TICKET TO DIE d’Amanda Sellet

Virginia, Felix, and their grandparents are back as a spring break excursion on a murder mystery dinner train goes Gone Girl in this new cozy mystery-romance.

TICKET TO DIE
by Amanda Sellet
Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s, March 2027

High school junior Virginia Tillis isn’t jetting off to Florida for spring break, so she figures the highlight of her week will be sleeping in…until her eccentric Grandma Lainey shows up at her house and invites her merry band of retired actor neighbors to crash the party—along with Felix, Virginia’s new long-distance boyfriend.

When the entire group takes a ride on a murder mystery dinner train run by her grandmother’s old friend Teddy, they expect to solve a fictional crime in theatrical style—until the leading lady vanishes at intermission, and Teddy becomes the chief suspect in her disappearance.

While the media goes wild, Virginia, Felix, and their geriatric crew have to figure out what happened to the missing actress, clear Teddy’s name, and decide if dating someone in a different state is worth the aggravation…before they reach the end of the line and spring break is dead in its tracks.

Amanda Sellet writes lighthearted fiction for teens and adults. She is fond of old-fashioned things, including but not limited to the donuts. It is her great good fortune to live in a Midwestern college town with a wonderful bookstore and superlative bakeries.



I’M NOT THE HERO de Tommy Kerper AKA SourpatchHero

In addition to strength, steel, and courage, a hero discovers he’s in need of a friend, in the first installment of a daring and dangerous fantasy adventure. An isekai buddy comedy with endearing characters, found family and LitRPG elements.

I’M NOT THE HERO
by Tommy Kerper AKA SourpatchHero
Podium, December 2023

When it comes to action and adventure, every hero needs a good sidekick. Holmes has Watson, Batman has Robin, and Daniel has . . . Orrin. More like brothers than friends, they always have each other’s backs. And as Daniel is the big, strong, handsome type, Orrin is more than happy to remain in his shadow at school, at parties, pretty much everywhere.

Then things take a turn for the truly weird when a terrible accident catapults the pair into a world totally unlike their own, in which the rules of a role-playing game hold sway. Naturally, Daniel is classified as a “hero,” while Orrin is—also naturally—relegated to the fantasy equivalent of “bleh.” Nothing new there.

But in this realm populated with lethal foes both inhuman and inescapable, sticking together matters more than ever, and soon Daniel and Orrin will discover more about themselves—and each other—than either one thought possible. In fact, Orrin just might find the confidence and strength to become something other than your average sidekick . . .

The first volume of the hit LitRPG fantasy series!

SourpatchHero is the author of LitRPG series I’m Not the Hero. When he’s not writing new stories, you’ll find him spending time with his two sons and his wife, reading, or playing video games. He resides in Virginia with his wife and two kids.

INVISIBLE GIRLS de Zoë Harris

Mean Girls meets Severance with shades of Never Let Me Go in this dark academia YA debut.

INVISIBLE GIRLS
by Zoë Harris
Godwin Books, Spring 2027
(via KT Literary)

The Fossbridge School for Timid Girls is a boarding school that exists outside of time and place, where girls frozen in their sixteenth year compete for their moment of triumph and freedom: Graduation. The only other way out is to Leave, but to do so is a shameful failure. Memories of the outside world fade quickly as the rigid rules and social hierarchy that dominate the girls’ days take over. Approval means survival and the right alliances are infinitely more valuable than trivial friendships.

But when shy Isra Sabri and brash Theda Keats arrive and begin to challenge and disrupt Fossbridge’s delicate ecosystem, cracks begin to show in the school’s serene facade. Whispers in their rooms at night…rumors of what really happens to girls who Leave…. The girls of lowly Tier C struggle to hold onto their faith in the only system they know. And at the center of it all stands Fossbridge’s mysterious headmistress, Miss Hainesworth, who is at once the source of all stability and the keeper of the girls’ deepest fears.

Told through the collective voice of the overlooked and unacknowledged, INVISIBLE GIRLS explores the cost of conformity and the power gained by extending inner strength outward to fortify others. With a speculative twist and timely social commentary, this dark academia novel is perfect for readers of The Grace Year and A Lesson in Vengeance.

Zoë Harris is an Australian living in Norway, where she is a UX content designer and founder of the Oslo Writers League. This is her debut novel.

A DANGEROUS BARGAIN d’Erin Cotter

A young artist who has bargained away most of his life for divine inspiration pairs up with fellow apprentice Leonardo da Vinci to infiltrate the Medici family and find out the truth about his missing brother in this Renaissance-set young adult mystery perfect for fans of F.T. Lukens.

A DANGEROUS BARGAIN
by Erin Cotter
Simon & Schuster BYR, September 2026
(via KT Literary)

It’s the height of the Italian Renaissance. In the golden city of Florence, art is equal to holiness—and angels walk among us, bestowing their talents…for a price.

Seventeen-year-old artist Virgil is in trouble. To support his family, he’s bargained most of his life away to an angel—only to discover that his missing brother is in danger, and nothing but magic can rescue him. Now, with just a few months left to live, Virgil is desperate enough to try the one thing he swore he would never, ever do—team up with the infuriating, annoyingly talented, and most notorious playboy in all of Florence, the charming Leonardo da Vinci.

As the two journey through Florence’s gilded streets, luxurious cathedrals, and glorious Medici palaces, they unearth dark truths beneath the city’s facade.

Those in power will do anything to keep their deadly secrets safe, but with his feelings for Leonardo giving him new life, Virgil is determined to expose their lies before he runs out of time.

Even if it might cost him his soul.

Erin Cotter writes young adult fiction. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she currently calls Austin home. When not writing, she spends time with her partner and pets, eating tacos, and searching for Golden-cheeked Warblers in the Texas Hill Country.

HOW TO FAKE A LOVE STORY d’Aashna Avachat

She wants to break his heart. He wants her to fall in love. A messy revenge romcom for fans of Lynn Painter and Sandhya Menon.

HOW TO FAKE A LOVE STORY
by Aashna Avachat
Penguin Workshop, January 2027
(via KT Literary)

Photo Credit: Emily Zeng

Now that Lakshmi has returned to her hometown for her senior year of high school, she’s determined to “live a little”—as her new friend Emily would say. That means searching for love, chasing an adrenaline rush, and of course, studiously ignoring her former best friend and crush, Adil.

But after Adil carelessly meddles in Em’s relationship, her heartbreak leaves the girls wanting to give him a taste of his own medicine. What if Lakshmi broke his heart? She has her own reasons for wanting to get revenge, after all.

Meanwhile, Adil isn’t sure why Lakshmi left without so much as a goodbye. He’s been doing his usual thing. But when his romantic expertise is called into question, his friends issue him a challenge: to prove himself, Adil will have to get a girl of their choosing to fall in love with him. And they know one who never would—Lakshmi.

Adil needs to win Lakshmi over and Lakshmi needs to break his heart. They might know how to fake a love story, but as ulterior motives give way to genuine feelings, will they be able to build a real one?

Aashna Avachat is the author of Love Craves Cardamom (Penguin Random House/Joy Revolution, Spring 2025) and the editor of the anthology Study Break (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, 2023). She is a graduate of Harvard Law and lives in Chicago.

Aashna Avachat is a writer, reader, and lawyer from California. She studied English and Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley and law at Harvard Law School. She is also the author of Love Craves Cardamom (Penguin Random House/Joy Revolution, Spring 2025) and Mischief Girls (Delacorte, September 2026). When she’s not working, she’s probably reading on a sunny patch of grass, going on long walks to grocery stores, or being cozy with one of her many foster cats. Visit her online at aashnaavachat.com.