February Book Haul || Was It … Actually Reasonable?!

TBR Status: Mildly deflated. Read more than I added. Wait … am I doing this right? This feels … wrong.

I know I keep saying I’m going to slow down my acquisition of books, with everything going on in my life right now, and I haven’t yet. But February’s book haul was … kind of on track with that? I tried to request only the books I reeeeally wanted to read.

Honestly, most of my book haul ended up being physical books from blog tours, and those are books I know I’ll be reading in March so they won’t be languishing on my TBR. I’m kind of slaying this “controlling your TBR” thing. You know, if you squint a lot and take a few liberties.

Physical Book Haul

First round is middle grade books, which have been absolutely killing it lately. The blog tour for the books in the Adventures on Trains series, The Highland Falcon Thief and Kidnap on the California Comet has already passed (read my review here). I absolutely had fun with the series and will probably pick up the third book, which is set in Africa!

I’m actually currently reading Never After for a blog tour this week, so keep an eye out for that. It’s been quite fun so far! I think the idea will appeal to a lot of middle graders. Heck, I can think of nothing middle grade me would’ve loved more than to discover her favorite book series is real!

I received a couple ARCs this month that I am soooo stoked for! First off, The Shadow of the Gods, which I can’t even impress upon you how excited I am. I loved Gwynne’s Of Blood and Bone series, so I’ve been really looking forward to his next series, and here it is! Also, it was so kind of him to model the cover after me (that little dot on the right) standing up to my TBR monster (there on the left). I’m honored.

I’m also going to admit that I’ve never read Jeff Wheeler, even though I’ve heard good things about his work. Knight’s Ransom is for a tour this week, and it’s a world I’m looking forward to diving into!

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

I won this through a blog tour giveaway by Storytellers on Tour, and I’m super excited about it! I started it but had to set it aside for some blog tour reads, but it’s really interesting so far.

Home is Not a Country

This one’s from a ShelfAwareness giveaway, and while it’s not generally the type of book I pick up, I read an excerpt and it gave me all the feels, so I just had to give it a try!

The Swimmers

Marian Womack was a new-to-me author last year, but I loved her writing style, so I’m looking forward to her next book. I read chapter one and was immediately hooked! Also, this year feels like a good year for dystopia for some reason. Hmmm. Can’t imagine why that might be.

All the Murmuring Bones

This is a book about mermaids, so it’s almost sort of like a pun! Mermaids … murmuring bones … get it? Not sure if that was intentional or not, but I love it. It’s a gothic horror fantasy with mermaids, deals gone wrong, witches, and potentially devastating family secrets. I am 100% all for everything in this book right now and I haven’t even picked it up yet.

Aether Ones

Another one I’ve already read (review here)! Sci-fi with aliens isn’t a genre I tend to love, but I did enjoy this. It was fast paced and had plenty of mystery, plus a strong female lead who was basically a mercenary.

Kindle Book Haul

                   

A Dragonbird in the Fern

I’ve actually had my eyes on this book, so when I was approached asking if I wanted a NetGalley widget, I couldn’t help but jump on it. First, that cover? Stunning. Second, you know I’m a sucker for assassins and murder and dark fantasy.

Maya and the Return of the Godlings

I really enjoyed Maya and the Rising Dark when I read it last year, so I’m looking forward to being able to join Maya and her friends on the next installment. I’m curious whether we’ll get to meet new Orisha, too! My favorite (Babalu-Aye) hasn’t appeared yet, so I’m crossing my fingers!

Peter Lee’s Notes From the Field

This was actually for a blog tour that’s already passed, so if you’re interested, you can read my review here. I knew I had to read this, because Peter is so much like I was when I was little (obsessed with dinos, convinced he’ll be a paleontologist, and also an asthmatic).

Bad Witch Burning

What can I say? I enjoy witchy things. Also … black magic turned necromancy? That’s what it sounds like, and I sure as heck am interested to find out!

Unwritten

The protagonist of this apparently talks to books? Or hears books talking to her? Either way, I’m in! I love bookish books, and one where the protagonist is sucked into a book and hunted by a villain burning bookworlds sounds absolutely perfect to me.

                   

The Ice Lion

Have I mentioned how much of a sucker I am for books about paleontologists and archaeologists? There are TWO on this book haul, and let me tell you, it’s a somewhat niche topic. So I guess that should tell you something. This combines my nerdy science love with my also nerdy dystopian, post-apocalyptic love, and I just couldn’t resist. I am (unfortunately) only human. Even though I do blood sacrifices regularly omg where are my superpowers or god blessings or something already.

A Lesson in Vengeance

More witchy things! This book sounds full of dark and dangerous secrets, which are of course my favorite kind. I’m also a fan of vengeance, so that’s an added bonus.

No Gods, No Monsters

The rating on this one is dipping kind of low on Goodreads, which has me concerned, but it sounded too good to pass up. I mean, if I’m honest, I want all the gods and all the monsters, but I’ll settle for this, too. I’m super curious how this will combine mystery, urban fantasy, and contemporary with monsters and murder and mayhem (which is about as on brand as you can get for me).

The House of Always

Did I slam the Request button as soon as this popped up on NetGalley? Why, yes, I did. Did I also squee just a little when I was approved? Also yes. I am so freaking excited for book number four. I’m ready. No, wait, I’m not. But it’s okay. I wasn’t using those feels, anyway. Have I mentioned how much I love this series and that y’all should totally read it?

Eye of the Sh*t Storm

Another one I’ve been impatiently waiting for and was super excited when the chance popped up! I don’t even know what to expect with this book, okay? The second book was freaking bonkers, in the best sort of way, and I am super suspicious that this book might just break me, but I am tentatively going forward with it regardless.

Do we have any upcoming reads in common?

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