30+ highly anticipated diverse releases of 2023!

Hey, fellow ramblers! Today, I’m sharing a list of diverse books coming out in 2023 that I can’t wait to read! We’re going to ignore the fact that it’s only June, but hey, time has been moving pretty quickly this year. I mean, we’re already halfway through 2022!

Anyways, let’s dive in!

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee

An emotionally powerful romance novel about two people finding love after struggling with addiction–ultimately discovering what it means to be completely and unapologetically themselves.

Six Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe

Six moments lead us to two girls, one kiss, and three little words that were maybe always true in this gorgeous novel perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Jenny Han.

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude

On the morning nineteen-year-old Avery Byrne plans to end her life, she learns an asteroid will end the world in a matter of days. She fights her way home from college to help her family and be with the girl she loves, but while they chase their final tomorrows, can Avery embrace her own?

They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody

Told in dual POVs, the queer enemies-to-lovers romance follows 17-year-olds Jonah and Dylan, who turn to fake dating after a homecoming disaster. Their ploy begins to fail spectacularly, though, when unexpected chemistry and past scars interfere.

This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang

Get ready to fall in love in this hilarious rom-com about a girl who begins a fake relationship with the famous actor in her class, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Jenny Han.

The Next New Syrian Girl by Ream Shukairy

Furia meets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in this poignant and timely novel, blending guilt, nostalgia, and devotion, about two girls from seemingly opposing worlds and their blossoming friendship.

The Borrow a Boyfriend Club by Page Powars

A high school boy must master the art of romance to join his new school’s most illustrious (and secret) club to ensure his classmates see him as his true gender, and soon finds himself falling for the club’s prickly president.

She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

A house with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.

Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt

Together We Rot, a YA horror novel pitched as Hereditary meets Winterwood about two former best friends — tough-as-nails Wil and shy, sheltered Elwood — who must confront an ancient evil living in the forest before it’s too late.

Dance of the Starlit Sea by Kiana Krystle

Disgraced ballet dancer Lila Rose Li is sent away by her parents to Luna Island, where every seven years a girl is sacrificed as a bride to the Devil. To protect herself, Lila seeks the guardianship of the angel who keeps appearing in her dreams, but unbeknownst to her, is the Devil’s servant in disguise.

A Ruinous Fate by Kaylie Smith

Featuring a charming and chaotic ensemble cast of characters, this first book in a planned series by debut author Kaylie Smith will sweep readers away with its utterly immersive world building, swoon-worthy romance, and action-packed storytelling.

Damned If You Do by Alex Brown

This book follows high school stage manager Cordelia Scott as she learns that she may have accidentally sold her soul to a demon, and now she must help him neutralize a demonic rival or risk spending eternity in Hell—all while navigating a disastrous Tech Week, her feelings for her best friend (who might be a monster), and way too many pop quizzes.

The Fraud Squad by Kyla Zhao

A working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore’s high society to fulfill her dreams risks losing everything in the process–including herself–in this propulsive millennial women’s fiction novel by debut author Kyla Zhao.

Last of the Talons by Sophie Kim

This book follows the story of a teen assassin forced to work for her kingdom’s most dangerous crime lord in order to protect her younger sister, and she finds herself at risk when she attracts the attention of a dangerous immortal known as dokkaebi—a Korean goblin—and will have to use all her deadly skills to survive.

Kismat Connection by Ananya Devarajan

This #OwnVoices YA romance follows a girl whose family legacy dictates that she will marry her first boyfriend, so she ropes her best friend into a fake dating experiment to prove the existence of her free will—not knowing that he is already in love with her.

The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu

Hayden Lichfield’s breakthrough in his pursuit of immortality should be cause for celebration. Then he finds his father murdered, and everyone thinks he did it. As he flees with their research, his uncle puts Elsinore Labs on lockdown, and Hayden’s only ally is the laboratory’s AI, Horatio.

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

An aspiring teen chef enters a Mid-Autumn mooncake-making contest to bring publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn, but discovers the recipe for love is more complicated when a new customer—the attractive son of a business magnate—asks him to be his fake date for a glitzy wedding in the Hamptons.

Call Him by Name by Hannah V. Sawyerr

Told through court transcripts, journal entries, and poetry, CALL HIM BY NAME centers the many different avenues to healing, strength of self, and leaning on those you love. The novel will appeal to fans of Joy McCullough’s BLOOD WATER PAINT and Elizabeth Acevedo’s THE POET X and has tonal similarities to HBO’s I MAY DESTROY YOU.

Everyone’s Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni

At an elite boarding school in the English countryside, Nigerian cousins Iyanu and Kitan are thrown into the middle of a schoolwide conspiracy when everyone’s juicy relationship secrets are released “Burn Book style” the week before the annual Valentine’s Day Ball.

Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

A trans pianist makes a New Year’s resolution on a frozen Wisconsin night to win regionals and win back his ex, but a new boy complicates things in Edward Underhill’s heartfelt debut YA rom-dram, Always the Almost.

The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans

The middle grade novel follows River, who can see monsters and enter a spirit world called The Otherwoods—but would rather avoid it at all costs. When their crush is kidnapped and taken to The Otherwoods, River must their fears and find the confidence to believe in themself in order to save her.

If I Have to be Haunted by Miranda Sun

A Chinese American teen reluctantly reclaims her ghost-speaking heritage to resurrect her nemesis, the local golden boy, from an otherwordly snake bite, rekindling a multigenerational feud—and maybe falling in love with him—in the process.

Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shehnaz

Provincial outsider Anaïs just wanted the royal ball to end. She didn’t expect to be swept off her feet by the notorious Prince Leo only to be killed at the stroke of midnight by an explosion that levels the palace. And she definitely didn’t expect to come back and experience the whole thing over and over again. To escape this nightmarish time loop and save the oblivious people trapped at the palace, Anaïs must take control of her fate for the first time and discover who’s behind the attack. And survive midnight.

Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans

Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything is a campy thriller in which a nonbinary birder finds themself solving a murder mystery with their popular jock classmate, all while falling for a cute girl from their birding group…and trying not to get murdered.

How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok

In this YA thriller, 17-year-old amateur sleuth Iris and her sapphic detective agency decide to investigate when Iris’s ex-girlfriend—notorious for creating a polarizing true-crime podcast about Iris’s missing sister—disappears too.

Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni

An Armenian-American woman rediscovers her roots and embraces who she really is in this vibrant and heartfelt queer rom-com by debut author Taleen Voskuni.

Caught in a Bad Fauxmance by Elle Gonzales Rose

Aspiring artist Devin Báez’s winter vacation devolves into hijinks after his family’s long-time rivals, the affluent Seo-Cookes, challenge them to a bet that could cost the Báezes their beloved lake cabin. But when the enemy’s attractive son comes to Devin in desperate need of a fake boyfriend, he reluctantly agrees to set aside loathing for love to take down the Seo-Cookes once and for all.

When a Brown Girl Flees by Aamna Qureshi

A YA contemporary novel about Muslim, Pakistani-American Zahra Paracha, who makes an impulsive decision to run away from home and move across the country in a drastic attempt to heal, learn to love herself, and renew her faith in family whilst navigating mental health and religious guilt.

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

Francesca Flores’s The Witch and the Vampire is a queer Rapunzel retelling where a witch and a vampire who trust no one but themselves must journey together through a cursed forest with danger at every turn.

You Don’t Have a Shot by Raquel Marie

Pitched as a queer “Bend It Like Beckham”, set at a soccer camp where two arch rivals must come together to redeem their reputations and lead their team to victory.

The Do’s and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar

A pun-filled YA contemporary romance that follows Shireen, a Bangladeshi Irish girl still healing from a breakup with her ex-girlfriend, and who can think of nothing better than to win the Junior Irish Baking Show, a Great British Bake-Off–style reality competition, even if it means competing against her ex and another contestant she may be falling for.