And just like that, we’ve crested to the middle of June. As I’ve said several times in these weekly new release posts, 2026 seems to be doing the most and bending time in odd ways. It feels like the slowest year ever, as much as it feels like the year is flying by. One thing I know has been helping me find grounding and stability through it all is a good book–and we’ve had such a great year of releases. I’ve also been really making an effort to work through the backlist titles teetering on my TBR. I hope you’ve carved out some time to do the same. It’s prime hammock reading season in my neck of the woods, and I’m eager to build as much time in to revel in it.
Although publishing typically slows down in the summer, the YA world will be seeing plenty of new books all season long. There’ll be fewer than the middle of April or May, but you’ll be finding exciting new things to plop on your to-read.
This week, we’ve got multiple stories of pirates and the high seas, an influencer entangled in dark magic, an Indigenous murder mystery, and more. There are also a number of new and continuing YA series releasing in hardcover and in paperback for those of you who enjoy deep immersion in a story during these longer days.
New Hardcover YA Releases This Week
A Prince Among Pirates by Katie Abdou
Kit Davenport is a young nobleman who wants to be anything but. He’s always disappointed his father, and now, with an arranged marriage and a restrictive noble life on the horizon, Kit needs to do something.
That something is somehow getting aboard the Deliverance, a boat helmed by the very dashing Reggie Sharpe. Sharpe is hard to resist, even if his crew is a band if pirates. It’s the exact opposite culture and community than where Kit came from, but he doesn’t have time to step off the ship. Even if he wanted to, it’s hard to leave when there’s so much excitement and such a crush-worthy captain.
But Kit’s past can’t stay hidden, and pretty soon, he’ll have to decide: the life of a nobleman or the life of a pirate?
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Such a Lucky Girl by Wendy Heard
Bella ditched her best friend Kerry three years ago in order to become an influencer. She’s successful, too–she’s known and followed for her ability to manifest luck in her life. Bella’s getting everything she could have ever wished for, even if it meant leaving Kerry alone.
When Kerry discovers an old self-help book, she’s finding herself fascinated with the rituals within it. What if she tried some of them? What if she tried some of them on Bella?
Little do either of the girls know that there’s something sinister within the pages of that book, and neither one of them can prepare for what’s about to happen to their relationship and themselves.
Tangled Roots & Wild Dreams by Angela Velez
What if you don’t actually know what you want your future to look like? That’s the story for Ezzie Ramosis. Her mami and abuelita think she’s got everything ready to roll for after high school but Ezzie is keeping a big secret: she’s not filled out any college applications or followed the paths that have been presented to her. Instead, she’s going to be interning at an urban garden that her father founded right before his death–something she recent discovered and realized would help her learn about the dad she never got to know.
Ezzie’s dad was a well-known scientific researcher but that’s about all she knows. This is the summer she’ll do anything to learn more–even if it means keeping secrets from her family and fighting with the garden’s beloved (and very cute) volunteer, Gabe. But just how long can secrets, whether her own or those of her father, stay buried?
Tell Me My Future by Eileen M. Ruvane
Kess Turner’s mother has moved them everywhere, so she’s never been in one place very long. The latest stop is by far the weirdest, though. They’re living in a psychic shop, and they got there because Kess’s mom was summoned when Madame Amalia was in an accident and fell into a coma. Kess has been discovering secret messages and cash all around and knows there is a lot more going on than anyone is letting on.
Kess does what seems natural: pretend to be a psychic and press Madame Amalia’s clients for information. But Kess is now experiencing weird visions herself, and the more she learns from clients and from what’s happening to her, the more she’s beginning to suspect that her mother and Madame Amalia may have been involved in a murder. As her visions get worse and she’s fearing for her own death, Kess knows she needs to begin asking some tough questions.
Together We See by Ari Tison
Inspired by the real issues of missing and murdered Indigenous people, whose stories too often go unreported, Tison’s latest novel is told through multiple points of view. Ulá Dominguez is a Bribri-American teenager is determined to find out what happened to her father, a land activist. He was murdered in their native territory in Costa Rica, and Ulá and her brother, Kabék, want to find out what happened. It wouldn’t be easy in any case for two young people to solve a murder, but it’s made even more challenging because they’re facing off against loggers, kidnappers, and the Costa Rican government in their efforts.
The siblings have a couple of trusted family friends still living in Bribri who are able to help them. They’ve also got the help of journalist who may be struggling with some issues himself. What unravels is a sinister story of murder and the reality that no one–not Ulá, not Kabék, not their friends and family, and not their journalist partner–is safe.
Hardcover YA Series Releases This Week:
- Kingdom of Waves by Melissa de la Cruz
- Libertad by Cassandra James
- Royal Vengeance by Aimée Carter
New Paperback YA Releases This Week
Here’s your periodic reminder that you might need to toggle your view after clicking the link in order to see the paperback editions.
The Protégée by Erica Ridley
Angélique is 18, and her lifelong dream has been to make gowns for the most elite in society. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone that way for her. She’s dyeing silk in a sweatshop, and her lot only gets harder when she’s left orphaned and in charge of her younger sister. Things were already financially tight. This makes that reality even harder.
She’s not going to give up though. Angélique takes a job designing for one of Paris’s top modistes. Her peers make fun of her for being poor, and though this job gets her one step closer to her dream, it isn’t covering the bills, either.
So when a contest is announced for a coveted protégée role, Angélique knows she’ll win. She’ll do whatever she possibly can to make it happen. And she’s doing it. But as she gets closer and closer to her dream, that ambition of hers is being weaponized and tearing open the wounds related to the destruction of her own family.
Angélique finds herself in a tough position: fight like hell for her dream or step back and save herself and her sister in a safer way?
Paperback YA Series Releases This Week:
- Between These Broken Hearts by Lexi Ryan
- A Fiery Spirit by Kate Chenli
Paperback YA Standalone Titles This Week:
- Goodbye, My Princess by Fei Wo Si Cun, translated by Tianshu
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