Want to check out all the books we included and decide for yourself? Here are the 14 possible results.
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
In this gorgeous YA fantasy inspired by West African folklore, crown princess Karina attempts to use magic to resurrect her assassinated mother. All she requires is the beating heart of a king. She'll offer her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition — a competition that refugee Malick plans to enter. His younger sister has been abducted and for her return, he strikes a deal to kill the princess. But as Karina and Malick's attraction for each other grows, will either be able to go through with their task?
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison
In 19th-century London, Crow, a displaced angel, claims to protect the entire city by becoming a detective and solving unsolvable cases — but angels are meant to only protect buildings. This makes Crow an outcast both among the Angels and among the humans. Dr. Doyle has recently been medically discharged from the military after receiving a wound in Kandahar from one of the Fallen, who are monstrous demons. Unknown to anyone else, the wound has infected him and he can now turn into a hellhound. When Dr. Doyle and Crow become roommates, the two solve a series of four cases together, while also trying to discover the identity of Jack the Ripper.
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
When the scholarship she was counting on to pay for college falls through, Liz must run for prom queen to win a scholarship. However, things get complicated when Liz starts falling for Mack, who is also running for prom queen. Johnson writes an adorable queer rom-com that will leave you in joyful spirits.
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
Set in a mostly white community of Portland, Oregon, Tavia is a siren who must hide her powers as her society is determined to keep her kind under lock and key. Everything seems okay as long as her best friend Effie is by her side. But tensions begin to run high when the aftermath of a siren murder trial rocks the nation and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at a police stop. With a unique premise that explores systemic racism, Morrow knocks this one out of the park.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Every detail of Jules and Will’s wedding on a secluded island off the coast of Ireland had been expertly planned — down to the designer dress and luxe wedding favors. But as the festivities begin, past slights, resentments, jealousy begin to surface: A bridesmaid ruins her dress, the groomsmen are getting inappropriately drunk, and the bride’s oldest male friend seems to think of her as more than a friend. And then someone turns up dead.
I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick
Brooklyn teenager Anna Cicconi thinks she's lucked out when she finds a summer nanny job in the Hamptons. But when she arrives, she finds that the community is still reeling from the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a local girl who bears a resemblance to Anna. As she delves deeper into Zoe’s disappearance, she begins to believe that they are connected — and that she herself is responsible for what happened to her.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
When rugby-player-turned-security-guard Zafir Ansari rescues Danika Brown from a workplace fire, his heroic actions go viral and people start shipping #DrRugbae. He convinces Danika to fake a relationship with him to get publicity for the children's charity he works with, but when he develops feelings for her, he works to turn their fake relationship into a real one.
Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
Shortly after moving to LA to start her own law firm, Olivia Monroe meets a handsome stranger at a hotel bar and sparks fly. However, she has no idea he's junior senator Max Powell. To keep their budding relationship out of the public eye, the two have dates in secret and even wear silly disguises. It's all fun and games until their coupledom is made public and really put to the test.
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
Samiah Brooks is a tech genius who has everything going for her: an amazing job, killer apartment, and hot new boyfriend. Except it turns out that her boyfriend is also dating two other women. After confronting him for cheating, she and the other women become friends and make a pact to take a break from men to focus on their goals. So Samiah's flirtation with the new guy in her office is very inconvenient, especially when she finds out that he's not exactly who he says he is.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Late one August night in 1968, 16-year-old identical twin sisters Desiree and Stella run away from their small Southern hometown Mallard — a community founded by the son of a white father and an enslaved mother, built for others “like him, who would never be accepted as white but refused to be treated like Negroes” — and escape to a new life in New Orleans. But when their world expands, their lives diverge: Stella goes north to live as a white woman, marrying a white man who knows nothing of her past; and Desiree has a daughter with an abusive man intent on punishing her for her light-skin privilege, eventually leaving with her daughter and returning to Mallard. The novel spans decades, following the sisters’ daughters as their own stories intertwine, in a captivating, expansive, and insightful story about family, race, and legacy.
Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
Jane is 18, pregnant, and working as a pizza delivery girl in suburban LA, where she lives with her mother and boyfriend — both of whom are much more excited about the baby than she is. So it’s not surprising she starts to feel alienated in her own house and finds comfort in short escapes to work or, more frequently, to her abusive late father’s shed. When a 38-year-old stay-at-home mom calls in with a desperate need for pickle-and-pepperoni pizza, Jane is immediately smitten — and as the two get closer, Jane’s ambivalence about her own future gets harder to deal with.
The Lightness by Emily Temple
After her father disappears, Olivia decides to enroll in the Levitation Center, one of her father’s old haunts and a Buddhist meditation spot said to be the only place in America where people can still levitate. At the center, which houses a group of mostly white teenage girls looking for Buddhist enlightenment, Olivia becomes friends with three other girls: Laurel, Janet, and the mysterious Serena rumored to be able to “convince you of anything, anything at all, by looking directly into your eyes and telling you it was true.” Over the course of the summer, Olivia falls more and more deeply into Serena’s thrall as they go to increasingly violent lengths to achieve the power of levitation and grapple with their shared attraction to a gardener at the center named Luke.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
This twisty horror fantasy is engrossing and wonderfully repulsive. Noemí Taboada is a socialite who delights in parties, fancy dresses, seducing men, and anthropology. After receiving a garbled letter from her recently married cousin and dear friend Catalina, she travels to the distant village of High Place and the decaying mansion that is now Catalina’s home. There, she finds Catalina incoherent and lethargic while the family she’s married into exude white-colonialist patriarchy — except for the youngest son, Francis, whose shy demeanor and pallid looks are the exact opposite to the men Noemí typically enjoys. But in this rank home with no friends, Francis becomes an anchor for Noemí. Meanwhile, the house itself seeps into her dreams and slowly comes alive around her.
I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee
Skye Shin has just made it into an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-pop star. Her spectacular voice earns her a spot in the singing portion of the competition, and despite what her mother has told her — that fat girls shouldn't dance, that they shouldn't draw attention to themselves — her incredible moves get her into the dance portion. But her mother isn't the only one whose anti-fat standards Skye will have to overcome on her quest to become the world's first plus-size K-pop star.
