Book Haul | March, April, May 2023

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Hello Hello! How are you?

Today I’m back with an exciting post as I’m going to show you all the books I’ve hauled over the previous months! While on my honeymoon in Scotland, I treated myself to a few, and also treated myself to some more after finishing my thesis. Keep on reading to find out what books I added to my TBR and my first impressions of them!

In March, April and May, I added a total of 14 books to my physical TBR and I’m looking forward to reading each and everyone of them!

BOOKS I HAULED ON MY HONEYMOON

Notes on an Execution by Danny Kukafka

I had seen this book on social media ever since it released and I had been so intrigued by it for so long. My husband took me to Waterstones in Livingston the day before we left Scotland and let me tell you, I had fun! When I saw this book on the tables at the front, it was the first one I picked up! I started it on the plane home and enjoyed the first chapters a lot but then life got in the way so I haven’t continued it yet, but I will! I like how this is from the point of view of the person in jail and on Death Row but we don’t really know what has happened yet, apart from getting an overall icky feeling about it. I’m intrigued to continue and I think it will be a really good book.

 

Amongst our Weapons (#9 Rivers of London) by Ben Aaronovitch

 

In the lovely Waterstones, I also saw this most recent addition to the Rivers of London series that Fiona from Fi’s Bibliofiles recommended a few years ago. I think I have read up to book 6 or 7, so I’m getting there, but I need to go back and read the previous one I finished because it was a few months ago and I can’t remember much. I absolutely love this series. It is honestly so unique, so wholesome, so fun, so engaging and I have the best time reading these books. I can’t wait to continue the series and get to this instalment!

 

The Foxglove King (#1 The Nightshade Crown) by Hannah Whitten

And the last book I got in that Waterstones was this BEAUTY! I have been intrigued by Hannah Whitten’s books for a while but this is the first one I have picked up and I absolutely love the sound of it. It feels like a very sort of darkish fantasy romance with lots of secrets and surprises. I love that it sort of also has a necromancer vibe from the main character and I do really enjoy fantasy romances. There’s always a bit of romance in fantasy in general I feel, but I do like when it’s one of the actual plots because I’m a sucker for anything like that! It sounds like a lush story with lots of intrigue and interesting characters and I can’t wait to discover this author!

 

Later the same day, my husband and I met up with Fiona from Fi’s Bibliofiles and her husband for a delicious meal in Edinburgh. Fiona gave us a fun tour of Edinburgh from the Castle down to the restaurant we ate at and we both loved learning all her little facts about the town. We popped into Topping’s as all book lovers must do, and honestly I could have spent hours in there and been quite happy. I’ll have to go back one day for sure!

Goldilocks L. R. Lam

And in lovely Topping’s, I picked up this beautiful-looking book thanks to Fiona’s recommendation as I know she loves the author and is a fan of these books. I really liked the sound of it and had actually been eyeing it up for a while, so was really happy to pick it up. I have to admit that I generally don’t read much sci-fi, but since it’s my husband’s new favourite genre, and Fiona has so many amazing recommendations, I really want to read more in the genre. I think this is a great place to start as it’s not a very long book and I am very interested by the blurb. I love that it centres women trying to save the Earth as it is nearing environmental collapse and I can’t wait to actually read it for myself! Knowing my husband, he will probably read it before me and spoil me to some extent, so I better hurry up!!

The Last Graduate (#2 Scholomance) by Naomi Novik

And the last book I bought in Scotland and in beautiful Topping’s is actually the second book in the Scholomance series. I could have sworn I had the first instalment, but I’ve searched high and low on my shelves and in book piles around my house and I can’t find it. I also haven’t added it to my haul tracker so I must have never actually bought it — oops. I’ll get my hands on the first book soon though so I can start the series, because I’m so excited about it! I’ve heard so many amazing things about it for what feels like years and it’s time to jump on this bandwagon. I definitely need more dark academia vibes in my life!

 

BOOKS I HAULED IN APRIL

Bringing Down the Duke (#1 A League of Extraordinary Women) by Evie Dunmore

This was one of the monthly picks for a romance reading buddy group I’m in on Twitter and I have yet to pick it up, but as soon as it was voted I ordered it. it has been sitting on my shelves ever since, lol. This year, I’ve been trying to get into romance more because I think it’s a genre that generally helps me get out of reading slumps and they are usually easy, fun, cute and uplifting reads that make me feel instantly better. I have yet to read any regency or historical romance, but I have had my eye on Bridgerton and books/shows like that, so I think this will be a good addition to that list. I’m looking forward to picking it up as soon as I can! I also love the cover and don’t think I have anything similar on my shelves!

