Fall Book Preview: September 2016, Part II |

Yesterday, I shared the first part of my most anticipated titles of September. I’m excited to share rest of the list today, books publishing the last half of September. I’m excited…September is always a great month for books!

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake (Sept. 20):

Becoming the Queen Crowned of Fennbirn isn’t just a matter of royal lineage…it’s about strength, skill, and survival. In every generation, a set of triplets is born: three girls, separated at a young age, who must use their coveted magic in a battle that will cost two of them their lives, while the victor gets the crown. Mirabella is a fierce elemental whose power can be channeled through hungry flames or vicious storms. Katharine, a poisoner, has the deadliest of potions at her disposal and can consume them without any effect. And Arsinoe, a naturalist, has the ability to command any animal to do whatever she pleases. With powers that intense, this will surely be a fight to remember.

The shameful truth, though, is that Katharine and Arsinoe have yet to manifest any magic. Once the sisters turn sixteen and meet again, it will be impossible to hide—from the people of Fennbirn and from each other. However, the Arrons and Milones, the families who raised Katharine and Arsinoe respectively, won’t give up their chance at the throne without a fight. Let the battle for Queen begin.

At BEA in May, I heard Kendare explain her inspiration for this book. Her passion and excitement about this title had me wanting to read it that moment. I’m so happy publication date is just around the corner!

Metaltown by Kristen Simmons (Sept. 20):

Best friends Colin and Ty live one day at a time–the only way it’s possible to survive in Metaltown, where money is in short supply, illness runs rampant, and street rules are the highest law. With the other near-starving teenagers of Metaltown, they work long, grueling hours for pennies at the Small Parts factory, attaching fuses to bombs and manufacturing weapons. When they’re worked to the bone, they seek shelter where they can find it, and do it all again the next day.

Meanwhile, in the wealthy River District across town, Lena Hampton spends her days learning useless ancient languages and the art of being a lady…all the while secretly studying the ins and outs of Hampton Industries, dreaming that one day her father will take her seriously and she’ll become the first woman to run the family’s expansive network of factories and businesses.

Colin’s, Ty’s, and Lena’s paths intersect when Ty is injured on the job and Lena, desperate to prove herself, fires her. In one morning, their dreams of a better future disappear, and Colin and Ty must find a way to transform their own lives–and Lena’s–into ones that matter.

I devoured and loved Simmons’ Article 5 (as did my teen!) so I can’t wait to read this one!

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (Sept. 20):

In Emma Donoghue’s latest masterpiece, an English nurse brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle-a girl said to have survived without food for months-soon finds herself fighting to save the child’s life.

Tourists flock to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O’Donnell, who believes herself to be living off manna from heaven, and a journalist is sent to cover the sensation. Lib Wright, a veteran of Florence Nightingale’s Crimean campaign, is hired to keep watch over the girl.

Written with all the propulsive tension that made Room a huge bestseller, THE WONDER works beautifully on many levels–a tale of two strangers who transform each other’s lives, a powerful psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil.

I mean, after reading the publisher’s summary, do I even need to explain my interest in this title? Also, hello, Emma Donoghue!

The Real Liddy James by Anne-Marie Casey (Sept. 20)

Liddy James is forty-four, fit, and fabulous. One of New York’s top divorce attorneys, a bestselling author, and a mother of two, she glides through the courtrooms and salons of the Manhattan elite with ease. Despite a devastating divorce from her first love, literature professor Peter James, Liddy, Peter and Peter’s sympathetic new partner, Rose, have formed a modern family to raise Liddy and Peter’s truculent teen and Liddy’s adorable, if fatherless, six-year-old son. With her lonely and impoverished New Jersey childhood far behind her, to the outside world Liddy’s life is perfect. Until it isn’t.

At the same time Rose announces an unexpected pregnancy, Liddy’s beloved nanny takes flight, and child support and maintenance payments collide with a looming bill for a roof repair, Liddy finds her hours in the office ratcheting up. Asked to take on the high-profile divorce of an all-too-charming colleague, Liddy realizes she’s finally bitten off more than she can chew.

Sharply written and deftly observed, The Real Liddy James offers a sparkling glimpse into the demanding world of New York’s fast-paced career women, challenging convention and asking the question: when the cost of having it all becomes too high, can we value living another way?

I think the last line of the summary says it all! I think we all struggle to find balance!

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest (Sept. 20):

Chuck Dutton built Music City Salvage with patience and expertise, stripping historic properties and reselling their bones. Inventory is running low, so he’s thrilled when Augusta Withrow appears in his office offering salvage rights to her entire property. This could be a gold mine, so he assigns his daughter Dahlia to personally oversee the project.

The crew finds a handful of surprises right away. Firstly, the place is in unexpectedly good shape. And then there’s the cemetery, about thirty fallen and overgrown graves dating to the early 1900s, Augusta insists that the cemetery is just a fake, a Halloween prank, so the city gives the go-ahead, the bulldozer revs up, and it turns up human remains. Augusta says she doesn’t know whose body it is or how many others might be present and refuses to answer any more questions. Then she stops answering the phone.

But Dahlia’s concerns about the corpse and Augusta’s disappearance are overshadowed when she begins to realize that she and her crew are not alone, and they’re not welcome at the Withrow estate. They have no idea how much danger they’re in, but they’re starting to get an idea. On the crew’s third night in the house, a storm shuts down the only road to the property. The power goes out. Cell signals are iffy. There’s nowhere to go and no one Dahlia can call for help, even if anyone would believe that she and her crew are being stalked by a murderous phantom. Something at the Withrow mansion is angry and lost, and this is its last chance to raise hell before the house is gone forever. And it seems to be seeking permanent company.

The Family Plot is a haunted house story for the ages-atmospheric, scary, and strange, with a modern gothic sensibility to keep it fresh and interesting-from Cherie Priest, a modern master of supernatural fiction.

Ahhh! I want to read this one so badly! Gothic, atmospheric, haunted house!? That’s my jam!

Mercury by Margot Livesey (Sept. 27):

Donald believes he knows all there is to know about seeing. An optometrist in suburban Boston, he is sure that he and his wife Viv, who runs the local stables, are both devoted to their two children, and to each other. Then Mercury—a gorgeous young thoroughbred with a murky past—arrives at Windy Hill and everything changes.

Hilary, a newcomer to town, has inherited Mercury from her brother after his mysterious death. When she first brings Mercury to board at Windy Hill, everyone is struck by his beauty and prowess, particularly Viv. As she rides him, Viv begins to dream of competing again, embracing the ambitions that she harbored before she settled for a career in finance. Her daydreams soon morph into consuming desire, and her infatuation with the thoroughbred escalates to obsession.

Donald may have 20:20 vision, but he is slow to notice how profoundly Viv has changed and how these changes threaten their quiet, secure world. By the time he does, it is too late to stop the catastrophic collision of Viv’s ambitions and his own myopia.

Perhaps not my typical read, but so many people whose opinion I trust are raving about this one!