This week’s theme is : Winter 2018 TBR
The Tower of Living and Dying (Empires of Dust #2) by Anna Smith Spark Also by this author: The Court of Broken Knives
Published by Orbit on August 7, 2018
Pages: 514
A powerhouse story of bloodshed, ambition, and fate, The Tower of Living and Dying is a continuation of Anna Smith Spark's brilliant Empires of Dust trilogy, which began with The Court of Broken Knives.
Marith has been a sellsword, a prince, a murderer, a demon, and dead. But something keeps bringing him back to life, and now there is nothing stopping him from taking back the throne that is rightfully his.
Thalia, the former high priestess, remains Marith's only tenuous grasp to whatever goodness he has left. His left hand and his last source of light, Thalia still believes that the power that lies within him can be used for better ends. But as more forces gather beneath Marith's banner, she can feel her influence slipping.
Read the second book in this "gritty and glorious!" (Miles Cameron) epic fantasy series reminiscent of Joe Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence where the exiled son of a king fights to reclaim his throne no matter the cost.
Empires of DustThe Court of Broken KnivesThe Tower of Living and Dying
Sisters of the Fire (Blood and Gold, #2) by Kim Wilkins Also by this author: Daughters of the Storm, Sisters of the Fire
Published by Del Rey on January 8, 2019
Pages: 448
In the next chapter of a fantasy series featuring five unforgettable sisters—the warrior, the magician, the lover, the zealot, and the gossip—an insidious threat jeopardizes a fragile peace.
Four years have passed since the five royal sisters—daughters of the king—worked together to restore their father to health and to the throne while fracturing the bonds among themselves almost irreparably. Only Bluebell remains at home, dutifully serving as heir to her father’s kingdom. Rose has been cast aside by her former husband and hides in exile with her aunt, separated forever from her beloved daughter, Rowan. Ash wanders the distant wastes with her teacher, learning magic and hunting dragons, determined that the dread fate she has foreseen for herself and her loved ones never comes to pass. Ivy rules over a prosperous seaport, married to an aged husband she hates yet finding delight in her two young sons and a handsome captain of the guard. And as for Willow, she hides the most dangerous secret of all—one that could destroy all that the sisters once sought to save.
The saga begins in . . .DAUGHTERS OF THE STORM
Lipstick Voodoo (Kincaid Strange, #2) by Kristi Charish Also by this author: The Voodoo Killings
Published by Vintage Canada on January 8, 2019
Pages: 384
Kincaid Strange, not your average voodoo practitioner, is back in the freshly imagined and hugely entertaining second installment of Kristi Charish's urban fantasy series.
Kincaid Strange cannot catch a break. After dealing with a spate of paranormal murders, there's barely time to recuperate—let alone sleep in—before there's a new problem in Kincaid's world of paranormal activity. When her roommate, Nathan Cade—the ghost of a grunge-rocker with a pathological lack of self-control—comes home bound to a dead body, it's up to Kincaid to figure out how to free him. Ideally before her new mentor, Gideon, a powerful sorcerer's ghost, discovers that Nate is trapped in the body he'd coveted for himself.
When Aaron, a Seattle cop on the afterlife beat—and Kincaid's ex—calls her in to help out with a cold case, she takes the chance to mend fences with the police department. The problem: they want to interview Nate's ghost, which she can't produce. Then people from Nate's past start showing up dead, and what's killing them doesn't seem to be human. And the way it's killing them is especially brutal.
Nate's hiding something, but he's Kincaid's friend and she wants to help him. But she also wants to stay alive....
The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan Also by this author: The Gutter Prayer
Published by Orbit on January 17, 2019
Pages: 544
A group of three young thieves are pulled into a centuries old magical war between ancient beings, mages, and humanity in this wildly original debut epic fantasy.
The city has always been. The city must finally end.
When three thieves - an orphan, a ghoul, and a cursed man - are betrayed by the master of the thieves guild, their quest for revenge uncovers dark truths about their city and exposes a dangerous conspiracy, the seeds of which were sown long before they were born.Cari is a drifter whose past and future are darker than she can know.
Rat is a Ghoul, whose people haunt the city's underworld.
Spar is a Stone Man, subject to a terrible disease that is slowly petrifying his flesh.
Chance has brought them together, but their friendship could be all that stands in the way of total armageddon
The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons, #1) by Jenn Lyons Published by Tor Books on February 5, 2019
Pages: 560
There are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens.
Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn't what the storybooks promised.
Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family's power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.
Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin isn’t destined to save the empire.
He’s destined to destroy it . . .
Uniting the worldbuilding of a Brandon Sanderson with the storytelling verve of a Patrick Rothfuss, debut author Jenn Lyons delivers an entirely new and captivating fantasy epic. Prepare to meet the genre’s next star.
Dark of the West (Glass Alliance #1) by Joanna Hathaway Also by this author: Dark of the West
Published by Tor Teen on February 5, 2019
Pages: 480
He was raised in revolution. She was raised in a palace. Can their love stop a war? Code Name Verity meets The Winner's Curse in Joanna Hathaway's Dark of the West, a breathtaking YA fantasy debut.
Aurelia Isendare is a princess of a small kingdom in the North, raised in privilege but shielded from politics as her brother prepares to step up to the throne. Halfway around the world, Athan Dakar, the youngest son of a ruthless general, is a fighter pilot longing for a life away from the front lines. When Athan’s mother is shot and killed, his father is convinced it’s the work of his old rival, the Queen of Etania—Aurelia’s mother. Determined to avenge his wife’s murder, he devises a plot to overthrow the Queen, a plot which sends Athan undercover to Etania to gain intel from her children.
