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Hello Hello! How are you today?
I can’t believe how quickly February is going, and I thought it was time for another Book Haul post.
January is my birthday month, and my lovely family got me some great books, and I treated myself to a few as well.
In January, I added a total of 19 books to my physical TBR (There are 21 books on the list because I bought a physical copy of 2 books I’ve already read!)… naughty!! So keep on reading to see what new books I hauled and was gifted last month.
BOOKS I BOUGHT MYSELF
Prospérine Virgule-Point et la phrase sans fin by and Les Oubliés d’Astrelune Laure Dargelos
One of my friends from my master’s was talking to me about this author, whom she knows, and saying how good her books were. She has published a few other ones, but these two really stood out to me. They are French YA fantasy, and the first of the two is a book about books and words, the power they have and what happens when you use words incorrectly. It’s also beautifully illustrated and I’m so glad I have both of these books on my shelves, as they are also so pretty.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrille Zevin
I actually got this book on NetGalley a few months back for the “movie-release-book-tie-in” tour organised by Algonquin. It was a really chill tour without any set dates to post on, so I didn’t read the book for months, suddenly remembered it and realised I hadn’t downloaded it from NetGalley and it was archived. So I got myself a copy of the book in January and ended up reading it straight away. I really enjoyed it overall, apart from a lull in the middle, but it was full of book love and how books bring people together. It was also quite emotional at the end. You can read my full review here.
Nine Liars (#5 Truly Devious) by Maureen Johnson
I bought this book the minute I saw it had been released as I have been buddy-reading this series with Candyce from The Book Dutchesses, and I knew I needed it in my life illico presto. We have already started reading it and I’m really enjoying it. I’m so glad to be back with the gang as I have loved seeing them figure out the mysteries in the previous books. Stevie, the main character, is a favourite of mine, so it’s lovely to be reading about her again. I also really like seeing the mystery unfold and Stevie piece things together.
Cursed in Love (#1 Nora Moss) by Zoe Ashwood
This is one of the BBNYA 2022 finalists, and apart from the 3 books I read during the competition and will be reviewing, this one in particular caught my attention, and I keep hearing such great things about the author. I decided to buy myself a physical copy of it, as I’m pretty sure I’m going to love it, and generally like reading these kinds of books in physical format.
Sunbolt (#1 The Sunbolt Chronicles) by Intisar Khanani (already read)
This was one of the three books I read for BBNYA, and I absolutely loved it. I’ll be reviewing it on the tour, and I wanted to get the chance to reread it before my stop as I can’t remember everything about it since I was silly and didn’t take any notes. I also want to continue this series, and prefer buying physical books to ebooks to be honest, so wanted the real thing in my hands!
The Thirteenth Hour (#1 The Cruel Gods) by Trudie Skies (already read)
And the last BBNYA book I bought on my haul is this one, which I think might have been my favourite of the three. I wanted to reread certain parts I had made notes of so I could write my review, but I also wanted the physical edition, since I’ll be buying the next books in the series, and wanted them all together. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but at least if it takes me years to get to, I’ll have this one to reread to remember before I continue.
Way of the Argosi (#0.5 Spellslinger) by Sebastien de Castell
Candyce from The Book Dutchesses and I started the Spellslinger series in January, and this is the next book in the series. It is commercialised as the prequel, but I’ve been told it’s best to read it after the first book. It is about Ferius Parfax, one of my favourite characters, so I can’t wait to read more about her. I think this is a series I’ll really enjoy overall, and the covers are stunning.
The Forest of Moon and Sword by Amy Raphael
This is the Middle Grade Marvels book club pick for the month of February, which I’m currently reading and really enjoying. I loved the cover straight away and the same art style is inside the books in illustrations peppered throughout the pages. It is about the Manningtree Witch Trials that took place in 1645, witchcraft, and one girl’s quest to travel through Scotland and England to find her mother who was taken by the Witchfinder general. I’m looking forward to reading more of it as the month goes on.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Another book club pick, this time for the “romance reads” mini book club with some book-blogging buddies. I haven’t started this one yet, and it was my nomination, so I hope I will enjoy it. I’m trying to get into reading more romances as they lift me up a bit when I’m feeling down and they are generally really fast, cute, and fun to read, apart from those that can be very triggering. I’m looking forward to reading this one soon.
