Things to Look Forward to: May 2014

Seems to me, I will do this monthly post for real now. And since I obviously have never done this before, I'll explain how it goes.

Basically, every first week of the month, I'm supposed to post a list of books that are coming out this month that I cannot wait for.

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

• Genre: contemporary, young adult, realistic fiction, romance
• Expected publication date: May 6th 2014
• Synopsis/Goodreads blurb:

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um...

• It's no secret that I am starting to hoard books when I can then take my time to admire the look of them beside all the other books I've bought or borrowed before that I haven't read yet. Morgan Matson's books happen to be one of those. I got myself a copy of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour about four months ago and only happened to get to it about two weeks ago. I also bought a copy of Second Chance Summer last month and well, I still am not able to get to it. I don't get these books just to admire them sitting on my non-existent bookshelf, of course. I buy them because I want to read them. I liked Amy & Roger's a lot and I think that's enough for me to dive into Morgan Matson's other works.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

• Genre: contemporary, young adult, mystery, suspense
• Expected publication date: May 6th 2014
• Synopsis/Goodreads blurb:

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
 
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

• I've not read any of E. Lockhart's before, but her novels have always been in the book suggestions whenever I go searching for new novels to read look forward to reading on goodreads. I've checked out the blurbs of her previous novels, but they never seemed to sell to me, and I've always wanted to read a novel of hers so I'm proud to be looking forward to this one. I'm not usually someone who goes for novels that may have a touch of mystery, thriller and suspense in them, but since Mara Dyer plunged me into the genre, I've been going on to hunts.

Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

• Genre: sci-fi/dystopia, young adult
• Expected publication date: May 13th 2014
• Synopsis/Goodreads blurb:

What if there was an app that told you what song to listen to, what coffee to order, who to date, even what to do with your life—an app that could ensure your complete and utter happiness? What if you never had to fail or make a wrong choice?

What if you never had to fall?

Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results. Just like everyone else, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished surface of her prestigious dream school. Then she meets North, a handsome townie who doesn’t use Lux, and begins to fall for him and his outsider way of life. Soon, Rory is going against Lux’s recommendations, listening instead to the inner voice that everyone has been taught to ignore — a choice that leads her to uncover a truth neither she nor the world ever saw coming.

• I am in love with dystopia. Plus, all this technology/applications-in-life concept is just interesting. Considering the amount people nowadays spend in front of their smartphones and tablets. 

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

• Genre: contemporary, young adult, glbt, romance, realistic fiction
• Expected publication date: May 15th 2014
• Synopsis/Goodreads blurb:

A love letter to the craft and romance of film and fate in front of—and behind—the camera from the award-winning author of Hold Still.
 
A wunderkind young set designer, Emi has already started to find her way in the competitive Hollywood film world.
 
Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamorous past, and lives an unconventional life. She’s enigmatic…. She’s beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi’s understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.

• I've not really read a lot of novels with glbt--I've read only one so far (which is Will Grayson, Will Grayson) and it would be nice to be looking forward to another one soon.

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

• Genre: contemporary, young adult, romance, realistic fiction, chick lit
• Expected publication date: May 20th 2014
• Synopsis/Goodreads blurb:

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with, if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?

• Another ya chick lit! If there's a genre I like reading so much of after dystopia, it's contemporary romance, and as I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this novel in a lot of bookish communities, I thought, "why not check it out"?

Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

• Genre: young adult, fantasy/supernatural, romance
• Expected publication date: May 20th 2014
• Synopsis/Goodreads blurb:

A new series returns to the world of Beautiful Creatures. Some loves are cursed...others are dangerous.

Ridley Duchannes will be the first to tell you that she's a bad girl. She's Dark. She's a Siren. You can never trust her, or even yourself when she's around. Lucky for her, Wesley "Link" Lincoln can never seem to remember that; quarter Incubus or not, his heart is Mortal when it comes to Ridley. When Link heads to New York City to start a music career, Ridley goes along for the ride-and she has her own reasons. As if leaving small-town Gatlin for the big city, trying to form a band, and surviving life with a partially reformed Siren isn't hard enough already, Link soon learns he has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay.

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of Beautiful Creatures, are back and casting another magical spell. Their signature mixture of mystery, suspense, and romance, along with a dash of fun and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

• This is a spin-off to the Caster Chronicles (Beautiful Creatures series), and while I'm not exactly into the series (who am I to say this? I haven't even finished the series yet!), I've always been curious about Ridley and Link. Also, this gives me a reason to finally haul my ass up to finish the Caster Chronicles.

There we go! There's the list of the novels that are coming out this month that I'm looking forward to. What about you?

'Til next time!

:--)