2021 Releases: May – June – Paperbacks and Planners

So many new releases heading our way!

Super quick reminder – these are new releases on my own personal radar.

These next 2 months are JAM PACKED with amazing new releases. I honestly have no idea how I will possibly keep up, but I’m going to try my hardest.

May

This months kicks off with a bang right away on the 4th!

May 4th

1. Realm Breaker (Realm Breaker #1) by Victoria Aveyard

The start of the new YA fantasy series following kingdom covered in darkness. The heir to a magical lineage joins an unlikely crew to take down the vicious opponent determined to burn the empire to the ground.

“[W]hen the heroes have fallen, who will take up the sword?”

2. Just Last Night by Mhiari McFarlane

An adult contemporary romance following a close knit group of friends whose lives are forever changed in an instant. In the aftermath, secrets are revealed and the main character wonders if she ever really knew her friends. And when a man from her past reemerges, she finds her life veering in an unforeseen direction.

“They say every love story starts with a single moment. What if it was just last night?”

3. Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee

A fresh take on a classic tragedy! This follows 17 year old British-Chinese Valora who smuggles herself onto the Titanic in hopes of reuniting with her twin brother. And joining the circus as an acrobat.

“Loosely inspired by the recently uncovered account of six Titanic survivors of Chinese descent.”

4. Blade of Secrets (Bladesmith #1) by Tricia Levenseller

The start of a new YA fantasy duology!

“[A] teenage blacksmith with social anxiety is forced to go on the run to protect the world from the most powerful magical sword she’s ever made.”

5. The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He

“We Were Liars meets Black Mirror, with a dash of Studio Ghibli.”

Cee awoke on an abounded island with no memory of how she got there. Her only memory is that she has sister. And she must find her.

May 11th

1. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

A new contemporary romance from the author of Beach Read! It follows Alex and Poppy who have been best friends since college. Until 2 years ago when everything was ruined. Poppy convinces Alex to make one last trip together, where she can hopefully lay everything out on the line and fix their broken relationship.

2. Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

A Malaysian contemporary fantasy following a reluctant medium fighting for retribution for her grandmother and to settle the score with the girl gang who offended the Black Water Sister.

3. Heartstopper: Volume 4 by Alice Oseman

This actually releases on May 13th!

Volume 4 in this heartwarming graphic novel follow 2 high school seniors who fall in love.

“Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love.”

May 18th

1. The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

The latest romance from this writing duo follows a single mother who tries a new DNA-based dating app and is paired with the company owner and man she knows isn’t her soulmate.

“Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.”

2. May the Best Man Win by Zr Ellor

“A trans boy enters a throw-down battle for the title of Homecoming King with the boy he dumped last summer in ZR Ellor’s contemporary YA debut.”

3. In the Ravenous Dark by A.M Strickland

This tagline is all I’ve ever read of the synopsis and all anyone needs to know:

“A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead.“

4. Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake (Winner Bakes All #1) by Alexis Hall

The start of a new contemporary romance series. This follows a woman who lands a spot baking show and is determined to win the prize money to save her and her daughter’s financial future.

5. Mister Impossible (Dreamer Trilogy #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

The next book in the Dreamer trilogy, a spinoff of The Raven Cycle, following Ronan and the Lynch family.

March 25th

1. A Touch of Malice (Hades & Persephone #3) by Scarlett St. Clair

The third book in this wildly popular Hades and Persephone romance!

2. Hang the Moon (Written in the Stars #2) by Alexandria Bellefleur

This sophomore novel follows the brother and best friend of Darcy from Written in the Stars.

“[A] hopeless romantic who vows to show his childhood crush that romance isn’t dead by recreating iconic dates from his favorite films…”

3. Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

This follows a popular teen who comes out as bisexual only to be invalidated by her peers. So she fake dates the school’s overachiever and polar opposite. But despite their pact, real feelings begin to form.

June

And June is somehow even more intense! EVERYTHING is coming out this first week of June.. save your pennies.

June 1st

1. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The next release from the acclaimed author of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones!

“Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.”

2. The Library of the Dead (Edinburgh Nights #1) by T.L. Huchu

An adult fantasy featuring Zimbabwean and an atmospheric Scotland setting.

“Sixth Sense meets Stranger Things – a sharp contemporary fantasy following a precocious and cynical teen as she explores the shadowy magical underside of modern Edinburgh.”

3. The Chosen the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

A retelling of The Great Gatsby but featuring a queer, Asian American, female main character!

4. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

From the author of Red, White and Royal Blue comes a new sapphic romance featuring a cynical New Yorker who falls for a mysterious woman on the train – who turns out to be a time traveler from the 1970s.

5. The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

“Practical Magic meets Twister in this debut contemporary fantasy standalone about heartbreaking power, the terror of our collapsing atmosphere, and the ways we unknowingly change our fate.”

6. Grace and Glory (The Harbinger #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The 3rd (and final?) book in the Harbinger series! This follows a disabled heroine battling evil and falling in love with a warden, who is also her new protector.

7. Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia

“The start of an exciting new historical mystery series set in 1920s Harlem featuring Louise Lloyd, a young black woman caught up in a series of murders way too close to home…”

8. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

A new slightly magical contemporary following a teen who no lover believes in love but starts to develop feelings for the passionate an mysterious boy she meets in her dance class.

9. Neon Gods (Dark Olympus #1) by Katee Robert

My personal most anticipated release of the year!

This a new erotic Hades and Persephone romance from the queen of romance herself.

10. The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

“To save a fae kingdom, a trans witch must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind. This debut YA fantasy will leave you spellbound.”

11. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

A YA contemporary thriller debut about 2 elite students who face an anonymous bully. This definitely gives me Pretty Little Liar vibes.

June 8th

1. The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms #1) by Tasha Suri

The start of new epic fantasy series following –

“two women –a long-imprisoned princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic– [who] come together to rewrite the fate of an empire.”

2. The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

A queer YA sci-fi following two sworn enemies on a space mission to save the first inhabitants of Titan. But the ship has secrets, the boys are missing memories, and things aren’t adding up.

“[They] need to work together and learn to trust one another… especially once they discover what they are truly up against. Love might be the only way to survive.”

3. Girls at the Edge of the World by Laura Brooke Robson

A queer romantic fantasy debut following a group of acrobatic fliers in a world on the brink of an apocalyptic flood.

4. The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

A fantasy debut for fans of The Bear and the Nightingale and Spinning Silver.

“Inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology — [this] follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.”

5. Daughter of Sparta (Daughter of Sparta #1) by Claire M. Andrews

“A reinterpretation of the classic Greek myth of Daphne and Apollo, Daughter of Sparta by debut author Claire Andrews turns the traditionally male-dominated mythology we know into a heart-pounding and empowering female-led adventure.”

June 15th

1. The Maiden by Alex Michaelides

Dark academic thriller from the author of The Silent Patient. This follows a Cambridge professor, a fantastical group of college admirers, a therapist, and murder.

2. Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

“A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.”

3. The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton

A historical fantasy romance following a lady thief who must save her aunt for a band of dangerous yet charming pirates.

4. For the Wolf (Wilderwood #1) by Hannah Witten

“For fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale comes a dark fantasy novel about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn’t the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.“

5. The Box in the Woods (Truly Devious #4) by Maureen Johnson

A new release in the Truly Devious world following a whole new plot! This time Stevie Bell is solving mysteries outside Ellingham Academy — instead she is the notorious Camp Wonder Falls—the site of the notorious unsolved Box in the Woods Murders.