February Haul

I need to figure out a better way of doing a book haul...like add them as I get them, because how I've been doing it isn't working out for me. I tend to wait til it's toward the end of the month with the stack of new books and just add them in here at the same time. I get about four books in then get tired of having to come up with the synopsis. Hence why this one is so late.

If you've read any of these let me know what you thought, please no spoilers.

Northtown pick ups:

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Published November 2015, by Square Fish

This book is the fourth in the Lunar Chronicles Series. I've been wanting this paper back for a while and ended up throwing a fit because I ordered it a year ago only to have it be published by the wrong company and there for not be in the same format as the other books in the series I owned. So due to it being the fourth in a series, it's hard to give a summary with out spoiling everything, but essentially this series is in a futuristic world where boundaries and country names have changed. The series nods to some classic fairy tales as we follow Cinder, a cyborg who tries to make money for her step mom and her daughters. A buzz is going around about an annual ball that everyone is preparing for, however, a plague is going around as well, and when Cinder's step sister is diagnosed her step mom blames Cinder.

The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris

Published November 2017 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers

This book is by Neil Patrick Harris.....I needed to have it just for that alone.
But really, this book follows a little boy named Carter who's parents disappear and he's now under the guardianship of his "uncle" Sly. Uncle Sly is a con artist and teaches Carter magic tricks. However, Carter doesn't believe in real magic, he feels everything has a catch as his Uncle Sly has proven, Carter also has a moral code, don't steal. He refuses to be like his uncle, so when he runs away to a new town Carter meets five like minded kids and sets out to save the town.

The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol

Published July 2017 by Chicken House

This book follow Arianwyn. She wants to be a witch, but when she fails her exams she's sent to the town of Lull in disgrace, to become an apprentice witch. But Lull isn't as bad as she thought to believe, with ever spirit dispelled, every magical creature released Arianwyn is getting the hang of being a witch, even if it's just an apprentice. Until the town of Lull and Arianwyn herself are in danger, a dark shadow is being cast over Arianwyn's magic.


Book Outlet Orders:

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

Published March 2016 by Dial Books

Every story needs a hero. Every story needs a villain. Every story has a secret. Wink is the odd neighbor girl with wild red hair. Poppy is a blonde bully and the school's queen bee. And Midnight is the shy quiet boy between them. They're voices will riddle these pages, but whether they spiral towards something tricky, terrible or tremendous no one knows.

Liberty: The Spy Who (Kind of) Liked Me by Andrea Portes

Published June 2017 by Harper Teen

Who is a hero? Paige Nolan knows.

Sean Rayne, the man who exposed all of the U.S.'s spying techniques is a hero, even if over half the country thinks he's a traitor. Paige's parents, two journalists who were captured by terrorists while trying to tell the story of the endangered and the oppressed were heroes...or are...Page doesn't know, no one has let her know if her parents are alive or dead.

Who's not a hero? The government who turned her back on her. Who abandoned her and her parents, letting them rot half way across the world.

And certainty not Paige herself, despite her fluency in five languages and mastery in several martial arts...that is until Paige is approached by Madden Carter, who wants Paige to become a spy, and in return he will re-open the her parents case. Paige is given a new identity and a cover story as she fly's to Russia as an "exchange student" to see what else Sean Rayne has against the government. Paige is no hero...but perhaps Liberty is.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Published July 2014 by Ecco Press

1686, eighteen year old Nella arrives in Amsterdam to begin her new life as a wife to Johanne Brandt, an illustrious merchant trader. But Johanne is distant and is often locked in his office or at the warehouse leaving Nella with his sharp-tongued sister Marin. Johanne isn't as cold as he seems, giving Nella an extraordinary wedding gift, a cabinet sized replica of their house. Nella enlists the help of a Miniaturist to crafty make life like replicas to go into this tiny house. But in doing so Nella begins to learn of secrets. In a world where gold is worshiped only second to God, not even the rich Johanne can be protected. Is the Miniaturist their savior or their undoing?

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Published March 2016 by William Morrow

Charlia Asher has a pretty normal life. He's married to a bright and pretty women who actually loves him for his normalcy. They're even about to have their first child. Yes Charlie is doing OK, that is until people start dropping dead around him, and every where he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new positions: As Death.

Borne by Jeff Vandermeer

Published April 2017 by MCD/ Farrar, Staus and Giroux

I'm finding this one too complex to explain and too long to just plug in. It sci-fi it's post-apocalyptic its odd....very very odd. Bio-engineering is involved, a flying bear is involved....just odd.

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Published August 2016 by Dutton Books for Young Readers

Alice Alexis Queensmeadow 12 is colorless. But one of the three things she cares about more than anything is color. The other two are magic and her mother, who wont miss her. Her father loves Alice more than anything, but armed only with a ruler he set out three years ago and hasn't returned. To find him, Alice must travel the dangerous unpredictable land of Furthermore, where up can be down, left could be right or very very wrong. Her only companion is Oliver, who's magic is based on lies and deceit. Alice must find herself, and hold fast to the magic of love in the time of great loss.

So this one has all kinds of hype behind it, and honestly I didn't plan on reading it. But when Whichwood came out I became intrigued. I heard it's more of a companion than an actual sequel but have been suggested to read this one before hand as it's in the same universe. I have to say, as much as everyone raves about the covers...I really dislike them. The colors are beautiful. but I find this one in particular, too busy to the point where the colors get muddled. I think there could have been a more simplistic approach.

