It’s tough to believe that we’re already halfway through February, but here we are. Just look at the calendar! This month has been flying by! Then again, so has my reading list. After finishing off what I’d started last week, I was just diving into the next one along with a 400-page beta read for a fellow writer when I received a series of emails. I had been selected for not one or two or even three advance reader copies (ARCs) of upcoming book publications, but four. I received four different ARCs, all of which will be coming out in March. (As will The Elf Witch, that I covered a couple weeks ago.)

Therefore, I got right down to it. Including the second half of The Marrow Thieves, I got to four different titles this week. Two of those were physical books already sitting in my TBR pile. The other two were ARCs I received from The Nerd Fam.

1. The Marrow Thieves – Cherie Dimaline

CW: SA, Mutilation, Child Abuse, Racism, Colonization, Genocide, Climate Change, Addiction, Child Death, Death of Parent, Animal Death

As I said about this one last week, this is a hard read. It would be easier to stomach if all the cruelty and violence were pure fiction, but the vast majority is pulled directly from the historical record. There is a lot of heartbreak here, but also an enormous amount of hope. It really drives home the power of community, and the power of a shared Story.

I won’t spoil the ending, but I found it truly beautiful. The book turned on a light within a deep darkness. As much grief as the story contains, I still recommend this one. However, I’ll reiterate that while it is a Young Adult book aimed at teens, parents should expect to have some deep and nuanced discussions about the content if their kid is reading this one.

2. Shaedes of Power – Jenny Grimes (ARC)

CW: SA, Death of Parent, Blood, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Grooming, Graphic Depictions of Sex

I want to give a big thank you to The Nerd Fam for hooking me up with an ARC of the ebook for Shaedes of Power. I don’t have a regular purchase link for this one yet. Currently, it’s available for preorder through Amazon, but it will be available everywhere on March 11th. I’ll be able to add my usual link after that point.

This one was fun. It’s an extremely fast-paced “Why Choose” romantasy novel that follows Opal – a fairy who has not yet discovered her shaede that will indicate her unique power. I really enjoyed the magic systems, the battles, and the political intrigue in this one. I breezed through it in a day.

Unfortunately, while I typically love it when the heroine doesn’t have to choose when faced with a love triangle, this time one of the romances fell flat. I almost would have rather that she choose, because I only saw chemistry with one of them. I was very enamored with the second romance and believe it would have been enough. Others may feel differently, though.

3. Hyde – Craig Russell

CW: Mutilation, Blood, Mental Illness, Capital Punishment, Child Death, Homophobia, Forced Institutionalization, Suicide, Misdiagnosis, Drug Use, Nonconsensual Medical Experimentation, Misrepresentation of Real Condition

Hyde had been “next up” on my list for months. It kept getting bumped and pushed back for one reason or another, and I’m now annoyed with myself for waiting so long. This was a thoroughly intense mystery that kept me guessing the whole way through. Right off the bat, the reader is told that our narrator is unreliable. He loses large chunks of time in his memory due to his “epilepsy” and has just regained consciousness beside a particularly gruesome scene. As the local police captain, it’s now his job to solve that murder and hope that the evidence does not point back to himself.

Set in Victorian-era Edinburgh, it paints an extremely vivid and gorgeous representation of the place and time. It lovingly name-drops quite a few historical figures, but more importantly pulls extensively from Celtic folklore. The reader is right there with the characters. You can almost feel the cobblestones beneath your feet, and the adventure is exhilarating enough to get your adrenaline pumping.

4. House of Night – Celia Aaron (ARC)

CW: Blood, Enslavement, Forced Captivity, Torture

And another thank you to The Nerd Fam for the eARC of this one as well! It’s been so much fun getting to read these titles ahead of their official publication. This one will be out everywhere on March 4th, and can currently be preordered on Amazon.

The moment I saw the title for this one, I knew that I had to apply for the ARC. Back when I had first graduated high school, I fell in love with a vampire fiction series called the House of Night novels. Some aspects of those did not age well (though I understand the author has been trying to get problematic language removed from newer editions), but at the time I loved them very much.

While I’m only getting started on this one, I’m already hooked. It dives into the action immediately, and the stakes are high. The author has a way of fully engrossing the reader in the setting, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Halfway Through February

We’re halfway through February. This year is moving quickly, and so is my reading! I have another two ARCs that I haven’t started yet, and I plan to cover both of those next week. I also have my physical TBR pile increasing in size despite my reading pace. Now that my partner and I are visiting independent bookstores even more frequently for our video series, I’m picking up books even faster than I can read them. Of course the only solution to that is to read faster! (I don’t want to hear otherwise!) Keep an eye out on my YouTube channel or the main updates page here to follow along on all our bookish adventures. My reading recaps go out on Mondays and our bookstore adventures go out on Thursdays.

As always, I want to hear from you! What have you been reading lately? Are you having fun with it? Have you read any of these titles, and if so, what did you think of them? Tell me everything, and follow along for more!