May Books Are Blooming

Hello Hello There! Wow, April has left us and May feels like it just popped up suddenly (at least to me)! I apologize that this post is a little later than usual, this past week has been a bit hectic.This past month has been weird for me but hopefully May will treat all of us better than April did! I think it will do so by starting with the books that are coming out!

There are so many books coming out this month that I’m super duper excited about! Before we get into this list, I have to give the usual disclaimer to double check the release dates because… Supply chain & publishing (I really don’t need to say much more about that at this point). Without much more preamble, let’s get into this list!

• Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley *YA Companion* 5/2
• Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson *MG* 5/2
• Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron *adult companion* 5/2
• Team Chu And The Epic Hero Quest by Julie C. Dao *MG Sequel* 5/2
• Wildseed Witch: Charmed Life by Marti Dumas *MG Sequel* 5/2
• Big by Vashti Harrison *PB* 5/2
• Witchlings: The Golden Frog Games by Claribel Ortega *MG Sequel* 5/2
• The Sun And The Star by Mark Oshiro 5/2
• Innards: Stories by Magogodi oaMphela Makhene *adult* 5/2
• Princess Private Eye by Evelyn Skye *MG* 5/2
• Arana And Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow by Alex Segura 5/2
• Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds 5/2
• Dulcinea by Ana Veciana-Suarez *adult* 5/2
• Pas De Don’t by Chloe Angyal *adult* 5/2
• The Art of Ruth E. Carter by Danai Gurira *adult* 5/2
• Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah *adult* 5/2
• La Tercera by Gina Apostol *adult* 5/2
• Fall of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani *sequel* 5/2
• Homebodies: A Novel by Tembe Denton-Hurst *adult* 5/2
• A History Of Burning by Janika Oza *adult* 5/2
• Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay by Kelly McWilliams 5/2
• Only Only Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly *ER Series* 5/2
• Sejal Sinha Battles Superstorms by Maya Prasad *MG* 5/2
• Hula: A Novel by Jasmin Iolani Hakes *adult* 5/2
• Charisma’s Turn by Monique Couvson 5/2
• Radical Inclusion by David Moinina Sengeh *adult* 5/2
• Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido 5/2
• Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden By Camille T Dungy *adult* 5/2
• I’m Sticking with You by Smriti Prasadam-Halls; illustrated by Steve Small *PB* 5/5
• Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi 5/9
• You Don’t Have A Shot by Racquel Marie 5/9
• I’m Not Supposed To Be In The Dark by Riss M. Neilson 5/9
• Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp by Lamar Giles *MG* 5/9
• The Thing About Home by Rhonda McKnight *adult* 5/9
• Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian 5/9
• The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown 5/9
• The Iron Vow by Julie Kagawa *Series Finale* 5/9
• Grounded by Aisha Seead, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Huda Al-Marashi 5/9
• When Clouds Touch Us by Thanhha Lai *MG* 5/9
• Land Of Broken Promises by Jane Kuo *MG* 5/9
• The Takeout by Tracy Badua *MG* 5/9
• We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV And Film by Tre’vell Anderson *Adult* 5/9
• The Yards Between Us: A Memoir Of Life, Love And Football by R.K. Russell *adult* 5/16
• Call Me Adnan by Reem Faruqi *MG* 5/16
• Meet Me Tonight In Atlantic City by Jane Wong *adult* 5/16
• Nightmare Island by Shakira Bourne *MG* 5/16
• Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore & Elliot McLemore 5/16
• There Flies The Witch by Mayonn Paasewe-Valchev *MG* 5/16
• Rubi Ramo’s Recipe For Success by Jessica Parra 5/16
• Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby *adult* 5/16
• Last Canto Of The Dead by Daniel Jose Older *sequel* 5/16
• Fake Dates And Mooncakes by Sher Lee *adult* 5/16
• The Rachel Experiment by Lisa Lin *adult* 5/16
• Transmogrify!: 14 Fantastical Tales Of Trans Magic Edited by G. Haron Davis 5/16
• Julieta And The Romeros by Maria Andreu 5/16
• Ruby Lost and Found By Christina Li *MG* 5/16
• We Don’t Talk About Bruno Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Illus. by Mario Cortes & Olga Mosqueda *PB* 5/16
• Thinning Blood A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity by Leah Myers *adult* 5/16
• The Enchanted Hacienda A Novel By J.C. Cervantes *adult* 5/16
• The God Of Good Looks by Breanne McIvor *adult* 5/16
• The Drama With Doomsdays by Scott Reintgen *MG* 5/16
• From Here by Luma Mufleh 5/16
• Of Light And Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena 5/23
• Forever Is Now by Mariama J. Lockington 5/23
• The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes 5/23
• If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So 5/23
• The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi *adult sequel* 5/23
• Harddough Homicide by Olivia Matthews *adult sequel* 5/23
• Shakti by SJ Sindu *MG* 5/23
• Boomi’s Boombox by Shanthi Sekaran*MG* 5/23
• Heroes Of The Water Monster by Brian Young *MG Sequel* 5/23
• Why Fathers Cry At Night by Kwame Alexander *adult* 5/23
• Magic Has No Borders Edited by Sona Charaipotra & Samira Ahmed 5/23
• Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams *adult* 5/23
• When The Vibe Is Right by Sarah Dass 5/30
• Rhythm & Muse by India Hill Brown 5/30
• Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon 5/30
• You Bet Your Heart by Danielle Parker 5/30
• An Island Princess Starts A Scandal by Adriana Herrera *adult sequel* 5/30
• Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko 5/30
• The Sky Is Falling edited by Taj McCoy *adult* 5/30
• Everybody Come Alive by Marcie Alvis Walker *adult* 5/30
• Onyeka And The Rise Of The Rebels by Tola Okogwu *MG Sequel* 5/30
• The Light At The End Of The World by Siddhartha Deb *adult* 5/30

