Brin’s Book Buzz: September
Hello and welcome to another edition of Brin’s Book Buzz! I have decided to revamp this feature a little (nothing major but the previous format was just not working out that well for me) so bear with me while I endeavour to make it better! This feature is something of a work-in-progress. I decided to start it to highlight the upcoming months new releases – to generate some ‘buzz’ if you will (I am all about the alliteration here at Brin’s Book Blog – see what I did there?)
I wasn’t totally unhappy with the way the previous two posts turned out (here and here) but like everything, I feel like it could be improved upon somewhat. I first realised that I was posting it way too earlier (about mid-way through the previous month) so the books I was super-excited for were still a little way-off. I thought posting just before the next month would probably work out better (I hope anyway).
I also think I was featuring a few too many books and I ended up repeating myself a little as to why I was excited for them, not that what I was saying wasn’t how I felt – it just seemed to get a little repetitive and boring?
Lastly, I also think it was a little too similar to Waiting on Wednesday which I already take part in (now on a bi-monthly basis). Not that I don’t love WOW (I really do like seeing what books people are excited for – it really plays havoc on my already ever-expanding TBR pile though!) but I wanted to try to do something a little bit different.
I am still relatively new to blogging (just reached my 1 year anniversary this month) and I know it is hard to come up with anything unique because most things will have been done before and much better than I could ever hope to accomplish. Still, I would like to try to shape this feature into something that is both fun and informative so I am going to keep going with it and see where it takes me!
I would love your feedback so feel free to leave a comment below!
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.
While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?
Synopsis from Goodreads
Expected release date: September 11 2014
I have a small confession that I need to make – I have not yet read Throne of Glass or Crown of Midnight. I know, I know…and I call myself a fantasy fan!! In all seriousness though I really, really want to read this series. I bought the first book when it came out and I actually got the second one via a Goodreads giveaway so I really feel terrible for not having read either one of them. However, I made a promise to myself that once the third book comes out I will do a binge read of the series.
Buzzworthy Scale:
Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither
When Cate Benson was a kid, her sister, Violet, died. Two hours after the funeral, Cate’s family picked up Violet’s replacement. Like nothing had happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to give their children a sort of immortality—by cloning them at birth—which means this new Violet has the same smile. The same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, she even has all of the same memories as the girl she replaced.
She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school.
At least, that’s what the paparazzi and the anti-cloning protestors want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that. She’s used to defending her sister, too. But Violet has vanished, and when Cate sets out to find her, she ends up in the line of fire instead. Because Cate is getting dangerously close to secrets that will rock the foundation of everything she thought was true.
In a thrilling debut, Stefanie Gaither takes readers on a nail-biting ride through a future that looks frighteningly similar to our own time and asks: how far are you willing to go to keep your family together?
Synopsis from Goodreads
Expected release date: September 16 2014
This book looks really intriguing. I love the idea of clones and people being replaced (well not love but you get what I mean!) and this seems like a really interesting premise. It kind of reminds me of the film The 6th Day a little bit. I can’t say I was a huge fan of that movie, I mainly just watched it because it featured Rodney Rowland of Space: Above and Beyond fame in an admittedly very small role, but the idea behind the film was pretty solid even if the execution was a little (okay a lot!) clumsy. This book also really reminds me of The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna which I did really enjoy. I do love trying new authors and this is a debut which I am always willing to give a chance. Overall, I would say I am pretty psyched for this book. Fingers crossed!
Buzzworthy Scale:
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell.
Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and divisive ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah’s story to tell. The later years are Jude’s. What the twins don’t realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.
This radiant, fully alive, sometimes very funny novel from the critically acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Expected release date: September 16 2014
I think I may be the only YA reader in the world who hasn’t yet picked up Jandy Nelson’s debut The Sky is Everywhere. I actually have it sitting on my Kindle waiting to be read too. Still, even though I haven’t yet read her highly regarded debut, I am still super-excited for this book. I love twin stories and the promise of a dual narrative (for different points in the story) really intrigues me. The fact that it has LGBT content is just icing on the cake really.
