June New Releases
Summer is here! Time to hit the books - I mean, the beach! Right, it's the beach...with books....
Summer is here! Time for ice cream, hot sun, a trip to the beach or other nearest available summer venue, and fun, fun, fun! But of course, we here at Upstream know our readers would prefer to go a little farther out than the beach. The depths of space or a trip to an especially intriguing fantasy world are why you come here to read our reviews, after all.
So, today, we bring you a list of new releases for June and some of those that arrived in May. If you want some wild, weird adventure and fun, we have it here for you. Just scroll through the list to choose from among these fascinating offerings!
Discovery Motion (Ransom’s Law Book 3) by Robert Kroese
Releasing: June 29
Cal Ransom is done playing detective. He has a ship to run, a crew to protect, and a corporation that would love to see him disappear.
But after Aralx, the repossessions don’t look like bad luck anymore. They look like a plan. And the one place that might prove it is the one place Cal swore he wouldn’t go back to: Koschei.
Koschei is a dead system with live problems—an old enemy who won’t let Cal leave clean, and ruins that don’t want to stay buried. When Cal finds a trail that points to what really wiped out an alien civilization, he realizes the conspiracy isn’t about money. It’s about containment.
Now the Ministry is paying attention. Corporate interests are moving in the dark. And Cal is forced to make the kind of alliance that comes with strings—and a criminal price tag.
To get out with his crew intact, Cal will have to out-argue people who don’t care about the law, outmaneuver the people who make it, and decide how far he’s willing to go once he knows the truth.
Mercenaries by Pam Uphoff
Released: May 6
A hundred and seventy years before the Fall of the Alliance . . .
Anatoli Vyatkin and Wolf Offen have graduated from college into a major economic slump, and no job offers at all.
So why not check out some property Wolf inherited? Previously rented to a mercenary company, a desperate mayor from a world under threat mistakes them for real mercenaries . . . well, why not give it a try?
Assassin in the Alehouse: A Cozy Fantasy (Fables of Finlestia) by Z.S. Diamati
Releasing: June 2
Embark on a cozy fantasy tale of found family and quiet mysteries. A quaint quest to find the place that feels like home and the ones who make it so. A journey filled with self-discovery and new romance.
From cloaks and daggers to mugs and flagons …
Hazkul Bern spent years in the shadows, becoming Kelvur’s most prominent assassin. When his notorious guild is torn apart in a war with a wicked sorcerer, he has no choice but to retreat into hiding in the seaside town of Lornash Point.
With his life as an assassin seemingly over, a local alehouse brewer gives Hazkul a chance at a fresh start in a new life he never wanted.
But when an ominous note is pinned to the bar top, threatening his new friends, the elf assassin wonders if he’ll ever escape his past mistakes.
Take a seat at the table and see what magic awaits.
Come enjoy the hospitality of the seaside town of Lornash Point. Meet new friends as you sample amber ale at a local tavern, uncover mysteries in the shadows, and taste pub comfort food prepared by a culinary wizard.
Caldera’s Heart (Heartfire Chronicles Book 1) by Dan Michaelson and D.K. Holmburg
Released: June 26
Her god told her to save him. He did not say why.
Griffin is a rising auramancer of the Lower Arcanum, sworn to the obsidian tower whose rulers conquered the caldera a generation ago. When a sacred site of the Vorethim is corrupted by magic no native should be able to wield, he’s sent to find who bent that power — and the answer will crack open a conspiracy older than his order, deeper than the mountain, and closer to his own blood than he ever wanted to believe.
Eliza is a chieftain’s daughter and a teacher of children wounded by a war her people cannot win. She hears Voreth in the thermal currents, feels the god’s breath in every tremor, every wisp of steam — and lately, that breath has gone wrong.When she finds a wounded invader bleeding in the tunnels her rebellion uses to kill his kind, Voreth’s command cuts through everything she was raised to believe.
Save him.
Her father will call it treason. Her oldest friend will call it betrayal. And the High Arcanum, when they learn what Griffin has seen — and who saved him — will call it something far worse.
