December 2019 #TBR

Posted December 3, 2019 by Kaity in TBR / 0 Comments

Happy Tuesday and welcome to my December #TBR! (which I really need to stick to since I haven’t done one of these since August. Oops.)

I haven’t had great luck in the past with #TBRs, but I have a few books for review coming up and I really need to stick to it as much as possible this month. I’m sure I’ll switch a few things around audiobook wise (because I always do), but I’m going to try my hardest to read the books I need to read this December! They include two books sent to me by the publisher (the first two sent unsolicited!!!), two books for upcoming blog tours, one new book that’s been sitting on my kindle for over a year now, and one reread from last December that I’m still thinking about. And now without any further ado, the books I’ll actually read in December…

NON-AUDIOBOOKS

Spellhacker by M.K. England
Published on January 21, 2020 by HarperTeen
Genres: Fantasy, YA, Queer
Pages: 416
Format: ARC
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From the author of The Disasters, this genre-bending YA fantasy heist story is perfect for fans of Marie Lu and Amie Kaufman.

In Kyrkarta, magic—known as maz—was once a freely available natural resource. Then an earthquake released a magical plague, killing thousands and opening the door for a greedy corporation to make maz a commodity that’s tightly controlled—and, of course, outrageously expensive.

Which is why Diz and her three best friends run a highly lucrative, highly illegal maz siphoning gig on the side. Their next job is supposed to be their last heist ever.

But when their plan turns up a powerful new strain of maz that (literally) blows up in their faces, they’re driven to unravel a conspiracy at the very center of the spellplague—and possibly save the world.

No pressure.

Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller
Published on February 1, 2020 by Sourcebooks Fire
Genres: Fantasy, YA, Queer, Aspec
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: Direct from Publisher
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Tumblr

Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome wor.
Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her family, wants more from life than her humble beginnings and is desperate to be trained in magic. So when a strange noble girl offers Annette the chance of a lifetime, she accepts.
Emilie and Annette swap lives—Annette attends finishing school as a noble lady to be trained in the ways of divination, while Emilie enrolls to be a physician’s assistant, using her natural magical talent to save lives.
But when their nation instigates a frivolous war, Emilie and Annette must work together to help the rebellion end a war that is based on lies.

How to Build a Heart by Maria Padian
Published on January 28, 2020 by Algonquin Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 352
Format: ARC, eARC
Source: Edelweiss
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One young woman’s journey to find her place in the world as the carefully separated strands of her life — family, money, school, and love — begin to overlap and tangle.

All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere. Her father, a marine, died in Iraq six years ago, and Izzy’s moved to a new town nearly every year since, far from the help of her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico. When Izzy’s hardworking mom moves their small family to Virginia, all her dreams start clicking into place. She likes her new school—even if Izzy is careful to keep her scholarship-student status hidden from her well-to-do classmates and her new athletic and popular boyfriend. And best of all: Izzy’s family has been selected by Habitat for Humanity to build and move into a brand-new house. Izzy is this close to the community and permanence she’s been searching for, until all the secret pieces of her life begin to collide.

How to Build a Heart is the story of Izzy’s journey to find her place in the world and her discovery that the choices we make and the people we love ultimately define us and bring us home.

The Mall by Megan McCafferty
Published on June 9, 2020 by Wednesday Books
Genres: Contemporary, Historical Fiction, YA
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Direct from Publisher
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New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty returns to her roots with this YA coming of age story set in a New Jersey mall.
The year is 1991. Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans...
Set entirely in a classic “monument to consumerism,” the novel follows Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself, in the most unexpected of places. Megan McCafferty, beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, takes readers on an epic trip back in time to The Mall.

Hunted by Meagan Spooner
Published on March 14, 2017 by HarperTeen
Genres: Fantasy, Retellings, YA
Pages: 376
Format: Kindle
Source: Amazon
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Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.
So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.
Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton
Published on December 4, 2018 by Delacorte Press
Genres: Futuristic, Science Fiction, YA
Pages: 384
Format: Kindle
Source: Amazon
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For fans of television shows Black Mirror and Westworld, this compelling, mind-bending novel is a twisted look into the future, exploring how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimen and what it means to be human at all.
Set in our world, spanning the near to distant futures, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a novel made up of six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of "human."
This extraordinary work explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension, as well as the ethical quandaries that will arise with these advances. The results range from the heavenly to the monstrous. Deeply thoughtful, poignant, horrifying, and action-packed, Arwen Elys Dayton's Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is groundbreaking in both form and substance.

AUDIOBOOKS

The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin
Published on January 29, 2019 by Inkyard Press
Genres: Contemporary, Retellings, YA
Pages: 464
Format: Audiobook
Source: Rochester Public Library
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Mean Girls meets The Tudors in Hannah Capin’s The Dead Queens Club, a clever contemporary YA retelling of Henry VIII and his wives (or, in this case, his high school girlfriends). Told from the perspective of Annie Marck (“Cleves”), a 17-year-old aspiring journalist from Cleveland who meets Henry at summer camp, The Dead Queens Club is a fun, snarky read that provides great historical detail in an accessible way for teens while giving the infamous tale of Henry VIII its own unique spin.
What do a future ambassador, an overly ambitious Francophile, a hospital-volunteering Girl Scout, the new girl from Cleveland, the junior cheer captain, and the vice president of the debate club have in common? It sounds like the ridiculously long lead-up to an astoundingly absurd punchline, right? Except it’s not. Well, unless my life is the joke, which is kind of starting to look like a possibility given how beyond soap opera it’s been since I moved to Lancaster. But anyway, here’s your answer: we’ve all had the questionable privilege of going out with Lancaster High School’s de facto king. Otherwise known as my best friend. Otherwise known as the reason I’ve already helped steal a car, a jet ski, and one hundred spray-painted water bottles when it’s not even Christmas break yet. Otherwise known as Henry. Jersey number 8.
Meet Cleves. Girlfriend number four and the narrator of The Dead Queens Club, a young adult retelling of Henry VIII and his six wives. Cleves is the only girlfriend to come out of her relationship with Henry unscathed—but most breakups are messy, right? And sometimes tragic accidents happen…twice…

Ask Me Anything by Molly E. Lee
Published on May 7, 2019Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 320
Format: Audiobook
Source: Rochester Public Library
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I should’ve kept my mouth shut.
But Wilmont Academy’s been living in the Dark Ages when it comes to sex ed, and someone had to take matters into her own hands. Well, I’m a kickass coder, so I created a totally anonymous, totally untraceable blog where teens can come to get real, honest, nothing-is-off-limits sex advice.
And holy hell, the site went viral overnight. Who knew this school was so hard up.
Now the school administration is on a war path to shut me down, and they have Dean—my coding crush—hot on my trail. If he discovers my secret, I could lose his trust forever. And thousands of teens who need real advice won’t have anyone to turn to.
Ask me anything…except how to make things right.

The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future by Veronica Roth
Published on October 1, 2019 by Katherine Tegen Books
Genres: Science Fiction, YA
Pages: 272
Format: Audiobook
Source: Rochester Public Library
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No world is like the other. Within this masterful collection, each setting is more strange and wonderful than the last, brimming with new technologies and beings. And yet, for all the advances in these futuristic lands, the people still must confront deeply human problems.
In these six stories, Veronica Roth reaches into the unknown and draws forth something startlingly familiar and profoundly beautiful.
With tales of friendship and revenge, plus two new stories from the Carve the Mark universe, this collection has something for new and old fans alike. Each story begins with a hope for a better end, but always end with a better understanding of the beginning.
With beautifully intricate black-and-white interior illustrations and a uniquely designed package, this is the perfect gift for book lovers.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer
Series: Renegades #1
Published on November 7, 2017 by Feiwel & Friends
Genres: Science Fiction, Superheroes, YA
Pages: 556
Format: Audiobook
Source: Rochester Public Library
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Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.
The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies — humans with extraordinary abilities — who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone... except the villains they once overthrew.
Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice — and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

Archenemies by Marissa Meyer
Series: Renegades #2
Published on November 6, 2018 by Feiwel & Friends
Genres: Science Fiction, Superheroes, YA
Pages: 496
Format: Audiobook
Source: Rochester Public Library
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The Renegades Trilogy continues, in this fiercely awaited second installment after the New York Times-bestselling Renegades by Marissa Meyer, author of the Lunar Chronicles.
Time is running out. Together, they can save the world. But they each other's worst nightmare.
In Renegades, Nova and Adrian (aka Insomnia and Sketch) fought the battle of their lives against the Anarchist known as the Detonator. It was a short-lived victory.
The Anarchists still have a secret weapon, one that Nova believes will protect her. The Renegades also have a strategy for overpowering the Anarchists, but both Nova and Adrian understand that it could mean the end of Gatlon City - and the world - as they know it.

Supernova by Marissa Meyer
Series: Renegades #3
Published on November 5, 2019 by Feiwel & Friends
Genres: Science Fiction, Superheroes, YA
Pages: 552
Format: Audiobook
Source: Rochester Public Library
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All's fair in love and anarchy...
The epic conclusion to Marissa Meyer's thrilling Renegades Trilogy finds Nova and Adrian struggling to keep their secret identities concealed while the battle rages on between their alter egos, their allies, and their greatest fears come to life. Secrets, lies, and betrayals are revealed as anarchy once again threatens to reclaim Gatlon City.