Book Haul: February 2024

As we all know by now, I only ever buy books that are on sale and the February deals have not been great. I usually buy more books than I mention in these posts, but that’s not the case this month. I am writing this post a little early, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I won’t be buying any more books.

Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

I can’t lie, I bought this because of the cover. I mean, look at it, can you blame me? It’s absolutely gorgeous. I’m not completely shallow though, this does sound very interesting and I do love a book about characters who can harness poisonous plants/flowers.

Synopsis: Clara’s magic has always been wild. But it’s never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father’s chest.

The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell that requires perfect control. And the only person willing to help is her former best friend, Xavier, who’s grown from a sweet, shy child into someone distant and mysterious.

Xavier asks a terrible price in return, knowing Clara will give anything to save her father. As she struggles to reconcile the new Xavier with the boy she once loved, she discovers how many secrets he’s hiding. And as she hunts for the truth, she instead finds the root of a terrible darkness that’s taken hold in the queendom—a darkness only Clara’s magic is powerful enough to stop.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

I’m hoping this will reignite my passion for fantasy. It’s surprisingly short for the genre at just over 300 pages and that’s the perfect length for me right now. The probability of me reading this within the next few months is quite slim as I have Kindle Unlimited, but I’m getting a little bored of it at the moment, so I may stray from the subscription before it is finished (I have a 3 month subscription).

Synopsis: Kissen’s family were killed by zealots of a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing gods, and enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, has somehow bound himself to a young noble, and they are both on the run from unknown assassins.

Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, they must travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favour.

Pursued by demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning – something is rotting at the heart of their world, and only they can be the ones to stop it.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

I’ve been wanting to watch the film of this since it came out, but when I found out it was a book first, I wanted to read it before watching. Also, I’m hoping this will become a new addition to my ‘best book to screen adaptations’ series.

I’d normally find the original cover as I quite famously hate film/TV tie-in covers, but I don’t like any of the covers for this book. This one is probably my favourite – which never happens.

Synopsis: Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. Having missed her flight, she’s stuck at JFK airport and late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

This has been on my radar for quite some time. I remember seeing it on Netgalley but I never requested it for some reason. This is going to be pretty high up on my to be read over the next few months.

Synopsis: It’s been hundreds of years since King Arthur’s reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on is that they despise each other.

They’re forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run-up to their nuptials, and within 24 hours, Gwen has discovered Arthur kissing a boy, and Arthur has gone digging for Gwen’s childhood diary and found confessions about her crush on the kingdom’s only lady knight, Bridget Leclair.

Realizing they might make better allies than enemies, Gwen and Art make a reluctant pact to cover for each other, and as things heat up at the annual royal tournament, Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight, and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen’s royal brother.