Anticipated Releases (April-June 2023)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And I'm here with another anticipated releases post! This is a little late, I usually release these towards the end of March but it slipped my mind this time. 

Better late than never I guess. I hope you enjoy it. 

April

1. Blind Spots, by Thomas Mullen 

Release date: (4/4/23)

It's been a while since I've read a crime thriller to be honest, and an even longer while since it's been an unreliable narrative crime thriller. Blind Spots takes place seven years after the blinding, where everybody in town lost their sight in the same month period. 

Technology was what helped people to adjust to this new reality, creating a device that downloads digital directly to people's brains, amongst other things. Until a scientist is killed, and the only witness insists the killer was in her blank spot. Homicide detective Mark Owens isn't sure; until a similar murder happens in front of him. 

I love the idea of this new technology, I'm interested to find out more about it, and I love the mystery/ intensity to the premise. Thinking about prioritising this soon. 

2. Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy, by Angie Thomas 

Release date: (4/4/23)

Angie Thomas' debut middlegrade. Of course I'm going to try this. 

It feels very much like Amari and the Night Brothers, which was a book I absolutely adored last year. 

Magical school, but not allowed to use magic because they're all afraid she'll use it for revenge on her annoying neighbour. All Nic wants is to be a powerful Manifestor, like her Dad, but before she has a chance to convince him to give her a chance, a number of events thrust Nic and two of her friends into a quest to find a magical tool she's never heard of, to save her father from prison for a crime he never committed. 

I've heard little to nothing about this in the Booktube community, absolutely nobody shouting about it, whether it's amazing or awesome, but I'm willing to give it a try. (Especially as it's out now in the UK and I won't have to wait months for it.) 

3. Untethered Sky, by Fonda Lee 

Release date: (11/4/23)

Another book by Fonda Lee! And it's a standalone! The fact that I've not even started the Jade City trilogy yet is irrelevant, because this is an unrelated novella, and I'm sticking it on here anyway. 

Untethered Sky follows Esther, a girl whose family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father's painful silence and an almost overwhelming need to destroy the creatores that destroyed her life. 

Her goal leads her to the King's Royal Mews, where they are searching for flyers to couple with the giant rocs of legend, to do exactly what she's always set out to do. Coupled with a fledgling roc called Zahra, Esther finds purpose in herself, by devoting herself to a calling that demands absolute sacrifice and a creature that will never love her as she does it. This partnership leads Esther not only on the Empire's most dangerous manticore hunt, but one of complete perseverance and acceptance.  

This is only 160 pages, but from what I've heard of Fonda Lee's work, that's plenty. Excited to purchase and devour. 

4. Homecoming, by Kate Morton 

Release date: (13/4/23)

Right. There's a lot to this story, so I'm going to do it in bullet points. It's basically a historical crime novel, that takes place partly in 1959, and then sixty years later, and I was drawn to this novel because of the family generations. Gorgeous cover too. 

• Adelaide Hill, Christmas Eve, 1959: Scorching hot day. The local postman comes across a body besides a creek next to a luxurious and mysterious mansion. Most perplexing murder case that the people of small town of Tambilla have ever seen. 
• Sixty years later, Jess, a journalist without a story, leaves London after almost twenty years, with the news that her grandmother Nora, who raised Jess as a child, has taken a fall and has been rushed to hospital. 
• When she arrives to see the normally vibrant and strong looking weak and fragile, is also told that she's been distracted and confused, has fallen a couple of times on the way to the attic: the one place where Jess was forbidden to play as a child. 
• Upon inspection of the attic, Jess comes across a true crime book, and comes across a connection to her family and the in-famous crime from sixty years ago. For a journalist without a story, a cold case might be just the distraction she needs.

I really need to get to these crime thrillers! First Blind Spots and now this! Let me know in the comments which one you think I should pick up first! 

5. Happy Place, by Emily Henry 

Release date: (25/4/23) 

Emily Henry is fast becoming an auto buy author for me. I find myself eager to pick up her next novel as soon as I've finished one and Happy Place is no exception. 

Not a thoroughly detailed plot: It's about Harriet and Wyn, a couple that seems perfect for eachother, that are like salt and pepper, honey and tea, bread and butter. That take a trip with their best friends every year, in the same place, which they've done for the past decade.

Except, they broke up six months ago, and still haven't told their friends. 

Because the cottage where they vacation every year is being sold, this is the last week they'll be able to holiday there. And so, the plan forms: Harriet and Wyn will pretend to still be a couple, so as not to disappoint the people that know them the most. What could possibly go wrong?

This promises to be a light-hearted read for me for the summer months, maybe when I'm out in the lake district in July? Or maybe even before that, but I know I'll definitely be going out and getting it sometimes soon. 

May

1. Lying in the Deep, by Diana Urban 

Release date: (2/5/23)

Diana Urban has only released two books, but both I've absolutely adored, and finished inside a few days. I'm excited to see how she handles a book that doesn't take place in an ordinary town, but on a ship.

 

Lying in the Deep follows Jade, and after being betrayed by her ex-boyfriend and her best friend, can't wait to get away on an adventure of a lifetime- 11 countries in 4 months, a chance to see the world- until she finds out that they're coming too. 

Her sweet trip turned sour, her obsession with them grows and festers, leading to a shocking murder. And as their friends start to drop like flies, Jade and her new found crush must race to clear her name- before another person dies. 

I have no idea why so many people are dropping like flies, (other than something being picked up and spread on the boat) but it's been ages since I've read something that takes place on a boat, and I know Diana Urban's novel promises to be suspensful and addictive, and I'm going to enjoy it immensely. 

June

1. When it All Syncs Up, by Maya Ameyaw

Release date: (6/6/23)

Another ballet book! YES! 

When I saw this on the list of YA releases due to come out in June, I clicked on it instantly. All it took for me to add this was to read the words "perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Pretty Little Things" and I was sold. 

For Aisha ballet is everything. So when she is denied yet another lead role at her elite ballet school because she doesn't 'look the part', she knows something has to change. When she enrolls in her friend Neil's art school, she is shocked to discover that something has changed with them, and also that she has to deal with the same bullying and racism as before. As past traumas resurface, Aisha has to learn to deal with pressure from family and friends, a new romance, and questions- questions about her dance career- that threaten to overwhelm her completely. When growing up, there's no choreography, Aisha will have to find the strength in herself- and place her trust in others- to know what the next move is.

2. The Dos and Donuts of Love, by Adiba Jaigirdar 

Release date: (6/6/23)

I love donuts, I love reading light-hearted LGBT romances, and most of all, I love when Adiba Jaigirdar writes them! 

Basically, a baking competition that's going to get Shireen Malik's parent's donut shop, You Drive Me Glazy, a lot more attention (and prize money) if she wins. 

Only problem: she's competing against her recent ex-girlfriend, Chris. Things are still intense between them, and to make things worse, feelings for another contestant, Niamh, are starting to develop. 

As the competition intensifies, she will have to ignore everything around her- including potential sabotage, if she wants to win the grand prize!

 

3. The Spectacular, by Fiona Davis 

Release date: (13/6/23) 

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this book. 

It combines historical fiction and dance, following Marion, one of the girls selected to be a Rockette in the 1950s. She soon finds out though, that four shows a day, as well as grueling rehearsals, are tough, and so, Marion quickly learns that life as a Rockette have both extraodinary highs and devastating lows. 

Then one night, a bomb explodes in the theatre. It's confirmed as the latest in a series of bombs that have exploded around New York- in the most popular venues. After a yearlong Manhunt, the police change tactic: focusing more on psychological profilling. 

As Marion becomes more involved in the investigation, she realises that as much as she's been training herself to blend in- to be as in sync as the other Rockettes as possible, if she's to find out more, or even catch the bomber- she's going to have to do the opposite- stand out, and take a terrifying risk- even if it means sacrificing everything she's ever worked for, and the people she loves. 

I've always been fascinated by the Rockettes, the style of dance, just how precise it is, so the fact that there is a book that exists, is out in June, but is also a historical fiction/ crime novel just sounds so amazing, I had to add this to the list. 

Okay! Those are all of my Anticipated Releases for April-June. As always, comment down below if there are any books that you guys are anticipating being released, in case I've missed any! 

I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you all very soon! 

Byeeeee! 

-Abi xxxxx