Every year grants us a set of new and shiny book releases. Some may be exciting some may be terrifying, but regardless, the anticipation for these books is always on a high. Here is a list of books you should be seeing in stores this year:

1. “Happily Ever Afters” by Elise Bryant, released on Jan. 5. This sweet debut novel is about sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson, an African American girl who has never seen herself represented on the pages of her favorite romance novels. The only place where she feels as if she is the main character is in her own written romance stories. Fortunately, she is accepted into a writing workshop at a prestigious arts school. Unfortunately, she develops a serious case of writer’s block at her first workshop. Her best friend Caroline has a solution, though. Tessa must complete a list of romance-novel-inspired steps in order to find writing inspiration from her real life. Luckily, she finds her perfect target for prince charming: Nico, a handsome, brooding artist. Outside of all this, she develops a bond with the boy who lives across the street: sweet Sam. Her plan to live up a love story threatens to backfire as she starts losing herself and faces the risk of losing everything that she cares about.
2. “The Iron Raven” by Julie Kagawa, released on Feb. 9. This book is the first in “The Iron Fey: Evenfall” series and it is the perfect opportunity to delve into a new series this year. The book follows Robin Goodfellow, Puck for short, who is famously known as King Oberon’s right-hand jester from the classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Puck’s story is explored in this book as he faces threats from both the human world and the Faery world. These threats do not compare to anything that has ever happened in the past and Puck must embark on a dangerous and exciting adventure with the help of his allies, which include the Iron Queen, Meghan Chase and her prince consort, Ash, who is also coincidently Puck’s longtime rival.
3. “Chain of Iron” by Cassandra Clare, set to release on March 2. This book is the second in the “Last Hours” series following the first book, “Chain of Gold.” Set in Edwardian London, there is a killer on the loose and it is up to the Shadowhunters to catch it. Meanwhile, Cordelia Carstairs is struggling with her new and very confusing life that includes being engaged to the love of her life under false pretenses, her father coming back home after a long time and her beloved sword, Cortana, burning her at the touch. Cordelia’s best friend Lucie Herondale keeps a shocking secret that could ruin her life: she plans to raise Jesse Blackthorn from the dead. James Herondale struggles with his demonic powers all while struggling to keep away from the mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Despite their problems, there is a murderer on the loose that seems to be targeting Shadowhunters and James, Cordelia and Lucie must gang up with their friends to solve the mystery of the killer’s identity.
4. “Zara Hossain Is Here” by Sabina Khan, set to release on April 21. The book follows Zara Hossain, a seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant living a typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her family has been waiting for nearly nine years for their visa process to be finalized so that they can get approved for a green card and become citizens. Despite the Islamophobia she faces at school, Zara must lay low in order to not jeopardize the approval process. One day, she finds a threatening note left at her locker by none other than her primary tormentor: Tyler Benson, a star football player. When he gets suspended, he and his friends take it upon themselves to get revenge. They vandalize Zara’s house with racist graffiti, which leads to a violent crime, putting Zara’s ability to be a citizen at risk. She must decide whether she wants to fight to stay in the place she has known as home for the last nine years or if she wants to leave her life in the United States and everyone she cares about.

   Being in a pandemic is not easy, since all the fun activities that were once available are no longer accessible. Living out adventures vicariously through others is possible, though, and with all these great releases this year, it should be something easy to do.