Welcome to Anticipated Reads, a monthly feature that highlights some upcoming releases that I am anxiously awaiting for in August!
August is almost upon us and that means it is time to share my Anticipated Releases for the month! RIP me because all the books I want are released essentially on the same two days this month. If I have read the title I will include a link to my review, and clicking on the title will bring you to Goodreads.
Source: Playbill on Tumblr
August 7:
Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley
Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
[ARC Review]
“The house, when I first saw it, seemed intent on guarding what it knew; but we all learned, by the end of it, that secrets aren’t such easy things to keep.”
It’s late summer, war is raging, and families are torn apart by divided loyalties and deadly secrets. In this complex and dangerous time, a young French Canadian lieutenant is captured and billeted with a Long Island family, an unwilling and unwelcome guest. As he begins to pitch in with the never-ending household tasks and farm chores, Jean-Philippe de Sabran finds himself drawn to the daughter of the house. Slowly, Lydia Wilde comes to lean on Jean-Philippe, true soldier and gentleman, until their lives become inextricably intertwined. Legend has it that the forbidden love between Jean-Philippe and Lydia ended tragically, but centuries later, the clues they left behind slowly unveil the true story.
Part history, part romance, and all kinds of magic, Susanna Kearsley’s latest masterpiece will draw you in and never let you go, even long after you’ve closed the last page.
✨✨✨
These Rebel Waves (Stream Raiders #1) by Sara Raasch
Fantasy, Pirates, Historical Fiction
[ARC Review]
Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Argrid, a country ruled by religion. But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray’s new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something more dangerous is at work.
Devereux is a pirate. As one of the outlaws called stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he pirates the island’s magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat’s abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war.
Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray’s forbidden magic. When Ben’s father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid’s fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he’s building his own pyre.
As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are . . . and what they are willing to become for peace.
✨✨✨
Dance of Thieves (Dance of Thieves #1) by Mary E. Pearson
Fantasy, Young Adult
A new novel in the New York Times–bestselling Remnant Chronicles universe, in which a reformed thief and the young leader of an outlaw dynasty lock wits in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.
When the patriarch of the Ballenger empire dies, his son, Jase, becomes its new leader. Even nearby kingdoms bow to the strength of this outlaw family, who have always governed by their own rules. But a new era looms on the horizon, set in motion by a young queen, which makes her the target of the dynasty’s resentment and anger.
At the same time, Kazi, a legendary former street thief, is sent by the queen to investigate transgressions against the new settlements. When Kazi arrives in the forbidding land of the Ballengers, she learns that there is more to Jase than she thought. As unexpected events spiral out of their control, bringing them intimately together, they continue to play a cat and mouse game of false moves and motives in order to fulfill their own secret missions.
August 14:
Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall
Science Fiction, Space Opera
[ARC Review]
A ragtag band of explorers are looking to make the biggest score in the galaxy in the brand-new science fiction adventure novel from the national bestselling author of Linesman.
Three people who are not who they claim to be:
Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people’s bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.
Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.
Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.
Josune’s captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan’s ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan’s ship, it’s out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment–and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.
Now they’re in a race to find the lost world…and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.
✨✨✨
A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan
Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult
Gold is wealth. Wealth is power. Power is a curse.
King Midas once had the ability to turn all he touched into gold. But after his gift—or curse—almost killed his daughter, Midas relinquished The Touch forever. Ten years later, Princess Kora still bears the consequences of her father’s wish: her skin shines golden, rumors follow her everywhere she goes, and she harbors secret powers that are getting harder to hide.
Kora spends her days locked in the palace, concealed behind gloves and veils, trying to ignore the stares and gossip of courtiers. It isn’t until a charming young duke arrives that Kora realizes there may be someone out there who doesn’t fear her or her curse. But their courtship is disrupted when a thief steals precious items from the kingdom, leaving the treasury depleted and King Midas vulnerable. Thanks to her unique ability to sense gold, Kora is the only one who can track the thief down. As she sails off on her quest, Kora learns that not everything is what it seems—not thieves, not pirates, and not even curses. She quickly discovers that gold—and the power it brings—is more dangerous than she’d ever believed.
Midas learned his lesson at a price. What will Kora’s journey cost?
From author Annie Sullivan comes A Touch of Gold, the untold story of the daughter King Midas turned to gold, perfect for fans of Cinder and The Wrath and the Dawn.
August 21:
Foundryside (Founders #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett
Fantasy, Adult
[ARC Review to come]
In a city that runs on industrialized magic, a secret war will be fought to overwrite reality itself–the first in a dazzling new fantasy series from City of Stairs author Robert Jackson Bennett.
Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.
But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.
Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.
To have a chance at surviving–and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way–Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into.
✨✨✨✨
Seafire (Seafire #1) by Natalie C. Parker
Fantasy, Young Adult
After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, whose lives have been turned upside down by Aric and his men. The crew has one misson: stay alive, and take down Aric’s armed and armored fleet.
But when Caledonia’s best friend and second-in-command just barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether or not to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all…or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?
Belleweather sounds fantastic so I hope it delivers. I have read many mixed opinions on Foundryside so will be holding off for now, but all the yeses to Mirage 🖤 And thanks for reminding me I need to start Seafire.. ugh I am so behind.
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I have an ARC for Belleweather and Foundryside that are on my immediate-ish TBR and I have high hopes for both. I saw Melanie’s review of the latter so I am not going into that one with the highest of expectations but am hopeful for an enjoyable read. I hope you enjoy Seafire!!!
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I have another friend who also found issues with Foundryside so I passed, although I had high hope initially. Thank you! Trying to find a partner to buddy read Seafire with haha. I need motivated.
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I wish I had an arc for Seafire so I could try to help you, but 1) I don’t have it and 2) I am currently failing Destiny on our Nyxia buddy read. LOL! You can do it!
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Oh no haha! I love Nyxia. You are not enjoying it or what? Spill the beans 😛
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I just haven’t been in the mood, unfortunately. I hit a bit of a reading slump post-24in48 and moved into a depressive downswing yesterday. I read like 3 pages this morning (which is hardly enough time to have much of an opinion one way or another). She’s behind too so I don’t feel too bad; hoping I have the energy for reading tonight though!
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Meh, come back to it later. If you force it, you doom it ❤
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This is a great list, once again August is kicking my butt with all the wonderful books coming out! I think Foundryside is going to be my next read😁
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I KNOW! August has so many amazing releases and I wish I had more time to dedicate to reading them all. I am looking forward to Foundryside and it’s coming up very soon on my ARC list as well! Happy reading, Tammy!
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I can’t wait for These Rebel Waves! It sounds so intriguing! ❤️
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Me too! I almost wish I had requested an ARC for it but I have so many ARCs to read next month that I am glad I exhibited some restraint.
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I am so excited for Dance of Thieves, Mirage and These Rebel Waves!
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Mirage is so good!!! I hope everyone enjoys it as much as me and my buddy read group did!
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Great choices! I loved A Touch Of Gold. Unfortunately These Rebel Waves wasn’t the book for me. But I’m looking forward to quite a few of the others, too.
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Oooh I am glad to hear you enjoyed Touch of Gold because I haven’t really seen many reviews about it yet! Sorry that These Rebel Waves wasn’t for you but I hope your next read is enjoyable!
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Thanks! I hope you enjoy all the upcoming books you read!
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I’m super excited for Mirage as well Kaleena!
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I’m participating in the blog tour for it so my review won’t be posted until August 21st but spoiler alert… Mirage was so good, Kayla! I really enjoyed it and cannot wait for everyone else to experience it!
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That makes me so happy, Kaleena! I’m hoping to start my arc of it next week!
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I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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Mirage 😍😍😍 I had so much fun reading it with you guys! Another August release I’m looking forward to is Catwoman: Soulstealer.
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Foundryside was so good!
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Ooh I am glad that you enjoyed it!!!
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At least 4 of these are supposed to be the first book in the series?!?! I couldn’t start that many series knowing I would have to wait for the rest of the series! Good luck with all those!
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I KNOWWWW! I really wish that there were more standalones in the sf/f space, because it is downright torturous to wait!
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I have the Bellewether too & I’m really excited to get to it (probably next week). My sister has just finished Seafire and she really liked it. I’m hoping to get the ARC from her next time I see her.
Sooo many good books coming out these days! Good luck figuring out which ones to read 🙂
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I started Bellewether this morning before hopping in the shower before work and am so far impressed with the writing style and voice! I hope you enjoy it when you finally dive in.
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These books are so good! I will add all of these to my TBR and cry in the corner because I don’t know when I’ll ever read them. But anyway, thanks for this list. Great post!
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Thanks so much for stopping by and my deepest sympathies to your TBR! I should unlock the mysteries of freezing time, it would be a service to all of the bookish community!
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Yes indeed! The bookish community needs an unlocker of the mysteries of freezing time. Tell me when you finally find the key.
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Great post! 😀 I recently read Mirage and I really enjoyed it, I loved the characters and their relationships and the writing was very beautiful, too 😀
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Thank you, Marie! Mirage was SO GOOD and I keep thinking about it. I might pre-order a copy of the book from the indie bookstore back home and force my best friend to go to the signing on my behalf because I can’t fly down to San Diego on a Thursday night. 😭 I genuinely cannot wait for others to be able to read Mirage!
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I’m so glad you loved it so much, it really was an interesting book and I loved the characters 😀
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I can’t wait to read Dance of Thieves and Mirage!
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Me too!
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These Rebel Waves sounds really good! I haven’t read that many books with pirates but the few I have read I have really liked, so I can’t wait to read this one. Great list! 🙂
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Thank you so much for stopping by, and I really love female pirates for some reason… I need more pirate books in my life! Happy reading!
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I have an arc for these Rebel Waves that I really need to get to. Pirates have a special place in my heart I don’t know why I haven’t picked it up.
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I hope you enjoy it!!! I just got accepted for an ARC (why do I do this to myself?!) and am excited to get a read in ASAP!
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