Athan’s mission becomes complicated when he finds himself falling for the girl he’s been tasked with spying upon. Aurelia feels the same attraction, all the while desperately seeking to stop the war threatening to break between the Southern territory and the old Northern kingdoms that control it—a war in which Athan’s father is determined to play a role. As diplomatic ties manage to just barely hold, the two teens struggle to remain loyal to their families and each other as they learn that war is not as black and white as they’ve been raised to believe.
The Triumphant (The Valiant, #3) by Lesley Livingston Also by this author: The Valiant, The Defiant
Published by Razorbill on February 12, 2019
The final book in the Valiant series takes Fallon and her warrior sisters on an epic journey from the corrupt Roman Republic to the wonder of the ancient world: Alexandria, Egypt.
“You are from a world, Fallon, that values honor over everything else. Rome is not that world.”
In the wake of their victorious fight to win back the Ludus Achillea, Fallon and her gladiatrix sisters have become the toast of the Republic. Only for Fallon, glory turns to ashes when she learns that Cai has been stripped of his Decurion rank and declared infamia, cast down to serve as one of Caesar’s gladiators. All because he chose his love for her over the life of his treacherous father during the ludus uprising.
But treachery in Rome runs far deeper than Fallon ever suspected. While she is fighting for Cai’s freedom, the unthinkable happens and the Republic begins to tear itself apart at the seams. In the chaos that follows, the Achillea gladiatrices lose any protection they might have had once and for all. They’re not the only ones.
When Fallon discovers that Cleopatra is in grave danger, she and her sister Sorcha rally their war band in an attempt to spirit the Queen of Aegypt out of Rome, embarking on a remarkable journey that will take them to Alexandria—the wonder of the ancient world—and beyond. Far beyond. Along the way, Fallon will have to decide where her heart truly lies, as well as what—and who—she is willing to sacrifice to get there.
Gates of Stone (Lord of the Islands, #1) by Angus Macallan Published by Ace Books on February 19, 2019
Pages: 544
In a world of blood and magic, a powerful epic fantasy begins...
AN EMPEROR'S DAUGHTER WHO WILL NOT BE DENIEDJust before her sixteenth birthday, Princess Katerina is refused her rightful place as heir to the Empire of the Ice-Bear--solely because of her sex. Determined to regain her inheritance, she murders the foreign lord she's been ordered to marry and embarks on a perilous voyage to the lush, tropical islands of the Laut Besar in search of the vast wealth and power she needs to claim the Empire for herself.
A PRINCE FORCED TO TAKE A STANDOn a small island kingdom, Prince Arjun's idyllic life is shattered when a malignant sorcerer invades, slaughters his people and steals the sacred sword of Jun's ancestors. With his royal father dead and his palace in ruins, Jun reluctantly tracks the sorcerer and the magical blade far across the pirate-infested waters of the Laut Besar.
A SORCERER SEEKING TO DESTROY THE WORLDLong ago the powerful relics known as the Seven Keys were used to safely lock away the terrifying evils of the Seven Hells. With Jun's ancient sword in his grasp, the sorcerer Mangku has claimed the first Key, and begun his mission to unleash catastrophe upon the land.
As the destinies of these three entwine in the lawless islands of the Laut Besar, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. For if the sorcerer cannot be stopped, the world itself will be unmade...
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon Published by Bloomsbury Publishing on February 26, 2019
Pages: 848
A world divided.A queendom without an heir.An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie Also by this author: Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword
Published by Orbit on February 26, 2019
Pages: 432
Following her record-breaking run in science fiction, Ann Leckie, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke and Locus Awards, brings her immense talent to a new novel and new world.
For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven's Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven's watch, the city flourishes. But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods. It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo--aide to Mawat, the true Lease--arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven's Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself... and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever.
You’ve got a great list! Enjoy!
This list looks very familiar ? Several of these are on my list too, but there are just too many winter books coming out, urgh!
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Books I Can’t Wait to Read this Winter
I love the cover for The Ruin of Kings. I hope you find the time for all these books and have a great week.
Katie @Just Another Girl and Her Books recently posted…*Review* Fate of Draga by Emma Dean
I still have the first Valiant book waiting in my TBR pile… Oh well. I’ll get to it eventually. XD
I’ve honestly lost track of what’s coming out over the next few months. (It’s been an even crazier December than usual, and I was sick last week, so I feel like I’m still emerging from a mental fog.) But if I remember correctly, a few Winter 2018 books I’m really looking forward to are Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars, Katherine Arden’s Winter of the Witch, and Jordanna Max Brodsky’s The Wolf in the Whale.
Sara Letourneau recently posted…Poetry: “How to Pack for Iceland” Published in Amethyst Review
I’m so excited for Priory!
Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #190
I definitely need to continue Anna Smith Spark’s series. It appears I have a lot of other Orbit sequels I need to get to!
The Gutter Prayer looks pretty awesome, I may have to add that one. Love the sound of it. And I’ve been meaning to read the Valiant series for forever seems like!
Greg recently posted…Top Ten Winter 2018
These all sound really great! I hadn’t heard of The Gutter Prayer until today but I am so interested now. This is the second or third list I’ve seen it on this week and I’m just, like, reaching towards my screen like, “Give me that, please.” I hope you enjoy!
I have heard great things about The Gutter Prayer!
Lisa @ waytoofantasy recently posted…Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard