2016 Most Anticipated - Suman from HCC Frenzy

Today I love the lovely Suman from Harper Collins Canada stopping by with a guest post about her own Most Anticipated of 2016 list. There are so many books on this list that I am really excited about!

Suman’s Most Anticipated Books of 2016

Posts like this are so, so, so difficult. How does one pick just a few titles out of all the great books coming out next year? It was a pretty stressful process, honestly. Anywho, below are six books that I’m so excited for you all to read, in order of their on sale date:

1. Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley (1/5/16)

Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The Brontë siblings have always been inseparable. After all, nothing can bond four siblings quite like life in the middle of nowhere. In their spare time they use their vivid imaginations to write pages and pages of stories set in two created worlds: Verdopolis and Gondal. The twist? They’re able to transport themselves into these worlds and interact with the characters they’ve written. As Branwell begins to descend into madness and the sisters feel their real lives slipping away, they will have to weigh the cost of their powerful imaginations as the characters they’ve created refuse to let them go. 

What I love most about Worlds of Ink and Shadow is that it has something for every reader. If you enjoy historical fiction, fantasy, world-building, feminism, writing, classic literature and, well, books, you should absolutely add this to your TBR.

2. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (2/9/16)

This is the sequel to Red Queen. Do I even need to say anything else? I probably should: Glass Sword follows Mare as she sets out to find and recruit other hybrid Red-and-Silver fighters and attempts to stay one step ahead of a Maven (ugh, that traitor!). I was lucky enough to get an ARC (I might have, maybe stolen it from our sales director), but haven’t started it yet because I want to wait until you all read it so that we can talk about all the twists that I’m sure Victoria’s written. I already know we’re going to love this book as much as Red Queen.

3. The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight (5/3/16)

The Outliers kept surprising me in the best possible way. It all starts with a text: “Please, Wylie, I need your help”. Wylie hasn’t heard from Cassie in over a week, not since their last fight. But that doesn’t matter. Cassie’s in trouble, so Wylie decides to do what she has done so many times before: save her best friend from herself. From the bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia this is the first book in a fast-paced teen series where one girl learns that in a world of intrigue, betrayal, and deeply buried secrets, it’s vital to trust your instincts. Fans of thrillers, mysteries, and stories that explore the dynamic between friends will love this one. Also: The Outliers has already been optioned for film!

4. Unrivaled by Alyson Noel (5/10/16)

Unrivaled is the latest book from internationally bestselling author Alyson Noel! It’s also the first book in a suspenseful trilogy where the high-stakes competition of The Selection meets the seductive world of L.A.’s nightlife.  Every character in Unrivaled has a secret and something to lose, especially Madison Brooks, Hollywood’s hottest starlet. When Layla, Aster, and Tommy find themselves with a VIP invite to the glamorous and gritty world of Los Angeles’s elite, they’re lured into a competition where Madison is the target. This is a must-read for fans of Pretty Little Lairs, L.A. Candy, and Gossip Girl.

5. Sing by Vivi Greene (6/7/16)

This book is going to be the perfect summer read (Lauren Conrad meets Katie Cotugno? YES PLEASE, THANK YOU). In Sing, America’s biggest pop star flees the spotlight and heads to Maine to recover from her latest breakup, only to fall head-over-heels for a local boy and be faced with an impossible decision: her new guy, or her music. If you love contemporary fiction, you’re definitely going to want to read this. Plus, look at that cover! I’m absolutely obsessed with it.

6. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (6/7/16)

Victoria Schwab’s latest book is a fast-paced adventure that looks at the monsters we face every day—including the monster within. As the heirs to opposing sides in the warring city of Verity, Kate Harker and Augustus Flynn should never have met. However, when Kate discovers August’s secret, the pair find themselves running for their lives and battling the monsters that have overrun their city. As Verity dissolves into chaos, it’s up to them to foster a peace between monsters and humans. This Savage Song is a beautifully written Romeo and Juliet-esque fantasy about the difference between good and evil and the blurry gray area in between. I promise that you won’t be able to put this book down. I certainly couldn’t!

What books are you excited to read in 2016?? Let me know on Twitter at @HCCFrenzy!

A huge thank you to Suman for taking the time to put this together. What book from this list makes your own Most Anticipated of 2016 list? Let me know in the comments!

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Release Date –  January 17, 2012

Publisher Website –  Harper Collins

Publisher Social Media -  Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader

Pages - 403 pages

My Rating- 4/5

**obtained from the library**

****SPOILERS FOR UNEARTHLY****

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. 

