T10T: Most Anticipated Books For The Second Half of 2017

May 30, 2017

This is a weekly tag hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week’s challenge is Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For The Second Half of 2017. I’ll list the titles I’m excited for, as well as their covers, release dates, and Goodreads synopsis.


1. Renegades – Marissa Meyer
Nov 07, 2017

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Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

I haven’t even finished The Lunar Chronicles yet, and Marissa is already an auto-buy author for me, but even if she wasn’t, doesn’t that plot sound great? I never tire of the dystopian genre, which this sounds pretty fitting for, and I love the idea of a nice sci-fi/fantasy twist thrown in. Count me in!


2. The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic – Leigh Bardugo
Sep 26, 2017

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Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.

Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid’s voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy’s bidding but only for a terrible price.

Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.

Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, these tales will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.

This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, all of them lavishly illustrated with art that changes with each turn of the page, culminating in six stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.

Okay, first of all, Leigh Bardugo – another author who managed to land themselves on my auto-buy list without me even finishing a damn series by them. Second, folklore – I’m so there. Third, Grishaverse: yes, please! Fourth, full-spread illustrations?! I am such a sucker for illustrations, so all of this leads me to a resounding HELL, YES!


3. Hunting Prince Dracula – Kerri Maniscalco
Sep 19, 2017

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In this hotly anticipated sequel to the haunting #1 bestseller Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer…or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper’s true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe’s best schools of forensic medicine…and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.
But her life’s dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school’s forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

I actually received this as an ARC from the publicist a month or so back, but had requested it without realizing that it was a sequel. I had been told they were simply “companion novels”, which must mean very different things to me than it does to the people who told me that, because the synopsis definitely implies that this is a sequel. I digress. I finally picked up the first book, Stalking Jack the Ripper, a few days ago and devoured it. It was such a delightful story and immediately put Kerri on my “authors to say hell yes to” list, so I’m so eager to start this book and am so happy to already have my hands on a copy. Plus, isn’t that cover gorgeous?!


4. A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares – Krystal Sutherland
Sep 05, 2017

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Ever since Esther Solar’s grandfather was cursed by Death, everyone in her family has been doomed to suffer one great fear in their lifetime. Esther’s father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the basement in six years, her twin brother can’t be in the dark without a light on, and her mother is terrified of bad luck.
The Solars are consumed by their fears and, according to the legend of the curse, destined to die from them.

Esther doesn’t know what her great fear is yet (nor does she want to), a feat achieved by avoiding pretty much everything. Elevators, small spaces, and crowds are all off-limits. So are haircuts, spiders, dolls, mirrors and three dozen other phobias she keeps a record of in her semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.

Then Esther is pickpocketed by Jonah Smallwood, an old elementary school classmate. Along with her phone, money and a fruit roll-up she’d been saving, Jonah also steals her list of fears. Despite the theft, Esther and Jonah become friends, and he sets a challenge for them: in an effort to break the curse that has crippled her family, they will meet every Sunday of senior year to work their way through the list, facing one terrifying fear at a time, including one that Esther hadn’t counted on: love.

I really loved Krystal’s debut novel, Our Chemical Hearts, so when I found out she was releasing a new title this fall, naturally, I had to check it out. The synopsis sounds unique and fun and just as interesting as her first book’s did, so I’m sure this will be a ride I’ll be happy to have gotten on.


5. Girls Made of Snow and Glass – Melissa Bashardoust
Sep 05, 2017

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At sixteen, Mina’s mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother.

Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image, at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she’s ever known…or else defeat her once and for all.

Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything—unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.

This book is being marketed as a feminist Snow White retelling, and while I know a lot of people are getting really damn tired of fairytale retellings, I am not one of those people. I’ve always loved modern takes on favorite old stories, ever since I was a kid, and that spark hasn’t been put out for me yet, thankfully. Plus, a feminist retelling?! Count me in. Luckily, I’ve just been approved for an ARC of this over on NetGalley, so I hope to dive in to this one some time during June and get a review up before it releases.


6. Daughter of the Burning City – Amanda Foody
July 25, 2017

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Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the Festival’s Freak Show.

But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that—illusions, and not truly real. Or so she always believed…until one of them is murdered.

Desperate to protect her family, Sorina must track down the culprit and determine how they killed a person who doesn’t actually exist. Her search for answers leads her to the self-proclaimed gossip-worker Luca, and their investigation sends them through a haze of political turmoil and forbidden romance, and into the most sinister corners of the Festival. But as the killer continues murdering Sorina’s illusions one by one, she must unravel the horrifying truth before all of her loved ones disappear.

Okay, first of all, let’s talk about that cover. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a shameless cover buyer, and purple is one of my fave colors, so when I saw that, I died a little because it is just so PRETTY. On a more important note, though, I am a total sucker for any kind of twisted carnival setting, so this is right up my alley and I NEED IT.


7. They Both Die at the End – Adam Silvera
Sep 05, 2017

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When Mateo receives the dreaded call from Death-Cast, informing him that today will be his last, he doesn’t know where to begin. Quiet and shy, Mateo is devastated at the thought of leaving behind his hospitalised father, and his best friend and her baby girl. But he knows that he has to make the most of this day, it’s his last chance to get out there and make an impression.

Rufus is busy beating up his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend when he gets the call. Having lost his entire family, Rufus is no stranger to Death-Cast. Not that it makes it any easier. With bridges to mend, the police searching for him and the angry new boyfriend on his tail, it’s time to run.

Isolated and scared, the boys reach out to each other, and what follows is a day of living life to the full. Though neither of them had expected that this would involve falling in love…

This synopsis sounds so precious and wonderful and weird and, most of all, sad as fuck, and I for one am just total trash for depressing reads, so here we are. I’m most likely going to buy this, and devour it, and cry my eyes out, and love every second of it.


8. Amid Stars and Darkness – Chani Lynn Feener
July 18, 2017

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Delaney’s entire world is thrown into chaos after she is mistaken for Lissa Olena, an alien princess hiding out on Earth in order to escape an arranged marriage.

Kidnapped by the princess’s head bodyguard, Ruckus, and imprisoned in an alien palace, Delaney is forced to impersonate the princess until Olena can be found. If she fails, it will lead to an alien war and the eventual enslavement of the entire human race.

No pressure or anything.

Factor in Trystan, the princess’s terrifying betrothed who is intent on unraveling all her secrets, and her own growing feelings for Ruckus, and Delaney is in way over her head.

I’ve been really getting into sci-fi again lately, after many years of avoiding the genre for bizarre reasons that are unbeknownst even to me. I also am total trash for books revolving around royal families, noble politics, etc., so basically, this book needs to be in my hands right now.


9. The Ravenous – Amy Lukavics
Sep 26, 2017

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From the outside, the Cane family looks like they have it all. A successful military father, a loving mother and five beautiful teenage daughters. But on the inside, life isn’t quite so idyllic: the Cane sisters can barely stand each other, their father is always away, and their neglectful mother struggles with addiction and depression.

When their youngest and most beloved sister, Rose, dies in a tragic accident, Mona Cane and her sisters are devastated. And when she is brought back from the dead, they are relieved. But soon they discover that Rose must eat human flesh to survive, and when their mother abandons them, the sisters will find out just how far they’ll go to keep their family together.

I love horror, as everyone is probably pretty fucking aware of, and by that I mean, I love adult horror – complete with spookies and creepies and gore and blood and all of those delicious things; therefore, I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise that I’m usually incredibly nonplussed by YA horror. If you look at my reviews of the few YA horror titles I’ve indulged in, most of them were pretty negative. That said, this synopsis sounds like one I can get behind. A family zombie crisis? Sign me up.


10. Nyxia – Scott Reintgen
Sep 12, 2017

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Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.

Forever.

Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden–a planet that Babel has kept hidden–where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.

But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I’ve been really dying to just dive back into the sci-fi genre lately, and this title sounds sooo good. I love spaceship settings, especially when they’re all dramatic and action-packed and thrilling, which are a few requirements I’m hoping this title can fill for me. With a handful of ratings and reviews, it’s sitting at a 4.7 average on GR, and I was lucky enough to be granted an ARC on NetGalley, so I’m feeling pretty good about this author’s debut!

More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

Leave a comment
    1. Great list. I hadn’t heard of some of these so you just made my TBR even bigger! Ravenous looks super cool!

      1. Dude right?! I have requested an ARC TWICE because I want it so bad. #noshame lmao

      1. It looks so good! I’ll check yours out since it sounds like we have some similar tastes! 🙂

    1. OMG girl they’re all my anticipated reads too! Only except for nos. 3, 9 and 10. And I have an ARC of Amid Stars and Darkness and I’ll be hosting a local blog tour of Girls Made of Snow and Glass on August! ???

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