I can’t be the only one who has a whole shelf of books by my all-time favourite authors that I’m hoarding, but haven’t actually managed to read yet. It’s almost criminal really. Most of these are authors so beloved that I will insta-buy anything they write, and throw their books at every friend who needs a recommendation. And yet these books are still languishing, waiting for me to crack open their covers for the first time. Maybe I’m just savouring the anticipation of the first read-through. Maybe I’m just bad at reading anything in a timely manner. I guess we’ll never know. But today I present to you four books from my all time-favourite authors that are still languishing on my shelf waiting for me to finally read them.
Instant Karma | Marissa Meyer
Chronic overachiever Prudence Barnett is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, after a night out with her friends, she wakes up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her.
Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to mean gossips, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire: Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner. Quint is annoyingly cute and impressively noble, especially when it comes to his work with the rescue center for local sea animals.
When Pru resigns herself to working at the rescue center for extra credit, she begins to uncover truths about baby otters, environmental upheaval, and romantic crossed signals—not necessarily in that order. Her newfound karmic insights reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed, love and hate . . . and fate.
Marissa Meyer’s books are amazing. The Lunar Chronicles are one of my favourite series, and I’ve been really enjoying her Renegades books as well. Her sci-fi writing is imaginative and thrilling, and she has a great knack for putting a unique twist on familiar stories and tropes. She certainly knows how to keep me hooked into the story with engaging characters and life or death struggles. Instant Karma is a contemporary novel, which is a genre that I don’t usually read, but I trust Marissa Meyer’s writing, and I’m definitely eager to give this one a go.
Aurora Burning | Jay Kristoff/Amie Kaufman
First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.
Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.
And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.
Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.
When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.
Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.
If a book has the name Jay Kristoff or Amie Kaufman on the cover, it is sure to be an instant favourite. Aurora Rising, the first book in this series, grabbed me from the moment I cracked the cover. The cast of narrating characters are distinct, unique, and engaging, and I am a total sucker for space adventures with a motley crew of unlikely heroes going against their orders, and still somehow saving the universe. Aurora Burning has been one of my most anticipated reads since before the book came out, and yet somehow it’s still sitting on my shelf waiting for me to jump back into the adventure. It’s going to be so good though, I can just feel it.
The Boy Who Steals Houses | C. G. Drews
Can two broken boys find their perfect home?
Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he’s ever known. Now Sam’s trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he’s caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing – each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.
But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.
This was the first book I ever actually preordered, that’s how excited I am about this book. C. G. Drews first book A Thousand Perfect Notes was an absolutely heartbreaking yet beautiful book. I have rarely cared about a main character, or been brought so close to tears by a book before. So I know that The Boy Who Steals Houses is going to be amazing, and probably destroy my emotions for the next few weeks after I read it. Unfortunately, it has been languishing for years, rather than months, and it’s starting to get a little awkward.
Nevernight | Jay Kristoff
In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.
Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.
Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?
Well, would you look at that? Another Jay Kristoff book. I have been making a bit of a collection of his works. Nevernight has pretty much everything I could possibly want. It’s a dark fantasy with assassins, a quest for vengeance, and it’s written by one of my favourite authors. With his knack for writing engaging, funny, and compelling characters, I am absolutely convinced that this is going to be an amazing book, and maybe the beginning of a new favourite series. Unfortunately, it’s a more recent buy for me, which means that it’s buried down the list a bit and is going to have to patiently wait its turn. But oh, it’s going to be good when I do finally get to reading this book, I just know it.
I swear I am going to get around to catching up on all these amazing books at some point in the near future. Maybe I should make it a challenge to myself to try and read them all before the end of the year, just to push myself into catching up before the list grows too much longer. Please reassure me that I’m not the only person who puts off reading books from my favourite authors, which I know I’m absolutely going to love. Let me know what books you’ve been procrastinating reading. I’d love to hear from you!
