This Week's Releases: May 18 - 24

Welcome to This Week's Releases! The new weekly post on Beneath the Jacket Reviews that I will post every Sunday. I am going to discuss the releases of the week that I am super excited about, and why. Some weeks there may be a dozen books, sometimes there may be two or three, and sometimes there may be none at all. That's alright though, since it's just about books I am actually interested in!

May 18 - 24

Another week with a lot of YA books releasing! May seems to be a pretty big month for YA releases, and it does not seem like it is going to slow down anytime soon (I am perfectly okay with that, too!). Here are the books I'm looking forward to this week!

1. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Series: N/A

Release Date: May 19, 2015

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Page Count: 448

Synopsis: Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.

Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.

 2. Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt

Series: Once Upon a Crime Family #1

Release Date: May 19, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Page Count: 400

Synopsis: Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.

Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.

And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.

All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.

 3. A Sense of the Infinite by Hilary T. Smith

Series: N/A

Release Date: May 19, 2015

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Page Count: 400

Synopsis: It's senior year of high school, and Annabeth is ready—ready for everything she and her best friend, Noe, have been planning and dreaming. But there are some things Annabeth isn't prepared for, like the constant presence of Noe's new boyfriend. Like how her relationship with her mom is wearing and fraying. And like the way the secret she's been keeping hidden deep inside her for years has started clawing at her insides, making it hard to eat or even breathe.

But most especially, she isn't prepared to lose Noe.

For years, Noe has anchored Annabeth and set their joint path. Now Noe is drifting in another direction, making new plans and dreams that don't involve Annabeth. Without Noe's constant companionship, Annabeth's world begins to crumble. But as a chain of events pulls Annabeth further and further away from Noe, she finds herself closer and closer to discovering who she's really meant to be—with her best friend or without.

This Week's Releases: April 5 - 11

Welcome to This Week's Releases! The new weekly post on Beneath the Jacket Reviews that I will post every Sunday. I am going to discuss the releases of the week that I am super excited about, and why. Some weeks there may be a dozen books, sometimes there may be two or three, and sometimes there may be none at all. That's alright though, since it's just about books I am actually interested in!

April 5 - 11

Another week with a lot of YA books releasing! Even more than I originally knew about before I looked at the list I like to use at YALit. Without too much more talking from me, here are the releases I'm looking forward to this week!

 1. The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

Series: N/A

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Page Count: 304

Why I Want to Read It: This is pretty much the definition of contemporaries that I enjoy reading. There is a main character who is going through some difficult times, and the guy from the wrong side of town that seems to be the only one who understands what she is going through. There is a chance that it might be a bit obvious, but I am perfectly okay with that.

Synopsis: A powerful and gripping contemporary YA from the author of I'm Not Her that's "Just right for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jodi Picoult."-Booklist

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.
She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie...until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care.
But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world... might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

 2. Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

Series: Rebel Belle #2

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Page Count: 288

Why I Want to Read It: I have heard SO many great things about the first book in this series, and while I have not read it yet, I do know that I want to get this series and begin reading it so that I can see what the whole hype is about.

Synopsis: Life is almost back to normal for Harper Price. The Ephors have been silent after their deadly attack at Cotillion months ago, and best friend Bee has returned after a mysterious disappearance. Now Harper can return her focus to the important things in life: school, canoodling with David, her nemesis-turned-ward-slash-boyfie, and even competing in the Miss Pine Grove pageant.

Unfortunately, supernatural chores are never done. The Ephors have decided they’d rather train David than kill him. The catch: Harper has to come along for the ride, but she can’t stay David’s Paladin unless she undergoes an ancient trial that will either kill her . . . or connect her to David for life.  

 3. Empire of Night by Kelley Armstrong

Series: Age of Legends #2

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: HarperCollins

Page Count: 432

Why I Want to Read It: I recently picked up Sea of Shadows from Book Outlet when I was able to get the hardcover for about five dollars. I have heard great things about this series, and I do want to pick this one up so that I can read book one and two back to back.

