Earlier this year I wrote a Top Five for anticipated 2018 releases, however, I’ve found so many more good releases this year. Since it’s been getting a little warmer where I live and I’m super excited for summer, I thought I’d dedicate this week to a few Spring releases I’m really looking forward to.
I Have Lost My Way | Gayle Forman
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Released: 1st April 2018
Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from everyone he has ever loved, and Nathaniel is arriving in new York City with a backpack, a desperate plan, and nothing left to lose.
When a fateful accident draws these three strangers together, their secrets start to unravel as they begin to understand that the way out of their own loss might just be lie in helping the others out of theirs.
I’ve never been interested in reading ‘If I Stay’, having read the hype but never seemed to appeal to me. However, this story sounds incredibly heartwarming. Plus, the cover looks too cute to pass.
Goodreads Profile here.
Leah on the Offbeat | Becky Albertalli
Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, Young Adult
Released: 24th April 2018
When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat – but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom know she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends – not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.
So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting – especially when she realises she might love one of them more than she ever intended.
Personally, I didn’t find Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda as good as I’d hoped, yet this sequel of sorts sounds like such an entertaining read. I’ll read anything in the LGBT genre, and this sounds just up my street. Having an adorable cover helps, and the fact it features a plus-size girl is amazing! There’s too little of that in YA.
Goodreads Profile here.
Ace of Shades | Amanda Foody
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Released: 10th April 2018
Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school – and her reputation – behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.
Frightened and along, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected – he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unravelling investment scam, so he doesn’t have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne’s offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.
Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi’s enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…
This. Book. Looks. Amazing. The cover is gorgeous, the characters sound complex and interesting, and the concept itself sounds like something I’d adore. I’m getting serious Six of Crows vibes from it too, which is a definite bonus.
Goodreads Profile here.
Stay Sweet | Siobhan Vivian
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Released: 24th April 2018
Summer in Sand Lake isn’t complete without a trip to Meade Creamery – the local ice cream stand founded in 1944 by Molly Meade who started making ice cream to cheer up her lovesick girlfriends while all the boys were away at war. Since then, the stand has been owned and managed exclusively by local girls, who inevitably become the best of friends. Seventeen-year-old Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked at the stand every summer for the past three years, and Amelia is “Head Girl” at the stand this summer. When Molly passes away before Amelia even has her first day in charge, Amelia isn’t sure that the stand can go on. That is, until Molly’s grandnephew Grady arrives and asks Amelia to stay on to continue the business… but Grady’s got some changes in mind…
This sounds completely out of my comfort zone, being used to fantasy and LGBT novels, however, I can’t resist the sheer cuteness of this book. It definitely sounds like a one-sitting story, and the idea of a romance with ice-cream sounds adorable.
Goodreads Profile here.
Undead Girl Gang | Lily Anderson
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal
Released: 8th May 2018
Mila Flores and her best friend Riley have always been inseparable. There’s not much excitement in their small town of Cross Creek, so Mila and Riley make their own fun, devoting most of their time to Riley’s favourite activity: amateur witchcraft.
So when Riley and two Fairmont Academy mean girls die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone’s explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life.
Unfortunately, Riley, June, and Dayton have no recollection of their murders, but they do have unfinished business to attend to. Now, with only seven days until the spell wears off and the girls return to their graves, Mila must wrangle the distracted group of undead teens and work fast to discover their murderer… before the killer strikes again.
I have serious The Craft vibes from this story, which is my all time favourite film, so I couldn’t pass this off. The cover is gorgeous, the plot sounds fun and who doesn’t love teenage witches?!
Goodreads Profile here.
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