July/August Book Haul

So after all the books I brought at YALC at the end of July I still brought more this month; not only way more than I ever had before but also way more than I should have. Granted though I got some books for free, thanks to NetGalley and #SFATW, the ones I paid for alone would normally constitute to two or three hauls instead of one.

There were a few books that have been on my to-buy list for a while now that I finally got around to buying, a few more I got on a whim, and even more which I brought for YALC.

And yes I have a load of gorgeous new books now but my bank account seriously hates me, especially when you combine this haul with the one from YALC. I’m going on another book buying ban for the next few months, it’ll give me a chance to get through all the new books I brought and re-read some old favourites as well.

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Amazon

• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
• The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
• The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
• The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
• The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

As soon as I finished the first Percy Jackson series I went out about brought the second, The Heroes of Olympus. These books look gorgeous sitting on my bookshelves, I just need to find the time to get around to reading them. I loved the first series and if the reviews and hype are anything to go by I’m going to love this second series just as much.

• Alice by Christina Henry
  Check out my review here.
• Red Queen by Christina Henry
  Check out my review here.
• Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
• How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne
• Harry Potter at the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne

Of course when I discovered there was an Alice in Wonderland retelling out there I hadn’t read I had to go out and buy it, luckily both books had just been released so I didn’t have to wait for Red Queen. The Spinster Club books are two I brought when I saw Holly Bourne was going to be at YALC, I haven’t read them yet but any excuse to pick them up really.

It should come as a surprise to no one to see The Cursed Child on my haul this month, I’ve had it pre-ordered since it was available on Amazon and was counting down the days until it’s release. The play was brilliant beyond words so I can’t wait to read the book and relive the experience of seeing it on stage.

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Waterstones

• The Next Together by Lauren James
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
• Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
  Check out my review here.

The majority of these books I brought for YALC. I’ve been meaning to get around to The Next Together for a while now, and like with The Spinster Club books once I saw Lauren James was appearing at YALC it was any excuse to pick up this book. I’ve heard amazing things about all of Patrick Ness’s books, especially the Chaos Walking series, and the books by him I’ve read so far I’ve loved so I can’t wait to get around to these. The Song of Achilles was a whim purchase for me, after reading and loving the book so much I had to go out and buy it right away.

• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Random Riggs
  Check out my review here.
• Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
  Check out my review here.
• Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

The Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series is one that’s been on my Kindle for  a long time now and on my to-read list for an even longer time. With the movie coming out in September it seemed like the perfect time to start the series, so of course I went out and brought all three books of the trilogy from Waterstones.

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Fairy Loot

• Inherited by Freedom Matthews

If saying ‘I love you’ meant death, would you still say it?

The Wilted Rose, of faery-tale and folklore, is a pirate ship filled with unfortunate souls-each forbidden to love. One such soul is Valencia ‘Lennie’ Roux. Raised in a brothel and an heir to a curse; Lennie never expected to pique the interest of any man. Yet with the arrival of vivid-eyed Nathaniel, she is torn between wanting to know him better and fearing what that knowledge would mean.

With Nathaniel bringing the crew’s total to six, the Wilted Rose sets off in search of the remaining two heirs. They hope that in reuniting, they will convince the faery Sorceress responsible for the curse, to end it. However lurking beneath the water is a long standing enemy of the Wilted Rose; who is determined to thwart their quest and bring down its leaders.

Together the eight heirs fight for survival, friendship and love.

• Frostblood by Elly Blake

The first in a page-turning young adult fantasy series perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen and Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series.

In a land governed by the cruel Frostblood ruling class, seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has spent most of her life hiding her ability to manipulate heat and light—until the day the soldiers come to raid her village and kill her mother. Ruby vows revenge on the tyrannous Frost King responsible for the massacre of her people.

But Ruby’s powers are unpredictable…and so are the feelings she has for Arcus, the scarred, mysterious Frostblood warrior who shares her goal to kill the Frost King, albeit for his own reasons. When Ruby is captured by the Frost King’s men, she’s taken right into the heart of the enemy. Now she only has one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who took everything from her—and in doing so, she must unleash the powers she’s spent her whole life withholding.

Frostblood is set in world where flame and ice are mortal enemies—but together create a power that could change everything.

• Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
  Check out my review here.

Destined to destroy empires, Mia Covere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death.

Six years later, the child raised in shadows takes her first steps towards keeping the promise she made on the day that she lost everything.

But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, so if she is to have her revenge, Mia must become a weapon without equal. She must prove herself against the deadliest of friends and enemies, and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and demons at the heart of a murder cult.

