Top Ten Tuesday – 2015 Releases

And the 2015 Top Ten Tuesdays kicks off. This week’s list is a list of 2015 debuts I want to read. Now, I’m going to be honest here and admit I read the prompt wrong and read releases instead of debuts. I come up with a whole list and then realised I’d missed the debuts part. So, I’m going with releases cause I do not have enough debuts to make a list.

I knew a couple of these before I started the list, but I had to do some research to fill this thing out. Then I discovered a couple of them were released in late 2014, even though they were on a list for 2015 release dates. Whatever. I’ve been terrible at reading lately, so I’m including them.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers. To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change. Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control. But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

I’m not sure why I want to read this one. I’ve been sucked into the hype. It’s not a book blurb I would generally be attracted to, but so many of my fellow bloggers are talking about it. And the cover is pretty pretty.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

Tried to get an advanced copy of this one through First to Read, but alas, I was brutally rebuffed. As a daily commuter, I relate to the making things up about the people/places you see frequently.

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O’Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to “read” objects, and therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the title, “America’s Sweetheart Seer.” But not everyone is so accepting of the Diviners’ abilities… Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer?

Book 2 of The Diviners series. Super excited to read this one. Although, I am definitely going to have to re-read the first one because it’s complex, has a lot of characters and is full of weird ass slang. I also read it a couple years ago. I do not remember the details.

Prudence by Gail Carriger

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances – names it the Spotted Crumpet and floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea. But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier’s wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone’s secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones?

Gail Carriger is always entertaining. You always know what you’re going to get. She is reliable.

Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas

The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman’s story. The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

Another no brainer. If you don’t know by now how I feel about Neptune and its inhabitants, you’ve got some past posts to read.

Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley

In this spirited sequel, The Rook returns to clinch an alliance between deadly rivals and avert epic—and slimy—supernatural war. When secret organizations are forced to merge after years of enmity and bloodshed, only one person has the fearsome powers—and the bureaucratic finesse—to get the job done. Facing her greatest challenge yet, Rook Myfanwy Thomas must broker a deal between two bitter adversaries: The Checquy—the centuries-old covert British organization that protects society from supernatural threats, and… The Grafters—a centuries-old supernatural threat. But as bizarre attacks sweep London, threatening to sabotage negotiations, old hatreds flare. Surrounded by spies, only the Rook and two women, who absolutely hate each other, can seek out the culprits before they trigger a devastating otherworldly war. The second book in The Chequy series. Much like The Diviners, I’m going to have to re-read the first book. I read those two around the same time, so it’s delightful that their sequels are going to allow me to do the same thing.

Pretending to Be Erica by Michelle Painchaud

Seventeen-year-old Violet’s entire life has revolved around one thing: becoming Erica Silverman, an heiress kidnapped at age five and never seen again. Violet’s father, the best con man in Las Vegas, has a plan, chilling in its very specific precision. Violet shares a blood type with Erica; soon, thanks to surgery and blackmail, she has the same face, body, and DNA. She knows every detail of the Silvermans’ lives, as well as the PTSD she will have to fake around them. And then, when the time is right, she “reappears”—Erica Silverman, brought home by some kind of miracle. But she is also Violet, and she has a job: Stay long enough to steal the Silverman Painting, an Old Master legendary in the Vegas crime world. Walking a razor’s edge, calculating every decision, not sure sometimes who she is or what she is doing it for.

A concept that actually sounds kind of new an unique in the YA world. It sounds like it’s going to be clever

The Phantom Killer by James Presley

The salacious and scandalous murders of a series of couples on Texarkana’s “lovers lanes” in seemingly idyllic post-WWII America created a media maelstrom and cast a pall of fear over an entire region. What is even more surprising is that the case has remained cold for decades. Combining archival research and investigative journalism, Pulitzer Prize nominated historian James Presley reveals evidence that provides crucial keys to unlocking this decades-old puzzle.

The only non-fiction to make the list. The description (which was crazy long so I just took the first paragraph) sounds fascinating. I’m hoping the fact that it’s written by a historian dials back the terribleness of typical true crime novels.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she’s posted to an alternative London. Their mission – to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it’s already been stolen. London’s underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book. Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested – the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene’s new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own. Soon, she’s up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option – the nature of reality itself is at stake.

Possibly extremely terrible or awesomely cheesy. Hoping for the former rather than the latter. Come on – the nature of reality is at stake here.

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen. Complete strangers since this morning. He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget.

Short description. Interesting premise. People are all puppies over these two authors. I’ll give it a try.

What did I miss? What would you suggest? What’s on your list?