February is ushering in some amazing new releases. Weirdly, most of the books on this list are mainly fantasy and only a handful reflects the romantic month that celebrates Valentine’s Day. Although I’m looking forward to many February releases, I confess that my mind, heart, eyes, and body crave for Heaven Official’s Blessing Volume 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Is anyone even surprised at this point in time? 😂 I just need Xie Lian to meet San Lang as Hua Cheng in the Ghost City arc since the donghua will only come out near the end of the year. Although I own the Taiwanese version, it’ll probably take me ages to read the Traditional Chinese. 👀
Authors Racquel Marie, Laila Sabreen, and Vanessa Len will make their debut with Ophelia After All, You Truly Assumed, and Only a Monster respectively. This month we also have authors releasing new series such as Tahereh Mafi, Laura Sebastian, and Rebecca Ross. All of which I’m looking forward to picking up. Mia P. Manansala, Sarah J. Maas, and Mo Xiang Tong Xiu are releasing their second book in the individual series.
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trilogy: this woven kingdom #1
February 1st 2022 by HarperCollins
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy, romance
rep: Perisan-inspired
To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.
The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.
🌿 For This Woven Kingdom, I’m looking forward to exploring the rich Persian-inspired setting with its mythology. Tahereh Mafi’s known for her Juliette x Warner pairing so I’m pretty sure the romance in her new release will be epic as well.
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trilogy: castles in their bones #1
February 1st 2022 by Delacorte Press
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy, romance
Empress Margaraux has had plans for her daughters since the day they were born. Princesses Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz will be queens. And now, age sixteen, they each must leave their homeland and marry their princes.
Beautiful, smart, and demure, the triplets appear to be the perfect brides—because Margaraux knows there is one common truth: everyone underestimates a girl. Which is a grave mistake. Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz are no innocents. They have been trained since birth in the arts of deception, seduction, and violence with a singular goal—to bring down monarchies— and their marriages are merely the first stage of their mother’s grand vision: to one day reign over the entire continent of Vesteria.
The princesses have spent their lives preparing, and now they are ready, each with her own secret skill, and each with a single wish, pulled from the stars. Only, the stars have their own plans—and their mother hasn’t told them all of hers.
Life abroad is a test. Will their loyalties stay true? Or will they learn that they can’t trust anyone—not even each other?
🌿 I’ve only read the first book of the Ash Princess trilogy and a standalone, Half Sick of Shadows, by Laura Sebastian. The former I liked, the latter I couldn’t get into. Regardless, I’m still highly anticipating Castles in Their Bones. The whole setup of three sisters, married to different places so that their mother can conquer the entire continent is just fascinating to me. They aren’t doing it for themselves but for their mother. It’s going to be interesting.
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standalone
February 1st 2022 by Penguin
age range: young adult
genre: historical fiction
Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.
Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.
Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?
🌿 Although I’ve only read Salt to the Sea and The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys, both left such an intense and lasting impression on me that I know I’ll be picking up her books for many years to come. I Must Betray You will be an incredible book.
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standalone
February 1st 2022 by Sourcebooks Fire
age range: young adult
genre: contemporary, mystery
Lia Setiawan has never really fit in. And when she wins a full ride to the prestigious Draycott Academy on a track scholarship, she’s determined to make it work even though she’s never felt more out of place.
But on her first day there she witnesses a girl being forcefully carried away by campus security. Her new schoolmates and teachers seem unphased, but it leaves her unsure of what she’s gotten herself into.
And as she uncovers the secrets of Draycott, complete with a corrupt teacher, a golden boy who isn’t what he seems, and a blackmailer determined to get her thrown out, she’s not sure if she can trust anyone…especially when the threats against her take a deadly turn.
🌿 By any indication, my love for Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Dial A for Aunties is motivating me to pick The New Girl up the moment in drops. I love a good mystery surrounding prestigious schools and Draycott Academy has its secrets that Lia will be uncovering.
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standalone
February 8th 2022 by Feiwel & Friends
age range: young adult
genre: contemporary, romance
representation: cuban-irish MC, lgbt
trigger and content warnings:
- mentions of underage drinking and vaping, topical mentions of sex, cut-off use of a homophobic slur (challenged), condemned homophobia, discussion of anti-Blackness within a mixed race Latine family (challenged)
trigger and content warnings:
- mentions of underage drinking and vaping, topical mentions of sex, cut-off use of a homophobic slur (challenged), condemned homophobia, discussion of anti-Blackness within a mixed race Latine family (challenged)
Ophelia Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys – way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn’t change, even if she wanted to.
So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia’s firm image of herself. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love–and sexuality–never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she’s always imagined or upending everyone’s expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all.
🌿 Despite the toxicity on BookTwitter, I always find new books to chase after there, especially when authors uplift one another by shouting out upcoming releases. Ophelia After All appeared on my radar because of that. I’ve already heard great things about Racquel Marie’s debut from the reviewers that I trust so I’m sure this will be a gorgeous and heart-warming book.
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trilogy: tita rose’s kitchen mystery #2
February 8th 2022 by Berkley Books
age range: young adult
genre: contemporary, mystery
rep: Filipino
trigger and content warnings:
- death, murder, suicide, threats and PTSD
trigger and content warnings:
- death, murder, suicide, threats and PTSD
Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent despite the attention of two very eligible bachelors. Or her professional life, since she can’t bring herself to open her new cafe after the unpleasantness that occurred a few months ago at her aunt’s Filipino restaurant, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.
To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila’s little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago–a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case–because it looks like one of them might be next.
🌿 Having read Arsenic and Adobo last year, I knew I was going to follow up with the rest of the series. While the main suspect isn’t Lila now, her cousin, Bernadette is on the police’s radar. Homicide and Halo-Halo will once again feature Tita Rosie’s Kitchen, family, and drama!
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standalone
February 8th 2022 by Dutton Books
age range: young adult
genre: contemporary, horror, mystery
rep: Black
Seventeen-year-old Farrah Turner is one of two Black girls in her country club community, and the only one with Black parents. Her best friend, Cherish Whitman, adopted by a wealthy white family, is something Farrah likes to call WGS–White Girl Spoiled. With Brianne and Jerry Whitman as parents, Cherish is given the kind of adoration and coddling that even upper-class Black parents can’t seem to afford–and it creates a dissonance in her best friend that Farrah can exploit. When her own family is unexpectedly confronted with foreclosure, the calculating Farrah is determined to reassert the control she’s convinced she’s always had over her life by staying with Cherish, the only person she loves–even when she hates her.
A troubled Farrah manipulates her way further into the Whitman family but the longer she stays, the more her own parents suggest that something is wrong in the Whitman house. She might trust them–if they didn’t think something was wrong with Farrah, too. As strange things start happening at the Whitman household–debilitating illnesses, upsetting fever dreams, an inexplicable tension with Cherish’s hothead boyfriend, and a strange journal that seems to keep track of what is happening to Farrah–it’s nothing she can’t handle. But soon everything begins to unravel when the Whitmans invite Farrah closer, and it’s anyone’s guess who is really in control.
🌿 Not too sure what to expect from Cherish Farrah but the synopsis surely is intriguing me. Bethany C. Morrow’s A Song Below Water was my first introduction to the author’s works and I’m thinking of picking up A Chorus Rises before this new release.
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standalone
February 8th 2022 by Inkyard Press
age range: young adult
genre: contemporary
rep: Black, Muslim
trigger and content warnings:
- Islamophobia, racism
trigger and content warnings:
- Islamophobia, racism
Sabriya has her whole summer planned out in color-coded glory, but those plans go out the window after a terrorist attack near her home. When the terrorist is assumed to be Muslim and Islamophobia grows, Sabriya turns to her online journal for comfort. You Truly Assumed was never meant to be anything more than an outlet, but the blog goes viral as fellow Muslim teens around the country flock to it and find solace and a sense of community.
Soon two more teens, Zakat and Farah, join Bri to run You Truly Assumed and the three quickly form a strong friendship. But as the blog’s popularity grows, so do the pushback and hateful comments. When one of them is threatened, the search to find out who is behind it all begins, and their friendship is put to the test when all three must decide whether to shut down the blog and lose what they’ve worked for…or take a stand and risk everything to make their voices heard.
🌿 Another BookTwitter introduced book! You Truly Assumed is a powerful book starring three Black Muslims. They co-blog on their website, You Truly Assumed, to fight against Islamophobia. I’m looking forward to this.
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standalone
February 8th 2022 by Holiday House
age range: young adult
genre: contemporary, romance
rep: lgbt
Twenty one-year-old Max Monroe has it all: beauty, friends, and a glittering life filled with adventure. With tons of followers on Instagram, her picture-perfect existence seems eminently enviable.
Except it’s all fake.
Max is actually 16-year-old Kat Sanchez, a quiet and sarcastic teenager living in drab Bakersfield, California. Nothing glamorous in her existence–just sprawl, bad house parties, a crap school year, and the awkwardness of dealing with her best friend Hari’s unrequited love. But while Kat’s life is far from perfect, she thrives as Max: doling out advice, sharing beautiful photos, networking with famous influencers, even making a real friend in a follower named Elena. The closer Elena and “Max” get–texting, Snapping, and even calling–the more Kat feels she has to keep up the facade.
But when one of Max’s posts goes ultra-viral and gets back to the very person she’s been stealing photos from, her entire world – real and fake — comes crashing down around her. She has to figure out a way to get herself out of the huge web of lies she’s created without hurting the people she loves.
But it might already be too late.
🌿 Living in the age of social media is both exciting and toxic. The latter is because of the intense pressure for many to show how perfect and beautiful and happy they are. Biases and prejudices created the idea that only certain types of people will be “successful” online. I read Fat Chance, Charlie Vega last year and was immediately hooked after the first few chapters.
