Sunday 3 March 2013

March 2013's New Releases!

Myself and my mum (from JeanzBookReadNReview) have decided to use this feature each month to spotlight some books, whether they be "Mainstream" or "Indie", that have caught our eye!

The Summer Prince
By Alaya Dawn Johnson

The Summer Prince will be released on the 1st of March.

The lush city of Palmares Tres shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that’s sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him (including June’s best friend, Gil). But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Tres will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the government’s strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.



When I had initially spotted The Summer Prince quite a few months ago, it didn't have a blurb, so all I had to go on was it's vibrant cover, but even then it made it onto my wishlist!



The Murmurings
By Carly Anne West

The Murmurings will be released on the 5th of March.

Everyone thinks Sophie’s sister, Nell, went crazy. After all, she heard strange voices that drove her to commit suicide. But Sophie doesn’t believe that Nell would take her own life, and she’s convinced that Nell’s doctor knows more than he’s letting on.

As Sophie starts to piece together Nell’s last days, every lead ends in a web of lies. And the deeper Sophie digs, the more danger she’s in - because now she’s hearing the same haunting whispers. Sophie’s starting to think she’s going crazy too. Or worse, that maybe she’s not . . .




I found out about The Murmurings via Goodreads and then later, Edelweiss as well! I was initially drawn to this title because it sounded similar to Entangled by Cat Clarke, which I thoroughly enjoyed!




The Holders
By Julianna Scott

The Holders will be released on the 5th of March.

17-year-old Becca spent her whole life protecting her brother from, well, everything. The abandonment of their father, the so called 'experts' who insist that voices in his head are unnatural and must be dealt with, and the constant threat of being taken away to some hospital and studied like an animal. When two representatives appear claiming to have the answers to Ryland's perceived problem, Becca doesn't buy it for one second. That is until they seem to know things about Ryland and about Becca and Ryland's family, that forces Becca to concede that there may be more to these people than meets the eye. Though still highly skeptical, Becca agrees to do what's best for Ryland.

What they find at St. Brigid's is a world beyond their imagination. Little by little they piece together the information of their family's heritage, their estranged Father, and the legend of the Holder race that decrees Ryland is the one they've been waiting for. However, they are all - especially Becca - in for a surprise that will change what they thought they knew about themselves and their kind.





I originally came across The Holders via an email from the publisher, Angry Robot, and really liked the sound of it!



Flowers In The Sky
By Lynn Joseph

Flowers In The Sky will be released on the 5th of March.

Fifteen-year-old Nina Perez is faced with a future she never expected. She must leave her Garden of Eden, her lush home in the Dominican Republic, when she's sent by her mother to seek out a better life with her brother in New York. 
As Nina searches for some glimpse of familiarity amid the jarring world of Washington Heights, she must uncover her own strength. She learns to uncover roots within foreign soil and finds a way to grow, just like the orchids that blossom on her fire escape. And when she is confronted by ugly secrets about her brother's business, she comes to understand the realities of life in this new place. But then she meets him - that green eyed boy - who she can't erase from her thoughts, the one who just might help her learn to see beauty in spite of tragedy.


I found Flowers In The Sky via Goodreads whilst planning this post, and just loved the cover!



The Culling
By Steven Dos Santos

The Culling will be released on the 8th of March.

Recruitment Day is here...if you fail, a loved one will die...

For Lucian “Lucky” Spark, Recruitment Day means the Establishment, a totalitarian government, will force him to become one of five Recruits competing to join the ruthless Imposer task force. Each Recruit participates in increasingly difficult and violent military training for a chance to advance to the next level. Those who fail must choose an “Incentive”—a family member—to be brutally killed. If Lucky fails, he’ll have to choose death for his only living relative: Cole, his four-year-old brother.

Lucky will do everything he can to keep his brother alive, even if it means sacrificing the lives of other Recruits’ loved ones. What Lucky isn’t prepared for is his undeniable attraction to the handsome, rebellious Digory Tycho. While Lucky and Digory train together, their relationship grows. But daring to care for another Recruit in a world where love is used as the ultimate weapon is extremely dangerous. As Lucky soon learns, the consequences can be deadly...




I initially found The Culling on Netgalley, and really liked the look of it! The cover remind me a bit of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner.


Poison
By Bridget Zinn

Poison will be released on the 12th of March.

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?



I found this title via Netgalley as well! From the cover I thought it was a retelling of Snow White, but when I read the blurb it reminded me of Maria V. Snyder's Study series.


Escape Theory
By Margaux Froley

Escape Theory will be released on the 12th of March.

Sixteen-year-old Devon Mackintosh has always felt like an outsider at Keaton, the prestigious California boarding school perched above the Pacific. As long as she’s not fitting in, Devon figures she might as well pad her application to Stanford’s psych program. So junior year, she decides to become a peer counselor, a de facto therapist for students in crisis. At first, it seems like it will be an easy fly-on-the-wall gig, but her expectations are turned upside down when Jason Hutchins (a.k.a. “Hutch”), one of the Keaton’s most popular students, commits suicide.

 Devon dives into her new role providing support for Hutch’s friends, but she’s haunted by her own attachment to him. The two shared an extraordinary night during their first week freshman year; it was the only time at Keaton when she felt like someone else really understood her.  As the secrets and confessions pile up in her sessions, Devon comes to a startling conclusion: Hutch couldn't have taken his own life. Bound by her oath of confidentiality - and tortured by her unrequited love - Devon embarks on a solitary mission to get to the bottom of Hutch's death, and the stakes are higher than she ever could have imagined.



I came across Escape Theory on Edelweiss & Netgalley, at the time I was reading Night School by C.J. Daugherty and from the blurb it reminded me of a cross between Night School & The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer!


Strands Of Bronze And Gold
By Jane Nickerson

Strands Of Bronze And Gold will be released on the 12th of March.

When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation - on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting - from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives - all with hair as red as her own - in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world.



I had spotted this title quite a while ago before it had a blurb. Once I had read the blurb of Strands Of Bronze And Gold, and discovered it was a retelling of The Bluebeard fairytale, I added it to my wishlist!


Sworn To Raise
By Terah Edun

Sworn To Raise will be released on the 15th of March.

Seventeen-year-old Ciardis has grown up in poverty, a cleaner in a small vale on the outskirts of the kingdom. But beneath her kingdom’s seemingly idyllic surface lies a hidden secret. Whispers of an inept crown Prince are growing ever louder - intensified by the five year anniversary of the soulbond initiations.

Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companion’s Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she’d never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron. 

But she must master those skills quickly. If the legends are true, only Ciardis can harness the power to raise a Prince in an Imperial Court sworn to bring him down.



Sworn To Raise caught my eye when I was putting this post together, because of it's beautiful cover!


Pretty Girl-13
By Liz Coley

Pretty Girl-13 will be released on the 19th of March.

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods alone on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Now she's returned home…only to find that it's three years later and she's sixteen - or at least that's what everyone tells her.

What happened to the past three years of her life?

Angie doesn't know.

But there are people who do - people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren't locked inside her mind. With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her personality, otherwise known as her "alters." As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: When you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the parts of yourself that are responsible?



Pretty Girl-13 is another title I spotted on both Edelweiss & Netgalley. This one caught my eye mainly because, it was something different compared to the majority of the other books available to request. 


17 & Gone 
By Nova Ren Suma

17 & Gone will be released on the 21st of March.

Seventeen-year-old Lauren is having visions of girls who have gone missing. And all these girls have just one thing in common - they are 17 and gone without a trace. As Lauren struggles to shake these waking nightmares, impossible questions demand urgent answers: Why are the girls speaking to Lauren? How can she help them? And… is she next? As Lauren searches for clues, everything begins to unravel, and when a brush with death lands her in the hospital, a shocking truth emerges, changing everything.


I found out about 17 & Gone when I added Imaginary Girls to my wishlist and just out of interest, I checked out other books written by Nova Ren Suma and found this one!


If You Find Me 
By Emily Murdoch

If You Find Me will be released on the 26th of March.

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.



I found Emily Murdoch's If You Find Me via Netgalley, and found the blurb really interesting & different!


Going Vintage
By Lindsey Leavitt

Going Vintage will be released on the 26th of March.

When Mallory’s boyfriend, Jeremy, cheats on her with an online girlfriend, Mallory decides the best way to de-Jeremy her life is to de-modernize things too. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in1962, Mallory swears off technology and returns to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn’t cheat with computer avatars). The List:
1. Run for pep club secretary
2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree
3. Sew a dress for Homecoming
4. Find a steady
5. Do something dangerous
But simple proves to be crazy-complicated, and the details of the past begin to change Mallory’s present. Add in a too-busy grandmother, a sassy sister, and the cute pep-club presient–who just happens to be her ex’s cousin–and soon Mallory begins to wonder if going vintage is going too far.



Going Vintage was another Goodreads & Netgalley find! I loved the cover of this book and just couldn't resist adding it to my wishlist just based on that!


Have any of March 2013's New Releases caught your eye?

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