May 2018 Book Publishings

ucbrpic Hello friends! It’s that time of the month again, where I talk about the books that are being published next month. Especially the ones I’m looking forward to reading! Here are 9 books I’m looking forward to being published in May. With 4 other titles that I mention as well!

If any of these books are books that you’re looking forward to, let me know!

Enjoy!

May 1st

Outcast (Summoner, #4) by Taran Matharu — Young Adult, Fantasy

Enter an immersive world where the chosen few have the ability to summon demons…

Arcturus is just an orphaned stable boy when he discovers he has the ability to summon demons from another world. He is sent to Vocans Academy where the lost arts of summoning, spell craft and demonology are taught to the noble children of the Empire. As the first commoner gifted with this ability, his discovery challenges the nobility and the powers that be and Arcturus soon makes enemies. With no one but his demon Sacharissa by his side, Arcturus must prove himself as a worthy Summoner…

Set before the events of SUMMONER: The Novice this is the perfect introduction to the New York Times bestselling SUMMONER series.

I’m actually quite excited about this one, since I actually genuinely enjoy the Summoner series. I haven’t read the third book, Battlemage, yet, but I’m going to do so soon! I’m also going to request Outcast as a purchase to my local library!

Out of Left Field by Kris Hui Lee — Young Adult, Contemporary

There’s no playing it safe in love or baseball in this sparkling debut, perfect for fans of Morgan Matson and Kasie West.

Marnie has never had a hard time fitting in with the guys. It would take a lot more than their goofy antics to keep her from joining them at the neighborhood sandlot to do what she loves best: play ball.

An added perk of hanging out at the sandlot? Spending time with Cody Kinski, their high school’s star pitcher and Marnie’s best friend. Sure, he can be stubborn and annoying. He also knows how to make her laugh and respects her skills on the mound. And when he gets nailed in the arm by a bone-fracturing pitch, Marnie becomes the team’s best chance at making it to the playoffs. Except no one told the guys they’re supposed to be on her side.

With her own team against her, Marnie begins questioning her abilities. And when fate throws her a curveball, can she play without losing the game, Cody, and her belief in herself?

I’m not going to lie, I wouldn’t normally pay a book like Out of Left Field any attention. I’m not usually interested in YA Contemporaries all that much. However, the last little bit of the synopsis has piqued my interest.

I wonder how Marnie will deal with her teammates working against her. I wonder how Marie will overcome everything, or if Cody will have to have a chat with the team.

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne — Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Retellings, Romance, Space

Seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley wants just one thing: to go somewhere—anywhere—else. Her home is a floundering spaceship that offers few prospects, having been orbiting an ice-encased Earth for two hundred years. When a private ship hires her as a governess, Stella jumps at the chance. The captain of the Rochester, nineteen-year-old Hugo Fairfax, is notorious throughout the fleet for being a moody recluse and a drunk. But with Stella he’s kind.

But the Rochester harbors secrets: Stella is certain someone is trying to kill Hugo, and the more she discovers, the more questions she has about his role in a conspiracy threatening the fleet.

I’m not gonna lie, the cover is totally what drew me to checking what Brightly Burning was about. Seeing that BB is a book that takes place in space has me interested, but I’m incredibly picky and selective about books I read that take place in space.

I’m intrigued as to what happens within Brightly Burning. Seeing that it’s also a stand alone is kind of helpful as well. I don’t think I would have checked BB out had it been part of a series. — There’s also this whole Romeo & Juliette vibe that I’m getting that I’m not too hyped about.

May 8th

Elektra’s Adventures in Tragedy by Douglas Rees — Young Adult

Sixteen-year-old Elektra Kamenides is well on her way to becoming a proper southern belle in the small Mississippi college town she calls home. That is, until her mother decides to uproot her and her kid sister Thalia and start over in California. They leave behind Elektra’s father–a professor and leading expert on Greek mythology, and Elektra can’t understand why. For her, life is tragedy, and all signs point to her family being cursed.

Their journey ends in Guadalupe Slough, a community of old Chicano families and oddball drifters sandwiched between San José and the southern shores of San Francisco Bay. The houseboat that her mother has bought, sight unseen, is really just an ancient trailer parked on a barge and sunk into a mudflat.

What would Odysseus do? Elektra asks herself. Determined to get back to Mississippi at all costs, she’ll beg, lie, and steal to get there. But things are not always what they seem, and home is wherever you decide to make it.

Elektra seems to be on ends with her mother. Elektra just wants to go back to her dad, but I think that her “dad” isn’t actually her dad. Or maybe Elektra’s mom has some problems that she’s running from, and can’t tell her daughters about it. There’s so much to go on! I have no Idea what will happen!

Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch — Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.

So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.

Not going to lie here! I know I said I’m not usually all that spellbound by YA Contemporaries. However, I have a soft spot for Contemporaries that take place outside of the U.S..

I think that quite a bit will take place in Love & Luck. I think that Addie will fall in love again, but perhaps not with Rowan. Maybe with the adventure that she goes on with her brother Ian, and Rowan. I’m predicting that Ian is gay and falls for Rowan though.

May 10th

Crimson Ash by Haley Sulich — Young Adult, Dystopia, LGBT

You may live as a soldier or face death. Choose wisely.

Solanine Lucille wants her little sister back. Eight years ago, the government kidnapped her sister Ember, stole her memories, and transformed her into a soldier. But Solanine refuses to give up. Now that she and her fiancé have located the leader of a rebel group, she believes she can finally bring Ember home. But then the soldiers raid the rebels, killing her fiancé and leaving Solanine alone with her demons and all the weapons needed for revenge.

After raiding a rebel camp, sixteen-year-old Ember doesn’t understand why killing some boy bothers her. She’s a soldier—she has killed hundreds of people without remorse. But after she fails a mission, the rebels hold her hostage and restore her memories. Ember recognizes her sister among the rebels and realizes the boy she killed was Solanine’s fiancé.

Ember knows she can’t hide the truth forever, but Solanine has secrets too.

As their worlds clash, the two sisters must decide if their relationship is worth fighting for. And one wrong move could destroy everything—and everyone—in their path.

When I read the synopsis for this book I thought to myself, “Oh shit!” The sisters are going to have such a hard time understanding one another. I think that once the truth is revealed to each other the sisters are going to have this huge emotional distance and feel like there’s a gap between them (which the cover implies)

May 15

Hinder (Guardian of Monsters, #1) by Kristin Ping — Young Adult, Fantasy, Supernatural / Paranormal

Hinder seems like an incredibly interesting book with a character who is sort of supernatural Keeper. Ethan is what witches call a Bender. A Bender is a Witches’ Guardians who are able to control a witches’ ability, bend it, or move it away from harming humans.

Alex, the last living Earth wielding witch, has been living in her aunts locket for the past 16 years with her mother and father. Her parents have vowed to protect her, and they have. However, time is running out. Alex must find her Bender, or the fate of the Supernaturals might be at stake.

Hinder seems like an interesting book (with a truly captivating book cover).

May 22nd

Furyborn (Empririum, #1) by Claire Legrand — YA Fantasy

The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world…or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable–until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world–and of each other.

I’ve actually had my eye on Furyborn since late October last year. I immensely enjoyed the last book I read by Legrand which was Winterspell, I’m excited to read Furyborn since there is two main characters spanning a millenia, and they both try and defeat this unknown evil.

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon — Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

I’m actually pretty excited for From Twinkle, with Love. I enjoyed reading When Dimple Met Rishi, so when I heard that Menon was coming out with another novel, I was immediately looking forward to it. I didn’t even know what From Twinkle, with Love was about, and I still wanted to read it.

I hope in From Twinkle, with Love we see Twinkle, through the letters she writes, realize she’s in love with Sahil and Twinkle grow into a relationship with him.

Other Montionable Titles Include: