June is bringing a variety of books that will serve across the reading mood spectrum, from beach days to rainy days. I’m especially excited for the newest from Vaishnavi Patel as a South Asian reader, particularly because it’s exploring the revolutionary spirit in an old India reimagined to have still been under British rule. The most hyped book that I’ve been seeing everywhere is intriguing me too, and I hope for it to be the first V. E. Schwab book I read.
The prettiest book cover award for the month has to go to this romantasy anthology that is bringing stories from authors like Tasha Suri and Kamilah Cole. There are two books I’m currently reading, and both are worth recommending: one is a debut epic fantasy by Holly Race where the angst-filled sapphic romance is giving me all the feels, and the other is a new romantasy by Elizabeth Lim whose Six Crimson Cranes was beautifully breathtaking. There are so many more I want to highlight so let’s get started.
Ten Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel, June 3
Ever since Kaikeyi’s announcement, I’ve been looking forward to everything the author writes—part of that excitement can be seen in my interview with Vaishnavi Patel. Now with a speculative novel imagining an alternate version of 1960s India that was never liberated from the British, I’m highly intrigued. Set over the course of a decade and told as ten moments from Kalki’s life that mirror the Dashavatara, the ten avatars of Vishnu, this story unravelling in a city that British built on the ashes of Bombay also draws inspiration from the experiences of the author’s family, who were freedom fighters in Maharashtra.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab, June 10
One of the most anticipated releases of the year, which is not surprising because this genre-defying novel about immortality and desire seems to be more than just a story about three women. Across centuries, continents, and cultures, this vampire fiction intertwines three storylines while meditating on queer identity against a dark backdrop of hunger. I’ve been hearing everything from “toxic lesbian vampires” to “Killing Eve meets Interview with the Vampire” and finally, in an interview with People Magazine, Schwab says this “novel is a reckoning…a tale of hunger…for life, for freedom, for love, for more.”
Awakened by Laura Elliot, June 10
Sometimes I love to come across a surreal novel as part of the speculative genre that makes up SFF, and this one with a tinge of horror sounds excitingly insane. In order to make the population more productive, science has stolen sleep from humanity. In the extreme aftermath of an induced global sleeplessness, the horrors of lost sanity can be seen as people are turning into feral monsters. A small group of scientists are trapped in the Tower of London, consumed by guilt and searching for a cure, when two miraculous survivors walk in. This is definitely reminding me of Bird Box and other silent horror like The Quiet Place. It’ll be interesting to see the impact of chronic illness in a post-apocalyptic setting.
The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic: Anthology edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, June 24
Following an apocalyptic horror with a romantasy anthology? I like to consistently remind this blog’s readers how much I love romance! Lost lovers return for a second chance; academic rivals competing for a prestigious position; a monster slayer meets a moral prince. From authors like Olivie Blake, Tasha Suri, Marissa Marr, Kamilah Cole, Katherine Arden, and more, this anthology seems to have romance unravelling in disparate timelines and ghostly ballrooms. Including dragons that need rescuing from princesses.
Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race, June 10
I’m currently reading this and I want to recommend this right away! Epic fantasy told through dangerous court politics, sapphic yearning, and women having to survive…despite being queens. Also, pet dragons? Oh, and beautiful writing. Inspired by the wives of Henry VIII, this epic follows an ambitious queen who is the king’s most beloved and a reluctant spy assassin who is soon forced into a loveless marriage with the king. When the two surprisingly become friends and allies, and uncover a deadly truth at the heart of the kingdom’s magic, their survival depends on uniting all six of the rival queens—something the king would never let happen.
Black Salt Queen by Samantha Bansil, June 3
This start to a romantasy duology is a precolonial Filipino fantasy of elemental magic where three women—forever intertwined by history and the heart—vie for the throne of a secluded island nation. Centring three women already caught my attention, especially when they’re a queen, her former lover, and her heir. I can sense the love and rivalry from here. Not to mention, I was intrigued when I saw K. S. Villoso (The Wolf of Oren-Yaro) praise this epic featuring “complex matriarchs in a vivid setting.”
Vesuvius by Cass Biehn, June 10
I always find myself interested in stories where the characters try their very best to rewrite the ending, and this historical fantasy set days before Mount Vesuvius destroys Pompeii seems to explore exactly that—through two boys, a thief and a seer, who must untangle their fates to make it out of the burning city alive. This retelling also has the roman legends and myths added as cultural context rather than acting as the centrepiece, so that’s refreshing. Sophie Gonzales (If This Gets Out) has recommended this to “those who prefer their romances burning.”
