Author of DON’T WANT YOU LIKE A BEST FRIEND ‘s LIKE IN LOVE WITH YOU, pitched as Mean Girls meets NORTHANGER ABBEY, a sapphic, rivals-to-lovers Regency romance which begs the question: what if Cady and Regina just…kissed?, to Alessandra Roche at Avon, in a good deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2026, by Stacy Testa at Writers House (world).
Continue reading April 2025 Deal Announcements
For Part I, click here.
A Vile Season by David Ferraro
This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings
The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends by Jamie D’Amato
Honeybloods by I.S. Belle
Keep it in the Dark by Justin Arnold
Bonus: A new mention for Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell, as both the title and pub date changed since the last one (but it is now officially and newly out!)
Today on the site I’m delighted to help reveal the stunning cover of The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong, a Sapphic Fantasy releasing from Ace on October 14, 2025! Here’s the story:
An almost-mage discovers friendship—and maybe something more—in the unlikeliest of places in this delightfully charming novel from the author of The Teller of Small Fortunes.
Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful—to the Guild of Mages that took her in as a novice, to the little brother who depends on her, and to anyone else she can help. Unfortunately, her tepid magic hasn’t proven much use to anyone. When Certainty has the chance to earn her magehood via a seemingly straightforward assignment, she takes it. Nevermind that she’ll have to work with Mage Aurelia, the brilliant, unfairly attractive overachiever who’s managed to alienate everyone around her.
The two must transport minorly magical artifacts somewhere safe: Shpelling, the dullest, least magical village around. There, they must fix up an old warehouse, separate the gossipy teapots from the kind-of-flaming swords, corral an unruly little catdragon who has tagged along, and above all: avoid complications. The Guild’s uneasy relationship with citizens is at a tipping point, and the last thing needed is a magical incident.
Still, as mage and novice come to know Shpelling’s residents—and each other—they realize the Guild’s hoarded magic might do more good being shared. Friendships blossom while Certainty and Aurelia work to make Shpelling the haven it could be. But magic is fickle—add attraction and it might spell trouble.
And here’s the magically stunning cover, designed by Katie Anderson and illustrated by Devin Elle Kurtz!
Julie Leong is a Chinese-Malaysian-American fantasy author who grew up across both New Jersey and Beijing, China. She studied economics and political science at Yale and works in tech, but she has always nurtured a deep love for sci-fi/fantasy beneath her corporate exterior. Julie lives in San Francisco with her husband Drew, their rescue pup Kaya, and a magical Meyer lemon tree in the backyard that somehow always has ripe lemons. When she’s not writing, she enjoys making unnecessary spreadsheets and flambéing things.
Saturday is Lesbian Visibility Day, and we’re celebrating with lesbian fiction! For even more recs, check out last year’s post.
Hot-headed and energetic Romea Marino is starting ninth grade with a full plate. Between confusing social dynamics of high school and juggling extracurriculars, Ro can only find peace in the reliable comfort of her kitchen, where she’s able to follow in her dad’s culinary footsteps, whipping up Italian-fusion recipes.
Thoughtful and reserved Julianna Cangelosi is dying to help in her family’s restaurant, which serves traditional Italian dishes. But because Jules suffers from anxiety and struggles with overstimulation, her parents are wary of their daughter being in the chaos of a New York City kitchen.
When Ro and Jules meet on the first night of the San Gennaro Festival, sparks fly…until they learn that their fathers own dueling Italian restaurants across the street from each other. But the more the girls hang out—Ro teaching Jules how to cook; Jules taking Ro to her favorite spots around the city—the more their feelings grow. Can they rewrite the old tale of star-crossed kids from rival families and create a new recipe for love and friendship?
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N
Continue reading Happy (Upcoming) Lesbian Visibility Day 2025!
Independent Bookstore Day occurs on the last Saturday of April every year, and we love to celebrate here by highlighting some great indies and the opportunities and recommendations they give queer books! (Please note the below are only as guaranteed as they are by the store and are not guaranteed past April 26th. Also, I totally presumptuously gave some advice in a few places that I cannot guarantee will work, but should!)
While the below are all brick-and-mortar stores you should definitely visit if you can, check out the LGBTQIA collection at Scribbles Book Shop, an online shop consisting strictly of signed books.
Continue reading Shopper’s Delight: Independent Bookstore Day 2025
For more, click here.
Climate of Chaos by Cassandra Newbould (YA)
Compass Rose by Anna Burke
Yours for the Taking and The Shutouts by Gabrielle Korn
2º by Bev Prescott
All City by Alex Difrancesco
A Bánh Mi for Two by Trinity Nguyen (f/f YA, Sài Gòn)
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (Historical m/m YA, all across Europe)
Abroad by Liz Jacobs (m/m NA duology, London)
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston (m/x, France, Italy, and Spain)
An Island Princess Starts a Scandal (Historical f/f, Paris) and Finding Joy (m/m, Addis Ababa) by Adriana Herrera
Bonus: Coming in 2026, Like We Were in Paris by Stephan Lee (m/m YA, Paris)
Happy National Poetry Month! Join us in celebrating by checking out these poetry collections and books in verse!
A middle grade novel in verse about a young trans girl who uses a computer game to process an ADHD diagnosis, isolation, and her relationship to gender.
J—’s life is consumed by the roller coaster video game Coaster Boss, and by the power she exerts over the pixelated theme park attendees. Her life outside the game, however, is less controllable.
Me.
I’m such a big space. I break the universe, a glitch.
She’s navigating ADHD, the loneliness of middle school, and an overwhelming crush on a girl named Junie. J— is convinced that Junie sees her as who she really is, a person who isn’t “bad” just because she doesn’t stay quiet and sit still in class. As a person who is realizing that the name she’s been given doesn’t really fit her. And that maybe boy doesn’t either.
Glitch Girl! follows J— from fifth to seventh grade, from the beginning to the end of her obsession with Coaster Boss, and to the start of a new friendship. When J— meets Sam, a nonbinary classmate, she begins to realize that it’s okay to not fit into neat, pixelated boxes.
International Asexuality Day (also called Asexuality Visibility Day) is on April 6th, so make sure you’re prepared with some great books starring protagonists on the ace spectrum! (For even more recs, click here.)
Eighteen-year-old Beatrice has never been a fan of her neighbor Bennie, but when Beatrice’s beloved younger sister starts dating one of Bennie’s closest friends, Beatrice is drawn into their social circle. As Beatrice wrestles with increasingly confusing feelings for Bennie, her usually close relationship with her sister is fraying, her grief over their mother’s death is simmering in the background, and she’s overwhelmed by looming senior-year decisions about what she wants to do with her life. But after a crisis arises, Beatrice must figure out how to process past traumas and open up to the possibilities of the future.
Continue reading Happy (Upcoming) International Asexuality Day 2025!
It’s Autism Acceptance Month, and we are of course celebrating by highlighting books with queer autistic protagonists!
Thirteen-year-old Ellen Katz feels most comfortable when her life is well planned out and people fit neatly into her predefined categories. She attends temple with Abba and Mom every Friday and Saturday. Ellen only gets crushes on girls, never boys, and she knows she can always rely on her best-and-only friend, Laurel, to help navigate social situations at their private Georgia middle school. Laurel has always made Ellen feel like being autistic is no big deal. But lately, Laurel has started making more friends, and cancelling more weekend plans with Ellen than she keeps. A school trip to Barcelona seems like the perfect place for Ellen to get their friendship back on track.
Except it doesn’t. Toss in a new nonbinary classmate whose identity has Ellen questioning her very binary way of seeing the world, homesickness, a scavenger hunt-style team project that takes the students through Barcelona to learn about Spanish culture and this trip is anything but what Ellen planned.
Making new friends and letting go of old ones is never easy, but Ellen might just find a comfortable new place for herself if she can learn to embrace the fact that life doesn’t always stick to a planned itinerary.
