There are soooo many incredible looking books for 2018! This post only includes books that have final covers available or at least some pretty temporary cover art. There are still plenty of awesome books that don’t have their covers yet! (*cough* final Throne of Glass *cough*)
I’ve hidden the synopsis of the books that are part of a series to protect against spoilers. Just click the link to reveal the synopsis. 🙂
Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray (Constellation #2)
View Synopsis »If you haven’t read Defy the Stars then you are seriously missing out! It’s very Illuminae-esque. And obviously the covers are gorgeous. I know Defy the Worlds says “cover not final” but I’m guessing it will look similar to that and it’s awesome. Once I get my new bookshelves I need to buy physical copies of both these books!
Rage by Cora Carmack (Stormheart #2)
View Synopsis »Roar was one of my absolute favourite books this year. I can’t wait to continue the series! Also, if you were also a fan of Roar, be sure to check out my recommendations for three other fantasies to read.
Heart on Fire by Amanda Bouchet (Kingmaker Chronicles #3)
View Synopsis »Oh man, oh man, oh man! The Kingmaker Chronicles quickly became one of my all-time favourite series. I picked up the first book, A Promise of Fire, at BookExpo America 2016 and I DEVOURED it. The second book was just as good and I can’t wait to read the third.
Also I can’t quite decide which I like more: the US covers or the UK. I think they’re both pretty awesome and may need to collect the full series of both. What do you think?
US Covers
UK Covers
Immortal Reign by Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms #6)
I’ve only actually read Falling Kingdoms and Rebel Spring but I’ve decided to wait until the final book, Immortal Reign, comes out and then I’ll complete the whole series. After the whole Throne of Glass experience I’ve decided that I really enjoy binge reading series instead of waiting for each book to come out. I think Falling Kingdoms will be great for that. Plus, I can’t wait to buy them all in hardcover and have them sit pretty on my bookshelf!
I’ve excluded the synopsis because I haven’t read it to avoid spoilers for the books I haven’t read. But you can find it here on Goodreads.
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (The Illuminae Files #3)
View Synopsis »If you haven’t read Illuminae then you need to get on that ASAP!
I remember I was really intimidated by Illuminae because of the funky format and the huge size of the book. But you get used to the format very quickly (it’s actually very awesome), and the book isn’t anywhere near as long as it looks. The illustrations add a lot of bulk to the book but it doesn’t actually take long to read at all. Everything just takes up more space because of the interface designs and even full pages dedicated to some artsy stuff.
Onyx & Ivory by Mindee Arnett
They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king years ago. Now Kate lives as an outcast, clinging to the fringes of society as a member of the Relay, the imperial courier service. Only those most skilled in riding and bow hunting ride for the Relay; and only the fastest survive, for when dark falls, the nightdrakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: she is a wilder, born with magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals. But it’s this magic that she needs to keep hidden, as being a wilder is forbidden, punishable by death or exile. And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by nightdrakes in broad daylight—the only survivor her childhood friend, her first love, the boy she swore to forget, the boy who broke her heart.
The high king’s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror—the once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king’s children will succeed him—he knows it’s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that’s fine by him. He’d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father’s life—the night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked—and for him to be saved by Kate.
With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom—one whose origins have dire implications for Kate’s father’s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime.
Kingdoms, dual points of view, dragons, SPECIAL ANIMAL POWERS!!!
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (The Orïsha Legacy #1
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving ZĂ©lie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now, ZĂ©lie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, ZĂ©lie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.
That GORGEOUS cover!! This is a must-buy-in-hardcover book. And it kind of sounds Throne of Glass-esque: magic disappeared, ruthless king, people massacred, rogue princess… can’t wait!
Furyborn by Claire Legrand (Empirium #1)
When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.
A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable–until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.
As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world–and of each other.
I can’t stop seeing Furyborn on Twitter and Instagram and it’s driving me slightly nuts because I WANT TO READ IT SO BADLY!! This sounds absolutely amazing. *_*
The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton
Three sisters born under different stars, sharing the same tragic ancestry and ambitious destiny, vie with each other and with the kings who will be their allies, enemies, and pawns, in a dangerous, sexy, deadly game for power, ignited by the madness of a declining king and the reappearance of a bastard soldier who wants to tear it all down.
A feminist, multicultural epic fantasy with the operatic feeling of GAME OF THRONES, inspired by the author’s conflicted relationship with KING LEAR and her desire to confront head-on provocative questions about birthright, gender, faith, and the complicated bonds of family.
WOOAAAAH! Sounds like a Game of Thrones where all the main players are girls. Yes please.
Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare (Ink, Iron, and Glass #1)
Can she write a world gone wrong?
A certain pen, a certain book, and a certain person can craft entirely new worlds through a branch of science called scriptology. Elsa comes from one such world that was written into creation by her mother—a noted scriptologist.
But when her home is attacked and her mother abducted, Elsa must cross into the real world and use her own scriptology gifts to find her. In an alternative 19th-century Italy, Elsa finds a secret society of pazzerellones—young people with a gift for mechanics, alchemy or scriptology—and meets Leo, a gorgeous mechanist with a smart mouth and a tragic past. She recruits the help of these fellow geniuses just as an assassin arrives on their doorstep.
In this thrilling debut, worlds collide as Elsa unveils a deep political conspiracy seeking to unlock the most dangerous weapon ever created—and only she can stop it.
I love books that build out a whole new type of science. Plus political conspiracy? Thumbs up!
Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk
Roma Victor. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to build an empire—an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.
Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation.
Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end—and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus….
SPARTACUS!!! Only my favourite TV series ever! I was so bummed to be disappointed with The Valiant so hopefully Blood and Sand won’t disappoint. In the meantime, if you want more gladiators, check out Gladiatrix.
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian (Untitled Trilogy #1)
Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Queen of Flame and Fury, was murdered before her eyes. Ten years later, Theo has learned to survive under the relentless abuse of the Kaiser and his court as the ridiculed “Ash Princess.” Pretending to be empty-headed and naive when she’s not enduring brutal whippings, she pushes down all other thoughts but one: Keep the Kaiser happy and he will keep you safe.
When the Kaiser forces her to execute her last hope of rescue, Theo can’t keep her feelings and memories pushed down any longer. She vows revenge, throwing herself into a plot to seduce and murder the Kaiser’s warrior son with the help of a group of magically gifted and volatile rebels. But Theo doesn’t expect to develop feelings for the Prinz. Or for her rebel allies to challenge her friendship with the one person who’s been kind to her throughout the last hopeless decade: her heart’s sister, Cress.
Cornered into impossible choices and unable to trust even those who are on her side, Theo will have to decide how far she’s willing to go to save her people and how much of herself she’s willing to sacrifice to become queen.
One of my favourite tropes ever: pretending to be into someone and then actually falling for them. It actually reminds me a lot of Ruined by Amy Tintera.
These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch (Stream Raiders #1)
Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Argrid, a country ruled by religion. But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray’s new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something more dangerous is at work.
Devereux is a pirate. As one of the outlaws called stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he pirates the island’s magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat’s abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war.
Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray’s forbidden magic. When Ben’s father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid’s fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he’s building his own pyre.
As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are… and what they are willing to become for peace.
THAT COVER THOUGH!!! Apparently it was by the same artist who did Snow Like Ashes, and it totally shows. Speaking of which… I must confess I never finished the Snow Like Ashes series. I loved the first one, thought the second was ehh (3 stars), and just never read the third. Should I? I’ve heard from a few people that it kind of goes downhill. Let me know!
Oh my god that was quite a list. I think it’s obvious from this list that I’m really excited about fantasy next year.
Which books are you looking forward to? Any I missed?
Obsidio is so high on my list. There is this hole in my heart, because I did not get a new Illuminae Files book this year. Cannot wait to get my hands on that one.
I’m looking mostly looking forward to City of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts since I loved Royal Bastards so much. Another book on my list is the next book in the Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake, but besides those two, I don’t really know of any books coming out next year. I’m so bad with keeping up with release dates.
Children of Blood and Bone went straight on my wishlist when I saw the cover <3