This week we only have three noteworthy releases (that I’m aware of, at least), but they’re heavy-hitters!

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Desi lead, cast
Published on: 11th August 2020
Goodreads

This gorgeously imagined YA debut blends shades of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a radiant contemporary fantasy.

The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Pretending to be "normal." But when an accidental flare of her starfire puts her human father in the hospital, Sheetal needs a full star's help to heal him. A star like her mother, who returned to the sky long ago.

Sheetal's quest to save her father will take her to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows, where she must take the stage as her family's champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens--and win, or risk never returning to Earth at all.

Brimming with celestial intrigue, this sparkling YA debut is perfect for fans of Roshani Chokshi and Laini Taylor.

The unquestionable star of the week is Shveta Thakrar’s Star Daughter! Like many people, I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long, long time, and I’m so excited it’s finally here!!!

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade, #3) by Seth Dickinson
Genres: Secondary World Fantasy
Representation: Lesbian MC of Color, Characters of Color
Published on: 11th August 2020
Goodreads

Seth Dickinson's epic fantasy series which began with The Traitor Baru Cormorant, returns with the third book, The Tyrant Baru Cormorant.

The hunt is over. After fifteen years of lies and sacrifice, Baru Cormorant has the power to destroy the Imperial Republic of Falcrest that she pretends to serve. The secret society called the Cancrioth is real, and Baru is among them.

But the Cancrioth's weapon cannot distinguish the guilty from the innocent. If it escapes quarantine, the ancient hemorrhagic plague called the Kettling will kill hundreds of millions...not just in Falcrest, but all across the world. History will end in a black bloodstain.

Is that justice? Is this really what Tain Hu hoped for when she sacrificed herself?

Baru's enemies close in from all sides. Baru's own mind teeters on the edge of madness or shattering revelation. Now she must choose between genocidal revenge and a far more difficult path—a conspiracy of judges, kings, spies and immortals, puppeteering the world's riches and two great wars in a gambit for the ultimate prize.

If Baru had absolute power over the Imperial Republic, she could force Falcrest to abandon its colonies and make right its crimes.

The third, penultimate book of the Masquerade series, Tyrant is a book I’m both looking forward to and pretty terrified of. Which is probably the best way to go into it, honestly.

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Genres: Sci Fi
Representation: MC of Colour
Published on: August 11th 2020
Goodreads

Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe meets Roswell by way of Laurie Halse Anderson in this astonishing, genre-bending novel about a Mexican American teen who discovers profound connections between immigration, folklore, and alien life.

It’s been three years since ICE raids and phone calls from Mexico and an ill-fated walk across the Sonoran. Three years since Sia Martinez’s mom disappeared. Sia wants to move on, but it’s hard in her tiny Arizona town where people refer to her mom’s deportation as “an unfortunate incident.”

Sia knows that her mom must be dead, but every new moon Sia drives into the desert and lights San Anthony and la Guadalupe candles to guide her mom home.

Then one night, under a million stars, Sia’s life and the world as we know it cracks wide open. Because a blue-lit spacecraft crashes in front of Sia’s car…and it’s carrying her mom, who’s very much alive.

As Sia races to save her mom from armed-quite-possibly-alien soldiers, she uncovers secrets as profound as they are dangerous in this stunning and inventive exploration of first love, family, immigration, and our vast, limitless universe.

Aliens are not usually my thing unless we’re talking huge, epic worldbuilding of alien cultures, but hey – the MC here and I share a name! I’m also here for any book that tackles immigration and ICE, and mixing that up with literal out-of-this-world aliens is both clever and potentially really awesome!

That’s it! Did I miss any? Will you be reading any of these? Let me know in the comments!