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.
ELEVEN 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
Representation: queernorm world
Published on: 27th January 2025
Goodreads
What would you risk to save someone you loved from a fate worse than death?
A half-elven princess, grieving the loss of one father and fearing for the other.
A loyal guardsman, torn between his oath to the king and her safety.
And a creature so bent on revenge, he’ll make the world kneel to hurt them all.
Of all the messages Dimitar’s carried, he now delivers the worst of vile Corrupted creatures have returned and murdered the king’s best friend. The king leaves to seek retribution, and gives Dimitar an order he doesn’t guard the princess, Kaleela. When Corruptors then kidnap her father, she insists on rescuing him. Dimitar must break his vow to keep her safe in the kingdom, and together infiltrate the enemy’s lair… unless the Corrupted capture Kaleela first.
Fans of epic fantasy with romance will fall into this character-driven world and thrilling new adventure, where a rescue mission turns into a chase, and only the princess or the king can be saved.
This one appeared on my radar very abruptly, but I’ve been hearing good things and am tentatively willing to try it!
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Black trans/genderqueer/nonbinary MC
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
CAN ANYONE ESCAPE THE MACHINERIES OF FLESH AND STEEL?
Eric Fisher, a Black recruit finishing up his training, has always felt strange in his own skin. Now that he’s finally a mecha pilot, ready to join the fight against the monstrous Imago, he gets to be in a body that feels more right. But this new sense of self and gender must be navigated while uncovering revelations about the machineries of flesh and steel he’s now a part of.
Mechas as a means of body euphoria?! That is SUCH A COOL IDEA! This is a Neon Hemlock novella, and right now only the paperback is available for preorder on the NH website, but I’m sure both the paperback and the ebook will appear in all the usual places soon!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, High Fantasy
Representation: West African-coded cast and setting
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
The fate of the Orisha will be decided in the concluding volume of the Guardian of the Gods duology, inspired by Yoruba mythology.
Perfect for fans of N. K. Jemisin, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Daughters of Nri, and Godkiller.
For four hundred years, the world's remaining Orisha have fought to survive the rapaciousness of the soul-stealing Godkillers and the charismatic words of the singular, mysterious figure who leads them, known as the Teacher. Now they seek to kill the one person whose existence defies their very mandate.
Now that Ashâke carries within herself the spirits of the surviving Orisha, she is on the hunt for allies who can help her defeat the encroaching army of Godkillers. But their influence is everywhere, and no one is immune―not even Ashâke. If she is to succeed, Ashâke will need to answer the question the Godkillers pose―are the Orisha even worth saving?
The sequel to In the Shadow of the Fall is here! If you’ve been waiting until the duology is finished to start it, you have no more excuses now!
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Nonbinary sapphic MC
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
"LANDLOCKED IN FOREIGN SKIN is a blend of far-future science and ancient folkloric religion...sharp and quirky."
-- Ai Jiang, Stoker and Nebula award-winning author of Linghun and I Am AIHow far would you go to reclaim your stolen body?
The Fisherman would do anything.
Anything to return to their natural, monstrous state in the alien oceans of Europa. But they've been kidnapped, trapped on a human ship, forced into human form--very pathetic--and dragged into a mad human princess's plot to find an eldritch god. A princess that also seems...very interested in sharing a bed. Strange. All of this is strange.
The Fisherman can't fathom why anyone would want to be human.
Small wonder. The Fisherman's been ripped from their underwater home under Europa's ice, and stripped of their skin--the nebulous outer layer that enables them to shapeshift for survival. Imprisoned on a ship that's hunting for a mad undersea god, they must help the crew find it if they want to retrieve their skin and return home.
Dame Isobel, a cruel princess, owns the ship, desperate to find the god in the hopes that it will heal her mortally-injured girlfriend. The Fisherman is stuck in a female human form and pulled into a toxic romantic relationship with Dame Isobel-- in a world where being LGBT is punishable by death. In the midst of this insanity, it's quite clear to the Fisherman: Humanity is confusing, inefficient, and messy.
When Isobel reveals that she will never let the Fisherman go, even if they find the mad god, the Fisherman knows:
It's time to get violent.Landlocked In Foreign A Sapphic Sci-Fi Novella has mature content and some violence, as well as profanity. Reader discretion is advised.
I am obsessed with this premise and I’m not sorry.
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MC, F/F, QBIPOC cast, queernorm world
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
Saffron Coulter is back on Earth, but even so, nothing is easy. Struggling with the victimising expectations of her friends and family and threatened with a stay in psychiatric care, Saffron has to make a choice: to forget about Kena and fit back into the life she's outgrown, or pit herself against everything she's ever known and everyone she loves.
Meanwhile in Kena, Gwen is increasingly troubled by Leoden's absence and his plans for the captive worldwalkers, while Yena, still in Veksh, must confront the deposed Kadeja. What is their endgame? Who can they trust? And what happens when Leoden returns?
A reissue – corrected of errors in the first edition – of one of my favourite books! This is book two of an incredible high-portal-fantasy, with amazing worldbuilding, great magic, epic relationships, queerness everywhere, and so much intrigue! If you haven’t read this series, NOW IS AN EXCELLENT TIME TO GIVE IT A GO!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Representation: Brown bi/pansexual MC, bisexual love interest, secondary nonbinary character, queernorm world
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
The Teeth of Dawn concludes the riveting and mind-ripping epic fantasy trilogy from acclaimed author Marina Lostetter, where a rebellion struggles to tear the mask off the illusions and enchantments of a society shrouded in layers of mystery.
After barely surviving their encounter with the Savior, who has shaped the rules and realities of Arkensyre for generations, Krona and the other members of the growing rebellion see only one chance of overcoming his free and enlist the ancient gods he caged to augment his own power.
But it’s one thing to believe in gods. It is quite another to meet them.
And it’s not only the Savior who wants to hold fast to the illusions that govern all the lives in the valley, the Grand Maquis, his agencies and the elites of Arkensyre will do anything they can to snuff out change.
To remake the world, first you must break it.
The Five Penalties
The Helm of Midnight
The Cage of Dark Hours
The Teeth of Dawn
I didn’t enjoy my first attempt at this, but I really do want to try it again! Which should tell you something important, albeit hard to articulate.
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Bi/pansexual Latina MC
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
Noche is a Lechuza by night, an ethereal jet-black owl who guides the dead to the after. Except now, Noche cannot bring herself to escort her dead girlfriend, whose soul is fading the harder Noche holds on—an aching romance about first and second loves and finding the strength to let go.
Death waits for Estrella (Noche) Villanueva. In her human form, she is a lonely science girl grieving the tragic accidental drowning of her girlfriend, Dante Fuentes. At night, she is a Lechuza who visits her dead girlfriend at the lake, desperate for more time with her. The longer Dante’s soul roams the earth, the more likely it is that she will fade into the unknown, lost forever, but Noche cannot let go . . .
That’s when a new kid comes to town, Jax, another science nerd like Noche. They connect in a way she can’t ignore, seemingly pulled together by an invisible thread. For the first time, Noche begins to imagine a life without Dante. As Noche’s heart begins to beat for two people, her guilt flares. Then, she finds herself at risk of losing both Jax and Dante, and Noche is forced to question her purpose as a lechuza and everything she has ever believed in.
I fear this will not end in poly – not with a ghost involved, le sigh! But still, I’m fascinated by the Lechuza, that’s not a myth I’ve heard of before!
Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, YA
Representation: Malian cast
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
Uprooted meets Children of Blood and Bone in this dark fantasy inspired by a Malian fairy tale about a princess whose suitors are challenged to gruesome trials.
Deep within the imperial palace at Timbuktu, Amie has suffered a devastating loss. Once the daughter of a prosperous salt merchant Amie’s life was cruelly overturned in a matter of months. At sixteen, Amie now finds herself disinherited, framed for a scandalous crime, and forced to serve Princess Mariama of Mali. Her father, Emperor Sulyeman, has created a series of impossible trials for his daughter's suitors. When they fail, he publicly boils them alive, littering Mariama’s path to marriage with ninety-nine corpses.
