Hi hi friends! I realized that aside from reviews, I don’t really talk about what ARCs I have/am reading, and I thought for a chill post today I’d go through my NetGalley ARCs with you!
I’ve had a few approvals recently, so let’s go through them!
I’m listing these in order of release, and tbh that’ll probably be the order that I read them in since I try to read ARCs the month before they’re released or at minimum 2 weeks before their release date — though if we’re being fully transparent, the last one on this list I will probably read soon.
I have a few ARCs that fall under St. Martin’s Press, but won’t be talking about those here due to the ongoing boycott.
Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker (August 27th, 2024)
A spine-tingling LGBTQIA+ YA horror about queer teens who accidentally invoke a twisted spirit who promises help but delivers something sinister. Perfect for fans of Kayla Cottingham, Andrew Joseph Smith, and Aiden Thomas.
It’s never been safe for Fern, Jaq, or Mallory to come out to their families. As kids their emerging identities drove them into friendship but also forced them into the woods to hide in an old, abandoned house when they needed safety. But one night when the girls sought refuge, Mallory never made it back home. Fern and Jaq did, but neither survivor remembered what happened or the secrets they were so desperate to keep.
Five years later, Fern and Jaq are seniors on the verge of graduation, seemingly happy in their straight, cisgender lives—until a spirit who looks like Mallory begins to appear, seeking revenge for her death, and the part Fern and Jaq played in it. As they’re haunted, something begins to shift inside them. They remember who they are. Who they want to love. And the truth about the vicious secrets hiding in their woods.
This delightfully dark and pointed novel calls out the systems that erase gay and queer and trans identity, giving space to embrace queerness and to unleash the power of friendship and found family against the real monsters in the world.
Truthfully, I don’t remember how I first heard about this book but I was immediately interested in it. We all know I love a haunted house story, and what about the words “queer teens who accidentally invoke a twisted spirit” does not sound like something I’d want to read? Also, the cover is STUNNING. I had originally hoped to read this during Summerween, but didn’t get around to it; however, I’m looking forward to reading it this month!
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors (September 3rd, 2024)
Three estranged siblings return to their family home in New York after their beloved sister’s death in this unforgettable story of grief, identity, and the complexities of family.
The three Blue sisters are exceptional—and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.
But coming home is never as easy as it seems. As the sisters reckon with the disappointments of their childhood and the loss of the only person who held them together, they realize the greatest secrets they’ve been keeping might not have been from each other, but from themselves.
This is the newest addition to my NetGalley TBR because I have been seeing it EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE (including Cossette!) has been raving about it. I requested an ARC on Monday morning and was approved like 2 hours after that. Let’s be real, it’s giving modern day Little Women and is pretty much guaranteed to make me cry, why wouldn’t I want to read it?
Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid (September 24th, 2024)
Shakespeare fed us the myth of the Macbeths as murderous conspirators. But now Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history. Expect the unexpected . . .
A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three companions – a healer, a weaver and a seer. The men hunting her will kill her – because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth.
As the net closes in, we discover a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it is one strong, charismatic woman, who survived loss and jeopardy to outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life.
Caitlyn? Requesting a Shakespeare retelling? You’re shocked. I’m always interested in more stories centering around Lady Macbeth, she’s truly one of my favorite Shakespeare characters. This book hit my radar at the perfect time as I started doing research for some of my Shakespeare themed April posts (yes, I have started planning April 2025 posts, don’t look at me) and I was super excited to get the approval. This is a novella, according to Goodreads it’s only 122 pages, so I know I’ll read it quickly, but hopefully, it is an exciting and enjoyable quick read!
The Bitter End by Alexa Donne (October 15th, 2024)
When a winter storm traps eight teens in a remote ski cabin, they find themselves stranded with a killer—who may be one of their own. From the acclaimed author of The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens comes a YA thriller that will make your blood run cold.
The trip of a lifetime might be the death of them all.
The students of LA’s elite Warner Prep can’t wait for their Senior Excursion—five days of Instagrammable adventure in one of the world’s most exclusive locations. This is not your average field trip.
Which is why eight students can’t believe their bad luck when they end up on a digital detox in an isolated Colorado ski chalet. Their epic trip is panning out to be an epic bore . . . until their classmates start dropping in a series of disturbing deaths. The message is clear: this trip is no accident.
And when a blizzard strikes, secrets are revealed, betrayals are exposed, and survival is at stake in a race to the bitter end.
“Will leave you gasping for air.” -Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters
I’ve read two of Alexa Donne’s previous releases, The Ivies and Pretty Dead Things, and both of which I enjoyed. Donne writes well crafted and interesting YA mysteries, so when I saw her latest release on NetGalley, I quickly hit request. I thought Donne’s previous novels had really great atmosphere, so I’m really excited about this locked room mystery set in a remote ski cabin. I think this will be a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to reading it.
I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang (January 28th, 2025)
After getting rejected by every single Ivy League she applied to and falling short of all her Asian immigrant parents’ expectations, seventeen-year-old Jenna Chen makes a wish to become her smarter, infinitely more successful Harvard-bound cousin, Jessica Chen—only for her wish to come true. Literally.
Now trapped inside Jessica’s body, with access to Jessica’s most private journals and secrets, Jenna soon discovers that being the top student at the elite, highly competitive Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she imagined. Worse, as everyone—including her own parents—start having trouble remembering who Jenna Chen is, or if she ever even existed, Jenna must decide if playing the role of the perfect daughter and student is worth losing her true self forever.
Can we get a little commotion for the cover please? It’s stunning and I’m obsessed.
If Ann Liang is writing it, I am reading it. She quickly established herself as a must read author for me — I’ve rated all of her books 5 stars, so it’s easy to say that I love her writing. Liang writes magical realism so well, so I’m really excited about the magical realism aspect of I Am Not Jessica Chen, and she writes academia so well. I just know that I’m going to be obsessed with this one!
There you have it! A quick little rundown of the NetGalley ARCs I’ve gotten lately! I also have a physical ARC of The Lies of Alma Blackwell that I’ll be reading and reviewing this month!
Do you have any ARCs? If so, which are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time! 💜