Synopsis: Sisters Moria and Ashyn are the Keeper and Seeker of Edgewood. Or at least, they were.

Their village is gone. Their friends have betrayed them. And now, the emperor has sent them on a mission to rescue the children of Edgewood—accompanied by Prince Tyrus and a small band of imperial warriors. But the journey proves more perilous than they could have imagined. With treachery and unrest mounting in the empire, Moria and Ashyn will have to draw on all their influence and power to overcome deadly enemies—not all of them human—and even avert an all-out war. 

 4. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Series: N/A

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Page Count: 320

Why I Want to Read It: This is another one that I have heard amazing things about. It seems like it will be a great contemporary because it covers situations that are not talked about in a lot of YA books. I am not sure that I have read any YA books with a gay protagonist, and I am looking forward to reading it.

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. 

 5. Lies I Told by Michelle Zink

Series: Lies I Told #1

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Page Count: 352

Why I Want to Read It: A family of thieves? That seems pretty awesome to me! I cannot wait to read this one, it seems like it is going to be a great, entertaining read. I also like that it is going to be a series instead of a standalone, you don't see that very often with contemporary.

Synopsis: What if, after spending a lifetime deceiving everyone around you, you discovered the biggest lies were the ones you've told yourself?

Grace Fontaine has everything: beauty, money, confidence, and the perfect family.

But it’s all a lie.

Grace has been adopted into a family of thieves who con affluent people out of money, jewelry, art, and anything else of value. Grace has never had any difficulty pulling off a job, but when things start to go wrong on the Fontaines' biggest heist yet, Grace finds herself breaking more and more of the rules designed to keep her from getting caught...including the most important one of all: never fall for your mark. 

 6. The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre

Series: N/A

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Page Count: 328

Why I Want to Read It: I have read some stuff by Ann Aguirre, but they were dystopians. I am very interested to see how she writes contemporary in comparison to those novels. I have heard good things, and I think that the cover is quite cute!

Synopsis: Sage Czinski is trying really hard to be perfect. If she manages it, people won’t peer beyond the surface, or ask hard questions about her past. She’s learned to substitute causes for relationships, and it’s working just fine… until Shane Cavendish strolls into her math class. He’s a little antisocial, a lot beautiful, and everything she never knew she always wanted.

Shane Cavendish just wants to be left alone to play guitar and work on his music. He’s got heartbreak and loneliness in his rearview mirror, and this new school represents his last chance. He doesn’t expect to be happy; he only wants to graduate and move on. He never counted on a girl like Sage.

But love doesn’t mend all broken things, and sometimes life has to fall apart before it can be put back together again…

What releases are you looking forward to this week? 

This Week's Releases: March 8 - 14

Welcome to This Week's Releases! The new weekly post on Beneath the Jacket Reviews that I will post every Sunday. I am going to discuss the releases of the week that I am super excited about, and why. Some weeks there may be a dozen books, sometimes there may be two or three, and sometimes there may be none at all. That's alright though, since it's just about books I am actually interested in!

Week #10: March 8 - 14

Another week with a lot of YA books releasing! Even more than I originally knew about before I looked at the list I like to use at YALit. Without too much more talking from me, here are the releases I'm looking forward to this week!

1. Tether by Anna Jarzab

Series: Many-World Trilogy #2

Release Date: March 10, 2015

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Page Count: 320

Why I Want to Read It: I find parallel universe stories to be very interesting, and this one sounds like a pretty good one. I know that this is book two in a series, and I have yet to read the first book so I would definitely have to get both and read them together. The story just sounds very interesting, and I actually do like this cover.

Synopsis: 

Tether, the sequel to Tandem, continues the captivating tale of rebellion and romance that spans parallel worlds.

Everything repeats.

Sasha expected things to go back to normal once she got back on Earth. But now that she knows parallel worlds are real, and that an alternate version of herself exists in a world called Aurora, her old life no longer seems to make sense . . . and her heart breaks daily for Thomas, the boy she left behind. Troubled by mysterious, often terrifying visions and the echoes of a self she was just beginning to discover, Sasha makes the difficult decision to journey once more through the tandem.

Thomas is waiting for her on the other side, and so is strange, otherworldly Selene, Sasha’s analog from a third universe. Sasha, Selene, and their other analog, Juliana, have a joint destiny, and a new remarkable power, one that could mean salvation for Selene’s dying planet. With Thomas’s help, Sasha and Selene search for the missing Juliana. But even if they can locate her, is Sasha willing to turn her back on love to pursue a fate she’s not sure she believes in?

2. Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Series: N/A

Release Date: March 10, 2015

Publisher: HarperCollins

Page Count: 368

Why I Want to Read It: Lauren Oliver...that about says it all!

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping story about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident.

Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.

In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.

"Alarming and uplifting, a rare psychological thriller that has a kind heart at its center. Read it with all the lights on." -- E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars.

3. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

Series: The Orphan Queen #1

Release Date: March 10, 2015

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Page Count: 400

Why I Want to Read It: I have been more into high fantasy lately, and I have heard wonderful things about Jodi Meadows writing. This is a highly anticipated book for a lot of people, so I am looking forward to giving it a read as well.

Synopsis:

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

4. The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow

Series: N/A

Release Date: March 10, 2015

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Page Count: 304

Why I Want to Read It: There are not a ton of books out there that have a male narrator/protagonist, so I am always interested in them when they do come out. Along with that, this book is supposed to be funny, which always nice in YA contemporaries. And let's be real, look at that cover!

Synopsis:

A poignant and unexpectedly funny novel about Francis - one of the best and bravest teenage boy narrators since Adrian Mole. This is an emotionally honest story about wanting the very best from life, even when life shows you how very bad things can be.

Francis Wootton's first memory is of Kurt Cobain's death, and there have been other hardships closer to home since then. At fifteen years old he already knows all about loss and rejection - and to top it all off he has a permanently broke big brother, a grandma with selective memory (and very selective social graces) and a mum who's at best an acquired taste. Would-be poet, possible intellectual and definitely wasted in Tyne and Wear, Francis has grown used to figuring life out on his own.Lower Fifth is supposed to be his time, the start of an endless horizon towards whatever-comes-next. But when he is diagnosed with leukaemia that wide-open future suddenly narrows, and a whole new world of worry presents itself.There's the horror of being held back a year at school, the threat of imminent baldness, having to locate his best shirt in case a visiting princess or pop-star fancies him for a photo-op . . . But he hadn't reckoned on meeting Amber - fierce, tough, one-of-a-kind Amber - and finding a reason to tackle it all - the good, the bad and everything in between - head on.In Bloom is a bright, funny, painful and refreshing novel about wanting the very best from life, even when life shows you how very bad it can be. It is a novel about how to live.

What releases are you looking forward to this week?

This Week's Releases: March 1 - 7

 

• Welcome to This Week's Releases! The new weekly post on Beneath the Jacket Reviews that I will post every Sunday. I am going to discuss the releases of the week that I am super excited about, and why. Some weeks there may be a dozen books, sometimes there may be two or three, and sometimes there may be none at all. That's alright though, since it's just about books I am actually interested in!

Week #9: March 1 - 7

I did not realize just how many YA books were releasing this week until I began looking at the list. I'm on a very strict budget this month as well, which makes the realization that much more painful! Alas, I will just have to make a wishlist and try to pick some of them up in April instead! Here are This Week's Releases that I am interested in. 

1. The Memory Key by Liana Liu

Series: N/A

Release Date: March 3, 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Page Count: 368

Why I Want to Read It: I actually have some mixed feelings about this book, but overall I am definitely interested in reading it. It is a science fiction and dystopian, two things that I definitely enjoy in my young adult books. The ratings are a bit here and there, but I don't often pay much attention to that when I pick books (maybe I should, but oh well). Overall, I think that the premise is interesting enough for me to give it a try.

Synopsis:
In a five-minutes-into-the-future world, a bereaved daughter must choose between losing memories of her mother to the haze of time and the reality-distorting, visceral pain of complete, perfect recall.