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Clara’s life was turned upside down when she was told that she is part angel, and that she has a purpose that she must fulfill. Clara's life changing journey in Unearthly brought her romance, and lots of questions. I was eager to continue her story in Hallowed.

The writing in Hallowed is just as wonderful as in Unearthly. Cynthia Hand is capable of making you feel all the emotions her characters are feeling. This novel's last half is especially emotional.

Christian, the sweet, steadfast part-angel who is there for Clara, proves in this novel why I am so very Team Christian. He gets what Clara is going through, he is there for her in a way that Tucker can’t be. They can relate to each other and lean on each other to help them through this confusing new reality that have to live with. He is patient, and wants nothing from Clara, except for her to let him in. It’s rather sweet. Tucker is still his amazing self, and I am heartbroken for him. He loves Clara, even if he can’t fully understand her and what changes she's going through.

Learning more about the angels and specifically the White Wings and Black Wings left me eager to learn even more. As we learn more, we learn of heartbreaking and devastating news that will change Clara’s life forever. Someone she loves will be leaving her even as someone else comes back into her life. The loss was sad and left me crying with Clara even as she is supported by loved ones. It shows a maturity in Clara and yet how vulnerable she really is. Clara never feels like an adult playing a teenager which can sometimes happen in YA novels. She feels like a teenager who has had a lot of things happen to her and is trying to figure it out. She is resilient, and strong, but still just a teenager who needs her mother. I love that Cynthia can make her all of this, while staying true to the character.

Clara’s brother Jeffrey continues to draw my attention. He has secrets of his own that when revealed explain a lot of his actions. Clara’s actions in Unearthly had consequences for more than just herself and that was something she didn’t consider before. Now more than ever, the question of your purpose and what not fulfilling it means is something that they have to discover. 

Hallowed will play with your emotions and have you all over the place. You’ll be swooning, laughing, crying, and sometimes all of them at once. When I closed the novel after reading the last page I felt like I had been on a journey with friends, and I look forward to joining Clara again.

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Release Date –  May 1, 2012
Publisher Website –  Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages -  454 pages
My Rating- 3.5/5
**purchased**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? 

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels. 

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna. 

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Temptation. Seduction. Sin. What if you couldn’t resist a particular sin? Even worse, what if you had to tempt others to commit that same sin? This is the premise behind Wendy Higgins debut novel.

The premise was what drew me into the story. It ended up being my favourite part of the novel. The whole idea that there are demons “in charge” of each sin and their children work for them by tempting others to commit that particular sin fascinated me. Their very lives depend on keeping their fathers happy, and this means working. Each of the children feels a pull towards their particular sin, and it becomes too great to resist.

While the plot appealed to me, and I found it to be an interesting premise, the characters were harder to relate to. I often got frustrated with Anna’s personality. The was no moderation with her character. Her father is the demon "in charge" of Drinking/Drugs. Anna feels the pull towards this particular vice and can’t have one sip of alcohol without wanting more. She is unable to enforce her limits. The push/pull of her angelic side, and demon side made it that she was steadfast in her convictions, but the minute she gave in and decided to “sin” she was like an addict. Kissing Kaidan, drinking, and other “sinful” behaviours were ones that tended to make her go overboard. I did like that she wanted to try and resist. The author does a fantastic job of showcasing the two different desires within Anna.

Kaidan literally is temptation. The son of the demon "in charge" of Lust, Kaidan’s purpose is to tempt others to give into their desires. This makes him overtly sexual, and he pushes Anna’s buttons immediately. I found myself disconnected from Kaidan because I feel I didn’t really get to know him that well. He even had a British accent, which tends to make me loose my cool. I felt like he spent more time being not very nice to Anna and I wanted to scream at her to like someone who was going to treat her better. I will give him credit for the nice things he did do and hope that we get to explore his motivations in the sequel.

The romance while very spicy and sexy was a little rushed. Anna was in love with Kaidan while barely knowing him. I have a huge problem with a guy telling a girl to stay away from him because he is dangerous and yet she chases after him anyways and this is exactly what Anna does. She finds reasons to seek him out and doesn’t listen when Kaidan is telling her to back off.  When they are together the connection is electric, and physical. I enjoyed the scorching chemistry and just wished it carried over to the non physical parts of their flirtation.

Wendy Higgins' demons are scary and were something else I really enjoyed. The climatic scene had me eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen. The demons in this tale are ruthless, punish for entertainment and expect nothing less than obedience.