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series: elements of cadence #1
February 15th 2022 by Harper Voyager
age range: adult
genre: fantasy
Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls.
As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.
🌿 Wasn’t expecting myself to like Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross when I read it in 2020. With Dreams Lie Beneath, the author’s new series will join my tbr. It seems like we’ll get an enemy-to-lovers romance in A River Enchanted!
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series: crescent city #2
February 15th 2022 by Bloomsbury Publishing
age range: adult
genre: fantasy, romance
Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are trying to get back to normal―they may have saved Crescent City, but with so much upheaval in their lives lately, they mostly want a chance to relax. Slow down. Figure out what the future holds.
The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.
🌿 Read House of Earth and Blood last year and it left an impression on me. Will be continuing the series to see where things go.
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standalone
February 15th 2022 by Wednesday Books
age range: young adult
genre: historical fiction, fantasy, retelling
trigger and content warnings:
- alcohol and drug abuse (mentioned), coercion (some characters try to use sexual advances as manipulation), death of multiple characters (some happened before the events of the novel), homophobia/outing (outed via rumours, mentioned, and homophobia attitudes are present via other side characters), suicide (mentioned/briefly described), suicide ideation (not pov character, but a side one considers it), supernatural possession & slavery, violence (slapping & gun shot wounds)
trigger and content warnings:
- alcohol and drug abuse (mentioned), coercion (some characters try to use sexual advances as manipulation), death of multiple characters (some happened before the events of the novel), homophobia/outing (outed via rumours, mentioned, and homophobia attitudes are present via other side characters), suicide (mentioned/briefly described), suicide ideation (not pov character, but a side one considers it), supernatural possession & slavery, violence (slapping & gun shot wounds)
The only life Mae has ever known is on the island, living on the charity of the wealthy Prosper family who control the magic on the island and the spirits who inhabit it. Mae longs for magic of her own and to have a place among the Prosper family, where her best friend, Coco, will see her as an equal, and her crush, Miles, will finally see her. Now that she’s eighteen, Mae knows her time with the Prospers may soon come to an end.
But tonight is First Night, when the Prospers and their high-society friends return to the island to celebrate the night Lord Prosper first harnessed the island’s magic and started producing aether – a magical fuel source that has revolutionized the world. With everyone returning to the island, Mae finally has the chance to go after what she’s always wanted.
When the spirits start inexplicably dying, Mae starts to realize that things aren’t what they seem. And Ivo, the reclusive, mysterious heir to the Prosper magic, may hold all the answers – including a secret about Mae’s past that she doesn’t remember. As Mae and her friends begin to unravel the mysteries of the island, and the Prospers’ magic, Mae starts to question the truth of what her world was built on.
🌿 Bright Ruined Things was supposed to be published in 2021 but sadly, was postponed to this February. I liked Samantha Cohoe’s A Golden Fury which I flew through within a day.
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series: heaven official’s blessing #2
February 15th 2022 by Seven Seas Entertainment
age range: adult
genre: fantasy, romance
rep: Chinese, lgbt
Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedication and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise, can also fall…and fall he does, cast from the Heavens again and again and banished to the mortal realm.
Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time. Now only a lowly scrap collector, he is dispatched to wander the earthly realm to take on tasks appointed by the heavens to pay back debts and maintain his divinity. Aided by old friends and foes alike, and graced with the company of a mysterious young man with whom he feels an instant connection, Xie Lian must confront the horrors of his past in order to dispel the curse of his present.
🌿 Don’t think I need to say anything about this. JUST READ IT WITH ME EVERYONE. 💛💛 I’m in love with Heaven Official’s Blessing. Even though I’m rereading the whole series, I will never be prepared for will be coming soon.
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trilogy: monsters #1
February 22nd 2022 by Harperteen
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy, romance
rep: Chinese
trigger and content warnings:
- On and offscreen deaths of parents and guardians, On and offscreen deaths of family members, Threats of violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Weapon use, Brainwashing, Interrogation, Involuntary drug use, Real-world racist microaggressions, Fantasy xenophobia
trigger and content warnings:
- On and offscreen deaths of parents and guardians, On and offscreen deaths of family members, Threats of violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Weapon use, Brainwashing, Interrogation, Involuntary drug use, Real-world racist microaggressions, Fantasy xenophobia
It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.
But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.
As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story… she is not the hero.
🌿 I’ve got an ARC for this debut release! Heard great things about Only a Monster. There’ll be monsters, enemies-to-lovers, time travelling?! Yes, please.
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standalone
February 22nd 2022 by Feiwel & Friends
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy, romance, retelling
rep: Korean
Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.
Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.
Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.
But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…
🌿 One of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen. Already preordered The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea and have an ARC which means I get to read it soon!! Woohoo~
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Which February releases are you looking forward to? Hands down, Heaven Official’s Blessing Volume 2 by Moxiang Tongxiu. 😍😍
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