Hello lovely readers! It’s Wednesday again, so as per usual, I will be taking a look at the top 5 new books coming out this month in the young adult genre. And let me just start by saying that I love the covers! By judging the books by their covers, I predict: a superhero release, something where fantasy meets nature (woodland creatures maybe?), a high school love story with the necessary drama, something fantasy with a female lead character and I can’t really place the last one, but judging by the drawing it’s definitely something high school and with at least one girl as a main character. Let’s look at the list down below to see if I was right! Other new releases of August 2017 can be found by genre right here on Goodreads.
- Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo (DC Icons #1)
Publication date: August 29th 2017
She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first, she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning… Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world. Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war. - Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popović (Hibiscus Daughter#1)
Publication date: August 15th 2017
All the women in Iris and Malina’s family have the unique magical ability or “gleam” to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love. But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever? - Just Friends by Tiffany Pitcock
Publication date: August 1st 2017
A new spin on the classic smart-girl-and-bad-boy setup, this witty contemporary romance shows how easily a friendship – even one built on an elaborate lie – can become so much more. Jenny meets Chance for the very first time when she is assigned as his partner in their Junior Oral Communications class. But after they rescue a doomed assignment with one clever lie, the whole school is suddenly convinced that Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s and the most scandalous heartbreaker in school have been best friends forever. It’s amazing how quickly a lie can grow―especially when you really, really want it to be the truth. With Jenny, Chance can live the normal life he’s always kind of wanted. And with Chance, Jenny can have the exciting teen experiences that TV shows and movies have always promised. Through it all, they hold on to the fact that they are “just friends.” But that might be the biggest lie of all. Debut author Tiffany Pitcock delivers a spot-on depiction of first love and the high school rumour mill in Just Friends. - Shimmer and Burn by Mary Taranta (Shimmer and Burn #1)
Publication date: August 8th 2017
Faris grew up fighting to survive in the slums of Brindaigel while caring for her sister, Cadence. But when Cadence is caught trying to flee the kingdom and is sold into slavery, Faris reluctantly agrees to a lucrative scheme to buy her back, inadvertently binding herself to the power-hungry Princess Bryn, who wants to steal her father’s throne. Now Faris must smuggle stolen magic into neighbouring Avinea to incite its prince to alliance—magic that addicts in the war-torn country can sense in her blood and can steal with a touch. She and Bryn turn to a handsome travelling magician, North, who offers protection from Avinea’s many dangers, but he cannot save Faris from Bryn’s cruelty as she leverages Cadence’s freedom to force Faris to do anything—or kill anyone—she asks. Yet Faris is as fierce as Bryn, and even as she finds herself falling for North, she develops schemes of her own. With the fate of kingdoms at stake, Faris, Bryn, and North manoeuver through a dangerous game of magical and political machinations, where lives can be destroyed—or saved—with only a touch. - Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
Publication date: August 8th 2017
When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support. But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new… the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel’s disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself–or worse.
So I guess I was right on all counts. Wonder Woman is obviously a superhero book. I did not know they were writing superhero books now, I thought it would stay with the movies and comics. The story sounds interesting, so I’ll check it out sometime soon. And I’m actually not sure about the second one. It sounded interesting at first read, but why would they not be allowed to fall in love? And their power isn’t that special, I mean she uses the way she sees flowers to make glass art and her sister composes music… And then there’s a curse? I don’t really get it, so not on the reading list right now! I really like the third one though, I’ve put that on my to-read list. Who doesn’t like a good bad boy VS goody-two-shoes story? Then there’s a book about three teenagers taking on an epic quest, each for their own motives. I’ll wait until the entire series is out to decide whether or not I want to read it, I’m not convinced right now. And then there’s the fifth book, which I don’t really understand. From the blurb, it seems like they’ve thrown a lot of elements together and hoped to make a story out of it. There’s the boarding school, a girl coming back home to all her friends and a crush, a brother with a mental illness that deteriorates and the girl falling in love with another girl. I’m not convinced and the comments and reviews on Goodreads didn’t change my mind. But in any case, two books on the reading list, that’s already enough.
Happy reading,
Loes M.