November signals the beginning of the end of another year and for us at InBetweenDrafts, the beginning of a new venture. November also marks the celebration of Native Heritage month and on November 1st, National Author’s Day. As many of us gather and give thanks, InBetweenDrafts would like to say how grateful we are to our readers. Of course, we’re also grateful for books.
Here are some new releases that we’re especially grateful for this month!
The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch
Estranged college sweethearts haven’t seen each other in a decade, but at a wedding of mutual friends on the eve of the millennium, they meet up for the first time and wake up in bed married the next day. Described as The Hangover meets When Harry Met Sally, this nostalgia filled romance is the relatable and hilarious read you need this November.
Synopsis: When college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up before graduation, they vowed to never speak to each other again. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they find themselves back on their snowy, picturesque New England campus together for the first time for the wedding of mutual friends. Frankie’s on the rise as a music manager for the hottest bands of the late ’90s, and Ezra’s ready to propose to his girlfriend after the wedding. Everything is going to plan—they just have to avoid the chasm of emotions brought up when they inevitably come face to face.
Release Date: November 1, 2022, via Berkley. Order Here.
The Wondrous Wonders by Camille Jourdy
A whimsical, brilliantly illustrated tale for all ages, The Wondrous Wonders about a young girl searching for an escape from a fractured family who stumbles upon a fantastical world full of talking foxes, magical elves and ponies.
Synopsis: Hurt by her parents’ divorce and struggling to accept her new stepfamily, she decides to run away and live alone in the woods. But she soon discovers that she’s far from alone. Jo stumbles into a fantastical world full of tiny elves, talking foxes, and mischievous, multicolored ponies known as the Wondrous Wonders. Her new friends are on a mission: rise up against Emperor Tomcat, the tyrannical leader who rules the enchanted forest they call home. Can Jo find the courage to vanquish an evil empire and get back to her family before dinnertime?
Release Date: November 1, 2022 via First Second. Order Here
Bipolar Bear and the No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Health Insurance by Kathleen Founds
A graphic novel for grownups about a bear who tries to navigate the health insurance industry while struggling with his mental health. Based on the author’s own experience this personal and satirical story might take the edge off of many young people’s stress while dealing with their own advocacy for their mental health while dealing with a insurance industry that often fails us.
Synopsis: Theodore is a bear with wild mood swings. When he is up, he carves epic poetry into tree trunks. When he is down, he paints sad faces on rocks and turtle shells. In search of prescription medications that will bring stability to his life, Theodore finds a job with health insurance benefits. He gets the meds, but when he can’t pay the psychiatrist’s bill, he becomes lost in the Labyrinth of Health Insurance Claims.
Release Date: November 1, 2022, via Graphic Mundi-Psu Press. Order Here
Superworld: Save Noah by Yarrow and Carrie Cheney
Hollywood animators and husband-and-wife team, Yarrow and Carrie Cheney have turned their creative talent to an exciting new middle–grade series about a world where everyone is a superhero with powers, except a young boy named Noah. When a villain threatens Superworld, Noah and his superhero friends have to fight to save the day.
Synopsis: Every 12-year-old kid feels like they don’t fit in sometimes — but Noah takes it to a whole new level. When a meteor crashed to Earth on his seventh birthday, the whole planet got superpowers…..except for Noah. Thanks to his tin foil superhero costume, Noah’s powers got deflected — onto his little sister. He’s literally the only normal person in all of Superworld. He can’t fly. He can’t scale tall buildings. He can’t turn broccoli into candy. (And of course his little sister got double powers. Of course.) And still…when the biggest, baddest villian in town plots to take over Superworld forever, normal Noah and his supercharged best friends are the ones who just might save the day. Seriously.
Release Date: November 1, 2022, via Random House Books for Young Readers. Order Here
Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore
Kristin Cashore’s high stakes fantasy series, the Graceling Realm, continues with Seasparrow. Immediately following the exciting conclusion of Winterkeep, Seasparrow follows Bitterblue and her personal spy as they travel home across the sea. A much-anticipated addition to a beloved series, this book will delight new and established fans.
Synopsis: Hava sails across the sea toward Monsea with her sister, the royal entourage, and the world’s only copies of the formulas for the zilfium weapon she saved at the end of Winterkeep. During the crossing, Hava makes an unexpected discovery about one of the ship’s crew, but before she can unravel the mystery, storms drive their ship off course, wrecking them in the ice far north of the Royal Continent. The survivors must endure a harrowing trek across the ice to make it back to Monsea. And while Queen Bitterblue grapples with how to carry the responsibility of a weapon that will change the world, Hava has a few more mysteries to solve–and a decision to make about who she wants to be in the new world Bitterblue will build.
Release Date: November 1, 2022, via Dutton Books For Young Readers. Order Here
A Restless Truth by Freya Marske and narrated by Aysha Kala
I really enjoyed Freya Marske’s novel, A Marvellous Light on audio and so I’m excited to delve back into the world with this companion novel. Promising to be delightfully adventurous and queer, I’m excited to see what Maud, one of my favorite characters from the first book, gets up to in this new installment.
Synopsis: Magic! Murder! Shipboard romance! Maud Blyth has always longed for adventure. She expected plenty of it when she volunteered to serve as an old lady’s companion on an ocean liner, in order to help her beloved older brother unravel a magical conspiracy that began generations ago.What she didn’t expect was for the old lady in question to turn up dead on the first day of the voyage. Now she has to deal with a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and the lovely, dangerously outrageous Violet Debenham, who’s also returning home to England. Violet is everything that Maud has been trained to distrust yet can’t help but desire: a magician, an actress, and a magnet for scandal.
Release Date: November 1, 2022, via Tordotcom/Macmillan Audio. Order Here
White Horse by Erika T. Wurth, narrated by Tonantzin Carmelo
Halloween might be over but that doesn’t mean that spooky season reading is! This haunting and gritty novel about an Indigenous woman who is haunted after finding an old family bracelet that belonged to her mother. The audio comes highly recommended and I can’t wait to be both terrified and riveted as I listen.
Synopsis: Kari James, Urban Native, is a fan of heavy metal, ripped jeans, Stephen King novels, and dive bars. She spends most of her time at her favorite spot in Denver, the White Horse. When her cousin Debby finds an old family bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother, it inadvertently calls up both her mother’s ghost and a monstrous entity, and her willful ignorance about her past is no longer sustainable…
Release Date: November 1, 2022, via Macmillan Audio. Order Here
The Hunger Between Us by Marina Scott
The Hunger Between Us is Marina Scott’s tense and gripping debut about the Nazi siege of Leningrad and one girl’s determination to survive and save her best friend as well. The book grew from Marina’s personal experiences–Marina was born in the U.S.S.R and lived a life shadowed by suppression and mistrust, like the characters in her novel.
Synopsis: There are some lines that should never be crossed–even in a city ruled by hunger. The black market is Liza’s lifeline, where she barters family heirlooms and steals whatever she can get her hands on just for enough food to survive. Morality, after all, has become a fluid thing since the Nazi siege has cut off her city from the rest of the world. Hope for a quick liberation is obliterated as the Soviet government focuses on sustaining the Red Army and not the city, subjecting its people to unimaginable cruelties at the hands of the secret police. When Liza’s best friend Aka proposes that they go to the same bullying officials, rumored to give young women food in exchange for “entertainment,” Liza thinks there surely must be some other way. Then Aka disappears and Liza resolves to rescue her no matter the cost, entangling herself in an increasingly dangerous web with two former classmates, one a policeman, the other forced to live underground.
Release Date: November 1, 2022, via Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers. Order Here
A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
If you’re a romance reader and haven’t yet experienced the hilarity of the Bromance Book Club, then you’re in for a treat. And I know I am also in for a treat because one of the Bromance Book Club members, Colton, is finally getting his happily ever after.
Synopsis: Country music’s golden boy Colton Wheeler felt the most perfect harmony when he was with Gretchen Winthrop. But for her, it was a love him and leave him situation. A year later, Colton is struggling to push his music forward in a new direction. If it weren’t about to be the most magical time of year and the support of the Bromance Book Club, he’d be wallowing in self-pity.
Release Date: November 1, 2022, via Berkley Books. Order Here
The Lost Library by Jess McGeachin
Oliver and his new neighbor, Rosie, go on a daring adventure to return a lost book to the library. This adorable, whimsical book must be read out loud, preferably in your favorite reading spot and with the people you love to share stories with.
Synopsis: When Oliver finds a lost library book fluttering behind a secret door in his bedroom, he knows he must return it. But when he does, a mysterious world opens up beneath his feet, taking Oliver, his new friend Rosie, and the book in tow. What–or who–will they find waiting in this strange new place? And how will they escape?A beautiful, lyrical take on the imaginative power of books and the transformative power of friendship.
Release Date: November 8, 2022, via HarperCollins. Order Here
Cozy In Love by Jan Brett
November nights where I live get cold and dark early in the day, and I think that’s the best time to read a picture book. Jan Brett’s books are collectible art pieces and I think readers of any age will love this sweet book.
Synopsis: After losing a test of strength to another musk ox in his herd, Cozy is convinced he’ll never impress his crush, Lofti. But while he’s sulking, he learns of a bigger concern. His friend Bella, a beluga whale, is still playing in an inlet even though it’s cold enough for ice to form and block her way out. Cozy races to the inlet and, sure enough, Bella is in trouble. Luckily, Cozy thinks of a new way to use his strong legs and tough horns that might help save Bella and win Lofti’s heart as well.
