Hi, Gabi! Welcome back! How have you been since we last spoke for the release of Drown Me With Dreams?

I’ve been good, thank you for asking! I’ve been hard at work on To Steal a Throne, and its sequel. Which is finished!

Your latest novel, To Steal a Throne, is out April 7^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Villainous Lady Whistledown steals power

What can readers expect?

Sooo much feminine rage. Mira is my angriest female character to date, and she does incredibly underhanded, borderline evil things to get what she wants. Also expect deadly trials, lots of blackmail, scheming, political intrigue, and a tension-filled slow burn rivals to lovers.

Where did the inspiration for To Steal a Throne come from?

This story came to me in pieces. First the main character, then the magic system, and finally, the politics. A few years ago, I got an idea to write about a girl who was close to power (like the daughter of a figurehead king), but had none of her own. Later, I was watching the show Lie to Me and started thinking about the power of a lie, and what it would look like to have lie-powered magic. Finally, I took a class called “Politics of Dictatorship.” I started thinking about what elements of society a person would have to manuever to manipulate a corrupt regime.

At first, these were all separate threads, but at some point, I realized each idea fit together into a larger story: a girl with lie-detecting magic who schemes in shadows, collects secrets, and pulls the strings of the men in charge who make her feel powerless.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

In general, I loved writing just about any scene where Mira is a scheming little evil-doer. She’s a professional pot-stirrer and I love that for her. Personally, I love other people’s drama, especially when it has nothing to do with me, so I loved writing about Mira sticking her nose in other people’s business to gather dirt and ruin lives.

Can you tell us a bit about your worldbuilding process?

Here’s the thing: I hate heat. I picked the setting (a mountainside kingdom where it’s winter 98% of the time) for purely pragmatic reasons. My first two books released in the dead of summer and I went to a bunch of book events in the scorching heat. So, I thought if I set this book in a wintry hellscape, my publisher would release it when it’s nice and cold.

In terms of the political worldbuilding, I like to start with a character and work backwards. So, once I knew Mira and her goals, I asked myself what makes her the way she is? What environment would have shaped her into being that way? As I ask myself those questions, I build up a world and a political system corrupt enough to create someone like Mira.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

Action scenes! This book has deadly trials, and for me, it’s difficult to craft action scenes that strike the right balance of emotion and quick-pacing. To combat this, I like to block out my action scenes in bullet points first, just to describe the action each character takes in the very general terms. Then I use those bullets as jumping off points to transcribe my first draft, adding in more details and context as I speak. It gives me more to work with when I go back in and edit.

What’s next for you?

The sequel to To Steal a Throne! It has a title, but I can’t reveal it just yet.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

There are so many gems releasing this year. Here are a few that I’m hyped for!

Wicked Endeavors by Kamilah Cole, Heir of Prophecy by Analeigh Sbrana, Storm Breaker by Nisha Tuli, To Our Untamed Core by Sonido Reyes, Death Card by Jasmine Smith, Bound by Fury by Noelle Monet, Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow, and Funerals are For the Living by Sami Ellis.

Will you be picking up To Steal a Throne? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Gabi Burton, Author of ‘To Steal a Throne’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Gabi! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Thank you so much for having me! I am the author of Sing Me to Sleep and its upcoming sequel Drown Me With Dreams. I was born and raised in St. Louis before I moved to the East Coast where I studied English and Government at Bowdoin College in Maine. I now work as a paralegal and author in Minneapolis. When I’m not reading, writing, or working, I’m probably mindlessly scrolling on TikTok or walking around a lake.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I honestly can’t remember a time I didn’t love storytelling and want to be a writer. When I was a kid, I had this red rubber bouncy ball I would bounce in my room for hours. It drove my parents up the wall, but if helped me focus as I told stories to myself. I didn’t write any of those stories down yet, but I kept secret notebooks with character names and story concepts hidden around my bedroom. I first started writing stories in middle school after I got a laptop, but my love of storytelling started well before that. Over the years, I’ve tried to pinpoint the exact moment I realized I wanted to be an author, but I think that compulsion has been there for as long as I’ve known that the books I loved so much were written by people.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Junie B. Jones
• The one that made you want to become an author: The Magic Treehouse series
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Fire by Kristin Cashore remains one of my all-time favorites I think about constantly

Drown Me with Dreams is the follow-up to your debut Sing Me to Sleep and it’s out August 20^th 2024! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Murder, longing, forbidden love, corruption

What can readers expect from the sequel?

You can expect a lot of pining, political intrigue, and—my personal favorite—plenty of murder. On the surface, Drown Me With Dreams is a book about a bloodthirsty siren choosing between the future of her kingdom and a cinnamon roll prince who’s completely obsessed with her. Over the course of the story, she’ll grow, do crime, and maybe start a war (or three. Oops).

I hope readers enjoy the violence and romance as much as they enjoy the heart of this book: a story about a Black girl struggling to find her place in a world that hates her, discovering her nature in spite of her erased and rewritten history, and learning to accept love in all its forms. Saoirse is a deeply flawed protagonist. She struggles to trust people and see herself as worthy. Readers can expect her to make bad choices for the right reasons, and good choices for the wrong reasons.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?

My favorite character has always been Saoirse’s best friend Carrik. He was my favorite in Book 1 and in Book 2, he plays a larger role in the story. I loved diving deeper into his backstory in Drown Me With Dreams. I learned a lot about him and, by proxy, Saoirse, while writing his character and I hope readers grow to love him as much as I do.

What challenges did you face whilst writing the sequel and how did you overcome them?

Writing a sequel that’s also the conclusion to a duology was… rough, to say the least. I may or may not have panic-emailed my editor a few times during the drafting process. It all worked out in the end, thankfully, but if you’ve ever heard of sophomore book syndrome, it is very much a thing.

It didn’t help that I don’t have a deep love of worldbuilding. And by that, I mean I actively resisted writing fantasy books because I didn’t want to worldbuild. So, of course, I decided to set Book 2 in a completely different world than Book 1, with more magical creatures, a different set of rules, and a completely different system of government. Mistakes were made. All of them by me. Unfortunately, the only way to get through it was just to buckle down and get it done. In the end, I’m proud of the finished product of Drown Me With Dreams, but this book was definitely more of a struggle to write than Sing Me to Sleep!

What’s next for you?

I have another YA fantasy series called Reign of Shadows, coming out with Bloomsbury in 2026! I’ve been having the best time writing this new series and I am so excited for it! Like Sing Me to Sleep, it also features an extremely morally gray protagonist and lots of political intrigue. It’s a story full of blackmail, secrets, and a rivals to lovers romance complicated by the fact that the male lead could ruin her life with a single touch. I can’t wait to introduce readers to this new world!

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

2024 has been an excellent year for books so far. There were a ton of books I was looking forward to, and they didn’t disappoint. I loved The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste, So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole, This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings, and Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma. And next year, I cannot wait to sink my teeth into Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis.

Will you be picking up Drown Me with Dreams? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Gabi Burton, Author of ‘Drown Me With Dreams’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Three days after I announced the book deal for Sing Me to Sleep, I received my first one-star review. At the time, I was still editing the book, we weren’t even close to having ARCs, and there was no way anyone aside from me, my agent, and my editor had read it. The review was left by a brand-new account, made just that day. It didn’t have a profile picture or a bio. Someone had made a Goodreads account for the sole purpose of reviewing a book they’d never read. The “review” was long and raving and angry. They were upset to see that Sing Me to Sleep has an all Black and Brown cast. They claimed that sirens are Irish and a Black person writing about that was appropriating Irish culture. They vented about how they felt I was personally stealing from them.  I’m sugarcoating it because the actual language this reviewer used was foul, but that’s the crux of it.

Fortunately, that “review” has since been taken down but I think about it often. When I do, I think about how mermaid and siren mythology exists in pretty much all cultures around the world. I think about how there are sea-themed mythological creatures of all nationalities, races, and ethnicities. I think about how this “reviewers” raving response is proof that we need more representation so white people aren’t so scandalized when they finally see it. I think about how wild it is to think you “own” one of the most mainstream mythological creatures in existence. But mainly, I think about my favorite mermaid and siren stories from my childhood and what they have in common with each other.

Of course, I was a big fan of The Little Mermaid (1989). For my fifth birthday, my parents got me the sequel, The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea on VHS. I watched it religiously. I also loved the early 2000’s classic, Aquamarine—a story about a mermaid who enlists the help of two girls to find love so she can keep her legs and stay on land. It’s iconic and I was obsessed. My whole family knew I was in love with the show H2O: Just Add Water. I still rewatch it from time to time and it (in my opinion) holds up. My brothers and I loved the Dreamworks movie Sinbad, especially the scene where Sinbad and his crew have to battle a group of sirens. In the movie, they appeared like wispy figures made of water who sang and giggled, luring the men to crash the ship or jump overboard to their deaths.

