It’s the best time of the year! This is my favorite topic for That Artsy Reader Girl because I just love screaming about all the books that are going to murder me throughout the year so damn much. I’m only including books on here that I’ve preordered that release before June since I think that’s when the second list usually goes live, but don’t you worry, we’ve still got plenty of books to chat about!

My goodness, but there are three killer books releasing in the first week of February, and I would not be surprised if I read The Weeping Tide by Amanda Foody first. The Accidental Apprentice was one of my favorite middle grades of 2021, and Amanda Foody is just one of my favorite authors in general, so I’m very excited to explore a new part of the world in this sequel!

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys wrecks me every damn time, and I’m even more hyped for this book right now because I just watched the film adaptation for Between Shades of Grey, and I can’t wait to dig into another book of hers. I’ve officially read all of Sepetys’ backlist, too, so I’m in dire need of a new historical fiction from her.

Can we already hear my soul being shattered into pieces? Yes, of course, Lara Elena Donnelly is releasing a new book, and they were the reason for the black hole that was my life in January 2020, and I fully expect Base Notes to do the same. Let it destroy me in ways I have not been destroyed before so I can just sit there and stare blankly at the wall while tears fall down my face.

WE’RE GETTING A NEW SCHWAB, Y’ALL! I was just feeling like it’d been ages since we’d had a new Schwab, but Bridge of Souls literally just came out, but, I think I’m thinking more along the lines of something like The Invisible Life of Addie Larue because that was back in October 2020, and holyyyyyyy, I need a new adult fiction from VE Schwab, so Gallant is just in time! That, and have you seen that cover? Have you actually looked at it? It’s incredible, and we’re all going to die.

Not me anticipating Locke & Key: The Golden Age by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez when I haven’t even watched the new season yet, SIGH. Well, hopefully by the time this post goes live, I’ll have watched it, but as of December 9th, when I’m drafting this, ya girl hasn’t watched the new Locke & Key season OR the new Lost in Space season, and all of that is tragic and should be remedied immediately.

Ughhhh, YES, I am so ready for Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore. I am so not ready for the fact that it will arrive at my house while I’m in Portugal, so I’ll have to wait TWO WEEKS before I can read it, but it’s okay, I’ll figure out how to survive. Maybe I should just buy it while I’m in Portugal?? McLemore is one of the few authors that I usually read immediately upon receiving a new book because they always crack me in half, and I’m so not ready.

I have another preorder from Kali Wallace that I haven’t read yet because I’m the worst, and I feel like I’ll definitely read Hunters of the Lost City before that, but I just adore the way she does middle grade, and I’m so excited to have a new one from her! I truly have no idea what this is about, either, just that Wallace is an auto-buy for me, so I’m sure it’ll be amazing.

HELL YEAH WE’RE GETTING A NEW CASEY MCQUISTON, AND I’M GONNA SAVE IT FOR PRIDE. I don’t know how, but I managed to do that last year with One Last Stop, which seems insane, like how am I just going to get I Kissed Shara Wheeler and not read it immediately?? Especially because it comes out at the beginning of May, but kicking off Pride last year with OLS was so much fun that I’m definitely doing it again for Shara Wheeler.

Highkey freaking out excited to have a new Maggie Stiefvater book that isn’t in the TRC universe, and even though I still haven’t read Mister Impossible, I fully expected to read Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater right around its release date. I mean, even if it wasn’t by Stiefvater, Merida is probably in my top five favorite Disney princesses, and Maggie is such an excellent writer when it comes to Scottish aesthetic, so this is going to be A++++.

Will I also be saving The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver for Pride? You betcha! Did it last year with The Ghosts We Keep, and want to make sure I have another book that I’ll definitely love to keep me afloat in the middle of the month. I also have no idea what this book is about other than I think we’re returning to romance, and I am hypeddddd. The romance in I Wish You All the Best was next level, and I want more.

What’s your most anticipated book for the first half of the year?