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Look, I’m not sure what’s going on (beach reading?) but June is an absolute bumper crop of books, especially June 1, so I’m not listing the ARCs I’ve already read (mostly June 1st ones: Neon Gods, The Library of the Dead, and The Witch King). Also, maybe because it’s Pride month, but y’all, the books this month are GAY. There are so many books I’m looking forward to, and my sapphic YA-loving heart is so, so happy. Now, if only it could be like this every month…<\/p>\n
There were twelve books in May, and fourteen more again this month! Have I gotten around to most of those books? Nope, but Hang the Moon<\/em><\/a> and Counting Down With You<\/em> were definite highlights.<\/p>\n Here’s my list of fourteen books I’m looking forward in June!<\/p>\n Gossip Girl<\/i> meets Get Out <\/i>in Ace of Spades<\/i>, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah \u00c0b\u00edk\u00e9-\u00cdy\u00edm\u00edd\u00e9 about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully.<\/b><\/p>\n When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school\u2019s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too.<\/p>\n Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures.<\/p>\n As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly?<\/p>\n With heart-pounding suspense and relevant social commentary comes a high-octane thriller from debut author Faridah \u00c0b\u00edk\u00e9-\u00cdy\u00edm\u00edd\u00e9.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: I’m sorry, did you say dark academia with Black queer characters? All the yes!<\/strong><\/p>\n Two boys, alone in space.<\/p>\n After the first settler on Titan trips her distress signal, neither remaining country on Earth can afford to scramble a rescue of its own, and so two sworn enemies are installed in the same spaceship.<\/p>\n Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor, with no memory of a launch. There\u2019s more that doesn\u2019t add up: Evidence indicates strangers have been on board, the ship\u2019s operating system is voiced by his mother, and his handsome, brooding shipmate has barricaded himself away. But nothing will stop Ambrose from making his mission succeed\u2014not when he\u2019s rescuing his own sister.<\/p>\n In order to survive the ship\u2019s secrets, Ambrose and Kodiak will need to work together and learn to trust one another\u2026 especially once they discover what they are truly up against. Love might be the only way to survive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: It’s a queer space thriller with a sentient ship, complete llama catnip.<\/strong><\/p>\n For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.<\/p>\n But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.<\/p>\n Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: That blurb is insane. This is either going to be super great or super weird, or maybe a bit a both.<\/strong><\/p>\n After a lifetime of failed relationships, non-binary history professor Sam Bell is committed to a new (non)romantic strategy: Thirst Only. It\u2019s the actual drinking where things get too complicated, where Sam inevitably gets hurt.<\/p>\n Sam is good at being thirsty, though, especially when it’s karaoke night at The Moonlight Caf\u00e9, otherwise known as Moonie\u2019s to its largely queer regulars. Moonie\u2019s is fun. Comfortable. Safe. Except for tonight, when one by one, all of Sam\u2019s friends abandon them. Disappointed, they prepare to leave\u2014until their #1 karaoke crush catches their eye…<\/p>\n For Lily Fischer, karaoke at Moonie’s is the only time she can step outside of her quiet shell. When there\u2019s a mic in her hand, she\u2019s no longer merely a receptionist harboring big dreams. At Moonie’s, Lily can pretend to be someone else: someone bold, who takes what she wants. And tonight, what Lily wants is the way Sam looks at her across the room as she sings her signature opening song, like they see her exactly as she wants to be seen. Like Moonie\u2019s Lily is real.<\/p>\n As the night progresses, both Sam\u2019s and Lily\u2019s personal fears are tested, and the real world outside of Moonie\u2019s looms. But maybe sometimes, the real world should be a little more like karaoke. It’s not always about knowing all the right words or having the perfect voice. Maybe all Sam and Lily need is a little courage to pick up the mic, and sing anyway.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: This novella\u00a0sounds like one of those “one night can change your life”-type books, and, hello, karaoke plus a NB\/f pairing? Awesome!<\/strong><\/p>\n May the best chef win\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n After four years at the country\u2019s top culinary school and several years as head chef in her mother\u2019s restaurant, Rowan Townsend has built a notable reputation. Her farm-to-table collard greens have long been bringing everyone to the yard, but limits on the restaurant\u2019s size have led to long waits. Looking to expand the restaurant, she enters a televised chef competition. The problem? Her infuriatingly-talented nemesis from culinary school also enters.<\/p>\n To the culinary world, Knox Everheart is restaurant royalty. As much as Rowan wants to deny it, he\u2019s a gifted chef. Rowan knows her arrogant arch-nemesis is confident he\u2019ll win\u2014he\u2019s certainly given her a run for her money more times than she\u2019d like to admit. But this time, she\u2019s ready to show him who\u2019s boss.<\/p>\n Their rivalry soon sparks fireworks in the kitchen and, as the competition heats up, so does Rowan\u2019s attraction to Knox. And somewhere between pasta and gumbo, they both need to decide what\u2019s worth fighting for.