I told myself that this year I would slow down with ARCs as I definitely took on too many in 2021. Around 85% of what I read last year were ARCs and I really want to get through the books I’ve actually brought. So far this year I have read four ARCs which is a decent amount if you ask me. As for what I have to read, I’m currently sitting on four advanced copies all releasing in the next few months.
I’ve talked about each one below in a new format I want to use for my ARC update posts. Let me know if you prefer this structure to my old one.
With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher
Books by Youtubers always intrigue me. I feel a strange urge to know if they’re any good or not. However, I have already read one of Carrie’s books, All That She Can See, way back in 2017 and I thought it was pretty decent but I was more easily impressed back then. I’m definitely more of a harsh critic now.
So when I wrote this post I was only around 20% through this, however, I forgot I had this sitting in my drafts and I’ve actually finished it now. My review will be posted in the next few days.
Synopsis: When their lips touch, will she seal his fate?
From the outside, Lorelai is an ordinary young woman with a normal life. She loves reading, she works at the local cinema and she adores living with her best friend. But she carries a painful burden, something she’s kept hidden for years; whenever she kisses someone on the lips, she sees how they are going to die. But she’s never known if she’s seeing what was always meant to be, or if her kiss is the thing that decides their destiny. And so, she hasn’t kissed anyone since she was sixteen.
Then she meets Grayson. Sweet, clever, funny Grayson. And for the first time in years she yearns for a man’s kiss. But she can’t… or can she? And if she does, should she try to intervene and change what she sees?
Wild Fires by Sophie Jai
This will be my first book by Sophie Jai and my complete introduction to her as an author as I’ve never heard of her before. I’m quite excited to read something outside of my usual genres of fantasy and romance.
Synopsis: The only things Cassandra knows about her family are the stories she’s heard in snatches over the years: about the aunt and cousin she never got to meet, about the man from the folded-up photograph in one of her aunt’s drawers, and of course about her cousin Chevy, and his troubled past – but no one utters a word about them any more.
When a call from one of her sisters brings Cassandra news of Chevy’s death, she has to return home for the funeral. To Toronto and the big house on Florence Street, where her sisters are hiding more than themselves in their rooms, where the tension brewing between her mother and aunts has been decades in the making, and where sooner or later every secret, unspoken word and painful memory will find its way out into the open.
Moving between Toronto and Trinidad, Wild Fires is a vivid and compelling story exploring the ways we mourn and why we avoid the very things that can save us.
This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron
Kalynn Bayron has recently become a firm favourite of mine. I started out 2021 with my first ever read of hers and during the year I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of the first book in this series.
Speaking of the first book, This Poison Heart, I really enjoyed reading it and have been (im)patiently waiting for the next instalment. The ending of the first book was super exciting and just pure chaos so I can’t wait to see how this one starts.
Synopsis: How much would you risk to save the ones you love? Would you tempt even the most dangerous fate?
Briseis has one chance to save her mother, but she’ll need to do the impossible: find the last fragment of the deadly Absyrtus Heart. If she is to locate the missing piece, she must turn to the blood relatives she’s never known, learn about their secret powers, and take her place in their ancient lineage. Briseis is not the only one who wants the Heart, and her enemies will stop at nothing to fulfill their own ruthless plans. The fates tell of a truly dangerous journey, one that could end in more heartache, more death. Bolstered by the sisterhood of ancient magic, can Briseis harness her power to save the people she loves most?
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
This will be my first book by Ali as I am still yet to read The Love Hypothesis, but I may have time to read it before this one. I don’t think it matters that I haven’t read it first, but I want to see what the hype is about.
Synopsis: Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project – a literal dream come true – Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.
Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school – archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.
But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas… devouring her with those eyes. The possibilities have all her neurons firing.
But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?
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