Every month I want to present to you some new releases that sounded interesting to me, and provide my thoughts on what I gathered from the description what it is about, what I think could be positive about this book but also what prejudices I have.
Of course, since the book isn’t released yet I don’t know if I’m right with any of these ideas, but I think this could be interesting nonetheless.
I went through Goodreads` most anticipated new releases of the upcoming month, trying to find new books that sounded fascinating. Since most of them were Young Adult books or later books in a series, there was a lot I could already filter out. I found three books that could be something I’d enjoy, maybe you have some interest in them as well.
What I think it is about:
A young woman that has been cursed to kill or resurrect people by touching them, and therefore lived isolated and experimented on by her father all her life, ventures into the forest to lift the curse and doing so truly discovers her powers.
What I would like to see:
An interesting use of her powers/curse, magical adventures/quests trying to lift it, a great twist and fascinating looks into her mind, mixed with a well-done backstory. Some really dark elements would also be nice.
What I dread to see:
Tons of clichés, a dragging beginning (maybe where she oh so comedicly tries to cope with the world), a too standard coming of age story and very few characters which results in a lack of dialogue.
Would I buy?
It sounds interesting enough to end up on my wish-list, but it’s not a priority for now.
What I think it is about:
It’s a backstory to Cinderella’s stepmother. I think knowing more about this kind of fairy-tale retelling would probably already be a spoiler, so that’s all I want to know.
What I would like to see:
An unexpected backstory that explains her side of the story in a way that the reader can sympathize with her without denying her true part in the original Cinderella story. It would be great if it was very well connected to that story with little hints to it here and there.
What I dread to see:
A story that totally contradicts the source material and makes her just misunderstood like how it’s been done a million times already, a story that has nothing to do with anything Cinderella or fairy tale related and a YA typical forced tragic romance.
Would I buy?
Probably not, except if I here a lot of good things about it. There are so many other fairy-tale inspired books that just sound more interesting to me, but I also only started to read these kinds of books.
What I think it is about:
It’s a short story collection / anthology about the wives of Henry VIII, each told by a different author.
What I would like to see:
More or less historically backed-up insights into the life on the side of a king, being a woman and a queen at that time and the time period in general in nice stories with personal touches of the authors that help me to decide of whom I want to read more.
What I dread to see:
I can imagine it either being too dry or too dramatic, drifting too much from retelling historical events to tragic love stories with a lot of whining.
Would I buy?
I am always a little reluctant considering short story collections for they need so much longer to read than a novel does, because I am never as motivated to read the next story than to find out how a novel ends. Still I think this sounds very interesting, so I might read it someday.
What books are you looking forward to?
If someone knows a little more diverse, maybe sci-fi and fantasy orientated list of new releases I would also be interested to hear about it.
