State of the ARC is a meme hosted by Avalinah’s Books in which we round up our ARCs and attempt to wrangle them into something approaching order. Sometimes it’s like herding cats.

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I had no new ARC approvals in April. Part of that was because I didn’t request any new titles, and part of that was due, I’m sure, to Covid-19 throwing the publishing industry into turmoil. I only have one request awaiting a response right now. It’s been waiting since the beginning of January. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll get a response on it before it comes out in July.

But anyway. Several of the release dates for my unread ARCs have been changed thanks to Covid. I can’t blame the publishers for that. When bookshops aren’t open, it’s hard to sell books.

Upcoming Releases:

• Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke
  YA Fantasy
  Expected publication date May 26, 2020, by Flux

Ren Kolins is a magic wielder in a land where magic has been banned for a century. She manages to scrape by through acts of thievery, gambling, and pit fighting. But when a rebel leader learns of her secret, he invites her to join his resistance. The caveat? She won’t see a single coin until the king is overthrown. On the opposite side, a band of warriors is searching for the rebel leader, and Andley Farre is determined to win the title of King’s Fang for herself. But time is running out for both sides, and when a young prince is pulled into the rebellion, Ren and the rebels must take the throne before war breaks out.

 

• The Court of Miracles (A Court of Miracles #1) by Kester Grant
  YA Fantasy
  Expected publication June 2, 2020, by Knopf Books for Young Readers

In 1828 Paris, the city is split between merciless royalty and the ring of nine criminal guilds who run the underworld from the Court of Miracles. Eponine (Nina) is a young cat burglar who steals from the rich by night and avoids her abusive father and protects her naive foster-sister, Cosette (Ettie) by day. But when Ettie catches the eye of the notorious leader of the Guild of Flesh, the Tiger, Nina vows to keep her sister safe. Her vow takes her to the glittering court of Versailles and may set off a war between the guilds.

 

• Mexican Gothic  by Silvia Moreno Garcia
  Fantasy/Gothic
  Expected Publication date June 30, 2020, by Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine Del Rey

After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin, Noemí goes to High Place, a mysterious mansion in the Mexican countryside. There, she meets her cousin’s husband, an alluring but dangerous stranger and his father, a patriarch who finds Noemí fascinating. The house itself seems to be affecting Noemí with dreams of blood and terror. Noemí’s only ally is the youngest son, a shy young man who seems to want to help Noemí, but may be holding secrets of his own. The deeper Noemí digs into the mysteries of High Place, the more seductive she finds it, but it may mean she’ll never leave.

 

• Lobizona (Wolves of No World #1) by Romina Garber
  YA Fantasy
  Expected publication date August 4, 2020, by Wednesday Books

Manuela Azul is an undocumented immigrant on the run from her father’s Argentine crime-family. Her life is necessarily small until her surrogate grandmother is attacked and her mother is arrested by ICE. Lifelong lies are exposed, and Manuela discovers a deeper world where her real heritage leads back to an ancient cursed city. There, she finds that not only is her immigrant status is illegal- her very existence is, too.

 

• Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles
  YA Fantasy
  Expected publication August 25, 2020, by Wednesday books

In a city of ice and ruin, daring magicians face off in a competition to find the next leader of the Conquering Circus. But they soon find themselves under threat from an unknown enemy. As the acts becoming more daring and more magicians disappear, three of the magicians must reckon with their pasts before they disappear forever, too.

 

 

• The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg
  Fantasy/LGBTQIA
  Expected publication September 4, 2020, by Tachyon Publications

Among the Khana people in the city of Iyar, women venture out in caravans for trading, while men remain behind in the city’s center to work as scholars. One man struggles to settle into the masculine world after spending years in the women’s world as a trader, mother, and grandmother. As his past catches up to him, he must choose between his new life and Uiziya, an assassin on her own quest to find her aunt, discover the final secret of her order, and challenge the evil ruler of Iyar.

 

 

• The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi
  Fantasy
  Expected publication date September 22, 2020, by Wednesday Books

Severin and his friends have succeeded in thwarting the Fallen House, but the cost was higher than they could have imagined. Now they must pick up the pieces and push forward, for Severin has an agenda he is obsessed with and has set his sights on an artifact that grants its user god-like powers. The search takes them all to wintry Russia, where secrets come to light and force them to face themselves and discover new depths to themselves.

 

• The Haunting of H.G. Wells by Robert Masello
  Fantasy
  Expected publication date October 1, 2020 by 47North

In 1914, the world is gripped by the Great War. There’s a story from the Western Front that St. George and a band of angels have descended from Heaven to fight with the British troops. But how can this possibly be true? Writer H.G. Wells is dispatched to find out the truth of the matter and finds himself in the midst of an eerie wasteland inhabited by the living, the dead, and those somewhere between. The unhappy souls trail Wells home to London, where he discovers a plot that could turn the tide of the war. Along with the love of his life, journalist and suffragette Rebecca West, Wells must do battle against diabolical forces to save his sanity– and the world.

 

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With forty-three total approvals and thirty-five posted reviews, I have a feedback ratio of 81%, which is the ratio that NetGalley recommends. Snazzy. I haven’t had a major desire to look for new books lately because I already have so many books I already own that I want to read, but I might go poking around later. We’ll see. NetGalley is fun and getting approvals is exciting, but I have so many unread books… It’s a balancing act.