The Red Church is no Hogwarts, but Mia is no ordinary student.

The shadows love her. And they drink her fear.

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NetGalley eARCs

• Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige
• When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
• And I Darken by Kiersten White
  Check out my review here.

I can’t wait to get started on Stealing Snow and When the Moon Was Ours. Both are two highly anticipated releases for me for this year and they both sound amazing so I was thrilled when I was approved for their ARCs by NetGalley. And I Darken was a book I saw great reviews for, and while it wasn’t quite what I expected it was still a brilliant read and a series I can’t wait to continue when the second book is released.

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#SFATW

Souvenirs from Across the World is an original feature created by Marie at Drizzle and Hurricane Books.

Souvenirs From Across The World is an original idea created for all book bloggers from all around the world, but is not limited to it. If it’s mainly created for book bloggers because of a possibility to get books as a gift, every blogger can participate.

This feature was created to get to know each other a bit better, especially where we are all from, share a bit of our countries, cities, cultures, traditions, writers, authors. The main goal of Souvenirs From Across The World is to create a link between all bloggers, from everywhere, and to share a bit of the diversity that makes everyone unique on the blogosphere.

It sounded amazing, and I loved the idea of getting to know other bloggers from all over the world so of course I immediately signed up. I was paired with Donna at ChocolatenWaffles’ Blog who lives in Bordeaux in France; a city I’ve never been to but after receiving her gift I feel I need to visit sometime soon.

• Empire of Ants by Bernard Werber

Here is the stunning international bestseller in the tradition of Watership Down but with a dark, original twist. Unique, daring, and unforgettable, it tells the story of an ordinary family who accidentally threaten the security of a hidden civilization as intelligent as our own—a colony of ants determined to survive at any cost….

Jonathan Wells and his young family have come to the Paris flat at 3, rue des Sybarites through the bequest of his eccentric late uncle Edmond. Inheriting the dusty apartment, the Wells family are left with only one warning: Never go down into the cellar.

But when the family dog disappears down the basement steps, Jonathan follows—and soon his wife, his son, and various would-be rescuers vanish into its mysterious depths.

Meanwhile, in a pine stump in a nearby park, a vast civilization is in turmoil. Here a young female from the russet ant nation of Bel-o-kan learns that a strange new weapon has been killing off her comrades. To find out why, she enlists the help of a warrior ant, and the two set off on separate journeys into a harsh and violent world. It is a world where death takes many forms—savage birds and voracious lizards, warlike dwarf ants and rapacious termites, poisonous beetles and, most bizarre of all, the swift, murderous, giant guardians of the edge of the world: cars.

Yet the end of the female’s desperate quest will be the eerie secret in the cellar at 3, rue des Sybarites—a mystery she must solve in order to fulfil her special destiny as the new queen of her own great empire. But to do so she must first make unthinkable communion with the most barbaric creatures of all.

Empire of the Ants is a brilliant evocation of a hidden civilization as complex as our own and far more ancient. It is a fascinating realm where boats are built of leaves and greenflies are domesticated and milked like cows, where citizens lock antennae in “absolute communication” and fight wars with precisely coordinated armies using sprays of glue and acids that can dissolve a snail. Not since Watership Down has a novel so vividly captured the lives and struggles of a fellow species and the valuable lessons they have to teach us.

The gifts I received were all wonderful, not pictured are the chocolates which I started and finished eating before having an opportunity to take any photos. I can’t wait to get started on the book I received, and the Bordeaux guide book will come in very handy when I make my trip there sometime in the future.

There was a recipe included for Canelés de Bordeaux which I’ve never tried before, but I love baking so I will be attempting that recipe very soon, hopefully they’ll taste as good as they sound! I am also very pleased with my Bordeaux tote bag, now we have a plastic carrier bag tax in England I need all the tote bags I can get my hands on.

I had a lot of fun opening my package and discovering all the goodies inside, it was like Christmas come early. Donna did an amazing job finding everything she sent to me, and I hope she enjoyed everything I sent her just as much. I will definitely be taking part in SFATW again soon, it’s next on just before Christmas with subscriptions opening at the beginning of October, but you can check out Marie’s blog for more information on that.

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So I’m assuming you can see, especially when paired with my YALC book haul, why I’m putting myself on a book buying ban until the end of the year. Granted I still have a few pre-orders I’m waiting for, and I’ll still keep subscripting to the Fairy Loot boxes each month but no other books will be brought until I can stick to a budget.