THE SACRED AND THE DIVINE de Kate Christensen & Melissa Henderson

History, romance, and the occult come together in a mesmerizing tale of sisterhood, fate, and the darkness lurking in our world.

THE SACRED AND THE DIVINE
by Kate Christensen & Melissa Henderson
Melissa de la Cruz Studio, October 2025
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Past, Present, Future. What do the cards say? Only the Wolfson sisters know.

The year is 1848, and Daisy, Morrigan, and Avery Wolfson are skilled in the supernatural, particularly tarot readings. Daisy has insights about the future, Morrigan has ties to the past, and Avery has a special connection to the present. Although Massachusetts is known for its hostility to such talents, the village of Redcliffe is eager to use the sisters’ abilities for its own gain.

Then Daisy meets Harvard medical student and occult skeptic Jasper Fitzwilliam, as well as handsome newcomer Nate Winthrop, whose fiery nature might just rival Daisy’s. Caught up in the throes of first love, Daisy grows distracted, which is only further muddled by a mysterious feud between the girls’ mother and their spiritual tutor. 

But when the sisters accidentally unleash a bloodthirsty demon on their sleepy town, the lines between friend and enemy get blurred. Will Daisy, Morrigan, and Avery escape unscathed, or is an unfortunate fate written in the stars?

Kate Christensen has published nine novels, including The Great Man, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction, and most recently Welcome Home, Stranger and The Arizona Triangle, as well as two food-centric memoirs, Blue Plate Special and How to Cook a Moose, which won the Maine Literary Award for Memoir. She lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her husband and their two dogs.

Melissa Henderson was born in Boston and spent summers digging for clams in Gloucester and Cape Cod. Her work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated‘s The Cauldron, and Brand X. She lives in the Scottish hills with her husband and their two catbeasts.

SALT WATER BLOOD de Manuia Heinrich

Inspired by the impact of France’s nuclear tests on the people of Mā‘ohi Nui, SALT WATER BLOOD is a YA thriller set on an alternate Polynesian island for fans of Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter and Disney’s Moana.

SALT WATER BLOOD
by Manuia Heinrich
Simon & Schuster, 2026
(via The Friedrich Agency)

Eighteen-year-old Moe hears the sea’s prophetic thoughts. Correction: Moe doesn’t just hear them—the sea makes Moe feel them. This is how Moe learned years ago that her father would drown and her mother would abandon her and her younger brother, Tao. So, when the sea warns that Tao will follow their father’s fate, Moe is determined to secure them a way off the island. All those plans fall a part when Tao’s girlfriend is then found dead and Tao is blamed.

As incriminating evidence piles up, Moe will do all she can to protect the only family she has left, even if it means swallowing her pride and teaming up with her archenemy Temanea. Even if it means relying on the sea and its prophecies—because her dreaded gift might be the only way to stop the killer.

Manuia Heinrich holds a PhD in Pacific Studies and is the co-founder of APIpit and Pacific Islanders in Publishing. She is a We Need Diverse Books mentee, and was selected for the Write Mentor and New Zealand Society of Authors program. She currently lives in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

SUITOR ARMOR de Purpah

Secrets hide behind every corner of the castle walls in this exciting Webtoon romantasy graphic novel that follows the budding romance between a lady-in-waiting and an enchanted suit of armor.

SUITOR ARMOR
by Purpah
Ten Speed Graphic

VOLUME 1 (November 2024)

While humans and fairies are at war beyond the castle walls, Lucia’s life is dedicated to helping prepare Lady Kirsi for her upcoming wedding to King Reimund.

Lucia’s time at court takes a dazzling turn when she accompanies Lady Kirsi to a royal tournament that calls together all of the kingdom’s brave knights for a competition of strength and wit. A magically animated suit of armor, brought to life by Norrix the court mage’s complicated enchantment spell, enters the ring and challenges the winning knight. Lucia is immediately attracted to the armor’s dark, mysterious charm and lovingly names him Modeus. Bonded by their mutual status as outcasts within the kingdom, the two begin to develop an unlikely yet thrilling connection and sparks (both metaphorical and magical) fly.

The truth is, Lucia is hiding a dangerous secret about her own identity. She is the enemy: a fairy. She fears being exposed to the whole human kingdom, but she desperately desires to learn more about herself–especially with the arrival of a winged visitor who has infiltrated the castle walls for reasons still unknown…

Complete with original behind-the-scenes content and a bonus storyline exclusive to the book, this first volume includes episodes 1-17 of the greatly successful Webtoon webcomic Suitor Armor and sets the stage for a grand adventure in magic, romance, mystery, fantasy creatures, friendship, self-discovery, and more!

VOLUME 2 (May 2025)

Palace life becomes increasingly dangerous for lady-in-waiting Lucia as she learns more about the magical world around her in the second volume of the Webtoon romantasy graphic novel Suitor Armor, featuring exclusive bonus storyline and behind-the-scenes content.

Lucia has just begun her exciting mage apprenticeship with Norrix, finally tapping into her innate capabilities as a magical being, and she sets off to find her fellow fairy Quinn who is captured within the kingdom’s dungeons. While trying to free her, she discovers a shocking secret about the fairy-human war that spirals into a series of mistrustful encounters with the people around her. Building off of Modeus’s newfound ability to speak, Lucia continues to teach him about the world and help develop his sentience. However, as their relationship deepens, the two must grapple with the true violent purpose for his existence…

In this second volume, Norrix’s complicated past is revealed, the connection between Lady Kirsi and King Reimund blossoms, and the darker side of Lucia’s journey to magical discovery rears its head. Complete with original behind-the-scenes content and a bonus storyline exclusive to the book, this second volume includes episodes 18-38 of the greatly successful Webtoon webcomic.

Book 3 is scheduled for publication in August 2025.

Purpah is an artist and writer based in California. They earned a BFA in illustration and have since gone on to create Suitor Armor on Webtoon as well as writing for other projects.

BEINONI de Mari Lowe

Full of characters that are courageous, smart, and full of heart, BEINONI is an action-packed adventure.

BEINONI
by Mari Lowe
Levine Querido, July 2025
(via Context Literary)

In a Beinoni time there should be no war, no terrible illness, no crime. Even if that also means there won’t be any great discoveries, any cures, anything extraordinary. Ezra believes that’s worth fighting for.

In fact, he’s been training most of his life to fight a battle to determine whether Beinoni time continues, or gives way to a more violent, less certain future. He is the Nivchar, the chosen one, with the sign of the scales on his skin. When he comes of age at his bar mitzvah, so too will the gurya, a fiery beast of uncertain form, emerging from a cave to conquer, destroy, and herald a time of conflict.

But Ezra begins to sense that something is very wrong. His friends, his neighbors, the whole world is losing the careful, even balance he’s come to expect in a Beinoni time. It was always uncertain whether he’d be able to best his terrifying, magical foe. But now, is it even possible?.

Mari Lowe has too little free time and spends it all on writing and escape rooms. As the daughter of a rabbi and as a middle school teacher at an Orthodox Jewish school, she looks forward to sharing little glimpses into her community with her books. Her debut middle grade novel, Aviva vs. the Dybbuk, was named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Kirkus, and is a Sydney Taylor Book Award winner. She lives in New York with her family, menagerie of pets, and robotic vacuum.

KINDRED DRAGONS de Sarah Mensinga

Anne of Green Gables meets How to Train Your Dragon in KINDRED DRAGONS, a middle-grade graphic novel about a brave young girl and the dragon whose life depends on her.

KINDRED DRAGONS (Book 1)
by Sarah Mensinga
Abrams Fanfare, October 2025

Alice has been unhappy ever since her parents sent her to Prince Edward Island to live with her strict grandmother. Alice is fanciful, prone to telling tall tales, and absolutely obsessed with dragons! Fairies deliver dragon eggs to a select few, known as Kindreds, but no egg has ever arrived for Alice.

While wandering the woods alone she finds and secretly befriends a mysterious, old dragon named Brim. Alice is excited to finally have a dragon friend of her own, but there’s something strange about him—he doesn’t have a Kindred. When Brim suddenly falls ill, Alice sets out on a desperate quest to save him.

As Alice searches for a cure, she discovers that her connection to dragons is unlike that of any Kindred—but will her new power be enough to save her friend?This heartfelt story of friendship, family, and learning to love who you are is perfect for readers who loved Snapdragon, Witch Boy, and the City of Dragons series.

Sarah Mensinga has illustrated several books, including Flipping Forward Twisting Backwards, the Trillium Sisters series, and the New York Times bestseller Different: A Great Thing to Be! Her short stories have appeared in comic anthologies such as Flight 4 and Flight 5, she’s published two indie novels, and she has also worked on a variety of animated movies and TV shows. Born in Canada, Sarah now lives in Texas with her husband and three kids.