As we enter 2019, I realize that there are so many books coming out this year that I’m excited for! So I wanted to do a quarterly post about books I’m excited for coming out each quarter! I will be making three posts, every 4 months. This post is about books I’m excited for January-April!
So, let’s jump in!
Books coming out in January:
#1: Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus (January 8th, 2019)
(synopsis) Echo Ridge is
small-town America. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about
it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years
ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now
Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.
The
town is picture-perfect, but it’s hiding secrets. And before school
even begins for Ellery, someone’s declared open season on homecoming,
promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost
as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.
Ellery knows all
about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the
longer she’s in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there
is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous–and most
people aren’t good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it’s
safest to keep your secrets to yourself.
#2: The Girl King by Mimi Yu (January 8th, 2019)
(synopsis) Sisters Lu and Min have
always understood their places as princesses of the Empire. Lu knows
she is destined to become the dynasty’s first female ruler, while Min is
resigned to a life in her shadow. Then their father declares their male
cousin Set the heir instead—a betrayal that sends the sisters down two
very different paths.
Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu
goes on the run. She needs an ally—and an army—if she is to succeed. Her
quest leads her to Nokhai, the last surviving wolf shapeshifter. Nok
wants to keep his identity secret, but finds himself forced into an
uneasy alliance with the girl whose family killed everyone he ever
loved…
#3: Undying by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner (January 8, 2019)
(synopsis) Trapped aboard the
Undying’s ancient spaceship and reeling from what they’ve learned there,
scavenger Mia and academic Jules are plunged into a desperate race to
warn their home planet of the danger humanity’s greed has unleashed.
From the mountains of Spain to the streets of Prague, the sequel to
Unearthed is a white-knuckle ride that will send readers hurtling back
to earth, and leave them breathless until the last page.
The earth’s fate rests in Mia and Jules’s hands in the epic
conclusion to New York Times best-selling authors Amie Kaufman and
Meagan Spooner’s tomb-raiding sci-fi duology.
#4: Slayer by Kiersten White (January 8th, 2019)
(synopsis) Into every generation a Slayer is born…
Nina
and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when
you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from
your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for
Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of
darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s
Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead
she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as
the school medic.
Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.
Thanks
to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died
protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last
Slayer, ever. Period.
As Nina hones her skills with her
Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster
fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps
popping up in Nina’s dreams…
But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.
One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.
#5: The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan (January 15, 2019)
(synopsis) Seventeen-year-old
Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim
parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder
to do. She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor
her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop
tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a
few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle
and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming
an engineer.
But when her parents catch her kissing her
girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are
devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali
community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she
is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition.
Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to
gain some much needed perspective.
Rukhsana realizes she must
find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing
everyone and everything in her life?
#6: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (January 15, 2019)
(synopsis) Paris, 1889: The world
is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has
breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In
this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and
wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful
society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a
treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.
To find
the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band
of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can’t yet
go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood,
who might care too much.
Together, they’ll have to use their wits
and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering
heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they
can stay alive.
#7: Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig (January 29, 2019)
(synopsis) Teenage socialite Margo
Manning leads a dangerous double life. By day, she dodges the paparazzi
while soaking up California sunshine. By night, however, she dodges
security cameras and armed guards, pulling off high-stakes cat
burglaries with a team of flamboyant young men. In and out of disguise,
she’s in all the headlines.
But then Margo’s personal life takes a
sudden, dark turn, and a job to end all jobs lands her crew in deadly
peril. Overnight, everything she’s ever counted on is put at risk. Backs
against the wall, the resourceful thieves must draw on their special
skills to survive. But can one rebel heiress and four kickboxing drag
queens withstand the slings and arrows of truly outrageous fortune? Or
will a mounting sea of troubles end them — for good?
#8: That’s Not What I Heard by Stephanie Kate Strohm (January 29, 2019)
(synopsis) What did you hear?
Kimberly Landis-Lilley and Teddy Lin are over. Yes, the Kim and Teddy broke up.
At
least that’s what Phil Spooner thinks he overheard and then told Jess
Howard, Kim’s best friend. Something about Teddy not liking Kim’s
Instas? Or was it that Teddy is moving to Italy and didn’t want to do
long distance? Or that Kim slid into someone else’s DMs?
