It’s my first Wyrd & Wonder post of 2023, and I’m starting it off with a bang! Here are 14 upcoming YA fantasy releases that sound very promising. Next Tuesday I’ll post my adult fantasy list, but today let’s see what YA has to offer. I’ve listed these in order of release date (dates subject to change), and the titles are linked to Goodreads if you see anything you want to add to your TBR:-D Here we go!
The Bewitching Hour by Ashley Poston. August 1st. In this Buffy the Vampire Slayer prequel, fan-favorite and LGBTQIA+ icon Tara Maclay gets the main character treatment . . . whether she wants it or not. A Buffy prequel about Tara! I may need this:-)
Strange Unearthly Things by Kelly Creagh. August 22nd. “Eighteen-year-old Jane Reye is a psychic artist. She draws what she sees, and what she sees are spirits and the supernatural.”
Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson. September 5th. “A girl discovers a surreal hotel where no one ever leaves. When the clock strikes midnight she’ll be trapped there forever unless she’s able to break free from magic that in turn breaks all her rules. Perfect for fans of Caraval and The Starless Sea!”
Champion of Fate (Heromaker #1) by Kendare Blake. September 19th. “Ever since she was an orphan taken in by the order, Reed has wanted to be an Aristene. Now, as an initiate, just one challenge stands in her way: she must shepherd her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and Reed will take her place beside her sisters. Fail, and she’ll be cast from the only home she’s ever known.”
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. September 19th. “Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad – author Emrys Myrddin’s beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.”
Curious Tides (Drowned Gods #1) by Pascale Lacelle. October 3rd. “Ninth House meets A Deadly Education in this gorgeously dark academia fantasy following a teen mage who must unravel the truth behind the secret society that may have been involved in her classmates’ deaths.”
The Voice Upstairs by Laura E. Weymouth. October 3rd. “In 1920s England, a working-class girl who can see spirits works with a lord’s son to solve mysterious deaths at the local manor home in this eerie historical mystery perfect for fans of The Haunting of Bly Manor and Downton Abbey.”
Beholder by Ryan La Sala. October 3rd. “From Ryan La Sala, author of the tantalizingly twisted The Honeys and riotously imaginative Reverie, comes a chilling new contemporary fable about art, aesthetic obsession, and the gaze that peers back at us from behind our reflections.”
The Hunting Moon (The Luminaries #2) by Susan Dennard. November 7th. “The highly anticipated sequel to The Luminaries by New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard. Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.”
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez. November 14th. “The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.”
To Kill a Shadow (Mistlands #1) by Katherine Quinn. December 5th. “To bring the sun back to her cursed kingdom, a warrior and a handsome commander must venture into a monster-ridden fog in the first installment of this sweeping, romantic fantasy.”
Her Dark Wings by Melinda Salisbury. December 12th. “In this powerful, passionate remagining of the Persephone myth for fans of Lore Olympus and Scarlett St. Clair, two former best friends–split apart by betrayal–find themselves reunited in the Underworld. But will either one make it out, or will the darkness that’s growing in each of them consume them whole?”
Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah. January 9th. “From the author of Monsters Born and Made comes an action-packed South Asian inspired fantasy that will have your heart racing at every turn.”
The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland. January 30th. “Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear—that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. If there’s anything Zara cannot stand it’s feeling powerless, so she decides she will do whatever it takes—even if that means partaking in the occult—to bring her sister back from the dead.”
All of these sound amazing! I’m especially looking forward to seeing Tara become a main character, getting more from Krystal Sutherland, and Midnight at the Houdini.
I need that Tara book now!
Beholder and The Invocations are on my TBR list too! I don’t read straight-up fantasy, but I love me some in a contemporary setting
Roberta R. recently posted…Offbeat Offline: April 2023
I don’t read a lot of straight up fantasy either, but I do love urban fantasy!
I love seeing Strange Unearthly Things on your list. I’m so freaking excited for it! Also ABSOLUTELY have to read What the River Knows. Thanks for sharing this amazing list!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Thanks Stephanie! I think I added Strange Unearthly Things because of you:-) Hopefully we’ll both get to read it.
Tides sounds awesome. I’m overdue for a good dark academia 🙂
Greg recently posted…Camping Ch. 6
I never get tired of dark academia:-)
I feel like it’s been a while since I tried any YA. I do find it hit or miss for me so I may not try any of these without reading some reviews first.
I don’t read a lot of it, but these sound good and I would potentially try them:-)
These all sound great. Work has been so busy lately that I’ve been so tired I’ve hardly read at all. Need to kick it in gear, especially since you keep adding to my TBR!
I’m having trouble fitting in reading too, lol. I hope we both get a break soon!
To Kill a Shadow seems just my kind of book!
I’m watching a few of these, but only The Hunting Moon and the Invocations are “want to read”. Too much generic YA these days!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday 05/10/23
Some interesting covers! 🙂
Stormi recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday ~ The Ghost Job
Some of these covers are gorgeous.
I like the sound of Midnight at the Houdini. Haven’t read any YA in absolutely ages but might have to add that one to my list 😀
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I haven’t had great luck with YA books lately but several of these sound so tempting, especially To Kill a Shadow and Curious Tides.
I’m not much in to YA books. Somewhere in the Deep does sound interesting.
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Great list! I’d heard of some of them before, but What the River Knows is new to me, and I’m going to have to seek that one out. it sounds perfect for me!
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…Top Five Magical Systems ~ a delayed Wyrd & Wonder post
Oh The Beholder of course. And for sure I need the second Luminaries book. But What the River Knows sounds pretty awesome too!
The Bewitching Hour and The Hunting Moon are two that I’m very excited for! There are some new ones on here too that I will probably be adding to Goodreads. Thanks for sharing!
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