Januarys Book Haul | 40+ books to add to your TBR

Remember in December when I made a post about my reading goals for 2019 in which I said “I’d also like to seriously cut down on the amount of books I get“? *cackles uncontrollably* Yeah me either apparently.

So I suggest you keep reading to see what a mess I put myself in with my TBR pile and yes I got more books than there are days in January.

Please note: this post contains summaries from Goodreads and affiliate lonks to purchase the books; you’ll not be charged any extra when purchasing through these.

P U R C H A S E D

My first haul, as in books purchased, didn’t happen till he 23rd January. I did so well for 22 days and not purchasing any books, but then do you know what happened? I travelled to Liverpool alone, found a great Comic store and indulged myself. No one should have to tell me no but it is handy haha.
📚 The Wicked + The Divine: Fandemonium by Kieron Gillen + Jamie McKelvie [purchase]
The second volume of the urban fantasy series where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods. It takes a revelation from Inanna to draw Laura back into the worlds of Gods and Superstardom to try and discover the truth behind a conspiracy to subvert divinity.

📚 Saga, Vol 9 by Brian K. Vaughan + Fiona Staples [purchase]
The series returns with a spacefaring adventure about fake news and genuine terror. Get ready for the most shocking, most impactful SAGA storyline yet.

📚 Paper Girls, Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan + Cliff Chian [purchase]
The mind-bending, time-warping adventure continues, as intrepid newspaper deliverer Tiffany is launched from the prehistoric past into the year 2000! In this harrowing version of our past, Y2K was even more of a cataclysm than experts feared, and the only person who can save the future is a 12-year-old girl from 1988

📚 Snotgirl, Vol. 2: California Screaming by Bryan Lee O’Malley + Leslie Hung [purchase]
Lottie Person is a glamorous fashion blogger living her best life in L.A. — at least that’s what she wants you to think. CALIFORNIA SCREAMING finds Lottie putting the past behind her and trying to make the best of a bad situation — her life! Lottie’s new bestie is an emotional roller coaster

📚 Shades of Magic #1-4: The Steel Prince by V.E. Schwab, Andrea Olimpieri + Enrcia Angiolni [purchase]
In a gaslamp world where magicians navigate alternate Londons, the prince of Red London pursues a dark version of his beloved city – and faces worse than exile…

Now we have the selection of books that were pre-orders / book subscription boxes, or purchased because I was in a Waterstones and had gift vouchers left to spend.
📖 King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo [purchase]
Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

📖 Nevernight by Jay Kristoff [purchase]
Mia Covere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death. Destined to destroy empires, the child raised in shadows made a promise on the day she lost everything: to avenge herself on those that shattered her world.

📚 The Wicked King by Holly Black [purchase]
You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

📖 Stain by A.G. Howard [purchase]
After Lyra—a princess incapable of speech or sound—is cast out of her kingdom of daylight by her wicked aunt, a witch saves her life, steals her memories, and raises her in an enchanted forest … disguised as a boy known only as Stain. Meanwhile, in Lyra’s rival kingdom, the prince of thorns and night is dying, and the only way for him to break his curse is to wed the princess of daylight, for she is his true equal. As Lyra rediscovers her identity, an impostor princess prepares to steal her betrothed prince and her crown. To win back her kingdom, save the prince, and make peace with the land of the night, Lyra must be loud enough to be heard without a voice, and strong enough to pass a series of tests—ultimately proving she’s everything a traditional princess is not.

📖 To Make Monsters Out of Girls by Amanda Lovelace [purchase]
amanda lovelace presents her new illustrated duology, “things that h(a)unt.” In this first installment, to make monsters out of girls, lovelace explores the memory of being in an abusive relationship. She poses the eternal question: Can you heal once you’ve been marked by a monster, or will the sun always sting?

📖 Evermore by Sara Holland [purchase]
Jules Ember was raised hearing legends of the ancient magic of the wicked Alchemist and the good Sorceress. But she has just learned the truth: She is the Alchemist, and Caro – a woman who single-handedly murdered the Queen and Jules’s first love, Roan, in cold blood – is the Sorceress.

G I F T E D

All the books in this section were gifted to me from friends and family throughout the month of January which I am so thankful for. I hadn’t seen The Science of His Dark Materials before but it looks like something that would be interesting to dive into.📖 Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo [purchase]
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

📖 The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay [purchase]
One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, “None of what’s going to happen is your fault”. Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: “Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world.”

📚 Battle Royale, Vol. 01 by Koushun Takami [purchase]
Battle Royale, a high-octane thriller about senseless youth violence in a dystopian world, it is one of Japan’s best-selling – and most controversial – novels. As part of a ruthless program by the totalitarian government, ninth-grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food, and various weapons. Forced to wear special collars that explode when they break a rule, they must fight each other for three days until only one “winner” remains. The elimination contest becomes the ultimate in must-see reality television. A Japanese pulp classic available in English for the first time, Battle Royale is a potent allegory of what it means to be young and survive in today’s dog-eat-dog world. The first novel by small-town journalist Koushun Takami, it went on to become an even more notorious film by 70-year-old director Kinji Fukusaku.

📖 Doll Bones by Holly Black [purchase]
Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice.

📖 Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige [purchase]
I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be some kind of hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado – taking you with it – you have no choice but to go along, you know?
Sure, I’ve read the books. I’ve seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can’t be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There’s still a yellow brick road – but even that’s crumbling.

📚 Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham [purchase]
When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White’s party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown’s sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf (Bigby Wolf), to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose’s ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her current live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber.

📚 Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham [purchase]
Ever since they were driven from their homelands by the Adversary, the non-human Fables have been living on the Farm—a vast property in upstate New York that keeps them hidden from the prying eyes of the mundane world. But now, after hundreds of years of isolation, the Farm is seething with revolution, fanned by the inflammatory rhetoric of Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs. And when Snow White and her sister Rose Red stumble upon their plan to liberate the Homelands, the commissars of the Farm are ready to silence them—by any means necessary!

📖 The Science of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials by
Mary Gribbin + John Gribbin [purchase]
Drawing on string theory and space-time, quantum physics and chaos theory, award-winning science authors Mary and John Gribbin reveal how Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy is rooted in scientific truth.

📖 Lyra’s Oxford by Philip Pullman [purchase]
Lyra’s Oxford begins with Lyra and Pantalaimon spotting a witch’s dæmon. Lyra shelters the daemon from the pursuit of a frenzied pack of birds, and then attempts to help by guiding the daemon to the home of an alchemist living in a part of Oxford known as Jericho. The journey through Oxford reveals more dangers than Lyra had anticipated.

📖 Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman [purchase]
In this prequel episode from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials universe, Lee Scoresby — Texan aeronaut and future friend to Lyra Belacqua — is 24 years old. The story reveals the origins of Scoresby’s friendship with Iorek Byrnison as well as Scoresby’s aeronautical career.

E V E N T S

In January I was also lucky enough to attend 2 book events. Teensgate which I’ve already spoken about and Headline’s New Voices event! Both of these provided attendees some free copies to help with promotion.

📖 Marvel: Fearless and Fantastic! Female Super Heroes Save the World by Sam Maggs [purchase]
Women can save the world. More than 50 incredible female Super Heroes from the Marvel Comics universe inspire girls and women of all ages to be powerful, passionate and persistent.

📖 Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff [purchase]
Watch your six. Beware tall buildings. Always have your knives.
Growing up on a tiny island off the coast of a post-apocalyptic Ireland, Orpen’s life has revolved around physical training and necessity. After Mam died, it’s the only way she and her guardian Maeve have survived the ravenous skrake (zombies) who roam the wilds of the ravaged countryside, looking for prey.

📖 Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce [purchase]
Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise – she’s just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems…

📖 Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play by Meagan Marie [purchase]
Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play is a celebration of female accomplishments in the video game industry, ranging from high-level executives to programmers to cosplayers. This insightful and celebratory book highlights women who helped to establish the industry, women who disrupted it, women who fight to diversify it, and young women who will someday lead it. Featuring household names and unsung heroes, each individual profiled is a pioneer in their own right.

📖 The Six Loves of Billy Binns by Richard Lumsden [purchase]
At 117 years old, Billy Binns is the oldest man in Europe and he knows his time is almost up. But Billy has a final wish: he wants to remember what love feels like one last time. As he looks back at the relationships that have shaped his life – and the events that shaped the century – he recalls a life full of hope, heartbreak and, above all, love.

📖 Past Life by Dominic Nolan [purchase]
Waking up beside the dead girl, she couldn’t remember anything.
Who she was. Who had taken her. How to escape.
Detective Abigail Boone has been missing for four days when she is finally found, confused and broken. Suffering retrograde amnesia, she is a stranger to her despairing husband and bewildered son.

📖 The Girl in the Letter by Emily Gunnis [purchase]
A heartbreaking letter. A girl locked away. A mystery to be solved.
1956. When Ivy Jenkins falls pregnant she is sent in disgrace to St Margaret’s, a dark, brooding house for unmarried mothers. Her baby is adopted against her will. Ivy will never leave.
Present day. Samantha Harper is a journalist desperate for a break. When she stumbles on a letter from the past, the contents shock and move her. The letter is from a young mother, begging to be rescued from St Margaret’s. Before it is too late.

R E V I E W C O P I E S #GIFTED

And now we have finally made it to the last section of this haul – review copies! All of these were received for free in exchange for an honest review. Thes first few are a combination between physical Proof copies or earlt finished copies.

