Buzz Books 2019: Young Adult Spring/Summer

I enjoyed quite a few of these excerpts and I've definitely added to my tbr. My favourites in this Buzz Book YA 2019 sampler were: Romonov, To Best the Boys and Once & Future. Those three I will be reading for sure. This sampler had a mix of contemporary and fantasy YA and is worth checking out.

I love earring about new titel in advance. I know what is comimg and it gets me so happy and excited.

I really appreciate this collection of excerpts. It is great to get just a sample of upcoming books to see if you like the writing style before submitting a request. Most of the books featured in this Buzz Book edition are new to me but there are a few that I am quite interested in including Bloodleaf and To Best the Boys. Thank you for providing this valuable tool!

Once again, Buzz Books provided me with a wide variety of YA books to discover and learn more about. Thank you!

Love the wonderful suggestions from this NetGalley publication.
I wish there were more of them. Love adding to my tbr.

A good selection of upcoming YA releases. Especially looking forward to Romanov, Once & Future and Descendant of the Crane.

There were quite a few excerpts that i enjoyed reading in Buzz Books 2019 YA Spring/Summer and cannot wait to read a few of them. As historical fiction is one of my favourite genres, I particularly enjoyed reading the except of 'Romanov' and shall be wanting to read this book when it is published. Other books that appeal to me are 'Descendant of the Crane' and 'Bloodleaf',

Great way to find out which amazing YA books are coming out soon! Definitely on the lookout for a lot of these

Oh my goodness! There are so many awesome books coming out this year! It's very hard not to hit the request link at the end of each snippet! Okay so I did request a few and wrote quite a few down to look for later on! This is a great way to get exposed to books you normally wouldn't read. This way you get a taste of the way the author writes and if you like it or not.

So many great options coming out soon. I am most excited for Much Ado About Mean Girls and Romanov! My only complaint would be there seems to be a trend in ya for royality stories (either princess becoming queen, fighting for the throne, lost princess, etc...) and magic stories and the combination of the two.

awesome galley of books coming out this Spring/Summer! I wish i could get a printed copy tho. But it is great to see all the books I HAVE to read now! Get your pen and paper ready because this galley will give you more to add to our endless TBR piles at home!

Once again thank you for the previews! I always manage to add a few books to my list that i otherwise would have overlooked.

I always enjoy reading previews for the books that will be coming out in the next few months. It's a fun opportunity to see what's making waves and what I might want to put on my TBR.

I love these Buzz Books! The YA genre is one of my favourite genres. It’s great to read the samples and then make a list of what I want to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publishers Lunch for sending me a copy of these previews in exchange for my review!

​Note: Buzz Books is a set of excerpts from upcoming books of 2019, and will definitely inform my TBR this year. I will be giving brief reviews to each excerpt along with a star rating so far. First up, Romanov by Nadine Brandes.

5 stars to Romanov! I love the setting, and the magical element seems promising. Definitely on my TBR list.

5 stars so far for Once and Future. A King Arthur retelling set in space? Sign me up! Also, Amy Rose Capetta co-wrote this book with Cory McCarthy which makes it an automatic must-read for me because I love everything Capetta has written so far. So excited!

3 stars for The Missing of Clairedelune. I think most of my confusion stemmed from the fact that this book is a sequel, but I also found the writing kind of stilted and the world uninteresting so far.

​​2 stars to William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Mean Girls. Nope, nope. no no no. This is literally the plot of Mean Girls written out in iambic pentameter. Not really funny, kind of hard to skim, definitely inaccessible. If I wanted Shakespeare I'd read one of his plays, not this.

​4 stars for Please Send Help. Still a sequel, but super easy to jump into and the characters are relatable and funny. Some of the humor is a little contrived but I think that's just what happens when text and email conversations are written into books so I don't mind.

4.5 stars for Voices! I'm so happy to see more stories about historical women and girls being told, and I think the author of this book made interesting creative choices (telling the story in verse and through different perspectives) that help it stand out.

4 stars for Descendant of the Crane. It's #OwnVoices, and there's magic! Also, that cover looks beautiful.

4 stars to A Place for Wolves. Atmospheric and realistic, character connections are visible from the first page.

Can't give an accurate star rating for Operatic, since it's a graphic novel and the formatting got messed up in the ARC. It appears to be an adorable Middle Grade graphic novel focusing on a set of classmates in a music class.

3 stars to Outcasts. I think this one is a third book in a series? It seemed like the last book ended on a cliffhanger, but two books worth of worldbuilding did not help my understanding of this one. Nevertheless, I immediately disliked Dylan for seeming incredibly selfish. I won't say why, in case you want to read the rest of the series first, but that was my first impression of her.

​4 stars for Bloodleaf. Princesses accused of being witches, alliances, and ghost magic? YES.

4 stars for To Best the Boys. Cadavers, adventures, and toppling the patriarchy! Also, Rhen scolding Beryll for being squeamish about the corpse is hilarious, and I really liked this first chapter.

Overall, the average rating is about 4. Some of these choices will be on my TBR for this year, and a lot of them should be on yours!

These are always amazing--I love the excerpts and can't wait to read some of these books in their entirety. Thank you!

Another amazing sneak preview of what's to come! I've latched onto several books that I can't wait to get my hands on when they are released, and I've submitted several NetGalley queries as well.

Thank you once again for making BUZZ BOOKS available via NetGalley. This is the tenth version of Buzz Books Young Adult and it continues to be a valuable source of ideas for collection development. This edition lists several pages of recommendations and features excerpts from a dozen titles. Here is the publisher’s page:
http://buzz.publishersmarketplace.com/edition_post/buzz-books-2019-young-adult-spring-summer

I love many of the covers, including TO BEST THE BOYS by Mary Weber. Another favorite? Ian Doescher’s MUCH ADO ABOUT MEAN GIRLS – told in iambic pentameter and set in Evanston, Illinois. And don’t forget inspiring authors like Mitali Perkins (FORWARD ME BACK TO YOU is coming in April) or Stephanie Garber with the latest Caravale novel (titled FINALE). Smaller publishers (like Page Street Kids’ STRONGER THAN A BRONZE DRAGON by Mary Fan) and debut authors are included, too.

There were some titles in this I didn't even know I needed to read, as well as some (Romanov, in particular) that I'm super excited about but haven't yet had a chance to read an excerpt of, so that was grand. Thanks!

So many good ones coming out this year! I love the extended excerpts- particularly with YA titles, because I love reading that genre, but I find a lot of them to be hit or miss for me lately- so the sample chapters are a grwat way to decipher which ones will be a better fit for my reading taste.

These Buzz Books are always such a help for my purchasing and readers' advisory-- it lets me get a taste of lots of upcoming books and helps me discover new authors!

I loved Buzz Books 2019: Young Adult Spring/Summer! It provides an excellent list of must read titles coming up. I was particularly happy about the inclusion of non-fiction titles. I also enjoyed reading many of the excerpts that were provided. My to be read list has multiplied!

As always, very useful to get all the new titles and their release dates, as well as some excerpts and first chapters to get a taste of how the books will be.

So far I have read two of the excerpts in this book. I have read from Romanov which is the first excerpt in the book. I have also read the second excerpt of the James Patterson Presents Ari book about a take on the King Arthur legend. I am writing this review by choice and because I voluntarily signed up to review. The options in this brief review of excerpts are my own opinions. I have enjoyed these excerpts and this book so far. I am looking forward to reading more from all the authors in this book, particularly the two first excerpts I have read so far. I am fascinated with books about the Romanovs and takes on the Arthurian Tale. I felt that both books will be a great escape and will prompt me to educate myself about the subjects presented in the books.

In my attempt to be more adventurous this year I requested to read this book on Netgalley and Buzz Books did not disappoint. There are YA books sampled in this collection which are to be released this Spring and into Summer. My absolute favorite were: Romanov (this is one I have to read- wish I'd get an ARC just so I can boast about it), Descendant of the Crane, Bloodleaf, Once & Future (who doesn't love a retell of the legend of King Arthur with a kickass girl?) and The Mirror Visitor.
I would also take a chance on Operatic because it's more a visual read and well, it had me at Opera.

