I was tossing up whether to do this post because I missed it for January due to personal circumstances – schedules were NOT a thing. And then somehow it’s February!?? I ask myself, is it too late (being the 6 February when I start writing this) to get this going?? And I ask myself: eh, I want to know what books are sneaking onto the shelves this month so HERE WE ARE.

I can see my wallet fiercely shaking its head in the corner praying that I won’t complete this post because it knows beyond a doubt that at the end of every single one of these posts, there is a trip to the bookstore. Well, let’s all ignore my wallet, leave it in the corner to be sad and bookless, and see what we can throw our hard-earned money at this month.

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FANTASY

Cloak of Night | Evelyn Skye

RELEASE DATE: 11 February
This is the sequel to Circle of Shadows. Personally, I am yet to read book one but I’m anticipating that I’m going to be very invested when I do get around to reading it – which means that in honour of my future excitement, this is making the list.

The Unspoken Name | AK Larkwood

RELEASE DATE: 11 February
I think I mostly like the cover for this one but the tagline did also suck me in. It follows a character who knows when she’s going to die: she’s going to be a sacrifice. Last-minute she gets an opportunity out of that to be an assassin instead – I’m very intrigued where that is going to go.

All the Stars and Teeth | Adalyn Grace

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
I love the title for this. It sounds like one of those quizzes where you select your birth month and day or whatever to “find your YA book title” and you get a weird one. Like, who was expecting TEETH to be the last word? I don’t even care what this is about, I’m in (it’s about mermaids in an underwater kingdom).

The Queen’s Assassin | Mellisa del la Cruz

RELEASE DATE: 4 February

Firstly, this is a Melissa de la Cruz book and whilst I haven’t read any of her other stuff, I’m aware that I should have. Secondly, this is recommended for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sarah J Maas. Thirdly, we’re talking assassins, quests to find ancient scrolls and forbidden magic.

The Shadows Between Us | Tricia Levenseller

RELEASE DATE: 25 February
This has an eye-catching premise:

1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

So naturally, with such promises of deception and murder, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist this story.

Ink in the Blood | Kim Smejkal

RELEASE DATE: 11 February
This is a dark fantasy that sounds super intriguing. We have two girls who are ‘inklings’: they tattoo people and those tattoos have magical properties. Supposedly, they help the recipients be guided by the Divine’s will, but really it strips people of their freedom. The story is about their plight to escape this terrifying world and use their abilities as inklings for other purposes.

Red Hood | Elana K Arnold

RELEASE DATE:  25 February
This has been described as an empowering book for women and a ‘blood-drenched’ retelling of Red Riding Hood. It seems dark and haunting and follows one girl who runs away from the wolf with many similarities drawn between her fantastical situation and the difficulties women face.

Upright Women Wanted | Sarah Gailey

RELEASE DATE:  4 February
I absolutely fell in love with the description for this book, it sounds super interesting. We have a woman who has been engaged by her father to a man who was previously engaged to her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who has just been executed for being a part of the resistance. This is an imagining of the future of Southwest America.

 Night Spinner | Addie Thorley

RELEASE DATE: 11 February
This is a tundra retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I need not say any more other than: how soon are YOU reading it?

Once & Future | Amy Rose Capetta &
Cori McCarthy

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
This is a gender-swapped retelling of King Arthur. A girl crash lands on Earth and discovers she is the latest incarnation of King Arthur. She finds Excalibur and Merlin and sets off to start a revolution.

Belle Révolte | Linsey Miller

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
Not going to lie, I simply love the cover for this one. We have a noble girl who wants to become a physician but her status means she isn’t allowed to practice such ‘gruesome’ work. Meanwhile, another character from humble beginnings wants to learn magic but isn’t wealthy enough for the opportunity. So what do they do? They swap lives.

The Seventh Sun |  Lani Forbes

RELEASE DATE: 18 February
This looks like it has some sort of Incan/Mayan inspiration. It follows a Prince who, upon the sudden death of his father, finds himself emperor and unprepared. The sun is fading and the end of the world is nearing. There are six noble daughters to be presented to him as a wife and those who aren’t chosen will be sacrificed. The other main character is one of those girls. This sounds fascinating.

The Cerulean |  Amy Ewing

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
I love the sound of this book. Our main character lives in the City Above the Sky but she doesn’t feel like she fits in. One day, she’s chosen as a sacrifice, necessary to save her city, but she doesn’t actually die. Instead, she finds herself on the planet below and then dangers are everywhere and the stakes are high for everyone.

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SCI-FI

The Stars We Steal | Alexa Donne

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
This has a wild blurb. People are calling this ‘the bachelorette in space’ which is totally ridiculous and I love it. The main character is heir to a spaceship and she’s looking for a bachelor to save her family from financial ruin. I don’t believe this will be a good read but I do believe it will be highly entertaining.

Malice | Pintip Dunn

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
I’ve been wanting to read something by Pintip Dunn for some time now and this sounds awesome. The main character hears a voice from the future that tells him that the boy they love will one day spread a virus that will wipe out two-thirds of the population, and that they must kill him to stop this. So what do they do?

The City in the Middle of the City | Charlie Jane Anders

RELEASE DATE: 11 February
This premise I have read in at least three or four other books: it’s wildly popular at the moment. The world is half stuck in desert heat and half in a frozen wasteland on this colonised planet called January. We have a failed revolution and a main character getting involved with a dangerous secret and a mission.

