This February was my second-best month for reading on record. It was beaten only by January 2017, which was not coincidentally the last time I faced a deadline for Aurealis judging. It seems that deadlines continue to be the best way to motivate me. This month was also helped by a couple of four-hour train rides to and from Sydney, which afforded some wonderfully uninterrupted reading time. Mt TBR has been shrinking at a very satisfying pace.

Mt TBR Status

Mt TBR @ 1 January 2019: 442
Mt TBR @ 31 January 2019: 391
Mt TBR @ 28 February 2019: 368

February Reading Plans

While February was an excellent reading month, it was still a challenge to make it through the books I’d earmarked as well as the last of the Aurealis judging. I’m pleased that in the end I made through all of them except one, which had to be returned to the library before I got to it.

Descendant of the Craneby Joan He. For review at Skiffy and Fanty–DONE!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Book club pick for February–DONE!

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. For review at EGE–DONE!

Sherwood by Meagan Spooner. For review at Skiffy and Fanty–DONE!

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. February pick for the Lady Vaults book club.

Books Read

28. Hive by A.J Betts. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Dystopian YA. While hunting for a wild bee, a young beekeeper discovers signs there may be a world outside the walls of her compartmentalised community.

29. Edge of Time by Thalia Kalkipsakis. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Science fiction. On the run from the government, Scout skips too far forward in time.

30. The Path of the Lost by Beau Kondos. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Dystopian YA. In a society where creative expression is forbidden, a young woman able to harness magic through art seeks to bring her abilities back into the world.

31. Wraith by Shane and Alex Smithers. Read for the Aurealis Awards. After developing the ability to fly, James crash lands in a city in the sky and must find his way home again.

32. Sympath by Carolyn Denman. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. An angel resists the attraction to her fated mate, but is forced to work with him to save her friend’s farm.

33. Columbine’s Tale by Rachel Nightingale. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. A storyteller with the ability to manipulate the dream world goes on the run from former friends who wish to use her powers for their own ends.

34. Sherwood by Meagan Spooner. Reviewed here.

35. What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Dark fantasy. The past comes back to haunt Hayden when she inherits her childhood home on her eighteenth birthday.

36. Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds by Jeremy Lachlan. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy adventure. When her father goes missing, it’s up to Jane to find him again. But she’s not the only one looking.

37. Shine Mountain by Julie Hunt. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. When her family farm declines and her oma falls ill, Ellie must go on a quest to destroy the musical instrument that cursed them.

38. Iron by Aiki Flinthart. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. Alere is a skilled swordswoman who finds herself at the centre of a brewing war over a rare deposit of iron ore.

39. The Ghost Engine by Theresa Fuller. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Steampunk. Lady Lovelace becomes trapped in a machine with a ghost and must solve a series of puzzles to free them both.

40. Lightning Tracks by Alethea Kinsela. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Fantasy. A troubled boy escapes to a fantasy world and becomes caught in a war.

41. The Way Home by Julian Barr. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Historical fantasy. Follows the survivors of the sack of Troy.

42. We Are Omega by Justin Woolley. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Sci-fi. First contact has been made, but two teenagers soon discover the aliens aren’t as benevolent as they appear.

43. Eve of Eridu by Alanah Adams. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Sci-fi. After her brother is culled, Eve finds it increasingly difficult to maintain the emotional control demanded by society and may soon face culling herself.

44. Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Sci-fi. Eve uncovers an android boy who seems to have a strange connection to her grandfather.

45. Spark Joy by Marie Kondo. Nonfiction. As with the first book, it doesn’t bring a whole lot that the TV series doesn’t cover, although the illustrations are cute.

46. Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes. Nonfiction, pretty much what it says on the label. Succinct and useful, and written with a nice sense of humour.

47. Little Red Riding Crop by Tiffany Reisz. Erotica novella. Part of The Original Sinners series, which I’ve not yet read. BDSM mistress Nora needs a holiday. Her boss agrees to send her to Europe for a month on the condition she sneaks into a rival club and finds the identity of the owner who has been poaching his staff. Short and fun. I found I didn’t need to be familiar with the characters to enjoy it and I appreciated the little fairy tale touches.

48. Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis. Reviewed here.

49. In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire. Fourth book in the Wayward Children series. Lundy is good at following rules and finding loopholes. So when a door opens to the Goblin Market, she finds herself right at home. This book was a bit different to the previous ones, as Lundy was able to go back and forward between the worlds. I really enjoyed the Goblin Market, with its rules and debts. So it is perhaps unsurprising that I found her attachment to the ordinary world somewhat unconvincing and thus the ending didn’t quite land for me.

50. A Midwinter Night’s Dream by Tiffany Reisz. Erotica novella, BDSM elements. Spin off from The Original Sinners series in which the characters are transposed to 1871 England. In order to inherit his father’s estate, Baron Marcus Stearns must marry. It’s probably long past time I picked up the original series, though (again) I found I didn’t need to have a familiarity with it for this story.

51. Shadows Fate by Aiki Flinthart. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Last of the Ruadhan Sidhe trilogy. Urban fantasy. The Ruadhan Sidhe risk being wiped out unless Rowan can prevent information about them from falling into the wrong hands.

52. Undying by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Second of the Unearthed series. Sci-fi adventure. Trapped aboard a spaceship of invading aliens, Mia and Jules must somehow warn Earth of what’s coming.

53. Impostors by Scott Westerfeld. Read for the Aurealis Awards. Sci-fi. Frey is a trained killer who serves as her sister’s body double. When she’s sent to her father’s rival as collateral, she must somehow prevent her true identity from being discovered.

54. The Wicked King by Holly Black. Second in The Folk of the Air series. After a successful coup that made her the power behind the Faerie throne, Jude should be safe. However, it is one thing to gain power and another thing entirely to hold onto it. There was more political manouevering and less romance than in some of Black’s other books, but it maintained a nice tension. Cardan’s feelings were deftly shown between the lines. The map and chapter illustrations from Kathleen Jennings were a beautiful touch.

55. Descendant of the Crane by Joan He. Review forthcoming.

56. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. First book in the Six of Crows duology. Kaz Brekker has clawed his way up from the slums of Ketterdam to become a formidable gang leader. Now he is offered a job that will make or break him. As I have said before, I love me a fantasy heist and this had an epic scale that I really enjoyed. There was a wonderfully diverse cast of characters and I could see why the book was listed among media touchstones for the Blades in the Dark RPG. I was not prepared for the cliffhanger ending (though I probably should have been).

57. Reawakening by Amy Rae Durreson. First book in the Reawakening series. M/M fantasy romance. After sleeping for a thousand years, the Dragon King Tarnamell wakes up to find his human companions have long since passed away. In search of friends, he tries to claim a sassy desert spirit, but the spirit ends up falling victim to Tarn’s old enemy. It is up to Tarn to save him… and this time the Dragon King is on his own. I found this book had a very interesting take on dragon hoards and all the relationships were charming. However, the style was a little rough in a few places and I’m not sure the possessive angle quite worked for me even with the justifications.

58. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. Review forthcoming.

Books Acquired

Dragon’s Keeper by Robin Hobb
~~Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis~~
~~In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire~~
~~The Wicked King by Holly Black~~
~~Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes~~
Late in the Day: Poems 2010-2014 by Ursula K. Le Guin
Sea Foam and Silence by Lynn O’Connacht
Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
The True Queen by Zen Cho

March Reading Plans

The coming month’s plans are surprisingly light. If I get through the books listed below, I’ll probably look at tackling Black Wolves by Kate Elliot. It’s a giant book and I’d like to have it read before I see her as the Guest of Honour at Continuum.

Dragonclaw by Kate Forsyth. March pick for the Lady Vaults book club

The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. Buddy read with Belle of There Are Ink Spots On My Page, Tam of The Fantasy Inn and Travis of The Coffee Archives.

Grounded by Narrelle M. Harris. For review at EGE.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Published: Self-published in January 2017
Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)
Series: Graced #2
Genres: Urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Source: Publisher
Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2017
Available:Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The city of Pinton has never been safe–and now a serial killer is on the loose.

Doctor Alice Reive is the city’s coroner, and she’s determined to help find the murderer. Enlisting the assistance of the Honorable Dante Kipling and city guard Elle Brown, they race to track down the killer, before another victim dies.

