A Big Book Haul

Okay, so I bought myself a lot of good books the last few weeks and I couldn't not write a post spotlighting them because I am SOO EXCITED!! So here we go...
I've already read two of the books and really enjoyed them - An Enchantment of Ravens and Spinning Silver. Both were very fairytale-esque and just delightful reads in general, with beautiful imagery. An Enchantment of Ravens follows a painter who, one day, paints human sorrow into a faerie prince's eyes and then pretty much everything kicks off. It's a very rare fantasy standalone and I found it to be a very quick, enjoyable read. I want to say I read somewhere that Spinning Silver is based off of the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale. Although I only came across this after I'd read the book - I've got to say I don't know much about that particular fairytale - I want to look into it more now. This is another fantasy novel following a group of female characters whose stories we see intertwine as they get stuck in a complicated, age-old magical feud.

As for the rest of the books, I can't wait to read them. Of course, they're all also fantasy books. Are we shocked? I'm very interested to read Six of Crows. I read Bardugo's Shadow and Bone series a few years ago and while I didn't love it, I did really enjoy it. I am a bit nervous since I think this book is meant to be a heist novel and the last heist novel I read, I didn't really enjoy... but I've heard such good things!

I'm also really excited about Everfair. It sounds like such a thought-provoking read:

Everfair is a wonderful Neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier... Shawl's speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced.

It just sounds like an incredibly important read and everything about it just screams to be read. I'm hoping to get to this one really soon.

I'd also like to take time in this post to shout out the book shop, New Beacon Books. With everything that's happened recently, it is now so, so important to ensure you are supporting Black-run organisations and creators. New Beacon Books was 'the UK’s first black publisher, specialist bookshop and international book distributor.' The company is situated in London but also runs an online store. I ordered Children of Blood and Bone from them but they have a whole range of titles to choose from and I can only hope you will go and browse what's on offer.

As for the rest of the books, I don't know too much about them and want to keep it that way! I've heard such good things about Kingdom of Souls, a few booktubers I watch have read it recently and have been raving about it. I'm excited for Daughters of Nri because we'll get to explore a sibling bond in a fantasy setting - something that always interests me to no end. I love complicated platonic bonds, I think it can really add to a story and how much you feel for the characters. And I know it's been YEARS but I've finally got a copy of The Night Circus so I'll need to read it ASAP - no more excuses!

What books have you bought recently? Have you read any of these books - what did you think?

Until next time,

Happy Reading!