30 Most Anticipated Releases of 2023 (January to June) 💕

Hello fellow bookworms 💕 It’s finally time to talk about the 2023 Releases I’m excited for  Like the previous years, this is part 1 covering the releases from January to June – therefore I only included books that had a release date already. I’m going to talk about the books in order of when they release! I have 30 books on this list, much more than I anticipated when I first started this list … it kind of grew out of control 😂

Note: As always I tried to include the representation of the diverse books on my list, please let me know if I missed something or got something wrong! As always I’ve included a link to the Goodreads pages of the books in my post, just click the cover! 😊

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute (Talia Hibbert) 💕 Published: January 3rd 💖 Fat Black MC, Bi Black LI, OCD Rep 💌 YA Contemporary ➽ I already read this and it’s fantastic!! The perfect amount of swoony, angsty, and funny. Talia Hibbert is an amazing writer and I loved her YA debut so much 🥰 I highly recommend this one, it’s so addictive!

Lost in the Moment and Found (Seanan McGuire) 💕 Published: January 10th 💖 PTSD Rep 📚 Book 8 in the Wayward Children Series 💌 New Adult Portal Fantasy ➽ A new year means a new Wayward Children novella! I don’t usually read Portal Fantasy, but Seanan McGuire does it so well 🥰 This follows a character we meet in the previous book!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies (Heather Fawcett) 💕 Published: January 10th 💌 Adult Historical Fantasy ➽ I’m planning on reading this soon, as I’ve got an Arc! Awkwardly … I hated this author’s YA debut, but I’m giving her a second chance!! This one sounds so good though: academic rivals to lovers, fairies and an introverted heroine!! 🥳

Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Margaret Rogerson) 💕 Published: January 17th 💖 Bi MC 📚 Companion to Sorcery of Thorns 💌 YA Fantasy ➽ I loved Sorcery of Thorns and cannot wait to get more content with my favorites, especially as the book was meant to be a standalone!! This is a novella but I lowkey wish we could have a full novel because I’m greedy 😂

This Is Not a Personal Statement (Tracy Badua) 💕 Published: January 17th 💖 Filipino-American MC 💌 YA Contemporary ➽ Support the HarperCollins Union Strike!

What Lies in the Woods (Kate Alice Marshall) 💕 Published: January 17th  💌 Adult Thriller ➽ New Kate Alice Marshall content!! I love her YA Mystery books and in 2023 we’re getting her Adult debut! This one is about a group of friends that helped solve a crime 22 years ago … but they’re lying about something 👀

Begin Again (Emma Lord) 💕 Expected Publication: January 24th  💖 Sapphic Black SC, Bi SC 💌 YA Contemporary ➽ Emma Lord writes great YA Contemporaries and this is her best one yet!! I was lucky enough to get an Arc and adored it. From the college setting to the found family and grumpy & sunshine romance, this was so much fun to read 💖

💫 Honorable Mentions 💫

 

The Wicked Bargain (Gabe Cole Novoa) 💕 Expected Publication: February 1st 💖 Latinx Transmasculine Nonbinary MC 💌 YA Historical Fantasy ➽ This is everything I want from a YA Fantasy!! We’ve got pirates! fire and ice magic! queer rep! dangerous bargains! I have a feeling that I’m going to love this one ❤️

Heartstopper Vol 5. (Alice Oseman) 💕 Expected Publication: February 2nd 💖 Gay MC, Bi MC, ED & Anxiety Rep 💌 YA Contemporary Graphic Novel ➽ Since this doesn’t have a cover yet, I’m somehow doubting a February release date, but this should be published sometime this year! It’s the final Heartstopper volume and I’m not ready for this series to end 😭

Out of Character (Jenna Miller) 💕 Expected Publication: February 7th 💖 Fat Lesbian MC 💌 YA Contemporary ➽ Support the HarperCollins Union Strike!

Always the Almost (Edward Underhill) 💕 Expected Publication: February 14th 💖 Trans Gay MC 💌 YA Contemporary ➽ This is a heartfelt contemporary about a trans pianist who’s trying to find himself. I’m not a big music person, but this sounds interesting and the main romance seems super cute with a dash of fake dating 🥰

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride (Roshani Chokshi) 💕 Expected Publication: February 14th 💖 PoC Rep 💌 Adult Fantasy & Thriller ➽ Support the HarperCollins Union Strike!

Immortality (Dana Schwartz) 💕 Expected Publication: February 28th 📚 Book 2 in the Anatomy Duology 💌 YA Historical Fiction ➽ I really enjoyed Anatomy last year and was surprised to find out that there’s a sequel! Immortality follows Hazel as she navigates the intrigues of the British Court 😱

💫 Honorable Mention 💫

 

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon (Sarah Hawley) 💕 Expected Publication: March 7th 💖 Adult Fantasy Romance ➽ There are two things I love most in paranormal romance: Witches and Demons! This book sounds like SO much fun, as it’s about a witch accidentally summoning a demon and involves enemies to lovers, fake dating, and forced proximity 😈

Missing Clarissa (Ripley Jones) 💕 Expected Publication: March 7th 💖 LGBTQ Rep 💌 YA Mystery ➽ I love the premise of this, as it’s about two teens starting a podcast about a cold case in their town. There’s so much potential for suspense and stakes, as the killer might walk free if they investigate the wrong person. This gives me lots of Good Girl’s Guide to Murder vibes!

The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent (Ann Jacobus) 💕 Expected Publication: March 7th 💖 Anxiety & Depression Rep 💌 YA Contemporary ➽ I haven’t heard many people talking about this, but I love contemporary stories about mental health! It’s about a girl who recovered from her depression and suicide attempt but faces the terminal illness of a family member. That’ll probably be super sad 😭

The Sad Ghost Club Vol 3. (Lize Meddings) 💕 Expected Publication: March 16th 💖 Anxiety & Depression Rep 💌 YA Graphic Novel ➽ I loved the Sad Ghost Club graphic novels when I read them last year and there’s a new volume!! I love how anxiety and mental health is approached here and cannot wait to follow the characters for another adventure 💖

💫 Honorable Mention 💫

Spell Bound (F.T. Lukens) 💕 Expected Publication: April 4th 💖 LGBTQ Rep 💌 YA Fantasy ➽ Every year I put F.T. Lukens on my most anticipated list, yet I have never read any of their books 😅 This one sounds like the best one yet as it’s about two rival apprentice sorcerers having to team up in order to save their magic 👀

Silver in the Bone (Alexandra Bracken) 💕 Expected Publication: April 4th 💌 YA Fantasy Retelling ➽ Thanks to Legendborn I’ve been getting more into Arthurian retellings! I haven’t kept up with Alexandra Bracken in the past years but her newest release sounds so good 🥰 It’s got a girl with no magic and a romance with her rival 👀

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything (Justine Pucella Winans) 💕 Expected Publication: April 11th 💖 Nonbinary MC, Anxiety Rep 💌 YA Contemporary ➽ Support the HarperCollins Union Strike!

In the Lives of Puppets (T.J. Klune) 💕 Expected Publication: April 25th 💖 LGBTQ Rep 💌 Adult Fantasy ➽ I love T.J. Klune’s Adult Fantasy books and I immediately had to add this one to my TBR! It’s about robots, dark secrets and a human trying to get back his found family! There also seems to be a human-android romance from the way the synopsis is written 👀

Happy Place (Emily Henry) 💕 Expected Publication: April 25th 💌 Adult Romance ➽ 2022 cemented Emily Henry as one of my favorite romance authors, as her books just work for me really well 🥰 This time we have a story about second chance romance and fake dating, as a broken up couple has to pretend to still be together for their friends!

💫 Honorable Mentions 💫

  

The Sun and the Stars (Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro) 💕 Expected Publication: May 2nd 💖 Gay MC’s 📚 Spinoff Novel in the Percy Jackson Universe 💌 MG Fantasy ➽ Ah!!! We’re finally getting Nico and Will’s story! I was hoping for a standalone book about their adventures and it actually ended up happening, which I never expected 😱

The Golden Frog Games (Claribel A. Ortega) 💕 Expected Publication: May 2nd 💖Latinx MC 📚 Book 2 in the Witchlings Series 💌 MG Fantasy ➽ I loved Witchlings when I read it last year and cannot wait for the next book to come out! I’ve been aiming to read more MG Fantasy and this is such a creative series, all about witch covens 💖

Lying in the Deep (Diana Urban) 💕 Expected Publication: May 2nd 💌 YA Mystery ➽ I always found those Semester at Sea programs fascinating, so this YA Mystery sounds perfect!! It’s set on a Cruise ship with such a program … but then there’s a murder and a killer is on the loose 😱

 

Dragonfall (L.R. Lam) 💕 Expected Publication: May 2nd 💖 LGBTQ Rep 💌 Adult Fantasy ➽ This sounds really cool as it’s about a world where Dragons are worshiped as Gods … even though the humans used to betray them. It’s got a thief stealing a powerful artifact that connects her to a dragon foretold to save his kind. I’m all here for a human-dragon romance 🐉

Witch King (Martha Wells) 💕 Expected Publication: May 30th 💌 Adult Fantasy ➽ I haven’t read anything by Martha Wells except the Murderbot Diaries, but this new book sounds promising! It’s about a demon who comes back to life and has to figure out what happened to him and what’s at stake 👀

💫 Honorable Mentions 💫

Pageboy (Elliot Page) 💕 Expected Publication: June 6th 💖 Trans Author 💌 Adult Nonfiction ➽ I loved Elliot in The Umbrella Academy and was so excited when I found out that he’s publishing a memoir about his experiences as a trans man! I’m always on the lookout for more memoirs to read and this is going to be impactful!

Where Echoes Die (Courtney Gould) 💕 Expected Publication: June 20th 💖 Lesbian MC 💌 YA Mystery ➽ This was pushed back to this year and I’m so glad we’re finally getting it 🥰 It’s about two sisters going back to a mysterious small town to find more about their deceased mother! There’s definitely something strange going on 👀

Business or Pleasure (Rachel Lynn Solomon) 💕 Expected Publication: June 20th 💖 Jewish MC 💌 Adult Romance ➽ A new Rachel Lynn Solomon book!! I preordered this on Kindle as it was pretty cheap and I cannot wait to read it! It’s about a ghost writer and an actor who shared an awkward ONS and decide to sleep together for ‘practice’. But I assume more feelings get in the way 👀

💫 Honorable Mentions 💫

 

What’s your most anticipated book for the first half of 2023? Any diverse releases that I should add to my TBR? Any adult books on your list? 💕

Advertisement