Which April releases are you most looking forward to?
April has always been a great month for releases and this year doesn’t disappoint. There’s a little something forever: tales in which characters must overcome challenging obstacles, plots that draw you in from the get-go, heroes in the making, and love that conquers all.
This year I’m continuing several series but today will just focus on the wonderfulness that are sequels (**book 2 only**). I love a good sequel and continuing the stories of such remarkable characters. I love how the plot thickens, tensions rise, and action is explosive.
I am so excited for this list of sequels, especially since most of them are from books that were some of my top favorite reads from 2020. I’ll also include the synopsis and my review of book 1 for each.
🚨 SPOILERS BELOW 🚨
Untitled Legendborn 2 by Tracy Deonn (YA contemporary fantasy)
There’s no synopsis or cover yet but that doesn’t mean I’m not still really excited for this release. Book 1 was incredible and left me wanting more!
Steelstriker by Marie Lu (YA sci-fi/fantasy dystopian)
Dystopians aren’t really my thing, but this one blew. me. away! I didn’t know this was going to be a duology, which I’m both sad and relieved by. Book 1 was terrifyingly amazing for me. My poor book-loving heart probably wouldn’t be able to handle all the feels if this were a longer series. One thing is for sure: this is going to be amazing.
Synopsis: As a Striker, Talin was taught loyalty is life. Loyalty to the Shield who watches your back, to the Strikers who risk their lives on the battlefield, and most of all, to Mara, which was once the last nation free from the Karensa Federation’s tyranny.
But Mara has fallen. And its destruction has unleashed Talin’s worst nightmare.
With her friends scattered by combat and her mother held captive by the Premier, Talin is forced to betray her fellow Strikers and her adopted homeland. She has no choice but to become the Federation’s most deadly war machine as their newest Skyhunter.
Red is no stranger to the cruelty of the Federation or the torture within its Skyhunter labs, but he knows this isn’t the end for Mara – or Talin. The link between them may be weak, but it could be Talin and Red’s only hope to salvage their past and safeguard their future.
While the fate of a broken world hangs in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to each other in this smoldering sequel to Marie Lu’s Skyhunter.
Maya and the Return of the Godlings by Rena Barron (middle grade fantasy)
Maya is such a great main character whose spirit and tenacity I loved. Book 1 left room for character development and more epic battles to come. The world Barron’s created is really fantastical so I can’t wait to delve deeper into this series.
Synopsis: In this highly anticipated sequel, Maya and the godlings must return to the sinister world of The Dark to retrieve the one thing keeping the veil between the worlds from crumbling: her father’s soul. Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and Willa of the Wood.
The threat from The Dark is far from over. Twelve-year-old Maya knows this. After crossing the veil between the two worlds, saving her father, and narrowly escaping the sinister clutches of the Lord of Shadows, tensions between the human world and The Dark are higher than ever. And even worse, Maya’s orisha powers as a godling are out of control.
Now a guardian in training, Maya spends her days patching up veils with her father and cleaning up near-disasters like baby wormholes that her erratic powers create. But when Maya and her friends discover that something went terribly wrong during their journey to bring her father back to the human world, they are forced to return to The Dark and restore what they left behind, the one thing keeping the veil from falling: her father’s soul.
The Lord of Shadows is mobilizing his forces for an all-out war against the human world. And this time, Maya and her friends will need all the help they can get. Even if that means teaming up with their greatest enemies, the darkbringers.
Klune is such a talented storyteller and an auto-read author for me. I need more Nick Bell in my life – he is my heart and soul! He is nerdy and precious and must be protected. I have no idea what to expect in this sequel but it’s a Klune book so you know it is going to be beyond epic.
Synopsis: Flash Fire is the explosive sequel to The Extraordinaries by USA Today bestselling author TJ Klune!
Nick landed himself the superhero boyfriend of his dreams, but with new heroes arriving in Nova City it’s up to Nick and his friends to determine who is virtuous and who is villainous. Which is a lot to handle for a guy who just wants to finish his self-insert bakery AU fanfic.
Book 1 left me breathless! It was my first Nora Roberts book and easily became a favorite read. I needed book 2 as soon as I finished reading. I’m expecting more swoon-worthy moments and ALL the feels.
Synopsis: The world of magick and the world of man have long been estranged from one another. But some can walk between the two—including Breen Siobhan Kelly. She has just returned to Talamh, with her friend, Marco, who’s dazzled and disoriented by this realm—a place filled with dragons and faeries and mermaids (but no WiFi, to his chagrin). In Talamh, Breen is not the ordinary young schoolteacher he knew her as. Here she is learning to embrace the powers of her true identity. Marco is welcomed kindly by her people—and by Keegan, leader of the Fey. Keegan has trained Breen as a warrior, and his yearning for her has grown along with his admiration of her strength and skills.
But one member of Breen’s bloodline is not there to embrace her. Her grandfather, the outcast god Odran, plots to destroy Talamh—and now all must unite to defeat his dark forces. There will be losses and sorrows, betrayal and bloodshed. But through it, Breen Siobhan Kelly will take the next step on the journey to becoming all that she was born to be.
Rise Up from the Embers by Sara Raasch & Kristin Simmons (YA fantasy)
This title also concludes a duology. I’ve not read another story like the one Raasch and Simmons have woven together. A clash between humans and gods? Yes, please! Also, I’m looking forward to Ash and Madoc’s budding romance. They are so cute!
Synopsis: 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.
January 5 Unplugged by Gordon Korman The Fate of Crowns by Rebecca L. Garcia Snow White with the Red Hair (Volume 11) Celestial by Olivia Wildenstein An Incurable Case of Love (Volume 6) Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant
ABOUT:Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra. TJ Klune’s YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves.
Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right?
After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend (and maybe the love of his life).
Happy Thursday, Bookworms!
The Bookshelf Corner 