Looking for another hockey romance to dive into? We have the sweepstakes for you! Enter below for the chance to win copies of Fake Skating and Heart Check, PLUS exclusive signed hockey pucks from authors Lynn Painter and Emily Charlotte!

2025 has been another truly amazing year for book releases! They all make us proud, but these books have made it onto some notable 2025 “Best-Of” lists. We’re so excited to share them with you! Were these books also your favorites from 2025?

Giveaway alert!!! Check out all of the November and December Simon Teen giveaways running on Goodreads for a chance to win free books!

YALLFest is almost here! Here’s a comprehensive schedule of all our Simon Teen activity this year. Don’t forget to follow us @SimonTeen on X, on TikTok, and in our Instagram Stories for up-to-the minute news, behind the scenes fun, and content from our authors at YALLFest. See y’all soon!

Everything Happening With Simon Teen @ YALLFest 2025

Saturday, November 15

**Note: For all in-booth giveaways, tickets will be available one hour prior to the giveaway at the booth.

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All Day

• Stop by for giveaways all day, and enter our raffle for a chance to win a grand prize of signed books from the Simon Teen authors who will be attending the festival!
• Check the @SimonTeen socials for fun content!
• Pick up a ticket for an upcoming giveaway one hour prior to the listed giveaway time below!

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9:00am

• Grab a ticket for the Crystal Ball Mystery ARC Drop!
• Beth is Dead ARC Drop (no ticket required!)

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10:00am

• Middle Grade Jeopardy Panel with Stuart Gibbs (Charleston Museum)

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11:00am

• Crystal Ball Mystery ARC Drop #1 (Simon Teen Booth) (Remember to grab a ticket at 9:00 am!)
• My Genre-fied Romance Panel with A.B. Poranek (Charleston Music Hall)
• Scott Reintgen Signing (American Theater)
• Joelle Wellington Signing (Big Book Tent)

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12:00pm

• The Aftermyth ARC giveaway + Girl of Lore ARC giveaway (Simon Teen booth)
• Maps are Stories and Stories are Maps Panel with Chloe Gong (Charleston Music Hall)
• The Vibes Are Immaculate Panel with Alexandra Brown Chang (American Theater – Ballroom)
• I Turned Pretty in Autumn Panel with Ebony LaDelle (American Theater – Cinema)
• A.B. Poranek Signing (Lit Alley)

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1:00pm

• Crystal Ball Mystery ARC Drop #2 (Simon Teen Booth) (Remember to grab a ticket at 9:00 am!)
• We Have to Be Realistic (Fiction) About This Panel with Idris Goodwin (American Theater – Cinema)
• Don’t Let the Author Fly the Spaceship Panel with Chloe Gong and Scott Reintgen (American Theater – Ballroom)
• Ebony LaDelle Signing (American Theater)
• Stuart Gibbs Signing (Charleston Museum)

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2:00pm

• Devious Prey ARC giveaway (Simon Teen booth)
• Crushin’ It Panel with Olivia A. Cole and Ashley Woodfolk (American Theater – Cinema)
• There’s a Demon in My Backpack Panel with Scott Reintgen (American Theater – Ballroom)
• Idris Goodwin Signing (Lit Alley)

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3:00pm

• Crystal Ball Mystery ARC Drop #3 (Simon Teen Booth) (Remember to grab a ticket at 9:00 am!)
• No One Write Way Panel with Ebony LaDelle (Charleston Music Hall)
• Most Likely To: Crafting a Character Panel with Alexandra Brown Chang and Stuart Gibbs (American Theater – Cinema)
• Ashley Woodfolk & Olivia A. Cole Signing (American Theater)
• Chloe Gong Signing (ticketed in advance) (Big Book Tent)

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4:00pm

• Love Me Tomorrow ARC giveaway (Simon Teen booth)
• And I Would Have Gotten Away With It, Too Panel with Joelle Wellington (American Theater – Ballroom)
• Building Off the Blueprints Panel with Olivia A. Cole and Ashley Woodfolk (Charleston Museum)
• Alexandra Brown Chang Signing (Big Book Tent)

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5:00pm

• Staring at the Blank Page Before You Panel with Idris Goodwin (American Theater – Ballroom)
• Story/Telling Panel with Joelle Wellington (Charleston Museum)

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Don’t forget to come say hi to us at the booth all day!

Did someone say new Free Reads? Yes, that’s right, we did! And we are so excited for November’s Free Reads. This month, we’re highlighting a few of our favorite fantasy and dystopian reads!! Plus, check out all of this month’s new releases with extended excerpts!

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Free Reads are only available to Simon Teen members! Not a Simon Teen member yet? It’s free and easy to sign up! Click here to set up your account now. 

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Full Reads

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1. Uglies by Scott Westerfield

A young girl begins to question her picture-perfect world in this first installment of Scott Westerfeld’s New York Times bestselling and award-winning Uglies series—a global phenomenon that started the dystopian trend.

Start reading now!

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2. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still. Discover the riveting first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices Trilogy, prequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

Start reading now!

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3. Kingdom of Without by Andrea Tang

A wily young thief must use her wits to survive futuristic, alternate history Beijing in this Les Misérables–inspired young adult cyberpunk that is perfect for fans of Six of Crows and Fullmetal Alchemist.

Start reading now!

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Extended Excerpts

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1. All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes a young adult thriller about a world where happiness is contagious but the risks of catching it may be just as dangerous as the cure.

Start reading now! 

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2. The Art of Exile by Andrea Max

Legendborn meets The Da Vinci Code in this captivating light academia contemporary fantasy following a teen who infiltrates a secret school for the descendants of exiled Renaissance masters to steal their long-lost arts and sciences.

Start reading now! 

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3. Steel & Spellfire by Laura E. Weymouth

Divine Rivals meets The Witch Haven in this romantic young adult fantasy in which a powerful mage posing as a debutante during the court social season must work with a member of the royal guard to catch a killer with powers much like her own.

Start reading now! 

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4. Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker

In a world where past lives determine your future, a sharp-witted girl confronts a major twist of destiny, embroiling her in a high-stakes game of danger, corruption, and heartbreak in this young adult speculative romance perfect for fans of Scythe and Matched.

Start reading now! 

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5. A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek

From the New York Times bestselling author of Where the Dark Stands Still comes an atmospheric fantasy based on Swan Lake, following Odile as her plan to restore magic to her kingdom gets disrupted by a murder—forcing her to beg for help from the young woman whose identity she stole.

Start reading now!

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6. The Prince of Mourning by Jenn Bennett

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace meets A Study in Drowning in this sizzling gothic romantasy that follows the forbidden romance between a young nurse and a mysterious young man imprisoned by a dangerous occultist.

Start reading now! 

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7. The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle

In the dark underbelly of a beautiful city, two rival assassins are pitted against each other in a deadly game of revenge, where the most dangerous mistake of all is falling in love in this searing young adult fantasy.

Start reading now! 

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8. Coldwire by Chloe Gong

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong comes the start of a daring new dystopian series where humanity has moved to virtual reality to flee their deteriorating world, following two young soldiers who must depend on unlikely allies in their fight for survival.

Start reading now!

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9. Fade Into You by Amber Smith and Sam Gellar

When Jessa and Bird join forces to break up their best friends’ toxic relationship, they start to fall for each other in this swoony ’90s romance from bestselling author Amber Smith and Sam Gellar, perfect for fans of She Gets the Girl.

Start reading now! 

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10. Girls Who Play Dead by Joelle Wellington

Two siblings investigate the murder of a friend only to unearth even more deadly mysteries in their small town in this page-turning young adult thriller from the acclaimed author of Their Vicious Games.

Start reading now! 

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11. Heart Check by Emily Charlotte

A star hockey player and his biggest critic must reexamine their assumptions about each other when forced to work together at an after-school job in this feel-good young adult rom-com debut about breaking the ice—featuring stenciled sprayed edges!

Start reading now! 

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12. MindWorks by Neal Shusterman

From the incomparable mind of award winner Neal Shusterman, New York Times bestselling author of the Arc of a Scythe, comes a collection of uncanny and unforgettable short stories.

Start reading now! 

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13. You Had Me at Hello World by Rona Wang

Jenny Han meets Silicon Valley in this drama-packed debut young adult novel about a Chinese American teen who navigates a high-stakes coding competition, sabotage, and first love when she’s invited to a summer hackathon at MIT.

Start reading now! 

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14. Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… by Jason Reynolds

“Jason Reynolds has done it again!… Fresh from start to finish…This is what it could be, should be, if only we were all as lucky as Aria. Girls (and everyone) wait for your Neon!” —Judy Blume, New York Times bestselling author of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. and Forever…

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds tackles it—you know…it—from the guy’s perspective in this unfiltered and undeniably sweet stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first.

Start reading now! 

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15. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

Start reading now!

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16. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy reinvents the King Arthur legend and “braids together Southern folk traditions and Black Girl Magic into a searing modern tale of grief, power, and self-discovery” (Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles).

Start reading now! 

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17. Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, this young adult fantasy follows the forbidden romance between a powerful prince and an ordinary girl as they try to survive their kingdom’s grueling laws pitting them against each other.

Start reading now! 

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Extras

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1. The Eid Gift by S.K. Ali

The Eid Gift is a companion short story to Love from A to Z. Adam and Zayneb —engaged but continents apart for so long— are finally in the same city!

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Start reading now!

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2. Love at First Fight by Sandhya Menon

Join Dimple and Rishi as they do an escape room in this exclusive short story from Sandhya Menon! You’ll also see how Pinky and Samir met for the first time before you can read about them in 10 Things I Hate About Pinky.

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Start reading now!

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3. As Kismet Would Have It by Sandhya Menon

Will Dimple and Rishi find their happily ever after? Find out in this funny, romantic, endlessly charming e-novella sequel to When Dimple Met Rishi!

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Start reading now!

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4. The Thief by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

A short story prequel to Sky Without Stars about the origins of fan-favorite character, Chatine!

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Start reading now!

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5. These Precious Scars by Emily Suvada

A haunting short story prequel to the Mortal Coil series.

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Start reading now!

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6. Better Than the Prom by Lynn Painter

A swoonworthy short story from Wes’s perspective from Better Than the Movies.

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Start reading now!

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7. Uncharted Dreams by Pascale Lacelle

Romie Brysden is a Dreamer, the best at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics. She knows the realm of dreams like a sea captain knows the tides. And she’s gone deeper into this vast sleepscape than any Dreamer ever has. This is a prequest short story to A Curious Tides.

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Start reading now!

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8. The Priest and the Shepherd by Chloe Gong

Set six years before the events of Foul Lady Fortune, The Priest and the Shepherd follows Orion’s sister, Phoebe, and his best friend, Silas!

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Start reading now!

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9. Our First Chance by Robbie Couch

Long before they were best friends, River wasn’t a fan of Dylan—Mavis’ suspiciously perfect new boyfriend who was slowly stealing her away. But in this short story prequel to Another First Chance, Mavis cleverly plans for them both to attend an Astronomy Club meeting, hoping the after-school activity brings the pair closer together. Meanwhile, many states away, the mastermind behind a secretive research group scores a big win that will upend the high schoolers’ lives forever…

Start reading now!

10. Better Than Before by Lynn Painter

Lynn Painter’s Better Than the Movies collides with Betting on You when, after meeting the annoyingly cute Bailey on his flight, Charlie gets picked at the airport up by his cousin, Wes, who introduces him to his annoyingly cute neighbor, Liz.

Start Reading Now!

11. Second First dATE BY RACHEL LYNN SOLOMON

Graduation has come and gone, and there’s one major milestone Rowan and Neil haven’t yet hit in their relationship: going on a real date. Neil’s planned every detail, determined to give his girlfriend the ultimate romantic evening, although he’s secretly worried their connection may not spark the way it did on the last day of school—which, given how much he adores her, would be absolutely devastating. When the night turns out to be one disaster after another, they realize the date itself hardly matters. They’re still completely starry-eyed over each other, and with a little of Seattle’s natural magic, they have a whole summer to get it right.

Start Reading Now!

12. Werewolves, witches & Wyverns by F.T. Lukens

Claire and Grant are best friends who love to play a fictional and fantastical table-top card game which features a bevy of supernatural beings including werewolves, witches, and wyverns. During a playing session, Claire accidentally opens a portal and she and Grant are promptly sucked into a parallel world that is startlingly familiar to their game and where the card dynamics allow them to cast magic spells. Thus, their adventure begins in the pilot episode of Werewolves, Witches, & Wyverns, the television show beloved and raved about by the characters of Otherworldly.

Start reading now!

13. Nothing Better Than You by Lynn Painter

Experience Wes and Liz’s first kiss from Better Than the Movies from Wes’s point of view!

Start Reading Now!

14. the way we met by amber smith

Eden and Josh are in a good place – finally. But now Eden is facing down a new major milestone: spending the weekend with Josh’s parents. The last time she met them, it didn’t exactly go so well. She needs it to be perfect, for them to like her, and like her with Josh. As the weekend unfolds and she gets to know Josh’s family, the return home also brings back memories of the first time Eden met Josh. The real story, the one Josh doesn’t even know…

Start Reading Now!

Read on for a special bonus epilogue to Fake Skating by Lynn Painter! (WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Fake Skating!)

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Chapter One

Alec

            I’d always been obsessed with the way Dani was all-in when she agreed to do something. Whether it was playing a prank when we were little or she was sending the written-in-code postcards we’d exchanged for years, my girl would get that resolved expression on her stubborn face and you could just see that she was fully-committed to the bit.

            One might’ve thought that with time she’d lose a little of her verve or grow more cautious, but on this particular Halloween morning when it made sense to pump the brakes, Dani was tugging me into the Conte locker room, pulling me by the hand.

            “Stop worrying. How bad can it really be?” she said with a smile, which was ridiculous.

            Because it was going to be horrible.

            And she knew it, too; she was just trying to make us both feel better.

            Two weeks ago, at their annual Oktoberfest party, the guys had a massively competitive Party Foul tournament. Because Dani and I were spectacular at that game, we’d been locked-in. We knew we had a legit chance at taking home the trophy (golden toilet seat), and though that might not appeal to normal people, for us hypercompetitive freaks, it was all the incentive we’d needed.

            That beautifully disgusting trophy had been as good as ours.

            Only we’d been a little too cocky to see the magnitude of the stakes. Winners got the trophy, but the Ultimate Losers (the team with the least points overall)—if they were stupid enough to risk it and make the bet—had to take their punishment.

            And because the table broke underneath us when I tried leap-frogging over Dani (which still seems unfair when it was the furniture’s fault but I digress), that was us.

            We were The Ultimate Losers.

            Our punishment? Not only were we going to have to spend every waking moment of Halloween dressed in the costumes predetermined by the Party Foul Board of Directors (which consisted of Gooch, Howard, Dabrowski, Wozniak and Nowak), but the PFBOD was LITERALLY going to costume us at 6am on Halloween morning.

            “Costume” us, as in “costume” being a verb.

            And the PFBOD was all about stupidity.

            Absolute obnoxiousness.

            They were five brilliant assholes, which was what made this wildly-concerning.

            “How can you be so calm?” I asked, yanking on her hand and tugging her to a stop. I needed a minute before we went in, just a few more seconds of the quiet morning where the only person who existed in my world was little Miss Collins with the cute glasses. “You’ve hung out with Gooch more than most because of your roommate so you know how…intentionally diabolical he can be.”

            “Yeah,” she said, her brown eyes softening around a little smile. “He’s definitely got a lot of weird going on under the surface, but I’m still unfazed.”

            “That makes one of us.” I stepped closer, grabbing the bottom of her sweater and jerking her toward me. I liked the way her eyes always narrowed when I surprised her, like she was inventorying whatever unexpected move I’d made and was reaching a verdict on whether or not she approved.

            Her lips curved a little higher.

            Praise Jesus, she approves.

            I leaned in to kiss her, because even though I’d been kissing her since last February the newness still hadn’t worn off, but as soon as  my mouth hit hers, the door to the locker room flew open.

            “What the fuck is this?”

Cooper Howard stood there, looking like he’d been shotgunning Red Bulls since the night before, and he scowled at the two of us.

“It’s six o’clock, we’re waiting for you, and you’re out here sucking face,” he said, half-bellowing but also looking like he could fall asleep on his feet.

         “We’re here – calm your ass,” I said.

         I turned back to Dani and asked, “Are you sure about this?”

         “Of course she’s sure about this,” Coop interrupted, hitting all of his elongated Canadian vowels. “And it’s too late to change your mind anyway, Losers.”

         “Will you shut up for a sec? If she doesn’t want to do it, I’ll still go along with it.”

         “You’re not doing it alone,” Dani said, rolling her eyes and shrugging. “And it’s just a costume. I can handle wearing any costume for one day.”

         Dabrowski popped up behind Coop and giggled like a demented clown. “Oh, honey, you’re so cute when you say things like that. Harvard’s gonna love to see you coming.”

         “You followed the rules, right?” I asked, pointing at the power forward.

         As losers, Dani and I had had zero room to negotiate, but the guys had been good with a few rules, rules that basically ensured Dani wasn’t going to have to bear her ass publicly or that I wasn’t going to do anything to get myself cancelled or kicked out of school.

         “Of course we followed the rules, we’re not a bunch of lunatics. Now get your butts in here and let’s go,” Coop said, gesturing for us to go into the locker room. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and I can’t be late for my first class.”

            I looked down at Dani and loved the grin on her mouth and the way her eyes crinkled at the corners when we were about to do something absolutely insane.      

            My girl was always all-in, and I fucking loved that about her.

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

Chapter Two

Dani

            Some days are just destined to be different.

            As in, they start out bizarre and never quite right themselves.

            Halloween was definitely going to be one of those days.

         Alec: My wings just got caught in the Maloney elevator and I had to wait for someone to free me.

            I snorted as I read the text, finding it impossible not to smile as I remembered how he looked when I left him in his dorm room an hour ago.

            I texted: Wish I could’ve seen that. Also, I’d kill for caught wings – I can barely move at all in my atrocious outfit.

            Just existing in my current state felt like a hardcore workout. I was currently walking past my campus center, pretending I wasn’t aware of all the eyes on me as I sweated profusely and concentrated on my forward motion.

            Alec: You look adorable, though, Collins. That face hole really makes your eyes pop.

            That “face hole.”

            I replied: Not helping. This costume weighs a hundred pounds and my first class is on the other side of campus. Also my head is way too hot.

            Alec: Legit question – are we going to survive this day?

            I looked down at my body and had my doubts.

            Because the board had outdone themselves.

            I mean, we’d known they were having multiple brainstorming sessions, complete with PowerPoint presentations and Zoom calls with friends back home as they came up with our costume concepts.

            So we shouldn’t have been surprised by their unbelievable thoroughness and commitment to our torture.

            Yet we were.

            When we’d stepped into the locker room and they made Alec put on his breezers and a BC sleeveless warm-up, I’d foolishly thought we were safe. How bad could it be when Alec would at least have his torso covered with normal attire, right?

            So, so wrong.

            Because first, the guys covered all of the room’s surfaces with industrial-strength tarps.    Then they came out with the sprayers, surrounding my boyfriend while twirling the gun-like paint-dispensing machines which ultimately covered Alec in a head-to-toe body glitter that put Edward Cullen’s sunshiney glow to shame.

            My boyfriend sparkled from the tips of every hair on his head to the toes of his size 14 feet. Words couldn’t properly describe the thickness, the shine, the brighter-than-the-sun sparkling sheen of his full-body halo of 5K golden glitter glow.

            And the stuff was at least an inch-thick, I swear to God.

            Once it’d dried, the guys laced-up the knee-boots they’d somehow found in his size, platform boots that appeared to have been bedazzled by a fifth grader.

            Then…then they began working on Alec’s wings.

            Those hockey bros had constructed huge black feathered wings, wings that rivaled Heidi Klum’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show set both in size and dramatic effect. The bottom half of the wings reached the floor, and the top half added a good five feet to Alec’s already-towering 6’5” body.

            And the span was massive.

            Alec Barczewski looked like an enormous, mystical, beastly winged giant who was impossible not to spot from a mile—or two—away. I still wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be a bird or some sort of archangel.

They just called him THE WINGO as if that explained everything.

And if the guys had gone full-on extreme glam with Alec’s look, they’d gone the opposite with me.

            I was a recliner.

            A recliner.

            They’d actually taken apart an old La-Z-Boy, just for me, and made it into the costume. Each piece that was strapped to my limbs felt like it weighed at least fifty pounds, and I was already tired of the way the headrest’s face hole felt around my cheeks.

            But I had to give it to them – they’d slayed at punishment. I wouldn’t be taking risks on game nights anytime soon, that much was certain, because I’d already learned my lesson.

            This costume was a freaking lesson.

When I was upright, I was basically just a furry question mark of a spectacle, like a velour-covered Transformer whose face was peering out from behind a hole.

            But when I sat down, I was a legitimate recliner.

            It was genius and awful and I had mad respect for the idiots who’d designed the costume.

            That didn’t mean I was looking forward to wearing it all day, though. I had no idea what my professors were going to say about it.

            I texted: I’m not sure we will.

         Alec: I hate that you’re working tonight, for the record. It’s our first Halloween together and we’re not going to be together.

            I hated it, too. I texted: How could I say no, though?

            I’d been a part-time nanny for a month now, basically since we got to Boston, and the kids I watched were amazing. Ellie was five, Courtney was ten, and I adored those two little munchkins (who thought Alec walked on water). So when their mom texted that she had to leave for a funeral and had no one to take them trick-or-treating, how could I not volunteer? Those kiddos had been counting down the days until Halloween since I’d met them; they had to go trick-or-treating.

            Alec: You’re too nice.

         Me: You have plans with your cousin, anyway. Don’t guilt me, Barczewski.

            Alec’s cousin Liz and her boyfriend were in town for a few hours. Apparently they were on their way to Europe for some impromptu trip, which was weird when they were our age and not wealthy, but since they had a big layover, Al was meeting them just to catch up since they hadn’t seen each other in a few years.

            Alec: You’re mine after trick-or-treating, though, right?

            I smiled in spite of my reclinerhood and the sweat I felt trickling down my back, because at least the day was going to end with me and Alec, hanging out together.

            I texted: I’m always yours, Zeus. YOU KNOW THIS. 😉

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

Chapter 3

Alec

         “So I don’t even understand. You guys are going to Europe for the weekend…?” I tugged at the wing straps that were cutting into my shoulders as I sat down on the park bench. It was getting dark and I was exhausted. “Is there a lottery you’ve won or a Bitcoin investment that paid out?”

         Liz smiled and shook her head, and Wes – the boyfriend – met my eyes and gave me a look like he couldn’t believe it, either.

         He seemed like a pretty good guy, for the record. I remembered him from when we were kids—he’d been the next-door neighbor—but at the time, he’d driven her to distraction with his obnoxiousness.

         She’d hated the neighbor kid.

         But she definitely didn’t seem to hate him anymore.

         They were one of those couples where there was zero doubt that they were perfect for each other. Not only did they seem head-over-heels, but they couldn’t stop laughing together like they were in their own little universe.

         It was slightly nauseating when I was missing Dani.

         “I can’t believe it, either,” Liz said, her eyes wide in disbelief. “It all kind of came together in this weirdly organic way.”

         “Her roommate is a Nepo baby,” Wes said, as if that explained everything.

         “Not a Nepo baby,” she interrupted. “He’s a trust fund baby.”

         “Regardless,” Wes continued, “Leo is flush.”

         “And extremely generous with his airline miles and hotel points,” Liz said. “As soon as I mentioned the letter from my mom, he insisted I do this and basically threw all of his resources at us.”

         “So tell me about this letter again,” I said, my head still spinning. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it totally sounds like something your mom would’ve done, but how is it that you just found this information now?”

         Liz‘s mom died when she was a kid, and I didn’t remember much about my aunt, other than the fact that she’d always smelled like flowers and wrote love stories for a living.

         “I never knew it, but I guess my mom – when I was a baby – wrote a letter for me and a letter for my dad. She obviously had no idea that she would end up in a car accident years later, but apparently she had a moment where she thought about what it would be like if I lost her and she wanted to leave behind a letter for both of us, to try to ease the grief if that happened.”

         God, that was sad and also really fucking thoughtful.

         “The letters weren’t found until years and years later – two weeks ago, actually – but they were mind-boggling.”

         I took a sip of my beer and listened as Liz went into an elaborate detailing of European locations her mother had visited during college. Her mom had hidden something at eight different places, romantically wanting to leave them behind for when she returned someday, but her letter challenged Liz and her dad to try and retrieve those items if they managed to beat her there.

         “So we’re going to hit the ground running when we land in Paris tomorrow, and hopefully find all the items before taking off forty-eight hours later.”

         “Do you know how insane this sounds?” I asked with a laugh, trying to imagine navigating a city you’d never been to in a language you didn’t speak while looking for God-knows-what.

         “Absolutely we do,” Wes said, but his eyes were on Liz when he said it, and it was obvious the dude would deny her nothing. If she told him she wanted to move to Paris and never come back, this guy was going buy a beret and move across the world.

         “I made the best playlist for the trip,” she said, then proceeded to send me a link because that was what we did.

         My phone buzzed as it hit, and I looked down at it on the bench.

         “By the way,” I said, “Thank you for meeting here, in a place where there is a backless bench so I can take a load off my feet without getting my wings crushed.”

         Once I realized I couldn’t drive because I didn’t fit in my car, Liz volunteered to meet me outside my dorm for an “impromptu beer picnic.”

         It was so Liz.

         “Yeah, they really went above and beyond with that costume,” Liz said, grinning and shaking her head as she looked at my outfit. “What are you supposed to be again?”

         “The “Wingo,” I said, rolling my eyes. “But you have to see Dani. I think they did a better job with her, to be honest.”

         I reached for my phone to show them, but before I could pull up Dani’s picture, I got a troubling text from her, instead.

         Dani: I kind of have a problem and I need some help.

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

Chapter Four

Dani

         “It’s okay,” I said, patting Ellie­­—who was dressed-up as Elsa from Frozen—on the back as we huddled together in the darkness. “We’re just resting here for a few minutes.”

         “In a graveyard!” Courtney screamed, her voice a shriek of terror. She was dressed-up as a hockey player, so she basically looked the same as she always did because that kid lived for hockey.

         “It’s not a graveyard – it’s a cemetery,” I corrected, although I really had no idea what the differentiation was. Graveyard, cemetery – both were places neither of us wanted to be locked into.

         Yet here we are.

         “There are no people here,” I said, halfway to convince myself everything was fine. “This is simply a park.”

         “A park full of dead bodies,” she added, crossing her arms over her chest in a protective gesture as she gazed out over the huge grassy expanse that looked creepy as hell under the light of the full moon.

         “Can you please try not to scare your sister?” I asked, glancing around in the darkness while I tried keeping my cool. Because no matter what I said, it was unnerving, sitting around in the cemetery on Halloween night. “Also that’s not true. Dead bodies decompose very quickly, so there aren’t even bodies here. It’s just soil, grass, worms, and headstones.”

         “Really?” Ellie asked, her eyes wide.

         “Really,” I said with a shrug. “You know how if you see a dead animal on the side of the road, it’s gone a couple days later?”

         I seriously questioned my adulty judgment when I was bringing up roadkill, but desperate times and all that.

         “Yeah,” she said, smiling, apparently thrilled by the fact the bodies were quick about their decomposition.

         “Well it’s even faster underground,” I said. “No bodies left, just dirt.”

         I am the worst terrible liar in the history of the terrible lying world.

         “I cannot believe this has happened,” Courtney said with a scowl. “It is unbelievable.”

         Yeah, hard same, agree, agree.

         The girls had wanted to cut through the cemetery when we were trick-or-treating because it was Halloween night. How thrilling and scary, right, to zip through the graveyard? I, being the cool babysitter, had been more than happy to deliver on their holiday adventure.

         Only during the course of cutting through, both sets of tall, wrought-iron gates had become locked and there wasn’t another human being to be found.

         We’d walked all over, trying to find someone.

         Any-freaking-one.

         I would’ve been happy to see a frothing-at-the-mouth zombie, to be honest. Can I just use your phone for five seconds, Mr. Brain-Eater?

         But we appeared to be the only living creatures in the place.

         Normally I would’ve just climbed the fence—probably with the girls on my back because I was really good at climbing fences—but as it turned out, recliners cannot climb fences.

         I tried, and quickly discovered it wasn’t remotely possible.

         And there was no way to remove my costume without a team to help me.

         Then my phone died, right after I started texting Alec.

         Before I even had a chance to tell him where we were.

         To be fair, I’d wasted time with textual shenanigans instead of focusing, so this situation was a little bit my fault and now I had major regrets.

         I’d sent: BTW, no matter what I’m about tell you, you know you can’t take off the costume, right?

         Even in an extremely fraught Halloweenian situation, I’d been committed to our costume situation and our agreement with the board.

His response had been nearly immediate. Tell me the problem first.

Still caught up in our silliness, I’d shaken my head and typed: NOOOOOOO! WE MADE A DEAL.

Alec: How am I supposed to help you when I’m an oversized human gargoyle?

I’d sent: We’ll figure it out but don’t you dare take off your wings.

Alec: Tell me the problem NOW, Collins.

I started typing: We kind of got locked in the–

That was when my phone died.

So not only did Alec have no idea that I was in a random cemetery we’d spontaneously decided to “pop into” without telling anyone, but I couldn’t call anyone else to rescue us, either.

My only option was to start yelling for help—which I was going to do momentarily—but that was going to terrify the girls and I wasn’t looking forward to their screeching, sobbing reactions in the least.

“Did you know that on Halloween, ghosts and spirits have a super-sized portal that allows them an easier exit from the evil underworld?”

I looked over at Courtney and wondered where she got her information. Is that true? She was just a fifth grader, but she also likely knew more about the “evil underworld” than me, since I knew nil, so a shiver of unease slithered down my spine.

I didn’t exactly believe in that stuff, but things felt really nerve-wracking as the harvest moon shone down upon this field of bodies whose trees were starting to look like a bit like tall, crooked creatures that wanted to hurt us.

“No way – not true,” I scoffed, throwing every acting skill I possessed into nailing the confidence of my statement. “Halloween is just a silly man-made holiday about candy, and dead people stay dead. No ghosts, no spirits, no monsters, no portals. End of story, and knock off the drama.”

But the second the words left my mouth, we heard a loud groaning noise, an inhuman rumbling growl that had me grabbing the girls as we turned in the direction of the terrifying sound.

Shit, shit, shit. Were they coming for us through the portal already??

“What was that?” Ellie whispered, her former relief over the decomposure rate of corpses replaced by sheer terror as her voice became more squeak than words.

“Nothing,” I said, wondering if she could hear the fear in my voice. “Probably a lost dog or maybe a–”

“OH, MY GOD!” Courtney screamed, her voice a blood-curdling shriek as she pointed into the darkness.

“What?!” I yelled, pulling the girls close as I tried seeing what she was pointing at.

“LOOK!” She screamed.

Oh, God, oh, God, I thought as I backed away from the direction of Courtney’s point, all ten of my fingers gripping the girls’ arms and pulling them closer. “I can’t see any–”

“IT’S MOTHMAN!” she shouted, her scream deafening. “It’s Mothman – and he’s got an axe!”

My eyes followed her extended arm, my heart racing, and I nearly fainted when I saw him.

There, climbing over the top of the high graveyard fence, was a gigantic, towering creature with a massive set of feathered wings. He did indeed look like Mothman, or something even more sinister, appearing ready to leap down into the cemetery and tear something limb-from-limb.

He stood to his full height, looking down toward the ground with a huge axe in his right hand, and the sparkles on his platform boots twinkled in the moonlight.

“Oh, my God – Alec?!” I couldn’t believe it. It was him. He was there. Even without me telling him where I was, he was here and rescuing me while shimmering like some kind of monstrous, terrifying, overly-bedazzled bird.

THE WINGO.

His head whipped in my direction, like he hadn’t seen me yet, and then a slow smile turned up his mouth. “Holy shit, you are here.”

“How did you know where to find us?” I let go of the girls and started walking toward the tall fence he was perched upon.

“Come on, the Black Dog, remember?” he said, reminding me of the night I’d shared my location and then he proceeded to sing every word of the song.

“A black dog told Mothman where to find us?” Courtney said quietly, looking less afraid than when she’d been shrieking but still guarded.

“It’s Alec, not Mothman,” I said, pointing. “See?”

“What is he supposed to even be?” Ellie asked, squinching up her nose like she found his outfit to be distasteful. “A chicken?”

“And what’s with the axe?” Courtney added.

I shook my head when he casually jumped down as if eight-or-so feet wasn’t high at all. He landed in a crouch—my superhero (with really great knees, apparently)—and popped back up effortlessly.

And it wasn’t an axe; it was a hockey stick.

Of course.

“Ellie, honey,” he said with a scowl, “Would I ever be a chicken?”

“Absolutely you would not, savior of mine,” I answered for her, beaming at my rescuer, so damn happy to see him. “Dear Lord, you are a sight to behold.”

“Are you an eagle?” Ellie asked.

“I don’t know what I am,” he admitted with a shrug, his dancing eyes on me. He leaned closer and murmured, “It’s a little inappropriate, the way you’re staring directly at my wings with that filthy grin. Keep it in your pants, Collins.”

I started cackling while Alec turned his gaze back to El. He gave her a wink and said, “You look amazing, Elsa.”

         “I know,” she said with a huge smile. “Dani told me you’d think that.”

         “She’s right, but don’t tell her I said that because she gets a big fat head about stuff like that.”

         That made her giggle, which made me roll my eyes, which made Alec grab the front of my shirt—er, La-Z-Boy fabric—and tug me closer to him.

         “So how the hell did you manage to get yourself locked in a cemetery?” The glitter on his face shimmered in the moonlight as his dark eyes moved all over my face.

         “I think the bigger question is how the hell are we going to get ourselves out?”

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

Chapter Five

Wes

            “Why don’t you wait in the car while I cut off the padlock,” I said as I came to a stop on the gravel road, glancing at the clock and wondering how the hell we’d ended up in this insanely tight time crunch. “Just to speed things up. We’ve got zero time to spare.”

            As soon as Alec realized Dani was locked inside the cemetery, the three of us leapt into action. Well, technically Alec hadn’t leapt into anything when the dude had to be shoved into the backseat by the two of us because he couldn’t drive or even sit normally in his own car while sporting those wings, but you get the point, right? We dropped him off at the gates because he insisted he could climb over and locate Dani while we sped to Lowe’s to purchase a pair of bolt cutters.

            And as happy as I was to help, missing our flight was not an option, not when every little bit of Lib’s over-excited happiness was wrapped around this European adventure.

            “No,” Liz said, shaking her head as I put Alec’s piece of shit car in park. “You’re going to wait in the car while I cut off the padlock, since it’s my cousin who got us into this mess, and then we’ll speed to the airport.”

            “Does it matter?” I asked, wanting to laugh as she carefully pulled up her hood like she was about to commit the baddest of crimes.

            “It does,” she replied, grabbing the bolt cutters with great intentionality. “And you’re the better wheel man, anyway.”

            “Wheel man?” I repeated with a snort, loving the dramatic intensity on her face. “Just who exactly are you becoming right now?”

            “The girl who’s about to cut the lock off a cemetery gate, then yell for you to get us to the airport STAT as I jump into the getaway car.” She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you up for this challenge, Bennett? Can you actually handle the baddie I’m becoming?”

            “Oh, hell, yes,” I said, always ready to be her partner-in-crime. “Though I strongly object to the usage of the word “baddie.”

            “Fair because I had regrets the instant it left my mouth,” she said as she opened the passenger door and got out. “Now let’s do this.”

            “Without getting arrested,” I added, because she’d recited that line no less than ten times since we’d secured the bolt cutters.

            “Without getting arrested,” she repeated as she came around the car and leaned down into my window. “Have I told you how much I love you for going along with my terrible idea to leave the airport during our layover and now destroying some crypt keeper’s lock while possibly risking jail time?”

         “Nope,” I said, grabbing the back of her neck and gently pulling her toward me, breathing in the Chanel No. 5 that lived on her skin. “Tell me.”

         “I love you so very much, Wheel Man,” she said, her retrograde red lips sliding into a grin that made me think of rain-soaked kisses and copper-penny rings that she knew nothing about.

         Yet.

         Her mouth found mine, but it was a quick touch.

         Too, too quick, making me grab the front of her hoodie in an attempt to get her to stay a little longer.

         “Sorry – gotta go while the going’s good, Bennett,” she said, her eyes sparkling mischievously as she pulled away. “Text Alec that the business is about to go down, okay?”

         I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “I refuse to use those words. You’re cutting a lock, Buxbaum, not robbing a bank.”

         “Oh, come on,” she said around a giggle. “Just let me have this moment, will you?”

         “Fine,” I said, pulling out my phone to send the ridiculous text.

         We’re here with the cutters and Liz says THE BUSINESS IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN.

         And as I watched her sprint toward the gate with all the melodramatic flair of an action movie hero, I knew without a doubt that I’d happily let her have every damn moment she wanted for the rest of my life.

         As long as we both shall live.

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

Chapter 6

Alec

            “This is heaven,” I heard Dani yell from her shower stall. “After being an overstuffed reclining chair all day, this is absolutely heaven.”

            “I’m never getting all this glitter off,” I said as I scrubbed my face. “Like for real, I’m going to be eighty years old and still shimmering like a fucking Edward.”

            “Did you try the makeup remover wipes?” she asked.

            I looked at the massive pile beside the floor drain. “All of them.”

            I let the hot water pour over my head, in total agreement about the shower being heaven. Those wings had been heavy as shit, and my shoulders were aching after the long day.

            The bright side was that the only shoulder issues I had anymore were wing-related.

            “Are you sure I’m allowed to be in here?” Dani asked yet again, for like the tenth time since we’d entered the locker room.

            “The PTSD from the Doug last year is never leaving you, is it?” I teased, picturing her looking so damn cute as she’d cried in the locker room that afternoon (which felt like a hundred years ago). “I have the door code, I’m on the team, and Coach said it was fine to come in here and retrieve our stuff post-punishment. We are good, I promise.”

            “It just feels wrong, being in here after midnight.” I heard her shut off the shower and I was jealous of her glitter-free status. “Don’t you think?”

            “It probably has more to do with the fact that you’re naked in the same stall where Gooch has showered than it has to do with the time of day,” I said, forcing myself to immediately forget that I’d just used the word “naked” in the context of Dani in the shower stall beside me.

            The locker room, where countless other guys had 24/7 access, was no place for those thoughts.

            “True,” she said. “Also ewww.”

            “Ew, indeed,” I said, because Gooch was just that guy, the kind of guy who loved showing his ass and being obnoxious.

            By the time I got out and dried off—still slightly sparkly but at a much more transparent and tolerable level—Dani had left the shower area. I wandered out into the locker room and there she was, sitting on a bench, wearing my old Southview hoodie and jeans while watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on the huge TV we used for game film.

            “Holy shit, I almost forgot,” I said with a smile, obsessed with her sentimentality. We’d always loved the Snoopy Halloween cartoon and had agreed—way back in fifth grade—that it had to be viewed annually on October 31^st.

            And even though we’d never been together on Halloween, I’d always known she was watching it. There had never been a doubt, which had always fueled me to make sure I watched it, too.

            “Thank God I’m here to keep you focused,” she said, her eyes still on the screen. “Come watch with me.”

            I moved to cross the room, but then I got tripped up by her face, temporarily frozen by the sight of her.

            Yet again, for like the hundred-thousandth time since she’d come back in my life.

            But it wasn’t just that she was pretty. It actually had nothing to do with pretty. Like, lots of people were pretty and it didn’t make me forget to breathe or fucking lose every thought in my head.

            No, with Dani it was all about the everything else.

            The reflection of Linus in her glasses, glasses that were usually smudged but she never noticed until I offered to clean them, wherein she would grin unapologetically while I rubbed them on my shirt and she’d admit she didn’t feel remotely bad about being a glasses slob.

            Not even a little bit sorry, Barczewski.

            And the big brown eyes that were staring up at the TV? They were nice eyes, sure, but it was more about the length and curl of those lashes and how she blinked faster when she was annoyed, slower when she was amused.

            The way those arched eyebrows scrunched together when I said something she thought was crazy.

            How those lids got adorably heavy when she snuggled-in on movie nights.

            The soft press of her apple-juice-and-flower-scented body against my chest when she dozed.

            Constellations of tiny freckles stretched over soft pink cheeks.

            Blonde curls that corkscrewed in multiple directions and were unbelievably soft around the tips of my fingers.

            Curls that were damp at the moment and smelled like the Old Spice shampoo she borrowed from me when we’d hit our respective showers.

            I sat down beside her on the bench, pulling her onto my lap as we watched Linus disappoint Sally once again, wrapping my arms around her as we watched Snoopy do his Flying Ace bit, kissing the top of her head as Lucy walked out the door to bring her little brother back inside after the Great Pumpkin debacle.

            “I love that show,” Dani said, turning her body so she was facing me as the theme song played and the credits rolled. “The perfect way to end a perfect Halloween.”

            “Perfect?” I scoffed, remembering nearly falling to my death as I scaled the top of that treacherous cemetery fence. “This was the perfect Halloween?”

            “Think about it,” she said, setting her hands on my chest and basically setting me on fire with the press of her fingertips. Her voice was breathy as she looked in my eyes and said, “It started with you bringing coffee to my dorm, right? Then we got to play with your friends before school, I got to trick-or-treat with Court and El, and after that my boyfriend showed up like a character from a damned fantasy novel and rescued me from a nightmare.”

            “When you put it like that,” I muttered, tugging on a damp curl and watching it bounce back into place.

            “And now we’re finishing the night together,” she said. “The perfect Halloween.”

            “Collins,” I said, leaning forward to rub my nose against hers because I needed to be closer. “You really know how to put a positive spin on things.”

            “Speaking of positive,” she said, pissing me off by climbing off my lap and running over to her bag, which was on the floor in front of my locker.

            On the other side of the room.

            She said, “I stole something for you tonight.”

            “Awww, my little felonious baby,” I said dryly, needing her to come back.

            “Shut it,” she said with a laugh, crouching as she dug through her purse. “Look what Courtney got in her goodie bag.”

            Dani rifled for another second, then held up a Charleston Chew, her smile so wide that her eyes were full-on squinting.

            “Oh, shit,” I said, swallowing hard, so in love with the candy-wielding girl beside my locker that it almost hurt. I half-wanted to cry just looking at the wrapper in her hand, remembering that day at the hospital last year, and I fucking loved that I knew she was just as soft about it as I was.

            “You want it or what?” she said, giving me a teasing grin that made my head spin. She straightened to her full height and went old-school Dani when she waved the Charleston Chew at me and said, “Come get it, Al. Unless you are a chicken…”

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

Chapter 7

Dani

            “Bring it here, Collins.”

            I swallowed and tried to seem unaffected by him, but it was impossible. I’d kept my eyes trained on Charlie Brown after Alec exited the showers, mainly because the boy was just too much to look at.

            Because shirtless and shredded, with his wet hair sticking up everywhere, he was like the centerfold from a Hot Hockey Player pictorial or something. And the smell of his Old Spice body wash somehow wreaked havoc on my ability to keep my composure. He’d been messing with me since I first ran into him last February, but I swear to God it was getting worse every day.

            I was addicted to every little thing about Alec Barczewski, from the sad girl playlists he was constantly curating to the butterfly-inducing flex of his rock-hard jawline.

            “Don’t be bossy,” I said, distracted by the intense look in his eyes as he watched me from the other side of the quiet locker room.

            “Honey, it’s not bossiness – it’s need,” he said, climbing to his feet. “Between the way your hair looks all wet and messy and the way you’re teasing me with that emo candy, you should consider yourself lucky that I haven’t thrown you over my shoulder and taken you back to the showers already.”

            “We’ve already covered that anyone could walk in,” I said, feeling breathless and giggly as he took a step in my direction.  “So the showers are off-limits.”

            “But you forget that I’m more daring than you,” he said, slowly shaking his head as he came closer, making me feel stalked in the very best way. “I’m willing to take a chance.”

            “Now, Alec,” I said, ruining my steadfast rule-following by giggling even harder as I held up a hand to stop him. “Remember where we are.”

            He was on me in an instant, maneuvering his big body so I was trapped between the lockers at my back and his wide chest. His dark eyes sucked me in as his hands cradled my face and he lowered his handsome face to kiss me.

            It was all-encompassing and overwhelming, which was the default when it came to kissing Alec Barczewski.

            I’d once said that he kissed like he played hockey, and I was fairly certain I’d never described anything better in my entire life. He was hyper-competitive, everywhere at once, controlling the game with a combination of finesse, skilled technique, and brute intuition.

            God, I could kiss him forever, I thought as his lips opened mine and his mouth rendered me weak. Alec made it impossible to remember what kissing anyone else had ever felt like. It was like he’d rewritten my brain so the only memories I had of kissing belonged exclusively to him.

            “Dani,” he murmured against my mouth, sending a shiver up my spine. He did that sometimes, kind of grumbled my name offhandedly when we were getting lost in each other, and part of me wondered if it was a reminder.

            If he was still in shock – because I still was – that it was me, Dani, kissing him, Alec.

            That it was us—

            The way we’d always been meant to be—

            A constant continuation of the magic that began in our spot—

            All those years ago.

            It’d been so foolish, so incredibly stupid, for us to kiss that night when it could’ve ruined everything. In hindsight, I was shocked that either of us had dared to suggest it or that both of us had totally leaned into it.

            I’d forever be grateful for our foolish stupidity.

…my advice is always ruin the friendship
Better that than regret it for all time…

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

Simon Teen Reveals Week is here!

What, you ask, is Simon Teen Reveals Week? It’s that special time of year when we show you all the shiny new covers for books coming out in just a few seasons. From October 20 -24, we’re showing you all the new covers for our Summer 2026 young adult books. So get your Goodreads shelf ready because you’re going to want to add all of these books to your TBR!

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10/20: Cover Reveals Day 1

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Oh My Affogato! by Donna Ghorbanpoor and Daphne Ang

For the first printing only! This paperback features stenciled sprayed edges while the special edition supply lasts.

Love & Gelato meets Emily in Paris in this sassy, sexy romp through the Amalfi Coast starring a boy-crazy teenager trying to make something real with her on-again-off-again guy before realizing the best things in life—like love and vacations—can’t be planned for.

Soraya is so close to getting the boy of her dreams to finally pay attention to her—she’s sure of it. She’s finally graduated from high school, glowed up, and is ready to show her on-again-off-again, secret situationship Wes what he’s missing out on. And when she learns that Wes is heading to Italy on a trip with his fraternity brothers, Sora decides that there’s no better place to reignite a romance than the Amalfi Coast!

Under the guise of a graduation Euro trip with her friends, Soraya’s plan is simple: make memories with her besties during the day, make out with Wes at night, and make sure she comes out of this vacation with the title of Official Girlfriend and Grown College Girlie. But vacations can be messy, and romances messier—especially when you’re keeping secrets from your friends, discovering your dream boy may be a nightmare, and spending more and more time with the sweet, wholesome, and supremely cute Italian boy whose family runs the B&B.

For a girl who’s a true believer in sure things, Soraya has to learn the hard way that there really is no planning for love—or an epic vacation.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

The Last Best Quest Ever by F.T. Lukens

A fraudulent teen quester must team up with a brooding, royal rival on a perilous adventure to save her brother’s life in this cozy young adult romantasy full of mythical creatures by the New York Times bestselling author of Spell Bound and So This is Ever After.

Seventeen-year-old Ellinore has the best questing record of anyone in the kingdom’s history. She also has a secret: her fame is built entirely on lies. Tired of the charade, she shocks the kingdom by retiring at a royal feast. But her plans for a quiet life are disrupted when her twin brother Zig bets his life that Ellinore can retrieve the horn of the mythical Elder Beast. To save Zig, she reluctantly sets out on one last, perilous quest.

Accompanying her are Zig, determined to help despite his recklessness; Aven, her envious rival eager to prove their superiority; an ambitious bar maiden turned adventurer; and a young, magic-wielding bard. Together, they face an arduous journey fraught with mythical challenges and shifting alliances. As they search for the Elder Beast, Ellinore grapples with her growing feelings for Aven, her fear of losing Zig, and her identity as a reluctant hero.

With time running out, Ellinore must confront not only the legendary creature but also her own truths. Can she save her brother, embrace her potential, and finally decide her path?

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

Always and Forever, Lara Jean (Anniversary Edition) by Jenny Han

Now a Netflix original movie starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo and the inspiration behind the Netflix spin-off series XO, Kitty!

Lana’s letter-writing days are over in this swoon-worthy New York Times bestselling third book in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series. This special keepsake edition features a deluxe faux notebook cover and includes new bonus content from the author!

Lara Jean is back!

We pick up a few months after the events of P.S. I Still Love You, and everything in Lara Jean’s life is changing. There’s a lot to be happy about: her adorable boyfriend Peter K, her dad getting remarried to their next-door neighbor Ms. Rothschild, Margot coming home for the summer (and for the wedding)! But Lara Jean has a lot of big life decisions to make, most pressingly where she plans to go to college, and what that might mean for her relationship with Peter.

And she also gets news of a tragedy: Stormy from the nursing home she volunteers at has passed away. Stormy has been the source of a lot of romantic advice for Lara Jean over the years and is also her ex-crush John McLaren’s grandmother. As the school year comes to a close, Lara Jean has a lot on her mind. But one thing that Jenny Han fans can be certain of: this series will have a happy ending.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

The Bad Boyfriend Curse by Farah Heron

From Farah Heron, the critically acclaimed author of adult rom-com Accidentally Engaged, comes a story about a goody-two-shoes teen who concocts a brilliant plan to fake-date the local bad boy to rebel against her mom.

Meera Noorani has spent her whole life playing it safe.

Raised by her single mom, she’s had to—especially in love. After all, it has been proven, generation after generation, that all Noorani women are cursed to have partners who ruin their lives.

And though she tried her best to avoid it, Meera’s fate comes a-calling, and within the span of a week, she’s broken up with, arrested, and then shipped to small-town Canada, where she’ll be completing her community service under the watchful eye of her mom and her new stepdad.

Meera’s spent her whole life being good, and this is the thanks she gets?

If she can pose a threat to Mom’s perfect new life, though, maybe she can get back to the city. And there’s no better way to do that than date one of her fellow teen delinquents. Noah has got the piercings, tattoos, and rumors to prove that he’s the town’s most infamous bad boy…but when the bad boy isn’t actually bad, what’s a girl meant to do?

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

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10/21: Cover Reveals Day 2

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Evamar by Margarita Engle

From award-winning author Margarita Engle comes an enthralling and heartrending novel in verse about first love, hidden cultures, and ancestral connections that follows a teen’s journey to uncover her late grandmother’s roots in Cuba.

Just before she was transformed
into an invisible spirit
my grandmother whispered her last wishes
into my ear:

Sprinkle my ashes in a patch of girasoles,
wait patiently, harvest the seeds,
fly to la isla, find el jardín,
plant las semillas.
Then and only then—
read my diaries.

Evamar has arrived in Cuba with her abuela’s ashes and her mother’s warnings: Don’t talk politics, boil the tap water before you drink, y por favor absolutamente, don’t fall in love. But then she meets Río, a captivating drummer whose music and presence she can’t ignore.

Río bears his own scars, separated from his family in the United States. As their bond deepens, Evamar discovers an ancestral treasure that could change her future—and the lives of millions of Caribbeans.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

Song of the Saltings by Rachael King

The Scorpio Races meets The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea in this gripping young adult fantasy about a girl who must defy tradition to save her beloved island from the monstrous forces that are tearing it apart.

On the isolated island of Brack, the people live by an ancient bargain: every year, a sacrifice must be made to the Glimm, the creature that haunts the salt marshes. Once, it demanded children. Eight years ago, it should have taken Lotta. Instead, the monster spared her and claimed her pony, shattering tradition and anointing her both folk hero and object of suspicion.

Now sixteen, Lotta tends the Council’s sacrificial horses, keeping her distance from the islanders who whisper about her fate. But something is stirring. The island hums beneath her feet, and a song threads through her dreams. Is the Glimm calling Lotta back?

When she crosses paths with Moss—a boy once hidden from sacrifice—a daring bog rescue sparks a chain of events that forces them both to question the Council’s rule and the lore that binds their people. As crops and animals are blighted and uncanny weather plagues the community, Lotta and Moss must decide whether to obey the Council or risk everything to uncover the island’s deepest secrets.

Because on Brack, monsters come in many forms.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

My Killer Family Reunion by Dinesh Thiru

Knives Out meets Never Have I Ever in this hilarious and twisty young adult mystery-comedy about an Indian American teen whose family reunion at a lavish manor falls into chaos after her grandma is attacked.

Nothings brings family together like attempted murder.

There are three things Jayshree Devi can count on happening at her annual family reunion: 1) her cousins will forget she exists, 2) her aunts will try to set her up, and 3) her uncles will get into a fight. What she doesn’t expect? An accident that lands her grandmother in a coma, throwing the family—and their matriarch’s sizeable fortune—into chaos.

When Jay discovers Grand Mom’s “accident” might not have been so accidental after all, she’ll have to dig through decades of secrets to find the truth. With the help of her (annoyingly perky) cousins and one of their (annoyingly hot) friends, Jay finds herself knee-deep in a mystery that’s even more tangled than her family tree.

But the closer Jay gets to answers, the closer she gets to finding her place amongst the relatives who once felt so distant. With Grand Mom’s life and fortune hanging in the balance, can Jay save her family and maybe hook up with a hottie while she’s at it?

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

A Prince Among Pirates by Katie Abdou

A charming nobleman accidentally joins a pirate ship and falls for its debonair captain in this debut swashbuckling queer romance that’s perfect for fans of F.T. Lukens and Our Flag Means Death.

Kit Davenport is in trouble—not that this would surprise anyone who knows him. Headstrong, reckless, and utterly unsuited for the stodgy House of Lords, Kit has spent years dodging his father’s stern disapproval and delighting in clandestine rendezvous. But time is running out. With an arranged marriage looming and the confines of white wigs and stiff decorum closing in, Kit is desperate to escape a life that feels completely wrong for him.

His solution? A wildly impulsive decision that lands him aboard the Deliverance, a galleon captained by the infuriatingly charismatic Reggie Sharpe. With a devil-may-care attitude and a delicious grin, Captain Sharpe commands the waves with his crew of misfits…who all turn out to be pirates. Before Kit can say “wrong ship,” he’s trading ballroom etiquette for rum-soaked camaraderie, explosive gunfights, and, perhaps most excitingly, heart-stopping kisses under the stars.

But life at sea holds just as many secrets as treasures. And when Kit’s past catches up with him, he’ll have to decide who he truly wants to be: a gentleman or a pirate?

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

A Clash of Carnivores by Liselle Sambury

The thrilling sequel to A Mastery of Monsters, following the fiercely determined eighteen-year-old August Black as she infiltrates a secret society hiding the frightening reality that monsters are real, while unraveling the mystery behind her brother’s disappearance.

August risked everything to find her brother, joining a deadly secret society protecting the chilling truth that monsters are very, very real. She thought when she found him that she would leave the society behind.

Instead, she fought and bled to bond herself to a Monster for life.

Now, despite her efforts to stay unattached, her connection to her Monster partner, Virgil, continues to grow. She can’t stop replaying the memory of their forbidden kiss that Virgil wants to pretend never happened.

Their strained bond is put to the test as they prepare for the Monster’s Ball, a brutal tournament where pairs battle for the coveted title of Master. But despite the danger of the contest, August is consumed with finding her mom’s killer and getting revenge. Her vendetta leads to her accidentally form a rare second bond with Nolan, a Wild Monster who wants nothing to do with her. And if the three of them can’t work together, they’ll be kicked out of the tournament before it even begins.

But August can’t pull her focus away from revenge—even if it means becoming the worst sort of monster herself. She believes that vengeance will cure her grief, but it may just be the thing that breaks her bonds for good.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

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10/22: Cover Reveals Day 3

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The Spiritualists by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb

The Witch Haven meets Divine Rivals in this magical tale of a young clairvoyant who gets dragged into a dangerous game of revenge alongside a mysterious thief in early 1900s New York City.

Stella Bohdan is never alone—never—and yet she is the loneliest person she knows, dead or alive. A gifted psychic who can hear the voices of spirits, all Stella wants is to con enough people to survive on the brutal New York City streets and find a way to deal with the tragic death of her sister.

Performing seances in parlor rooms and tarot readings by candlelight, Stella is barely holding on. Until she meets Pax, a mysterious young man who offers Stella an invitation and a promise: Join a secret group of talented mystics who explore the darker realms of spiritualism, and together they will get revenge on her sister’s killer.

But how can Stella admit she is the reason her sister is dead?

In the hope of righting past wrongs, Stella joins Pax and his team of mystics. It’s soon clear there is more behind their partnership than just vengeance.

They must tread carefully though, because in the world of spiritualism, not everything is what it seems—especially when communing with the unknown.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

The Lure of Wolves and Whispers by Amanda Connolly

A darkly addictive romantasy debut about a girl who sacrifices everything to buy the dangerous magic that could save her sister—the first in a trilogy perfect for fans of Powerless and Throne of Glass.

On the mist-shrouded Isle of Eireann, buying magic comes with a horrific price.

But when her beloved older sister is gravely injured, Maeve risks everything to buy the forbidden magic that might save her. In exchange, Maeve promises her loyalty to a ruthless and dangerously alluring rebel leader. Bound to do his bidding, Maeve finds herself thrown into a deadly competition to become the next queen and stand beside a prince rumored to be more brutal than his father. But the prince isn’t what Maeve expected, and he may be her only chance of survival.

With the isle on the brink of war, trust and survival come at a terrible cost—one that will tear Maeve’s world, and her heart, in two.

What would you sacrifice to survive?

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

Armor for Liars by S. E. Grove

A brilliant girl risking it all to infiltrate a secret society of enchanters gets unexpected help from one of their victims—now a vengeful spirit—in this historical dark academia novel by New York Times bestselling author S. E. Grove.

In a world where magic is drawn from the realm of the dead, enchanters—always men—go to great lengths to steal it. Voyaging to the spirit realm, an enchanter will claim a dead woman’s spirit as his own and make her a servant, a tool for his own magical ends. Enchanters maintain great secrecy around their practices, so only a wealthy elite have access to this power: members of a secret society shrouded within Commonwealth University, the nation’s premiere institution for the study of enchantment.

When Sam—the son of islander immigrants of modest means—dared to use magic to blend into the blueblood world of Commonwealth, it cost him his life. Now a spirit, he’s determined to avenge his murder and uncover the secrets of the Cisneros Society from beyond the grave.

When Sam encounters Clementine Quinn, a young woman disguised as a male student at Commonwealth, he quickly sees that Clem is putting herself in grave danger at the school. But as he tries to warn her of the peril, it becomes clear that his past and her fate are inextricably entwined. To avenge his murder and prevent hers, they’ll need to help one another and thereby prove, ultimately, that friendship and love can transcend everything, even death.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

King of Lost Dreams by Nevin Holness

Eli and his found family must go back to the time when magic first arrived in London to uncover his lost past in this scintillating sequel to King of Dead Things, a young adult urban fantasy steeped in Afro-Caribbean folklore—perfect for fans of Legendborn and Leigh Bardugo.

Gods and secrets don’t stay buried forever.

The magical underbelly of London is no longer under threat from the malevolent daughter of Death after she was vanquished during an epic nine-night. But in her wake, certain truths have been unearthed that have left Malcolm, Eli, Sunny, and their friends fractured and desperate to lay the past to rest.

For Malcolm—a boy grappling with his inherited death magic—confronting his past means facing heartbreak, realities he isn’t yet ready to acknowledge, and perhaps even first love. On the other hand, Eli, a silver-tongued thief with no memories of his past, is more determined than ever to uncover his lost identity and find out once and for all where he came from, unless his past catches up with him first…

Something is lurking in Eli’s dreams, giving teeth to his nightmares. And when Malcolm finds a mysterious letter in the ruins of a former magical sanctuary full of its own secret histories, he and their friends set out to find a hidden key that may just be the answer to all their problems. If they want a chance against the shadow that’s been hunting Eli, they’ll need to learn the magic of their ancestors and go back to the very beginning: when magic first arrived in London.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

The Lovers, the Liars, and Me by DeAndra Davis

A teen travels to Jamaica hoping to answer questions about her absent mother, only to discover more about her identity than she could have ever expected—and find herself caught up in an unexpected love triangle—in this dazzling young adult coming-of-age novel.

Jaliya Powell has never had a real adventure, a real boyfriend, or spoken up for herself. She’s never even been kissed. Despite being valedictorian of her high school class, Jaliya is used to fading into the background.

But this summer will be different.

This summer, Jaliya is visiting her uncle and his family in Jamaica. Under the guise of one last vacation before college, she plans to find out more about her estranged mother, whose absence has remained an unspoken mystery. But things have changed in the seven years since Jaliya last visited. Her cousin has his own life and is reluctant to let Jaliya in, her childhood crush has only gotten hotter and more unavailable, and her aunt and uncle aren’t everything she remembered, either. Then she meets India, who’s vibrant, gorgeous, and free-spirited. And who makes Jaliya feel something she’s never felt before.

While searching for traces of her mother across the island, Jaliya finds herself entangled in complicated relationships, tricky secrets, and a passionate new love. As she navigates this perfectly complicated summer, Jaliya must choose between who she has always been or who she hopes to become.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

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10/23: Cover Reveals Day 4

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Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

New York Times bestselling author Morgan Matson’s blockbuster novel about a shy teen having the most unexpected summer ever now has a beautiful new look!

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn’t go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn’t do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.

But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try…unless they could lead back to her best friend.

Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.

Dance Until Dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a Stranger? Wait…what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um…

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

New York Times bestselling author Morgan Matson’s celebrated novel about hope in the face of heartbreak now has a beautiful new look!

Taylor’s family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and her parents decide the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

In addition to her father’s illness, Taylor’s return to the community where she spent her younger summers is complicated by the past. The people she thought she’d left behind for good haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former summer best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re all too aware that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

Black Point by Jacqueline West

In an insular small town steeped in Norse traditions, a teen’s developing romance with a newcomer becomes fraught as dark secrets from the past rise to the surface in this gorgeously atmospheric mystery by New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline West.

Lucia Sorenson holds on hard to the things she loves. Her tiny Wisconsin hometown clings to the bluffs above the Mississippi River, threatened by weather, time, and the creep of climate change. Her mother is pushing her to go away to college and see the world beyond their small town, but Lucia is determined to stay and to keep her grandfather’s Viking museum going.

When the Black Point Hotel, a 150-year-old landmark that’s been empty for decades, is bought by an outsider, tongues start wagging. Lucia meets the new owner’s teenage nephew, Max, and as they grow closer, she discovers there’s something thrilling about getting to know someone who hasn’t known her all her life—and maybe something more.

Then Max discovers some ominous things about Black Point hidden away in the hotel—stories of ghosts and mysterious disappearances. Lucia refuses to believe that her town is hiding a sinister past. But the river is rising, and more secrets are washing to the surface. Soon, Lucia will have to choose between the home she thought she knew and uncovering the dark truths hidden underneath.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

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10/24: Cover Reveals Day 5

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Love & Gelato (Collector’s Edition) by Jenna Evans Welch

Filled with romance, mystery, and adventure, this sparkling deluxe paper over board edition of Jenna Evans Welch’s New York Times bestseller features stenciled sprayed edges, gorgeously designed endpapers, a ribbon marker, and brand-new bonus content!

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything Lina knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

Local Gods by Melinda Salisbury

A folk horror novel about a girl who, hated by her town for her father’s crimes, must decide whether to save it or burn it all down when a dying god in the woods warns her of an impending catastrophe.

When a bone-white crow lands in Sylvie Singer’s backyard, she knows trouble is coming. And after an FBI raid reveals her father’s double life, Sylvie’s entire world comes crashing around her. With nowhere to go but the abandoned railway station in the cursed West Woods, Sylvie spends her time avoiding the carnivorous white deer that live there, counting down the days until she can graduate from high school and finally leave the town that’s openly out for her blood. Then Sylvie encounters a different sort of monster.

Illican is a horned god bound to the West Woods, even more wretched than she is. Sylvie is drawn to Illican, excited that he can introduce her to magic that could save her town—save her. But Illican is dying, and the last thing Pine Ridge Hollow wants is help from Sylvie Singer…

The town is a tinderbox, and Sylvie is the spark that will either save it or burn it all down.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

WE Were Never Here by Sophia Hannan

The remaining members of a ghost hunting show return to the haunted manor that may have killed their friend in this atmospheric, contemporary gothic debut perfect for fans of She Is a Haunting and Delicious Monsters.

Four teens went into the manor, three came out.

In July, Georgia Perry and Jules Park—secret girlfriends, covert art thieves, and cohosts of a popular YouTube ghost hunting show—step into a haunted house to steal a priceless painting. A few short hours later, there’s a knife in Jules’s chest and Georgia is waking up in a pool of blood with no painting and no memory of how she got there.

Now it’s October, and Georgia is underwater. She hasn’t been to class in weeks, and she’s avoiding her old crew—and only friends—like the plague. But when the three remaining thieves get a call from the man who paid a hefty sum to keep them out of jail, demanding that they return to finish the job, Georgia has no choice but to return to her old life.

As the estranged friends scramble to steal the painting with no cover story and no leader, they quickly realize that something is very, very wrong, and it’s not just the suffocating memory of Jules or the prying eyes of their viewers. Between the strange shadows that begin to trail them and the nightmares plaguing Georgia’s sleep, only one thing is certain: something followed them home from De Lys manor, and it will do anything to keep them from going back.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

Bound By Fury by Noelle Monét

Legendborn meets The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina in this captivating contemporary fantasy debut about a teen whose newly awakened magical abilities send her searching for answers at an elite boarding school that has a mysterious connection to her family’s history.

Harper grew up loving her grandma Gigi’s stories about pretty brown girls with magic from the stars, but they were just that—stories…until Gigi’s sudden death awakens a dangerous power building beneath Harper’s skin. Desperate for answers, Harper finds herself drawn to an elite boarding school in the Appalachian Mountains.

A school that Gigi herself attended, and one rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of witches past.

Harper arrives at Black Mountain Academy determined to learn about her burgeoning power, even if that means dealing with Kai, her grumpy ex-best friend now hellbent on getting her to leave campus, and his cousin, Lucas, who won’t let her forget the almost-kiss from last summer. But Black Mountain Academy was built on secrets, and the deeper Harper digs, the more sinister rot she finds lurking beneath.

When Harper unearths a chilling local legend about the gruesome deaths of twelve witches on campus, she feels an uncanny connection to the women. But someone doesn’t want her exposing the school’s dark past, and when it becomes clear they’ll kill to stop her, Harper has to decide whether to leave her history behind or risk everything for the truth of her own identity.

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

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Additional Cover Reveals

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Queerleaders by Ashley Woodfolk and Olivia A. Cole

Two cheerleaders find themselves inconveniently tumbling head over heels for each other in this satirical, sapphic teen rom-com that’s Bring It On meets She Drives Me Crazy.

Oak Haven High doesn’t have cheerleaders—it has queerleaders.

It’s a fun coincidence that every new varsity cheerleader since Davie Cathee took the squad by storm three years ago is—or soon comes out as—queer.

But when a rumor sparks that this season, newly minted captain Davie has been specifically recruiting queer members only, Davie is accused of “discrimination” against straight students. She’s given an ultimatum: recruit a straight athlete for the team or the funding for their competitive cheer season will take a major tumble.

Enter Kendall Hayes, the edgy, mysterious new girl. When Davie sees that Kendall has a boyfriend, she quickly convinces her to join the squad. Problem solved.

Until she finds out that Kendall’s actually bisexual…and newly single.

Now Kendall and Davie are faced with having to keep those details under wraps until nationals, which only gets more complicated when they start falling hard and fast for each other. Can Kendall go back in the closet long enough to save the squad? Or will Davie find the courage to love her new crush out loud, even if it might mean the end of the queerleaders?

You can pre-order your copy here or add it to your Goodreads shelf!

 

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Want to see more upcoming covers for new releases? Check out all the covers for the books coming out Next Spring!

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Giveaway alert!!! Check out all of the October Simon Teen giveaways running on Goodreads for a chance to win free books!

Did someone say new Free Reads? Yes, that’s right, we did! And we are so excited for October’s Free Reads. This month, we’re celebrating all things creepy and scary in honor of HALLOWEEN!!  Plus, check out all of this month’s new releases with extended excerpts!

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Free Reads are only available to Simon Teen members! Not a Simon Teen member yet? It’s free and easy to sign up! Click here to set up your account now. 

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Full Reads

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1. Infested by Angel Luis Colón

The Taking of Jake Livingston meets Cemetery Boys in this YA ghost story about a Puerto Rican teen’s battle with a malevolent spirit targeting his apartment building and the all-too-real horrors of gentrification.

Start reading now!

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2. The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith

“Spectacular, singular, and spellbinding.” —Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue

The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this thrilling and atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards.

Start reading now!

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3. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meets the Salem Witch trials in this haunting story about three sisters on a quest for revenge—and how love may be the only thing powerful enough to stop them.

Start reading now!

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4. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (Available Until 10/15)

Love & Gelato meets Don’t Date Rosa Santos in this charming, heartfelt story following a Miami girl who unexpectedly finds love—and herself—in a small English town.

Start reading now!

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5. Alas Salvajes (Wings in the Wild) by Margarita Engle, Translated by Alexis Romay (Available Until10/15)

This gorgeously romantic contemporary novel-in-verse from award-winning author Margarita Engle tells the inspiring love story of two teens fighting for climate action and human rights.

¡Ahora disponible en español!

Start reading now!

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Extended Excerpts

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1. The Witch Hunt by Sasha Peyton Smith

Now an Original Series on Prime Video!

The lush and pulse-pounding sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Witch Haven follows Frances and her fellow witches to the streets of Paris where family secrets, lost loves, and dangerous magic await.

Start reading now! 

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2. Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens

When a teen has an unexpected vision about a future murder, he must juggle newfound interest from the supernatural community with trying to prevent the murder from happening in this new romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author F.T. Lukens.

Start reading now! 

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3. The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity and Christopher Baldwin

Haley must return to Willowweep to solve the mystery behind her friends vanishing in this hilarious sequel to the “well-paced and humorous…delightfully spirited” (Kirkus Reviews) young adult graphic novel The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor.

Start reading now! 

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4. A Bite of Pepper by Balazs Lorinczi

A skateboarding vampire falls for a human artist as they combine their talents to create a skating brand in this lightly paranormal coming-of-age young adult graphic novel romance for fans of Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and The Girl from the Sea.

Start reading now! 

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5. The Revenant Games by Margie Fuston

All of Us Villains meets Kingdom of the Wicked in this action-packed fantasy following a teen determined to win the competition held by warring vampire and witch kingdoms, only to develop complicated feelings for the vampire she’s supposed to hand over.

Start reading now!

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6. If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry

From Printz Honor–winning and New York Times bestselling author Julie Berry, a true-crime-nailbiter-turned-mythic-odyssey pitting Jack the Ripper against Medusa. A defiant love song to sisterhood, a survivors’ battle cry, and a romantic literary tour de force laced with humor.

Start reading now! 

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7. A Match Made in Hell by Charlotte Ingham

Perfect for fans of Hannah Grace and The Dagger and the Flame, this scorching debut romantasy follows a young woman who makes a deal with the Devil to escape the underworld only to fall for him instead.

Start reading now! 

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8. The Moss by Lisa Lueddecke

A girl returns to her hometown and the sinister bogland surrounding it in search of her missing sister in this harrowing, atmospheric young adult horror perfect for fans of Shea Ernshaw and The Haunting of Hill House.

Start reading now!

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9. Black History is Your History by Taylor Cassidy

From TikTok star and creator of Fast Black History Taylor Cassidy comes a witty, lightly illustrated nonfiction debut that blends history and memoir in a joyful celebration of Black American historical figures.

Start reading now! 

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10. King of the Neuro Verse by Idris Goodwin

A powerful, joyful novel in verse about a Black teen with ADHD who finds self-expression and first love during one epic summer school season, perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and On the Come Up.

Start reading now! 

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11. The Siren and the Star by Colby Cedar Smith

A promising young singer recovers from a traumatic experience by traveling to Venice and connecting with the work of a 17th-century female composer in this gorgeous and sensual novel-in-verse from the acclaimed author of Call Me Athena.

Start reading now! 

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12. The Prince of Mourning by Jenn Bennett

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace meets A Study in Drowning in this sizzling gothic romantasy that follows the forbidden romance between a young nurse and a mysterious young man imprisoned by a dangerous occultist.

Start reading now! 

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13. Girls Who Play Dead by Joelle Wellington

Two siblings investigate the murder of a friend only to unearth even more deadly mysteries in their small town in this page-turning young adult thriller from the acclaimed author of Their Vicious Games.

Start reading now! 

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14. MindWorks by Neal Shusterman

From the incomparable mind of award winner Neal Shusterman, New York Times bestselling author of the Arc of a Scythe, comes a collection of uncanny and unforgettable short stories.

Start reading now! 

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15. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

Start reading now!

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16. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy reinvents the King Arthur legend and “braids together Southern folk traditions and Black Girl Magic into a searing modern tale of grief, power, and self-discovery” (Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles).

Start reading now! 

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17. Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, this young adult fantasy follows the forbidden romance between a powerful prince and an ordinary girl as they try to survive their kingdom’s grueling laws pitting them against each other.

Start reading now! 

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Extras

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1. The Eid Gift by S.K. Ali

The Eid Gift is a companion short story to Love from A to Z. Adam and Zayneb —engaged but continents apart for so long— are finally in the same city!

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Start reading now!

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2. Love at First Fight by Sandhya Menon

Join Dimple and Rishi as they do an escape room in this exclusive short story from Sandhya Menon! You’ll also see how Pinky and Samir met for the first time before you can read about them in 10 Things I Hate About Pinky.

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Start reading now!

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3. As Kismet Would Have It by Sandhya Menon

Will Dimple and Rishi find their happily ever after? Find out in this funny, romantic, endlessly charming e-novella sequel to When Dimple Met Rishi!

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Start reading now!

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4. The Thief by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

A short story prequel to Sky Without Stars about the origins of fan-favorite character, Chatine!

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Start reading now!

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5. These Precious Scars by Emily Suvada

A haunting short story prequel to the Mortal Coil series.

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Start reading now!

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6. Better Than the Prom by Lynn Painter

A swoonworthy short story from Wes’s perspective from Better Than the Movies.

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Start reading now!

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7. Uncharted Dreams by Pascale Lacelle

Romie Brysden is a Dreamer, the best at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics. She knows the realm of dreams like a sea captain knows the tides. And she’s gone deeper into this vast sleepscape than any Dreamer ever has. This is a prequest short story to A Curious Tides.

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Start reading now!

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8. The Priest and the Shepherd by Chloe Gong

Set six years before the events of Foul Lady Fortune, The Priest and the Shepherd follows Orion’s sister, Phoebe, and his best friend, Silas!

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Start reading now!

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9. Our First Chance by Robbie Couch

Long before they were best friends, River wasn’t a fan of Dylan—Mavis’ suspiciously perfect new boyfriend who was slowly stealing her away. But in this short story prequel to Another First Chance, Mavis cleverly plans for them both to attend an Astronomy Club meeting, hoping the after-school activity brings the pair closer together. Meanwhile, many states away, the mastermind behind a secretive research group scores a big win that will upend the high schoolers’ lives forever…

Start reading now!

10. Better Than Before by Lynn Painter

Lynn Painter’s Better Than the Movies collides with Betting on You when, after meeting the annoyingly cute Bailey on his flight, Charlie gets picked at the airport up by his cousin, Wes, who introduces him to his annoyingly cute neighbor, Liz.

Start Reading Now!

11. Second First dATE BY RACHEL LYNN SOLOMON

Graduation has come and gone, and there’s one major milestone Rowan and Neil haven’t yet hit in their relationship: going on a real date. Neil’s planned every detail, determined to give his girlfriend the ultimate romantic evening, although he’s secretly worried their connection may not spark the way it did on the last day of school—which, given how much he adores her, would be absolutely devastating. When the night turns out to be one disaster after another, they realize the date itself hardly matters. They’re still completely starry-eyed over each other, and with a little of Seattle’s natural magic, they have a whole summer to get it right.

Start Reading Now!

12. Werewolves, witches & Wyverns by F.T. Lukens

Claire and Grant are best friends who love to play a fictional and fantastical table-top card game which features a bevy of supernatural beings including werewolves, witches, and wyverns. During a playing session, Claire accidentally opens a portal and she and Grant are promptly sucked into a parallel world that is startlingly familiar to their game and where the card dynamics allow them to cast magic spells. Thus, their adventure begins in the pilot episode of Werewolves, Witches, & Wyverns, the television show beloved and raved about by the characters of Otherworldly.

Start reading now!

13. Nothing Better Than You by Lynn Painter

Experience Wes and Liz’s first kiss from Better Than the Movies from Wes’s point of view!

Start Reading Now!

14. the way we met by amber smith

Eden and Josh are in a good place – finally. But now Eden is facing down a new major milestone: spending the weekend with Josh’s parents. The last time she met them, it didn’t exactly go so well. She needs it to be perfect, for them to like her, and like her with Josh. As the weekend unfolds and she gets to know Josh’s family, the return home also brings back memories of the first time Eden met Josh. The real story, the one Josh doesn’t even know…

Start Reading Now!

Did someone say new Free Reads? Yes, that’s right, we did! And we are so excited for September’s Free Reads. This month, we’re spotlighting books that give us ALL the feels!  Plus, check out all of this month’s new releases with extended excerpts!

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Free Reads are only available to Simon Teen members! Not a Simon Teen member yet? It’s free and easy to sign up! Click here to set up your account now. 

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Full Reads

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1. Barely Missing Everything by Matt Mendez

In the tradition of Jason Reynolds and Matt de la Peña, this heartbreaking, no-holds-barred debut novel told from three points of view explores how difficult it is to make it in life when you—your life, brown lives—don’t matter.

Start reading now!

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2. Borderless by Jennifer De Leon

Caught in the cross hairs of gang violence, a teen girl and her mother set off on a perilous journey from Guatemala City to the US border in this heart-wrenching young adult novel from the author of Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From.

Start reading now!

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3. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (Available 9/15-10/15)

Love & Gelato meets Don’t Date Rosa Santos in this charming, heartfelt story following a Miami girl who unexpectedly finds love—and herself—in a small English town.

Start reading now!

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4. Alas Salvajes (Wings in the Wild) by Margarita Engle, Translated by Alexis Romay (Available 9/15-10/15)

This gorgeously romantic contemporary novel-in-verse from award-winning author Margarita Engle tells the inspiring love story of two teens fighting for climate action and human rights.

¡Ahora disponible en español!

Start reading now!

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Extended Excerpts

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1. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Now an Original Series on Prime Video!

Belly has an unforgettable summer in this stunning start to the Summer I Turned Pretty series from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Jenny Han. This deluxe edition features foil on the cover and stenciled sprayed edges!

Start reading now! 

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2. It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Belly finds out what comes after falling in love in this follow-up to The Summer I Turned Pretty from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Jenny Han. This deluxe edition features foil on the cover and stenciled sprayed edges!

Start reading now! 

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3. We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

In the epic conclusion of the New York Times bestselling The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy, Belly makes her final choice between Jeremiah and Conrad.

Start reading now! 

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4. Knocking on Windows by Jeannine Atkins

Acclaimed author Jeannine Atkins revisits her past in this brave and powerful memoir-in-verse about memory, healing, and finding her voice as a writer, perfect for fans of Amber Smith and Speak.

Start reading now! 

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5. All the Tomorrows After by Joanne Yi

A captivating, heartrending novel about a Korean American teen navigating grief and first love who agrees to accept money from her estranged father in exchange for letting him get to know her—for fans of Nina LaCour, Kathleen Glasgow, and All My Rage.

Start reading now!

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6. All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis

In this compelling, moving story about brotherhood, identity, and social justice, a Black, autistic teen tries to figure out what happened the night his older brother was unjustly arrested.

Start reading now! 

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7. By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang

A hard-working teen hoping to land a college scholarship and a nepo baby looking to prove herself collide at the world’s most high-profile debutante ball in Paris in this young adult romance perfect for fans of American Royals and Better Than the Movies.

Start reading now! 

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8. Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson

Gilmore Girls meets Jenny Han in this autumnal teen rom-com about a city girl stuck in a quaint small town who must confront her future and her old flame while the town prepares for an annual fall festival—featuring stenciled sprayed edges!

Start reading now! 

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9. Fearful by Lauren Roberts (Available 9/2)

Set during the time of Fearless, a mysterious figure arrives in the kingdom of Ilya to witness the fight for the throne and the price it costs those sworn to defend the land in this beautiful and heart-wrenching story in the #1 New York Times bestselling Powerless trilogy.

Start reading now! 

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10. Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter

In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling Better than the Movies, Wes and Liz struggle to balance their feelings for each other with the growing pains of being a college student.

Start reading now! 

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11. If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry

From Printz Honor–winning and New York Times bestselling author Julie Berry, a true-crime-nailbiter-turned-mythic-odyssey pitting Jack the Ripper against Medusa. A defiant love song to sisterhood, a survivors’ battle cry, and a romantic literary tour de force laced with humor.

Start reading now! 

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12. A Match Made in Hell by Charlotte Ingham

Perfect for fans of Hannah Grace and The Dagger and the Flame, this scorching debut romantasy follows a young woman who makes a deal with the Devil to escape the underworld only to fall for him instead.

Start reading now! 

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13. Fake Skating by Lynn Painter

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies Lynn Painter comes a heartfelt and banter-filled rom-com about childhood sweethearts whose icy reunion in their hockey-loving hometown unexpectedly thaws when they fake a romantic relationship.

Start reading now! 

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14. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

This deluxe paper over board edition features foil on the cover, new cover art, stenciled edges, a ribbon bookmark, and exclusive content!

Nora finds forbidden love with her fallen angel in the first book in the New York Times bestselling Hush, Hush saga.

Start reading now! 

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15. Joy to the Girls by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

Getting the girl was easy, but can Alex and Molly keep each other when they’re both keeping secrets? Find out in this cozy holiday novella companion to She Gets the Girl!

Start reading now! 

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16. Make My Wish Come True by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

‘Tis the season for holiday hijinks in the newest sapphic rom-com about a rising star and a small town girl going on twelve fake holidates from the New York Times bestselling authors of She Gets the Girl, Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick!

Start reading now!

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17. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

“A timeless story for every young person who needs to understand that they are not alone.” —Judy Blume

A faux leather–bound collector’s edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling coming-of-age story with millions of copies in print that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory.

Start reading now! 

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18. The Moss by Lisa Lueddecke

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

Start reading now!

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19. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

Start reading now!

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20. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy reinvents the King Arthur legend and “braids together Southern folk traditions and Black Girl Magic into a searing modern tale of grief, power, and self-discovery” (Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles).

Start reading now! 

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21. Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, this young adult fantasy follows the forbidden romance between a powerful prince and an ordinary girl as they try to survive their kingdom’s grueling laws pitting them against each other.

Start reading now! 

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Extras

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1. The Eid Gift by S.K. Ali

The Eid Gift is a companion short story to Love from A to Z. Adam and Zayneb —engaged but continents apart for so long— are finally in the same city!

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Start reading now!

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2. Love at First Fight by Sandhya Menon

Join Dimple and Rishi as they do an escape room in this exclusive short story from Sandhya Menon! You’ll also see how Pinky and Samir met for the first time before you can read about them in 10 Things I Hate About Pinky.

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Start reading now!

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3. As Kismet Would Have It by Sandhya Menon

Will Dimple and Rishi find their happily ever after? Find out in this funny, romantic, endlessly charming e-novella sequel to When Dimple Met Rishi!

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Start reading now!

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4. The Thief by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

A short story prequel to Sky Without Stars about the origins of fan-favorite character, Chatine!

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Start reading now!

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5. These Precious Scars by Emily Suvada

A haunting short story prequel to the Mortal Coil series.

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Start reading now!

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6. Better Than the Prom by Lynn Painter

A swoonworthy short story from Wes’s perspective from Better Than the Movies.

–

Start reading now!

–

7. Uncharted Dreams by Pascale Lacelle

Romie Brysden is a Dreamer, the best at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics. She knows the realm of dreams like a sea captain knows the tides. And she’s gone deeper into this vast sleepscape than any Dreamer ever has. This is a prequest short story to A Curious Tides.

–

Start reading now!

–

8. The Priest and the Shepherd by Chloe Gong

Set six years before the events of Foul Lady Fortune, The Priest and the Shepherd follows Orion’s sister, Phoebe, and his best friend, Silas!

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Start reading now!

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9. Our First Chance by Robbie Couch

Long before they were best friends, River wasn’t a fan of Dylan—Mavis’ suspiciously perfect new boyfriend who was slowly stealing her away. But in this short story prequel to Another First Chance, Mavis cleverly plans for them both to attend an Astronomy Club meeting, hoping the after-school activity brings the pair closer together. Meanwhile, many states away, the mastermind behind a secretive research group scores a big win that will upend the high schoolers’ lives forever…

Start reading now!

10. Better Than Before by Lynn Painter

Lynn Painter’s Better Than the Movies collides with Betting on You when, after meeting the annoyingly cute Bailey on his flight, Charlie gets picked at the airport up by his cousin, Wes, who introduces him to his annoyingly cute neighbor, Liz.

Start Reading Now!

11. Second First dATE BY RACHEL LYNN SOLOMON

Graduation has come and gone, and there’s one major milestone Rowan and Neil haven’t yet hit in their relationship: going on a real date. Neil’s planned every detail, determined to give his girlfriend the ultimate romantic evening, although he’s secretly worried their connection may not spark the way it did on the last day of school—which, given how much he adores her, would be absolutely devastating. When the night turns out to be one disaster after another, they realize the date itself hardly matters. They’re still completely starry-eyed over each other, and with a little of Seattle’s natural magic, they have a whole summer to get it right.

Start Reading Now!

12. Werewolves, witches & Wyverns by F.T. Lukens

Claire and Grant are best friends who love to play a fictional and fantastical table-top card game which features a bevy of supernatural beings including werewolves, witches, and wyverns. During a playing session, Claire accidentally opens a portal and she and Grant are promptly sucked into a parallel world that is startlingly familiar to their game and where the card dynamics allow them to cast magic spells. Thus, their adventure begins in the pilot episode of Werewolves, Witches, & Wyverns, the television show beloved and raved about by the characters of Otherworldly.

Start reading now!

13. Nothing Better Than You by Lynn Painter

Experience Wes and Liz’s first kiss from Better Than the Movies from Wes’s point of view!

Start Reading Now!

14. the way we met by amber smith

Eden and Josh are in a good place – finally. But now Eden is facing down a new major milestone: spending the weekend with Josh’s parents. The last time she met them, it didn’t exactly go so well. She needs it to be perfect, for them to like her, and like her with Josh. As the weekend unfolds and she gets to know Josh’s family, the return home also brings back memories of the first time Eden met Josh. The real story, the one Josh doesn’t even know…

Start Reading Now!