Jess
told her boyfriend, Elvis, that he needs to be on Kim’s side. Especially
if he wants to keep her as his girlfriend. But Elvis is also Teddy’s
best friend.
Now, Kim’s run out of school for the day. Jess is
furious. Elvis is confused. And half the lunch period won’t talk to
Teddy. Even the teachers have taken sides.
William Henry Harrison High will never be the same again!
#9: Come Find Me by Megan Miranda (January 29, 2019)
(synopsis) After surviving an
infamous family tragedy, sixteen-year-old Kennedy Jones has made it her
mission to keep her brother’s search through the cosmos alive. But then
something disturbs the frequency on his radio telescope–a pattern
registering where no signal should transmit.
In a neighboring
county, seventeen-year-old Nolan Chandler is determined to find out what
really happened to his brother, who disappeared the day after Nolan had
an eerie premonition. There hasn’t been a single lead for two years,
until Nolan picks up an odd signal–a pattern coming from his brother’s
bedroom.
Drawn together by these strange signals–and their
family tragedies–Kennedy and Nolan search for the origin of the
mysterious frequency. But the more they uncover, the more they believe
that everything’s connected–even their pasts–as it appears the signal
is meant for them alone, sharing a message that only they can
understand. Is something coming for them? Or is the frequency warning
them about something that’s already here?
#10: A Curse So Dark And Lonely by Briged Kemmerer (January 29, 2019)
(synopsis) It once seemed so easy
to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress
to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he
could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned
that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast
hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his
family, and every last shred of hope.
Nothing has ever been easy
for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her
brother barely holding their family together while constantly
underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be
tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the
streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s
cursed world.
Break the curse, save the kingdom.
A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she
is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this
enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen
realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes
flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . .
and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his
people from utter ruin.
Books coming out in February:
#11: On The Come Up by Angie Thomas (February 5, 2019)
(synopsis) Sixteen-year-old Bri
wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it
out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap
legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now
that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff
notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills
piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just
wants to make it—she has to make it.
On the Come Up is
Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for
storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story
of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you;
of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you
to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black
families.
#12: Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok (January 12, 2019)
(synopsis) Paris, 1887.
Sixteen-year-old
Nathalie Baudin writes the daily morgue column for Le Petit Journal.
Her job is to summarize each day’s new arrivals, a task she finds both
fascinating and routine. That is, until the day she has a vision of the
newest body, a young woman, being murdered–from the perspective of the
murderer himself.
When the body of another woman is retrieved
from the Seine days later, Paris begins to buzz with rumors that this
victim may not be the last. Nathalie’s search for answers sends her down
a long, twisty road involving her mentally ill aunt, a brilliant but
deluded scientist, and eventually into the Parisian Catacombs. As the
killer continues to haunt the streets of Paris, it becomes clear that
Nathalie’s strange new ability may make her the only one who can
discover the killer’s identity–and she’ll have to do it before she
becomes a target herself.
#13: Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard (February 12, 2019)
(synopsis) Fans of Susan Dennard’s New York Times bestselling Witchlands series have fallen in love with the Bloodwitch Aeduan. And now, finally, comes his story.
High
in a snowy mountain range, a monastery that holds more than just faith
clings to the side of a cliff. Below, thwarted by a lake, a bloodthirsty
horde of raiders await the coming of winter and the frozen path to
destroy the sanctuary and its secrets.
The Bloodwitch Aeduan has
teamed up with the Threadwitch Iseult and the magical girl Owl to stop
the destruction. But to do so, he must confront his own father, and his
past.
#14: The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson (February 19, 2019)
(synopsis) A good friend will bury your body, a best friend will dig you back up.
Dino
doesn’t mind spending time with the dead. His parents own a funeral
home, and death is literally the family business. He’s just not used to
them talking back. Until Dino’s ex-best friend July dies suddenly—and
then comes back to life. Except not exactly. Somehow July is not quite
alive, and not quite dead.
As Dino and July attempt to figure out
what’s happening, they must also confront why and how their friendship
ended so badly, and what they have left to understand about themselves,
each other, and all those grand mysteries of life.
#15: The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (February 26, 2019)
(synopsis) A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.
The
House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed,
Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm
from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead
Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of
lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a
watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across
the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is
forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
#16: Warrior of The Wild by Tricia Levenseller (February 26, 2019)
(synopsis) How do you kill a god?
