Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
Hello, SFF fans! June is upon us, which means it’s time for a new round of excellent science fiction and fantasy books. It’s finally warm enough here in Maine that we don’t need to sleep inside a Tauntaun, and I can open the windows while I read as many SFF books as I can. It’s a great time! To help you also kick off your summer reading, I picked 10 terrific SFF reads out in June for you to add to your TBR.
This month, there’s an ailing queen worried about the future of her island, a courier who must guide the prince’s entourage safely to their destination, not one but two queer books with vampires (one of which is in space!), stories inspired by Swan Lake and Beauty and the Beast, an Indigenous warrior’s quest for revenge, a haunted medieval adventure, and more.
Now find a comfy chair, extinguish your dragons, and get ready to add these great books to your TBR!
The Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Out in June 2025
Black Salt Queen by Samantha Bansil (Bindery Books, June 3)
Hara Duja Gatdula, the ailing queen of the island nation of Maynara, is worried for the future of the throne. Her heir, the princess Laya, has enormous power but not the discipline to use it wisely. And it might not be enough to stop the powerful Imeria Kulaw, the head of a rival family, from destroying what Hara and Laya have and taking the throne for people.
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove (Bindery Books, June 3)
Vampires! In! Space! In this queer sci-fi horror, humans can travel between Earth and Alpha Centauri, and Demeter is one of the spaceships that makes the journey. But when Demeter’s passengers start dying mysteriously, Demeter discovers the cause: a vampire. To stop the killings and keep from being shut down, Demeter has to put together her own monster squad to try to take down Dracula, the most powerful vampire of all time.
The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott (Tor Books, June 10)
In this start to an epic fantasy duology, a courier must save the day when a journey goes horribly wrong. The courier, Elen, is part of a team traveling with the awful prince and his entourage when they get stuck in Orledder Halt. Despite Elen’s warnings to the prince to stay out of the haunted Spires, he goes in anyway. Big mistake. Huge. Now, everyone looks to Elen to help them get out of Orledder Halt alive and make it to the end of their journey.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab (Tor Books, June 10)
Woo-hoo! Easily one of the most anticipated books of 2025, Schwab’s excellent “toxic lesbian vampire” novel is about three women in three different times in history and places in the world. Each will make choices that severely change their future and may have them hunting for answers. Are they all vampires? Are they immortal? You’ll have to read it to find out.
The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery by Clarence A. Haynes (Legacy Lit, June 17)
NYC publicist Gwendolyn Montgomery is at the top of her game when a terrible event shakes her life. After a horrific event at a museum, Gwendolyn begins to suspect that it has ties to her past. This brings South Bronx psychic Fonsi Harewood back into her orbit. Fonsi is dealing with a love triangle between himself, a ghost, and his ex. But he still manages to warn Gwendolyn that the line between the living and the dead is growing weak, and she needs to face her past if she wants to secure the future.
Seventhblade by Tonia Laird (ECW Press, June 17)
This is a fantasy about a mother’s thirst for revenge! In this anti-colonial adventure, an Indigenous warrior must align herself with a corrupt gang and a powerful exiled deity to avenge the death of her son. When T’Rayles’s adopted son is murdered, she returns to the colonized city of Seventhblade to get revenge. But even with help from outside forces, the rising evil in the city may be too much for her to fight. It’s a risk T’Rayles is willing to take.
The Best New Children’s and YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Out in June 2025
A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim (Knopf Books for Young Readers, June 3)
From the bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes comes this Beauty and the Beast-inspired YA fantasy. Truyan Saigas is a con artist with the ability to literally paint the future. She’s been taking care of her family since her father was lost at sea. In order to keep her mother and siblings safe from gangsters trying to collect on her mother’s gambling debt, Truyan enters into a marriage with the mysterious Dragon King, who insists she join him in his underwater palace in return for the safety of her family.
Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman (Random House Books for Young Readers, June 24)
This is a medieval fantasy by the bestselling author of Seraphina! In the mysterious, muddy town of St. Muckle’s, lives a young man, Charl, and his mother. St. Muckle’s is a refuge town for peasants, who gain freedom if they remain within its walls for a year and a day. But when Charl sees a ghost, it sets off a chain of events that includes a murder and a dragon. It sends Charl seeking refuge outside the walls in an abandoned abbey…which also has ghosts. Charl must figure out what he needs to help his mother and St. Muckle’s, and what all the ghosts in his life mean.
Embrace the Serpent by Sunya Mara (HarperCollins, June 24)
Eighteen-year-old orphan Saphira has been getting by in the kingdom as a jeweler’s apprentice, where her amazing pieces are credited to her boss. But when the terrifying Serpent King sends for the greatest jeweler in the land, it is Saphira who ends up at his castle. Choosing a marriage to the king to avoid going back to the cold world outside, Saphira then finds herself increasingly drawn to her husband’s defiant huntsman, which will lead to danger.
A Treachery of Swans by A. B. Poranek (Margaret K. McElderry Books, June 24)
And last, but not least, a Swan Lake-inspired sapphic fantasy! In the royal kingdom, a young woman plans to infiltrate the palace and take the crown to help restore magic to Auréal. With the help of her sorcerer father, Odile steals the identity of a noblewoman, her BFF-turned-enemy Marie, by turning Marie into a swan and taking her place at the palace. But when the king is murdered and Odile’s brother is accused of the crime, Odile will have to turn to Marie for her help in finding the killer.
Bonus New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Out in June 2025
Because I can’t just stop at 10 books: in June, be sure to also watch for The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick, This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman, A Song of Legends Lost by M. H. Ayinde, Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue, If Wishes Were Retail by Auston Habershaw, and The Two Lies of Faven Sythe by Megan E. O’Keefe.
There are also a bunch of amazing sci-fi and fantasy titles out in paperback this month, including The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei, Moonbound by Robin Sloan, The Will of the Many by James Islington, Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse, and The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons.
Don’t forget the sequels! Amazing continuations of great stories are hitting the shelves, like The Dallergut Dream-Making District by Miye Lee, Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend, Ancestors: A Grievers Novel by adrienne maree brown, The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Older, and The God and the Gwisin by Sophie Kim.
If you want to learn about more sci-fi and fantasy books, check out Portal Fantasy Graphic Novels and A Riveting Sci-Fi Fantasy Blend Told in Three Timelines. And be sure to sign up for our SFF newsletter, Swords and Spaceships!
Finally, you can also find a full list of new releases in the magical New Release Index, carefully curated by your favorite Book Riot editors, organized by genre and release date.
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