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: Cooking competitions are so my jam, as are books filled with delicious food and enemies-to-lovers!<\/strong><\/p>\n Author of Empire of Sand<\/i> and Realm of Ash<\/i> Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne<\/i>, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess’s traitor brother.<\/p>\n Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters \u2014 but is now little more than a decaying ruin.<\/p>\n Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini\u2019s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.<\/p>\n But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya\u2019s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?:\u00a0LOOK AT THAT COVER!!! Tasha Suri can write like no one’s business and omg this is f\/f?!?!?! Inject this directly into my veins, please.<\/strong><\/p>\n When Nozomi Nagai pictured the ideal summer romance, a fake one wasn\u2019t what she had in mind.<\/p>\n That was before she met the perfect girl. Willow is gorgeous, glamorous, and\u2026heartbroken? And when she enlists Nozomi to pose as her new girlfriend to make her ex jealous, Nozomi is a willing volunteer.<\/p>\n Because Nozomi has a master plan of her own: one to show Willow she\u2019s better than a stand-in, and turn their fauxmance into something real. But as the lies pile up, it\u2019s not long before Nozomi\u2019s schemes take a turn toward disaster\u2026and maybe a chance at love she didn\u2019t plan for.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: It’s YA f\/f fake summer romance dating, how could I not want to read this? I am beyond happy to see so many new f\/f YA romances, especially ones with POC by POC!<\/strong><\/p>\n Critically acclaimed author Cat Sebastian makes her trade paperback debut in a stunning historical romance about a reluctantly reformed highwayman and the aristocrat who threatens to steal his heart.<\/b><\/p>\n Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires.<\/p>\n In order to save himself and a beloved friend, Percy, Lord Holland must go against every gentlemanly behavior he holds dear to gain what he needs most: a book that once belonged to his mother, a book his father never lets out of his sight and could be Percy\u2019s savior. More comfortable in silk-filled ballrooms than coffee shops frequented by criminals, his attempts to hire the roughly hewn highwayman, formerly known as Gladhand Jack, proves equal parts frustrating and electrifying.<\/p>\n Kit refuses to participate in the robbery but agrees to teach Percy how to do the deed. Percy knows he has little choice but to submit and as the lessons in thievery begin, he discovers thievery isn\u2019t the only crime he\u2019s desperate to commit with Kit.<\/p>\n But when their careful plan goes dangerously wrong and shocking revelations threaten to tear them apart, can these stolen hearts withstand the impediments in their path?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: It’s a queer historical heist romance and they’re going to steal a BOOK! I’m not great at keeping up with this author’s backlist, but whenever I get the itch for a historical, I always reach for her books!<\/strong><\/p>\n A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family\u2019s magic. The problem is, she\u2019s never been in love\u2014she\u2019ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.<\/b><\/p>\n After years of waiting for her Calling\u2014a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers\u2014the one thing Voya Thomas didn\u2019t expect was to fail. When Voya\u2019s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees\u2014and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic.<\/p>\n Voya is determined to save her family\u2019s magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she\u2019ll first have to find the perfect guy\u2014and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn\u2019t count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc\u2014how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her?<\/p>\n With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she\u2019ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: First off, that cover is GORGEOUS. Second, give me all the Black magic girls. Third, ok, sure go kill your first love, let’s see how that works out?<\/strong><\/p>\n Susan Dennard’s New York Times<\/i> bestselling, young adult epic fantasy Witchlands series continues with Witchshadow<\/i>, the story of the Threadwitch Iseult.<\/b><\/p>\n War has come to the Witchlands . . . and nothing will be the same again.<\/p>\n Iseult has found her heartsister Safi at last, but their reunion is brief. For Iseult to stay alive, she must flee Cartorra while Safi remains. And though Iseult has plans to save her friend, they will require her to summon magic more dangerous than anything she has ever faced before.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Bloodwitch Aeduan is beset by forces he cannot understand. And Vivia\u2014rightful queen of Nubrevna\u2014finds herself without a crown or home.<\/p>\n As villains from legend reawaken across the Witchlands, only the mythical Cahr Awen can stop the gathering war. Iseult could embrace this power and heal the land, but first she must choose on which side of the shadows her destiny will lie.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: This is the long-anticipated fourth book in the series (Iseult’s book!) and I’ve loved the previous ones. Just a very enjoyable YA fantasy series!<\/strong><\/p>\n Katherine Addison returns to the glittering world she created for her beloved novel, The Goblin Emperor, in this stand-alone sequel.