As
her father’s chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her
whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her
coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father
banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest:
to win back her honour, she must kill the oppressive god who claims
tribute from the villages each year or die trying.
#17: Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte (February 26, 2019)
(synopsis) Get in quick, get out quicker.
These
are the words Keralie Corrington lives by as the preeminent dipper in
the Concord, the central area uniting the four quadrants of Quadara. She
steals under the guidance of her mentor Mackiel, who runs a black
market selling their bounty to buyers desperate for what they can’t get
in their own quarter. For in the nation of Quadara, each quarter is
strictly divided from the other. Four queens rule together, one from
each region:
Toria: the intellectual quarter that values education and ambition
Ludia: the pleasure quarter that values celebration, passion, and entertainment
Archia: the agricultural quarter that values simplicity and nature
Eonia: the futurist quarter that values technology, stoicism and harmonious community
When
Keralie intercepts a comm disk coming from the House of Concord, what
seems like a standard job goes horribly wrong. Upon watching the comm
disks, Keralie sees all four queens murdered in four brutal ways. Hoping
that discovering the intended recipient will reveal the culprit –
information that is bound to be valuable bartering material with the
palace – Keralie teams up with Varin Bollt, the Eonist messenger she
stole from, to complete Varin’s original job and see where it takes
them.
Books coming out in March:
#18: Once And Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (March 5, 2019)
(synopsis) I’ve been chased my
whole life. As an illegal immigrant in the territory controlled by the
tyrannical Mercer corporation, I’ve always had to hide who I am. Until I
found Excalibur.
Now I’m done hiding.
My name is Ari Helix. I have a magic sword, a cranky wizard, and a revolution to start.
When
Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient
resting place, she is revealed to be the newest reincarnation of King
Arthur. Then she meets Merlin, who has aged backward over the centuries
into a teenager, and together they must break the curse that keeps
Arthur coming back. Their quest? Defeat the cruel, oppressive government
and bring peace and equality to all humankind.
No pressure.
#19: We Told Six Lies by Victoria Scott (March 5, 2019)
(synopsis) Remember how many lies
we told, Molly? It’s enough to make my head spin. You were wild when I
met you, and I was mad for you. But then something happened. And now
you’re gone.
But don’t worry. I’ll find you. I just need to sift
through the story of us to get to where you might be. I’ve got places
to look, and a list of names.
The police have a list of names, too. See now? There’s another lie. There is only one person they’re really looking at, Molly.
And that’s yours truly.
#20: To Best The Boys by Mary Weber (March 5, 2019)
(synopsis) Every year for the past
fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious
letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed
scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer
residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier
look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens
it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are
created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of
Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged
into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing
more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall
prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a
cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the
future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship
competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don
disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the
scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t
know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.
#21: The Quet At The End of The World by Lauren James (March 7, 2019)
(synopsis) How far would you go to save those you love?
Lowrie
and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused
global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a
small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking for
artefacts from history and looking for treasure in their once-opulent
mansion.
Their idyllic life is torn apart when a secret is
uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire
existence. Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at
the end of the world, they must decide who to save and who to sacrifice .
. .
#22: Beware The Night by Jessika Fleck (March 12, 2019)
(synopsis) When her world divides,
pitting light against dark, Veda must join a dangerous revolution to
save her grandfather and fight against injustice…even if it costs her
the boy she loves.
On the island of Bellona, life is peaceful–as
long as the citizens dutifully worship the Sun, which protects them
from all harm. Seventeen-year-old Veda knows that keeping the Sun happy
will protect her and her grandfather from the Night, the dangerous
people who snatch innocent citizens from their beds under the cover of
darkness, never to be seen again. As long as Veda follows the rules, she
will be safe.
But when Veda’s grandfather is offered up as the
next sacrificial offering to keep the Sun’s favor, she starts to see
that the safety she’s been promised comes at a dangerous price. Maybe
there is more to fear above than there is below.
With a
mysterious young man, Dorian, at her side, Veda has to figure out if the
scary bedtime stories she grew up hearing are real–or dangerous lies.
