Here’s the full list of SFF young adult titles heading your way in July!
Keep track of all the new SFF releases here. All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher. Release dates are subject to change.
July 7
Of Venom and Vengeance — Mikayla Bridge (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers)
Inna is the perfect heiress to the Pallo crime family: poised, cunning, untouchable. Behind this glamorous facade, she hunts for the sinister truth of her sister’s death. Despite the cover-up she’s been led to believe, Inna can feel an enemy lurking in the shadows. Rylan has sculpted himself into a talented thief for one reason: retribution for his family, who were murdered by Inna’s mother. Armed with illusion magic, Rylan plans to steal an ancient riddle from the Pallo vault, one that leads to a sleeping god. Whoever wakes the Serpent King will be granted any wish they desire. Rylan means to claim this power, and with it, Inna’s ruin. But when Inna catches Rylan sneaking past her family’s security, they enter into a perilous alliance that neither intends to keep—even as bitter attraction unravels into something more. Though some hearts aren’t meant to be stolen, and love knows nothing of blood-red revenge…
The Lure of Wolves and Whispers (Martyred Isle #1) — Amanda Connolly (Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
On the mist-shrouded Isle of Eireann, buying magic comes with a price. But when her beloved older sister is gravely injured, Maeve risks everything to buy the forbidden magic that might save her. In exchange, Maeve trades her life to a ruthless and dangerously alluring rebel leader. Bound to do his bidding, Maeve finds herself thrown into a deadly competition to become the next queen and stand beside a prince rumored to be more brutal than his tyrannical father. With the isle on the brink of war, trust and survival come at a terrible cost—one that will tear Maeve’s world, and her heart, in two. What would you sacrifice to survive?
Our Wicked Gifts — Kathryn Foxfield (Random House Books for Young Readers)
Cicely is the black sheep daughter of the powerful Winter family, who made a deal with the devil in exchange for riches and ruthless magic. Soren is the boy her family banished to the underworld. Their fates intertwine when Cicely’s loathsome Uncle Dorian winds up dead at a masquerade ball. Once overlooked for her lowly gift of discovering secrets, Cicely is now her family’s only chance at survival, tasked with finding the killer before he takes out every last Winter. With time running out, Cicely narrows her sights on Soren, who she suspects is back for vengeance. Yet the more Cicely investigates Soren—and gets to know him—the more she begins to question how much family loyalty is worth. After all, when it comes to being a Winter, one can have love or power, but rarely both…
King of Lost Dreams (King of Dead Things #2) — Nevin Holness (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
The magical underbelly of London is no longer under threat from the malevolent daughter of Death after she was vanquished during an epic nine-night. But in her wake, certain truths have been unearthed that have left Malcolm, Eli, Sunny, and their friends fractured and desperate to lay the past to rest. For Malcolm—a boy grappling with his inherited death magic—confronting his past means facing heartbreak, realities he isn’t yet ready to acknowledge, and perhaps even first love. On the other hand, Eli, a silver-tongued thief with no memories of his past, is more determined than ever to uncover his lost identity and find out once and for all where he came from, unless his past catches up with him first… Something is lurking in Eli’s dreams, giving teeth to his nightmares. And when Malcolm finds a mysterious letter in the ruins of a former magical sanctuary full of its own secret histories, he and their friends set out to find a hidden key that may just be the answer to all their problems. If they want a chance against the shadow that’s been hunting Eli, they’ll need to learn the magic of their ancestors and go back to the very beginning: when magic first arrived in London.
Deathless (Fateless #2) — Julie Kagawa (HarperCollins US)
Sparrow and her companions have been left with an impossible task: slay the immortal Deathless King, whose magic siphons the very life of the world to sustain himself. The answer may lie deep in the past, when those who would become Deathless Kings stormed the sanctuary of the goddess of Fate, in an attempt to remove their threads from the Weave and become immortal. They broke off a piece of the goddess’s loom and hurled it to the earth, where it still lies at the center of a dangerous wasteland called the World Scar. For any chance against the Deathless King, Sparrow and her companions must brave the World Scar and reach the loom, which would grant the power of a goddess. But the journey is fraught with danger, and the powerful Deathless King determined to find them. And if the loom is reached—what will the power of a goddess do to a mere mortal? Sparrow has no choice but to find out.
