At the end of 2012, Justine Larbalestier blogged that The Summer Prince would be the "Best YA book of 2013." I pre-ordered it right away, but not really because she said so. Not that I don't have a lot of respect for Justine's taste in books, but I already love Alaya Dawn Johnson, so I was excited as soon as I heard that she had a new book coming out.
I read Alaya's first two books, which were fascinating but a little uneven. Then I was blown away by Moonshine. Somehow the sequel to that, Wicked City, snuck by me. I will have to get hold of it at some point soon. (have I mentioned I really, REALLY want to build a system that will inform you when authors you love publish new books?)
In the meantime, I am enjoying The Summer Prince, even though it *ought* to be named The Summer King. I assume some weird publishing logic went into that. You'll see what I mean when you read it. Or perhaps something will be revealed later that I don't yet know. But aside from the not-quite-right title, the cover is gorgeous. An online image does not really capture the shiny and the glow, but check it out anyway:
