This past week, I decided to finally go to my first Book Expo America. Clearly, I’m a masochist. For those who don’t know, BEA is the largest publishing expo in North America. Publishers, media, and everyone in between all pack themselves into the Javits Center in New York for several days and mingle and talk about upcoming books. It’s the closest thing to insanity that I’ve ever seen, and I can’t remember the last time my body has been this sore.
The things we do for books.
While wandering around Javits, I heard about some really cool titles, and even snagged a few ARCs. Below are five of my favorite titles from BEA and do keep in mind that most of them don’t come out for quite some time.
Nowhere but Here
Author: Katie McGarry
Released: May 26, 2015 by Harlequin Teen
Genre: Romance, Young Adult
Series: Thunder Road #1Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she’s curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn’t mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.
Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They’re the good guys. They protect people. They’re…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club’s most respected member—is in town, he’s gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it’s his shot at his dream. What he doesn’t count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.
No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.
Comments: I know this just came out. But I was able to listen to Katie talk about this book and someone had asked, “Why motorcycle clubs?” Her answer was so beautiful, and her fans spoke so highly of her emotional writing that I just have to give this a shot.
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Author: Kim Harrison
Released: September 1, 2015 by Gallery Books
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Series: The Peri Reed Chronicles #1Detroit 2030. Double-crossed by the person she loved and betrayed by the covert government organization that trained her to use her body as a weapon, Peri Reed is a renegade on the run.
Don’t forgive and never forget has always been Peri’s creed. But her day job makes it difficult: she is a drafter, possessed of a rare, invaluable skill for altering time, yet destined to forget both the history she changed and the history she rewrote.
When Peri discovers her name on a list of corrupt operatives, she realizes that her own life has been manipulated by the agency. She joins forces with a mysterious rogue soldier in a deadly race to piece together the truth about her final task, unable to trust even herself.
Comments: The new Kim Harrison! This is more science fiction than urban fantasy I’d say. I started reading my ARC while I waited for things. So far, the start is tough because it really throws you into the technology and terminology, but once everything is explained, I predict smooth sailing.
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Author: Leigh Bardugo
Released: September 29, 2015 by Henry Holt and Company
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult
Series: The Dregs #1Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
Comments: Though I’m currently having a love/hate relationship with Game of Thrones lately, I’m completely taken with the description of this book as being Ocean’s Eleven meets Game of Thrones. Normally, I’m a sucker for ensembles casts and ragtag groups, but the fantasy setting just makes it all the more interesting.
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Author: Garth Nix
Released: October 13, 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Regency, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young AdultLady Truthful will inherit her family’s most valued heirloom on her eighteenth birthday. Until the Newington Emerald is stolen.
Lady Truthful, nicknamed “Newt” by her boy cousins, discovers that to her horror, the people closest to her have been framed for the theft. But Newt won’t let their reputations be damaged by rumors from a false accusation. Her plan is simple: go to London to recover the missing jewel. Despite her best intentions, a young lady travelling alone is frankly unacceptable behavior. So Newt and her aunt devise another plan…one that entails men’s clothing and a mustache.
While in disguise, Truthful encounters the handsome but shrewd major Harnett, who to her amazement volunteers to help find the missing emerald under the assumption that she is a man, Henri de Vienne. But once she and her unsuspecting ally are caught up in a dangerous adventure, Truthful realizes something else is afoot: the beating of her heart.
Truthful has far more than romantic complications to worry about. The stolen emerald is no ordinary heirloom-it is the source of the family’s luck and has the power to yield vast magic. It would be completely disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands. The fate of England depends on Truthful securing the emerald.
Comments: The Garth Nix name does carry some weight and I received an ARC of this with another book I was trying to get, so I knew nothing about this when I picked it up. On Goodreads, someone said it reminded them of a Georgette Heyer novel but with some fantasy thrown in and I was immediately onboard.
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Author: Charlie Jane Anders
Released: January 26, 2016 by Tor
Genre: Science Fiction/FantasyChildhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn’t expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during high school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one’s peers and families.
But now they’re both adults, living in the hipster mecca San Francisco, and the planet is falling apart around them. Laurence is an engineering genius who’s working with a group that aims to avert catastrophic breakdown through technological intervention into the changing global climate. Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the world’s magically gifted, and works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world’s every-growing ailments. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together–to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark ages.
A deeply magical, darkly funny examination of life, love, and the apocalypse.
Comments: The longest wait out of all of them, and can I just say that Tor is just crushing it on upcoming titles. Seriously. I’d recommended trying to find a catalog list and just ogling for a while. I also love books that blend fantasy elements into modern or futuristic settings.
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I’ve had the ebook of Newt’s Emerald for a while, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Garth Nix is a fan of Georgette Heyer, and it’s my understanding that this book was an attempt to write somewhat in her style.
I read the ebook of Newt’s Emerald and was really disappointed. I love all of his SF/F YA and he’s a lovely guy in person but this was so self-consciously quirky and screwball that I couldn’t finish it. (I have a problem with scatterbrained heroines so YMMV.)
As someone who used to ride a bike and has spent time with motorcycle clubs, I’m already heavily side eyeing Nowhere But Here. 99 percent of clubs do not fight, either with the towns they come from, or with other clubs. They almost never go by “scary” names either. Riders already get a very bad rap thanks to 1 percenters, where people think anyone who rides automatically belongs in Sons of Anarchy.
I might read this, but just from the summary I’m already getting the feeling that the author didn’t do any research on actual riders, and instead maybe watched some docudramas and SOA and called it good.
@Jamie: Actually, Katie spent six months with a motorcycle club to do research and couldn’t speak more highly of them. She also grew up around guys in MCs. During the panel, she also mentioned the same things you did and how MCs get a bad rap because of the one percenters. She talked about how they’re like a brotherhood and that they take care of each other. She told one story about a woman who lost her husband in a motorcycle accident and she essentially wanted for nothing. The guys made sure her bills were paid, her children had toys for holidays, etc. Ultimately, the book still may not be for you, but Katie seemed to feel the same way you do and did research to make sure they were well-represented, I think.
@Amanda: Oh, good! The summary is just coming off like it might be hitting all the stereotypes riders often get. It IS true about the brotherhood aspect; my dad was in a horrible motorcycle accident and multiple clubs were helping and checking up on us and making sure we were ok. We didn’t need any money but the emotional support was amazing.
Maybe the summary just isn’t great? I don’t know how much control the author gets over that. I’ll definitely check it out though.