(One in a row… I had last week’s all written ahead of time too.)
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They come up with top ten lists that people can blog about every week.
I now have SIXTY 2015 releases on my list now! So I decided to do only Young Adult books this week.
1. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Expected Release Date: February 10th 2015
I expect this book will be on almost everyone’s list this week, because it just sounds so good! The premise does remind me of Red Rising, with Reds like slaves with god like people above them. (Only the top people are Silvers not Golds) Though in Red Queen there’s a girl main character and they have powers.
Mare, a red finds herself working at the Silver Palace, surrounded by the people she hates. She discovers she has a deadly power in spite of her Red blood. (I think usually only Silvers have powers)
Early Reviews? Mostly positive. Liked the powers, political intrigue and twists, but stupid character decisions, angsty mean girls, and sort of not really a love triangle.
2. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Expected Release Date: April 28th 2015
Billed as an Epic Fantasy the plot reminds me a lot of Legend. My only problem is I’m going to totally picture the main character as Princess Leia.
Laia is a scholar whose brother is arrested for treason. Rebels put her undercover at the military school as a slave in exchange for helping save her brother.
Elias is the best solider, and secretly the most unwilling. He’s ordered to participate in a competition to be the next emperor.
Early Reviews? Almost all positive. Though people do say it is dark and violent.
3. The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker
Expected Release Date: June 2nd 2015
I like the whole forbidden magic thing. (Like BBC Merlin) and this is also probably going to be a case of forbidden love. (Silly grin)
Elizabeth is on of the Kingdom’s best witch hunters until she’s accused of being a witch herself and sentenced to die at the stake. Surprisingly she’s saved by the kingdom’s most powerful wizard who wants her help tracking down the person who put a deadly curse on him.
Early Reviews? Hard to put down, things get insane quick, and great fight scenes.
4. The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
Expected Release Date: February 24th 2015
The main character is different. She has a frightening power, which reminds me of Rogue from the X-men. She kills people when she touches them. How cool is that? (Okay in real life it would suck, but in fiction it rocks) I only hope this is more action than romance.
Twylla is engaged to the prince, but she’s the executioner. She has the power to kill anyone she touches. No one wants to be in the company of such a person, even the supposedly immune prince. When a new guard comes who can overlook her power and see the girl beneath, she wishes she could leave the prince, but no one crosses the queen. The queen has a plot to destroy her enemies and it’s up to Twylla to save her kingdom.
Early Reviews? Mostly positive. Lots of swearing so I’m anticipating an epic twist and excellent world building.
5. The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey
Expected Release Date: April 28th 2015
It’s really the bird people which caught my attention on this one. I only wish it was a bird girl secretly living among humans instead. I also like multiple point of view books.
Echo, a runaway pickpocket is adopted by a group of bird like people living secretly under New York City. When war threatens her new family Echo searches for the Firebird, a mythical creature with the power to stop the war.
Early Reviews? Almost all positive. Good humor, fast paced, and great visuals. A not awful love triangle and no cliffhanger.
6. Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein
Expected Release Date: April 21st 2015
All of a sudden there are several Genie books and this one sounds like one of the best! I’m not sure about the whole beautiful magical transformation thing, I usually don’t like that, but I think I can look past it.
Azra turns 16 and transforms into a beauty. (Sigh) Her Jinn ancestry is asserting itself. She’s living a normal life, but secretly she’s learning to harness her new magical powers. She discovers she may not be a normal Jinn, but have dangerous powers.
Early Reviews? Not a ton of reviews but all positive. Humor, a contemporary fantasy, with good characters.
7. Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
Expected Release Date: April 28th 2015
I love the idea of a character with a condition who then discovers it is only because they’re special. Also super powers and war helps make this my kind of book. I also like when an author twists real events to make fantasy believable.
Aza suffers from a mysterious condition that makes it hard for her to breath. She sees a ship floating in the sky and hears it calling her name. Somehow she winds up in the world of floating ships and finds she can breath easily and also has immense power. She discovers that her new world is on the cusp or war with Earth and must decide where her loyalties lie.
Early Reviews? Mixed reviews. Unique and original with great visuals, but many unanswered questions.
8. The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall
Expected Release Date: January 13th 2015
Look a book that is not a fantasy or scifi made my list! (It might have forbidden love though) and secret societies. It’s described as a light and fun action mystery. I’m only afraid of the love triangle..
Avery is the missing heir to a secret society. They are powerful and if they discover who she is some will want to use her as a pawn and others will want her dead. To stop them she must solve and ancient puzzle in a deadly race across Europe.
Early Reviews? Mostly positive. Thrilling, exciting, romantic, cute, but ends in a cliffhanger.