Metamorphosis (Grove Hollow #1) — Shelby Nicole (Delacorte Press—Indie conversion)
The year is 1985, and seventeen-year-old Jade Whitney is about to discover that her family holds a dark secret that will change her life forever. Sent to live with her great-aunt Ruth, Jade moves into Blythe House, her family’s sprawling, gilded mansion—but picturesque Grove Hollow, New York, is anything but welcoming. At Jade’s new private school she’s shunned by everyone except the Misfits, the school’s outcasts, who spend their weekends exploring abandoned haunted mansions and listening to The Cure. But Jade’s eye keeps wandering back to Brad, the charming, handsome rugby captain—and the only other kid at school to welcome her. Everything changes when Jade finds a cursed locket in a derelict estate. The locket is connected to a Victorian ghost named William, who desperately needs Jade’s help, and who Jade feels an undeniable attraction to. The closer they grow, the more urgent it becomes for Jade to decide where her heart truly lies—and if she’s willing to let Will go.
All Her Ghosts — Cynthia Prith (Union Square & Co.)
Persephone Green doesn’t have a heartbeat. In a country where the dead has eerily lurked among the living for nearly two decades, even she knows its absence is not normal. In place of her heart, something inhuman stirs, an ancient ocean she discovers twinned in the chest of Sebastian, the charmingly bizarre new student. When they’re together, they attract ghosts like a beacon, and when they kiss, white flowers bloom in the dead, autumn ground. To exhume the truth, Persephone and Bas travel across the Midwest to the deserted facility where it all began. Pursued across state lines by writhing swarms of ghosts, militant government agents, and—maybe worst of all—her mother, they unspool a tangled web of conspiracies. At its center: a divine and devastating truth. Forced to choose between an imperfect life that’s wholly hers or an otherworldly responsibility older than time, the echoes of Persephone’s decision will alter the fates of all souls—living and dead—forever.
Shadow Over the Pumpkin Queen (Pumpkin Queen #3) — Megan Shepherd (Random House/Disney)
Sally should be at ease now that she has proven herself as Pumpkin Queen by saving Halloween Town from destructive spells twice. But the villain behind the town’s most recent troubles—a mysterious figure cloaked in darkness—is still at large, and Sally refuses to rest until she and her king, Jack Skellington, can find their enemy and stop them forever. Then, strange storm clouds and directionless wind begin to haunt Halloween Town, and soon, citizens start to go missing. It becomes clear that the dark foe has decided to make the first move, and Sally will need allies from across the Hinterlands to stop him. But as Sally and Jack gather their friends to fight back against this attack, the unthinkable happens: the mysterious force takes Jack, too. After learning that her nemesis is a dark prince who lives in a lost realm called Shadow Town, Sally embarks on another cross-realms quest to find a solution, one that will connect her to new locales like Chance Town and the Hinterlands Maze. With the prince tracking her at every turn, seemingly bent on revenge, Sally will need to fight with every fiber of her being to prevent Halloween Town from utter destruction. But what secrets is the prince hiding—and could the truth undo everything?
July 14
The Broken Edge of the World — Alena Bruzas (Rocky Pond Books)
Sylvie has taken a summer job at a remote and alluring prairie preserve in the middle of the Great Plains. It’s a much-needed escape—from her sadness, from her cruelly distant father, and maybe even from herself: She longs to be free of the intrusive, obsessive thoughts that are her constant burden. Soon, she finds herself drawn to a stunning shepherd boy and can’t stop herself from going to him at night, even though she’s been warned to keep away. During the day, though, she begins to develop a friendship with another boy, a strange-looking and strangely gentle coworker named Jack… and gradually to uncover the mysteries of this place that feels more like home than anyplace has before it. But those mysteries include a powerful curse, and when she uncovers the truth of it, she becomes recklessly determined to break it—to free the one trapped in its spell. She fails to consider the possibility that her actions could break much more than just the curse, and that some burdens demand to be borne.
