Top 5 Wednesday – January 11th

Hello all and welcome to this weeks Top 5 Wednesday. This weeks topic is your top 5 most anticipated debut authors in 2017!

I am not going to lie, I had not planned on reading any debut authors this year. This is mainly because I have a ridiculous amount of Star Wars books that I want to get through, and since none of the Star Wars books that I have heard of are from debut authors I have not been interested.  I ended up googling debut author for 2017 as I was struggling to find any, so this list is composed those. I do hope to read their books though!

Note: These are in no particular order.

1. Towards A Secret Sky by Heather Maclean

Shortly after 17-year-old Maren Hamilton is orphaned and sent to live with grandparents she’s never met in Scotland, she receives an encrypted journal from her dead mother that makes her and everyone around her a target. It confirms that her parents were employed by a secret, international organization that’s now intent on recruiting her. As Maren works to unravel the clues left behind by her mother, a murderous madness sweeps through the local population, terrorizing her small town. Maren must decide if she’ll continue her parents’ fight or stay behind to save her friends.

With the help of Gavin, an otherworldly mercenary she’s not supposed to fall in love with, and Graham, a charming aristocrat who is entranced with her, Maren races against the clock and around the country from palatial estates with twisted labyrinths to famous cathedrals with booby-trapped subterranean crypts to stay ahead of the enemy and find a cure. Along the way, she discovers the great truth of love: that laying down your life for another isn’t as hard as watching them sacrifice everything for you.

Summary from Goodreads.

I love a good action-mystery book. Just plain mystery, unless written exceptionally well, I tend to find boring. But if you add in some action to balance the mystery then I am all for it.

2.  Cold Summer by Gwen Cole

Today, he’s a high school dropout with no future. 
Tomorrow, he’s a soldier in World War II.

Kale Jackson has spent years trying to control his time-traveling ability but hasn’t had much luck. One day he lives in 1945, fighting in the war as a sharpshooter and helplessly watching soldiers—friends—die. Then the next day, he’s back in the present, where WWII has bled into his modern life in the form of PTSD, straining his relationship with his father and the few friends he has left. Every day it becomes harder to hide his battle wounds, both physical and mental, from the past.

When the ex-girl-next-door, Harper, moves back to town, thoughts of what could be if only he had a normal life begin to haunt him. Harper reminds him of the person he was before the PTSD, which helps anchor him to the present. With practice, maybe Kale could remain in the present permanently and never step foot on a battlefield again. Maybe he can have the normal life he craves.

But then Harper finds Kale’s name in a historical article—and he’s listed as a casualty of the war. Kale knows now that he must learn to control his time-traveling ability to save himself and his chance at a life with Harper. Otherwise, he’ll be killed in a time where he doesn’t belong by a bullet that was never meant for him.

Summary from Goodreads.

I am not gonna lie, the cover drew me into this book, but the summary is what kept me. I find the idea of time-travel fascinating and with Kale having someone else’s life in the balance if he is unable to control his time-travelling ability, things are sure to get interesting.

3. Empress Of A Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

Empress
Rhee, also known as Crown Princess Rhiannon Ta’an, is the sole surviving heir to a powerful dynasty. She’ll stop at nothing to avenge her family and claim her throne.

Fugitive
Aly has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. But when he’s falsely accused of killing Rhee, he’s forced to prove his innocence to save his reputation – and his life.

Madman
With planets on the brink of war, Rhee and Aly are thrown together to confront a ruthless evil that threatens the fate of the entire galaxy.

A saga of vengeance, warfare, and the true meaning of legacy.

Summary from Goodreads.

I love how this is set over multiple planets, compared to just ruling over a few countries like they do here on Earth. Add in some science-fiction to anything is a surefire way to get my attention.

4. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Welcome to Caraval, where nothing is quite what it seems.

Scarlett has never left the tiny isle of Trisda, pining from afar for the wonder of Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show.

Caraval is Magic. Mystery. Adventure. And for Scarlett and her beloved sister Tella it represents freedom and an escape from their ruthless, abusive father.

When the sisters’ long-awaited invitations to Caraval finally arrive, it seems their dreams have come true. But no sooner have they arrived than Tella vanishes, kidnapped by the show’s mastermind organiser, Legend.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But nonetheless she quickly becomes enmeshed in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak. And real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over, and her sister disappears forever.

Summary from Goodreads.

I am not sure what, but something about this just intrigues me. I mean sure it sounds cliche that your dreams are not as they seem, but if it ends up being deadly like this sounds then their must be something larger at play than just a show.

5. Project Emergence by Jamie Zakian

An ancient Hopi myth says people arrived on tiny silver pods that fell from the sky. 

But the truth is far more terrifying. 

Two-hundred fifty-eight teens are sent from a dying Earth to a terraformed Mars as part of the Emergence Program, mankind’s last hope before solar flares finish off their planet and species. Among the brave pioneers are sixteen-year-old Joey Westen and her twin brother, Jesse.

After only minutes in space, something triggers a total ship lock down. 

With the help of their roommates, the Matsuda twins (notorious hackers and shady secret-keepers), Joey and Jesse stumble onto an extremist plot to sabotage the Emergence Program.

But Joey and Jesse didn’t travel to the deepest pits of space and leave their mother behind to be picked off in a high-tech tin can. They’ll lie, hack, and even kill to survive the voyage and make it to Mars.

Summary from Goodreads.

A trip to Mars. Sabotage. What more can I say?

So those are the debut authors that I am looking forwards to in 2017! Are you doing Top 5 Wednesday? If so link to your post in the comments! It is always interesting how different everyone’s tastes are! Click here to go to the Goodreads page for Top 5 Wednesday and click here to go to my archive page for all of my Top 5 Wednesday posts.

Until next Wednesday, Danielle.

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