January round up of #YA book releases

The first month of the year has already been and gone and there were so many YA books released.

Did you get to read your favourite?

Here's a list of top book releases you may have missed.

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Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Release Date: January 17

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuvhe, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive—or to destroy one another.

Fans of Star Wars and Divergent will revel in internationally bestselling author Veronica Roth’s stunning new science-fiction fantasy series.

Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder

Release Date: January 31

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder brings her Poison Study series to its exhilarating conclusion.

Despite the odds, Yelena and Valek have forged an irrevocable bond and a family that transcends borders. Now, when their two homelands stand on the brink of war, they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia.

Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person's resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal.

With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything.

ARC Review: Grit by Gillian French

Grit by Gillian French

Rating: 4 out of 5

Expected publication: May 16th 2017 by HarperTeen

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Synopsis:

His presence beside me is like heat, like weight, something I’ve carried around on my back too long.

Raw and moving, this contemporary realistic debut novel will leave readers of E. Lockhart and Gayle Forman breathless as it unflinchingly unfolds the tragic secrets being kept in a small, deceptively idyllic Maine town.

Seventeen-year-old Darcy Prentiss has long held the title of “town slut.” She knows how to have a good time, sure, but she isn’t doing anything all the guys haven’t done. But when you’re a girl with a reputation, every little thing that happens seems to keep people whispering—especially when your ex-best friend goes missing.

But if anyone were to look closer at Darcy, they’d realize there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface. Staying out late, hooking up, and telling lies is what Darcy does to forget. Forget about the mysterious disappearance of her friend. Forget about the dark secret she and her cousin Nell share. Forget about that hazy Fourth of July night. So when someone in town anonymously nominates Darcy to be in the running for Bay Festival Princess—a cruel act only someone with a score to settle would make—all of the things that Darcy wants to keep hidden threaten to erupt in ways she wasn’t prepared to handle…and isn’t sure if she can.

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ARC Review: Dream Me by Kathryn Berla

Dream Me by Kathryn Berla



Expected publication: July 11th 2017 by Amberjack Publishing
From: NetGalley
My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

Every night Babe dreams of a boy she's never met before named Zat. But Zat is no ordinary daydream. He's actually a human from the distant future, who has travelled back in time to be with Babe in the only way that he can be--in her dreams.

But the dreams leave Babe more and more tired and pained each morning. Zat is determined to help her, even if it means never sharing dreams with her again.

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published: May 3rd 2016 by Bloomsbury Childrens

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Synopsis:

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

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Review:

We last saw Feyre and Tamlin heading off into the sunset. Tamlin, no doubt, has his own demons to deal with. After a few hundred years of suffering he's finally free of the grips Amarantha had over him. Feyre, on the other hand, a nineteen year old with a lifetime of suffering herself, has to deal with the two innocent Fae she was made to kill to release the courts of Prythian from their tyrannical rule.

Not-a-Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published: August 2nd 2012 by Bloomsbury  

Synopsis:

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

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Review:

Many years ago I received an ARC copy of this book from Emma at Bloomsbury. I'd recently read Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns from her Bitter Kingdom series, so was keen to get my teeth into another fantasy series. There is something about women writing fantasy that makes it far more enjoyable than men. Maybe it's the way women writers use more emotion into the story to provoke our hearts rather than the story being the plot and summation that follows.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published:  May 5th 2015 by Bloomsbury Childrens

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Synopsis:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

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Review:

I must write before this review starts that I've read this book three times now. Most recently to refresh my memory for the purpose of this review.

This story has three parts. Life before, life at the Manor, and life Under the Mountain. It would also be prudent of me to say I didn't think I'd like this book after the first few chapters. Much like when I started The Iron King series by Julie Kagawa, and having read Throne of Glass series from the very beginning, it's always a little strange to read something new from a writer you like. I didn't think I'd like this because I didn't think I was young enough to enjoy it.

Review: None of the Regular Rules by Erin Downing

None of the Regular Rules by Erin Downing

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published November 20th 2012

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Sometimes, a few dares can change lives…

The weekend before the start of senior year, Sophie Erickson and her best friends, Ella and Grace, discover a handwritten list of dares tucked away in the glove compartment of Sophie’s beat-up old Toyota. But this isn’t just any list; it’s a dead girl's bucket list.

Sophie's beloved aunt Suzy died as a teenager in a fatal fall, leaving Sophie with an overly cautious family, a few fading photographs, and a bucket of bolts that barely passes for a car. But now, Sophie has Suzy’s list of the things she wanted to do in her last year of high school. Sophie can't help but wonder: What would happen if she tried to fulfill Suzy’s last wishes, to live out the longed-for life of her aunt, her hero?

As Sophie and her friends attempt to knock off the things on Suzy's list of dares, love blossoms in unexpected places and Sophie begins to feel that her life is finally coming together...when in fact, everything is slowly unraveling around her. When the truth about a long-held family secret threatens to shatter everything she believed to be true, Sophie is forced to question everything she knew about the life and people she believed in, and ultimately herself.

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Review: 

This book was a case of good, slow, quick, quick, slow, good, great. We have mostly a story about Sophie and her friends, and how they all react to this bucket list that's found. While Sophie is good friends with Ella and Grace they all have their quirks, their little secrets and they all are typical high school kids. And that's refreshing because many books try to create characters far too old for high school. These girls were it. And because of that I enjoyed the story more. There was also an extra bit of romance thrown in, and Ella and Grace have their own problems when it comes to the love side of the story.