Happy Tuesday! New to the Queue is a bookish feature on Kait Plus Books where I talk about books I’ve recently added to my never ending #tbr!
Hi there! I love making these posts. Looking at the books that I’ve added to my tbr and getting excited about all the wonderful stories I’ll be able to read someday, it just makes me happy.
And now without any further ado, here are FIFTEEN of the books I’ve recently added to my queue!
Oh My Gods! The Forgotten Maze by Stephanie Cooke, Insha Fitzpatrick, Juliana Moon Series: OMGs #2
Published on April 5, 2022 by Etch/Clarion Books
Genres: Fantasy, YA, Contemporary, Graphic Novels, Mythology, Neurodivergent, Retellings
Pages: 208
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When Karen moved to Mt. Olympus, she certainly didn’t expect to start junior high with a bunch of gods and goddesses—let alone discover she’s a demigoddess (who doesn’t yet know her powers)! Having recently joined the school newspaper, Karen decides to investigate a mysterious online troll that goes by the moniker M1N0T4UR. This leads her to a treacherous maze beneath the school where Karen and her friends must complete a set of phases to leave the labyrinth.
Family of Liars by E. Lockhart Series: We Were Liars #0.5
Published on May 3, 2022 by Delacorte Press
Genres: Thriller, YA, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 256
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram
A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts. A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow. A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy. A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.
Welcome back to the Sinclair family. They were always liars.
Rivals by Katharine McGee Series: American Royals #3
Also in this series: American Royals
Published on May 31, 2022 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Genres: Alternate History, Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 400
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram
Beatrice is queen, and for the American royal family, everything is about to change.
Relationships will be tested.
Princess Samantha is in love with Lord Marshall Davis—but the more serious they get, the more complicated things become. Is Sam destined to repeat her string of broken relationships…and this time will the broken heart be her own?
Strangers will become friends.
Beatrice is representing America at the greatest convocation of kings and queens in the world. When she meets a glamorous foreign princess, she gets drawn into the inner circle…but at what cost?
And rivals will become allies.
Nina and Daphne have spent years competing for Prince Jefferson. Now they have something in common: they both want to take down manipulative Lady Gabriella Madison. Can these enemies join forces, or will old rivalries stand in the way?
Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik Series: Starlight's Shadow #1
Published on February 1, 2022 by Harper Voyager
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 400
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Octavia Zarola would do anything to keep her tiny, close-knit bounty hunting crew together—even if it means accepting a job from Torran Fletcher, a ruthless former general and her sworn enemy. When Torran offers her enough credits to not only keep her crew afloat but also hire someone to fix her ship, Tavi knows that she can’t refuse—no matter how much she’d like to.
With so much money on the line, Torran and his crew insist on joining the hunt. Tavi reluctantly agrees because while the handsome, stoic leader pushes all of her buttons—for both anger and desire—she’s endured worse, and the massive bonus payment he’s promised for a completed job is reason enough to shut up and deal.
But when they uncover a deeper plot that threatens the delicate peace between humans and Valoffs, Tavi suspects that Torran has been using her as the impetus for a new war. With the fate of her crew balanced on a knife’s edge, Tavi must decide where her loyalties lie—with the quiet Valoff who’s been lying to her, or with the human leaders who left her squad to die on the battlefield. And this time, she’s put her heart on the line.
Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder by Saundra Mitchell Published on June 7, 2022 by Inkyard Press
Genres: YA, Anthology, Futuristic, Queer
Pages: 448
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Into the queer new yonder!
To conclude the trio of anthologies that started with critically acclaimed All Out and Out Now, Out There features seventeen original short stories set in the future from fantastic queer YA authors.
Explore new and familiar worlds where the human consciousness can be uploaded into a body on Mars…an alien helps a girl decide if she should tell her best friend how she feels…two teens get stuck in a time loop at a space station…people are forced to travel to the past or the future to escape the dying planet…only a nonbinary person can translate the binary code of a machine that predicts the future…everyone in the world vanishes except for two teen girls who are in love.
This essential and beautifully written collection immerses and surprises with each turn of the page.
Happy for You by Claire Stanford Published on April 19, 2022 by Viking
Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 256
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Four years into work on a still-unfinished philosophy dissertation, and seemingly unready to accept a marriage proposal from her long-term boyfriend, Evelyn Kominsky Kumamoto feels stalled. Meanwhile, all around her, everyone else seems to be getting on with their lives: her corn-fed, relentlessly optimistic boyfriend, Jamie, has no hesitation about committing to a shared future, and even her reserved Japanese father is energized by a new relationship--his first since her mother's passing when Evelyn was just fourteen. The privacy-invading, norm-reinforcing apps, algorithms, and self-optimization messaging that surround her seem more sure of what Evelyn should think and want than she is.
Looking for a change, Evelyn accepts a job as a researcher at the third-most popular internet company, housed at a glass and steel office building in downtown San Francisco. There, she is charged with aiding in the development of an app that will help users quantify--and augment--their happiness. As she grapples with the tech world's bewildering work culture and jolting excess, an unexpected development in her personal life upends her assumptions about her future, and Evelyn embarks on a journey towards an authentic happiness all her own.
Wry, touching, and sharply attuned to the ambivalence, atomization, and illusion of control that characterize modern life, Happy for You is a story of a young woman at a crossroads that movingly explores how, even in this mediated world, our emotions, contradictions, and vulnerabilities have a transformative power we could never predict.
Serendipity by Marissa Meyer, Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, Abigail Hing Wen Published on January 4, 2022 by Farrar Straus and Giroux
Genres: Anthology, Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 320
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The secret admirer. The fake relationship. The matchmaker.
From stories of first love, unrequited love, love that surprises, love that’s been there all along, ten of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. Readers will swoon for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher Published on April 26, 2022 by Tor Books
Genres: Retellings, YA, Fantasy
Pages: 256
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After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.
On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.
Cake Eater by Allyson Dahlin Published on August 9, 2022 by HarperTeen
Genres: Thriller, Futuristic, Retellings, YA
Pages: 448
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok
She has a million followers on social media.
She uses her fashion-forward eye to pick the perfect angle and filter on every photo.
She’s iconic.
She’s a trend-setter.
She’s Marie Antoinette, the year is 3070, and she’s arrived in the Franc Kingdom to marry the prince, secure an alliance, and rake in likes from her fans.
Versailles is not the perfect palace Marie’s seen on The Apps. Her life is a maze of pointless rules, and the court watches her every move for mistakes. Her shy husband Louis is more interested in horses and computer-hacking than producing heirs. Versailles seems like a dream full of neon-lit statues, handsome android soldiers, and parties till dawn. Under the surface, it’s a creepy den of secrets: surveillance in Marie’s bedroom, censored news feeds, disappearing courtiers.
When Marie and Louis become king and queen long before they’re ready to rule, any efforts to aid their suffering subjects are stamped out by the mega-corporations of the First Estate. Between riots in Paris and image-wrecking social media firestorms, Marie can’t afford to lose her head. Using her social media savvy and Louis’ hacking knowledge, they try to fix their reputations and change their kingdom for the better, but the royals may find it’s already too late. They’re ruling over the end of an era.
This Place Is Still Beautiful by XiXi Tian Published on June 7, 2022 by Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, YA
Pages: 336
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Two sisters. A shocking racist incident. The summer that will change both of their lives forever.
Despite having had near-identical upbringings, sisters Annalie and Margaret agree on only one thing: that they have nothing in common. Nineteen-year-old Margaret is driven, ambitious, and keenly aware of social justice issues. She couldn't wait to leave their oppressive small-town home and take flight in New York. Meanwhile sweet, popular, seventeen-year-old Annalie couldn't think of anything worse - she loves their town, and feels safe coasting along in its confines.
That is, until she arrives home one day to find a gut-punching racial slur painted on their garage door.
