Hello, everyone! It is officially spring; the flowers are blooming outside my window, and yesterday it actually felt kinda sorta warm! So that's a bit of hope for y'all in this crazy, stressful period of life. And I've got several more bits of hope as well in the form of new books releasing this season. Some of the ones I'm most excited about already released, but that's fine; I'll talk about them anyway. Let's get started!

Spring 2020 Reads!

1. Havenfall by Sara Holland (March 3). We all know how much I love portal fantasies. We all also know how much I love fantasy murder mysteries. So if you put those together in a fabulous inn-between-the-worlds, well, it sounds like just my cup of tea! I'm super hopeful that I'll get to pick up Havenfall soon in some form (though I have heard it has some LGBT stuff in it . . . so we'll see how much of that there is).

2. Rerelease: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson (March 10). Aka what I was supposed to post about last Friday but didn't because I was too busy packing, doing job interviews, and trying to figure out my life (and doing homework in between). But, yes, the first two Wingfeather Saga books rereleased with gorgeous new cover art and illustrations, and I highly recommend picking them up. If you've read them before, you'll be delighted to reexperience the beauty of these stories — and if you haven't read them, well, you're in for a treat!

3. The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson (April 7). I loved the Fire and Thorns trilogy back when I first read it (all the way back in 2014, what the pumpernickel); it was one of my first tastes of fantasy that stepped outside the traditional medieval European setting and one of the books that led to my falling in love with fantasy court intrigue. The Empire of Dreams sounds like a very different story — which is good, but I'm excited to return to the same setting and some of the same characters. (Also, I've been told that there's no? romantic? plotline? in this book? Which I am far too excited for, I'm sorry.)

4. Let the Ghosts Speak by Bryan Davis (April 15). Bryan Davis has a habit of publishing books and then doing next to no marketing for those books, so I'm glad I'm catching this one before it comes out. I'm really not sure what to think about this novel; it's kind of a historical murder mystery, but with bonus ghosts? What even. (Also, Bryan Davis apparently really appreciates Joan of Arc, because this is the second time she's popped up as a character in one of his books.) I get to find out soon, though, since I managed to score an ARC. (Whoo!)

5. The Silence of Bones by June Hur (April 21). Ok, this is not my usual genre; it's a historical mystery set in 1800s Korea and sounds like it could end up being a bit dark. But, y'know, I did say I wanted to step outside the speculative fiction genre more. And we've already established that I love a good mystery. So, I'm excited to give this one a try.

6. Moonscript by H.S.J. Williams (May 7). This is almost certainly the book on this list that I've been waiting for the longest! I've been anticipating the release of Moonscript for, I don't know, seven or eight years? It was back when Anne Elisabeth Stengl was doing her mentoring-young-authors thing (and still writing Goldstone Wood; I think it might have been before Starflower came out, in fact) and Hannah was one of the mentees. I got a glimpse of it through Stengl's blog and have been following (and befriending) Hannah ever since. And now, at last, the hope becomes reality and Moonscript can be on my shelves. (Plus, I scored an ARC of this one too, so huzzah! No, I haven't read it yet; I've been distracted by the Wingfeather Saga. But soon!)

7. By the Book by Amanda Sellet (May 12). We finish off with another not-my-usual-genre title. By the Book is contemporary — YA contemporary romance at that. But it's also about a classics-loving girl who's creating a romance survival guide based on literary romances, so . . . that's kind of hard to resist. Here's hoping that it turns out more like Pride and Prejudice than Emma.

And there's my list! Which of these are you most excited for? Are there any spring releases that I missed that I should be psyched about? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah P

Fall 2016 Reads

Hello, everyone! Fall is upon us (well, unless you live in the southern hemisphere, in which case, pretend I said spring or something like that). And, as always, that means it's time for a new set of books . . . though, sadly, there aren't a ton of new releases this fall that I'm excited about. But, since I'm still working on the Wheel of Time series- at least in theory- as well as reading a bunch of other new-to-me books that everyone else probably read ages ago, it works out. Not a ton doesn't mean none, though, so let's take a look at the to-be-read list.

Fall 2016 Reads!

1. The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron (September 13)

I actually just discovered this book on Goodreads today, and I'm not quite sure what I think about it, but it sounds pretty cool. I'm hoping that it doesn't turn out to be another cliche dystopian-type thing, which it also sounds like it might be, but it gets good reviews, so . . . I'll give it a try, if I get the chance.

 

2. The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud (September 13).

I am slightly terrified regarding this book- I love the characters (Lockwood particularly) and I want to see more of them, but it's going to be so very tense and Lucy does act like a bit of an eejit on occasion, and yeah. Much worrying. Which means I'll probably procrastinate on this book for ages even if I can get it sooner than that. But I will read it . . . I hope.  

3. Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson (September 27).
This is the second book in Rae Carson's Gold-Rush-era historical fantasy, and I'm pretty excited for it. I love that this series is set in an era so often overlooked by fantasy writers, and while there's not a strong amount of fantasy in it, the touch is just enough to make it more than just an ordinary historical fiction novel (which, to be honest, there's a good chance I'd ignore unless someone recommended it to me). I like the characters as well (most of them, anyway), and look forward to rejoining them. (Also, you know what else is glorious besides whatever river the title refers to? This cover. So pretty.)

4. The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd (October 11).
This book sounds rather odd in some ways, but interesting as well. I've a suspicion it'll be sad, but on the other hand, one of the reviews said it's like The Chronicles of Narnia meets The Secret Garden, and I love both of those books, so . . . we'll see. In any case, it should be something out of the norm for me.

5. Heartless by Marissa Meyer (November 8).
I'm not quite sure what to expect from Heartless- on one hand, it's by Marissa Meyer, and I love The Lunar Chronicles by that author, and a Wonderland retelling should be pretty cool. On the other hand, it's a Wonderland retelling and Wonderland is weird. Don't get me wrong; I like them. I'm just not sure how Marissa will handle the weird and it could be very hit-or-miss. Oh well- I'm looking forward to finding out all the same.

What books are you looking forward to this fall? Please tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)