It's the beginning of a brand, spanking new month and time for me to talk about the books I'd like to try and tick off my TBR list in March!
I have a lot of unread books - I mean a lot - and only a teeny weeny portion of them are at university with me. I do have, however, quite an array of books with me that focus on magic or history or both! This is because of my MA, and I'd really like to read these books in particular soon so I can talk about them in an upcoming presentation about my own work.
Three of these books were mentioned in my February Reads but I didn't get around to them, though I did make a start on one of them!
by Robin LaFevers
When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge - but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.
But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for...
Grave Mercy was the last book I read in February and I loved it, so with Dark Triumph on my shelf I just had to jump straight into it and continue with the trilogy! This will definitely be the first book I finish this month.
by Maria V. Snyder
As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.
Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.
War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible... again.
I was hoping to get through the second book in Maria V. Snyder's Healer trilogy last month, but unfortunately I didn't get round to it. Hopefully I'll read it this month, and then I can treat myself to the final book in the trilogy and finish the series during my Easter holiday!
by Deborah Harkness
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.
This is the one book from last month I've actually started! I was reading it with a friend of mine (who has already finished it - I need to catch up!) but then I got distracted finishing a book I was half way through, and then I got distracted by the His Fair Assassin trilogy...
I definitely want to read this book this month, though; I've been meaning to start this trilogy for a while and as far as I'm aware it's gotten pretty great reviews from almost everyone who's read it.
by Paula Brackston
My name is Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, and my age is three hundred and eighty-four years. Each new settlement asks for a new journal, and so this Book of Shadows begins…
In the spring of 1628, the Witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true Witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate at the hands of the panicked mob: the Warlock Gideon Masters, and his Book of Shadows. Secluded at his cottage in the woods, Gideon instructs Bess in the Craft, awakening formidable powers she didn’t know she had and making her immortal. She couldn't have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life.
In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life for herself, tending her garden and selling herbs and oils at the local farmers' market. But her solitude abruptly ends when a teenage girl called Tegan starts hanging around. Against her better judgment, Elizabeth begins teaching Tegan the ways of the Hedge Witch, in the process awakening memories--and demons—long thought forgotten.
Here we have the third and final book that I'd also hoped to get through in February but didn't. Oops!
The Witch's Daughter is the ideal book for me to read right now because the novel I'm working on focuses on witchcraft and the relationship between a mother and daughter. I'm really looking forward to this one!
by Suzanne Crowley
Kat's true identity is a secret, even from her. All she has ever known are Grace and Anna and their small village. Kat wants more—more than hours spent embroidering finery for wealthy ladies and more than Christian, the gentle young farmer courting her.
But there are wolves outside, Grace warns. Waiting, with their eyes glowing in the dark . . . and Grace has given Kat safety and a home when no one else would.
Then a stranger appears in their cottage, bringing the mystery of Kat's birth with her. In one night, Kat's destiny finds her: She will leave. She will journey to London, and her skill with the needle will attract the notice of the magnificent Queen Elizabeth—and of the wolves of the court. She will discover what Grace would never tell her.
Everything will unravel.
Is anyone else really jealous of the cover model's hair?
Unfortunately I already know the main character's true identity because she's based on a historical figure whose Wikipedia page I was on when I stumbled across this book, but I don't mind! This book is similar to The Witch's Daughter in that it's much more of a mixture of Historical Fiction and witchcraft.
I found my beautiful hardback copy second hand over on Amazon, so if you're interested in reading this book check there or on AbeBooks before you go searching anywhere else - otherwise you might miss out on a bargain!
by Laura Powell
In a modern world where witches are hunted down and burned at the stake, two lives intersect. Glory is from a family of witches, and is desperate to develop her 'Fae' powers and become a witch herself, though witch-activity carries a threat of being burned at the stake. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition with a privileged life very different from the witches he is being trained to prosecute. And then one day, both Glory and Lucas develop the Fae. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together.
I read the first few pages of this book last month but I just couldn't get into it and ended up finishing The Rosie Project instead.
I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to enjoy this book or not; the pages I read were okay but they didn't particularly hook me, but I shouldn't judge it until I've given it a fair try! I have no idea if Burn Mark is the first in a trilogy or if the sequel, Witch Fire, concludes a duology. It'd be nice if it was a duology just because there aren't enough of those around, though I am starting to see more of them. I think duologies might be the next trilogies...
That's all six of the books I'd like to read this month! What are you hoping to read in March?
