HAPPY NEW YEAR, bookworms! Today is the day of sleeping in and recovering from a night of parties and glittery skirts and count-downs and resolutions and I am so hyped for all the things that are happening in 2016. (BREATHE, sorry I know that’s a long sentence. I, Emily, Am The Queen Of Run-On Sentences.) I was excited when I saw that the first day of the year happens to land on a Friday. Not only because Fridays are nice days, right there at the weekend, not smack-dab in the middle like Wednesday or random like Tuesday but the end of the week. But also because Friday means it’s a posting day!

It’s a big day! The first day of the year AND the first post of the year. (Also, if you take a peek at the bookshelf… there’s a ‘2016 reads’ page that is soon to be filled.) So I was stumped as to what to post. In fact, I drafted three or four posts before I decided on this one. And who’s to say I’ll just delete this one in the end, after all? You might not even be reading this. Really, half the posts I write go through draft upon draft and some of them never make it to the real world.

But I’m getting distracted.

Today I am talking about the new releases of 2016.

THE HEIR AND THE SPARE by Emily Albright: a) I am totally biased because the author has such a cool name. and b) I’VE ALREADY READ THIS. Yaaaay! Well, not all the way through, but I’m in the process. The Heir and The Spare hits shelves January 18, so prepare to be blown away by adorableness and cheesy lines and basically, it’s a Hallmark movie as a book. Picture The Prince & Me. Or Prince William and Dutchess Kate, and then add the chocolate and the ‘awws’ and the tissues. I’m really loving this one! I hadn’t even heard of it before I saw it and requested an ARC, but it is pretty cute.

THE SIREN by Kiera Cass: First: how beautiful is this cover? Second: I’m pretty sure Kiera Cass is fixing to take us by tsunami (hahaha) yet again. You may or may not already know that The Siren was Kiera’s first (self)published book in 2009, before Harper Collins picked up The Selection. Now it is being completely re-done (same story, better editing, little different) and a new gorgeous cover and I am so excited. Regretting not grabbing a copy of the first edition, because they’re now selling used for $100 on Amazon… BUT I will be pre-ordering this one. (Buy it January 26!)

STARS ABOVE by Marissa Meyer: dear lord this series is a torture trap. by the end you’re just like:

and there’s really not much you can do about it. Just a warning. Nevertheless, I am ridiculously happy about this collection of prequels and stories to the ever-flawless The Lunar Chronicles. (You can see my review for Cinder here, then find the other three book reviews in my 2015 reads page under ‘M.’) You can read them FEBRUARY 2nd. OR if you want to be ahead of the game… you can create a Wattpad account and read them all on Marissa Meyer’s profile. If you’re just that desperate. I’m not sure if I will or not. At some point if I’ve run out of books I’ll pause in between and read through them, or I’ll just wait like the majority. 🙂

GLASS SWORD by Victoria Aveyard: you better keep your eyes out for this one because it is going to be big. (I called it.) I read Red Queen, the first in this series, just last month and was blown away. Granted, there were some flaws and I’m trying to be better at rating books, so I gave it 3.5 stars, but it’s really inching its way to 4. I also have a gloriously SIGNED copy of Red Queen, so yeah. *hair flip* I’ll be so cool once it becomes really popular… you know, when it does, because I’m telling you. Romance, blood, royalty, dystopian. It’s got everything. Grab this one February 9! (ALSO: I just realized that two prequels are debuting January 6 for Red Queen – titled Cruel Crown – so also be on the lookout for that one. IT’S GONNA BE BLOODY AWESOME. (hehe see what I did there.) (p.s. it’s really not all that violent. it has to do with the color of their blood. intrigued? yeah? you better be.)

A TYRANNY OF PETTICOATS by (Many Many Authors): I was just about to hit publish when  remembered this one! A Tyranny of Petticoats is coming to us March 8 with these amazing authors (!!!!): J. Anderson Coats, Andrea Cremer
Y. S. Lee, Katherine Longshore, Marie Lu, Kekla Magoon, MARISSA MEYER, Saundra Mitchell, Beth Revis, Caroline Richmond, Lindsay Smith, Jessica Spotswood, Robin Talley, Leslye Walton, and ELIZABETH WEIN.

So you see, this book is really written by a boatload of awesome authors. (Including two particular ones that I am so stoked are working together: my two all-time faves, Marissa Meyer & Elizabeth Wein!) To quote the synopsis: “They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos.” “hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals.” Plus they’re historical fiction. COULD IT GET ANY BETTER.

THE CROWN by (again, The Awesome) Kiera Cass: This one hits shelves May 3rd! (While I will be in the middle of the Caribbean, so I’ll be enjoying it on my Kindle, eep!) alright, so first thing’s first bout this one: don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m going to be honest because I hate to lie to you: I really hate this cover. BUT nevertheless I’m sure it will be even better than The Heir, because – Kile. AMERICA (OHMIGOSH KIERA WHY), sweet sweet Maxon, Erik (what do you think guys?! yes? no? maybe!), and Eadlyn might just be putting on her big girl pants dress. (I hope.) I know this series has gotten a bad wrap in the blogosphere, but even if it is perhaps not the best-written one out there… I love it regardless. It’s enjoyable, and I am going to eat every book up. Oh and c’mon, bookworms, GORGEOUS dresses. We’re talking thousand-dollar-twenty-pound-wedding-dresses dresses. OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT: there’s a tiny tiny chance that the selection could possibly become a movie. within the next year, year and a half. and I will totally be into that. so send up a prayer that it happens & read the book before it does!

THE BEAUTIFUL PRETENDER by Melanie Dickerson: I’ve loved Melanie Dickerson since I first discovered her two and a half years ago. She writes some fabulous Christian fiction and the romance…

IT’S JUST SO CUTE! 🙂 But most of all, I love how accurate and well-researched the details are. Her medieval-set books are so rich in history! And the Biblical aspects! I just love it all. Look out for this one May 17!

so as you can see, i will be spending my money on a ton of pre-orders this year! i’m sure there are many other debuts in 2016 i’ll read, but these are the seven that have been on the brain for quite a while now, and i’m most excited about! so remind me about the others i should be hyped for and tell me which ones you’re looking forward to!