Autumn: The Season of Reading

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Autumn is my favourite time of year for reading.

Gone are the long nights and the ‘day’ after the working day is over. The nights draw in and grow colder, and it’s the perfect time to snuggle in at home with a good book. I enjoy closing the curtains of a night, putting my feet up and burying myself in a slanket with a cup of tea to hand. Cosy in my own home. It’s my favourite place to be.

Autumn season is the calm before the storm of the festive season. The end of the year is a frantic period. Before all that business begins there is a chance to spend the colder, miserable days doing what I love best – reading. The weather turns very quickly here; we all know when our fleeting summer is over. I enjoy sitting indoors when the rain is lashing against the windows and the wind is howling outside. Last year, the weather was so fierce that I had rain forced inside my windows by the rain. That isn’t so fun – I spent the day running around with towels left, right and centre. I can’t say I enjoy it when I’m outside, so much. I’ve had that joy a few times this year already.

Evenings are my favourite time to read, but especially at this time of year. It has that atmosphere about it that encourages a quieter lifestyle and enjoying time to yourself. I wouldn’t say I feel all that guilty about staying home in the summer months, because I do in fact stay home. There is a part of you that makes you think you ought to make the most of the lighter nights and not waste them, although mine is pretty small. The way I see it, I am out most days at work. If I want to go home and spend my evenings with myself like a social hermit, that’s not a problem at all!

Do you have a favourite place or time to read? Do you find it makes you more productive as I do?

 

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Tips to Get Out of a Reading Slump

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We all get to that stage where we lack motivation to read. Maybe you aren’t getting on with the particular book you are reading, or perhaps you’re sick of a particular genre or a trope within it. Hey, it happens. There is no point beating yourself up about it.

My TBR is never far from my mind and when I heave deadlines, I don’t have time for a slump. There are a few things you can do to get yourself out of it, if you really need to.

 

Read Something Else

If your reading slump is just beginning and you think it might be your reaction to a certain book, try to read something else. Taking half an hour to enjoy something else could be more advantageous than trying to struggle on through the current read. I know it’s tempting to try and slog through it but you won’t enjoy it and might contribute to a longer slump in the long run. Take a break! You deserve it!

If reading another book from a genre you read a lot of doesn’t cut it, then try something totally new! Why not try a short story or novella if you are struggling with a full length novel? Finishing the book is a lot more attainable and the sense of achievement from doing it could be the pickup you need to get motivated again. Alternatively, branch out into a new or under-read genre. If I was looking for something different, then horror might be a genre I would turn to as I don’t read as much of it as others.

 

Set Yourself Achievable Reading Goals

My TBR this month is one of the longest I have ever set. I have seven books on the list that I want to have finished come 1st November, plus an extra sample read for an author I have worked with. It works out at over 1,800 pages to read, which sounds horrendous. It’s not really though; when you break it down, it works out at 59 pages a day, which I know I can do. I am keeping on track with it too, even considering all the extra blogging I am doing this month.

Set yourself an attainable goal that you can look at on a daily or weekly basis and assess your progress. If that goal is proving unattainable, don’t be afraid to revise the plan. We’ve all over-stretched ourselves before.

 

Try a Different Medium

Tired of reading books? Have you tried picking up a graphic novel or a magazine instead? Maybe you could try listening to an audiobook instead. I like the variety of reading in different forms and it allows me to maximise my time. I can listen to audiobooks when I am getting ready for work, or when I am driving home at the end of the day.

 

Take a Break

It doesn’t have to be a long break, but give yourself time to enjoy doing something else. Give yourself the night off to catch up with friends or a TV program you love. In my spare time, I like to play Minecraft and spend time with my family.

It may be that a longer break would suit you; that’s fine too! We read for the enjoyment of it above all else, and if you aren’t enjoying it, what is the point in doing it? Nothing good comes of forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do… so my advice is don’t.

Do you have any advice for anyone stuck in a slump? What works for you?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Worlds I Love

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It’s Tuesday, so guess what guys… it’s another Top Ten Tuesday post I am sharing with you today!