Thank you for the opportunity to see some of the most exciting upcoming YA novels. I've downloaded a few amazing looking galleys and have also added a few books to my TBR read for this spring!

What a great collection of YA titles coming this Spring/Summer. I already have added notes and titles to my TBR that I am most excited to read. I am wanting to reach out more to YA this year so this was a very helpful tool to have to plan accordingly. I look forward to reading some of these.

Ahh!!!! This had a collection of excerpts from so many books that are highly anticipated releases for me. Getting to read a little sneak peak from so many amazing stories was great. Now, I can’t wait for all of the books to be published in full so that I can devour them!

There are some awesome titles coming! I especially loved reading the first chapter of Romanov, thank you so much for including it, I’m extremely looking forward to that book! Also To Best The Boys by Mary Weber sounds amazing!

A great resource with a great selection of excerpts, I'm looking forward to reading several of these once they're out!

Very informative. Nice selection of upcoming books.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free ,is had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Thank you to Netgalley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love that there is a collection of forthcoming books for one to watch for! I knew about a few, but now I’ve gained some new books to add to my list of books I want to buy and read!

Buzz books always provide with short pieces of new and hot upcoming books. Even as I was thinking I should probably step away a little bit from young adult, I browsed through this edition and still came up with some title I just couldn't resist.

These sampler previews are just what I need to discover new titles for review. Things that are outside my usual genre interests, or beneath my radar. Love the section of debut authors.

This has been really helpful in getting a preview of what's to come in the YA publishing in 2019. From reading an excerpt I have since been accepted to review the full ARC of a book I'd not likely have approached before. Thank you for opening me up to New genres within a genre I already love to read.

Really enjoyed this group of excerpts. Especially appreciate the debut author sections in these compilations. Thank you for publishing Book Buzz!

Love these type of books because then you can see all the ones that are up and coming. I’m a huge fan of YA so these are perfect
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An amazing collection that gives summaries and excerpts about each book! Definitely going to be pre-ordering a bunch of these.

I absolutely loved being able to get a mini synopsis and an expert of books to come. To give me a better idea of what to add to my to read list. Many times a book can have a great synopsis but when you purchase the book you realize you don’t mix well with the writing style. This allows me to introduce myself to their writing and see if it’s worth spending my time and money. I am excited for plenty of books and I am very happy to have this as a reference.

I really look forward to these collections! I always find so many great titles to add to my TBR and this collection was no exception. There are excerpts from novels and collections that I know many of us are excited for. This will definitely add to that excitement! If you're overwhelmed by the publisher's catalogs and want something that will help you focus on the best of the best, then get your hands on a copy of Buzz Books!

This was a nice resource for collection development and readers' advisory. I wish there would have been even more titles featured! :)

This was an interesting mix of titles, many of which I have noted as possible future purchases for my library. I liked the excerpts and also the author info included with each title.

I both love and hate reading samplers for books. On the one hand, it's really exciting to have the opportunity to experience new books without having to make the commitment of reading the whole thing and it's even more exciting to have a sneak peak into a book that hasn't been published yet. On the other hand, I don't have the rest of the book and so if I come across one that seems especially amazing, I can't keep reading it! And that can be even more painful if the book hasn't been published yet.

The coolest thing about this sampler is that it gave me the opportunity to look at several books that I might not have picked up otherwise and add them to my to-read list. Wonderfully, I was interested in the majority of the books for which I was able to read an excerpt, especially the King Arthur reimagining.

It also offered the opportunity for me to decide to pass on some books--namely <i>Much Ado About Mean Girls</i>--that I didn't yet know I wasn't interested in and might have bought without realizing and then would have hated.

I definitely see the majority of these books as ones I would like to read. In fact, there were really only two--the one mentioned above and <i>Please Send Help</i>--that I wasn't exactly interested in. I've actually already read <i>To the Best Boys</i> as I was approved for an ARC and I loved it <i>immensely</i>, so it was really cool to see that book included in this sampler. I hope others are able to find it from reading this.

Absolutely love the opportunity to preview much anticipated titles as well as to see publication schedules in order to plan my own reading and purchases for my school library throughout the year.

A great way to find out about new YA releases and new authors. Very excited to read Gaby Dunn’s book after this.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publishers Lunch for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.


