Book Spotlight: January Picks

2016!  Happy New Years!  Yes, I’m a few days late, but oh wells.  Better late than never.  So… I haven’t been reading lately.  I’ve been in a slump.  A BIG SLUMP.  BERY BIG.

But I’ll get through it somehow.  But I still like to look at new upcoming books.  Here are the January releases that interested me lots and maybe for you to!  What are books coming out this month that you have to get your hands on?  Like NAOW!

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion

Release Date:  January 5th, 2016

Synopsis:  In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever.

Comments:  I have always enjoyed Bracken’s books.  I’m curious about this one though as the romance portion seems heavy handed to me.  Seems.  May be a misleading synopsis of the book.

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: January 5th, 2016

Synopsis: In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

Comments:  High praise for this book.  Let’s see how it fairs.  I’ve been looking for a young adult high fantasy book for a long time now and this one seems to fit the bill.

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry Books

Release Date:  January 5th, 2016

Synopsis:  Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

Comments:  High Fantasy.  With the amount of YA high fantasy pouring out this year – there has to be one that’s perfect just for me!  Has to be!  Has to… maybe… (Don’t want to hype myself up).

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchison

Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Release Date:  January 19th, 2016

Synopsis:  Henry Denton doesn’t know why the aliens chose to abduct him when he was thirteen, and he doesn’t know why they continue to steal him from his bed and take him aboard their ship. He doesn’t know why the world is going to end or why the aliens have offered him the opportunity to avert the impending disaster by pressing a big red button.

But they have. And they’ve only given him 144 days to make up his mind.

Since the suicide of his boyfriend, Jesse, Henry has been adrift. He’s become estranged from his best friend, started hooking up with his sworn enemy, and his family is oblivious to everything that’s going on around them. As far as Henry is concerned, a world without Jesse is a world he isn’t sure is worth saving. Until he meets Diego Vega, an artist with a secret past who forces Henry to question his beliefs, his place in the universe, and whether any of it really matters. But before Henry can save the world, he’s got to figure out how to save himself, and the aliens haven’t given him a button for that.

Comments:  One boy to destroy them all.  Yes.  BURN.  THEM.  ALL.  You know, I get into these moods, at times, where I just despise humanity.  Just utter hatred for the stupid love-less things that we do to one another and utter loathing and anger for the things we don’t do and be passive about.  On days like these maybe this book will make me feel better about humanity.  Or it may do just the opposite… but you never know ’til you try it.

Sword and Verse by Kathy McMillan

Publisher:  HarperTeen

Release Date:  January 19th, 2016

Synopsis:  Raisa was just a child when she was sold to work as a slave in the kingdom of Qilara. Despite her young age, her father was teaching her to read and write, grooming her to take his place as a Learned One. In Qilara, the Arnathim, like Raisa, are the lowest class, and literacy is a capital offense. What’s more, only the king, prince, tutor, and tutor-in-training are allowed to learn the very highest order language, the language of the gods. So when the tutor-in-training is executed for teaching slaves this sacred language, and Raisa is selected to replace her, Raisa knows any slipup on her part could mean death.

Keeping her secret is hard enough, but the romance that’s been growing between her and Prince Mati isn’t helping matters. Then Raisa is approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slave rebels—to help liberate Arnath slaves. She wants to free her people, but that would mean aiding a war against Mati. As Raisa struggles with what to do, she discovers a secret that the Qilarites have been hiding for centuries—one that, if uncovered, could bring the kingdom to its knees.

Comments:  Hey!  These are all things familiar with in fantasy!  Nothing new!  Just newly mixed!  Which is not bad for me, because I enjoy fantasy novels.  It just has to be mixed in the right order and put together in a specific way for me to like.