February 2018 Book Haul!

Not gunna lie – there were a few “retail therapy” purchases made this month. I knew I didn’t need books BUT they were pretty and made me smile. DON’T JUDGE ME! The books that I bought weren’t impulse buys though. They were books that I’ve had my eye on for more than 6 months…… and now that I’ve validated my purchases (hahaha) let me show you the books that found their way on my shelf!

I preordered this one using my Christmas money and patiently waited (I’m lying) for it to be released. Of course I read it as soon as it came in but I didn’t do a full review as it’s really hard to review a Graphic Novel like this. I loved the Lunar Chronicles so much and every time we get a new instalment it makes me so happy!!!

Next was Speak the graphic novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. This is an author that I’ve wanted to read from for the longest time and thanks to Raincoast Books I was given the chance to finally get to it. We had been having a conversation about dark books with hard topics and this book came up. It was just released this month and I was so interested to see how this would be as a graphic novel. It was really well done! Now I want to read the full length novel so I can compare the two experiences. Here’s my full review

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara has been on my wish list for over 2 years. I heard about it through BookTube and almost everyone that talked about it loved it and was SO effected by it. I love it when a book effects someone so much that they can’t form a proper thought and the review ends up being a mess. I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll love it – but for some reason I’ve been too intimidated to even pick it up. Thanks to the top 5 intimidating books topic, you all convinced me that it needed to happen. It showed up on SO many lists and you all said it was worth it. So I took the plunge and bought it!

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.

Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.

Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre is one of my most anticipated of the year! This book sounds SO amazing! I’ve been all about science fiction and this one seems to have every element that I’m looking for. Not to mention that it takes place (at least in part) in “New Detroit”… if that’s in the same place as the current Detroit then that’s less than an hour away from me! But I hate typing the title…… my Canadian spell check refuses to accept it. We spell Honor with a U (honour) and it takes me forever to make my computer accept this as fact. So if the title randomly shows up on my blog as Honour or Conor – that means spell check attacked and I missed it lol

Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell.

Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.

Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

A million thank you’s to Raincoast for this ARC! The more I look at the cover and the more I read the synopsis, the more I become obsessed with it!! That cover just screams BAD ASS!!! She looks so fierce! Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young reminds me a lot of Merida and the story of Brave. Raised by warriors, part of a clan, and viking action! This one isn’t released until April so it’s going to be a while before you see my review – but I can’t wait!

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

Those are the 5 latest books that ended up on my shelf this month! There are so many books coming out in March too which worries my wallet. But they all sound amazing so there’s no regrets! I will say though……. I’m nearing a serious bookshelf reorganization….. it’s looking pretty full! What books did you haul this month? What are you most excited for?

Until next time, happy reading!