by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse)
Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to celebrate!
Nicola Yoon's Instructions for Dancing (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
Description from Publisher:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star Nicola Yoon is back with her eagerly anticipated third novel. With all the heart and hope of her last two books, this is an utterly unique romance.
"Evie Thomas doesn't believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.
"As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance Studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything--including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he's only just met.
"Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it's that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the risk?"
Why I want to read it: I was fortunate to read this one in advance thanks to #partner NetGalley. I talked about this one as one of my most anticipated reads for 2021 on episode 158. Here's my review of this five-star read!
Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
Description from Publisher:
"Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.
"The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.
"Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.
"And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.
"By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.
"Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind."
Why I want to read it: We talked about TJR on our Auto-Buy Authors episode. I love her work so much, and especially after reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (see my review here!), I knew I'd be reading everything she writes!
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé's Ace of Spades (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
Description from Publisher:
"Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully.
"All you need to know is . . . I’m here to divide and conquer. Like all great tyrants do. ―Aces
"When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too.
"Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures.
"As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly?
"With heart-pounding suspense and relevant social commentary comes a high-octane thriller from debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé."
Why I want to read it: I was lucky to read this compelling book in advance as well thanks again to #partner NetGalley! This was a fast-paced, twisty story examining the dark underbelly of some of the infrastructures keeping our social systems in place. Jen read this one, too; here's her review!
This is a HUGE pub day with so many amazing new releases! I'd also like to shout out a few more that I'm excited to read:
Rachel Griffin's The Nature of Witches (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
A.C. Wise's Wendy, Darling (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
Beth O'Leary's The Road Trip (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
Sujata Massey's The Bombay Prince (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
Ashley C. Ford's Somebody's Daughter (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
(A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashtag.)
Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
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