Welcome to Hot New Titles! New releases include Control, Ashes to Ashes and Roomies. This week’s cover reveals include Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally, Dirty Wings by Sarah McCarry, Signed, Skye Harper by Carol Lynch Williams, Othello by C.E. Wilson and the Cuddlebuggery Fav of the Week, The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz.
Hot New Titles is Cuddlebuggery’s weekly post for YA releases and cover reveals. Don’t forget you can follow us on Facebook for all the cover reveals throughout the week and more fun. Clicking the covers takes you to the book’s GoodReads page. As always, we thank Stories and Sweeties, who compiles great lists of new releases and hosts monthly New Releases Giveaways! And thank you to Christina from Reader of Fictions, for keeping us in the know for the newest cover reveals! For all the latest book world news and book blogging gossip, check out our weekly Monday feature, Buzz Worthy News.
New Releases
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Control (Control #1) by Lydia Kang
Goodreads | Purchase
An un-putdownable thriller for fans of Uglies
When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn’t even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.
A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.
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Ashes to Ashes by Melissa C. Walker
Goodreads | Purchase
If I Stay meets the movie Ghost in this first book in a teen duology about a teenage-girl-turned-ghost who must cling to the echoes of her former life to save the people she left behind.
Ashes to Ashes is author Melissa Walker’s sweeping, romantic, and emotionally rich story about the things that torment and tempt us, even from the Great Beyond. This book is perfect for fans of Die for Me and Imaginary Girls, and its breathtaking ending will leave readers anxiously awaiting the series conclusion, Dust to Dust.
When Callie’s life is cut short by a tragic accident, she expects to find nothingness, or maybe some version of heaven.
Instead, her spirit travels to the Prism, an ethereal plane populated by the ghosts she thought were fictional. Here she meets a striking and mysterious ghost named Thatcher, who is meant to guide her as she learns to haunt and bring peace to the loved ones she left behind.
However, Callie uncovers a dark secret about the spirit world: The angry souls who always populate ghost stories are real, dangerous, and willing to do whatever it takes to stay on Earth, threatening the existence of everyone she ever cared about.
As she fights to save them, Callie will learn that while it may no longer beat, her heart can still love-and break.
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Roomies by Tara Altebrando & Sara Zarr
Goodreads | Purchase
It’s time to meet your new roomie.
When East Coast native Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment, she shoots off an e-mail to coordinate the basics: television, microwave, mini-fridge. That first note to San Franciscan Lauren sparks a series of e-mails that alters the landscape of each girl’s summer — and raises questions about how two girls who are so different will ever share a dorm room.
As the countdown to college begins, life at home becomes increasingly complex. With family relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives . . . and each other. Even though they’ve never met.
National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr and acclaimed author Tara Altebrando join forces for a novel about growing up, leaving home, and getting that one fateful e-mail that assigns your college roommate.
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Echo in Time (Erasing Time #2) by C.J. Hill
Goodreads | Purchase
After being pulled 400 years into the future, twins Taylor and Sheridan have found some refuge from the government of Traventon, which used the dangerous Time Strainer to yank the girls from the past. Yet the threat of the dangerous technology still looms. Taylor and an ally, Joseph, are selected to go on a mission to destroy the time machine and weapon. But their actions before they do may have major consequences for the future and the past.
Action-packed and romantic, this futuristic sequel to Erasing Time is perfect for fans of dystopian and sci-fi novels such as The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Across the Universe by Beth Revis, and Matched by Ally Condie.
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The Lethal Target: The Malichea Quest by Jim Eldridge
Goodreads | Purchase
Jake’s girlfriend, Lauren, has been exiled to New Zealand by MI5, who ensure that the two of them never speak about the missing books of the Order of Malichea. The information in these books could destroy mankind if they fall into the wrong hands, but Jake and Lauren want to get to them first and use the wisdom for good. Then Lauren goes missing . . .