Hannah Romanov–Dante’s missing twin sister–has spent hundreds of years living on an isolated mountain. But her quiet life is thrown into chaos after she discovers a baby left in the wilds to die. Hannah will do anything to ensure the infant’s survival, even if it means travelling to the worst place in the world for her: Pinton.

Bitten is a new novel in Amanda Pillar’s Graced universe. It features some returning characters, but the focus is mostly on new characters or incidental characters from the previous novel. As such, it stands alone reasonably well and should be accessible to new readers.

There were so many potential ships in this novel. The blurb had me half expecting a f/f romance. However, it soon became clear this was unlikely. Like Graced, this was a novel that kept me on my toes; readers going into it expecting a pure paranormal romance are likely to be disappointed. The pairings happen quite a way into the story, with one getting started almost at the end. Instead, romance is balanced out with a hefty dose of crime and fantasy road trip.

The development of non-romantic relationships make it equally satisfying. I enjoyed seeing the strong friendship between two of the main male characters and to learn a bit more of how that came to be. There were also some great family dynamics, especially within Hannah’s family. And I appreciated that we got to spend some time with characters from Graced and to see how their adopted family dynamic is developing.

The story does make use of the fated mate trope, which is one I really don’t get along with. However, I was really impressed with how the trope was handled. It makes it clear the attraction the characters feel is instinctual lust and that it’s just one step along the path, with the next being getting to know each other better.

Diversity was a key part of Graced and remains strong in Bitten. The characters have a wide variety of skin tones. Hannah has something akin to a touch phobia and Alice has some mild OCD tendencies. I wasn’t wholly sold on the latter, but I have no experience with it, so your mileage may vary.

I found the ending of the crime plot a little weak but it’s difficult to say more on this without spoilers.

However, I can say that the characters and world-building make it well worth the read. The novel also finishes with a revelation that will have some very interesting implications for the world and I’m really looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Published: July 2015 by M/M Romance Group @ Goodreads
Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)
Genres: Sci-fi, romance, fantasy
Source: M/M Romance Group @ Goodreads
Reading Challenges: #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks,The 2016 Sci-fi Experience
Available: Publisher (electronic)

When the crew of the Medical Explorer Juniper arrive at the space city of Caelestia, they are horrified to find it floating airless in space with thousands of its people dead. The only survivor is a cyborg gardener, Vairya, who has been left amnesiac and terrified, barely able to choke out a few words: “It could happen again.”

As ex-military doctor Reuben Cooper explores the illusory rose garden of Vairya’s memory, where Vairya himself flirts and hides among the flowers, he discovers a terrible threat, not just to the crew of the Juniper but to all humanity.

Can four doctors and a cyborg fight a merciless enemy that can kill with a touch?

I adore Amy Rae Durreson’s work and In Heaven and Earth has done nothing to deter me. This novella has all of Durreson’s trademarks–solid world building and a sturdy plot alongside a sweet romance.

The story gets off to a dynamic start with the crew of the Juniper investigating the aftermath of a planetary apocalypse but slows after the first scene under the weight of world building and back story. Fortunately, Durreson manages to deliver her exposition in a way that makes sense in terms of the situation and still keeps the action moving forward. By Chapter Two, the pace has picked up.

Although In Heaven and Earth is science fiction, Durreson is primarily a fantasy writer and it shows. The science is fairly light and verges on magic in a few places. There is also a couple of charming interludes in Vairya’s mind which he has shaped to resemblea fantasy world. While I had no problems with the fantasy elements(and actually enjoyed them quite a bit), it may not be your cup of tea if you prefer your sci-fi hard.

The plot itself kept me guessing and maintainedthe tension very nicely. Durreson does a great job of illustrating the desperation of the situation in which Reuben and Vairya find themselves, adding a wonderful bittersweetness to their developing relationship.

I was also charmed by the characters. Reuben has been damaged by past experiences that shook his faith in humanity. His relationship with the rest of the crew of the Juniper is uneasy and this is cleverly brought forth during Reuben’s adventures in Vairya’s mind. Vairya, on the other hand, retains a sweetness and a joy for life, despite being essentially immortal. I particularly enjoyed this subversion of the trope.

I’m so glad I saved this for my holiday reading because it meant that I was able to dive in and not come up for air until the end. If you’re a fan of sci-fi romance, you should definitely check out In Heaven and Earth.