Mysteries of Thorn Manor (#1.5) by Margaret Rogerson
And the final book I bought myself in February is one that when I opened the parcel I screamed in delight. A few years ago, I received the Fairyloot edition of Sorcery of Thorns in one of the monthly boxes. I read it straight away and absolutely fell in love with the characters, the setting, and the magic. OMG it was so good. When I found out there was a novella sequel I was ecstatic. I’m really looking forward to reading this short, cute book, and I think a reread of book one is in order, not that I’m complaining!
BOOKS I WAS GIFTED FOR MY BIRTHDAY
Baptism of Fire (#3 The Witcher) and The Lady of the Lake (#5 The Witcher) by Andrzej Sapkowski
For the past two Christmasses, my fiancé has been buying me a new volume in The Witcher series, as he knows I really want to start it, but not until I have the whole series. I’m pretty sure that I now own all of them and I have the first book on my 23 in 2023 TBR. I’ve heard so many good things about this series and my fiancé listened to the whole thing on audio and kept raving about the books, so I can’t wait to discover them for myself and hopefully they will live up to my expectations!!
Boy Under Water: Dennis Nilsen: The Story of a Serial Killer by Rhiannon D’Averc
As you know, I’m a bit of a true crime nerd, geek, weirdo — whatever you want to call it. When I came across this book on GoodReads, I thought it would be really fascinating, as I’m intrigued to know what goes on in the head of serial killers and other criminals, or what happened to them for them to have become what they are. I think this is going to be a hard read, but no less interesting, and I’m glad I was given it for my birthday. It’s not a very big book, so it shouldn’t take long to read!
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
I’ve been wanting this book for a while now and I was so happy to see it when I opened the parcel. This is a middle-grade fantasy, set in a school and in a world filled with monsters, and girls trying to survive all this. It’s a book about wayward girls, magic, believing in oneself. I love the cover and I love the premise, I’m sure it’s going to be a fantastic book and I can’t wait to read it. I’ll nominate it for a MGM poll, so I might get to read it in a few months if that’s what people vote on!
Circle of Shadows (#1) by Evelyn Skye
I’ve also had this book on my Wishlist for a ridiculous amount of time, and I had almost forgotten about it to be honest, so I’m very happy I finally have it. Again, this is fantasy, but this time YA, and also about magic. It is about apprentice warriors, trained to defend and protect a kingdom, but it sounds like it will have a lot of twists, there is talk of betrayal, secrets, and it sounds really good. It’s also a series, so potentially more adventures in this world, if I like this first instalment and decide to continue the series.
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
I had added this one to my Wishlist only in December, as it won the spot for “Best Horror” in the GoodReads Choice Awards, and one of my goals for 2023 is to read as many of these winners as I can, to try to push out of my comfort zone. I absolutely love the sound of the blurb, and since it won the choice awards for its category, I’m tempted to hope that it will be really good. I think I’ll keep it for the summer though, because it sounds too spooky to read in the dead of winter!
Sadie by Courtney Summers
The little girl inside of me jumped up and down when I unwrapped this book gifted to me by my fiancé. I have been hinting about it for YEARS, literally YEARS, and I FINALLY have it. I know I could have bought it for myself, but I really wanted my fiancé to get the hints I’ve been chucking at him for ages, hehehe! I’ve kept hearing about this book for so long, it is YA mystery, involving a podcast and a girl’s search for her sister’s killer across America. It sounds incredible and I’m probably going to put it on my March TBR (I’m getting married in March so I’m keeping the TBR quite small) and I’ll be able to listen to the audiobook at the same time as I read the physical edition. I’m so excited to start it.
Pax (#1) by Sara Pennypacker
I was first drawn to this book when I saw it in French in my local library where I worked last year, but knew the author was American. I’m weird about books translated from English to French, I just can’t get over it and can’t read them because they bother me so much, and vice versa for French to English translations. This is also a middle-grade book that I want to nominate for a future book club pick, so I’m glad I finally have a copy, and I think this will be a beautiful and heartfelt adventure.
Little Thieves (#1) by Margaret Owen, The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke and The Conference of the Birds (#5 Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children) by Ransom Riggs
These three books were gifted to me by a lovely friend, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, THANK YOU! And I couldn’t be happier. I’ve wanted to read each of them for such a long time. I’ve seen so many people rave over Little Thieves, and I already like the author’s writing; the second one has witches in it, so I couldn’t be more satisfied; and I get to continue a well-loved and amazing series thanks to the third book. I’m going to have the best time reading all of these!
I’m really happy with the books I was gifted and those I treated myself to. We are going to have to tighten the belt for the months to come, so I might not be able to buy myself many books for a while. It’s nice to have had a final month with lots of lovely new books arriving on my doorstep!
That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post.
See you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx