A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell

Release Date: September 14, 2021

If you’ve been around for a minute, you know how much I LOVE a magical forest setting. And this one has that and queer witches. Sign. Me. Up.

The main character and her sisters live on the edge of magical and dangerous forest. When 2 of her sisters go missing –

“Derry will risk anything to protect the family she has left. Even if that means returning to the forest that has started calling to Derry in her missing siblings’ voices.

As Derry spends more time amidst the trees, her magic grows more powerful . . . and so does the darkness inside her, the viciousness she wants to pretend doesn’t exist. But saving her siblings from the forest, might mean embracing the darkness. And that just might be the most dangerous thing of all.”

Selling Points: Own-voices for the queer & fat representation, Creepy YA that walks the line between fantasy and horror, Vivid, haunting, and immersive prose.

The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams

Release Date: November 2, 2021
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Denise Williams wrote How to Fail at Flirting which was one of my favorite contemporary romances of 2020.

This sophomore novel is another romance and follows a plus size heroine who falls in love with her personal trainer. Britta workss a lifestyle website and agrees to try out a body-positive fitness app in hopes to becoming a full-time writer for the site. But she wasn’t excepting to fall for her coach – who also happens to be the CEO of app.

Selling Points: Own voices for the Black and plus-size representation, Epistolary meet-cute, Body positive, and self confident heroine

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper

Release Date: October 5, 2021

An exciting sapphic, paranormal rom-com from Berkely coming this fall! This follows 3 witches, who were all wronged by the same man. Now they’re teaming up to seek their revenge. But Emmy can’t stop thinking about her partner in crime – the “terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov”.

Selling Points: Sapphic romance, Witches, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets The L Word, Revenge plot

The One’s We Burn by Rebecca Mix

Release Date: 2022

“A young blood-witch’s mission to assassinate her betrothed—a gentle human prince—gets complicated when they uncover a witch-killing plague, and in their race to stop it, she falls for the prince’s sister.”

Selling Points: Sapphic romance, Bisexual disaster princess (powerful but Pisces), Lesbian witch with a inclination for science, Enemies to lovers

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Release Date: October 5, 2021
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I’m never going to do this synopsis justice, so I’m just going to leave this here –

“Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, kind princess who was betrothed to the prince of a faraway kingdom. When she set off for her new home, her mother gave her a maid for a companion on the journey. 

But instead of serving the princess, the wicked maid stole her place.

Then one day, the wicked maid…
…told her own story.”

Selling Points: Goose Girl retelling, Villain story, Bavarian-inspired fantasy