New year, new books: 15 YA releases to watch out for this January

We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal

Hafsah Faizal’s We Hunt the Flame was one of the biggest YA releases of 2019, and the story’s sequel, We Free the Stars, is shaping up to be one of 2021’s most-anticipated books. Picking up after the battle of Sharr has ended, We Free the Stars sees Zafira, Nasir, and Kifah attempting to accomplish their goal of returning hearts of the Sisters of Old and bringing magic back to Arawiya.

Naturally, they’ll face more obstacles during this conclusion, including a lack of allies and resources. Add that to the fear growing across the kingdom and their own personal struggles and We Free the Stars is sure to be a nail-biter of a book. And that’s not to mention the romance:

"“In spite of the darkness enclosing ever faster, Nasir and Zafira find themselves falling into a love they can’t stand to lose…but time is running out to achieve their ends, and if order is to be restored, drastic sacrifices will have to be made.”"

If We Hunt the Flame left you on the edge of your seat, not-so-patiently waiting to find out what comes next, you won’t want to miss the second and final book in this duology. We Free the Stars hits shelves on January 19, so there’s still time to make your way through the first book if you haven’t — because, seriously, this is an installment readers are going to be talking about a lot this winter.