October Releases

So many great books are coming out this fall, I had to talk about a few of them. I couldn't possibly talk about all of them, so I decided to do it month by month. I'm starting with October even though it's in the middle of fall rather than September or even August (because that's got some good ones too) because of the Son of Neptune cover that was just revealed this week (see below). These are the October releases that re at the top of my to-read list, in chronological order. Let me know if I'm missing any.

October 4
Heroes of Olympus: Son of Neptune

Click to enlarge (I got a REALLY big picture, you will want to enlarge)

Summary (from Goodreads): 
In The Lost Hero, three demigods named Jason, Piper, and Leo made their first visit to Camp Half-Blood, where they inherited a quest:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Who are the other four mentioned in the prophecy? The answer may lie in another camp miles away, where a new camper has shown up and appears to be the son of Neptune, god of the sea...

My thoughts:
I didn't love the first book in the series (see my review here), but I'm definitely going to be picking up the second if only to see some of the characters I actually care about (Percy, Annabeth, Grover - because the Son of Neptune is obviously Percy).

I actually think I've figured out who the seven are from the prophecy.
1. Jason
2. Piper
3. Leo
4. Percy
5. Percy's new friend from Rome Camp #1
6. Percy's new friend from Rome Camp #2
7. Annabeth OR Nico

As for the cover, I really like all the ice and how Percy is bursting up out of it. I also like the crumbling buildings (although I can't tell if they're actually Greek or if they're Roman using a Greek facade - yep, that's me being a classics geek) and I'm pretty sure there are people falling out of them, but I can only see them if I zoom in really close, at which point they get all pixelated so who knows.

A lot of people are wondering what the eagle is, but I'm pretty sure it's what I call an SPQR Eagle Stick, or the official name is an Aquila (just the eagle part) or a Standard (the whole darn stick). They were used in Roman times as part of each legion. Every legion would have one person whose entire job was to carry around the SPQR Eagle Stick which was one of the things that identified them as being part of the Roman army. I couldn't find a good picture of one, but here's an illustration of what one would have looked like:

The thing about this SPQR Eagle Stick is that it's got glowing eyes so it must be a magic SPQR Eagle Stick. Plus it's all lightning-y.

The one thing that bugs me about this cover is that Percy is all wet. As the Son of Neptune, he's not supposed to get wet. Unless he did it intentionally, which would be weird because he'd be freezing in that water. Anyway, other than that one minor detail, I love the cover and I am very excited to read to book, even though I don't necessarily have that high expectations for it.

October 11
The Death Cure

Click to Enlarge

Summary (from Goodreads): 
Thomas knows that WICKED can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.

What WICKED doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what WICKED says.

The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.
Will anyone survive the Death Cure?

My thoughts:
This one I do have high expectations for it. Very high expectations. The first two were great, although, as my brother says, "kinda creepy." And - strange coincidence - this one also has snow and ice, and it looks so cool. I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen, and I don't really want to know either. I am planning to dive in blind and enjoy it as much as I possibly can. I shall devour this book, and I just hope not everyone dies. But even if they do, James Dashner is going to make it so awesome that I'll realize it was the best possible way for it to turn out.

October 11
Tris & Izzie

Click to Enlarge (this one is also really big if you choose to enlarge it)

Summary (from Goodreads):
A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

My thoughts:
I've actually never heard of this fairytale before, but I love fairytale retellings even when I'm not familiar with the original tale (e.g. Book of a Thousand Days).  I also enjoyed Mette Ivie Harrison's The Princess and the Hound books, and this seems like it will be just as good. The premise is intriguing, and I'm interested to see what Harrison will do with it.

I really like the cover of this one, if only the boy (who I can only assume is Tris) had a shirt on. For goodness sakes, why they couldn't do that is beyond me. Other than that, I love the cover. The girl is great, the petals are great, the water is great (although it did take me a ridiculously long time to figure out that they were actually in a boat and not randomly floating on the water), the text is great - I really have no other complaints. Very excited for this one.

EDIT: Mette Ivie Harrison did a review a little while ago on Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing where she talks about Tris & Izzie (as well as her other books) that I really liked. You can read it here.

October 27
New Edition Forest Born

Summary (from Goodreads):
Rin has always been a quiet, helpful girl, but a secret has been eating away at her, and the solace Rin once could find among the tall trees that surround her forest home has vanished. When she leaves home to join her older brother in the city, she finds intriguing answers to her questions, an adventure she doesn't expect, and a sense of self she never thought she would find.
For fans who want to complete their collection of the Books of Bayern, this new edition hardcover features art by Alison Jay, whose stunning illustrations graced the covers of the three original Bayern Books. A reading ribbon marks this as a perfect gift edition for any Shannon Hale fan.

My thoughts:
Forest Born was wonderful, as all Shannon Hale books must be, and I'm excited for the new cover. It's so beautiful. For more of my gushing about this cover, click here.

Are there any other October Releases you are excited about?