Upcoming 2020 Books I Want to Read

Upcoming 2020 Books I Want to Read

I’m waaaay behind as usual on my reading list but I thought I’d come back with a quick post of some upcoming 2020 books I’ll hopefully get around to this year when they drop.

Pub Date: December 10, 2020

Two travelers. One treasure. Will feuding twin princesses be the key to finding the priceless riches, or will Soryn and Lucas become casualties of a deadly royal conflict? 

Childhood friends Soryn and Lucas leave their small village in quest of fame and fortune, thrilled at their good luck when a beggar man on the road tells them of a treasure hidden within the neighboring Kingdom of Dahut. In exchange for a bit of their food, the beggar offers directions on where these riches can be found, leaving out an important detail – the castle in which it is hidden is the home of Dahut’s reigning royalty, twin princesses in a violent battle for the queen’s crown.  

Will Soryn and Lucas lose themselves in the brutal political fight between Princess Elana and Princess Vivian, or can the two of them preserve their friendship and their lives – while stealing the treasure from the depths of Castle Laurent?

Pub Date: October 23, 2020

A beastly prince. A beautiful servant. Can two imperfect souls learn to love before the last petal falls?

When a kraken attack leaves her family destitute, Rosemary Mercer strikes a bargain. She will serve Prince Darian for a year to erase her father’s debts. But there is more at stake than money, and the prince’s beastly curse changes more than his appearance. Can Rosemary uphold her end of the bargain without getting caught in the spell herself?

A lifetime of selfishness and pride has cost Prince Darian his humanity, his throne, and the means to make it right. As shadows gather around his kingdom, his only hope for redemption is the brave servant who refuses to be intimidated by his monstrous form. But would she still help him if she were free to leave?

Can Rosemary and Darian see past appearances and find the beauty within themselves? Or will they be torn apart by a plot much bigger than an evil curse?

Pub Date: July 25, 2020

The Matchmaker calls…

…and only the gifted will be selected.

As Mei and the other girls of her village are sent on a harrowing journey across the frozen plains, she wonders what exactly they are selected for. Their guide, a mysterious warrior with a giant fox won’t reveal any secrets, but seems to have a protective eye for her.

The new Emperor is said to be dangerous young man, with dark abilities. And, while the others think they’re being matched to become his Empress, Mei suspects something more.

Her hopes to honor her family name, and the magical red lantern are all that give her strength as dragons, mystical warriors, and sneaky gods stand in her way to the truth.

That–and the spirits of her ancestors.

Pub Date: August 22, 2020

“Our chaos is beautiful… and terrifying. Can’t you feel my heart beating in your chest? Because I feel your breath in my lungs.”

The dead don’t rise…

When I kill men, they usually stay buried.

There’s a corpse on the loose. My plan is to track it down and kill it (for real this time), before the Red Sisters discover what I’ve done. 

Or worse, what I am.

They’ve already promised to make me pyre fodder. One more mishap and that empty grave is mine.

But well-laid plans become improvisation. Castles burn. Provinces are fled in the dead of night. Stupid girls get snared in cursed woods, and hearts never do as told. 

The gods are dead…

Yet, I was cursed as I stared into neon eyes and saw the celestial light. I tasted the salt of a Bone Vow, and I’ve kissed poison from the lips of the Half-Wolf prince. 

“It’s power. It’s weakness. It’s minuscule and infinite.” 

Release Day: Royal Decoy (Fate of Eyrinthia #1) by Heather Frost

Release Day: Royal Decoy (Fate of Eyrinthia #1) by Heather Frost

Title: Royal Decoy (Fate of Eyrinthia, #1)
YA Fantasy Romance
Author: Heather Frost
Pub Date: June 18th 2020
Pages: 370
Amazon|Goodreads

A SERVANT blackmailed into becoming a princess’s decoy.

A BODYGUARD determined to keep her alive.

A PRINCE forced to execute his father’s brutal laws.

A PRISONER used to keep him compliant.

A WORLD on the brink of war.