At first, Amie’s life at court is drudgery—the chores are difficult, the servants despise her, and Princess Mariama is prone to mood swings—but the more she learns about the princess's circumstances, the closer the two girls become. Amie and her intended, Kader, plan to escape Timbuktu and make a new life far away from the shadow of death that has fallen upon the emperor’s court, but she finds herself increasingly drawn to the princess in ways she doesn’t understand.
When a mysterious discovery forces her hand, she must choose between fleeing with the boy she loves or helping the princess to end the trials forever. Amie will need to draw on all of her strength and courage to make the perilous journey through the desert to seek the aid of an exiled god in a final, desperate attempt to take charge of her own destiny.
Maybe THIS one will give us poly??? Fingers crossed!
You can read an excerpt here!
Genres: Fantasy, MG, Queer Protagonists
Representation: trans neurodivergent MC
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
A frozen world, mighty monsters and spellbinding magic. Journey to the very edge of the world in this BREATHTAKING fantasy trilogy.
Perfect for fans of Skandar and Philip Pullman . . .“The Ice Apprentices is an extraordinary fantasy debut. The world-building is stunning, the pacing perfect, the characters immediately relatable. Oswin is endlessly curious, hilariously funny and wonderfully kind - he became my new favourite hero within a few sentences. North is such an exciting new talent in middle grade.” A.F. Steadman, author of the Skandar series
Tundra is the last settlement in a world of ice. Oswin Fields is its only stray – a foundling, rescued from the Endless Expanse. So, when he's summoned to the school for ice apprentices, he sets out to prove his worth.
But all isn’t as it seems in this enchanted place. When the beasts begin to strike, Oswin has to risk everything he holds dear. Can he look deep within himself to find the strength to prove that he belongs?
Trying to dip my toe into Middle Grade recently – and my sources insisted that Ice Apprentices was one to watch out for! I’ve seen lots of praise for the magic system in this, especially!
Genres: Fantasy, MG
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
An 11-year-old arborist's apprentice fights to save an ancient grove of magical trees that hold the key to her community’s survival.
This immersive fantasy adventure combines vivid world-building with timely themes of environmentalism is perfect for middle grade readers of Kelly Barnhill and Jessica Townsend.
Nick Sixsmith has spent her whole life on the road. The daughter of a traveling arborist, she and her mother move from town to town, caring for the ironwood groves the communities rely upon. When a dangerous blight takes hold of these magical trees, they must journey to the city of Mistwood—her mother’s hometown—for answers.
Nick can’t wait to explore the prosperous city of Mistwood and all it has to the bustling markets and workshops, neighborhoods built under a roaring waterfall, and the vast ancestral grove of ironwood trees. But dark secrets simmer beneath the surface as people start to disappear, and tensions rise in the city.
As the mystery grows, Nick and her new friends must follow the trail where it leads underground, to a strange, enchanting world called Underhill. Only then, among the roots of ancestral grove, will Nick find a way to save her new home and the ironwood trees.
Riveting and atmospheric, readers will be immersed until the final page.
I’m here for anyone out to save trees, okay? Especially magical trees!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 31st January 2025
Goodreads
Set in the world of Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award nominee The Goblin Emperor, The Orb of Cairado offers an unlikely hero in historian Ulcetha Zhorvena.
Five years ago, Ulcetha was studying at the University of Cairado, working his way toward becoming a scholar first-class in the Department of History. Then a prize artifact disappeared and Ulcetha, deftly framed, was kicked out. Now he works for a crooked importer, using his knowledge of elven history to write provenances for the fake artifacts Salathgarad sells.
When the airship Wisdom of Choharo explodes, killing the emperor and three of his four sons, it takes with it Ulcetha's best friend, Mara Lilana. But Mara leaves behind a puzzle--the one thing Ulcetha can't resist. And the puzzle leads Ulcetha back to the Department of History...and maybe the chance to clear his name.
Before the finale of the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy in a few months, we’re getting a new novella in the Goblin Emperor setting! We are being SPOILED! The hardcover edition is limited, but the ebook is available for those of us who can’t afford it! Find it here on release day, or in the usual places!
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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