Most Anticipated Releases of July

While July is a pretty slow month when it comes to book releases, there are still a few releases I’m very much looking forward to!

---

Alice Oseman – Heartstopper, Vol. 2

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. An LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between: this is the second volume of HEARTSTOPPER, for fans of The Art of Being Normal, Holly Bourne and Love, Simon.

Nick and Charlie are best friends. Nick knows Charlie’s gay, and Charlie is sure that Nick isn’t.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is discovering all kinds of things about his friends, his family … and himself.

Heartstopper is about friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

This is the second volume of Heartstopper, with more to come.

Of course I had to start off with this one, because if you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know I’m a massive Heartstopper fan. I’ve preordered a signed edition from Waterstones, and I really can’t wait to have a physical copy of Volume 2!

---

Tracy Banghart – Queen of Ruin

Because this is a sequel, I didn’t include the synopsis, but you can find it here! While I didn’t really expect to, I ended up really enjoying Grace and Fury when I read it last year. The book ended on a pretty massive cliffhanger, so I’m very curious to continue the story!

---

Ashley Poston – Soul of Stars

Another sequel (so again, I didn’t include the synopsis so as not to spoil you) I’m really looking forward to is Soul of Stars, the sequel to Heart of Iron. This is a sci-fi retelling of Anastasia, and it’s such a fun read!

---

Rebecca Kim Wells – Shatter the Sky

Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.

If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been having about a beast deep underground…

With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?

A sapphic fantasy with dragons? Count me in!! Shatter the Sky sounds like such a great debut to me! As far as I’m aware, the main character is bisexual and in an established relationship with a girl. This seems very refreshing, as the romance is usually something that starts throughout the book.

---

Laura Kate Dale – Uncomfortable Labels

“So while the assumption when I was born was that I was or would grow up to be a neurotypical heterosexual boy, that whole idea didn’t really pan out long term.”

In this candid, first-of-its-kind memoir, Laura Kate Dale recounts what life is like growing up as a gay trans woman on the autism spectrum. From struggling with sensory processing, managing socially demanding situations and learning social cues and feminine presentation, through to coming out as trans during an autistic meltdown, Laura draws on her personal experiences from life prior to transition and diagnosis, and moving on to the years of self-discovery, to give a unique insight into the nuances of sexuality, gender and autism, and how they intersect.

Charting the ups and down of being autistic and on the LGBT spectrum with searing honesty and humour, this is an empowering, life-affirming read for anyone who’s felt they don’t fit in.

I’ve actually already read this book, and you can read my review here! This is a memoir by a trans autistic author, and as such, it gives some very valuable insights into what it’s like to be transgender, and what it’s like to be autistic, and what it’s like to be both of those things at once. I would very much recommend it!

Advertisement