This week’s theme for the post is Bookish Worlds I Love. I am a sucker for world-building so there are going to be some brilliant names on the list! Just because I love these worlds doesn’t mean I would necessarily want to visit them… but yeah!

 

Westeros (& Essos) – A Song of Ice and Fire series

For obvious reasons I love these… but I wouldn’t like to visit. Knowing my luck, I’d turn up and immediately get run over by a dung cart. That’s probably the best I could hope for. These worlds aren’t exactly known for their smothering kindness to its citizens.

 

Middle Earth – The Lord of the Rings series

Tolkien paints such a magical and vivid setting in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I would love to see the Ents and the power of nature in force. Hobbiton would be pretty quiet and quaint too. It’s just a shame I’ll be too tall to move in…

 

The Labyrinth – The Relic Guild series

Again, this wouldn’t be the most pleasant place to find myself in, but spectacular again for the magic. I wouldn’t really like the idea of being cut-off from society either.

 

Valengrad – Raven’s Mark series

Again, a dark world to want to visit, but the fabulous descriptions in the Raven’s Mark series mark this on my map! This is an unusual place on the list, as a wasteland known as the Misery in particular would be an amazing (and amazingly difficult) place to traverse. With a shifting landscape as a result of corrupt magic and few unmoving landmarks, it’s not your typical world.

 

Roshar – The Stormlight Archives

I’ve only read one of these books so far and already I have fallen in love with Roshar. It has such a depth of history and is so beautifully described. I cannot wait to see how the rest of the books live up to the first in this!

 

The Discworld – Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series

The Discworld is the fictional setting of 41 novels; it is a flat, circular world, balanced on the back of four elephants who in turn stand upon the back of the Great A’Tuin – a turtle. Yep. That pretty much sums up how crazy this place is, but even still I love the real, everyday problems that are encountered here. The Discworld books are really entertaining!

 

The Sollan Empire (and beyond!) – Sun Eater series

This world is so expansive that I don’t even truly know how to quantify it! I feel this series has a lot more to offer too; I haven’t read Howling Dark yet so I’m sure my horizons will be broadened even further after this book. It has so many unique systems, worlds and civilisations.

 

Orisha – Legacy of Orïsha series

Children of Blood & Bone

My favourite element of the world of Orïsha is the cultural aspect. I feel it truly celebrates a unique culture and consequently has a completely new insight into the world and the beauty of it.

 

Weep – Strange the Dreamer series

The narrative of Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer makes Weep sound hauntingly beautiful in its desolation. All her descriptions are vivid and amazing, but the sense of mystery about the lost city makes it all-the-more appealing.

 

Temerant – The Kingkiller Chronicles

I need to re-read these books and appreciate them again. It has been a really long time. The sophistication of the world-building in this series is why it makes its way onto the list. These books are some of my favourites in the fantasy genre.

Which book is your favourite bookish world from? Do you share any of these?

 

 

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Netgalley: Yay or Nay?

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I signed up to Netgalley not long after I started my blog, however, I am still unsure really as to how I feel about it two years on.

Back in May 2018 I published a post called Five Reasons I don’t Rate Netgalley. Every point in that post still stands. I am only a very occasional user of the service. It comes in handy for some blog tours I take part in, but it’s rare that I go on and have a browse to find something of my own accord.

A lot of bloggers love the site and frequently brag about downloading too many books; I just don’t understand it. I can’t say I have ever found many books I want to download on there at any one time. At best, I’ll make the odd request here and there. I have one currently for The Mothers by Sarah Naughton, but that’s all.

My profile is too small to successfully request the newest and most popular books, but equally, I would feel that in order to get to a point where I would be accepted, I would have to read a lot of books I’m not that interested in to get there. I’m not doing it. I am not going to force myself to read books that don’t appeal to me.

If I’m honest, I think it is over-rated. I keep my account because it does come in handy. Sometimes it makes for a change to see what else is out there, or to try a debut author. I’ll never be one of these bloggers that live off Netgalley and I am okay with that. There are so many amazing books elsewhere that I don’t feel I am missing out.

Do you use Netgalley? What are your thoughts on the site?

 

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Blog Tour Audiobook Review: Visions of Zarua – Suzanne Rogerson

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Happy Sunday everyone! Welcome to today’s blog tour post for Visions of Zarua by Suzanne Rogerson. I am actually really excited for today’s post as it is my first review of an audiobook for a blog tour. As always, I’d like to take the chance to thank both Suzanne and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my chance to take part in the tour. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you!

 

Visions of Zarua

Two wizards, 350 years apart. Can they save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past?

An ancient darkness haunts the realm of Paltria.

Apprentice wizard Paddren is plagued by visions of a city on the brink of annihilation. When his master dies in mysterious circumstances, the Royal Order of Wizards refuses to investigate.
Helped by his childhood friend, the skilled tracker Varnia, and her lover Leyoch, Paddren vows to find the killer.

The investigation leads Paddren down a sinister path of assassins, secret sects and creatures conjured by blood magic. But he is guided by a connection with a wizard from centuries ago – a wizard whose history holds the key to the horror at the heart of the abandoned city of Zarua. Can Paddren decipher his visions and save the Paltrian people before the dark menace of Zarua’s past is unleashed?

 

Purchase Links –  Amazon     Audible     iTunes

 

My Thoughts…

Finishing this audiobook in time for the tour ended up coming closer to the wire than I would have liked. Truth is I just don’t listen to audiobooks that quickly… unless I have a looming deadline. I typically listen to audiobooks in the car on the way home, which means I listen to them for around half an hour every weekday.

It felt like it took a little while to get into the book, but I put that down to the fact that I started listening to this audiobook quite slowly. It is no reflection on the book at all because as soon as I started listening to it as much as possible this week, I found myself hoping for a few more minutes at the end of lunch to continue it… or sitting in the car to wait for the next suitable place to pause the narrative.

I enjoyed the split timeline element of the narrative, as I often do in books of this format. In Visions of Zarua, the past and the present timelines complement each other very well. The pacing of each respective story builds to the epic climax of a 350-year-old struggle. The element of mystery to the novel also made an interesting and enjoyable pairing with the fantasy genre. The magical society and divisions within add political intrigue and tension to the relations between characters.

I can’t write this review without talking about our main characters in the novel: Paddren, Leyoch and Varnia. The friendship of these three characters from not-so-different backgrounds really gels the story together. In times of despair, they pull each other through and their complex relationships and motivations play a large part in driving the narrative forward. They each have their own distinct personalities and despite their trials and flaws, you cannot help but love and invest into them.

Lastly, as this is an audiobook, I should talk about Guy Barnes’ narration of the storyline. Can I say, he does a fantastic job of bringing each of the characters, major or minor, to life. Each is distinctively unique in the persona he has given them. The variety of accents he pulls off consistently is amazing too.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook and I recommend it to all who enjoy the fantasy genre. I’ll be reading some of her other books having enjoyed Visions of Zarua so much – put it that way!

 

Author Bio –

Suzanne lives in Middlesex, England with her hugely encouraging husband and two children.

She wrote her first novel at the age of twelve. She discovered the fantasy genre in her late teens and has never looked back. Giving up work to raise a family gave her the impetus to take her attempts at novel writing beyond the first draft, and she is lucky enough to have a husband who supports her dream – even if he does occasionally hint that she might think about getting a proper job one day.

Suzanne loves gardening and has a Hebe (shrub) fetish. She enjoys cooking with ingredients from the garden, and regularly feeds unsuspecting guests vegetable-based cakes.

She collects books, loves going for walks and picnics with the children and sharing with them her love of nature and photography.

Suzanne is interested in history and enjoys wandering around castles. But most of all she likes to escape with a great film, or soak in a hot bubble bath with an ice cream and a book.

 

Social Media Links –

Twitter     Goodreads     BookBub     Amazon     Facebook     Instagram

 

Narrator Bio –

Guy or the Big G as he is known to his friends is a London/ Brighton based actor and singer songwriter and producer.