9. Shutter by Courtney Alameda
Expected Release Date: February 3rd 2015
Reading the description I’d decided this horror wasn’t for me, but Kat Stark’s glowing early review has changed my mind. This sounds more like a darker Supernatural, and the girl even has a power.
Micheline sees the auras of the undead. She’s trained since birth to destroy monsters. Spiritual undead are killed with a camera. When a routine ghost hunt goes bad, Micheline and her team are infected with a curse.
Early Reviews? Almost all positive. Suspenseful, chilling and creepy with good character relationships.
10. A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas
Expected Release Date: February 24th 2015
This one sounds really good, a sleeping beauty retelling where Aurora has magic! Unfortunatly the early reviews are mixed.
Sleeping Beauty after the happily ever after. All the people she knew are dead and her prince charming is a stranger. She’s worried that the curse left its mark on her. She’s not sure if she should marry the prince or run away.
Early Reviews? Mixed, with plenty of negative. Slow paced, well written, and not a lot of romance. Aurora was a good character, but a bit weak. Lots of unanswered questions.
How much to reviews matter to you? Since I became a blogger I’ve had less time to read (ironic) so I want to pick just the right books. Now I always read reviews first. It’s great knowing people who have similar tastes to mine. 🙂
Tammy said:
I can testify to Shutter being amazing, since I just finished it. Really good list, I’m looking forward to all of these as well:-D
Molly Mortensen said:
I’m glad you got to read Shutter early, nice to know that someone else liked it too! Thanks! 🙂 I hope you get to read all of them too.
saraletourneau said:
An Ember In The Ashes is on my list too! (It’s a mental list from memory, not an actual Top 10 Tuesday – and I don’t have enough picks yet to make a Top 10.) And since Red Queen keeps popping up, maybe I should add it to that list.
Here are the others I’m looking forward to reading:
Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder
Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran
Defiant by Karina Sumner-Smith
Siren’s Fury by Mary Weber
The Wrath And The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
The Violinist Of Venice by Alyssa Palombo
Molly Mortensen said:
I’m really excited for An Ember in the Ashes, especially since everyone is loving it. I had a feeling Red Queen would make a few lists today, it just sounds so epic! I have to read Seraphina and Radiant soon! I’m not sure if I want to read Siren’s Fury after I read the blurb, though I did really like the first one. Thanks for sharing your list! 🙂
hncook4 said:
Great list! These all sound really amazing especially The Sin Eater’s Daughter and Shutter. They both stuck out to me the most, so I may need to add them to my TBR list.
Molly Mortensen said:
Thanks! The Sin Eater’s Daughter just sounds cool and I didn’t think Shutter would be for me, but the strong characters and Supernatural vibe makes me want it. I’m glad I could help your TBR list. 🙂
La Coccinelle said:
All but three of these are on either my TTT this week or on my want-to-read list on Goodreads. There are a lot of good-looking books coming out in 2015!
Molly Mortensen said:
Yay! I didn’t think we had that similar of tastes, but I guess we do! 🙂 There are SO many books coming out in 2015 that look good. I only hope I can get some ARCs so I can read them!
blodeuedd said:
Many do sound good 🙂
Molly Mortensen said:
Thanks! I hope you enjoy the ones you read.
lynnsbooks said:
I also liked the look of the Witch book and Shutter looks really good!
Lynn 😀
Molly Mortensen said:
I have a bit of a weakness for magical books. Shutter looks creepy, but good.
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum said:
Lots of fabulous looking YA debuts here (and I’m always on the lookout for those!) Shutter I already read, and definitely deserves to be on this list. The writer’s style is very good – hard to believe she’s a debut author!
Molly Mortensen said:
Thank you, me too! It’s only fair since I added so many books from your top books list. 🙂 I’m glad that you enjoyed Shutter! It’s always nice to find a debut author who knows what they’re doing.
Christy Birmingham said:
Thank you for telling us about all of these great books coming out! 🙂
Molly Mortensen said:
You’re welcome! Thanks for reading. 🙂
Caught Read Handed said:
So many books I’m looking forward to on this list! I think I’m especially excited for Shutter because YA horrors are so hard to come by.
My TTT!
Molly Mortensen said:
I’m glad! I don’t usually do horror, but I think I’m safe with a YA and I’m told it isn’t gore horror but emotional, which is so much better!
kindlemom1 said:
I agree, these all look really good! I just started Red Queen and so far I am loving it, I have a feeling you will too. 🙂
Molly Mortensen said:
Yay, I’m glad! I really want to read Red Queen now! I can’t wait to read your review. 🙂
CKReads said:
God you picked so many good ones. 1,2,4,6,7 especially! I liked your post, so I won’t forget the titles! =]
Molly Mortensen said:
hehe I’m glad. I’m always losing posts, so I just add the books to my list as I go. I hope you like these books!
Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense said:
Shutter is on my most-likely-to-check-out-from-the-library TBR list. It sounds awesome, but I’m not sure if I want to buy it just yet.
Molly Mortensen said:
Yeah, most of these will probably be library books for me if I can’t get my hands on the arcs. Shutter does sound good, but I’m a bit scared of it too.
Nathan said:
Dark and violent? I think I need to find Ember in Ashes.
Molly Mortensen said:
Yeah and those were the complaints! I really want to read Ember now! 🙂
Joey @ thoughts and afterthoughts said:
I haven’t read the reviews for Magonia but I wonder now if having unanswered questions was purposeful or not (I do tend to like ambiguity…well, sometimes).
Cheers,
joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts
Molly Mortensen said:
See I’m the opposite I always have so many questions and I like to have them answered. It’s okay if it’s a series and they’re saving them for next time though. Just by the end I expect my answers.
ChrissiReads said:
I’m still not sure whether to read The Red Queen. I’m intrigued, but I’ll see! 🙂 I hope you enjoy these books when you get to them.
Molly Mortensen said:
Yeah it could go either way, but I think I have to read it! I just hope I manage an arc or it comes to my library. I don’t like to buy new books without trying out the author ahead of time. Thank you! I wish you lots of happy reading too! 🙂
shannonmiz said:
Molly, I LOVE how you do Top Tens! There is always something special, and this time is no different. I LOVE the “early reviews”- SO helpful, and such a great idea! Though I am nervous, as I have an ARC of A Wicked Thing that I pretty much need to read next. But I pre ordered like, the rest of your list, so at least I’ll like those, right? GREAT list 🙂
Molly Mortensen said:
Thank you! I’m so happy that you notice these things. 😀 When I was making this list I was paying a lot of attention to the early reviews so I decided to include what I found. 🙂 You never know, maybe you’ll like A Wicked Thing some people did. I hope you do. Sorry to make you nervous! haha congrats on owning all the books! I’m so jealous! Thanks again!
Melliane said:
I confess that I didn’t know about all of them but I’m definitely curious now. thanks for sharing!
Molly Mortensen said:
I never knew about all of these books before blogging and Goodreads is awesome! You’re welcome I hope you discovered some good new books. 🙂
Ana @ Butterflies of the Imagination said:
I think Red Queen and An Ember in the Ashes both seem like really good books. I’ve heard so many good things about Red Queen, but I haven’t heard much about An Ember in the Ashes yet.
Molly Mortensen said:
Yes I’m definitely the most excited for Ember in the Ashes and Red Queen! I’ve read a lot of good things about both of them so I can’t wait! 🙂 I hope you like them.
Natalie @ Book Lovers Life said:
Yes to all these!!! They are all on my list as well 🙂
Molly Mortensen said:
Yay! Then I can read your reviews to help narrow it down! 🙂
phoenixgrey85 said:
60 2015 releases! Wow, that’s a lot.
There are some cool sounding books on your list. I’m looking forward to reading your reviews of them.
Reviews are beginning to matter more to me. Like you, I’m finding I have less time to read, so I need to be more selective in what I read. Unlike my lovely teen years when I had nothing to do (besides school, of course) but read. *longs for those days*
Molly Mortensen said:
Yeah, I keep hearing about good ones that have to be on my list.
Thanks. I hope I get a chance to read all of them. I just applied for an arc of Becoming Jinn so *fingers crossed*
I don’t know what I did before I discovered Goodreads and blogs. Reviews are just so useful!
phoenixgrey85 said:
I meant 2015 reviews. Typo 🙂
phoenixgrey85 said:
Oh wow I think my brain’s dying. Try again. “2025 releases”. There. That’s right.
phoenixgrey85 said:
You know what. You know what I mean. *Goes away to hide and learn how to write/type again*
Molly Mortensen said:
Don’t worry about it. I didn’t even notice the typo the first time. Want me to edit it for you?
phoenixgrey85 said:
Yes please. I hate typos. 😎
Alise (Readers in Wonderland) said:
YES. I’m excited for all of these except Shutter and The Girl at Midnight but that’s only because they are new to me. They do sound really awesome though, and I love a book with humor (The Girl at Midnight) Great picks!
Molly Mortensen said:
I’m glad I could help add to your list. Thanks! Yeah, humor is always a plus for me too.
lorellepage said:
Happy new year, Molly! I see ‘Red Queen’ promoted everywhere at the moment. Has she written something else that’s been well received? I didn’t end up ordering ‘The Magicians’ because they wanted to charge $3 for an inter-library loan…. Large print? Pfft..not that old yet..but obviously a cheapskate lol. But I think I will see what the hype is all about with ‘Red Queen’ 🙂
Molly Mortensen said:
Thanks! No, Red Queen is her first novel, but it’s getting mostly good early reviews and it just sounds so good!
Don’t worry about it. I actually don’t really want to read the Magicians right now anyway. 🙂
I hope you’re having a lovely new year and that you enjoy Red Queen.
Lola @ Hit or Miss Books said:
I’m looking forward to EVERY ONE of those books, except for ”A Wicked Thing” because, like you said, there are plenty of negative reviews. I plan to not DNF any book this year and I don’t think that it is with that book that I will succeed 😛 Nice list!!
Molly Mortensen said:
haha that’s funny, I have the opposite goal for this year, to DNF books! I’m not sure if I want to read A Wicked Thing still or not! I think I’ll wait until some of my friends read it to decide. Thank you! 🙂
jenniferbielman said:
Sooooooo excited for Red Queen!
Molly Mortensen said:
Oh me too! It sounds really good! 🙂
Nirvana said:
YES TO ALL OF THESE *-* They all sound epic. The Sin-Eater’s Daughter is totally on my wish-list now. Morbid but intriguing. A girl who kills everything she touches? Yes please.
Haha definitely not in real life, but this is fiction so HEY XD And then there’s that amazing cover too…
Can’t wait for Red Queen either 🙂
Molly Mortensen said:
That’s my problem too, they all sound so good! I’m glad I was able to add to your list. I love the whole killing touch power thing! Exactly! Most of the stories I’d never want to actually live, but they’re fun to read about! 🙂
Melanie (YA Midnight Reads) said:
The Sin Eater’s Daughter reminds me a lot of Shatter Me so I’m probably going to refrain from reading that one until I read more early reviews for it.
RED QUEEN IS FREAKING FANTASTIC, I HOPE YOU LOVE IT WHEN YOU READ IT!
I’m pretty excited about An Ember in the Ashes as well.
Great list, Molly <33
Molly Mortensen said:
I still haven’t read Shatter Me, so I didn’t realize that comparison. My first thought was X-men Rogue. I don’t think Sin Eater is one I’m going to wait for reviews, it just sounds too good!
I’m so glad that you loved Red Queen! You’re so lucky to get it early! Thanks, I have a feeling it will be good. After making this list I think I want to read An Ember in the Ashes the most!
Thank you! 🙂
Jess@Fairday's Blog said:
I have been seeing a lot of people reading the Red Queen and I am definitely intrigued. The Sin Eaters Daughter also looks fascinating! So many great books to read! 🙂 Hope you get to read some of them soon!
Molly Mortensen said:
A lot of people I trust have said that Red Queen is great, so I really hope I get a chance to read it this year. Sin Eater’s daughter does sound good! Thanks! I hope you get lots of good books to read too.
Nobody @ The Story Goes... said:
There’s just so many awesome sounding books coming out next year! I’m super excited for Girl Of Midnight!
As for your question….um, not that much? I don’t know. I don’t often search out reviews unless I’m conflicted. If the book sounds cool but I’m not sure whether I want to try it or not, I’ll look at some reviews, but if I’ve already made my mind up that it sounds like something I would love, unless a blogger I actively follow reviews it, then I don’t even look at the reviews. =)
Molly Mortensen said:
I know! Maybe because this is my first year with a book blog and I know about them all.
I’m surprised that you don’t read that many reviews. That’s probably a good thing though, you aren’t tainted by anyone else. I read goodreads like some people read the newspaper. I’m totally addicted!
alexraphael said:
Sounds great. Any progress so far?
Molly Mortensen said:
Thanks! Nope, I haven’t gotten any new books this year, but I’m cheap so I don’t usually pre order books or buy them at full price. I did get an arc of Golden Son. 🙂
alexraphael said:
Let me know how the book turns out 🙂
Molly Mortensen said:
Sorry, I just saw your comment. Golden Son was really good, much better than Red Rising! 🙂
cierahorton said:
The Red Queen really does look amazing. That one is on my list for sure. There’s also a debut YA novel coming out called Return To Me which looks good – probably a little sappy but I’ve heard good things. 🙂
Ciera @ The Write Things
Molly Mortensen said:
I want to read Red Queen really badly! I keep checking Netgalley and Edelweiss just in case it shows up. I hope you enjoy Return to me. 🙂 Sappy isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Brigid said:
I am so excited for an ember in the ashes. I’m also looking forward to The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. #morediversity
Molly Mortensen said:
I’m really excited for Ember in the Ashes too, it sounds fantastic! I hadn’t heard of the Wrath and the Dawn. Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