 

Né d’aucune femme by Franck Bouysse

 

This is a French book I purchased in April as I went into my local bookstore for a wander and a look and somehow left with this book in tow. Whoops! I had really enjoyed Le Bal des Folles by Victoria Mas and was looking for poignant and well-written stories like that, so the lovely bookseller highly recommended this one to me and I couldn’t say no. Franck Bouysse is also quite a well-known French writer and I know that people from my library enjoy reading his books, so it’s about time I gave him a go as well!

 

BOOKS I HAULED IN MAY

Here is the list of books I treated myself to once I had finished my thesis, as a reward for three years of hard work! I’m so excited to read them all!!

Du thé pour les fantômes by Chris Vuklisevic

The first book I picked up is a new French release that I discovered while doing my weekly book searching in my job in my local library. We get a subscription which tells us all about the books releasing each week and this one drew my eye the minute I saw the title and read the blurb included. It’s about two sisters who have been estranged for thirty years until their mother’s brutal death which brings them back together. One of them is a witch, the other is some kind of medium and they set out all across France and other countries in search of information about their late mother and secrets she kept to her grave. It sounds so good, doesn’t it? I can’t wait to dive in!

 

Gravé dans l’os [All that Remains] by Sue Black

The other French book I got was a bit of a failure moment for me because in my excited when reading this blurb and ordering the book from my local bookstore, my eyes failed to see that it was a translation of an English book. Now, if you’ve spent any time reading my blog, you already know I generally despise translations since I’m fluent in French and just cannot fathom reading an English book translated into French, or vice versa. So this once I made a mistake and got the book in French, but it sounds incredible and I’m just going to do my best to enjoy it even though it’s translated. It is about Sue Black’s life as a pathologist and that’s literally all I needed to know before clicking on the order button, haha!

 

Inkheart (#1 Inkworld) by Cornelia Funke

 

And then I went a bit crazy on Amazon, sorry not sorry! I have seen Inkheart and the Inkworld series on social media for literal years and I’m ashamed to say I’ve never read it and only just now own a copy of the first instalment. I feel like this is one of the most popular books for book lovers and I absolutely adore the sound of the blurb. It reminds me a bit of Tilly and the Book Wanderers series by Anna James, although the books in this series seem a lot chunkier! This is sure to me an immersive and wonderful fantasy series, I can’t wait to start it!

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

 

Another very popular book and one that came up a lot in interviews I conducted for my thesis since the main character has autism. I only focused on physical (and mostly invisible) illnesses and disabilities for my thesis so I didn’t pick this one up, but I was so intrigued by it especially since it is also about witches! I know I’m going to love it already, and I’m definitely looking for more books like this one with all kids of disability representation, so let me know what your fave books are!

 

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon (#1 Glimmer Falls) by Sarah Hawley

 

This was one of the monthly picks from the romance reads buddy group I’m in and look, more witches!! In case you hadn’t already guessed, I’m an absolute sucker for any book where the word “witch” appears! This is a paranormal fantasy romance that sounds so, so good! It also seems a bit on the darker side and it’s definitely going to be an intriguing read in my opinion. It’s not a very big book so I think I’ll be able to read it in only a few sittings, especially if it’s as immersive as the blurb makes out.

A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting (#1 A Lady’s Guide) by Sophie Irwin

And here is another pick from the romance reads buddy group that I still haven’t read — I’m a bit behind… This is also closer to regency or historical romance that other types of romance, but as I mentioned previously, I’m liking this vibe at the minute and have been itching to start the Bridgerton series (the books first and then the Netflix show!). I like the sound of the blurb, it seems like a cute but also quite different story, with an unlikely heroine and lots of adventures. I also think the cover is beautiful and in real life the blue on the cover actually has a kind of iridescent sheen, it’s stunning!

 

A Heart so Fierce and Broken (#2 Cursebreakers) by Brigid Kemmerer

The final book on my list is also one with disability rep! I read and analysed the first book, A Curse so Dark and Lonely, for my thesis and loved it so much!! I knew it was going to be one of the priority series to finish, so I jumped at this one on Amazon when making my order. I will reread the first book again without my “thesis analysing hat” on so I can enjoy it fully and not be analysing all the words, but then I’ll jump into the sequel and get my hands on the third instalment. I will hopefully have this series finished by the end of the year, and then I can read other books by this author, as they all seem amazing!

 

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So here are all the books I added to my TBR recently! I’m excited for each of these and feel like they are all quite different and have some really fun vibes!

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post! What books have you hauled recently?

See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx