Tuesday 30 September 2014

On My Radar: Upcoming October Releases

   Ahh, October. The month of pumpkin spice lattes, school semestral breaks, and Halloween. And apparently, the month of amazing book releases! Once again, I've abstained from including sequels and have limited my list to the Top 10. But this is the month of The Blood of Olympus from Rick Riordan AND Alexandra Bracken's final The Darkest Minds novel, In The Afterlight! Cuckoo Confession, though: I, erm, haven't actually finished House of Hades yet. Errp. Anyway, enough digressing. Behold, the October 2014 releases!


The Young Elites by Marie Lu (October 7)
   For those of you familiar with Marie Lu's work, you'll know why this book is the one I am most excited for. For those who don't know her, here are three words to describe her Legend trilogy: Dystopian. Les. Misérables. The Young Elites is also a dystopian novel, and, just like Legend, concerns a deadly disease. Survivors of this disease seem to gain powers of a sort, and like in ancient Egypt, the king wants them all hunted down and killed. I love the fact that Adelina, the heroine, is missing an eye. That sounds so crude, but let's face it: we need more diversity in YA, especially in the protagonists. Enough pretty girls, give me a Mad-Eye Moody-esque heroine kicking ass. One thing that worries me is the hint of a love triangle, but if there's one thing Marie Lu has proven, it's that she can tell a love story that doesn't distract from her epic ones.




Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin (October 7)
   Finally, a YA book about Catherine the Great! I've read Robert K. Massie's biography on her, and have long wondered why Cat isn't given more attention. The cover of the book is gorgeous...but...who would wear something like that in freezing cold Russia? Plus, the tagline reads "One girl will bring an empire to is knees". Yep, that little lady wearing next to nothing while caressing herself looks like a real badass. Still, don't judge a book by its cover, yeah? Side note: I really wish people would stop perpetuating the myth that Catherine the Great had sex with a horse. Ucchh. It's degrading and completely false.



Stray by Elissa Sussman (October 7)
   There's not much in the Goodreads summary about this book, except that the heroine is your sheltered princess type. It does say that it's "a cross between The Handmaid's Tale and Wicked, with a dash of Grimm and Disney thrown in." That's all I need to hear. Still think they could've done a better job with the cover though. Shudder.



The Fall by Bethany Griffin (October 7)
   A retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, which I'm ashamed to say, I've yet to read. I've got one of those Poe anthologies on my bookshelf but have yet to read it. But this totally caught my eye: that eerie cover (is she facing front or back? Spooooky), a family curse, a sentient house? Okay, that last part kind of eeps me out a bit, so maybe I'll save this book for a warm, sunny day.



Sweet Unrest by Lisa Maxwell (October 8)
   It's set in New Orleans, which is all I really need to know. Plus points for the cover being a shot of the infamous Oak Alley Plantation. Okay, lemme nerd out for a bit and give you two fun facts: Nancy Drew's nightmare-inducing Ghost of Thornton Hall also based its setting off this plantation, and technically, it's not even in New Orleans. The Oak Alley Plantation is in Vacherie, which is like an hour away from Nawwlins (thanks Google Maps). But maybe it's a hint that the main characters go on a little road trip? ~*Foreshadowing*~ Plus the summary says it's got something to do with "a century-old vendetta" and voodoo. I'm down for that.




They All Fall Down by Roxanne St. Claire (October 14)
   Is it just me or are YA covers nowadays getting better and better? Look at this one for They All Fall Down. Okay, so the summary is pretty vague, but from what I can tell, there's a Hot-or-Not list going on at a high school, but someone is killing off those who placed. It's also labelled "Pretty Little Liars meets Final Destination". This could either be a deliciously creepy novel, or a majorly cliché-filled flop. Only time will tell.


Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis (October 14)
   Ahhh, a sci-fi fairytale retelling. The previous ones I've read have been absolutely perfect: Of Beast and Beauty, The Lunar Chronicles...I really hope that Stitching Snow will live up to its genre's predecessors.
   




Even In Paradise by Chelsey Philpot (October 14)
   Even In Paradise feels a little Gatsby-like in its premise: "Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails...Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden … until now." Right now, I'm betting that the "tragedy" is probably along the lines of Julia accidentally killing a family member. Or that she's got some psychopathic issues to work out. Or that she got pregnant out of wedlock. Gasp. Or MAYBE, she's not even a Buchanan, but a changeling child. We'll seeeee. That ugly generic cover, though. 


Beware The Wild by Natalie C. Parker (October 21)
  A girl emerges out of a swamp. That's all I needed to read to get hooked. A GIRL. WALKS. OUT. OF. A. FREAKING. SWAMP. Is that so deliciously creepy?


Compulsion by Martina Boone (October 28)
   That title promises exactly the kind of Gothic flavor I love in books. Compulsion: The Heirs of Watson Island. It's got old family feuds, a Southern setting, and starcrossed lovers. Perfect. There is one thing though: the love interest's name is "Eight Beaufort". Which kinda sucks.

So that's it for my October list! Enjoy this wonderful month, my beautiful bookworms!
xoxo,
Salve

all credits go to Goodreads and Google Images!

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