Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The meme was originally the brainchild of The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Most Anticipated Books of 2nd Half of 2021.
I have listed these roughly in order of how excited I am, beginning with my top three. But if a book is on the list at all, then it’s a book I am definitely looking forward to reading! Lucky me—I already have review copies of some of these (marked as “ARC.”)
The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley (Oct. 5). I love Kearsley’s novels, particularly The Winter Sea, so I am very excited to read this “prequel and companion novel” which “goes back in time to the 1680s and introduces the reader to the Moray and Graeme families,” and overlaps some of the events in The Winter Sea. I want to reread The Winter Sea first, just to be sure I remember the characters and events clearly. (ARC)
The Becoming (Nov. 23) is book #2 in Nora Robert’s current fantasy trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book, The Awakening, and I can’t wait to see where things go next. (But so help me, she better not kill off the heroine’s gay best friend, who is Breen’s main emotional support and a delightful character in his own right. I am just done with the “bury your gays” trope. I want Marco to get his own HEA in this series.)
Mercedes Lackey’s Briarheart (Oct. 5) is being billed as “a fresh and feminist take on Sleeping Beauty;” the main (and original) character is Aurora’s sister. The quality of Lackey’s books has been erratic over the last 10 years, but her most recent book, Beyond, was almost vintage Lackey. If she can maintain that level of writing for this new fairytale retelling, which appears to be unrelated to any of her series books, I am totally down for it.
Guild Boss (Nov. 16.) It has been several years since Jayne Castle (AKA Jayne Ann Krentz) came out with a Ghost Hunters/Harmony book, and I have missed them. Castle’s futuristic romantic-suspense series requires a generous helping of suspended disbelief, but the books are fun, fast-paced, and totally addictive. I can’t wait to read this one. (ARC)
The Raven Heir (Sept. 14) begins a new middle-grade fantasy series by Stephanie Burgis. I love Stephanie’s books, both her MG series and her adult fantasies, and I can’t wait to read this tale of shape-shifting Cordelia and her brothers.
Once a Laird by Mary Jo Putney (Oct. 26) is #6 in her Rogues Redeemed series, which began with Once a Soldier. I have enjoyed every installment of this series (some more than others, but that’s normal in any series!), and I’m looking forward to reading this one soon. Also, isn’t that cover gorgeous? (ARC)
In Six Crimson Cranes (July 6), Elizabeth Lim blends Asian folklore and “The Wild Swans” fairy tale. I still haven’t read Spin the Dawn (although I want to!), so I’m not familiar with Lim’s writing, but I love “The Wild Swans”… and anything described as “a princess in exile, a shapeshifting dragon, six enchanted cranes, and an unspeakable curse…” is bound to get my attention. (Bonus: it’s another beautiful cover!) (ARC)
The Spindle Splintered is Alix E. Harrow’s take on Sleeping Beauty. Author Katherine Arden described it as “A vivid, subversive and feminist reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, where implacable destiny is no match for courage, sisterhood, stubbornness and a good working knowledge of fairy tales.” Sounds irresistible, doesn’t it?
This Poison Heart (Kalynn Bayron; July 6) kicks off a new series about a Brooklyn girl with a magical talent for growing plants, who inherits a sinister, run-down rural estate complete with a walled poison garden… and a number of secrets. The premise sounds really intriguing.
Also anticipating:
- Fatality with Forster (Katherine Bolger Hyde; July 6) (ARC)
- Danger at the Cove (Hannah Dennison; Aug. 17) (ARC)
- I’m Only Wicked With You (Julie Anne Long; Aug. 24) (ARC)
- The Color of Dragons (R. A. Salvatore and Erika Lewis; Oct. 19)
- The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley (Mercedes Lackey; December 14)
Already read and loved:
- Beyond (Mercedes Lackey; June 15) (Okay, technically this one is in the first half of the year by a whole two weeks, but I’m sure some folks won’t have read it yet!)
- Devil in Disguise (Lisa Kleypas; July 27)
- Death at the Crystal Palace (Jennifer Ashley; July 6)
Lydia
I’m so curious about Six Crimson Cranes.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-most-anticipated-books-of-the-second-half-of-2021/
Lark_Bookwyrm
It looks and sounds lovely, doesn’t it?
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
I’m looking forward to reading This Poison Heart and A Spindle Splintered.
I hope you enjoy your books when you get the chance to read them.
Here is my post: https://readbakecreate.com/?p=441
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create! recently posted…Most Anticipated Canadian Books for the Rest of 2021
Lark_Bookwyrm
Both of those sound really good, don’t they?
Angela
A Spindle Splintered has also caught my eye!
Lark_Bookwyrm
Alas, I didn’t get approval for the ARC, so I will have to wait until it comes out and hope my library gets a copy.
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits
So many of these look good! I’ve already got (but haven’t read) This Poison Heart, and I also want to read The Raven Heir, Six Crimson Cranes, and A Spindle Splintered. I didn’t know that Lackey had a new, NON-SERIES fairy tale retelling coming out, so I’ll have to keep my eyes on reviews of that one. I’ve been burned by her more recent books’ fluctuating quality a few too many times to be quick to pick up a new book of hers, but I have so many fond memories of her work in the past that I can’t just write her off either.
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…WIP Wrap-up for June 2021
Lark_Bookwyrm
Regarding Lackey: Same here. I continue to read the ones in my favorite series, simply because, well, they are my favorite series. (That would be the Valdemar and Elemental Masters series, mostly.) I’ve been reading her books since they were first published (when I was a just-out-of-college bookseller); like you, I have too many fond memories to completely give up on her. I was pleased with Beyond, on the whole; that was encouraging.
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits
Yeah, I can see that. Even when Lackey’s Elemental Masters series was more solid, I was picky about which of the books I enjoyed (based on plot and characters). In general I’ve been re-reading her books that I like, but not trying any new ones. I’m glad Beyond was enjoyable for you, and hopefully Briarheart will be one of her good ones!
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…Linkity for Independence Day
Lark_Bookwyrm
Agreed!
ShootingStarsMag
This Poison Heart is SOOOO good.
ShootingStarsMag recently posted…{Book Review/Giveaway}: Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism
Lark_Bookwyrm
That’s good to know – thank you!
RO
It’s great to see that Nora Roberts is still doing her thing after so many years. Hope you’re doing well, and sending lots of hugs, RO
RO recently posted…SOME USELESS STUFF
Lark_Bookwyrm
Yes, she’s still going strong! I can’t wait to read The Becoming.