Release Date: November 8, 2022, via G.P. Putnam’s Sons For Young Readers. Order Here
Gilded by Marissa Meyer
This highly anticipated sequel by “the reigning queen of the genre [fairy tale retellings]’ is a must read for anyone who wishes Once Upon A Time had five more seasons. Fun and charming like all Meyer’s books are, this Rumpelstiltskin retelling is not to be missed.
Synopsis: Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller’s daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue. Or so everyone believes. When one of Serilda’s outlandish tales draws the attention of the sinister Erlking and his undead hunters, she finds herself swept away into a grim world where ghouls and phantoms prowl the earth and hollow-eyed ravens track her every move. The king orders Serilda to complete the impossible task of spinning straw into gold, or be killed for telling falsehoods. In her desperation, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious boy to her aid. He agrees to help her… for a price. Love isn’t meant to be part of the bargain. Soon Serilda realizes that there is more than one secret hidden in the castle walls, including an ancient curse that must be broken if she hopes to end the tyranny of the king and his wild hunt forever.
Release Date: November 8, 2022, via Feiwel and Friends. Order Here
Legends and Latte by Travis Baldree
Whenever I tirelessly search for a new cozy fantasy to read, Travis Baldree’s debut novel shows up on the recommendations. First self-published, this delightful novel has already made the November Indie Next Pick and Barnes and Noble Best Science Fiction of 2022 lists.
Synopsis: After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.
Release Date: November 8, 2022, via Tor Books. Order Here
Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk
Do you love Supernatural stories, mystery and magic? Then you’ll love Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk, about a woman who sells her soul to save her brother’s life and who wants to earn salvation and the woman she loves by tracking down Chicago’s notorious serial serial killer.
Synopsis: An exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother’s life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can’t resist–the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves.
Release Date: November 8, 2022, via Tordotcom. Order Here
Mihi Ever After by Tae Keller
Tae Keller is a beloved author of middle-grade books and I know her latest is highly anticipated. Full of adventure and whimsy, Mihi Ever After about a young girl caught between the fairly-tale world she’s always wanted and the future and friends that wait at home.
Synopsis: Mihi Whan Park loves fairy tales. She wants to be a princess more than anything, but everyone tells her she’s not the princess type. Then Mihi gets her shot: When she and her new friends Savannah and Reese discover a portal to a fairy tale realm, they get a chance to learn how to be princesses! But the fairy tale world turns out not to be the wonderful place Mihi imagined. Soon, Savannah and Reese decide they’re ready to go home, and Mihi has to decide where her loyalties lie: With her friends and her future at home, or with her princess dreams?
Release Date: November 8, 2022, via Henry Holt and Company. Order Here
Futureland: Battle for The Park by HD Hunter, illustrated by Khadijah Khatib
An afro-futuristic adventure inspired by Cake Creative’s Dhonielle Clayton’s dream of a theme park setting celebrating diverse cultures. Activist, educator and author HD “Hugh” Hunter has created a utterly fantastic and novel for all ages.
Synopsis: Welcome to the most spectacular theme park in the world. Everyone wants a ticket to Futureland, where you can literally live out your wildest dreams. Want to step inside your favorite video game? Go pro in a sports arena? Perform at a real live concert? Grab your ticket and come right in.
Release Date: November 8, 2022, via HarperCollins. Order Here
Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne
Most people think that Pride and Prejudice is just a romance but you should know it is so much more than that. It is a romance but it is also a deep social commentary. Nikki Payne’s Pride and Protest is a true retelling that is timely, relevant and has a similar skill in social commentary that Austen used in her novel.
Synopsis: Liza B.–the only DJ who gives a jam–wants to take her neighborhood back from the soulless property developer dropping unaffordable condos on every street corner in DC. But her planned protest at a corporate event takes a turn after she mistakes the smoldering-hot CEO for the waitstaff. When they go toe-to-toe, the sparks fly–but her impossible-to-ignore family thwarts her every move. Liza wants Dorsey Fitzgerald out of her hood, but she’ll settle for getting him out of her head.
Release Date: November 15, 2022, via Berkley Books. Order Here
Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
Ashley Herring Blake is an auto-buy author for me so I’m so excited that she has another release this month. Her books are must-read romances, full of hope and spice and I can’t wait for readers to experience another addictive inclusive story from her.
Synopsis: For Astrid Parker, failure is unacceptable. Ever since she broke up with her fiancé a year ago, she’s been focused on her career–her friends might say she’s obsessed, but she knows she’s just driven. When Pru Everwood asks her to be the designer for the Everwood Inn’s renovation, which will be featured on a popular HGTV show, Innside America, Astrid is thrilled. Not only will the project distract her from her failed engagement and help her struggling business, but her perpetually displeased mother might finally give her a nod of approval.
Release Date: November 22, 2022, via Berkley Books. Pre-Order Here
Two Wrongs Make A Right by Chloe Liese
I was sold on this book when I saw that it is a “Much Ado About Nothing” retelling, my favorite Shakespeare play. The original Enemies-To-Lovers rom-com, this play is made to be retold over and over again. In fact, one of my other favorite books The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by Lily Anderson is also a “Much Ado About Nothing” retelling. Add all that to the fact that Chloe Liese is now another auto-buy author of mine, after the delightful holiday novella, The Mistletoe Motive and I’d say this book is gearing up to be one of my favorites of 2022.
Synopsis: Jamie Westenberg and Bea Wilmot have nothing in common except a meet-disaster and the mutual understanding that they couldn’t be more wrong for each other. But when the people closest to them play Cupid and trick them into going on a date, Jamie and Bea realize they have something else in common after all–an undeniable need for revenge.Soon their plan is in place: Fake date obnoxiously and convince the meddlers they’re madly in love. Then, break up spectacularly and dash everyone’s hopes, putting an end to the matchmaking madness once and for all.
Release Date: November 22, 2022, via Berkley Books. Pre-Order Here
Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
Two scorned ex-girlfriends compete on a dating competition at the request of their ex-boyfriend, Jordy, each for their own personal reasons. One wants revenge, the other wants to try again with Jordy. As the competition begins and the world watches, both girls forget about Jordy and focus on each other instead. Maybe its the catchy title or maybe its idea of a queer dating reality show competition, but I’m looking forward to this novel.
Synopsis: It’s been two years since Maya’s ex-boyfriend cheated on her, and she still can’t escape him: his sister married the crown prince of a minor European country and he captured hearts as her charming younger brother. If the world only knew the real Jordy, the manipulative liar who broke Maya’s heart.
Skye Kaplan was always cautious with her heart until Jordy said all the right things and earned her trust. Now his face is all over the media and Skye is still wondering why he stopped calling. When Maya and Skye are invited to star on the reality dating show Second-Chance Romance, they’re whisked away to a beautiful mansion–along with four more of Jordy’s exes–to compete for his affections while the whole world watches. Skye wonders if she and Jordy can recapture the spark she knows they had, but Maya has other plans: exposing Jordy and getting revenge. As they navigate the competition, Skye and Maya discover that their real happily ever after is nothing they could have scripted.
Release Date: November 29, 2022, via Wednesday Books. Pre-Order Here
Saint by Adrienne Young
A companion novel to one of the most propulsive YA series, Saint gives us the backstory of one of the most compelling characters from the duology, Fable’s father, Saint and the beginning of the epic love story he shared with Fable’s mother, which shapes the first books in the series.
Synopsis: As a boy, Elias learned the hard way what happens when you don’t heed the old tales. Nine years after his lack of superstition got his father killed, he’s grown into a young man of piety, with a deep reverence for the hallowed sea and her fickle favor. As stories of the fisherman’s son who has managed to escape the most deadly of storms spreads from port to port, his devotion to the myths and creeds has given him the reputation of the luckiest bastard to sail the Narrows.
Release Date: November 29, 2022, via Wednesday Books. Pre-Order Here
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
Early reviews of this novel praised it as a gripping story of family secrets, love and small town mysteries. Avery’s transported from her home during her senior year to live with her terminally ill grandmother, who she never got a chance to know. Her mother refuses to discuss the rift and traumatic past that left their family estranged. Unmoored by all that’s left unsaid, Avery befriends two girls and together they begin to uncover the racist history of their small Georgia town and how it contributed to her broken family.
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she’s uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, she’s turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two.
Release Date: November 29, 2022, via Wednesday Books. Pre-Order Here
A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw
Shea Ernshaw’s writing is often magical and her latest novel is no exception. A Wilderness of Stars is a romantic fantasy about a teen astronomer, one of the last with knowledge of the stars, who must decipher the skies’ message for a cure to an illness that threatens their land.
Synopsis: Vega has lived in the valley her whole life–forbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But when Vega sees an omen in the sky–one she cannot ignore–she is forced to leave the protective boundaries of the valley. Yet the outside world is much more terrifying than Vega could have ever imagined. People are gravely sick–they lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.
Release Date: November 29, 2022, via Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. Pre-Order Here
Featured Image Courtesy of Simon and Schuster, Roaring Brook Press, St. Martin’s Publishing Group, Pan Macmillan UK, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
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