive the Best Summer Ever, and soon find themselves being hunted down by…a demon?

But while there’s no mistaking the creeping, venomous figure is not from around here, their method doesn’t feel very demonic at all. In fact, it’s downright human—going after them in typical slasher movie kill order. And that means Devon, the blonde, is up first and her decade-long crush, Yaya, is the Final Girl who must kill or be killed to end the cycle.

Devon has never liked playing by anyone else’s rules though, not even a demon’s, and the longer this goes on, the more she feels Drew and Yaya slipping away from her even as she tries to help them all survive. Can they use their horror movie knowledge to flip the script and become the hunters instead of the hunted? Or will their best summer ever be their last?

Release Date: July 30th

I read Joelle Wellington’s debut, Their Vicious Games, this year and was so blown away by it! I am thrilled that we are getting something new from her so soon. The Blonde Dies First sounds like another YA slasher and I am so ready for it!

“Hades and Persephone” meets Phantom of the Opera by way of Laini Taylor, in a sensually rendered world that seethes with intrigue and indulges the senses. Welcome to Luna Island.

Lila Rose Li arrives at her aunt’s cottage with dashed dreams. For years, she pushed herself to become the perfect ballerina her parents would approve of, but after collapsing on stage, she snapped and lashed out violently. Now, exiled to Luna Island, with its sparkling blue waters and rose-covered boutiques, Lila struggles to believe that a girl like her—a natural disaster—deserves good and gentle things.

As the islanders gear up for their beloved tradition, the Angel of the Sea pageant, Lila vows to remain on the sidelines. But the more she learns about the island’s lore, the more she grows suspicious. Luna Island was nothing more than a failed fishing village before angels supposedly came and blessed them with abundance. The pageant is a competition to seek a High Priestess for their commune. To win is to be loved and adored by all, the ultimate blessing.

However, the Angel of the Sea is supposed to reign for seven years, and the previous winner only reigned for one. Something is haunting the island, throwing off the balance the pageant ensures. And as an eerie voice calls to Lila, drawing her closer to the ocean—to its depths—she worries its haunting her, too. The only way to discover what’s really going on, and protect herself, is to win the pageant. But how can a monstrous girl like her ever hope to be crowned by angels?

Kiana Krystle’s enchanting debut simmers with forbidden romance and dark secrets. A lush and sinister blend of paranormal mystery and mythology, wrapped up in fairytale about a teen girl’s hard-earned journey toward loving every part of herself.

Release Date: August 6th

If you know me, you know I love anything to do with ballerinas or the ballet. Dance of the Starlit Sea is Hades and Persephone meets Phantom of the Opera which tells me all I need to know!

A twisty, pulse-pounding enemies-to-lovers thriller full of secrets, privilege, and murder.

The summer before her senior year, Addie hurled the worst words she could think of at her sister—and hours later, Fiona was found dead at the bottom of a ravine. The police ruled her death an accident, but Addie has never bought it. Her ballet-prodigy sister didn’t slip and fall; she was pushed.

Addie’s number one suspect: Thatcher Montgomery, the rich boy down the street who always had a thing for Fiona. No one believes her—least of all Thatcher’s cousin Seth, Addie’s childhood rival and the boy she’s always loved to hate. Arguing with Seth is easy; living with her own questionable choices involving Seth the night Fiona died . . . much harder.

But when one year later Thatcher is found dead at the bottom of the same ravine, Addie is forced to admit she was wrong. To catch the real killer, she’ll have to seek help from the only one she can trust—the boy she was with during both murders. As Addie and Seth dodge corrupt police and his even more corrupt family, Addie will have to decide if her growing bond with Seth is stronger than familial ties, and if their link will keep her safe—or turn her into the next victim.

Release Date: August 6th

Girls Who Burn is another story featuring a ballerina but this is more of a murder mystery! Like a lot of books on this list, it features sisterhood, which is a relationship I tend to enjoy exploring in fiction.

Monsters and mortals, rejoice! Acheron is back . . .

Though Laure has tried to close the lid on her ballet shoes and the feelings she once held for dance since the Palais Garnier incident two months ago, Laure is spinning out. Between partying, drinking, and avoiding anything and, well, everyone, she has no time to be anything but a monster. But when Laure stumbles across a mysterious dead body during one of her nights out, she’s forced to notice the cracks stretching beyond herself.

Below the streets of Paris, Elysium is dying, and Acheron and Lethe’s influence is spilling into the streets like a blight. Laure isn’t the only of Elysium’s beasts to rise from the ruins of Palais Garnier, and someone is mobilizing an army of monsters with plans greater than Laure, Andor, and Keturah could have ever guessed. While Laure is warring between her wants and Acheron’s ever-demanding appetite, she and her circle of monsters are left to reckon with a not-so-simple question: how do you save yourself from oblivion?

Jamison Shea’s sharp and unflinching voice will bring readers to terrifying new heights in this vicious sequel to the “relentlessly gory and almost euphoric in its embrace of the horrific” (NPR) I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me.

Release Date: August 27th

Don’t read the synopsis of I Am the Dark That Answers When You Call if you have not read I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me. If you haven’t read it, why not!? Get on it! It is yet another book that focuses on ballet and I loved it.

This speculative retelling of the Trojan War, pitched as a YA Circe meets Ready Player One, empowers two of Troy’s most well-known tragic figures to rewrite their fates

Release Date: Fall 2024

We don’t know much about Gears and Gamemasters but it is by Rosaria Munda, the author of Fireborne, so of course it is on my list! I will update you when we get a full synopsis and cover.

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