Amazon orders:

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis

Published August 2016, by Dutton Books

Barbizon Hotel, 1950's, houses a generation aspiring models, secretaries and editors all hoping to make their fairy-tale futures come true in New York City. Darby McLaughlin is a new student enrolled in secretary school, and unlike her neighbors, she's plain, self conscious, home sick and utterly convinced she doesn't belong. Yet when Darby befriends a Barbizon maid shes introduced to a different part of New York City: Seedy downtown jazz clubs that are just as addicting as the heroin being used in them, the startling sound of bee-bop and the possibility of romance. Over half a century later the Barobizon Hotel and its guests are almost long forgotten. Yet in the halls is a melancholy tune that floats from an elderly woman's rent-controlled apartment. The secrets of the Barizon Hotel gives journalist Rose Lewin the perfect distraction from her own imploding personal life, but as Rose's obsession deepens the ethics of her investigation become murky.

The Address by Fiona Davis

Published August 2017, by Dutton Books

1884 Sarah Smythe is offered a job by Theodore Camden after a failed apprenticeship as a housekeeper in posh London. This opportunity is hard for Sarah to turn down, to manage The Dakota a grand apartment house in New York, Sarah's world is suddenly awash with opportunity. Moving to America where a person can rise above ones station. To be a female manager in the Dakota which praises to be the greatest apartment in the world. And Theo, the opportunity to see him more, the man gets her, and he'll be living in the Dakota with his wife and two children.

1985 Bailey Camden is just out of rehab. Homeless, jobless, and penniless this former party girl and interior designer is desperate for a new opportunity. Bailey's grandfather was the ward of famed architect Theodore Camden. But the absence of genetic connection means Bailey wont see a penny of the Camden Family's substantial estate. Instead her "cousin" Melinda, Camden's biological great-grand daughter who will get everything, is offering Bailey to over see the renovation of her lavish Dakota apartment. Bailey jumps at the chance, despite disagreeing with Melinda's taste. She's completely destroy the character and timely feel that made the Dakota so grand. The history that Theodore Camden had built up before being murdered by a mad woman.

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Published September 2017, by Bloomsbury Children

Written in verse, this books asks the big questions: What value do you place on life? What can you forgive?  and just how do you say goodbye?

We are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

Published January 2016, by Simon Pulse

Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the Aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop is is press a button. But...he's not sure if he wants to. After all life hasn't been kind to Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandma is slowly deteriorating with Alzheimer's. And he's still dealing with his grief from his boyfriend's suicide last year. But Henry is a scientist first, trying to way to pro's and the con's of either decision. Press the button and save the world and life as he know sit, or let it and his problems be destroyed forever.

I wasn't originally going to pick this one up, I've heard good things, but it was just one that I had heard about but wasn't sure about. I'm still not sure about it. But when Shaun David Hutchinson came out with this next book, and I heard it's best to read them in order despite not being connected in story, they're connected in universe and there are cameos to appreciate. So I figured why not?

The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson

Published February 2018, by Simon Pulse

Elena Mendoza is the product of a virgin birth. This can be explained, it's called parthenogenesis. What can't be explained is why this sixteen year old was able to heal Freddie, her crush, after being shot in a Starbucks parking lot. Or why David Combs, the boy who shot Freddie, disappeared after being sucked up into the clouds from said parking lot. What also can't be explained is the talking girl on the tampon box, or why David Combs shot Freddie to begin with. As more unbelievable things occur, Elena continues to perform miracles, the only remaining explanation is the least logical of all, that the world is ending, and Elena Mendoza is the only one who can do something about it.

Book of the Month pick:

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Published February 2018, by Algonquin Books

Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of the both the American Dream and the New South. He's an executive and she's an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into routine in their new life, they're torn apart. Roy is convicted of a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit. Roy is sentenced to twelve years in prison, Celestial is fiercely independent but finds herself bereft and unmoored taking comfort in a childhood friend who was best man at her and Roy's wedding. As Roy's prison time passes, Celestial is unable to hold the love that has been her center. After five years in prison Roy's sentence is overturned, and he goes to Atlanta hoping to return to the life and routine he was torn away from.

Extra Picks:

The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller

Published February 2018, by Simon and Shuster

Robert Weekes is eighteen years old and a practitioner of empirical philosophy, and arcane female dominated branch of science used to summon wind, shape clouds of smoke, heal the injured and even fly. Robert dreams of fighting in the Great War, as the first male in the elite US Sigilry Corps Rescue and Evacuation Service, a team of flying medics, but he is resigned to mixing batches of philosophical chemicals for the family business in rural Montana where his mother, former soldier and vigilante, helps the locals. When a deadly accident puts Robert's skills to the test, he wins a scholarship to study at Radcliffe University, an all women's school. At Radcliffe Robert hones his skills striving to win the respect of his unruly all female classmates. Robert fall hard for war hero turned political radical Danielle Hardin, however Danielle's activism and Robert's recklessness attracts the attention of a group of radical anti-philosophers that Robert's mother fought years before.

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Published January 2018, by William Morrow

Anna Fox lives along. A recluse in her New York City apartment, Anna spends her days drinking wine (perhaps a bit too much) watching old movies, reflecting on happier times and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move in across the way. A father, a mother and their teenage son, the perfect family, but when Anna sees something she shouldn't her world comes crumbling down, it's shocking secrets are laid to bare.