Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Can’t Wait Wednesday: More January 2020 Book Releases




Can’t Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings. I get to spotlight a few upcoming book releases that sound interesting to me. Here’s what’s coming out in the next few weeks.

*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.








More January 2020 Book Releases





We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan


Adult Literary Fiction
January 14, 2020


It doesn't take long for the students on Fielding campus to become obsessed with Hannah, Leslie and Jimmy. The three graduate students are mysterious, inaccessible, and brilliant. Leslie, glamorous and brash, has declared that she wants to write erotica and make millions. Hannah is quietly confident, loyal, elegantly beautiful, and the person they all want to be; and Jimmy is a haunted genius with no past. After Simone—young, bestselling author and erstwhile model—shows up as a visiting professor, and after everything that happened with her, the trio only become more notorious.

Love. Death. Revenge. These age-old tropes come to life as the semesters unfold. The threesome came to study writing, to be writers, and this is the story they've woven together: of friendship and passion, of competition and envy, of creativity as life and death. Now, they submit this story, We Wish You Luck, for your reading pleasure.



What interests me? Getting an MFA is intense, but luckily, mine wasn’t this intense. Goodreads says this book is about “a group of students who take revenge on a wunderkind professor after she destroys one of their own—a story of collective drive to create, sabotage, and ultimately, to love.” I’m getting vibes of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. I love that book.















Catherine’s War by Julia Billet & Claire Fauvel



Middlegrade Historical Graphic Novel
January 21, 2020


The story follows Catherine, born Rachel, a Jewish child in World War II, who journeys from occupied France to the free zone armed with a camera and her artistic vision. It was inspired by the childhood of the author's mother.


What interests me? I’m always on the lookout for new graphic novels, and one of the quickest ways to get my attention is to slap “inspired by a true story” on a historical book. The blurb at the top of the cover comes from Susan Campbell Bartoletti. I know Susan in real life and trust her book recommendations.


















Blood Countess by Lana Popović


Young Adult Historical Horror
January 28, 2020


A historical YA horror novel based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula.

In 17th century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend and confidante. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell—and the Countess takes full advantage. Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realizes she’s not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it’s only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too.


What interests me? Real-life. Historical. Horror. Those words are all it takes to make me pick up a book.















Don’t Read The Comments by Eric Smith


Young Adult Contemporary
January 28, 2020


Divya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest online game. Divya—better known as popular streaming gamer D1V—regularly leads her #AngstArmada on quests through the game’s vast and gorgeous virtual universe. But for Divya, this is more than just a game. Out in the real world, she’s trading her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay the rent.

Gaming is basically Aaron Jericho’s entire life. Much to his mother’s frustration, Aaron has zero interest in becoming a doctor like her, and spends his free time writing games for a local developer. At least he can escape into Reclaim the Sun—and with a trillion worlds to explore, disappearing should be easy. But to his surprise, he somehow ends up on the same remote planet as celebrity gamer D1V.

At home, Divya and Aaron grapple with their problems alone, but in the game, they have each other to face infinite new worlds . . . and the growing legion of trolls populating them. Soon the virtual harassment seeps into reality when a group called the Vox Populi begin launching real-world doxxing campaigns, threatening Aaron’s dreams and Divya’s actual life. The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line.

And she isn’t going down without a fight.


What interests me? It’s about kids who spend their lives online. #Relatable. The “online life becomes real life” plot reminds me of Eliza And Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia, which was one of my favorite books of 2019.















Wildfire by Carrie Mac


Young Adult Contemporary
January 28, 2020


Annie and Pete have been best friends since they were little. They know each other better than anyone, and they've been on more adventures than they can count—they even have a notebook filled with all the times they've almost died. But they always survive, because together, they're invincible.

And they've always been just friends. But lately, Annie has been thinking that maybe friendship is just the beginning, and she's been mentally replaying all the times they were almost something more.