Ruinous Ends (Souls of Blackwood Academy #2) — I. V. Marie (Delacorte Press)
The Decennial is over, but for the students of Blackwood Academy, the fight for the afterlife has just begun. The infamous school was hiding more secrets—and lies—than any of the Decennial’s participants could have imagined. And there’s still so much that remains buried beneath its ancient foundations. Now the future of the academy, and all the souls within it, rests in the hands of six former pupils: The charmer and the golden boy… The traitor and the girl desperate to save her… The Chosen One and the one who would choose her over and over again… Any of them could be the hero the afterlife needs… or the villain who will destroy it for good. Because the truth is, Blackwood’s biggest secret has yet to come to light—and when it does, it will shake the institution to its core.
No One Leaves the Manor — Kelly McWilliams (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
It’s 1921, and Mrs. Caroline Reginald Kane, the last surviving descendant of a family of oil barons, has invited four young debutantes to visit her at Greystone Manor. There, they’ll compete for the ultimate prize: to become heir to her unspeakably vast fortune. But only one girl can win. And the manor is watching. Dorothea is a thief, and the best liar in the American Northeast. Her mother vanished at Greystone years ago, and she’s determined to find out why—so long as no one uncovers her secrets first. Vaughn isn’t crazy. She was born for this life—and she won’t let anyone come between her and the fortune she deserves. Birdie doesn’t know why she’s been invited, but she believes everything happens for a reason… and that reason just might be divine. Elspeth is called “pretty as a peach, dim as a doorknob.” But she sees things that the others can’t: whispering birds, shifting doors, and a language that should never be spoken. And there’s something else hidden behind these walls. Something sinister. It doesn’t plan to let them leave alive.
To Drown a Witch (To Drown a Witch #1) — Lindsey Olsson (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
In Gadore, the Witch is feared above all else. Reborn into each generation, she is the only person with magic running innately through her veins, able to wield that magic with a single thought. So when guards across the city begin to drop dead, gruesomely murdered by violent and vicious magic, everyone knows the Witch has returned—and no one will be safe until she’s killed. Toran is the Prince’s Crown, the most highly skilled fighter in the King’s Guard. Tasked with the responsibility of leading the hunt for the Witch, Toran tries to focus on his assignment to forget the ghosts of his past. And after he learns of Nes, a thief with an uncanny ability to sniff out magic, he forcibly recruits her into joining his hunt. As the two face deadly magic and otherworldly threats, their mutual dislike soon turns to something more electric, and they find themselves drawn to each other in ways they’d never imagined. But the Witch is always a step ahead of them, and with bodies piling up, secrets threaten to come to light—secrets that could destroy everything from the fragile trust between them to the very city of Gadore itself.
Us Deadly Few (Us Dark Few #2) — Alexis Patton (Bloom Books—Indie conversion)
Haunted by the Governor of Apollo’s dark secrets, Khalani and her crew of criminals embark on a new perilous journey. The truest test begins as Khalani ventures through the treacherous “Death-Zone” toward the nearest underground city, Hermes. But abandoned relics and violent storms aren’t the only threats on the barren road. Takeshi Steele has resumed his cold detachment, and unsettling signs suggest they aren’t alone. To survive in this unforgiving world, Khalani must draw on her strength and harrowing experiences from Apollo. For a new kind of prison awaits in the corrupt city of Hermes—one where she finds herself trapped with the man who aggravates her the most. But this time, they may not escape alive. On the surface of the Earth, only the ruined remain.
