Most Exciting Titles Found at BEA!

I was lucky enough to go to BEA for the second year in a row. I did much better with choosing books that sounded interesting and not accepting as many books that I was uncertain about! I still have a lot of books sitting unread from last year *hides* (I WILL get to them...eventually...), so I didn't want to take as many "unknown" titles this time around unless they sounded intriguing.

Kat will also be sharing a post with the titles that most intrigued us, and the two of us are putting together another fun post as well. So there are still more goodies to come! (Sorry it hasn't all been sooner. BEA drained us, and then it was back to work! Even my "days off" this week haven't truly been days off!)

For my post, I'm splitting things into four sections:

Featured swag bag titles, books that I hadn't heard of before BEA, books I was excited about that I managed to snag on the floor, and books that I was lucky enough to get while meeting the author!

I'd also like to point out my previous BEA recap posts if you missed them:

PREVIEW DAY

(Where we went to the awesome Teen Author Carnival and show off some great BEA floor advertising!)

DAY ONE

(Where I attended a lovely Breakfast with Egmont, Happy Hour with Macmillan, and met some authors that made everything in the world seem sparkly and perfect!)

DAY TWO

(Where we attended a fun Spencer Hill Press breakfast and had a great time at the Books of Wonder panel/signing)

DAY THREE

(Where I went to a great breakfast at the Bloomsbury publishing house and we experienced the first year of Book Con!)

***A lot of the above links have attached pictures. More pictures can be found on our Pinterest board!***

SWAG BAG BOOKS:

At the various publisher events I was lucky enough to attend during BEA, I was given lovely swag bags full of awesome goodies! I'd like to take a minute to feature the titles I was given since I may not review them all in a timely fashion:

Thank you to Bloomsbury for HEIR OF FIRE by Sarah J. Maas (9/2/14), THE BONE SEASON by Samantha Shannon, and THURSDAYS WITH THE CROWN by Jessica Day George (10/7/14). They came in an awesome Celaena tote bag that is now my precious! Bloomsbury also kindly allowed us to have the first book in both series if we didn't already have it, so I received TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE as well. When Jessica Day George was signing the books and heard I hadn't started reading the series, she requested that I also get a copy of WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER, so now I can devour the entire series!

Thank you to Macmillan for A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT by Sandy Hall (8/26/14) from the Swoon Reads line and a fun Macmillan stylus! I've actually been needing a stylus that's better than the cheap one I have, but...I haven't wanted to spend the money for a better one. Now I have one with a nice weight that I can't wait to use! ^_^

Egmont celebrated its fifth year anniversary by bringing five authors to breakfast! They gave us fun commemorative totes with the names of all their authors (even yet-to-be-published ones!) and filled the bag with KILL ME SOFTLY by Sarah Cross, BZRK by Michael Grant, FAMILY by Micol Ostow (not pictured because I've given it to Kat to R&R...it's more up her alley!), and H.O.R.S.E. by Christopher Myers (Not pictured because I've shared it with my niece!).

At the Spencer Hill Breakfast, we received fun swag from Megan Whitmer, Kelly Hashway, Rachel Harris, Kelsey Macke, and Jennifer L. Armentrout. That's where the pictured pins came from, but I gave everything else to a friend because it makes a fun one-of-a-kind gift!

Thank you to everyone for putting together such lovely, wonderful events! I loved meeting all of the publicists I work with, other team members, talented authors, and fellow bloggers, librarians, etc. at these events!

"NEW TO ME" TITLES

*click the date to go to Goodreads!

BEHIND THE SCENES by Dahlia Adler (6/24/14): At the Macmillan Happy Hour, someone mentioned that if you like OPEN ROAD SUMMER by Emery Lord, you'll also like this older, New Adult novel with similarities. That intrigued me immediately because I loved OPEN ROAD SUMMER! (Psst, you can still enter to win a copy from Bloomsbury! Go enter! Right now!!!)

BELZHAR by Meg Wolitzer (9/30/14): A lot of people were buzzing about this one at BEA! It's a retelling of THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath, only in a new, twisty way. Even the title is a fun pun! I was even more intrigued after hearing Meg Wolitzer speak at a panel during BEA.

FAMOUS IN LOVE by Rebecca Serle (10/21/14): I've heard such good things about Rebecca Serle, but I've never read her, and never found a book that really made me want to. But I have to admit, I have a soft spot for books with Cinderella-esque stories, such as one where a girl gets an acting jobs that makes her a sudden celebrity. It reminds me of the rise to fame recently experienced by Jennifer Lawrence and Kristen Stewart. It's the side of fame we don't see in OPEN ROAD SUMMER. We roomed with Katie from Katie's Book Blog, and she had an extra copy that she shared with me!

MARTYR by A. R. Kahler (10/14/14): I was looking at the BEA Schedule for Spencer Hill Press to see what they were featuring, and thought MARTYR sounded like a great fantasy series. He was signing at the same time as FOLLOW ME THROUGH DARKNESS author Danielle Ellison (10/21/14), so I got to take a chance on two new SHP titles!

PENNYROYAL ACADEMY by M.A. Larson (10/7/14): We were at the Penguin Booth after this had been dropped. Kat and I had never heard of the series before, but the cover was adorable. THERE IS A CASTLE! AND A DRAGON!!!! The end. Book, you win! It reminds me a little bit of Soman Chainani's series, or Shannon Hale's PRINCESS ACADEMY, or really, any series where you study to be princesses, etc. I think this one will be really cute!

I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson (9/16/14): I've heard of Jandy Nelson before. My co-worker adores her novel THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE and I've promised to someday read it. When I found out that a lot of people were buzzing about her new book at BEA, I made sure to get my hands on a copy. Kat did, too, because Katie had wanted it, but when we found out she already had it, we got the copy personalized for our co-worker after a panel with Jandy Nelson, and our co-worker was so happy, she cried. ^_^

THORN JACK by Katherine Harbour (6/24/14): I saw the flyer for this one at the SFWA booth the first day when talking to Alethea Kontis. Someone was in front of the table, though, so I didn't want to be rude and reach over them for the postcard. I snagged it the next day when I went back to see Sarah Beth Durst! And then I discoverd that it wasn't just a postcard, but an access code to an ebook copy. Whoot! I hear it's a dark fairy tale. Can't wait!

BOOKS I WAS SO EXCITED TO SNAG!

*click the date to go to Goodreads!

STITCHING SNOW by R.C. Lewis (10/14/14): This cover is AMAZING. And it is a FAIRY TALE. And that is all I need to know. Even the cover looks amazing. This is the first BEA title that Kat started reading (Though she put it down as soon as she got her grubby mitts on HEIR OF FIRE...). We were both really excited to see it!

THE WITCH'S BOY by Kelly Barnhill (9/16/14): I was so excited to hear that the author of IRON HEARTED VIOLET was coming out with another book! And the cover is AWESOME. And...oh, shoot...this should have been in the next section for autographings since I got it at an in-booth signing. Oops? ^^;;; Either way, I was so excited to pass by Algonquin's booth and find Kelly there!

THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST by Holly Black (1/13/15): I was lucky enough to be at the Little, Brown booth when they were dropping both this and SALT & STORM by Kendall Kulper (9/23/14), and felt very, very lucky. Both titles are hard to come by! I also didn't want to wait in a two hour+ line for Holly Black. Her line wrapped around the building last year! Funny story? I don't even have this one atm. As soon as my fairy-loving mom heard I'd snagged Holly Black's new book, it became her book. So I'll have to get on her to hurry and read, read, read so I can get it back! ^.~

ROOMS by Lauren Oliver (9/23/14): Another book with an awesome cover! This is Lauren Oliver's debut adult novel. She's previously written middle-grade and young adult novels. The line to get this galley was CRAZY. And Harper was letting people take this or THE MINIATURIST by Jessie Burton (7/3/14), but not both. There was also crazy promotion for the title! Anytime you walked in or out of the Javits Center, you saw this:

 Super cool, right? 

LANDLINE by Rainbow Rowell (7/8/14): Gah, this one dropped at the SAME EXACT TIME as ROOMS by Lauren Oliver. Both were highly coveted! The only reason I got both was because Macmillan had the title in a secret area and not at their booth. AND we noticed later that Rainbow Rowell has secretly signed the book at some point! ^_^  I've previously reviewed ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL by Rowell. I'm ready to try out her second adult novel!

AUTHORS I LOVED MEETING!

*click the date to go to Goodreads!

EGG AND SPOON by Gregory Maguire (9/9/14): Gregory Maguire. GREGORY MAGUIRE!!! He wrote WICKED, people. Back before it was a musical! And I read it...back before it was a musical. This man inspired me to love villains, to write about villains...and I got to tell him that face to face. I wanted to cry. This was singlehandedly my most nerve-wracking moment. Just...Gregory Maguire!!! I am still babbling...

CLARIEL by Garth Nix (10/14/14): Another author that is one of the FANTASY GREATS. To be in his presence was completely humbling. I was lucky enough to see him a second time at the Books of Wonder panel (And I won a bell!!!!!). I got so tongue-tied speaking to this man! He also gave me some great advice on fantasy world-building!

HEIR OF FIRE by Sarah J. Maas (9/2/14): The sweetest part of seeing Sarah was not waiting in her two-hour line of DOOM thanks to Bloomsbury kindly inviting her--and me!--to their blogger breakfast. And Sarah remembered me and hugged me and I love her so much. She remembered Kat, too, when Kat DID wait in the doom line! HEIR OF FIRE was my first read of BEA! Can you blame me?

THURSDAYS WITH THE CROWN by Jessica Day George (10/7/14): As I mentioned earlier, I loved meeting Jessica. I adore her YA novels and am so excited to read her MG titles. It was so sweet of her to get me a copy of the second book so I could read all three back-to-back without interruptions! We also had a lovely chat at the Bloomsbury breakfast. Love! I want her to come back this way so I can meet her again!

