Book Haul! | October 2020 | Upside-Down Books

I think you’re all going to be pretty proud of me once again. Whilst I haven’t achieved the unbelievable feat of only acquiring three books like I did last month, it’s still not too crazy for October! AND, I’m anticipating I’m only going to get better.

Maybe that’s not the most exciting content for you guys but don’t you worry, December will be a doozy. But for November I’m on a book buying ban so I shouldn’t end up with any books (though I’m anticipating one or two will sneak through). Let’s see what I got last month!

BOUGHT

The Chalk Man
C. J. Tudor

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for each other as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing will ever be the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he’s put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out his other friends got the same messages, they think it could be a prank … until one of them turns up dead. That’s when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.

Expertly alternating between flashbacks and the present day, The Chalk Man is the very best kind of suspense novel, one where every character is wonderfully fleshed out and compelling, where every mystery has a satisfying payoff, and where the twists will shock even the savviest reader.

This came in the Halloween mystery box by an Instagram company called @burnthewickcandleco. I’m actually a rep for these guys so you can use the discount code BOOKSNAIL15 to get 15% off your orders which is awesome. But this mystery box contained one blind date with a book that would be a thriller/horror and this is the book I got!

Blaze of Glory
Michael Pryor

Aubrey Fitzwilliam is the son of a prominent ex-prime minister. He’s also brilliant at magic, but he’s stuck at military school. At least he has his best friend, George, there to back him up. George would follow Aubrey anywhere – and with Aubrey’s talent for thinking up impulsive and daring schemes that will get them both in trouble, that’s no easy thing to do.

At a weekend shooting party at Prince Albert’s country estate, the boys find themselves in a hotbed of intrigue and politics. They discover a golem, a magical creature built to perform one task: to kill Prince Albert. Aubrey and George are hailed as heroes for foiling the attempt on the prince’s life – but who sent the golem, and why? Aubrey is far too curious to let the authorities handle this one, and he and George start investigating.

I’ve actually got a few blind dates with books to show you this month. This being another. This is from the Instagram company @restrelax1 who do awesome pamper packs and again, I am a rep, and you can use BOOKSNAIL10 to get 10% off. This came in the same order as the next book but as a “bonus” book because it was a little worse for wear. This company re-homes second hand books but Jet, the owner, sometimes sends out great stories that aren’t good enough quality to be a blind date by themselves.

Blood and Honey
Shelby Mahurin

I was so excited to get this, the sequel to Serpent and Dove, in my blind date (see above). I really loved book one and although I’ve heard some iffy reviews about this one, I’m determined that I’m absolutely going to love it. I can’t wait to pick this one up!

RECEIVED

A Life on Our Planet
David Attenborough

In this scientifically informed account of the changes occurring in the world over the last century, award-winning broadcaster and natural historian shares a lifetime of wisdom and a hopeful vision for the future.
See the world. Then make it better.

I am 93. I’ve had an extraordinary life. It’s only now that I appreciate how extraordinary.

As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world – but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day — the loss of our planet’s wild places, its biodiversity.

I have been witness to this decline. A Life on Our Planet is my witness statement, and my vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake — and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right.

We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited.

All we need is the will to do so.

Big thank you to Penguin Random House for obliging me and sending a copy of this my way. I was SUPER excited to hear that Attenborough had written a new book and as terrifying as this one is, it’s brilliant. Certainly a book you really need to read.

The Champagne War
Fiona McIntosh

‘Make these little vines count. Love them as I love you.’

In the summer of 1914, vigneron Jerome Mea heads off to war, certain he’ll be home by Christmas. His new bride Sophie Delancré, a fifth generation champenoise, is determined to ensure the forthcoming vintages will be testament to their love and the power of the people of Épernay, especially its strong women who have elevated champagne to favourite beverage of the rich and royal worldwide. But as the years drag on, authorities advise that Jerome is missing, considered dead.

When poison gas is first used in Belgium by the Germans, British chemist Charles Nash jumps to enlist, refusing to be part of the scientific team that retaliates. A brilliant marksman, Charlie is seen by his men as a hero, but soon comes to feel that he’d rather die himself than take another life. When he is injured, he is brought to the champagne cellars in Reims, where Sophie has set up an underground hospital, and later to her mansion house in Épernay, now a retreat for the wounded.

As Sophie struggles with strong feelings for her patient, she also battles to procure the sugar she needs for her 1918 vintage and attracts sinister advances from her brother-in-law. However, nothing can prepare her for the ultimate battle of the heart, when Jerome’s bloodstained jacket and identification papers are found in Belgium, and her hopes of ever seeing her husband alive again are reignited.

Another big thank you to Penguin Random House for this copy also!! They had a real flurry of awesome releases coming out and I am ADDICTED to Fiona McIntosh. Ever since reading The Pearl Thief I have needed more of her books and I’m really hoping I fall in love with this one just as much.

PRE-ORDERS

The Crowning
Nattie Kate Mason

An heir to the magically gifted Kingdom of Aleria must be chosen. The shape-shifting Prince Alexander is favoured to claim the title. The fire-wielding sisters, Princess Anastasia and Princess Alecia, feel one of them will take the crown. However, the eldest potential heir, Princess Agnes has other plans. The current ruler of Alearia, Queen Amealiana, a gifted sage and seer, has a hidden secret that will change everything.Rivalry, magic, betrayal, healing, death, hope. In the pursuit of power, only one may be crowned Heir.

This is written by one of my lovely friends that I met through Instagram. I’m so excited to read this and have heard nothing but good things. I actually bought the whole trilogy because they’ve recently had a cover remake and isn’t is STUNNING?!

AUDIOBOOKS

Troy
Stephen Fry

The story of Troy speaks to all of us – the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for ten whole years. It is a terrible war with casualties on all sides as well as strained relations between allies, whose consequences become tragedies.

In Troy you will find heroism and hatred, love and loss, revenge and regret, desire and despair. It is these human passions, written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore, that still speak to us today.

I couldn’t get over my excitement when I realised that this was FINALLY coming out. I’ve been a big fan of Stephen Fry’s writing for quite some time: I’ve read all three volumes of his memoirs and the first two books in this mythology series. This man continually impresses me with his eloquence and intellect. I just know that this will be just as good! I will always get his audiobooks if they’re narrated by himself, it’s just an experience you simply cannot miss.