But Enough about Me…Some OTHER YA & MG Fantasies I’m Excited to Read This Fall

Well, the blog tour is over, the Kindle winner has been announced, and I am officially sick of myself.  I missed Random Acts of Publicity last week because…I was too busy blathering on about my own book!  But there are some OTHER wonderful fantasies coming out this fall that I’m very excited to read.  (And by fantasies I mean fantasies and paranormals–I tend to use the term broadly.)

Whenever I do a post like this I always feel I have to preface it by saying: I don’t know what they heck I’m talking about.  By which I mean: There are many, many other bloggers that are more up-to-date about what’s new than I am.  I pick things up here and there in a very haphazard way—so if I have missed your book, or something you think is fabulous, do tell me about it in the comments section!

(All synopses are from Goodreads unless otherwise noted.)

 The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

There’s a lot of buzz about this upcoming debut by Rae Carson and I’m very excited to read it.  Kirkus says in their starred review: “Carson’s mature writing style, thoughtful storytelling, appealing characters, and surprising twists add up to a page-turner with broad appeal.”  (By the way, there is an ARC give-away of this book over on Goodreads that is on until Sept. 19th.)

Synopsis:

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who needs her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

I first heard about this book when I read Kate Milford’s interview with the author over on the Enchanted Inkpot blog. First of all, a nod of approval from the author of The Boneshaker goes a long way with me.  And when she wrote that it was about “a blind thief who steals a box containing three pairs of miraculous eyes,” I knew Peter Nimble was something I had to read.  This one’s also a debut!

Synopsis:

Now, for those of you who know anything about blind children, you are aware that they make the very best thieves. As you can well imagine, blind children have incredible senses of smell, and they can tell what lies behind a locked door- be it fine cloth, gold, or peanut brittle- at fifty paces. Moreover, their fingers are so small and nimble that they can slip right through keyholes, and their ears so keen that they can hear the faint clicks and clacks of every moving part inside even the most complicated lock. Of course, the age of great thievery has long since passed;today there are few child-thieves left, blind or otherwise. At one time, however, the world was simply thick with them. This is the story of the greatest thief who ever lived. His name, as you’ve probably guessed, is Peter Nimble.

Wildwood by by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis

I love the Decemberists and I especially love their lyrics, so when I heard that their lead singer, Colin Meloy, had written a magical middle grade fantasy that takes place in Portland, I knew I’d have to get it.  Also, Colin is represented by my agent, Steven Malk, and–what can I say?–I think Steven has pretty great taste!

Synopsis (from amazon.com):

Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. At least until her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows. And then things get really weird.

You see, on every map of Portland, Oregon, there is a big splotch of green on the edge of the city labeled “I.W.” This stands for “Impassable Wilderness.” No one’s ever gone in—or at least returned to tell of it.

And this is where the crows take her brother.

So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness.

A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield

Cheryl’s gritty realistic debut Scars got a Governor General’s Award nomination last year, and I’m dying to see how she tackles the paranormal genre.  I read some very early excerpts of Hunted and can tell you that, like Scars, it promises to be a fast-paced and gripping page turner.

Synopsis:

Caitlyn, a telepath, lives in a world where all paranormal talents are illegal. She is on the run from government ParaTroopers. When Caitlyn falls for Alex, a Normal, and discovers dangerous renegade Paranormals, she must choose between staying in hiding to protect herself or taking a stand to save the world.

Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey

Kirkus calls this one “A bewitching blend of paranormal romance and intrigue. ” It’s getting great ratings on Goodreads, and I’m excited to read a book with a compelling same-sex romance.

Synopsis:

Braden was born with witch eyes: the ability to see the world as it truly is: a blinding explosion of memories, darkness, and magic. The power enables Braden to see through spells and lies, but at the cost of horrible pain.

After a terrifying vision reveals imminent danger for the uncle who raised and instructed him, Braden retreats to Belle Dam, an old city divided by two feuding witch dynasties. As rival family heads Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe desperately try to use Braden’s powers to unlock Belle Dam’s secrets, Braden vows never to become their sacrificial pawn. But everything changes when Braden learns that Jason is his father–and Trey, the enigmatic guy he’s falling for, is Catherine’s son.

To stop an insidious dark magic from consuming the town, Braden must master his gift—and risk losing the one he loves.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Ooh, this one looks scary.  I don’t usually read things that veer towards horror because…I’m a total wimp.  But starred reviews and raves about this author’s gallows humor have really piqued my curiosity.

Synopsis:

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas’s life.

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

This book is getting a lot of attention for Schwab’s beautiful writing style, called “more poetry than prose” by Publishers Weekly.  As a Wuthering Heights fanatic, I am attracted to all things moor, so I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for this one.

Synopsis:

“The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. 

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. 

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.”

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

From Kirkus: “National Book Award finalist Taylor (Lips Touch: Three Times) again weaves a masterful mix of reality and fantasy with cross-genre appeal. Exquisitely written and beautifully paced…” (starred) If I wasn’t hooked by that (which I was) it also takes place in Prague–one of my favorite cities!

Synopsis:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My Very UnFairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski

Lighthearted and charming is hard to pull off, but I think AnnaStan can do it.  I’m a big fan of her blog (where she posts a really interesting writing feature called The Best Advice I Ever Got) and of  First Page Panda where she posts first pages of new YA and MG novels.  Oh and there’s a Goodreads give-away of this one, too!

Synopsis:

“You know all those stories that claim fairies cry sparkle tears and elves travel by rainbow? They’re lies. All lies.”—Twelve-year-old Jenny has spent the last two years as an adventurer helping magical kingdoms around the universe. But it’s a thankless job, leaving her no time for school or friends. She’d almost rather take a math test than rescue yet another magical creature! When Jenny is sent on yet another mission, she has a tough choice to make: quit and have her normal life back, or fulfill her promise and go into a battle she doesn’t think she can win.

Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Did you know Gretchen is an opera-singing circus performer? Yes, you probably did, because she is a fantastic self marketer.  Not only that, she has, by all accounts, written a terrific page turner.  The latest review, from Booklist, says: “McNeil strikes a fine balance between outright scares and sarcastic humor.”  Sounds like a fun read!

Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons’ plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

I didn’t realize when I started compiling this list that I was including so many debuts!  I swear, it wasn’t because I’m a debut novelist myself this season–there just seems to be a great crop of first-time authors out there!  So tell me, what are YOU excited about for the fall?