Weekly Cover Reveal Recap | June 26 – July 2 (Part. 2: Contemporary/Mystery)

Hey Bookworms!

Here are the covers that were revealed during the week of July 3 – July 9. Click the author to hop on over to their GoodReads page to add it to you’re TBR!

This was a big week for reveals. Hope ya’ll enjoy.

CONTEMPORARY

Layover by Amanda Andelson & Emily Meyer

Published by Crown Books for Young Readers

January 30th 2018

FLYNN: At first we were almost strangers. But ever since I moved to New York, Amos was the one person I could count on. And together we were there for Poppy. (I mean, what kind of parents leave their kid to be raised by a nanny?) I just didn’t expect to fall for him—and I never expected him to leave us.

AMOS: I thought I was the only one who felt it. I told myself it was because we were spending so much time together—taking care of Poppy and all. But that night, I could tell she felt it, too. And I freaked out—you’re not supposed to fall for your stepsister. So I ran away to boarding school. I should have told her why I was leaving, but every time I tried, it felt like a lie.

One missed flight was about to change their lives forever….

Perfect for fans of Clueless and brought to you by two Hollywood screenwriters, this wild journey of unlikely romance, heartbreak, and adventure—set against the backdrop of a blended family in free fall during a rebellious layover in Los Angeles—reveals the true value of the unbreakable bonds we forge when we dare to let ourselves risk it all.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Published by HarperTeen

March 6th 2018

A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

Loser’s Bracket by Chris Crutcher

Published by Greenwillow Books

April 3rd 2018

When a family argument turns into an urgent hunt for a missing child, high school senior Annie must do everything in her power to bring her nephew home safely. From the acclaimed and bestselling author of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, this provocative book about family, loss, and loyalty is for fans of Jason Reynolds, John Corey Whaley, and Matt de la Peña.

When it comes to family, Annie is in the losers bracket. While her foster parents are great (mostly), her birth mom, Nancy, and her sister, Sheila, would not have been her first picks. And no matter how many times Annie tries to write them out of her life, she always gets sucked back into their drama. But when a family argument breaks out at one of Annie’s swim meets and her nephew goes missing, Annie can’t help but think this is her fault. With help from her friends, her foster brother, and her social service worker, Annie searches desperately for her missing nephew, determined to find him and finally get him into a safe home.

HISTORICAL

Purple Hearts by Michael Grant (Front Lines #3)

Published by Katherine Tegen Books

January 30th 2018

The gritty and powerful conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant’s epic alternate history series follows the young women American soldiers as D-day approaches during the final days of World War II.
Courage, sacrifice, and fear have led Rio, Frangie, and Rainy through the front line battles in North Africa and Sicily, and their missions are not over. These soldiers and thousands of Allies must fight their deadliest battle yet—for their country and their lives—as they descend into the freezing water and onto the treacherous sands of Omaha Beach. It is June 6, 1944. D-day has arrived.

None of these women are the same naïve recruits they were when the war started. They are Silver Star recipients and battle-hardened now as they traverse the dangerous bocage country and find their way out of the forests of Hürtgen and the Eifel. Others look to them for guidance and confidence, but this is a war that will leave 60 million dead. Flesh will turn to charcoal. Piles will be made of torn limbs. The women must lead through the devastating concentration camps of Buchenwald and Dachau while attempting to hold on to their own last shreds of belief in humanity.

In this powerful conclusion to the Front Lines series, New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant vividly evokes the gritty, brutal truth of World War II: War is hell.

MYSTERY / THRILLER

Infamous by Alyson Noel (Beautiful Idols #3)

Published by Katherine Tegen Books

April 3rd 2018

Layla Harrison never imagined she’d see the inside of a jail cell, but sometimes fate can be as nasty as a commenter on her celebrity gossip blog. Luckily, she wasn’t alone—fellow promoters Aster Amirpour and Tommy Phillips were also detained when Hollywood It Girl Madison Brooks’s dead body turned up at an Unrivaled nightclub.

But it wasn’t Madison at all. The real Madison Brooks is alive and hiding out after escaping a kidnapping attempt that almost took her life. Once the police discover they’ve made a mistake, Layla, Tommy, and Aster are set free—only to discover that they’re all being played.

