Love is in the air, but so is the snow and wind up here in Minnesota. February is both fun for romance, but also kind of the middle of the longest (seeming) season. Luckily, we have books to look forward to! Here are the titles that have captured our interests this month!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “Age of Death” by Michael J. Sullivan
Publication Date: February 4, 2020
Why I’m Interested: I’ve been enjoying the heck out of this action-packed, yet surprisingly heart-wrenching, epic fantasy series. And the last book, oof, talk about a cliffhanger! Unfortunately, I hear this one also has a cliffhanger, but, luckily, thanks to the author’s self-publication schedule, it will only be another short wait until this summer before the final book is out. As it stands, after the last book, I’m excited to see all of my heroes tackle what they find in the underworld. And, of course, poor Suri who is captured in the heart of enemy territory. Things are definitely starting to feel like a sprint to the end, and I can’t wait to see what this penultimate book has to offer!
Book: “Storm from the East” by Joanna Hathaway
Publication Date: February 11, 2020
Why I’m Interested: The first book in this series came out of nowhere to really strike my interest. It’s definitely a more politically focused story in a fantasy world. But instead of court politics (though there are those too), this book takes a much larger focus on the manueverings of large countries with and against each other. But at the heart are two young people on opposing sides who have somehow formed a connection. However, neither knows the full truth of not only the other one, but often, not even their own country or allies. In this second book, again separated, Athan and Aurelia once again find themselves caught up in the schemes of the powers around them. The first book had a crushing prologue, and I’m both intrigued and also super nervous to see how our characters end up in the future situation that was presented there. I think this is a trilogy, however, so I’m not sure how close we’ll get in this second book.
Book: “Night Spinner” by Addie Thorley
Publication Date: February 11, 2020
Why I’m Interested: The book is being marked as a mix of the Grishaverse (mixed feelings about this) and a retelling of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (intrigued by this). It tells the story of Enebish, a young woman who only a short time before had been on the cusp of becoming a great leader for her people. Now, after a terrible accident, she’s exiled and mocked, crippled and shunned. But when she’s offered a chance at redemption, she finds herself with only more questions, about herself, her country, her sister, and the mysterious criminal she’s sent to track down. There are elements of that description that seem way too familiar (mostly the “mysterious criminal”), but I’m still interested enough in the “Hunchback of Notre Dame” angle that I’ll be giving it a shot soon.
Kate’s Picks
Book: “Deathless Divide” by Justina Ireland
Publication Date: February 4, 2020
Why I’m Interested: I greatly enjoyed Ireland’s zombie/alternate history/historical fiction novel “Dread Nation”, which reimagines Reconstruction with a zombie story. So yeah, I’ve definitely been looking forward to “Deathless Divide”, the sequel to this breakout horror hit! Picking up after the events in “Dread Nation”, Jane is hoping to keep moving through a zombie ravaged America and to find her mother out West in California. With her is Katherine, the less combat savvy but still sharp companion that Jane doesn’t think she needs. As they suffer more losses and have to deal with zombies and the awfulness of a racist society, Jane and Katherine have to stick together if they hope to stay alive. I am VERY interested in seeing what Katherine gets to do in this story, as she was one of the more intriguing characters in the first book.
Book: “The Chill” by Scott Carson
Publication Date: February 11, 2020
Why I’m Interested: I’m honestly not completely sure what to expect of this one. The description is a bit vague, but in it’s vagueness it’s capturing my attention. Is this cosmic horror? Occult horror? Folk horror? I don’t know. But I do know that Stephen King gave it a positive blurb! At the turn of the 20th Century, a small town in upstate New York was purposely flooded by the construction of a dam, deemed necessary for the good of the many over the good of the few. Now a century later, things are getting strange at the dam, and an inspector sees something that cannot be explained. And it becomes more clear that those who were displaced by the dam’s construction may not have gone too far, and some may not have left. And that something is looking for a new sacrifice. What does this mean? I don’t know. Do I want to find out? Why, yes I do.
Book: “Follow Me” by Kathleen Barber
Publication Date: February 25, 2020
Why I’m Interested: This sounds like a mix of an Instagram influencer’s dramatic shenanigans and Caroline Kepnes’s “You”. So I, of course, want to read it NOW NOW NOW. Audrey’s social media presence covers hundreds of thousands of followers. Now that she’s working a prestigious job at the Smithsonian, she has the opportunity to carefully mold and shape it even more, and to show all her followers the interesting work she’s doing. What she doesn’t realize is that someone has been watching her online for years, and her new job in D.C. has brought her even closer to him. Now he’s more determined than ever to possess Audrey, and is willing to use the dark web to do it. I’m ready to be creeped out!!
What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!
The Library Ladies 