February 2021 Book Haul

Haha, oops, there goes all the restraint I’ve shown for the past few months! The 2021 ARC season has begun in earnest and I am loading up all my shelves! To be fair to me, almost all of these acquisitions were books I’d had on the “to stalk” list anyway, so I was prepared for most of these. Nevertheless a few impulse requests managed to slip into the pile, despite all best intentions. So let’s see what I’ve got!

All covers link to Goodreads!

Physical ARCs

FUGITIVE TELEMETRY by Martha Wells
Okay, I fully screamed when this showed up in my mailbox! FUGITIVE TELEMETRY is the latest Murderbot novella, a character very near and dear to my heart. I was FLOORED when my email query to Tor.com begging them for a hardcopy resulted in an actual hardcopy! In this latest outing, Murderbot will be investigating a murder. No matter how many times I say it, that premise does not get any less delightful.

eARCs

   

THE JASMINE THRONE by Tasha Suri
I’ve only read one of Tasha Suri’s books so far, EMPIRE OF SAND, but it definitely cemented her as a fantasy author to watch. EMPIRE OF SAND was lush and romantic, and I’m hoping to read the semi-sequel, REALM OF ASH, in the next few months. THE JASMINE THRONE will kick off an unrelated trilogy, featuring a princess who discovers her handmaiden has a forbidden power, and uses it to try and dethrone her evil brother.

THE LAST WATCH by J.S. Dewes
This was one of my impulse requests. I’m a sucker for “crew of misfits save the galaxy,” and this is promising to be something in that vein. With the edge of the universe collapsing, the only ship close enough to possibly save the day is the one full of the dregs of the military, the court-martialed and the solders nobody else wanted. After last year’s reading being fairly light on sci-fi, 2021 seems to be trying its darndest to make up for it with some very intriguing premises.

A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT by Becky Chambers
Speaking of sci-fi, we have the the queen of warm-fuzzy space adventures, Becky Chambers! This adventure looks decidedly more earth-bound, as a robot wanders out of the forest to check in a monk, apparently to fulfill an age old promise. This latest outing from Chambers is a novella, and I’m all too willing to see what quiet contemplations happen in this futuristic world.

 

THE HOUSE OF ALWAYS by Jenn Lyons
The end is drawing near! THE HOUSE OF ALWAYS is book four in A CHORUS OF DRAGONS, which promises to be a five book series. I have had a roller coaster ride with this series, sometimes loving into bits, sometimes being absolutely confused by how the intricate web of family relations. It is the epitome of the Daniel Craig gif, “It makes no damn sense! Compels me though.” Kihrin and company continue their ongoing quest to stop Vol Karoth from being freed from his eternal prison, this time with some undercover shenanigans that will push trust to the edge.

AMONG THIEVES by M.J. Kuhn
If I’m a sucker for “crew of misfits save the galaxy,” I am equally a sucker for fantasy heist stories. Which is how I ended up with my next impulse request, AMONG THIEVES. Riya Cautella has spent six years on the run from the Guildmaster, ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. She’s finally hit upon a plan that will free her from looking over her shoulder, but she’ll need a band of thieves, smugglers, and other assorted miscreants to pull it off. This is a debut releasing in September 2021, so it’ll be a while before I get to it, but I’m definitely intrigued!

What did you haul this month?