Per Goodreads, there will be sixty-one new Young Adult (YA) released novels this month, and narrowing it down to five is a real challenge. Whether it’s Fantasy or contemporary, this list has extraordinary gems listed. January wasn’t kind to me, so I hope to add these five most anticipated Young Adult releases to my TBR this month, and drastically improve my Pages Read 2019 Challenge.

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My Five Most Anticipated Young Adult Releases – February 2019

 

 

 

Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West

 

Synopsis:

Lacey Barnes has dreamt of being in a movie for as long as she can remember. However, while her dream did include working alongside the hottest actor in Hollywood, it didn’t involve having to finish up her senior year of high school at the same time she was getting her big break.

Although that is nothing compared to Donavan, the straight-laced student her father hires to tutor her, who is a full-on nightmare.

As Lacey struggles to juggle her burgeoning career, some on-set sabotage, and an off-screen romance with the unlikeliest of leading men, she quickly learns that sometimes the best stories happen when you go off script.

 

Note:

Kasie West is one of my auto-buy authors. I read one of her books last year, and I love it! As a result, two weeks later, I had read all of them. This is how much I love her writing. So, this one will surely make my reading list this month.

 

 

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

 

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes.

With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day.

It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.

 

 

Note:

I like this author’s writing and decided to give this book a try. I don’t usually read too many contemporary books, but I really want to read this one.

 

Four dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

 

Synopsis:

A divided nation. Four Queens. A ruthless pickpocket. A noble messenger. And the murders that unite them.
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Get in quick, get out quicker.

These are the words Keralie Corrington lives by as the preeminent dipper in the Concord, the central area uniting the four quadrants of Quadara. She steals under the guidance of her mentor Mackiel, who runs a black market selling their bounty to buyers desperate for what they can’t get in their own quarter.

For in the nation of Quadara, each quarter is strictly divided from the other. Four queens rule together, one from each region:

Toria: the intellectual quarter that values education and ambition
Ludia: the pleasure quarter that values celebration, passion, and entertainment
Archia: the agricultural quarter that values simplicity and nature
Eonia: the futurist quarter that values technology, stoicism and harmonious community

When Keralie intercepts a comm disk coming from the House of Concord, what seems like a standard job goes horribly wrong. Upon watching the comm disks, Keralie sees all four queens murdered in four brutal ways. Hoping that discovering the intended recipient will reveal the culprit – information that is bound to be valuable bartering material with the palace – Keralie teams up with Varin Bollt, the Eonist messenger she stole from, to complete Varin’s original job and see where it takes them.

 

Note:

I’ve heard so many great things about this book. Reading Anonymous, one of my Bookstagram friends/bloggers, has posted a great review of this book. You can check it out in case you’re on the fence.

 

 

Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

 

Synopsis:

As her father’s chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: to win back her honour, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying.

 

Note:

I’ve seen many great reviews on this book and can’t wait to get my hands on it.

 

 

 

 

 

Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway

 

Synopsis:

He was raised in revolution. She was raised in a palace. Can their love stop a war? Code Name Verity meets The Winner’s Curse in Joanna Hathaway’s Dark of the West, a breathtaking YA fantasy debut.

Aurelia Isendare is a princess of a small kingdom in the North, raised in privilege but shielded from politics as her brother prepares to step up to the throne. Halfway around the world, Athan Dakar, the youngest son of a ruthless general, is a fighter pilot longing for a life away from the front lines.

When Athan’s mother is shot and killed, his father is convinced it’s the work of his old rival, the Queen of Etania—Aurelia’s mother. Determined to avenge his wife’s murder, he devises a plot to overthrow the Queen, a plot which sends Athan undercover to Etania to gain intel from her children.

Athan’s mission becomes complicated when he finds himself falling for the girl he’s been tasked with spying upon. Aurelia feels the same attraction, all the while desperately seeking to stop the war threatening to break between the Southern territory and the old Northern kingdoms that control it—a war in which Athan’s father is determined to play a role.

As diplomatic ties manage to just barely hold, the two teens struggle to remain loyal to their families and each other as they learn that war is not as black and white as they’ve been raised to believe.

 

Note:

I love this kind of story because of Forbidden/Unlikely/Impossible love and political intrigue. These are two things that guarantee to pique my interest.

 

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What about you? Any books you’re patiently waiting for? I’ve just received a copy of Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, and I have to say that I’m very excited to read it. (This is not a YA novel, but romance. Her book, Roomies, was amazing. So, I hope for a repeat.) Stay tuned!

 

Happy Reading all!

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