Lovestuck — Farah Naz Rishi (Quill Tree Books)
Of all her sisters, only Riya inherited the full powers of their peri ancestor, a fey creature specializing in emotion magic… especially the sacred power of love. Riya has never been interested in love—much to the disappointment of her best friend, Mel, who really, really wants Riya to get Mel and her crush together before senior year’s over. The only thing Riya cares about, truthfully, is forgetting the last, disastrous time she used her powers. So, when Mel finally convinces her to give her crush a tiny push, she’s horrified when the peri magic lashes out of control yet again. Instead of a casual love spell, she’s placed an accidental love curse on the school bad boy, Kian Kho. Riya doesn’t like Kian one bit—but if the curse isn’t reversed by the next full moon, his unrequited love could leave him literally heartbroken. As the letters, public declarations, flowers, and songs pile up, there’s only one way out: master her peri magic and break the curse—before they’re both love-stuck forever.
July 21
Take It to Your Grave — Louangie Bou-Montes (Godwin Books)
Maximiliano Rafael Guerrero Lopez “Max” has been dead for 30 years. He’s stuck as a sixteen-year-old in his childhood bedroom with no memory of how he died, and no company aside from rotting floor boards and mildew-ridden guitars. Joaquín Felix Ladrón “Joaquín” is a high schooler who’s desperate to experience something paranormal—he’d do anything to even catch a glimpse of a ghost, even if it means sacrificing his relationship with his boyfriend. When Joaquín goes on a ghost hunt at an abandoned house that’s rumored to be haunted, he and Max find their fates becoming intertwined in ways neither of them expected. But, as Max’s powers begin to grow stronger, it becomes clear that their tentative friendship may just prove to be fatal…
Funerals Are for the Living — Sami Ellis (Amulet Books)
A month ago, Junie Daniels was in a car crash that left her with a dead sister, fragmented memories of the accident, and a mother too checked-out to plan a funeral. The cheapest grave plot Junie can find is in the next town over. Sure, Williamsville is still proudly named after a slave master who was rumored to dabble in dark magic—but this is North Carolina, after all. When unexplained occurrences start happening at the graveyard, though, Junie and her best friend, Omari, investigate. And it’s not long before Junie and Omari are taken… Williamsville wants both Daniels girls. But Junie will do anything to protect her sister—even if it’s only her corpse.
Tides of Fortune (Storm Weaver #2) — Lauryn Hamilton Murray (Roaring Brook Press)
Having survived three treacherous trials to win her crown, Blaze is soon to become Queen of the Aquatori. However, before she can take the throne, she must set out to find the Eye of the Soul, one of the realm’s most powerful weapons, lest another claims it for themself. Her journey will take her deep into the forests of Ostacre and into a temporary alliance with the infuriating yet undeniably compelling Fox. She can’t resist feeling drawn to him, even as she questions if she can truly trust him. Fortune favors the brave, but will it protect the Storm Weaver on her most dangerous mission yet?
Star Wars: Eyes Like Stars — Ashley Poston (Random House/Star Wars)
When eighteen-year-old Ardent Quay saves the life of a fast-talking Wild Spacer on Coruscant, she doesn’t expect a thank you—and she certainly doesn’t expect him to stowaway on her father’s star tour ship. Yet here he is, taking up residence in the ship’s pantry and eating all her favorite snacks. He’s mysterious and coy and strange, with silver hair and eyes speckled with stars, and no matter how much she tries to pull away, she can’t. She should report him to her father, but the stowaway soon convinces her that there’s a nefarious plot at play on this ship, one that has the lives of everyone onboard at stake. With the galaxy on the brink of war and the First Order breathing down their necks, Ardent and her stowaway must ferry a precious artifact to its homeworld without getting caught—or worse, killed. This is, actually, a terrible time to take a tour of the galaxy. And an even worse time to fall in love.
Unnamed Bones — Lora Senf (Union Square & Co.)
Reckless, depressed, impulsive and sixteen, Harrow Lane is going to an island that shouldn’t exist to look for answers about the death of her father—the father who accidentally cursed her shortly after she was born. Things immediately go very wrong—beginning with the sinking of the boat that brought them to the island and an ominous chuckle from something that shouldn’t be there—and keep getting worse in ways they couldn’t possibly imagine. Harrow and friends came without being invited and whatever lives there doesn’t like visitors. With no way to reach the outside world and no understanding of the rules of the island, Harrow and her friends are in mortal danger, and knowing who can and can’t be trusted is a thing they left back on shore. Matters are only complicated by Harrow’s emotions—she’s given her biggest feelings human faces and personalities and does her best to keep them locked away in a seedy motel she built in her mind. But emotions are sneaky, and she’s having to face them at the worst possible time. It’s creating sort of an “Inside Out in hell” situation as they fight for survival against a creature that seems to be made entirely of terror and who very well might spell the end of the world.
July 28
Rootbound: A Tangled Novel — Margaret Owen (Random House/Disney)
Rapunzel knows nothing about her neighboring kingdom, Astera—and not just because she only left her tower a month ago. The famously reclusive island has limited its contact with outsiders for decades. So when a suspicious invitation arrives welcoming Rapunzel to the Asteran princess’s coming of age ceremony, and offering her a chance to be useful for the first time since she lost her healing powers, Rapunzel accepts—and unwittingly plunges herself and her companion, Eugene, into a tangled knot of political intrigue and magical secrets. Eugene is just happy to get one last adventure with Rapunzel before his criminal background catches up with him and prevents their happy ending. Yet as they’re drawn further into the country’s problems, they uncover truths about Eugene’s parentage that point to deeper unrest in Astera, and suddenly the fate of their own kingdom, not just their personal dreams, is at stake. Thrust into a power struggle between Astera’s beloved princess, Verette, its domineering king, Enver, and a mysterious secret society, Rapunzel and Eugene race to protect their home from an unsettlingly familiar threat and discover that the past can either hold them back, or help them blossom.
We Were Never Here — Sophia Hannan (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
In July, Georgia Perry and Jules Park—secret girlfriends, covert art thieves, and cohosts of a popular YouTube ghost hunting show—step into a haunted house to steal a priceless painting. A few short hours later, there’s a knife in Jules’s chest and Georgia is waking up in a pool of blood with no painting and no memory of how she got there. Now it’s October, and Georgia is underwater. She hasn’t been to class in weeks, and she’s avoiding her old crew—and only friends—like the plague. But when the three remaining thieves get a call from the man who paid a hefty sum to keep them out of jail, demanding that they return to finish the job, Georgia has no choice but to return to her old life. As the estranged friends scramble to steal the painting with no cover story and no leader, they quickly realize that something is very, very wrong, and it’s not just the suffocating memory of Jules or the prying eyes of their viewers. Between the strange shadows that begin to trail them and the nightmares plaguing Georgia’s sleep, only one thing is certain: something followed them home from De Lys manor, and it will do anything to keep them from going back.
Such a Witch — Sarah Henning (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Pretty, popular, and a total witch, Embry Woodcross is queen bee at Raven’s Head School for the Magically Gifted. Entering senior year as head prefect, Embry is a celebrated fashionista and unrivaled solver of problems big, small, and unattractive. (She’s quite generous with her handcrafted magical beauty products.) When she meets Oakley Riddle, clueless transfer student and ultrarare vampire, Embry’s mission is clear: take the new girl under her wing and make sure she’s not thrown to the (were)wolves. Coven mate Rye Knighton may scoff at Embry’s aggressive benevolence, but Raven’s Head students reward her with love and appreciation… Until one good deed too many makes Embry the lead suspect in a murder investigation. Suddenly, the same people who begged Embry for enchanted acne potions are convinced she’s a cold-blooded killer. Apparently, everyone loves a witch until something bad happens, and then it’s all pitchforks and anecdotal evidence. As everything she’s ever done is used against her, Embry teams up with Rye to find the real murderer, clear her name, and maybe fall in love along the way.