Another edition of Buzz Books. As I have said before, if you want an amazing selection of books for the upcoming season, you must read this first. Not only will you get a list of awesome books where you can see if your favourite author is coming out with something new, you can find great new selections that you might not have otherwise found out about. They also have a selection of excerpts from their list so you can get a real opportunity to see if that book would appeal to you.

The Young Adult genre has grown exponentially over the past few years and now there is so much coming out, it is helpful to have some experts sort through the noise. I would have preferred for them to have broken down their list a little more - there is only fiction and a small selection of nonfiction. For example, if they could have grouped all the books that are in series, or by genre like fantasy, comedy, that would have helped. It was just too many for me to go through. Some I recognized and added to my list, but I just couldn’t get into the others. As I was going through the long, long list, I found that there were so many books that looked exactly the same. I became bored. Yes, I love fantasy and I love a female protagonist, but I just can’t get excited about the same blurb of she has magic, she is in danger, she is all alone, what will happen!!! Some of them are great, but some of them are just mediocre. Everyone is looking for the next big thing, but seem to be copying what the last thing was. It was like when there was a plethora of vampire books because of Twilight. As far as the more contemporary fiction I just found again, a lot of important issues, but really just two issues that would repeat over again. I feel like I have already read so many of already. I think that for people who are in this demographic, they can get much more excited about some of these than I can.

What did stand out to me is there are some real, potentially amazing books that I could use in a classroom. There is a Shakespeare version of Mean Girls. That’s right, Mean Girls written out in iambic pentameter! Well, don’t quote me, I don’t know if it is exactly but Shakespeare-like language. I think this will be a great teaching tool. There is female version of Arthur and The Sword and a few Joan of Arc retellings. One thing that was of great interest to me personally, was a graphic novel about Maria Callas, a famous opera singer. Reading through the excerpts, I noticed that many have chosen alternative styles of writing other than the straightforward line by line. This is always something relatable and important as it allows access to different types of readers.

I think I will wait and see what rises out of the heap, to see if there is anything worth reading this season. As far as getting a Buzz Books list, definitely!

Wow. That was fun. This the first Buzz Books that I've read, and I enjoying getting a sneak peek into some of the highly anticipated upcoming YA novels. I was especially intrigured by Romanov, To Best the Boys, and Descendant of the Crane. I will be keeping my eyes out for these books, as well as a few others that caught my attention from the excerpts. Thank you Publisher's Lunch and NetGalley for putting out this valuable publication!

As ex[ected, Buzz Books yet again created a fantastic source for book bloggers and reviewers alike. I love these and always look forward to them when they come out. They are so helpful and I get a sneak peek at a few upcoming novels.

This is an all in one source that provides a huge list of books being released as well as a few excerpts. I always end up adding a good handful to my already towering TBR list. Do not miss this, get your first eye glance at upcoming releases and be prepared to add more to your TBR list.

These Buzz Books excerpts for upcoming Young Adult novels is great for me as a librarian to have an eye on what's coming up. I use this to help make recommendations and to stay informed.

Wonderfully helpful for foreign rights readers. Thank you for the sneak peak into 2019's hottest titles. I'm especially looking forward to The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen and I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest - great concept and great writing!

I love the buzz books catalogs. I added several titles to my order list for my branch after reading this.

As always, this is a super helpful resource for readers and reviewers alike. A good selection of excerpts across a variety of genres/subgenres—and the redesign looks great!

YA previews are one of my favorite thing. I always have SO many new up coming YA novels that I want to try, so I love that Buzz Books is a place I can preview them without committing to the entire read. Before I get started on which books made it on to my TBR pile, I was surprised to find that this particular Buzz Book featured some really interesting styles. Notably there was a novel told in prose, as well as a play, a diary, and a graphic novel . The novel written as a play is a Shakespearean retelling of a popular movie - a movie which some believe to have been influenced by a few Shakespeare plays to begin with. There were also a few sequels featured in this collection that I won't be talking about, but that is only because I haven't read the first books. Beyond being surprised by the unique styles which some of the upcoming novels are taking on, these are the books that most grabbed my attention:

Romanov by Nadine Brandes. This is a fantasy retelling of the Anastasia Romanov story, which by itself is fascinating - I am SO excited for the chance to read Anastasia with magic. But, beyond that, the novel is also epistolary. I was sucked in by the first two lines and I NEED to curl up with this book on a cold wintry day. "I watched my diaries burn. Pages curled in on themselves, like spider legs accepting death." UGH, BEAUTIFUL.

