The Powerless series is a fan favorite (and for good reason!) so I had VERY high hopes for the finale of this action-packed romantasy trilogy. Well, let me tell you... Lauren DELIVERED. If you love enemies-to-lovers, angst, yearning, and banter for days combined with a sprinkling of brotherhood, a strong female lead, and a fun system of magical powers, you NEED to add this series to your TBR already. And THAT ENDING?! Goodbye. I'll never, ever recover.

Recommended by Amy

“Highly anticipated” is an understatement when it comes to the third book in the Legendborn Cycle series and the follow-up to the gasp-worthy cliffhanger ending of Bloodmarked. If you haven’t read Oathbound, you need to catch up now, because the plot twists just keep coming in this now multi-POV (!!!) story. Bree Matthews has left her friends behind and is in the “care” (used very loosely) of the Shadow King in order to learn more about her power. We get to check in on (almost) every fan-favorite character, as Bree and her friends all face their own demons, with devastating consequences. The stakes have never been this high, and by the time you get to the end, the Bloodmarked cliffhanger will feel like light work.

Recommended by Bezi

One of my top reads of 2025 must be All Better Now by Neal Shusterman. Set in a world much like ours, this novel takes you through what would happen if a pandemic didn’t just get you sick but people who recover are in fact all “enlightened” and “happier than ever”—whatever that truly means. However, nothing is what it seems when it comes to Neal Shusterman. With 1 in every 25 people dying to Crown Royale, All Better Now’s very contagious “happiness” disease brings a lot of questions about morals and figuring out what is right for the greater good of humanity. Following multiple point of views of compelling characters, this book is a thriller that you won’t want to put down.

Recommended by Remi

I’ve already professed my love for this sapphic fantasy re-imagining of the iconic Swan Lake ballet… and no, I WON’T stop doing so! Because I still haven’t forgotten how I got to the book’s penultimate chapter and it made my heart drop out of my chest. Without spoiling anything, all I’ll say is thank the Mothers (that phrase will make sense if you’ve read the book) that there was an epilogue. So please, step into the unforgettable swoons and darkly captivating magic within these pages, and then come find me so we can squee about how good it is.

Recommended by James

Deja is a bohemian farm girl and cosmetic chemist who’s the first in her family to go to college. Raja is the budding tattoo and mehndi artist whose Nepali parents are expecting to study engineering and settle down in an arranged marriage. For better or for worse, sparks fly the second that Deja steps into Raja’s tattoo shop and the feelings only grow from there.

As love blossoms between them, Deja and Raja will have to decide if it’s enough to survive their families’ expectations.

Recommended by Karina

If you love queer romance, murder mysteries (bonus points for supernatural murder mysteries), every iconic paranormal high school show from the 2010s, or all the above, F.T. Lukens’s latest romantic fantasy is the book for you.

As a completely normal human, Cam is determined to fly under the radar at a high school full of kids with paranormal powers, including his witch best friend and his longtime werewolf crush. Except, Cam may not be so human after all. After he has an unexpected psychic vision about a murder that hasn’t happened yet, only two things are certain: someone he goes to school with is a future murderer, and his entire life is about to change.

Recommended by Amelia

Here are just a few things I love: magic schools, secret societies, unique world-building, going undercover, and - of course - a love triangle. The Art of Exile by Andrea Max has all of this and MORE. It's a fast-paced page-turner, featuring a heroine who is desperate to prove herself to her family by infiltrating a secret school for the descendants of Renaissance masters. But when she goes undercover to steal their long-lost knowledge, things get complicated…she falls in love with the school, and I can't blame her! It's everything I want, too! Will she stay loyal to her family? Or will she betray them to save the school that FEELS like family? You'll have to keep turning the pages to find out.

Recommended by Shannon

To say I’ve read nothing like Till Death would be a complete understatement, but when I saw this was a gay vampire romantic horror, I knew I simply had to pick it up! Howard, a high schooler with an old soul meets George, who is quite literally an old soul trapped in the body of a teenager. While this book is definitely a fun time, it is also layered with queer history and activism as George and Howard both recount their experiences as gay men in different timelines. I can promise that this book will surprise you in ways you could never expect and you are definitely not ready for how this book ends.

Recommended by Julia Ashley

If you are looking for a thrilling new fantasy series, A Mastery of Monsters is for you! When August's brother goes missing before his sophomore year, she is willing to do anything to find him, including infiltrating a secret society full of monsters. To find information on where her brother is, August is forced to work with Virgil, who has a gene that makes him turn into a monster. A deadly competition, a secret society, and a dark academia background makes this the perfect read for fantasy lovers!

Recommended by Saleena

Swans. Sapphic. SWOONS. This standalone fantasy is a mesmerizing re-imagining of the iconic ballet Swan Lake, and if you’re looking for a dark fantasy with sapphic enemies to lovers, this one will give it to you… and THEN some. Think Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron and The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu. I haven’t been to the ballet myself, but throw in the irrepressible romance here, and it’ll have you clamoring like me to see THIS version of Odile on stage!

