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!

TWENTY-FIVE books this week!

(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)

A Child of Time by B C Steinhurst
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC/s
Published on: 8th June 2026
Goodreads

To pull up a seat at the game of life, one must strive to learn the rules.

A challenge comes to those in learning:

Everyone's rules are different.

Briyan's life is beautiful. A tower, where the Natural Philosophy of alchemy is studied; a palace, which houses both duty and family; and an island, where a princess knows the land, and is part of it. She must abandon all of it when every child's (and many adults') worst fear appears in her garden, in a handbasket--a faerie. At the mercy of such a dangerous creature's threats, Briyan and her friend Thea are forced to flee their island kingdom, leaving their families fearful, their own lives uprooted.

But faerie abductions are seldom simple. Soon, the reliable logic and order of the princess' life are inaccessible, with unforeseen players added to the game table at inopportune times. The world proves itself more vast, the Universe more expansive, than Briyan of 'Olara grew to expect, and with new discomforts--and dangers--saturating her surroundings, growing pains appear to be the game's divine rule.

I haven’t been able to find out anything more about this one than its description, but it has my interest!

The and That Was by Mia Tijam
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Filipino cast and setting
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

The and That Was is an archipelago of words: lush and mountainous in parts, civilized veneer in others, almost all of it seemingly born from instances when the forces within could no longer be restrained. The thing about archipelagos is to not view them as chains of islands, but as the space that envelops them.

That is what this collection contains.

The land. The culture. The rustic and the urban, religious and heretical. The fractures. The spaces. The cities without dragons…

The Fairy Tale Reality of the Philippines …

Where the end began and begins again … The wishes that point to what we should have wished. These stories contain–and release. And so do you.

I admit I DNFed this, because the first two stories seemed a lot more Lit Fic than Spec Fic, but other reviews mentioned dragons in later stories!

The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones by Lex Croucher
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Nonbinary MC
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

Casey McQuiston meets The Secret History in this unmissable dark academia fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Lex Croucher following former childhood best friends who reunite at magical boarding school after years, only to find themselves enemies on opposite sides of the ugly secrets hidden within the gilded walls.

Welcome to the Temple School of Thaumaturgy ... and your newest dark academia obsession.

For as long as they can remember, Briar Jones dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Behind its looming ornate gates, the elite prep school—the place that has produced the most CEOs and Prime Ministers in British history—is whispered to be magical. 

Briar's best friend, Sebastian Wolfe, never cared about Temple or believed in the rumors. He just wanted them to stay together forever. 

When, at age 11, Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn't, their childhood friendship is shattered. Seb vanishes onto Temple's grounds and Briar resigns themself to a mundane life. But they can't completely forget their yearning for Temple, for the extraordinary, to be one of the chosen in the ivory tower. 

Seven years later, a summer job advert a temp position sorting through the junk in Temple’s attics. Briar takes it. And they discover that quiet, sensitive Seb, the boy they once loved more than anything else in the world, has become a beautiful, arrogant villain feared by most of the school. And worse, the secrets Temple is hiding might not be so magical after all, but a dark conspiracy with implications that extend far beyond the gates. 

I ADORED this – the magic system is so simple but so incredibly clever, and Croucher does a really excellent job at interrogating privilege and power, especially within the context of the UK.

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview beside/beneath the book cover)

My review!

A Necromancer's Guide to Arranged Marriages by Katy Nyquist
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Black gay MC, East Asian queer love interest, M/M
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

As a necromancer, Benoni has plenty of experience with raising the dead, wrangling angry ghosts, and hiding his powers—but he has no experience when it comes to love.

As the youngest child of two deeply dysfunctional parents, Benoni learned how to make himself invisible. This became useful when he developed the reviled and illegal gift of necromancy.

Now, he's haunted by a trio of unruly orcs, who constantly pester him about taking over the world, along with the ghost of his murdered brother, who, incidentally, is scared of other ghosts.

And during the ritual that allowed his brother to communicate, Benoni accidentally infects himself with a deadly necromantic rot.

His salvation appears in the form of the Dragon Emperor Julong. As a shapeshifting dragon, Julong can eat most of his problems, but he doesn't know what to do about the army of angry ghosts running amok in his palace. In exchange for a cure for the rot, Julong commands Benoni to uncover who summoned the ghosts. The spiritual plague needs to be kept secret, and Benoni needs authority in the palace—a pretend betrothal covers both.

In Julong's kingdom, necromancers are revered and same-sex relationships are normalized, so Benoni finds acceptance for the first time in his life. But even a fake engagement contract draws Benoni into political intrigue and assassination attempts. The captivating, powerful, and handsome Julong serves as Benoni's protector and rock. But as Benoni cajoles the undead to help him, everyone keeps warning Benoni about an imperial curse, and Julong may have more to do with the ghosts than he's led Benoni to believe. For a necromancer with only the dead as friends, no one living can be trusted—especially not a sexy dragon shapeshifter with literal ghosts in his closet.

This is third in a series of standalones all in the same setting, so you don’t need to have read the first two books! This one sounds especially fun to me.

You can read a long excerpt here!

Endless Blue Beneath (Daughters of Atlantea #1) by Shannon K. English
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

A young mermaid is forced to choose between her old life above the waves and her new life below them in this eerie, romantic queer fantasy duology from debut author Shannon K. English.

Eppie has never quite understood why the world hates her—all she did was kiss a girl. Must that mean she suffers isolation, with whispers and glares following her at every turn? She tries to focus on her duty to her family, but options are limited for a woman alone, and life in the seaside village of Hwenfirth is agonizingly mundane.

One day, as Eppie walks along the beach, she spies someone drowning in the shallows. Without thinking, she runs to rescue the poor soul—but when she gets up close, instead of a sputtering victim she finds an inhuman creature smiling up at her with rows of sharp, white teeth that snap closed on her arm and drag her beneath the waves.

When Eppie awakes in a deep ocean cave, she finds her own body has changed: she can breathe underwater, her skin is turning scaly, her teeth have been replaced by fangs, and she is suddenly ravenous for human flesh.

She has become a dreaded creature of the ocean—a mermaid.

Things aren’t all bad, though. The mermaid colony is mesmerizing and Eppie’s new sisters are fiercely loyal. And when Eppie meets Marie, a stunningly beautiful mermaid with a past as shadowed as her glossy, raven-black scales, she finds she no longer needs to resist the desires that were denied to her on land.

But the mermaid hunters are coming, and Eppie must decide whether to protect the new, monstrous family she’s found or leave it all behind for a chance to live above the waves once again.

The prose wasn’t quite to my taste, but I think a lot of people are going to love this one – especially if you’re craving mermaid worldbuilding!

You can read an excerpt here!

My (dnf) review!

Ring Shout on Saturn by Sheree Renée Thomas
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Sci Fi
Representation: Black/African cast
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

RING SHOUT SATURN is book two of the the three book The Root and Sky Series of short stories.

Sheree Renée Thomas’s electrifying collection transports readers on a cosmic journey where ancient African Diasporic wisdom meets expansive Afrofuturist visions. From a prophet building a starship from salvaged dreams on a Martian farm to children breaking generational curses through powerful moonsongs, these tales explore themes of transformation, survival, and the enduring quest for liberation. Alien sisters navigate human complexities and river spirits offer profound wisdom, all set to an ancient beat that transcends time and space. Pulsing with Hoodoo, music, and myth, this collection resonates with the profound rhythms of existence, proving that true freedom knows no bounds—not even the cold void of space.

This is the second in Thomas’ Root and Sky series, so it might not be the best idea to start here!

Masques by Sherwood Smith
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MCs, possible polyamory
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

“Disguise your passion in masque; when the dance ends, peril begins.”

It’s nearly fourteen years since the Norsunder War ended. But peacetime still has surprises for The Trouble With Kings’ second gen, especially those with high ambitions.

Sky Szinzar, Princess of Ralanor Veleth, has loyally insisted on the betrothal she made to Lexan Glenereth, a landless boy with no prospects, made when they were kids. Her peers utterly scorn a “betrothal” she formed at age twelve—a scorn led by sarcastic Prince Garian-Rafael.

Now it’s fourteen years later, and Sky is finally holding her coming-of-age ball, which is spectacularly ruined by her abduction. On horseback. Right off the ballroom floor . . . by the prince she hates most. A wager or a lark? And while she's dealing with the fire and ice Rafael sparks every time they are together, Lexan comes back. Cool. Competent. Inscrutable, and oh so compelling. . .

When courtship between him and her and him (or is that him and him and her?) wears the guise of high politics in these postwar years, the dance soon gets wild.

This cozy romantic fantasy comedy of manners stands alone.

A standalone within Smith’s Sartorias-deles universe (which I love very much), this one is allegedly queer and is giving me strong poly vibes!

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview beneath/beside the book cover)

Our Sister's Keeper by Jasmine Holmes
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Horror
Representation: Black cast
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

Mississippi, 1927. The groanings are coming.

No town is perfect, but East Cobb comes close. It’s a wealthy all-Black Free Town—untouched by white oppression—where ambitious Thea Elliot and her husband plan to make good on their big dreams. Little do they know that the idyllic town teems with ghoulish, walking nightmares . . . that only the women can see.

Marah knows the groanings well. She is one of the carriers—women with the ability to pull traumatic memories from men. Populated by men entirely freed of their pain, East Cobb has flourished, even as the remnants of their memories haunt the town’s women. When an unexpected death drives Marah to discover more about her own power, Thea’s and Marah’s worlds collide. The sisters must confront the rotten core at the heart of East Cobb’s prosperity and choose what—and who—will survive the reckoning.

A gripping blend of historical fiction and Southern gothic psychological horror, Our Sister’s Keeper is a fierce exploration of Black sisterhood, rage, and resistance.

That is one HELLS of a premise, you must admit!

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview beneath/beside the book cover)

The Newcomers: The Chronicles of Touperdu, Book I by Pam Troy
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Black MCs
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

It is 1880, and immigrants are flocking to a new refuge from the economic and racial turmoil of the late nineteenth century.

For New Orleans chef Amadeo Roselyn, the Isle of Touperdu is where he can open his own restaurant and raise his daughters as educated, marriageable ladies in a place free of the violence roiling the post-Reconstruction era south. For Gwennoelle Duday, the matriarch of a rackety family of witches from the French village of Fourche, it is where the Dudays can act freely, unfettered by other people of “talent” and any foolish talk of rules and higher law.

But the night before they disembark, a question troubles both Amadeo in first class, and Madame Duday in steerage. It is one that will haunt them for years after they step onto the island — is the promise of Touperdu a lie? 

The Newcomers is the first novel in a series set on the fictional island of Touperdu, where the lines blur between superstition and magic, legend and history, promises and betrayal. Two immigrant families confront the question all outsiders face when they enter a new world. What can you do — and what will you give up — to truly belong?

Early reviews say the speculative elements in this one are pretty minimal, so bear that in mind if you pick this one up!

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Read an Excerpt, down under the book cover)

Inkpot Gods (Alchemical Journeys, #4) by Seanan McGuire
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

The New York Times bestselling author takes us back to the world of the Alchemical Journeys in this action-packed follow-up to Middlegame, Seasonal Fears, and Tidal Creatures.

The gods live and die at our whim.

More than a century has passed since Asphodel Baker refined the process allowing her to imbue alchemically created life with power in a way no one else had ever been able to achieve. More than a century since she built the Impossible City on the ruins of Olympus, forging it from nothing more than imagination and spite, and penned it in plain view, enabling it to be read and cherished and believed by children the world over.

And now, so long after her exit from the world, the descendants of her dark alchemy―who exist in a reality that inches ever closer to the hellscape of her imagination―step into a place of birth, of discovery, of horror, to make amends for the sins of the past.

Can the gods of today defeat the evils of their maker, or will the legacy of the most powerful alchemist the world has ever known prove to be their undoing?

I think the Middlegame series CAN be read as standalones, but I’m not 100% sure. Check out what the reviews say. Regardless, this series is full of very original magic and goes hard on the Weird; McGuire has said these are the books she spent most of her career practising for!

You can read an excerpt here!

Earth 7: A Novel by Deb Olin Unferth
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Sapphic MCs
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

An end-of-the-world love story, an epic full of pathos and humor, asking what can be saved of our planet

Well, that’s about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her latest electrifying novel, life and love persist, even in the most unexpected, inhospitable places.

Two women meet on a beach of artificial sand. One was raised in a pod in the ocean and the other may or may not be a robot. Their love—or any love—seems so unlikely. Earth is severely depopulated. Some people have given up, gone off to Mars. Others pursue eternal life as digital code. And yet others, like Dylan and Melanie, are holdouts—and some of those holdouts are constructing a vast molecular collection in hopes that a future person may be alive to make a new Earth. Foolhardy? Misguided? Quixotic? Probably. But what can a human (or a robot) do?

By the end of Unferth’s wild, poetic, revelatory, and slyly philosophical novel, the reader has traveled to the very edges of the cosmos as a “soul globule” and between grains of sand as a microscopic tardigrade. A slim book tackling big questions (is all matter conscious? will we tech ourselves into salvation, or out of existence?), Earth 7 is a poignant inquiry into death, mourning, and indefatigable life, the most exhilarating work to date by one of our most original and beloved writers.

A bit worried this might be too Lit Fic for me, but I’m hopeful!

You can read an excerpt here!

God's Own Country: A Trinity of Novellas by Mathew L Reyes
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

Father. Son. Holy Spirit. Three faces of the divine, three sides of human nature, three tales of damnation and ecstasy.

A Baptist congregation trapped in church must survive a hell of their own making, as well as each other. A youth group camping in the Louisiana wilds must contend with a monster older than sin and deadlier than the heat. A fundamentalist evangelizing in a rural town discovers horrifying truths about his God’s love and mercy.

Welcome to Louisiana, to its churches haunted by righteousness, to its forests baptized in holy fire, to its towns built on the grace of angels. Welcome to God’s own country.

Religious horror, AND it’s queer??? Definitely going to take a peek at this one!

We Hexed the Moon by Mollyhall Seeley
Representation: Queer MC/s
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

Bunny meets The Craft in this speculative debut about four best friends who perform a ritual on the moon in a last-ditch attempt to hold onto one another but are forced to reckon with the consequences.

It is the summer after high school graduation, and four island-grown best friends are about to be forced apart by their Plans for the Future. Rather than process the world of expectations bearing down on them or the secrets they’ve kept hidden even from one another, they perform a ritual on the moon in an impulsive fit of teen bravado.

They don’t expect it to actually work.

But suddenly the moon is gone from the sky and at their sleepover, and she’s not interested in going back where she came from. As the balmy August night unfolds, the girls scramble to find a human sacrifice to replace the moon before their world is plunged into chaos.

Equally tender and biting, We Hexed the Moon is coming-of-age at its best, cutting to the very quick of girlhood to reveal hilarious and brutally honest insights about friendship, gender, and desire.

I’m pretty sure this was originally self-published, but now it’s coming out from Saga Press! And is somehow queer? I LOVE that set-up; what do you mean, you hexed THE MOON??? (And despite the age of the protagonists, this does seem to be Adult and not YA.)

You can read an excerpt here!

The Sourdough Compendium by A.G. Slatter
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

Award-winning stories from the world of All the Murmuring Bones and The Briar Book of the Dead, this is a compendium of fantastic tales from the dark gothic heart of the Sourdough universe. Witches, assassins and pirates are brought to life in immersive, sinister and magical prose.

Comprised of three collections (Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings and The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales) these mosaic narratives form much of the foundational mythology for the novels All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, The Briar Book of the Dead¸ The Crimson Road and A Forest, Darkly.

Within these pages, coffin-makers work hard to keep the dead buried and their own murderous urges in check; poison girls are schooled in the art of marital assassination; books carry forth stories and forbidden secrets; a young witch wreaks a terrible revenge on an old lover; the Little Sisters of St Florian devote their lives to knowledge good and bad; a dying forest god is reinvigorated; mermaids and seamstresses make dangerous bargains; changelings bring havoc. Saints slumber, hind-girls dance across the countryside, bears show their true colours, and the fate of the upper and lower worlds rests on the whim of a volatile plague maiden…

Exquisite, compelling and rich with unforgettable characters, these stories layer and intertwine in the dexterous hands of a master storyteller. All three collections were shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award with The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings winning the award. This is beautiful fairy-tale gothic of the most haunting and dangerous kind.

If you’ve never read Slatter’s Sourdough universe, this is the perfect place to start – three of the Sourdough short story collections in one volume!!! STRONGLY recommended, although be warned that these get plenty dark at times.

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview beneath/beside the book cover)

My review of Sourdough!

The Reimagining of Thornwood House (Magic of Iskendra, #1) by Jaleigh Johnson
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Cosy Fantasy
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

A witch and her young ward discover a magical, walking house and learn the true meaning of home in this cozy, enchanting novel from New York Times
bestselling author Jaleigh Johnson.

Evelyn Sharpe is accustomed to dealing with natural disasters as a land witch, but she longs for a life with a little less danger for her and her adopted daughter, Ruby. So when the opportunity to take over as Caretaker of Thornwood House—a sentient home that acts as the magical heart of the village of Iskendra—arises, it seems almost fated.

When they arrive in sunny Iskendra, Evie and Ruby find the house is nothing like what they thought. First of all, it has walked away from the address. Thornwood House is grumpy, guarded, and extremely hesitant to allow the two witches through its doors.

Armed with gentle hearts and wild magic, Evie and Ruby begin to form tentative bonds with the house and the citizens of the small town. But there’s something deeply damaged about the building seeping into the forests surrounding Iskendra, and Evie will have to use all her power to protect the roots she’s started to grow.

Listen, I am but a simple Sia; if you give me a house with legs, I am THERE!

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Look Inside beneath the book cover)

Creatures of Light (Gaywyck Quartet Book 3) by Vincent Virga
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Gay MCs
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

Discovered herding goats by the struggling travelling actors of Teatro Gruppo, seventeen-year-old Sicilian Gatino possesses breathtaking physical beauty, feline grace, and an almost supernatural talent for performance. His facility with languages, mime, dance, hard work and sexual appeal, rockets Gatino from humble roots to the star of European stages in Berlin and Paris. Nurtured by impresario Naum Rozenberg, his fame grows as he conquers the nascent art of silent film. But Naum is unable to keep the young man to himself and Gatino’s heart is captured by Freddie Gage, scion of a New York financial empire.

Gage is in Paris trying to reimagine his life, or run away from it, and falling in love with Gatino seems a heaven-sent destiny. His family, however, seek his return to New York and his responsibilities there and, with subterfuge, create a break. Gage is friends with established New Yorkers Robert and Donough Gaylord and their neighbors Vadriel Vail and lover Armand de Guise. Set against a backdrop of the first voyage of the Titanic, and the flourishing silent film industry of Paris and New York, queer life of the times is the thread stitching multiple stories together.

Ambitious, erudite, and lush, Children of Light is an explicitly, joyfully, unapologetically celebration of queer love. Offering densely textured prose, rich with literary and historical allusion, this third installment of the Gaywyck Quartet is pure delight, over-the-top fun, and peppered with heart-breaking events that reflect its epic romance. Christopher Bram provides an introduction.

“Vincent Virga, weaving his spell for a – yes, spellbound readership, matching the enchantment of the first generation of the motion picture, embraces us with the moving rhythms and page turning progress off this long awaited third volume of his epic Gaywyck trilogy – another triumphant rendering of his mastery of that most exacting tradition, the High Romance.” — James McCourt

I am VIBRATING WITH EXCITEMENT for this!!! This is book three in the Gaywyck quartet, and while books one and two were previously published decades ago, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE’RE GETTING BOOK THREE! I might be hyperventilating a little bit.

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview beneath/beside the book cover)

Why We Fight the Tide by Giselle Vriesen
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Representation: Biracial MC
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

All right, this is an odd one; I cannot find a description for it anywhere, so I’m not 100% convinced it’s even out this week. But all the publisher pages etc claim that it is? This is the sequel to Vriesen’s Why We Play With Fire, which I’ve heard good things about.

Her Sharp Embrace (The Nightshades, #1) by Kate Koenig
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: F/F
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

In the glittering city of New Soleil, beauty masks danger at every turn. The Nightshades, a crew of magical outlaws, are no different. Their glamorous facades conceal the terror they strike into the hearts of the rich and powerful as they steal from the corrupt and fight for the forgotten.

