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!)
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell
Brewed With Love by Shelly Page
Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell
This Dark Heart by Zeena Gosrani
Bonus: Coming in 2026, What You Will by Rachael Lippincott
Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of America’s Not-So Sweetheart by Blair Hanson, a gay YA Romance releasing June 17, 2025 from Page Street YA! Here’s the story:
Alec Braud is the most hated teen in America after winning Campfire Wars by backstabbing his showmance, Joaquin Delgado. So when Joaquin asks Alec to join him on a road trip in order to “queerify” classic movie kisses for an art project, Alec agrees in the hopes it might make get them back together and convince the world he’s not a bad guy IRL.
Alec spends the trip reading into Joaquin’s flirty behavior and things get even more complicated when Alec is invited to return to the next season of Campfire Wars. He’s been trying to prove to everyone (and Joaquin) that he’s not actually the worst. But Alec is torn again between a second chance with Joaquin and cold hard cash.
Can he turn down the chance to return to the small screen for what only might be love?
And here’s the killer cover, designed by Vienna Gambol with art by Otesanya!
Blair Hanson is a chemist and proud cat lover. He is also a YA author who wants to see more realistic representations of gay teens. He lives in New Jersey. America’s Not-So-Sweetheart is his debut novel.
I know, I know – we do not do blog tour stops at LGBTQReads, and that’s still true. But as a 2024 Sydney Taylor Honor Book awardee, I was asked to be a host for this year’s tour, and when I found out I would be featuring a queer book I happen to have absolutely loved, and processed the fact that we both got our Sidney Taylor stickers on queer books, I decided I get to break the rules, just this once. And so, I’m thrilled to be talking to A.R. Vishny today about Night Owls, Sydney Taylor Book Award and National Jewish Book Award winner for Young Adult. (Also, full disclosure: I judged this year’s NJBA for YA, so if you’re wondering how much I loved it, the answer is “Enough to help it when the top prize and then write the blurb for it.”)
Before we get into it with the author, though, here’s a bit more on the book:
Clara loves rules. Rules are what have kept her and her sister, Molly, alive—or, rather, undead—for over a century. Work their historic movie theater by day. Shift into an owl under the cover of night. Feed on men in secret. And never fall in love.
Molly is in love. And she’s tired of keeping her girlfriend, Anat, a secret. If Clara won’t agree to bend their rules a little, then she will bend them herself.
Boaz is cursed. He can’t walk two city blocks without being cornered by something undead. At least at work at the theater, he gets to flirt with Clara, wishing she would like him back.
When Anat vanishes and New York’s monstrous underworld emerges from the shadows, Clara suspects Boaz, their annoyingly cute box office attendant, might be behind it all.
But if they are to find Anat, they will need to work together to face demons and the hungers they would sooner bury. Clara will have to break all her rules—of love, of life, and of death itself—before her rules break everyone she loves.
And now, check out my chat with A.R. Vishny!
Continue reading Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour: Night Owls by A.R. Vishny
Today on the site I’m thrilled to welcome back Zachary Sergi to reveal the cover of his next YA, Love and Video Games, releasing September 16th from Running Press Kids! Here’s the story:
Ready Player One meets Heartstopper in which a myth-loving video game player discovers there isn’t a cheat code to life–or love–while competing in a tournament with his handsome crush and gamer friends.
In the real world, Keegan Thomas is a gay, eighteen-year-old mythology nerd with undiagnosed chronic pain. But in the myth-inspired, online video game world of Pantheonic, he is the glorious and powerful K.Odyssia, slaying legions of enemies and completing quests for honor and glory along with his team, the Epic Hearts. Despite his closeness to his gamer friends–and the secret crush he has on his teammate, Alix–no one knows that he is struggling with the sudden onset of chronic pain in his lower back and fears it will hinder his ability to move to NYU in the fall.
When a quest in Pantheonic turns out to be a secret invitation to an in-person tournament in New York City, Keegan has to battle his fears of concealing and managing his pain so that his team can attend this once-in-a-lifetime event. Competing against six other teams, members of the Epic Hearts must work together to outwit and outplay the others to win the tournament and the hefty cash prize. But can Keegan as K.Odyssia be one of the heroes that Pantheonic needs while he’s laser-focused on his own epic battle? Will he be able to level up his relationship with Alix and lead his team to victory? It’s time for the games to begin!
And here’s the action-packed cover, illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani and designed by Mary Boyer!
Zachary Sergi is the queer author of Major Detours and nearly a dozen works of Interactive Fiction, including the Heroes Rise and Versus series. Zachary was raised in Manhattan, studied Creative Writing at Regis High School and the University of Pennsylvania, and now lives in Los Angeles with his husband, where he also writes for television. Learn more at zacharysergi.com or by following @zacharysergi (TikTok/Twitter) or @zacharysergiwriter (Instagram).
Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome back L.C. Rosen for the cover reveal of, well, not his next YA, because he’s that prolific, but his next standalone YA Romance, You’ve Goth My Heart, which releases September 9, 2025 from Little, Brown & Co.! Here’s the story:
When Gray gets a wrong number text, he’s pretty sure it’s a serial killer—or, worse, his ex—on the other end of the line. But being anonymous actually helps them open up to each other, and Gray finds himself hopeful that this could be his dream goth crush. All they have to do is meet—on Halloween, the night of Sleepy Hollow’s big house-decorating contest, and the perfect opportunity for Gray to show his mystery texter his true feelings. But between Gray’s closeted ex coming back into the picture, a cute but obnoxious new goth kid vying to win the contest, and a serial killer lurking around, killing local gay teens, Gray’s prospects are looking grim. Come Halloween, he’ll either get his dream guy or die trying…
And here’s the Gothtastic cover, designed by Patrick Hulse with art by Colin Verdi!
A note from author L.C. Rosen:
I’m so thrilled and honored that LGBTQReads is revealing this beautiful cover!! Colin Verdi, the artist, is a genius who has done so many of my covers and they are always so perfect.
The original title for this one was You’ve Goth Mail (but my publisher rightly pointed out that teens do not know what AOL is, and the movie is quite old, so we changed it) and it’s an homage to those silly ‘anonymously falling in love while also competing!’ stories that we all love, but I’ve made it gay, goth and pagan! I’m known for my Jewish rep, and identify as culturally Jewish, but I’ve been a practicing Pagan since I was 18, and have organized various pagan conferences and headed pagan groups, so getting to finally put this representation out there is wonderful to me; ritual magick, calling corners, and a scrying all feature prominently. As do, of course, some fierce goth looks (my editor is currently trying to get me to share some photos of me from my own goth days but strangely they all seem to have vanished, we’ll see if any show up by the time the book is out). I’m so excited for you all to read it.
Preorder it now, and you’ll get it just in time for spooky season!
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Lev Rosen writes books for people of all ages, including the Evander Mills series, which began with the Macavity Award winning Lavender House (Anthony finalist, Lambda finalist, Best Book of the Year from Buzzfeed, Library Journal, Amazon, Bookpage, and others) and continued with The Bell in the Fog, (Publisher’s Weekly Editor’s Choice, Best Book of the year from Amazon, CrimeReads and Autostraddle). His most recent YA novels are Emmett (Best Book of the year from Kirkus and Amazon), Lion’s Legacy (Best Book of the year from Booklist and the New York Public Library) and Camp (Best Book of the year from Forbes, Elle, and The Today Show and others). The third Evander Mills mystery, Rough Pages, will be out in fall 2024. He lives in NYC with his husband and a very small cat. You can find him online at LevACRosen.com and @LevACRosen
Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of JJ Clapton’s A Stage Over Ruthless Stars, a YA sci-fi with a dual POV (gay and aro) releasing February 1, 2025! (Links to the ebook are below, but it’ll be available in paperback upon release as well.) Here’s the story:
Aznan is a chronically ill high school drop out living on a space station with an illness that hates gravity. But he’s going to be a famous inventor… That’s if he can win the biggest tech competition in the system. Held at his space station’s circus, and judged by titans of industry, it’s one massive showcase to demonstrate his homemade tech in front of a live audience.
To win, he’ll need his ex-best friend’s help. Kairo hasn’t spoken to him in three years, not since he left school to join the circus as an aerialist, but Aznan can handle that. Oh, and the local favourites just turned up dead. That, not so much.
Everyone’s saying sabotage. Murder and riches.
A competition worth killing for.
And when a second team dies right in front of Aznan’s eyes, the official reassurances of glitches and accidents no longer hold. The body count is rising. The Grand Showcase is blasting closer. With nobody willing to stop the show, Aznan and Kairo must unearth the truth or risk their lives with one final act.
And here’s the cover, designed by the author!
Buy it: Amazon | Books2Read
JJ Clapton is a queer, autistic writer of science fiction and fantasy across multiple age ranges. Originally from London, she grew up retreating from life into the stories in her head. When she became sick with a chronic illness as a teen, she relied on the stories to help her escape. After more than half her life spent somewhere between housebound and bedbound, stories have been a constant companion and light even in the hardest of times. JJ loves to write stories in which characters like her exist and have adventures even if she doesn’t get to have many herself. Apart from being an avid reader, she loves craft, watching sports, and stimming to music. She now lives in Lanzarote where she enjoys meowing at all the local cats (of which there are many!). And has a lovely, vicious, cute little cat of her own called Rocky.
Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome back Paul Michael Winters to reveal the cover of The Haunting Between Us, a coming-of-age ghost story releasing from Maelstrom Press on January 7th, 2025! Here’s the story:
Sixteen-year-old Cameron Walsh can’t believe the boy of his dreams just moved into the house of his nightmares.
He dreads the haunted Victorian mansion across the street, where the ghost of the White Lady roams the halls. When he sees her through the bay window, his ghost-hunting friend Abby wants to investigate. But then the new owners pull up, and Cameron is captivated by the brooding, handsome boy moving in. He longs for a boyfriend, but years of bullying have shattered his self-esteem.
Sixteen-year-old Hugo Cruz and his father flip old houses, moving often, fleeing from the grief at the loss of Hugo’s mother. They unknowingly move into the most haunted house in Port Townsend, Washington. From day one, Hugo encounters shadows that move by themselves, locked doors without keys, and hidden rooms. He hides the mysteries from his superstitious father, not wanting to uproot their lives.
When the White Lady becomes impossible to ignore, Hugo turns to Cameron to help uncover the house’s dark history. They soon form a bond that goes beyond friendship, but as their feelings deepen, the White Lady’s wrath intensifies. Entangled in a web of sinister secrets, they risk not only their love but their very existence.
And here’s the appropriately haunting cover, designed by Valerie Gomez and illustrated by Marcella Bolivar!
Buy it: Amazon
Paul Michael Winters is a lifelong creative writer whose life is filled with queer joy. His passion is to spread that joy through storytelling and writing books where you might not typically see queer characters. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his husband and two tuxedo kitties. Find him online at pmwinters.com and follow him on social media at @pmwintersauthor.
Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey by Kit Rosewater, an f/f YA sports Romance releasing from Delacorte Romance on May 6, 2025! Here’s the story:
A high school field hockey star must choose between her love of the game and her new, distractingly beautiful rival in this queer YA romance perfect for fans of She Drives Me Crazy and Cleat Cute!
Evelyn was raised to see field hockey as war.
Before she could write her own name, her family’s legacy on the field was already spelled out. Every step Evelyn takes toward glory is within a footprint her mother left behind. And no step matters more than this next one, with Evelyn about to lead her varsity team into their final battle season. Evelyn is beyond ready to score the Nationals title and win the critical scholarship to her mom’s alma mater that comes with it.
This year, she’s out for blood, and nothing can stand in her way…
…except for Rosa Alvarez, the highly talented new recruit on her biggest rival’s team.
After a humiliating homecoming game and follow-up prank leave the two enemies in a stalemate, they grudgingly strike a deal to help each other overcome their weaknesses on the field. But the more time Evelyn spends with Rosa, the more she finds herself casting her hardened armor aside, until she begins to wonder what life might be like if she left the battlefield behind and fought for love instead.
And here’s the gorgeous cover, illustrated by Sarah Maxwell and designed by Angela Carlino and Liz Dresner!
Kit Rosewater lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her partner and two small children who are bent on destroying the universe. She is the author of Books 1-3 in The Derby Daredevils, an illustrated middle grade series out through Abrams. Her debut YA romcom, All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey, comes out in Spring 2025 through Delacorte Romance. Kit has been a high school theater and English teacher, a bookseller, a Children’s Literature academic, and a creative writing instructor for adults. Catch her online at kitrosewater.com and @savethekitrosewater.
Yeah, so there are eight; sue me. It’s a great year for queer YA Horror!
So Witches We Became by Jill Baguchinsky
Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews
The Dark We Know by Wen-Yi Lee
Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker
Trespass Against Us by Leon Kemp
They Thought They Buried Us by NoNieqa Ramos
What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould
Rest in Peaches by Alex Brown
