KEEP IT OR CUT IT | WEEK TWO

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Hey Everyone and welcome back to KEEP IT OR CUT IT!

As you know, in a bid to maybe reduce my TBR, I am taking ten books from it and checking to see if I still want to read said books.

The Method…

In order to find out if I wish to KEEP IT OR CUT IT I will do the following:

  • See if the blurb/synopsis still tickles my fancy
  • Check out the reviews
  • Maybe read the sample

One thing I am noticing doing this is that I added many books really early on and I honestly feel like I only added them recently! Obviously not?

THE BOOKS…

BOOK #1

Circe by Madeline Miller

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Dec 2018

Synopsis:

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.

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • I bought this book recently and have every intention of reading it. This book has been praised so highly for its prose and I am really excited to see what Miller is made of having not read her books before.

BOOK #2

Master Of War: The Blooding (Master of War #1) by David Gilman

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Dec 2018

Synopsis:

England, 1346: For Thomas Blackstone the choice is easy – dance on the end of a rope for a murder he did not commit, or take up his war bow and join the king’s invasion of France.

As he fights his way across northern France, Blackstone will learn the brutal lessons of war – from the terror and confusion of his first taste of combat, to the savage realities of siege warfare.

Vastly outnumbered, Edward III’s army will finally confront the armoured might of the French nobility on the field of Crécy. It is a battle that will change the history of warfare, a battle that will change the course of Blackstone’s life, a battle that is just the first chapter in a book of legend – Blackstone: Master of War

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • To say how much I LOVE history I don’t actually read much, if any, historical fiction. This book had me at “England, 1346“. A time of the Hundred Years’ Wars, The Black Prince and wars for Scottish Independence…I’m in! Add in a wrongly convicted chap and I just cant help myself. This book firmly remains on my TBR. when will I get to it? No Idea, but I will.

BOOK #3

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Jan 2019

Synopsis:

No one believes in them. But soon no one will forget them.

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive. 

CUT IT

Reasons:

  • Another historical fiction, but one I feel like I won’t get to. This story actually really intrigues me, but something is just niggling away at me that I won’t actually read it. So, while the unlikely band and potentially beautiful setting is alluring the fact that something is niggling away at me already means if I went to red it I really wouldn’t have the best mindset.

BOOK #4

And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga #1) by Kiersten White

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Jan 2019

Synopsis:

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point. 

CUT IT

Reasons:

  • This is another book that actually sounds quite interesting as I reread the synopsis with the Ottomans and the historical influences but it just has a few red flags. Red flags that I don’t actually mind…SOMETIMES! Such as love triangle, the falling for the enemies son and the likes. While these elements can be don well they more often than not just lead to me feeling frustrated with the book and its characters. so, alas I am cutting this book.

BOOK #5

Reboot (Reboot #1) by Amy Tintera

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Jan 2019

Synopsis:

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders. 

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • Oh I am really in two minds about this book! On the one hand I remember enjoying Tintera’s Ruined books, the ruthless main character and the general concept that people are rebooted really intrigues me but the romance puts me off a little bit. Hmmm, you know I think I am going to keep it there are a lot of potential aspects to love about this book and I can always DNF if I need to!

BOOK #6

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Jan 2019

Synopsis:

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she’s struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can’t seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.

The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre’s Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta’s orbit. But her temper isn’t the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.

Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other’s arms. 

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • I cant help it. I love these books, I’m stupidly excited to see a few loose ends be tied up in this word and see Cassian’s story.

BOOK #7

Elfsorrow (Legends of the Raven #1) by James Barclay

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Feb 2019

Synopsis:

Another action-packed adventure from the new master of fantasy. 

The Raven travel to a new continent in search of mages to help the ruined college of Julatsa rebuild and find themselves in the midst of an ancient curse—a curse that has unleashed a plague that threatens to wipe out the elven race. Barclay excels with another tale that pitches The Raven against the clock and unseen foes. Full of desperate fights and secret betrayals, the story also fills in more of Balaia’s history and delves deeper into the ancient emnities between the colleges.

Barclay has created a wonderfully appealing group of heroes, and with every book their history grows and the land they live in becomes wider and richer. This is landmark fantasy in the making.

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • Something about this book just really makes me want to keep it on my TBR. It isn’t a new fantasy but isn’t an old one either, its labelled as being written by a new mater of fantasy and honestly the cover REALLY does it for me! So, I’m keeping it!

BOOK #8

Dawnthief (Chronicles of the Raven #1) by James Barclay

Goodreads Link

Date Added:

Synopsis:

ELITE, UNSTOPPABLE . . . AND HIRED TO DO THE UNTHINKABLE

The Raven are an elite. Formed of six men and an elf, they’re swords for hire in the wars that have torn their land apart. For years their only loyalty has been to themselves, and to their code.

But that time is coming to an end. The Wytch Lords have escaped and The Raven find themselves fighting for the Dark College of magic, on a mission which soon becomes a race for the secret location of Dawnthief. It’s a spell – one created to end the world – and there’s a danger that someone is going to use it… 

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • I have the same feeling towards this as the above book by this author, so I’m keeping it.

BOOK #9

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman

Goodreads Link

Date Added: March 2019

Synopsis:

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. 

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • This is a book that I actually have a physical copy of and it is one I have every intention of reading. I think I have books one and two on my shelves. I really want to read this and will, it is such a cool story idea and from what others have said to me the books keep getting better.

BOOK #10

Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Garber

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Mar 2019

Synopsis:

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister, Scarlett, from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister’s. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice, but now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever…

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • I very nearly cut this despite really enjoying book one of this trilogy, but I decided not to because of how much I enjoyed the first book. my only worry is it will be the same book again, i’m not sure where this book will go but i’m interested enough to see.

There it is!

Not as many cut this week and a few I was on the fence about but still my TBR is reduced…

I have cut 2 books and kept 8. What do you think are there any books I really should have cut or ones you cant believe I cut?

KEEP IT OR CUT IT | WEEK ONE BOOKS 549 to 539

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HEY EVERYONE!

Welcome to KEEP IT OR CUT IT!

In a bid to maybe reduce my TBR I am slowly but surely going to go through my Goodreads TBR and see if I actually want to read the books still.

At present my TBR is at a whopping 549 books long!

I will be looking at ten books each week and as there is 549 that means this will run for a massive 54.9 weeks give or take. Now, I say give or take because I will still be reading so it will reduce by way of that but I will also probably still keep adding to it too. I know, I know but to many good books come to my attention.

I cant and won’t stop!

In order to find out if I wish to KEEP IT OR CUT IT I will do the following:

  • See if the blurb/synopsis still tickles my fancy
  • Check out the reviews
  • Maybe read the sample

I will then in each post showcase the book and whether it stays or goes and why. This is a fun way for me to organise my TBR but I really hope you enjoy it too!

so, I have reversed the TBR list by ‘Date Added’ so in theory and Goodreads isn’t dumb it should give them me in order of when I added them to my TBR, but we shall see.

THE BOOKS…

BOOK #549

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Feb 2018

Synopsis:

This is the way the world ends. Again.

Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • Despite many saying this is a book that requires patience and knowing quite a few people have DNF’d this book I am still going to give it a go. The synopsis is really intriguing and a lot of reviewers I trust and have very similar tastes with have rated this book very highly. I also want to tackle more SCI-FI so this is perfect for that

BOOK #548

Fool’s Assassin (The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Feb 2018

Synopsis:

Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a reward to his family for loyal service to the crown.

But behind the facade of respectable middle-age lies a turbulent and violent past. For Tom Badgerlock is actually FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard scion of the Farseer line, convicted user of Beast-magic, and assassin. A man who has risked much for his king and lost more…

On a shelf in his den sits a triptych carved in memory stone of a man, a wolf and a fool. Once, these three were inseparable friends: Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool. But one is long dead, and one long-missing.

Then one Winterfest night a messenger arrives to seek out Fitz, but mysteriously disappears, leaving nothing but a blood-trail. What was the message? Who was the sender? And what has happened to the messenger?

Suddenly Fitz’s violent old life erupts into the peace of his new world, and nothing and no one is safe.

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • I LOVE Hobb’s writing and have enjoyed the books of hers I have read up to this point so I will be slowly making my way through all of her books. So, yanno…i’m going to keep it.

BOOK #547

The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy #1) by Katherine Arden

Goodreads Link

Date Added: April 2018

Synopsis:

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales. 

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • I have actually wanted to read this book for sometime, it set an overly large book either only being 323 pages long! So it wouldn’t take me that long to read! I think though I may well read this closer to Christmas.

BOOK #546

Untitled (Crescent City #2) by Sarah J. Maas

Date Added: Nov 2018

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • Despite this not having a blurb, a cover or a release date yet I will always read SJM’s books. They are my guilty pleasure reads and despite being a pretty flawed writer I usually lover her books, though admittedly the first ones are always a bit iffy.

BOOK #545

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Nov 2018

Synopsis:

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

CUT IT

Reasons:

  • This is a YA book and while I have no issue with YA, and do still read it on occasion I am due to read Red sister and i’m thinking once I have read that most, an adult version of a similar feel this book may pale in comparison.

BOOK #544

A ​Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Nov 2018

Synopsis:

Picking up just a few months after A Reaper at the Gates left off…

The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory–or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life–and love–he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save–or destroy–all that he knows. 

CUT IT

Reasons:

  • While I have read the other books of his series and I do remember enjoying them I have decided to cut this book. Even though I enjoyed this series, I do not remember what happened in much detail nor do I remember the characters so I would have to read these books again and speaking plainly there are other book I would rather read than this series again surely to enjoy this instalment.

BOOK #543

The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire #6) by George R.R. Martin

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Nov 2018

Synopsis:

The Winds of Winter is the forthcoming sixth novel in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • I need and want the rest of the story, simple.

BOOK #542

A Dream of Spring (A Song of Ice and Fire #7) by George R.R. Martin

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Nov 2018

Synopsis:

No Cover. No synopsis…

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • Originally titled A Time For Wolves. The seventh and apparent final book of George R.R. Martin’s acclaimed series, A Song of Ice and Fire.
  • As above!

BOOK #541

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Dec 2018

Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive. 

CUT IT

Reasons:

  • I recently read Schwab’s latest book, one she has been working on for year and one that is stated to be her best. I dint rate it well.
  • Also, a few people I trust and have similar tastes with have said that the issues I had with her most recent book are a common theme among her writing. While there is no doubt she is a talented writer and has incredible story ideas the executions apparently always falls flat as I felt her latest book did and my TBR is huge, so as i’m not likely to read this it has been cut.

BOOK #540

The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black

Goodreads Link

Date Added: Dec 2018

Synopsis:

He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne. 

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power. 

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics. 

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity… 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy

KEEP IT

Reasons:

  • I actually bought this book so I will be reading it and I did really enjoy the other books of the series.

There it is! So, this week I have cut 3 books and kept 7. What do you think? Are there any books I really should have cut or ones you cant believe I cut?

Thanks for reading!

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 AUTUMNAL RELEASES TO READ…

4 Comments

It’s Autumn!

I love Autumn, it is my favourite season, or at least it is in theory! I say in theory because well, the UK is WET.

The whirling mass of crimson and lurid leaves, mother natures finale exhalation, the mild autumnal breeze drawing everyone to that pumpkin spice latte… You feel them all, the inexhaustible influence to hunker down with a warm drink by the roaring fire. It is the season that draws out all the cosy blankets, fluffy socks or some attempt at wholesome comfort. Until it rains and we have wet slippy orange mulch everywhere. So, you see favourite in theory.

Autumn officially started on Tuesday 22nd September 2020 and is with is all the way through to Monday 21st December 2020, which always throws me because for how cold it get here in the UK you’d think you were in bloody Winter!

Here are seven book, give or take maybe one, that have been or are due to be released this autumn…

Enjoy!

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

Release Date: November 12th 2020

At Montverre, an exclusive academy tucked away in the mountains, the best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu: an arcane and mysterious contest. Léo Martin was once a student there, but lost his passion for the grand jeu following a violent tragedy. Now he returns in disgrace, exiled to his old place of learning with his political career in tatters.

Montverre has changed since he studied there, even allowing a woman, Claire Dryden, to serve in the grand jeu’s highest office of Magister Ludi. When Léo first sees Claire he senses an odd connection with her, though he’s sure they have never met before.

Both Léo and Claire have built their lives on lies. And as the legendary Midsummer Game, the climax of the year, draws closer, secrets are whispering in the walls…

ADD IT YOUR GOODREADS

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 13TH 2020

I saw this on Twitter a wee bit ago and after reading the synopsis I couldn’t wait to read it, it sounds bloody brilliant. A dark fantasy historical fiction novella that takes the Ku Klux Klan and twists it up.

D. W. Griffith is a sorcerer, and The Birth of a Nation is a spell that drew upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from the heart of America. Now, rising in power and prominence, the Klan has a plot to unleash Hell on Earth.

Luckily, Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword and a head full of tales. When she’s not running bootleg whiskey through Prohibition Georgia, she’s fighting monsters she calls “Ku Kluxes.” She’s damn good at it, too. But to confront this ongoing evil, she must journey between worlds to face nightmares made flesh–and her own demons. Together with a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter, Maryse sets out to save a world from the hate that would consume it.

ADD IT YOUR GOODREADS

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

RELEASE DATE: October 13th 2020

I know, I know. Another witchy book, but its coming up to spooky season so I guess it must just be a sign! I can’t wait to read this and I am so happy to have the NetGalley eBook waiting patiently on my Kindle.

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

ADD IT YOUR GOODREADS

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

RELEASE DATE: October 27th, 2020

A YA Fantasy filled with all you could want from a supernatural world. I love the supernatural world and find it and its history incredibly fascinating, so this book really attracts me as a reader. It won’t be everyones cup of tea but i’m pretty excited for it.

Two sisters. One brutal murder. A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself… And an intoxicating romance.

Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost-even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems… 

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The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter

RELEASE DATE: November 10th, 2020

The second book in The Burning books by Evan Winter is due to release this November. With praise as high as can be found Winters debut received an incredible reception.

Desperate to delay an impending attack by the indigenous people of Xidda, Tau and his queen craft a dangerous plan. If Tau succeeds, the queen will have the time she needs to assemble her forces and launch an all-out assault on her own capital city, where her sister is being propped up as the ‘true’ Queen of the Omehi.

If the city can be taken, if Tsiora can reclaim her throne and reunite her people, then the Omehi might have a chance to survive the coming onslaught.

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To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

Release date: September 15th, 2020

I know this technically falls before Autumns official start but I couldn’t help it. It’s been what NINE YEARS!

Paolini is back, and from what some of the reviews have said his work is even stronger than before! From YA to adult. From Fantasy to SCI-FI I am super excited to read this!

Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds.

Now she’s awakened a nightmare.

During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she’s delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn’t at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. 

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity’s greatest and final hope . . .”

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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Release date: October 6th, 2020

I haven’t read any of V. E. Schwab books before, I have some on of hers on my TBR but as it is with the larger TBR lists, some books just fall victim to the abyss that no mere mortal can come out of alive. However, after coming across this ‘The Invisable Life of Addie LaRue’ I was pretty intrigued. Set over several hundred years always to be forgotten something changes.

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

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7 STANDALONE FANTASY BOOKS I WANT TO READ

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**Quick Note: This was posted early and not on Sunday because WordPress gave up the goods early**

Hello all! I hope your week has been great, but if not don’t worry hopefully my new Sunday feature will cheer you up. Seven books, for the seven days of the week.

This Sunday feature will hence forth be named Sunday’s Seven.

Creative, I know.

To start of Sundays Seven I’m going to treat you to 7 fantasy standalone from my TBR.

THE GOBLIN EMPEROR BY KATHERINE ADDISON

I bought this on Kindle this month, so I actually intend to read this relatively soon, or at least I hope to. I found this gem while reading a post about fantasy books with court intrigue, and it made it to the TBR straight away. I love reading books with crazy politics, and it just so happened that it was also one of the Kindle Deals this month, soooooo, I bought it.

Synopsis:

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne–or his life.

CIRCE BY MADELINE MILLER

I put this on my TBR not to long after its publish date, and I still haven’t read it and that’s not because I’m not interested! I love Greek mythology and retellings can be done really well but as it is with many books on the TBR they just get forgotten.

Synopsis:

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.

THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE BY SAMANTHA SHANNON

Dragons.

That’s it. Dragons.

Synopsis:

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 to be a dragonrider since she was a child, 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.

DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE BY JOAN HE

It was the cover to this that first drew me in, and then…”tyrants cut out throats. Rulers sacrifice their own” and I was safely sucked in. If the cover is this gorgeous, then I am really hoping that the story is just as stunning.

Synopsis:

Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own.

Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.

Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

THE AXE AND THE THRONE BY M. D. IREMAN

I love a good debut, I love reading a book and seeing what it took, what amazed someone enough that they knew it could wow the masses. With a vivid world, savage and ambiguous heroes and raiding northmen it was hard not to put this on my TBR. I’m pretty sure its also on my Kindle too. Also, a little side point I actually appreciate a shorter synopsis, its like when you watch a trailer that tells you the whole film, I mean where are the days when a trailer just teased you with a little something and didn’t show you the end scene of the film in the trailer, but that’s a whole otherrr rant!

Synopsis:

It is a fool’s errand and Tallos knows it, but against his own better judgment and the pleading of his wife, Tallos has committed himself to a voyage north. His lifelong friend’s eldest sons are said to have been taken by Northmen, a raiding people ill-reputed for their savagery. The boys are already dead, Tallos knows, and in that dark place of grim reasoning he wishes only to find their corpses quickly so he can fulfill his promise and return to his wife. Instead, he finds something far worse. 

TALION REVENANT BY MICHAEL STACKPOLE

Described, somewhere, as an intelligent heroic fantasy so I had to look further into this, and then I read the synopsis and was even more intrigued. I’m expecting actions, steel and intriguing plot so I think I may have to move this up the TBR a fair bit.

Also.

Guys. Guys, look. Another short synopsis!

Synopsis:

The man he is sworn to protect is the man who butchered his family.

Justices–the select of the Talion, endowed with fearsome magick and lethal martial skills–roam the Shattered Empire, crushing the lawless and championing the oppressed. Their word is law and their judgement binding on highborn and low.

Nolan is a Justice born in what once was the free nation of Sinjaria. Orphaned in the war of conquest with the nation of Hamis, he traveled to far Talianna and secured the right to become a Justice. Now, years later, the Master of all Talions has a dangerous assignment for Nolan: He is to guard the life of the king who destroyed Sinjaria and slaughtered his family. Alone, Nolan ventures into the political maelstrom that is the court of Hamis to stop an assassin even his Masters think cannot be slain. . . . 

ELANTRIS BY BRANDON SANDERSON

So, I’m pretty sure this is a standalone but I’m not one hundred per cent sure seen as though some say it is and some say it isn’t. But, what can I say, I’m a rebel so I’m still putting it in.

Synopsis:

Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.

Arelon’s new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping — based on their correspondence — to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.

But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

A rare epic fantasy that doesn’t recycle the classics and that is a complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. It’s also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy.

Well, thanks for reading kids.