Thus far, our shelves have taken us all sorts of places this year. A world run by four queens. A land ruled by the dead. It’s been awesome.

So, for recap, here are a few of our favorite heroines thus far this year!

1. Odessa from Song of the Dead

In this enthralling, heartrending sequel to Reign of the Fallen, Odessa faces the fight of her life as the boundaries between the Dead and the living are challenged in a way more gruesome than ever before.

Odessa proved she is not one to be messed with in Reign of the Fallen. But, as we all know, saying goodbye is never easy, and it was harder than ever to let go of Odessa’s badassery by the end of Song of the Dead. 

2. Natalia from The Waning Age

Considering how often books hurt our feelings (you know who you are, authors), it’s hard to imagine a book about not being able to feel at all. But that is exactly Natalia’s situation in The Waning Age. In a parallel present San Francisco, Natalia Peña works as a hotel maid, practices martial arts, and cares for her eleven-year-old brother, Calvino. In this version of our world, all children start to “wane” when they reach Cal’s age; by their teen years, they’ve lost their ability to feel emotion. But Cal isn’t waning. When a mysterious corporation kidnaps him for testing, Natalia’s reaction surprises her: she’s crushed, and she’ll do anything to save her brother from their experiments. Natalia’s lovable, confident, and definitely a fav of 2019 thus far.

3. Keralie from Four Dead Queens

Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but she’s, in fact, one of Quadara’s most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara’s most enlightened region, Eonia. He runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie both find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara’s queens dead.

To say Four Dead Queens made a splash would also be the understatement of 2019. Keralie and all her thieving tricks and conspiracy-solving shenanigans came busting into 2019 and landed her right on our list of favs!

4. Anna from Tarot

The cards are saying Anna and her exciting journey is def a favorite of 2019!

Anna is a result of a forbidden love and she’s spent her life in hiding and alone. To pass the time she imagines a world of dreamers and creatives – the exact opposite of the life she’s living. On her sixteenth birthday though, the walls between her imagination and the world she lives in, come crashing down.

5. Poe from The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe

Who do you become when you have nothing left to lose? There is one thing Poe Blythe, seventeen-year-old captain of the Outpost’s last mining ship, wants far more than the gold they tear from the Serpentine River:
Revenge.

Poe is achingly real and full of courage. We fell in love with Poe as much as we cried with her.

6. Aphrodite from Lovely War

In a story about World War II narrated by ancient gods, is it really all that surprising that the goddess of love is absolutely lovable?

April is almost here! Don’t forget to check out all the books hitting shelves this month!