Happy first day of fall!

Despite the current political shitstorm that is our country right now, I am determined to enjoy myself during my favorite season of the year. One way to do that? By reading books.

So without any more political discourse, here are the books I’m most looking forward to this fall:

1. The Trespasser by Tana French.  It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with Tana French. I look forward to her book releases they way I used to look forward to new Harry Potter books (except The Cursed Child, because I don’t really want to read that, but that’s a story for another day.) The summary:

Antoinette Conway, the tough, abrasive detective from The Secret Place, is still on the Murder squad, but only just. She’s partnered up with Stephen Moran now, and that’s going well – but the rest of her working life isn’t. Antoinette doesn’t play well with others, and there’s a vicious running campaign in the squad to get rid of her. She and Stephen pull a case that at first looks like a slam-dunk lovers’ tiff, but gradually they realise there’s more going on: someone on their own squad is trying to push them towards the obvious solution, away from nagging questions. They have to work out whether this is just an escalation in the drive to get rid of her – or whether there’s something deeper and darker going on.

So I already know that Antoinette Conway is an amazing character, and I already love Stephen, and Tana French is such a fantastic writer and storyteller that I can’t envision any scenario where I do not fall in love with this book. CAN’T. WAIT.

2. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.  I very recently gushed about Bardugo’s Six of Crows so obviously I’m picking up the sequel. The summary:

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.

The characters , the writing, the world building, the sexual tension–there’s nothing not to like with this series. TBR ASAP.

3. A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir.  I also recently reviewed her first book and while it wasn’t my favorite book ever, it was pretty damn good. I flew through it, and I’ve heard the sequel is even better, so binge-reading here I come.

Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.

This is actually out already and I just need to go pick it up. Excited!

4. Replica by Lauren Oliver.  Picking this one up on the sheer fact that this author has never disappointed me. (See a couple of my reviews of her books here, here, and here). Intriguing premise:

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. ‘A sickly child’, her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father’s connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she’s always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father’s name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute’s walls, Lyra – or number 24 as she is known as at Haven – and a fellow experimental subject known only as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing , they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven’s purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever…

So yes, interesting. I’m counting on Oliver’s fantastic prose and well-drawn characters to make this an enjoyable read.

5. Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven.  I was blown away (and reduced to a puddle) by this book by Niven, so I’m trusting her to do the same to me with her next book. The (long) plot summary:

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. 

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything in new and bad-ass ways, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. . . . Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

Honestly, even if I hadn’t read Niven’s work before I’d probably pick this up because high school outcasts is my jam. I cannot wait. (And I am hoping for a happy ending this time!)

Yeah. For some reason this year is RIPE with awesome new books.(I just realized they’re all female writers, too, so hooray for women!)  Which ones will you be reading???

Image found here