Recommended by James

Dystopian novels are BACK, and I am so here for it! Soulmatch is set in a world where past lives are meant to determine your future; for example, if you were a criminal in your past life, you are meant to serve the punishment in your current life. This will either mean success and happiness in life, or failure and tragedy. (You ALSO find out if you have a soulmate!) When Sivon finds out she is a special soul, she is quickly thrown into a high-stakes game of danger, corruption, and heartbreak. Untangling her complicated past with the help of her bodyguard and best friends, Sivon navigates her place in society and a forbidden romance. 

Did I hear that right? Bodyguard, forbidden romance, high-takes fight for your life?? You literally won't be able to put this book down!

Recommended by Lindsey

As a huge Love Radio stan, I'm here to confirm that Ebony LaDelle’s newest rom-com This Could Be Forever should be on everyone’s summer reading list! It follows Deja and Raja who instantly crush hard on each other the summer before college and must deal with familial pressures and their cultural divide. Ebony’s writing is undeniably swoony and you just can’t help but be swept up in Deja’s and Raja’s love story.

Recommended by Antonella

Looking to get your emotions RATTLED? This book will make you cry ugly tears! Winter dreams of escaping her life with her grandmother and works odd jobs and hours to save for this dream. But when her abusive mother steals her money, she’s forced to reconsider meeting with the father that abandoned her as a child, who recently reappeared in her life. As she navigates grief, first love, and forgiveness, Winter begins to forge connections, new and old, that make her question everything: her future, her conviction to disappear, and what it really means to be family. Winter knows that broken things can never be fixed, but can they come back together in a different way?

Recommended by Maryam

What do you get when you blend magic, myth, and science together? You get The Art of Exile by Andrea Max, AKA the perfect book for all of us classics, art history, and mythology nerds. Our protagonist Ada infiltrates a secret school for the descendants of Renaissance masters to steal their long-lost knowledge - which is already more than enough to get me reading. This is one of the most inventive takes on the concept of a “magic school” I’ve read, and I’m obsessed with the different guilds at the Genesis Institute. Plus, there’s a love triangle with two love interests you won’t be able to pick between, filled with all the best tropes. I want to live in this world, but I’ll have to settle for just reading The Art of Exile again and again!

Recommended by Shannon

The Tournament is one of those books that makes you think you’re getting a classic competitive academic thriller, but in the end turns out to be SO MUCH MORE! Told in multiple narration style, you follow as Nora, Max, and Teddy navigate the competitive and highly unique Gardner-Bahnsen School for Girls, each girl more compelling and toxic than the next. When it comes time for the annual Tierney Cup, a tournament of survival, skill, and grit, with only one reigning champion per year, you can only guess the chaos that ensues. Love triangles, backstabbing, and violence litter the novel, and I, for one, could NOT put it down. Yellowjackets meets They Wish They Were Us – you won’t be disappointed!!

Recommended by Remi

This book will have you swooning, and not just from the Goode family's enchanted tulips! Shea Ernshaw is the QUEEN of atmospheric reads, and The Beautiful Maddening follows in the footsteps of her fan's faves with lush writing and fields of flowers, with romance and touch of magic thrown in for good measure! If this gorgeous read perfect for warm weather isn't on your TBR yet, it deserves a spot at the top of your list! 

Recommended by Amy

Frothy and commercial, with wedding hijinks, a fish-out-of-water main character, and a bickering romantic couple – this book has it all to be your perfect summer read! Bibi Hossain is charming, cheerful, a little irresponsible, and doesn't know how to read a room. Things get complicated quick when she spends the summer at her sister’s fiancé’s GIANT estate in Bangladesh. She soon realizes the family her sister is marrying into is uppity, judgmental, and disapproving. Will she let their energy get in the way of what is supposed to be a DHOOM DHAM wedding, or will she be able to pull some BIBI cards to persuade the adults that love is stronger and more important than their traditional behaviors? (BIBI’S BRAVERY IN THIS BOOK HAD ME GASPING!)

Recommended by Maryam

This lyrical novel-in-verse completely stole my heart. Set on a remote Cuban island, Island Creatures follows two teens—one coping with a painful past, the other raised among injured wildlife—who find comfort and connection in the animals they help heal. While also diving into some more difficult topics, Margarita Engle brings her signature poetic touch to a story that’s both tender and hopeful, reminding us that recovery—like friendship—can grow in the most unexpected places.

Recommended by Julia Ashley

An exploration of complex mother-daughter relationships with mystery, romance, and a dual POV across two moments in time? Sign me up! From the author of SLAY, This Book Might Be About Zinnia follows two vastly different girls. In 2024, after noticing similarities between herself and the protagonist in Jodelle Rae West’s latest novel, Zinnia goes on a quest to find out whether this bestselling author is her birth mother. Flashback to 2006, after experiencing a loss that had her on leave for months, Tuesday's search for answers uncovers dangerous secrets about her crush and her family. This exciting read is all-consuming as the two stories intertwine!  

Recommended by Sally