New YA: January 22-31.
New hardbacks:
Cinders & Sapphires (At Somerton), by Leila Rasheed:
If, like me, you like The Luxe in all of its Bathtub Book Glory—the bitchiness and the period clothing, the page-turning plot twists, the secrets and lies and romantic entanglements—then Cinders and Sapphires will totally be up your alley.
Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers, by Kirsten Miller:
So, I went in with high hopes—which is sometimes a dangerous proposition—but I'm happy to report that Kirsten Miller has done it again: like its predecessors, The Darkness Dwellers is chock-full of excitement, mystery, secrets, disguises, stock market shenanigans, and smartypants humor. There are punches thrown and tires slashed; code-breaking and chemistry and cool tidbits of lesser-known history.
The Madman's Daughter, by Megan Shepherd:
I really, really enjoyed this one: it works as historical fiction, as science fiction, as a horror story, a romance, a coming of age, and as a retelling of H.G. Wells' original. The changes that Shepherd makes, the twists she introduces, they all feel organic and they play off the original and change it, but in ways that complement the Wells, if that makes sense. It changes it without trying to replace it or diminish it, maybe? Whatever it is I'm trying to say (YEESH), it's TOTALLY engrossing, and I TOTALLY DUG IT.
The Archived, by Victoria Schwab
Asunder (Incarnate), by Jodi Meadows
The Prey (Hunt), by Andrew Fukuda
Prodigy: A Legend Novel, by Marie Lu
Shadows in the Silence (Angelfire), by Courtney Allison Moulton
What the Spell (Life's a Witch), by Brittany Geragotelis
Slated, by Teri Terry
Black Ice (Sherlock Holmes: the Legend Begins), by Andrew Lane
Boundless (Unearthly), by Cynthia Hand
Everbound: An Everneath Novel, by Brodi Ashton
The Last Apprentice: Slither (Book 11), by Joseph Delaney
Nobody, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Ravage: A Deviants Novel, by Jeff Sampson
New paperbacks (that I've written about):
Fracture, by Megan Miranda:
It's got some genuinely creepy moments, and rather than Bella's Edward Cullen Hurts Me Because He Loves Me routine, Delaney's reasons for not cutting Troy loose early on are easy (or, they were for me) to identify with: she's trying to understand this power she suddenly has, and what she's supposed to do with it. Well, that and the blackmail thing, but that comes later.
Try Not to Breathe, by Jennifer R. Hubbard:
And, as you may have guessed from the cover art, there's a romance. But it isn't a story in which the Romance Heals All Ills, or even a story about a romance that's necessarily going to Work Out. Rather than a simple romance—and there are some serious moments of steam—it's a story about two people connecting, and about how important, at that specific time, that connection is to both of them.
The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll & Mademoiselle Odile (Shadow Sisters), by James Reese:
The story has a lot going for it. It stars a capable girl who's got a few big secrets and a couple of potential love interests. It features cool science (or is it magic?) and a rarely-covered historical event. In addition to the attractiveness of the premise, much of this book is technically well done: it's clear that the author did quite a lot of research, and the historical details are both interesting and integrated well into the narrative.