Noa Toussaint fled her cossetted life as a Saint to join the Nightshades. Infatuated with their ferocious leader, Lennon, Noa aims to capture her heart and keep it. Her talent for alchemy is valuable, but her connection to her family puts all of the Shades in danger.

Now enemies are closer than Lennon knows and Noa must uncover the threat and keep them both alive. Because in a city where lies are lethal and magic is fading, secrets aren’t just costly—they’re deadly.

Magical outlaws! Alchemy! Sapphics! I am listening!

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Read Excerpt beneath the book cover)

Devils We Know (Devils Like Us Book 2) by L.T. Thompson
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

The sequel to the Stonewall Honor winner Devils Like Us

Three queer teens must bring Death out of hiding to save one of their own in book two of this YA historical fantasy duology that's Our Flag Means Death meets The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy.

We need to find Death.

Cas, Remy, and Finn are on the run from the Order of Lazarus, a secret society that wants to use Cas's prophetic powers to capture Death and ensure that only the “unworthy” and “immoral” will meet their ends. Which will not only upend nature's balance but also tear apart the only place the friends have ever felt safe to be Aboard the Mori, where Cas can live openly as a trans boy, and where Remy and Finn are beginning to fall for each other. No matter what, they can't let that happen.

To protect their found family of queer sailors, the three teens will need to find Death first and strike a bargain of their own. But the society is hot on their heels-and so is a demon who's determined to claim the soul he's owed.

This is the sequel to last year’s Devils Like Us, which I think got quite a bit of positive coverage when it came out.

The Boy With the Heart of Sea Glass by Laura Livingstone
Genres: Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: M/M
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

When the end of a relationship brings eighteen-year-old Sam back to the Cornish Island where he was born, he’s forced to face dark family secrets lurking just below the surface.

Meeting Tryste, a fisherman with eyes like thunderstorms, provides Sam with a distraction from the truth about his father, but Sam’s wounds run deep, and he’s worried about having his heart broken again. While fighting his feelings, he’s haunted by eerie visions of a pale woman who lures him beneath the waves.

Soon, it becomes hard to tell dreams from reality, and when he wakes drenched in saltwater, Sam realizes he inherited more than just his father’s face.

Embracing the truth may mean losing the life he’s built, but when Tryste’s boat goes missing, Sam has no choice. To save the boy he loves, he must follow his heart to the bottom of the ocean, even if it means blurring the line between reality and fairytale forever.

Fans of “The Wicked Deep” by Shea Earnshaw and “Out of the Blue” by Jason June will enjoy “The Boy With the Heart of Sea Glass” by Laura Livingstone.

I don’t know where I got this impression from, but I’m convinced this is a selkie story. I so hope I’m right!

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says Preview Now beneath/beside the book cover)

Rostam Wrecks the Realm by Olivia Abtahi
Genres: MG, Science Fantasy
Representation: Iranian MC
Published on: 9th June 2026
Goodreads

The Last Dragon on Mars meets Persian mythology in this action-packed sci-fi fantasy space adventure about a boy fighting to save his planet after making a pact with an ancient demon that snuffs out their sun.

After leaving Earth, Rostam Zamini had just gotten used to life on Enceladus—one of Saturn’s many moons—only to once again have to move when one of his moms gets a fancy new job on dusty and dull Pars-1.

Rostam had worked hard and managed to make friends on Enceladus, but none of the Pars-1 kids seem to be impressed with Rostam’s big-city background. In desperate need of some space cred, Rostam makes a deal with Zahhak—a centuries-old demon prince—for popularity in exchange for the golden mace described in The Persian Book of Kings.

But when Rostam hands the mace over, he unknowingly plunges the planet into darkness by accidentally killing their ancient sun, a red giant. Now he must right his wrongs and save his new home before it’s too late.

Well this sounds marvellous!

Love, Gods and Sinners by Camille Chong
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA
Representation: Singaporean cast and setting, F/F
Published on: 11th June 2026
Goodreads

Against the glittering backdrop of alternate modern-day Singapore, two teens must choose between love and loyalty in this sapphic urban fantasy. Part enemies-to-lovers rom-com, part high-octane action, the chemistry of Mr and Mrs Smith meets the high-stakes action of Iron Widow.

Harper Leong is an engineering intern at a famous tech company, but she’s also Raven: the flirtatious probationary leader of the feared Foxes, descended from Chinese Nine-Tailed Foxes. To successfully graduate her probation and achieve the leadership she promised her late parents, Harper’s been assigned to kill the Sentinel that’s been hindering Fox missions—Lune, the youngest, the brightest. But as Harper gets closer to her target, she finds herself looking past the icy facade the Sentinel often fronts, and begins struggling with her loyalties and, horrifically, her burgeoning feelings.

Descended from moon goddess Chang'e, Lune's real name is Tia, and she's an engineering intern with an annoying partner-slash-flatmate: Harper. In her civilian identity, Tia begins falling for her arrogant rival—without realising that Harper is secretly the Fox that Tia’s been trying to defeat for years. Desperate to prove herself as the youngest Sentinel, Lune throws herself into destroying the Foxes—until she witnesses Raven during a vulnerable moment, tends to Harper’s mysterious wounds in her civilian life, and begins yearning for the miscreant on both sides of the mask.

As Raven's mission to kill Lune unravels to include the mysterious moonstones that hint at unprecedented potential to aid Singapore's climate crisis, low-level tensions become life-threatening. Harper and Tia begin to realise that the concepts of right and wrong can be just as complicated—and dangerous—as falling in love.

Magical engineers who are also descendants of mythical creatures and goddesses??? WANT.

You can read an excerpt here! (Where it says View Preview beneath/beside the book cover)

Familiar Strangers by Emma Kahm
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 12th June 2026
Goodreads

Your mind is yours for twenty-five years. Then it belongs to the person you used to be.

Nick Morgan and Marek Kreek are total strangers who first meet at Bean & Leaf Haven, a nice coffee and tea shop, when Marek arrives there, seeking a gig as a guitarist. Immediately, Nick is struck by a sense of familiarity and accidentally embarrasses himself by ‘mistaking’ Marek for someone else.

However, what initially seemed like a random accident soon becomes a confusing reality. Nick discovers he knows facts about Marek that have never been shared and recalls events he never experienced. Nick can't explain how it's happening and is shocked to learn that Marek is experiencing the same thing. As if that's not weird enough, they realize they've both been dreaming about each other in a century-old setting.

Agreeing to investigate the mystery, Nick and Marek find themselves stuck in the confusing world of reincarnation. What kind of cycle allows souls to carry memories of a past life? In a state of desperation, they turn to Nick’s grandmother, Vera, a former religious scholar. With her guidance, they plan sessions of exposure therapy that will eventually lead them abroad—back to the very place where it all began.

Despite the cover, I’ve been assured this is not Horror, and instead it’s some kind of reincarnation thing?

Before the Ghost Sea (The Tides That Reign #3) by R.D. Pires
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: East Asian-inspired setting, queer MC/s
Published on: 12th June 2026
Goodreads

A state of upheaval grips the realms.

Returning to her homeland, Queen Yiscel finds herself surrounded not by a triumphant celebration, but deadly disease. Amid a desperate search for a cure, a rising tide of discontent threatens her regime.

Meanwhile, harrowing circumstances on either side of the Endless Ocean vie for Emperor Kaori's attention. An unforeseen shadow surfaces in Nokara, endangering his seat on the Golden Throne. Yet, leaving Faron without unraveling the symbols left behind by Fogosombre could have dire consequences for the known world.

Thus unfolds the most expansive entry in The Tides That Reign. Amid sweeping treks to snow-capped peaks and harrowing nights in the darkest of storms is a tale about sailing the surge of passion, surviving the tide of consequence, and wading through a sea of ghosts.

I keep hearing great things about this series!

Curiouser by Sassafras Patterdale
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Brown queer MC
Published on: 14th June 2026
Goodreads

In a much-anticipated return to fiction, Sassafras Patterdale's Curiouser is part fairytale reimagining, part gritty queer tragedy. "Curiouser" takes readers down the rabbit hole of community, belonging, loss, leather, and what it means to find and build home.

Not familiar with this author, and not sure I want to pick up something described as a tragedy, but maybe you will!

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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