To Best the Boys - Mary Weber. This book is going to be such an adventure. Its a race through a Labyrinth, intended only for guys. So naturally, the heroine is going to be strong and smart and beat them all (Or at least I assume considering she is the main character) I think it will be a lot of fun to read. I love stories where a girl takes on tasks that were only intended for guys.

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith. This is going to be a princess becomes a pauper type tale, which is always fun to read. I love reading the adjustments a rich person has to go through as they attempt to hide themselves among commoners. I'm excited to see how this one turns out.

Buzz Books is a great resource to get a sense of what's being released in the coming seasons. I love the quick summaries presented before each excerpt - my only wish is that all books got such summaries, whether they're also excerpted in Buzz Books or not.

The current edition introduced me to I Hate Everyone But You, which somehow slipped my radar. (Its upcoming follow-up, Please Send Help..., is featured.) William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher sounds so fun; I hope it gets read alongside the Bard in schools. And while fantasy isn't my genre of choice, I love the premise of Mary Weber's To Best the Boys - about time!

This book is a very useful resource for teachers like me. You can read an excerpt from some of the upcoming YA books of this year. As a teacher who reads constantly, but still can't read everything, this book is very valuable in finding good books to share with my students.

What can I say? Buzz Books always fill me with excitement.
There’s a few titles on here I’ve already got ARCs of and one or two that I’m intrigued by. As always, this is great for dipping your toes into new things and trying out ideas. Quite heavily leaning to fantasy but some wonderful tootles on here.
Much as I love these books I always end up adding to my NetGalley requests in a way that isn’t totally healthy.

I am always so appreciative of the work that goes into providing these seasonal resources. I am a planner and so I use these resources as a way to discover new material, new authors, and roughly plan out what book I want to read. I recommend these!

Lots of interesting titles to look forward to. It's a great selection for this coming season. The excerpt that caught my eye was definitely Romanov - I have a thing for Anastasia's story, so... It was interesting to see a lot of retellings and new perspectives on historical characters and settings and I'm really enjoying that trend. Also, Kosoko Jackson is a debut author that I've been looking forward to read for a while now.

I really enjoyed reading the teasers. I would say that my favorite of them all was the first about the Romanovs. I wanted to keep reading!

Some great YA books coming your way this Spring/Summer 2019. Just a few stand outs are:

Romanov by Nadine Brandes (Thomas Nelson; ISBN 9780785217244; 5/7/19)
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He (AW Teen; ISBN 9780807515518; 4/2/19)
Operatic by Kyo Maclear, Illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiller (Groundwood; ISBN 9781554989720; 4/2/19)
Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers; ISBN 9781328496300; 3/12/19)
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber (Thomas Nelson; ISBN 9780718080969; 3/19/19)

Thank you to NetGalley and BuzzBooks (Publisher's Lunch) for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.

I really appreciate these books! It helps with ordering and finding titles. I like the excerpts, which helps get a better feel for a book and whether or not I need to order it for my library. I also like the listing of release dates. It helps so much!

I love the Buzz.. it gives me enough insight into titles to hand sell them or search for the ARC and make them my staff picks. This is one of my favorite sales tools!

I always look forward to seeing the next edition of Buzz Books come out! This is such a great way to get an idea of what's being published soon. As a librarian, this is great for purchasing purposes. As an avid reader, I love being able to read a sample of the books ahead of time to get a feel for the author's writing style.

I love learning about new titles all in one location. Each of these new books look incredible I can't wait to request all of these books. I don't know why everyone doesn't check out this preview book to learn what is coming out.

I really enjoyed these samples and always looks forward to Buzz Book's latest issue. A great way to find new books, series, and authors!

I really enjoyed looking through all the upcoming young adult books! I especially loved the sneak previews of the books. Thank you for having this available to look at!

