If I Could Go To The Bookstore Right Now…

I’m not gonna lie, this is just another way for me to make a wishlist post, because I have so many books that I want to buy right now, I have enough for at least 6 of these posts. And I’m going to write them all, right now. The crappy thing about having no money really is never being able to buy things, like ever. I’m also terrible under pressure so I just don’t think that the library would work for me. But who knows! Maybe I’ll get a card and see what I can do. I’m also not complaining, I can mostly afford to buy food so the lack of new books isn’t the end of the world! Anyways, here’s part one of the books I really want to read right now!

Mask of Shadows (Untitled #1) by Linsey Miller
“I Needed to Win.
They Needed to Die.

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home. 

When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen’s personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge. 

But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.”

I’ll admit that I just heard of this one recently, but I think it sounds really intriguing. It sounds somewhat similar to other YA fantasy novels I’ve heard of, but also unique enough to stand out. This one has very mixed reviews, but having a genderfluid main character is enough to draw me in, and assassins just solidify my decision. I’m not sure if I’ll actually pick this one up anytime soon but it definitely sounds like it’s worth a shot.

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
“Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized among them. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes – a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love, violating the fair folks’ ruthless Good Law. There’s only one way to save both their lives, Isobel must drink from the Green Well, whose water will transform her into a fair one—at the cost of her Craft, for immortality is as stagnant as it is timeless.

Isobel has a choice: she can sacrifice her art for a future, or arm herself with paint and canvas against the ancient power of the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.”

I don’t know the last time that a book sounded more perfect to me and I’ve been dying to get my hands on this one since I first heard about it. I think I’ve said it before but books that involve the Fae are some of my all time favourites, I just love how complex they are and how many directions you can take stories about them. This one sounds like it could perfectly capture what I love the most about Faerie books, and I’ve heard literally nothing but good things about it, which is rare but always exciting.

The Dire King (Jackaby #4) by William Ritter
“The fate of the world is in the hands of detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby and his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook. An evil king is turning ancient tensions into modern strife, using a blend of magic and technology to push Earth and the Otherworld into a mortal competition. Jackaby and Abigail are caught in the middle as they continue to solve the daily mysteries of New Fiddleham, New England — like who’s created the rend between the worlds, how to close it, and why zombies are appearing around. At the same time, the romance between Abigail and the shape-shifting police detective Charlie Cane deepens, and Jackaby’s resistance to his feelings for 926 Augur Lane’s ghostly lady, Jenny, begins to give way. Before the four can think about their own futures, they will have to defeat an evil that wants to destroy the future altogether.”

I think that this might be one that I’ve included in a previous top 3 post, but it’s without a doubt at the very top of my wishlist so I think it deserves another mention. This is the conclusion to one of my all time favourite series, I’ve read all of them in one sitting each because they are just so much fun and they draw you right into the story. I can’t wait to find out how this story ends, and to get back into this world with all my favourite characters.