New Release Round-Up: January 2-8, 2012

I like keeping my eye on new releases, so I thought I'd make a weekly post to highlight them. This week's post is all YA and Historical Fiction because they're two of my favorite genres.


Young Adult


The Alchemy of Forever: An Incarnation Novel
by Avery Williams

Release date: January 3, 2012
Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, urban fantasy



First in the Incarnation series. From Goodreads:

"Seraphina's first love made her immortal...her second might get her killed.Incarnation is a new series that introduces a fresh mythology perfect for fans of bestselling series like The Immortals by Alyson Noel and Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.
After spending six hundred years on earth, Seraphina Ames has seen it all. Eternal life provides her with the world's riches, but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago, her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to swap bodies with other humans, jumping from one vessel to the next, taking the human's life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she's done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again.

Then sixteen-year-old Kailey Morgan gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she's inhabiting--and falls for the human boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she's his again, and every moment she stays, she's putting herself and the people she's grown to care for in great danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that's eluded her for centuries: true love?"



Cinder
by Marissa Meyer

Release date: January 3, 2012
Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 387
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Suggested tags: young adult, science fiction, fairy tales, retellings



First in the Lunar Chronicles series. I read the Kindle edition of Chapters 1-5 (which is currently free on Amazon!) and I loved it! From Goodreads:

"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future."



Under the Never Sky
by Veronica Rossi

Release date: January 3, 2012
Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 374
Publisher: Harper Collins
Suggested tags: young adult, dystopia



First in the Under the Never Sky series. From Goodreads:

"WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers."



Dragonswood
by Janet Lee Carey

Release date: January 5, 2012
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 407
Publisher: Dial Books
Suggested tags: young adult, fantasy



From Goodreads:

"Wilde Island is not at peace. The kingdom mourns the dead Pendragon king and awaits the return of his heir; the uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is strained; and the regent is funding a bloodthirsty witch hunt, hoping to rid the island of half-fey maidens.

Tess, daughter of a blacksmith, has visions of the future, but she still doesn't expect to be accused of witchcraft, forced to flee with her two best friends, or offered shelter by the handsome and enigmatic Garth Huntsman, a warden for Dragonswood. But Garth is the younger prince in disguise and Tess soon learns that her true father was fey, making them the center of an exciting, romantic adventure, and an ancient prophecy that will bring about peace between all three races - dragon, human, and fairy."