<\/p>\n When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had set the bombs that killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his father\u2019s Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. He lost his place as a retainer of his cousin the former Empress, and made far too many enemies among the many factions vying for power in the new Court. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin.<\/p>\n Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference. He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honestly will not permit him to live quietly. As a Witness for the Dead, he can, sometimes, speak to the recently dead: see the last thing they saw, know the last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt. It is his duty use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered.<\/p>\n Now Celehar\u2019s skills lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. No matter his own background with the imperial house, Celehar will stand with the commoners, and possibly find a light in the darkness.<\/p>\n Katherine Addison has created a fantastic world for these books \u2013 wide and deep and true.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: I adored The Goblin Emperor for Maia, who on the surface appeared to be the worst possible candidate for emperor and then turned out to be the best. The\u00a0world building was absolutely exquisite and I cannot wait to see how it’s expanded here.<\/strong><\/p>\n Teagan\u2019s wife, Cressidae, is missing. She has left for the Shadow Realm, a kingdom of the dead filled with untold nightmares\u2014and the only place that can save Teagan from a lethal poison that\u2019s killing her slowly. It is ruled by a princess said to make powerful deals with those brave enough to find her, and Cressidae has gone to bargain for Teagan\u2019s life. Cressidae has forgotten one very important thing: no one makes it out on their own.<\/p>\n Despite the risks to her own safety, Teagan is determined to save her wife\u2014and perhaps even herself in the process. The princess of the Shadow Realm, however, doesn\u2019t let mortals roam her territories without opposition. In this thrilling tale inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Teagan and Cressidae must face both the horrors of the Shadow Realm as well as their own past.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WHY?: Not one but TWO chicks with swords on\u00a0the cover! I love retellings, and a sapphic retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice is completely my jam.<\/strong><\/p>\n Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they’re fighting for a common purpose–and falling for each other–in <\/b>Zoe Hana Mikuta’s high-octane debut Gearbreakers, <\/i>perfect for fans of Pacific Rim<\/i>, Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu’s Legend series.<\/b><\/p>\n We went past praying to deities and started to build them instead.<\/i>..<\/p>\n The shadow of Godolia’s tyrannical rule is spreading, aided by their giant mechanized weapons known as Windups. War and oppression are everyday constants for the people of the Badlands, who live under the thumb of their cruel Godolia overlords.<\/p>\n Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside. When one of her missions goes awry and she finds herself in a Godolia prison, Eris meets Sona Steelcrest, a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot. At first Eris sees Sona as her mortal enemy, but Sona has a secret: She has intentionally infiltrated the Windup program to destroy Godolia from within.<\/p>\n As the clock ticks down to their deadliest mission yet, a direct attack to end Godolia’s reign once and for all, Eris and Sona grow closer–as comrades, friends, and perhaps something more…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nAce of Spades – <\/a>Faridah \u00c0b\u00edk\u00e9-\u00cdy\u00edm\u00edd\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(June 1)<\/h4>\n
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\nThe Darkness Outside Us – Eliot Schrefer<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(June 1)<\/h4>\n
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\nOne Last Stop – Casey McQuiston<\/strong><\/a> (June 1)<\/h4>\n
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\nSing Anyway – Anita Kelly<\/strong><\/a> (June 1)<\/h4>\n
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\nAn Acquired Taste – Kelly Cain<\/strong><\/a> (June 8)<\/h4>\n
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\nThe Jasmine Throne – Tasha Suri<\/strong><\/a> (June 8)<\/h4>\n
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\nLove and Other Natural Disasters<\/strong><\/a> (June 8)<\/h4>\n
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\nThe Queer Principles of Kit Webb\u00a0<\/strong><\/a> (June 8)<\/h4>\n
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\nBlood Like Magic – Liselle Sambury\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(June 15)<\/h4>\n
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\nWitchshadow – Susan Dennard<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(June 22)<\/h4>\n
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\nThe Witness for the Dead – Katherine Addison\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(June 22)<\/h4>\n
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\nThe Bone Way – Holly J. Underhill<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(June 26)<\/h4>\n
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\nGearbreakers – Zoe Hana Mikuta<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(June 29)<\/h4>\n
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