The November of YA – 10 Most Anticipated Releases (2019)

Looking for a book to pick up this November? You’re in luck. November is a doozy when it comes to new releases.

November — or the November of YA releases, as I like to call it — is that time of year when the publishing gods release upon us a flood of the most exquisite new books. Nevermore so than during the weeks leading up to the holidays is the feeling of a trip to the bookstore more akin to that of being a kid in a candy store. We find ourselves spoiled for choice in stories, in genres, in artfully designed covers. And because there are holiday wish lists to be made, we do not despair at all we cannot afford as we place titles onto wish lists and gently shove significant others, siblings, and parentals toward the titles we desire (nay, need for our lives to be complete).

So whip out those wish lusts lists and scroll down!

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black 

The Folk of the Air trilogy conclusion.

Cover your ears while I *squeeeeeal.* Okay, it’s safe again. Black’s like my story Yoda. Meaning, she tells a story; I listen. The Folk of Air trilogy has been no exception. Disclaimer, I have yet to read The Wicked King. A bookish birdie whispered to me that the ending’s quite the shove off a cliff. Ya know, in a good way. But still, there are only so many days I can spend clinging on to a ledge. I’m just not that strong. And so I’m planning to make my read of The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing a mini-vacation. Remember, there’s also a novella, The Lost Sisters, which is set as book #1.5 in the series.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power. 

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics. 

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity… 

Releases November 19th.

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

Book one in the Camelot Rising series.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of White’s (And I Darken, Slayer, etc.). The Guinevere Deception is a fresh twist on the Arthurian legend with diversity and feminist flair in spades and top of my tbr.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution–send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name–and her true identity–is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot. 

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old–including Arthur’s own family–demand things continue as they have been, and the new–those drawn by the dream of Camelot–fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur’s knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

Releases November 5th.

The How & The Why by Cynthia Hand

A contemporary novel about an adopted teen’s search for her birth mother that explores family ties, from the co-author of historical reimagining My Lady Jane, etc.

Today Melly had us writing letters to our babies…

Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for. They’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—except maybe the one thing she wants. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.

But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.

Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who gave her up for adoption, this voice-driven narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

Releases November 5th.

Add The How & the Why to your Goodreads list.

The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Finale installment in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy.

The hype is so real for this series, and I believe deservedly so. Neal Shusterman is a pro and one of my faves since Challenger Deep. Also, books one and two are sitting on my tbr, patiently (screaming at me) to be read. And so they will be.

Dictators, prophets, and tensions rise.

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

It seems like nothing stands between Scythe Goddard and absolute dominion over the world scythedom. With the silence of the Thunderhead and the reverberations of the Great Resonance still shaking the earth to its core, the question remains: Is there anyone left who can stop him?

The answer lies in the Tone, the Toll, and the Thunder.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested, and old friends are brought back from the dead.

Releases November 5th.

Add The Toll to your Goodreads list.

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

Spooky Season may be over, but that doesn’t mean my lust of supernatural thrillers is, and Winterwood promises to be an addictive read! An added bonus for fans of Ernshaw’s The Wicked Deep, Winterwood is set in the same universe.

Be careful of the dark, dark wood . . .

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing.

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

Releases November 5th.

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Cycle series spinoff. Book #1 in the Dreamer series.

Inhale on one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Hold breath for three. Exhale for five. This is not a drill. Come November 5th, The Raven Cycle series will finally have its long-awaited spinoff! Call Down the Hawk is book one in the Dreamer series, and set to center around Raven Boy, Ronan Lynch.

The dreamers walk among us . . . and so do the dreamed. Those who dream cannot stop dreaming – they can only try to control it. Those who are dreamed cannot have their own lives – they will sleep forever if their dreamers die.

And then there are those who are drawn to the dreamers. To use them. To trap them. To kill them before their dreams destroy us all.

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.

Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it. 

Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer . . . and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed. . . .

Releases November 5th.

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

Conclusion to the Renegades trilogy.

Meyer is someone for me who consistently produces binge-worthy reads. The Renegades trilogy is another trilogy where I’m waiting for book three to be released before diving into all three. Books one and two are already hanging out on my shelves.

All’s fair in love and anarchy…

You can’t wear a mask forever. Love and Anarchy won’t allow it. With their alter egos at war, their allies at each other’s throats and their feelings for one another growing, Nova and Adrian battle to keep their secret identities under wraps as their greatest fears are realized.

Anarchy is once again heading for Gatlon City, and this time it may not survive.

Releases November 5th.

Add Supernova to your Goodreads list.

Tears of Frost by Bree Barton

Book #2 in the Heart of Thorns trilogy.

A dark fantasy read with strong feminist themes, rich with magic and the lure of power.

Mia Rose is back ….  Her memories are hazy, her body numb—but she won’t stop searching. Her only hope to save the boy she loves and the sister who destroyed her is to find the mother she can never forgive.

Pilar is on a hunt of her own. Betrayed by her mother, and plagued by a painful secret, she’s determined to seek out the only person who can exact revenge. All goes according to plan… until she collides with Prince Quin, the boy whose sister she killed.

As Mia, Pilar, and Quin forge dangerous new alliances, they are bewitched by the snow kingdom’s promise of freedom and opportunity. But with the winter solstice drawing near, they must confront the truth beneath the glimmering ice, as lines between friend, foe, and lover vanish like snowflakes on a flame.

Releases November 5th.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky by Mackenzie Lee

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue novella. Montague Siblings #1.5.

It’s easy to get swept away in the world of Monty (main character in The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue). He’s devilishly charming and then just plain devilish. His actions are relatable, his flaws plenty, and for a moment there, we wait with bated breath, wondering whether his redeeming qualities will kick into high gear and save him. The following is not an official synopsis to keep things spoiler-free.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky picks off where The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue left off. Which is totally yay for us cause it gives us a whole novella’s worth more of Monty and Percy.

If you haven’t read The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue yet, you’ll need to read that one first — and you should, it’s a great historical YA that has a distinctly contemporary feel. So if historical reads aren’t typically your thing, you’ll very likely still enjoy this one. And it’s sequel, too, The Lady’s Guide to Piracy and Petticoats (told from the perspective of Percy’s sister). Oh, and just, by the by, there’s a whole new adventure to look forward to coming summer 2020, The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks.

Releases November 26th.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

A story about stories from the author of The Night Circus. The Starless Sea is not a YA title, but Morgenstern gained such a fierce following among young-adult readers with her debut titles that her newest work (seven years after the first) had to be included.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues–a bee, a key, and a sword–that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden far below the surface of the earth. 

What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians–it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction. 

Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose–in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

Releases November 5th.

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Which books will you be picking up this November?