"It had, like, a black bird on the cover?"
Click 'Read More' (below right) to see summaries and book trailers for the three books pictured above!
Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It's in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia's family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy. There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier — and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined — and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
Leah Bobet's An Inheritance of Ashes
When Hallie hires a veteran to help them, the war comes home in ways no one could have imagined, and soon Hallie is taking dangerous risks — and keeping desperate secrets. But even as she slowly learns more about the war and the men who fought it, ugly truths about Hallie's own family are emerging. And while monsters and armies are converging on the small farm, the greatest threat to her home may be Hallie herself.
Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows
--A convict with a thirst for revenge.
--A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
--A runaway with a privileged past.
--A spy known as the Wraith.
--A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
--A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction ― if they don't kill each other first.