On Wednesday April 5th 2017 I had the most amazing oportunity that has ever been presented to me so far throughout my book blogging career. I was invited to the Indigo YA Spring Preview for the first time ever! For those of you who are not Canadian, Indigo is basically our version of Barnes & Noble/Waterstone’s. I had never been a part of this amazing event before, but I knew a lot of my blogger friends have been and they have always said nothing but amazing things about it.

The Indigo YA Preview is an event where a bunch of book bloggers gather together to learn more about some of the new books that will be released within the upcoming months! It was so cool to see some books that I’m highly anticipating being mentioned, as well as learning about some new books that I hadn’t heard of just yet, but that I’m now equally as excited to pick up!

---

Mix & Mingle

Before getting started with the preview presentation, we all had about a half an hour to mix and mingle! It was amazing to see everyone again, and it was even more amazing to finally meet people I’ve been interacting with online, this time in person! There was candy, pizza and even an Instagram flat lay area so that we could take some awesome bookstagram photos!

Can we also just take a moment to talk about how amazing the Indigo office is? I mean, I didn’t get to see a whole lot of it, but what I did see was amazing. If you’ve ever been to Toronto before, you know that this city had been around for a little while, therefor there are a lot of older buildings, which are personally my favourite. The Indigo office was kind of almost like a loft style building. It felt very industrial and the floorboards creaked, which is another thing that I absolutely love. Does this make me weird?

Upon choosing a seat at the table, I realized that there was a tote bag waiting for me on my chair. Of course, I had no sense of patience and I immediately opened it to see what was inside! Of course, it was filled with amazing ARCs that you’ll be learning more about soon enough!

---

Presentation

Once our little mix and mingle was over, it was time for the Indigo YA Spring Preview presentation to get started! So without further ado, let’s talk about some new YA Spring releases that will be coming your way soon!

---

Highly Anticipated

My most anticipated listed here: A Court Of Wings & Ruin by Sarah J. Mass

Other Highly Anticipated Spring Release: Release by Patrick Ness

 

First, let’s talk about some of the most highly anticipated reads that will be released throughout the Spring season! Listed here, we have A Court Of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (AHHHH!), Once And For All by Sarah Dessen, Lord Of Shadows by Cassandra Clare & Always & Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han! I absolutely cannot wait for A Court Of Wings & Ruin as I’m sure is the same for a lot of you! It’s been on my most anticipated list since I finished A Court Of Mist & Fury! Personally, I have never read a Sarah Dessen book before, but A LOT of people were super excited about this one! Better late than never right? I hope to pick that one up pretty soon as I was lucky enough to receive an ARC! I also have never read a single book from Cassandra Clare and I know that it completely blasphemous for a lot of you to hear. I don’t know if I will pick up and of the City Of Bones books in the near future, but I won’t rule it out completely! As for Always And Forever, Lara Jean…I also have never read a single book in this series, however, I’ve been told by Mettel Ray that I ABSOLUTELY need to pick up this series, so I hope to do just that the second I have a chance!

---

 Great New Fantasy

My most anticipated listed here: Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Other Anticipated Fantasy New Release: N/A

Here’s the thing, Fantasy has never really been a favourite genre of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I like it and I do read from the genre every once in a while, but it takes a lot for me to really get into a fantasy story. The one book on this list that I am SUPER excited about though, is Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab! I absolutely loved This Savage Song and I can’t wait to see how this duology will end! While none of the other books were even on my radar, The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell definitely piqued my interest as it was being described to us! I’m looking forward to finding a new fantasy favourite with that one!

---

Great New Contemporary

My most anticipated listed here: The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Other Anticipated Contemporary New Release: The Duke Of Bannerman Prep by Katie Nelson

Ah, Contemporary. A.K.A. probably my favourite YA genre to read! There are just so many amazing new releases heading our way and I can’t wait to pick them up! Some personal favourites on this list would have to be The Upside Of Unrequited, When Dimple Met Rishi & Ramona Blue! After hearing a little bit more about each of these titles, two more have been added to my list! Words In Deep Blue by Cath Crowley & I Believe In A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo! Both of them sound like something that I would completely fall in love with!

---

Social Life vs. Real Life

My most anticipated listed here: Eliza And Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Other Anticipated Social vs. Real Life New Release: N/A

Now if this isn’t a theme that all the bloggers in the room could completely relate to. This topic focused on books that deal with characters that are basically living two lives, their real every day life and then their online social one. Kind of like us bloggers. Eliza & Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia has been on my list for a little while now and I was super excited to learn more about it. I was even lucky enough to receive an ARC, so hopefully I’ll be able to dive into this one ASAP. While learning more about the books on this list, Geekerella really stood out to me. It is a Cinderella retelling and I have read a few of those already, but there was something about the way it was described that really made me want to pick it up!

---

Great New Middle Grade

My most anticipated listed here: Bubble by Stewart Foster

Other Anticipated Middle Grade New Release: N/A

We can’t forget about Middle Grade! I know a lot of people shy away from these stories because they are meant for kids, but some of these Middle Grade books contain some of the best stories and messages out of anything I have ever read before! I have been anticipating Bubble by Stewart Foster for quite a while now and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from Simon and Schuster Canada a little while ago which I will be reading very shortly! Ummmm, and can we talk about these new, house specific, 20th anniversary editions of Harry Potter for a second?! I need them all PLEASE!

---

Great New Graphic Novels & Manga

My most anticipated listed here: Motor Crush by Brendan Fletcher

Other Anticipated Graphic Novel/Manga New Release: Archie, Vol.3 by Mark Waid

I was so excited when I found out that we were also going to be talking about Graphic Novels and manga! As you know, I’m pretty big on reading comics these days, especially if they are published by Image comics, so I was super eager to learn more! One that really caught my eye on this list was Motor Crush by Brendan Fletcher. I had never heard of it before this event, but it totally seemed like something that would be right up my alley…and you guessed it, published by Image Comics. Can you say perfection? Another one that stood out to me on this list was Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book by Jomny Sun. It just seems so weird and cute and perfect for me! Once again, I was super excited to see graphic novels being mentioned during this preview!

---

Thrillers & Horror

My most anticipated listed here: The Takedown by Corrie Wang

Other Anticipated Thriller/Horror New Release: Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill

I don’t think I have actually read too many thrillers and horror novels within the YA category. I have read TONS from within the adult fiction category, but for some reason YA titles have just never jumped out at me I guess. It was awesome to see some featured here as I probably wouldn’t have discovered them otherwise. The one that I am the most excited about on this list is The Takedown by Corrie Wang. There was just something about the way that the synopsis was being described to us that totally made me want to pick it up! Thrillers and Horror are some of my top favourite genres within adult titles so I’m hoping to add a few YA titles to my list of faves!

---

Great New Science Fiction & Dystopia

My most anticipated listed here: Defy The Stars by Claudia Gray

Other Anticipated Sci-Fi/Dystopia New Release: Want by Cindy Pon

Science Fiction is also a genre that I have recently been getting into more often, but once again…mostly within the adult fiction category. I really want to add a few sci-fi YA titles to my TBR, but it seems like this genre is a little harder to find for some reason. One of the titles on this list that really stood out to me was Defy The Stars by Claudia Gray! It was described as being similar to Passengers, and while I’ve heard the movie is not so great, the premise is still really intriguing to me. Hopefully this book gets it done right! Another book that I am eagerly anticipating is Want by Cindy Pon. Honestly, just look it up, it sounds amazing!

---

Canada 150

My most anticipated listed here: Missing by Kelley Armstrong

Other Anticipated Canadian New Release: N/A

Happy Birthday Canada! Yes, that’s right! This year, on July 1st, Canada will be turning 150 years old! There have been a lot of awesome things being planned around the country and I figured, why not add a few Canadian titles to my TBR while we’re at it! It was super cool to see 6 book featured by Canadian authors and hearing about all of them really made me want to read more from Canadian authors! The title I’m the most excited about in this list is Missing by Kelley Armstrong! If you know about any more book by Canadian authors that will be released this year, let me know! I’m really looking to add to my shelves!

---

Under The Radar

My most anticipated listed here: The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

Other Anticipated Under The Radar New Release: Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers Deborah Heiligman

The Under The Radar category was one of the coolest categories throughout this entire presentation in my opinion! I’m all about the underdog and bringing some lesser-known titles to life! There are just so many books that end up being amazing and you’re left wondering why the hell no one is talking about them! There were four titles that stood out to me the most, all of which I had heard of before but haven’t really been hearing a lot about them per se. Those titles are The Leaving, The Love Interest, The Names They Gave Us & The Princess Saves Herself In This One. They all sound so amazing and I can’t wait to read them all!

---

Meeting Author S.K. Ali 

Now that we had covered all of the categories and exciting new releases that will be released soon, it was time to talk about one book in particular: Saints And Misfits by S.K. Ali. Saints And Misfits is being published under Simon & Schuster’s new imprint Salaam Reads that aims to introduce readers of all faiths and backgrounds to a wide variety of Muslim children and families, and offer Muslim kids an opportunity to see themselves reflected positively in published works.

Not only did we get to learn more about this imprint and Saints And Misfits, but we also got to meet the lovely author of the novel, S.K. Ali! It was amazing to hear more about her and her novel through her own words and what inspired her to write the novel. It was also amazing to learn that she is a Canadian author from right here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada!

I had heard a lot about Saints And Misfits recently, especially when the amazing cover was revealed! I’ve heard nothing but amazing things and I can’t wait to read what sounds like an amazing story! Thank you for the ARC Indigo!

---

ARCs

Last, but not least, here is a list of all of the amazing ARCs that I was able to get my little hands on all thanks to Indigo!

• Saints And Misfits by S.K. Ali
• Eliza And Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
• Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
• The One Memory Of Flora Banks by Emily Barr
• Once And For All by Sarah Dessen
• Fireworks by Katie Cotugno
• The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
• Missing by Kelley Armstrong
• The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby
• Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves

---

And just like that, the night was over. It all happened so fast and I think that was all on account of it being so much fun! I am so super grateful to have been invited to such an amazing event for the first time and I hope to be a part of more fun times like these in the near future!

Thank you again to Indigo & thank you to all of you for reading!