However, none of their dirty little secrets compares to the one Madison has been keeping her entire life, and her past is dangerously close to being revealed. Which means Madison must come out from behind the shadows to ensure that she doesn’t lose everything she’s worked for, regardless of who might get caught in the crossfire.

The Greed by Scott Bergstrom (The Cruelty #2)

Published by Feiwel & Friends

February 6th 2018

The action-packed, high-stakes YA sequel to The Cruelty sees Gwen face ever greater danger from the men who hunt her.

Gwendolyn Bloom is dead.

But even armed with a new passport and identity, the danger is far from over. Her father is safe . . . but Gwen still hasn’t untangled all his lies from the truth. Meanwhile, her enemies are closing in with a vengeance.

She found her father when he disappeared off the face of the earth—can she survive being on the other end of a manhunt?

Break Us by Jennifer Brown (Nikki Kill #3)

Published by Katherine Tegen Books

February 13th 2018

Nikki Kill doesn’t see the world in black and white. Her synesthesia colours everything in view, transforming objects and numbers into emotions and clues. Which means she’s a dangerous commodity to anyone with something to hide. Nikki has already taken down the Hollises—one of LA’s most powerful families—for murdering her half-sister Peyton. Now she’s training to join the ranks of the police academy. Still Nikki’s promising future is languishing behind a cloud of gray uncertainty. After recovering from a hit and run, her mentor Detective Chris Martinez doesn’t remember their first kiss, and pieces of her troubled past are suddenly coming together as she investigates the incident.

Before she knows it, Nikki is on the trail of a cold case that couldn’t be any more personal – the death of her mother. But when the web of lies and secrets she uncovers leads back to the people who have tried to silence her, Nikki must pursue the blue tint of justice or everything—including her life—will be lost.

Are you looking forward to any of these books? Let me know in the comments below! Stay tuned for next weeks cover reveals!

Until next time,

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I Loved Them More Than Expected | Top 10 Tuesday

Hey guys!

Welcome back to another Top 10 Tuesday weekly fun on my blog! Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. If you want to join in the fun, hop on over to their blog to see what it’s all about!

This week’s topic is Top 10 Books I Loved More Than I Thought I Would.

There is always a book that gets iffy reviews and you are reluctant to read because of it. But me being me, I like to form my own opinions about things. So I do give them a try, with an open mind of course. These ten books that I am about to list are books I loved more than I expected I would. Gosh I sure do love surprises!

Seven Ways We Lie

Seven students. Seven (deadly) sins. One secret.

Paloma High School is ordinary by anyone’s standards. It’s got the same cliques, the same prejudices, the same suspect cafeteria food. And like every high school, every student has something to hide—from Kat, the thespian who conceals her trust issues onstage, to Valentine, the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal.

When that scandal bubbles over, and rumors of a teacher-student affair surface, everyone starts hunting for someone to blame. For the seven unlikely allies at the heart of it all, the collision of their seven ordinary-seeming lives results in extraordinary change.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Serpent King

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. Dill’s only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia, neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending- one that will rock his life to the core.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Unrivaled

Everyone wants to be someone.

Layla Harrison wants to leave her beach-bum days for digs behind a reporter’s desk. Aster Amirpour wants to scream at the next casting director who tells her “we need ethnic but not your kind of ethnic.” Tommy Phillips dreams of buying a twelve-string guitar and using it to shred his way back into his famous absentee dad’s life.

But Madison Brooks took destiny and made it her bitch a long time ago.

She’s Hollywood’s hottest starlet, and the things she did to become the name on everyone’s lips are merely a stain on the pavement, ground beneath her Louboutin heel.

That is, until Layla, Aster, and Tommy find themselves with a VIP invite to the glamorous and gritty world of Los Angeles’s nightlife and lured into a high-stakes competition where Madison Brooks is the target. Just as their hopes begin to gleam like stars through the California smog, Madison Brooks goes missing. . . . And all of their hopes are blacked out in the haze of their lies.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Scorpion Rules

Greta is a Duchess and a Crown Princess. She is also a Child of Peace, a hostage held by the de facto ruler of the world, the great Artificial Intelligence, Talis. This is how the game is played: if you want to rule, you must give one of your children as a hostage. Start a war and your hostage dies.

The system has worked for centuries. Parents don’t want to see their children murdered.

Greta will be free if she can make it to her eighteenth birthday. Until then she is prepared to die with dignity, if necessary. But everything changes when Elian arrives at the Precepture. He’s a hostage from a new American alliance, and he defies the machines that control every part of their lives—and is severely punished for it. His rebellion opens Greta’s eyes to the brutality of the rules they live under, and to the subtle resistance of her companions. And Greta discovers her own quiet power.

Then Elian’s country declares war on Greta’s and invades the prefecture, taking the hostages hostage. Now the great Talis is furious, and coming himself to deliver punishment. Which surely means that Greta and Elian will be killed…unless Greta can think of a way to break all the rules.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Impossible Fortress

Billy Marvin’s first love was a computer. Then he met Mary Zelinsky.

Do you remember your first love?

The Impossible Fortress begins with a magazine…The year is 1987 and Playboy has just published scandalous photographs of Vanna White, from the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune. For three teenage boys—Billy, Alf, and Clark—who are desperately uneducated in the ways of women, the magazine is somewhat of a Holy Grail: priceless beyond measure and impossible to attain. So, they hatch a plan to steal it.

The heist will be fraught with peril: a locked building, intrepid police officers, rusty fire escapes, leaps across rooftops, electronic alarm systems, and a hyperactive Shih Tzu named Arnold Schwarzenegger. Failed attempt after failed attempt leads them to a genius master plan—they’ll swipe the security code to Zelinsky’s convenience store by seducing the owner’s daughter, Mary Zelinsky. It becomes Billy’s mission to befriend her and get the information by any means necessary. But Mary isn’t your average teenage girl. She’s a computer loving, expert coder, already strides ahead of Billy in ability, with a wry sense of humor and a hidden, big heart. But what starts as a game to win Mary’s affection leaves Billy with a gut-wrenching choice: deceive the girl who may well be his first love or break a promise to his best friends.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Legend

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Sun is Also a Star

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Tell Me Three Things

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Paper Princess

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Cruelty

When her diplomat father is kidnapped and the U.S. Government is unable to help, 17 year-old Gwendolyn Bloom sets off across the sordid underbelly of Europe to rescue him.

Following the only lead she has—the name of a Palestinian informer living in France—she plunges into a brutal world of arms smuggling and human trafficking. As she journeys from the slums of Paris, to the nightclubs of Berlin, to the heart of the most feared crime family in Prague, Gwendolyn discovers that to survive in this new world she must become every bit as cruel as the men she’s hunting.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Well there you have it! Top 10 Books I Loved More Than I Thought I Would. What are some of your favorite books you weren’t expecting to like as much?

Until next time,

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The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom | REVIEW

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom (The Cruelty #1)
Published by Feiwel & Friends on February 7th 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 384
Format: ARC

LINKS: Good Reads | Amazon | Indigo | Book Depository

When her diplomat father is kidnapped and the U.S. Government is unable to help, 17 year-old Gwendolyn Bloom sets off across the sordid underbelly of Europe to rescue him.

Following the only lead she has—the name of a Palestinian informer living in France—she plunges into a brutal world of arms smuggling and human trafficking.

As she journeys from the slums of Paris, to the nightclubs of Berlin, to the heart of the most feared crime family in Prague, Gwendolyn discovers that to survive in this new world she must become every bit as cruel as the men she’s hunting.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

Received an ARC from Raincoast Books for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion at all. Thank you!!

First Line:

The boys are waiting for the beheading.

Review

COVER 🌟🌟🌟🌟 PLOT 🌟🌟🌟🌟

CHARACTERS 🌟🌟🌟🌟 THRILLS 🌟🌟🌟🌟

WRITING 🌟🌟🌟 ACTION 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom is a young adult spy novel about a girl who must travel across Europe to find her diplomat father who has mysteriously gone missing. With the CIA not willing to help, Gwendolyn must take matters into her own hands. But how far is she willing to go to rescue her father? Only time will tell.

The Good

Strong Heroine

If there is one thing that The Cruelty has going for it is a strong heroine. Gwendolyn is just a regular girl. Daughter to a diplomat, she has lived in many countries and has learned many different languages. All of which she uses to aid her journey to find her father. Throughout the novel Gwen must learn to fight, steal, con, and harm in order to advance further and further into the darkest sides of the world.

Bergstrom does a good job at showing Gwen’s growth from chapter to chapter. She doesn’t automatically know how to fight, it takes her weeks of long arduous training to get better. She doesn’t just feel comfortable harming another human, we see her go through the emotions of it all. She is a real as a heroine is going to get.

Raw/Real

The Cruelty takes no shortcuts in the storytelling. There are no butterflies and rainbows in this one. We go deep into the heart of criminal world of Europe and all the horrible things that happen there. Whether it be drug dealing, arms dealing, or human trafficking, The Cruelty has it all. No sugarcoating. Just dark, pure and horrifyingly real situations.

Bergstrom does not ease up with his world building. From city to city, we are not there to be mesmerized by the landmarks and beautiful atmosphere. We are thrust into the darkness; the ugly side of the world. No topic is off limits for this one.

Felt Like a Movie

This book was made to be a movie. You can tell from the cinematic way The Cruelty is told in. It comes as no surprise that there is talks of turning it into the next teen blockbuster. Ever amidst all the controversy with the author’s past interviews. Putting that aside, I loved the way Bergstrom went from scene to scene. Everything seemed to flow nicely.

I think The Cruelty would do well on the big screen.

The Bad

Useless Characters

While The Cruelty boasts a fantastic heroine, it also showcases some useless characters that are only there to move the plot along and give Gwen certain conveniences. Take Terrance for instance. He is an uber rich kid that goes to her school that is also conveniently well versed at hacking. When Gwen needs money, he provides it, when Gwen needs access to information, he hacks for it. He served no other purpose besides convenient resources and a exceedingly lame romance.

Then you have the girl she met in Germany, Marina, that happened to give her a place to live and connections to a crime boss. I get what purpose these characters serve, but I just wish for more from them. They are wasted potential.

I wanted to put the controversy aside and give this book a chance. Sometimes people deserve second chances. Especially when it comes to saying the wrong thing. I do it all the time. This book was a lot of fun! Let me know what you guys thought of The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom! I would love to hear your opinions as well.

Until next time,

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#IWillFindYou

Scott Bergstrom is a traveler, photographer, and writer who lives in Colorado with his wife and daughters. The Cruelty is his fiction debut.

February 2017 Releases

Hey guys!

Every month I post the books that I’m most excited about that are going to be released. For February I’m bringing you seven exciting releases. Let’s check them out:

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson

Release Date: February 7th, 2017

Tommy and Ozzie have been best friends since second grade, and boyfriends since eighth. They spent countless days dreaming of escaping their small town—and then Tommy vanished.

More accurately, he ceased to exist, erased from the minds and memories of everyone who knew him. Everyone except Ozzie.

Ozzie doesn’t know how to navigate life without Tommy, and soon suspects that something else is going on: that the universe is shrinking.

When Ozzie is paired up with new student Calvin on a physics project, he begins to wonder if Calvin could somehow be involved. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is for him to deny the feelings developing between them, even if he still loves Tommy.

But Ozzie knows there isn’t much time left to find Tommy–that once the door closes, it can’t be opened again. And he’s determined to keep it open as long as possible.

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

Release Date: February 7th, 2017

Empress
Rhee, also known as Crown Princess Rhiannon Ta’an, is the sole surviving heir to a powerful dynasty. She’ll stop at nothing to avenge her family and claim her throne.

Fugitive
Aly has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. But when he’s falsely accused of killing Rhee, he’s forced to prove his innocence to save his reputation – and his life.

Madman
With planets on the brink of war, Rhee and Aly are thrown together to confront a ruthless evil that threatens the fate of the entire galaxy.

A saga of vengeance, warfare, and the true meaning of legacy.

