1. The Twenty by Sam Holland
2. My Murder by Kate Williams
3. The People Watcher by Sam Lloyd
4. All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

My August recap

8 books read in total.

1. Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2. 1 x SPFBO
3. 1 x SPFBO
4. Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
5. Thornhedge by T Kingfisher
6. The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
7. Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine
8. Powerless by Lauren Roberts

What’s on My Plate for September

Well, I’m gradually catching up with blog hopping and reviews. The four outstanding reviews above are from books that I read earlier this year but didn’t write up yet so I’m whittling down the list slowly but surely.  Fortunately, I’ve been very reasonable when it comes to requesting more review books which means my September review list (which I’ve already started) feels a lot more manageable.  This is good news because ideally I’d like to backtrack through my earlier books that I’ve got behind with.  I’ll also be aiming to read the books put forward as potential semi-finalists by the Critiquing Chemist and similarly I’ll be giving them my list of hopefuls.  I have some tough decisions.  In total I fully read 7 of my SPFBO books and the rest I tried to read at least the first 30%, sometimes slightly more, sometimes less.  Like I said I really need to decide which books to put forward.  I’ll be posting two further elimination posts – both on forthcoming Saturdays.  My feelings go out to all the authors still waiting – and very much so to those authors from my first elimination post which can be found here.

My reading this month:

Talonsister by Jen Williams

‘Uncover a magical past that refuses to be forgotten in a world of mythical creatures and ruthless religion in this brand-new duology from the multi-award winning author of The Ninth Rain, perfect for fans of John Gwynne and Andrea Stewart.’

I’ve made a good start on this one already and can’t wait to see where the story takes me.

A Sword of Bronze and Ashes by Anna Smith Spark

‘Readers of Shauna Lawless and Thilde Kold Holdt will love this Celtic-inflected adventure by critically acclaimed, grimdark epic fantasy novelist, Anna Smith Spark.’

I’ve already taken a sneaky peak at this one and it’s given me the shivers (in a good way).  I think I’d almost forgotten how much I love this author’s style.  So beautiful.

Once A Monster by Robert Dinsdale

This isn’t my first outing with this author.  I loved The Toymakers and Paris by Starlight which firmly established him as a master storyteller, in my opinion, so when I saw the description for Once A Monster I was a little bit smitten. Greek myth, Dickensian style setting – hell yes.

The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

‘The first book in a wildly inventive and mesmerizing new fantasy series from acclaimed author Josiah Bancroft where magical mysteries abound and only one team can solve The Hexologists.’

I am totally ashamed to admit that I haven’t read this author yet.  His first book (Senlin Ascends) in the Books of Babel series was an entry into the SPFBO competition and following that the series simply took off.  I think I’ve bought all the books but in typical reviewer fashion the books I’ve bought seem to play second fiddle.  So, this will be my first foray and I’m really excited. I will get to The Books of Babel though -I’ve made myself a promise to do so.

The Night House by Jo Nesbo

‘From the internationally best-selling author, a twisted, multi-layered spin on the classic horror novel’

Definitely the right time of year for a horror novel.  This was released earlier this year but when it came up for request I couldn’t resist.  The dark nights are creeping in and this book has crept itself onto my list.  Woot

However Many Must Die by Phil Williams

‘Get ready for the first epic entry in a new series, and a new world, of dark military fantasy from Phil Williams.’

I can’t wait to pick this one up.  I’ve read this author’s work before, he has a great imagination, his Under Ordshaw series is excellent and I highly recommend Dyer Street Punk Witches – which, although set in the same world can be read without having read the other books in the series (although why deny yourself that pleasure).

On top of these I have my potential SPFBO books – maybe 2, maybe 3, maybe 4 – ooh, the anticipation!

????

I think this is a manageable quantity of books – so I’m also hopeful of squeezing in a backlist book.  I have a few that are calling to me:

Anyone read any of these?  Any thoughts??