Precommendations: Volume 1, Issue 12

12/3/2017

'Tis The Season

Happy December everyone! This is officially the last issue in my first ever volume of Precommendations. I can't believe that it's been one year since I started this series. It's the first series I've ever done on my blog, and I am so proud of myself that I've been able to stick with it. I do plan to continue with volume two next year, so you can count on another issue in January just like always.

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Ever the Brave, by: Erin Summerill

December 5th
After saving King Aodren with her newfound Channeler powers, Britta only wants to live a peaceful life in her childhood home. Unfortunately, saving the King has created a tether between them she cannot sever, no matter how much she'd like to, and now he's insisting on making her a noble lady. And there are those who want to use Britta’s power for evil designs. If Britta cannot find a way to harness her new magical ability, her life—as well as her country—may be lost.
The stakes are higher than ever in the sequel to Ever the Hunted, as Britta struggles to protect her kingdom and her heart.

I had forgotten that Ever the Hunted had a sequel coming out until recently, and I am so excited about it. Last year, I got Ever the Hunted as a Christmas gift from my mom in last December's Uppercase Box. I might need to refresh my memory on the plot since it has been a year, but I remember really enjoying it.

Three Sides of a Heart: Stories about Love Triangles, Edited by: Natalie C. Parker

December 19th
You may think you know the love triangle, but you've never seen love triangles like these.
These top YA authors tackle the much-debated trope of the love triangle, and the result is sixteen fresh, diverse, and romantic stories you don’t want to miss.
This collection, edited by Natalie C. Parker, contains stories written by Renee Ahdieh, Rae Carson, Brandy Colbert, Katie Cotugno, Lamar Giles, Tessa Gratton, Bethany Hagan, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, EK Johnston, Julie Murphy, Garth Nix, Natalie C. Parker, Veronica Roth, Sabaa Tahir, and Brenna Yovanoff.
A teen girl who offers kissing lessons. Zombies in the Civil War South. The girl next door, the boy who

loves her, and the girl who loves them both. Vampires at a boarding school. Three teens fighting monsters in an abandoned video rental store. Literally the last three people on the planet.
What do all these stories have in common?
The love triangle.

Anthologies + romance = the key to my heart. I wish there were more YA anthologies out there, because every single one I've read has been amazing. The appeal for me is not only that I don't get a chance to read very many short stories, but that they are quick reads by nature. I can sit down and read one story, and then I don't have to worry about getting right back to the next "chapter" because they aren't connected. They are also great for getting to read from a bunch of different voices and authors in one book.

Prince in Disguise, by: Stephanie Kate Strohm

December 19th
Life is real enough for Dylan—especially as the ordinary younger sister of Dusty, former Miss Mississippi and the most perfect, popular girl in Tupelo. But when Dusty wins the hand of the handsome Scottish laird-to-be Ronan on the TRC television network’s crown jewel, Prince in Disguise, Dylan has to face a different kind of reality: reality TV.
As the camera crew whisks them off to Scotland to film the lead-up to the wedding, camera-shy Dylan is front and center as Dusty’s maid of honor. The producers are full of surprises—including old family secrets, long-lost relatives, and a hostile future mother-in-law who thinks Dusty and Dylan’s family isn’t good enough for her only son. At least there’s Jamie, an

adorably bookish groomsman who might just be the perfect antidote to all Dylan’s stress . . . if she just can keep TRC from turning her into the next reality show sensation.

As I was doing some digging for this post, I stumbled upon this book and I am already excited for it! It is a story idea that I've never heard anything like before, and I can't wait to see how this book is received. Hopefully it lives up to the excitement it has created for me in its blurb. (I also have to point out how cute the cover is. I love how sketchy and casual it is.)

Love, Life, and the List, by: Kasie West

December 26th
Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances.
Which is where the list comes in.
Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline

approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

I have read By Your Side by Kasie West back in February and really enjoyed it. It seams to me that Kasie West writes romance novels with a bit of a spin on them. They aren't just stories where a girl falls for a guy, but they have a unique plot as well. This one reminds me a little bit of Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson, which was another book I loved. It's kind of funny, but I think the "bucket list book" (as I have just coined them) is something that appeals to me because I am one to make a list when something needs to get done. I also love brainstorming bucket lists for certain aspects of my life.

What books are you looking forward to that are coming out this month? Let me know in the comments section!

As she scrambles to finish her end of the year TBR,
Ashton

Only a generation of readers will spawn a generation of writers

— Steven Spielberg

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