Jennifer Estep did it. Sherrilyn Kenyon did, too. So did Ann Aguirre and Sophie Jordan. All of them are successful authors of adult PNR or UF who made the jump to the ever-growing Young Adult market, with either spin-off series from their existing worlds, or entirely new series. Jennifer is heading into book four of the Mythos Academy series, and Sherrilyn Kenyon recently released her third Chronicles of Nick book. This got me thinking about some of the other authors taking the plunge into Young Adult in the coming months, and got me wondering…
Will you follow a favorite author when they change genres? Which ones are you most excited for, or will you bother at all?
To be fair, Gena Showalter has in fact had previous experience with young adult (she has had a few stand alone titles, and the Intertwined series), but she is mostly known for her Lords of the Underworld and Alien Huntress books. Her young adult series White Rabbit Chronicles kicks off this September with the release of Alice in Zombieland.
Synopsis…
She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.
Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.
Her father was right. The monsters are real….
To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….
Now, Showalter best buddy Kresley Cole also has her own “Chronicles” starting up this year. The Arcana Chronicles, based on the Tarot deck, will start with the release of The Poison Princess on October 2nd.
Synopsis…
Sixteen-year-old Evie Greene thought her horrific apocalyptic hallucinations were a sign that she was slowly losing her mind. But when her visions come true, decimating the world around her and killing everyone she loves, Evie is forced to accept that she was seeing the future.
Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she turns to wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate, the gorgeous and dangerous Jackson Deveaux for help. As Jackson and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have got the same call and discover that Evie is not the only one with special powers. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and as the battle between good and evil intensifies, it is not always clear who is on which side…
Now, this next one is a bit tricky. Karen Marie Moning has said that the Dani O’Malley books (set in the same world as her super-popular Fever series) “uneasily straddles the line between adult and young adult”. Iced is the first of three books, due out on October 30th.
Synopsis…
The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be.
Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.
Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.
When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.
Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.
Darynda Jones only started her popular Charley Davidson series last year, but already her fun and quirky style has translated into a great read. However, she is turning some of her attention to the young adult market with upcoming Darklight series. Death and the Girl Next Door is due out on October 2nd of this year.
Synopsis…
Ten years ago, Lorelei’s parents disappeared without a trace. Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home. For Lorelei, life goes on.
High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be. Until the day the school’s designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it, standing outside her house in the dark, night after night. Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school. Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity. What does Jared know about her parents? Why does Cameron tell Jared he can’t have Lorelei? And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real?
I had almost forgotten about this one. Gail Carriger, author of the Parasol Protectorate series, keeps her Steampunk world alive with a four book spin-off series called The Finishing School. Book one, Etiquette & Espionage, hits the shelves on February 13th of next year.
Synopsis…
It’s one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It’s quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school.
Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother’s existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea–and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.
But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right–but it’s a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine’s certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.
So, which side of the coin do you fall on?
I’m only going to talk about the first three (Showalter/Cole/Moning) because only have an interest in those. I’ve read a few of Showalter’s YA novels and while they’re weren’t great, Showalter has shown me than she can definitely make the leap to YA. Out of the first three books, I’m definitely excited about “Alice in Zombieland” if only because I lob teh ZOMBIES! I’m excited about “Poison Princess” too, although I will miss Cole’s dirty sex scenes.
As for “Iced”? No. Just no. I didn’t like Dani in the “Fever” series and I have no interest in reading a YA series with her as the protagonist. I really wish Moning would go back to her romance days. Her “Highlander” series was amazing and she can write pretty decent smut. But noooo. First the “Fever” series where we had to wait EONS for hanky-panky and now you want us to read a YA series that has no hope for dirty, raunchy sexing? Meh. I’ll pass.
I haven’t read any of the Showalter YA books, so I am going in cold. I share your wonder about Kresley Cole – she really cranks up the sex, so having that not part of a Cole book might feel a bit odd.
I haven’t read the Fever series yet, but most seem to share your dislike of Dani as a character. I will be making my decision on this one after I finally get off my butt and read the fever books.
I’ll admit, I’m not much of a YA reader. I tend to cringe when my favorite authors “make the jump” to YA – mostly because I know the adult series releases get pushed back or delayed to make way for the new series.
I did fall in love with one YA series though, it was Darren Shan’s The Demonata.
I am tempted to read Kresley Cole and maybe Darynda Jones’ YA books. I’m on the fence with KMM. Dani was not a favorite character of mine either, but I did love the world and the characters of the Fever series.
The main series push back is the one big drawback for me. Authors are taking longer and longer between books a lot of the time now already, so a whole new series really cuts into the new release schedule. That does suck.
I’m open when it comes to books so I enjoy YA books. Yes it can delay a series if the author starts another one but there are so many books out there to read that I have no problem finding something else. I always seem to be trying to catch up on one series or another.
It can suck waiting but it can’t be easy writing a series of books since you have the potential of life getting in the way and I would think that sometimes an author just might not feel like writing a certain series for a while. But it can be a pain since right now I’m waiting on the release of a book that keeps changing the release date and another one in a series that will probably never happen.
The moving release dates are so frustrating. I get that authors are people and things happen, but when you get your heart set on getting THAT book on THAT day, finding out you have to wait extra months sometimes can be a kick in the pants.
I’ve read Moning, Jones, and Carriger’s adult novels and really enjoyed them. I can’t wait to see how their young-adult series turn out.