What a list! I’ve also been lucky enough to acquire ARCs for some of these titles thanks to the bookish powers that be! They are:

• Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley *YA Companion*
• Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron *adult companion*
• Team Chu And The Epic Hero Quest by Julie C. Dao *MG Sequel*
• Wildseed Witch: Charmed Life by Marti Dumas *MG Sequel*
• Arana And Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow by Alex Segura
• Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds
• Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
• You Don’t Have A Shot by Racquel Marie
• I’m Not Supposed To Be In The Dark by Riss M. Neilson
• Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp by Lamar Giles *MG*
• Nightmare Island by Shakira Bourne *MG*
• Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore & Elliot McLemore
• There Flies The Witch by Mayonn Paasewe-Valchev *MG*
• Of Light And Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena
• Forever Is Now by Mariama J. Lockington
• The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes
• The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi *adult sequel*
• Harddough Homicide by Olivia Matthews *adult sequel*
• When The Vibe Is Right by Sarah Dass
• Rhythm & Muse by India Hill Brown
• You Bet Your Heart by Danielle Parker

This list will be keeping me busy so here is what I’ve read thus far:

• Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley *YA Companion*
• Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron *adult companion*
• Team Chu And The Epic Hero Quest by Julie C. Dao *MG Sequel*
• Wildseed Witch: Charmed Life by Marti Dumas *MG Sequel*
• Currently Reading: Arana And Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow by Alex Segura

This is definitely a great month of releases (2023 has brought us some phenomenal books and we are only nearing the half way mark)! Did I miss any books by Authors Of Color? Are there any you are really looking forward to? Please let me know in the comments or on social media via Instagram @bookishgirlmagic, Twitter @bookishgrlmagic and Clubhouse @bookishgrlmagic where you can find me mostly in book centered clubs/rooms (mostly on Tuesdays and Fridays) to chat with me. Also subscribe to this blog if you haven’t already because it makes me feel like a bunch of books I’m excited about are coming out! And to those who are subscribed, thank you so much, I truly appreciate y’all! Sending y’all bookish love and wishing you happy reading!