10 Must-Read New Books Out This Week

Shani’s winter break was turned upside down when she hit May with her mom’s car. Luckily, May was fine — but after that, Shani just couldn’t shake her. It all leads up to the night when they find themselves snowed in together... on Christmas Eve, no less.

All eyes are on fan-favorite Aliens character PFC Jenette Vasquez in this tie-in novel from Goddess of Filth author V. Castro. The new book finally gives readers a glimpse of Vasquez’s backstory — and the two children she was forced to leave back on Earth.

One year after Jack broke Ellie’s heart, the two women are thrown back into one another’s orbit. Sparks are still flying, but there’s one big problem standing in their way: Ellie is planning a marriage of convenience to Jack’s brother, Andrew.

Toad is the posthumous, highly-anticipated novel from the author of Geek Love. The story follows Sally, a recluse who spends her days caring for her goldfish and languishing over the past. As she reminisces, Sally treats readers to profiles of her friends and their foibles.

The Islands, a collection of short fiction from Quint author Dionne Irving, revolves around Jamaican women living in the United States, Panama, France, and elsewhere.

N.K. Jemisin’s highly anticipated follow-up to The City We Became picks up with New York City’s human avatars as they face off against a xenophobic mayoral candidate backed by their old enemy, the Woman in White.

A Restless Truth is the second entry in Freya Marske’s Last Binding trilogy, a queer, historical fantasy series. Here, Robin’s sister, Maud, finds herself caught up in a murder mystery on an Atlantic steamship bound for America.

Folks in Majestic, Pennsylvania are still reeling from a mass shooting that claimed the lives of their friends and neighbors when Lucas — who was widowed in the attack — forges a tentative bond with the shooter’s teenaged brother.

In this historical fantasy novel set in WWII-era Chicago, a comedian finds her “Showstopper” — a magical joke with transcendent effects on women in the audience.

When Debby finds a bracelet belonging to her cousin Kari’s late mother, she sets off a chain of events that causes Kari to become haunted by both her mother’s ghost and an evil spirit.