What a fabulous collection of samplers! I always love Buzz Books because it gives me an idea of what awesome upcoming releases to keep my eye on and what books I neeeed to pre-order. As always, there were a lot of promising upcoming releases in this one. I'm especially excited for Bloodleaf, Descendant of the Crane, and To Best the Boys!

Everyone loves to be "in the know" to have the inside track on new products, movies and books. So imagine my surprise and delight when I recently discovered Buzz Books 2019 featuring excerpts from upcoming titles. What a marvelous idea!

Like a literary taste test, readers can nibble at various new books set to come out. I think this would be an invaluable resource for teachers, school and public librarians as well as parents trying to satisfy a bookworm's insatiable thirst for books. A daunting task in today's world where much written isn't always the most "nutritious" to put it mildly. Having a little sample of a particular author is a great way to discover new authors to try, to find out whether you will enjoy. This ultimately saves the reader time (from wading through books at the library) and money (not purchasing books that you end up hating).

For each book, the cover is shown (which they note may change when published), a very helpful summary, the first chapter of the book and then a nice author bio to finish out the selection. I loved having a chance to become familiar with new works and new authors. This is a resource I definitely recommend to educators, librarians and parents. Now if only it would include video book trailers to really save time!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Buzz Books 2019 from NetGalley for the purpose of review.

Lots of promising YA reads coming soon! Many of the samples include high-interest plots with strong leading characters. Expect well-written plots with exceptional world building. The world of magic and intrigue is par for the course -- I can't wait to read more!

This book was a review of the forthcoming titles for the Spring and Summer 2019. It's kind of hard to evaluate the book as a book because it's not really designed as a "book" in the traditional sense. I can say that there were a number of books that I saw in this collection of excerpts that I really think sound interesting and have promise. I will be definitely checking out one or two of them further.

An excellent selection of upcoming YA novels! These excerpts were great and I'm looking forward to reading quite a few of these, particularly Romanov, Once and Future and Descendant of the Crane.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publishers Lunch for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great way to discover new titles to add to your TBR list, I have never read a Buzz Book before, and I sure did miss out.
You Have a cover, a summary, and an excerpt; stuff can change of course.
There are some good Titles that I’m interested in especially Romanov.

I have grown to really love and appreciate these compilations of excerpts from upcoming books. This one mentions several of the new releases in the YA genre, but only has synopses of a handful. There were several that I had already pegged as being on my high interest list, either from other early readers or because of the author’s prior work being a favorite of mine. However, of these more unknown to me, I found a few that I would not have known about without this preview.
Those include, “Bloodleaf”, “Voices” and a graphic novel “Operatic”. These all are intriguing for different reasons.
Bloodleaf is a YA fantasy with the protagonist being a young woman who is about to be married and is being accused of witchcraft, something that could lead to her execution.
Voices is a poetic retelling of the historical events around the trials involving Joan of Arc. This is interesting in how it is written as well as the POVs.
Operatic looks like an interesting take on the kid in class who is being bullied because his musical tastes are different from the mainstream. Given that several of my friends have grown into careers in the opera world, I thought this would be especially interesting.
These compilations are highly recommended for the upcoming new releases for anyone interested in staying on top of what is on the horizon.

I always love Buzz Books. I can't wait for a ton of these novels to come out! Starting off with Romanov as the first excerpt was a great choice because it was a good read. I'll definitely be looking out for many of these books when they come out!

Thanks to NetGalley for the egalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first time requesting one of these collections of excerpts, and it did pique my interest about some upcoming releases.

I've already read and reviewed To Best the Boys (Mary Weber) and Romanov (Nadine Brandes); you can find these reviews on NetGalley and at unabridgedpod.com.

Of the other excerpts, the novels that intrigued me most were Descendant of the Crane (Joan He), A Place for Wolves (Kosoko Jackson), and Bloodleaf (Crystal Smith). I didn't read two--Outcasts (Claire McFall) and The Missing of Clairdelune (Christelle Dabos)--because they are books in a series, and I haven't read the preceding novels.

