Shannon Hale has been one of my favorite authors since the first time I read Princess Academy. I fell in love with the feminism and honesty that pervaded her fantasy world, so when I saw a new book by her at my library in middle school, I had to pick it up. That book was Forest Born, the fourth book in the Books of Bayern series.

If you’ve read the Books of Bayern series, you’ll know that that is the last of the four books. That’s what happens when you don’t pay attention to the series label on the book until you’re halfway through the book. Nevertheless, I adored the book and the universe, so I made it my mission to find the other three at my library. Which I did – out of order. I still loved them, but man, they made so much more sense when I read them in order, and I enjoyed them so much more.

I’ve bought and given away so many copies of this series that I got really excited when Shannon Hale posted on Wednesday that they were getting new covers thanks to Bloomsbury Kids. Check these out!

The new covers for the Books of Bayern will come out next summer, according to her tweets, and I am seriously excited. These covers are perfect for these books, with the best details in them for fans of the books. I will definitely be buying myself a full set of these once they’re available.

I adore the Books of Bayern series. It’s YA fantasy based on fairytales, and really, that’s my stuff all over.