Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where you spotlight a highly anticipated book.
Happy Wednesday!
This Wednesday I’m anticipating the release of You’ve Reached Samby Dustin Thao.
I’m not sure which If I Stay book this one is being compared to but I’ve watched Your Name, which destroyed my heart with how good it was. You’ve Reached Sam reminds me of those same overwhelming feelings of joy and pain and romance, but distinct in a way that interests me. I think this will be a good, if not heartbreaking, story, so I’d like to give this one a try.
You’ve Reached Sam is set to be published November 9, 2021.
ABOUT:If I Stay meets Your Name in this heartfelt novel about love, loss, and what it means to say goodbye.
Seventeen-year-old Julie has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes.
Heartbroken, Julie skips his funeral, throws out his things, and tries everything to forget him and the tragic way he died. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces back memories. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cellphone just to listen to his voicemail.
And Sam picks up the phone.
In a miraculous turn of events, Julie’s been given a second chance at goodbye. The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam’s voice makes her fall for him all over again, and with each call it becomes harder to let him go. However, keeping her otherworldly calls with Sam a secret isn’t easy, especially when Julie witnesses the suffering Sam’s family is going through. Unable to stand by the sidelines and watch their shared loved ones in pain, Julie is torn between spilling the truth about her calls with Sam and risking their connection and losing him forever.
Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where you spotlight a highly anticipated book.
Happy Wednesday!
I hope everyone’s week has been going well. I’m back with another anticipated release to spotlight. This Wednesday’s pick is Well Matchedby Jen DeLuca.
A few things I like about this story already are that it’s a contemporary romance, fake dating, friends to lover tropes, and the Renaissance Faire. And the cover art is so cute!
Well Matched is set to be published October 19, 2021.
ABOUT: An accidentally in-love rom-com filled with Renaissance Faire flower crowns, kilts, corsets, and sword fights.
Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell.
Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire–a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship.
As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch’s family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch’s girlfriend again…something that doesn’t feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans–and open her heart–for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.
SEPTEMBER 7 (SUPER TUESDAY) My City Speaks by Darren Lebeuf, Illustrated by Ashley Barron (arc review) Snow White with the Red Hair (Volume 15) Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness by Ben Clanton Partly Cloudy by Tanita S. Davis Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore
SEPTEMBER 14 A Soft Place to Land by Janae Marks The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation (Vol. 4) Before We Were Blue by E.J. Schwartz Battle of the Bands edited by Lauren Gibaldi & Eric Smith (anthology)
SEPTEMBER 21 Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune (arc review) Maya and the Return of the Godlings by Rena Barron When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds by Samira Ahmed
SEPTEMBER 28 (SUPER TUESDAY) Her Renegade Cowboy by Lora Leigh (arc review) Steelstriker by Marie Lu The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo It Started with a Dog by Julia London Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani No Words by Meg Cabot Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis
Just Right Jillian is set to be published February 2, 2022.
ABOUT: Fifth-grader Jillian will do just about anything to blend in, including staying quiet even when she has the right answer. After she loses a classroom competition because she won’t speak up, she sets her mind on winning her school’s biggest competition. But breaking out of her shell is easier said than done, and Jillian has only a month to keep her promise to her grandmother and prove to herself that she can speak up and show everyone her true self.
A warm and relatable middle-grade debut novel about family, friendship, and finding the confidence to break free from the crowd and be who you truly are.
AUGUST 3(SUPER Tuesday!!!) Usha and the Big Digger by Amitha Jagannath Knight, Illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (arc review) Yona of the Dawn (Volume 31) Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia Like A Love Song by Gabriela Martins The Plentiful Darkness by Heather Kassner A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee
AUGUST 10 Rise Up from the Embers by Sara Raasch & Kristin Simmons On These Black Sands by Vanessa Rasanen How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
AUGUST 19 He’s My Mom!: A Story for Children Who Have a Transgender Parent or Relative by Sarah Savage, Illustrated by Joules Garcia (arc review)
AUGUST 24 All Night Long With A Cowboy by Caitlin Crews (arc review coming soon)
AUGUST 31 Black Butler (Volume 30) The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson
July 6 Snow White with the Red Hair (Volume 14) Capture the Crown by Jennifer Estep Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian Mashle: Magic and Muscles (Volume 1) Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim Forever This Summer by Leslie C. Youngblood
July 13 Flash Fire by TJ Klune (arc review) The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison (arc) Radha & Jai’s Recipe for Romance by Nisha Sharma (arc)
July 20 Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams Weird Kid by Greg Van Eekhout These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
July 27 Open Your Heart by Cheris Hodges Men Are Frogsby Saranna DeWylde A Void of Magic by Sandy Williams
August 3 Yona of the Dawn (Volume 31) Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia The Plentiful Darkness by Heather Kassner A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee
August 10 Rise Up from the Embers by Sara Raasch & Kristin Simmons On These Black Sands by Vanessa Rasanen How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
August 19 He’s My Mom!: A Story for Children Who Have a Transgender Parent or Relative by Sarah Savage, Illustrated by Joules Garcia
August 24 All Night Long With A Cowboy by Caitlin Crews (arc)
August 31 The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson
September 7 Snow White with the Red Hair (Volume 15) Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness by Ben Clanton Partly Cloudy by Tanita S. Davis Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore My City Speaks by Darren Lebeuf, Illustrated by Ashley Barron
September 14 The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood Before We Were Blue by E.J. Schwartz Battle of the Bands edited by Lauren Gibaldi & Eric Smith (anthology)
September 21 Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune (arc review) Maya and the Return of the Godlings by Rena Barron When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds by Samira Ahmed
September 28 Steelstriker by Marie Lu Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani Her Renegade Cowboy by Lora Leigh (arc)
October 26 Home for a Cowboy Christmas by Donna Grant The School Between Winter and Fairyland by Heather Fawcett
November 2 Snow White with the Red Hair (Volume 16) The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams Escape From Falaise by John Flanagan You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith Another Beast’s Skin by Jessika Grewe Glover
Good day, Bookworms! What summer releases are you most excited for?
I really wish it was summer already. I really really wish it was.
As I’m sure with many who work in a school, I’ve been daydreaming about summer for a while now. It’s been a long, hectic school year with September feeling like it was another lifetime. We could all use a much needed break to rest, relax and recharge.
Beside needing a break from work, there are some great upcoming summer releases. The premise for all of these are super appealing. I also love the wording of the titles and I’m rather fond of each book’s lovely cover art. If only I could read these books now!
With summer (and summer reading) on the brain, I thought I’d spotlight 5 books that make me wish it was the season of sun already.
For Hayley Mills, these changes aren’t exactly welcome. All she wants is for everyone to forget about her very public breakdown and remember her as the overachiever she once was—and who she’s determined to be again. But it’s difficult to be seen as a go-getter when she’s forced into TV Production class with all the slackers like Lewis Holbrook.
For Lewis, though, this is going to be his year. After a summer spent binging 80s movies, he’s ready to upgrade from the role of self-described fat, funny sidekick to leading man of his own life—including getting the girl. The only thing standing in his way is, well, himself.
When the two are partnered up in class, neither is particularly thrilled. But then they start making mini documentaries about their classmates’ hidden talents, and suddenly Hayley is getting attention for something other than her breakdown, and Lewis isn’t just a background character anymore. It seems like they’re both finally getting what they want—except what happens when who you’ve become isn’t who you really are?
Jake Wind is trying to stay under the radar. Whose radar? Anyone who might be too interested in the fact that he has shapeshifting abilities he can’t control. Or that his parents found him as a ball of goo when he was a baby.
Keeping his powers in check is crucial, though, if he wants to live a normal life and go to middle school instead of being homeschooled (and if he wants to avoid being kidnapped and experimented on, of course).
Things feel like they’re going his way when he survives his first day of school without transforming and makes a new friend. But when mysterious sinkholes start popping up around town—sinkholes filled with the same extraterrestrial substance as Jake—and his neighbors, classmates, and even his family start acting a little, well, weird, Jake will have to learn to use his powers in order to save his town.
Radha is on the verge of becoming one of the greatest Kathak dancers in the world . . . until a family betrayal costs her the biggest competition of her life. Now, she has left her Chicago home behind to follow her stage mom to New Jersey. At the Princeton Academy of the Arts, Radha is determined to leave performing in her past, and reinvent herself from scratch.
Jai is captain of the Bollywood Beats dance team, ranked first in his class, and an overachiever with no college plans. Tight family funds means medical school is a pipe dream, which is why he wants to make the most out of high school. When Radha enters his life, he realizes she’s the exact ingredient he needs for a show-stopping senior year.
With careful choreography, both Radha and Jai will need to face their fears (and their families) if they want a taste of a happily ever after.
Ben Stephens has never bothered with serious relationships. He has plenty of casual dates to keep him busy, family drama he’s trying to ignore and his advertising job to focus on. When Ben lands a huge ad campaign featuring movie star Anna Gardiner, however, it’s hard to keep it purely professional. Anna is not just gorgeous and sexy, she’s also down to earth and considerate, and he can’t help flirting a little…
Anna Gardiner is on a mission: to make herself a household name, and this ad campaign will be a great distraction while she waits to hear if she’s booked her next movie. However, she didn’t expect Ben Stephens to be her biggest distraction. She knows mixing business with pleasure never works out, but why not indulge in a harmless flirtation?
But their lighthearted banter takes a turn for the serious when Ben helps Anna in a family emergency, and they reveal truths about themselves to each other, truths they’ve barely shared with those closest to them.
When the opportunity comes to turn their real-life fling into something more for the Hollywood spotlight, will Ben be content to play the background role in Anna’s life and leave when the cameras stop rolling? Or could he be the leading man she needs to craft their own Hollywood ending?
AUGUST 10
Rise Up From the Embers by Sara Raasch & Kristen Simmons
Two gods are dead. The Mother Goddess has returned. War is rising.
Fleeing the ruins of Deimos, Ash and Madoc sail across the ocean toward their only possible allies: the water and plant gods. But when Anathrasa attacks on the way, Ash leaps to the defense—by using a power she didn’t know she had.
When Madoc made the fire and earth gods mortal, he inadvertently transferred their magic to Ash. Now, if Ash can get energeias from the other four gods, she will be powerful enough to end Anathrasa once and for all.
But not all the gods want the Mother Goddess defeated. To stop her, Madoc will have to become the obedient son his mother always wanted, and Ash will have to take a merciless place among the gods.
To defeat an immortal, Ash and Madoc must fight like gods—even if it means sacrificing their humanity.
It’s hard to believe we are in the 5th month of 2021. It’s been an interesting year so far with lots of changes happening with sometimes only books keeping me afloat.
But I’m very happy to be in a new month with the possibility of new favorite stories that are being published.
Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where you spotlight a highly anticipated book.
Happy Wednesday, Bookworms!
A highly anticipated book I want to spotlight this week is Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard.
The only book by Victoria Aveyard that I’ve read is Red Queen and never finished the series. But I really enjoyed Red Queen and loved how masterfully Aveyard told the story, constructed the world, and crafted her characters. Maybe I’ll have better luck finishing this upcoming series because it sounds like a fantastic read!
I like stories of the ordinary discovering they’re extraordinary and double like that we get a contrasting group of secondary characters to aid the MC. The whole premise is enticing. The cover is stunning in gold. And I’m very intrigued by the hand gripping the sword by the blade. Realm Breaker was an instant-add to my wish list.
This YA fantasy is set to be released May 4, 2021.
Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea.
She soon discovers the truth: She is the last of an ancient lineage—and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won’t be alone. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions:
A squire, forced to choose between home and honor.
An immortal, avenging a broken promise.
An assassin, exiled and bloodthirsty.
An ancient sorceress, whose riddles hide an eerie foresight.
A forger with a secret past.
A bounty hunter with a score to settle.
Together they stand against a vicious opponent, invincible and determined to burn all kingdoms to ash, and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed.
The Bookshelf Corner 