There will come a time when I am able to post my wrap ups and my book hauls right at the end of the month and not near the end of the following month. Today is not that day obviously because I have my February book haul for you all. It’s actually a massive haul so I’ll try and keep it short and sweet on each book. As always I’ve split it into books I bought and books from publishers!
From Publishers:
1. Sleep – C. L. Taylor
I’ve really been getting into adult thrillers and loved Fear by C. L. Taylor. I’ll also be participated in the blog tour for this in April!
All Anna wants is to be able to sleep. But crushing insomnia, terrifying night terrors and memories of that terrible night are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty…
To escape her past, Anna takes a job at a hotel on the remote Scottish island of Rum, but when seven guests join her, what started as a retreat from the world turns into a deadly nightmare.
Each of the guests have a secret but one of them is lying – about who they are and why they’re on the island. There’s a murderer staying in the Bay View hotel. And they’ve set their sights on Anna.
Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One deadly lie.
Someone’s going to sleep and never wake up…
2. The Ruin of Kings – Jenn Lyons
This is book one in an all new fantasy series so I’m incredibly excited to read this one.
There are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens.
Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn’t what the storybooks promised.
Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family’s power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.
Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin isn’t destined to save the empire.
He’s destined to destroy it . . .
3. Slayer – Kiersten White
A kick ass story set in the Buffy universe? Sign me up!
Into every generation a Slayer is born…
Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.
Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.
Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.
As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina’s dreams…
But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.
One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.
4. The Year After You – Nina de Pass
This emotional and beautifully told stories was one of my favourites in February and you can check out my full review here!
New Years’ Eve, San Francisco. The most promising party of the year ends in a tragic accident. Cara survives. Her best friend, Georgina, doesn’t.
Nine months later, Cara is struggling, consumed by guilt and grief. Her mum decides that packing her off to a Swiss boarding school will be the fresh start Cara needs. But Cara knows that swapping sunshine for snow won’t make a blind bit of difference. Georgina is gone, and nothing will bring her back.
On the plus side, up in the vertiginous Alps, Cara’s old life feels a million miles away. At Hope Hall, nobody knows about her past. And she intends to keep it that way. But her classmates, Ren and Hector, have other ideas. Cara tries to keep her distance, but she’s drawn to the offbeat, straight talking Hector, who understands her grief better than anyone. Her new friends are determined to break down the
walls she has so carefully built up. And, despite it all, Cara wants them to.
The closer Cara grows to Hector, the more Georgina slips away. Embracing life at Hope Hall means letting go of the past; of her memories of that fatal New Year’s Eve. But Cara’s quite sure she doesn’t deserve a second chance.
5. The New Boy – Paula Rawsthorne
I loved Shell by Paula Rawsthorne so I’m incredibly excited to reading her newest release!
When new boy Jack starts at Zoe’s school, something about him makes her nervous – he’s so perfect, he can hardly be real. But Zoe is soon swept up in how charming, popular and handsome he is. Soon, they’re dating and he’s everything she dreamed he might be – kind, attentive, full of romantic gestures. Eventually, though, the cracks start to show and Zoe wonders whether she was right all along. Is Jack too good to be true?
6. Master of Sorrows – Justin Call
This was another incredible new fantasy series that I just adored. You can check out my stop on the blog tour here!
You have heard the story before – of a young boy, orphaned through tragic circumstances, raised by a wise old man, who comes to a fuller knowledge of his magic and uses it to fight the great evil that threatens his world.
But what if the boy hero and the malevolent, threatening taint were one and the same?
What if the boy slowly came to realize he was the reincarnation of an evil god? Would he save the world . . . or destroy it?
Among the Academy’s warrior-thieves, Annev de Breth is an outlier. Unlike his classmates who were stolen as infants from the capital city, Annev was born in the small village of Chaenbalu, was believed to be executed, and then unknowingly raised by his parents’ killers.
Seventeen years later, Annev struggles with the burdens of a forbidden magic, a forgotten heritage, and a secret deformity. When he is subsequently caught between the warring ideologies of his priestly mentor and the Academy’s masters, he must choose between forfeiting his promising future at the Academy or betraying his closest friends. Each decision leads to a deeper dilemma, until Annev finds himself pressed into a quest he does not wish to fulfil.
Will he finally embrace the doctrine of his tutors, murder a stranger, and abandon his mentor? Or will he accept the more difficult truth of who he is . . . and the darker truth of what he may become . . .
7. Bloodwitch – Susan Dennard
I’ve had Truthwitch on my TBR for ages so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to binge the series and I am absolutely loving it so far.
Fans of Susan Dennard’s New York Times bestselling Witchlands series have fallen in love with the Bloodwitch Aeduan. And now, finally, comes his story.
High in a snowy mountain range, a monastery that holds more than just faith clings to the side of a cliff. Below, thwarted by a lake, a bloodthirsty horde of raiders await the coming of winter and the frozen path to destroy the sanctuary and its secrets.
The Bloodwitch Aeduan has teamed up with the Threadwitch Iseult and the magical girl Owl to stop the destruction. But to do so, he must confront his own father, and his past.
8. Emily Eternal – M. G. Wheaton
This sounds like such a brilliant science fiction read and you can check out my stop on the blog tour in April!
Meet Emily – she can solve advanced mathematical problems, unlock the mind’s deepest secrets and even fix your truck’s air con, but unfortunately, she can’t restart the Sun.
She’s an artificial consciousness, designed in a lab to help humans process trauma, which is particularly helpful when the sun begins to die 5 billion years before scientists agreed it was supposed to.
So, her beloved human race is screwed, and so is Emily. That is, until she finds a potential answer buried deep in the human genome. But before her solution can be tested, her lab is brutally attacked, and Emily is forced to go on the run with two human companions – college student Jason and small-town Sheriff, Mayra.
As the sun’s death draws near, Emily and her friends must race against time to save humanity. But before long it becomes clear that it’s not only the species at stake, but also that which makes us most human.
9. Song of Sorrow – Melinda Salisbury
I was so excited when this arrived because I loved book one in this intense and gripping duology!
Sequel to STATE OF SORROW by best-selling fantasy author Melinda Salisbury.
Sorrow Ventaxis has won the election, and in the process lost everything…
Governing under the sinister control of Vespus Corrigan, and isolated from her friends, Sorrow must to find a way to free herself from his web and save her people. But Vespus has no plans to let her go, and he isn’t the only enemy Sorrow faces as the curse of her name threatens to destroy her and everything she’s fought for.
10. The Near Witch – V. E. Schwab
V. E Schwab’s first book has been republished and I was so excited when it arrived in the post. I went to see her talk about the process in Glasgow and it was such a brilliant read.
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.
If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.
And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
But when an actual stranger-a boy who seems to fade like smoke-appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know-about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.
11. The Cold is in Her Bones – Peternelle Van Arsdale
This story sounds so dark and gripping I honestly can’t wait to pick it up. I’m also completely obsessed with the cover!
One girl must uncover secrets of the past to save her friend from a terrible curse in this dark and mesmerizing story of love, revenge, and redemption inspired by the myth of Medusa.
Milla knows two things to be true: Demons are real, and fear will keep her safe.
Milla’s whole world is her family’s farm. She is never allowed to travel to the village and her only friend is her beloved older brother, Niklas. When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret she’s forbidden to share: The village is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random, and the townspeople live in terror of who it will come for next.
Now, it seems, the demon has come for Iris. When Iris is captured and imprisoned with other possessed girls, Milla leaves home to rescue her and break the curse forever. Her only company on the journey is a terrible new secret of her own: Milla is changing, too, and may soon be a demon herself.
The Cold Is in Her Bones is a novel about the dark, reverberating power of pain, the yearning to be seen and understood, and the fragile optimism of love.
