New month, new list of Anticipated Reads! It’s my goal in life to personally destroy your TBRs and 2021 continues to bring amazing new releases that I need to find time to read. (Can I read while sleeping?) Today I’m bringing 20 February releases to your radar.
Think of the Reader Voracious Anticipated Reads as a list of noteworthy books coming up for publication. These posts focus on books from my preferred genres (fantasy, science fiction, mystery/thriller in YA & adult) but are by no means a representation of everything being published. There’s no way I will be able to get to all of these books personally, but I think my readers would be interested in them so I want to share and boost.
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📝 In case you are wondering how I manage to keep track of upcoming releases and choose the books I’m excited to highlight monthly, check out my Edelweiss 2.0 Guide!
Books Released on February 2, 2021
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Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson
Age Range: YA | Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT | Pages: 320
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A romantic, heart-felt, and whimsical novel about letting go of the past, figuring out what you want in your future, and staying in the moment before it passes you by.Weeks ago, Andre Cobb received a much-needed liver transplant.
He’s ready for his life to finally begin, until one night, when he passes out and wakes up somewhere totally unexpected…in 1969, where he connects with a magnetic boy named Michael.
And then, just as suddenly as he arrived, he slips back to present-day Boston, where the family of his donor is waiting to explain that his new liver came with a side effect—the ability to time travel. And they’ve tasked their youngest son, Blake, with teaching Andre how to use his unexpected new gift.
Andre splits his time bouncing between the past and future. Between Michael and Blake. Michael is everything Andre wishes he could be, and Blake, still reeling from the death of his brother, Andre’s donor, keeps him at arm’s length despite their obvious attraction to each other.
Torn between two boys, one in the past and one in the present, Andre has to figure out where he belongs—and more importantly who he wants to be—before the consequences of jumping in time catch up to him and change his future for good.
You can read an excerpt of Yesterday is History here!
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Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell
Age Range: Adult | Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT | Pages: 432
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While the Iskat Empire has long dominated the system through treaties and political alliances, several planets, including Thea, have begun to chafe under Iskat’s rule. When tragedy befalls Imperial Prince Taam, his Thean widower, Jainan, is rushed into an arranged marriage with Taam’s cousin, the disreputable Kiem, in a bid to keep the rising hostilities between the two worlds under control.But when it comes to light that Prince Taam’s death may not have been an accident, and that Jainan himself may be a suspect, the unlikely pair must overcome their misgivings and learn to trust one another as they navigate the perils of the Iskat court, try to solve a murder, and prevent an interplanetary war… all while dealing with their growing feelings for each other.
You can read an excerpt of Winter’s Orbit here!
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What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo
Age Range: YA | Genre: Horror | Pages: 400
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Rose Szabo’s thrilling debut What Big Teeth is a dark, gothic fantasy YA novel about a teen girl who returns home to her strange, wild family after years of estrangement, perfect for fans of Wilder Girls…Eleanor Zarrin has been distanceed from her wild family for years. When she returns home after a violent incident at boarding school, trying to fit back into the space she left is harder than she thought. Eleanor is left to fend for herself within her family of monsters. But when a mysterious figure arrives at their family estate, she must find a way to overcome the monster invading her home or risk becoming a monster herself.
Exquisitely terrifying, beautiful, and savage, What Big Teeth is a genre-defying story from an exciting new literary voice.
You can read an excerpt from What Big Teeth on Tor here!
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The Project by Courtney Summers
Age Range: New Adult | Genre: Thriller | Pages: 352
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Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo’s sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there’s more to the group than meets the eye. She’s spent the last six years of her life trying—and failing—to prove it.When a man shows up at the magazine Lo works for claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees the perfect opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea once and for all. When her investigation puts her in the direct path of its leader, Lev Warren and as Lo delves deeper into The Project, the lives of its members it upends everything she thought she knew about her sister, herself, cults, and the world around her—to the point she can no longer tell what’s real or true. Lo never thought she could afford to believe in Lev Warren . . . but now she doesn’t know if she can afford not to.
