13 YA Books To Read While You Wait For The New "Lord Of The Rings" Series

You know what they say, one ring to rule them all, thirteen books to distract them.

1. The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

HarperTeen, Via goodreads.com

Release date: Oct. 15, 2019

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: The development of Middle Earth history.

What it's about: Young godesses Odessa, a bookish, chronically ill lesbian, and Haidee, a free-spirited mechanic, live in a land which has been ruled by generations of twin goddesses. Aeon split into two 17 years ago, when betrayal rocked the twin rulers, and now Odessa's mother rules Aranth, the frozen city, and Haidee's mother rules the Golden City, sand-locked with endless sun. Now Odessa and Haidee are being called back to the site of the Breaking, and the two girls go on separate journeys to try to heal their broken world.

Get it from Amazon for $12.65+, Barnes and Noble for $16.19, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

2. All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

Imprint, Via adalyngraceauthor.com

Release date: Feb. 4, 2020

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: Aragorn!

What it's about: Amora, a princess of the island kingdom Visidia, has spent her life training to master soul magic to secure her place as heir to the throne. But when her demonstration goes awry and she's forced to flee, the only person she can turn to is a mysterious pirate named Bastian. They strike a deal: if he helps her prove she's fit to rule, she'll help him reclaim his stolen magic. And as they sail the kingdom, they'll encounter legendary monsters, vengeful mermaids, and a destructive new magic. Aragorn fans will fall hard for Bastian and desperately crave the sequel.

Get it from Amazon for $12.79+, Barnes and Noble for $13.49, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

3. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

Tor Teen, Via goodreads.com

Release date: Oct. 1, 2019

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: Found family.

What it's about: Aster, Violet, Tansy, Mallow, Clementine are five girls in the country of Arketta, sold to a "welcome house" as children and branded with cursed markings. The girls have to escape when Clementine accidentally murders a man, and as they run, they're pursued by Arketta's most powerful forces, both human and inhuman. If you love the found family of the fellowship, but wish there could have been any girls, this is for you.

Get it from Amazon for $8.99, Barnes and Noble for $16.19, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

4. Eight Will Fall by Sarah Harian

Henry Holt, Via sarahharian.com

Release date: Nov. 26, 2019

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: Strangers joining together for what should be an impossible quest.

What it's about: Eight criminals are sent on a mission to kill an ancient evil in a land where magic is outlawed. 17-year-old Larkin leads the team into an underground realm full of horrors, using their forbidden magic to try and survive. But as they descend, the felons are being picked off one by one, and Larkin realizes that they were never supposed to make it out alive.

Get it from Amazon for $12.99, Barnes and Noble for $17.09, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

5. Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Albert Whitman, Via goodreads.com

Release date: Apr. 9, 2019

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: A good-hearted hero trying to do the right thing in a world where the right thing is deeply complicated.

What it's about: Hesina of Yan has just been crowned queen, a position she never wanted. But after the murder of her beloved father, she's handed a kingdom that is falling apart. Determined to find his killer, she enlists the help of both a soothsayer, who practices magic illegally, and an investigator, who is a convicted criminal and has his own secrets. If you love unlikely protagonists on quests to right wrongs, you'll be obsessed with Joan He's debut.

Get it from Amazon for $12.39+, Barnes and Noble for $16.19, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

6. Black Wings Beating by Alex London

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Via goodreads.com

Release date: Sep. 25, 2018

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: Magical eagles!

What it's about: In Uztar, nothing is more revered than birds of prey and no one is more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists. Twins Brysen and Kylee are journeying into the treacherous mountains to trap the greatest of the Uztari birds, the legendary Ghost Eagle. Brysen aims to be a great falconer, and is making the journey for the boy he loves and the glory he's always wanted. Kylee wishes to be free of falconry, but journeys to protect her home and her brother's future. And both are hunted by those seeking one thing: power.

Get it from Amazon for $8.49, Barnes and Noble for $10.19, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

7. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Henry Holt, Via goodreads.com

Release date: Mar. 6, 2018

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: That because it is both super good and super popular, you always can find people willing to discuss it with you.

What it's about: Zélie Adebola remembers what it was like before magic disappeared from her land, before maji were killed under the orders of a ruthless king. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic...but to do so, she must outrun the crown prince, who wants to eradicate magic for good.

Get it from Amazon for $10.43, Barnes and Noble for $14.24, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

8. The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Little, Brown, Tammie Gilchrist

Release date: Aug. 8, 2017

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: The dual existence of success and heartbreak at the end.

What it's about: In this Faustian tale, Dee Moreno makes a deal with a demon to escape a dangerous home life, offering her heart as a trade. The only people she can rely on (other than herself) are some other teens who also made deals, including the charming and secretive James. And as they grow closer, Dee begins to wonder if you can give your heart to someone when it is no longer yours to give?

Get it from Amazon for $9.59, Barnes and Noble for $10.12, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

9. The Reader by Traci Chee

Putnam, Topher Simon

Release date: Sep. 13, 2016

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: That Bilbo compiles his adventures into a book!

What it's about: Sefia fled into the wilderness after the murder of her father, and is now trained by her aunt Nin in the arts of hunting, tracking and stealing. But Sefia is left alone when Nin is kidnapped, and the only clue she has to the disappearance (and her father's murder) is an odd rectangular object her father left behind — a book, unheard of in her illiterate world. With the help of a mysterious stranger, Sefia must try to rescue her aunt and discover what really happened the day her father was killed.

Get it from Amazon for $8.93, Barnes and Noble for $10.72, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

10. The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Chronicle Books, Elizabeth May

Release date: May 6, 2014

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: Magical battles.

What it's about: Edinburgh, 1844. Aileana is the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, and secretly she is the last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing fae. With her ability to sense the sìthíchean, a bloodthirsty faery race that slaughters humans, she's spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them. For Aileana is dedicated to one goal: destroying the faery who destroyed her mother.

Get it from Amazon for $8.97, Barnes and Noble for $9.99, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

11. The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

St. Martin's Griffin, Via goodreads.com

Release date: Apr. 26, 2016

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: The writing.

What it's about: Maya is feared by her father's kingdom, for she has a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction. When Maya's father arranges a wedding of politcal convenience to quell outside rebellions, she becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Akaran has many secrets — locked doors, gardens of glass, a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. And to protect the human and the Otherworldly realms, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that has spanned lifetimes.

Get it from Amazon for $7.49, Barnes and Noble for $9.89, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

12. Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Sourcebooks Fire, Via claire-legrand.com

Release date: May 22, 2018

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: Falling deeply for the characters and then freaking out every five seconds as they are thrown into mortal peril.

What it's about: After Rielle reveals her powers when she saves her best friend from assassins, she must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails to prove she is the prophesied Sun Queen, she will be executed. Bounty hunter Eliana only knows of Rielle through stories, and when her mother vanishes she joins a rebel captain to try to find her. Though their stories are a millennium apart, the shocking connections between them will determine the fate of their world.

Get it from Amazon for $8.69, Barnes and Noble for $10.79, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.

13. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

Abrams, Via jordanifueko.com

Release date: Aug. 18, 2020

Read it if your favorite part of LOTR is: Valiantly forging your own path.

What it's about: Tarisai was raised in isolation by The Lady, a mysterious and often absent mother. The Lady sends Tarisai to the capital of Aritsar to compete for the chance to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11. Those chosen for the Council are joined through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood and something Tarisai craves. But she's been compelled to obey The Lady's wish that she kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust.

Get it from Amazon for $18.99, Barnes and Noble for $18.99, or from a local bookstore through Indiebound here.