I've already started two books in February, and I have seven other books on the list to read this month.
First up I've started these two books that were completely spontaneous mood reads, which is what I've been wanting more of-
I bought a hardcover copy of this one a while back and I've been wanting to read it ever since.
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
A dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic
Cordelia
knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between
rooms, and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single
friend—unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The
only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But
more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t
force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes
days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.
After a suspicious
death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the
middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind
all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of
a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester.
Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia
knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his
kind, intelligent sister.
Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks
away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner
every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and
to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked
witch of the worst kind.
I bought the hardcover version of the third book
in this series not knowing it was a part of a series. They're companion
novels, not direct sequels, so it probably wouldn't matter what order I
read them in but I wanted to read them in order. So, I'm reading this
one first and so far enjoying it.
Part of Your World (Part of Your World #1) by Abby Jimenez
A refreshingly modern fairy tale and instant
New York Times bestseller that Love Hypothesis author Ali Hazelwood
hails as "an uplifting, feel-good, romantic read."
After a
wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat,
Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause:
Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than
her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated
city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable.
While
her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of
world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine
with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel
and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s
really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more
than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and
giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.
Bringing
Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the
joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them,
how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?
My most anticipated read this month-
Twelve Months (The Dresden Files #18) by Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional
wizard, has always managed to save the day—but, in this powerful entry
in the Dresden Files, can he save himself?
One year. 365 days. Twelve months.
Harry
Dresden has been through a lot, and so has his city. After Harry and
his allies narrowly managed to save Chicago from being razed, everything
is different—and it’s not just the current lack of electricity.
Harry
lost people he cared about in the battle, and that’s the kind of loss
that takes a toll. Harry being Harry, he’s doing his best to help the
city and his friends recover and rebuild, but it’s a heavy load. He
needs time.
Time is one thing Harry doesn’t have, however.
Ghouls are prowling Chicago and killing innocent civilians. Harry’s
brother is dying, and Harry doesn’t know how to help him. And last but
certainly not least, the Winter Queen of the Fae has allied with the
White Court of vampires—and Harry’s been betrothed to the seductive,
deadly vampire Lara Raith to seal the deal.
It’s been a tough
year. More than ever, the city needs Harry Dresden the wizard—but after
loss and grief, is there enough left of him to rise to the challenge?
Reading for NetGalley-
Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove
Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award winner Jennifer K. Breedlove brings coastal Maine to life in Murder Will Out, a lighter, modern gothic mystery that's as atmospheric as it is heart-warming.
Come for the memories. Stay for the murder...
Little North Island, off the coast of Maine, is so beautiful it could
be a postcard. Organist Willow Stone cherishes her memories of childhood
summers spent on the island with her godmother Sue... even though her
visits ended abruptly, and she hasn't seen or heard from her godmother
in over fifteen years. Until a letter from Sue—and word of Sue’s
death—brings Willow back to the picturesque island.
The islanders
rarely mention Sue without also bringing up Cameron House, and the
controversy around Sue’s unexpected inheritance of the sprawling
mansion. When Willow overhears someone threatening the next heir to the
property, she starts to question whether Sue’s death was really an
accident, and can’t help but wonder whether someone on this sleepy
island is willing to stop at nothing—even murder—to claim Cameron House
for their own.
Through Willow’s eyes, as well as those of others
on the island, a mystery unfolds that keeps drawing Willow back to
Cameron House and the very real ghosts that walk its corridors.
Pick it for me book-
Wild Reverence (Letters of Enchantment #0) by Rebecca Ross
Blockbuster bestseller Rebecca Ross returns to the world of international sensation Divine Rivals with her most epic story yet.Before Iris sat at her typewriter and before Enva sang her song, a young goddess wandered dreams…
Born
to the firelit domain of the underworld, Matilda is the youngest
goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land
where gods kill each other for magic, Matilda must come of age sooner
than most. She may be known to carry letters through the realms, but she
also carries secrets of her one of them deadly, the other a mortal boy
who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met…
Ten
years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of
his life – begging the goddess he befriended in dreams for aid. But his
prayer went unanswered, forever hardening his heart against the gods.
That is until the same goddess comes tumbling through his window,
bearing a letter to change both their destinies. For Matilda and Vincent
are tangled together by threads of fate and the promise of a future
beyond dreams, one that might rewrite the dark, blood-soaked ways of the
gods…or end them.
Reading with The Mystery Book Club-
Teen Henry 1994 (Henry Bins #0.5) by Nick Pirog
Henry Bins only gets one hour a day. This week, he's going to make it count!
Step
into the world of 14-year-old Henry Bins as he navigates his teenage
years in the neon-soaked landscape of 1994, where pagers beep, dial-up
internet whirs, and grunge music reigns supreme!
Henry Bins
has a rare sleep disorder where he's only awake for 60 minutes a day,
from 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. His meticulously regimented life—three
minutes to shower, five minutes to eat, seventeen minutes of school,
four minutes to play Zelda—is turned upside down when his dad leaves for a week-long cruise.
Just
days into his newfound freedom, Henry's carefully structured hour
explodes into adventure after a chance encounter with the audacious and
beautiful Alice leads to the discovery of an abandoned puppy and a
suspicious puppy mill.
As they team up to care for the mischievous pup, Trout,
and work to shut down the cruel operation, Henry and Alice stumble upon
a web of secrets involving her father—the principal of the local high
school—and a shady new technology company. With each precious minute
ticking away, they find themselves entangled in a high-stakes game of
corruption, daring escapes, and a first crush that makes Henry's heart
race faster than his limited time.
With the help of Alice's best
friend Nicole and her brother Greg—or "Cipher" as the teenage hacker
insists on being called—they embark on a mission to expose the truth
before time runs out.
Full of heart-pounding adventure, first love, late-night daring, unbreakable friendship, and '90s nostalgia, Teen Henry 1994 is a hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age mystery that is a bold reminder that sixty minutes is all it takes to change everything.
Silent Witness (Cass Leary #2) by Robin James
A wealthy couple is brutally murdered in their
kitchen. The only witness, their six-year-old daughter goes missing. The
child’s birth mother is charged with the crime.
Small town
lawyer Cass Leary takes the case that could rip her family apart. Her
sister Vangie stands accused in the double homicide of an affluent, Ann
Arbor couple. All the physical evidence points to Vangie’s guilt and
Cass knows she’s been keeping secrets. But, is she truly capable of
murder?
As Cass digs deeper, dark suspicion grows against her own
sister. It’s a race against time as the clues pile up against Vangie
and the chances of finding her little girl alive dwindle. To find the
truth and unmask a killer, Cass will have to risk her reputation and her
life.
Silent Witness is the second book in series
of high-stakes legal thrillers. If you like blood-pumping action,
compelling characters, and twisted crime conspiracies, then you’ll love
Robin James’s page-turning tale.
Reading at Fantasy Buddy Reads-
Dragons of Fate (Dragonlance: Destinies #2) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
A courageous heroine trapped in the distant past
is determined to return to her own time-without changing the shape of
the world forever-as the New York Times bestselling Dragonlance series
continues in the thrilling sequel to Dragons of Deceit.
A clash
of powerful magical forces sets off the Graygem of Gargath, sending
Destina and her companions deeper into the past than she intended-to the
age of Huma Dragonsbane and the Third Dragon War. Now, after the Device
of Time Journeying shatters, they must find another way back to their
own era, before the Graygem alters history irrevocably and the Third
Dragon War ends in defeat for the forces of good.
With the battle
raging on, Destina tries desperately to make amends and prevent
disaster. Raistlin and Sturm encounter their heroes, Huma and Magius,
and must reconcile the myths with the men. Meanwhile, Tasslehoff-shocked
that the Knights of Solamnia have never heard of dragonlances-sets out
to find the famed weapons.
But as the forces of the Dark Queen
close in on the High Clerist's Tower, Destina's party must return to
their own timeline together-or not at all.
Reading for Book Club-
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
In this pulse-quickening novel, Alfred Bester
imagines a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a
single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and
protect themselves with radioactive hitmen—and where an inarticulate
outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive.
The Stars My Destination is a classic of technological prophecy and timeless narrative enchantment by an acknowledged master of science fiction.
