Wowww it’s nearly October but finally I’ve polished and readied my August book haul. HAH. Such organisation, it blows my mind. Anyway! I have some exciting books to show you in this haul today – I cannot WAIT to get around to read each and every one of these.
Genuinely, though, whilst this isn’t the biggest of book haul (although I feel like I did a good job of acquiring books without really trying to) these were all very specific acquisitions that I’m positively itching to read!
BOUGHT
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris
Click Here for Blurb
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.
Imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.
One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.
A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov’s experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
This is a book that I’d been eyeing off for such a long time. Being an avid historical fiction reader, and known for it, many a friend had recommended this wildly popular book to me. But it’s always so hard to convince yourself to buy a book you know you’re going to love, I swear. NONETHELESS, I finally bowed to peer pressure and got myself a copy. As soon as I’ve battled through a few more books I have to read for review, I shall be diving straight into this one.
Courting Darkness
Robin LaFevers
Click Here for Blurb
When Sybella accompanies the Duchess of Brittany to France, she expects trouble, but she isn’t expecting a deadly trap. Surrounded by enemies both known and unknown, Sybella searches for the undercover assassins from the convent of St. Mortain who were placed in the French court years ago.
Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she no longer knows who she is or what she’s supposed to be fighting for. When she discovers a hidden prisoner who may be of importance, she takes matters into her own hands.
As these two worlds collide, the fate of the Duchess, Brittany, and everything Sybella and Genevieve have come to love hangs in the balance.
This is quite possibly my most exciting book this haul. It’s been years since LaFevers finished the trilogy for His Fair Assassins and years again since this ‘fourth’ book (the start of a new, related series with the same characters) was announced. It just doesn’t feel real that I actually have a copy of this in my hands. I’m thrilled!
Morning Star
Pierce Brown
Click Here for Blurb
Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within.
Finally, the time has come.
But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied—and too glorious to surrender.
Jayden was positively gleeful when I finally purchased the third book in the Red Rising series. I’m so excited to be continuing this, even if I’m still recovering from the shock of the cliff-hanger from book two. I love the setting of this world and all the characters so I’m dying to know what comes next!! This is definitely a high-priority read for me!
RECEIVED
The Ventriloquists
E.R. Ramzipoor
Thank you to HarperCollins! This is already released!
Click Here for Blurb
In this triumphant debut inspired by true events, a ragtag gang of journalists and resistance fighters risk everything for an elaborate scheme to undermine the Reich.
Brussels, 1943. Twelve-year-old street orphan Helene survives by living as a boy and selling copies of the country’s most popular newspaper, Le Soir, now turned into Nazi propaganda. Helene’s entire world changes when she befriends a rogue journalist, Marc Aubrion, who draws her into a secret network publishing dissident underground newspapers.
Aubrion’s unbridled creativity and linguistic genius attract the attention of August Wolff, a high-ranking Nazi official tasked with swaying public opinion against the Allies. Wolff captures Aubrion and his comrades and gives them an impossible choice: use the newspaper to paint the Allies as monsters, or be killed. Faced with no decision at all, Aubrion has a brilliant idea: they will pretend to do the Nazis’ bidding, but instead they will publish a fake edition of Le Soir that pokes fun at Hitler and Stalin—giving power back to the Belgians by daring to laugh in the face of their oppressors.
The ventriloquists have agreed to die for a joke, and they have only eighteen days to tell it.
This is one I requested crossing all my fingers and toes in hope that a review copy would be spare for me. And there was!! This is set in Belgium during WWII and follows a brave band of characters who are willing to risk everything for the truth. I love the sound of this – although the page count of this one did shock me a little! It’s huge!
The Warehouse
Rob Hart
Thank you to Penguin Random House Australia! This has already been released!
Click Here for Blurb
Gun violence, climate change and unemployment have ravaged the United States beyond recognition.
Amid the wreckage, an online retail giant named Cloud reigns supreme. Cloud brands itself not just as an online storefront, but as a global saviour. Yet beneath the sunny exterior lurks something far more sinister.
Paxton never thought he’d be working Security for the company that ruined his life, much less that he’d be moving into one of their sprawling live-work facilities. But compared to what’s left outside, perhaps Cloud isn’t so bad. Better still, through his work he meets Zinnia, who fills him with hope for their shared future.
Except that Zinnia is not what she seems. And Paxton, with his all-access security credentials, might just be her meal ticket.
As Paxton and Zinnia’s agendas place them on a collision course, they’re about to learn just how far the Cloud will go to make the world a better place.
To beat the system, you have to be inside it.
Again, this is another book I requested and I’m so excited that Penguin sent me a copy. This is a dystopian involving a massive corrupt company and I am so ready for all the drama. I’m quite sure that I’ll need to clear a day for this one so I can rampage through the story!
Some Places More Than Others
Renée Watson
Thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy for review! Released: 15th October 2019
Click Here for Blurb
All Amara wants is to visit her father’s family in Harlem. Her wish comes true when her dad decides to bring her along on a business trip. She can’t wait to finally meet her extended family and stay in the brownstone where her dad grew up. Plus, she wants to visit every landmark from the Apollo to Langston Hughes’s home.
But her family, and even the city, is not quite what Amara thought. Her dad doesn’t speak to her grandpa, and the crowded streets can be suffocating as well as inspiring. But as she learns more and more about Harlem—and her father’s history—Amara realizes how, in some ways more than others, she can connect with this other home and family.
This is a powerful story about family, the places that make us who we are, and how we find ways to connect to our history across time and distance.
I’ve already read and reviewed this! Which is unheard of for me. It’s such a small book, however, that when this turned up on my doorstep and I was in the midst of a heavy sci-fi, I thought this might just be the refreshing literary break I needed! It only took a handful of hours to read and was absolutely stunning.
AUDIOBOOKS
The Fry Chronicles
Stephen Fry
Click Here for Blurb
Thirteen years ago, Moab Is My Washpot, Stephen Fry’s autobiography of his early years, was published to rave reviews and was a huge best seller. In the years since, Stephen Fry has moved into a completely new stratosphere, both as a public figure, and a private man. Now he is not just a multi-award-winning comedian and actor, but also an author, director, and presenter.
Oh, I am such a fan of Mr Stephen Fry. I love so much of his content and I really enjoyed his first memoir: Moab is My Washpot. Naturally, I’ve been anticipating continuing on his life story once I found a suitable time to do so. I realised that as I loved Fry’s narrations so much (narrator of Harry Potter), it was only natural that I should listen to his memoirs. And I can’t wait to do just that.
I don’t know why I read these haul posts, they’re so enabling! The Warehouse is amaaaaazing, by the way–great binge read.
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Haha! Ooh that’s good to hear, I’m so excited to read it!!
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