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🏫 September 2023 Book Releases 🍂
The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes
Young Adult Dystopia
September 12, 2023
Everyone hopes for a letter—to attend the Estuary, the Pines, the Glades, the Meadows. These are the special places where only the best and brightest go to burn even brighter.
When Eleanor gets her letter, she knows she's freed from her hardscrabble life by the sea, in a country ravaged by climate disaster. But despite the Meadows' luminous facilities, endless fields, and pretty things, it keeps dark secrets.
Four years later, Eleanor and her friends seem free of the Meadows, changed but not in the ways they expected. Eleanor is an adjudicator, ensuring her former classmates don't stray from the lives they've been conditioned to live.
But Eleanor can't escape her past, or thoughts of the girl she once loved. Because Rose isn't here anymore. And as secrets emerge that force Eleanor to grapple with her history, she must wage a dangerous battle for her own identity and for the full truth of what happened to the girl she lost, knowing if she's not careful, Rose's fate could be her own.
Why I'm excited to read it: I've read all of Stephanie Oakes's books and given them all high ratings. I like her plot twists, her humor, and how she's not afraid to make her characters do ethically dubious things. I'm interested to see what she can do with a dystopia.
A Study In Drowning by Ava Reid
Young Adult Fantasy
September 19, 2023
Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad— author Emrys Myrddin’s beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.
Effy’s tattered, dog-eared copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at Llyr’s prestigious architecture college. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to design the late author’s house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.
But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn’t the only one who’s made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin’s papers and is determined to prove her favorite author is a fraud.
As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author’s legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house’s foundation isn’t the only thing that can’t be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.
Why I'm excited to read it: The plot reminds me of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. They both have magic, a reclusive author with a fanatical fandom, and students who are trying to solve mysteries. I hope this book is just as creepy as The Hazel Wood. (There's a blurb from Melissa Albert on the cover. I hope that's a sign it's a creepy book.)
A Prayer For Vengeance by Leanne Schwartz
Young Adult Fantasy
September 19, 2023
In a city besieged by monsters and ruled by her perfect sister, plus-size sixteen-year-old Gia grows up desperate to prove her worth. As the powerful temple leader Ennio makes Gia the target of his affection, he uses her to overthrow her sister, and asks Gia to rule at his side. When Ennio turns her sister and any dissenters to stone, Gia turns her sword against him—and he traps her in stone, too.
Centuries later, autistic Milo lovingly tends Gia’s statue. He hopes to earn a place in the temple of Ennio, the immortal protector. When Milo’s prayers free Gia from Ennio’s curse, she awakens to a world that worships the man who betrayed her. Now she must break the city’s faith in Ennio and avenge her sister.
Even if she has to kill his followers to do it. Even if she must hunt the boy who woke her.
Why I'm excited to read it: I have to support books about chubby girls! I was a chubby teenager, and there were no main characters like me. Also, I'm intrigued by a goddess waking up and learning that the world worships her rival. That could cause some drama.
If I Have To Be Haunted by Miranda Sun
Young Adult Fantasy
September 26, 2023
Cara Tang doesn’t want to be haunted.
Look, the dead have issues, and Cara has enough of her own. Her overbearing mother insists she be the “perfect” Chinese American daughter—which means suppressing her ghost speaking powers—and she keeps getting into fights with Zacharias Coleson, the local golden boy whose smirk makes her want to set things on fire.
Then she stumbles across Zach’s dead body in the woods. He’s even more infuriating as a ghost, but Cara’s the only one who can see him—and save him.
Agreeing to resurrect him puts her at odds with her mother, draws her into a dangerous liminal world of monsters and magic—and worse, leaves her stuck with Zach. Yet as she and Zach grow closer, forced to depend on each other to survive, Cara finds the most terrifying thing is that she might not hate him so much after all.
Maybe this is why her mother warned her about ghosts.
Why I'm excited to read it: This is Cemetery Boys, but with a girl! I'm happy to read another book about a kid resurrecting their school bully. There's so much potential for drama.
The Fragile Threads Of Power by V.E. Schwab
Adult Fantasy
September 26, 2023
Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power, and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast, and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory—Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.
But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years—and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland's absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own—but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown them instead.
And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.
Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.
Her name is Tes, and she's the only one who can bring them together—or unravel it all.
Why I'm excited to read it: Is this book finally coming out? I feel like I've been waiting for years! This is the first book in a companion series to the Shades Of Magic. I love the parallel Londons! I could read about them forever. If you like stories about parallel universes, you need to read Shades Of Magic.
These are all new to me, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI hope to start reading A Study in Drowning soon. I have heard great things about it. I am also looking forward to Holly!
ReplyDeleteI've just added 5 of these books to my TBR list! ;D
ReplyDeleteJust the cover of THE MEADOWS makes me want it. Incredible!
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