Sometimes, no matter how dutifully you blog, or how hard you work, you just can’t get the things you want. There’s a variety of books that I desperately want but can’t seem to get my greedy little hands on. This is a pain. A very, very real pain that leaves me feeling empty every time I tuck my books in at night. Because my bookshelf feels bare without them. My heart feels empty. MY LIFE FEELS DEVOID.
So here are my top 5 ARCs that I most definitely need now. And this means if you have one of these ARCs, you should probably watch your back. Cause I’m coming for you!
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
This one was hard to get. And I so wanted it. First of all, Susan Dennard. Yes. Second of all, witches – always a big thing with me. Plus that cover is to DIE FOR. Truly gorgeous.
This one doesn’t drop until January 5th 2016 from Tor Teen. Plus, here’s the summary.
On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.
In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.
Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.
Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.
Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.
Riders by Veronica Rossi
Riders is a new series by New York Times bestselling author and fantastical adventure friend of mine. The adventures we’ve been on together, the stories I could tell. This is her second solo series. AND I NEED IT SO MUCH.
This one’s dropping from Tor 16th February 2016. The summary fills me with chills.
For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.
Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.
Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen—Conquest, Famine and Death—are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.
They fail.
Now—bound, bloodied, and drugged—Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he’s fallen for—not to mention all of humankind—he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.
But will anyone believe him?
Dat Summary. Dis book. I needs.
Soundless by Richelle Mead
This wasn’t originally a book I desperately wanted. But I kept coming back to it. Mostly thanks to that gorgeous cover. And also because, sometimes, I feel like giving Richelle Mead another shot. This is probably the ARC on this least that I’m least excited about but if you have a copy, I will still totally filch it from you.
Soundless drops November 10th 2015. And despite being on a Richelle Mead ban, this summary made me drool!
For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.
When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.
But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.
Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever…
Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Bracken is hot property in the YA market right now. ARCs for Passenger have been out at BEA and some lucky bloggers got their hands on them. Enough to sell on ebay. Let’s all take a minute to be violently furious about that.
This one drop January 5th 2016 from Disney Hyperion.
Violin prodigy Etta Spencer had big plans for her future, but a tragedy has put her once-bright career at risk. Closely tied to her musical skill, however, is a mysterious power she doesn’t even know she has. When her two talents collide during a stressful performance, Etta is drawn back hundreds of years through time.
Etta wakes, confused and terrified, in 1776, in the midst a fierce sea battle. Nicholas Carter, the handsome young prize master of a privateering ship, has been hired to retrieve Etta and deliver her unharmed to the Ironwoods, a powerful family in the Colonies–the very same one that orchestrated her jump back, and one Nicholas himself has ties to. But discovering she can time travel is nothing compared to the shock of discovering the true reason the Ironwoods have ensnared her in their web.
Another traveler has stolen an object of untold value from them, and, if Etta can find it, they will return her to her own time. Out of options, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the mysterious traveler. But as they draw closer to each other and the end of their search, the true nature of the object, and the dangerous game the Ironwoods are playing, comes to light — threatening to separate her not only from Nicholas, but her path home… forever.
I wasn’t entirely sold on the summary at first, but the more I read it, the more intrigued I get. Now I just need to have it!
The Winner’s Kiss
I know what you’re saying, “But Kat! You haven’t finished The Winner’s Crime yet!” No well how can I?! REALLY? Not when I know it’s a heartbreaking and that it’s super mean to its readers! It’s a little early for ARCs of these to be out, if they even do ARCs of this one, since it’s the last book in a series. That’s a long time to wait for the book to release!
This book doesn’t drop until March 1st 2016, by Farrar Straus & Giroux!
War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it, with the East as his ally and the empire as his enemy. He’s finally managed to dismiss the memory of Kestrel, even if he can’t quite forget her. Kestrel turned into someone he could no longer recognize: someone who cared more for the empire than for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she cared for him. At least, that’s what he thinks.
But far north lies a work camp where Kestrel is a prisoner. Can she manage to escape before she loses herself? As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover unexpected roles in battle, terrible secrets, and a fragile hope. The world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and Kestrel and Arin are caught between. In a game like this, can anybody really win?
I tried to keep sequels off this list. But I just can’t help it with The Winner’s Kiss. This series is instrumental to my wellbeing.
Daniela
oh yes! I don’t blame you Kat! I don’t know what I’d do to get Truewitch and Riders. 🙂
All four covers are mazing! 🙂
I knew about Truewitch but not Riders. So I just added it to GR. thanks for sharing!
Erin Burns
Siren’s Call Castle, Jayne
Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels, #8) Andrews, Ilona
The Last Time I Saw Her (Dr. Charlotte Stone, #4) Robards, Karen
Breakout (Dred Chronicles, #3) Aguirre, Ann
Archangel’s Enigma (Guild Hunter, #8) Singh, Nalini
About a Vampire (Argeneau, #22) Sands, Lynsay
Illuminae Kaufman, Amie
Manners and Mutiny (Finishing School, #4) Carriger, Gail
Mind Magic (World of the Lupi, #12) Wilks, Eileen
Feel the Burn (Dragon Kin, #8) Aiken, G.A.
Or a time machine so I can go forward and read ALL the books.
Anonymous
Nice picks I am crossing my fingers Riders shows up in my mailbox. I read Soundless and I hate to pop you longing bubble but it wasn’t all that great, at least I thought so. Now I am desperately needing The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Helig and Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman!! Also Harpercollins slays this upcoming season so I’ll be stalking my rep ALOT!
❤️Britt
Crystal @ Bookiemoji
YESSSSSSS TO ALL!! Well I do have Soundless, but the others are NEEDED & WANTED. Also THE MIRROR KING, I would definitely steal with no shame ;P
Liza @ Reading with ABC
YES! Silver Eve by Sandra Waugh, the next book of the ACOTAR series, Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima and a ton of sequels 🙂
Hannah
I would do very bad, illegal things to get my hands on any of these, TBH. But I would also love Queen of Shadows or The Raven King! Or the last book of the Lunar Chronicles. AAAH, too many!
CJ @ Sarcasm&Lemons
I think I’d murder someone to get a copy of Truthwitch. Is that bad? Winner’s Kiss is pretty close, too. And Morning Star by Pierce Brown.
C.J.
Sarcasm & Lemons
Georgette
I’d love to have Morning Star by Pierce Brown.
Mutiny And Manners (Finishing School #4) by Gail Carriger.
X by Sue Grafton.
Those are the ones I’m really dying for at the moment; it does literally change every day. That’s the fate chosen for you when you are an indie bookstore manager!
As for the ARC’s you speak of, I can’t help but notice the first two are TOR. They are notoriously hard to get ahold of, in regards to sending advances. I have been trying on and off for the past 4 years to get various books sent, to no avail. Not even an email back telling me to fudge off. Makes you wonder if there are people there on the other end of the email chain, or if it’s a robot!
Just sayin’, we never know in the publishing world these days!
I haven’t heard of some of these, but have not put them in my TBR list. So thank you for that!
And good luck on your ARCventures!
Natalie M.
I’m so glad they used an Asian girl for Soundless’s cover. *remembers The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa and shakes fist*
I’m super excited for Riders too! The cover and summary looks amazeballs.
Shannelle
Sorry to disappoint you, Kat, but Soundless wasn’t really that good. I’ve got a post coming up on how it was a terrible Chinese adaptation too. :/ And oh yes, RIDERS. Oh my goodness, Kat, I’m surprised you haven’t got an ARC of that at all, since you’re great friends with Veronica Rossi, as well as such a big fan of hers. You deserve to read it. I hope you do!
Kassiah
I definitely want RIDERS, too! And of course MORNING STAR for my BFF. 🙂
Lyn Kaye
Maybe if we go in as a team, we can share Truthwitch and Soundless? We can be partners in (book) crime!
Kristin @ Simply Bookish Things
Yes to all of these, so now off I go to daydream for a few hours!
Carina Olsen
Gooorgeous post Kat 🙂 And oh my gosh, yes. I would steal so many ARCs if I could too, lol. My heart is aching for so many 🙁 Sooobs. Especially Six of Crows. Sigh. And City of Thirst. (Middle grade precious. I need it.) And oh my gosh. Yes. Riders! I NEED IT TOO. Gosh damn it. I want it. I hope you will be able to get all of these amazing looking books sweet girl 🙂 I need The Winner’s Kiss the most, but hoping there won’t be ARCs. Because Macmillan has stopped loving me. Which hurts like hell, sigh.
Jasmine
So much YASS on the Winner’s Kiss. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read Winner’s Crime because you know you’re gonna wanna read it IMMEDIATELY afterwards.
But thanks for Truewitch and Riders…they sound fantastic; I’ve already added them to GR.
Lizzie
Those are some of the ARCs that I would kill to get my hands on! Well… kill is kind of strong, so I guess sell my soul sounds a bit nicer. I’d also do anything for Six of Crows and Illuminae! There are probably more on that list, but Truthwitch has pretty much all of my attention really. So excited for it!
Erin Burns
I’m still waiting for my denial for Illuminae.