Here’s a list of fantasy and sci-fi new young adult reads you can sink your teeth into. Enjoy!
Check out the May 2023 titles (organized by release date):
May 2nd
by Amie Kaufman Selly has salt water in her veins. So when her father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter at home while he sails off to adventure. But any plans to follow him are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician's marks on his arm commandeers her ship. He is Prince Leander of Alinor and he needs to cross the Crescent Sea without detection so he can complete a ritual on the sacred Isles of the Gods. Selly has no desire to escort a spoiled prince anywhere, and no time for his entitled demands or his good looks. But what starts as a leisure cruise will lead to acts of treason and sheer terror on the high seas, bringing two countries to the brink of war, two strangers closer than they ever thought possible and stirring two dangerous gods from centuries of slumber...
May 5th
by Kayla Maya Li Mei thought the worst was behind her the moment she chose to bind The False King to her mind. Not only has she become a revered warrior in all of Yuan Fé, but she’s also set to become the wife of Prince Li Wei and take her place as empress of the realm. With The False King gone, Li Mei and her friends think they can rest easy. Until darkness descends upon the realm and demons start wreaking havoc on the land and threaten everything Li Mei’s ever built or loved. Taking up her sword one last time, Li Mei, with the help of Chang, must embark on a perilous quest to defend her home, even if it means shattering the heart of the very man she loves. Torn between the soldier and the prince, Li Mei must choose between love or duty, friend or foe, hope or despair.
May 9th
by Julie Kagawa After leaping through the portal to Evenfall, Meghan and her companions find themselves in a terrifying new world where Nightmares roam and glamour is nearly nonexistent. As their magic wanes and the creatures of Evenfall rise against them, the race to find the Nightmare King grows ever more desperate. But what they discover—about Evenfall, about the Nightmare King, about themselves—will shake everything they thought they knew to the core. The Nightmare King stirs. A world hangs in the balance. And as twilight descends upon all the realms of Faery, Meghan and her allies must make one more impossible choice.
May 16th
by Margaret Owen Let's get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn't trying to start a cult. After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous junior prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family . . . and whether they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice. For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—is genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that could be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but also the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?
by A.M. Strickland In becoming a vampire, I’m less than a girl. And more. Or maybe I’m becoming what I always have been, deep inside. A blade. When nineteen-year-old Fin volunteers to take her secret love's place in their village's Finding, she is terrified. Those who are chosen at the Finding are whisked away to Castle Courtsheart, a vampire school where human students either succeed and become vampires, fail and spend the rest of their lives as human thralls...or they don't survive long enough to become either. Fin is determined to forge a different path: learn how to kill the undead and get revenge for her mother, who was taken by the vampires years ago. But Courtsheart is as captivating as it is deadly, and Fin is quickly swept up in her new world and its inhabitants - particularly Gavron, her handsome and hostile vampire maker, whose blood is nothing short of intoxicating. As Fin begins to discover new aspects of her own identity and test her newfound powers, she stumbles across a string of murders that may be connected to a larger ritual - one with potentially lethal consequences for vampires and humans alike. Fin must uncover the truth and find the killer before she loses her life...or betrays her own heart.
by Anna-Marie McLemore
Keep your enemy closer. Cade McKenna is a transgender prince who’s doubling for his brother. Valencia Palafox is a young dama attending the future queen of Eliana. Gael Palma is the infamous boy assassin Cade has vowed to protect. Patrick McKenna is the reluctant heir to a kingdom, and the prince Gael has vowed to destroy. Cade doesn’t know that Gael and Valencia are the same person. Valencia doesn’t know that every time she thinks she’s fighting Patrick, she’s fighting Cade. And when Cade and Valencia blame each other for a devastating enchantment that takes both their families, neither of them realizes that they have far more dangerous enemies.
May 18th
by E.V. Everest
The council is dead. Bellaton has fallen.
Reeling from the coronation and its deadly aftermath, Ana has little time to recover. She is now the sole surviving member of the council and the number one suspect. Bellaton has never been more dangerous.