Outraged, Margaret flies home, expecting to find her family up in arms. Instead, she's amazed to hear they want to forget about it. Their mom is worried about what it might stir up, and Annalie just wants to have a 'normal' summer - which Margaret is determined to ruin, apparently.
Back under each other's skins, things between Margaret and Annalie get steadily worse - and not even the distraction of first love (for Annalie), or lost love (for Margaret) can bring them together.
Until finally, a crushing secret threatens to tear them apart forever.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo Published on May 10, 2022 by Tordotcom
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, New Adult, Queer, Thriller
Pages: 288
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It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic.
“No maids, no funny talking, no fainting flowers.” Luli Wei is beautiful, talented, and desperate to be a star. Coming of age in pre-Code Hollywood, she knows how dangerous the movie business is and how limited the roles are for a Chinese American girl from Hungarian Hill—but she doesn’t care. She’d rather play a monster than a maid.
But in Luli’s world, the worst monsters in Hollywood are not the ones on screen. The studios want to own everything from her face to her name to the women she loves, and they run on a system of bargains made in blood and ancient magic, powered by the endless sacrifice of unlucky starlets like her. For those who do survive to earn their fame, success comes with a steep price. Luli is willing to do whatever it takes—even if that means becoming the monster herself.
Siren Queen offers up an enthralling exploration of an outsider achieving stardom on her own terms, in a fantastical Hollywood where the monsters are real and the magic of the silver screen illuminates every page.
Flirting with Fate by J.C. Cervantes Published on April 19, 2022 by Razorbill
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Paranormal, Romance, YA
Pages: 384
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram
Ava Granados will never forgive herself for being late to her beloved nana's deathbed. But due to a flash flood that left Ava in a fender bender with a mysterious boy, she missed her grandmother's mystical blessing--one that has been passed between the women of her family upon death for generations.
Then Nana's ghost appears with a challenge from beyond the grave. As it turns out, Nana did give Ava a blessing, but it missed its target, landing with the boy from the night of the storm instead. Was it fate? Ava refuses to believe so. With the help of her sisters and Nana's rather bumbling spiritual guide, she's determined to reclaim her share of the family magic and set Nana free.
For guarded Ava, befriending some random boy is the last thing she wants to do. She's gotten along just fine protecting her heart--keeping people at a distance is a great way to ensure no one ever hurts you. But as Ava embarks on her mission to retrieve the lost blessing, she starts to wonder if getting close to thunderstorm boy is worth the risk.
The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto Published on February 1, 2022 by Sourcebooks Fire
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, YA
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram
Lia Setiawan has never really fit in. When she wins a full ride to the prestigious Draycott Academy on a track scholarship, she's determined to make it work even though she's never felt more out of place. But on her first day there she witnesses a girl being forcefully carried away by campus security. Her new schoolmates and teachers seem unfazed, but it leaves her unsure of what she's gotten herself into. As she uncovers the secrets of Draycott, complete with a corrupt teacher, a golden boy who isn't what he seems, and a blackmailer determined to get her thrown out, she's not sure if she can trust anyone--especially when the threats against her take a deadly turn.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Published on July 12, 2022 by Knopf Publishing Group
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 416
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On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. They borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo a game where players can escape the confines of a body and the betrayals of a heart, and where death means nothing more than a chance to restart and play again. This is the story of the perfect worlds Sam and Sadie build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy.
Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, games as artform, technology and the human experience, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.
Elektra: A Novel of the House of Atreus by Jennifer Saint Published on May 10, 2022 by Flatiron Books
Genres: Adult, Historical Fiction, Mythology, Retellings
Pages: 320
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The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this curse, and the fickle nature of men and gods.
Clytemnestra: The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon - her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost.
Cassandra: Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall.
Elektra: The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But, can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence?
Did you add any of these books to your tbr? Let me know in the comments below and have a splendiferous week!
The cover of Siren Queen! Stunning! Added a handful to my TBR!