Here Are All The Best Books Releasing In October

Treat yourself to these fantastic picks during this spooky month!

Alexa Fishman / BuzzFeed

Alexa Fishman / BuzzFeed

Ghost Town by Kevin Chen

Europa Editions

As Ghost Town starts, Keith returns home to his village in rural Taiwan after being released from prison in Berlin, where he served a sentence for murdering his boyfriend. What led him to this point? Why did he murder his partner? What’s been happening to his family in Taiwan while he was gone for a decade? This slow burn of a multigenerational family saga, told from multiple perspectives and going back and forth through time, unfolds delicately while pulling readers ever deeper into its web. Ghost Town is a story filled with ghosts that demand to be remembered, no matter how much the living want to leave them behind. It’s a hypnotic and unforgettable read. —David Vogel

Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran

Hanover Square Press

Multigenerational stories are truly one of my favorite subgenres in adult fiction. From Homegoing to Pachinko, there’s no shortage of extraordinary quality, and this new novel is a part of that prestigious category. However, this story starts in the present, with the three daughters of Xuan Trung — Nhi, Trac, and Trieu. As Nhi winds through a reality dating show, and Trieu works through the family past with writing, Trac has become a lawyer whose sexuality remains hidden from her family. Their mother, a Vietnamese refugee, tries to divine their fates using their Vietnamese zodiac signs. In unraveling the tapestry from present to past, Tran delivers an astounding family archive. —Rachel Strolle

The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern by Rita Zoey Chin

Melville House Publishing

Leah Fern’s magician mother gave birth to her in a carnival trailer and, six years later, left her in the care of an elderly man. Leah became the youngest fortune teller in the world. Able to sense people’s emotions, she guessed clients’ fortunes and told them elephant stories because six-year-old Leah loved elephants. After her mother disappeared, Leah’s ability to read emotions changed. Before, she could read both positive and negative emotions, but after, she could only read the negative. At 21, Leah decides it’s time to die. She plans an elaborate death day that includes dancing to Rage Against the Machine and praying to the fates. However, a knock at the door interrupts her perfect death plans. A beleaguered lawyer hands her a black box and informs her it’s her inheritance from her downstairs neighbor, whom Leah has never interacted with beyond exchanging Christmas cookies. Inside the box, she finds a check for $9,999 and a cryptic letter telling her that if she wants to find out more about her mother, she will need to go on a road trip to various addresses, where she will find more letters about her mother. Desperately curious, Leah abandons her plans for death and embarks on a road trip full of discoveries. Readers of Alice Hoffman, Erin Morgenstern, and Sarah Addison Allen will love this character-driven contemporary fantasy. —Margaret Kingsbury

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Penguin Press

From the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere comes a dystopian story set in a near-future America as told by a 12-year-old boy named Bird. Bird’s mother was a Chinese American poet who disappeared three years ago. Because of enforced regimes and new preservation laws, books seen as unpatriotic are banned and those found moving against the government are punished. Bird’s father wants his son to stay under the radar, but Bird is determined to figure out what happened to his mother. When a cryptic letter makes its way to him, he embarks on a journey to put together the pieces through an underground network of librarians. —Farrah Penn

The Hero of this Book by Elizabeth McCracken

Ecco Press

This book about a writer processing her grief after her mother’s death may seem like autofiction at first glance, but thanks to the tremendously talented Elizabeth McCracken, it becomes so much more than that. She subtly subverts the expectations of readers at every turn, keeping us on our toes by using language that is delicious and begs to be savored. The Hero of This Book is a meditation on the necessity of art, especially when trying to process difficult experiences. It blew me away with how delicate and finely crafted it manages to be while tackling huge emotions. —David Vogel

Hugs and Cuddles by João Gilberto Noll

Two Lines Press

Surreal and erotic, Hugs and Cuddles is described in press materials as a “voyage to the edge of gender and the outermost reaches of sexual and artistic expression.” It manages to deliver on this promise, and then some. The narrator of the book leaves his life in Porto Alegre to reconnect with “the engineer,” a childhood friend with whom he shared a pivotal sexual experience years ago. His journey is fantastical and epic in scope, just like this unique novel. Wild, singular, and unapologetically original, this is a perfect read for anyone who wants to step off the beaten path into something unfamiliar and unforgettable. —David Vogel

My Pen is the Wing of a Bird by Afghan Women

Grand Central Publishing

This translated anthology contains moving, profound, and memorable short stories written by Afghan women inspired by their lives and explores topics of friendship, political policies, family, culture, and more. —Farrah Penn

The Storyteller's Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal

Sourcebooks Landmark

After Isla Larsen Sanchez’s father dies, she spends the school year with her mother in New Jersey and the summers in Puerto Rico with her great aunt and grandmother. Her school years are friendless as she struggles with grief over her father’s death and anxiety about her mother’s excessive drinking. Her summers are filled with backyard adventures, cousins, and her stern grandmother’s enthralling stories. When Isla turns 18, her grandmother dies, and Isla begins having visions of her grandmother’s stories as if they were playing out right in front of her. No one else sees the stories, and her great-aunt reprimands her so severely when she asks about it that Isla never brings it up again. Instead, she visits a wise woman who tells her she is a cuentista, just like the other women in her family. Isla magically experiences the stories of her deceased relatives as if they were happening right then. This is a beautiful book about family, memories, and the power of stories. The audiobook narrated by Marisol Ramirez is riveting. —Margaret Kingsbury

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Inciting Joy by Ross Gay

Algonquin Books

New York Times bestselling author, Ross Gay, is back with another thoughtful, compassionate, and timely essay collection that focuses on the deeper meaning of joy. In the opening pages, Gay states, “What if joy is not only entangled with pain, or suffering, or sorrow, but is also what emerges from how we care for each other through those things?” And it’s through this lens that he approaches these essays, reflecting upon certain memories of his life. It’s a tender and reflective collection that is sure to sit with you long after you finish. —Farrah Penn

Making a Scene by Constance Wu

Scribner Book Company

Constance Wu pens a refreshingly honest, humorous, heartfelt, and emotional memoir that follows her early life and career, including her success on Fresh off the Boat and Crazy Rich Asians. Constance grew up a theater kid in a midwestern suburban town and reflects on the ways acting helped shape her as a person. She’s transparent and revealing about many topics, including privilege, insecurities and jealousy, sex and falling in love, and her relationship with her sister. She also tackles tougher, personal experiences, like the injustice of not being believed by teachers and co-workers, sexual assault, and what exactly was going through her head when she tweeted her feelings about Fresh off the Boat. She does a fantastic job reading her memoir herself via audiobook, and it’s certainly worth listening to her narrate. —Farrah Penn

Somewhere Sisters by Erika Hayasaki

Algonquin Books

Journalist Erika Hayasaki chronicles the unbelievable timeline of twin sisters Isabella and Hà, born in Vietnam. However, one twin was adopted and raised in Chicago while the other remained in Vietnam, growing up in a rural village with her biological aunt. When Isabella’s mother learns that she has a biological twin sister back in Vietnam, the girl's lives are forever changed. In her introduction, Erika, a twin mother herself, states that Isabella and Há’s story is “a chronicle of identity, poverty, privilege, and the complex truths about adoption.” It’s all of this and more — a heart-wrenching tale told with compassion. —Farrah Penn

The Choreography of Everyday Life by Annie-B Parson

Verso

Award-winning choreographer Annie-B Parson uses this slim but potent volume to show readers how the movements of day-to-day life function as choreography in the same way dancers on a stage execute choreography as a group. We all perform our daily routines in relation to one another, influencing each other in ways we may not be fully aware of. Reading this book made me look at the mundane activities of my everyday life with fresh eyes. If dance is everything and everywhere, as Parson asserts, then all our small movements add to something much bigger than any one individual. It’s an interesting idea for our current moment, where connection seems more necessary than ever but increasingly rare. —David Vogel

The Future is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Arsenal Pulp Press

In this searing essay collection, Piepzna-Samarasinha presents a hopeful glimpse into the future through examining the present from a disability justice lens. The last several years have seen unprecedented inhumanities against the disabled community, yet more and more people are becoming disabled in the wake of Covid-19 and other crises. Piepzna-Samarasinha argues that hope for the future lies in disabled wisdom and how disabled communities have learned to interact with and survive their often dystopian surroundings, particularly BIPOC disabled communities. From community building to honoring the need for rest and the sacredness of home, these essays delve into survival strategies for disabled folk with a mix of practical advice, stories from the disabled community, research, and calls to action. While written for the disabled community, readers who don’t identify as disabled will still find much to think about by considering how destroying ableist practices aids everyone and positively impacts the future. It’s a thought-provoking read. —Margaret Kingsbury

The Family Outing by Jessi Hempel

HarperOne

Jessi Hempel grew up in what looked like a “typical” American family. But behind the scenes, it was far from perfect, and every member of the family was hiding secrets. By the time the Hempel children reached adulthood, each member of the family came out: Jessi as gay, her sister as bisexual, her father as gay, her brother as trans, and her mother as a survivor of a traumatic experience with a serial killer. This one-of-a-kind memoir details the journey to unravel the truth about her family and serves as a perfect reminder that sometimes the people we’re closest to are the ones we know the least about. Unique, touching, and unforgettable, it's a perfect read for anyone who feels conflicted about having a complicated family relationship. —David Vogel

Who Do the Stars Say You Are? by Syd Robinson

Adams Media Corporation

From BuzzFeed writer Syd Robinson comes a quirky, fun astrological guide to better understanding your star sign, whether it’s determining how your sign replies to emails to your sign’s brunch order. It’s the perfect coffee table book for astrology lovers. —Farrah Penn

Alexa Fishman / BuzzFeed

Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

Berkley Books

If there’s such a thing as cozy horror, this is it. It’s a brilliant, original werewolf novel about women’s bodies, sisterhood, and agency. Rory Morris loves her big-city life of one-night stands and career successes, but when her twin sister Scarlett asks her to return to the small town where they grew up to help her with her pregnancy, Rory reluctantly returns. Shortly after, on the way home from a local bar, Rory crashes into a large animal, and it drags her into the forest when she leaves the car to investigate. She comes to a hospital room with what appears to be a minor wound on her side, but when she goes home to her sister’s house, her wound seeps silver blood. The first full moon confirms her worst fears: she is now a werewolf. Meanwhile, despite her best efforts, she begins to fall in love with a handsome former high school friend. Rory doesn’t want to be stuck in her small town forever, no matter what, but how in the world can she manage being a werewolf in New York City? And how is she going to tell her sister that she’s a monster now? The audiobook narrated by Kristen Sieh is absolutely delightful. If you’re looking for something more sinister, Harrison also has a collection of horror short stories releasing this year, Bad Dolls. —Margaret Kingsbury

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

Berkley Books

Sign Here is like if Severance and The Good Place meshed together to form a spooky, satirical, yet strangely touching novel just in time for Halloween. It's about a guy in Hell (literally) on the cusp of a promotion — if he can just get one more member of a family on Earth to sign their soul away. You see, Hell isn't all torture and fire (although there is plenty of that). Peyote Trip — our protagonist — exists in a level of Hell that is probably more recognizable: a bland, mundane office where the coffee machine never works and, outside, the bars only serve jäger. But as Peyote entangles himself more with the Harrison family and their twisted web of secrets, he'll also have to rely on a new, mysterious coworker for help. But, just like on Earth, nothing in Hell is quite what it seems. —Kirby Beaton

River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan

Blackstone Publishing

Eva Santos Moon's had it rough recently — in addition to hitting a creative wall with her art, she's been dealing with disorienting blackouts. There's also the fact that her university professor husband has just been arrested for the murder of their friend. Soon enough, Eva comes under suspicion as well. But how can she prove her own innocence when her memory is failing her? And there's the fact that there was a death in her childhood that was eerily similar. Dark, mysterious, and twisty, this magic-infused thriller is a perfect pick for fans of unreliable narrators like The Girl on the Train. —Rachel Strolle

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers

Levine Querido

Rogers’s story collection follows one extended Cherokee family across centuries. Each story elicits chills in different ways, while also feeling incredibly grounded and intoxicating. From vampires to the Vietnam War, they vary in genre and style while Cherokee artist Jeff Edwards illustrates each story. A haunting and stunning book for you to enjoy. —Rachel Strolle

Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne

Crown Books for Young Readers

Donne is back with another sharp and captivating YA thriller set in a California coastal town, and it's perfect for readers who love reading tantalizing thrillers during spooky season. Cecelia Ellis transfers to Seaview High after losing her mother to cancer, which means she's now living with her grandmother — a renowned mystery author — in a harrowing Victorian mansion. When Seaview's homecoming queen is murdered, the town believes a copycat murderer is on the loose. Like one of her grandmother's heroines, Cecelia is eager to unravel the mystery, but the deeper she digs, the more dangerous secrets she unearths. —Farrah Penn

Lute by Jennifer Marie Thorne

Tor Nightfire

This lovely, Shirley Jackson-esque horror based on British folklore is set in an apocalyptic, war-torn future where one remote island in England — Lute — remains untouched and idyllic. When Florida native Nina Treadway marries the Lord of Lute and moves to the island, it’s like she’s entered a new world. The townsfolk call her Lady, and she takes long roving walks in the countryside with her dog while servants watch her children, a lifestyle she’s never experienced until now. The villagers have warned her about The Day — when one day a year seven people in Lute die so that the island remains untouched by death in the intervening years — but she views it as superstitious nonsense at best, a local costume she need not pay much mind to. Then she experiences her very first Day. This is a character-driven, fascinating read I had trouble putting down. —Margaret Kingsbury

Alexa Fishman / BuzzFeed

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

Forge

Rosen's deeply compelling and suspenseful historical mystery pulls readers into the 1950s with Detective Evander "Andy" Mills, who was just tossed off the force for being gay and is feeling just unmoored enough to pick up a gig investigating a maybe-murder. The job brings him to Lavender House, a queer safe haven that lost a bit of that safety with its matriarch Irene Lamontaine's falling to her death. Whether or not she was pushed is just one of the many points of contention of the family and staff filling the stately manor where "nothing is as it seems" is the baseline. The mystery itself borders on cozy, and wrapping it in an exploration of WWII-adjacent queer life makes for the perfect autumn page-turner. —Dahlia Adler

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

St. Martin's Press

A vivid retelling of a classic novel that asks, "Who was the real Hester Prynne?" Isobel Gamble was a young seamstress in Edinburgh when she and her husband Edward were forced to flee to the New World after his opium addiction left them penniless. But after only a few days in Salem, Edward joins a departing ship as a medic, leaving Isobel alone in a foreign country. There, she meets Nathanial Hawthorne, a troubled man haunted by ancestors and witches, while she struggles with her own mysterious secrets. The two become dangerously close, even as their relationship threatens doom. A unique take on a story that tackles what it costs to be an "unusual" woman. —Kirby Beaton

Will Do Magic for Small Change by Andrea Hairston

Tordotcom

A mind-bending blend of history, fantasy, and sci-fi, Hairston's latest book follows Cinnamon Jones (granddaughter of Redwood and Wildfire, from her previous book) as she unravels a mystery following her brother Sekou's death. Sekou leaves Cinnamon a book simply called The Chronicles, which details the story of an alien life form called The Wanderer who first appears in West Africa in1892. Cinnamon and her friends team up to piece together the mystery of this book and how it connects to Cinnamon's past. This book glitters with West African magic, unconventional love, and creatures you won't forget. —Kirby Beaton

Such a Pretty Girl by T. Greenwood

Kensington Publishing Corporation

This engrossing novel is a timely look into childhood fame, mother-daughter relationships, and how we consume media. Former child star Ryan Flannigan has been living peacefully in Vermont for years, so she's shocked when news breaks that a wealthy investor — who has been arrested for child sex trafficking — had a compromising photo of her as a preteen. Worst of all, an inscription suggests the photo had been a gift from Ryan's estranged mother. Jumping from Ryan's childhood in 1970s New York to the present, the mystery of what happened to Ryan, her relationship with her mother, and the tainted photo unveils itself as Ryan grapples with her past and present colliding. —Kirby Beaton

