We're Back + Books and Albums We're Looking Forward To

Well, hello. It’s been a while, but we’re back and ready to get to blogging. To start the year, we wanted to go over some of the books and albums/Eps we’re looking forward to, as well as some of our goals for the year.

Some Books We’re looking forward to…

Breana: I’m pretty excited for a number of books coming out in 2021. This is just my current list, but I will keep an eye out for other books releasing later in the year. For now, there are a lot of sequels I’m looking forward to with everything from Dark Waters by Katherine Arden, Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire, and A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark. Plus, one of my most highly anticipated releases this year is the conclusion to the Nightmare-verse series, A Crown So Cursed by L.L. McKinney, which is one of my favorite retelling’s of Alice. Some standalone novels, graphic novels, and nonfiction that caught my eye were: Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley, Long Lost by Jacqueline West, Root Magic by Eden Royce, Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston, The Heartbeat of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Tidesong by Wendy Xu. Series I want to continue reading include the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki, and The Greenhollow Duology by Emily Tesh.

Adri:

I don't have too much to say about the books I'm looking forward to so here's a list.

• Euan Angus Ashley: The Genome Odyssey
• Erin French -Finding Freedom (I have an ARC)
• Monica West -Revival season
• Jean Hanff Korelitz -The plot
• Reese Eschmann -Etta Invinsible
• Shakirah Bourne - Josephine Against the Sea

Music…

Breana: All I’m looking forward to right now is The Bitter Truth by Evanescence. Some unscheduled stuff includes Lorde’s third studio album and Tkay Maidza’s Last Year Was Weird Vol.3.

Adri: Right now I'm mainly waiting for two albums. One is Omega by Epica in February. The other is Unstable by Tetrarch which I'm super excited for. I don’t see a set release date for it though.

Some goals…

Breana: Last year, my plans…well, what plans? 2020 did what it wanted to do. So my plans for 2021 are going to be light. I still want to read Lord of the Rings, and I did buy a ominibus of the trilogy. My only other blog related goal is getting my Instagram account back on track. I kind of fell-off of posting there at least once a week, but that was mainly due to the pandemic, loss of motivation, and switching to mostly ebooks.

Adri: I don't really have too many goals. This year I want to get through some books that are already on our shelves. I also want to focus on art more than I have been. And finally, I want to grow my CD collection; be on social media a little more; and maybe talk about my dream journaling.

What are some of the books or albums you're looking forward to?

We're Back!: New Resolutions for the New Year + Most Anticipated Books of 2019

Hello. I’m back. Over my break, I didn’t read as much as I thought I would and for once, I had no eARC’s or library books to read before a certain date. I had to ask myself “Who am I?” and “What am I becoming?” But, on the other hand, I realized fairly quickly I needed the distance from the blog and books, no matter how temporary it was. Now that I’m back, I wanted to share a couple of my resolutions for the New Year and talk about some books—my most anticipated book releases of 2019, the ones I’ve already read, and the backlist titles I want to get to before the year is over.

Resolutions…

Find something to do with Weekend Tidbits: I want to try and find another use for Weekend Tidbits. I have a couple ideas that I’m currently playing around with right now. I just don’t know when they’ll appear on the blog, if ever. We’ll see.

Paint more often using acrylics: I received a bunch of acrylic paint for Christmas, so it’s time to work on some art.

Upcoming books I’m looking forward to… 

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie (February 26, 2019; Orbit): I’m a huge fan of Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy, which follows Breq, an ancillary soldier and the former Justice of Toren, essentially on a quest for revenge. It also involved politics, tea, and some of the best space battles I’ve read about. So, I’m looking forward to her fantasy novel, The Raven Tower, the synopsis for which promises meddlesome Gods and a battle for a throne. Needless to say, February 26th can’t get here soon enough.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (August 6, 2019; Del Rey): I haven’t read a single novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but I hope to change that this year—and hopefully before Gods of Jade and Shadow releases on August 6th. I’m excited for this one because the synopsis talks about mythology, adventure, a roaring twenties setting, and a MC who accidently frees a “Mayan God of Death.” There’s a lot to get excited about.

Finder by Suzanne Palmer (April 2, 2019; DAW): I don’t have too many expectations for Finder, but I am excited about it. I mean it involves an ex-nobleman, a repo man, aliens, and what sounds like a simple job that turns into a far more complicated situation.

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden (August 20, 2019; Harper Voyager): Escaping Exodus is probably one of my most highly anticipated book releases of 2019. I have high hopes that the story turns out to be as intriguing as the synopsis makes it seem.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (February 26, 2019; Bloomsbury Publishing): I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Bone Season, but there were still some aspects I liked about it. Despite that, The Priory of the Orange Tree has dragons, so I’m looking forward to it.

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders (February 12, 2019; Tor Books): The synopsis for The City in the Middle of the Night is kind of mysterious but also very intriguing. I’m looking forward to this one.

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan (April 2, 2019; Wednesday Books): The MC can speak to Gods and in return they give her access to power. Is this becoming a theme? If it is, I’m here for it. As such, I will be over here waiting for Wicked Saints, just like Ann Leckie’s, The Raven Tower.

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden (August 27, 2019; G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young ): At the beginning of January, I read Small Spaces (which I enjoyed), and I was delighted to learn that the book was getting a sequel.

Upcoming books I’ve already read… 

• The Beast’s Heart by Leif Shallcross (February 12, 2019; Berkley) 
• A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn (March 12, 2019; Berkley) 

Backlist titles I want to read in 2019… 

The Burning Page and The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman: I just have to read these last two books and then I’ll be caught up with The Invisible Library Series.

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos: I’ve wanted to read A Winter’s Promise for a while. It has many elements that I find interesting such as the “Rupture,” “floating celestial islands,” and the abilities the main character, Ophelia, possesses.

Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay by Phoebe Robinson: I read Robinson’s first essay collection: You Can’t Touch My Hair, And Other Things I Still Have To Explain. And I loved it. So, Everything’s Trash is on my TBR list. 

So, that’s about it for today. I can’t wait to get this New Year started. What are some of the books you’re looking forward to in 2019?