The Last Day | Andrew Hunter Murray

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
I kid you not about this premise being everywhere. Also coming out this month (and I already have my copy of this) is The Last Day which is set in 2059 when the world has stopped turning. This means again, we have a world half in desert, half in frozen wasteland. There’s a letter received by the main character which contains a secret worth killing for and I’m so intrigued.

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HISTORICAL FICTION

Things in Jars | Jess Kidd

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
I love the blurb for this, in particular, I loved this part “her search is aided by an enchanting cast of characters, including a seven-foot tall housemaid; a melancholic, tattoo-covered ghost; and an avuncular apothecary.” Mystery crossed with historical fiction and a cast of curiosities is the way to my heart.

The King of Crows | Libba Bray

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
I will not personally be reading this book as it is in the fourth instalment in The Diviners series. I listened to the first one many years ago via audiobook and it didn’t really tickle my fancy. But this is a pretty big release – so I’m sure there are many of you out there excited about this!

The Stationery Shop | Marjan Kamali

RELEASE DATE: 11 February
Unique setting alert! This story is set in Tehran (capital of Iran) which is a setting I’ve never read about before. Not only that, but it’s set during 1953 and looks at the coup d’etat that occurred and how that impacted life for the main character who fiancé disappears on the same day as the coup.

The Mercies | Kiran Millwood Hargrave

RELEASE DATE: 11 February
This sounds fascinating. It’s set in the 1600s in Norway and follows a village of people where all the menfolk are wiped out in a fishing accident. This leaves all the women behind to learn to fend for themselves as independent women. Enter: a Scot bringing his wife in tow who suddenly sees something she’s never seen before: independent women. I’d love to see where this goes.

The Bird King | G Willow Wilson

RELEASE DATE: 18 February
I didn’t read any further than “set during the reign of the last sultan in the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition” before I was convinced I needed to read this.

The Traitor | V S Alexander

RELEASE DATE: 25 February
This is a WWII story inspired by the White Rose resistance group. Now, this isn’t the first book to be based off that group and I’m always a sucker for books that are because they were so brave, so instantly, I’m intrigued.

The Queen’s Fortune | Allison Pataki

RELEASE DATE: 11 February
I read ‘Napoleon’ in the blurb and was instantly interested. This is a story about the woman who captured Napoleon’s heart which sounds terribly exciting. I’ve not ever really read up on Napoleon and only know the basics so I’m excited at the thought of finding out about more about this, especially a woman largely lost to history.

The Light After the War | Anita Abriel

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
This is the compelling and emotional story of two Jewish women who escaped from a train headed to Auschwitz during WWII. The story follows them after they survive the war and how they rebuilt their lives after.

The Blossom and the Firefly | Sherri L Smith

RELEASE DATE: 18 February
This is a WWII historical fiction focussing on a kamikaze pilot and a girl who was buried alive in a collapsed trench. They’re pulled together and their lives change after they meet each other. I actually think this has a unique setting going for it which is what piqued my interest for this book.

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CONTEMPORARY

The Gravity of Us | Phil Stamper

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
So basically there a kid who’s a successful social media journalist and his dad flies rocketships (I assume). Then his dad is picked to fly a big NASA mission and everything changes, they even relocate. Which obviously means a lot of drama is to come.

Yes No Maybe So | Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
You had me at Becky Albertalli. The QUEEN of contemporary writing. And since reading her previous collaborative work (What If It’s Us) I simply know that I will want to read this one. This follows two characters and we have Islamic representation.

The Antidote for Everything | Kimmery Martin

RELEASE DATE: 20 February
This seems very topical. We’re looking at a main character who is a urologist and is suddenly faced with a serious predicament one day: transgender people are no longer to receive treatment. One of her friends is fired for refusing to adhere to this new policy and the story looks at how our main character handles this situation. I’m intrigued!

Of Curses and Kisses | Sandhya Menon

RELEASE DATE: 18 February
I’ve really got no idea what to make of this book. The blurb is curious, strange and confusing. But Menon is a well-known author for When Dimple Met Rishi and this sounds like it will at least be funny. This is set in an elite boarding school and is a contemporary retelling of beauty and the beast.

Cracked Up To Be | Courtney Summers

RELEASE DATE: 4 February
I actually recognised the style of this cover to be so similar to Sadie (and it’s the same author so there we go) which is what drew me in. Sadie, the author’s previous book, is highly acclaimed so I’m interested in this for sure. The blurb doesn’t give much away other than a troubled main character who is on suicide watch and has a guy falling in love with her along with a hint that something terrible has happened.

Break the Fall | Jennifer Iacopelli

RELEASE DATE: 18 February
This is probably a little known fact on this blog, but I used to be an elite gymnast and was for 10 years. Which obviously means there is zero chance that I won’t be buying and reading this book with great enthusiasm.

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NON-FICTION

The Splendid and the Vile | Erik Larson

RELEASE DATE: 25 February
There aren’t often non-fictions that I see popping up within popular new releases but this one did. It’s the story of Winston Churchill and WWII (specifically the Blitz) and I think it actually sounds like it’ll be a really interesting read.

Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies | Tara Schuster

RELEASE DATE: 18 February
Now I don’t know who Tara Schuster is, maybe I should, but here we are. I just stopped to read the blurb because damn, what a great title for a self-help book. The blunt and candid nature of even just the blurb makes me want to see what’s inside this one. Yeah, actually I thought about this too much and now I’ve pre-ordered a copy for myself.

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And that’s a wrap!

Will you be reading any of these?

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~~ Kirstie ~~

Follow @ozbooksnail