Latest Book Releases. Dellybird top picks

1st July 2020

July 2020 Book Releases

I am so excited about these July 2020 book releases. There is so much great LGBTQIAP+ and own-voices representation in my selections this month. June might be pride month but our support for these authors and stories should be all year round. Here are my top picks for you to check out:

Loveless

Title: Loveless

Author: Alice Oseman

Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books

Published: 9th July 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary

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“It was all sinking in. I’d never had a crush on anyone. No boys, no girls, not a single person I had ever met. What did that mean?“

Admittedly, I was very late to join the Alice Oseman fan club but I fell in love as soon as I picked up Heartstopper. I am really looking forward to reading all of her books including Loveless, which is an exploration of identity and achieving self-acceptance. It is an a-romantic coming out story about a university fresher called Georgia, who is looking for love.

Cinderella is Dead

Title: Cinderella is Dead

Author: Kalynn Bayron

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Published: 7th July 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy, retelling

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This is not your average retelling and is set 200 years after Cinderella found her prince. All young women are required to attend the Annual Ball to meet their fate; Either selected as a wife or never heard from again. However, our protagonist Sophia would much rather marry her childhood best friend, Erin. Fleeing the ball, in true fairy tale style, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella’s family, finds her and together they vow to take down the king.

I am very excited to read this one. There are very few retellings that I feel are fresh or have enough twists to stand on their own but I think this could definitely be one of them. If you like retellings then you may enjoy my six for Sunday posts on retellings publishing in 2019 and Beauty and the Beast retellings.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn

Title: Girl, Serpent, Thorn

Author: Melissa Bashardoust

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Published: 7th July 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy, retelling

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Fairyloot subscribers were very lucky to get an early exclusive edition of Girl, Serpent, Thorn! I, on the other hand, am yet to get my hands on a copy but not long now. This is another fairy tale retelling that I need, especially as it has a bisexual protagonist. I love the synopsis so I am going to share the full thing with you:

“There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.

As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.

Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming…human or demon. Princess or monster.”

The Extraordinaries

Title: The Extraordinaries

Author: T.J. Klune

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Published: 14th July 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

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I am very ready for this super-hero fantasy story with both LGBT+ and ADHD representation “A queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves”. Nick’s Dad doesn’t trust him and his best friend Seth may or may not be the love of his short, uneventful life. He isn’t satisfied with just being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom. When Nick meets his biggest crush and Nova City’s greatest hero, Shadow Star, he sets out to make himself extraordinary. He’ll do it with or without Seth’s reluctant help… I think this book sounds amazing!

Peace Talks

Title: Peace Talks #16

Author: Jim Butcher

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 16th July 2020

Genre: Urban Fantasy

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The Dresden Files series is simply my favourite book series and, according to the cover, also Patrick Rothfuss’. I love so many of the characters and how they have developed. Harry, the protagonist and Chicago’s only wizard-detective, has changed a lot. He very much falls under the flawed protagonist category but that is how we see his development. His dry, sarcastic sense of humour works for me but there are some truly emotional moments too, particularly in the later books. This series has everything – amazing fae and vampire courts, flavourful demons, werewolves, a wizard council (and all of the politics that goes with it)…. It is an epic urban fantasy, with fantastic world building and characters you can love. You don’t have to read every book in the series and can easily skip the first two to get started.

In Peace Talks Harry joins the security team of the White Council for the negotiations between the Supernatural nations. With the ongoing hostilities and political manipulations afoot, how likely is it that the talks will remain civil? I’M SO EXCITED!!!!