January 2019 Book Releases – Part Two

Welcome to part two! Part one is here if you would like to look at all of my top picks for January. There are SO many books releasing this month that I just could not bring myself to leave it at my top five. It has been hard to pick just ten! I may have sneaked a few special mentions in at the bottom too…

The Gilded Wolves

Title: The Gilded Wolves

Author: Roshani Chokshi

Published: January 15th 2019

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Genre: YA Fantasy

A very popular ARC amongst book bloggers and justified by the average 4 star rating on Goodreads with over 500 ratings. I think it will be appearing in a couple of book subscription boxes this month. What I have read about the books suggests it is a great blend of mystery and adventure with LGBTQIA+ representation.

Synopsis

“Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can’t yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they’ll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.”

Our Year of Maybe

Title: Our Year of Maybe

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Published: January 15th 2019

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA Contemporary

This book has been a lot more under the radar than the others in this list but it has been rated very highly so far (over 4.5 star average from 100 people). It is important for me to mix up genres and this is definitely a contemporary book I’m looking forward to reading. This is another book that has LGBTQIA+ representation, which is great. It seems to be full of complex relationships and moral dilemmas. I believe this is going to be one of those books that has me thinking long after I turn the last page.

Synopsis

“Aspiring choreographer Sophie Orenstein would do anything for Peter Rosenthal-Porter, who’s been on the kidney transplant list as long as she’s known him. Peter, a gifted pianist, is everything to Sophie: best friend, musical collaborator, secret crush. When she learns she’s a match, donating a kidney is an easy, obvious choice. She can’t help wondering if after the transplant, he’ll love her back the way she’s always wanted.

But Peter’s life post-transplant isn’t what either of them expected. Though he once had feelings for Sophie too, he’s now drawn to Chase, the guitarist in a band that happens to be looking for a keyboardist. And while neglected parts of Sophie’s world are calling to her—dance opportunities, new friends, a sister and niece she barely knows—she longs for a now-distant Peter more than ever, growing increasingly bitter he doesn’t seem to feel the same connection.

Peter fears he’ll forever be indebted to her. Sophie isn’t sure who she is without him. Then one blurry, heartbreaking night twists their relationship into something neither of them recognizes, leading them to question their past, their future, and whether their friendship is even worth fighting for.”

The Binding

Title: The Binding

Author: Bridget Collins

Published: January 10th 2019

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

As an obvious lover of books and stories, I can’t help but get excited at stories about books. My favourite film of all time is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind because the idea of being able to remove memories, change the past within your own consciousness and only have to experience your best life is a very intriguing concept. The Binding seems to explore a similar idea and I love the premise of the book, which you can read more about in the synopsis below. I am really looking forward to picking up a copy. If you love special editions then Waterstones have a BEAUTIFUL hardback copy for pre-order with purple sprayed edges and it is signed. Be still my beating heart. You can check out the special edition here.

Synopsis

“Imagine you could erase grief.
Imagine you could remove pain.
Imagine you could hide the darkest, most horrifying secret.
Forever.

Young Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a strange letter arrives summoning him away from his family. He is to begin an apprenticeship as a Bookbinder—a vocation that arouses fear, superstition, and prejudice among their small community but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse.

For as long as he can recall, Emmett has been drawn to books, even though they are strictly forbidden. Bookbinding is a sacred calling, Seredith informs her new apprentice, and he is a binder born. Under the old woman’s watchful eye, Emmett learns to hand-craft the elegant leather-bound volumes. Within each one they will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, a binder can help. If there’s something you need to erase, they can assist. Within the pages of the books they create, secrets are concealed and the past is locked away. In a vault under his mentor’s workshop, rows upon rows of books are meticulously stored.

But while Seredith is an artisan, there are others of their kind, avaricious and amoral tradesman who use their talents for dark ends—and just as Emmett begins to settle into his new circumstances, he makes an astonishing discovery: one of the books has his name on it. Soon, everything he thought he understood about his life will be dramatically rewritten.”

A Curse so Dark and Lonely

Title: A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Author:  Bridget Kemmerer

Published: January 29th 2019

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: YA Fantasy

Synopsis

The award for prettiest ARC goes to this book! The ARC cover looks like it is made up of holographic flames and is stunning! The normal cover is very cool too though and gives off strong hints fairy tale. Indeed, it is a fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which promises to be action packed and I hear has excellent world building. It is rated very highly already on Goodreads with 4.3 stars after over 500 ratings. Here is the synopsis:

“Fall in love, break the curse. 

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom. 

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.”

King of Scars

Title: King of Scars

Author:  Leigh Bardugo

Published: January

Publisher: Hatchette Children’s Group

Genre: YA Fantasy

My list could not be complete without the latest adventure from the Grishaverse. Despite not being a huge fan of the original trilogy (I am yet to finish the third book) I am very excited for King of Scars. Nikolai really is the best character in the original series so it is fantastic that he is getting his own book. This is another highly anticipated read! So much so that Illumicrate have created a special edition book box for it’s release, which includes an exclusive version of the book that has the colours reversed under the dust jacket. It is gold and glorious!

Synopsis

“Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.”

Even More Books…

As I said in my first post there are a ridiculous number of exciting releases this month! Especially for fantasy readers. I could have talked about them all but instead I will leave you with some special mentions. If you haven’t already, let me know which books are you the most excited for this month!

Special Mentions: 

• The Love and Lies of Ruksana Ali by Sabina Khan
• Song of the Dead by Sarah Glenn Marsh
• Echo North by Johanna Ruth Meyer
• The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty
• Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye