My Anticipated Releases of The First Half of 2019 (leave me alone I know this is late)

Ah yes, I love posting my most anticipated reads for this year when we’re two and a half months in.

I am so… proud of myself…

Anyways, I know literally so many other people have posted the same exact post, but I decided that clearly for some reason, I need to do this post too & scream about all of my anticipated reads.

I’m going to be including books from January and February, even though we’re halfway into February, because I don’t want to exclude those months. (for some reason I typed “countries” instead of “months”) (why)

Some of these I’ve already talked about in my January recap or my #YARC2019 TBR post, but yes I’m going to boost a ton of diverse novels!!

january

   

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (release date 1/15/19)

• Aaaaah I love this cover so damn much. That fox spirit!!! This red palette!! I need this book in my life.

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (release date 1/29/19)

• I mean, Leigh Bardugo. Nikolai. Yeah.

The Cerulean by Amy Ewing (release date 1/29/19)

• This cover is… one of the most gorgeous things to walk this earth, I swear. Look at that white spilling down the crevice!! Look at that dress that’s forming from the white foam water liquid!! Look at that city!! That moon!! Also, this is sapphic!

(edit, like five hours after I posted this: I heard from Shri that The Cerulean isn’t a true sapphic novel and that the main character is actually straight… so… nevermind… I regret everything… thank you so much, Shri!)

february

   

The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf (release date 2/5/19)

• This has OCD and Malaysian representation and y’all should read this review by this little disease blogger!! Also this cover is so pretty & the swag that the author gave out is also so amazing.

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (release date 2/5/19)

• LISTEN I’M SORRY THAT I HAVEN”T READ THE HATE U GIVE YET BUT OH MY GOD!!! Her covers are so gorgeous and they match each other perfectlyyyy < 3

Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury (release date 2/26/19)

• Jessica Khoury was the author of The Forbidden Wish, which was my favorite book in all of 2018 soooooo I’m definitely reading her next book, aaaah!

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We Set the Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia (release date 2/26/19)

• This is an ownvoices Latinx novel that’s a dystopian and it’s also SAPPHIC and has a forbidden romance and the hardcover is soooo pretty… I won a giveaway for a preorder of this & I’m UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED. SERIOUSLY.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (release date 2/26/19)

• I also won a giveaway for a preorder of this* and it’s so thick and I am scared. Apparently there are like, seven different novel-shaped sections?? How did Samantha Shannon?? Also, I recently found out that this is f/f so I’m infinitely more hyped.

*I know, I know, I won two giveaways but listen. The key to winning giveaways is to retweet all of them. Just do it. You’ll lose all of your followers but are followers worth free books? I think not. BUT I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT SINCE I AM US-BASED, I HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PRIVILEGE COMPARED TO NON-US READERS. Also, I don’t think I’ve won any other giveaways besides these two in a while lmao.

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march

   

The Fever King by Victoria Lee (release date 3/1/19)

• So many people loved this and it has an m/m relationship, I believe, and one of the main characters is bi!! Also, I think there’s poc biracial representation?? I vaguely remember the author saying something in a tweet but… take this with a grain of salt!

The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton (release date 3/5/19)

• This is the sequel to The Belles (which I reviewed) and the covers are so gorgeous, but I’m not totally a fan of this color palette tbh? I’M SURE IT WILL BE PRETTIER IN PERSON, THOUGH. I need this asap after the cliffhanger from The Belles. (Also, 2019 is going to be the year of sequels for me!!)

Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera (release date 3/5/19)

• This cover is… so smooth?? When I was pasting it in here it was so clear and nice and I just!! These flowers!!! This blue tone!! It creates such a dynamic cover?? I was approved for an e-arc of this, but it wasn’t available to send to kindle so I’m going to have to download some other app in order to read this, lol. (edit from two minutes later: yeah I just downloaded Bluefire Reader)

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Internment by Samira Ahmed (release date 3/19/19)

• This cover literally has so much detail and I have an intense amount of love. This is a really heavy topic but I think that Samira Ahmed is the right person to handle it!! < 3

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum (release date 3/19/19)

• Apparently there’s a polyam relationship in this and it’s also set in the same universe as this author’s debut, The Wicker King, which I haven’t read but I WANT TO SO BADLY.