The Beautiful Maddening by Shea Ernshaw, June 3
A haunting romantic contemporary fantasy about a teen navigating her family’s love curse that blooms with their enchanted tulips every year. A young girl wants to escape her small town and her family history: in 1639, her anscestor stole Dutch tulip bulbs, fled to America, and incurred a curse in which the family’s flowers cause locals to fall madly in love with them. But when she meets an unaffected boy, and starts to fall for him, she’s met with a truth: she must sacrifice everything, including true love, to break the spell. As a reader who prefers SFF, the softness possibilities in the genre easily pull me, and that is why I’m madly interested in this book.
Meet Me at the Crossroads by Megan Giddings, June 3
Speculative fiction that reminds me of feminist writers like Octavia Butler or Ursula K. Le Guin is impossible to ignore. This one about two brilliant sisters and what happens to their undeniable bond when a mysterious and possibly perilous new world beckons, is especially impossible to ignore. One day, seven doors mysteriously appear on the earth, leading to a beautiful other world. Black twins, bonded close to each other, have different ideas of how to explore this sudden occurrence. Then, one of them goes mysteriously missing.
Seventhblade by Tonia Laird, June 17
If something is said to be for fans of Rebecca Roanhorse, I’m surely being talked to. This fast-paced, anti-colonial action-adventure fantasy explores twisted power dynamics and the effects of settler colonialism. Just from the cover, I’m somehow reminded of The Witcher and from Allison Pang’s praise [“a story of mother’s love, her need for justice, and the discovery of her roots.”] is reminding me of The Sword of Kaigen or The Wolf of Oren-Yaro. With godlike powers and morally grey alliances, an Indigenous warrior mother is seeking vengeance in a colonised city.
Kill Creatures by Rory Power, June 3
When a book’s publicity clearly mentions it has a “twist ending that needs to be talked about,” I would of course like to read that twist ending. Also, the immense praise for Power’s debut Wilder Girls is still fresh in my memory so I definitely expect the deeply complex, queer characters grappling with the transition of girlhood to womanhood. Four best friends ventures into the canyons near the small town and only one came back—until now. The one who came back has always said she had no idea what happened, that the girls just vanished into thin air. But now, a year later while a memorial is being held, one of the remaining girls emerges. And the unreliable narrator is worried, because she had killed her—right before she had killed the other two. How can I not be excited for this speculative thriller?
Embrace the Serpent by Sunya Mara, June 24
I still remember enjoying The Darkening for its enemies to lovers romance, and while life didn’t allow me to get to the sequel, I’m not going to shy away from being excited for the author’s latest. Embrace the Serpent is a standalone romantic fantasy where a monster with dark magic who rules the last free kingdom is trapped in court politics. A jeweller’s apprentice, orphaned by the empire, finds herself in the Serpent King’s castle where to survive, she marries him—but finds herself drawn to someone else entirely, caught between her cold, serpentine husband and his cunning, handsome huntsman.
A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim, June 3
Elizabeth Lim shall always been recommended on this blog because if there is an author who beautifully blends classic fairy tales or folklore into romantic stories, it’s her. I’m currently reading this romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast and I can already recommend it to fans of slow-burn, a marriage of convenience trope. But not just for the romance, for the comments on “art” that I’m sure only a writer could’ve shown through a story. A Forgery of Fate follows a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods in an undersea world.
A Treachery of Swans by A. B. Poranek, June 24
I read Where the Dark Stands Still more than a year ago and I still remember everything I felt through that folktale-like dark cottagecore fantasy, especially the romance that was reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast. So when I came across Poranek’s upcoming book promising a sapphic romance, I knew it’ll be as beautiful. Based on Swan Lake, this dark fantasy follows two girls—one enchanted, one the enchantress—must save their kingdom and each other. When the king dies and blame falls on the wrong person, Odile must team up with the very person whose identity she stole to find the truth.
A Far Better Thing by H. G. Parry, June 17
If there are two books that are high on my TBR but technically far away because I haven’t bought them yet, it’s The Traitor Baru Cormorant and Babel. So when I came across a promotion for this fantasy of faerie revenge and found it to be exploring revenge, rebellion, and the fight for justice similar to these two books, I knew A Far Better Thing needs to be on my radar. This standalone portal fantasy, set during French Revolution, follows a human who was stolen by the faeries as a child and made a mortal servant of the faerie realm. When he has a rare opportunity for revenge, he must take magic and cunning to bring his plans to fruition while French Revolution unravels.
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