Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

After reading (and loving!) Babel last year, R.F. Kuang has cemented herself on my ‘favorite authors’ list! So this jumped onto my ‘most anticipated’ list before I even knew what it was about! Reading the synopsis only made me that much more eager. A white author steals an Asian colleagues work after she dies and passes it off as her own, all why adopting a penname and taking ambiguous author photos to seem more “ethnic”. This sounds like it’s going to be absolutely scathing and I can’t wait.

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

When a synopsis starts with the line, “Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult.”, how do you expect me to pass that up?! This is the sequel to one of my favorite reads from 2021 (Little Thieves) and I’m so excited that it will be out in the world soon! Our favorite gremlin girl, Vanja, is back and, through absolutely no fault of her own thank-you-very-much, has invented a god. Who then claims her favorite walking encyclopedia as a virgin sacrifice. So… ya know… the stakes are high!

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Firekeeper’s Daughter blew me out of the water when I read it last year. That’s why I was so excited to see that the author was coming out with another book in 2023! Where the first book followed Daunis and her fight to keep drugs out of her Indigenous community, this one follows her niece, Perry, and her endeavor to bring something back to the community. The bones of an ancestor stored in a museum should, by all rights, be back with the tribe where they belong. If it takes a heist to realize this… 🤷🏾‍♀️

Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood

This is another case of me loving an author’s first book so much (Within These Wicked Walls) that I was incredibly excited to hear she was coming out with another one this year! Lauren Blackwood’s storytelling is rich and evocative, so I can only imagine this novel that is set in a magical Jamaican jungle is going to enthrall me. We’re following a young woman named Victoria who is determined to prove herself as a guide who leads people through this aforementioned magical, yet dangerous, jungle.

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Now this is a book from an author I’ve never read before, which makes sense as I’m pretty sure it’s a debut. However, as soon as I saw the cover and read the synopsis, I was sold. I am beyond excited to pick up this contemporary fantasy about magical families and intergenerational curses! The fact that it is set in New Orleans and follows two Black teens is basically a guarantee that I’m gonna pick this up. I’m so pumped to read this!