Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week the topic is
Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2021
There are so many exciting books still to come out this year.
Here are the ten I'm most excited to read . . .
1. Six Crimson Cranes (Six Crimson Cranes, #1) by Elizabeth Lim
8th July 2021
Shiori, the only
princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins.
Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal
ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a
stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also
catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.
Raikama has
dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her
brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no
one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers
will die.
Peniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her
brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the
throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and
complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom
to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she
fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her.
2. She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1) by Shelley Parker-Chan
20th July 2021
Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun,
a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding
emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary
fantasy.
To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything
“I refuse to be nothing…”
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
In
1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of
the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When
the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of
greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The
fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second
daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
When a bandit
attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs
to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl
uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice.
There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is
capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay
hidden from her fate.
After her sanctuary is destroyed for
supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to
claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.
3. Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
17th August 2021
From the New York Times
bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a “delicious, twisted treat
for lovers of noir” about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer,
and the mystery of a missing woman they’re both desperate to find.
1970s,
Mexico City. Maite is a secretary who lives for one thing: the latest
issue of Secret Romance. While student protests and political unrest
consume the city, Maite escapes into stories of passion and danger.
Her
next-door neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, seems to live a
life of intrigue and romance that Maite envies. When Leonora disappears
under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the
missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of
student radicals and dissidents.
Meanwhile, someone else is also
looking for Leonora at the behest of his boss, a shadowy figure who
commands goon squads dedicated to squashing political activists. Elvis
is an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life: He loathes
violence and loves old movies and rock ’n’ roll. But as Elvis searches
for the missing woman, he comes to observe Maite from a distance—and
grows more and more obsessed with this woman who shares his love of
music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.
Now as Maite and
Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora’s
disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to
consume their lives, with hitmen, government agents, and Russian spies
all aiming to protect Leonora’s secrets—at gunpoint.
4. Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
7th September 2021
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a pulse-pounding neo-noir that reimagines vampire lore.
Welcome
to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely
garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily
policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life.
Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and
dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized.
Atl needs to quickly escape the
city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her.
Her plan doesn't include Domingo, but little by little, Atl finds
herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As
the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses
both start closing in.
Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals
collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even
stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?
5. The Origins of Iris by Beth Lewis
19th August 2021
Author of the critically-acclaimed debut The Wolf Road, Beth Lewis returns with her brand new novel The Origins of Iris where Wild meets Sliding Doors.
'I opened my eyes and the woman wearing my face opened hers at the same time.'
Iris flees New York City, and her abusive wife Claude, for
the Catskill Mountains. When she was a child, Iris and her father found
solace in the beauty and wilderness of the forest; now, years later,
Iris has returned for time and space to clear her head, and to come to
terms with the mistakes that have led her here. But what Iris doesn't
expect in her journey of survival and self-discovery is to find herself -
literally.
Trapped in a neglected cabin deep in the mountains,
Iris is grudgingly forced to come face to face with a seemingly
prettier, happier and better version of herself. Other Iris made
different choices in life and love. But is she all she seems? Can she be
trusted? What is she hiding?
As a storm encroaches, threatening both their lives, time is running out for them to discover why they have been brought together, and what it means for their futures.
An
important, searing novel about one woman's journey in fleeing an
abusive relationship and confronting the secrets of her past.
6. The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield
12th October 2021
New York Times bestselling astronaut Chris Hadfield is back with an exceptional Cold War thriller from the dark heart of the Space Race.
1973:
a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny
module, a quarter of a million miles from home. A quarter of a million
miles from help.
As Russian and American crews sprint for a
secret bounty hidden away on the lunar surface, old rivalries blossom
and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on Earth.
Houston flight controller Kazimieras ‘Kaz’ Zemeckis must do all he can
to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his
Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they
appear to be.
Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of The Martian loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists and tension of The Hunt for Red October, The Apollo Murders
puts you right there in the moment. Experience the fierce G-forces of
launch, the frozen loneliness of Space and the fear of holding on to the
outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour, as
told by a former Commander of the International Space Station who has
done all of those things in real life.
Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.
7. Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe
26th October 2021
"A deftly-plotted tale about ambition and belonging, Bright Ruined Things takes Shakespeare’s The Tempest
and brilliantly reimagines its themes of family and love. Cohoe writes
with a magic that dazzles and cuts right to the core." - Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
Forbidden magic, a family secret, and a night to reveal it all...
The
only life Mae has ever known is on the island, living on the charity of
the wealthy Prosper family who control the island’s magic and its
spirits. Mae longs for magic of her own and to have a place among the
Prosper family, where her best friend, Coco, will see her as an equal,
and her crush, Miles, will finally see her.
But tonight is
First Night, when the Prospers and their high-society friends celebrate
the night Lord Prosper first harnessed the island’s magic and started
producing aether – a magical fuel source that has revolutionized the
world. With everyone returning to the island, Mae finally has the chance
to go after what she’s always wanted.
When the spirits start
inexplicably dying, Mae realizes that things aren’t what they seem. And
Ivo, the reclusive, mysterious heir to the Prosper magic, may hold all
the answers – including a secret about Mae’s past. As Mae and her
friends unravel the mysteries of the island, and the Prospers’ magic,
Mae starts to question the truth of what her world was built on.
In
this YA fantasy, Samantha Cohoe wonderfully mixes magic and an
atmospheric setting into a fantastically immersive world, with
characters you won’t be able to forget.
8. You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
2nd November 2021
If I Stay meets Your Name in this heartfelt novel about love, loss, and what it means to say goodbye.
Seventeen-year-old
Julie has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with
her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan.
But then Sam dies. And everything changes.
Heartbroken, Julie
skips his funeral, throws out his things, and tries everything to forget
him and the tragic way he died. But a message Sam left behind in her
yearbook forces back memories. Desperate to hear his voice one more
time, Julie calls Sam’s cellphone just to listen to his voicemail.
And Sam picks up the phone.
In
a miraculous turn of events, Julie’s been given a second chance at
goodbye. The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam’s voice makes her
fall for him all over again, and with each call it becomes harder to let
him go. However, keeping her otherworldly calls with Sam a secret isn’t
easy, especially when Julie witnesses the suffering Sam’s family is
going through. Unable to stand by the sidelines and watch their shared
loved ones in pain, Julie is torn between spilling the truth about her
calls with Sam and risking their connection and losing him forever.
9. Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan
4th November 2021
Her destiny. His revenge.
In an empire on the brink of war . . .
Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.
Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.
When
they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a
way to finally unlock her past and understand her lethal magical
abilities.
But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.
Girls of Paper and Fire meets A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
in June CL Tan's stunning debut, where ferocious action, shadowy
intrigue, rich magic, and a captivating slow-burn romance collide.
10. Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood
9th November 2021
Kiersten White meets Tomi Adeyemi in this Ethiopian-inspired debut fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre.
Andromeda
is a debtera—an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye.
When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire
her, Andromeda quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with
horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far
more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if
she stays, but leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn’t an
option. Evil may roam the castle’s halls, but so does a burning desire.
What are your most anticipated releases for the rest of 2021?
