Sponsored by Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy by Melissa de la Cruz
If fairy tales are real, then this must be a dream. At least, that’s what Filomena Jefferson-Cho thinks when a hero from her favorite series the Thirteenth Fairy shows up in her sleepy suburban town. Before she knows it, Filomena is thrust into the world of fairies and princesses, sorcerers and slayers, and where an evil queen is set on destroying what’s left of the Fairy tribes. To save them all, Filomena must find the truth behind the fairy tales before it’s too late.
How are we nearly halfway through December, book friends?
The year has just flown by at an unsettling rate, but I am enjoying all of the end-of-year book roundups. And I’m loving seeing everyone post about their reading goals/expectations for 2022. We’ve also got so many great books to look forward to in this coming year. There’s Ocean Vuong’s upcoming book of poetry, Hanya Yanagihara’s latest novel, a memoir from Viola Davis, and much more. I’ve got some exciting new 2022 news to share with you today, and some other fun stuff, so let’s hop to it.
💚 Emily
Book Deals & Reveals
 |
Author Juliana Goodman tweeted the cover of her debut YA novel The Black Girls Left Standing, coming out June 28, 2022, from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan.
If you loved The Love Hypothesis, you’ll be excited to know author Ali Hazelwood has revealed the covers of her upcoming romance novellas, Stuck With You, Under One Roof, and Below Zero. These are coming out starting in February in audio, and then later in ebook format!
Reading Rainbow is returning to your TV screens after a 15-year hiatus.
In a competitive auction, Sally Kim for Putnam won The Three of Us, the debut novel by Ore Agbaje-Williams. Agbaje-Williams is an editor at the Borough Press imprint of HarperCollins UK.
Crowdfunding in the UK is offering a lifeline to independent bookstores during the pandemic.
Battle Chasers, an independent comic from the turn of the century that briefly outsold established titles from Marvel and DC, is being adapted for television.
Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy are teaming up again with a whole new group of Spider-related characters in the Into the Spider-Verse sequel. And if you can’t wait to see the new movie, be sure to check out the first-look footage!
A trailer was recently released for the new Harriet the Spy television show.
Here at Book Riot, we’ve chosen our favorite books of 2021. You can browse the books by genre or take a look at the whole list here.
Book Riot Recommends
I’m a Contributing Editor at Book Riot, I write the Today in Books newsletter, and I’m a Bibliologist for Book Riot’s Tailored Book Recommendations subscription service. I also have a PhD in English, so I’m basically a doctor of books. Books are my life, in other words, so in this section of the newsletter, let me share with you some upcoming books I’m super excited about. And I think you will be too!
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Can’t Wait for This One
Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel (Tor Nightfire, May 17, 2022)
I think in the past I’ve mentioned my love for cult stories, and on Monday, I mentioned my love for books about female friendships. So Anne Heltzel’s upcoming novel Just Like Mother—hitting shelves on May 17th—is an instant must-read for me. I feel like there are a lot of Book Radar readers who are going to be excited about this one as well.
Just Like Mother is about Maeve, who has struggled to build a normal life for herself after escaping a cult that left her traumatized through violence and by stealing away her cousin, Andrea, the only true friend Maeve has ever known. Decades later, when Andrea reappears, Maeve is thrilled. And despite the fact that Andrea is involved in a mysterious start-up business that has made her extremely wealthy, Maeve feels comforted and more at-home in her cousin’s presence.
So when Maeve’s life starts to fall apart in New York, it only seems to make sense that she would move in with Andrea. But the more she gets wrapped up in Andrea’s life, the more Maeve finds herself being pulled into the lifestyles and ideals that were pushed upon her in the cult she’d thought she’d escaped. This psychological thriller sounds like one that will keep you guessing and wondering who to trust at every turn.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Words of Literary Wisdom
“I have always found peace among books.”
— The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
What’s Up in the Book Community?
My iPhone is constantly telling me I spend too much time staring at my screen, which is honestly so rude. But this means I spend a lot of time scrolling around the online book community: BookTube, Bookstagram, BookTok, BookLinkedIn (JK. That’s not a thing… I don’t think). You get the idea. Don’t have the time, energy, or the will to do all of that yourself? No problem. I got you. In this weekly section of Book Radar, we’ll take a look at something cool, interesting, and/or newsy that’s going on in the book community.
As we start planning ahead to 2022, it’s time to start thinking about how we’re going to challenge ourselves to read more diversely, read more widely, and maybe even just read more. Enter Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge.
If you’re new to the challenge, the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge is a set of 24 tasks that invite readers to expand their worldview through books. If you’ve joined us before, we’ve got a little something new. This year, you can sign up for our new Read Harder newsletter to get recommendations for each task delivered straight to your inbox. And if you’re looking to join a community of fellow challenge participants, check out the Read Harder Challenge Goodreads group. For a downloadable and editable PDF of the 2022 Read Harder Challenge, click here.
Your Weekend Reading Soundtrack
Not a reading soundtrack this week, but a sincere Christmas song question. How do we feel about “Last Christmas” by Wham? I think it’s my favorite Christmas song, but my husband says it’s terrible. Please weigh in on this debate! Do I have really bad Christmas music taste or does my husband hate joy?
And Here’s A Cat Picture!
 |
Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Phantom, the sweetest, bravest, strongest little mini-panther you’ve ever seen. I love this picture because his magic eye and his little white tuft are on full display. My neighbor (and friend) is still watching over my cats this week. We head back to the US tomorrow (Friday), so I’ll get to see this dude soon! But I miss him so!
That’s it for today, book friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm. Buy yourself presents. Don’t forget a coat.
💚 Emily