Having Looked Back at 2013 yesterday, it is now time to look forward to 2014 and what I am planning for the blog. My first goal is to get back to posting two reviews a week, but we shall see how that goes. I will also be holding a giveaway in spring (fingers crossed) for some Holly Black books (one of which is signed) and a bit of swag. The Flutterby Room will also be celebrating its third birthday in March, and I might do something to celebrate that.

To tie in with last years Looking Forward to 2013 post, I want to read in 2014. The top ten list will be made up of a mixture of already published and waiting to be published books in no particular order. The blurbs will either be from the back of the book (because I’ve already have a copy) or from Goodreads. The book covers will all be from Goodreads. Any publication dates have been taken from the Amazon UK website. So without further ado…

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

An elite academy with the darkest of secrets.
A dancer with talent she never wanted.
A legacy she can’t escape.

Vanessa Adler is dancing in her sister’s footsteps as a student at the exclusive New York Ballet Academy. Margaret Adler disappeared three years ago and Vanessa is searching for answers.

Dance is in Vanessa’s blood, in her soul – and perhaps it holds the key to the mystery. But the academy is a sinister place, plagued by fierce rivalry and scandal. Finding her sister is going to be dangerous, and the sexy, charismatic Zeppelin Gray may lead her far beyond the truth she was looking for . . .

The Hollows Insider by Kim Harrison (adult)

ENTER THE WORLD OF THE HOLLOWS LIKE NEVER BEFORE!

In the Hollows, the supernatural Inderlander rule, and humanity must abide by their conventions, or else.

To survive among vampires, witches, Weres, gargoyles, trolls, fairies, and banshees – to say nothing of demons – humanity needs a guide. And now, written by Kim Harrison herself, here is an insider’s look at the supernatual world of the Hollows, from an overarching new story to character profiles, maps, spell guides, charm recipes, secret correspondence from elusive Trent Kalamack, and much more.

One misfired spell that burned off his hair is all it took to send investigative reporter Devin Crossman on a mission to uncover all the secrets of Rachel Morgan and expose them to the world.

Collected here are all his notebook entries and a treasure trove of evidence, including maps, species profiles, magic spells, documents from Inderland Security, Takata’s song lyrics, Betty Bob’s recipes, Ley Line Charms, entries from the Were Registry, articles from The Hollows Gazette, and many more documents that cast light into regions of the Hollows that have never been revealed.

But Crossman’s one-man war has not gone unnoticed . . .

Shadowlark by Meagan Spooner

“They only come at night,
when the Star fades”

Lark Ainsley escapes the Iron Wood to search for her brother, only to find herself captured and imprisoned in an underground metropolis.

Powerful magic protects the city of Lethe, providing sanctuary from the Empty Ones, monsters who hunger for human flesh.

But this magic comes at a terrible price, and the city lives in fear of their leader Prometheus and his gang of Eagles.

Danger lies in the shadows, and Lark must find the light . . .

The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison (adult)
Expected publication: 25th February 2014

Witch and day-walking demon Rachel Morgan has managed to save the demonic ever after from shrinking, but at a high cost. Now strange magic is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong, and the truce between the races, between Inderlander and human, is shattering.

Rachel must stop the occurrences before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and it becomes all-out supernatural war. However, the only way to do so is through the ancient elven wild magic, which carries its own perils.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Expected publication: 30th January 2014.

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop (adult)
Expected publication: 4th March 2014.

After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside’s shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi
Expected publication: 6th February 2014.

The earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi’s “masterpiece” Under the Never Sky trilogy and sequel to the New York Times bestselling Through the Ever Night (Examiner.com).

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it’s time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won’t even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn’t just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he’s also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her stunning Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stefvater

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same.

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life.

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…

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Delirium by Lauren Oliver

They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I’ve always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed. Now, I’d rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie.

There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it.

Then, at last, they found the cure.

Archangel’s Legion by Nalini Singh (adult)

Angels are falling from the sky in New York, struck down by a vicious, unknown force.

Vampires are dying, impossibly, of disease.

Guild hunter Elena Deveraux and the Archangel Raphael must discover the source of the wave of death before it engulfs their city and their people, leaving New York a ruin and Raphael’s Tower under siege by enemy archangels.

Yet even as they fight desperately to save the city, an even darker force is stirring, its chill eyes trained on New York . . . and on Raphael. Rivers of crimson and nightmares given flesh, the world will never be the same again . . .

So that was my 2014 reading list. What books are you definitely planning on reading this year? Let me know in the comments, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on my picks.