Lora Mint is determined not to forget.

Though her mother’s been dead for five years, Lora struggles to remember every detail about her—most importantly, the specific events that occurred the night she sped off in her car, never to return.

But in a world ravaged by Vergets disease, a viral form of Alzheimer’s, that isn’t easy. Usually Lora is aided by her memory key, a standard-issue chip embedded in her brain that preserves memories just the way a human brain would. Then a minor accident damages Lora’s key, and her memories go haywire. Suddenly Lora remembers a moment from the night of her mother’s disappearance that indicates her death was no accident. Can she trust these formerly forgotten memories? Or is her ability to remember every painful part of her past driving her slowly mad—burying the truth forever?

Lora’s longing for her lost mother and journey to patch up her broken memories is filled with authentic and poignant emotion. Her race to uncover the truth is a twisty ride. In the end, Liana Liu’s story will spark topical conversations about memory and privacy in a world that is reliant on increasingly invasive forms of technology.

 2. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Series: The Winner's Trilogy #2

Release Date: March 3, 2015
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Page Count: 417

Why I Want to Read It: I was not the biggest fan of the first book in this series, which was disappointing since everyone else seemed to love it. However, I was in a reading slump at that point, and that could have been a big part of it. I want to read the first book again to see if anything has changed, and definitely want to read the second book to give it another chance. I know some series get much better as they continue. Plus, the cover is gorgeous.

Synopsis:
Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

 3. Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Series: N/A

Release Date: March 3, 2015

Publisher: Viking Children's

Page Count: 336

Why I Want to Read It: I have already seen great things about this book, and it has not even released yet. I know that it's too unusual with ARCs, but I have heard more about this than I usually do with other books. I think that road trip books are interesting, and the last line of the synopsis definitely has me hooked already.

Synopsis:
"I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange."
After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.
So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.
Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, "Mosquitoland" is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

 4. Death Marked by Leah Cypess

Series: Death Sworn #2

Release Date: March 3, 2015

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Page Count: 400

Why I Want to Read It: I have not read the first book in this series yet, though I have been meaning to for quite some time now as it seems interesting. I have been getting more into fantasy lately, and it does seem like a good series to read as I get into the genre. It seems like it is going to only be a two book series as well, which is kind of nice since a lot of fantasy series are so long.

Synopsis:
A young sorceress’s entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. But if everything she knows is a lie, will she even want to fulfill her destiny? The sequel to Death Sworn is just as full of magic and surprising revelations, and will thrill fans of Leigh Bardugo and Robin LaFevers.

At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the hidden caves of the assassins. She never thought she would survive long. But she discovered she was always meant to end up, powerless, in the caves as part of an elder sorcerer’s plan to destroy the evil Empire they'd battled so long. Except that Ileni is not an assassin, and she doesn't want to be a weapon. And, after everything, she’s not even sure she knows the truth. Now, at the very heart of the Empire—its academy for sorcerers—the truth is what she seeks. What she finds challenges every belief she holds dear—and it threatens her fledgling romance with the young master of assassins.

Leah Cypess spins an intricate and beautiful conclusion to Ileni's story. In the end, it may not be the epic decisions that bring down an empire, but the small ones that pierce the heart.

Which releases are you looking forward to this week?

This Week's Releases: February 22 - 28

• Welcome to This Week's Releases! The new weekly post on Beneath the Jacket Reviews that I will post every Sunday. I am going to discuss the releases of the week that I am super excited about, and why. Some weeks there may be a dozen books, sometimes there may be two or three, and sometimes there may be none at all. That's alright though, since it's just about books I am actually interested in!

Week #8: February 22 - 28

I really did not mean to wait so long between doing these posts, but then things always seemed to come up on the weekends and they just didn't happen. I am going to try to be much better about posting these weekly, though. Currently it's raining and cold here (hoping for a snow day tomorrow since we're supposed to have a night of freezing rain), so I plan to get quite a few blog posts written and scheduled today! Anyway, here are the releases I'm looking forward to this week!