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom

Release Date: February 7th, 2017

When her diplomat father is kidnapped and the U.S. Government is unable to help, 17 year-old Gwendolyn Bloom sets off across the sordid underbelly of Europe to rescue him.

Following the only lead she has—the name of a Palestinian informer living in France—she plunges into a brutal world of arms smuggling and human trafficking.

As she journeys from the slums of Paris, to the nightclubs of Berlin, to the heart of the most feared crime family in Prague, Gwendolyn discovers that to survive in this new world she must become every bit as cruel as the men she’s hunting.

Gilded Cage by Vic James

Release Date: February 14th, 2017

Not all are free. Not all are equal. Not all will be saved.

Our world belongs to the Equals — aristocrats with magical gifts — and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge.

Abi is a servant to England’s most powerful family, but her spirit is free. So when she falls for one of the noble-born sons, Abi faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family’s secrets might win her liberty, but will her heart pay the price?

A boy dreams of revolution.

Abi’s brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town. Far from his family and cruelly oppressed, he makes friends whose ideals could cost him everything. Now Luke has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution.

And an aristocrat will remake the world with his dark gifts.

He is a shadow in the glittering world of the Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate—or destroy?

The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine

Release Date: February 14th, 2017

The world has turned upside down for Thad and Ari Glavan, the bastard twins of Súndraille’s king. Their mother was murdered. The royal family died mysteriously. And now Thad sits on the throne of a kingdom whose streets are suddenly overrun with violence he can’t stop.

Growing up ignored by the nobility, Ari never wanted to be a proper princess. And when Thad suddenly starts training Ari to take his place, she realizes that her brother’s ascension to the throne wasn’t fate. It was the work of a Wish Granter named Alistair Teague who tricked Thad into wishing away both the safety of his people and his soul in exchange for the crown.

So Ari recruits the help of Thad’s enigmatic new weapons master, Sebastian Vaughn, to teach her how to fight Teague. With secret ties to Teague’s criminal empire, Sebastian might just hold the key to discovering Alistair’s weaknesses, saving Ari’s brother—and herself.

But Teague is ruthless and more than ready to destroy anyone who dares stand in his way—and now he has his sights set on the princess. And if Ari can’t outwit him, she’ll lose Sebastian, her brother…and her soul.

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Release Date: February 21st, 2017

The battle between four magical Londons comes to a head in this stunning finale to the New York Times bestselling Shades of Magic trilogy by rising star V. E. Schwab

London’s fall and kingdoms rise while darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire—and the fraught balance of magic blossoms into dangerous territory while heroes and foes struggle alike.

The direct sequel to A Gathering of Shadows, and the final book in the Shades of Magic epic fantasy series, A Conjuring of Light sees Schwab reach a thrilling culmination concerning the fate of beloved protagonists—and old enemies.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Release Date: February 28th, 2017

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Let me know if you guys are looking forward to any of these books this month! I really can’t wait to get my hands on them.

Until next time,

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Most Anticipated 2017 New Series (Jan-June)

Hey guys!

Welcome back to part 2 of my 5 part anticipated releases of 2017 series. I thought it would be fun to put together a couple of most anticipated lists for some amazing 2017 young adult books that I am thoroughly looking forward to. This is only part 2 of a 5 part list.

Part 1: Debuts

Part 2: New Series

Part 3: Sequels

Part 4: Finales

Part 5: Standalones

So stay tuned over the next couple weeks for many new books for you to add to your TBR’s if they aren’t on there already. Let’s move on to the Most Anticipated 2017 New Series from January to June!

Frostblood by Elly Blake

Release Date: January 10th, 2017

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a fireblood who must hide her powers of heat and flame from the cruel frostblood ruling class that wants to destroy all that are left of her kind. So when her mother is killed for protecting her and rebel frostbloods demand her help to kill their rampaging king, she agrees. But Ruby’s powers are unpredictable, and she’s not sure she’s willing to let the rebels and an infuriating (yet irresistible) young man called Arcus use her as their weapon…

Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau

Release Date: June 6th, 2017

Twins Carys and Andreus were never destined to rule Eden. With their older brother next in line to inherit the throne, the future of the kingdom was secure.

But appearances—and rivals—can be deceiving. When Eden’s king and crown prince are killed by assassins, Eden desperately needs a monarch, but the line of succession is no longer clear. With a ruling council scheming to gain power, Carys and Andreus are faced with only one option—to take part in a Trial of Succession that will determine which one of them is worthy of ruling the kingdom…

Roar by Cora Carmack

Release Date: June 13th, 2017

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people…

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Release Date: May 16th, 2017

The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor’s favorite consort—a political marriage that will elevate her family’s standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace…

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

Release Date: March 7th, 2017

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training…

The Evaporation of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber

Release Date: June 6th, 2017

Ever since the Delonese ice-planet arrived eleven years ago, Sofi’s dreams have been vivid. Alien. In a system where Earth s corporations rule in place of governments and the humanoid race orbiting the moon are allies, her only constant has been her younger brother, Shilo. As an online gamer, Sofi battles behind the scenes of Earth s Fantasy Fighting arena where Shilo is forced to compete in a mix of real and virtual blood sport. But when a bomb takes out a quarter of the arena, Sofi’s the only one who believes Shilo survived. She has dreams of him. And she’s convinced he s been taken to the ice-planet…

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom

Release Date: February 7th, 2017

When her diplomat father is kidnapped and the U.S. Government is unable to help, 17 year-old Gwendolyn Bloom sets off across the sordid underbelly of Europe to rescue him. Following the only lead she has—the name of a Palestinian informer living in France—she plunges into a brutal world of arms smuggling and human trafficking. As she journeys from the slums of Paris, to the nightclubs of Berlin, to the heart of the most feared crime family in Prague, Gwendolyn discovers that to survive in this new world she must become every bit as cruel as the men she’s hunting…

100 Hours by Rachel Vincent

Release Date: March 28th, 2017

A decadent spring break getaway on an exotic beach becomes a terrifying survival story when six Miami teens are kidnapped and ransomed.

Maddie is beyond done with her cousin Genesis’s entitled and shallow entourage. Genesis is so over Miami’s predictable social scene with its velvet ropes, petty power plays, and backstabbing boyfriends…

The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova

Release Date: January 10th, 2017

Her vengeance. His vision.

Ari lost everything she once loved when the Five Guilds’ resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now, she uses her unparalleled gift for clockwork machinery in tandem with notoriously unscrupulous morals to contribute to a thriving underground organ market. There isn’t a place on Loom that is secure from the engineer turned thief, and her magical talents are sold to the highest bidder as long as the job defies their Dragon oppressors…

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Release Date: April 4th, 2017

Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that’s now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth’s robotic “mech” armies for decades with no end in sight.

After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel’s programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to help her save Genesis–even though her plan to win the war will kill him…

Shadow Run by Adrianne Strickland & Michael Miller

Release Date: March 21st, 2017

Nev has just joined the crew of the starship Kaitan Heritage as the cargo loader. His captain, Qole, is the youngest-ever person to command her own ship, but she brooks no argument from her crew of orphans, fugitives, and con men. Nev can’t resist her, even if her ship is an antique.

As for Nev, he’s a prince, in hiding on the ship. He believes Qole holds the key to changing galactic civilization, and when her cooperation proves difficult to obtain, Nev resolves to get her to his home planet by any means necessary…

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Release Date: March 28th, 2017

Strange the Dreamer is the story of:

the aftermath of a war between gods and men
a mysterious city stripped of its name
a mythic hero with blood on his hands
a young librarian with a singular dream
a girl every bit as perilous as she is imperiled
alchemy and blood candy, nightmares and godspawn, moths and monsters, friendship and treachery, love and carnage.

Welcome to Weep…

Gilded Cage by Vic James

Release Date: February 14th, 2017

Not all are free. Not all are equal. Not all will be saved.

Our world belongs to the Equals — aristocrats with magical gifts — and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge…

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Release Date: January 31st, 2017

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over…

Well there you have it! My most anticipated new series for the first half of the year. Are you guys looking forward to any of these ones too? Stay tuned for Part 3: Sequels coming soon!

Until next time,

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