Upcoming Releases (2023 part 1)
Hey, hi, hello. Reading has eluded me this year thanks to my life (which never misses an opportunity to kick me when I'm down). Annnnyyway, if I can make the time to read, here are three books I'm dying to get my hands on.
The first is Wolfsong by TJ Klune. I had no idea that Klune was releasing this book, because he's also releasing In the Lives of Puppets, which is about a family of sentient robots, including a little vacuum cleaner... definitely giving me "The Brave Little Toaster" vibes. But Wolfsong sounds more like something I'd love. Some of Klune's books call to me more than others, so I'm really looking forward to Wolfsong and hope I love it as much as I did The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Ox Matheson was twelve when his father taught him a lesson: Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.
Ox was sixteen when the energetic Bennett family moved in next door, harbouring a secret that would change him forever. For the family are shapeshifters, who can transform into wolves at will. Drawn to their magic, loyalty and enduring friendships, Ox feels a gulf between this extraordinary new world and the quiet life he’s known. He also finds an ally in Joe, the youngest Bennett boy. Joe is charming and handsome, but haunted by scars he cannot heal.
Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town, and tore a hole in his heart. Violence flared, tragedy split the pack and Joe left town, leaving Ox behind. Three years later, the boy is back. Except now he’s a man – and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.
Wolfsong releases on July 4th.
I’ll Tell You No Lies by Amanda McCrina is reminiscent of my favorite books. World War II-related, (and basically a little YA version of) historical romance books.
Some WWII romances really worry me with their portrayals of Nazis/soldiers as redeemable, and I think we could run into the same issue with Russian soldiers in similar positions, but it sounds like this should be a criticism of the aggressors of WWII. I'm interested to see how the author pulls off the nuances that'll be necessary for Maksym's character as he faces what he's done and been through, his new reality as a defector, and the impact of suddenly being in Post-WWII America, where anti-German and Soviet sentiment is boiling over.
New York, 1955. Eighteen-year-old Shelby Blaine and her father, an Air Force intelligence officer, have just been wrenched away from their old life in West Germany to New York’s Griffiss Air Force Base, where he has been summoned to lead the interrogation of an escaped Soviet pilot. Still in shock from the car accident that killed her mother barely a month earlier, Shelby struggles with her grief, an emotionally distant father, and having to start over in a new home.
Then a chance meeting with Maksym, the would-be defector, spirals into a deadly entanglement, as the pilot’s cover story is picked apart and he attempts to escape his military and intelligence handlers—with Shelby caught in the middle. The more she learns of Maksym’s secrets, including his detention at Auschwitz during the war, the more she becomes willing to help him. But as the stakes become more dangerous, Shelby begins to question everything she has been told, even by her fugitive friend. Allies turn into enemies, and the truth is muddled by lies. Can she trust a traitor with her life, or will it be the last mistake she ever makes?
I'll Tell You No Lies comes out on August 1.
Every Wish Way by Shannon Bright makes me think of Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond. I'm hoping the difference between them is that this one doesn't suck like that one does.
I think the plot is relying a bit too hard on familiar plot devices, but it really could go either way. If it can hit the mark on the humor and kitschiness that a story like this needs, then it'll be really fun and successful.
With high hopes, I'm really excited for Every Wish Way. If done well, it'll be a humorous, cozy-fantasy romance.
Raised by a mother whose ironclad motto is “men are trash,” Iza longs to prove her wrong, ideally with a kind, steady boyfriend who will free her from the exhausting treadmill that is dating. Although she’s willing to try (almost) anything to find love, accidentally summoning a wish-granting stranger out of thin air was never part of the plan.
Unfortunately, Beckett, her personal wish-granter, isn’t exactly the sage and generous being she would expect. Instead, he loves to party, has attitude to spare, and boasts an uncanny ability to point out Iza’s worst flaws. Iza decides to use one of her three wishes to create her dream man—a modern Mr. Darcy. If that esteemed gentleman can’t impress her overbearing mother, no one can. Using Pride and Prejudice as the handbook to Darcy’s heart, Iza plays the part of Elizabeth Bennet and sets out to create her epic love story.
Making wishes and winning Darcy over becomes more complicated than Iza expects, especially with Beckett’s adorably dimpled grin and unexpected kindness in the equation. Soon enough, she’s glimpsing the truth of the man behind the flippant persona, and each moment in his company makes her question everything she thought she wanted from love.