1. No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss

Series: N/A

Release Date: February 24

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Page Count: 272

Why I Want to Read It: The synopsis of this book sounds amazing. I really enjoy when contemporaries focus on family aspects since a lot of them tend to leave families out of them completely. It reminds me of the whole 2012 thing, when everyone was sure the world was going to end, so I am interested to see how the author handles it. It's also a debut novel, and I enjoy reading new authors.

Synopsis:
Abigail’s parents have made mistake after mistake, and now they've lost everything. She’s left to decide: Does she still believe in them? Or is it time to believe in herself? Fans of Sara Zarr, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell will connect with this moving debut.

Abigail doesn't know how her dad found Brother John. Maybe it was the billboards. Or the radio. What she does know is that he never should have made that first donation. Or the next, or the next. Her parents shouldn't have sold their house. Or packed Abigail and her twin brother, Aaron, into their old van to drive across the country to San Francisco, to be there with Brother John for the "end of the world." Because of course the end didn't come. And now they're living in their van. And Aaron’s disappearing to who-knows-where every night. Their family is falling apart. All Abigail wants is to hold them together, to get them back to the place where things were right. But maybe it’s too big a task for one teenage girl. Bryan Bliss’s thoughtful, literary debut novel is about losing everything—and about what you will do for the people you love.

 2. The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Series: The Sin Eater's Daughter #1

Release Date: February 24

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Page Count: 336

Why I Want to Read It: I think that this book has a very fascinating premise, one that I certainly have not read before. The main character can kill people just by touching them, and somehow she is promised to the prince because his royalty is supposed to keep him safe from her gift. Seems like there could be a pretty interesting love triangle involved as well.

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she’s engaged to the prince, Twylla isn’t exactly a member of the court.

She’s the executioner.

As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month she’s taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla’s fatal touch, avoids her company.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he’s able to look past Twylla’s executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla’s been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen.

However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla’s problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

 3. A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas

Series: A Wicked Thing #1

Release Date: February 24

Publisher: HarperTeen

Page Count: 352

Why I Want to Read It: Another debut novel, yay! I had no idea that this was going to be a series as well, so that's pretty awesome. I think that fairy tale retellings are really great when there is a brand new, interesting twist on it, and this book definitely seems to have that going for it. We will get to see what happens with Sleeping Beauty after the kiss that awakens her, and I think that's pretty awesome.

Synopsis:
Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.

 4. Quake by Patrick Carman

Series: Pulse #3

Release Date: February 24

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Page Count: 288

Why I Want to Read It: I actually have not started this series, and I didn't know too much about it until a few days ago when I overheard some people talking about it. Since then, I haven't been able to stop thinking about how much I really do want to read this series. I do hope to get my hands on all of them in the near future so I can just marathon the series.

Synopsis:
In the year 2051, Faith can move mountains…

Faith Daniels and Dylan Gilmore are in love, and they have a special ability called a pulse: they can move things with their minds. They're caught in the middle of a deadly war with two other pulses: Clara and Wade Quinn, who have joined forces with Hotspur Chance, the most wanted man in the world.

At the start of Quake, Faith and Dylan are holed up in a spectacular abandoned mountain lodge (once used in the film The Shining 71 years before), and their Intel friend Hawk leaves them in the middle of the night, in spite of a newly blossoming love with a girl named Jade. Hawk’s plan is to penetrate the Western State and make contact with a sleeper cell working on the inside that will give them valuable information about Hotspur’s violent plan.

But while Hawk is searching for answers on the inside, Faith and Dylan are still fighting on the outside. In a series of hair-raising battles, the second pulses duel it out, only to raise the body count on both sides. During the battles, Faith and Dylan discover an even great strength: the power of their combined love. Together, Faith and Dylan might just be able to save the world with a quake that is big enough to change the course of history.

 Which releases are you excited for this week?

This Week's Releases: January 18 - 24

• Welcome to This Week's Releases! The new weekly post on Beneath the Jacket Reviews that I will post every Sunday. I am going to discuss the releases of the week that I am super excited about, and why. Some weeks there may be a dozen books, sometimes there may be two or three, and sometimes there may be none at all. That's alright though, since it's just about books I am actually interested in!

Week #3: January 18 - 24

1. The Prey by Tom Isbell

Series: The Hatchery #1

Release Date: January 20

Publisher: HarperTeen

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 416

Why I Want to Read It: The Synopsis says that it is a "riveting story of survival, courage, and romance" so that sounds like a pretty great mix to me. It seems a bit like another Hunger Games, though the idea of it sounds even better to me (I am not the biggest fan of THG books, if I'm being honest). I like the idea of the LTs and Sisters coming together to fight the government and what not. Who couldn't use another YA dystopian trilogy? They're my jam!

Synopsis: A hot debut trilogy and a riveting story of survival, courage, and romance in a future where creating a master civilization is the only thing prized, no matter the method. After the Omega (the end of the end), 16 year old guys known as LTs discover their overseers are raising them not to be soldiers (lieutenants) as promised, but to be sold as bait because of their Less Than status and hunted for sport. They escape and join forces with a girls’ camp, the Sisters, who have been imprisoned and experimented on for the "good of the Republic," by a government eager to use twins in their dark research. In their plight for freedom, these heroes must find the best in themselves to fight against the worst in their enemies.

That's all I have for this week, but it seems like a great one!

This Week's Releases: January 11 - 17

Like I mentioned in the last Cover Concepts of 2014, I decided I was going to change up how I do these posts in the new year. For starters, it is no longer going to be called Cover Concepts because there is a very good chance that I won't be just talking about the covers (I hope to have a new title banner by next week, but first I have to figure out how to make one that looks good!). Instead, it's going to be called This Week's Releases from now on, and it will be every Sunday instead of Monday as it was in 2014. I just did not love writing the Cover Concepts posts anymore, and since it's something I should enjoy, I decided to switch it up. Now, I am going to discuss the releases of the week that I am super excited about, and why. Some weeks there may be a dozen books, sometimes there may be two or three, and sometimes there may be none at all. That's alright though, since it's just about books I am actually interested in!
 
Week #1: January 11 - 17

1. Perfect Couple by Jennifer Echols

Release Date: Jan. 13

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: Hardcover or Paperback

Page Count: 336

Why I Want to Read It: This book sounds incredibly cute, and after really loving the synopsis, I can't believe I did not notice the first book enough to pick it up when it came out. This contemporary is the exact kind of book I love to read, so I think I will need to get it soon.

Synopsis: As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for capturing those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents' bitter divorce has left her wondering what a loving relationship would look like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody the “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been on her case to ask Brody out.

Brody doesn’t lack in female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He seems confused about why they were matched together, too. They’re total opposites—the last people in the world who would ever be compatible, let alone the “perfect couple.” Yet ever since the class paired the two of them, they've found themselves drawn together--first by curiosity, then by an undeniable bond.

The trouble is, though they're very attracted to each other and both of them admit this, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating clearly. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But after they walk away, both of them feel so changed from making the effort that they can’t forget each other. What if that means this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?

 2. The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

Release Date: Jan. 13

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 336

Why I Want to Read It: I have been hearing a lot about this book lately, so I decided to look it up a couple of weeks ago. That led me to then preorder the book on Amazon. It's noted as a "romantic thriller" so that sounds like it has to be good! It sounds like it's going to be full of action, and I cannot wait to read it.

Synopsis:  To fight her destiny as the missing heir to a powerful and dangerous secret society, sixteen-year-old Avery West must solve an ancient puzzle in a deadly race across Europe. Forbidden love and code-breaking, masked balls and explosions, destiny and dark secrets collide in this romantic thriller, in the vein of a YA DaVinci Code.

Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada at the Champs-Elysees when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war.

They are part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle of Twelve, and Avery is their missing heir. If they discover who she is, some of them will want to use her as a pawn. Some will want her dead.