Reading books is a luxury for most people, even those who love to read. That's why Buzz Books is a great way to find the next book or books on your TBR (to be read) list. The excerpts are just long enough to let readers get sucked in and just short enough to know that this may not your personal cup of tea, and all without investing anything beyond a few minutes a day.





Some of the books I am excited about:

Romanov by Nadine Brandes, author of Fawkes



The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them . . . and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are either to release the spell and deal with the consequences, or to enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s only dabbled in magic, but it doesn’t frighten her half as much as her growing attraction for Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her . . .

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher



Power struggles. Bitter rivalries. Jealousy. Betrayals. Star-crossed lovers. When you consider all these plot points, it’s pretty surprising William Shakespeare didn’t write Mean Girls. But now fans can treat themselves to the epic drama—and heroic hilarity—of the classic teen comedy rendered with the wit, flair, and iambic pentameter of the Bard. Our heroine Cady disguises herself to infiltrate the conniving Plastics, falls for off-limits Aaron, struggles with her allegiance to newfound friends Damian and Janis, and stirs up age-old vendettas among the factions of her high school. Best-selling author Ian Doescher brings his signature Shakespearean wordsmithing to this cult classic beloved by generations of teen girls and other fans. Now, on the 15th anniversary of its release, Mean Girls is a recognized cultural phenomenon, and it’s more than ready for an Elizabethan makeover.



Descendent of the Crane by Joan He



Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own. Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she's thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father's killer, Hesina does something desperate: she enlists the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.

Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who's also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

BUZZ BOOKS are one of my favorite ways to discover new authors and titles that I might not have found otherwise! Here are a few standouts from this collection:

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

James Patterson presents an action-packed, inclusive fantasy adventure - a bold original retelling of the Arthurian legend where King Arthur is reincarnated as a teenage girl.

Ari Helix has been chased her entire life. An illegal immigrant in territory controlled by the evil Mercer Corporation, Ari has always had to hide who she is. Until she crash lands on Old Earth, pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, and becomes the forty-second reincarnation of King Arthur.

ONCE AND FUTURE is a fun twist on the old King Arthur legend! Having a teenage girl become the reincarnation of Arthur, especially since she's on the run as an illegal immigrant, grabbed my attention from the very first page! I really liked Ari and her adopted brother. Looking forward to reading this one when it's released!

Please Send Help by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin

In this hilarious follow-up novel to the New York Times bestseller I Hate Everyone But You, long distance best friends Ava and Gen have finally made it to the same time zone (although they’re still over a thousand miles apart).

Through their hilarious, sometimes emotional, but always relatable conversations, Ava and Gen are each other’s support systems through internships, relationship troubles, questionable roommates, undercover reporting, and whether or not it’s a good idea to take in a feral cat.

Please Send Help perfectly captures the voice of young adults looking to find their place in the world and how no matter how desperate things seem, you always have your best friend to tell it like it is and pick you back up.

While I haven't read I Hate Everyone But You, really enjoyed this excerpt. I have a weakness for books using text messages, emails, and letters so pretty sure I'll like PLEASE SEND HELP!

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt.

To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.

But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life?

Another great excerpt that pulled me into the story right away! Aurelia seems like a great character and I'm looking forward to learning more about her.

This is a wonderful to get an introduction to new titles! I particularly love that there is a link after each one to request the full galley preview. Can't wait to see the next one!

I am always on a quest to find good books to read so its nice to have these types of books to check out all the new books and when they come out. Thanks!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a digital copy of these book excerpts. So many wonderful books coming out this year. I was most surprised by “Bloodleaf”. I expected it to be another carbon copy of so many other debut YA novels but it is not. The characters immediately had my attention and the plot was very interesting. I had not planned on buying this book for the library but now I will be purchasing it.

As always this is a fantastic round up of books that I'm excited about this current season. I know that I've come to the party late on this one, but I loved checking out all the excerps, even of books that might be publishing NOW so that I can quickly go and jump on the bandwagon!

I'm primarily a fantasy reader but there's a good mix here for everyone including a graphic novel.

Thank you for the great opportunity to read portions of new books. I think how they are presented really allows me to help my students find new books. It also gives me some ideas of the new major themes of books to allow me to better use journal questions to help them give me more information.