Book Riot Managing Editor Vanessa Diaz is a writer and former bookseller from San Diego, CA whose Spanish is even faster than her English. When not reading or writing, she enjoys dreaming up travel itineraries and drinking entirely too much tea. She is a regular co-host on the All the Books podcast who especially loves mysteries, gothic lit, mythology/folklore, and all things witchy. Vanessa can be found on Instagram at @BuenosDiazSD or taking pictures of pretty trees in Portland, OR, where she now resides.
Let’s get this out of the way: I’m cheating a little. Summer technically started in June and the books I’ve rounded up come out from July to September. In my defense, “summer releases” sounds a whole lot better than “Q3 releases,” not to mention a whole lot less like I’m about to hit you with letters like “KPI” and “P&L.” So let’s just all agree that the months of July, August, and September count as summer, and be thankful that they are absolutely stacked with fantastic releases by Latine authors.
A preview of what’s in store: a genre-blending exploration of the Salvadoran civil war; a witchy academia read set in ’90s New England and early 20th-century Mexico; a borderlands retelling of Persephone and Demeter; a Romeo and Juliet-inspired retelling set during the Civil Rights era; historical romance set in Regency London with Mexican protagonists, and more. Whether your summer vibe is romance, horror, fantasy, mystery, or something that blends several genres, Latine lit is checking off all the boxes this season.
Let’s get into these libros.
Archive of Unknown Universes: An Alternate History Timeline Saga Through Love, War, and Displacement in the Salvadoran Civil War by Ruben Reyes Jr. (Jul 1)
Ruben Reyes Jr. is author of the short story collection There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven. This is his debut novel about two families in two timelines—Cambridge in 2018 and Havana in 1978—of the Salvadoran civil war. This is a genre-blender exploring displacement and loss, but also belonging and love, and one that asks big questions about what could have been.
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Jul 15)
SMG and witches? Come on!! In 1990s Massachusetts, graduate student Minerva is researching the life of author Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure writer of horror who attended the same university and whose friend mysteriously went missing during her time there. The more Minerva learns about Beatrice and the missing friend, the more she sees parallels to the unsettling stories her great-grandmother Alba told her about her life in 1900s Mexico. Something wicked is at play, she’s sure of it. But what? My queen stays spinning the genre roulette and going, “Yeah, I can do that.” And y’all, she did that, in deliciously creepy form.
Latine Lit
A bi-weekly newsletter about all things Latine literature, from news and new releases to recommendations and more!
Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan (Jul 22)
Chicana/Indigenous author and poet Jennifer Givhan is the author of another one of my favorite witchy reads, River Woman, River Demon, and I have been looking forward to this next novel very impatiently. She describes it as a “monstrous mama borderlands retelling of Persephone and Demeter.” Monsters, myths, and mystery set in the Mexicali borderlands?! It’s like she wrote it just for me!
Immortal Consequences by I.V. Marie (Jul 29)
Blackwood Academy is an enchanted boarding school in purgatory. Sounds lovely, right? Hold that thought, because once students enter its gates, the only way out is something called the Decennial, a cut-throat magical competition where only one student can win. Six students have been chosen to compete this year, but who will make it out alive? I was just saying that I’d love to see more dark academia by Latine authors, and the universe said whoomp! (there it is) with this dark YA fantasy.
Very Dangerous Things by Lauren Muñoz (Jul 29)
I’m cackling as I write this because immediately after typing that bit above about Latine dark academia, I came across… another work of Latine dark academia. Not mad at it! This one is a YA mystery and also features a high-stakes game: an annual murder mystery that’ss been hosted by a local high school for decades to put its criminology students to the test. The problem is that the pretend victim is now a real one who is very much dead, and all signs point to the ex-best friend of our protagonist being the culprit. I do love a young sleuth in detective fiction!
Rosa by Any Other Name by Hailey Alcaraz (Aug 5)
This one got me with the name of the book alone, and then the premise locked me all the way in: a Romeo and Juliet-inspired retelling set during Civil Rights era Phoenix. Rosa is a Mexican-American student passing as white in a posh—and recently desegregated— high school. This promises star-crossed lovers, tragedy, romance, a coming-of-age story, and a little crash course on US history.
The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera (Aug 12)
This suspenseful read takes place over the course of seven days at an exclusive Dominican Republic resort where two sisters find themselves in an impossible situation. Laura has clawed her way into a successful career at the resort and is on the brink of a promotion that could change her life for good. Her sister Elena is a babysitter at the resort, and one of her charges is missing and presumed dead. That’s bad enough, but then Laura discovers that the missing girl’s father offered Elena a wild amount of cash in exchange for arranging private time with two young local girls. Gross. Sisters, resorts, rich people being terrible… yep, I’m ready.
The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas (Aug 19)
I did tell you this summer was stacked, y’all, and here is more proof. From the author of The Hacienda and Vampires of El Norte (not Los Vampiros del Norte, IYKYN) comes this wonderfully creepy tale set in 18th-century Mexico. Zacatecas has been ravaged by plague, and now a demonic presence has awakened deep in a silver mine, leaving a young woman with no other choice but to turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust for survival. Any book that combines blood-thirsty demons, the church, and the occult is one I’m going to need in my greedy little hands.
Gabriela and His Grace by Liana de la Rosa (Aug 26)
If you aren’t hip to this historical romance series yet, you should be. Featuring a Mexican family in Victorian London against the backdrop of Napoleon III’s occupation of Mexico, these books serve up a little history lesson alongside their irresistible romance plots. In Gabriela and His Grace, Gabriela is the youngest and most rebellious daughter of the Luna family, and she just wants to be free. That’s why she boards a ship bound for the motherland rather than settling down with one of her many British suitors, much to the chagrin of her father. Enter Sebastian Brooks, a duke traveling to Mexico to fix a big ol’ pile of problems with his family’s estate. That’s how we end up with two sexy people trapped together on a boat. Sounds like a great time!
Dance with Me by Alexis Daria (Sept 16)
This book is a spinoff to Alexis Daria’s Dance Off series that began with Take the Lead. A broke, down-on-her-luck professional dancer is forced to move in with the friend-with-benefits she can’t quit. That’s a problem because he’s a judge on the dance competition show she dances on, and backstage romances are strictly forbidden. That problem becomes an even bigger problem when a producer on the show threatens to rat them out. Oh, and then there’s the issue of their chemistry. Alexis Daria always delivers.
The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes (Sept 16)
Here’s where I confess my secret shame, which is that I still haven’t read The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School. I know! Que vergüenza! Well, now I have two books to look forward to, because The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar is a companion novel to Lesbiana’s Guide, where beloved character Cesar Flores comes to terms with his sexuality, his new bipolar diagnosis, and all the other messiness of youth.
That’s all for now! Don’t forget to go back and check out these spring releases by Latine authors. And now that summer is actually here, turn up the heat with these summer romances by Latine authors.
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post discussing why it’s worth pursuing “underconsumption” in your reading life. In this era of amassing special and deluxe editions and crowding your shelves for the Tok, challenge yourself to consider a scaled-back approach to the bookish life. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
One of the things that has provided some comfort for me during the recent horrors is underconsumption content on TikTok. Whether it’s Project Pan or the fact that, according to the Fashion Transparency Index, there is currently enough clothing on earth to clothe the next six generations, it’s a welcome break from being told what I should be buying. As a child, I used to adore watching TLC’s Clean Sweep. As an adult, I think I could probably stand to put all of my possessions out on a tarp on the lawn every so often. TikTok is an engine for consumerism, but somehow, it’s managed to plant a seed in my brain that goes against its own interests.
The why of underconsumption is a belief that we simply do not need all of the things that we have. It’s also a good way to build a practice of taking a breath before we chase that dopamine high of buying a new thing, of finding joy in the things that we create for ourselves. It’s made me look at how many of my hobbies don’t lead to the creation of anything new, not even ideas.
Of course, for some of us, underconsumption is an economic necessity. Most of us don’t live the lives we see reflected on our various feeds. With the will-they-or-won’t they of massive tariffs on many products coming in from other countries, the reality is that things are likely to get more expensive. This “trend” is really just showing how to make the most of what you have. Many books on shelves in the United States are printed in China, but are currently exempt from tariffs.
Why am I ruining a pure, good thing for you in these times, you ask? I’m going to try not to. I am simply here to offer suggestions that I myself will have trouble following. We strive for progress and not perfection. I am pretty sure that if I deleted the Libby app right now, heaven forbid, I would have enough unread books in my home to get me through an entire calendar year.
Sign up to become an All Access member for only $6/month and then click here to read the full, unlocked article. Level up your reading life with All Access membership and explore a full library of exclusive bonus content, including must-reads, deep dives, and reading challenge recommendations.
English (US) · 