2022 Releases I’m Excited For!

I was going to post this at the end of December since it seems like more of an end-of-the-year kind of vibe, but then I remembered I always do a buttload of yearly wrap-up posts and decided, yeah, this one could stand to go out a little early. And here we are!

As the title suggests, I’ll just be listing off a number of books releasing in 2022 that I’m excited for. I’ll be going off their *supposed* released dates listed on Goodreads, but we all know how release dates love to change, so this might not be wholly accurate by the time they roll around. For the moment I’m writing it, though, it is!

(Most, if not all, of these are releases for the first half of the year, though, so it’s unlikely they’ll change! Why didn’t I include later releases? Good question. I think the overall lack of covers deterred my brain, so I’ll just have to make another one of these later in the year or something.)

There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again.
It isn’t as friendly as Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.
And it isn’t as safe.
When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.
She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming…

Let’s start this off strong with a book I’ve had preordered since it COULD be preordered: Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire. I adore the Wayward Children’s series; they’re short, fantastical, relatively inclusive afaia, and just a blast to knock out. We’re already seven books in and I hope it doesn’t stop anytime soon.

Release Date: January 4th 2022

Fallon and Chloe used to be best friends. But last summer, the girls hooked up right before Chloe left for college, and after a series of misunderstandings, they aren’t even speaking to one another. Now, a year later, Chloe’s back home from school, and Fallon is doing everything in her power to avoid her. Which is especially difficult because their moms own a business together—a gourmet ice cream truck where both girls work.
But when their moms have the opportunity to make a presentation to some venture capitalists in Texas—something that could seriously expand their business and solve all their money problems to boot—it’s up to Fallon to work a series of food truck festivals across the country. But she can’t do it alone, and Chloe is the only one available to help. As tensions heat up again between the two girls, will Fallon be able to keep her cool?

One I heard about relatively recently and was devastated to learn it wasn’t coming out until next year is Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan. Lesbians going on a road trip in an ice cream van that will hopefully solve a misunderstanding between them? SIGN ME RIGHT ON UP!

Release Date: May 17th 2022

I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is, “These are the hands that buried my mother.”
For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it’s her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her—the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu.
When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom’s greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making—she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favor from the princess, which may be Ning’s only chance to save her sister’s life.
But between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger.

Okay, first thing’s first: look at this cover. Look at it. I am absolutely smitten with this cover and I want it IMEDIATELY. I am actually losing my mind over how much I want to own A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin. And not JUST because of the cover! A fantasy story inspired by Chinese history and mythology? Say no more! The fact it’s about tea, poison, and a competition is just the cherry on top. Y’all know I’m a sucker for retellings of any kind, and mythology is ALWAYS a go for me!

Sorry. I’m very excited for this one, if that wasn’t clear.

Release Date: March 22nd 2022

Side note: I went to check if this was going to be a duology or a trilogy, and the second book already has a release date? In August?? Of 2022??? I’m not complaining even a LITTLE, but what. The cover is just as gorgeous as this one, so, tbh, my body is so ready.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every bookworm secretly wishes to be Lizzie Bennet.
A less acknowledged truth is that Mary Bennet might be a better fit.
For seventeen-year-old Marnie Barnes, who’s convinced she is the long-suffering protagonist of her life, this revelation comes at the end of a series of self-induced disasters that force her to confront a devastating truth: Marnie has more in common with Mary Bennet—the utterly forgettable middle sister—than the effervescent Lizzie.
Determined to reinvent herself, she enlists the help of her bubbly roommate and opens herself up to the world—leading lady style. And between new friends, a very cute boy, and a rescue pup named Sir Pat, Marnie realizes that being the main character doesn’t mean rewriting your life entirely. It’s about finding the right cast of characters, the love interest of your dreams, and, most important, embracing your story, flaws and all.

A modernized retelling of the Bennet family? Say less! And just gimme the dang book already, please! Being Mary Bennet by J.C. Peterson sounds exactly like the kind of thing my Pride & Prejudice-obsessed ass needs in her life ASAP.

Release Date: March 15th 2022

Mary may have inherited the brilliant mind of her late mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, but she lives a drab life above her father’s bookstore, waiting for an extraordinary idea that’ll inspire a work worthy of her parentage—and impress her rakishly handsome (and super-secret) beau, Percy Shelley.
Ada Lovelace knows a thing or two about superstar parents, what with her dad being Lord Byron. But her passions lie beyond the arts—in mechanical engineering, to be exact. Alas, no matter how precise Ada’s calculations, there’s always a man willing to claim her ingenious ideas as his own.
When fate (er, fae) connects our two masterminds, they learn their talents are rare indeed—because their parents were two of the most powerful fae to have ever lived. And with the right training from a fae godmother, they can achieve anything they dare to imagine. But when their dream team accidentally-on-purpose results in a living, breathing, thinking automaton, Mary and Ada face a villain of Gothic proportions. . .

(Oof. That image quality. Sorry about this one! I was struggling to find a decent image version.)

Do I really need to say anything about My Imaginary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows? I love all the books they’ve put out thus far, and the Mary line is absolutely no exception.

Also, I’m sorry, but Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace’s parents being powerful fae? That’s INGENIOUS. How did they think of that?!

Release Date: August 2nd 2022 by HarperTeen

Nineteen-year-old Signa Farrow, orphaned as a baby, has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her last remaining relatives are the Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at the glittering and gloomy estate of Thorn Grove. Thorn Grove’s patriarch, Elijah, mourns his late wife, Lillian, through wild parties and drink, while eldest son Percy grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and daughter Blythe suffers from the same mysterious illness that killed her mother. And when Lillian’s spirit confronts Signa and claims she was poisoned, Signa realizes that Blythe could be next to die.

