My Top 5 Book Releases

I cannot believe that it is October! I hope you are ready to grab a blanket and mug of hot chocolate as there are SO many exciting releases to curl up with this month. Honestly, I’ve been eyeing this line up for a while! I had fifteen books shortlisted but after careful deliberation here are my top five picks for October:

Muse of Nightmares

Title: Muse of Nightmares

Author: Laini Taylor

Published: 2nd October 2018

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Genre: YA Fantasy

Happy book birthday to Muse of Nightmares! This has been one of the most anticipated releases of the year amongst YA Fantasy fans. It is the sequel to Strange the Dreamer and continues the story of Lazlo. A tale of love, hate, revenge and redemption.

“Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old. 
She believed she knew every horror, and was beyond surprise. 
She was wrong.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice – save the woman he loves, or everyone else? – while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel’s near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with the thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?”

Sawkill Girls

Title: Sawkill Girls

Author: Claire Legrand

Published: 2nd October 2018

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Horror, LGBT+

It’s another book birthday today! Sawkill Girls  has been all over my twitter feed for ages. If the cool cover art isn’t enough to capture your attention then having ‘Claire Legrand’ at the bottom certainly should! It is another hotly anticipated read and one that I have been keeping an eye on. I am lucky enough to have been sent a copy for review so this is on my TBR for October. Here’s the synopsis:

“Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: The newbie. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: The pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken-or maybe everyone else is.

Val: The queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives; a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight…until now.”

This Cruel Design

Title: This Cruel Design

Author: Emily Suvada

Published: 30th October 2018

Publisher: Penguin

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia

The sequel to This Mortal Coil. Cat thought that the Hydra virus was dead but new cases begin to pop up and the team must once again come to the rescue. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series and was lucky enough to win an advanced copy of this book, which I am currently reading! My review for both books will be up very soon. If you haven’t come across this series or haven’t got around to picking it up yet then I strongly recommend you do so! It is perfect for fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent and Red Rising. If you are yet to read book one PLEASE SKIP the synopsis for book two below:

“The nightmare of the outbreak is finally over, but Cat’s fight has only just begun.

Exhausted, wounded, and reeling from revelations that have shaken her to her core, Cat is at a breaking point. Camped in the woods with Cole and Leoben, she’s working day and night, desperate to find a way to stop Lachlan’s plan to reprogram humanity. But she’s failing—Cat can’t even control her newly regrown panel, and try as she might to ignore them, she keeps seeing glitching visions from her past everywhere she turns.

When news arrives that the Hydra virus might not be as dead as they’d thought, the group is pushed into an uneasy alliance with Cartaxus to hunt down Lachlan and fix the vaccine. Their search takes them to Entropia, a city of genehackers hidden deep in the desert that could also hold the answers about Cat’s past that she’s been searching for.

But when confronted with lies and betrayals, Cat is forced to question everything she knows and everyone she trusts. And while Lachlan is always two steps ahead, the biggest threat to Cat may be the secrets buried in her own mind.”

Kingdom of Ash

Title: Kingdom of Ash

Author: Sarah J Maas

Published: 23rd October 2018

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Genre: YA Fantasy

The epic conclusion of the Throne of Glass series. Another of the most anticipated releases for 2018! I’m attending the Kingdom of Ash book event in Edinburgh on the 7th November so I will be reading it very promptly upon release. I have really enjoyed the adventures of Aelin so far and am very keen to see how the story ends.

“Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.”

What If It’s Us

Title: What If It’s Us

Authors: Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Published: 18th October 2018

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s UK

Genre: YA Contemporary, LGBT+, Romance

I listened to the audiobooks of Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat over summer. Both books were great, I gave them 5 star ratings, and I loved the LGBT+ representation in each. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera has been on my TBR since it was published last year and I’ve heard so many wonderful things about it. Mixing the work of two great YA Contemporary authors together into one book is VERY exciting! What If It’s Us is promises to be a fantastic book and should be on the TBR of every YA Contemporary fan for October. Here’s the synopsis:

“Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is?”

It was very hard to narrow down the list for this month! I would love to know what are your most anticipated releases for October?!