September 7, 2019

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

before they are hanged cover

The basics

Title: Before They Are Hanged

Author:

Series: First Law #2

- The Blade Itself (2006)
- Before They Are Hanged (2007)
- Last Argument of Kings (2008)

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Goodreads Summary:

Superior Glokta has a problem. How do you defend a city surrounded by enemies and riddled with traitors, when your allies can by no means be trusted, and your predecessor vanished without a trace? It’s enough to make a torturer want to run – if he could even walk without a stick.

Northmen have spilled over the border of Angland and are spreading fire and death across the frozen country. Crown Prince Ladisla is poised to drive them back and win undying glory. There is only one problem – he commands the worst-armed, worst-trained, worst-led army in the world.

And Bayaz, the First of the Magi, is leading a party of bold adventurers on a perilous mission through the ruins of the past. The most hated woman in the South, the most feared man in the North, and the most selfish boy in the Union make a strange alliance, but a deadly one. They might even stand a chance of saving mankind from the Eaters. If they didn’t hate each other quite so much.

Ancient secrets will be uncovered. Bloody battles will be won and lost. Bitter enemies will be forgiven – but not before they are hanged.
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August 30, 2019

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green

the smoke thieves cover

The basics

Title: The Smoke Thieves

Author:

Series: The Smoke Thieves #1

- The Smoke Thieves (2018)
- The Demon World (2019)
- Untitled (2020)

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Goodreads Summary:

A princess, a traitor, a hunter and a thief. Four teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Four nations destined for conflict.

In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a loveless political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell.

As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our four heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize?
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August 28, 2019

Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows

before she ignites cover

The basics

Title: Before She Ignites

Author:

Series: Fallen Isles #1

- Before She Ignites (2017)
- As She Ascends (2018)
- When She Reigns (2019)

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Goodreads Summary:

Before

Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer. Since the day she was born, she’s been told she’s special. Important. Perfect. She’s known across the Fallen Isles not just for her beauty, but for the Mira Treaty named after her, a peace agreement which united the seven islands against their enemies on the mainland.

But Mira has never felt as perfect as everyone says. She counts compulsively. She struggles with crippling anxiety. And she’s far too interested in dragons for a girl of her station.

After

Then Mira discovers an explosive secret that challenges everything she and the Treaty stand for. Betrayed by the very people she spent her life serving, Mira is sentenced to the Pit–the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. There, a cruel guard would do anything to discover the secret she would die to protect.

No longer beholden to those who betrayed her, Mira must learn to survive on her own and unearth the dark truths about the Fallen Isles–and herself–before her very world begins to collapse.
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August 23, 2019

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

china rich girlfriend cover

The basics

Title: China Rich Girlfriend

Author:

Series: Crazy Rich Asians #2

- Crazy Rich Asians (2013)
- China Rich Girlfriend (2015)
- Rich People Problems (2017)

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Goodreads Summary:

On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiance willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won't be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore's It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia's most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it's like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.
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August 18, 2019

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

morning star cover

The basics

Title: Morning Star

Author:

Series: Red Rising Saga #3

- Red Rising (2014)
- Golden Son (2015)
- Morning Star (2016)
- Iron Gold (2018)
- Dark Age (2019)

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Goodreads Summary:

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within.

Finally, the time has come.

But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied—and too glorious to surrender.
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August 11, 2019

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

The basics

Title: Two Dark Reigns

Author:

Series: Three Dark Crowns #3

- Three Dark Crowns (2016)
- One Dark Throne (2017)
- Two Dark Reigns (2018)
- Five Dark Fates (2019)

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Goodreads Summary:

Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.

Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the mainland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.

Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.

This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed—or expected.
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August 4, 2019

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

The basics

Title: Sea Witch

Author:

Series: Sea Witch #1

- Sea Witch (2018)
- Sea Witch Rising (2019)

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Goodreads Summary:

Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.
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August 2, 2019

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

the poppy war recap

The basics

Title: The Poppy War

Author:

Series: The Poppy War #1

- The Poppy War (2018)
- The Dragon Republic (2019)

Add it: Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

When Rin aced the Keju, the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies, it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan, was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.
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July 29, 2019

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The basics

Title: Life As We Knew It

Author:

Series: Last Survivors #1

- Life As We Knew It (2006)
- The Dead and the Gone (2008)
- This World We Live In (2010)
- The Shade of the Moon (2013)

Add it: Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.
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July 28, 2019

Upcoming Sequels for August 2019

This is our list of upcoming sequels for August 2019. If you know of any that aren’t on our list, feel free to leave a comment! We’ll also include links to our recap(s) of the series so that you can refresh your memory and get started on the new releases!

We thought it would be useful to include a list of the upcoming sequels (or first books in a new series) that are coming out each month so you know what you could get your hands on. We’ll be posting a list every single month in order to help you keep track of new releases.

UPCOMING SEQUELS FOR AUGUST 2019

01/08/2019

  1. From the Grave by Kresley Cole (Arcana Chronicles #6)

06/08/2019

  1. The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang (The Poppy War #2) – Our recap of The Poppy War
  2. Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson (Dance of Thieves #2)
  3. Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning (Sea Witch #2) – Recap coming soon!
  4. The Demon World by Sally Green (The Smoke Thieves #2) – Recap coming soon!
  5. Containment by Caryn Lix (Sanctuary #2) – Recap coming soon!

13/08/2019

  1. Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulhurst (Of Fire and Stars #2) – Recap coming soon!
  2. The Last Hope by Krista Ritchie (The Raging Ones #2) – Recap coming soon!

27/08/2019

  1. Rage by Cora McCormack (Rise #2)
  2. These Divided Shores by Sara Raasch (Steam Riders #2) – Recap coming soon!
  3. Wild Savage by Kristina Perez (Sweet Black Waves #2)

Which upcoming sequels are you most looking forward to? I’m very excited for The Dragon Republic, and I really need to get my hands on Sea Witch so I can read the sequel.

If there are any other sequels coming out that you would like a recap for, or if you would like us to recap any of the books mentioned above, let us know in the comments below or request a recap using our form.

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