Lisa’s Looking Forward To #36 – October 29th, 2019

Back to joining up with the Waiting on Wednesday Posts, and the Can’t
Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings.  Looks like a bigger list once again for next week.  

From my ARC list for October 29th, 2019:

This one sounds really good.  I miss having a contact to send me ARCs at Disney.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Hope had abandoned them to the wrath of all the waters.

At
the end of the twenty-first century, the world has changed
dramatically, but life continues one thousand feet below the ocean’s
surface. In Great Britain, sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben
and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope; fear
of what lurks in the abyss, and hope that humanity will soon discover a
way to reclaim the Earth.

Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Leyla
McQueen has her own problems to deal with. Her father’s been arrested,
accused of taking advantage of victims of the Seasickness-a debilitating
malaise that consumes people,often claiming their lives. But Leyla
knows he’s innocent, and all she’s interested in is getting him back so
that their lives can return to normal.

When she’s picked to race
in the action-packed London Submersible Marathon, Leyla gets the chance
to secure his freedom; the Prime Minister promises the champion whatever
their heart desires. The race takes an unexpected turn, though, and
presents her with an opportunity she never wanted: Leyla must venture
outside of London for the first time in her life, to find and rescue her
father herself.

Now, she’ll have to brave the unfathomable
waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all
the while dealing with a secretive, hotheaded companion she never asked
for in the first place. If she fails, or falls prey to her own fears,
she risks capture–and her father might be lost forever.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE. 
 

Sounds pretty good, especially being set in the summer of the year I was born. 

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Set in the summer of
1972, this moving YA historical novel is narrated by teen girls from
different backgrounds with one thing in common: Each girl is dealing
with pregnancy.
Four teenage girls. Four different stories. What they all have in common is that they’re dealing with unplanned pregnancies.

In
rural Georgia, Izella is wise beyond her years, but burdened with the
responsibility of her older sister, Ola, who has found out she’s
pregnant. Their young neighbor, Missippi, is also pregnant, but doesn’t
fully understand the extent of her predicament. When her father sends
her to Chicago to give birth, she meets the final narrator, Susan, who
is white and the daughter of an anti-choice senator.

Randi Pink masterfully weaves four lives into a larger story – as timely as ever – about a woman’s right to choose her future.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

Beautiful cover on this one, and it sounds a little bit unique, don’t you think?

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Kamai was warned never to open the black door, but she didn’t listen …

Everyone
has a soul. Some are beautiful gardens, others are frightening
dungeons. Soulwalkers―like Kamai and her mother―can journey into other
people’s souls while they sleep.

But no matter where Kamai
visits, she sees the black door. It follows her into every soul, and her
mother has told her to never, ever open it.

When Kamai touches
the door, it is warm and beating, like it has a pulse. When she puts her
ear to it, she hears her own name whispered from the other side. And
when tragedy strikes, Kamai does the unthinkable: she opens the door.

A.M.
Strickland’s imaginative dark fantasy features court intrigue and
romance, a main character coming to terms with her asexuality, and
twists and turns as a seductive mystery unfolds that endangers not just
Kamai’s own soul, but the entire kingdom …

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE. 

Sounds like a spooky, and perfect Halloween week read.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Sadie meets Girl in Pieces in this dark, emotional thriller by acclaimed author Saundra Mitchell.

Something
happened to Ava. The curving scar on her face is proof. Ava would
rather keep that something hidden—buried deep in her heart and her soul.

But
in the woods on the outskirts of town, the traces of someone else’s
secrets lie frozen, awaiting Ava’s discovery—and what Ava finds
threatens to topple the carefully constructed wall of normalcy that
she’s spent years building around her.

Secrets leave scars. But
when the secret in question is not your own—do you ignore the truth and
walk away? Or do you uncover it from its shallow grave and let it reopen
old wounds—wounds that have finally begun to heal?

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

I mean, that title?  That description?  How can you not want to read it?


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

You try magic once and it sticks to you like glitter glue . . .

When
Johnny and his best friend, Alison, pass their summer holidays dabbling
in magic, they never expect it to have consequences. Sure, it’d be
great if they could banish bullies or change their lives for the better,
and what harm could come from lighting a few candles and chanting a few
spells? When they cause an earthquake that shakes Chicago to its core,
they draw the attention of the Marduk Institute, an age-old organization
dedicated to fostering the talents of young wizards.

Once there,
Johnny and Alison are told they can never return to their previous
lives, and must quickly adapt to a new world shimmering with monsters,
fraternities, and cute boys like Hunter and Blake. But when they’re
pulled into an epic, supernatural fight that could cost them both their
lives, Johnny and Alison find strength they never knew they had as they
battle for love, acceptance, and their own happy ending—all with the
help of a little magic.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE. 

This one sounds like an extremely deep and intense #ownvoices story.  

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

In a community that
isn’t always understanding, an HIV-positive teen must navigate fear,
disclosure, and radical self-acceptance when she falls in love–and
lust–for the first time. Powerful and uplifting, Full Disclosure will
speak to fans of Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon.

Simone
Garcia-Hampton is starting over at a new school, and this time things
will be different. She’s making real friends, making a name for herself
as student director of Rent, and making a play for Miles, the guy who
makes her melt every time he walks into a room. The last thing she wants
is for word to get out that she’s HIV-positive, because last time . . .
well, last time things got ugly.

Keeping her viral load under
control is easy, but keeping her diagnosis under wraps is not so simple.
As Simone and Miles start going out for real–shy kisses escalating
into much more–she feels an uneasiness that goes beyond butterflies.
She knows she has to tell him that she’s positive, especially if sex is a
possibility, but she’s terrified of how he’ll react! And then she finds
an anonymous note in her locker: I know you have HIV. You have until
Thanksgiving to stop hanging out with Miles. Or everyone else will know
too.

Simone’s first instinct is to protect her secret at all
costs, but as she gains a deeper understanding of the prejudice and fear
in her community, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is
to face the haters head-on…

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

I’ve got an ARC of this one and should be posting my review on Saturday I think.


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

This spinoff of The Replacement Crush featuring Amy and Toff is sure to melt your heart.

Shy
bookworm Amy McIntyre is about to compete for a dream scholarship, and
the only way to win is to transform from sidekick to the heroine of her
own life. But that level of confidence has never come easy.

The
solution? A competition coach. The problem? The best person for the job
is the guy she’s secretly crushing on…local surfer celebrity Toff
Nichols.

He’s a player. He’s a heartthrob. He makes her forget basic things, like how to breathe. How can she feel any confidence around him?

To
her surprise, Toff agrees to help. And he’s an excellent teacher. Amy
feels braver—maybe even brave enough to admit her feelings for him. When
their late night practices become less about coaching and more about
making out, Amy’s newfound confidence wavers.

But does Toff really like her or is this just another lesson?

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

Another beautiful cover! And a story that sounds good as well.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

The start of a fierce
fantasy duology about three maidens who are chosen for their land’s
greatest honor…and one girl determined to save her sister from the
grave.

In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing
more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before
her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame.

When
Alu’s ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister,
Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the
afterlife. It’s an honor. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her
chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from
her.

But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is—a death sentence.

Desperate
to save her sister, Kammani schemes her way into the palace to heal the
ruler. There she discovers more danger lurking in the sand-stone
corridors than she could have ever imagined and that her own life—and
heart—are at stake. But Kammani will stop at nothing to dig up the
palace’s buried secrets even if it means sacrificing
everything…including herself. 

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

Final Thoughts:
As I mentioned, one of them I will be reviewing later this week, so stay tuned for that.  Have you read any of these yet?  Are they
on your TBR?  And hey, while you’re here, you should go try to win some
of my ARCs from Cleaning Up My TBR Post HERE.  The US only giveaway is open till Friday at midnight, there are even some 2019 ARCs that can be one of your two choices.