12. Holy Sister – Mark Lawrence
I made the most ridiculous noise when I received a copy of this. Mark very kindly sent me a signed copy and it’s now officially my most treasured book. I read this book in one day and it’s all kinds of brilliant – a review will be coming very soon!
They came against her as a child. Now they face the woman.
The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor’s armies are in retreat.
Nona faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that Nona and her friends will have time to earn a nun’s habit before war is on their doorstep.
Even a warrior like Nona cannot hope to turn the tide of war.
The shiphearts offer strength that she might use to protect those she loves, but it’s a power that corrupts. A final battle is coming in which she will be torn between friends, unable to save them all. A battle in which her own demons will try to unmake her.
A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned.
13. Lord of Secrets – Breanna Teintze
This beautiful fantasy sounds so good and is next on my TBR to read!
Magic is poison. Secrets are power. Death is . . . complicated.
Outlaw wizard Corcoran Gray has enough problems. He’s friendless, penniless and on the run from the tyrannical Mages’ Guild – and with the search for his imprisoned grandfather looking hopeless, his situation can’t get much worse.
So when a fugitive drops into his lap – literally – and gets them both arrested, it’s the last straw – until Gray realises that runaway slave Brix could be the key to his grandfather’s release. All he has to do is break out of prison, break into an ancient underground temple and avoid killing himself with his own magic in the process.
In theory, it’s simple enough. But as secrets unfold and loyalties shift, Gray discovers something with the power to change the nature of life and death itself.
Now Gray must find a way to protect the people he loves, but it could cost him everything, even his soul . . .
Books I Bought:
I’m still on a bit of a book buying ban so I’m pleased that I only bought four books!
14. Two Can Keep A Secret – Karen M. McManus
I read and loved One Of Us Is Lying so I picked this up straight away. It was a really great read and I’m so looking forward to reading what Karen M. McManus writes next!
Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.
The town is picture-perfect, but it’s hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone’s declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.
Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she’s in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous–and most people aren’t good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it’s safest to keep your secrets to yourself.
15. The Fever King – Victoria Lee
I saw this on Amazon First Reads for only 3.99 so I obviously had to snap it up regardless of my book buying ban!
In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.
The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.
Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.
16. A Girl Called Shameless – Laura Steven
I received an ARC of The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven at YALC one year and ended up absolutely adoring it so when I heard the sequel had been released I went straight out to get a copy!
Funnier. Ruder. Angrier. Izzy O’Neill is back in the hilarious sequel to The Exact Opposite of Okay.
It’s been two months since a leaked explicit photo got Izzy involved in a political sex scandal – and the aftershock is far from over. The Bitches Bite Back movement is gathering momentum as a forum for teenage feminists, and when a girl at another school has a sex tape shared online, once again Izzy leads the charge against the slut-shamer. This time she wants to change the state law on revenge porn.
Izzy and her best friend Ajita are as hilarious as ever, using comedy to fight back against whatever the world throws at them, but Izzy is still reeling from her slut-shaming ordeal, feeling angry beyond belief and wondering – can they really make a change?
17. Priory of the Orange Tree – Samantha Shannon
I’m pretty sure everyone has this massive book on their February book haul. I got my copy signed at NYALIT fest so now I just have to work out how to read it without getting a dead arm.
A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
So those are all the books I picked up in February! Let me know your thoughts if you’ve read any of them and definitely let me know which books you’ve picked up recently!
Series: Impossible Times #1
Mark Lawrence has once again made me completely fall in love with a wonderful cast of characters and an intensely gripping story. One Word Kill follows Nick – a mathematical genius who learns he’s dying of cancer. Nick and his friends play Dungeons and Dragons to escape this harsh reality but when a strange man begins following Nick and brings him some dire warnings, the gang’s real life becomes crazier than they ever thought possible.
Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess–a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.
Brody Fair feels like nobody gets him: not his overworked parents, not his genius older brother, and definitely not the girls in the projects set on making his life miserable. Then he meets Nico, an art student who takes Brody to Everland, a “knock-off Narnia” that opens its door at 11:21pm each Thursday for Nico and his band of present-day misfits and miscreants.
Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who’s cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe … which is now filling with blood.
In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead on school property, dressed in white and posed on a swing, with no known cause of death. The novel opens with this image, as related to us by the narrator, Violet, looking back on the night it happened from the present day, before returning to relate the series of events leading up to the girl’s murder.
Dracul reveals not only the true origins of Dracula himself, but also of his creator, Bram Stoker . . . and of the elusive, enigmatic woman who connects them.
Welcome to another Waiting on Wednesday! This week I thought I would talk about a book I’m really excited for – Bloodchild by Anna Stephens. This is the third and final book in the Godblind trilogy. The Godblind trilogy is a dark and gritty grimdark fantasy series filled with fascinating characters, dark magic and brutal characters. I won’t say much about the plot because I definitely don’t want to spoil the first two books in the series, but this is honestly one of my all time favourite trilogies. Book one Godblind was on my best books of 2017 and book two Darksoul was on my best books of 2018. I’m so sad that this will be the final book in the series because I’m definitely not ready to say goodbye to the characters I’ve gotten attached to and I’m also scared they aren’t going to make it to the end. Anna Stephens’ writing is just so addictive. These aren’t exactly short books and I absolutely raced through them because I couldn’t get enough. If you’re a fan of epic, bloody battles, merciless gods and some wonderful characters you definitely need to check this series out before the final book is published. 
Welcome to another Waiting on Wednesday! This week I wanted to talk about Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab which is the second instalment in her Cassidy Blake series. Victoria Schwab is like a new found favourite author for me – I read a few of her books last year and loved them and I have the rest of them on my 2019 TBR. Middle grade is not something that I read very often but when I heard about Victoria Schwab’s ghost story set in Edinburgh I just had to pick up a copy – and I’m so glad I did because I enjoyed it so much and read it in one sitting. If you want to read my full review for the book you can check it out 
After the Fire is a book I know very little about, except that I know lots of people absolutely adore it, and it’s won tons of awards. I’m pretty sure it features a cult, and I’m really intrigued to know more.
Non Pratt is one of those authors I’ve always wanted to read and just haven’t gotten around to trying yet. I saw Trouble in a second hand book shop so I quickly snapped it up and I’m looking forward to trying it out.
This is a middle-grade fantasy novel that just sounds brilliant! I’m going to be on the blog tour for this one so stay tuned for full review!
I got this as a Christmas present last year and I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet but it sounds amazing and I definitely hope I get to it before the festival!
I read Ink a while ago and loved it but I still haven’t gotten around to Spark yet so I figured this was the perfect opportunity!
This book is really intriguing to me because it’s written by so many authors that I love, and quite a few that are going to the festival – Melinda Salisbury, Sara Barnard, Non Pratt, Holly Bourne, Tara Byrne, Eleanor Wood and Lisa Williamson. I’m excited to see how it will work with so many authors collaborating in one story.
Synopsis
It’s time for another Waiting on Wednesday! Today I wanted to talk about King of Fools, the highly anticipated next instalment in the Shadow Game series. This series started last year with Ace of Shades. Ace of Shades is set in a City of Sin, where casino families reign. The story follows Enne Salta, a young woman who comes to the city in search of her missing mother. As she delves into the secrets of her mother’s past she meets Levi, a local street lord and all round crook. As she digs deeper Enne begins to lose herself in the glamour and corruption of New Reynes – but will that be enough to save her mother?
about how excited they were for the upcoming release. The striking cover really appealed to me so I quickly looked it up on Goodreads and honestly after just the first few sentences of the blurb this book went on my wishlist. It sounds like it’s going to be an epic multi-POV story full of magic, war and mystery. I have wished for it on Netgalley and I am praying to the book gods that someone grants my wish. I’ve seen some excellent reviews for it already and one that suggested it was reminiscent of the Grishaverse so this is definitely high on my TBR! 
The Bibliophile Chronicles 