As the Seven families vie to fill their vacant council seats, rebel forces stir in the capital streets... and below them. Is peace still possible? How far will Ana go to save herself, her friends, and the world she's grown to love?
May 23rd
by Claire Winn
For the most hated crew on Requiem, the only way out is up. It’s been four months since runaway heiress Asa crash-landed on matriarchal outlaw colony Requiem, bringing a nasty AI and host of deadly secrets with her. Now, she runs with almost-girlfriend Riven’s smuggler crew, stealing kisses between gunfights and heists. But when a mysterious hacker sabotages their latest job, other gangs turn against them, blaming them for the destruction the rogue AI caused. Nowhere in the city is safe. The only way to protect their crew is a series of trials for control of an underworld faction–and vying for a matriarch’s throne is a dream Riven can’t let go. But as the trials intensify, the saboteur hounds Asa and Riven’s every step, determined to kill Asa and right her father’s wrongs. When the saboteur reveals a horrific conspiracy threatening all of Requiem–one involving the crew member they thought they’d lost–the girls must decide whether to risk their own skins for a city that loathes them.
by Tanaz Bhathena When they don’t give us our birthright, we steal it. Roshan Chaya is out for justice. Abandoned by her parents at birth and adopted by the kingdom of Jwala's most notorious bandit before his brutal murder, she is now leader of the Shadow Clan, a gang of farmers-turned-bandits impoverished by the provincial governor’s atrocities and corruption. Roshan’s goal: to avenge her adoptive father and earn back rights and dignity for her people. Prince Navin has always felt like an outcast. Second in line for the throne, he has never been close to his grandmother, Queen Bhairavi of Jwala. When a night out drinking with friends leads to his capture by the infamous Shadow Clan, Navin schemes to befriend Roshan and use her as a means to escape. His ploy, however, brings Navin closer to the corruption and poverty at the heart of Roshan’s province, raising questions about its governor and Navin’s own family. To further complicate things, the closer Roshan and Navin get, the harder it becomes to fight their growing attraction. But how can they trust each other when the world as they know it starts to fall apart?
May 29th
by Marie-Hélène Lebeault
Are you ready to immerse yourself in a world of magic, dragons, and witches?
Join the second-year dragon and witch students as they prepare for the most important event of their academic careers: revealing their fated mates. But things are not as simple as they seem in the Golden Forest, where they'll learn new spells and combat skills to defend themselves against the Chameleon Sprites.
Don't miss the chance to follow these students as they discover their fated mates, learn new spells, and fight against the Chameleon Sprites in the Golden Forest. A thrilling adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.
May 30th
by Tracy Wolff
It’s been over three months since my friends and I took down Cyrus. Three months where my biggest fear was what paper was due next... But I should have known it was too good to last. Now everything is falling apart.
The Vampire Court has no king, the Dragon Court has no heart, and the Gargoyle Court has me—a teenager in way over her head. And it’s the worst possible timing, because a threat is brewing just as the Circle is collapsing.
I have no choice but to return to the Shadow Realm and face the terrifying queen who nearly ended us…and make a deal with her to save Mekhi. But this time, I’m bringing my powerful friends with me—and Hudson. Except something is wrong with him, too. He’s keeping a secret—even from me.
All I know is that everyone’s life hangs in the balance. And it’s my fault—because I still owe the Crone a favor...and now she’s come to collect.
May 31st
by Paul Mouchet
Two mermaids must traverse the dangerous waters of love, loyalty, and prejudice if they are to bridge the gap between land and sea.
Her forbidden love of a human leaves Calypso cursed and unable to leave her deep-water lair. Desperate to help the man she loves, she sends her best friend Luna in her place.
When Luna's naïveté lands her in the clutches of the town’s cruel lord, she becomes a pawn in his ruthless plot to destroy the merkingdom and claim the sea for his own.
Left with few choices, Calypso enlists the human she loves and the crown prince she hates, to overcome an enemy who seems to know their every weakness.
While Luna fights for her life, can Calypso and the crown prince put aside their differences long enough to work together to save the day?
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.
