Most Anticipated Releases of January

Quite honestly, there’s nothing I’m more excited about this year as the sheer amount of amazing books set to come out. And to make things even better, they’re still steadily becoming more diverse! I love seeing so many identities and marginalizations represented, and I have high hopes for a lot of the titles I’ve come across so far.

I’m going to try to make a post like this for every month, but let’s start with January!

King of Scars – Leigh Bardugo

Probably the most anticipated release of the month among the bookish community is King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. Having loved the Grisha books so far, I cannot wait to finally get to read this! I’ve already read the chapter sampler that was included in FairyLoot a while ago, and contained the first 50 or so pages, and that was so promising! I’m hoping to reread the Grisha trilogy before the book comes out (I’ve already reread the Six of Crows duology in 2018).

I ended up preordering both the Waterstones signed edition and the Illumicrate Saints & Scars box, because it will have a gorgeous exclusive design.

Winter of the Witch – Katherine Arden (The Winterwitch Trilogy #3)

One of my favourite trilogies of all time is the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. I believe this is marketed as adult fantasy, but I think it’s definitely accessible for young adult readers as well. I fell in love with the beautiful writing and the atmospheric setting of historical Russia, and I can only recommend that you read The Bear and the Nightingale if you haven’t yet.

Famous In a Small Town – Emma Mills

When it comes to YA contemporary, Emma Mills quickly became one of my favourite authors after I got Foolish Hearts in an Owlcrate box and devoured it in one sitting. I read her other two books soon after, and I’m really excited to read her newest release!

Dragon Pearl – Yoon Ha Li

You may already be familiar with Rick Riordan’s imprint Rick Riordan Presents, which has previously published Aru Shah and the End of Time and The Storm Runner. The imprint aims to give a platform to own voices authors to write middlegrade novels based on their cultural background. Dragon Pearl is described as a “sci-fi adventure with underpinnings of Korean mythology”, and it sounds like it will be a blast!

In An Absent Dream – Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children #4)

Another sequel that I can’t wait to dive into is the fourth one in the Wayward Children series. Every Heart a Doorway, Down Among the Sticks and Bones and Beneath the Sugar Sky have all been amazing reads, with great representation, so I have high hopes for In An Absent Dream as well. These are also very recommendable if you’re looking for quick reads, because they’re all under 200 pages each!

Two Can Keep a Secret – Karen McManus

I don’t often read thrillers, because they tend to bore me a little. However, I did really enjoy One Of Us Is Lying when I picked it up, so I’m curious to read Karen McManus’s new book as well! An extra fun reason to read this is that Karen McManus will be coming to YALFest in April, so I could get my book signed then!

Evermore – Sara Holland

In December 2017, FairyLoot included Everless in their box. I had a lot of fun reading that, so I’m really looking forward to finally reading the sequel. I might have to reread Everless first though.

Circle of Shadows – Evelyn Skye

I was very late to the party, but I just read The Crown’s Game and The Crown’s Fate a month or two ago. I was a little hesitant at first, but they felt like The Night Circus and The Bear and the Nightingale had a baby, so I ended up really enjoying them. Which is why I can only be excited to see what Evelyn Skye came up with this time around!

Which book are you looking forward to the most this month?