It’s August 2022, sci-fi and fantasy lovers! What better way to welcome the new month than with a perusal of the upcoming new young adult reads?
This list is enchanting beyond belief, so invite some sci-fi and fantasy into your life and get your read on!
Check out the list below (organized by release date)!
August 2nd
By Rachel Griffin
After a night of magic turns deadly, Iris Gray vows to never let another person learn she's a witch. It doesn't matter that the Witches' Council found her innocent or that her magic was once viewed as a marvel—that night on the lake changed everything.
Now settled in Washington, Iris hides who she really is and vents her frustrations by writing curses she never intends to cast. And while she loves working at the wildlife refuge she runs with her mother, she loathes Pike Alder, the witch-hating aspiring ornithologist who interns with them.
When Pike makes a particularly hurtful comment, Iris concocts a cruel curse for him. But just as she's about to dispel it, an owl swoops down and steals the curse before flying far away from the refuge. The owl is a powerful amplifier, and if it dies, Iris's dark spell will be unleashed not only on Pike but on everyone in the region.
Forced to work together, Iris and Pike trek through the wilderness in search of the bird that could cost Pike his life. But Pike doesn't know the truth, and as more dangers arise in the woods, Iris must decide how far she's willing to go to keep her secrets safe.
By Sarah Henning
Princess Amarande is finally on the verge of having everything she wants. To be with her true love Luca, no one nor law standing in the way. To rule Ardenia as queen outright, no marriage necessary, as Luca does the same with the reformed Torrence. To rebuild the continent of The Sand and Sky into a place not defined by archaic, patriarchal laws, but by the will of its people. However, threats await in the shadows of Amarande’s hoped-for happily ever after. One expected and deadly to both her love and every one of her objectives. The other, unexpected, and arising with a vicious aim: revenge at any cost. Against the princess who killed him, the boy whose love made her do it, and the continent cruel enough to deserve his rage.
By Cristin Terrill
Vika Hale longs for a better life than that of a barmaid on a struggling planet, but her dreams have always seemed out of reach despite the mysterious benefactor who bankrolled her education. When the elusive billionaire dies and names Vika in his will, she’s whisked away to a glittering and glamorous new world as the ward of his heir. Suddenly, her wildest dreams don’t seem so impossible.
But when someone targets the will’s heirs in a series of terrifying bombings, Vika’s new life is thrown into uncertainty. Knowing that she may be next, Vika teams up with the one person she’d rather keep at arm’s length—her guardian’s mysterious new assistant, Sky Foster. She doesn't trust Sky, but he may be the only one who can help her discover the bomber’s identity before she becomes the next victim. As Vika grows closer to Sky, she realizes she may not escape these new threats unscathed. Sky is keeping a secret and it's one that could unravel everything.
August 4th
By various
Celebrate the magic of books with this limited-time collection of YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories.
What's inside these enchanting pages?
A fae war is brewing, and only an ancient book has the power to stop it. If only the pages weren't blank!
A bookstore set in a steampunk world. The lights are flickering and objects are moving. Could the bookstore really be haunted?
A doomed love story set in the last known library. Can two teens preserve what really matters?
Two brothers. A wandering library. How far will they be willing to go to access this forbidden knowledge?
And many more stories!
Authors Featured in Ink & Incantation:
E. V. Everest, Allison Rose, Ben Green, C.L. Cannon, Jamie Dalton, Jessa Lucas, Joy Lewis, K. R. S. McEntire, Kristen S. Walker, Maria Vermisoglou, Nicole Zoltack, R. L. Medina, R.L. Perez, S. R. Breaker, Sudha Kuruganti, Tricia Copeland
August 8th
By L. Wood
What would you do if your most dangerous weapon was also your worst nightmare?
Harper’s DNA is priceless and dangerous in the wrong hands. The evil doctor after her can use it to enhance his super soldiers. Not willing to risk being captured, Harper decides to flee, but is forced to resurface when her friends’ lives are threatened.
As she hunts down the doctor to protect those she cares about, she realizes his army is far larger than anyone had imagined and will have to make decisions that could risk her very soul. The one good thing? She has the man she loves by her side, until he is ripped away from her. Now she must fight harder than ever before to save what, and who, she loves.
August 9th
By Becky James
Time cannot be turned back. Choices made cannot be undone.
With Aubin missing, Thorrn and Evyn must draw heavily on each other as Gavain returns to Oberrot City and is put on trial for his actions in Dinahe.
Meanwhile, the country of Skien stirs with unrest, preparing to force citizens who can use magic out to the surrounding countries. The Rangers are needed to help as many refugees as possible but, even though they are apart, they seem to be working together.
Worlds collide once more when the alts come for their help - Evie is missing, and Liara is suspected to be at the heart of it. But suspicions against the alts are mounting up; is someone shaping the turns of time for their own ends?
“You cannot change the flow of time. But I can.”
By Liselle Sambury
Voya Thomas may have passed her Calling to become a full-fledged witch, but the cost was higher than she’d ever imagined. Her grandmother is gone. Her cousin hates her. And her family doesn’t believe that she has what it takes to lead them. What’s more, Voya can’t let go of her feelings for Luc, sponsor son of the genius billionaire Justin Tremblay—the man that Luc believes Voya killed. Consequently, Luc wants nothing to do with her. Even her own ancestors seem to have lost faith in her. Every day Voya begs for their guidance, but her calls go unanswered. As Voya struggles to convince everyone—herself included—that she can be a good Matriarch, she has a vision of a terrifying, deadly future. A vision that would spell the end of the Toronto witches. With a newfound sense of purpose, Voya must do whatever it takes to bring her shattered community together and stop what's coming for them before it’s too late. Even if it means taking down the boy she loves—who might be the mastermind behind the coming devastation.
August 15th
By E.V. Everest
Six names. Six responsible for her fate.
Even if Ana had every name, her path would be difficult. The guilty are powerful, protected, and dangerous. But Ana only has three of the names she needs. In order to claim the rest, she must grant Lady Jacobs three favors.
In doing so, Ana will descend deeper into the dark, glittering world of the Royal City and further away from the protective walls of the Academy. Who will win this game of shadows and crowns?
August 16th
By Emily Lloyd-Jones Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince’s orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer’s old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both. The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing…but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.
August 23rd
By Judy I. Lin A great evil has come to the kingdom of Dàxi. The Banished Prince has returned to seize power, his rise to the dragon throne aided by the mass poisonings that have kept the people bound in fear and distrust. Ning, a young but powerful shénnóng-shi—a wielder of magic using the ancient and delicate art of tea-making—has escorted Princess Zhen into exile. Joining them is the princess' loyal bodyguard, Ruyi, and Ning's newly healed sister, Shu. Together the four young women travel throughout the kingdom in search of allies to help oust the invaders and take back Zhen's rightful throne. But the golden serpent still haunts Ning's nightmares with visions of war and bloodshed. An evil far more ancient than the petty conflicts of men has awoken, and all the magic in the land may not be enough to stop it from consuming the world...
By Alex Aster
Welcome to the Centennial.
Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.
Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wildling—a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised, and are counting on Isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the Centennial.
To survive, Isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything.
August 30th
By Constance Lopez
To kill the prince, she must first kill her heart.
Princess Riona was eight when the Revonian king murdered her family and conquered her kingdom with a mysterious magic. She has spent the last decade training—and waiting for her moment to avenge them all and reclaim her rightful title.
Now that the king is ailing, Riona secures a position within the Revonian royal palace. Her goals? Get close to the prince. Kill him. Uncover Revon’s secret magic. Make the king suffer. Only then can she take back her country.
But the closer she gets to the prince, the more he surprises her with kindness, honor, and wit. He is nothing like his cruel father. Worse yet, he sees right through to her heart. When she planned this assassination, her heart didn’t factor in.
And now it’s about to ruin all her plans.
By Adalyn Grace Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer. However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.
By Elizabeth Lim Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon's pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined. She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood. The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori's aid one minute, and betraying her the next—threatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she's fought so hard to win.
By Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman
“I feel like I should warn you: this is going to be absolutely brutal.”
For the first time in this ancient, bloodstained story, the tournament is breaking. The boundaries between the city of Ilvernath and the arena have fallen. Reporters swarm the historic battlegrounds. A dead boy now lives again. And a new champion has entered the fray, one who seeks to break the curse for good... no matter how many lives are sacrificed in the process.
As the curse teeters closer and closer to collapse, the surviving champions each face a choice: dismantle the tournament piece by piece, or fight to the death as this story was always intended.
Long-held alliances will be severed. Hearts will break. Lives will end. Because a tale as wicked as this one was never destined for happily ever after.
By Beck Michaels
SURVIVAL DEMANDS MORE THAN BLOOD. IT DEMANDS SOULS.
Mourning the loss of her cousin and missing bond, Dyna lies trapped with the enemy. Alone and afraid, the time has come to be her own savior. She will use every skill and spell her Guardians taught her to survive. Because the damsel is dead. This time, she fights.
Cassiel and the Guardians are desperate to find their Maiden. Except they cannot do it alone. The journey to cross Troll Bridge proves harder than ever as they race against the impending winter. When the High King summons him to answer for his crimes, Cassiel will sacrifice everything in order to save the one person he can’t live without. Even if it means his fate will end in exile—or a throne.
Dyna and her Guardians will all face a trial by fire as they confront their greatest threat yet. Themselves. And when ice meets flame, will they be willing to pay the price?
By Abigail Owen Everything about my life is a lie. As a hidden twin princess, born second, I have only one purpose—to sacrifice my life for my sister if death comes for her. I’ve been living under the guise of a poor, obscure girl of no standing, slipping into the palace and into the role of the true princess when danger is present. Now the queen is dead and the ageless King Eidolon has sent my sister a gift—an eerily familiar gift—and a proposal to wed. I don’t trust him, so I do what I was born to do and secretly take her place on the eve of the coronation. Which is why, when a figure made of shadow kidnaps the new queen, he gets me by mistake. As I try to escape, all the lies start to unravel. And not just my lies. The Shadowraith who took me has secrets of his own. He struggles to contain the shadows he wields—other faces, identities that threaten my very life. Winter is at the walls. Darkness is looming. And the only way to save my sister and our dominion is to kill Eidolon…and the Shadowraith who has stolen my heart.
This article was written by Allison Rose.
Allison Rose writes YA fantasy featuring magic and otherworldly beings. Her current series feature a truly unique world of Faerie. Click the covers below to check them out.
