New Releases

New Releases

Posted onAuthorK. Imani Tennyson

This week’s set of new releases have something for everyone and all sound like great books. I know which books I’m adding to my TBR shelf.

King of the Neuro Verse by Idris Goodwin 

But life outside the cypher isn’t as forgiving. Pernell’s English teacher has it out for him. His parents are pressuring him to see a doctor for his lack of focus. And Electra, his friend-slash-crush and the only one who truly gets him, is too busy chasing her dream internship to give him the time of day.

If Pernell doesn’t pull himself together, he won’t just lose the title of Cypher King—he’ll lose his chance to graduate high school. In a world where the systems are turned against kids like him, Pernell needs to find a way to succeed with his ADHD, rather than in spite of it.

Illustrated cover for The Leaving Room. A Black teenage girl is in profile from the shoulders up. She has her head tipped back, like she's looking up into the sky with a thoughtful expression on her face. The whole cover is awash in blue, though there is a stylized sun behind her and stars in the background and peppered in her hair, which is pulled back into a bun. Flowers and other plants in reds, yellows, and oranges grown in the foreground, following and filling in the lines of her body.

The Leaving Room by Amber McBride
Feiwel & Friends

For fans of You’ve Reached Sam and If I Stay, a hauntingly beautiful, ultimately hopeful novel-in-verse about a girl in between life and death, by National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.

Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room—a place all young people must phase through when they die. The young are never ready to leave; they need a moment to remember and a Keeper to help their wispy souls along.

When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melody arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel seriousness melts and Melody’s fear of connection fades, but still—are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love. In a novel that takes place over four minutes, National Book Award finalist Amber McBride explores connection, memory, and hope in ways that are unforgettable and poignant.

Book cover for A Riddle of Thorns. A young woman with brown skin and long dark hair stares out at the reader. She's wearing a low cut striped dress with long sleeves. She is holding her hands together in front of her and there is a red flower above her hands. She has a choker on her neck that is white and burgundy striped like her dress. Behind her is a building with windows that show lights on inside. There are purple flowers on either side of her.

A Riddle of Thorns by Sarena Nanua & Sasha Nanua
Holiday House

Sana Gupta has waited years to return to her ancestral home in Paris, with its labyrinthine halls and overgrown gardens. Sent away as a child when her mother disappeared, Sana has long puzzled over whether her mother’s departure was just another of her famously unsolvable riddles.

Now eighteen and ready to claim her inheritance, Sana arrives at the dark and dilapidated estate to find three strangers awaiting her: Fox, an eccentric prodigy who models himself after Sherlock Holmes; Isabelle, a seemingly innocent girl who shares an icy history with Sana; and Minho, a handsome young genius always wearing half a smirk. Per her mother’s will, they’ve each received a cryptic invitation to compete in a contest of riddles for the deed to Razorthorn Manor—and the rumored treasure hidden within: a flower created by the gods themselves, able to grant any wish.

Feeling betrayed by her mother, Sana sets out to uncover the truth of where her mother really went, what links the competitors together, and what secrets the crumbling and disquieting house conceals. But her task won’t be easy—for her competitors will do anything to win this twisted game . . . Set in a darkly shimmering Edwardian Paris where worship of the Roman gods never ended, A Riddle of Thorns drips with Gothic atmosphere, sizzles with romantic tension, and confounds with intricate puzzles and long-buried mysteries.

The book cover of An Ocean Apart. The background is very dark blue. There are bubbles Some of the bubbles have flowers inside them. There is also a hummingbird fluttering near a teardrop shape.

An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew
Joy Revolution

Eden Lowell has plenty to be frustrated about. In the flooded Marshes of former Miami, each day is about survival. Even her feelings for her best friend Henry are more complicated than they should be. Luckily, Eden knows exactly who to blame: the Cruisers, corporate elite who sail the world on massive ships instead of facing the environmental crimes they’ve committed on land.

When Eden learns that a Cruiser family is hosting a dating competition for their heir, Theo Desjardins, she seizes an opportunity. Aided by a political agitator known as the Ringmaster, she’ll infiltrate the competition, break Theo’s heart, and then steal his money for the Marshes. A perfect plan…

Until she gets to know Theo, who’s not only handsome but surprisingly kind…

As Eden drifts deeper down into the Cruisers’ world, the line separating truth and lies becomes murky. Torn between two identities, two loves, and two futures, will she choose the mission, or her heart?

Illustrated cover of the book He's So Possessed with Me. It has a hand clutching a heart. The hand is very white with black pointy nails.

He’s So Possessed with Me by Corey Liu
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Ren says he’s in love, but Colin knows better.

Sure, he can’t remember much about how it all began. But he remembers dancing at a club he and Ren were too young to dance in. He remembers the boys who harassed them on their way home. He remembers a ghost emerging from the trees, and a white hand reaching for Ren through a thick fog. What Colin can’t remember is what happened next. Only two things are clear to him: Ren is different now, and the new guy vying for his heart is not who he claims to be.

With the help of two unlikely allies and a cranky old medium, Colin must learn to conquer his self-doubt and save his best friend from a love that could cost him his life.

Equal parts campy and bewitching, Corey Liu’s debut YA novel explores predation, isolation, and what happens when a childhood dream of fairytale romance turns into a deadly nightmare.

Book cover of This Is How We Roll. Four people are sitting at a table with papers in front of them. One has a privacy screen up. The others have little lines above their head that go above to an image of themselves as characters.

This is How We Roll by Rosiee Thor
Page Street Kids

The magic of tabletop RPGs lives in the creativity of the players. Given the chance to explore gender, relationships, and queer existence across vast worlds with completely different sets of rules, queer players throughout the years have found acceptance, camaraderie, and joy by rolling the dice and kicking ass. This anthology celebrates that TTRPG rite of passage with a diverse lineup of queer authors who are just as mighty with their pens as with swords? and shields? and spells! This collection of fourteen stories includes critically acclaimed authors such as New York Times Bestseller Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times Bestseller Andrew Joseph White, Pura Belpré Honor winner Jonny Garza Villa, LAMBDA Literary Award winner Rebecca Podos, LAMBDA Award finalist Linsey Miller, Indie Bestseller Margaret Owen, and Morris Award finalist Akemi Dawn Bowman.

A Black couple is ice skating. The one in the front is wearing a blue vest and her hair in braids. The person behind has her hands on the other's hips and is wearing a plaid shirt, scarf and a beanie with no hair visible.

I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm by Mariama J. Lockington
Farrar, Straus & Giroux

High school senior Lyric has always found Christmas to be the hardest season. While other kids got presents and family time by the fire, she was in and out of foster care. An up-and-coming make-up influencer and aspiring cosmetology student who loves a bold lip, Lyric definitely isn’t looking for romance—not when opening up to someone feels a lot like asking to get hurt.

Christmas is Juniper’s favorite time of year. At least, it was, until her moms’ separation. They’re back together now, and Juniper hopes they’ll stay that way. Because if they’re happy, that means Juniper can leave for her gap-year trip after graduation (the one she has yet to tell her parents about, and can’t really afford without their help).

When a chance meeting brings these two opposite personalities together, they should clash . . . only they don’t. Instead Lyric strikes a deal with Juniper: pose as her fake girlfriend in a series of holiday-themed social media posts and they can split the money from her beauty sponsorships. But soon the lines between what’s real and what’s not start to blur. Could it be that sparks are flying both in front of the camera and behind it?

Told from dual perspectives, one in prose and one in verse, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm is a cozy and modern love story from acclaimed author Mariama J. Lockington that’s perfect for the winter season or all year round.

The cover of Fortress of Ambrose. The center is a heart sculptured out of gold with a red rose in the center that is aflame. The background is black. The title is in red letters.

Fortress of Ambrose (House of Marionne #3) by J. Elle
Razorbill

Don’t miss the explosive finale of the dark, romantic fantasy of the New York Times-bestselling House of Marionne series, which #1 bestselling author Alex Aster praises as “a sweeping fantasy brimming with magic, secrets, and romance.”

With the future of the Order clouded in uncertainty, and the evil within its ranks coming to the surface, Quell Marionne has nowhere left to turn.

Everyone Quell cares about is gone and she still can’t escape the powerful legacy that wants to destroy her. But when she uncovers an earth-shattering revelation, she must choose: be the hero the magic world needs or save Jordan.

Meanwhile, a darkness festers inside Dragunheart Jordan Wexton. His path to survival means becoming the monster he was bred to hate, if he can overcome the power rotting within himself.

In a world where the line between proper and forbidden magic blurs, Quell and Jordan, along with two unlikely allies – bitter assassin Yagrin Wexton and magicless Heir Nore Ambrose, must navigate a treachero’s path where freedom hangs by a thread. Can love tip the scales toward freedom? Or will rivalries and deadly betrayals shatter their hearts and destroy the world they once knew?

The book cover of My Life as an Internet Novel Volume 1. The background is yellow and in there are six people in school uniforms. The person in the center is a girl holding a book to her chest.

My Life as an Internet Novel, Volume 1 by A Hyeon and Yu Han-ryeo
Random House Graphic

Every internet novel has the usual cast: a gorgeous heroine, handsome boys vying for her attention, and a unremarkable best friend at the heroine’s side. Dani, an ordinary student and avid reader, is all too familiar with these tropes. But she never imagined that one day she’d wake up in one herself!

But how did she get here?

Her new fictional world is complete with a beautiful best friend named Yeoryung, and four impossibly good-looking boys who all happen to be in her class…and are possibly love interests. Love interests that weren’t originally meant for her.

Dani knows that nothing good will happen to her as the side character, so she is determined to stay out of the way! But what happens when this fictional world ends up leading Dani to the first real friends she’s ever known? With no idea how to get back home, Dani decides she’ll just have to play her part—no matter what plot twists come her way.

Illustrated cover of Black History is Your History. Pinkish purple backround with the faces of eight different Black people from the past and present around the title.

Black History is Your History by Taylor Cassidy
Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Meet Taylor Cassidy, Black history enthusiast and creator of the viral TikTok series Fast Black History. In her debut book, Taylor takes readers on a journey through the Black history she wishes she was taught in school. With sparkling wit and humor—and lots of fun pop culture references—she paints a vibrant picture of twelve figures from Black history whose groundbreaking contributions shaped America as we know it today. Introducing icons from activists to literary giants, movie stars to Olympic gold medalists, fashion designers to astronauts, and more, this one-of-a-kind collection makes Black history relatable, relevant, and utterly irresistible.

Using Black history as inspiration, Taylor weaves together research and personal anecdotes that illuminate each trailblazer’s impact on her own life—as well as sharing plenty of triumphant, funny, and embarrassing moments from her past. From navigating friend breakups and unrequited crushes to setting boundaries and fighting self-doubt, Taylor’s been there…and she’s learned some valuable life lessons along the way.

This book is a joyful celebration of Black historymakers, and you’re invited to the party. Come on in and let these twelve true stories inspire you to make history of your own!