July 2019 Book Picks

It’s July, and it officially feels like SUMMER!  I’m looking forward to some hours in the sun curled up with books, and the ones below are my favorites of the new releases.  There’s a little of everything this month: YA, adult fantasy, STAR WARS!  Check out what I can’t wait to get my hands on!

Interested?  Covers link to Goodreads!

SPIN THE DAWN by Elizabeth Lim
Release Date: July 9th, 2019
This YA fantasy is pitched as Mulan meets Project Runway, and really you had me at Mulan.  A female seamstress enters a contest in secret to become the next royal tailor (because of course it can only be a man) and has to travel the land to get the rare items needed to make the three dresses requested by the royal household: the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars.  I have an ARC for this, can’t wait to share my thoughts!

THE RAGE OF DRAGONS by Evan Winter
Release Date: July 16th, 2019
A fantasy world where some men are gifted with powers of amazing strength, and an incredibly rare number of women have the ability to summon dragons.  One man’s quest for revenge will lead him through this empire and up against any who come between him and his quarry.  I’ve been curious about this for months, and I might have an ARC heading my way, so I’ll be excited to share thoughts soon!

THRAWN: TREASON by Timothy Zahn
Release date: July 23rd, 2019
Timothy Zahn STAR WARS books are auto-buy purchases that get to automatically jump to the top of the reading stack.  They are my great love, especially when they’re about my favorite villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn, a character who wins his battles with wits instead of brawn. Set in the era just before EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE, Thrawn is finding himself losing leverage with the Imperials, his pet TIE Defender project dismissed in favor of the Emperor’s new favorite toy, the Death Star.  And when a warning arrives that Thrawn’s homeworld is in danger, he’ll have to balance loyalty to the Emperor with loyalty to his people.

JADE WAR by Fonda Lee
Release Date: July 23rd, 2019
After being blown away by the Chinese-inspired fantasy drama JADE CITY, I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel, JADE WAR.  The No Peak clan is just barely hanging on to power in the capital city of the island nation of Kekon.  But now they’ll have to deal with outside threats as foreign nations look to encroach and get their hands on the jade that fuels the magic of this world.  I loved the 1950s-esque setting of this world, mid-century technology fused with martial arts fighting, and with the stakes escalating, I’m sure we’re in for quite a ride!