When I began this series, it was with the aim of listening to at least 2-3 audiobooks a month. I haven’t finished one single audiobook. This is the nature of lockdown – entering it’s 5th month in Kent today – I can’t concentrate on a single thing long enough to enjoy.
I’ve promised that’s going to change in April. I’ve spent my weight in gold on seven audiobooks this morning and when I’ve finished those, here are the UK YA audiobook releases I’m most looking forward to in April 2021.
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Release date: 13-04-21
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Summary
Dark, dangerous things happened around the Hollow sisters. Everybody knew it.
A seductive horror story from the extraordinary Krystal Sutherland.
The Hollow sisters - Vivi, Grey and Iris - are as seductively glamorous as they are mysterious. They have black eyes and hair as white as milk. They share the same birthday, spaced exactly two years apart. The Hollow sisters don't have friends - they don't need them. They move through the corridors like sharks, the other little fish parting around them, whispering behind their backs.
This one sounds deliciously creepy. I’m either going to love it, like Claire Legrand’s Sawkill Girls or I’m going to inexplicably be the only one to not love it, like Rory Power’s Wilder Girls.
Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet By Laekan Zea Kemp
Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
Release date: 06-04-21
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Summary
I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning story of first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong.
Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. But her mom and dad have different plans - leaving Pen to choose between disappointing her traditional Mexican-American parents or following her own path. When she confesses a secret she's been keeping, her world is sent into a tailspin. But then she meets a cute new hire at Nacho's who sees through her hard exterior and asks the questions she's been too afraid to ask herself.
This book sounds delicious, full stop. With it’s promise of culinary delights, I get a definite With Fire On High vibe and I suspect that like Acevedo’s books, this one will be best enjoyed on audiobook.
Pre-order Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
Release date: 20-04-21
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Summary
Trust no witch....
Iraya Adair has spent her life in a cell. Heir of an overthrown and magically-gifted dynasty, she was exiled from her home on the island nation of Aiyca when she was just a child. But every day brings her closer to freedom - and vengeance.
Jazmyne Cariot grew up dressed in gold, with stolen magic at her fingertips. Daughter of the self-crowned doyenne, her existence is a threat to her mother's rule. But unlike her sister, Jazmyne has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother's power.
Sworn enemies, the two witches enter a deadly alliance to take down the woman who threatens both their worlds.
But revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain - except the lengths Iraya and Jazmyne will go to win this game.
Two witches. One motive. And a very untrustworthy alliance..
This one is giving me strong Children of Blood and Bone vibes. I never could get into Children of Virtue and Vengeance so I’m hoping this will fill the slightly disappointing gap left by the Legacy of Orïsha series.
Pre-order Witches Steeped in Gold
The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur
Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 20-04-21
Publisher: Listening Library
Summary
Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur's The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep listeners guessing until the last word.
1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani's family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest near a gruesome crime scene.
Years later, Detective Min - Hwani's father - learns that 13 girls have recently disappeared from the same forest that nearly stole his daughters. He travels to their hometown on the island of Jeju to investigate...only to vanish as well.
Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village - and collides with her now estranged sister, Maewol - Hwani comes to realize that the answer could lie within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago.
This sounds very dark. I’ll be very interested to know if it has a Courtney Summers Sadie feel or more of a Rin Chupeco Girl From the Well feel. Then again, maybe we’ll be utterly surprised with a new and unique voice. Nevertheless this is on my watchlist, as well as every other bookworm in the country.
Pre-order The Forest of Stolen Girls
Way of the Argosi (Spellslinger #0.5) by Sebastien de Castell
Release date: 15-04-21
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Summary
The Alchemist meets The Three Musketeers - with card tricks. A brilliant origin story of adventure, wit and philosophy to enrapture devotees as well as newcomers to the Spellslinger series.
Ferius Parfax has a simple plan: kill every last inhabitant of the spell-gifted nation that destroyed her people, starting with the man who murdered her parents. Killing mages is a difficult and dangerous business, of course, but when she meets the inimitable and extraordinary Durrall Brown she discovers that physical strength is not the only way to defeat evil of all kinds.
So Ferius undertakes to study the ways of the Argosi: the loosely-knit tribe of tricksters known for getting the better of even the most powerful of spellcasters. But the Argosi have a price for their teachings, and by the time Ferius learns what it is, it may be too late.
Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.
The third book by Hot Key Books on this list. I don’t usually include books from series on this list unless I’ve read and loved the other books in the series. Nevertheless, this promises to be accessible to both novices and fans of the series and honestly? They had me at Guardians of the Galaxy and Ben Aaronovitch.
Click on any of the audiobook covers or links above to go straight to Amazon to pre-order. Alternatively, support local bookshops and visit the Addicted to Media YA Fiction Bookshop to see my recommendations. All links above are affiliate links and I will earn a small commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you.