To thwart their plans, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the landmarks of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul and through a web of ancient legends and lies. And unless she can stay one step ahead of beautiful, volatile Stellan, who knows she’s more than she seems, and can decide whether to trust mysterious, magnetic Jack, she may be doomed after all.

What releases are you guys excited about this week? 

Cover Concepts = This Week's Releases

Like I mentioned in the last Cover Concepts of 2014, I decided I was going to change up how I do these posts in the new year. For starters, it is no longer going to be called Cover Concepts because there is a very good chance that I won't be just talking about the covers (I hope to have a new title banner by next week, but first I have to figure out how to make one that looks good!). Instead, it's going to be called This Week's Releases from now on, and it will be every Sunday instead of Monday as it was in 2014. I just did not love writing the Cover Concepts posts anymore, and since it's something I should enjoy, I decided to switch it up. Now, I am going to discuss the releases of the week that I am super excited about, and why. Some weeks there may be a dozen books, sometimes there may be two or three, and sometimes there may be none at all. That's alright though, since it's just about books I am actually interested in! So, here we go, the first This Week's Releases post!

Week #1: January 5 - 10

 1. The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick 

Release Date: January 6

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 336

Why I Want to Read it: This book sounds unlike anything that I have ever read before. It sounds like intertwining stories that go through different decades and time periods, so that is an interesting concept. Along with that, I have heard wonderful things about Marcus Sedgwick and his books, so I really do want to give this a try. The cover definitely is pretty, too.

Synopsis:  

A bold, genre-bending epic that chronicles madness, obsession, and creation, from the Paleolithic era through the Witch Hunts and into the space-bound future.
Four linked stories boldly chronicle madness, obsession, and creation through the ages. Beginning with the cave-drawings of a young girl on the brink of creating the earliest form of writing, Sedgwick traverses history, plunging into the seventeenth century witch hunts and a 1920s insane asylum where a mad poet's obsession with spirals seems to be about to unhinge the world of the doctor trying to save him. Sedgwick moves beyond the boundaries of historical fiction and into the future in the book's final section, set upon a spaceship voyaging to settle another world for the first time. Merging Sedgwick's gift for suspense with science- and historical-fiction, Ghosts of Heaven is a tale is worthy of intense obsession.

 2. Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Series: The Kanin Chronicles #1

Release Date: January 6

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Format: Paperback

Page Count: 321

Why I Want to Read it: I have been hearing about this book for awhile, so it has been on my radar. I am always intrigued by strong female characters who want to prove themselves, and this story seems to be just that. It's a start to another series, and I love series, plus I heard wonderful things about Amanda Hocking's previous series. Also, again, the cover is really pretty.

Synopsis:
Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.
Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.
But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

 3. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Release Date: January 6

Publisher: Knopf

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 384

Why I Want to Read it: I have heard so much talk about this book, and apparently it is going to be amazing. It has been compared to The Fault in Our Stars, which made my top ten books in 2014. I just really like the premise, and it seems like the kind of story I would enjoy. I definitely love the line in the description that goes: "a beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die." That line is beautiful, and I already have this book on pre-order.

Synopsis:
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

4. There Will be Lies by Nick Lane

Release Date: January 6

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 464

Why I Want to Read it: I actually did not know anything about this book until yesterday as I was looking through the upcoming releases. I was initially struck by the bright cover, but then I was intrigued by the title as well. From the synopsis, it seems like it's going to be a bit of a thriller, and I really enjoyed the ones that I picked up last year. It may have been a bit of a whim, but this one does sound very intriguing, so I pre-ordered it as well.

Synopsis:
In four hours, Shelby Jane Cooper will be struck by a car.
Shortly after, she and her mother will leave the hospital and set out on a winding journey toward the Grand Canyon.
All Shelby knows is that they’re running from dangers only her mother understands. And the further they travel, the more Shelby questions everything about her past—and her current reality. Forced to take advantage of the kindness of unsuspecting travelers, Shelby grapples with what’s real, what isn’t, and who she can trust . . . if anybody.

What releases are you excited about this week?