Haul: February 2019

This may look a bit on the larger side, but I promise I’m still sticking to my rules…

 

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

I am not over-exaggerating when I say that The Priory of the Orange Tree is my most anticipated book of 2019. You may have already seen my Pre-Order Post about Priory, which gives the official GoodReads summary. And, if you’re here for a summary then it’s best just to head over there, because I don’t feel like I will do a good enough job on my own. I will say that, if you’ve been under a rock and have not heard of this books, it’s an enormous high fantasy novel. It has dragons, as you can see from that stunning cover, and has some F/F representation. I had pre-ordered the Illumicrate signed edition, and the kindle edition.

 

Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know: The Fathers of Wilde, Yeats, and Joyce by Colm Tobin, read by the author

In my continuing efforts to read more non-fiction, I have decided to turn to audible to help me. I am notoriously terrible at reading non-fiction, but this title appealed to me, as the phrase “mad, bad, and dangerous to know” is a quote from Caroline Lamb, the mistress of Lord Byron. Obviously, this is not about Byron, however, I have read Wilde and Joyce, so this has the potential to be interesting to me. As you can see, my resining is slightly shaky, but we’re just going to have to roll with it. By examining the fathers of these three writers, we’ll be looking at how they have influenced their lives. Maybe I’ll even get some inspiration for my dissertation, god knows, I need it!

 

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold, read by Louise Brealey

This is another, yes another, non-fiction books, this time centred around 19th history, my preferred literary period. The Five, follows the five women believed to have been victims of the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper. If you’re like me, you probably know a decent amount about the man, but barely anything about his victims. Essentially this is a unique way of reexamining aspects of these events through a different perspective. Recently released, only on the 26th of February, I’ve already seen a couple of good reviews, and hope that it’s as engaging as it sounds.

 

The Raven King and The King’s Men (The Foxhole Court #2 &#3) by Nora Skavic

Last year during one of the read-a-thon’s I finally read The Foxhole Court, after having it on my TBR for a hundred years. I fell head over heels in love with it, and finished the first book within the first day. The plot primarily falls Neil, as he joins a new Exy team, Exy being a fictions sport that seemed like a cross between Lacrosse and hockey, and the way he fits in with the rest of the team. That book defiantly has a whisper of a slow burn M/M romance, that I can’t wait to start shipping in earnest. Given how quick I read the first book I’m pretty sure I can get through all three in a weekend.

 

The Western Wind ARC by Samantha Harvey #GIFTED

I’ve been trying to avoid ARCs for a while now, because I don’t have a tone of spare time, but I was very kindly gifted an e-arc of this historical fiction novel through NetGalley from Vintage. Set in the fifteenth century, in Somerset, a man is swept from a small bridge and drowned, but was it murder or suicide? The village priest, John Reeve is determined to find out, and embarks on a quest to see justice brought to the dead man. You know I love a murder mystery, and so The Western Winds seems like an intriguing blend of that genre and medieval historical fiction. I will most likely have a review ready wither sometime this month or next month.

What books did you get this month? Are you still sticking you your New Years resolutions?

Thanks for reading,

Victoria