My Most Anticipated Books of 2013!

It’s that time of year again! Christmas is approaching, the 2013 titles are flooding in, and my 2012 to be read pile is dwindling so it’s time to turn my attention to the new upcoming books which publishers have me drooling over in the year to come. Whilst this list is only a very small fraction of the books I’m looking forward to I wanted to do a post featuring the ones I’m most looking forward to and that I think should be on your radar too! I’m going to be finishing off the year with the last few books on my TBR pile and I’m so looking forward to January and the coming months to getting around to some of these pretties! So here they are in no particular order…

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay 
Coming June 4th 2013 by Atria Books
Synopsis
I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk. 

 Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Why I Want to Read it – The synopsis for this completely sucked me in and the few bloggers that have already read it are already dishing out the 5 stars for it!

Pantomime by Laura Lam 
Coming February 5th 2013 by Strange Chemistry
Synopsis 
R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

 Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

 But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

Why I Want to Read it – Once again I’ve already heard amazing things from a few of my favourite bloggers. I love my Fantasy and this one sounds really different!

The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris 
Coming January 17th 2013 by Simon and Schuster
Synopsis 
How do you hold on to a love that is slowly slipping away from you? Can you let go of the past when you know what is in the future? And how do you cope when you know that every kiss is a countdown to goodbye?

This is the story of a love affair, of Ryan and Molly and how they fell in love and were torn apart. The first time Molly kissed Ryan, she knew they'd be together forever. Six years and thousands of kisses later she's married to the man she loves. But today, when Ryan kisses her, Molly realises how many of them she wasted because the future holds something which neither of them could have ever predicted…

Why I Want to Read it – I recently read and adored Miracle on Regent Street this author’s debut it was my favourite chick-lit novel of the year so I’m expecting great things from this one.

Pivot Point by Kasie West 
Coming February 12th 2013 by HarperTeen
Synopsis 
Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . . 

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Why I Want to Read it – I haven’t heard much about this one yet but the synopsis sounds so interesting that I can’t wait to give it a read!

The Archived by Victoria Schwab
Coming January 22nd 2013 by Hyperion
Synopsis 
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

 Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. 

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

 Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

Why I Want to Read it – I got a sneak peak of this on Netgalley and it looks incredible. I’m really interested by the idea and have heard Victoria’s writing is amazing.

Dead Romantic by C.J. Skuse
Coming February 4th 2013 by Chicken House
Synopsis 
Camille wants to find the perfect boy, with an athlete's body and a poet's brain. But when she's mocked at a college party, she kows there isn't a boy alive who'll ever measure up. Enter Zoe, her brilliant but strange best friend, who takes biology homework to a whole new level. She can create Camille's dream boy, Frankenstein-stylee. But can she make him love her?

Why I Want to Read it – I love CJ’s books and have been anticipating this one for some time. As I said to her on twitter it sounds brilliantly barmy!

Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Coming January 8th 2013 by Dutton Juvenile
Synopsis 
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Why I Want to Read it – I’m in awe of Gayle Forman’s writing and can’t wait to read another gorgeous contemp by her!

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
Coming January 15th 2013 by Usborne Publishing
Synopsis 
"I pause to look around the hive – all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories… I’ve wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me."

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in Level 2, the waiting room between Earth and Heaven, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend…and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her…

 Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing in Level 2, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between Heaven and Earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves. A choice that will change everything…

THREE LEVELS - TWO LOVES - ONE CHOICE

Why I Want to Read it – Book Blogger turned Author? Yes please! I followed Lenore’s book blog for ages, a fellow lover of dystopians, I’m so proud that she’s broke into the genre with what sounds like a great read, I can’t wait to check it out!

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes 
Coming January 3rd 2013 by Penguin
Synopsis 
In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

 Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword...

The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

Why I Want to Read it – This has been pitched to me as a Game of Thrones for teens. A few blog friends have read and loved it already and I do love my Fantasy so I’m sure to love this!

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan 
Coming March 14th 2013 by Sphere
Synopsis 
As dawn breaks over the Pont Neuf, and the cobbled alleyways of Paris come to life, Anna Trent is already awake and at work; mixing and stirring the finest, smoothest, richest chocolate; made entirely by hand, it is sold to the grandes dames of Paris.

It's a huge shift from the chocolate factory she worked in at home in the north of England. But when an accident changed everything, Anna was thrown back in touch with her French teacher, Claire, who offered her the chance of a lifetime - to work in Paris with her former sweetheart, Thierry, a master chocolatier.

With old wounds about to be uncovered and healed, Anna is set to discover more about real chocolate - and herself - than she ever dreamed.

Why I Want to Read it – Paris? Chocolate? Romance? Need I say any more really? I also read my first Jenny Colgan this year and adored it so this sounds like a recipe for success! *Cheesy pun noted*

Shadows by Paula Weston 
Coming January 3rd 2013 by Indigo
Synopsis 
It's been almost a year since Gaby Winters was in the car crash that killed her twin brother, Jude. Her body has healed in the sunshine of Pandanus Beach, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn't help that every night in her dreams she kills demons and other hell-spawn. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who's been appearing in Gaby's dreams, he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense.

Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself and her life is only a shadow of the truth - and that the truth is more likely to be found in the shadows of her nightmares. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And most importantly - who can she trust?

Why I Want to Read it – I’m a sucker for an Angel book and an Aussie author. That and the building hype surrounding this book makes January seem like such a long way away.

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna 
Coming January 3rd 2013 by Definitions
Synopsis
Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination – an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her ‘other’, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known – the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love – to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

Why I Want to Read it – This is another one where the synopsis completely sucked me in. Plus I’ve heard some pretty brilliant things for this book from US bloggers so I’m excited to see what all the fuss is over!


So those are the books I’m biting my nails over in anticipation for the release next year! Hopefully I’ve sparked your interest in some of these and you’ll be adding them to your 2013 wishlists too. I wanted to keep this list strictly debut, stand alone, or first in a new series because there are so many sequels coming out that I can’t wait for that this list would be taken up by them and I wanted to give some recognition to some books you might not of heard of before, because let’s face it, if you loved the rest of the books in the series you’re going to want to read the next instalment which should be on your radar already!

All links lead to goodreads so you can add them to your wishlists, I’d love to know what books you’re looking forward to reading in 2013 so let me know in the comments! :)