Read my Spoiler-Free ARC Review
You can read an excerpt from The Project here!
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Muse (Muse #1) by Brittany Cavallaro
Age Range: YA | Genre: Historical Fantasy | Pages: 352
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American Royals meets The Winner’s Curse in the first book of bestselling author Brittany Cavallaro’s new duology, set in an alternate history American monarchy where a girl grapples for control of her own life in the middle of a looming war.The year is 1893, and war is brewing in the First American Kingdom. But Claire Emerson has a bigger problem. While her father prepares to reveal the mighty weapon he’s created to showcase the might of their province, St. Cloud, in the World’s Fair, Claire is crafting a plan to escape.
Claire’s father is a sought-after inventor, but he believes his genius is a gift, granted to him by his daughter’s touch. He’s kept Claire under his control for years. As St. Cloud prepares for war, Claire plans to claim her life for herself, even as her best friend, Beatrix, tries to convince her to stay and help with the growing resistance movement that wants to see a woman on the throne. At any cost.
When her father’s weapon fails to fire on the fair’s opening day, Claire is taken captive by Governor Remy Duchamp, St. Cloud’s young, untried ruler. Remy believes that Claire’s touch bestows graces he’s never had, and with his governing power weakening and many political rivals planning his demise, Claire might be his only and best ally. But the last thing that Claire has ever wanted is to be someone else’s muse. Still, affections can change as quickly as the winds of war. And Claire has a choice to make: Will she quietly remake her world from the shadows—or bring it down in flames?
You can read an excerpt from Muse here!
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All the Tides of Fate (All the Stars and Teeth #2) by Adalyn Grace
Age Range: Young Adult | Genre: Fantasy | Pages: 368
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Through blood and sacrifice, Amora Montara has conquered a rebellion and taken her rightful place as queen of Visidia. Now, with the islands in turmoil and the people questioning her authority, Amora cannot allow anyone to see her weaknesses.No one can know about the curse in her bloodline. No one can know that she’s lost her magic. No one can know the truth about the boy who holds the missing half of her soul.
To save herself and Visidia, Amora embarks on a desperate quest for a mythical artifact that could fix everything―but it comes at a terrible cost. As she tries to balance her loyalty to her people, her crew, and the desires of her heart, Amora will soon discover that the power to rule might destroy her.
You can read an excerpt of All the Tides of Fate here!
Books Releasing on February 9, 2021
The Future is Yours by Dan Frey
Age Range: Adult | Genre: Science Fiction | Pages: 352
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Two best friends create a computer that can predict the future. But what they can’t predict is how it will tear their friendship—and society—apart.If you had the chance to look one year into the future, would you?
For Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry, the answer is unequivocally yes. And they’re betting everything that you’ll say yes, too. Welcome to The Future: a computer that connects to the internet one year from now, so you can see who you’ll be dating, where you’ll be working, even whether or not you’ll be alive in the year to come. By forming a startup to deliver this revolutionary technology to the world, Ben and Adhi have made their wildest, most impossible dream a reality. Once Silicon Valley outsiders, they’re now its hottest commodity.
The device can predict everything perfectly—from stock market spikes and sports scores to political scandals and corporate takeovers—allowing them to chase down success and fame while staying one step ahead of the competition. But the future their device foretells is not the bright one they imagined.
Ambition. Greed. Jealousy. And, perhaps, an apocalypse. The question is . . . can they stop it?
Told through emails, texts, transcripts, and blog posts, this bleeding-edge tech thriller chronicles the costs of innovation and asks how far you’d go to protect the ones you love—even from themselves.
You can read an excerpt from The Future is Yours here!
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Game Changer by Neal Shusterman
Age Range: YA | Genre: Science Fiction | Pages: 400
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All it takes is one hit on the football field, and suddenly Ash’s life doesn’t look quite the way he remembers it.Impossible though it seems, he’s been hit into another dimension—and keeps on bouncing through worlds that are almost-but-not-really his own.
The changes start small, but they quickly spiral out of control as Ash slides into universes where he has everything he’s ever wanted, universes where society is stuck in the past…universes where he finds himself looking at life through entirely different eyes.
