Top Ten Tuesday | Anticipated Releases for First Half of 2019

Happy Tuesday my fellow bookish friends! As my first book-related post of the year, I’ve decided to jump back on the Top Ten Tuesday train (it’s not only fun, but I didn’t have to put a ton of thought into it). For those who don’t know, TTT is a meme hosted by Lana @ That Artsy Reader Girl where we’re given a theme for the week and we create a list based on it. I’ve recently fallen back in love with making lists, so I’m especially excited for this.

Most of the books I chose are debuts or authors that are new to me, only two are by authors I’m familiar with and one is an author whose work I’ve actually read. As you can probably tell from the title of this post, the theme for this week is: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2019.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

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January

The Wicked King – Holly Black | January 8, 2019
Sequel to The Cruel Prince. “When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.”

Full disclosure, I haven’t read The Cruel Prince yet but it’s definitely on my radar. This is just good to know that the sequel comes out today. 🙂

A Curse So Dark & Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer | January 29, 2019
Fall in love, break the curse….”A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.”

This honestly sounds a lot like other books I’ve read, but so far it has decent ratings on Goodreads, so why not?

King of Scars – Leigh Bardugo | January 29, 2019
“Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.”

If you’ve read my review of final book in the Grisha Trilogy, you know how much I adore Nikolai and wished we’d seen more of him. As you can probably imagine, when Leigh announced this duology I was thrilled.

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February

Courting Darkness – Robin LaFevers | February 5, 2019
“As Sybella and Gen’s paths draw ever closer, the fate of everything they hold sacred rests on a knife’s edge. Will they find each other in time, or will their worlds collide, destroying everything they care about?”

Dark of the West – Joanna Hathaway | February 5, 2019
“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.”

This sounds like what would happen…if things happened the way I would’ve liked in the Grisha Trilogy. Needless to say, another debut that I’m stoked to read.

The Ruin of Kings – Jenn Lyons | February 5, 2019
“Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn’t what the storybooks promised.”

Shadowscent: The Darkest Bloom – P.M. Freestone | February 7, 2019
“When disaster strikes and the crown prince lies poisoned, long suppressed rivalries threaten to blow the empire apart. It’s up to a poor village girl with a talent for fragrances and the prince’s loyal bodyguard to find an antidote.”

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March

Bloodleaf – Crystal Smith | March 1, 2019
“A princess finds herself destitute and stripped of her title; in order to win back her crown, she has to ‘unravel the mystery binding her to an enigmatic prince, the unquiet ghost of an ancient queen, and a magical plant called bloodleaf.'”

The Waking Forest – Alyssa Wees | March 12, 2019
“The waking forest has secrets. To Rhea, it appears like a mirage, dark and dense, at the very edge of her backyard. But when she reaches out to touch it, the forest vanishes. She’s desperate to know more–until she finds a peculiar boy who offers to reveal its secrets. If she plays a game.”

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May

We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal | May 14, 2019
“In this thrilling debut YA fantasy set in alt-Arabia, a huntress masquerades as a boy in a tournament where the Prince of Death is tasked to kill her—unless the prize does first.”

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Do we share any of the same books? Did I miss any? Let’s chat and feel free to leave a link to your TTT. 🙂

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