Hi Cara,
The World has gone weird put at least we have books to distract and entertain us. April has some great books coming out and below are the ones I am looking forward to.
2nd April
Book: A Time of Courage
Author: John Gwynne
Synopsis: Battle the dark
Reclaim the world
The Demon-King of the Otherworld is finally free. And armed with mighty new starstone weapons, Asroth prepares to lead his demonic war-host south. With the help of his dark bride Fritha, he plans to crush the warrior-angels and their allies.
In the shadows of Forn Forest, Riv and the surviving Ben-Elim hold a war council. After the catastrophic events at Drassil, they are desperate to unite those who would stand against Asroth and his army. So they fly west, to join the Order of the Bright Star. But Drem and the Order are besieged by a demon horde – and their fragile defence may soon shatter.
Across the Banished Lands armies are heading south, to settle ancient grudges and decide the fate of humanity. Drem, Riv and the Bright Star’s warriors will need every ounce of their courage if they are to join the final battle. But will their combined forces be enough to face down their greatest foe?
Gem’s Thoughts: I have enjoyed the Blood and Bones series and I’m excited to see how the battle with the otherworld ends.
B
ook: Sherwood
Author: Meagan Spooner
Synopsis: Robin of Locksley is dead.
Synopsis: Maid Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on, but the people of Locksley town, persecuted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, need a protector. And the dreadful Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff’s right hand, wishes to step into Robin’s shoes as Lord of Locksley and Marian’s fiancé.
Synopsis:Who is there to stop them?
Synopsis: Marian never meant to tread in Robin’s footsteps—never intended to stand as a beacon of hope to those awaiting his triumphant return. But with a sweep of his green cloak and the flash of her sword, Marian makes the choice to become her own hero: Robin Hood.
Gem’s Thoughts: Sherwood is coming out in Paperback, and I love the sound of this Robin Hood retelling with Maid Marian as Robin Hood.
7th April
Book: A Bad day for Sunshine
Author: Darynda Jones
Synopsis: Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o’ joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the centre of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose.
Synopsis: Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, its strong cups of coffee—and a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff–an election her adorably meddlesome parents entered her in–and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of it’s reminding Sunny why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that trouble at her daughter’s new school and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and Sunshine has her hands full.
Synopsis: Enter sexy almost-old-flame Levi Ravinder and a hunky US Marshall, both elevens on a scale of one to blazing inferno, and the normally savvy sheriff is quickly in over her head. Now it’s up to Sunshine to juggle a few good hunky men, a not-so-nice kidnapping miscreant, and Doug the ever-pesky flasher. And they said coming home would be drama-free
Gem’s Thoughts: Darynda Jones is one of my favourites authors and I am excited to read her new series, especially as it has a crime element.
Book: Chosen Ones
Author: Veronica Roth
Synopsis: A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to be the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.
Synopsis: Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward and a whole, younger generation doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget when the paparazzi haunt her every step just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended.
Gem’s Thoughts: I haven’t read any of Veronica previous books but this one intrigues me with what happens to the people after they save the world.
Book: Sword in the Stars
Author: Cori McCarthy & Amy Rose Capetta
Synopsis: Ari Helix may have won her battle against the tyrannical Mercer corporation, but the larger war has just begun. Ari and her cursed wizard Merlin must travel back in time to the unenlightened Middle Ages and steal the King Arthur’s Grail—the very definition of impossible.
Synopsis: It’s imperative that the time travellers not skew the timeline and alter the course of history. Coming face-to-face with the original Arthurian legend could produce a ripple effect that changes everything. Somehow Merlin forgot that the past can be even more dangerous than the future…
Gem’s Thoughts: I enjoyed Once & future, as it was a great retelling on the King Arthur story. The way it ended gripped my interest to see what happened in Swords in the Stars as it wraps Ari story.
14th April
Book: Raybearer
Author: Jordan Ifueko
Synopsis: nothing is more important than loyalty.
But what if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?
Synopsis: Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood.
Synopsis: That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?
Gem’s Thoughts: The idea of a council connected by a bond is an interesting twist especially as Tarisai has been raised to join the council and kill the crown prince.
16th April
Book: Lady of Shadow
Author: Breanna Teintze
Synopsis: Death is simple. Dreams are dangerous. Life is . . . unexpected.
Outlaw wizard Corcoran Gray expected death to be final, but life, and his loved ones, had other plans. A year after being resurrected and flung into a new body, he’s still trying to come to terms with his situation – and his self – when the all-powerful Mages’ Guild demands his help to stop a deadly plague.
He’s inclined to refuse the organisation that still wants him dead until his partner Brix starts showing symptoms – to save her, Gray will do anything, even if it means working with his greatest enemies.
But it quickly becomes clear that this is no normal plague. The situation is more complicated and more lethal than anyone has realised. Ancient dangers are stirring, and thousands of lives are at stake . . .
Gem’s Thoughts: I loved the first book in the series Lord of Secrets and was excited to find out what Gray had been up to. I was lucky to win an ARC copy and my review can be found HERE.
30th April
Book: Nine
Author: Zach Hines
Synopsis: In an alternate world startlingly close to our own, humans have nine lives—and they can’t wait to burn straight through them.
Synopsis: As you shed lives, you shed your awkward phases: one death is equal to one physical and mental upgrade. Julian’s friends are obsessed with the idea of burning lives, but Julian is determined to stay on his first for as long as he can. His mother, the ultimate cautionary tale, burned through her first eight in just a few years, and Julian has no intention of succumbing to the debilitating rebirth sickness that she inflicted on herself.
Synopsis: But the regime has death incentives aimed at controlling overpopulation, and Julian realizes that he’s going to have to burn at some point—especially when he becomes a target for Nicholas, the manipulative leader of the Burners, the school’s suicide club. And when Julian eventually succumbs, he uncovers suspicious gaps in the rebirth system that may explain exactly why his mother went so far down the rabbit hole years ago. Along with a group of student dissenters, Julian sets out to find answers and is soon on the verge of exposing the greatest conspiracy ever unleashed on the world.
Synopsis: He has just eight more lives to uncover the brutal truth.
Gem’s Thoughts: The idea of having 9 lives is a really interesting premise. I enjoyed the book and the review can be found HERE. (The publisher sent me an early copy for review.)
Book: The Girl and the Stars
Author: Mark Lawrence
Synopsis: In the ice, east of the Black Rock, there is a hole into which broken children are thrown.
Synopsis: On Abeth the vastness of the ice holds no room for individuals. Survival together is barely possible. No one survives alone.
Synopsis: To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fatal. And Yaz is not the same.
Synopsis: Yaz is torn from the only life she’s ever known, away from her family, from the boy she thought she would spend her days with, and has to carve out a new path for herself in a world whose existence she never suspected. A world full of difference and mystery and danger.
Synopsis: Yaz learns that Abeth is older and stranger than she had ever imagined. She learns that her weaknesses are another kind of strength. And she learns to challenge the cruel arithmetic of survival that has always governed her people.
Synopsis: Only when it’s darkest you can see the stars.
Gem’s Thoughts: Mark Lawrence is an author I want to read, and this Ice world book caught my attention. I got a copy from NetGalley and you can find my review here.
(Synopsis and book covers from Goodreads.com)
What books are you looking forward too?
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Thanks for reading,