He has recently completed his first leading role in the film Typo out next year and played the role of Alvin Turner in American film Holly Turner also out next year.

Guy only started narrating audiobooks last year and Visions of Zarua is his 2nd. He will be narrating 2 classics this year, Bram Stoker‘s Dracula and HG Wells The Time Machine.

In his spare time Guy is a passionate biker and cigar aficionado and he’ll not say no to a Sierra Nevada beer or two!

 

Social Media Links –

Twitter @guybarnes

Instagram @instaguyaram

 

My Holiday Reads

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I haven’t exactly made a secret of the fact I am going on holiday this month. For today’s post, I want to share with you my intended reading whilst I am enjoying some fabulous company and (fingers crossed) some good weather.

I feel like there is an expectation for women to read chick-lit on holiday. I know it’s supposed to be nice, light reading, but that’s not me. Reading women’s fiction is an exception, rather than the rule when it comes to my reading tastes. Instead, I’ll be taking a variety of genres away with me.

If you want to read why these books appeal to me, check out my Reading List for October.

 

Circe – Madeline Miller

Goodreads – Circe

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Goodreads – Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

 

Imaginary Friend – Stephen Chbosky

Goodreads – Imaginary Friend

We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with Christopher at her side. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It’s as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.

At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six awful days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a tree house in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.

Soon Kate and Christopher find themselves in the fight of their lives, caught in the middle of a war playing out between good and evil, with their small town as the battleground.

Christopher is seven years old. Christopher is the new kid in town. Christopher has an imaginary friend. The epic work of literary horror from the #1 bestselling author of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.

If I finish these, then I have plenty of books on my Kindle to choose from. I have already considered are The Book Thief by Mark Zusak and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I might also pick up When She Was Bad by Tammy Cohen, but it’s set in an office. Going on holiday is my getting away from that!

I’m not going to set any more books than this in stone. If I finish all the books on the TBR then I can treat myself to reading whatever I would like dependent on my mood. From fantasy to non-fiction; historical fiction to futuristic thriller… I have something for the occasion.

 

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Shelf Contol #8 – 18/10/2019

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Welcome to day 18 of Blogtober and today’s post, Shelf Control! Today I am “enjoying” my last day at work before a fantastic week off. I’ll be spending it with my sister and fingers crossed, enjoying some sunshine.

As a refresher, Shelf Control is a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies – a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves! Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

 

I am using Shelf Control to look in further detail at the books I have added to the TBR and then listed as keepers in my Down the TBR Hole posts. I talk about why I want to keep the featured book; it also acts as a second sweep for anything that I may have changed my mind about. I won’t necessarily own all the books (yet), but I will have a reasonable number of them.

Let’s look at the next book on the TBR!

 

Steelheart – Brandon Sanderson

Goodreads – Steelheart

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his will.

Nobody fights the Epics…nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart — the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning — and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

 

My Thoughts…

Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy novels are brilliant. There isn’t a book I haven’t rated highly yet. I have already read the first Mistborn trilogy, The Way of Kings from the Stormlight Archives and just recently, Elantris. I feel more than sure that I am going to be reading a lot more of his books, including this one! Steelheart has been on my TBR since January 2016. Not long…

On a serious note, I can see myself picking this up before too long. My enjoyment of Elantris is fresh in my mind. I’m also trying to avoid some of his other works for now, like the remainder of the Stormlight Archives books. Brandon Sanderson is only writing book 4 of 10 at the moment, and once I get into it, I don’t think I’ll be able to wait patiently for the next book as and when they come out.

 

Have you read many books by Brandon Sanderson? Have you read Steelheart or any other books in The Reckoners series?

 

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Book Promo: Darkest Hour – Battle Ground 3 – Rachel Churcher

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Today’s blog post is a promotion for a book series that is/has been on tour with Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources. I think the setting of the book is unique, very relevant and makes for an interesting series! Unfortunately I didn’t have time to start the series whilst it was touring with Rachel, but it’s on my list for a later date.

If you haven’t already and want to find out even more about the book, please go and check out some reviews from the other lovely bloggers on this tour!

 

Darkest Hour (Battle Ground #3)

Goodreads – Darkest Hour

Bex Ellman and Ketty Smith are fighting on opposite sides in a British civil war. Bex and her friends are in hiding, but when Ketty threatens her family, Bex learns that her safety is more fragile than she thought.

The Battle Ground series is set in a dystopian near-future UK, after Brexit and Scottish independence.

 

Purchase Link: https://tallerbooks.com/battleground/

 

Author Bio

Rachel Churcher was born between the last manned moon landing, and the first orbital Space Shuttle mission. She remembers watching the launch of STS-1, and falling in love with space flight, at the age of five. She fell in love with science fiction shortly after that, and in her teens she discovered dystopian fiction. In an effort to find out what she wanted to do with her life, she collected degrees and other qualifications in Geography, Science Fiction Studies, Architectural Technology, Childminding, and Writing for Radio.

She has worked as an editor on national and in-house magazines; as an IT trainer; and as a freelance writer and artist. She has renovated several properties, and has plenty of horror stories to tell about dangerous electrics and nightmare plumbers. She enjoys reading, travelling, stargazing, and eating good food with good friends – but nothing makes her as happy as writing fiction.

Her first published short story appeared in an anthology in 2014, and the Battle Ground series is her first long-form work. Rachel lives in East Anglia, in a house with a large library and a conservatory full of house plants. She would love to live on Mars, but only if she’s allowed to bring her books.

 

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rachel_Churcher

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelchurcherwriting/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/RachelChurcherWriting

Blog: https://blog.tallerbooks.com

 

Book Review: Crowfall – Ed McDonald

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I’m really excited for today’s book review of Crowfall by Ed McDonald. Why I hear you ask? Well, only because this is my favourite read of the year!!! So far, at least.

Having read the earlier books in the series, I requested and gratefully received a copy of Crowfall from Gollancz for the purpose of reviewing this epic conclusion to the Raven’s Mark series. I can’t wait to get started, but first, you can check out my review of the previous book in the series, Ravencry using the link here. Once you are all up to date, here are the details, and my thoughts, on Crowfall: –

 

Crowfall – Ed McDonald

Goodreads – Crowfall

Crowfall is a gritty epic fantasy for fans of Mark Lawrence, Scott Lynch and Daniel Polansky.

‘Dark, twisty and excellent . . . Grimdark with heart’ Mark Lawrence

A sorceress cataclysm has hit the Range, the final defensive line between the Republic and the immortal Deep Kings.

Tormenting red rains sweep the land, new monstrosities feed on fear in the darkness, and the power of the Nameless, the gods who protect the Republic, lies broken. The Blackwing captains who serve them are being picked off one by one, and even immortals have learned what it means to die. Meanwhile the Deep Kings have only grown stronger, and are poised to deliver a blow that will finally end the war.

Ryhalt Galharrow stands apart from it all.

He has been deeper into the wasteland known as the Misery than ever before. It has grown within him – changed him – but all power comes with a price, and now the ghosts of his past, formerly confined to the Misery, walk with him everywhere.

They will even follow him, and the few surviving Blackwing captains, on one final mission into the darkness.

 

My Thoughts…

You know that bittersweet feeling of wanting to finish a series to find out what happens, but then not wanting to finish it because then it’s all over? Crowfall is definitely one of those for me. The world, the magic and fantasy setting are truly unique. And the characters have to be some of my favourites. It turns out I’m a sucker for a reluctant, non-altruistic hero.

Grimdark is a genre I want to read more of as a result of this series. I have read a few other grimdark fantasy novels, namely Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Empire series and I have plenty more on my TBR. I enjoy the blurred lines around “heroes” and the amorality of the characters. As a genre, I feel it has a sense of gritty realism – uncertainty as to how events are going to pan out. Classic fantasy has a lot of overused tropes, in my opinion. I want to be worried about my favourite main characters. In dark and life-threatening situations, I don’t want to trust that a character will make it through because they are pivotal to a story. As a reader, I thrive off the danger of knowing anything could happen at any moment… that no one is safe from harm.

