Dragon Gods, Pixietails, Magical Duels and More New YA Book Releases for February 11, 2026

The first in a new series from Bowen, readers will be immersed in a dragon-filled tale inspired by African mythology.

The Kingdom of Kwa has been peaceful for a long time, thanks to the dragon gods. They keep evil away. This is what’s allowed Moremi a safe life.

But then a king tries to steal the gods’ power, and not only are the dragons injured, chaos breaks loose. Death and evil are back in Kwa, and Moremi is suddenly leaning that she has a magical connection to both of those dragon gods.

The future of Kwa looks bleak, unless Moremi steps into her power. It’s a big responsibility, and there are plenty of people who don’t want her to, but Moremi may be Kwa’s only hope.

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It’s 2067. If you’re rich, you can buy a one way ticket to Mars and build a new life in one of the settlements created by the Graves family. So when Hunter, grandson of the man who settled Mars, shows up at the United Nations base and learns there’s an emergency evacuation, he’s left behind.

But he’s not alone. Cleo, a stowaway, is also stranded. If she hates anything, it’s rich boys, but she may have no choice beyond at least talking with Hunter.

What unravels in this fast-paced, eight hour story is an attempt by merceneries to blow up the base. The evacuation is a cover, but now Hunter and Cleo have to do more than simply acknowledge each other’s existence. They have to figure out how to stop the incoming explosion and live to tell the tale.

They’ll also have to accept that they’re falling for one another and not let those feelings get in the way of the mission ahead.

Samantha Chan wants revenge for her brother’s death. He died in an illegal magic duel. Since his death, Sam has been training with Lysander Rook, learning how to duel legitimately. Her goal is to take down Mateus Blackwood, the person who killed her brother.

Tamsin Blackwood wants to be taken seriously in the magical dueling circuit, but her father’s legacy makes that hard. Her father, Mateus, also happens to be her coach.

So when Tamsin gets invited to duel Lysander and his assistant Sam, she thinks this is her chance to break free of that legacy. Too bad Tamsin is unaware of Sam’s intentions and ultimate goal–and too bad that Sam’s taking quite a liking to Tamsin, too.

Cosplay and fandom fans will find so much to love in this paperback original that follows 16-year-old Leigh Carroll. Leigh lives with her dad in a small Philadelphia apartment after she lost her mother when she was young. They’re just scrapping by, and for Leigh, a big reason why is that she’s found escape through cosplay.

Her character of choice is Lady Lovely Locks, a character from an old book series. Lady Lovely Locks wears unremarkable dresses while living in a magical castle and sporting a rainbow mane. That mane isn’t just special for its color. It’s also infested with rodents called “Pixietails.”

Leigh’s got her costume down pat–except for the rainbow hair. So when she meets a woman at a comics convention selling what looks to be an authentic Lady Lovely Locks wig, Leigh snaps it up. Little does she know that putting that wig on would transport her to the magical world where Lady Lovely Locks lives. Things go from weird to weirder though. Leigh is turned into Lady Lovely Locks and discovers a painting of her mother that makes her wonder if Leigh and her fictional fandom favorite have far more in common than she could have ever imagined.

Ofelia wants nothing more than to enter Le Château Enchanté. It’s a mysterious court that’s been blessed by the gods. Within its court, the shadow monsters that abound in Ofelia’s land never enter.

Lope is a knight who has worked to keep Ofelia’s homeland safe from the shadow monsters.

When the shadows get a little too close for comfort, Lope and Ofelia need to flee. Their escape leads them to Château Enchanté, where they will discover that this purported place of magic may be the epicenter of the raging shadows.