Judging books by their covers, 20

Just want to share some books whose covers I love! Once every 4 weeks, I'll post 4 books and super short synopses of books whose covers catch my eye.

1. The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham (Kokila, 2026): A lush and immersive queer Sleeping Beauty retelling about escapism, grief, and dreaming of a better world.
2. The Emilys: A Novel by Heather Abel (Random House, 2026): A mother becomes obsessed with finding the cure to a mysterious ailment that is spreading throughout her New England town in this kaleidoscopic novel about love's capacities in a changing world.
3. Songs of the Dead by Brandon Sanderson and Peter Orullian (S&S/Saga Press, 2026): A London rocker is faced with a life-or-death choice when he realizes that a powerful society of magic wielders are the only ones keeping London safe in this deft contemporary fantasy.
4. The River She Became by Emily Varga (Wednesday Books, 2026): A high stakes, action-packed romantasy where a relic-hunter searches for an ancient fae object to restore the magic to her world, but must learn to trust her own powers—and her heart.