Holiday Book Haul

Hello, friends!

Sadly, Christmas is over, but this means that I get to dive into some amazing books that have been gifted to me! Every year I come home with a bunch of new great books, and this year I have a bunch to talk about!

Gifts

Fable by Adrienne Young

Okay, when I tell you this has the most beautiful cover, I seriously mean it! This book follows the daughter of the most powerful trader in all of the ocean. She is abandoned on a magical island by her father with little food or any means to survive, and must use the skills that her mother taught her many years ago before she drowned. Her only ally is another young trader named West, but she realizes she may not even be able to trust him. This book sounds great, and I haven’t really read many pirate/life at sea stories so I am very excited to dive into this one!

How The King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

I was so excited when I opened this because I really loved The Cruel Prince series, even though Cardan was always a mystery to me. This novella gives the reader a sneak peak into his thoughts, so I am really excited to see if this clears things up a bit from the trilogy. I flipped through it and the illustrations are absolutely stunning as well! This is a short book so hopefully I should be able to get through it pretty quickly and develop a better understanding of Cardan’s mind!!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

I finally got myself a copy of this book! First of all, it is even prettier and person, but also it is huge. So hopefully I don’t push it off because I would really like to get to it! As you probably know, this book follows Addie, who made a deal with The Devil to live forever. However, part of the deal is that no one will ever remember her, until one day a mysterious stranger does. I don’t know how V.E. Schwab is going to pull this off, but I have heard nothing but amazing things about it so I have full confidence that she will.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Hopefully I enjoy V.E. Schwab’s writing, because I was also gifted Vicious! I read the synopsis and it was kind of confusing, but essentially we are following a man named Victor, 10 years after he graduates college. In college, he did an experiment on how humans can obtain extraordinary powers, but it went horribly wrong and Victor ended up in prison. Now, he needs to find his old roommate to finish the experiment. This sounds like there is a lot going on, but sounds extremely intriguing. I have heard so many good things about this series and I really hope it lives up to the hype!

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This is the first book in a new YA mystery series, and it sounds so intriguing! This book follows Avery, who is just a normal high school student. However, everything changes when Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves her his entire fortune. Avery has no idea who Tobias is or why he would leave her his fortune. To receive her inheritance, Avery must go to the Hawthorne house where she finds mazes, mysteries, and Tobias’s 4 grandsons who are pissed their grandfather didn’t leave them anything. This isn’t a book I would normally go for but this has great reviews and just sounds super interesting!

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

After I listened to this audiobook a few months ago, I knew I needed a physical copy as well, so I added it to my Christmas list. This is a YA contemporary/thriller, following Enchanted. Enchanted wakes up one morning to find out that Korey Fields is dead, and all the signs point to her. However, Enchanted has no recollection of the night before or the murder, and must prove herself to be innocent. This book was so heart breaking to read but the story was so important, and I will never get over it. I am so happy I now have a physical copy to read and will definitely be doing a reread of it in 2021.

Purchases

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

So, I originally bought this book as a gift for my sister, but then I decided to keep it for myself because I have no self control! I absolutely loved this book when I read it last summer, and would love to do a reread soon. The characters, the world, the story… everything was just so well done! This book follows Laia and Elias. Although an unlikely pairing, they come together to try to defeat The Empire. This story is inspired by Ancient Rome and was just such an amazing tale.

ARCs

My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton

Ahhhhh I am so excited that I received an ARC of this book! This was such an anticipated book for me, and I am so happy I get to read it early! This is a story about Mar, Queen of Scot’s life with a fantastical twist. It takes place in the same world as My Lady Jane, which is a book I absolutely adored. These authors are so good at creating fun, witty stories that are just so addicting. I loved learning about Mary, Queen of Scots in my history class so I think it will be so interesting how they transform her life into a magical story.

Those are all the books I have acquired over the holiday season! Let me know your favorite from the list!

Happy reading!