A new year is upon us, a time for fresh starts, new resolutions, and lots and lots of planning (that may or may not actually pay off). But, in this time of new beginnings, is there anything more satisfying than thinking of all the new books you’re going to get to read in 2023? Some of which will arrive as soon as next week? Heck yeah.
After a 2022 that was filled with excellent YA titles, 2023 seems set to bring us even more, with stories featuring everything from sweet romances to disturbing Gothic horror. In fact, there are so many incredible titles already marked for release in 2023, there was no way we were fitting them on a single list, so if we left off something you’re hyped about, we’re sorry and we’ll get back to it later in the year. (Or, at the very least, we’ll try out best.)
Here are just a few of the year’s diverse slate of upcoming YA books we’re most excited to read in 2023.
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Release Date: January 3 from Joy Revolution
Why We’re Excited: Bestselling romance author Talia Hibbert is writing a YA romance. What more do we need to say?
Publisher’s Description: Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.
Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)
These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.
Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?
Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson
Release Date: January 17 from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Why We’re Excited: A sequel to Margaret Rogerson’s amazing Sorcery of Thorns? That’s a cozy mystery in which Nathaniel and Elisabeth must unravel family secrets in time to host a midwinter’s ball? Was this novella written specifically for me?? Yes, yes it was, and I am ready to love it with my whole heart.
Publisher’s Description: Elisabeth Scrivener is finally settling into her new life with sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn. Now that their demon companion Silas has returned, so has scrutiny from nosy reporters hungry for gossip about the city’s most powerful sorcerer and the librarian who stole his heart. But something strange is afoot at Thorn Manor: the estate’s wards, which are meant to keep their home safe, are acting up and forcibly trapping the Manor’s occupants inside. Surely it must be a coincidence that this happened just as Nathaniel and Elisabeth started getting closer to one another…
With no access to the outside world, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas – along with their new maid Mercy – will have to work together to discover the source of the magic behind the malfunctioning wards before they’re due to host the city’s Midwinter Ball. Not an easy task when the house is filled with unexpected secrets, and all Elisabeth can think about is kissing Nathaniel in peace. But when it becomes clear that the house, influenced by the magic of Nathaniel’s ancestors, requires a price for its obedience, Elisabeth and Nathaniel will have to lean on their connection like never before to set things right.
Immortality: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
Release Date: February 28 from Wednesday Books
Why We’re Excited: Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy: A Love Story was one of 2022’s most original YA releases, a historical story about a young girl named Hazel who dreams of being a surgeon in early 19th century Edinburgh, when such things were forbidden to women. Its sequel, Immortality: A Love Story—already a contender for Best YA Cover of 2023—will aim to deal with the fallout from Hazel’s choices.
Publisher’s Description: Hazel Sinnett is alone and half-convinced the events of the year before—the immortality, Beecham’s vial—were a figment of her imagination. She doesn’t even know whether Jack is alive or dead. All she can really do now is treat patients and maintain Hawthornden Castle as it starts to decay around her.
When saving a life leads to her arrest, Hazel seems doomed to rot in prison until a message intervenes: She has been specifically requested to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte, the sickly daughter of King George IV. Soon Hazel is dragged into the glamor and romance of a court where everyone has something to hide, especially the enigmatic, brilliant members of a social club known as the Companions to the Death.
As Hazel’s work entangles her more and more with the British court, she realizes that her own future as a surgeon isn’t the only thing at stake. Malicious forces are at work in the monarchy, and Hazel may be the only one capable of setting things right.
Delicious Monsters by Lisette Sambury
Release Date: February 28 from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Why We’re Excited: Lisette Sambury’s Blood Like Magic duology was a breath of fresh air in the YA fantasy space, with its generational magic system, complex family dynamics, and intriguing questions of identity. Her next novel, Delicious Monsters, is described as Sadie meets The Haunting of Hill House and follows the story of two teen girls investigating a mysterious mansion ten years apart.
Publisher’s Description: Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother’s secrets, nor what lurks within these walls…
A decade later, Brittney is desperate to get out from under the thumb of her abusive mother, a bestselling author who claims her stay at “Miracle Mansion” allowed her to see the error of her ways. But Brittney knows that’s nothing but a sham. She decides the new season of her popular Haunted web series will uncover what happened to a young Black girl in the mansion ten years prior and finally expose her mother’s lies. But as she gets more wrapped up in the investigation, she’ll have to decide: if she can only bring one story to light, which one matters most—Daisy’s or her own?
As Brittney investigates the mansion in the present, Daisy’s story runs parallel in the past, both timelines propelling the girls to face the most dangerous monsters of all: those that hide in plain sight.
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
Release Date: February 28 from Bloomsbury YA
Why We’re Excited: An atmospheric YA horror story with serious Mexican Gothic vibes, word that Trang Thanh Trah’s She Is a Haunting is a gamechanger has been floating around the publishing world for some time.
Publisher’s Description: When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.
But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat.
Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.
The Beauty Trials by Dhonielle Clayton
Release Date: February 14 from Disney-Hyperion
Why We’re Excited: An all new Belles book? And it’s about Camille’s sister Edel? Yes, please.
Publisher’s Description: Sophia, the dangerous and erratic former queen, has been imprisoned, restoring peace to Orléans. Now her sister, Charlotte, sits on the throne and has decided to invoke the ancient tradition of the Beauty Trials?a series of harrowing tests meant to find the true ruler of Orléans. Edel, who has always aspired to be more than a Belle, decides to enter and, after promising to bind her arcana to keep from having an unnatural advantage, joins a few dozen other hopefuls intent on becoming the next Queen of Orléans.
But the Trials are far worse than any of them bargained for. As the women are put through tasks that test their strength, confidence, composure, and bravery, many perish, and Edel is mysteriously attacked by one of the other competitors?forcing her to use her powers just to survive. Will her subterfuge cost her the crown, or is there a larger conspiracy at play?
Royal Blood by Aimée Carter
Release Date: March 7 from Delacorte Press
Why We’re Excited: Maybe it’s all the hate that Meghan Markle’s been getting since her Netflix documentary with Prince Harry dropped, but I’m definitely not mad about the prospect of a juicy thriller about the secret illegitimate daughter of the King of England who finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation after her identity (and several royal secrets) is revealed.
Publisher’s Description: As the King of England’s illegitimate daughter, 17-year-old Evan Bright knows a thing or two about keeping secrets.
But when she’s forced to spend the summer in London with her father and the royal family, who aren’t exactly thrilled she exists, her identity is mysteriously revealed, and suddenly the world is dying to know every juicy lie the press prints about her.
After a fun night turns deadly and Evan becomes the primary suspect in a murder investigation, the escalating rumors and fallout threaten to tear her life apart. As she fights to uncover the truth about what happened, she discovers royal secrets that are even more scandalous than she imagined – secrets that could change the monarchy forever.
And her own may be next.
Saints of the Household by Ari Tison
Release Date: March 28 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Why We’re Excited: A buzzy contemporary YA about abuse, violence, and generational trauma in a small town, Saints of the Houshold is told in alternating perspectives between two Bribri brothers by intricately weaving together vignettes and poetry. And it feels poised to be one of those titles we’ll all be talking about come spring.
Publisher’s Description: Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down.
But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, instinct takes over and they intervene, breaking up a fight and beating their high school’s star soccer player to a pulp. This act of violence threatens the brothers’ dreams for the future and their beliefs about who they are. As the true details of that fateful afternoon unfold over the course of the novel, Max and Jay grapple with the weight of their actions, their shifting relationship as brothers, and the realization that they may be more like their father than they thought. They’ll have to reach back to their Bribri roots to find their way forward.
Chaos & Flame by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland
Release Date: March 28 from Razorbill
Why We’re Excited: When two big name authors like Tessa Gratton (Lady Hotspur, Moon Dark Smile) and Justina Ireland (Dread Nation, Rust in the Root) team up to write an epic fantasy together, you pay attention, is what I’m saying.
Publisher’s Description: Darling Seabreak cannot remember anything before the murder of her family at the hands of House Dragon, but she knows she owes her life to both the power of her Chaos Boon and House Kraken for liberating her from the sewers where she spent her childhood. So when her adoptive Kraken father is captured in battle, Darling vows to save him—even if that means killing each and every last member of House Dragon.
Talon Goldhoard has always been a dutiful War Prince for House Dragon, bravely leading the elite troops of his brother, the High Prince Regent. But lately his brother’s erratic rule threatens to undo a hundred years of House Dragon’s hard work, and factions are turning to Talon to unseat him. Talon resists, until he’s ambushed by a fierce girl who looks exactly like the one his brother has painted obsessively, repeatedly, for years, and Talon knows she’s the key to everything.
Together, Darling and Talon must navigate the treacherous waters of House politics, caught up in the complicated game the High Prince Regent is playing against everyone. The unlikeliest of allies, they’ll have to stop fighting each other long enough to learn to fight together in order to survive the fiery prophecies and ancient blood magic threatening to devastate their entire world.
Queen Bee by Amalie Howard
Release Date: April 4 from Joy Revolution
Why We’re Excited: The really remarkable thing about a Regency-era YA romance that’s described as Bridgerton meets The Count of Monte Cristo is that no one has done this before now.
Publisher’s Description: Lady Ela Dalvi knows the exact moment her life was forever changed—when her best friend, Poppy, betrayed her without qualm over a boy, the son of a duke. She was sent away in disgrace, her reputation ruined.
Nearly three years later, eighteen-year-old Ela is consumed with bitterness and a desire for . . . revenge. Her enemy is quickly joining the crème de la crème of high society while she withers away in the English countryside.
With an audacious plan to get even, Ela disguises herself as a mysterious heiress and infiltrates London’s elite. But when Ela reunites with the only boy she’s ever loved, she begins to question whether vengeance is still her greatest desire.
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Release Date: April 4 from Wednesday Books
Why We’re Excited: Rebecca Ross wrote one of the best fantasy duologies of 2022 with A River Enchanted and A Fire Endless, so we’re ready for whatever she wants to do next. (And since the thing she’s doing next involves warring gods and an enemies-to-lovers romance featuring two rival journalists who forge a connection by anonymously sending one another letters, it seems safe to say it’s going to be great.)
Publisher’s Description: After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish?into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.
Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken
Release Date: April 4 from Knopf Books for Young Readers
Why We’re Excited: Alexandra Bracken, author of the Darkest Minds and Passenger series, is kicking off a new fantasy duology inspired by Arthurian legend. Basically, that’s all you need to know.
Publisher’s Description: Tamsin Lark didn’t ask to be a Hollower. As a mortal with no magical talent, she was never meant to break into ancient crypts, or compete with sorceresses and Cunningfolk for the treasures inside. But after her thieving foster father disappeared without so much as a goodbye, it was the only way to keep herself—and her brother, Cabell—alive.
Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian vanished with a powerful ring from Arthurian legend. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them. But they aren’t the only ones who covet the ring.
As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipers’ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother. . . .
Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
Release Date: May 2 from Balzer & Bray
Why We’re Excited: A timely exploration of sexuality, identity, and friendship from the one and only Becky Albertalli, featuring a straight girl who discovers she may not be so straight after all when she’s asked to fake date her female BFF? Who wouldn’t be?
Publisher’s Description: She’s never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There’s Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen’s biases in check. And then there’s Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.
Imogen’s thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she’s finally visiting Lili on campus, she’s bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen’s all in.
Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.
Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she’s told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.
Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
Release Date: May 9 from Balzer + Bray
Why We’re Excited: A contemporary coming-of-age tale from the author of Pride that follows the story of a young girl whose father is the leader of a Black separatist group in Philadelphia feels like one of the most original titles arriving this string
Publisher’s Description: Warrior Princess.
That’s what Nigeria’s father calls her. He’s raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals that connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch to their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.
Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. There, she slowly begins to blossom and expand her universe.
As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.
Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler
Release Date: June 13 from Wednesday Books
Why We’re Excited: The second title on this list that features some excellent bisexual representation, this queer Sliding Doors style rom-com shows us the two paths one girl’s life might take, depending on which coast she decides to spend a summer on.
Publisher’s Description: Natalya Fox has twenty-four hours to make the biggest choice of her life: stay home in NYC for the summer with her dad (and finally screw up the courage to talk to the girl she’s been crushing on), or spend it with her basically estranged mom in LA (knowing this is the best chance she has to fix their relationship, if she even wants to.) (Does she want to?)
How’s a girl supposed to choose?
She can’t, and so both summers play out in alternating timelines – one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the girl she’s always wanted. And one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the guy she never saw coming.
One of Us Is Back by Karen McManus
Release Date: July 25 from Delacorte
Why We’re Excited: The third and final installment in Karen McManus’ One of Us is Lying series absolutely cannot get here soon enough.
Publisher’s Description: Ever since Simon died in detention, life hasn’t been easy for the Bayview Crew. First the Bayview Four had to prove they weren’t killers. Then a new generation had to outwit a vengeful copycat. Now, it’s beginning again.
At first the mysterious billboard seems like a bad joke: Time for a new game, Bayview. But when a member of the crew disappears, it’s clear this ‘game’ just got serious – and no-one understands the rules.
Everyone’s a target. And now that someone unexpected has returned to Bayview, things are starting to get deadly.
Simon was right about secrets – they all come out in the end.
The thing is, Simon was right about secrets-they all come out, eventually. And Bayview has a lot it’s still hiding.
This Cursed Light by Emily Thiede
Release Date: August 15 from Wednesday Books
Why We’re Excited: This Vicious Grace was essentially a perfect YA fantasy romance. We really have to wait eight more months to find out what’s next for Alessa and Dante? That’s honestly a personal attack.
Publisher’s Description: Six months after saving their island from destruction and almost losing Dante, Alessa is ready to live happily ever after with her former bodyguard. But Dante can’t rest, haunted by a conviction that the gods aren’t finished with them yet. And without his powers, the next kiss from Alessa could kill him.
In This Cursed LightDesperate for answers, Dante enlists Alessa and their friends to find the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring his powers and combining forces with them to create the only army powerful enough to save them all. But Alessa is hiding a deadly consequence of their last fight—a growing darkness that’s consuming her mind—and their destination holds more dangers than anyone bargained for. In the mysterious city of the banished, Dante will uncover secrets, lies, and ghosts from his past that force him to ask himself: Which side is he on?
When the gods reveal their final test, Dante and Alessa will be the world’s last defense. But if they are the keys to saving the world, will their love be the price of victory?
Foxglove by Adalyn Grace
Release Date: August 22 from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Why We’re Excited: Foxglove, the sequel to Adalyn Grace’s Belladonna, will feature another murder mystery, another supernatural immortal, and a heroine who’s still in love with Death. Who could ask for more?
Publisher’s Description: A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He’s hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago…and now he’s determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost.
Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time the girls spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate’s past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide if they can trust one another as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate’s unexpected games—all with their destinies hanging in the balance.
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB.