Lisa’s Looking Forward To #83 – October 20th, 2020

Posted October 14, 2020 by Lisa Mandina in LLFT / 14 Comments

Once again I’ll be joining up with the Can’t Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings.  Third week of the month means only a few new releases.

From my ARC list for October 20th, 2020:

Okay, first off the cover is gorgeous!!! And of course it sounds really good as well. Plus this is the author of a favorite of mine, Geekerella, so I’m intrigued!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Cerys is safe in the kingdom of Aloriya.

Here there are no droughts, disease, or famine, and peace is everlasting. It has been this way for hundreds of years, since the first king made a bargain with the Lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. But as Aloriya prospered, the woods grew dark, cursed, and forbidden. Cerys knows this all too well: when she was young, she barely escaped as the woods killed her friends and her mother. Now Cerys carries a small bit of the curse—the magic—in her blood, a reminder of the day she lost everything. The most danger she faces now, as a gardener’s daughter, is the annoying fox who stalks the royal gardens and won’t leave her alone.

As a new queen is crowned, however, things long hidden in the woods descend on the kingdom itself. Cerys is forced on the run, her only companions the small fox from the garden, a strange and powerful bear, and the magic in her veins. It’s up to her to find the legendary Lady of the Wilds and beg for a way to save her home. But the road is darker and more dangerous than she knows, and as secrets from the past are uncovered amid the teeth and roots of the forest, it’s going to take everything she has just to survive.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I’ve only read the first book in this series, but I own the second and need to read on! This is book 4, so you can see I’m kinda far behind.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

With the stakes this high, it’s no longer just a game for the quarterback in this romance by the author of Blitzed. 

Elliot Reed is living her best life—or pretending to. She owes it to her dad’s memory to be happy and make the most of her new job as Strategic Communications Manager for the Denver Mustangs. Things are going well until star quarterback Quinton Howard Jr. decides to use the field as his stage and becomes the first player to take a knee during the national anthem.

As the son of a former professional athlete, Quinton knows the good, the bad, and the ugly about football. He’s worked his entire life to gain recognition in the sport, and now that he has it, he’s not about to waste his chance to change the league for better. Not even the brilliant but infuriating Elliot, who the Mustangs assign to manage him, will get Quinton back in line. 

A rocky initial meeting only leads to more tension between Quinton and Elliot. But as her new job forces them to spend time together, she realizes they may have more in common than she could’ve ever imagined. With her job and his integrity on the line, this is one coin toss that nobody can win.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I love Cinderella retellings, plus there is a Harry Potter aspect with Quidditch? Sold!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

A loose retelling of Cinderella, about a high-school graduate who–after getting grounded for the whole summer–joins a local Quidditch league and finds her footing, perfect for fans of Dumplin’Fangirl, and everyone who’s read and adored Harry Potter.

17-year-old vegan feminist Ellen Lopez-Rourke has one muggy Houston summer left before college. She plans to spend every last moment with her two best friends before they go off to the opposite ends of Texas for school. But when Ellen is grounded for the entire summer by her (sometimes) evil stepmother, all her plans are thrown out the window.

Determined to do something with her time, Ellen (with the help of BFF Melissa) convinces her parents to let her join the local muggle Quidditch team. An all-gender, full-contact game, Quidditch isn’t quite what Ellen expects. There’s no flying, no magic, just a bunch of scrappy players holding PVC pipe between their legs and throwing dodgeballs. Suddenly Ellen is thrown into the very different world of sports: her life is all practices, training, and running with a group of Harry Potter fans.

Even as Melissa pulls away to pursue new relationships and their other BFF Xiumiao seems more interested in moving on from high school (and from Ellen), Ellen is steadily finding a place among her teammates. Maybe Quidditch is where she belongs.

But with her home life and friend troubles quickly spinning out of control–Ellen must fight for the future that she wants, now she’s playing for keeps.

Filled with heart and humor, Anna Meriano’s YA debut is perfect for fans of Dumplin’ and Hot Dog Girl. 

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Now as I usually get behind with anthologies, it is probably good I didn’t get a copy of this one. However I love the ideas behind these stories!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

A collection of original contemporary love stories set during life in lockdown by some of today’s most popular YA authors. 

Erin Craig “delivers” on a story about a new girl in town and the cute pizza delivery boy, Auriane Desombre captures our hearts with teens communicating through window signs, and Bill Konigsberg takes us along on daily walks with every step bringing us closer to love. There’s flirting and romance from Rachael Lippincott, a tale of a determined girl with a mask-making business from Erin Hahn, and a music-inspired love connection from Sajni Patel. Brittney Morris turns enemies to lovers with the help of a balcony herb garden, Jennifer Yen writes an unconventional romance that starts outside a hospital, and Natasha Preston’s teens discover each other–and their love story–in a storybook oak tree.

Romantic, realistic, sweet and uplifting, TOGETHER, APART is a collection of finding love in unexpected places during an unprecedented time . . . each with the one thing we all want: a guaranteed happy ending.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I’ve got an ARC of this one and I need to pick it up and start reading since I should be posting a review for a blog tour this Saturday. I’ve loved the other books by this author, even though I didn’t read the one that is kind of similar to this, and is sitting on my TBR shelf. Again, as I mentioned above, I love retellings, so can’t wait to dig into this one!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling that’ll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of “happily ever after.”
Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen’s huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman took out his knife . . . and took Sophie’s heart. 

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule — a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she’d heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . .

With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can’t extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Final Thoughts:

Only five this week, about half as many as last week. There were supposed to be 6, but as I got ready to post this, I noticed one had been moved till next March. Are any of these on your TBR, or have you already read them? If so, which do you recommend? Leave me a link to your post in your comment and I’ll be sure to return the visit!

Also, while you’re here, make sure to go enter my monthly giveaway HERE.

Please follow and like us:
0
fb-share-icon0
Tweet 0
Pin Share20

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


14 responses to “Lisa’s Looking Forward To #83 – October 20th, 2020

  1. I have loved the other books in Martin’s series, but I am not sure about this one (based on early reviews). I use my romance books to escape the world. Not sure I how I will feel about a romance with a social justice plot line.

  2. Jae @ Bookish Bluebird

    I’ve been seeing that Snapped book floating around my social media tl lately and it looks like my kind of read (I’ll need to get my hands on the first book to start heheh). Great picks!

    • Lisa Mandina

      I’ve only read the first one in that series, but it was really good! Hope you get your hands on it soon! Thanks for visiting!

  3. I am really looking forward to Beasts and Briars! And Together, Apart is one I want to read just because the stories are set during the pandemic. I hope you enjoy these when you read them. Have a great weekend, Lisa.

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.