2019 Anticipated Releases

With The Wicked King having just arrived the other day, I thought I might share some other 2019 titles I’m anxiously waiting to get my hands on this year.

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The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Release date: January 15, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Historical Fiction

Goodreads Synopsis:

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can’t yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they’ll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

This is a little different from what I usually go for but something about this story really calls to me. I’ve heard such amazing things about Chokshi’s previous works that I’m very anxious to give her stuff a try. The Star Touched Queen and Aru-Shah and the End of Time are on my TBR as well.

Stain by A.G. Howard

Release date: January 15, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Retelling

Goodreads Synopsis:

Once upon a nightmare, her fairy tale begins…

After Lyra—a princess incapable of speech or sound—is cast out of her kingdom of daylight by her wicked aunt, a witch saves her life, steals her memories, and raises her in an enchanted forest … disguised as a boy known only as Stain. Meanwhile, in Lyra’s rival kingdom, the prince of thorns and night is dying, and the only way for him to break his curse is to wed the princess of daylight, for she is his true equal. As Lyra rediscovers her identity, an impostor princess prepares to steal her betrothed prince and her crown. To win back her kingdom, save the prince, and make peace with the land of the night, Lyra must be loud enough to be heard without a voice, and strong enough to pass a series of tests—ultimately proving she’s everything a traditional princess is not.

So this story is a retelling of The Princess and the Pea which had me sold on the idea right away.  I was turned off by Howard’s Splintered series because I heard it was incredibly problematic and the premise itself didn’t really do anything for me. That being said I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt and experience this author’s storytelling myself.

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Release date: January 29, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Goodreads Synopsis:

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

I’ve been waiting for this to come out ever since I finished the Grisha trilogy last year. I already love Nikolai as a character and I couldn’t be happier that he’s getting his own duology.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Release date: February 5, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, Adult

Goodreads Synopsis:

Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: “He has a nose,” people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.

As Tracker follows the boy’s scent–from one ancient city to another; into dense forests and across deep rivers–he and the band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth, and who is lying?

This book is apparently being called “the African Game of Thrones” so yes, I’ll take five copies in that case, thanks. You know those books you just have a really good feeling about? I have a REALLY good feeling about Black Leopard, Red Wolf.

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

Release date: February 12, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Goodreads Synopsis:

I had a sister, once…

In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.

I promised her the throne would not come between us.

Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders—even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks.

But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled.

Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all.

Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken.

This strikes me as an Eragon / Three Dark Crowns type story so I’m looking forward to giving it a go. I’m also a huge sucker for the girls-disguised-as-boys trope.

Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Release date: February 26, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, Adult

Goodreads Synopsis:

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

I’ve been pining for this book for ages. I follow Shannon’s Instagram where I first saw the gorgeous cover art on this massive book. Knowing me, I probably would’ve put in a preorder based on that alone. But it sounds like the coolest story and I’ve heard whisperings of a F/F relationship that I’m very excited to see represented. February can’t come fast enough!

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Release date: April 2, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Goodreads Synopsis:

Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.

Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant and alluring investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

I’m so on board for a Chinese-inspired fantasy from a debut author! I feel like this one has a lot of potential for a great story and compelling characters in a world that I want to get to know more about.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Release date: June 4, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Goodreads Synopsis:

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

Oh boy, am I a fool for putting another Margaret Rogerson book on my TBR after I gave An Enchantment of Ravens 2 stars?  Maybe. I’m incredibly hesitant about this one if I’m honest. The cover and title are making me think: Sarah J. Maas ripoff. Especially since I described Rogerson’s last heroine as a Walmart-brand Feyre.

All that aside, I really did enjoy a lot of this author’s writing style last time so I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt and call AEOR a hiccup. I’m willing to give her one more shot and after this, if I’m still not sold, I’m done for good.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Release date: August 6, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Retelling

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

I’m already getting big The Wicked Deep and Netflix’s Haunting of Hill House vibes from this. House of Salt and Sorrows is another debut novel that I’m dying to get a hold of. I don’t come across a lot of young adult, paranormal books that interest me but something about this one really draws me in!

So that sums up all of the new release books I have my eye on! Which 2019 releases are you looking forward to?

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