Spring 2018 Reads!

Hey'a, all! It's that time of year again— time to take a look at a new season's worth of reading material! Not that I'm in any way caught up on my Winter 2017-18 reads, but, y'know. I'm further along than I would be if I weren't doing reviews for Cedars. Anyway, new books release whether I'm ready for them or not, and there are definitely some reads that I'm pretty excited for.

Spring 2018 Reads!

 

1. Pacifica by Kristen Simmons (March 6). On one hand, this one's getting mixed reviews, and I've always been a little wary of dystopian books— there are some good ones, but there are also a lot of really poorly written ones. But, y'know, we've got pirates, so that should be fun, and the island setting sounds different from most of the books I've read lately, dystopian or otherwise. So, even if I'm slightly hesitant, I still want to give this a try!

2. The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton (March 27). An African-inspired fantasy retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear? Sounds fabulous. I haven't actually read King Lear, but it's on my list, and I'll make sure to get it in before I read this book. Plus, the premise promises political intrigue and manipulation and treachery and probably magnificent plot twists, so— yeah. This should be good.

3. The City Beyond the Glass by Suzannah Rowntree (April 2). So, I technically already read this (yay, ARCs!), but I'm still excited for it to come out so the rest of you can read it! It's a historical fantasy retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses set in Renaissance Venice, and while it's not my favorite take on the story (mostly because the villain didn't wow me), it's still really good and has a delightfully subtle allegory. I think y'all will enjoy it.

 

4. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (April 3). I generally don't go in for zombie books . . . but I'll live with them for American-based historical fantasy! (Are zombies fantasy? I guess they're technically horror, but it's still speculative fiction. Anyway. I digress.) Seriously, though, historical speculative fiction based anywhere that's not Europe has been on my reading wishlist for a while, and this is based in the time period of the American Civil War, which should be super cool. Plus it's a diverse read, which I'm trying to pick up more of, so yay for that!

5. Isle of Blood and Stone by Makila Lucier (April 10). Pretty sure this one's mostly on the list for the hope of awesome friendships and family relationships . . . but the plot in general sounds fun, if not necessarily novel. (Disappearing royalty isn't terribly uncommon in fantasy, after all.) And I'm hoping that this will be set in an Age of Exploration-esque setting, which would be super nice, but we'll see.

6. Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young (April 24). This one's going to be hit or miss . . . but I do hope it'll hit. It's Viking-based fantasy, which should be fun, and it should have good themes as long as it doesn't get bogged down in romance. We'll see how it goes.
 

5. The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall (May 15). I can't believe this series is ending— I read the first book when I was, I don't know, probably around ten? And although I'm considerably older now, my love for the books hasn't faded. They're so sweet and fun and somehow manage to hit heavy topics without getting dark— and this is the last book. So, while I look forward to reading it, it's also a little bittersweet for me. (Also: Batty is in college what the pumpernickel, and someone's getting married? Who?)

What books are you looking forward to this spring? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)