Hi dear friends,
For weeks I’ve seen bloggers sharing their “I want to read” lists and I just wanted to kick myself because, of course, this is interesting!
Mind you thanks to their lists I must have added at least 6 books to my TBR. My heart is very happy my wallet ….not so much! But hey, I unsubscribed from Fairyloot so I have more money to spend on books πΒ
As I am generous * and don’t want to be the only one going broke on books* I decided to share my own list of books I have the hots for and that will be published from September till end of December 2018.
Let’s get organized and sort them by month shall we?
September 2018
Young Adults
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White because … I love her books!
Synopsis
Elizabeth Lavenza hasn’t had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her “caregiver,” and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything–except a friend.
Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable–and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.
But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth’s survival depends on managing Victor’s dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.
Sadie by Courtney Summers
This one was never on my radar but I kept reading fantastic reviews these last weeks and when I read that Raven loved it I just had to order that one!
Synopsis
Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.
But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.
When West McCrayβa radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in Americaβoverhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.
Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman because I met her at YALC and need to read more
Synopsis
Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesnβt have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure ofβshe wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea.
Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. Now thousands of miles from home, Rumi struggles to navigate the loss of her sister, being abandoned by her mother, and the absence of music in her life. With the help of the βboys next doorββa teenage surfer named Kai, who smiles too much and doesnβt take anything seriously, and an eighty-year-old named George Watanabe, who succumbed to his own grief years agoβRumi attempts to find her way back to her music, to write the song she and Lea never had the chance to finish.
The Caged Queen by Kirsten Cicarelli because I have the first one on my shelf!
Synopsis
Once there were two sisters born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. When they were angry, mirrors shattered, and when they were happy, flowers bloomed. It was a magic they cherishedβuntil the day a terrible accident took Essieβs life and trapped her soul in this world.
Daxβthe heir to Firgaardβs throneβwas responsible for the accident. Roa swore to hate him forever. But eight years later he returned, begging for her help. He was determined to dethrone his cruel father, under whose oppressive reign Roaβs people had suffered. Roa made him a deal: sheβd give him the army he needed if he made her queen.
Together with Dax and his sister, Asha, Roa and her people waged war and deposed a tyrant. But now Asha is on the run, hiding from the price on her head. And Roa is an outlander queen, far from home and married to her enemy. Worst of all: Daxβs promises go unfulfilled. Roaβs people continue to suffer.
Then a chance to right every wrong arisesβan opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Reliquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa can reclaim her sister for good.
All she has to do is kill the king.
Adult
Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven
Because I love Grace Draven and your reviews made me need to read it!
Synopsis
A woman with power over fire and illusion and an enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from the USA Today bestselling author of Radiance.
Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire’s capital–her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village’s tithe has been the same woman. Gilene’s sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses.
But this year is different.
Azarion, the Empire’s most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion–and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery. And unknown to Gilene, he also wants to reclaim the birthright of his clan.
To protect her family and village, she will risk everything to return to the Empire–and burn once more.
Timid by Devney Perry
Because I loved her books so far and am curious about a timid heroine
Synopsis
Willa Doon has always been shy. Her quiet demeanor was something sheβs always embraced. That is, until Jackson Page moves to town. The one man she desperately wants to take notice struggles to remember her name.
Year after year, Willa stands by, watching as the bartender slash playboy drowns his demons in beer and sex. Then one night, he shows up at her door, suddenly aware that the girl heβs seen around Lark Cove is now a beautiful woman.
Except what he doesnβt remember is that this visit isnβt his first. They spent a night together once before. A night heβs forgotten, thanks to a bottle of tequila.
A night that crushed a timid girlβs heart, and set a broken man on the path to heal them both.
Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini
Because I saw this one on one of my friend’s bookstagrams, got intrigued, read the blurb and …needed it!
Synopsis
The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed responds to the heartbreak of the current refugee crisis with this deeply moving, beautifully illustrated short work of fiction for people of all ages, all over the world.
A short, powerful, illustrated book written by beloved novelist Khaled Hosseini in response to the current refugee crisis, Sea Prayer is composed in the form of a letter, from a father to his son, on the eve of their journey. Watching over his sleeping son, the father reflects on the dangerous sea-crossing that lies before them. It is also a vivid portrait of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city’s swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone.
Impelled to write this story by the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed upon the beach in Turkey in September 2015, Hosseini hopes to pay tribute to the millions of families, like Kurdi’s, who have been splintered and forced from home by war and persecution, and he will donate author proceeds from this book to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund lifesaving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe.
October 2018
Young Adults
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas: my most awaited book after Queen of Air and Darkness!
I even pre-ordered a box LOL
Synopsis
Years in the making, Sarah J. Maasβs #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathyniusβs journey from slave to kingβs assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .
Aelin has risked everything to save her peopleβbut at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing dayβ¦
With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies theyβve gathered to battle Erawanβs hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvationβand a better world.
And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queenβbefore she is lost to him forever.
As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.
The Darkest Star by Jennifer L Armentrout because it’s about Luc!
Synopsis
When seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher is caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen…but he is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she’d only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head…
#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the universe of the Lux in this brand new series, featuring beloved characters both new and old.
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
Because I adored Furyborn and I am busy reading a sampler and I so live it!
Synopsis
Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep.
Heβll follow you home, and he wonβt let you sleep.
Who are the Sawkill Girls?
Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love sheβs sure sheβll never find.
Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe sheβs brokenβor maybe everyone else is.
Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.
Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.
Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight⦠until now.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahere Mafi
Because it’s Tahere and because of the blurb! Already pre-ordered
Synopsis
Itβs 2002, a year after 9/11. Itβs an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl whoβs tired of being stereotyped.
Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. Sheβs tired of the rude stares, the degrading commentsβeven the physical violenceβshe endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So sheβs built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.
But then she meets Ocean James. Heβs the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies herβthey seem to come from two irreconcilable worldsβand Shirin has had her guard up for so long that sheβs not sure sheβll ever be able to let it down.
Adult
Fall by Kristen Callihan
Because I loved the first two books in this series!
Synopsis
The first time I met Jax Blackwood things went a little sideways.
In my defense, I didnβt know he was Jax Blackwoodβwho expects a legendary rock star to be shopping for groceries? More importantly, a blizzard was coming and he was about to grab the last carton of mint-chocolate chip.
Still, I might have walked away, but then he smugly dared me to try and take the coveted ice cream. So I kissed him. And distracted that mint-chip right out of his hands.
Okay, it was a dirty move, but desperate times and all that. Besides, I never expected heβd be my new neighbor.
An annoying neighbor who takes great pleasure in reminding me that I owe him ice cream but would happily accept more kisses as payment. An irresistible neighbor who keeps me up while playing guitar nakedβspectacularly nakedβin his living room.
Clearly, avoidance is key. Except nothing about Jax is easy to ignoreβnot the way he makes me laugh, or that his particular brand of darkness matches mine, or how one look from him melts me faster than butter under a hot sun.
Neither of us believes in love or forever. Yet weβre quickly becoming each otherβs addiction. But we could be more. We could be everything.
All we have to do is trust enough to fall.
Secrets by Aleatha Romig
Because Aleatha asked me so nicely to read it and because of course I would have begged her to read this one!
Synopsis
Iβm Sterling Sparrow. Youβve no doubt heard my name or read it on the top of tall buildings. Thereβs more to my businessβmy realmβthan what is seen aboveground.
Within the underbelly of one of Americaβs largest cities lives a world where a manβs word is either his most valuable tool or his most respected weapon. When my father ruled that world and that city, he promised me someone who would one day make my reign complete.
Since that day, long ago, Araneae McCrie has been mine.
She just didnβt know.
My father is now gone.
The city and the underbelly are now mine.
The time has come for me to collect who was promised to me, to shred her life of secrets and make her who sheβs always beenβmine.
November 2018
Young Adult
Mammoth by Jill Baguchinsky
Just because I’ve read a wonderful review and then read the blurb and now ….I need it!
Synopsis
The summer before her junior year, paleontology geek Natalie Page lands a coveted internship at an Ice Age dig site near Austin. Natalie, whoβs also a plus-size fashion blogger, depends on the retro style she developed to shield herself from her former bullies, but vintage dresses and perfect lipstick arenβt compatible with prospecting for fossils in the Texas heat. But nothing is going to dampen Natalieβs spirit β sheβs exactly where she wants to be, and she gets to work with her hero, a rock-star paleontologist who hosts the most popular paleo podcast in the world. And then thereβs Chase the intern, whoβs seriously cute, and Cody, a local boy whoβd be even cuter if he were less of a grouch.
Itβs a summer that promises to be about more than just mammoths.
Until it isnβt.
When Natalieβs hero turns out to be anything but, and steals the credit for one of her accomplishments, Nat has to unearth the confidence she needs to stand out in a field dominated by dudes. To do this, sheβll have to let her true self shine, even if that means defying all the rules for the sake of a major discovery.
December 2018
Young Adult
Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare: my most awaited of the YEAR!
Synopsis
The summer before her junior year, paleontology geek Natalie Page lands a coveted internship at an Ice Age dig site near Austin. Natalie, whoβs also a plus-size fashion blogger, depends on the retro style she developed to shield herself from her former bullies, but vintage dresses and perfect lipstick arenβt compatible with prospecting for fossils in the Texas heat. But nothing is going to dampen Natalieβs spirit β sheβs exactly where she wants to be, and she gets to work with her hero, a rock-star paleontologist who hosts the most popular paleo podcast in the world. And then thereβs Chase the intern, whoβs seriously cute, and Cody, a local boy whoβd be even cuter if he were less of a grouch.
Itβs a summer that promises to be about more than just mammoths.
Until it isnβt.
When Natalieβs hero turns out to be anything but, and steals the credit for one of her accomplishments, Nat has to unearth the confidence she needs to stand out in a field dominated by dudes. To do this, sheβll have to let her true self shine, even if that means defying all the rules for the sake of a major discovery.
Now do tell me: do we share some? Do you hear their call? They are feeling so lonely on their shelves!
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
A million times yes to The Darkest Star! The Lux Series is one of my favorite series ever and I’m beyond ecstatic to jump back into this world! Wonderful list, Sophie!
Thank you so much Jen!!!!
This is a great list, Sophie! Sadie is getting so many amazing reviews and I don’t know why I am not picking it up. Hopefully soon π
Also, I can’t wait to read Summer Bird Blue. I really hope the prices go down for it in my country π I hope you enjoy all of these books.
Thank you Sim! I am busy reading Sadie today …while not blogging LOL
This is a great list, Sophie! Sadie was an emotional read and I really hope you enjoy it! I’m also super excited for The Darkest Stars, Kingdom Of Ash, Phoenix Unbound, and Caged Queen.
Busy reading Sadie!!!
Interesting choices that you have up there. Happy reading! xx
Thank you so much Jayati!
I’m really looking forward to The Caged Queen too!
Oh yes Meeghan!!!
Only discovered Sawkill Girls and Sadie recently, but i can’t wait to read them! π
Well honestly me too Norrie!
I have my eyes on Fall. I love KC’s books.
My book bestie loved Phoenix Unbound and I have a widget…hmm…maybe I’ll get that one π
Great list, Sophie!
Thank you Astrid!!
Yes! Finally a post where The Darkest Star is mentioned. I can’t wait to get my hands on that book.
You too Jamsu??? I love jennifer’s books π
Mammoth was wonderful – and such a likable protagonist. Think you’ll enjoy it.
Teri it’s after having read the review on someone’s blog that I added this one π
I read two of those (Summer Bird Blue, Sadie) and both were very, very good. The last ToG book is a MUST, same with the last TDA book. I have to find out how it all ends, because LoS gutted me. I am excited we are getting a new VIP book too. That series is fantastic.
Me too Sam!!! So many good books and so little time though π
And now that I’ve viewed your post I have some new books to add to my list! LOL Several new ones here I must explore and some I’ve already earmarked. And just look at those magnificent covers!
Bwahahaha Laura the same happens to me all the time! My TBR is growing faster than my bank account unfortunately π
Great list! Almost all of these are on my wishlist as well. π
Kindred spirits Suzanne ;-)))
Summer Bird Blue sounds really really really sad π But Phoenix Unbound sounds amazing!! And I have heard a lot of good things about it!!
Am I the only one who had trouble reading the title on A Very Large Expanse of Sea? This is what I read: “A Very A Very Large Large” And then I realized it was just the same words repeated
Hahahaha Brittany I had no trouble reading it but maybe others have these problems π I hope to tell you everything about Phoenix Unbound!
Great list, Sophie! I finished SADIE recently and posted my review today π I LOVED IT! Also, I’ll be reading THE DARK DESCENT OF ELIZABETH FRANKENSTEIN very very soon. I will be reading SAWKILL GIRLS next month π and have heard great things about it, and I also want to read A VERY LARGE EXPANSE OF SEA! <3
So many books in common Flavia! But that’s no surprise LOL
I’ve been hearing so much about Sadie! I’m going to have to read it π
Well Jacquie the same happened to me LOL
I REALLY need to read something by Devney Perry! I have at 3 by her on my Kindle and I feel like Iβm going to love them but I just havenβt got to them yet.
And The Darkest Star! I am crazy excited to start it! Luc is awesome and the teasers JLA has shared has me SO ready! π
Well Tanya I can’t wait for you to read Devney’s books and read your thoughts!
Omg! The cover for The Cages Queen
Totally! I wanted to win one of the ARCs at YALC but sadly didn’t…