When Jake follows the instructions of a mystery caller to go to a Scottish Island, he knows he could be in danger; the Russian government will do anything to get hold of one book in particular – a book that holds the secret to spontaneous human combustion. Jake has to race against time to intercept the book and prevent global warfare. Can he do it, and, at last, give Lauren her freedom?
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Cover Reveals
Breathe, Annie, Breathe (Hundred Oaks #5) by Miranda Kenneally
Sourcebooks Fire/July 2014
Goodreads
Eighteen-year-old Annie Winters can barely run a mile without wheezing. Still, she’s training to run the Music City Marathon in seven short months. Running is so not her thing, but she has to finish what her boyfriend started… before he died.
Annie feels guilt that she’s still alive and blames herself for his death; she has to do this to honor him – running a marathon was his dream. Plus training gives her something to do, it’s a distraction. So is Jeremiah Brown.
He’s an adrenaline junkie who runs marathons backwards. He flirts with Annie on the trails and it makes her feel alive and happy and guilty all at the same time. She wants to both race into his arms and sprint in the opposite direction – because loving is a risk she’s not sure she’s ready to take again…
Machine Wars by Michael Pryor
Random House Teen AU/April 2014
Goodreads
The Bourne Identity meets The Terminator in this fast-paced technothriller for boys aged 10 to 14.
Unknown to the world, a superintelligence has emerged – and it wants to eliminate Bram Argent . . .
The superintelligence can control any machine connected to the net, and it uses them as its unstoppable agents to achieve its ends. And the superintelligence is paranoid. Controlling the entire world is its only way to ensure its own existence.
Bram’s mother is a high-level computer scientist. She’s been investigating the possibility of the emergence of a superintelligence and she has evidence. But the superintelligence has become aware of her – and decided she needs to be eliminated. Now she’s in hiding.
Bram must flee and find his parents – while being hunted by every machine on the planet. His friend Stella is caught up in the pursuit and becomes a target because of their friendship. Together, they must survive in an interconnected world where any machine might instantly become a lethal predator . . .
Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennardo & Natalie Zaman
St. Martin’s Press/May 2014
Goodreads
Pitched as The Devil Wears Prada meets James Bond for teens, featuring a fashion magazine intern in Rome who uncovers a plot to kidnap the First Lady.
Expelled from yet another boarding school for hacking, sixteen-year-old Rebecca “Bec” Jackson is shipped off to Rome to intern for Parker Phillips, the editor-in-chief of one of the world’s top fashion magazines. But when a mysterious accident lands Parker in a coma, former supermodel and notorious drama queen Candace Worthington takes the reins of the magazine. The First Lady is in Rome for a cover shoot, and all hands are on deck to make sure her visit goes smoothly.
Bec quickly realizes that Parker’s “accident” may not have been quite so accidental, and when the First Lady’s life is threatened, Bec is determined to uncover the truth. On top of that, Bec must contend with bitchy models, her new boss, Candace, who is just as difficult as the tabloids say, and two guys, a hunky Italian bike messenger with a thousand-watt smile and a fashion blogger with a razor-sharp wit, who are both vying for her heart.
Can Bec catch the person who’s after the First Lady, solve the mystery of Parker’s accident, and juggle two cute boys at the same time? Blonde Ops is a fun, action-packed romp through the hallways of a fashion magazine and the cobblestone streets of Rome.
Soul Betrayed (The Life After #3) by Katlyn Duncan
Carina UK/2014
Goodreads
The final installment of The Life After trilogy…
A Life for a Life
The battle between Shadowed and Guard has brought destruction and terror to Gate Seven and now Maggie wants revenge. As the only after-life being who can save the souls from ultimate death Maggie comes face to face with her own human body, preserved for a century, waiting for just this moment to arrive.
Yet, how far will Maggie go to exact her revenge on the Shadowed? And when she comes face to face with her past, how will she survive the onslaught of memories she thought long gone?
For when the truth comes out all is not what it seems and Maggie has finally run out of time… She must choose her destiny or watch all she has perish in the fight for her life!
The Accidental Socialite by Stephanie Wahlstrom
Swoon Romance/April 2014
Goodreads
Quirky and clumsy twenty-two-year-old Paige Crawford arrives in London on a cold Saturday in January. Just when Paige starts to think that moving thousands of miles away from home with no real plan was a bad idea, Jason Frost appears. Confident and classy, Jason is the complete opposite of Paige and just what she needs in her life, or so she thinks.
But before their romance has time to blossom, Paige trips and falls into the arms of a mysterious man on a drunken night out. She’s snapped by paparazzi, and newspaper headlines the next day suggest that she’s having an affair with a married footballer.
Paige finds herself instantly elevated to tabloid celebrity status which isn’t exactly a picnic, particularly when trying to juggle her new job at Fashionista magazine, a catalog of dating disasters and a nagging doubt that she maybe she can’t conquer London after all.
When a trip back to Canada for Christmas reminds Paige why she left her old life behind, she returns to London with renewed vigor realizing that while jobs, flats and men may come and go, friends in London are forever.
Dirty Wings (All Our Pretty Songs #2) by Sarah McCarry
St. Martin’s Press/July 2014
Goodreads
A gorgeous retelling of the Persephone myth, Sarah McCarry brings us the story of Cass and Maia–the mothers from All Our Pretty Songs–and how their fates became intertwined.
Maia is a teenage piano prodigy and dutiful daughter, imprisoned in the oppressive silence of her adoptive parents’ house like a princess in an ivory tower. Cass is a street rat, witch, and runaway, scraping by with her wits and her knack for a five-fingered discount. When a chance encounter brings the two girls together, an unlikely friendship blossoms that will soon change the course of both their lives. Cass springs Maia from the jail of the only world she’s ever known, and Maia’s only too happy to make a break for it. But Cass didn’t reckon on Jason, the hypnotic blue-eyed rocker who’d capture Maia’s heart as soon as Cass set her free–and Cass isn’t the only one who’s noticed Maia’s extraordinary gifts. Is Cass strong enough to battle the ancient evil she’s unwittingly awakened–or has she walked into a trap that will destroy everything she cares about? In this time, like in any time, love is a dangerous game.
Signed, Skye Harper by Carol Lynch Williams
SimonTEEN/May 2014
Goodreads
In trying to reunite with her mother, Winston discovers the many meanings of family and finds friendship in an unexpected place in this coming-of-age novel from the author of Waiting, which Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, called “exceptional” and Glimpse, which Booklist called “gripping.”
Life is just fine for fourteen-year-old Winston. She loves her dog, Thelma, and although she never knew her dad, and her mom left ten years ago in search of Hollywood fame, Winston has family with Nanny, who is in her forties, and that doesn’t even make her old. But a “just fine” life gets a lot more exciting when a letter arrives from Skye Harper, aka Judith Fletcher, aka Winston’s mother. She needs help, and Nanny says the best way to give it is to take a cross-country road trip—in a “borrowed” motor home—to go find Mama once and for all. Winston’s not so sure about this plan, but with a cute stowaway named Steve along for company and an adventure on the horizon, this is sure to be a summer to remember.
Honorable Mention:
Othello (Shakespeare for Everyone Else, #2) by C.E. Wilson
December 2013
Goodreads
Shakespeare’s work features some of the most memorable stories and characters ever created, yet for too many curious readers the combination of ultra-dense dialogue and unfamiliar historical settings make tackling the Bard’s work something between a tedious chore and a confusing mess of bird-bolts and quondam carpet-mongers.
While it’s nearly impossible to replicate or improve on these works, it is (thanks to their timeless nature) possible to make them more accessible to a wider audience.
In this Young Adult retelling of one of William Shakespeare’s most memorable plays, join C.E. Wilson as she breathes new life into Othello, the second book in her series Shakespeare for Everyone Else.
When Archer decides that he’s had enough of Orion and Devony running what he thought was going to be his school he takes desperate measures to ruin everything. Through lies and betrayal, deceit and deception, Archer will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and he doesn’t care whose lives he has to destroy in the process.
Can anyone stop one of William Shakespeare’s most villainous characters in this YA retelling of the epic tragedy of Othello?
Cuddlebuggery Fav of the Week:
The Ring and The Crown by Melissa de la Cruz
Disney-Hyperion/April 2014
Goodreads
Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the Lily Throne, and Aelwyn Myrddn, bastard daughter of the Mage of England, grew up together. But who will rule, and who will serve?
Quiet and gentle, Marie has never lived up to the ambitions of her mother, Queen Eleanor the Second, Supreme Ruler of the Franco-British Empire. With the help of her Head Merlin, Emrys, Eleanor has maintained her stranglehold on the world’s only source of magic. She rules the most powerful empire the world has ever seen.
But even with the aid of Emrys’ magic, Eleanor’s extended lifespan is nearing its end. The princess must marry and produce an heir or the Empire will be vulnerable to its greatest enemy, Prussia. The two kingdoms must unite to end the war, and the only solution is a match between Marie and Prince Leopold VII, heir to the Prussian throne. But Marie has always loved Gill, her childhood friend and soldier of the Queen’s Guard.
Together, Marie and Aelwyn, a powerful magician in her own right, come up with a plan. Aelwyn will take on Marie’s face, allowing the princess to escape with Gill and live the quiet life she’s always wanted. And Aelwyn will get what she’s always dreamed of–the chance to rule. But the court intrigue and hunger for power in Lenoran England run deeper than anyone could imagine. In the end, there is only rule that matters in Eleanor’s court: trust no one.
Sara Grochowski
It’s so weird because I feel like I only heard about ASHES TO ASHES very recently, close to release. I generally love Walker’s books, so I’m excited about this one.
That Melissa de la Cruz cover is gorgeous! I’m really looking forward to that book because it seems to be a bit different than her Blue Bloods books, which were well-written but not my type of book premise-wise.
And I have to say that I adore the new look for the Kenneally cover. The other ones were cute, but this new concept will really shine on the shelves!
Great post, Steph. Thanks!
Steph Sinclair
I am loving Melissa de la Cruz’s cover too. The textures are with the typography is stunning!
And I agree! Breathe, Annie, Breathe is super cute. I love the new direction they went with for it. Thanks for commenting!
Suz @ A Soul Unsung
I am incredibly excited for Dirty Wings, like seriously. I’m bouncing up and down in my chair, I can hardly contain myself. And I definitely want to read Ashes to Ashes and Echo In Time. 🙂
Steph Sinclair
Your excitement makes me want to read the first one that has been sitting on my shelf for months. #shame
Melissa Robles
I enjoyed Roomies, it’s a quick read and very relatable, I think many will like it too.
The cover of Blonde Ops is very eye-catching with its bright colors, I want to have it in my shelf! And all the other books here as well, they are so interesting. 🙂
Steph Sinclair
I wasn’t initially interested in Roomies, but I’ve heard really good things about it. There are so many good books!
Natalie M.
Thanks for doing this every week 🙂 It helps keep me updated on new YA titles
Steph Sinclair
You’re welcome! We are looking to improve it in any way, so let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see. 🙂
Stephanie
I’m curious on the Miranda Kenneally cover, it’s a departure from her other covers but sems set in same town (100 Oaks #5). I like the chosen favorite as well, vet different! Also interesting to see how the covers differ for boy targeted books, and the fact that Machine Wars is specifically cited as for boys.
Steph Sinclair
I haven’t read any of her books yet. Is this series good?
I noticed that about Machine Wars and was surprised they had that in the synopsis.
Rvshopusa.Com
You appear to know so much about this, such as you wrote the e-book on it or something. An excellent read.