Alexa Fishman / BuzzFeed

The Witch Hunt by Sasha Peyton Smith

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven comes the follow-up novel. Frances has found a peaceful life within Haxahaven Academy. There's just one problem: her magic is acting up. So when she receives an opportunity to go to Paris, she takes it, hoping to find answers to her current troubles. And when Frances learns a spell she had been using had devastating consequences, lifting the veil between living and dead, she must try and make things right. But a group of magicians have used her mistake for their own selfish gains, which means Frances must team up with the one person she thought she could never trust again in order to set things right. —Farrah Penn

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

MCD

This thought-provoking and at times creepy eco-dystopian novel takes place in a near future where, amidst dwindling sealife, octopuses have developed their own language and culture. The DIANIMA corporation has sealed off a remote Vietnamese island where the mysterious octopus behaviors were first observed. They’ve hired a team of three to study the octopuses: marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who authored a book about octopus communication, the world’s first and only fully sentient android, and a war veteran security droid. While at first Dr. Ha is reluctant to believe the octopuses could be capable of communicating at the same level as humans, the more she observes, the more readily she believes that indeed the octopuses seem to have formed a communication system, and she might be just the person to break it. Meanwhile, an enslaved man tries to free himself on a commercial AI fishing vessel, and survivors share stories of octopus murders. Grappling with concepts of language, cognition, climate change, and free will, this is a truly unique sci-fi. Eunice Wong narrates the engrossing audiobook. —Margaret Kingsbury

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

Ace Books

Mallory attracts murders wherever she goes and has an uncanny ability to solve them. Thus she becomes an amateur detective and a crime novelist while also desperately trying to seclude herself to prevent anyone else she knows from getting murdered. Alien contact offers her precisely the kind of escape she needs. As one of only three humans on board the sentient alien space station, she has very little chance of accidentally causing any murders. One of the other humans on board is Xan, who’s escaped the military and is hiding on the space station for unknown reasons. He and Mallory were acquaintances on Earth and make friends with some of the rock-like aliens aboard the ship. Mallory’s avoiding-murder plans come crashing down when the space station agrees to allow a contingent of humans aboard. The shuttle doesn’t even manage to land before the murders begin. This science-fiction murder mystery is a super entertaining read with great character development, neat aliens, and an engaging plot. —Margaret Kingsbury

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

Tor Books

Tesla Crane, an engineer and wealthy heir, is honeymooning on a space liner when disaster strikes: A passenger is murdered, and the liner’s security peg the murder on Tesla’s husband, a former detective, and arrest him. Though Tesla’s lawyer warns her against investigating the murder, to clear her husband — and to satiate her own curiosity — Tesla can’t help but try to discover who is really behind the murder. After a horrible accident years earlier that caused permanent damage to her spine and PTSD, Tesla uses a pain-relieving implant, a cane, and an adorable service dog. Accompanied by her canine companion, Tesla conducts interviews with everyone connected to the victim and begins to unravel a complex conspiracy that puts herself, and her dog, at risk. This delightful, fast-paced science fiction murder mystery is hard to put down. The disability representation is excellent and realistic. I’m hoping this gets turned into a book series! I would love to read more Tesla Crane murder mysteries. —Margaret Kingsbury

Poster Girl by Veronica Roth

William Morrow & Company

Roth, famous for her Divergent series, returns to a future dystopian setting in her second adult novel. Once the poster girl for the Delegation — an oppressive, surveillance-driven regime — Sonya Kantor has spent the last ten years imprisoned in the Aperture, where all former Delegation members have been shunted off after their overthrow and mostly forgotten. When a journalist writes an expose about the children of the Delegation who have spent most of their lives in the prison, the current government decides to free everyone imprisoned when they were 16 or younger. Sonya was 17. She’s now the youngest prisoner in Aperture and spends her days fixing broken appliances, bartering for basic needs, and dodging potential threats. While Aperture is well guarded, there are no guards inside the barbed wire fencing. Prisoners must fend for themselves. When the man responsible for Sonya’s imprisonment proposes a deal to allow Sonya out of Aperture, she rejects him at first. However, the chance at freedom is worth the cost, and she finds herself working for her former enemy. Divergent readers will find this compelling page-turner well worth reading. —Margaret Kingsbury