And if he isn’t careful, the world he’s learning to see more clearly could blink out of existence…
Virtual Event with Neal Shusterman on February 11, 2021
There isn’t a preorder incentive or excerpt available, but you can register for Mysterious Galaxy’s free book event with Neal Shusterman. Signed books are available.
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The Gilded Ones (Deathless #1) by Namina Forna
Age Range: YA | Genre: Fantasy, Epic | Pages: 432
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Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.
Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.
Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.
You can read an excerpt from The Gilded Ones here!
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The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa
Age Range: YA | Genre: Fantasy | Pages: 336
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You may have heard of me…Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Prankster, joker, raven, fool… King Oberon’s right-hand jester from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The legends are many, but the truth will now be known as never before, as Puck finally tells his own story and faces a threat to the lands of Faery and the human world unlike any before.
With the Iron Queen Meghan Chase and her prince consort, Puck’s longtime rival Ash, and allies old and new by his side, Puck begins a fantastical and dangerous adventure not to be missed or forgotten.
You can read an excerpt from The Iron Raven here!
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The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Age Range: Adult | Genre: Fantasy | Pages: 368
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When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology.Angrboda’s story begins where most witches’ tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love.
Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin’s all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger.
With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she’s foreseen for her beloved family…or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age.
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Curse of the Divine (Ink in the Blood #2) by Kim Smejkal
Age Range: YA | Genre: Dark Fantasy | Pages: 448
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Return to the world of inklings, tattoo magic, and evil deities as Celia uncovers the secrets of the ink in order to stop Diavala once and for all. This eagerly anticipated sequel to Ink in the Blood is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Wicked Saints.Celia Sand faced Diavala and won, using ink magic to destroy the corrupt religion of Profeta that tormented her for a decade. But winning came with a cost. Now Celia is plagued with guilt over her role in the death of her best friend. When she discovers that Diavala is still very much alive and threatening Griffin, the now-infamous plague doctor, Celia is desperate not to lose another person she loves to the deity’s wrath.
The key to destroying Diavala may lie with Halycon Ronnea, the only other person to have faced Diavala and survived. But Halcyon is dangerous and has secrets of his own, ones that involve the ink that Celia has come to hate. Forced to choose between the ink and Diavala, Celia will do whatever it takes to save Griffin—even if it means making a deal with the devil himself.
Read my Spoiler-Free Review of Ink in the Blood
You can read an excerpt from Curse of the Divine here!
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Books Releasing on February 16, 2021
We Are the Fire by by Sam Taylor
Age Range: YA | Genre: Fantasy | Pages: 416
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As electrifying as it is heartbreaking, Sam Taylor’s explosive fantasy debut We Are the Fire is perfect for fans of An Ember in the Ashes and the legend of Spartacus.In the cold, treacherous land of Vesimaa, children are stolen from their families by a cruel emperor, forced to undergo a horrific transformative procedure, and serve in the army as magical fire-wielding soldiers. Pran and Oksana―both taken from their homeland at a young age―only have each other to hold onto in this heartless place.
Pran dreams of one day rebelling against their oppressors and destroying the empire; Oksana only dreams of returning home and creating a peaceful life for them both.
When they discover the emperor has a new, more terrible mission than ever for their kind, Pran and Oksana vow to escape his tyranny once and for all. But their methods and ideals differ drastically, driving a wedge between them. Worse still, they both soon find that the only way to defeat the monsters that subjugated them may be to become monsters themselves.
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The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
Age Range: Adult | Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller | Pages: 256
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The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride, perfect for readers of Big Little Lies and enthusiasts of “Killing Eve” and “Westworld”Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be. And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.
Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and the Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up. Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.
You can read an excerpt from The Echo Wife here!
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Reaper of Souls (Kingdom of Souls #2) by Rena Barron
Age Range: YA | Genre: Fantasy | Pages: 488
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After so many years yearning for the gift of magic, Arrah has the one thing she’s always wanted—at a terrible price. Now the last surviving witchdoctor, she’s been left to pick up the shattered pieces of a family that betrayed her, a kingdom in shambles, and long-buried secrets about who she is.Desperate not to repeat her mother’s mistakes, Arrah must return to the tribal lands to search for help from the remnants of her parents’ people. But the Demon King’s shadow looms closer than she thinks. And as Arrah struggles to unravel her connection to him, defeating him begins to seem more and more impossible—if it’s something she can bring herself to do at all.
Set in a richly imagined world inspired by spine-tingling tales of voodoo and folk magic, Kingdom of Souls was lauded as “masterful” by School Library Journal in a starred review. This explosively epic sequel will have readers racing to the can’t-miss conclusion.
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Books Releasing on February 23, 2021
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
Age Range: Adult | Genre: Horror Anthology | Pages: 248
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“Am I dead?”Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask.
Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, “A Spell for Foolish Hearts” to the terrifying tension of the urban legend “Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez.”
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A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
Age Range: YA | Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT | Pages: 512
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The Cruel Prince meets City of Bones in this thrilling urban fantasy set in the magical underworld of Toronto that follows a queer cast of characters racing to stop a serial killer whose crimes could expose the hidden world of faeries to humans.Choose your player.
The “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family.
A tempestuous Fury, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge.
A dutiful fae prince, determined to earn his place on the throne.
The prince’s brooding guardian, burdened with a terrible secret.
For centuries, the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us, concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans. This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world.
Four queer teens, each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders, must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes. If they fail, they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike. If that’s not bad enough, there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms, and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales. The only question is: which way?
Wish them luck. They’re going to need it.
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The Initial Insult (Initial Insult #1) by Mindy McGinnis
Age Range: YA | Genre: Contemporary, Thriller | Pages: 384
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Welcome to Amontillado, Ohio, where your last name is worth more than money, and secrets can be kept… for a price.Tress Montor knows that her family used to mean something—until she didn’t have a family anymore. When her parents disappeared seven years ago while driving her best friend home, Tress lost everything. She might still be a Montor, but the entire town shuns her now that she lives with her drunken, one-eyed grandfather at what locals refer to as the “White Trash Zoo,” – a wild animal attraction featuring a zebra, a chimpanzee, and a panther, among other things.
Felicity Turnado has it all – looks, money, and a secret that she’s kept hidden. She knows that one misstep could send her tumbling from the top of the social ladder, and she’s worked hard to make everyone forget that she was with the Montors the night they disappeared. Felicity has buried what she knows so deeply that she can’t even remember what it is… only that she can’t look at Tress without having a panic attack.
But she’ll have to.
Tress has a plan. A Halloween costume party at an abandoned house provides the ideal situation for Tress to pry the truth from Felicity – brick by brick – as she slowly seals her former best friend into a coal chute. With a drunken party above them, and a loose panther on the prowl, Tress will have her answers – or settle for revenge.
In the first book of this duology, award-winning author Mindy McGinnis draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe and masterfully delivers a dark, propulsive mystery in alternating points of view that unravels a friendship… forevermore.
You can read an excerpt from The Initial Insult here!
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Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann
Age Range: YA | Genre: Romance | Pages: 352
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In this wry and hilarious queer romantic comedy, fifteen-year-old Phoebe realizes that falling in love is maybe not just for losers.Did you know you can marry yourself? How strange / brilliant is that?
Fifteen-year-old Phoebe thinks falling in love is vile and degrading, and vows never to do it. Then, due to circumstances not entirely in her control, she finds herself volunteering at a local thrift shop. There she meets Emma . . . who might unwittingly upend her whole theory on life.
This is a laugh-out-loud exploration of sexuality, family, female friendship, grief, and community. With the heart and hilarity of Netflix’s critically-acclaimed Sex Education, Wibke Brueggemann’s sex positive debut is required reading for Generation Z teens. Think of this as Bridget Jones’ Diary, if it were written by Bridget’s daughter.
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Dragonfly Girl by Marti Leimbach
Age Range: YA | Genre: Thriller | Pages: 384
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When a high school student discovers how to cure death, she learns how that knowledge will change her life—or end it—in this propulsive and spellbinding thriller and YA debut from bestselling author Marti Leimbach.Kira Adams is finding high school difficult. She’s awkward and shy, plus she may flunk out if she doesn’t stop obsessing over science, her passion and the one thing she’s good at.
Desperate to pay off her mother’s debts, she enters a prestigious science contest with a big cash prize. But the contest isn’t for students, and Kira must spend a week at a conference with other prizewinners, pretending to be an adult with a PhD, not a timid high school senior.
There, Kira draws the attention of the celebrated scientist Dr. Gregory Munn as well as his handsome assistant, landing a part-time job at his famous laboratory. Her job is mostly about cleaning floors and lab equipment but then, one night, Kira stumbles across a way of reviving a lab rat that has died in her care. Suddenly she’s the remarkable wunderkind, the girl who can cure death. For a moment her future seems secure.
But as Kira discovers, science can be a dangerous business. She’s soon swept up in an international rivalry, with forces at work she’d never imagined and consequences that threaten her life. Overcoming her shyness and using her unique intelligence will be the keys to her survival.
Immersive and spellbinding, Marti Leimbach’s Dragonfly Girl is a page-turning origin story filled with international intrigue, romance, and death-defying adventure.
The publishing industry is always focused on the new and shiny releases, typically ceasing promotion within a week of the book birthday. I hope that this list brought some new books to your attention and I hope you are able to support the ones you’re interested in!
Let’s Chat!
Which books coming out in February are you excited about? What have you read and would recommend? Let’s talk in the comments!
Let’s go on another adventure together!
I’m very excited for The Project adn The Gilded Ones! Also for Reaper of Souls, but I need to read book one first!
(www.evelynreads.com)
… this post just made me realise how many books I still need to start because I’m hopeless 😭 I still need to read Kingdom of Souls, All the Stars and Teeth and then I want to reread the Iron Fey books for The Iron Raven. Which I may add, I somehow only learned just now is about Puck *screeches incoherently* I already had The Gilded Ones on my tbr, super excited for that one. But hold up, urban fantasy, set in Toronto with LGBT rep *squeals* sign me up omg its going right onto the TBR eeeeek. Along with Winter’s Orbit, so uhm you destroyed me and my TBR. I’m not over the book being about Puck or the fact A Dark and Hollow Star sounds righ up my alley 😍
I’m in the same boat, Clo! So many sequels are coming out this year for books I still need to read *shakes fist at The Slump of 2020* I think you will enjoy All the Stars and Teeth a lot, there’s a fierce mermaid! and YES TO URBAN FANTASY! So glad my posts still ruin your TBR, my work here is done
Ahhh, I can’t wait for you to be destroyed by The Project!
Well there’s definitely about five books here that I’m planning on adding to my TBR so consider it destroyed haha. 😉
Muahahaha, mission accomplished yet again!
The Witch’s Heart sounds awesome. That cover is divine.
AHH I KNOW! I was denied an ARC for it and was so sad, but am looking forward to reading it asap.
Oh you know full well The Iron Raven is at the VERY TOP of my most anticipated for February and I’ll probably be screaming about it at some point (haha, that definitely hasn’t happened, so the joke is already on me). Also Clo really just marched A Dark and Hollow Star right into my TBR…
Every time I see Julie Kagawa I have a little Soph in my brain screaming. and EXCUSE ME but I am the one that marched A Dark and Hollow Star onto your TBR!
Ahhh Kal you’re always increasing my TBR! All these books look so good and I am so excited to read them! I just got approved for the ARC pop The Gilded Ones so I think I will start with that but my wallet will cry as I buy all these books and try to read them.
Muahaha, I’ve claimed another victim! Oooh, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on The Gilded Ones! I have an arc of that from a Fairyloot box last year, but haven’t been able to read it yet.
I’m super excited for Never Have I Ever, it looks deliciously creepy!
It looks so creepy and I hope to read it sooner or later! Happy reading!