#23: Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale (March 19, 2019)
(synopsis) Rule #1 – Never fall for a summer boy. Fresh
out of high school, Babe Vogel should be thrilled to have the whole
summer at her fingertips. She loves living in her lighthouse home in the
sleepy Maine beach town of Oar’s Rest and being a barista at the Busy
Bean, but she’s totally freaking out about how her life will change when
her two best friends go to college in the fall. And when a reckless
kiss causes all three of them to break up, she may lose them a lot
sooner. On top of that, her ex-girlfriend is back in town, bringing with
her a slew of memories, both good and bad.
And then there’s Levi
Keller, the cute artist who’s spending all his free time at the coffee
shop where she works. Levi’s from out of town, and even though Babe
knows better than to fall for a tourist who will leave when summer ends,
she can’t stop herself from wanting to know him. Can Babe keep her
distance, or will she break the one rule she’s always had – to never
fall for a summer boy?
#24: Sherwood by Meagan Spooner ( March 19, 2019)
(synopsis) Robin of Locksley is dead.
When
news comes that he’s fallen in battle at the King’s side in the Holy
Land, Maid Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on. Betrothed to Robin, she
was free to be herself, to flout the stifling rules of traditional
society and share an equal voice with her beloved when it came to caring
for the people of her land.
Now Marian is alone, with no voice
of her own. The people of Locksley, persecuted by the Sheriff of
Nottingham, are doomed to live in poverty or else face death by hanging.
The dreadful Guy of Gisborne, the Sherriff’s right hand, wishes to step
into Robin’s shoes as Lord of Locksley, and Marian’s fiancé. Society
demands that she accept her fate, and watch helplessly as her people
starve.
When Marian dons Robin’s green cloak, and takes up his
sword and bow, she never intended that anyone should mistake her for
Robin, returned from the Holy Land as a vigilante. She never intended
that the masked, cloaked figure she created should stand as a beacon of
hope and justice to peasant and noble alike. She never intended to
become a legend.
But all of Nottingham is crying out for a savior. So Marian must choose to make her own fate and become her own hero…
Robin Hood.
And finally, books coming out in April:
#25: The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu (April 2, 2019)
(synopsis) All Magnus Bane wanted
was a vacation—a lavish trip across Europe with Alec Lightwood, the
Shadowhunter who against all odds is finally his boyfriend. But as soon
as the pair settles in Paris, an old friend arrives with news about a
demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand that is bent on causing
chaos around the world. A cult that was apparently founded by Magnus
himself. Years ago. As a joke.
Now Magnus and Alec must race
across Europe to track down the Crimson Hand and its elusive new leader
before the cult can cause any more damage. As if it wasn’t bad enough
that their romantic getaway has been sidetracked, demons are now dogging
their every step, and it is becoming harder to tell friend from foe. As
their quest for answers becomes increasingly dire, Magnus and Alec will
have to trust each other more than ever—even if it means revealing the
secrets they’ve both been keeping.
#26: The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman (April 2, 2019)
(synopsis) On the edge of town a beast haunts the woods, trapped in the Gray, its bonds loosening…
Uprooted
from the city, Violet Saunders doesn’t have much hope of fitting in at
her new school in Four Paths, a town almost buried in the woodlands of
rural New York. The fact that she’s descended from one of the town’s
founders doesn’t help much, either—her new neighbours treat her with
distant respect, and something very like fear. When she meets Justin,
May, Isaac, and Harper, all children of founder families, and sees the
otherworldly destruction they can wreak, she starts to wonder if the
townsfolk are right to be afraid.
When bodies start to appear in
the woods, the locals become downright hostile. Can the teenagers solve
the mystery of Four Paths, and their own part in it, before another
calamity strikes?
#27: Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover (April 9, 2019)
(synopsis) Surviving was just the beginning.
Eleven
years after a shooting rocked the small town of East Ridge, New Jersey
and left eighteen first graders in their classroom dead, survivors and
recent high school graduates Matt Simpson and Cole Hewitt are still
navigating their guilt and trying to move beyond the shadow of their
town’s grief. Will Cole and Matt ever be able to truly leave the ghosts
of East Ridge behind? Do they even want to?
As they grapple with
changing relationships, falling in love, and growing apart, these two
friends must face the question of how to move on—and truly begin living.
And there we go! 28 books I’m excited to read from January through April! What books are you excited to read in those months?
-Sam
Some Books & Ramblings 