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura, Translated by Philip Gabriel

Erewhon

A bestseller in Japan, Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a lovely portal fairytale centering on children’s mental health. After being ruthlessly bullied in middle school, Kokoro, scared for her life, refuses to attend school or even step outside. She spends her days in pajamas watching TV, too afraid to open the curtains in case someone might see her. Her parents are desperate to help her and find another school for her to attend, but Kokoro, her stomach tied in knots of anxiety, can’t force herself outside. Then one day, her mirror glows supernaturally bright, and she’s pulled into another world, where a child wearing a wolf’s mask awaits. She tells Kokoro and six other teens that they are to become little red riding hoods on a quest for a hidden key in a magical castle. Whoever finds the key first will have a wish granted. There are rules, of course, and if any of the teens break them, the consequences will be dire for all of them. Kokoro quickly realizes that none of the other teens are going to school either, and as the group searches the castle for the key, they begin to share their personal stories of trauma. It’s a charming, heartwarming read with a bite of sadness. —Margaret Kingsbury

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo

Tordotcom

The third novella in The Singing Hills Cycle opens with cleric Chih and their talking bird companion, Almost Brilliant, nearly getting in a brawl at a restaurant along the road. A martial artist saves them, and after discovering the martial artist and her sister are heading to the Riverlands like they are, Chih decides to accompany them. Along the way, Chih and Almost Brilliant are able to add to their folkloric records with thrilling martial arts stories, and we also find out more about how Chih became a cleric and their relationship with Almost Brilliant. It’s a thrilling, wuxia-style addition to the series. While it could technically be read as a stand-alone, I recommend reading The Empress of Salt and Fortune first. Each book in the series is written in different styles, but the first book provides background and context. —Margaret Kingsbury

Strike the Zither by Joan He

Roaring Brook Press

This is a breathtaking new YA fantasy inspired by Three Kingdoms. Zephyr is a strategist, serving under the warlordess Xin Ren. While there is an empress on the throne, the realm has split into three factions, each following a warlordess who wishes to control it all. To further Ren’s goals, Zephyr is sent into an enemy camp with the aim of infiltration. But Crow, a strategist in the camp, might be the only one who can truly match her. He’s worlds are some of the most dynamic in YA, and this commanding series starter is a treasure. —Rachel Strolle

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It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover

Atria Books

Colleen Hoover’s highly anticipated sequel to It Ends With Us is finally here and if you thought you couldn’t fall in love with Atlas Corrigan anymore than you already do, think again! And this time, we get to hear his side of the story. It Starts With Us picks up right where its predecessor’s epilogue left off — after bumping into his first love Lily Bloom while walking on the street, Atlas takes advantage of their fate-filled run-in by asking her out on a date. Now that Lily and her abusive ex-husband Ryle have figured out a civil co-parenting agreement for their daughter Emerson, Lily finally feels comfortable giving Atlas the attention he deserves. But nothing in their lives has ever come easy, and it seems the closer they get to forming a new beginning together, the more their past tries to tear them apart. This dual-narrative story is told from the perspectives of Atlas and Lily. So, if you’re a hopeless romantic and a sucker for second chances, It Starts With Us is the perfect book to cozy up to and get lost in. —Morgan Murrell

A Touch of Moonlight by Yaffa S. Santos

Harper Paperbacks

A Touch of Moonlight follows Larimar Cintrón who lives and works in New York as a brand manager for Beacon Café. But Larimar also has a secret: during each full moon, she transforms into a ciguapa. Stemming from Dominican folklore, ciguapa’s are a mythical creature containing long hair and backward feet. This makes her feel a bit ostracized from friends and family. That is, until she meets Ray. Ray is a bakery owner, and a new Beacon Café is set to open near his business. Larimar isn’t sure what to do, especially now that she’s growing closer to Ray, but perhaps her magic may be key to allowing her to get what she wants. —Farrah Penn

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

St. Martin's Griffin

Wilsner proves their serious romance range with a sophomore that laughs in the slow-burning face of their debut by kicking off with a hookup that'll have you fanning your face for days. Said hookup happens between Cassie, a college senior, and Erin, a hot older woman she picks up at a bar...whom Cassie quickly learns is one of her best friends' moms. Thus begins the delicate dance of keeping that night a secret and giving into the hottest chemistry either of them has ever experienced, made even more challenging by the fact that they're spending an entire break together. Can they say goodbye when vacation ends, or it there something here that cannot be denied, no matter what it costs? —Dahlia Adler

You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Yes, you're reading that right ―Janovsky's debuting this year with not one but two gay romance novels, and this one's perfect for the holiday season, especially for all the grinches out there. When privileged Matthew Prince lands himself in hot water and gets shipped off to his grandparents' small town while his parents fix their new PR nightmare, he's less than thrilled with his festive new surroundings. Eager to get out faster, he takes on the task of helming a charity gala, along with the maddeningly sexy and unflappable Hector Martinez. Faced with small-town cheer, party planning, and all that hotness, even grinchy Matthew just might be powerless to resist... —Dahlia Adler

Built to Last by Erin Hahn

St. Martin's Griffin

Erin Hahn's YA contemporaries have long been favorites, and this all-too-welcome branch into the adult sphere of romance joins that tradition. This second-chance romance follows Shelby, a former child star who is trying to reinvent herself. Moving on from her past has been tough, as it included a rough breakup with co-star Lyle and a regrettably public meltdown. Cameron Riggs, her other former co-star (and childhood sweetheart), has remained in her life, popping by any time she needs and then heading off to make documentaries. All of them will be thrown back together when Lyle brings them on board a home renovation show. And though complications are bound to ensue, can the one that got away become a forever love? —Rachel Strolle

Season of Love by Helena Greer

Forever

Miriam has just inherited partial ownership of Carrigan's from her late great-aunt Cass. Carrigan's is the ironically Jewish-run Christmas tree farm that has pulled Miriam back to the past she left behind. But Miriam's not the only one who isn't thrilled about her return. Noelle Northwood, farm manager, and grumpy butch lesbian, doesn't love that Miriam was the one to inherit. But as the two continue working together, Noelle begins to thaw. After all, they'll need each other to keep Carrigan's from the imminent threat of closure. This absolute joy of a romance novel is a true grin-inducing work of art. —Rachel Strolle

Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai

Avon Books

Alisha Rai is one of the best authors in romance right now, and this delectable new novel is the action-romance caper I've been wanting in pop culture. Mira is 35 and trying to just sort out a stable existence for herself. So when she joins a matching app for Indian American singles, she's doing it with the goal of just settling down. Naveen, a professor of English, seems to fit the bill quite nicely. She's not expecting a brief trip to Vegas following the death of her aunt to turn into a wild adventure. With kidnappers, hackers, and thieves afoot, she'll have to concurrently not scare Naveen off while figuring out just what the heck her aunt was really up to. —Rachel Strolle

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A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

Dutton Books for Young Readers

The follow up to Malinda Lo's multiple award-winning Last Night at the Telegraph Club is set in 2013. Aria's expectation for the summer involved lots of sand, sun, friends, and fun on Martha's Vineyard. But the truth is filled with much more potential to be boring — she's being shipped off to her grandmother's for the summer. But staying there leads her to Steph, who works for Aria's grandma as a gardener, who welcomes her into a queer community Aria never could have imagined. —Rachel Strolle

The First To Die At The End by Adam Silvera

Harpercollins

This Black Mirror–esque YA novel is the prequel to Silvera's No. 1 New York Times bestselling novel, They Both Die at the End, set within the beloved Death-Cast universe. This time, we follow Orion Pagan and Valentino Prince, two teens who cross paths in Times Square. They both hold the same curious question as the rest of the world: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die? But when the first official End Day call goes out to the world, one of them will receive life-altering news — and the other won't. —Farrah Penn

The Restless Dark by Erica Waters

Harperteen

Set in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, in this atmospheric YA horror, a popular true-crime podcast hosts its first-ever contest to discover the remains of the Cloudkiss Killer. Years earlier, the Cloudkiss Killer jumped off Cloudkiss Canyon when his teenage victim Lucy escaped his grasp and police cornered him. However, police never found his remains. In an attempt to put the past behind her so she can own her present, Lucy joins the contest hiding her true identity so the other true-crime enthusiasts won’t hound her. Carolina also enters the contest to grapple with her own bloody past and decide what exactly makes people obsessed with murder. Maggie is a college student working on a paper about true crime. The three join forces to find the Cloudkiss Killer’s body, but all harbor dangerous secrets. Meanwhile, the mist that comes and goes across the canyon whispers its own threats to anyone gullible enough to listen. This is a compulsive read. —Margaret Kingsbury

If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang

Inkyard Press

This jaw-dropping debut might be about invisibility, but I hope to see it everywhere because it is just so deliciously thrilling. It's one thing to feel invisible at your boarding school...it's another to actually become invisible. Alice is not just content to fade away, however, deciding instead to use her newfound ability to her advantage. To earn enough money for her tuition, since her parents can no longer afford it, she decides to become an information gatherer, discovering scandals and secrets her fellow students might want to keep hidden, for a price. —Rachel Strolle

Tasting Light edited by A. R. Capetta & Wade Roush

Miteen Press

This collection of innovative YA hard science fiction short stories thoughtfully reimagines a gender-diverse future from an array of perspectives. In the opening story, "Cadence" by Charlotte Nicole Davis (The Good Luck Girls), a gender transitioning teen uses a technology that replaces a person's vocal cords with a deceased person's to better affirm their identity, and in the process makes an unexpected friend. "The Memory of Soil" by Wendy Xu (Mooncakes) is a lovely graphic short where a teenager meets a robot in the forest and grapples with questions of ethics, ecology, and self-compassion. Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson's "The Weight of a Name" explores what the author's Inupiaq culture might look like in the future as the protagonist prepares for her Name Day celebration. Each story is unique, brilliant, and brimming with hope. —Margaret Kingsbury

Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

If you're in search of the perfect YA romcom with immaculate vibes and true joy and heart, consider this your "drop everything else on your TBR and make this book your entire personality" notice. Kelsie doesn't really understand why she's been ghosted by her best friend. Sure, Briana moved across the country, but that shouldn't mean they no longer even talk, right? Eric Mulvaney Ortiz has a similar problem. I mean, he doesn't seem like he has a lot of problems, as the homecoming king and captain of the football team and everything, but truthfully, his girlfriend Jessica is ghosting him. Determined to figure out the truth behind their lack of communication, despite the fact that Kelsie holds a special place of uber hatred in her heart for Eric, the two road trip to the University of Pennsylvania together since Briana and Jessica will both be there during the same week. —Rachel Strolle

Alexa Fishman / BuzzFeed

Thieves by Lucie Bryon

Nobrow

This is such a cute queer graphic novel set in France during the last year of high school. Ella has a crush on fellow student Madeleine, even though she’s never spoken to her. When Ella attends a random party with her best friend, she gets extremely drunk and stumbles into a closet where she throws up and, inexplicably, steals a bunch of stuff. She doesn’t realize what she’s done until she wakes up the following day in her own bed surrounded by stolen goods. She barely has time to register where she is before Madeleine knocks at the door. It turns out she had thrown the party the night before, and now she’s panicking about all the stolen stuff. As the two talk and quickly fall in love, they realize they have some unexpected things in common and formulate a plan to crash parties and return stolen goods. What follows is a charming coming-of-age story with lovely, emotive illustrations. —Margaret Kingsbury

The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night by Marjorie M. Liu, Illustrated by Sana Takeda

Abrams Comicarts

Get ready to be terrified by some truly harrowing illustrations in this first book in a new horror graphic novel trilogy. The derelict house across the street from Chinese American twins Billy and Milly have been on the market seemingly forever. When their parents come for a visit, their taciturn mom decides to take the house in hand and toughen up her children in the process. What follows is a hellish home makeover full of demons, blood, and, most terrifying of all, grinning dolls. In the process, the twins learn their mother is scarier than they thought and that both parents have big dark secrets. Interspersed between the horror, the parents remember how they fell in love in Hong Kong. This is a sharply written, gorgeously illustrated graphic novel that you probably shouldn’t read right before bed. —Margaret Kingsbury