In one horrible night, Clare goes from kitchen maid to royal decoy. She has three months to become the princess’s perfect double so she can ensure her betrothal to an enemy prince. Desperate to survive, Clare throws herself into self-defense training, taught by her distractingly attractive bodyguard. The danger increases when a ruthless assassin begins stalking her, intent on ending the tenuous peace.

Across the northern mountains, Prince Grayson is his father’s ultimate weapon. He carries out the king’s harsh orders because the one person he cares about is his father’s prisoner. Grayson’s silent obedience is tested when his father plans to exploit the marriage alliance between two of their greatest enemies. If Grayson submits, the blood of thousands will spill. If he resists, the girl who means everything to him will die.

The fate of Eyrinthia hangs in the balance. Some want peace. Some want war. All will be thrown into chaos.

Author Bio

Heather Frost writes mostly YA fiction and has a soft spot for tortured characters, breath-stealing romance, and happy endings. She is the author of the Seers trilogy and the Fate of Eyrinithia series. She has a BS in Creative Writing and a minor in Folklore, which means she got to read fairy tales and ghost stories and call it homework. When she’s not writing, Heather likes to read, travel, and hold Lord of the Rings movie marathons. She owns two typewriters, sings in the car, and dreams of living in a castle someday. She currently lives in a beautiful valley surrounded by towering mountains in Utah. To learn more about Heather and her books, visit her website: www.HeatherFrost.com

Social Media
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Review: The Princess Trials by Cordelia Castel

Review: The Princess Trials by Cordelia Castel


Title: The Princess Trials
Author: Cordelia K Castel
Pub Date: May 3rd 2020
Pages: 504
Amazon| Goodreads

Thirty young women. A handsome prince. A battle to the death

Water is scarce. Deserts have taken over the land. Nuclear war has devastated humanity. Humans live in walled super cities to keep out the irradiated. The land that was formerly known as America is divided into kingdoms ruled by royal elites.

Born into the lowest Echelon of the Kingdom of Phangloria, sixteen-year-old Zea Calico faces a life of hunger, thirst, and toil. The only way out of this drudgery is revolution, and Zea is desperate to help the cause.

When the palace calls for candidates to compete to marry Prince Kevon, Zea joins the Princess Trials to search the palace for weaknesses.

The trials should be a fairytale of sumptuous meals, ballgowns, and romance, but one misplaced word causes Zea to attract the Prince’s attention. When Zea uncovers the man beneath Prince Kevon’s public facade, she is at risk of falling in love and losing sight of her mission.

But the televised beauty pageant turns deadly, and Zea must fight for survival.

This book should be making major waves. It was that good.

The Princess Trials makes The Selection look shallow and underdeveloped.

I said what I said.

Let’s make this clear: I am a fan of The Selection series. I will read anything that is considered similar to that premise. Even though I like The Selection, it wasn’t exactly great but it was cute and fun enough to be the tasty book candy I couldn’t wait to devour.

The Princess Trials had a lot more meat to it. I came away from the story with a good understanding of the world building and impressed with the plot. Sure, there are some tropes readers will recognize and expect but I believe they were efficiently done.

I can’t wait for the next book. I mean that a thousand times over.
Review: The Rose Gate: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (Faerie Tale Romances #1) by Hanna Sandvig

Review: The Rose Gate: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (Faerie Tale Romances #1) by Hanna Sandvig


Title: The Rose Gate
Author: Hanna Sandvig
Pub Date: June 20th 2019
Pages: 283
Amazon|Goodreads


Once upon a time, a girl from our world found a gate to the Faerie realm…

All Isobel wants is a quiet place to read, but apparently that’s too much to ask. She only needs to make it through one last summer with her broken family before she can leave for university and get on with her life. At least she has her books and the solitude of the woods.

But there are wolves in these woods.


Caught out in the forest after dark, Isobel is pursued by a disturbingly intelligent pack of wolves. When the grizzly bear who rescues her turns out to be a cursed fae prince, she realizes her life isn’t the only thing in danger. She could lose her heart.


Trapped by the wolves at the prince’s home in Faerie, Isobel tries to unravel the mystery behind the surly prince’s scars. Because time is running out for the castle’s inhabitants, and if Isobel can’t find a way to break the spell and save the prince from the Unseelie Queen, she may lose everything she’s come to love.

