Tag: 2020releases

October Releases I Can’t Wait To Read

October is one of my favorite months; it’s partly because I look forward to reading all of the new October releases that put me in the mood for the holidays. There are several new books that I’m looking forward to reading. Not only do they sound so intriguing, but they’re perfect for the Fall season and upcoming holidays.

Already Published October Releases

I am SO excited to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. This is one of my most anticipated books of the year. I’ve heard so many good things about it, I can’t wait to gobble it up! This published on October 6th, so this gem is out in the world, ready for consumption. I’m waiting (impatiently) for my OwlCrate box with mine to arrive. 🤯😅

Another book I can’t wait to read The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo. I really enjoy her writing and fell in love with the Grishaverse. At this point, pretty much anything she puts out I will read. This was published October 6th!

I’d like to read Eventide by Sarah Goodman, which was published October 6th. It seems perfect for the spooky season and I’m a lover of historical fiction. This is right in my wheelhouse!

I also want to read We Were Restless Things by Cole Nagamatsu, which was published on October 6th. This sounds so good and I love a good mystery thriller. I hope it lives up to the expectations I’m setting up for it.

Upcoming Anticipated Releases

I’ve been wanting to read Come On In by Adib Alsaid. It’s an anthology about the immigrant experience written by immigrants. This is so timely and poignant, I’ll definitely be picking this one up. This is set for publication on October 13th.

I’m excited to read The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow. This is expected for publication on October 13th. This is another historical fiction but with a twist of fantasy and magic. It sounds good and I can’t wait to see how it is!

I’m super pumped for Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco. I love her writing and enjoyed her Jack the Ripper series. I’m a huge historical fiction fan and I love her work. Also, a Demon Prince? Yes. I’m in. This is due for publication on October 27th.

So there you have it! What books are you looking forward to releasing this month?

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

I won a free copy of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London during BookCon thanks to Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This book is about an alternate London set in 1983 where the magical and the ordinary worlds, the Old World and the New World respectively, are intertwined. The booksellers are the ones who enforce the boundary of the Old World, making sure it doesn’t spill into the New World. Susan has always wondered who her father is and when she turns 18, she decides to find out who he is. Strange things start happening to her, and it is then that she meets Merlin, an odd fellow who coincidentally turns up whenever these odd things happen proclaiming he’s there to help Susan. As we find out, he is indeed not there with ill-intent but to aid her. He is a left-handed bookseller. We follow Susan, Merlin, and right-handed bookseller Vivien as they journey to find out who Susan’s father was.

Left-Handed Booksellers of London: Is It Worth The Hype?

As I’ve been on a bit of a fantasy kick, this book certainly hit the spot. It’s a nice light fantasy, with a twist of mystery sprinkled in. The synopsis had me hooked: magic, books, secret father? All things that I want to read about. I devoured the book and it’s stayed with me since I finished it. I can’t get the characters out of my head. My favorite character has to be Merlin. He was so magnetic and I enjoyed his sense of humor. I loved that his solace was to dive into a book when he was feeling particularly bothered; I related quite a bit to this.

Another character trait that Nix employed that I loved was Susan’s fearlessness. All of these crazy things happened to her, hardly any of them easily explained away, and she just took it all in stride and continued moving forward. Strong female main characters are always a plus, in my book, and in this case Nix had not only Susan but he also had Vivien. Vivien helped save the day on numerous occasions. It’s always great to see the woman being the hero instead of the damsel.

This was my first novel by Garth Nix. I’ve heard good things about his writing, and the premise sounded good, so I was excited to dive in. After reading this book, I have to agree that Nix does craft quite an intriguing story. I recommend you read this book if you’re into magic, fantasy, mystery, and adventure. It is now available for purchase.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix Physical ARC

Oshibana Complex by Craig Hallam

I received a free ebook of Oshibana Complex thanks to Inspired Quill in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this book, gender and race are no longer a part of the society of Shika-One. Procreation is a thing of the past. New society members are created involving synthesis but with limited prototypes, doppelgängers are abundant. Can one maintain the status quo and still showcase individuality? We follow Xev, a synth working at Burger Stop. When Xev is tasked with training a new Synth, things go haywire and everything Xev has ever known comes into question.

This storyline was super intriguing to me. I’ve been really into futuristic fantasy novels lately and this cyberpunk story sounded like it’d be right up my alley. There were things about it that I liked and things that I thought could have been improved.

Oshibana Complex: The Scoop

This entire book was written in gender-neutral pronouns. I loved that aspect of it. I’ve never read a book like that but it really was not any different than reading a book with gendered pronouns and yet it made it so inclusive. I also felt like it helped to make the story more universal; the questions that Xev asks can be asked by anyone. The situations that Xev goes through can happen to anyone.

Xev as a character is well written. In the beginning of the story, Xev is a rule-following synth, not wanting to be noticed and just trying to earn XP to buy food and clothes. Throughout the story, we see Xev’s motives and actions change so that e now is, more or less, rebelling against the “establishment” and questioning why things are the way they are. Instead of just accepting things as “this is how it is and has to be” Xev wants to know why. Xev is relatable and recognizable because who doesn’t often question why?

One of the issues I have is with the other characters. Some of the other characters, like Marsh and Tecks, are almost indistinguishable from each other. In a book this small, I’m not sure both characters are necessary. If they must both be included, they need to be more distinct from one another. Another small thing that I found weird is the nickname they kept calling each other. I’m not going to use it here, but it is a slang term in the US. I thought it a bit odd. If it means something elsewhere and I just don’t know, please someone, correct me.

Bottomline:

Overall, this is an enjoyable book. If you’re into post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk novellas, this is a great book to pick up. It’s a quick read but it asks some great questions. It has relatable characters and it’s written in inclusive gender-neutral language. Be sure to pick up your copy when it goes on sale this week! Publication is set for September 29th.

Oshibana Complex by Craig Hallam eARC

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

I won a free ARC of this book during SDCC online thanks to Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Legendborn is about a girl, Bree, who attends UNC Chapel Hill in a program for high schoolers. Upon arrival, she notices things aren’t as they seem. It appears there is some type of magic afoot. The more she learns about this magical society, the more she realizes her mother’s death isn’t as black and white as she was led to believe. We follow her as she joins The Order and the Legendborn and tries to uncover the truth of what really happened to her mom. But the more Bree finds out about her mom, the more she discovers about her past and truths about herself. What will Bree do with all of the knowledge and thus the power she is searching for?

Let me start off by saying, for some reason I hadn’t really heard much about this book. I saw it during SDCC and I was intrigued, but again, I hadn’t heard much hype. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that. So, after I was lucky enough to win an ARC of it, I dove right in. That was the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

Y’ALL. I absolutely LOVED this book. It isn’t even on the SHELVES YET and I need to read book two! I can’t rave enough about how good this book is. It’s probably my favorite so far this year. I gave it a 5/5–my first of the year! It will be in stores tomorrow–September 15th. Let me get into why I love it and why you need to go get yourself a copy and read it ASAP!

Why I Loved Legendborn

Tracy Deonn has a gift. Her writing is amazing. It was lyrical and powerful. I felt connected to the characters and each character left me feeling different emotions. I was hooked from the beginning and didn’t want to put it down. The magic system was so interesting, too. I don’t want to go into great detail, because spoilers. But there were two main categories, really, and they were both developed pretty well.

Bree was such an amazing main character. I loved that she was such a strong female character who did what she needed to do despite what others wanted. Her “take no shit” attitude was one of my favorite qualities about her. Another favorite quality she possessed was her determination. Not only did she never give up trying to infiltrate The Order, but she never gave up trying to find out the truth about her mom. Her compassion was also an admirable quality. Even though she was there essentially for revenge, she still cared about the members of The Order and tried not to hurt them. I liked that Deonn included connections between Bree and a few characters (no spoilers!) and I’m so anxious to see where that goes in book two!

I liked the diversity that Deonn incorporated. It didn’t feel like any of it was included just to mark off on a checklist, and it felt more organic. There were a few same-sex relationships and non-binary representation as well. The discussion of racial disparity was a great inclusion in the book. Not only is it poignant as the story takes place in the south with mainly white characters, but it is important that we don’t forget the injustices and discriminations that still are prevalent in our world today.

Legendborn

Anticipated Reads Coming Out in August 2020

Another new month, more new releases. Of course, there are plenty of new books being released this month that I’m super excited about. Here I’ll talk about some of the ones I’ve been anxiously awaiting. This list has in no way been influenced by anyone and is not sponsored by anyone. This list is also not exhaustive and I’m only mentioning a few of the new releases that I’ve been super anxious about.

First up we have More Than Just A Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood. This will be published on August 4th. I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this to review, so I’ve already gotten to read this gem for myself. I was and am still so excited about this one. You can read my review for this book here.

After that comes The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed. It will be published on August 4th. I have been anticipating this book so much, and I’m so anxious to read it. I’ve heard such good things about this book and I’m sure it’ll live up to the extreme hype that’s been built.

Another book I’m looking forward to reading is They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman. This is expected to be published on August 4th. I’ve been super excited to read it because I’m always up for a murder mystery. Unfortunately I’ve heard some mixed reviews on it. Guess I’ll just have to read it and see for myself how it is!

I’m so excited to read Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia which comes out August 4th. At this point, pretty much anything that Rick Riordan or his imprint puts out I’m like

Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim, which comes out August 4th, sounds like such a fun and magical read. I can’t wait to read it and go on adventures with Vanessa, and follow her matchmaking and fortune-telling. Definitely looking forward to this one.

A Place At The Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan is to be published on August 11th and is another book that I am excited to read. I read Saadia Faruqi’s upcoming middle grade book, A Thousand Questions, and loved it, so I’m sure this book will be just as enjoyable.

The history lover in me is especially anticipating Displacement by Kiki Hughes, which drops on August 18th. I am looking forward to this look at the Japanese internment camps and the tale of weaving together past and present through memory. Very anxious to read this!

Another book I’m looking forward to is Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon, which comes out August 18th. I haven’t heard much about this book but from what I’ve read, it sounds like it’ll be such a good read and so timely too. Can’t wait to get this book in my hands!

Next we have Darius The Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram. This is scheduled for publication August 25th. I loved Darius The Great Is Not Okay so when I heard there was going to be a second book, I was so excited and immediately added it to my never-ending TBR pile.

And finally, one of my very highly anticipated books is The Companion by Katie Alender. This book comes out on August 25th. I read an excerpt from this book and I’ve been dying to read the rest! It sounds so good, so I’m hoping it lives up to the hype I’ve built up for it.

So there you have it! These are my most anticipated releases of the month. I know many more are releasing this month…with a highly anticipated release being one from a pretty popular series that I never got into. 👀 I know, I know.

What books that are releasing this month can you not wait to dive into? Any that I haven’t mentioned? Are there any on my list that you’re excited for as well?

Happy Reading!