While I had mixed feelings about Sweet Evil, I did enjoy it overall. It’s a highly readable, fast paced novel that has an intriguing premise behind it. I am curious to see where the story will go next as Anna’s fight between her angelic and demon sides is just heating up.

Waiting on Wednesday....What's Left of Me

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

I love the cover for this. This just sounds so unique. I don't think I've read anything quite like this before, and I am looking forward to it.

Expected release date - September 18, 2012

Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell

Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell
Release Date –  December 28 2010
Publisher Website –  Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages -  310 pages
My Rating- 2.5/5
**obtained from the library**

**************MILD SPOILERS******************

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Terrell delivers the first book in a dark, edgy new angel series about a girl drawn into an ancient conflict that threatens everything she knows, even the life of the boy she loves.

Fallen Angel offers an interesting perspective on angel mythology, however the characters were hard for me to relate to.

Ellie and Michael are the main characters in the story. Two teenagers who begin to suspect that they may be something more than human. I feel we did not get to know the characters that well. I could barely picture them, and I wish they had been developed more. This made for a disconnect that was prevalent throughout the entire book.

I really liked that Ellie and Michael are both equal. They both are going through the same thing, and they are both supernatural. Too often we read of the supernatural being in love with the human (or vice versa) so it was nice to see it from a perspective that we don’t often get to see. It made the relationship seem more natural, even though it happens very quickly.  The relationship is intense, passionate and consuming for both of them, and as with most YA novels there is an underlying element to the attraction.

The relationship between Ellie and her best friend Ruth seemed a little awkward and strange at times. Ruth was overly dependant on Ellie, scarily so. It could have been a interesting development to dive deeper in the psychological reasons behind Ruth’s behaviour, but it wasn’t fully dealt with or explained.

Fallen Angel has an really intriguing premise. The synopsis doesn’t give much away, but as I reading I could see the mythology the author wanted to incorporate. I though the Book of Enoch was a great touch, and wished that would have been explored more. The novel has a lot of vampire references and qualities.  Blood is a huge plot point, and the characters actually think they are vampires at first. Applying this mythology could have been very intriguing and unique, but in a way I felt the author really wanted to write about vampires. A large part of the book is Ellie and Michael trying to determine what they are and I feel the title gives it away to the reader. This made me less invested because I knew the end result.

While the promise of an interesting premise, and good mythology was there, I was hoping to dive deeper into the story. It left me vaguely wishing the novel focused on the angel aspect more. I do think the second book maybe stronger, and that a younger teen would enjoy this novel a lot more.

Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Bewitching by Alex Flinn
Release Date – February 14, 2012
Publisher Website –  HarperCollins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating- 7/10
**Obtained from the library**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Bewitching can be a beast. . . . 

Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t. 

I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age. 

You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years—except for when to take my powers and butt out. 

I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal, remember?), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the Titanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it. 

Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl—and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. 

Although you never know what will happen when I start . . . bewitching.

I really enjoyed Kendra in Beastly and picked up Bewitching hoping to find out more about the mysterious witch. While we do find out how Kendra first realized she was a witch (there is a fun twist on Hansel and Gretel involved) she is not the main character. This novel really belongs to Emma. In a way, the synopsis is a little misleading.

The narration does switch view points. Parts are told from the point of view of Kendra, Emma, Prince Louis of France, and Doria.  The switch up of the point of views work in this story. It could have been confusing and jarring but they are woven together wonderfully with Kendra’s narration being the bridge.

I find Alex Flinn’s strong point is the re-imaging of fairytales. The Prince Louis story was the weakest in my opinion. There wasn’t enough history for you to learn anything, and the link to the fairytale felt a little off. I enjoyed the pure fairytales much more. The Little Mermaid re-telling (Doria’s story) was my favourite. It meshed the Titanic with The Little Mermaid tale wonderfully.

I loved that not all the fairytales in this story had a happy ending. A vast majority of the original tales did not. They have been adapted and changed  and often made to include a happily ever after outcome.  It felt more true to the original tales this way.

Emma’s tale is a fun and interesting twist on the classic Cinderella. Told from the point of view of Cinderella’s step-sister. I like that the story made you think about the other side. It showed that not everyone is all good or all bad. We all have grey areas. The notion of believing in yourself, standing up for yourself and that you can make your own happiness are great themes that are explored in Emma story. Emma truly grows and comes to love herself for herself which is so important, especially for teenagers.

I enjoyed the fairytale aspect and the rather fun twists on the tales, but would have loved to have learned more about Kendra, the bewitching witch.