I can’t even keep up with how many Beauty and the Beast retellings I’ve read in the past two years. One thing’s for sure, I never get tired of fairy tale retellings. I love all the unique spins each author creates within their own little universes.

The Rose Gate has an interesting start–in the modern human world. I haven’t seen a lot of realm jumping in a B&B retelling, so I found that interesting. The writing was beautiful and there’s so much potential in this series. I can’t wait to read more from Hanna Sandvig.

Book Spotlight: Embracing the Outcast (Crowns Legacy #2) by Nadine C. Keels

Book Spotlight: Embracing the Outcast (Crowns Legacy #2) by Nadine C. Keels

Title: Embracing the Outcast (Crowns Legacy #2)
Author: Nadine C. Keels
Pub date: November 17, 2019
Pages: 200
Amazon|Goodreads

They can only experience beauty if they dare to behold it…

Now that Princess Eunice of Diachona has come of age, she has much more to study, and a new weight sits on her compassionate shoulders. Her late mother was an admirable ruler, but Eunice can hardly see herself thriving in the political arena. In fact, she doesn’t think many people see her at all, especially not would-be suitors who often bypass quiet Eunice to pursue ladies they find more attractive.

So when Eunice meets a serious, gifted artist who expresses his desire for her company, she isn’t sure if his interest in her is romantic or simply artistic. And why does this young man seem to be as saddened by Eunice as he is drawn to her?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nadine. A French name, meaning, “hope.”

With her lifelong passion for life-enriching fiction, Nadine C. Keels enjoys reading and writing everything from short stories to novels. Her fiction works include Love Unfeigned and The Movement of Crowns Series, and select pieces of her lyrical poetry can be found on her spoken word album, Hope. Lyricized. Through her books and her blog (Prismatic Prospects), Nadine aims to spark hope and inspiration in as many people as she is privileged to reach.

Find Nadine: Website|Goodreads|Twitter|Facebook|Bookbub|Amazon

Book Blitz: VEILED by Michelle Areaux

Book Blitz: VEILED by Michelle Areaux

Veiled Cover 5x7Veiled
by Michelle Areaux
Genre: YA
Fantasy/Supernatural/Romance
Release Date: March 4th 2020

Summary:

Audrey is supposed to be attending the exclusive performing arts academy she has dreamed of attending her entire life. However, one wrong click landed her at the exclusive House of Shadows a… vampire academy.
Once Audrey discovers the truth of where she is, it is too late to leave without an entire coven of vampires realizing she is human and their next meal. Forced to remain at the academy, Audrey finds herself fitting in a world unlike any she had ever imagined. As she settles into her new role, a dark secret emerges and Audrey is now in danger…again.
Only, one boy can save Audrey from a dark secret lurking within the House of Shadows. But, will his desire to save her withstand the hunger he feels for her? Discover this exciting new academy series today!

Fans of the House of Night and Twilight will adore this new series.

Excerpt- 
“Come on, just tell her,”
Donovan shouts, and his voice causes me to jump and gasp. I wish I could run
away and hide, but I have no clue where I would go. 
 
“Tell me what?” I cried
out. I don’t know how much more I can handle. 
 
Eden looks at me with a
softness in her eyes that keeps me from screaming and jumping through the
window in front of me. “Audrey, you are at the House of Shadows. This is a
prestigious Vampire Academy school. We train Vampires to assimilate into the
real world while also getting the best education possible,” Eden says
slowly. 
 
Vampires…  
Wrong School…  
All at once, everything
that I had just heard and experienced hit me like a flash of lightning. To make
sure I understood exactly what she was saying, Eden smiled, allowing her white,
shiny fangs to protrude from her gums. As I gasped, her eyes turned from a
hunter green to a golden yellow.  I felt my legs crumble beneath me as
darkness swirled in my vision. I felt like thick, heavy tentacles were pulling
me down into a black abyss and there was nothing I could do to stop it. 
 
Oh no, I was passing out
with two Vampires in front of me. 
 
 

About the Author
Michelle Areaux is a wife, mother, and seventh grade Language Arts teacher.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Kentucky and a Master’s degree in Literacy from Asbury University.

 
Author Links:
 
Book Spotlight: Songs of Sparrow’s Day (Sin Eater’s Tales #2)

Book Spotlight: Songs of Sparrow’s Day (Sin Eater’s Tales #2)

Title: Songs of Sparrow’s Day
Author: J.R. Snyder
Pub Date: January 30, 2020
Pages: 33
Amazon|Goodreads

A botched sin eater job leaves Asher Norwood’s partner—and only friend—clinging to life after she contracts a deadly infection. His only hope for a cure lies with the world famous naturalist, Dr. Theophilus Rowley Terrowin III, who lives in a far-flung corner of the treacherous Winterwind Mountains.

Stopping at nothing to save his partner, Asher risks it all to bring her to the doctor, only to find that the esteemed Dr. Terrowin has a few dark secrets of his own.

Songs of Sparrow’s Day is a novelette, the second installment in the series Sin Eater Tales, a collection of short fantasy stories set in a world inspired by the early Age of Discovery where magic is intertwined with every day life and dangerous beasts rule the wilds.

A Note About Amazon Reviews – UPDATE 5/7/2020

A Note About Amazon Reviews – UPDATE 5/7/2020

I was attempting to post two reviews on Amazon with one of them being a Kindle Unlimited book and got hit with this message:

We apologize but this account has not met the minimum eligibility requirements to write a review.”

Apparently, I haven’t spent the magical $50 in the past 12 months (but close to that). And despite having KU, which you’d think they let their paid subscription readers leave reviews, this isn’t happening from what I see.

So as of now, I cannot leave book reviews on Amazon. I’m sorry to indie authors that need them. I’ll still leave reviews on Goodreads and start leaving them on sites such as Bookbub.

And, unfortunately, I won’t be able to use booksprout. I’m totally bummed about that.

When and if I can leave reviews on Amazon, I’ll update the status of this.

UPDATE: I can now review on Amazon–5/7/2020

Book Blast: Pauper King by E. Stuart Marlowe

Book Blast: Pauper King by E. Stuart Marlowe

Find Pauper King on Amazon and Goodreads.
Author: E. Stuart Marlowe
Release Day: April 10, 2020
Pages: 469

X Snow White is dead.
IX Someone has put a pickaxe through her head.
VIII Her father, the disgraced King Johannes Wynpenny, vows to hunt down her murderer.
VII But then others die—more beloved fairy tale characters—and now it’s clear that a deranged killer is on the loose.
VI Someone who leaves behind taunting clues and a cruel countdown.
V Someone seeking revenge.
IV As his town is swept by witch hunt hysteria, Johannes must stop the maniac before others fall victim…
III …including himself.
II E. Stuart Marlowe weaves a tale of magical realism and crime, where fantasy and horror bleed into historical fact.
I And where the fables from our past speak to us across the centuries.

Review: The Gentleman Thief by Kate Gragg

Review: The Gentleman Thief by Kate Gragg

Title: The Gentleman Thief
Author: Kate Gragg
Pub Date: April 17th 2020
Amazon|Goodreads

Enigmatic and somewhat haphazard Joe Thorne is a wannabe thief, struggling to prise himself out of his job as an overgrown chimneysweep. After taking work in the large furnaces of the alchemy district, he developed a distinctive cough with magical qualities. Ever the opportunist, when the moment comes to break into the realm of thieves and vagabonds, he leaps on it, but his chances are scuppered by one almighty sneeze. From this expulsion comes a journey to a mystical island, shrouded in ancient tradition. Valleys of crystalline rivers, arching forests deeper than the eye can fathom, and not a tavern in sight. Joe is devastated.

Swept up by a lost love, a frog-man (or is it a man-frog?) with amnesia, and a sentient handkerchief, they embark (Joe, somewhat reluctantly) on a quest to solve a mysterious disappearance which still shrouds the island.


The Gentleman Thief is a funny, quirky fantasy that will appeal to many readers.

What you’ll get:

Magical coughing mishaps.
An unlikely protagonist.
An island with secrets.
Entertainment from beginning to end.