KILL ME SOFTLY by Sarah Cross (Out Now): I adore KILL ME SOFTLY. When Egmont invited me to the breakfast and I heard Sarah was going to be there, I seriously fangirled. When I got to the restaurant, everyone was like, "You're the Sarah Cross fan? Would you like to meet her?" Um, YES. Not only did I get to meet her, I got to sit next to her at breakfast and chat some more! And she had the CUTEST dress. It looked like Houndstooth, but it was made up of rabbits. It's hard to explain, but completely adorable! And she wore red on purpose because the cover of KILL ME SOFTLY is red. Yes, really! ❤

I loved meeting Sarah Cross!

BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE by Miranda Kenneally (7/15/14): I have reviewed every single book Kenneally has written and had her on the blog before. When I heard that Sourcebooks was bringing her to BEA, I knew I wanted to meet this talented lately! She writes contemporary and introduces female athletes. We need more authors like her!

THE WALLED CITY by Ryan Graudin (11/4/14): Ryan was on my radar when her debut novel ALL THAT GLOWS came out. It had such an interesting premises. (And someday I will read it!) Little, Brown has been buzzing about her new novel, and I was excited to get in line to meet Ryan and check out a book by her!

THE LOST by Sarah Beth Durst (Out Now)

CHASING POWER by Sarah Beth Durst (10/14/14):  

I love Sarah Beth Durst. I've reviewed just about all of her books (Except the couple I still have to read) and done several posts with her in the past. I've also met her before--and she remembered me!!! She snuck me a copy of her ARC CHASING POWER while she was signing THE LOST. I am sooooo excited about THE LOST, too. It's her first adult novel, and it's the first in a trilogy--and the series is on a six-month rotation, so it will be done by the spring!!

THE FIRE ARTIST by Daisy Whitney (10/14/14)

BEN FOX: SQUIRREL ZOMBIE SPECIALIST AT YOUR SERVICE by Daisy Whitney (10/14):  

At the Bloomsbury Breakfast, the lovely publicist I work with slipped me a copy of THE FIRE ARTIST to get signed when I went in line for BEN FOX since I was planning to be in Christopher Healy's line during that signing (Oops, I forgot to picture that one!). BEN FOX isn't exactly my sort of book, but I love Daisy, and think the genre is perfect for fans of BUNNICULA and Goosebumps. There are not enough books like this for young readers! So I wanted to make sure to get a copy! I've worked with Daisy Whitney on my blog several times and reviewed all of her books. Love her!

NEVERHOME by Laird Hunt (9/9/14): This was highly buzzed even before BEA. It was one of the big titles I wanted! I was in line for something, and Laird Hunt was signing one booth over. There was no one in line for him. I was surprised, and when he looked over, I said I'd be right over. He said there was only one copy left, but he'd make it out to me. I started gushing about how I was telling all of my co-workers about the title already and we all wanted to read and promote it. He said he was really glad it was me who got his final copy!!! ❤❤❤

TALON by Julie Kagawa (10/28/14): I loved meeting all of the Harlequin Teen authors and getting books from all of them, but Julie was my favorite to meet. Kat and I loved listening to her talk at the Teen Author Carnival, and we're both so eager to read TALON. I've wanted to read it since Kagawa first revealed information about her new series! I've actually never read her before because I'm not into fairies or vampires, but dragons? Okay, yes!

DEEP BLUE by Jennifer Donnelly (Out now): Mermaids, mermaids, mermaids! I've been wanting to read this book for so long. It seems darker like my beloved Lost Voices series by Sarah Porter. I'm so looking forward to featuring it next month during Splash into Summer! I actually didn't get to meet Jennifer Donnelly because the Garth Nix signing was at the same time and I had to choose, and Kat knew how torn up I was over that decision, so she met Jennifer for me. And Jennifer knew A Backwards Story! Aahhhhhh. She even knew Kat, and Kat had a moment. I so want to meet her for real someday! Disney Hyperion was also giving out the best totebags. They turn into a full-size towel:

No, really. Look how small that hardcover novel looks next to that towel! It stretched across most of my floor!

WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart (Out Now): Funny story: I was walking back from Valia's signing and I saw a line gathering to meet E. Lockhart. I could see the booth with the author signing and the line wasn't bad, so I hopped to the end of it. I had been going to join Kat to get THE JEWEL by Amy Ewing (9/2/14) at the Harper booth. The line didn't move for a while and I just assumed the signing hadn't started quite yet. When we got to the place where I'd seen the author signing, I realized it hadn't been E. Lockhart. We moved again, and I wondered where the line went. That "short line" took an hour and a half to get through, lol! It was well-organized, at least, and the book is supposed to be amazing, so it was worth it! (Even if I did miss Kat time. Sorry, Kat! ;_;) I was at the end of the line, and the author must have been so tired, but she was so gracious!

FALLING BY DESIGN by Valia Lind (Out now): I ran into Valia when we were stalking the Harper booth waiting for ROOMS by Lauren Oliver to drop. We realized that we knew each other from online, and she told me about a signing for her own book later that day. I made it my mission to go get a copy so that I can tell Valia I've read her book! Loved running into her!

These are the books I'm most excited to read from BEA!

Kat will be posting her own list soon.

Did you go to BEA? What were your favorite books?

Which of these books looked good to you? 
What will you be adding to your TBR this fall?

(What do you recommend that I read first!?)