We have five books on our radar this week, and there’s something for just about everyone here. Which ones are you adding to your TBR list?
Against the Darkness (In Every Generation #3) by Kandare Blake
Disney Hyperion
This epic finale to the The Next Generation trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake ( Three Dark Crowns ) features the next generation of Scoobies and Slayers who must defeat a powerful new evil.
For generations, the Slayer was supposed to be the chosen, the one girl in all the world with the power to stand against the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness. When Willow used the scythe to call up all the potential slayers at once, it changed everything. For years, the slayers have been working and fighting together as a team.
Then the Darkness came, killing many slayers and trapping the rest in an alternate dimension. And Frankie Rosenberg, the world’s first Slayer-Witch, found herself fighting evil alone. Sort of.
Sure, she has her new Scooby Gang, plus the help of her mom, Willow; Watcher, Spike; and even the brooding-but-hot Hunter of Thrace. But even though they have a master plan (obviously), the gang is more fragmented than ever.
So maybe it really is up to Frankie—and Frankie alone—to stand against the darkness. With Jake’s wild werewolf brother back in town, Dark Willow threatening to return, and the Darkness preparing for the final stage of their attack, now is not a great time to wallow in teen angst. After all, she’s the Slayer. It’s time to slay.
And Then There Was Us by Kern Carter
Tundra Books
A mother’s death forces a teen girl to reevaluate their tumultuous relationship in this powerful coming-of-age novel for teens. For fans of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter .
Coi is just eighteen years old, but has already survived years of physical and verbal abuse from her mother. After being kicked out of her mother’s house at age fourteen, Coi has lived with her father, and together they’ve created a peaceful life. That peace ends suddenly when her mother dies.
While Coi struggles to find kindness in her heart for the woman who only hurt her, she starts having lucid dreams, forcing her to relive moments of abuse and emotional trauma that eventually led to Coi’s abandonment.
Her mother’s passing also reopens the door to her mother’s side of the family, including her beloved younger half-sister, Kayla, her stepfather and her grandmother. Each of them challenge Coi’s long-held views about her mother, especially Kayla, who, Coi realizes, is taking their mother’s loss hard. As she reconnects with her family, Coi learns to see parts of her mother she never experienced, and for the first time since she was abandoned, opens her heart to forgiveness.
Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa
Wednesday Books
When a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group’s lead vocalist spot—what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face.
In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional; and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met.
Now eight months later, Rafie’s ready for one final win. What he didn’t plan for is his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life—his beloved abuelo. Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist, Rey Chavez—the boy Rafie made out with—who now stands between him winning and being the great Mariachi Rafie’s abuelo always believed him to be. Despite their newfound rivalry for center stage, Rafie can’t squash his feelings for Rey. Now he must decide between the people he’s known his entire life or the one just starting to get to know the real him.
Canto Contigo is a love letter to Mexican culture, family and legacy, the people who shape us, and allowing ourselves to forge our own path. At its heart, this is one of the most glorious rivals-to-lovers romance about finding the one who challenges you in the most extraordinary ways.
Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier
Clarion Books
From acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology.
In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person’s greatest sorrow. An unwanted marriage, a painful illness, and unpaid debt … gone. But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning.
Every wish demands a price.
Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.
Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign. Sam is left with two to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time – hope.
But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.
The Smoke That Thunders by Erhu Kome
Norton Young Readers
From a debut Nigerian author: a spectacular young adult fantasy rooted in West African mythology and brimming with adventure.
In this mesmerizing fantasy rooted in Urhobo and West African folklore, sixteen-year-old Naborhi longs for a life away from her small, traditional clan in Kokori. But as her rite of passage approaches and she is betrothed to an arrogant young man, Naborhi feels her dreams slipping away from her.
Then Naborhi becomes bonded to a mysterious animal and begins having harrowing visions of a kidnapped boy. She soon meets Atai, the son of an Oracle from a rival queendom, and learns that she is being guided by the gods. She and Atai, along with Naborhi’s eager-for-adventure cousin, Tamunor, set off across the continent to rescue the mysterious boy. But when they find him―and find out his true identity―Naborhi realizes there is more than just her freedom at stake: she must stop a war that has already been set in motion.
With lush, unique worldbuilding and a dynamic cast of characters, The Smoke That Thunders is a gripping story of political intrigue, fierce love, and what it means to be free.