Happy Winter Solstice to all! Strictly speaking, the solstice marks the official beginning of another season. In broader terms, the winter solstice marks yet another thing - the beginning of a new year being mere days away. And with the new year come the new book releases. So far, 2014 has seen a lot of our favorite series end (with trumpets and fireworks, more often than not), but it has also marked the inception of a whole array of new, gripping reads which are sure to keep us occupied, on the edge of our seats (and occasionally crying for the next book in said series) for years to come.

So in honor of the new year being just around the corner, this Monday we're choosing our most anticipated book releases for 2015 - from Adult Fantasy to New Adult Romance, and from Middle Grade Children's Lit to Young Adult Contemporary reads. We want it all. And we want it now. (You know which meme we're thinking of here.)













Of course I can't wait for this book. I'm so damn excited that I might pee. The Thoughtless series is one of my favourite book series and we get the chance to read the first book from Kellan's point of view. Yes! If you've not read the series yet, you really should. I highly recommend it.
Release date: 24th February 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK





This book has no name yet but this book is all about Griffin. I absolutely adore Griffin, in his shameless and hilarious glory! I'm super excited about reading this, I'm certainly interested to see where S.C takes this one, whether it'll be before Thoughtless, mid-series or after the epilogue. Whatever the book's about, I'll be reading it. I'll read anything S.C writes about these amazing characters. Hurry up, 2015!
Release date: November 2015
Pre-order: None.



It's a Colleen Hoover book - of course I can't wait to read this! I will read everything she writes. There's not a book she's written that I've not loved. One of my favourite authors. She writes so many books and so quickly so I can see a lot of incredible stories coming from her next year.
Release date: 10th March 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK




I loved the first book, The Murder Complex, so I'm dying to know what happens in the next book. Lindsay Cumming's writing flows really well and the story is very gripping, the characters I'm very eager to see where they end up. I hope they're okay, but in this world... it's not looking good. Fingers crossed! This book comes out a day after my birthday so it's a good belated birthday present for me. 
Release date: 21st April 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK






We've already done a post regarding the announcement from Kiera Cass, this is another book from the Selection series! If you've read the series then you'll likely know about this but if not, you should give the series a go. It's really good and this book will be about a new character in her own selection - the child of two characters from the original Selection series. Exciting stuff!
Release date: 5th May 2015
Pre-order: Amazon USAmazon UK


6. Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher


Yep. Another Colleen Hoover book. I can't help it, she's amazing! Anyway, this book is out early 2015 and it's written by two authors - Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher. Two great authors putting a story together which, we all know, will be a fantastic book. I'll be pre-ordering this, for sure.
Release date: 11th January 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK



This is the last book in the Angelfall series and I'm definitely looking forward to this one. It was the first angel book that I read and it's such a fantastic story. I need to know what happens next, it's been a long wait but it'll certainly be worth it. There's no cover yet so we'll reveal that when we get one from Susan. 
Release date: 12th May 2015
Pre-order: Amazon USAmazon UK





This is a companion novel to The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend. As you all know, I absolutely adore that book so being able to read from the world of the DUFF again makes me so happy! It's about Wesley's sister, Amy, so that'll be interesting. Certainly looking foreard to seeing where Kody takes this. Also, more Wesley? Yes please!
Release date: 28th April 20015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK



I've not known about this book long but I had to add it onto m TBR. It sounds really interesting, it's got a dark theme of suicide but I think the mysteries, the new romance/friendships and revelations of the past will make it a good read. Can't wait!
Release date: 29th January 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK





This book is a new series by Rick Riordan, the wonderful author who penned the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series. I'm not entirely sure if this is related to the Percy Jackson series, but considering 'Chase' is the surname of the main protagonist, I'm wondering if it's a relative of Annabeth. Curious...
I will read this one though. I like Rick's writing and his very imaginative mind so I'll be giving this one a go.
Release date: 6th October 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK













If my raves reviews weren't a dead giveaway in and of themselves, the official confirmation is in. I pledge my eternal allegiance to The Raven Cycle series. It's good to pledge allegiance to book series, especially those which span over three books (in this case, four), so I'm in luck. With the third book having just come out (and justified all our collective expectations), the wait for this final release is going to be torturous and lengthy, but ultimately worth it. 
Release date: November 2015
Pre-order: TBA





Thoughtful is one of those unexpected treats that 2015 is going to bring. Having been announced, then seemingly unannounced, then due to be released in 2014 and then in 2015, it's no surprise that many were beginning to question if this particular book would ever see the light of day. Now that we have a release date set in stone, pre-order options and plenty of snippets from the book, it's (relatively) safe to cry hoorah. Following the complete Thoughtless trilogy, Thoughtful is a retelling of the first book in the series from Kellan Kyle's point of view. And while I'm not a big fan of retellings or spinoffs, this is an exception to every rule.
Release date: 24th February 2015
Pre-order: Amazon USAmazon UK




The Book of Ivy was a deliciously accidental find, and a book I dangled in front of myself like a carrot on a stick while participating in NaNoWriMo this November. If I won, I'd buy myself The Book of Ivy. I won. And I bought myself The Book of Ivy. I expected nothing more than a slightly different version of The Selection with better worldbuilding. What I got instead was a shock upon shock upon shock, until I was gripping my Kindle feverishly, anxious with each pageturn, waiting for a resolution to a messy situation which... never came. Because it's a duology. And given how the first book ended - not on a cliffhanger per se, but certainly in a flurry of noise, mess and tears - the wait for this conclusion to the duology will be among the most torturous waits of the following year.
Release date: November 3rd 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK




There's that title. There's that cover! And then there's "a deadly race across Europe" mentioned in the first paragraph of the synopsis. And I'm sold. It's a good thing this book is set to come out in January, because I don't think a long wait would be something I would manage (at least not gracefully). "Forbidden love and code-breaking, masked balls and explosions, destiny and dark secrets collide in this romantic thriller". TAKE MY HEART, JUST TAKE IT!
Release date: January 13th 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK



Natalie has already covered Colleen Hoover's early 2015 releases, so I've opted for the latter one. November Nine is a curious little book. It's had a synopsis for so long, we mistakenly marked it as a 2014 release last year. It's been announced so long ago that it's made for a tantalizing promise just out of reach for so many months, we've lost track. And you'll never guess the date November Nine is due to come out...
Release date: November 9th, 2015
Pre-order: TBA





Every now and then, I break up dramatic, action-packed series with a book that's sure to make me laugh and release the tension which its predecessors have built up. Normally I'm forced to resort to a contemporary read to get a good laugh - whether I'm in the mood for contemporary or not. Rebel Belle was therefore a refreshing surprise - its genre (fantasy) leading your mind in one direction and its cover (pink) leading you in another. Neither of the two included the incredibly good time full of laughter and smiles I had while reading the book. And now the sequel is finally on the horizon. (The fact is that 2015 just sounds so far away when it's 2014. But now that it's just around the corner... come to me, sequel!)
Release date: April 7th 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK





Tahereh Mafi is an auto-buy author for me (which may or may not be the subject of next week's top 10). I will buy absolutely anything she ever publishes, from now until the end of time. Possibly. Probably.
Absolutely.
But Tahereh Mafi is more than an auto-buy author - her way with words and her unique perspective of things makes her an author whose work I'm sure I'll love before I even get my hands on it. This is normally the sort of statement that only raises an author's tension and trepidation, but really. She can do no wrong. This time with Middle-Grade rather than YA, Tahereh is readying herself to blow my world to smithereens once again.
Release date: Late 2015
Pre-order: TBA




Choosing A Darker Shade of Magic for this list might constitute cheating. This is good, because I've fallen into a pattern of cheating on at least one of my picks each Monday for our Top 10 lists. The reason A Darker Shade of Magic might be cheating is that I've received an ARC from MacMillan already - in the fall of 2014 - and I've read this book. I am also not allowed to divulge any information or review it until February, so... sincerest apologies to all who are as excited about Victoria Schwab's new adult fantasy series as I was until recently. We're in the same boat, really. Now I'm excited for the sequel. From The Archived to Vicious, Victoria can do no wrong in my eyes.
Release date: February 24th 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK





There's no need to go into Patrick Ness's brilliance or his previous works. There's no need to go into expectations for his future work. I'll merely share the quote from this upcoming release:

“Not everyone has to be the Chosen One. Not everyone has to be the guy who saves the world. Most people just have to live their lives the best they can … All the while knowing that the world makes no sense but trying to find a way to be happy anyway.”


What if you lived in a world a lot like a YA novel? Where people you know have already battled vampires and zombies and soul-eating ghosts and whatever this new thing turns out to be? What if you just want to go to prom and graduate before someone goes and blows up the high school again?"


That is all.
Release date: August 28th 2015
Pre-order: Amazon US, Amazon UK




It's an anthology. Of YA horror. Featuring April Genevieve Tucholke. And Kendare Blake. And Marie Lu. And Leigh Bardugo. And Megan Shepherd. Among others. And it's called Slasher Girls & Monster Boys.
I have nothing more to say.
Release date: 2015
Pre-order: TBA







And that's a wrap on our end. As far as we're concerned, it's your turn. What are some of your most anticipated 2015 releases? (No, really, tell us, we're keeping a list which we'll eventually post here on the blog, in chronological order.) Did you find some new ones to look forward to on this list, or do you have a top 10 of your own? Leave us a comment below, or find us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook