Good news! We’re getting gorgeous painted covers again. At least, that is what Tara Anne Dalbow has observed over at Hyperallergic. Let me just say: It’s about time. The people have been yearning for a little line and shadow, a few brushstrokes. The illustrated covers are nice, but I can only pray that whoever decides on romance covers decides to dabble in some painted covers. That would devour.
Now for new books. We’ve got a couple of series continuers, one of which is Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before I Knew I Loved You. And, speaking of romance, Lexi LaFleur Brown’s Evening the Score is hockey-based. In the world of romantasy, there’s A Kiss of Crimson Ash, which is inspired by an epic Indian love story. For the YA readers, there’s also Being Aro: A Collection of Aromantic Fiction about Love, Connection, and Empowerment by Madeline Dyer, which includes different genres.
In more of this week’s notable new releases, Matt Haig returns to the Midnight World, we get a cutesy, queer Bromantasy, there’s a murder within a college’s secret society in a stunning debut, and more.
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New Books
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The Midnight Train by Matt Haig
It has been six years since the release of Matt Haig’s blockbuster bestseller The Midnight Library, and this month, readers can return to the Midnight World. This time, it’s about the—you guessed it—Midnight Train, which can transport people back in time to the most important moments of their lives. —Liberty Hardy
Bromantasy by Máire Roche
When all of the promotional material is like “two heroes, one brain cell” and “what if David Rose got dropped into The Princess Bride?” you know I’m firmly sat, holding out my hand in my best “you have phone? Give” gesture.
Juniper and Mo have been best friends for as long as either can remember, and now they’re roommates. They look out for each other, but Juniper is certain that wanderlustful Mo is going to leave him one day. Juniper is happy where he is, and doesn’t particularly see himself as a person capable of being out in the world. So when he accidentally volunteers them both for a quest, he’s less than ready to go kill a monster. But going out beyond what he knows with Mo? Well, that sounds like the best thing he’s ever done. —Jessica Pryde
Babylon, South Dakota by Tom Lin
Tom Lin’s debut novel, The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu, won the Carnegie Medal in Fiction. Now he’s back with a new speculative offering about several generations of an immigrant family on a farm. After the US Army Corps of Engineers buys a lot on their land and builds a silo, strange and unusual things happen to the family, the animals, and the plants. —Liberty Hardy
Night Objects by Eli Raphael
It makes sense that Liz Moore—author of 2024’s Book of the Summer, The God of the Woods—would blurb this debut. Its coming-of-age element mixed with its collegiate secret society element gives hints of Moore’s book, plus The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Lenny is 15 when her family trades Miami for an old houseboat on the Washington coast. Once she starts attending the renowned boarding school Blanchard, with its far-reaching influence, she’s desperate to fit in and becomes entangled with its powerful secret society, Pascalianum. But things get a little twisted—obsession and grief plague the society…And then there’s the murder. —Erica Ezeifedi
Behind Five Willows by June Hur
Every single book June Hur has written so far has captivated me, so you can imagine how excited I’ve been for her take on a historical Korean romance inspired by Pride and Prejudice. And that was before I found out this book deals with censorship and characters involved in illegal writing and transcribing of government outlawed fiction. Be still my heart! – Rachel Brittain
Marilyn and Her Books: The Literary Life of Marilyn Monroe by Gail Crowther
Of all the celebrities that Hollywood tries to sell us, Marilyn is one I can buy into. She survived a childhood spent in foster care and supported the Civil Rights Movement. And, it turns out, she was extremely bookish. In time for her 100th birthday on June 1st, Marilyn and Her Books gives us a literary history of the icon. Apart from her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller, Monroe was deep in the literary world. She regularly entertained and was interviewed by poets, novelists, and playwrights, and educated herself through books after having to drop out of school. I am very much here for this expansion of a Hollywood icon’s lore. —Erica Ezeifedi
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about the books out this week we’re most excited about.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by genre, age category, and even LGBTQ new releases!
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