Now they're heading out on their next great quest: a ten-day backpacking trip through the mountains of Washington State, ending at Fire Camp, where they'll learn to fight the area's growing wildfire problem. The woods spark with the promise of adventure, but a freak climbing accident interrupts their progress, and as the wildfires close in and smoke envelops them, Annie and Pete wander farther from the trail.


What interests me? Goodreads describes it as “Into the Wild meets The Serpent King.” YES and YES. I love both of those books. I fully support mashing them together.















When You Trap A Tiger by Tae Keller


Middlegrade Fantasy
January 28, 2020


When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her Halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now, the tigers want it back. And when one of those tigers offers Lily a deal—return what Halmoni stole in exchange for Halmoni's health—Lily is tempted to accept. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice and the courage to face a tiger.


What interests me? Tae Keller wrote one of my 2019 favorites, The Science Of Breakable Things. That was a middlegrade contemporary. I’m not a massive fantasy lover, but I’ll give her new book a shot. If the characters are as adorable as the characters in her other book, I’ll love it.






Are you looking forward to any January book releases?




22 comments:

  1. Catherine's War, and When You Trap a Tiger both sound wonderful. I have gotten into a Middle Grade thing lately and it's great! 📚✨

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  2. Ooh, sign me up for We Wish You Luck! I love the sound of When You Trap a Tiger--and that cover is so lovely!

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  3. Horror is always a happy word for me!

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  4. I'm intrigued by Blood Countess but I had a hard time with the author's other series. Hmmmmm.

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  5. These are great picks. Wish Me Luck and We Wish You Luck really caught my attention.


    My CWW

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  6. I really want to read We Wish You Luck and The Blood Countess. So many great books to start 2020 off right!

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  7. Oooh! Great list! I'm looking forward to the Blood Countess too!

    Here’s my WoW!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

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  8. I don't really have a release I'm looking forward to until June (when a friend has a book coming out about TR and the West)... but Wildfire sounds interesting (it also sounds like it should be in New South Wales instead of Washington State.

    www.thepulpitandthepen.com

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  9. I have read Don't Read the Comments, and like most of the books I have read dealing with life online, Smith takes on the good and bad sides of it. There was some great family and friendship focus, and I liked how one of the MCs wrote the story for an game. It was something different, that I hadn't seen in any books yet.

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  10. I hadn't heard of any of these books until reading this post, and now I have two that I absolutely must read as soon as I can - Don't Read the Comments and We Wish You Luck sound right up my alley :)

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  11. Blood Countes definitely has me curious, I love the sound of that one. I've been watching the new Dracula show too so I guess I'm in vamp mode. :)

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  12. Blood Countess sounds really good, and I love the cover!

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  13. I think Blood Countess and Catherine's War both sounds really good (and I hadn't heard of the latter, so thanks for the suggestion!)

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  14. I'm really excited for Blood Countess. It sounds so good! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  15. oh a Dracula retelling! I'm always up for those! I'm loving the Netflix show so far :) Have you watched it?

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  16. Blood Countess was definitely good. Didn’t blow my mind, but it was enjoyable. Also seriously we need to talk about Wildfire. So much.

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  17. this is such a wonderfully diverse list, in particular, Don'T read the Comments sticks out to me, as does Blood Countess and *Countess* Dracula.

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  18. There are so many great books coming out this month. Don't Read the Comments is one I'm really excited for.

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  19. I would probably read any of these. Blood Countess looks the most promising to me.

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  20. We Wish you Luck looks goood! Also have been DYING to get my hands on The Blood Countess it just seems so dark and gothic!

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  21. Nice selection of books. A bunch are going on my wishlist. Two I'm looking forward not on your list:
    Green Lantern: Legacy by Minh Lê, Andie Tong (Illustrations) and Rogue Princess by B.R. Myers.

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  22. There are so many books coming out that sound so tempting! And so many books that are already out I want to get to. I will never read them all, but I can have fun trying, right? These all sound good!

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