Buzzworthy Scale:
Winterspell by Claire Legrand
The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.
New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor’s ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother’s murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.
Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.
Her home is destroyed, her father abducted–by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they’re to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets–and a need she can’t define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won’t leave Cane unscathed–if she leaves at all.
Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Expected release date: September 30 2014
A YA retelling of the Nutcracker? Yes please! I adore fairy tale retellings so you can bet I was excited for this release. However, I have come across some less than…favourable reviews…which has dampened my excitement a little bit even though I do try to keep an open mind and not be swayed by other people’s opinions until I have read the book myself. I have heard a lot of negative points which does lead me to believe I may be disappointed by this so for now I am trying to keep my expectations low. This book was one of my most anticipated releases but now I feel just a little apathetic about it. I will still be buying it though.
Buzzworthy Scale:
Falling into Place by Amy Zhang
On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road.
Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect? Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Expected release date: September 9 2014
To be honest, a little over a month ago this book was not on my radar at all. Then I began to see glowing reviews popping up across the blogosphere which made me really curious about it. I have not read too many of these reviews (don’t want to be spoiled) but I have read enough to know that this looks like something I would really enjoy. I am definitely going to check this out when it is released. I love Gayle Forman and Lauren Oliver and, although I have yet to read Jay Asher, the comparisons to these authors have really sparked my interest in reading this novel.
Buzzworthy Scale:
Get Even by Gretchen McNeil
The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil’s witty and suspenseful novel about four disparate girls who join forces to take revenge on high school bullies and create dangerous enemies for themselves in the process.
Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that’s what they’d like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They’re all members of Don’t Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers.
When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked “DGM” card in his hands, the girls realize that they’re not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in . . . and everyone has something to lose.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Expected release date: September 16 2014
I have been interested in reading this book for quite some time. It looks fairly interesting and the premise is promising: ‘The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars’ – colour me excited! I am a little concerned about having to follow four different perspectives though. It could make it hard to follow and the plot sounds pretty convoluted as it is. It is not going to put me off reading the book by any means but I will probably not rush out to buy this one.
Buzzworthy Scale:
The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
The riveting follow-up to the New York Times bestselling The 5th Wave, hailed by Justin Cronin as “wildly entertaining.”
How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.
Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.
Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Expected release date: September 16 2014
Now, here is my second confession for the day – I haven’t yet read The 5th Wave. I bought it at release but I just haven’t got round to it yet. I am still really excited about this series though and the sequel is one that I am really anticipating. I love the sound of this series – apocalyptic settings are my favourite plus it has aliens! What’s not to love?
Buzzworthy Scale:
Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan
Who will be the sacrifice?
Kami has lost the boy she loves, is tied to a boy she does not, and faces an enemy more powerful than ever before. With Jared missing for months and presumed dead, Kami must rely on her new magical link with Ash for the strength to face the evil spreading through her town.
Rob Lynburn is now the master of Sorry-in-the-Vale, and he demands a death. Kami will use every tool at her disposal to stop him. Together with Rusty, Angela, and Holly, she uncovers a secret that might be the key to saving the town. But with knowledge comes responsibility—and a painful choice. A choice that will risk not only Kami’s life, but also the lives of those she loves most.
This final book in the Lynburn Legacy is a wild, entertaining ride from beginning to shocking end.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Expected release date: September 16 2014
OMFG – I am so excited for this book! It has been an excruciating wait for the conclusion to this series. The last book ended on a major cliffhanger and we have had to wait an entire year to find out what happens. I know a year isn’t that long but still! This is probably my most anticipated release for September and you can bet that it is on my priority list!
Buzzworthy Scale:
Here are some other September releases to look forward to:
Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini
Illusion of Fate by Kiersten White
Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O’Brien
Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
These four books would have been featured above but I was very lucky to be granted ARCs for them (look out for my reviews closer to release).
I was also intending to feature Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (another book I am longing for!) but it seems that this book will not be out in the UK until October. 🙁 For sure it will be included in next month’s edition!
What September releases are you looking forward to?
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