This week I broke down and bought some books although I am on a self-imposed book buying ban. I have too many unread books already and quite a few NetGalley arcs to get to – but sometimes you still have to buy some books! So, here they are, first the ones that I haven’t read yet and then the ones I had arcs for and wanted to own to look pretty on my shelves.
City of Blades (The Divine Cities #2) – Robert Jackson Bennet
The city of Voortyashtan was once the domain of the goddess of death, war, and destruction, but now it’s little more than a ruin. General Turyin Mulaghesh is called out of retirement and sent to this hellish place to try to find a Saypuri secret agent who’s gone missing in the middle of a mission, but the city of war offers countless threats: not only have the ghosts of her own past battles followed her here, but she soon finds herself wondering what happened to all the souls that were trapped in the afterlife when the Divinities vanished. Do the dead sleep soundly in the land of death? Or do they have plans of their own?
This one is the reason why I bought books in the first place this week. I absolutely adored the first book in this series – City of Stairs – and just had to know how the story continues. And then the book arrived late. And then I started a different fantasy book already. And now it is smiling at me from my night stand and testing my resolve. I am beyond excited to get started with this.
City of Miracles (The Divine Cities #3) – Robert Jackson Bennet
Revenge. It’s something Sigrud je Harkvaldsson is very, very good at. Maybe the only thing.
So when he learns that his oldest friend and ally, former Prime Minister Shara Komayd, has been assassinated, he knows exactly what to do and that no mortal force can stop him from meting out the suffering Shara’s killers deserve.
Yet as Sigrud pursues his quarry with his customary terrifying efficiency, he begins to fear that this battle is an unwinnable one. Because discovering the truth behind Shara’s death will require him to take up arms in a secret, decades-long war, face down an angry young god, and unravel the last mysteries of Bulikov, the city of miracles itself. And perhaps most daunting of all finally face the truth about his own cursed existence.
I am squinting very hard as to not read the synopsis I just pasted above. I do not want to spoil the second book for me. I am a bit annoyed at myself that I – again – managed to buy books in the same series in different editions but at the same time I don’t want to get too hung up about it because I try to still see whats inside the books as way more important than their covers.
Monstress Vol. 2: The Blood – Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
This is the second volume in the brilliant Monstress series. I adored the first book and had this one pre-ordered for months. I haven’t been reading that many graphic novels lately but want to remedy that. I love the artwork done by Sana Takeda and I adore how very feminist this work is at its core.
My review for the first volume can be found here.
Bitch Planet Vol. 2: President Bitch – Kelly Sue DeConnick & Taki Soma
A few years down the road in the wrong direction, a woman’s failure to comply with her patriarchal overlords results in exile to the meanest penal planet in the galaxy. But what happened on Earth that this new world order came to pass in the first place? Return to the grim corridors of Auxiliary Compliance Outpost #2, to uncover the first clues to the history of the world as we know it…and meet PRESIDENT BITCH.
Again, I am very excited to finally have this in my hands. I loved the first volume when I read it forever ago. Again, super feminist graphic novel, which is something I usually enjoy.
Stay with me – Ayobami Adebayo
Yejide and Akin have been married since they met and fell in love at university. Though many expected Akin to take several wives, he and Yejide have always agreed: polygamy is not for them. But four years into their marriage–after consulting fertility doctors and healers, trying strange teas and unlikely cures–Yejide is still not pregnant. She assumes she still has time–until her family arrives on her doorstep with a young woman they introduce as Akin’s second wife. Furious, shocked, and livid with jealousy, Yejide knows the only way to save her marriage is to get pregnant, which, finally, she does, but at a cost far greater than she could have dared to imagine. An electrifying novel of enormous emotional power, Stay With Me asks how much we can sacrifice for the sake of family.
This is one of the books I had an arc for but wanted to have for my shelf. I adored this book and was very pleased to see it short listed for the Bailey’s Prize for fiction, even if it ultimately did not win. You can find my gushing review here.
Little Nothing – Marisa Silver
In an unnamed country at the beginning of the last century, a child called Pavla is born to peasant parents. Her arrival, fervently anticipated and conceived in part by gypsy tonics and archaic prescriptions, stuns her parents and brings outrage and disgust from her community. Pavla has been born a dwarf, beautiful in face, but as the years pass, she grows no further than the edge of her crib. When her parents turn to the treatments of a local doctor and freak sideshow proprietor, his terrifying cure opens the floodgates persecution for Pavla. Little Nothing unfolds across a lifetime of unimaginable, magical transformation in and out of human form, as this outcast woman is hunted down and incarcerated for her desires, her body broken and her identity stripped away until her soul is strong enough to transcend all physical bounds. Woven throughout is the journey of Danilo, the young man entranced by Pavla, obsessed only with protecting her. Part allegory about the shifting nature of being, part subversive fairy tale of love in all its uncanny guises, Little Nothing spans the beginning of a new century, the disintegration of ancient superstitions and the adoption of industry and invention. With a cast of remarkable characters, a wholly shocking and original story, and extraordinary, page-turning prose, Silver delivers a novel of sheer electricity.
I adored this. It ticks all my boxes: lyrical writing, fantasical retelling, matter of fact story telling, wonderfully drawn characters. My review for this wonder of a book can be found here.
Blissful Basil – Ashley Melillo
Experience the happiest side of life through beautiful, nourishing foods.
Ashley Melillo believes in enjoying a wide array of wholesome foods in order to thrive—physically, mentally, and emotionally. For her blog, Blissful Basil, she finds innovative ways to use plants for fun, flavorful dishes that keep her readers coming back. Her gorgeous debut cookbook brings brand-new recipes, plus a handful of signature dishes, from her kitchen to yours.
Blissful Basil focuses on bringing out the best flavors of whole foods and features more than 100 plant-based dishes that will delight vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike. What’s more, most of the recipes are free from gluten, soy, and refined sugars.
This is, hands down, the best cookbook I have ever seen, own, or tried recipes from. Since I had the pleasure to receive an arc for this, I have tried and loved many of the recipes here. Some becoming favourites of my partner and me. Especially the vegan Chili is absolutely to die for and has impressed many of our friends so far. You can find my review here.
I am so glad to finally own the book because it is even more beautiful this way. I adore the pictures accompanying the recipes and I cannot wait to try more dishes.
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