Yesterday I judged the covers of these four up and coming ya releases and told you what I thought they were going to be about. Today it’s time to see what each of these are truly about and if I was accurate in any way with my descriptions.
Here are this weeks ya releases:
Consumed by Abbie Rushton
Myla used to love spending long, hot days on the beach with her sister, Asha. Until the day Asha was taken from her and the sun went out. Forever.
That was two years ago. Myla hasn’t been down to the beach – or even left the house – since. Crippling agoraphobia and panic attacks keep her locked inside a nightmare of the day she can never forget. Her main contact with the outside world is online – until she meets Jamie.
Jamie is new in town and also struggles with things most people find easy. Nobody gets why it’s so hard for him to eat. But, like Myla, Jamie is trapped by his fears and feels anxious, awkward and alone.
Gradually the pair begin to trust each other. Are they willing to reveal their secrets – and risk discovering the truth? Or will they let their pasts consume them for good…
I am so so proud of myself because yesterday while I was looking at this book I said it was summery ya romance with a mental-illness twist and I am so happy that I was right. Not only does our Mc have a mental illness, but it seems that our love interest has one as well. All I can say is I would have picked this book up from the cover alone and I would have been so happy to do so. I really really want to read this book. I’m debating it being my next book buy.
The City of Sand by Tianxia Bachang
THE QUEST: To find the lost city of Jingjue, a once-glorious kingdom, along with the burial chamber of its mysterious queen. Both lie buried under the golden dunes of the desert, where fierce sandstorms and blazing heat show no mercy.
THE TEAM: Teenagers Tianyi, who has the ability read the earth and sky through feng shui, and Kai, Tianyi’s best friend and confidant; Julie, a wealthy American whose father vanished on the same trek a year ago; Professor Chen, who wants to fulfill a lifelong dream; and Asat Amat, a local guide gifted in desert survival.
THE OBSTACLES: Lethal creatures of the desert and an evil force that wants to entomb the explorers under the unforgiving sands of China’s Taklimakan Desert forever.
It seems I was pretty right about this book as well. A cool high fantasy set in China with a group of teenagers with really cool powers. Better be that those lethal creatures are Dragons though, because dragons make everything amazing.
Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson
First things first this is a sequel and it looks like it’s separate from the first book, but just in case there are actually any spoilers in this synopsis you have been warned.
Elliot Gabaroche is very clear on what she isn’t going to do this summer.
1. She isn’t going to stay home in Sacramento, where she’d have to sit through her stepmother’s sixth community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
2. She isn’t going to mock trial camp at UCLA.
3. And she certainly isn’t going to the Air Force summer program on her mother’s base in Colorado Springs. As cool as it would be to live-action-role-play Ender’s Game, Ellie’s seen three generations of her family go through USAF boot camp up close, and she knows that it’s much less Luke/Yoda/”feel the force,” and much more one hundred push-ups on three days of no sleep. And that just isn’t appealing, no matter how many Xenomorphs from Alien she’d be able to defeat afterwards.
What she is going to do is pack up her attitude, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and go to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic-decathlon-like competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. And she’s going to start over as Ever Lawrence, on her own terms, without the shadow of all her family’s expectations. Because why do what’s expected of you when you can fight other genius nerds to the death for a shot at the dream you’re sure your family will consider a complete waste of time?
I feel like I was very very wrong about my read of this cover. It is not set in the 90’s, but I can get the gamer vibe now that I read the synopsis and look at the cover again. It does still seem like it will be funny, but I can’t tell if there will be any romance as it seems more focused on what Ellie wants to do with her life no matter the consequences and in a way I like that better. I’m very intrigued and I hope I get to read book 1 sometime soon.
Lastly,
Siege of Shadows by Sarah Raughley
So, this one is definitely a read book 1 before book 2 type of thing so I am going to share book 1 and it’s synopsis here instead:
Years ago, everything changed. Phantoms, massive beasts of nightmare, began terrorizing the world. At the same time four girls, the Effigies, appeared, each with the unique power to control a classical element. Since then, they have protected the world from the Phantoms. At the death of one Effigy, another is chosen, pulled from her normal life into the never-ending battle.
When Maia unexpectedly becomes the next Fire Effigy, she resists her new calling. A quiet girl with few friends and almost no family, she was much happier to admire the Effigies from afar. Never did she imagine having to master her ability to control fire, to protect innocent citizens from the Phantoms, or to try bringing together the other three Effigies.
But with the arrival of the mysterious Saul—a man who seems to be able to control the Phantoms using the same cosmic power previously only granted to four girls at a time—Maia and the other Effigies must learn to work together in a world where their celebrity is more important than their heroism.
But the secrets Saul has, and the power he possesses, might be more than even they can handle…
So this series sounds badass and I need to read it. Also, I like how well the covers seem to match what the stories are going to be now that I see the elemental connection that each of the four effigies have. I feel like I was kinda right with this one, but got thrown off by not looking at the two covers together. Either way this series sounds like a ton of fun.
Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below. What new releases are you looking forward to?
-Till next time!
The Book Raven 