📖 One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence [purchase]
Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange—yet curiously familiar—man is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help—now.

📖 Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye [purchase]
Sora can move as silently as a ghost and hurl throwing stars with lethal accuracy. Her gemina, Daemon, can win any physical fight blindfolded and with an arm tied around his back. They are apprentice warriors of the Society of Taigas—marked by the gods to be trained in magic and the fighting arts to protect the kingdom of Kichona.

📖 The Antidote by Shelley Sackier [purchase]
Magic is not allowed, under any circumstances — even if it could save someone’s life. Instead, there are herbal remedies and traditional techniques that have been painstakingly recorded in lieu of using the mystical arts. Fee knows this, so she keeps her magic a secret

📚 Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff + Amie Kaufman [purchase]
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

📖 Dread Nation by Justina Ireland [purchase]
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

📚 The Migration by Helen Marshall [purchase]
Storms and flooding are worsening around the world, and a mysterious immune disorder has begun to afflict the young. Sophie Perella is about to begin her senior year of high school in Toronto when her little sister, Kira, is diagnosed. Their parents’ marriage falters under the strain, and Sophie’s mother takes the girls to Oxford, England, to live with their Aunt Irene. An Oxford University professor and historical epidemiologist obsessed with relics of the Black Death, Irene works with a centre that specializes in treating people with the illness. She is a friend to Sophie, and offers a window into a strange and ancient history of human plague and recovery. Sophie just wants to understand what’s happening now; but as mortality rates climb, and reports emerge of bodily tremors in the deceased, it becomes clear there is nothing normal about this condition–and that the dead aren’t staying dead. When Kira succumbs, Sophie faces an unimaginable choice: let go of the sister she knows, or take action to embrace something terrifying and new.
Tender and chilling, unsettling and hopeful, The Migration is a story of a young woman’s dawning awareness of mortality and the power of the human heart to thrive in cataclysmic circumstances.

These are also review copies but are all eBooks, most are from NetGalley but Aries 181 + Lucid were from the authors.

📚 The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One by Amanda Lovelace [purchase]
The mermaid is known for her siren song, luring bedroom-eyed sailors to their demise. However, beneath these misguided myths are tales of escapism and healing, which Lovelace weaves throughout this empowering collection of poetry, taking you on a journey from the sea to the stars. They tried to silence her once and for all, but the mermaid’s voice returns in this one.

💔 Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao
In the Cyrilian Empire, Affinites are reviled and enslaved. Their varied abilities to control the world around them are unnatural–dangerous. And Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, might be the most monstrous of them all. Her deadly Affinity to blood is her curse and the reason she has lived her life hidden behind palace walls.

💔 Gang of Fools by James Otis Smith
Aditya’s got one week to come up with ten grand for rent.
Diane needs a cool condo in a hot neighborhood to boost her Q rating.
Paul simply cannot keep it in his pants.
Ishmael’s keeping a secret from his fellow dancehall revolutionaries.
Laila’s autobiographical porno has attracted the Russian mob, and Mr. Chips hates you.
Yes, yes he does.
A vivid look at our dystopian urban future, by a rising new talent in comics. Lovers and losers aren’t so easy to tell apart here, and everyone’s a member of their own Gang of Fools.

📖 Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton [purchase]
Set in our world, spanning the near to distant future, the author, Arwen Elys Dayton, explores the possible consequences of advanced medical breakthroughs and how they may shape and reshape humanity. From organ donation to plastic surgery to full bodily reconstruction, these stories take you by your (for now, organic) hand and lead you into a future where the line between person and machine becomes increasingly blurred.

📚 Aries 181 by Tiana Warner
When Jess uncovers evidence that her boss is stealing technology to build his company, her coveted internship at Aries turns from dream job to catastrophe. Worse, her boss cons another young woman into becoming his accomplice, and the duo’s chemically enhanced skills and weapons help them become the most infamous supercriminals to sweep the tech world. Before they pilfer every aerospace lab in North America, Jess must use her ingenuity to stop them—risking her career, her relationships, and maybe even her life.

📖 Lucid by Kristy Fairlamb [purchase]
Lucy Piper lives a lonely existence on the precipice between life and death. She possesses the horrifying ability to resurrect real-life tragic events in her nightmares, reliving over and over, as if she were there, the last few moments before the victim takes their final breath. Car accidents, drownings, plane crashes – Lucy has seen it all. No one understands what it’s like living death by night and fearing sleep by day.

And that is finally everything I got in January! I’m exhausted after creating this list and this has definitely made me want to get less books in the future.

📚 – read
💔 – did not finish / opted not to read
📖 – to be read

Which books have you read & did you add any to your tbr?

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