On Saturday, I attended Raincoast Books's TeensRead Preview of their highly anticipated Fall 2016 titles! The lovely event was hosted by Jenny from Ampersand Inc. and Jenn from Lost in a Great Book at the Toronto Public Library, where we were greeted with yummy picnic-themed snacks and a swag bag filled with ARCs, posters and buttons.

We connected via Google Hangout to the amazing Raincoast Books team over at the Vancouver Public Library, where they were also hosting the Fall Preview, and got to hear all the details about the upcoming YA and MG titles! Canadian author Eileen Cook also talked to us about her upcoming YA psychological thriller WITH MALICE, and her next writing project! (It involves tarot cards and fake psychics! Sounds cool, right?!)

Here are some of the books that especially caught my attention at the event! 

Title: Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas #1)
Author: Zoraida Córdova 
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
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Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation...and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can't trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland...

I've actually had my eye on Zoraida Córdova's Labyrinth Lost for quite some time. I love that we're finally starting to see more diverse books because Labyrinth Lost is a fantasy novel inspired by Latin American traditions!! And look at its stunning cover!! 

Title: Chasing Truth
Author: Julie Cross
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
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The bestselling author of Whatever Life Throws at You kicks off a brand-new series perfect for fans of Ally Carter or Robin Benway.
 
Three months after the scandal that rocked the nation—the suicide of Simon, the teenage son of a California senator—seventeen-year-old Eleanor Ames is left wondering if abandoning her con-artist family for the private school life was worth it. Not only was Simon her date to homecoming, he was also one of the few people at school who didn’t seem like a phony. And she can spot a phony a mile away. Just when things are beginning to return to normal, Miles Beckett moves into her apartment building, rides her bus to school, and won’t stop asking questions about Simon’s death.

The thing is…Ellie has questions too. Not only about Simon, but about the new kid who seems to be here for the sole purpose of dredging up a ghost. Can Ellie uncover what happened to Simon without falling in too deep with Miles?

Julie Cross's Chasing Truth was pitched for fans of Veronica Mars! Need I say more?

Title: Vassa in the Night
Author: Sarah Porter
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen
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In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now―but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters―and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair….

Inspired by the Russian folktale “Vassilissa the Beautiful” and her years of experience teaching creative writing to students in New York City public schools, acclaimed author Sarah Porter weaves a dark yet hopeful tale about a young girl’s search for home, love, and belonging.

If you haven't already heard about Sarah Porter's Vassa in the Night, you certainly will be in the next coming months! The Raincoast Books team said everyone was buzzing about this one in their office, and I'm sure it will be getting a lot more hype soon with its extensive marketing campaign.

Title: The Lovely Reckless
Author: Kami Garcia
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Imprint
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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia, a contemporary romance full of loss, love and redemption…

Seventeen year-old Frankie Devereux would do anything to forget the past. Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s death, she lives her life by one dangerous rule: nothing matters. At least, that’s what Frankie tells herself after a reckless mistake forces her to leave her privileged life in the Heights to move in with her dad—an undercover cop. She transfers to public school in the Downs, where fistfights in the halls don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football.

Marco Leone is the fastest street racer in the Downs. Tough, sexy, and hypnotic, he makes it impossible for Frankie to ignore him…and how he makes her feel. But the risks Marco takes for his family could have devastating consequences for them both. When Frankie discovers his secret, she has to make a choice. Will she let the pain of the past determine her future? Or will she risk what little she has left to follow her heart?

Your own heart will race with each page turn of this heart-stopping star-crossed love story.

I've heard about The Lovely Reckless from Kami Garcia's author friends on Twitter more than a few times, yet it somehow slipped my mind what the book was actually about. After hearing more about it at the preview, I'm definitely paying more attention to The Lovely Reckless now! Star-crossed romance, a sexy street racer, and Fast and the Furious vibes? Umm... YES, PLEASE!!

Title: One Was Lost
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
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Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Are they labels or a warning? The answer could cost Sera everything.

Murder, justice, and revenge were so not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior camping trip. After all, hiking through the woods is supposed to be safe and uneventful.

Then one morning the group wakes up groggy, confused, and with words scrawled on their wrists: Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Their supplies? Destroyed. Half their group? Gone. Their chaperone? Unconscious. Worst of all, they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them.

Suddenly it's clear; they're being hunted. And with the only positive word on her wrist, Sera falls under suspicion…   

I love reading YA thrillers that leave you on edge, absolutely suspicious of everyone, and Natalie D. Richards's One Was Lost definitely fits that description!

Title: Heartless
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release Date: November 8, 2016
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
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Long before she was the terror of Wonderland―the infamous Queen of Hearts―she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 

ALERT: NEW MARISSA MEYER BOOK THIS FALL!!!!!!

Title: Ever the Hunted (Clash of Kingdoms #1)
Author: Erin Summerill
Release Date: December 27, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
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Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, a legendary bounty hunter-that is, until her father is murdered. The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father's former apprentice. The only friend she's ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart.
 
She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a force to be reckoned with.

Why is the release date so far away for Erin Summerill's YA debut Ever the Hunted? Dangerous quests, magic, murder and mayhem... I neeeed it! 

Thanks so much again to Raincoast Books, Jenny, and Jenn for hosting another amazing preview event for book bloggers! It was a fun bookish afternoon for everyone, and my TBR just got a lot longer with new YA books to yearn reading later this year.