If you’re searching for your new favourite book and/or author, look no further! We invited our friends from QBD Books to tell us which New Year titles they are most looking forward to.
Lore
By Alexandra Bracken
Out now
There is in no doubt that this is one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. It has everything that I love, and I can’t wait to dig into it. Every seven years, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, and are hunted by those who seek to elevate themselves to ‘god’ status.
Lore left this world years ago, but when Athena offers her an alliance to get revenge for her family, she can’t help but accept. But there are deadly costs. Is Lore prepared to pay the price?
This just sounds fantastic. It’s going to be dark and dangerous and everything that I am looking for. I am looking forward to breaking down the walls of this world and its characters and seeing everything come to life. I’m ready for the angst, heartbreak and battles.
– Angelique, QBD Books Emporium Melbourne, VIC
Amari and the Night Brothers
By B.B. Alston
Out now
Amari and the Night Brothers is an incredible story about the importance of family, friendship, and loyalty.
When we first meet Amari, she is coming to terms with the disappearance of her much-loved, older brother Quinton; a promising kid with not one, but two Ivy League scholarships.
So why aren’t the police working harder to finding him? And why does everyone assume just because he is from the housing projects, that he must have been into something illegal?
Amari takes it upon herself to find out what happened, and, in the process, she finds there is a lot about Quinton’s life she doesn’t know.
This book deserves its place next to other great fantasy titles like, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Nevermoor. I have already read this book and loved it! A beautifully written story that left me saying, bring on book two please!
– Emily, QBD Books Knox City, VIC
Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give #0)
By Angie Thomas
Out now
The Hate U Give (THUG) is one of my favourite books of all time, so when I heard that Angie Thomas was writing a prequel for it, I knew I needed it in my life. Concrete Rose follows Maverick Carter (the father of Starr Carter in THUG).
Son of a gang legend, Maverick does the only thing he does well – working for King Lords. But then he finds out that he is a father, and has a son. Soon his priorities have to change. He has the chance to shape his life in a different light, but it’s not that easy.
This book sounds heartbreaking, but absolutely amazing. I’m intrigued to know how Maverick’s character is going to be explored. If you’ve read THUG, we know some of the outcomes, but we don’t know how he got there, or anything in between. I’m looking forward to diving into Maverick’s full story, and finding out everything we don’t yet know.
– Angelique, QBD Books Emporium Melbourne, VIC
Blood Metal Bone
By Lindsay Cummings
Out now
Life couldn’t possibly get any worse for Sonara after she is found guilty of her brother’s murder and sentenced to death, by her mother. That is, until she’s punished and left for dead, but doesn’t die. Instead, the shadows curse her, forcing a second life as a Shadowblood upon her. So now, she is hunted for her demon-like powers.
While living on the edges of society as a thief, and searching to uncover what really happened to her brother, or if he is even dead at all, it becomes a fight for her own survival as she hunts for answers.
Shadows that curse people with demon-like powers, a devil of the deadlands, and solving a murder? Yes please, this sounds like my kind of book.
– Tahlia, QBD Books Albury, NSW
A Vow So Bold and Deadly
By Brigid Kemmerer
Out now
It has been a year since we visited Emberfall. The missing Prince has been found, and new alliances forged. Harper and her brother have chosen sides, and now it’s time to sit back and watch how the final instalment is going to play out.
A Vow So Bold and Deadly is the stunning conclusion to Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker trilogy. This series is perfect for those who like an old-school fairy-tale retelling, mixed with an element of modern-day sass. This series has plenty of angst and action that YA books are so famous for, yet skims over the heavier, darker topics that often restrict YA novels to an older teen audience. As such, these books can be enjoyed by younger, and older teens alike.
– Emily, QBD Books Knox City, VIC
Winterkeep
By Kristin Cashore
Out now
The fourth instalment in Cashore’s Graceling Realm series merges new characters with old favourites as we return four years after the events of the previous novel, Bitterblue. When envoys sent to Winterkeep are drowned under suspicious circumstances, Bitterblue and her closest friends are determined to discover the truth. Their journey, however, leads to Bitterblue being kidnapped.
In comes Lovisa Cavenda, the fiery daughter of two opposing governing parties of Winterkeep. Lovisa’s search for the truth, and journey to overcome her own limitations make her the hope for both nations.
Not only does Winterkeep blend familiar characters with new, it also blends the medieval fantasy land of Monsea with the industrial country of Winterkeep – all the while keeping the magic of the previous books close at heart. Fans of Phillip Pullman may find a charming likeness to this new setting.
This series has been a personal favourite of mine for a long time, and I am beyond excited to delve back into such a rich story. Cashore has expressed in the past her intention to expand the world of the Graceling series, and this book does not disappoint.
– Olivia, QBD Books Coomera, QLD
The Gilded Ones
By Namina Forna
Out now
This book feels like the elusive one that *almost* got away.
Originally due for publication in early 2020, The Gilded Ones is one of many books that had their release date pushed due to the pandemic. While I have seen some people around the world have managed to get their hands on a copy, I have been waiting anxiously for the Australian release.
In a world where one’s purity is linked to the colour of one’s blood, Deka hopes to bleed red. But when her blood runs golden, the colour of a demon, Deka is forced to flee, only to be saved by a mysterious woman who tells her about the Alaki – near-immortal beings with extraordinary abilities. Deka belongs to this group and she must choose: risk death, or join other Alaki and fight for the Emperor.
– Emily, QBD Books Knox City, VIC
Ruinsong
By Julia Ember
Out now
A world where magic is sung into existence seems like a wondrous place. Singing beautiful spells into being, chanting protections into your home…
But in this world – singing means treason.
The Queen’s torturer is suddenly faced with a choice when she comes face-to-face with a childhood friend. Join the chorus of the revolution and help free her country, or become the monster her Queen wants?
The idea of singing as a way to produce magic is a fantastic one! Spoken spells and some singing have been used before, but I haven’t read a book where the magic system has revolved around song. Does a simple humm produce a magic effect, or does it need to be a full body, and complete song for it to work? One thing is for sure: this book gives a whole new meaning to being a powerful singer.
– Tahlia, QBD Books Albury, NSW
A Court of Silver Flames
By Sarah J. Maas
Release Date: Tuesday, 16 February 2021
I know SJM gifted us with a brilliant new series in 2020, but this is the book I have been waiting for. I absolutely love A Court of Thorns and Roses and its successive books. While the main story, featuring Feyre, is escapism at its finest, and Rhysand has stolen hearts all over the book world, it is Nesta and Cassian that captivated me throughout the events of book 4.
I’m not sure I can convey just how excited I am for SJM to finally give me what I, and so many others, have been waiting for. This is by far one of my top picks of 2021, and I have faith that SJM will deliver, like she always does.
– Emily, QBD Books Knox City, VIC
Noragami: Stray God, Volume 22
By Adachitoka
Release Date: Tuesday, 16 February 2021
When you think of a god, what comes to mind? A being of unimaginable power, with the forces of nature at their beck and call? An enigma, watching the world go by from afar? Well, Yato is neither of these things.
A down on his luck deity, Yato is forced to do odd jobs to earn enough belief to stay alive. Eventually, he meets Hiyori, a girl trapped between the world of the natural and the supernatural, and pledges to help her return her body back to normal.
A supernatural, comedy-adventure, Noragami is an underappreciated and fantastic manga series, perfect for fans looking for a new series to sink their teeth into.
– Rory, QBD Books Miranda, NSW
A Dark and Hollow Star
By Ashley Shuttleworth
Release Date: Tuesday, 23 February 2021
A serial killer is stalking the streets. Vicious murders shake the whole city – even the hidden world of faerie. The Eight Courts of Folk have lived, beneath their glamour, bound to do no harm to the humans around them. But these murders are risking the exposure of their world.
A group of mismatched queer teens, a half-fae, a fury, a prince, and a guardian, have to form a tentative alliance in order to track the killer down before they bring faerie crashing into the open. Will they be able to keep the peace between themselves long enough to catch the killer?
I love crime fiction, I love fantasy, so when they combine, it’s my happy place. Add to that the diversity of the characters and the cover art, and I’m all in.
– Tahlia, QBD Books Albury, NSW
The Iron Raven
By Julie Kagawa
Release Date: Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Finally, Kagawa’s addictive world of the Iron Fey series has turned its sights to the infamous prankster Puck, as the new trilogy focuses in on his tale. Told by Puck himself, he reveals his past as he faces his future, preparing to stand by old and new allies in a coming war to save both Faery and the mortal world.
“You may have heard of me…”
Puck has been a character that wandered through the stories of the previous books, always playing a crucial part, yet always undertaking his own adventures on the sidelines.
Puck has long been a fan favourite of this series and my own favourite character from back in Kagawa’s debut The Iron Fey. It will definitely be an eye opener to see this story through his eyes and hopefully finally watch him reach his own happiness, no doubt after some good-natured wit and devastating battles along the way. After all, the right-hand jester of King Oberon himself isn’t one to fall short of a good twist…
– Olivia, QBD Books Coomera, QLD