As a kid, I read books like Emily Winddsnap (a series about a 12-year old girl who discovers she’s half mermaid) and Peter and the Starcatchers (a series about the origin story of Peter Pan, including the origins of the mermaids in the lagoon on Neverland).

I devoured all kinds of stories about mermaids and sirens. Different as they were, they have a bit in common. For one thing, all the depictions of mermaids/sirens I enjoyed as a kid were white. For another, none of them were Irish. And yet, none of them have reviews from angry white people claiming that they’re appropriating Irish culture—because of course not. Because sirens and mermaids don’t belong to Irish culture. Because if that “reviewer” took the time to reflect, they’d recognize that they’re not upset about not seeing Ireland represented in my book, they’re upset about not seeing whiteness.

Like me, this person likely grew up on stories of white sirens and mermaids. Unlike me, they took this to mean that white should be the default for mermaids/sirens. It’s not. Where there’s water, there are likely legends and folklore about mermaid-like creatures. Stories about humanoid sea creatures exist in some form in mythology around the world—they’re not owned by any one race or nationality.

In recent years, we’ve started to see more stories about Black mermaids and sirens. Of course, there’s The Little Mermaid (2023) starring Halle Bailey. But there are also books such as Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen, A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow, and The Deep by Rivers Solomon. They all feature Black water-based mythical creatures. With this exciting wave of diverse stories featuring Black mermaids and sirens, many people have this mindset that these stories are new. They aren’t. Black mermaids and Black sirens weren’t invented as a concept a few years ago, they’ve been in stories passed down for generations. Our exclusion from mainstream books and movies until recently doesn’t mean mythology about us doesn’t exist. Western, Central, and Southern Africa have the mami wata, in Jamaica there’s the River Mumma, Haiti has la siréne, and I could keep going. Black mer-creatures aren’t new but the hyper-prevalence of whiteness in movies, TV shows, and books has convinced many people that white people have a monopoly on mythology about the sea.

I’m excited about this wave of melanated sea creatures we’ve been seeing more and more. I’m excited for the representation it provides for Black kids who want and deserve to see themselves represented in all kinds of stories. I worry that people view this as “making space” for Black authors in stories that aren’t theirs when in fact, what’s actually happening is Black people are finally allowed to tell their own stories in a mainstream way.

Black creators aren’t stealing white stories. We’ve don’t need to. We have our own stories, history, and mythology. Mermaids and sirens exist across just about all cultures and races—including my own. I am so excited for this next generation of Black kids to be raised on fantastical stories centering characters who look like them and I’m honored to join the ranks of Black authors telling our stories.

The post Song Heard Round the World appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Magic, monsters, meddling mothers, mysteries, and more all await you amongst 2023’s upcoming young adult books! From authors such as Marie Lu, Alexandra Bracken, Ibi Zoboi, Steven Salvatore, and Adiba Jaigirdar, along with those making their dazzling debut this year, there are so many books to look forward to.

We’ve rounded up 72 YA books releasing between the months of January and June, so you will definitely find quite a few exciting new reads within this list. Be sure to check out our other 2023 round-ups too, including our Most Anticipated, Romance, Middle Grade, and Queer Books lists!

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below what you are looking forward to!

JANUARY

Cool. Awkward. Black.
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A multi-genre YA anthology of bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors challenging the concept of the geek, featuring contributions from Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Terry J. Benton-Walker, Roseanne A. Brown, Elise Bryant, Tracy Deonn, Desiree S. Evans, Isaac Fitzsimons, Lamar Giles, Jordan Ifueko, Leah Johnson, Amanda Joy, Kwame Mbalia, Tochi Onyebuchi, Shari B. Pennant, K. Arsenault Rivera, Julian Winters, and Ibi Zoboi.

A Ruinous Fate by Kaylie Smith
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A Ruinous Fate series will take readers’ imaginations to new heights on an adventure of dark secrets, witches, and forbidden magic.  

Retro by Jarrod Shusterman & Sofía Lapuente
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What starts off as a light-hearted competition to live without modern technology for a year turns into a fight for survival in this unputdownable young adult thriller by New York Times bestselling author Jarrod Shusterman and debut author Sofía Lapuente.

The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan
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A contemporary fantasy YA debut from Rochelle Hassan about monsters, magic, and wicked fae, perfect for fans of The Darkest Part of the Forest and The Hazel Wood.

Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett
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It’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if Mahalia had a coming-out party? A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, Black joy, and queer pride.

Brighter Than the Moon by David Valdes
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Lauded writer David Valdes offers a heartfelt, clever, and thought-provoking story about how we figure out who we want to be–online and IRL–for fans of David Levithan and Adam Silvera.

Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman
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Twin sisters, both on the run, but different as day and night. One, a professional rogue, searches for a fabled treasure; the other, a changeling, searches for the truth behind her origins, trying to find a place to fit in with the realm of fae who made her and the humans who shun her. 

City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer
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Gotham meets Strange the Dreamer in this thrilling young adult fantasy about a cowardly girl who finds herself at the center of a criminal syndicate conspiracy, in a city where crooked politicians and sinister cults reign and dreaming means waking up as your worst nightmare.

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim
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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets Pride and Prejudice in this delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security—just as she’s falling in love with someone else.

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
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The Davenports delivers a totally escapist, swoon-worthy romance while offering a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked.

Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare
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James and Cordelia must save London—and their marriage—in this thrilling and highly anticipated conclusion to the Last Hours series from the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cassandra Clare. Chain of Thorns is a Shadowhunters novel.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao
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In a fallen kingdom, one girl carries the key to discovering the secrets of her nation’s past—and unleashing the demons that sleep at its heart. An epic fantasy series inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.

FEBRUARY

The Headmaster’s List by Melissa de la Cruz
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Set against the glitz and glamour of an elite LA private school, Melissa de la Cruz’s first YA thriller is an addictive mystery perfect for fans of Gossip Girl and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa
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El Diablo is in the details in this Latinx pirate fantasy starring a transmasculine nonbinary teen with a mission of revenge, redemption, and revolution.

This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang
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Get ready to fall in love in this hilarious romcom about a girl who begins a fake relationship with the famous actor in her class, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Jenny Han.

My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon
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Yvonne Woon, author of If You, Then Me, has crafted a slow-burn thriller about fixing—our friends, ourselves, and our complicated pasts. For fans of Allegedly and We Were Liars, My Flawless Life features a compelling narrator who grapples with the secrets of her private school classmates as well as her own life.

Revelle by Lyssa Mia Smith
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Inspired by Moulin Rouge! and set on an island in a magical version of Prohibition-era New York, Revelle is a breathtaking YA stand-alone fantasy full of dazzling magic, romance, and mystery from debut author Lyssa Mia Smith.

Out of Character by Jenna Miller
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Dumplin’ meets Geekerella in debut author Jenna Miller’s queer, body-positive love story that explores online and offline relationships in all of their messiness.

Lola at Last by J. C. Peterson
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This Pride and Prejudice–inspired tale, a companion to J. C. Peterson’s Being Mary Bennet, spins a modern Lydia Bennet’s life into a tumultuous and hilarious coming-of-age journey, complete with misadventures, misunderstandings, mayhem, and a romance worthy of Darcy and Elizabeth themselves. 

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
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A House with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.

When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao
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Acclaimed author Gloria Chao creates real-world magic in this luminous romance about teens who devote themselves to granting other people’s wishes but are too afraid to let themselves have their own hearts’ desires—each other.

Chaos Theory by Nic Stone
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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin delivers a gripping romance about two teens: a certified genius living with a diagnosed mental illness and a politician’s son who is running from his own addiction and grief. Don’t miss this gut punch of a novel about mental illness, loss, and discovering you are worthy of love.

Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park
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The award-winning author of Re Jane makes her young adult debut in a funny, poignant, and powerful novel about a multicultural teen struggling to fit into her whitewashed school, her diverse Queens neighborhood, and even her own home as her family reels from the loss of her father.

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong
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In a dazzling new fantasy world full of whispered secrets and political intrigue, the magic of women is outlawed but four girls with unusual powers have the chance to change it all.

MARCH

Rosewood: A Midsummer Meet Cute by Sayantani DasGupta
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New York Times bestselling Sayantani DasGupta brings her trademark wit and insight to this bright and funny Sense and Sensibility retelling!

Made of Stars by Jenna Voris
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Inspired by the lawless love story of Bonnie and Clyde, Jenna Voris’s heart-stopping tale of passion and crime will have you seeing stars.

Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole
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This searing and intimate novel in verse follows a sixteen-year-old girl coping with sexual abuse as she grapples with how to reclaim her story, her anger, and her body in a world that seems determined to punish her for the sin of surviving.

Study Break: 11 College Tales from Orientation to Graduation
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Study Break, a collection of interconnected contemporary Young Adult short stories written by Gen Z authors, explores different parts of “the college experience,” from questioning your major to questioning your identity.

Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa
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A young adult graphic novel about high school wallflower Belle Hawkins, who ends up in a love triangle after tutoring the girlfriend of her crush.

Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell
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Perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Tamora Pierce, this standalone YA debut is a stunning cottagecore fantasy romance about a girl with powerful and violent magic, which she must learn to control—or lose everything she loves.

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu
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The Hating Game meets Mission: Impossible in this smoldering new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu about a superstar tapped to become a secret agent and the reluctant young spy assigned to be his partner.

Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz
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In this explosive fantasy debut, a provincial girl must work with an infuriatingly handsome prince to escape a nightmarish curse that forces them to relive the same night over and over.

The Memory Eater by Rebecca Mahoney
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A teenage girl must save her town from a memory-devouring monster in this piercing exploration of grief, trauma, and memory, from the author of The Valley and the Flood.

Royal Blood by Aimée Carter
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An American girl becomes the British Monarchy’s greatest nightmare in this thrilling new series where royal scandals just got deadlier.

There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia
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A raised fist against the destructive forces of gentrification and a love letter to communities of color everywhere, Jade Adia’s unforgettable debut tells the darkly hilarious story of three best friends willing to do whatever it takes to stay together.

Into The Light by Mark Oshiro
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For fans of Courtney Summers and Tiffany D. Jackson, Into the Light is a ripped-from-the-headlines story with Oshiro’s signature mix of raw emotions and visceral prose―but with a startling twist you’ll have to read to believe.

APRIL

An Improbable Season by Rosalyn Eves
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For fans of Bridgerton, a Regency romance by Rosalyn Eves about three young women, their big dreams, and a London Season gone awry.

A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson
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Be swept away by a lush, witchy tale about forbidden magic and missing girls who don’t need handsome princes to rescue them. Perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood.

Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick
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Perfect for fans of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Five Feet Apart, this tender solo debut by the coauthor of New York Times bestseller She Gets the Girl is a romantic ode to the strength of love and the power of choosing each other, against odds and obstacles, again and again.

This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham
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From the author of the New York Times bestselling My Dearest Darkest comes another incredible sapphic horror. When four best friends with a hunger for human flesh attend a music festival in the desert they discover a murderous plot to expose and vilify the girls and everyone like them. This summer is going to get gory.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
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When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.

If I See You Again Tomorrow by Robbie Couch
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From the author of The Sky Blues and Blaine for the Win comes a speculative young adult romance about a teen stuck in a time loop that’s endlessly monotonous until he meets the boy of his dreams.

Never Vacation with Your Ex by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
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The Summer I Turned Pretty meets People We Meet on Vacation in a YA second chance romance from fan-favorite author couple #Wibbroka!

Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin
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The next gut-punching, compulsively readable Kate McLaughlin novel, about a girl finding strength in not being alone.

The Other Side of Infinity by Joan F. Smith
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They Both Die at the End meets The Butterfly Effect in this YA novel by Joan F. Smith, where a teen uses her gift of foreknowledge to help a lifeguard save a drowning man—only to discover that her actions have suddenly put his life at risk.

Queen Bee by Amalie Howard
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A teen girl seeking retribution against her backstabbing former best friend finds her plans slightly derailed once she catches the eye of a familiar, handsome marquess. Bestselling author Amalie Howard delivers a delightful, anti-historical Regency-era romp that’s Bridgerton meets The Count of Monte Cristo!

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams
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A stunning YA fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Justina Ireland, about a Black girl (and sword expert) fighting a Fae uprising in Shakespearean London.

Silver In The Bone by Alexandra Bracken
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken cements her status as one of the top fantasy authors writing today in this stunning series opener inspired by Arthurian legend and fueled by love, revenge, and pure adrenaline!

MAY

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude
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We Are Okay meets They Both Die at the End in this YA debut about queer first love and mental health at the end of the world-and the importance of saving yourself, no matter what tomorrow may hold.

The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro
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The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro is a seductive YA paranormal romance following a runaway queer teen’s deepening and dangerous ties to a mysterious family of werewolves.

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
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From Ibi Zoboi, bestselling, award-winning author of American Street and co-author of Punching the Air, comes a bold new YA coming-of-age story, which explores race, feminism, and complicated family dynamics, about a girl whose father is the leader of a Black liberation group. The ideal next read for fans of Roxane Gay, Jacqueline Woodson, and Elizabeth Acevedo.

They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody
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Jonah and Dylan get along like oil and water. Until a fake dating ploy gives them new perspective, and they realize that “falling for your enemy” isn’t as impossible as it seems.

Something Like Possible by Miel Moreland
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In this compelling YA contemporary from author Miel Moreland, a bisexual teen’s path to political staffer stardom is in jeopardy, until she convinces a cute new candidate to team up with her on the campaign trail.

I Like Me Better by Robby Weber
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I Like Me Better is joyful  queer summer romance from the author of If You Change Your Mind.

Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland
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Sarah J. Maas meets A Deadly Education in A.M. Strickland’s lush, queer YA dark fantasy novel. Court of the Undying Seasons is a deliciously dark romantic novel and a pitch perfect modern take on classic vampire tropes.

No Perfect Places by Steven Salvatore
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From lauded author Steven Salvatore comes a moving YA novel about twins whose incarcerated father dies and leaves behind a life-changing secret, perfect for fans of I’ll Give You the Sun and Euphoria.

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian
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From the Stonewall Honor–winning author of Like a Love Story comes a sweeping story of three generations of boys in the same Iranian family. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and Darius the Great Is Not Okay.

Secret of the Moon Conch by David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall
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Award-winning authors David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall join forces to craft a sweeping fantasy romance about falling in love despite all odds.

When the Vibe Is Right by Sarah Dass
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From the author of Where the Rhythm Takes You comes a delightful enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance set during Trinidad’s Carnival celebration.

In Nightfall by Suzanne Young
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In the quaint town of Nightfall, Oregon, it isn’t the dark you should be afraid of—it’s the girls. The Lost Boys meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this propulsive novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Treatment.

JUNE

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
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In a world where the children of the gods inherit their powers, a descendant of the Greek Fates must solve a series of impossible murders to save her sisters, her soulmate, and her city.

Wolfpack by Amelia Brunskill
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Perfect for fans of We Were Liars, Wolfpack is an unforgettable and unputdownable novel that will hold you breathless all the way to its shocking finale.

Kismat Connection by Ananya Devarajan
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In this charming YA debut, a girl who’s determined to prove her star chart wrong ropes her longtime best friend into an experimental relationship—not knowing that he has been in love with her for years.

Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton
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In this dark and seductive YA fantasy debut, a siren must choose between protecting her family and following her heart in a prejudiced kingdom where her existence is illegal.

Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney
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This sequel to the New York Times bestselling None Shall Sleep is an equally electrifying, chilling thriller that brings us back into the lives of junior FBI consultants Travis Bell and Emma Lewis with a new case that may unravel everything they’ve been working for.

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
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At Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night? This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street.

Ride or Die by Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu
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Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu’s adrenaline-packed joyride of a debut is an ode to Gen Z and chaotic teens—perfect for fans of Grace D. Li, Ebony Ladelle, and Baby Driver.

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson
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From the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of This Is My America comes another thriller about a wrongly accused teen desperate to recclaim both his innocence and his first love.

Always Isn’t Forever by J.C. Cervantes
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From New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes comes a sparkling, unforgettable YA romance, perfect for fans of You’ve Reached Sam.

Plus One by Kelsey Rodkey
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Fans of Emma Lord and Rachel Lynn Solomon will revel in Kelsey Rodkey’s latest swoon-worthy YA rom-com as self-proclaimed matchmaker Lahey finally puts her own heart on the line—to find a date in just one week.

The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
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A pun-filled YA contemporary romance, The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar finds a teenage girl competing in a televised baking competition, with contestants including her ex-girlfriend and a potential new crush – perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off and She Drives Me Crazy!

Borrow My Heart by Kasie West
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When a girl overhears a guy getting verbally destroyed by his friends for being catfished, she jumps in to save the day—and pretends to be his online crush. A young adult romance from the critically acclaimed author of Places We’ve Never Been.

What YA releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post YA Book Releases To Add To Your TBR In 2023 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.