This week, I hope you’re ready for fall, because these thrillers and horror novels are perfect to read on a blustery Autumn day. And if you don’t like horror, thrillers, or witches, I’ve got one bonus pick for you.
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources
This is only scratching the surface of the books out this week! If you want to keep up with all the latest new releases, check out: Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges…a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph. Reasons to read it: This is the latest from the acclaimed horror author Stephen Graham Jones. It’s being called Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th, using the homage to slasher films as a jumping off point in a multilayered narrative. It’s a critique of colonialism and gentrification as well as a character study of a broken and angry young woman who uses a passion for horror movies to survive the horror of her own life. Laura is the troubled one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt, already mourning the recent death of yet another family member. And Miriam is the nosy neighbor clearly keeping secrets from the police. Three women with separate connections to the victim. Three women who are – for different reasons – simmering with resentment. Who are, whether they know it or not, burning to right the wrongs done to them. When it comes to revenge, even good people might be capable of terrible deeds. How far might any one of them go to find peace? How long can secrets smolder before they explode into flame? Reasons to read it: This is the latest from the bestselling author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water. Be prepared for flawed and unreliable narrators that will keep you guessing until the last pages. It’s a book that manipulates the reader’s sympathies, underlining how easily we can be convinced of a character’s innocence or guilt based on flimsy premises. This is a cerebral mystery that will pull you in and leave you thinking about it long after you’re done reading. Simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare … and then into something far worse. Something that will test them in horrifying ways. Reasons to read it: This is a YA horror novel from the author of There’s Someone Inside Your House, which is coming to Netflix soon. It’s a story of friendship and survival, playing on our deep seated fears about being alone in the woods. If you’re squeezing in a last camping trip as summer comes to an end, this would be a perfect one to read while the wind whistles through the trees around you. Mickie Lambert creates “digital scrapbooks” for clients, ensuring that precious souvenirs aren’t forgotten or lost. When her latest client, Nadia Denham, a curio shop owner, dies from an apparent suicide, Mickie honors the old woman’s last wish and begins curating her peculiar objets d’art. A music box, a hair clip, a key chain―twelve mementos in all that must have meant so much to Nadia, who collected them on her flea market scavenges across the country. But these tokens mean a lot to someone else, too. Mickie has been receiving threatening messages to leave Nadia’s past alone. It’s becoming a mystery Mickie is driven to solve. Who once owned these odd treasures? How did Nadia really come to possess them? Discovering the truth means crossing paths with a long-dormant serial killer and navigating the secrets of a sinister past. One that might, Mickie fears, be inescapably entwined with her own. Reasons to read it: I love stories that have that scavenger hunt aspect of significant objects, so I was immediately intrigued by this one. This is a slow-burn thriller with an ending that packs a punch. We also see from the perspective of a serial killer at times, which will either be a selling point or a dealbreaker, depending on your reading preferences! Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother. Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined? Reasons to read it: This is one of the most-buzzed books of the week, a historical fantasy being called The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. It’s a book about the anger of teenage girls, who is allowed to have power, and the isolation of grief. If you like dark academia, witches, fantasy boarding schools, or found family, this needs to be on your TBR. Yet the fall season is young and brimming with surprising possibilities. Jamie’s prospect is Lee Gregory, son of a Hollywood producer and a gentleman so charming he practically sparkles. That leaves EJ with Lee’s arrogant best friend, Will. For Jamie’s sake, EJ must put up with the disagreeable, distressingly handsome, not quite famous TV actor for as long as she can. What of it? EJ has her eyes on a bigger prize, anyway: launching a spectacular engineering career in the “real world” she’s been hearing so much about. But what happens when all their lives become entwined in ways no one could have predicted—and EJ finds herself drawn to a man who’s not exactly a perfect fit for the future she has planned? Reasons to read it: This is, obviously, a Pride and Prejudice retelling with a modern twist. It recreates the dizzying, fast-moving feel of campus life, and in this version, romance is only one of the many parts of these women’s multifaceted lives. This is a light, fun read that has all the enemies-to-lovers feelings of Pride and Prejudice, but with added dimensions to the modern day characters.
Book Riot’s YouTube channel, where I discuss the most exciting books out every Tuesday! All the Books, our weekly new releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts (including me!) talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved. The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz. Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot Insiders’ New Releases Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
title: “New Releases Tuesday The Books Out This Week You Need To Read” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-08” author: “Sharon Dotson”
Bonus Books
There are so many books out this week that I had trouble narrowing it down, but you should also know that the new Lianne Moriarty book is out today, Apples Never Fall, as well as the new Mary Roach, Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time. Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn’t ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn’t ask questions, either. Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresa—the “Waldorf of Harlem”—and volunteers Ray’s services as the fence. The heist doesn’t go as planned; they rarely do. Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes. Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook. As Ray navigates this double life, he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem. Can Ray avoid getting killed, save his cousin, and grab his share of the big score, all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs? Reasons to read it: It’s hard to overstate the career of Colson Whitehead: he’s won the Pulitzer Prize twice and is also a National Book Award winner. This one takes place in 1960s Harlem, and along with the crime novel plot — heists! — it also promises to be a family saga with commentary on race and power. After burning out in her corporate marketing career, Michelle Amato has built a thriving freelance business as a graphic designer. So what if her love life is nonexistent? She’s perfectly fine being the black sheep of her marriage-obsessed Puerto Rican-Italian family. Besides, the only guy who ever made her want happily-ever-after disappeared thirteen years ago. It’s been a long time. Gabriel Aguilar left the Bronx at eighteen to escape his parents’ demanding expectations, but it also meant saying goodbye to Michelle, his best friend and longtime crush. Now, he’s the successful co-owner of LA’s hottest celebrity gym, with an investor who insists on opening a New York City location. It’s the last place Gabe wants to go, but when Michelle is unexpectedly brought on board to spearhead the new marketing campaign, everything Gabe’s been running from catches up with him. I’ve missed you. Michelle is torn between holding Gabe at arm’s length or picking up right where they left off—in her bed. As they work on the campaign, old feelings resurface, and their reunion takes a sexy turn. Facing mounting pressure from their families—who think they’re dating—and growing uncertainty about their futures, can they resolve their past mistakes, or is it only a matter of time before Gabe says adiós again? Reasons to read it: This is a second-chance romance from the author of You Had Me at Hola that is packed full of mutual pining and sexual tension. In addition to the friends to lovers trope, there’s also a bit of fake dating! Both main characters are bisexual. Fortysomething Carola is just surfacing from a sex scandal at the yoga center where she has been living when she sees her daughter, Missy, for the first time in ten years—on the cover of a music magazine. Ruth is eighty-three and planning her return to the Turkish seaside village where she spent her childhood. But when her granddaughter, Missy, winds up crashing at her house, she decides it’s time that the strong and stubborn women in her family find a way to understand one another again. In this sharply observed novel, Zoe Whittall captures three very different women who each struggle to build an authentic life. Definitions of family, romance, gender, and love will radically change as they seek out lives that are nothing less than spectacular. Reasons to read it: From the author of The Best Kind of People, this novel tackles the complexities of maternal ambivalence: what happens when a mother regrets having children? The Spectacular follows three generations of women who are searching for their own messy paths to meaning and happiness. When Eliza’s frustration spills out in a viral essay, she finds herself inspiring a feminist movement she never meant to start, caught between those who believe she’s a gender equality champion and others who think she’s simply crying misogyny. Amid this growing tension, the school asks Eliza and Len to work side by side to demonstrate civility. But as they get to know one another, Eliza feels increasingly trapped by a horrifying realization—she just might be falling for the face of the patriarchy himself. Reasons to read it: This is a feminist YA novel with a prickly main character that tackles the realities of being an Asian teenage girl in a U.S. high school. It also discusses the many facets of feminism and complexities of it, especially from an intersectional lens. It’s a rivals to lovers romance, but it’s also about misogyny, and it will appeal to fans of Moxie. Braided together are the stories of a pair of teenage twins who ascend the throne of a Maya kingdom; a young American woman on a trip of self-discovery in Belize; and two dangerous charismatics vying for the leadership of a new religion and racing toward a confrontation that will determine the fate of the few humans left on Earth after massive climate change. In each era, a reincarnated trinity of souls navigates the entanglements of tradition and progress, sister and stranger, and love and hate—until all of their age-old questions about the nature of existence converge deep underground, where only in complete darkness can they truly see. Reasons to read it: This is a multigenerational epic that spans two thousand years and has a large cast of characters across the timelines. It’s being pitched as “David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas meets Octavia Butler’s Earthseed.” In the 3012 timeline, all humans are pluripotent (intersex) and use she/her pronouns. This is a real journey of a reading experience that asks the reader to consider the nature of humanity and where it might be headed. Until the night her eldest sister disappears. Jane and Derry swore to each other that they’d never go into the forest, not after their last trip ended in blood, but Derry is sure she saw Jane walk into the trees. When another sibling goes missing and Frank’s true colors start to show, feeling safe is no longer an option. Derry will risk anything to protect the family she has left. Even if that means returning to the forest that has started calling to Derry in her missing siblings’ voices. As Derry spends more time amidst the trees, her magic grows more powerful . . . and so does the darkness inside her, the viciousness she wants to pretend doesn’t exist. But saving her siblings from the forest and from Frank might mean embracing the darkness. And that just might be the most dangerous thing of all. Reasons to read it: I mean, I’m sold just from the cover, to be honest, and the queer representation is a bonus. This is a dark, unsettling YA fantasy story with a big cast of diverse, fully-realized characters with their own unique relationships to each other. The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone. But “running from ghosts” is just a metaphor, right? As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks. Reasons to read it: From the author of Monday’s Not Coming and Allegedly, this is a YA social thriller meets haunted house story. Mari has OCD and anxiety and deals with intrusive thoughts — not the best combination when you’re trying to navigate a possibly-haunted house. If you like your horror with a side of social commentary, this should be on your September TBR.
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources
This is only scratching the surface of the books out this week! If you want to keep up with all the latest new releases, check out:
Book Riot’s YouTube channel, where I discuss the most exciting books out every Tuesday! All the Books, our weekly new releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts (including me!) talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved. The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz. Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot Insiders’ New Releases Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
title: “New Releases Tuesday The Books Out This Week You Need To Read” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-06” author: “Constance Jefferson”
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources
This is only scratching the surface of the books out this week! If you want to keep up with all the latest new releases, check out: When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead. To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed. Reasons to read it: This is being pitched as “Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale,” but with Chinese history elements. It also has a bisexual main character and — and this may count as a spoiler for some people, so look away if you want to be cautious — a polyamorous relationship. This is the first in a series, and it hits the ground running. Expect a fast-paced, immersive story that will have you counting down the days until the sequel. At first, Benny tries to ignore them, but soon the voices follow him outside the house, onto the street and at school, driving him at last to seek refuge in the silence of a large public library, where objects are well-behaved and know to speak in whispers. There, Benny discovers a strange new world. He falls in love with a mesmerizing street artist with a smug pet ferret, who uses the library as her performance space. He meets a homeless philosopher-poet, who encourages him to ask important questions and find his own voice amongst the many. And he meets his very own Book—a talking thing—who narrates Benny’s life and teaches him to listen to the things that truly matter. Reasons to read it: A Tale for the Time Being is one of my favorite books of all time, so I can’t wait to get my hands on this book that also deals with narrative and storytelling! This is a story about grief as well as about our relationship to objects, and it’s told into perspectives: Benny’s and the Book’s. In Ozeki’s signature style, this is a philosophical story that will leave you thinking long after you’ve closed the book. In “Hazel and Christopher,” two childhood friends reconnect as adults after one of them has transitioned. In “Perfect Places,” a woman grapples with undesirability as she navigates fetish play with a man. In “Couldn’t Hear You Talk Anymore,” the narrator reflects on past trauma and what might have been as she recalls tender moments with another trans woman. San Francisco and Orangevale may be in the same state, but for Héctor Muñoz, they might as well be a million miles apart. Back home, being gay didn’t mean feeling different. At Héctor’s new school, he couldn’t feel more alone. Most days, Héctor just wishes he could disappear. And he does. Right into the janitor’s closet. (Yes, he sees the irony.) But one day, when the door closes behind him, Héctor discovers he’s stumbled into a room that shouldn’t be possible. A room that connects him with two new friends from different corners of the country—and opens the door to a life-changing year full of magic, friendship, and adventure. Reasons to read it: This is Mark Oshiro’s middle grade debut, but keep an eye out for more from them soon! I’ve been a fan of Oshiro’s writing since before their first book because of the excellent Mark Reads blog, and after meeting them, I can also say they’re one of my favorite humans. This one is a coming of age story about not fitting in and finding your community. Think: the Room of Requirement, but one that celebrates trans and queer kids. It’s hard for Gio to know what to do. Can he forgive her like she wants to be forgiven? Or should he tell her she lost her chance to be in his life? Complicating things further, Gio’s started to hang out with David, a new guy on the basketball team. Are they friends? More than friends? At first, Gio’s not sure . . . especially because he’s not sure what he wants from anyone right now. There are no easy answers to love — whether it’s family love or friend love or romantic love. In Things We Couldn’t Say, Jay Coles shows us a guy trying to navigate love in all its ambiguity — hoping at the other end he’ll be able to figure out who is and who he should be. Reasons to read it: From the author of Tyler Johnson Was Here is a story about a bisexual Black boy struggling with first love as well as with his relationship to his mother. It deals with masculinity and vulnerability: Gio has to find ways to deal with his emotions and move through them in a healthy way. Also, this cover is absolutely stunning in person, with shiny foil details. Then his childhood best friend-Monsanto Mets slugger J.J. Zunz-is murdered at home plate. Determined to find the killer, Kobo plunges into the dark corners and glittering cloud condos of a world ravaged by climate change and repeat pandemics, and where genetic editing and advanced drugs mean you can have any body you want–as long as you can afford it. But even among the philosophical Neanderthals, zootech weapons, and genetically modified CEOs, there’s a curveball he never could have called. Reasons to read it: This is being compared to William Gibson’s works, set in a future that seems all too possible. It’s an inventive sci-fi thriller where Neanderthals have been brought back to life and once-extinct animals and now kept for food. It also poses philosophical questions about the nature of cloning, body modification, and immortality — especially within capitalism. This weird world is populated with memorable characters and also has a lot of humor.
Book Riot’s YouTube channel, where I discuss the most exciting books out every Tuesday! All the Books, our weekly new releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts (including me!) talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved. The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz. Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot Insiders’ New Releases Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
title: “New Releases Tuesday The Books Out This Week You Need To Read” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-15” author: “Mike Santiago”
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources
This is only scratching the surface of the books out this week! If you want to keep up with all the latest new releases, check out: A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love. The Book of Magic is a breathtaking conclusion that celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love. Reasons to read it: This is the concluding novel in the Practical Magic series, taking place after the events of Practical Magic. It brings back the characters from all the three books and brings readers from Massachusetts to Paris and London. Readers are saying this is the best book in the series, and it provides a satisfying ending to a series with devoted fans. But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She’s determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago. On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov—an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts—who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoore. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden—unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in? But most concerning of all: Why can’t she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov? Reasons to read it: This is a fantasy/romance novel that is saturated with Halloween charm. Not only is it set in a town populated with witches, Thistle Grove also doubles as a Halloween tourist trap. Add to that a revenge plot, a steamy F/F romance, and a tournament of magic — who can resist? This is like watching Halloweentown, if it was a bisexual romance novel. Becca’s new friends are werewolves. Their prey? Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls. Eager to be accepted, Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf, and finally, for the first time in her life, she feels like she truly belongs. But then things get complicated. As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure, their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—and Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends. Reasons to read it: This is a YA graphic novel that is being called Pretty Little Liars meets Teen Wolf, with a side of Jennifer’s Body. It’s a darkly comedic, fast-paced thriller with a queer main character. It’s also a revenge plot against misogynists. This already has an adaptation in the works, after an eight-way bidding war for the rights! Those who were present on that fateful night lend their points of view: Kendra Brown, a teenager who’s been uprooted from her childhood home after the sudden loss of her father; Leonard Grandton, a desperate and impressionable hotel manager caught in a series of toxic entanglements; and Jaidee Charoensuk, a gay international student who came to the United States in a besotted search for his former English teacher. As each character’s journey unfurls and overlaps, deceit and misunderstandings fueled by obsession and prejudice are revealed, forcing all to reckon with the ways in which their beliefs and actions contributed to a horrifying catastrophe. Reasons to read it: This is a terrifying horror novel — just the words “full-contact haunted escape room” give me the creeps — but it’s also an examination of privilege, complicity, and racism in America. If you like your horror to keep you up at night both with sheer adrenaline and with timely social criticism, this is the October read for you. Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love―and she’s on the hook for one hell of a debt. Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele’s dutiful servant up until a year ago. That was when Vanja’s otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back… by stealing Gisele’s life for herself. The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed. Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele’s sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja’s tail, she’ll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life. Reasons to read it: This is the first book in a new YA fantasy series. It’s a retelling of “The Goose Girl” that expands the story in unexpected ways and takes the point of the view of the villain. It will appeal to fans of fantasy heist novels and prickly main characters. There is also an F/F romance between side characters, and this is a queernorm world. Shade loves the idea of falling into a group of girls; she loves the discipline it takes to push her body to the limits alongside these athletes . Most of all, Shade finds herself drawn to The Three Chloes—the insufferable trio that rules the squad—including the enigmatic cheer captain whose dark side is as compelling as it is alarming. Jadis won’t give Shade up so easily, though, and the pull between her old best friend and her new teammates takes a toll on Shade as she tries to forge her own path. So when one of the cheerleaders dies under mysterious circumstances, Shade is determined to get to the bottom of her death. Because she knows Jadis—and if her friend is responsible, doesn’t that mean she is, too? Reasons to read it: This is an examination of intense, all-consuming, codependent relationships between girls. Shade loves being so close to the Jadis that they’re the “same person with different hair,” but she also wants out of Jadis’s shadow (if you’ll pardon the pun). The book begins with a prologue showing a cheerleader dropping dead at a dance, then backtracks to how they got there and what the fallout is. There is a mystery element here, but it’s mostly about the tangled relationships between these girls.
Book Riot’s YouTube channel, where I discuss the most exciting books out every Tuesday! All the Books, our weekly new releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts (including me!) talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved. The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz. Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot Insiders’ New Releases Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
title: “New Releases Tuesday The Books Out This Week You Need To Read” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Jon Mosley”
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources
This is only scratching the surface of the books out this week! If you want to keep up with all the latest new releases, check out: Piper Parrish’s life on Frick Island—a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay—is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom’s crab boat capsized and his body wasn’t recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper? Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national award-winning podcaster by now, rather than writing fluff pieces for a small town newspaper. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist. Determined it’s the career-making story he’s been needing for his podcast, Anders returns to the island to begin covert research and spend more time with the enigmatic Piper—but he has no idea out of all the lives he’s about to upend, it’s his that will change the most. Reasons to read it: This is supposed to be a hopeful, heartwarming story about an eccentric community. It’s about grief, but it’s also a whimsical and charming read. Oakley is known for her unconventional love stories, and this surprising take is sure to be hit with her fans. Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after. Reasons to read it: This is from a Book Riot contributor! You might remember her as the author of her previous excellent F/F YA: The Henna Wars. This has a great grump one/sunshine one dynamic — definitely an opposites attract story. It also discusses the racism and microaggressions both main characters go through growing up brown in Ireland. And who can resist a fake dating story? So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting–even if temporary–isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human. Reasons to read it: This is from the author of Lily and the Octopus. It’s supposed to be heartwarming and funny read about a has-been gay sitcom star whose life is upended. It’s also about love, family, and patience. This feels like it would be a fantastic beach read — or, as the cover suggests, a book to read poolside! With time on his hands and revenge on his mind, Max and his longtime friend (and secretly the love of his life) Akiko, decide to get even by rebooting the internet. After all, in order to fix things, sometimes you have to break them. But when Max and Akiko join forces with a reclusive tech baron, they learn that breaking things can have unintended–and catastrophic–consequences. Reasons to read it: This is a thriller about the perils of the digital world we’re all immersed in. It asks what would happen if the internet disappeared tomorrow, and it questions the consequences of how wealth is concentrated in so few people. Entertaining and thought-provoking, this is a book that is destined to be adapted to the screen as well. Yet when Beznaria Chetchevaliere crashes into her life, the sleek and sexy investigator exudes exactly the kind of chaos that organized and efficient Makeda finds irresistible, even if Bez is determined to drag her into a world of royal duty Makeda wants nothing to do with. When a threat to her grandmother’s livelihood pushes Makeda to agree to return to Ibarania, Bez takes her on a transatlantic adventure with a crew of lovable weirdos, a fake marriage, and one-bed hijinks on the high seas. When they finally make it to Ibarania, they realize there’s more at stake than just cash and crown, and Makeda must learn what it means to fight for what she desires and not what she feels bound to by duty. Reasons to read it: Alyssa Cole is a renowned romance writer, and this is the latest in the Runaway Royals series. It’s a queer Anastasia retelling with a fake marriage thrown in, too! If you want an opposite-attract romance with a reluctant princess main character, give this one a try! Pendt Harland’s family sees her as a waste of food on their long-haul space cruiser when her genes reveal an undesirable mutation. But if she plays her cards right she might have a chance to do much more than survive. During a space-station layover, Pendt escapes and forms a lucky bond with the Brannick twins, the teenage heirs of the powerful family that owns the station. Against all odds, the trio hatches a long-shot scheme to take over the station and thwart the destinies they never wished for. Reasons to read it: This is supposed to be a thought-provoking YA space adventure. Judging by the Goodreads reviews, this looks to be a polarizing read. It’s a little bit found family in space, a little bit Arthurian, with a touch of magic and some casual queer representation. It also seems to be a lot weirder than the blurb might lead you to expect!
Book Riot’s YouTube channel, where I discuss the most exciting books out every Tuesday! All the Books, our weekly new releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts (including me!) talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved. The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz. Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot Insiders’ New Releases Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
title: “New Releases Tuesday The Books Out This Week You Need To Read” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-30” author: “Deanna Fulton”
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources
This is only scratching the surface of the books out this week! If you want to keep up with all the latest new releases, check out: Reasons to read it: Brandon Taylor got a lot of buzz for his 2020 debut, Real Life. Roxane Gay calls him a “a writer who wields his craft in absolutely unforgettable ways.” This short story collection promises to be “psychologically taut and quietly devastating.” It’s about longing for and being denied intimacy. Taylor is a name to watch! A first meeting. Long-time friends. Bitter exes. And maybe the beginning of something new. When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight. Beloved authors — Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon — celebrate the beauty of six couples and the unforgettable magic that can be found on a sweltering starry night in the city. Reasons to read it: This is another novel of interlinked stories, but this one is YA. Each of these authors is well-respected, with bestselling and award-winning titles, so there will be a lot of readers excited to get their hands on this. It’s a celebration of Black teen love, and it promises to be a charming, funny, and heartwarming read. Buoyed by his teenage track-team buddies ― Twig, a long-distance runner; Desmond, a sprinter; Egypt, Des’s girlfriend; and Jess, a chef ― Daniel begins a frantic search for meaning in Aubrey’s death, recklessly confronting the drunken country boy he believes may have killed her. Reasons to read it: This is about Daniel’s escape from a stifling small town in Florida to make a life in New York, and how his childhood friend’s death led him back there. It’s a poetic meditation on grief, but also explores the complexities of race, class, and sexuality in the American South and Jamaica. Wendy thinks they’re heading to a party, but instead they’re soon running in the city’s underground. She makes friends ― a punk girl named Tinkerbelle and the lost boys Peter watches over. And she makes enemies ― the terrifying Detective Hook, and maybe Peter himself, as his sinister secrets start coming to light. Can Wendy find the courage to survive this night ― and make sure everyone else does, too? Acclaimed author K. Ancrum has re-envisioned Peter Pan with a central twist that will send all your previous memories of J. M. Barrie’s classic permanently off to Neverland. Reasons to read it: This is a YA retelling of Peter Pan with a diverse cast that I feel like I’ve been anticipating for years! It’s finally here! This includes bisexual, lesbian, and asexual side characters, a Black main character, and Ojibwe side characters. It’s a dark urban fantasy take on this story, which takes place over one whirlwind night. Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her. Though she’s able to stomach her gruesome day-to-day duties, the reality of preserving the Sisterhood of Aytrium’s magical bloodline horrifies her. She wants out, whatever the cost. So when a shadowy cabal approaches Elfreda with an offer of escape, she leaps at the opportunity. As their spy, she gains access to the highest reaches of the Sisterhood, and enters a glittering world of opulent parties, subtle deceptions, and unexpected bloodshed. A phantasmagorical indictment of hereditary power, Star Eater takes readers deep into a perilous and uncanny world where even the most powerful women are forced to choose what sacrifices they will make, so that they might have any choice at all. Reasons to read it: This is another one I’ve been counting down the days until. This has been billed as “cannibalistic nuns fantasy,” which apparently isn’t 100% accurate, but it’s also not NOT about cannibal nuns. And zombies. This also has a bisexual woman main character! In a series of deeply honest, funny autobiographical essays, Jessamyn explores everything from imposter syndrome to cannabis to why it’s a full-time job loving yourself, all through the lens of yoke. She calls out an American yoga complex that prefers debating the merits of cotton versus polyblend leggings rather than owning up to its overwhelming Whiteness. She questions why the Western take on yoga so often misses — or misuses — the tradition’s spiritual dimension. And reveals what she calls her own “whole-ass problematic”: Growing up Baháí, loving astrology, learning to meditate, finding prana in music. And in the end, Jessamyn invites every reader to find the authentic spirit of yoke — linking that good and that bad, that light and that dark. Reasons to read it: This is about finding self-acceptance both on and off the mat. Her previous book is Every Body Yoga, which I really enjoyed: it’s a primer for getting started with yoga that’s inclusive of larger bodies, and it also is about Stanley’s journey to starting yoga. In this book, she explores the philosophy behind yoga that she implements in everyday life.
Book Riot’s YouTube channel, where I discuss the most exciting books out every Tuesday! All the Books, our weekly new releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts (including me!) talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved. The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz. Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot Insiders’ New Releases Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
title: “New Releases Tuesday The Books Out This Week You Need To Read” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-15” author: “Abigail Miller”
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources
This is only scratching the surface of the books out this week! If you want to keep up with all the latest new releases, check out: 1986: The teenage daughter of a wealthy Vietnamese family loses her way in an abandoned rubber plantation while fleeing her angry father and is forever changed. 2011: A young, unhappy Vietnamese American woman disappears from her new home in Saigon without a trace. The fates of these two women are inescapably linked, bound together by past generations, by ghosts and ancestors, by the history of possessed bodies and possessed lands. Alongside them, we meet a young boy who is sent to a boarding school for the métis children of French expatriates, just before Vietnam declares its independence from colonial rule; two Frenchmen who are trying to start a business with the Vietnam War on the horizon; and the employees of the Saigon Spirit Eradication Co., who find themselves investigating strange occurrences in a farmhouse on the edge of a forest. Each new character and timeline brings us one step closer to understanding what binds them all. Build Your House Around My Body takes us from colonial mansions to ramshackle zoos, from sweaty nightclubs to the jostling seats of motorbikes, from ex-pat flats to sizzling back-alley street carts. Spanning more than fifty years of Vietnamese history and barreling toward an unforgettable conclusion, this is a time-traveling, heart-pounding, border-crossing fever dream of a novel that will haunt you long after the last page. Reasons to read it: This promises to be “Part puzzle, part revenge tale, and part ghost story,” spanning 50 years of Vietnamese history and incorporating Vietnamese folklore. It’s intricately plotted and told in non-chronological chapters. Be prepared to take some notes while reading–this isn’t a light beach read–but the payoff is worth it. Toni is one week away from starting college, and it’s the last place she wants to be. Unsure about who she wants to become and still reeling in the wake of the loss of her musician-turned-roadie father, she’s heading back to the music festival that changed his life in hopes that following in his footsteps will help her find her own way forward. When the two arrive at Farmland, the last thing they expect is to realize that they’ll need to join forces in order to get what they’re searching for out of the weekend. As they work together, the festival becomes so much more complicated than they bargained for. Olivia and Toni will find that they need each other, and music, more than they