And it’s already time for another hype post! I can’t believe how fast time has been flying by… In my mind it’s still just been spring and now it’s almost November and I’ve been doing these posts for almost a year. Once again, so many wonderful books coming out that it is hard to choose just a handful to highlight!

I’ll keep it short and sweet this month – and I hope you’ll choose to support one or more of these authors!

I can’t believe it’s already time for another hype post! September has just flown by – which I guess you can tell by the fact that I’ve barely been posting on here apart from blog tours… My dissertation is due soon and so I’ve been running around like a headless chicken. But there are many great books coming out in October that deserve your attention, not least of all, two that I’ve already been raving about: there is Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches, which I reviewed on here earlier this year. This is absolutely the witchy book of my dreams and I can’t wait to get my finished copy and reread it! For more details, go check out my review here which includes pre-order info. Then, October also brings THE BEST BOOK EVER, which is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, my heroine. I reviewed that one over at Grimdark Magazine – have a read here. I might have pre-ordered five separate copies of this book, not like I’m obsessed or anything…

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So many AMAZING books to get excited about coming out in September that I’m breaking my own rules – half of these I’m going to be reviewing on here! But I’m literally jumping around with glee at the prospect of being able to hold them in my hands within the next month, so let me have this moment of excitement!

Two of my favourite writers of queer YA are writing a book together. That’s about all I needed to know about Miss Meteor to make sure it went very high up on my excitement list. It is co-written by the fabulous Anna-Marie McLemore (check out their Dark and Deepest Red, for example) and Tehlor Kay Mejia (author of the We Set the Dark on Fire duology), this is a contemporary YA about Lita and Chicky, and the Miss Meteor pageant. I have no idea what I’m getting myself into, but I’m sure it will be brilliantly written, lyrical and heartbreakingly beautiful. I can’t wait. Miss Meteor is out on the 22nd of September and you can pre-order a copy from Amazon here.

Anthologies are totally my jam. Especially diverse ones. And as someone who was a teenager around 2010 (aka peak Twilight era) I’m all for the tasteful return of vampires that come without a side of racism. I’m currently reading Vampires Never Get Old as I’m lucky enough to be on the Hear Our Voices Blog Tour (look out for my review on the 24th of September) for it, and I’ve loved the stories so far. They are queer (many of them) and clever and full of interesting characters, and the line-up Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker have managed to assemble is stellar. This one is also out on the 22nd, and you can pre-order it here.

Arthurian mythology meets Black girl magic. I love seeing the diversity in modern takes on medieval stories, so I’m incredibly excited for Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn. I have an eARC so I’ve started reading the beginning, and I’m now doubly excited as it features the protagonist going to early entrance college, which I see myself represented in as a smarty-pants who went to uni at sixteen. A unique take on the mythos, with the Legendborn being descendants of the Arthurian knights and Merlins being mages, this urban fantasy is thoroughly modern. It’s out on the 15th of September and you can pre-order here.

One of the books I’ve been most anticipating is Aiden Thomas’ Cemetery Boys. Originally supposed to be released in May, the pandemic has pushed it back, and it is now finally coming out on the first of September. Cemetery Boys features a trans boy trying to prove himself a real brujo. It is queer and features the most amazing cover – and from what I’ve seen on Twitter Aiden is a fantastic human being too who deserves all our support. It sounds like perfection, and I’ve pre-ordered my copy months ago – you should get yours too, for example from Hive here!

Books about books are like catnip for nerds like me. So I’ve been eagerly awaiting Garth Nix’s The Left-Handed Booksellers of London ever since I first heard about it. And now it’s almost here – also published on the 22nd of September! Luckily I have an e-ARC thanks to the lovely folks over at Gollanz so do look out for my review soon. This is about fighting (left-handed) and intellectual (right-handed) booksellers, murder, magic and the most wonderful of all places, bookshops in my adopted home of London. And Garth Nix is nothing if not a damn good writer. So go ahead and just pre-order it. Click right here to do so.

Last year, I absolutely devoured Rena Barron’s Kingdom of Souls. And while I’m desperately waiting for the sequel, she is now back with a middle grade novel that sounds just as amazing: Maya and the Rising Dark. Another one out on that magical 22nd of September, this is the story of twelve-year old Maya, godling, half human, half Orisha and full nerd. Her dad has gone missing, and she has to face the Lord of Shadows, a creature from her worst nightmares to try and get him back and save the world. The book sounds wonderful and exactly what I need to read once I hand in my dissertation. Pre-order a copy here.

