The Ultimate Book Guide for Summer 2023: 15 Must-Read Fantasy + Sci-fi New Releases to Add to Your TBR
I cannot believe the amount of amazing fantasy and sci-fi releases there are this summer. We’re truly being spoiled. I’m up visiting my family in eastern Washington this week, and it’s been raining a bunch, but it means the mountains are an unreal green right now. It literally looks like it’s straight out of a fantasy novel up here (hello Terrasen!). Yes, I’ve definitely taken advantage of the setting to film some TikToks… But the gorgeous setting put me in a mind to also curate a list of Summer 2023 releases of fantasy and sci-fi books I’m looking forward to reading, and a few of these might make my BAMTP Summer Reading Challenge TBR.
Most of them release over the next couple months, but a few have already been published. There’s everything from a long awaited sci-fi sequel, to Romantasies, to epic High Fantasies, and more.
Ready for the recs to make this a great summer of reading for yourself? Here we go:
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
Release Date: July 18, 2023
An Egyptian fantasy debut?! I am SO excited to dive into this one! I’ve always been fascinated by Egyptian culture (it’s still on my bucket list of places to travel to), and I even took an Egyptian archaeology class at my university. It was taught by this curmudgeonly Archeologist who, I’m certain, would have rather been on a dig than teaching a bunch of 19-year-olds. But it was still an amazing class, and I’ve never lost my appreciation for this incredible place. I think we might be getting this in one of the subscription boxes in July, so fingers crossed!
Synopsis: “A fugitive queen strikes a bargain with her greatest enemy and becomes embroiled in a complex game that could resurrect her scorched kingdom or leave it in ashes forever In this unmissable Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy debut.
Ten years ago, the kingdom of Jasad burned. Its magic was outlawed. Its royal family murdered. At least, that’s what Sylvia wants people to believe. The Heir of Jasad escaped the massacre, and she intends to stay hidden, especially from the armies of Nizahl that continue to hunt her people.
But a moment of anger changes everything. When Arin, the Nizahl Heir, tracks a group of Jasadi rebels to her village, Sylvia accidentally reveals her magic—and captures his attention. Now Sylvia’s forced to make a deal with her greatest enemy: Help him hunt the rebels in exchange for her life.
A deadly game begins. Sylvia can’t let Arin discover her identity, even as hatred shifts into something more between the Heirs. And as the tides change around her, Sylvia will have to choose between the life she wants and the one she abandoned.
The scorched kingdom is rising, and it needs a queen.”
The Stars are Dying by Chloe C. Peñaranda
Release Date: July 12, 2023
Vampires?! Romance?! Cool celestial worlds?! I’ve followed Chloe on Booktok for ages, and I’m SO excited to read this one! Plus, I’m slightly obsessed with this gorgeous cover. ProTip: It’s also going to be on Kindle Unlimited.
Synopsis: “In a world abandoned by the celestial guardians and left to suffer a tyrant king's reign, all Astraea knows is safety in seclusion. With fragmented memories of only five years of her life, she's determined to discover more about her past, even if that means fleeing the cruel arms that hold her safe from the wicked vampires rumored to roam the land.”
Lightbringer by Pierce Brown
Release Date: July 25, 2023
The long awaited sequel to Dark Age, and part of the much beloved Red Rising series. I’m due for a Red Rising reread—it’s been years since I’ve read this series, but I always recommend it to people wanting to explore dystopian sci-fi.
Synopsis: “The Reaper is a legend, more myth than man: the savior of worlds, the leader of the Rising, the breaker of chains.
But the Reaper is also Darrow, born of the red soil of Mars: a husband, a father, a friend. Marooned far from home after a devastating defeat on the battlefields of Mercury, Darrow longs to return to his wife and sovereign, Virginia, to defend Mars from its bloodthirsty would-be conqueror Lysander.
Lysander longs to destroy the Rising and restore the supremacy of Gold, and will raze the worlds to realize his ambitions. The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow, and Darrow needs the people he loves—Virginia, Cassius, Sevro—in order to defend the Republic. So begins Darrow’s long voyage home, an interplanetary adventure where old friends will reunite, new alliances will be forged, and rivals will clash on the battlefield.
Because Eo’s dream is still alive—and after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope.”
Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long
Release Date: July 18, 2023
I recently received an eARC of this one, and it had me at ‘swashbuckling pirate adventure’. This one’s super high on my TBR, so be on the lookout for a full review soon!
Synopsis: “A stormsinger and pirate hunter join forces against a deathless pirate lord in this swashbuckling Jacobean adventure on the high-seas.
Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection - and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary's dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.
Samuel Rosser is a disgraced naval officer serving aboard The Hart, an infamous privateer commissioned to bring Lirr to justice. He will stop at nothing to capture Lirr, restore his good name and reclaim the only thing that stands between himself and madness: a talisman stolen by Mary.”
Gods of the Wyrd Wood by R.J. Barker
Release Date: June 27, 2023
The cover. It was totally the cover that put this one on my radar, and I’m not even mad about it. It’s gorgeous. I’ve also decided I love books with forests—maybe I need to create another oddly specific trope rec list and include sentient forests/dark forests?
Synopsis: “Cahan du Nahare is known as the forester—a man who can navigate the dangerous Deepforest like no one else. But once he was more. Once he belonged to the god of fire.
Udinny serves the goddess of the lost, a goddess of small things; when she ventures into the Deepforest to find a lost child, Cahan will be her guide. But in a land where territory is won and lost for uncaring gods, where temples of warrior monks pit one prophet against another—Cahan will need to choose the forest or the fire—and his choice will have consequences for his entire world.”
Power and the Sacred Blood by Tory Forest
Release Date: July 1, 2023
Tory was kind enough to reach out on Booktok and send me an ARC of Power and the Sacred Blood and I can’t wait to read it. I love discovering new indie fantasy authors and I hope this one will be one I’ll be thrilled to recommend. Reminder, I do not do paid reviews, and I only read ARCs I’m genuinely super excited for, so expect an update on this one in the next couple months!
Synopsis: “Endra is a huntress, fierce and brash, who yearns for glory befitting someone of her bloodline. Born into the mystical land of Kaelenwood Forest, Endra swore an oath to defend her sacred home and those who dwell in it. When an intruder jeopardizes the very thing she's bound to protect, Endra and her fae brethren take action.
Magical secrets and ancient knowledge will be revealed as a mysterious threat emerges. Endra will acquire new allies while trekking out on this wild adventure, great violence lurking around every corner. And a newfound power will erupt inside of her, altering the course of Endra's life forever. Kinship, desire, and hate-filled sorrow will carve out her fate of this epic journey of self-discovery. Can she find the strength within to save that which she holds most dear? Or will Endra be consumed by it, destroying herself in the process?”
The Will of the Many by James Islington
Release Date: June 25, 2023
This was actually not on my radar at all until someone in the BAMTP community Discord mentioned it. And now I can’t believe it wasn’t already on my TBR! Thanks for the rec!
Synopsis: “AUDI. VIDE. TACE. The Catenan Republic - the Hierarchy - may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.
I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilized society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus - what they call Will - to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.
I tell them that I belong, and they believe me. But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.
And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.
To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy's ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me. And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.”
A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire LeGrand
Release Date: June 27, 2023
I’m embarrassed to share I’ve still not read anything by Claire LeGrand, but this might be the one to start with. If you’re looking for a fantasy romance with some spice, this one might be the one to pick up this summer!
Synopsis: “New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn, Claire Legrand, makes her stunning adult debut with A Crown of Ivy and Glass, a lush, sweeping, steamy fantasy romance series starter that's perfect for fans of Bridgerton and A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Lady Gemma Ashbourne seemingly has it all. She's young, gorgeous, and rich. Her family was Anointed by the gods, blessed with incredible abilities. But underneath her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin―embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family―often forget Gemma exists.”
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Release Date: August 15, 2023
I will probably try to read Nettle & Bone before this one, but literally everyone who loves folklore on Booktok has been recommending this author, so I cannot wait to read a book from them. ProTip: The first edition will have a foil stamp on the hardcover and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.
Synopsis: “There's a princess trapped in a tower. This isn't her story.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
But nothing with fairies is ever simple.
Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…”
The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma
Release Date: August 29, 2023
I’m so excited to see more non-western fantasy debuts, and this one sounds so good! Political intrigue, royal courts, and an assassin?!
Synopsis: “From a stunning new voice in fantasy comes an Indian-inspired, action-packed debut of fire magic and ancient prophecy, in which the fate of a kingdom rests in the hands of a princess desperate for power and an assassin with a dark secret. The Ravani kingdom was born of a prophecy, carved from unforgiving desert sands and ruled by the Ravence bloodline: those with the power to command the Eternal Fire.
Elena Aadya is the heir to the throne—and the only Ravence who cannot wield her family’s legendary magic. As her coronation approaches, she will do whatever it takes to prove herself a worthy successor to her revered father. But she doesn’t anticipate the arrival of Yassen Knight, the notorious assassin who now claims fealty to the throne. Elena’s father might trust Yassen to be a member of her royal guard, but she is certain he is hiding something.
As the threat of war looms like a storm on the horizon, the two begin a dangerous dance of intrigue and betrayal. And the choices they make could burn down the world.”
The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
Release Date: May 9, 2023
There’s something comforting to a bookworm when they find a book about books. Maybe it’s inception, but they often feel like comfort reads when done well. Time travel, and what seems like maybe a smidgen of The Librarians inspiration, I’m looking forward to starting this one.
Synopsis: “The boy has lived his whole life trapped within a book-choked chamber older than empires and larger than cities.
The girl has been plucked from the outskirts of civilization to be trained as a librarian, studying the mysteries of the great library at the heart of her kingdom. They were never supposed to meet. But in the library, they did.
Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.”
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
Release Date: June 26, 2023
The UK cover first intrigued me (it’s so much better IMO than the U.S. one shown above), but then I read the synopsis and got even more excited!
Synopsis: “For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements—books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.
All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .
In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue—and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.”
Lore Olympus: Vol 4 by Rachel Smythe
Release Date: June 25, 2023
The fourth installment in the Lore Olympus series. I love reading these as a little palette cleanser when I want something quick to read in between long reads or super intricate high fantasy. The art is incredible, but check trigger warnings as this deals with some darker themes.
Synopsis: “Despite agreeing to take it slow, Persephone and Hades find themselves inextricably drawn toward each other once more amid the chaos. The pull of fate cannot be denied.”
Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton
Release Date: June 27, 2023
Even as a 30-something, I still love reading amazingly written YA fantasy. I’m hoping this will be one of them! Plus, it’s a Siren tale, so I’m sure we’ll get some fun underwater scenes as well!
Synopsis: “In this dark and seductive YA fantasy debut, a siren must choose between protecting her family and following her heart in a prejudiced kingdom where her existence is illegal.
Saoirse Sorkova survives on lies. As a soldier-in-training at the most prestigious barracks in the kingdom, she lies about being a siren to avoid execution. At night, working as an assassin for a dangerous group of mercenaries, Saoirse lies about her true identity. And to her family, Saoirse tells the biggest lie of all: that she can control her siren powers and doesn't struggle constantly against an impulse to kill.
As the top trainee in her class, Saoirse would be headed for a bright future if it weren't for the need to keep her secrets out of the spotlight. But when a mysterious blackmailer threatens her sister, Saoirse takes a dangerous job that will help her investigate: she becomes personal bodyguard to the crown prince.
Saoirse should hate Prince Hayes. After all, his father is the one who enforces the kingdom's brutal creature segregation laws. But when Hayes turns out to be kind, thoughtful, and charming, Saoirse finds herself increasingly drawn to him-especially when they're forced to work together to stop a deadly killer who's plaguing the city. There's only one problem: Saoirse is that deadly killer.
Featuring an all Black and Brown cast, a forbidden romance, and a compulsively dark plot full of twists, this thrilling YA fantasy is perfect for fans of A Song Below Water and To Kill a Kingdom.”
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Release Date: August 29, 2023
If you are not following Hannah on Booktok, you are seriously missing out. She’s one of the most hilarious and joyful Creators, and this book actually started out as a skit on TikTok. It’s been so fun watching her publishing journey and I cannot wait to read it! I’m guessing there’s going to be lots of laughs.
Synopsis: “ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem and terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.
With ailing family to support, Evie Sage's employment status isn't just important, it's vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer―naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.
But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain―and his entire nefarious empire―out.
Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work…and ensure he makes them pay.
After all, a good job is hard to find.”
Feel free to drop and Summer 2023 fantasy and sci-fi releases you’re excited about in the comments!
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