ever could have imagined. Packed with irresistible romance and irrepressible heart, bestselling author Leah Johnson delivers a stunning and cinematic story about grief, love, and the remarkable power of music to heal and connect us all. Reasons to read it: This is the next book from the author of You Should See Me In a Crown, and it’s another sapphic Black YA novel that should appeal to fans of her first. This is a perfect summer read: it takes place at a music festival and has a swoon-worthy romance–but it also tackles gun violence, grief, and sexual harassment. This was one of my favorite reads this year! But when a hate-fueled incident at a rally critically injures his friend, Yash’s easy life suddenly feels like a lie, his control an illusion. When he tries to get back on the campaign trail, he blacks out with panic. Desperate to keep Yash’s condition from leaking to the media, his family turns to the one person they trust—his sister’s best friend, India Dashwood, California’s foremost stress management coach. Raised by a family of yoga teachers, India has helped San Francisco’s high strung overachievers for a decade without so much as altering her breath. But this man—with his boundless ambition, simmering intensity, and absolute faith in his political beliefs—is like no other. Yash has spent a lifetime repressing everything to succeed. Including their one magical night ten years ago—a too brief, too bright passion that if rekindled threatens the life he’s crafted for himself. Exposing the secrets might be the only way to save him but it’s also guaranteed to destroy the dream he’s willingly shouldered for his family and community . . . until now. Reasons to read it: This is the third in this Jane Austen retelling series that each follows a member of the Raje family. This one is, as you’d expect from a Sense and Sensibility retelling, a slow-burn second chance romance. It’s also about family, responsibilities, and facing a crossroads in life. Misanthropic psychologist Dr. Grace Park is placed on the Deucalion, a survey ship headed to an icy planet in an unexplored galaxy. Her purpose is to observe the thirteen human crew members aboard the ship—all specialists in their own fields—as they assess the colonization potential of the planet, Eos. But frictions develop as Park befriends the androids of the ship, preferring their company over the baffling complexity of humans, while the rest of the crew treats them with suspicion and even outright hostility. Shortly after landing, the crew finds themselves trapped on the ship by a radiation storm, with no means of communication or escape until it passes—and that’s when things begin to fall apart. Park’s patients are falling prey to waking nightmares of helpless, tongueless insanity. The androids are behaving strangely. There are no windows aboard the ship. Paranoia is closing in, and soon Park is forced to confront the fact that nothing—neither her crew, nor their mission, nor the mysterious Eos itself—is as it seems. Reasons to read it: This is a psychological sci-fi thriller about a psychologist trying to cure her crew before she falls victim as well. It’s a “claustrophobic locked-spaceship mystery,” as one reviewer puts it. An atmospheric, tense read, it also grapples with the nature of consciousness. In between trying to memorize the lines to Catholic mass, hiding the fact that she has a new girlfriend, and erecting a dirty dish tower in her crumbling apartment, Gilda strikes up an email correspondence with Grace’s old friend. She can’t bear to ignore the kindly old woman, who has been trying to reach her friend through the church inbox, but she also can’t bring herself to break the bad news. Desperate, she begins impersonating Grace via email. But when the police discover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace’s death, Gilda may have to finally reveal the truth of her mortifying existence. Reasons to read it: This dark comedy of errors is a good match for fans of Mostly Dead Things and Goodbye, Vitamin. It follows a main character overwhelmed by anxiety and depression, trying to find a way through while constantly ruminating about death–but it’s also funny, touching, and kind. Vanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England. From the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London’s elite, Island Queen is a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history. Reasons to read it: This is based on the true story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a Black woman who went from being enslaved to becoming one of the most wealthy and powerful landowners in the West Indies. An epic story of survival, love, and persistence, this sheds some light on a historical figure who should be much more well-known. A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes. She warns Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she’s been taught all her life to forswear–no matter what the cost. Reasons to read it: This is the first book in a new fantasy series inspired by “The Wild Swans” and other folklore. It’s atmospheric and evocative, sure to appeal to fans of her previous duology that began with Spin the Dawn. Who can resist shape-shifting dragons, curses, and forbidden magic?
Book Riot’s YouTube channel, where I discuss the most exciting books out every Tuesday! All the Books, our weekly new releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts (including me!) talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved. The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz. Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot Insiders’ New Releases Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
