Must-Have Monday is a feature where I gather together the books I think you should know about from the coming week’s new releases. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all books being published that week; only those I want to highlight out of those I’m aware of! The focus is diverse SFF, but other stuff occasionally makes it in too. Corrections and suggestions are very welcome!
SIXTEEN books this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Fat queer autistic MC, queer Dominican Afro-Latine autistic MC with ADHD, M/M
Published on: 25th May 2026
Goodreads
If there ever was a safe time to make a terrible decision, the end of the world might as well be it.
It's been a long year for Glendale Peterson, and it's only May. Dumped and kicked out by his toxic fiancé and in a fragile state of mind, he throws everything he owns into a trailer and drives. Over 2,500 miles, in fact, from the Colorado high desert to the sunny farmland where he grew up, south of glamorous downtown Miami. His part of town sees more mangoes than movie stars, more celery than celebrities, but he's desperate for some quiet to recuperate. Unfortunately for Glendale, just a few weeks after his sudden return home the whole world falls apart.
A zombie apocalypse just seems par for the course for the year, really. Fresh off a slew of bad experiences and not quite ready to trust, a near-death experience puts him in the path of Marcelo Gonsalvez, a man so incandescent he's almost beyond belief. Holed up from the hordes with only the bubbly stranger who rescued him for medical attention, things could go sideways fast.
Fortunately for Glendale, sometimes life stops throwing curve-balls and lets you catch your breath. While he's at it, he's also going to catch feelings.Capture the Rain is a gay contemporary apocalypse romance featuring two neurodivergent protagonists (Autistic, AuDHD), a fat MMC, a Dominican Afro-Latine MMC, low gore, medium spice, and maximum feelings. A single POV slow burn teeming with emotional intimacy, self-acceptance, caretaking, and touch-starved/touch-generous moments, Capture the Rain will delight readers who need a bit of queer love hopecore to make it through this timeline. A reminder that even in an inhuman, inhumane world, empathy is an as long as we look out for each other, we will be okay.
Content Warnings: explicit sexual content, science fiction zombie violence, mentions of past trauma and abuse
I have been assured that despite the zombies, this is a feel-good time, which sounds very promising. (I also love that BOTH the MCs are neurodivergent!)
There are some mini-excerpts scattered across the author’s insta!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC/s
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
Elsyn has been queen for one year, and things are not going well.
Strange and terrible fairies are attacking her subjects. Her people go hungry and she struggles to feed them. Kandar, her goblin consort, has made a habit of throwing noblemen down a hill (they deserved it), and Ben, their human lover, is rumored to have killed his mother (she's alive, well, and stealing holy cheese).
Worst of all, Elsyn is separated from Kandar and Ben, as they seek aid from a fire-worshipping duke. In the duke’s isolated valley, a fearsome fairy lord attacks them—and Ben nearly loses Kandar to magical mind control. They barely survive their first encounter, and there are six other fairy lords threatening the land—and the palace temple, where Elsyn is alone.
Elsyn, Kandar, and Ben must reunite to defeat the fairy lords, but along the way, they discover Oberon, an even more powerful fairy king, lying in wait—and an ancient secret that undermines the crown itself. To survive, they’ll have to rely on each other, their trusted friends, and some unlikely new allies. Can the bonds they’ve forged overcome Oberon, or will the fairy king and the fairy lords fracture their world?
The King in the Forest concludes the Goblins and Cheese quartet. It’s a fantasy adventure romance featuring a woman, a man, the goblin who loves them both, his talking horse, her herd of holy cows, large quantities of cheese, and the divinity inherent in ordinary acts of care.
I am woefully behind on this series, so I haven’t let myself read the description, but I’m so happy we have a book four already! (Also, you can buy directly from the author here!)
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview next to/beneath the book cover)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Cosy Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Nonbinary MC
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
STARDEW VALLEY meets STUDIO GHIBLI in a charming cozy fantasy about healing, redemption, and the subtle magic of simple living. Perfect for fans of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea and The Spellshop. Welcome home, weary traveler.
When Oaklin Nettlewood accidentally joined an evil world-ending cult, mind control magic forced them to do unspeakable things. Years later, the realm's heroes have finally saved the day, defeated the villain, and shattered the last remnants of the spell...leaving destruction in their wake. And so, with a spell-damaged memory and whole bushel of trauma, Oaklin escapes to a small farm on the edge of Mossley's Rest and swears an oath: After all the things they were forced to do with their magic, they will never use it again. Ever.
The no-nonsense ghost granny who lives in Oaklin's house has other ideas. As she coaxes Oaklin out of their shell and back into the world, they find companionship (a grumpy horse and a very good dog), friendship (a local bard and magical baker who should just kiss already), and tentative romance (a paladin-librarian who makes Oaklin's heart come alive for the first time in ages.) Magic even seems possible again―though strictly for foraging magical mushrooms and protecting the farm from bugs.
Healing comes in gentle waves, and Oaklin doesn't have to do it alone. So what does it mean when an inquisitor comes to town to hunt former cultists just as Oaklin begins to think that maybe, just maybe, they deserve a happy ending after all?
This sounds EXTREMELY sweet and I’m really looking forward to curling up with it!
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Read a free chapter beneath the cover)
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists, Historical Fantasy
Representation: F/F
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
Bram Stoker Award–nominee and USA Today bestseller Johanna van Veen unveils a sapphic folk-horror tour de force—perfect for fans of The VVitch and The Salt Grows Heavy. A skull's grin is eternal…
The year is 1635.
Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted peasant, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest. War scorches the land, and no one survives it alone. Amid the devastation, they find something in the arms of a dying the gilded skull of a saint.
It is said that if you reunite the saint's skull with her body, a wish will be granted. Desperate for salvation, and each with secret desires of their own, Ursula and Elsebeth follow a ragged map across the blighted countryside. But darkness follows them. A necromancer, drawn to the relic's power. The saint herself, whispering at night. And as the lines between blessing and curse blur, the women must face a harrowing the magic they seek comes at a cost.
At the journey's end, they'll face an impossible choice—one that could tear apart everything they know… or bind them to each other forever.
I want to read this SO BAD! I’m not quite in the right headspace for it at the moment, I think, but it’s at the top of the tbr!
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Read a free chapter beneath the cover)
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans MC
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
The prize is $500,000. The game is to be the last one left. The cost… is everything.
Trevor Hasting is on the brink of losing it all. Lucy Bingham is ready to build a future for herself and break away from her cursed past. For both, the reality television show is more than a test of skills, it’s a chance to start over.
Yet as Trevor, Lucy, and the other contestants start the game, everything changes. Food is scarce. A strange red moss strangles the landscape. And something stalks the deep timber, taking the survivalists out one-by-one.
While the show’s producers watch from afar, a ritual older than the Earth itself begins to unfold. To survive, Trevor and Lucy will not only have to battle the elements but also the antlered creature stalking them, or they’ll find out what drives the worms to feast.
Another horror that sounds fantastic and that I will pounce on the moment I’m in a horror mood!
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Read Excerpt beneath the book cover)
Genres: Adult, Sci Fi
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
In the Heart of Mystery Lies Redemption...
Every Sunday, Oona the St. Berdoodle and her current owner, Zsuzsu, make their way through the winding paths of the State Park to the enigmatic Redemption Center—a place often mistaken for a haunted mansion.
When a local celebrity is found murdered, the unexpected brings Oona together with a rag-tag group of local misfits. Together they venture into the depths of the Center's mystery to untangle the threads of murder and deception.
But Oona holds two secrets: she’s a citizen of the multiverse, able to travel between dimensions at will, and more importantly, she knows the killer's identity. Unfortunately, the killer knows she knows, and he’s determined to find her and silence her for good.
An extra-dimensional murder mystery with conundrums, alien tricksters, and a dog detective who just doesn’t know the meaning of “stay”.
I love how weird this sounds and I’ve really enjoyed Hairston before, so I’m expecting to love this!
You can read an excerpt here!
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Speculative Fiction
Representation: Lesbian MC
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
New York City, East Village, 1984. A young woman with the power to see the ghosts of her friends is haunted by the one who refuses to return—a dazzling, big-hearted debut of friendship and community during a time of devastation and defiance.
"A beautiful study of friendship, of how loss unmoors us, and how if we keep turning towards love, anything is possible.”—Ann Napolitano, author of Hello Beautiful
"Fresh and refreshing, both heartbreaking and uplifting. Natalie Adler has given us a gem."—Rabih Alameddine, author of An Unnecessary Woman, finalist for the National Book Award
“A ghost story, a mystery, an ode to New York City . . . A riveting debut by a writer of tremendous compassion and insight.”—Helen Phillips, author of The Need, longlisted for the National Book Award
Renata is a young dyke-about-town who can see ghosts, something she's doing more and more of lately as too many of her friends are dying of a new, terrifying disease. When Renata's best friend Mark dies of complications from AIDS, Renata is devastated by the loss of the person she loved most in the world. And to her disappointment and increasing despair, Mark seems unwilling or unable to return for the proper goodbye they both were denied.
While Renata waits anxiously for Mark, she must stay a mysterious, police-like force has begun ridding their East Village neighborhood of anything abnormal or inexplicable. What first seems like a scam reveals itself to be far more sinister, targeting the soul of Renata's community. With her band of lovably eccentric pals and lovers, Renata is determined to fight back against the erasure of her friends' memories and the sanitizing of her beloved New York. But haunting her every step is Mark, the one ghost who stubbornly refuses to reappear.
Both heartbreaking and healing, tragic and triumphant, Waiting on a Friend is a magical retelling of queer history and a celebration of youth and camaraderie. With pathos and humor, empathy and an edge, Natalie Adler freshly reimagines the past for a new generation, reclaiming the spirit of resistance and determination that would become one of the era's defining legacies.
Still not over the whole ‘gentrifying the ghosts’ thing!
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Read a free chapter beneath the cover)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy
Representation: Indian setting and cast
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
Inspired by medieval India’s most epic love stories, this debut Romantasy blends rich storytelling, lush worldbuilding, and spice of every variety. Perfect for fans of Nisha J. Tuli and Tasha Suri.
Nandapore is a city of secrets and spellcasters where seduction reigns and a power-hungry king is never satisfied, plotting to unleash a weapon that has only lived in myth… until now.
To stop him, an ancient goddess seeks out a newly crowned queen, a heartsick prince, a common thief, and a courtesan with magic in her blood. Together, they chart a course through brothels, temples, taverns, and palaces, setting a trap for the empire’s most powerful men.
Linked by desire, destiny, and a dangerous foe, they each must decide...
What will they risk for a weapon worth dying for, and a love worth staying alive?
Probably not for me, just because I rarely enjoy romantasy, but I wanted to feature it anyway!
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Read a free chapter beneath the cover)
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Magical Realism
Representation: Colombian trans MC
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
From the award-winning author of Fiebre Tropical, an electric, highly anticipated novel set in Colombia’s underground queer scene.
It is a known fact that the queens who refuse their destiny are haunted. Rejection turns itself inward, a bullet to the heart of said queen, and unleashes, per Travesti Lore, a river of curses.
Cloistered in a dreary Bogotá apartment, Ignacio’s light has dimmed, leaving his teenage daughter, Valentina, to raise herself in the wake of her mother Alma’s death. Lonely and love-starved, Valentina aches to discover the details of her mother’s drowning, and for her father to snap out of his depression. But Ignacio can’t. He spends listless afternoons smoking cigarettes in long blonde wigs, telenovelas humming in the background, haunted not only by matrimonial guilt, but by memories of a young man he once loved and betrayed.
From Ignacio’s tragic past emerges the luminous queen of Bogotá’s queer underground, Mamadora Eléctrica, the wise travesti who he first met under the silvery lights of Club Aquario when he was just a shy country boy. With Alma gone, Mamadora steps in as a mother figure to Valentina the way she once did for the girl’s father. But as an expert in Travesti Lore, she fears the that Ignacio’s self-destruction may have unleashed a curse on them all.
From “a writer who is grinding their own colors” (Dwight Garner, New York Times), Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You is a profound and richly imagined story about coming undone.
Magical realism is rarely magical enough for me, but this does sound epic…
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview next to/beneath the book cover)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: (Black?) asexual MC
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
This propulsive, gorgeously-written fantasy romance will pull you into a dazzling world of dancing and danger, fae and fairytales, and a love that endures against all odds.Musical and immersive, this stunning debut is perfect for fans of The Night Circus and The Moonlight Market.
London, 1986. Trix, a young dancer in the British Classical Ballet Company, has been striving for years to make a name for herself in the competitive and unforgiving world of elite ballet. Aleksander 'Sander' Sylvan is the company's mysterious, meteoric rising star, whose talents are like nothing anyone has seen before.
An eleventh-hour illness among the cast of The Sleeping Beauty changes everything; Trix and Sander are thrown together in the lead roles, surprising everyone with their chemistry. Soon the pair become the company's star attraction, their sizzling on-stage partnership fuelling speculation about their private lives. Trix knows she's falling for Sander, but relationships have always been difficult for her, and as they grow closer, she cannot help but wonder about his past. Who is Sander really? Why won't he talk about his family, or where he comes from?
On the opening night of Romeo & Juliet at the very height of their fame, Sander vanishes without trace. With only a cryptic note to go on, Trix begins to wonder if the magic of the ballets they danced together has invited something truly strange and wondrous into the mortal world.
I’ve been told the magical elements are pretty minimal in this? It does sound lovely though…
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview next to/beneath the book cover)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
Cymin has agreed to become a spy, defeated a fiery curse, inadvertently derailed a train, and survived a bloody ambush in the Sacred Necropolis—all to escape conscription in a Storm Tower. Now, at last, he and his companions have reached the vibrant canal city of Yanyeo. From here they plan to sail to Saigrath, leaving Chyre and its Storm Towers behind. Ahead of him lies the promise of new magic, deepening friendships and an opportunity to share more than secrets with the Waethir, Laithondi. Cymin can hardly wait to depart.
Unfortunately, two of Cymin’s companions lost their lives on the journey to Yanyeo. Their violent deaths have turned the people of Chyre against the expedition—and the Waeithir. Soon the entire undertaking is threatened. Now Cymin and the Waethir must throw their energy into challenging the bad press and winning the respect of Yanyeo’s leaders. But just as they are winning over the people, Cymin’s traveling companions begin to go missing.
But deep beneath the canal waters a curse has been released and an enemy from Cymin’s past is on the move. Talented mages all across the city are quietly going missing while mutilated remains have washed ashore.
Then Cymin’s friend, Xaon disappears.
Racing to find him, Cymin and Laithondi must plunge into the lair of a criminal syndicate and risk not only exposing their secrets but their very lives.
SOMEDAY I WILL CATCH UP WITH THIS SERIES, I SWEAR.
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview beneath/beside the book cover)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
Two heroes. One brain cell.
BROMANTASY is a cozy, queer fantasy about the mortifying ordeal of being known by your totally platonic best friend and the epic quest that might force you to confront the truth.
Fellas, is it gay to kiss your bff while on a quest through the forest you’re unqualified for?
Juniper O'Reilly is good at only two things: demolishing a pint of mead and finding the perfect skincare routine. Everything else—taking care of the farm, bartering for goods, any sort of manual labor—falls to Juniper’s best friend, the absurdly capable, endlessly patient Mo Elmthorn.
But when Juniper accidentally volunteers them both for a quest to kill a fearsome monster, he knows he’s finally gotten in over his head. Juniper hates camping, he hates the dark, and there’s no way all these foraged mushrooms are going to sit well in his stomach. One thing he doesn’t hate? How good Mo’s thighs look in his questing pants—he doesn’t have time to think about that, though, with a monster to hunt and their futures on the line.
But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. When Juniper and Mo realize that the terrifying beast they’ve sworn to kill is just a scared little girl torn from their family, they’re off to find not only the true villain of the story, but maybe even a happy ending.
‘Two heroes. One brain cell.’ delights me as a tagline!
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Read a free chapter beneath the cover)
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Gay MC
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
If Guy Ritchie directed an episode of Queer Eye, it might look something like this hilarious and action-packed spy thriller by Paul Rudnick, acclaimed screenwriter and author of Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style, that blends espionage and social commentary, with an elite, gay secret society.
They are fierce patriots. They are licensed to kill. And they are really, really gay. Welcome to democracy’s secret weapon, the Tuxedo Society.
When Andrew Birnbaum, a struggling actor making ends meet by working in a candle shop, gets invited to have dinner with the exclusive Tuxedo Society by his best friend, Brock, his life takes an unexpected turn. What seems like a group of wealthy socialites gathering for gossip and cocktails quickly spirals into a world of espionage, danger, and hilarity.
Andrew soon meets Reggie O’Malley, a Navy SEAL with a penchant for black tie, who recruits Andrew to join the society’s covert mission to protect national security. Armed with gadgets like an inflatable life raft backpack, a yoga mat that doubles as an assault rifle, and, of course, an AMEX Black Card, Andrew quickly finds himself tackling spies, thwarting assassinations, and facing a host of unexpected threats in settings from the White House to the Vatican to the Summer Olympic Games.
The stakes escalate when Andrew and his comrades are sent on a jet-setting mission to uncover the truth about an ancient artifact. Along the way, they clash with oligarchs, crooked senators, and a smarmy televangelist with sinister plans for world domination.
Packed with Paul Rudnick’s signature wit, The Tuxedo Society is a wild ride through decadence, danger, and unexpected heroism, as Andrew discovers that saving the world might just be the role he’s been waiting for.
This was pitched to me as ‘if Jack from Will & Grace became a secret agent’, which sounds like a GREAT time for all!
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Excerpt beneath the About The Book section)
Genres: Adult, Nonfiction
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
The first in-depth study of the dark side of worldbuilding, exploring the connection between speculative imagination and political practice.
Speculative imagination brings to life an array of possible worlds that differ in crucial ways from the one governed by shared assumptions of the “normal,” “real,” or “inevitable.” This act of speculation—known as worldbuilding—has become undeniably resurgent in our times of multiple crises. Worldbuilding has long been associated with progressivist impulses, yet this book examines how worldbuilding has also been conducive to a diametrically opposite set of ideologies and politics, including apocalyptic re-enactments, alternative histories, and conspiracy theories. Reactionary Worldbuilding, edited by Anindita Banerjee, Sherryl Vint, David Higgins, and Jordan Carroll, analyzes how interrogating these reactionary modes can open up new ways of imagining value and belonging, justice and what is natural, history and its lessons, and the future and pathways to it.
Combining theoretical and analytical perspectives with site-specific knowledge of various periods and regions around the world, from interwar Germany to Soviet Central Asia, post-independence India to contemporary South Korea, this volume traces the durable and persuasive appeal of reactionary worldbuilding far beyond the boundaries of the current moment.
The speculative arts of reactionary worldbuilding cannot be dismissed as mere excesses of extremist fantasy; instead, this collection demonstrates that they can serve as crucial foundations for making sense of the self and the world and shows why it is urgent that we critique their power.
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m obsessed with worldbuilding, and this sounds like it’s going to land RIGHT on the intersection of a whole bunch of my interests!
You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Look Inside beneath the book cover)
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: QBIPOC cast
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
Cartoonist Shazleen Khan brings their Ignatz Award–winning young adult web series, BUUZA!! to print in Good Morning, Salwa, the first of three volumes collecting the original webtoon
On New Year's Eve 1997, in the bustling city of Salwa, Zach, a down-on-his-luck phone operator, receives a misdialed call from a distressed man named Zhen which sparks an undeniable connection. Zach is thrown into a search for his mystery man that stretches across multiple cities and a tangled web of exes, missed connections, and frenemies.
Set in the vibrant, low-fantasy realm of Dawlat Al-Harir—an eclectic melting pot inspired by Silk Road history and rich Asian and African Islamic cultures—BUUZA!! is a queer YA romance that features a uniquely dynamic blend of magical realism and political drama, with a richly diverse cast and an intricate plot that explores themes of identity, family, and transformation. This story will take readers on a captivating journey through a world where the divine and mundane collide in the most unexpected ways.
I think this was (is?) also a webcomic, and I’ve been wanting to read it for YEARS. The art’s so gorgeous!
You can read a sample here (where it says Read Sample beside the book cover) and see other pages here!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Trans MC
Published on: 26th May 2026
Goodreads
He only knows two things for sure: his name is Maeve and he’s a boy.
It’s 2002, and fourteen-year-old Maeve – an adopted, closeted trans boy – is facing another lonely year at school. At least he’s got Jeremy, his lifelong imaginary friend, for company. But even Jeremy, in all their wild wisdom, can’t explain the weird things that are happening to Maeve.
Like why Maeve’s hair spontaneously changes colour overnight. Or how Maeve knows his granny Beattie is dead, long before anyone can confirm it. Or why a stranger’s voice sounds uncannily familiar …
Maeve is full of questions – about his birth family and adoption, about Beattie and Jeremy, and about himself. But the answers are out of this world … and Maeve may have to give up everything he’s ever known to discover the truth.
For fans of Margo Lanagan and Alison Evans comes this dazzling, beguiling novel about a trans boy, his adopted family, and the search for self-acceptance, from extraordinary debut author Kai Ash.
Perfect for YA readers who love:
Queer stories exploring identity and coming outImmersive spec-fic and Gaelic mythology
Own-voices LGBTQI+ novels
Stories about adoptive and biological families
Juicy fiction to discuss in book clubs and classrooms
This might be a UK-and-Ireland only release? I am determined to get my hands on it nonetheless, because it sounds fantastic!
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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