It would be completely amiss by not starting this post with Bright Raven Skies by Kristina Pérez, our inaugural book tour over at Phoenix Fire Book Tours (check out phoenixfiretours.wordpress.com)! Out on the 25th of August, this conclusion to the Bright Raven Skies series promises to be just as thrilling, romantic and atmospheric as the previous installments. I’m currently reading it in preparation for the tour, and loving every bit. Tristan and Eseult have gone missing and Iveriu is on the brink of war with Armorica… Branwen is in the middle of it all and trying to fix world and I can’t wait to find out how the story ends. Get your signed copy of Bright Raven Skies from Forbidden Planet.

Going by genre, the other YA fantasy on here is Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters. This LGBTQ+ debut promises to be delightfully creepy, with protagonist Shady Grove being able to call forth ghosts with her fiddle, murder and family secrets. It seems horribly underhyped, but I have managed to get my grabby hands on an e-ARC so look out for my review soon. It also has a stellar 4.35 rating on Goodreads right now! Ghost Wood Song is out on the 20th of August, and you can pre-order it from Waterstones.

AND AUGUST IS HARROW MONTH! Finally, after ages of waiting, Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir will be released on August 4th! I was lucky enough to be able to read Gideon the Ninth early last summer, and LOVED it (it was probably my favourite book of 2019 – see my review) and I’ve been eagerly awaiting having my heart ripped out and stomped all over by Harrow ever since. All I can say is, you need this in your life! Get a copy from Portal Bookshop here.

And to end this list, Tehlor Kay Mejia’s newest offering, Paola Santiago and the River of Tears will be coming out from the Rick Riordan Presents imprint on the 4th as well. Based on Mexican folklore and mythology, one of my favourite YA authors is bringing her talents to middle grade for the first time – a winning combination in my book! Twelve-year old Paola loves space, logic and science, but has to deal with spirits and suchlike defying explanation and upending her world… Pre-order it from Waterstones.

There are so many great books coming out in July – we’re hitting that first wave of COVID delays being published! I had to really limit myself to get to a manageable list, and it’s a really diverse one this month that I’m quite excited about. I hope you love the ideas behind these books as much as I do and decide to check them out!

The first book on this list is Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust. I reviewed an ARC of this a while back (click here for my review) – and I’ve already snagged myself a shiny finished copy from Fairyloot. This lush, Persian mythology based story centres a morally grey princess who discovers her bisexuality and struggles with doing the right thing. It is compelling and wonderful, and I love it so much. It’s finally out on the 7th of July after being pushed back, and you need it in your life. Pre-order it from Waterstones!

Also out on the 7th of July is The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan. This volume collects stories based on world mythology from some of the best contemporary fantasy authors – think R.F. Kuang, Zen Cho, Sarah Gailey… to name just a few of my personal favourites in the lineup. Every entry is also accompanied by a piece of artwork, and have I mentioned that it draws from all sorts of cultures? I love short story anthologies, and this promises to be an extraordinarily excellent one! Pre-order DRAGONS from Forbidden Planet.

One of my top three books of 2020 so far is The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, a book about witches fighting the patriarchy. So I’ve been intrigued about Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching ever since I first heard of it. Out on the 21st of July, this is a book about witches in a puritanical society, dealing with race politics and religion. Immanuelle sounds like my kind of dark and spirited witch, fighting for what is right, and I already love her, even before reading the book. You can pre-order this one from Forbidden Planet.

To cap this list, also out on the 21st of July, we have Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson. Black girl magic in alternative history meets assassins falling in love, set in late Jazz-age NYC. Phyllis, the MC is a white-passing Black woman, working as an assassin for a mob boss and features both a magical love story and an exploration of racial tensions. It sounds like a wonderful read, and I can’t wait to get my greedy hands on it next month! Pre-order it from Hive (though the UK release isn’t until August, sadly).

It’s a bit late this month, but it’s here: June’s most amazing new releases! And there are some great books coming out in the next few weeks – I can’t believe I’ve been doing these posts for six months now. I’ve already reviewed the wonderful Court of Miracles, so I’m not including it again here, but it’s out on the 4th!

So, one book that I’m super excited for, and that I’ve had pre-ordered for ages is Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee. Dark forest atmosphere, spiders and shaman magic? Yes please! There also seems to be a focus on friendship rather than romance (though I haven’t gotten to read this yet), which sounds promising, as well as comparison to Naomi Novik and Susan Dennard, two authors I adore. I suspect that I will devour Forest of Souls and fall for Lori’s dark and inventive world. And just look at that beautiful cover… Out on the 23rd of June, you can pre-order Forest of Souls from Hive.

Mermaids/Sirens meet Black Lives Matter. Never more crucial than right now, A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow mixes fantasy with social justice and politics. From the synopsis: “But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation; the girls’ favorite Internet fashion icon reveals she’s also a siren, and the news rips through their community. Tensions escalate when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice during a police stop. No secret seems safe anymore—soon Portland won’t be either.” It sounds incredibly intriguing and I can’t wait to read it as soon as possible. A Song Below Water is out on the 2nd of June, and you can get a copy via Amazon (sorry it’s the only place I could find in the UK!).

Another dark and twisty book, A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown is a tale of necromancy and betrayal inspired by West African folklore. It also has an incredibly stunning cover featuring a black girl! Publishing has done ok for once. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin promises to be an exciting enemies-to-lovers fantasy, perfect summer reading while I should be working on my dissertation instead! I’ve been loving African-inspired fantasy, so I’m looking forward to reading this debut and getting lost in its world. This one is also out on the 2nd of June, and you can order it from Hive.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the only one on this list that I actually have an ARC for – although I have not managed to read it yet. This is a Gothic horror novel set in a 1950s mansion in Mexico, featuring ghosts, madness and family secrets. Like all of the books on this list, it has a stunning cover. It sounds like a psychological thriller meeting a locked house mystery crossed with magic, so I can’t wait to get stuck into it. Look out for my review in the next couple of weeks! It is out on the 30th of June, and you can get yourself a copy pre-ordered via Hive!

I know this is one that you’ve been waiting for – I’m sorry it’s arriving later than usual, April has been an insane month! I’ve had some uni-deadlines, and the anthology I’m editing is heading towards the finish line, which is all exciting, and publication dates moving around haven’t helped either. I’m confident that the books I’ve included here are all actually being published in May as of now & I hope I can motivate you to support some of these authors in this crazy time.

The first book I want to mention doesn’t actually get published until the 26th, so the very end of the month. Out Now is the follow up to All Out, and it’s an all queer YA short story anthology. Whereas All Out featured stories throughout history, Out Now focuses on experiences of contemporary teens, and I’m pretty damn excited. I loved All Out so much I bought copies for multiple friends, so I’ve been hyped up for this new anthology ever since it was first announced! Get a copy from Book Depository or your indie of choice.

Another queer book I’m super excited for is Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea, out on the 5th. A genderfluid pirate MC, adventures at sea, witches… all things that get me like a moth to the flame. I can’t wait to read it as soon as I get my grabby hands on it! Get it from Book Depository or your indie of choice.

Out on the same day is The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly. I’m not usually a big contemporary girl, but I’ve been reading a bit more throughout the quarantine and enjoying it and you bet I’ll make an exception for anything medieval-themed. Set in a medieval-themed restaurant, Kit fights for her right to be a knight rather than the wench her gender would assign her to be. This promises to be a sweet, feminist story with hints of medievalism, and I’m sure I’ll love the distraction. Pre-order from Book Depository or of course your indie of choice!

One of the fantasy novels I can’t wait for is House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess, out on the 12th. I do have to admit, this is mainly due to the EPIC cover art – I keep forgetting what it is actually about! But look at the pretty swords, how can you not desperately want to read a book with such amazing swords on the cover? It sounds like a great multi-PoV story, focused on a competition for a throne and is comped to the Breakfast Club, so there’s bound to be humour and unlikely camaraderie. All in all, a total package. Pre-order this one from Book Depository or your local indie!

This last one might have had its physical release moved to later in the summer, but the eBook version is still coming out on the 5th! Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn is this month’s entry into the 2020 series of queer French revolutionary books and I AM SO HYPED for it. This is also UKYA which makes it even better (and rumor has it a certain book box has early bound copies…). A band of outcasts trying to make their way through Paris while avoiding getting their heads chopped off by the guillotine, with magic? What’s not to love? Get this one from your favourite source of eBooks, or persuade your indie of choice to order it for you in summer!

Brace yourself for a long Hype Post this month, as I’m trying to boost as many authors as I can in these insecure and unpredictable times! I’m not putting in pre-order links this time, please try to message/email small bookshops, they’ll be very happy to help you! I’m partial to the Portal Bookshop in York (although I haven’t had the chance to visit in person yet) and have just put in a big order. If it is Kids/YA books you are after, I recommend Round Table Books in Brixton. These small shops are just as dependent on your continued custom as are the authors publishing right now.

Usually, I’m the one who finds books that other people have not heard about and raves about them until they cannot resist reading them. With Queen of Coin and Whispers, however, most of the British fantasy authors I follow, and quite a few people in the fantasy (publishing) community have been raving about this queer debut fantasy by Irish author Helen Corcoran. Featuring a young queen and her spymaster, plots and treason, this promises to be an intriguing read!

I’m an absolute sucker for anything medieval inspired and queer – so I devoured last year’s Once & Future, the queerest sci-fi King Arthur retelling you’ll ever encounter! On April 7th, Cori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta are back with a vengeance and a sequel: Sword in the Stars. This time, Ari, Merlin, and the rest of the gang are travelling back in time to get their hands on the legendary Holy Grail… NEED THIS NOW. Also this counts as research. Muahaha.

Also out on the 7th is book three in Roshani Chokshi’s wonderful Aru Shah series: Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes. Part of my favourite children’s imprint, Rick Riordan Presents, she uses Indian mythology as a basis for her children’s adventure series. The first two were amazing, and I have high hopes for this third installment – I love these diverse, mythology inspired middle grades and I suggest you check them out too!

I have actually read an ARC of Incendiary by Zoraida Còrdova, and can vouch that it is a great book! My review will be up in the next couple of days, but I can promise that Renata’s story will capture you and transport you into a world where memories and magic are the key to revolution. This is Zoraida’s best work to date, and I can’t wait to read more of this luscious, latinx-inspired fantasy! I also highly suggest you check out the podcast she co-hosts with Dhonielle Clayton, Deadline City.

My big issue with books and series ending is that I always want to know what happens after, I just have a hard time believing in HEA – and I’m not talking about the ’19 years later’ thing in Harry Potter! Chosen Ones addresses exactly that: Taking place ten years after a group of five chosen ones defeated their world’s Dark One, they are confronted with the death of one of their own, trauma, and the possibility that they have to do it all again. I’m currently reading Chosen Ones, and am about halfway through – I’m loving it. There are nuanced depictions of characters dealing with difficult pasts, a compelling story and I can’t wait to see how the plot develops! This is out on the 7th of April, and if you are very keen, Fairyloot are even doing a special edition…

Last, but not least, on this list is The Devil’s Blade by Mark Alder. I have been extremely keen to read this one ever since I saw it announced in the Gollancz catalogue for Spring 2020, and am very excited to have it waiting for me on my Kindle. This intriguing historical fantasy is out on the 2nd of April, and is based on the life of Julie d’Aubigny. Legend has her as a bisexual, sword-wielding performer, but what if she also made a deal with the devil…? If we’re being honest, who wouldn’t want to read all about her?

March is an evil month for new releases! Trying to compile this list, I had to decide very early on that I could not include any titles that I would be reviewing anyway, as my list was way too long as it was. I also purposefully don’t include any titles that are extremely hyped already to give some space to books you might not have heard of before.

It’s also my birthday month, so if any publishers of these books want to be extra nice to their resident blogger and send a copy of any of these my way… I wouldn’t say no!

Remember how February’s hype post prominently featured Sarah Gailey? Well, March is going to do the same. Because they are releasing another book, When We Were Magic. This time, it’s a YA about teens and accidental magic, and it sounds both amazing and hilarious. It is also queer and focuses on female friendship which gets many bonus points from me. This is out on the 3rd, and I’ve been desperate to get my hands on it since I first heard of its release last year. Pre-order it here.

Another prolific author, Wicked As You Wish is Rin Chupeco’s third novel in a year. They write wonderfully twisty fantasies inspired by their Filipino heritage with a touch of signature darkness. I have really enjoyed all of their books I have read so far, and last fall, I was even lucky enough to take part in the blog tour for The Never Tilting World (see my review here). This one is set in America, dealing with issues of immigration, and apparently features firebirds, magic and a Snow Queen. It’s out on the 3rd as well, and you can pre-order here.

In 2018 I got to go to my very first proper author event while I was in Boston for a conference. One of the authors I met that day was the lovely, witchy, April Genevieve Tucholke, who signed my newly released copy of The Boneless Mercies. I loved that story about a band of warrior girls shamelessly questing for glory! And now its semi-sequel/companion novel, Seven Endless Forests, based on Arthurian legend, is being released on the 31st. As anyone who knows me is aware, I’m a sucker for anything medieval-based, especially now that I get to claim it as research. So, super keen for this one! Pre-order it here.