Because the invaders are not only colonizers. They are hunting something sleeping in the heart of the volcano: an entity older than Voreth and far hungrier. The sacred sites are shattering one by one. Griffin’s own sister has vanished into a rebellion she will not explain. And the mountain is beginning to tremble in ways it hasn’t in a thousand years.
Voreth is all things. Life and death. Creation and destruction.
And Voreth has chosen them both.
Two enemies. One god. A fire neither of them will survive alone.
The Heartfire Chronicles begins.
Kiss Me, February (The Yearly, Texas Romance Series Book 4) by Bokerah Brumley
Releasing: June 2
She came to make content. She stayed for something real.
Social media influencer February Scott has one goal: a million views. When her followers vote for a farm internship as her next adventure, she packs up her dented Explorer and heads to Yearly, Texas, to sweet-talk her great-uncle Farmer Bill into letting her document life on Heritage Acres. Easy content, easy views, easy exit.
She doesn’t plan on Officer Mark Jones.
Their meet-cute comes with flashing lights and a $220 speeding ticket, and February is convinced the annoyingly handsome small-town cop exists solely to ruin her day. But Mark has his own battles — he’s a single dad fighting to rebuild a relationship with his thirteen-year-old daughter, Aspen, one awkward phone call at a time.
As February trades ring lights for real dirt, and Mark learns that vulnerability isn’t weakness, the two discover that the best things in life don’t come with a filter.
Featuring a fish-out-of-water heroine, a grumpy-sunshine slow burn, a swoony single dad, a scene-stealing teenager, and a found family that proves home isn’t always where you start — it’s where you stop running.
A Yearly, Texas Romance. Sweet heat. Big heart.
Kiss Me, February has a touch of laughter, a few tears, and a lot of heart in a small-town romance. Each book in The Yearly, Texas Romance Series is a standalone romance. They can be read in any order.
The Mighty Sons of Hercules: Volume 2
Released: May 20
Back, Bigger, Better, and Stronger!
Long ago, in ages past (2023), Cirsova Publishing released a tribute to Peplum cinema: The Mighty Sons of Hercules!
In this new volume, the Mighty Sons of Hercules return in search of further adventure. They will fight injustice, defend the weak and helpless, and right wrongs wherever they are found.
Join the Mighty Sons of Hercules on their new quests! You’ll be amazed by their impressive feats of superhuman strength. You’ll be dazzled by the exotic and dangerous beauties who would seek their downfall. You’ll cheer as they save the innocent from peril and mete out justice to dastardly villains.
Wherever righteousness must have a champion, there you will find the Mighty Sons of Hercules! Whenever there is need and no mortal man can suffice, a Mighty Son of Hercules shall appear!
Lamplighter Below: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG Adventure (Above the Drowning Light Book 2) by Kal Griffith
Releasing: June 4
LAMPLIGHTER BELOW - Vol II - Above the Drowning Light
The Wave nearly ended Tahama. No one knows why it happened. Someone has to find out.
A deep patrol Crawler rolls into the Pale. Small crew. Dangerous mission. Mars volunteers without explaining himself, not to the crew, not to anyone.
The old world is still down there, broken and buried and full of things that used to be people. That's expected. What isn't: something is organizing those things.
Not everyone comes home.
The mist doesn't care about bravery.
Lamplighters do.
A Sense of Murder: Road Mage Volume 1 by Sam Robb
Released: May 14
In a far-flung corner of the worlds-spanning Empire, Ser Kellan tor Iaestus is a Highwayman, sworn to keep the peace in the rugged Outlands. Armed with a revolver from a forgotten war and a hidden Talent to see truth, he is an agent of justice and peace in a wild land... so long as he keeps his talent hidden, lest he be pressed into the service of the Empire.
When Prospero, an Imperial Magus, arrives in the Outlands hunting for a magical truth-teller, Kellan is assigned as his guide. Certain he can keep his Talent concealed and maintain his freedom, Kellan escorts the magus on his journey. All goes well until a string of seemingly unrelated murders exposes demons, dark powers, and a warlock weaving cruel designs in the shadows. As Kellan and Prospero investigate, they follow a thread that leads from the Outlands to the city of Victar de Reya, links whores and politicians, and takes them from fine restaurants to piratical celebrations.
Saddled with a suspicious young seer and facing demons clawing at them from the Unreal, the two must work together to unravel the warlock's conspiracy before he kills again. But can Kellan locate the killer without exposing his own power, and surrendering the independence he's fought so hard to protect?
Duty demands truth. Survival demands secrecy. Kellan can't have it both ways... and time is running out.
Hell on Wheels by D.J. Butler and David West
Releasing: June 2
A CANNONBALL RUN ACROSS AN AMERICA FULL OF MAGIC
Silas Danger can’t stop running.
The year is 1975. Silas drives a red Pontiac GTO. Trapped in the back of his muscle car are the ghost of his sister Betty and half of the demon that killed her. He doesn’t know how she died, and he hasn’t figured out how to save her yet, but he knows that if he spends three days in any one place, the other half of the demon will catch up, kill him, and drag Betty down to hell.
Silas works as a scout, messenger, courier, herald, and sometimes spy across the weird, fragmented, magical world of Other America. Dodging bridge trolls as well as alien grays, lamiae along with snallygasters, undead blues singers and also bison-headed giants, he runs errands in exchange for information that will help him save his sister.
This time, he’s hired to run a deck of Tarot cards from New York to San Francisco on a tight schedule. The first complication comes when the dame with the card deck won’t just hand them over, she insists on coming along. The second is that everyone else in Other America seems to know that Silas has the cards, and everyone seems willing to kill to get them.
Sons of Gold and Fire: A Boy, a Dragon, and an Impossible Quest by Fred Philips
Released: May 1
From the award-winning Gold and Fire Series — Winner of the 28th Annual Critters Readers’ Poll (1st Place, Tied), Finalist for the 2026 Imadjinn Awards Best Middle Grade, and Nominee for the 2025 Kearsells Indie Book Awards.
Aron’s brothers are gone, snatched by goblins in the night. His father and his knight-master rode after them into the mountains and never came back. The only one who can fix this is Aron — and the great golden dragon who is his best friend.
But Doubloon has been snared in a wizard’s enchanted trap, held fast by a net that his own fire cannot burn through. With his family imprisoned and his dragon helpless, Aron is out of options.
His only move is across the mountains. Alone. No harness. No wings. No backup — except a smart-mouthed goblin who talks, a couple with dark ideas about adoption, a sabrecat who takes his last strip of jerky, and one massive platinum dragon who actively despises humans.
Sons of Gold and Fire is a quest story that never lets up. Packed with monsters, narrow escapes, and a friendship between a boy and a talking goblin that nobody planned but everybody needed, this is the kind of book that stays with you long after the last page.
Perfect for fans of fast-moving adventure with heart. Ages 8–14.
Series reading order: Book 1 — Dreams of Gold and Fire Book 2 — Sons of Gold and Fire
Reaper’s Justice (The Dungeon Apocalypse Book 3) by C. J. Carella
Releasing: June 11
System Integration Has Begun
Roland Webb is trapped in New Haven as the city undergoes System Integration. Deadly trials await him and his friends and allies while the rest of his party struggles to survive in the Refuge Safe Zone.
And when he is done with the initial phase of Integration, Roland must face other Exemplars and an Undead Nemesis to ensure the survivors do not become slaves or even cattle for the more powerful.
Dungeon Apocalypse features furious action, horror and dark fantasy with a dash of humor. It has LitRPG and Cultivation themes (Class and Cultivation Paths toward Ascension), progression storylines, and a System that imposes game-like rules upon reality.
The Ishtar Deception (The Billion Worlds Book 4) by James Cambrias
Releasing: June 2
A SPY, A MURDER, AND ONE SARCASTIC AI; MYSTERY, ACTION, AND ADVENTURE FROM THE BILLION WORLDS!
The Billion Worlds’ Greatest Spy Faces His Greatest Challenge
At the end of the Tenth Millennium, Sabbath Okada, agent of a nameless branch of Deimos’ labyrinthine government comes to the vast city of Ishtar on Venus to investigate the suspicious death of an undercover agent. His companion, Daslakh, is an old and cunning AI with its own self-imposed mission: to act as Okada’s conscience.
Searching for the truth takes Sabbath and Daslakh to the glittering towers of Ishtar’s elite, a brutal combat sport arena, and the unforgiving, wind-lashed face of Mount Maxwell, highest peak on Venus. Along the way they face ruthless Lunar Republic spies, double agents, and sadistic Ishtar police, but Sabbath’s greatest challenge comes from Meili Tewa, his deadliest enemy and his only love.
Each twist in the case reveals a new layer of deception, another betrayal. Hunted and on the run, with no one he can trust and no help from home—it’s time for Sabbath Okada to remind everyone why he’s the greatest spy in the Billion Worlds of the Solar System.
Reckoning of Steel: The Last Eternal by Jacob Peppers
Released: May 1
Many believed the Eternals to be gods.
But gods don’t die screaming.
There is only one left.
A broken man. A fallen god. A lone wanderer carrying the very weapon used to slaughter his kin.
Branded a traitor, hunted by creatures out of nightmare who would kill for the magical artifact he carries, he rides to the remote town of Shadowhaven.
He came looking for sanctuary.
He found a trap instead.
Surrounded by enemies and haunted by his past, the last Eternal must choose — die in the dirt as a relic of a lost age, or remind the world why his kind were feared as gods.
On the edges of civilization, the fate of the world will be decided as it always is.
In blood.
In a reckoning of steel.
The adventures of the Last Eternal span 11 books with more coming. This is where it all begins.
Level Six: A Science Fiction LitRPG Novel (Galactic Merc Book 6) by Chris Kennedy
Releasing: June 12
I just wanted to tell my neighbor to shut up.
Hi, I’m Jack Taylor, a romance author from Earth, who got snatched by the Grays when I was camping. After being rescued, I first became a merc and then a Herald, trying to prevent an invasion of the Void Feeders that intend to consume the galaxy. I’ve seen them, and I’m here to tell you—if they’re not stopped, the whole galaxy is going to die.
I’ve now been named the Final Herald, and everything is on me. The Void Feeders are pressing ever harder, and the interdimensional fabric is getting thin in a number of places. The only thing that can save the galaxy is the Forge of Aion, but it requires the combined seventeen Heralds to make it function… and guess who’s supposed to gather them all up?
I’ve only got a month to do it, too, which—at first glance—is impossible since they’re all scattered across the galaxy, and it would take longer than a month just to travel to all of them. And have I mentioned that three of the races are extinct?
But I’m now a Level Six merc now, and I’ve got a cool spaceship and a great support team. If I can’t do it, no one can…which is actually the likely outcome, and the galaxy is probably doomed. But I refuse to go down without a fight, especially since I haven’t gotten to drive a mech yet!
Song of the Sword (The Wayward Chronicles Book 4) by D.K. Holmburg
Releasing: June 16
The song of power is changing. And Leo may be the only one who can hear it.
After uncovering his connection to the mysterious aura magic, Leo hoped the Academy would be a place of learning, not manipulation. But everyone—mentors, factions, even the trees themselves—seems to have an agenda for him. And now, with whispers of the elusive Maestro resurfacing and the secrets of the assassin’s guild coming to light, Leo is pulled deeper into a web of lies, legacy, and lethal ambition.
Desperate to gain the knowledge and time he needs to face what’s coming, Leo agrees to a dangerous journey beyond the known world—a place where time itself can be collected, and the price for failure is far more than death.
Old powers are awakening. New alliances will be tested. And Leo must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice to master the song and reshape the fate of the guild that betrayed him.
There you have it, readers! All the novels fit for the beach this summer! Are there any you have heard of which you would like us to include next month? Put them in the comments, then let us know which ones you enjoyed on this list!