Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and boy howdy do I have a lot of new releases to tell you about today (and Friday). I don’t know why the publishers felt the need to stack them all up toward the end of the month, but YEESH. Hope you’ve got plans to read a lot for the upcoming holiday weekend! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!
Delighting velocireaders since 2017, Book Riot’s New Release Index will keep you in the know about all the latest books. All of them! For when my double features are not enough, because there are too many good books. Subscribe today — you won’t be able to read them all, but it’s fun to try!
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s two places to start: Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, which sends support to those affected by the wildfires on Maui, particularly first responders. Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.
Bookish Goods
Darmok and Jalad T-shirt by LeleArtworks
With Karen Lord’s new book coming out, I’m in a first contact kind of mood, and when I think first contact stories, I think of the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Darmok. This t-shirt design is just a delightful riff on it. $16+
New Releases
The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord
While climate change is transforming Earth into a more hostile place to humans, we are being watched from afar by alien civilizations…and they have decided to make contact. There are several humans interested in preparing their fellows for first contact, trying to reimagine society into one that cooperates with aliens. And they have a surprise ally: Owen, a pop star who has a hidden talent that allows him to do far more than connect with his adoring fans.
House of Marionne by J. Elle
Quell has lived all seventeen years of her life on the run with her mother, thanks to the deadly magic she must hide. But when someone finally catches onto her and her secret, she finds her only choice is to join a secret society of magical social elites called “the Order,” who will teach her to use her magic and hide her from the assassin that pursues her. But if she fails, at magic or at being a perfect debutante, she will die.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
There are so many awesome new books sneaking in before the end of the month, I’m going to give you a double dose of new releases today!
The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma
Born of prophecy, the Ravani kingdom is ruled by the Ravence, who command the Eternal Fire. The heir to the throne, Elena Aadya, is the only one of her family who cannot wield that magic, and so she must find another way to prove her worthiness to inherit. Into that mix is thrown Yassen Knight, an assassin who claims he is loyal to the throne…but Elena knows he must be hiding something.
A Second Chance for Yesterday by R.A. Sinn
SavePoint is a brain implant that rewinds the seconds of a person’s most embarrassing moments, and Nev Bourne, hotshot programmer, is working feverishly on the next rollout, to the extent that she’s basically ghosted everyone in her life. But when she tests SavePoint 2.0, she wakes up to discover that she’s fallen backward in time by a day…and it’s only going to get worse.
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.