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (release date 3/26/19)

• This cover is my favorite gay thing ever, and also Amy Rose Capetta is genderqueer, so this is ownvoices for genderqueer representation!! Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy are honestly a young adult power couple even though I haven’t read Cori’s books. (But I read Amy Rose Capetta’s The Brilliant Death, which was so good!)

april

   

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He (release date 4/2/19)

• I literally want a physical copy of this so desperately it’s sad!! (Albert Whitman, please. I’m literally Chinese sdkjfkjdf) But anyways, I will probably beg my sister to purchase me a hardcover of this or something, because the preorder giveaway for this looks so amazing and I WANT THOSE CHARACTER CARDS.

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan (release date 4/2/19)

• This is probably on literally everyone‘s list, since this is a very considerably hyped title, but that cover!! is so gorgeous!! I love the cityscape and the papery background. Also, this synopsis sounds amazing.

Far From Agrabah by Aisha Saeed (release date 4/2/19)

• I am unbelievably excited for this book and it’s lowkey upsetting that literally there aren’t a lot of “want-to-read”s of this book?? Like?? HAVE YOU SEEN THE FACT THAT IT’S AN OWNVOICES RETELLING OF ALADDIN? Aladdin is amazing and the fact that this would be ownvoices is even more amazing.

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The Tiger at Midnight (release date 4/23/19)

• I know the romance in this novel is really amazing, and I am so unbelievably excited!!! This cover is the epitome of excellence. That slant. That sandy dissolve. I just!!! Love this so much!!!

King of Fools by Amanda Foody (release date 4/30/19)

• This cover is okay, I guess, but more importantly it continues the saga of Levi and Enne!! And I need to see that romance. Please. Also, Amanda Foody tweeted about how everyone’s going to scream at her after reading it and thanks. That makes me feel so much more scared.

may

   

Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali (release date 5/7/19)

• This is a rom-com with a Muslim main character & she travels to Doha, Qatar for her spring break!! Which I’m pretty sure is the setting of this novel!! We love books that don’t take place in Western settings!!

Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo (release date 5/5/7/19)

• I would like to establish that all of Maurene Goo’s covers are amazing and I LOVE how they all have Korean models on them omg. Most importantly, though, this one is rainbow.

With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo (release date 5/7/19)

• I love Elizabeth Acevedo. I haven’t even read her debut novel but I know it’s amazing. I gave my arc copy away to my Dominican friend who grew up in the Bronx and she was talking to me about how much she related to the story and I just!!!!! was so happy!!!! that she felt represented!!!!

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The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (release date 5/7/19)

• I loved Helen Hoang’s novel, The Kiss Quotient (hi Melanie I love you so damn much thank you for sending that to me) and this one sounds so, so so good. I know that there’s autistic representation and that both characters are Vietnamese! Also, the girl is biracial!! THIS COVER IS SO PRETTY. Also, I’m buddy-reading this with Melanie!! < 3

Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno (release date 5/14/19)

• This sounds so adorable and cheesy because there’s a curse on the main character from the sea, which means that dating her is bad news… I MEAN, WHO’S GOING TO COME ALONG TO BREAK THE CURSE? Clearly, Alex Aquino, the mysterious boy whose family owns the marina. Latinx culture!! Pitched as Gilmore Girls x To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before!

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver (release date 5/14/19)

• Mason is an absolute gem on Twitter, they’re so amazing and this cover is my everything. More genderqueer representation is so vital and I really hope that enby readers will be able to get copies of this book!! I also hope that black readers will be able to receive copies as well, because it seems like the love interest is black!

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There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon (release date 5/14/19)

• Sandhya Menon should be given an award for being a spectacular person; I ACTUALLY MET HER AT BOOKCON ONE TIME AND IT WAS SO AMAZING & I have an enamel pin for “From Twinkle, With Love” that’s a camera and it’s so cute!! Also this has Indian representation and the girl character is plus-size!

