Hotly Anticipated Reads for 2012: Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury are one of my favourite publishers of historical fiction, plus they can also boast of publishing both Alyxandra Harvey and Carrie Jones who are two authors I absolutely love!  If that wasn't enough they're also the home of Harry Potter!   I'm really excited about what they have in store for 2012 which looks like being yet another stellar year.

All links go to Goodreads so that you can add any (or all) of these titles to your wishlist too!

Final cover artwork for all these titles isn't yet available but there's lots to look forward to.

Fracture by Megan Miranda, published on 5th January 2012

By the time seventeen-year-old Delaney Maxwell is pulled out of the icy waters of a frozen lake, her heart has stopped beating. She is in a coma and officially dead. But Delaney pulls through. How? Doctors are mystified. Outwardly she has completely recovered. But Delaney knows something is very wrong. Pulled by sensations she can't control, she finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her brain predicting death or causing it? Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who lost his whole family in a car accident and emerged from a coma with the same powers as Delaney. At last she's found a kindred spirit who'll understand what she's going through. But Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature - or something much more frightening?

Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey, published on 5th January 2012

For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won't comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds. The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife, Eloise's aunt, Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, Eloise must place her trust in Lucas, her handsome protector, and Strahan's mysterious son, Eldric, and forge alliances with other Fae in a dangerous attempt to free Antonia for ever.

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan, published on 5th January 2012

Armed with a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother head for England. Life is lonely for Kasienka. At home her mother's heart is breaking and at school friends are scarce. But when someone special swims into her life, Kasienka learns that there might be more than one way for her to stay afloat. The Weight of Water is a startlingly original piece of fiction; most simply a brilliant coming of age story, it also tackles the alienation experienced by many young immigrants. Moving, unsentimental and utterly page-turning, we meet and share the experiences of a remarkable girl who shows us how quiet courage prevails.

In Darkness by Nick Lake, published on 5th January 2012

In darkness, I count my blessings like Manman taught me.One: I am alive. Two: there is no two. In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, a boy is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital, thirsty, terrified and alone. Shorty is a child of the slums, a teenage boy who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and who has been inexorably drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule Site Soley; men who dole out money with one hand and death with the other. But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that blazes inside him and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost seven years ago. And he is marked. Marked in a way that links him to Toussaint l'Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who led the slave revolt and faced down Napoleon to force the French out of Haiti two hundred years ago. As he grows weaker, Shorty relives the journey that took him to the hospital, with a bullet wound in his arm. In his visions and memories he hopes to find the strength to survive - perhaps then Shorty and Toussaint can find a way to be free ...

This is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees, published on 2nd February 2012

Everyone says that Caro is bad ...but Jamie can't help himself. He thinks of her night and day and can't believe that she wants to be his girlfriend. Gorgeous, impulsive and unconventional, she is totally different to all the other girls he knows. His sister, Martha, hates her. Jamie doesn't know why, but there's no way he's going to take any notice of her warnings to stay away from Caro. But as Jamie falls deeper and deeper under her spell, he realises there is more to Caro - much more. There are the times when she disappears and doesn't get in touch, the small scars on her wrists, her talk about revolutions and taking action, not to mention the rumours he hears about the other men in her life. And then always in the background there is Rob, Jamie's older brother, back from Afghanistan and traumatised after having his leg smashed to bits there. Jamie wants to help him, but Rob seems to be living in a world of his own and is increasingly difficult to reach. With Caro, the summer should have been perfect ...but that isn't how things work out in real life, and Jamie is going to find out the hard way.

Bringing the Summer by Julia Green, published on 10th May 2012

It's the lazy end of summer and Freya is about to start her A levels. Her brother Joe died a year ago, but she is slowly coming to terms with his death. She is beginning to feel ready for something new - a change. And then a railway accident brings her by chance into contact with the gorgeous Gabe. Freya is drawn not just to Gabe himself and his blond good looks, but everything about him, including his large, shambolic, warm and loving family, which seems to Freya so different to her own family of three. And then Gabe's clearly troubled older brother makes it clear he is interested in Freya - and Freya has some decisions to make about what she really wants.

Endure by Carrie Jones, published on 10th May 2012

Zara is back from Valhalla after successfully rescuing Nick. Bedford needs their best warrior now more than ever, as the evil pixie regime is causing mass destruction and chaos everywhere. Though Nick's job is clear, Zara's role is a lot more uncertain. She's not just fighting for her friends - she's also a pixie queen. And to align her team of pixies with the humans she loves so much will not be as easy as she hopes. Especially since she can't even reconcile her growing feelings for her pixie king ...