Exciting Books Coming Out in 2019 | Newbie Blogger Spotlight

Hello Faeries, and Happy New Year!

I’m so thrilled to be writing for Jenn’s blog today.  I’m pretty new to the world of book blogging, so to have her support is amazing!

Today I’m going to be talking about some of my most anticipated releases for 2019.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve already made a list of all of the new YA books that are coming out next year, as well as some from other genres as well.  2019 is looking like it’s going to be such an exciting year for readers, with some incredible debuts and wonderful sequels and fresh ideas from some of our favourite authors.  So here’s my list of books that I simply cannot wait for – I’ve condensed it a little bit!

A world divided.A queendom without an heir.An ancient enemy awakens.

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.

Let’s be completely honest, this is probably on a lot of your lists for 2019.  I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this amazing fantasy novel from Bloomsbury, so I already know that I love this story.  However, ARCs are never the finished products, so I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the completed novel.  Plus, I need to see the map for this world – it’s so epic in my head, and I love a good map in a fantasy book!  Coming in at over 800 pages, it’s a good thing that Priory is coming out early in the year, as it’ll give us all plenty of time to sit down and read it before the end of 2019.
The Priory of the Orange Tree hits shelves on 26 February 2019.

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
on May 14th 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 480
Goodreads

People lived because she killed.People died because he lived.

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

Speaking of incredible debuts!  I’ve been following Hafsah’s work for a few years now, first via her shop Icey Design, so I was really excited when I learned that she was going to be publishing her first book.  We Hunt the Flame is a YA fantasy novel set in a world based on ancient Arabia.  I’ve loved reading books set in Arabic and Middle Eastern inspired worlds – the history and cultures are so fascinating – so I’m really excited to dive into this book and see how Hafsah has developed her world and her story.
We Hunt the Flame hits shelves on 14^th May 2019.

The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them . . . and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of survival are to either release the spell, and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s never dabbled in magic before, but it doesn’t frighten her as much as her growing attraction for Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her . . .

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

I have long been fascinated by tales of Imperial Russia and the Romanov Royal family, so much so that I currently work for a company specialising in travel to Russia!  When I heard that Nadine’s second book was going to be a reimagining of the Anastasia story, which has long been a source of debate, I was intrigued and excited.  Grand Duchess Anastasia was the youngest daughter of the last Romanov Tsar, and she and her family were murdered in 1918 during the Russian Revolution – or were they…? What would have happened if Anastasia had access to an ancient spell which could save her family?  I guess we’ll all have to wait and find out, and let me tell you, I am DYING for this book!!!
Romanov hits shelves on 7thy May 2019.

From the New York Times bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens comes an imaginative fantasy about an apprentice at a magical library who must battle a powerful sorcerer to save her kingdom.

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.

Anyone who has read and loved An Enchantment of Ravens is going to want to read this book.  That absolutely includes me!  I completely adored Margaret’s first book – it was magical, whimsical and romantic, and the writing was beautiful.  If Sorcery of Thorns is anything like An Enchantment of Ravens, then I just know I’m going to love it.  From what I know, it’s going to be another stand-alone novel, which is another great thing as far as I’m concerned.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good series as much as the next person.  But every now and then I just want to read a really, really good book that has a beginning, a middle and an end and everything is beautifully tied together.  I’m hoping that this will be one of those books!
Sorcery of Thorns hits shelves on 4^th June 2019.

From acclaimed author Mindee Arnett comes the thrilling conclusion of the stunningly epic, action-packed, and romantic fantasy adventure about a powerful girl possessed of strange magic, the outcast prince she loves, and the kingdom that has torn them apart.

Kate and Corwin are on the run, desperate for allies in a new world of war among the kingdoms of Rime. As the book opens, Kate suffers a massive loss, one that will shape the struggle for freedom of all wilders and magic folk—that is, if Kate can learn to control her own power.

Shadow & Flame is the sequel to the 2018 novel Onyx & Ivory, which I fell head over heels in love with.  The first book in this series was featured in a FairyLoot box and was such an amazing read, that even now I’m still telling all of my friends to read it.  I loved it that much!  Onyx & Ivory ended on quite a big cliff-hanger, as you would expect from the first book in a series, so I’m really excited to see where the story goes next.  Plus, I absolutely love the relationship between Kate and Corwin and I want to see how it gets developed.  If you haven’t read Onyx & Ivory yet, you have plenty of time before the second book comes out so get it on your TBR list and fall in love with this book the way I did!
Shadow & Flame hits shelves on 4^th June 2018 (it’s a good day for books!)

The highly anticipated sequel to The Queen’s Rising!

Finally, Brienna is a mistress of knowledge and is settling into her role as the daughter of Davin MacQuinn, a disgraced lord who returned to Maevana to reclaim his house. Though she’d just survived a revolution, one that will finally return a queen to the throne, she faces another difficult challenge. She must prove herself trustworthy to the MacQuinns. But as Queen Isolde Kavanagh’s closest confidant, she’ll have to balance serving her father’s house as well as her country. And then there’s Cartier, a wholly separate but desirable factor in her new life.

Aodhan Morgane, formerly known as Cartier Évariste, is adjusting to the stark contrast between his pre-rebellion life in Valenia as a master of knowledge and his current one as the lord of a fallen house. During his castle’s restoration, he discovers a ten-year-old boy named Tomas, whose past and parentage are a complete mystery. So when Cartier’s former pupil Brienna is as taken with Tomas as he is, he lets his mind wander—what if he doesn’t have to raise him or his house alone?

As the Lannon trial rapidly approaches, Brienna and Cartier must put their feelings aside to concentrate on forging alliances, executing justice, and ensuring that no one interferes with the queen’s coronation. But resistance is rumbling among the old regime’s supporters, who are desperate to find a weakness in the rebels’ forces. And nothing makes a person more vulnerable than deep-seated love.

This is another sequel to another of my favourite reads of 2018 (2018 was a good year for books)!  I was quite late to the party with this book – it happens a lot – but, oh my goodness, what a book!  The characters are amazing, the story is spellbinding, there’s politics and intrigue and romance and all the good things that we all absolutely love in a good YA fantasy.  There was also a few questions at the end of the book which I really wanted answers to, and I’m hoping that Rebecca will have answered them in book two!
The Queen’s Resistance hits shelves on 5th March 2019.

How far would you go to save those you love?

Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking for artefacts from history and looking for treasure in their once-opulent mansion.

Their idyllic life is torn apart when a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire existence. Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide who to save and who to sacrifice . . .

I discovered Lauren James last year when I read The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.  Then I read all of her other books, and now I simple can’t wait for her next book!  Sci-fi isn’t usually a genre that I enjoy, but Lauren’s writing style is so interesting and her characters are so fun, that I was completely sucked in.  They’re also reasonably quick to read, so they’re great to pick up when you want something interesting that isn’t going to take a month to finish!  The Quiet at the End of the World sounds like it’s going to be another amazing story, and I’m really looking forward to it.
The Quiet at the End of the World hits shelves on 7th March 2019.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a strange book hidden in the library stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues — a bee, a key, and a sword — that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to a subterranean library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.

What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians — it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose — in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

Rounding out my list of most anticipated reads is the second novel from Erin Morgenstern.  Her debut novel, The Night Circus, is honestly one of my absolute favourite books in the whole world.  When I heard that Erin had written another book, I very nearly shrieked at my desk at work!  The story sounds absolutely wonderful, and if the writing is anything like the writing in The Night Circus, then it’s going to be an absolutely magical read.  The only bad thing is it doesn’t come out until November, so I have to wait eleven whole months to get my hands on it!
The Starless Sea hits shelves on 5th November 2019.

So there you have it – my most anticipated books of 2019!  As I said, this is a pretty condensed list.  There are so many more amazing books due to be published next year and I can’t wait to read them, but these ones are right at the top of my list!

Thank you so much to Jenn for hosting me, and thanks to you all for reading!  I hope you’ll come and check out my blog at conniereadsblog.wordpress.com!

Happy Reading! x

Thanks for reading guys! Make sure you check out Connie’s blog too and let her know if you liked this post!

What are you most looking forward to releasing this year?