About a month ago I started seeing people I follow on Twitter talking about pre-ordering a book a month for 2021. What a great idea! Give yourself a little gift each month plus help out authors by boosting their pre-orders! Although my bank account may disagree that this idea is awesome - I'm rolling with it. I've got both YA and adult books on this list, and a happy little mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller. Some notes on my pre-orders:
Yes, being in a financial position to pre-order a book a month is a lovely privilege. If you can't afford to do the same - don't feel bad. Support authors in other ways! Buy books when you can, check books out from the library, and boost your favorite authors' posts on social media.
I am aware that my pre-order list stops at October. I KNOW. I tried (and tried and tried) to find book releases for November and December, but so few are available at this point in the year that I finally gave up. I'll revisit this over the summer and find some late 2021 releases to pre-order.
And now...*dramatic and unnecessary drumroll*...my pre-orders for 2021!
(through October...I'm working on it, okay?!)
January
The Survivors
Jane Harper
I've read and loved Jane Harper's The Dry and Force of Nature so when I saw this new book releasing in Fall of 2020 I was super excited! Alas, when I learned this wasn't releasing in the US until February 2021 I was SO disappointed. So, now, you're obviously utterly baffled as to why this is on my list for a January pre-der. Well, I recently learned that this was a pick from Book of the Month for my January box - my time is finally here! So, yes, with my very first pre-order on this list I am cheating a little. But, give me a break, okay? Harper's books are character driven mystery-thrillers and in both of my previous reads of this author's works I was drawn into the main character's back story as much as I was the mystery to be solved. The settings of her stories always transport me fully into a new local, as her previous works were set in the Australian outback, and The Survivors is set in a coastal town in Tasmania. I can't wait to dive into to this one when it arrives!
February
The Project
Courtney Summers
When you start a book by Courtney Summers you really don't know what sort of emotional journey you are about to go on but you're sure there will be one. My first foray into Summers was with This Is Not A Test, a book I stayed up until 4am to finish. My most recent read of hers' was Sadie, which I listened to on audio. One was about surviving a zombie apocalypse while battling depression and the other was about a podcaster chronicling a young girl looking for her missing sister. The main plot of each of these couldn't have been more different, but both punched me right in my feels. Now, with The Project, Summers will take us into the world of cults. I'm expecting this book to address grief, the bond between sisters, and how cults truly bring those among us who are most vulnerable and needing into the fold. I'm also anticipating a punch to the gut. Sounds great.
March
Firekeeper's Daughter
Angeline Boulley
I came upon Firekeeper's Daughter while looking for March releases and originally mistook it for a fantasy due to the cover design. I read the synopsis - then read it again. This book is actually a YA thriller with a main character who is an indigenous eighteen year old woman and is an unenrolled member of a local Native American tribe. She takes it upon herself to investigate a murder and the world of drugs on her reservation. I'm most excited to read this book because the author draws from her own experiences as a member of Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and this is a marginalized group not addressed in many YA books. I'm thrilled to read an authentic take on the culture and politics of the Ojibwe community - plus the mystery plot sounds amazing! This part of the summary on Goodreads is what finally pushed this to the top of my March TBR: "secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home." YES I AM HERE FOR IT!
April
The Crown of Gilded Bones
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Here I go pre-ordering the third book in a series when I haven't even finished reading the first one. Hi, it's me. The Crown of Gilded Bones is book three in Armentrout's Blood and Ash series and the only book on my pre-order list that's from the middle or end of a series. I used to be an absolute Armentrout fangirl. Her Lux and Covenant series are two of my all time faves that helped to kickstart my obsession with YA years ago. I've read more books by this author than probably any other author. But, somewhere over the past few years I just stopped picking up her books. No real reason why. So, the first book in this series, From Blood and Ash, really came out of nowhere for me. I didn't even know it had been published. But, Armentrout writing high fantasy? With her trademark knack for sharp and witty dialogue, heroines who kick ass, swoonworthy couples, and easy to read style of writing? SIGN ME UP. So here I am, currently reading book one and pre-ordering book three. Give me the fallen kingdoms, forbidden romance, and dark and bloodthirsty creatures.
May
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
I missed all the excitement of Weir's most famous release, The Martian. I wasn't reading sci-fi back then. But, I've seen the movie like 7,000 times and when I saw that Weir had a release coming in May I pounded that pre-order button. I will not miss this one (maybe that's my FOMO talking...). In 2020, sci-fi books were some of my absolute favorite reads of the year so my expectations are high for any 2021 science fiction reads. In Project Hail Mary, an astronaut wakes up alone, with no memory, and his crew mates around him dead. And, oh yeah, it's supposed to be his job to save Earth from an extinction level event. Oops. I mean, the stakes could literally not be higher and this poor dude wakes up alone and with amnesia. I can't wait.
June
One Last Stop
Casey McQuiston
Casey McQuiston's Red, White, & Royal Blue was a debut hit in 2019 and was one of my favorite books of that year. The characters! The romance! The plot! The funnies! The feels! So, even though this is only her second release, it's one of my most anticipated of 2021. A twenty-three year old girl develops a crush on a fellow subway rider only to learn that the girl is actually from the 1970's and somehow got displaced in time? Queer romance with a 'lost in time' element! I trust this topic with McQuiston even though her first book didn't have any fantasy, or sci-fi elements. Without having even read this yet, I know this will have relatable romance, a sweet sense of humor, and will suck me right in. There's really not much more to say, since I think by now we've all heard of this book. If this is the first time you've come across this author - congrats and welcome to Casey club.
July
A Psalm For The Wild Built
Becky Chambers
If this book cover didn't have Becky Chambers' name on it I would have completely overlooked it. Thank goodness its customary to...you know...put an author's name on their book. When I recognized the name I really took a good look at the cover and wowza! The leaves, the robot, the series title - 'A Monk and Robot Bbook'?! Color me intrigued. Chambers wrote one of my favorite sci-fi books of 2020, A Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet. Her brand of sci-fi focuses on character building, relationships, and diversity, and she's so very good at it. A Psalm For The Wild Built takes place in an alternate future where robots have become self-aware and taken themselves on a mass exodus into the wilderness to live alone. Until, but of course, one robot returns and finds a tea monk and the story begins. How cool does that sound???
August
How We Fall Apart
Katie Zhao
I've never read any of Katie Zhao's other books, but this cover caught my eye. A thriller with Asian rep on the cover? Yes, please. Then I saw that the summary describes it as "a YA thriller that is Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying" and I was hooked. Zhao says this book addresses the real-world pressures of high achievement on Asian Americans while tackling a murder mystery at an elite prep school. All of these things sound amazing. I love mysteries and thrillers but sometimes find that the YA versions of this genre tend to be lightweight and don't go deep enough. After reading Zhao's description of her book, which you can find on the book's Goodreads page, I feel like this one might be the deep and dark, young adult thriller I've been waiting for. Plus, I'm a sucker for murder mysteries and academia.
September
Empire of the Vampire
Jay Kristoff
(cover not final)
If you know me you're not surprised to find this book on my pre-order list. I was happily drowning in vampire and werewolf books back in the day. But, probably like the rest of you, its a minute since I read anything with either of these. And now we're getting an adult novel from Jay Kristoff about vampires? Okay, I'll take it thank you. Kristoff books are hit and miss for me. I generally love them but there me that I'm a little Meh about. For example, his first popular release, Stormdancer, was a book I enjoyed but didn't really love and therefore never read the rest of the series. And the Nevernight books and I have an off and on relationship. But I absolutely adore The Illuminae Files, Aurora Rising, and Lifel1k3. Plus, VAMPIRES! Also, a drunken, ex-monster slayer, murderous vampires, and as described by Kristoff himself, its "quite smutty and bloody". So, I'm getting on this epic roller coaster and we'll see if I rejoice in or regret my decision (I'm gonna love it though...).
October
Little Thieves
Margaret Owen
This one came onto my radar purely by happenstance. There I was, scrolling Twitter, and the author herself tweeted about this book I had never even heard of before. Margaret Owen wrote 2019's The Merciful Crow, which I didn't read but apparently people really loved. This upcoming release is a standalone that tells the story of a thief masquerading as a princess using a magical necklace until the gig is up and she has to answer to two gods - Fortune and Death. OMG, how did I not know about this? A wicked thief telling her story the her own point of view? Yes, please. The cover and the title alone got me interested, but a flawed (like, seriously flawed) heroine will get me every time. Can't wait.
That's it! Let me know if you plan on reading any of these as well. And, please tell me if you've found any great books to pre-order for November and December. Happy Reading!
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