10 new SFF books that belong on your bookshelves this May

We Hunt the Flame  – Hafsah Faizal

Hafsah Faizal’s highly anticipated debut novel, We Hunt the Flame, is the first in a new young adult fantasy trilogy called Sands of Arawiya. The story is set in a rich, detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, and the book reportedly spends a lot of time building out the universe that its main character, a young girl named Zafira, inhabits.

Each day she must disguise herself as a man and brave a cursed forest to gather food for her family. But when Zafira’s quest to find a magical artifact brings her into conflict with the Prince of Death, who is also seeking the same item, conflict ensues. And it’s possible they’re waking up some kind of ancient evil along the way.

Per the synopsis:

"Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be. War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine."

Faizal has long been an advocate for increased diversity and representation of marginalized groups in YA stories and culture, so it’s nice to see her getting to tell such a rich and varied story of her own here.

We Hunt the Flame will be released on May 14.

Stepsister – Jennifer Donnelly

Interesting twists on the story of Cinderella never go out of style, and Jennifer Donnelly’s latest book offers a particularly intriguing spin on this classic: What happens to everyone else when it’s all over?

Stepsister tells the story of Isabelle, one of the wicked stepsisters who mutilated her own body in an attempt to snag a handsome prince. But now that she’s failed – what’s next?

Isabelle finds herself mocked and taunted relentlessly after her failure. But that isn’t where the story ends either. Given a second chance by a fairy queen to fix her shattered heart, she must head off on a quest to learn that beauty has many definitions and inner strength is the greatest magic of all.

From the official synopsis:

"Isabelle should be blissfully happy-she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe . . . which is now filling with blood. Isabelle tried to fit in. She cut away pieces of herself in order to become pretty. Sweet. More like Cinderella. But that only made her mean, jealous, and hollow. Now she has a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl."

Stepsister will be released on May 14.