Signa’s best chance of uncovering the culprit and solving Lillian’s murder is an alliance with Death himself—the very man she hates most. And Death, that fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side, shows her that their connection may be more powerful than she ever dared imagine.

A murder mystery with DEATH HIMSELF INVOLVED? Hell yeah! I’m all for that, and I’m totally ready to dive immediately into Belladonna by Adalyn Grace. Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to wait a little while. :’D But! I’m Ready!

Release Date: August 23rd 2022

Synopsis not included because there are spoilers for the series.

I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this series, the fourth book of which being Court by Tracy Wolff. It’s so easy to fly through, and the plot is very much just that fun Twilight-esque (plus Vampire Academy maybe? still have to read that one) trash that is an absolute blast to go through, but it does have a positive note of actual LGBTQ+ rep AND in the very last place I expected it to be, which is cool. Also, the main character is a creature I borderline never see in books, so that’s also kept me coming back.

There’s no doubt I’ll be reading this one, even though I loathe the direction it took with the love triangle. Also the fact there was even a love triangle to begin with. Love-hate relationship! But I am excited to dive into this one once it’s out. (Not excited for the length, though… they’re all VERY thick books, but 700+ pages? Girl help.)

Release Date: February 1st 2022

Kat Finn and her mother can barely make ends meet living among humans. Like all vampires, they must drink Hema, an expensive synthetic blood substitute, to survive, as nearly all of humanity has been infected by a virus that’s fatal to vampires. Kat isn’t looking forward to an immortal life of barely scraping by, but when she learns she’s been accepted to the Harcote School, a prestigious prep school that’s secretly vampires-only, she knows her fortune is about to change.
Taylor Sanger has grown up in the wealthy vampire world, but she’s tired of its backward, conservative values—especially when it comes to sexuality, since she’s an out-and-proud lesbian. She only has to suffer through a two more years of Harcote before she’s free. But when she discovers her new roommate is Kat Finn, she’s horrified. Because she and Kat used to be best friends, a long time ago, and it didn’t end well.
When Taylor stumbles upon the dead body of a vampire, and Kat makes a shocking discovery in the school’s archives, the two realize that there are deep secrets at Harcote—secrets that link them to the most powerful figures in Vampirdom and to the synthetic blood they all rely on.

What’s that? MORE lesbian books? You fuckin’ betcha more lesbian books. Plus vampires and a cover I am losing my shit over (again)? I want Youngblood by Sasha Laurens now. Right now.

I have probably impossibly high hopes for this one, and I’m dying for it to live up to them.

(I also just realized the author’s other book was a cover-buy I made earlier this year. If they keep producing books with such amazing covers, plot or not I’ll keep crawling back like the pretty-cover-loving gremlin I am.)

Release Date: July 19th 2022

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.
Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.
To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

MORE BEAUTIFUL COVERS, I’M ~~NOT~~ SORRY. Also! Another story inspired by Chinese Mythology! Having spent a few semesters in college studying Asian mythology and culture (before deciding I preferred the broad span of Anthropology as a major so I could learn about ALL THE CULTURES) I am living for this! Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan is going to be a duology, according to the Goodreads page, and is also the author’s debut novel! I have high expectations for it, so bring it on!

(There are apparently two different hardcover cover options for this one? But I like the one I pictured SO much more, but if you’re curious what the other one looks like, it’s right here.)

Release Date: January 11th 2022

Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny.
But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes.
On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad boy neighbor with a crush. The three have nothing in common except Shara and the annoyingly cryptic notes she left behind, but together they must untangle Shara’s trail of clues and find her. It’ll be worth it, if Chloe can drag Shara back before graduation to beat her fair-and-square.
Thrown into an unlikely alliance, chasing a ghost through parties, break-ins, puzzles, and secrets revealed on monogrammed stationery, Chloe starts to suspect there might be more to this small town than she thought. And maybe—probably not, but maybe—more to Shara, too.

Okay, if you didn’t guess I would end this note on more lesbians (and LGBTQ+ rep in general), that one’s on you. It was 50/50 to be either more lesbians or more mythology retellings, and, in this house, we do lean more towards lesbians. Just FYI.

Now, I have a little bit of an iffy relationship with Casey McQuiston’s works (though I’ve only read Red, White & Royal Blue so far, with the plot leaving me incredibly disenchanted but the dialogue leaving me heaving on the floor unable to breathe because of how funny I found it), but I am 100% willing to give I Kissed Shara Wheeler a go by synopsis alone. I mean, come on, a mystery? A man-hunt of sorts? PUZZLES? And, yes, okay, also lesbians. I’m predictable, okay!

GIMME IT!

Release Date: May 3rd 2022

Okay, so, I actually had more I wanted to include, but the editor is starting to act kind of weird and I really don’t want to accidentally lose all the ones I’ve already written up, so we’re going to stop here with a nice round 10 books I’m so excited to see in my hands and wish I could have right this second. I hate waiting. Waiting is for people with patience, of which I have none.

Time, you’ve been messing with me every since Covid started. Pick up the pace, just for this, please! (But maybe slow down elsewhere. Things are going too fast for this girl. She needs a break.)

(I know that’s contradictory, but time is a social construct, okay. I can be contradictory if I want to be.)

If you have any you’re excited for that I didn’t mention, please let me know! I would love to have more to also be excited about, and I always miss out on some of them due to my lack of perception. Hit me with what you’ve got!

Anyway, that’s all for this post!

Thanks for reading!