One of my first reviews on here was for the first book in Melinda Salisbury’s last duology, State of Sorrow. I loved that book so much, especially due to its political nature and portrayal of an election process in a YA fantasy. After finishing one of my favourite duologies of all time, Melinda is back with a supernatural mystery set in Scotland. I can’t wait to dive into it, even though I don’t really know much about it. This is out on the fifth, and if you are around London, Waterstones is throwing her a launch on the 14th, with tickets available here! Add Hold Back the Tide on Goodreads here and pre-order it here.

So, there’s been a lot of YA on this list so far, but Docile by K. M. Szpara is anything but. A dystopian speculative fiction novel thinking about issues of capitalism, free will and servitude, this one has received stellar reviews. I have been super excited for it since I first heard of it and am anxiously awaiting its release on the 3rd. Also, it’s edited by Carl Engle-Laird, the man who also brought us the grandiose Gideon the Ninth last year. So if that’s not reason to read it, I don’t know what is. Pre-order it here.

It is no secret that I’m a sucker for short story collections. And an anthology full of stories about black girls and enbys and their magic? Sign me right up! Featuring an amazing line-up of authors of colour, including names such as Elizabeth Acevedo, L.L. McKinney, Dhonielle Clayton and many more, and edited by Patrice Caldwell, this collection out on the 10th comes out just after the end of Black History Month shows that black experiences should be celebrated all the time. I will definitely be buying A Phoenix First Must Burn as soon as I find a copy! Pre-order it here.

Hype post vol. 2 incoming! More queer books thrown at your face! This time featuring five books, two adult, three YA, and I’ve actually read one of them already. So we’ll start with that one, Belle Révolte:

Strong-willed women, revolution, big dreams and queer romance. What more can a girl want. All the stars to this wonderful book, check out my full review here. Pre-order it here (Book Depository doesn’t seem to have it, so an Amazon UK link for once, sorry…), although it’ll be on shelves in just a few days!

Keeping with the theme of queer romance and revolution, the second book on my list is We Unleash the Merciless Storm. After her wonderful debut last year, We Set the Dark on Fire, Tehlor Kay Mejia, is set to pick up straight where she left off and blow our minds again. This is the second book in a duology and I cannot wait to see where this story goes – the first book was one of my most anticipated debuts last year, and the same goes with this one! I fell in love with Dani and Carmen and their world and I need more. It’s out on the 24th, and I strongly suggest you pre-order it here or from your retailer of choice!

Next on my list is Sarah Gailey’s Upright Women Wanted. Their debut novel Magic for Liars impressed me so much last year that they’ve become an auto-buy author for me, and I’ve successfully recommended it to quite a few people as well, who also loved it. Upright Women Wanted is a Tor.com novella, which means it’s a short read that won’t take up too much space on your TBR and is going to bring you closer to fulfilling your coveted Goodreads reading challenge (I know it’s the start of the year, but remember how you’ve just been scrambling to finish just a few short weeks ago?). It also features queer librarians in a Wild West setting and if I understand correctly, they are fighting fascists. So sign me up. Amazon says this one’s coming out on the first of March, and they are letting you pre-order here. Sorry for advertising for evil again, but it’s a US only release, and Book Depository doesn’t have it! If you can find it elsewhere, I strongly suggest you get it there – I might wait until I’m in the US in May and can get it from B&N or an indie.

Ink in the Blood is the wildcard on this list. Kim Smejkal’s debut features tattoo magic and theatre, and according to the author herself, quite a bit of queer rep. It sounds fantastic, but I haven’t seen many reviews for it, it seems to fly a bit below the radar – all the more reason to give it a shot. It’s being compared to Leigh Bardugo and Kendare Blake, so we can expect dark and atmospheric… It’s out on the 11th according to the publisher (although Book Depository says 1st of March), and you can pre-order it here!

Last on this list (which is compiled in no particular order) is The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. More historical novel than anything else, this tale is set in the extreme north of Norway, in the arctic town of Vardø, in the early seventeenth century, and tells of a storm ending in desaster, a witch hunter, and independent women. Reviewers have loved this, and I have only heard great things about Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s Adult debut. I read her YA debut, The Deathless Girls, late last year, and loved her writing style, and given that I tend to love books about witchcraft and feminism, I am very much looking forward to reading The Mercies! Pre-order it here from Book Depository, or get the Waterstones special edition here (or, of course, just get it from your retailer of choice!). This is out on the 6th.

Let me know what you think of my hyped books, or if you even pick up one of them based on my recommendation!