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad (release date 5/14/19)

• I love Nafiza so much; she tweeted out for POC bloggers/booktubers to provide their information and she would pass it along to Scholastic, which I think is so nice and honestly… she’s just out here doing god’s work, writing amazing stories and providing them to readers of color. This sounds absolutely amazing and I know it’s set along the Silk Road and just… this cover…

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (release date 5/14/19)

• I’m so lucky to be part of Hafsah’s street team (can more authors of color please create street teams because I actually!! would love to join all of them!!) and Hafsah is just a kind soul, I love her so much. I’m so happy for the new cove change to this one with a poc model!! I will scream about this novel into the void!

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I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn (release date 5/28/19)

• Can we just bask in this simple and cute cover? IT JUST GIVES ME HARDCORE JAPANESE VIBES, especially from the art style and everything?? This one is about a Japanese girl who visits her relatives in Japan!! We love.

All the Ways Home by Elsie Chapman (release date 5/28/19)

• ELSIE CHAPMAN IS SO PRODUCTIVE, she also has another novel coming out in 2019 that’s YA & she’s participating in two anthologies this year?? Like, how. She is a powerhouse, I swear. While I didn’t really enjoy her novel Along the Indigo, I am so excited for this one (especially that asian as heck cover!!) and I really want to see how her writing has progressed!

june

   

This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura (release date 6/4/19)

• This is so beautiful and I can’t believe that I was approved for an e-arc!! I am so excited for this!! Also it’s so beautiful!!! This salmon pink!!

Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan (release date 6/11/19)

• I haven’t read any of Mary Fan’s previous books, which were self-published (Starswept) but I really, really want to purchase a hardcover because they’re incredibly beautiful. I’m so happy that Mary Fan is publishing even more amazing novels and I think it’s incredibly cool that she’s choosing to publish traditionally now.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi (release date 6/11/19)

• This f/f cover!! Is so amazing!! Both the main characters are people of color, I believe, and I’m pretty sure that they’re South Asian. Also, this author wrote Not the Girls You’re Looking For, which I really want to read (and the cover is gorgeous).

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The Chai Factor by Farah Heron (6/11/19)

• This features a South Asian cast and I just!! Love this yellow cover so much. It totally reminds me of the cover of The Bride Test, too.

Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim (release date 6/11/19)

• This is set in Chinatown and is all about heritage and food and how meaningful food is to family & culture, which I need. The publisher gave me a digital arc of this through Netgalley, and I’ll be buddy reading this with the amazing Shealea!

Fake It Till You Break It by Jenn P. Nguyen (release date 6/18/19)

• I voted for this cover on the Swoon Reads poll & it’s so dynamic and adorable and there’s FAKE DATING and ENEMIES TO LOVERS and the main characters are Asian and I just… really want to read this. please.

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All of Us With Wings by Michelle Ruiz Keil (release date 6/18/19)

• Sooo this is basically a post-modern fairy tale set in San Francisco, and the main character is Latinx and bi!! I believe that the main character is living a “glam” life away from her family, but she has to return to them. Also, is there money in this girl’s hair?

Hungry Hearts edited by Elsie Chapman & Caroline Tung Richmond (release date 6/18/19)

• This is an anthology featuring Asian authors of varying backgrounds and is focused on food & I don’t know if y’all know this, but… I love food. Food is amazing. Look at that bowl on the cover. I’m hungry now.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho (release date 6/25/19)

• This sounds like it came straight out of a manga and I desperately want to read it!! Raise your hand if you were here before the title change from “Gumiho” to “Wicked Fox” because I was!! Anyways, Korean paranormal romance = love.

I don’t know, I feel like I’m not very good at these posts because am I literally just saying the same exact thing for each novel?? That the cover is beautiful and that I’m excited for the book??

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What are your more anticipated reads of 2019? Do you agree with any of the titles I listed?? Most importantly, which covers are your favorite??