Must-Have Monday is a feature highlighting which of the coming week’s new releases I’m excited for. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all books being published that week; only those I’m interested in out of those I’m aware of! The focus is diverse SFF, but other genres sneak in occasionally too.
SEVEN books this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Gay alcoholic MC, bisexual MC, Black MC, polyamory, minor trans character
Published on: 28th May 2024
Goodreads
The Devil knows your name, David Aristarkhov.
As a teen, David Aristarkhov was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his oppressive occultist father. Now, years after his father’s death and rapidly approaching his thirtieth birthday, he is content with the high-powered life he’s curated as a Boston attorney, moonlighting as a powerful medium for his secret society.
But with power comes a price, and the Devil has come to collect on an ancestral deal. David’s days are numbered, and death looms at his door.
Reluctantly, he reaches out to the only person he’s ever trusted, his ex-boyfriend and secret Society rival Rhys, for help. However, the only way to get to Rhys is through his wife, Moira. Thrust into each other’s care, emotions once buried deep resurface, and the trio race to figure out their feelings for one another before the Devil steals David away for good…
The first book in a spellbinding and vibrant new series from The Sunday Times bestselling author of A Dowry of Blood.
Gibson won me over forever with Dowry of Blood, which is a top-tier fave of mine. Evocation is plenty different – no vampires here! – but it’s still plenty delicious, with lots of sumptuous aesthetics and a delicious tangle of emotions. It’s a bit more vibes than plot, but I still had a LOT of fun reading it!
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Gay MC
Goodreads
A queer historical romantic suspense novel about a young engineer working for Gustave Eiffel caught in a web of deceit that could destroy both him and the famous tower.
Fin Tighe is clinging to respectability by his nail-bitten fingers. He may be the illegitimate son of an English earl, but he hasn’t spoken to his father in a decade, and his engineer’s salary is barely enough to support him and his cousin Aurelie. A dancer in the corps de ballet, Aurelie is at constant risk from groping, leering men who assume any dancer is a prostitute in training. And Fin’s evenings spent in the clandestine gay community may be legal through a loophole in the Napoleonic Code, but they leave him vulnerable.
So, when Fin’s employer, Gustave Eiffel, announces that he needs additional investors to pay for his pet project, a 300-meter tower that will dominate the city’s skyline, Fin jumps at the chance. If he raises enough money, the commission will earn him a fortune, and hopefully, some protection.
Capricious stranger Gilbert Duhais appears to be a boon from the gods. Gilbert is handsome, wealthy, connected, and somehow privy to Fin’s background. Gilbert persuades Fin to masquerade as his father’s heir—which couldn’t be further from the truth—and introduces him to every nouveau riche speculator in the city. Each provocative interaction heightens Fin's risk of exposure. But also brings Fin closer to his dream of financial security.
When a dear friend of Fin’s is murdered above a clandestine gay club, the stakes rise even higher. Fin must untangle the disparate threads of his past—and his current romantic gamble—before they become his noose.
A con to get the Eiffel tower funded? Why does that sound so bonkers, in an almost whimsical sort of way? And yet I don’t think this is going to be a funny/silly story. But it DOES sound like it could be great – I’ll have to check it out!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Nonbinary bisexual MC with depression and clinical anxiety, major nonbinary lesbian character
Protagonist Age: 18
Published on: 28th May 2024
Goodreads
Two rival drag kings competing for a crown might just win each other's hearts.
When eighteen-year-old Briar Vincent's mental health takes a turn for the worst, her parents send her to spend the summer in New York City with her older brother, Beau, also known as the drag queen Bow Regard.
Backstage at the gay bar where Beau performs, Briar just wants to be a fly on the wall, but she can't stand by when the cute but conceited drag king Spencer Read tries to put down another up-and-coming performer. To prove to him that even a brand-new performer could knock him off his pedestal, Briar signs up for the annual drag king competition.
There's just one flaw in her plan: Briar has never done drag before.
With the help of her brother and a few new friends, Briar becomes Edgar Allan Foe, a drag king hellbent on taking Spencer down. But unless she can learn how to shake her anxiety and perform, she doesn't stand a chance of winning Drag King of the Year, overcoming her depression and inner demons, or avoiding falling for her enemy, who might not be so bad after all.
Drag kings are those who take on a masculine persona when they do drag, as opposed to the more well-known drag queens, who take on feminine personas. Anyone of any gender can be either (or both, I guess, if you have the energy to keep up multiple drag personas!) Now you know that – this sounds very cute, and I’ve heard that the descriptions of the drag shows are fantastic! Definitely want to take a peek at it.
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 30th May 2024
Goodreads
The whaling vessel Merciful has just made its strangest catch yet: a massive whale containing a still-living man secreted within its stomach lining. Sailor Isaiah Chase is tasked with keeping the enigmatic man alive.
As their relationship grows, a series of accidents, injuries and deaths quickly befall the ship and its crew. Isaiah is plagued by strangely prophetic dreams, even as the crew continues their endless quest for whale oil under the command of an increasingly unhinged captain.
As events spiral further out of control, the mysterious man confesses what Isaiah has begun to suspect: the crew of The Merciful has fallen into a cycle of punishment for their greed and destruction. Isaiah must confront the sea's vengeance made flesh, and choose between this new, strange love and the fate of the ship itself.
Spooky queer weirdness! I love the idea of whalers being punished for killing whales, and the idea of cutting open a whale and finding a living man inside? Who is possibly some kind of supernatural creature? A herald for the wrath of the sea? Yes PLEASE!
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Science Fantasy
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 30th May 2024
Goodreads
Sometimes it takes a revolution to change the world.
Sometimes it takes a relationship.
From acclaimed author Manda Scott comes a visionary thriller of a lifetime.As Lan lies dying, she makes a promise that binds her long into the Beyond. A decade later her teenage granddaughter is caught up in an international storm of outrage that unleashes the rage of a whole, failed generation. For one shining fragment of time, the world is with her. But then the backlash begins, and soon she and her family are besieged by the press, facing the all-powerful wrath of the old establishment whose only understanding is power-over, not power-with.
Watching over the growing chaos is Lan, who taught them all to think independently, approach power sceptically and dream with clear intent. She knows that more than one generation’s hopes are on the line.
Weaving together myth, technology and radical compassion, this mytho-political novel breaks apart all we know of life, death and the routes to hope, asking us all to dream deeply and act boldly.
The paper edition won’t be out until August, but you can grab the ebook this week! I’ve been so curious about this one – I read Scott’s Boudica waaaay back as a mini!Sia, and I remember it being excellent. The reviews for Any Human Power promise that it’s excellent too – mixing the sci fi with the mythic, and unlike most fiction that grapples with dystopias, presenting how humanity could move forward into a better future in a practical way. Scott wrote a bit about that here on her blog, which just made me more convinced that I need to read this book!!!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 1st June 2024
Goodreads
An anthology of queer, speculative fiction with stories from distant galaxies and fantastical new worlds. Of Stardust brings you tales of knights and space travelers, love and resilience, and monsters who just might be heroes. Each story is unapologetically queer and shows us a world where we all belong (even the sea monsters).
Stories
Avrah C. Baren
Lillian Barry
Gabriella Buba
Talia Greer
P. H. Low
Alistair Reeves
Rose Regeant
Valo Wing
T. B. Wright
A collection of queer SFF to kickstart Pride Month! I am on board with this plan.
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 1st June 2024
Goodreads
Alchemy meets Agatha Christie in this dazzling Jazz Age fantasy when an archaeology student faces myth and monsters to protect her family and break a blood curse.
As 1920s London swelters in the grip of Egyptomania, archaeology student Rom Godden wishes she was anywhere else. Lectures are dull, spring makes her restless, and the dog she inherited from her grandfather is acting stranger by the day. But when the dog saves her from a monstrous attack, Rom sets out to investigate—and uncovers a deadly family legacy.
Along with her dearest friend, Rom joins forces with her sceptical brother to navigate an underworld of shapeshifters and blood magic. Deception stalks them. Their precocious young stepbrother hides secrets of his own. If everyone plays for themselves, who can be trusted?
One wrong choice could threaten everyone she loves, and Rom will have to bargain for her freedom as she confronts the truth of her inheritance: every promise has its price.
Opinions on this one seem VERY divided, but the mentions of a unique writing style have me intrigued. Also, who doesn’t love a story about a very good dog???
Will you be reading any of these? Did I miss any releases you think I should know about? Let me know!
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