Ryhalt is one of my favourite fantasy characters of all time. Before the events of Blackwing and Ravencry twisted him into the man he has become in the opening pages of Crowfall, he already had a sarcastic sense of humour that I loved. He has always had a cynical, pessimistic view of life which fits in so well with the tone of the novels. Corrupted my magic born of death and devastation wrought years earlier, he is far from the ideal candidate to prevent such devastation again.

Crowfall truly is the epic conclusion to this series, and I was hooked on it. I read it from cover to cover in a matter of days and I was absorbed from start to finish! I don’t want to spoil even a single thing so I am trying to comment as little on the plot as possible. All I will say is that I don’t think you will be disappointed. I wasn’t!

Will I be re-reading this series again? Absolutely! The world captured in the pages of these books is truly unique, and one I could re-visit again and again without getting bored.

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – New Releases I Am Excited About

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Hi guys! Today’s Top Ten Tuesday post is quite an exciting one, as I am sharing my Top Ten new book releases I cannot wait to read! This is probably going to be a disastrous post for my never-shrinking TBR, but it’s always good to have something to look forward to!

New books… shiny books…

 

The Institute – Stephen King

Goodreads – The Institute

 

I have fallen in love with Stephen King’s writing and I have seen so many good reviews of this book in the blogosphere. I have plenty of King books still to read, but I am looking forward to this one!

 

The Burning White – Brent Weeks

Goodreads – The Burning White

 

Thus far, I have only read The Black Prism, aka book one of this series. This is the fifth and final instalment to the series, but I’m still looking forward to it. Now that I know the conclusion is near I’ll be more inclined to pick the rest of these books up!

 

Cilka’s Journey – Heather Morris

Goodreads – Cilka’s Journey

 

I loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. It’s one of the best audiobooks I have listened to since subscribing to Audible. This was published only two weeks ago and I have already downloaded Cilka’s Journey to my library on Audible.

 

Imaginary Friend – Stephen Chbosky

Goodreads – Imaginary Friend

 

I was very lucky to have received a Netgalley download of the book, so I could be reading this in as little as two weeks time, my TBR permitting. The synopsis sounds so creepy and fantastic – I can’t wait to read it!

 

The Song of the Sycamore – Ed Cox

Goodreads – The Song of the Sycamore

After reading The Relic Guild series, I am really excited to read this latest novel by Edward Cox. I applied to sign up to the blog tour for the book, however, the tour was full. Gollancz was supposed to be sending me a copy to review anyway, but for one reason or another it didn’t turn up. Never mind I’ll just have to purchase a copy when the time comes to read it!

 

The Mothers – Sarah J. Naughton

Goodreads – The Mothers

I don’t know if this appeals to me for its sinister plot or because a couple of my friends have either recently had children or are expecting. Either way, this sounds like an exciting read! As I haven’t read any of her other books, this is a great way to try a new author.

 

An Anonymous Girl – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Goodreads – An Anonymous Girl

Psychology, ethics and morality are topics that go hand-in-hand, although a lot of people might not be aware of it. I loved studying psychology at school so books on the subject are always greatly received. The synopsis makes this experiment sound so personal… so I can’t wait to find out why!

 

Recursion – Blake Crouch

Goodreads – Recursion

I haven’t even read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch yet, although it is on my TBR. I’ll be adding this one too as it has elements of psychology in it as well. The idea of waking up one day with false memories is scary… but the brain is that suggestible in the right circumstances.

 

Starsight – Brandon Sanderson

Goodreads – Starsight

Starsight is the second book in the new Skyward series. Brandon Sanderson has become one of my auto-buy authors, so of course I am excited by any new book of his!

 

Howling Dark – Christopher Ruocchio

Goodreads – Howling Dark

I shouldn’t have to wait too long for this either, as the ARC is sat on my bookshelf in the spare room. It’s about time to read it too, having worked my way through previous ARCs. This might just end up on my TBR for next month. I haven’t decided yet.

Are you excited for any of these books or authors?

 

 

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