January Titles I’m Looking Forward to | 2018

Hello everyone! How are you doing?

Today’s post is.. you guessed it: my monthly post of books I’m Looking Forward to! I’ve been doing these for a while now. Basically what these posts are, is just me talking about the books that I’m looking forward to reading that are being published in the following month that I’ve posted them in. I’m posting this in December, so the books featured in this post will all be books that will be published in January.

The fact that it’s already this close to being January is crazy. There’s so much to do lately! If you’re looking forward to any of these books as well, let me know! 

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January 1st

• Busted by Gina Ciocca — Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Marisa wasn’t planning to be a snoop for hire—until she accidentally caught her best friend’s boyfriend making out with another girl. Now her reputation for sniffing out cheaters has spread all over school, and Marisa finds herself the reluctant queen of busting two-timing boys.

But when ex-frenemy Kendall asks her to spy on her boyfriend, TJ, Marisa quickly discovers the girl TJ might be falling for is Marisa herself. And worse yet? The feelings are quickly becoming mutual. Now, she’s stuck spying on a “mystery girl” and the spoken-for guy who just might be the love of her life…

Daaaang, Busted wounds like a interesting book! I love the intrigue behind it all, and I really want to find out if it works out between Marisa and TJ! Or if everything that Marisa had unintentionally built up, comes crashing dramatically to the ground.

• As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti — Young Adult, Fantasy

What if you could ask for anything- and get it?

In the sandy Mojave Desert, Madison is a small town on the road between nothing and nowhere. But Eldon wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, because in Madison, everyone gets one wish—and that wish always comes true.

Some people wish for money, some people wish for love, but Eldon has seen how wishes have broken the people around him. And with the lives of his family and friends in chaos, he’s left with more questions than answers. Can he make their lives better? How can he be happy if the people around him aren’t? And what hope is there for any of them if happiness isn’t an achievable dream? Doubts build, leading Eldon to a more outlandish and scary thought: maybe you can’t wish for happiness…maybe, just maybe, you have to make it for yourself.

I’m interested in As You Wish since there’s so much that could happen in this novel. For instance, everything could go horribly wrong. Or, Eldon could finally realize what it is that makes the world go ’round in his small town. I honestly have no idea what to expect when I get around to reading As You Wish. I just hope know it’s going to be a good one.

January 2nd

• The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1) by Holly Black — Fantasy, Young Adult

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Daaaang, The Cruel Prince has a lot of intrigue. When I read the synopsis for this book, I had the thought of “Well, obviously the main character is going to fall in love with the person who despises humans the most.” I hope I’m wrong about the MC Jude falling in-love with the wickedest prince, Prince Cardan. Maybe instead of Jude falling in-love with Cardan, Cardan will fall in-love with Jude! Hmm.. I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for this one!

January 9th

• Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe #2) by Neal Shusterman — Young Adult, Dystopia

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

Thunderhead, being the second book to Scythe, makes me want to jump in joy to find that the story is continuing on. At the same time though, I’m wary about Thunderhead since Scythe was only an okay read for me. I hope Thunderhead is more interesting and action packed than the Scythe. And Scythe was pretty interesting for an okay novel. I just didn’t vibe with Scythe like I thought I would.

January 23rd

• Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp — Young Adult, Mystery

Days before Corey is to return home to the snow and ice of Lost Creek, Alaska, to visit her best friend, Kyra dies. Corey is devastated―and confused. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones about the town’s lost daughter, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she’s a stranger.

Corey knows something is wrong. Lost is keeping secrets―chilling secrets. But piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter…

I’m a huge fan of Young Adult Mystery and am willing to read any YA Mystery book at least once. Before I Let Go is immensely interesting to me. In fact, once I saw the cover a little ping went off in my head. I’ve found that I always end up enjoying YA mystery books that have some sort of water-ish cover, and Before I Let Go is no different! I so hope I end up enjoying Before I Let Go.

January 30th

• Shadowsong (Wintersong, #2) by S. Jae-Jones — Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can’t forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her.

When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King—who he was, who he is, and who he will be. What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world—or the ones Liesl loves—is in her hands?

After reading Witnersong, I’m incredibly interested in seeing exactly how this duology ends. Wintersong ended in such heartbreak that I just need to know how Shadowsong goes. — I have no idea what Shadowsong is about; just that Shadowsong is the end to the duology and that in itself is causing my heart to break a little.

• This Is Not a Love Letter by Kim Purcell — Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Realistic Fiction

One week. That’s all Jessie said. A one-week break to get some perspective before graduation, before she and her boyfriend, Chris, would have to make all the big, scary decisions about their future–decisions they had been fighting about for weeks.

Then, Chris vanishes. The police think he’s run away, but Jessie doesn’t believe it. Chris is popular and good-looking, about to head off to college on a full-ride baseball scholarship. And he disappeared while going for a run along the river–the same place where some boys from the rival high school beat him up just three weeks ago. Chris is one of the only black kids in a depressed paper mill town, and Jessie is terrified of what might have happened.

As the police are spurred to reluctant action, Jessie speaks up about the harassment Chris kept quiet about and the danger he could be in. But there are people in Jessie’s town who don’t like the story she tells, who are infuriated by the idea that a boy like Chris would be a target of violence. They smear Chris’s character and Jessie begins receiving frightening threats.

Every Friday since they started dating, Chris has written Jessie a love letter. Now Jessie is writing Chris a letter of her own to tell him everything that’s happening while he’s gone. As Jessie searches for answers, she must face her fears, her guilt, and a past more complicated than she would like to admit.

This Is Not a Love Letter sounds like a Mystery, but also sounds like a contemporary as well. I have a feeling though that This Is Not A Love Letter will not have a happy ending at all.

• The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert — Young Adult, Fantasy

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

I’ve heard about The Hazel Wood for a while now, and I’m honestly really super excited about this book since — I’m going to say that– it’s loosely based on the Alice in Wonderland tale. If you didn’t know, I am a huge fan of the Alice in Wonderland franchise.

• Say You’ll Remember Me by Katie McGarry — Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

When Drix was convicted of a crime–one he didn’t commit–he thought his life was over. But opportunity came with the new Second Chance Program, the governor’s newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while.

Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor’s daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn’t may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means.

When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle’s parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix’s messy life.

But sometimes love can breach all barriers.

Fighting against a society that can’t imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves–Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence–and each other to finally get what they deserve.

I had seen Say You’ll Remember Me previously and what I thought of the book then is what I think of the book now: I’ve got to read this! There’s so much that could go right in Say You’ll Remember Me. I’m honstly hoping that Drix and Elle will disobey Elle’s Fathers wishes of Elle and Drix’ dating. IF that even happens. I haven’t read the book yet, so I don’t yet know.

Other Notable Titles Include:

• You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone, by Rachel Lynn Solomon; 01/02/18
• Between the Blade and the Heart, by Amanda Hocking; 01/02/18
• Keeper, by Kim Chance; 01/30/18
• Losing Brave, by Bailee Madison & Stefne Miller; 01/30/18
• Layover, by Amy Andelson & Emily Meyer; 01/30/18

Are there any books that you’re looking forward to in January? 

Happy Reading!
Adele