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.
FIVE 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, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Afro-Cuban MC
Published on: 21st January 2025
Goodreads
In this lyrical and stirring companion to the “spellbinding” (Harper’s Bazaar) Shallow Waters, Oya—the Yoruban deity of the weather—is brought to life during 1870s America. Perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Sun.
Born in Cuba after her mother Yemaya’s adventures in the New World, Oya has inherited otherworldly powers from her Yoruba Orisha lineage. While Yemaya is known for her healing abilities, Oya’s influence over the storm proves to be destructive, posing a threat to her mother and the island’s safety.
Sent to New Orleans to study under Marie Laveau, the Queen of Voodoo, Oya begins a journey across the still young America, encountering a myriad of historical figures, including Mary Ellen Pleasant, Jesse James, Lew Hing, and more.
As Oya navigates the landscapes of racism, colorism, and classism, she grapples with her own identity and powers, striving to find her place in a fraught and complex society. A moving, vivid exploration of resilience, heritage, and the enduring spirit of a young woman coming into her own, The Wind on Her Tongue transports you to a world where magic and reality intertwine.
I have not read the first book in this series yet, but this is definitely a reminder that I need to get on that!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 21st January 2025
Goodreads
Greco-Roman mythology and the mystery of the vanished Roanoke colony collide in this epic adventure filled with sapphic longing and female rage—a debut novel for fans of Madeline Miller, Jennifer Saint, and Natalie Haynes.Before, Scopuli. It has been centuries since Thelia made the mistake that cost her the woman she loved. As the handmaidens charged with protecting Proserpina, the goddess of spring, Thelia and her sisters are banished to the island of Scopuli, cursed to live as sirens—winged half-woman, half-bird creatures. In luring men to their death, they hope to gain favor from the gods who could free them. But then ships stop coming and Thelia fears a fate worse than the underworld. Just as time begins to run out, a voice emerges, Proserpina’s voice; and what she asks of Thelia will spark a daring and dangerous quest for freedom.Now, Roanoke. Thelia can't bear to reflect on her last moments in Scopuli, where she left behind her sisters. After weeks drifting at sea, Thelia’s renewed human body is close to death. Luckily, an unfamiliar island appears on the horizon—Roanoke. Posing as a princess arriving on a sailboat filled with riches, Thelia infiltrates the small English colony. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that this place is dangerous, especially for women. As she grows closer to a beautiful settler who mysteriously resembles her former love, Thelia formulates a plan to save her sisters and enact revenge on the violent men she’s come to hate. But is she willing to go back to Scopuli and face the decisions of her past? And will Proserpina forgive her for all that she’s done?Told in alternating timelines, Those Fatal Flowers is a powerful, passionate, and wildly cathartic love letter to femininity and the monstrous power within us all.
I remain extremely wary of Greek myth retellings…but this isn’t a retelling! So maybe it’ll be as ridiculously awesome as it sounds???
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Black bisexual MC, sapphic MC, F/F, minor gay character
Published on: 21st January 2025
Goodreads
In this nuanced queer fantasy set amid the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, the last witch of the Ridge must choose sides in a clash between industry and nature.
After her best friend dies in a coal mine, Benethea “Bennie” Mattox sacrifices her job, her relationship, and her reputation to uncover what’s killing miners on Kire Mountain. When she finds a half-drowned white woman in a dirty mine slough, Bennie takes her in because it’s right—but also because she hopes this odd, magnetic stranger can lead her to the proof she needs.
Instead, she brings more questions. The woman called Motheater can’t remember her true name, or how she ended up inside the mountain. She knows only that she’s a witch of Appalachia, bound to tor and holler, possum and snake, with power in her hands and Scripture on her tongue. But the mystery of her fate, her doomed quest to keep industry off Kire Mountain, and the promises she bent and broke have followed her a century and half into the future. And now, the choices Motheater and Bennie make together could change the face of the town itself.
I didn’t enjoy this one – you can read my review here – but lots of other people did, so maybe you will too?
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans
Published on: 24th January 2025
Goodreads
Can a synthesis of trans liberation and feminism be easily arrived at? This collection asserts that, as a matter of fact, we possessed the answer to that question decades ago.
Second-Wave feminism is, today, nearly synonymous with ‘transphobia’. Any mention of this era or the movement of ‘radical feminism’ conjures images of feminists allying with right-wingers and the authoritarian state, providing legal justification for outlawing gender-affirming care and spreading deeply evil caricatures of trans women to rationalize their exclusion as feminist subjects. In the ensuing struggle to reconcile trans rights with feminism, the specter of the trans-exclusionary radical feminist has often reared its head in opposition. One may be tempted to conclude that the Second Wave, as a whole, has done irreparable harm to feminist, queer and trans politics, and must be discarded entirely.
But is that truly the case?
Radical feminism also is responsible for repudiating bioessentialistic notions of gender with theories that place it as a firmly social phenomenon. It gave us the language to describe patriarchy as a regime of mandatory heterosexual existence and dared to dream of a post-gender existence long before anyone spoke the phrase “breaking the binary”. Modern transfeminism owes much to radical feminist theory, and despite all propaganda to the contrary, the two schools of thought may be far more allied than believed.
This series of essays aims to reconstruct and reintroduce the radical feminist framework that its misbegotten inheritors seem determined to forget and in doing so boldly makes the claim that transfeminism, far from being antagonistic to radical feminism, is in fact its direct descendant. It shows how a comprehensive social theory of transsexual oppression flows almost naturally from radical feminist precepts and dares to declare that a materialist, radical transfeminism is the way forward to seize the foundations of patriarchy at the root.
I preordered Bhatt’s nonfic collection minutes after finishing her incredible essay (article?) on hijra, because this is very clearly someone who knows things I need to know about things I care about. Which is a terribly clunky way of putting it, but you probably know what I mean!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Disbaled MCs
Published on: 25th January 2025
Goodreads
It’s long been known that disability representation is lacking in the fantasy genre landscape, so in this anthology, fourteen writers from around the globe come together to bring you wonderful fantasy stories centering disabled and chronically ill characters.
Teeming with magic, otherworldly creatures, discoveries and journeys, every story is as thrilling and fascinating as it is passionate and meaningful. Worlds are discovered, lives are changed, swords are drawn.
Disabled and chronically ill characters go questing, fighting dragons, healing, and enacting strange magics. Familiar fairy tales are reimagined and new fairytales are forged, with each story shattering stereotypes and challenging traditional narratives. Come see yourself reflected—or discover something new.
Stories
One Cream, Five Sugars by Harper Kinsley
A Witch's Tale by Rascal Hartley
Use Your Words by Zira MacFarlane
The Changeling of Brushby by Natalie Kelda
To Make Her Eat by M. Stevenson
Hope, Be It Never So Faint by Ashley N. Y. Sheesley
A Night For Mischief by Elior Haley
Lessons in Botany by Casper E. Falls
Stroke of Midnight, Shoes of Glass by Adie Hart
In Another World, I Twist The Knife by Rory G
The Knife That Makes The Cut by Lynne Sargent
Angharad ferch Truniaw by Tam Ayers
The Girl & The Gum-riddle by Ella T Holmes
City of the Sun by Kara Siert
!!! I am so excited for a collection full of different examples of disability in fantasy!!! We see it so rarely, and now a whole bunch of stories at once!!! EEE!!!
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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