Showing posts with label Sarah Rees Brennan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah Rees Brennan. Show all posts

Monday, 23 January 2017

Review: Tales From The Shadowhunter Academy



Rating: 4/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Simon Lewis has been a human and a vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fireleft him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it.

So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever this new Simon might be.

But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of playing D&D.

Join Simon on his journey to become a Shadowhunter, and learn about the Academy’s illustrious history along the way, through guest lecturers such as Jace Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Magnus Bane. These ten short stories give an epilogue to the Mortal Instruments series and provide glimpses of what’s in store in the Dark Artifices.
  

I'm not going to lie, I was waiting to read these novellas until they where in a bindup because I'm impatient! I was so intrigued by this novella collection, after how the final TMI book ended, I think we where all left with questions and needing to know what happened next! I did wonder if Cassie might do a Shadowhunter Academy book series, but she gave us a novella collection instead! As it stands, I ended up reading Lady Midnight before I read this, which was fine, but I think it would have been a bit more exciting if you'd read this before Lady Midnight, as it'll get you excited for it with all the tidbits and hints! As it is, it did give me a huge urge to re-read LM plus it made me excited for Lord of Shadows, not to mention The Last Hours trilogy. After reading a couple of the novellas in this collection, I AM SO HERE for The Last Hours! I can't even begin to explain my excitement for this trilogy now! 

I loved the layout of this book, the quotes from the upcoming novella, the comic style pages at the beginning of each story...it added a nice sense of intrigue. As I started to read, everything came flooding back from the last TMI book and from Lady Midnight. I will admit, I do find it hard sometimes to keep all the family trees straight in my head, especially with the gap between books and how long it's been since I re-read some of them, so once or twice I got confused and had to google something to remember who someone was. 

Jace still cracks me up, he and Simon in this collection make me chuckle. I felt for Simon, and his predicament and I really had missed Simon's nerd humour. I loved George Lovelace! He was my new favourite character as I was reading! I will admit, I was worried for a moment and thought he was going to be a douche, but then he was just awesome! Following Simon to the dregs track and everything! Brotp right here! I really liked some of the other characters, Beatriz, Juliet, Marisol, Jon I just wanted to punch most of the time though! I genuinely lost count of how many times I wanted to sock him one. 

One of my favourite moments was Isabelle guest lecturing purely to threaten the girls away from Simon and George being like "We're just bros!". I cracked up so much! I really needed the doses of humour scattered throughout the stories! My favourites where usually the ones written with Maureen and Sarah though! Like for instance....The Whitechapel Fiend...WESSA! So much Wessa! And we got to see some of the other TID characters and oh my God....Jessamine! My feels...I can't even. I miss TID. I need to re-read so badly! We got to meet James....little bookish James. I'm so going to love him! Also....WHO'S GRACE JAMES? *wiggles eyebrows* We also got to meet the other TID children....Henry and Charlotte's, Gabriel and Cecily's, Sophie and Gideon's....I loved Matthew and James. I'm so genuinely excited to see more of them in TLH! GIVE IT TO ME NOW. 

So much happens in these novellas, there's Sizzy angst. There's Malec. My lord the Malec feels! The blasts to the past are authentic and vivid. I remembered how much I loved Jace and between him and Simon had many a chuckle while reading! Jace and Tessa...we don't get to actually SEE the scene which disappointed me greatly, but we did get to know it happened! There's more background to characters and events, like Mark and Helen and what happened with their father and the faerie. I can't even. All this time I thought the story was true, but then at the end....well...you'll see! 

I really hated Robert Lightwood but this book made me see him in a different light and made me feel a tiny bit sorry for him. I'd warmed up to him, basically! There where new ships to ship! Like Marisol and Jon...her interactions with him cracked me up so much! Definitely one of my favourite parts! But that ending. WHY CASSIE WHY. I can't even. I'd laughed my way through this book, through the feels. I was excited for a satisfying ending. But it all ended in tears. Of course it did. I should have known better! 

All in all Shadowhunter Academy is a brilliant collection of novellas that brings TMI to a close and sets up nicely for The Dark Artifices and The Last Hours! I loved getting to see more of the history of the world of the Shadowhunters and getting to see the TMI gang one last time...well..properly anyway! 

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Thursday, 20 October 2016

Spooktober Recommends: Demons


Time for another recommends post you guys! 
Today it's all about demons! There's magic too, but it's mainly demons which is why they're in this category! I've got some other fun rec posts coming your way right up until Halloween, and I've got a rec post for Halloween that, while short, should be good! 
There's a mix here, it's all YA, but there's a historical one for you history nerds, some dystopian kinda ones, and then you know...regular modern day ones! Some of my ultimate favourite authors are in this list too, like "auto buy and would love them even if they wrote really bad fan fic not for my ship" kinda favourite. 


London, April 1812. Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation to the Queen. Her life should be about gowns and dancing, and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family's housemaids goes missing, Lady Helen is drawn to the shadows of Regency London.

There, she finds William, the Earl of Carlston. He has noticed the disappearance, too, and is one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of powerful demons that has infiltrated every level of society. But Lady Helen’s curiosity is the last thing Carlston wants—especially when he sees the searching intelligence behind her fluttering fan. Should Helen trust a man whose reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her headstrong sense of justice lead them both into a death trap?

This is legitimately one of my favourite books of the year, I loved it! I loved the writing, the language, the plot, the romance and the characters and it hooked me in and kept me reading. I love the twist on demons in this book as well! 



One kiss could be the last. 

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses. 

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever. 

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul. 

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne… it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

I will read ANYTHING that Jennifer writes. ANYTHING. I find it really hard to make decisions and I can't really choose an ultimate favourite author, but Jennifer is tied with a couple of others for that position and I met her at an event in the summer and she was so lovely, it has to be said! I'm gonna ask you all not to judge this by the title/cover. It's a brilliant trilogy, with demons and gargoyles. I loved that because when have you ever read a YA book about gargoyles? I couldn't say that I had before I read this! Jennifer's a great writer, she has brilliant characters, as well as plot and romance and action. Plus there's always plenty of humour! 



Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.

When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble.

To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?

Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her.

Rachel is another of my favourite authors, and this is the first in a duology. It's original, in many aspects, and is a breeze to read through because the book keeps you glued to the page! Demons...exorcists...totally Halloween right?! 



Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

This is a series I stumbled across on NetGalley when this book was up to review, and I still  haven't read the third book yet because I think they changed publisher, but I'm not sure, I kinda lost track. ANYWAY. This book is a lot of fun, mostly because of Meda and her narrative/inner monologue! It's definitely worth a read, if you fancy reading from the point of view of the "villain". 



Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself – and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on…

Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary demon trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps.  The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.

But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood.  And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?

I can't remember how I came across this series, but I totally read all four in like..four days! Of course, now there's a novella and a fifth book, that I still need to get and read, but still! I loved these. There was a kinda Ghostbusters vibe to the beginning of the first book, there's romance and creepy demons and I love Jana's writing! I had no idea that these books are like basically out of print, but luckily the bind up of the first two is still available! 



Nick and his brother Alan are on the run with their mother, who was once the lover of a powerful magician. When she left him, she stole an important charm - and he will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Now Alan has been marked with the sign of death by the magician's demon, and only Nick can save him. But to do so he must face those he has fled from all his life - the magicians - and kill them. So the hunted becomes the hunter...but in saving his brother, Nick discovers something that will unravel his whole past... 

Sarah is another of my ultimate favourite authors, and this is the first book of hers that I got to read! I went to the library one weekend, as you do when you want something to read and you're a school student with limited funds, and I picked this up because it sounded intriguing. Next thing I knew, I'd read this and was back at the library to grab the others in the trilogy! I read them SO fast and then grabbed the first Lynburn Legacy book and then had to wait for each new book which was painful but there you go. ANYWAY. Demon's Lexicon is a great read with a great narrative, and it's a great read for all year round, let alone just Halloween! (As are all of these recs to be honest!)
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Monday, 17 October 2016

Spooktober Recommends: Magic & Mayhem


It's recommends time again folks! 
I've got a lot of blog posts coming up for what remains of October, rec posts, discussions and reviews so just a heads up that I'm probably going to have to double up posts once or twice to fit them all in! I know I don't usually do that, I just one a day, but I've got a lot to share with you guys! 

Today's recommends post is all about magic and I say mayhem because in a few of these there are other things going on besides the magic. Magic may be the main element but there are others! So here we go....


Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…
 

So. We've got magic, we've got supernaturals/paranormals and we've got a totally cool setting with a unique premise. A prison for paranormals right in the middle of New Orleans! This book is a good, easy, fun read and it's a great read for Halloween! 



She could save the world-or destroy it.
Sixteen year old Evangeline "Evie" Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future-and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Derveaux.

But she can't do either alone.
With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can't totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side...

Okay, so, I always associate these books with Halloween, most likely because I actually read them myself at Halloween one year when I first discovered the first two, but they totally fit in the magic category! I love this series, it's so original and has a lot of unique-ness to it, there's an apocalypse and romance and it's a lot of fun! 



A week after Mother found her sleeping on the ceiling, Amy Thomsett is delivered to her new school, Drearcliff Grange in Somerset. Although it looks like a regular boarding school, Amy learns that Drearcliff girls are special, the daughters of criminal masterminds, outlaw scientists and master magicians. Several of the pupils also have special gifts like Amy’s, and when one of the girls in her dormitory is abducted by a mysterious group in black hoods, Amy forms a secret, superpowered society called the Moth Club to rescue their friend. They soon discover that the Hooded Conspiracy runs through the School, and it's up to the Moth Club to get to the heart of it. 

This is such a great read you guys, I can't even! It's also totally good for Halloween! Although there is magic, and it has a certain dark atmosphere, it's almost like a superhero origin story at one point!





Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. 
By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. 
As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.
Okay so I read this trilogy quite a while ago, and it's perfect for Halloween! These books are full of magic, it's a boarding school for witches, and more, and there's murder and mystery and some nice creepy vibes! It's also a totally easy read! 

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?
This is one of my favourite trilogies you guys, I'm not gonna lie! Even though Sarah brings the pain and feels. The books have such a nice Halloween vibe, and there's plenty of magic in the books, although it's a more subtle presence in the first book, there is some nice creepiness going on!
As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ's boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.

Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.

While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover.

To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.
Okay, so this is like a new adult book and it's soooo gooooddd! I loved the setting and the premise, and I love the characters in the book! There's magic and murder and creepiness and lots of fun! 

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

Wishing For Wednesday #80

Wednesdaaaaayyy! 
I've got some gems for you here today! 
First up is the third book in a series by one of my favourite authors EVER. They're always action packed, with adorable romance, and brilliantly original. I can't wait to pick up the third book! Which reminds me...I still need to re-buy the first book with the new covers..yes I'm that person! Everything must match! 
Second is a standalone book from another favourite author of mine and it sounds bloody brilliant! With you know, everything I love in a book!

Shaken

In a tall, narrow brownstone, in Brooklyn, New York, there is a girl with a secret. That girl is Rose Knight. She needs to raise millions of dollars to save her father's life. The arrogant and suave Damien Castle is good at uncovering secrets. He's even better at catching criminals. When he meets Rose he knows something is amiss but he can't help but get distracted. It isn't her terrible dress sense that confuses him, or even her obsession with Egyptology. It's the fact that he has never felt this way about a girl before. 
But when duty and love are both on the line, which one will Damien choose? 


Shaken is out April 7th, pre-order your copy...here
Add it to your TBR....here





Tell The Wind And Fire

In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets. 

Lucie Manette was born in the Dark half of the city, but careful manipulations won her a home in the Light, celebrity status, and a rich, loving boyfriend. Now she just wants to keep her head down, but her boyfriend has a dark secret of his own—one involving an apparent stranger who is destitute and despised. Lucie alone knows the young men’s deadly connection, and even as the knowledge leads her to make a grave mistake, she can trust no one with the truth.

Blood and secrets alike spill out when revolution erupts. With both halves of the city burning, and mercy nowhere to be found, can Lucie save either boy—or herself?

Tell The Wind And Fire is out April 5th, pre-order your copy...here!
        Add it to your TBR...here!

Friday, 1 January 2016

Best Books Coming In 2016

Hey guys! 
Happy New Year, I hope none of you are TOO hungover! It's the first day of a New Year and it's that time when our brains turn to thinking about the new books coming out this year. Obviously, there are a lot of them coming out, but the question is....which ones should you look forward to the most? I can't help you with that, but I CAN tell you which ones I'm most excited for and give you an idea of what to look forward to! 

This is going to be in two parts because there are seriously ALOT of awesome books coming out in 2016 and so this lot are all new series starting or standalone novels! Part Two will be Sequels/Next in Series! Most of these are all in the first half of the year as well as that's all that's been announced! So prepare for new authors, and old favourites...
I've linked to GoodReads for easy TBR adding! 

1. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Release Date: 8th March
Series or Standalone: Series 

Five years since The Mortal Instruments, we're thrust back in to the world of the Shadowhunters...

Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim.

The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.



2. This Savage Song by V E Schwab  
Release Date: 7th June
Series or Standalone: Series

The city of Verity has been overrun with monsters, born from the worst of human evil. In North Verity, the Corsai and the Malchai run free. Under the rule of Callum Harker, the monsters kill any human who has not paid for protection. In the South, Henry Flynn hunts the monsters who cross the border into his territory, aided by the most dangerous and darkest monsters of them all—the Sunai, dark creatures who use music to steal their victim’s souls.

As one of only three Sunai in existence, August Flynn has always wanted to play a bigger role in the war between the north and the south. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate Harker, daughter of the leader of North Verity, August jumps on it.
When Kate discovers August’s secret, the pair find themselves running for their lives and battling monsters from both sides of the wall. As the city dissolves into chaos, it’s up to them to foster a peace between monsters and humans.


3. Tell The Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan
Release Date: 5th April 
Series or Standalone: Standalone

Tell the Wind & Fire is about a young girl called Lucie who lives in a New York very different from the New York we know: the city is torn between two very different kinds of magic, and Lucie’s own family was torn apart years ago by that conflict. Lucie wears magic rings and carries a burden of guilt she can’t share with anyone.

The light in her life is her sweetheart boyfriend Ethan, but it turns out Ethan has a secret too: a soulless doppelganger created by dark magic, who has to conceal the face identical to Ethan’s with a hood fastened by a collar nobody but a Light magician with magical rings can take off… and who introduces himself to both of them by, for reasons nobody can understand, saving Ethan’s life…



4. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman 
Release Date: 9th February
Series or Standalone: Standalone

Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England? 

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.



5. And I Darken by Kiersten White 
Release Date: 28th June 
Series or Standalone: Series

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.


6. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Release Date: 5th January
Series or Standalone: Series

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever
 .


7. The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead
Release Date: 5th April 
Series or Standalone: Series

Big and sweeping, spanning the refined palaces of Osfrid to the gold dust and untamed forests of Adoria, The Glittering Court tells the story of Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the New World. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court. 

Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies capable of arranging powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. Adelaide naturally excels in her training and even makes a few friends: the fiery former laundress Tamsin and the beautiful Sirminican refugee Mira. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: the intriguing Cedric Thorn, son of the wealthy proprietor of the Glittering Court.

When Adelaide discovers that Cedric is hiding a dangerous secret of his own, together, they hatch a scheme to make the best of Adelaide’s deception. Complications soon arise—first, as they cross the treacherous seas from Osfrid to Adoria, and later, when Adelaide catches the attention of a powerful governor.

But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands. . . 



8. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff  
Release Date: 11th August
Series or Standalone: Series

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, a sixteen year old Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic — the Red Church. Treachery and trials await her with the Church’s halls, and to fail is to die. But if she survives to initiation, Mia will be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the only thing she desires.

Revenge.
 

9. The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
Release Date: 21st January 
Series or Standalone: Series

London, April 1812. Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation to the Queen. Her life should be about gowns and dancing, and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family's housemaids goes missing, Lady Helen is drawn to the shadows of Regency London.

There, she finds William, the Earl of Carlston. He has noticed the disappearance, too, and is one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of powerful demons that has infiltrated every level of society. But Lady Helen’s curiosity is the last thing Carlston wants—especially when he sees the searching intelligence behind her fluttering fan. Should Helen trust a man whose reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her headstrong sense of justice lead them both into a death trap?




10. These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
Release Date: 9th February
Series or Standalone: Standalone

Jane Austen meets X-­Men in this gripping and adventure-­filled paranormal romance set in Victorian London.

England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.


11. The Veil by Chloe Neill
Release Date: 14th April 
Series or Standalone: Series

Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…
 



12. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Release Date: 4th February
Series or Standalone: Standalone

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.
 


13. Wink Poppy Midnight by April Tucholke 
Release Date: 22nd March 
Series or Standalone: Standalone

Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.




14. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
Release Date: 3rd May
Series or Standalone: Series

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.

But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.


15. Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan 
Release Date: 1st March 
Series or Standalone: Standalone

Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.




16. The Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine 
Release Date: 3rd March 
Series or Standalone: Series

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.
 



17. Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers
Release Date: 2nd February 
Series or Standalone: Standalone

In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.




18. The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins
Release Date: 8th March 
Series or Standalone: Standalone 

Kill the beast. Win the girl.

A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.

Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.


19. Firstlife by Gena Showalter
Release Date: 23rd February
Series or Standalone: Series

ONE CHOICE.
TWO REALMS.
NO SECOND CHANCE.

Tenley “Ten” Lockwood is an average seventeen-year-old girl…who has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. The reason? Not her obsession with numbers, but her refusal to let her parents choose where she’ll live—after she dies.

There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.

In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the two realms who will do anything to win the right to her soul. Who can she trust? And what if the realm she’s drawn to isn’t home to the boy she’s falling for? She just has to stay alive long enough to make a decision…



20. Riders by Veronica Rossi
Release Date: 16th February
Series or Standalone: Series 

For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen--Conquest, Famine, and Death--are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.

They fail.

Now--bound, bloodied, and drugged--Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he's fallen for--not to mention all of humankind--he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.

But will anyone believe him?


There you have it guys! 20 of the best upcoming new releases in 2016 and most of them are out in the next couple of months! EXCITING! I think I've dug up some of the more original and intriguing reads as well as ones by favourite authors that I hope you guys will like too! 
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