Monthly Roundup: February 2015

Every first Wednesday of the month, I’ll be posting a roundup of the month just gone, and writing about what’s to come in the next few weeks.

Last month I read a total of four books: The Way of Shadows (Night Angel #1) by Brent Weeks, Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion #1) by Aimee Carter, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood by Oliver Bowden and See How Small by Scott Blackwood.

Um. Let’s just say this was not a good month – in terms of number of books read, and enjoyment of said books. Lectures started again, work piled up and it’s pretty crazy at the moment. However, I am currently reading Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon, and loving it. I would like my own Jamie please and thank you.

 

Challenge progress:

• I read three books towards the DC vs Marvel Challenge. March’s villain is The Riddler, and I need to find some books to fit him.
• I have currently read fifteen books towards my Goodreads goal.

 

Currently reading:

How was February for you?

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Review: See How Small by Scott Blackwood

2 out of 5 stars | Goodreads

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

See How Small was one of my top anticipated releases for this year, and oh how disappointed I was.

Whilst Scott Blackwood surely has a talent for beautiful prose, and there were some sentences that were just absolutely gorgeous, the story felt so disjointed. It seemed to skip around from character to character and event to event, with no real link to what happened next. Because of the constant flitting between characters, I never got a chance to get to know any of them, and as a result felt very removed from the story. What did it matter to me if X was having an affair with Y? As well as this, I often completely lost track of who I was following because one minute it was one character, the next a totally different one.

Ultimately, whilst the story started off well, it just did not work for me. The book felt so uneventful and I was actually bored in parts – I’m just glad it was a quick read, because I was very much tempted to give up on it. I was also disappointed at how little the girls were involved considering the blurb – they may have been the ones narrating, but you wouldn’t have known if not for a short section at the beginning.

However, whilst this book did not work for me, it appears to have been a hit with many other people, with many four and five star ratings on Goodreads. I just wish I could agree with them!

Anticipated Releases 2015

It’s a new year, and with it comes new books and release dates! 2015 looks like it will be a fantastic year for new releases, and I just wanted to share a few (or maybe more than a few…) that I’m really looking forward to. I’m sure I’ll find plenty more between writing and posting this, and then even more during the course of 2015. I’d also love to hear which new books you’re looking forward to the most.

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman is the second book in the Seraphina series, the first of which I read last month and really, really enjoyed. Despite not liking Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence as much as I’d hoped, I gave his second series a try and found Prince of Fools much more enjoyable – so I’m looking forward to the sequel, The Liar’s Key. You may have seen me talk about a series called The Demon Cycle, written by Peter V. Brett, a lot – and the fourth book, The Skull Throne is set for release in 2015!

I still haven’t managed to get my hands on a copy of Vicious yet so I’ve not sampled Victoria Schwab‘s writing, but A Darker Shade Of Magic sounds amazing nonetheless. I came across Shutter by Courtney Alameda when searching for books to fit the DC vs. Marvel Challenge. It sounds amazing, and reminds me a little of the video game Fatal Frame. I have a copy of Cannonbridge by Jonathan Barnes from Netgalley, and it sounds pretty unique – an infamous 19th century writer who never should have existed, but seems to have influenced the lives of just about everyone.

Hodder kindly sent a copy of Those Above by Daniel Polansky to my address in the UK, and I am DEFINITELY taking it back to Leiden with me. It looks like the start of another wonderful epic fantasy series. I may only have read the first book in the series, and will be reading number two soon, but I am still excited for the fifth book in the Mistborn series (which currently has no cover), Shadows Of Self by Brandon Sanderson – although there is no exact date within 2015 as of the current moment. Reawakened by Colleen Houck looks like it could either be really great or absolutely awful… but it’s about Egyptian mythology so yes, I will be reading it!

Another one that I have from Netgalley, See How Small by Scott Blackwood sounds like it might be along the lines of something like The Lovely Bones. I really should have listed A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas first, because I am SO EXCITED FOR THIS ONE! I am completely in love with her writing, and I’m ecstatic that she has written another series. And finally, last but not least, The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord looks to be an epic science fiction novel. It’s a standalone, but is set in the same universe as her previous work.

What releases are you looking forward to during 2015?