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
Representation: Black MCs
Published on: 18th February 2025
Goodreads
In this anthology, everybody is Black.
Filled with epic battles, complicated families, soft kisses, and sharpened blades, Magic in the Melanin is an adult fantasy anthology that showcases Black authors who write magical stories of all kinds. Featuring full-page artwork to accompany your adventure through the pages, this anthology is what fantasy looks like when Blackness is centered and the imaginations of Black creators are unhindered. Dive into these stories and discover countless worlds where magic is truly in the melanin.
The proceeds from this anthology will go to supporting the Melanin Library, an online database of books written by Black authors. Share and support to ensure the library remains a free resource for everyone.
Short story collections like this are always a great way to find new authors to love, and I’m crossing my fingers I find a bunch here!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MCs
Published on: 18th February 2025
Goodreads
In a Gaslamp-lit world where hags and ogres lurk in thick pine forests, three magical queens form an uneasy alliance to protect their lands from invasion…and love turns their world upside down.
Queen Saskia is the wicked sorceress everyone fears. After successfully wrestling the throne from her evil uncle, she only wants one thing: to keep her people safe from the empire next door. For that, she needs to spend more time in her laboratory experimenting with her spells. She definitely doesn’t have time to bring order to her chaotic library of magic.
When a mysterious dark wizard arrives at her castle, Saskia hires him as her new librarian on the spot. “Fabian” is sweet and a little nerdy, and his requests seem a little strange – what in the name of Divine Elva is a fountain pen? – but he’s getting the job done. And if he writes her flirtatious poetry and his innocent touch makes her skin singe, well…
Little does Saskia know that the "wizard" she’s falling for is actually an Imperial archduke in disguise, with no magical training whatsoever. On the run, with perilous secrets on his trail and a fast growing yearning for the wicked sorceress, he's in danger from her enemies and her newfound allies, too. When his identity is finally revealed, will their love save or doom each other?
A bi-for-bi witch-queen romance! Burgis always charms, and I’ve been looking forward to the start of the Queens of Villainy series for AGES! So excited to finally meet Saskia!
You can read an excerpt here!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F
Published on: 18th February 2025
Goodreads
At the dawn of the reign of the Sun King, an ambitious actress turns to magic to advance her dreams, then poison to keep them alive. Claude de Vin Des Oeillets rises from the bottom of Parisian society in 1660 to become both servant and lover to Madame de Montespan, a marquise with grand plans for a place in the new paradise of Versailles and the bed of Louis XIV.
A spider in a web of court intrigue and secret affairs, Claude rises ever higher, into the orbit of the King himself, but finds she must resort to dark arts and dangerous alliances on behalf of the woman she loves to stay in his golden light.
Based on the infamous "Affair of the Poisons," The Witch of Versailles combines deeply researched historical detail with the supernatural, political, and romantic in an electric combination. Full of vivid detail, shocking twists, and searing romance, this epic tale casts a new spell on history.
Queer historical fantasy, in the decadent setting of Versailles??? Um, yes PLEASE!
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F
Published on: 18th February 2025
Goodreads
Hungerstone is a thrillingly seductive sapphic romance for fans of S.T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood and Emilia Hart’s Weyward.
For what do you hunger, Lenore?
Lenore is the wife of steel magnate Henry, but ten years into their marriage, the relationship has soured and no child has arrived to fill the distance growing between them. Henry's ambitions take them out of London and to the imposing Nethershaw manor in the countryside, where Henry aims to host a hunt with society’s finest. Lenore keeps a terrible secret from the last time her husband hunted, and though they never speak of it, it haunts their marriage to this day.
The preparations for the event take a turn when a carriage accident near their remote home brings the mysterious Carmilla into Lenore's life. Carmilla who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night; Carmilla who stirs up a hunger deep within Lenore. Soon girls from local villages begin to fall sick before being consumed by a bloody hunger.
Torn between regaining her husband's affection and Carmilla's ever-growing presence, Lenore begins to unravel her past and in doing so, uncovers a darkness in her household that will place her at terrible risk . . .
Set against the violent wilderness of the moors and the uncontrolled appetite of the industrial revolution, Hungerstone is a compulsive feminist reworking of Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula: a captivating story of appetite and desire.
This might have released in the UK already? I’m a bit confused about that, but this week the US gets this retake on Carmilla! (Also, is anyone else tickled that Dunn named her Gothic heroine Lenore???)
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Latina sapphic MC, F/F
Published on: 18th February 2025
Goodreads
Fresh off her triumph in the Night Forest, Lucha Moya is back in Robado to settle unfinished business. The stunning fantasy duology about addiction, power, and love comes to a close in tale of treacherous villains, environmental disaster, and a love triangle its heroine doesn’t see coming.
Lucha Moya has always wanted one thing--to be free of the place she once called home. After defeating the rogue god of olvida, the forgetting drug, Lucha leaves the fortress of the acolytes—which houses her sister and Paz, a girl she never thought she’d fall in love with—to return to Robado one last time and eradicate the drug from existence. There, everything is worse this time around. Amidst the suffering, she surprises herself by seeing something familiar in the eyes of the villagers--her own hope and desperation reflected back at her.
Suddenly, her village and, more importantly, the people who live in it, are worth saving, not discarding. She even finds herself falling for one of the Robadans, which puts her feelings for Paz into question. Lucha's training and whirlwind experiences develop her as a fierce leader who'll do anything to protect her people. But even as she tries, some thing is lurking once again in the Night Forest, eager to claim its prize.
Will Lucha be able to step into her power once again to save the only home she's ever known, or will she lose everything she's fought so hard to obtain?
In the finale of this gorgeous and fast-paced fantasy duology from acclaimed author Tehlor Kay Mejia is brimming with adventure, romance, the burning questions of what it means to be a leader and how to listen to your heart when it's being pulled in two directions.
The conclusion of the Lucha Moya duology! If you’ve been waiting for the series to be finished before you start it, you officially have no more excuses not to pounce on this one!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi, YA
Representation: M/M
Published on: 18th February 2025
Goodreads
'The Chimes is a remarkable debut. It's inventive, beautifully written, and completely absorbing. I highly recommend it.' Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds
A mind-expanding literary debut composed of memory, music and imagination.
A boy stands on the roadside on his way to London, alone in the rain.
No memories, beyond what he can hold in his hands at any given moment.
No directions, as written words have long since been forbidden.
No parents - just a melody that tugs at him, a thread to follow. A song that says if he can just get to the capital, he may find some answers about what happened to them.
The world around Simon sings, each movement a pulse of rhythm, each object weaving its own melody, music ringing in every drop of air.
Welcome to the world of The Chimes. Here, life is orchestrated by a vast musical instrument that renders people unable to form new memories. The past is a mystery, each new day feels the same as the last, and before is blasphony.
But slowly, inexplicably, Simon is beginning to remember. He emerges from sleep each morning with a pricking feeling, and sense there is something he urgently has to do. In the city Simon meets Lucien, who has a gift for hearing, some secrets of his own, and a theory about the danger lurking in Simon's past.
A stunning debut composed of memory, music, love and freedom, The Chimes pulls you into a world that will captivate, enthral and inspire.
WINNER OF THE 2016 WORLD FANTASY AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2015 MAN BOOKER PRIZE
An Elle Book of the Year
An Independent Book of the Year
One to Watch Independent on Sunday
A Bookseller Best Debut of 2015
One to Watch 2015 Huffington Post
An Amazon Rising Star
A new edition of an old favourite, this is an absolutely gorgeous novel written with tons of musical imagery – because in the world of Chimes, music is how humans hold on to memory. Deeply beloved and highly recommended!
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 18th February 2025
Goodreads
BFFs Tina, Eve, and Lacey come together for a Sweet 16 slumber party that goes sideways when they accidentally summon more than a good time.
After Lacey becomes possessed and traps her friends in a fashion catalog, Tina and Eve must find their way out of a totally fabulous new world before the demon overtakes Lacey's body completely.
Wendy Dalrymple's YA pink-horror novella is a 90s fever dream that marries the witchy vibe of The Craft with the campy flavor of Jennifer's Body and a neon splash of My Best Friend's Exorcism.
Love this aesthetic, and I suspect it’ll be more fun than scary!
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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