#BookHaul: February 2018

It’s book haul time! I was going to spread this haul out over two posts, but I think you can handle all the goodness in one post. So, get comfortable and enjoy.

Review Copies:

We Were the Salt of the Sea by Roxanne Bouchard (Orenda Books)

As Montrealer Catherine Day sets foot in a remote fishing village and starts asking around about her birth mother, the body of a woman dredges up in a fisherman’s nets. Not just any woman, though: Marie Garant, an elusive, nomadic sailor and unbridled beauty who once tied many a man’s heart in knots. Detective Sergeant Joaquin Morales, newly drafted to the area from the suburbs of Montreal, barely has time to unpack his suitcase before he’s thrown into the deep end of the investigation. On Quebec’s outlying Gaspe Peninsula, the truth can be slippery, especially down on the fishermen’s wharves.

Call to Arms by Rachel Amphlett (Author, Rachel Amphlett)

Kay Hunter has survived a vicious attack at the hands of one of the country’s most evil serial killers. Returning to work after an enforced absence to recover, she discovers she wasn’t the only victim of that investigation.

DI Devon Sharp remains suspended from duties, and the team is in turmoil. Determined to prove herself once more and clear his name, Kay undertakes to solve a cold case that links Sharp to his accuser.

But, as she gets closer to the truth, she realises her enquiries could do more harm than good. Torn between protecting her mentor and finding out the truth, the consequences of Kay’s enquiries will reach far beyond her new role…

The Fear by C. L. Taylor (Avon Books)

Sometimes your first love won’t let you go…

When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn’t what he seemed and he left her life in pieces.

Now 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. Determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he’s caused.

But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as Lou tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that she could once again become his prey…

Total review copies: 25

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Netgalley:

In the Dark by Cara Hunter (Penguin UK)

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY’RE HIDING IN THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR? From the author of CLOSE TO HOME, comes the second pulse-pounding DI Fawley crime thriller. A woman and child are found locked in a basement room, barely alive… No one knows who they are – the woman can’t speak, and there are no missing persons reports that match their profile. And the elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before. The inhabitants of the quiet Oxford street are in shock – how could this happen right under their noses? But DI Adam Fawley knows that nothing is impossible. And that no one is as innocent as they seem . . .

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh (Little, Brown Book Group UK)

The police say it was suicide.
Anna says it was murder.
They’re both wrong.

One year ago, Caroline Johnson chose to end her life brutally: a shocking suicide planned to match that of her husband just months before. Their daughter, Anna, has struggled to come to terms with their loss ever since.
Now with a young baby of her own, Anna misses her mother more than ever and starts to ask questions about her parents’ deaths. But by digging up the past, is she putting her future in danger? Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie . . .

Tangerine by Christine Mangan (Little, Brown Book Group UK)

The last person Alice Shipley expected to see since arriving in Tangier with her new husband was Lucy Mason. After the horrific accident at Bennington, the two friends – once inseparable roommates – haven’t spoken in over a year. But Lucy is standing there, trying to make things right.

Perhaps Alice should be happy. She has not adjusted to life in Morocco, too afraid to venture out into the bustling medinas and oppressive heat. Lucy, always fearless and independent, helps Alice emerge from her flat and explore the country.

But soon a familiar feeling starts to overtake Alice – she feels controlled and stifled by Lucy at every turn. Then Alice’s husband, John, goes missing, and Alice starts to question everything around her: her relationship with her enigmatic friend, her decision to ever come to Tangier, and her very own state of mind.

The Hunger by Alma Katsu (Random House UK)

What began as a brave and bold adventure has become a nightmare.

The searing heat of the desert gives way to biting winds as they get closer to the mountains. The snows freeze the cattle where they stand.

The spectre of starvation looms and the children have begun to disappear.

Rumours are whispered, fingers pointed and accusation made as the surivors turn against each other.

And winter is closing in . . .

Total Netgalley copies: 8

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Gifted:

From Penguin UK – to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote in Britain, four forgotten classics by female authors!

Meatless Days by Sara Suleri

Meatless Days is a searing memoir of life in the newly-created country of Pakistan. When sudden and shocking tragedies hit the author’s family two years apart, her personal crisis spirals into a wider meditation on universal questions: about being a woman when you’re too busy being a mother or a sister or a wife to consider your own womanhood; about how it feels to begin life in a new language; about how our lives are changed by the people that leave them. This is a heart-breaking, hopeful and profound book that will get under your skin.

Lifting the Veil by Ismat Chughtai

Lifting the Veil is a bold and irreverent collection of writing from India’s most controversial feminist writer. These stories celebrate life in all its complexities: from a woman who refuses marriage to a man she loves to preserve her freedom, to a Hindu and a Muslim teenager pulled apart by societal pressures, to eye-opening personal accounts of the charges of obscenity the author faced in court for stories found in this book.

Wickedly funny and unflinchingly honest, Lifting the Veil explores the power of female sexuality while slyly mocking the subtle tyrannies of middle-class life. In 1940s India, an unlikely setting for female rebellion, Ismat Chughtai was a rare and radical storyteller born years ahead of her time.

The Lark by E. Nesbit

“When did two girls of our age have such a chance as we’ve got – to have a lark entirely on our own? No chaperone, no rules, no…”
“No present income or future prospects,” said Lucilla.

It’s 1919 and Jane and her cousin Lucilla leave school to find that their guardian has gambled away their money, leaving them with only a small cottage in the English countryside. In an attempt to earn their living, the orphaned cousins embark on a series of misadventures – cutting flowers from their front garden and selling them to passers-by, inviting paying guests who disappear without paying – all the while endeavouring to stave off the attentions of male admirers, in a bid to secure their independence.

Birds of America by Mary McCarthy

Giveaways:

The Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden (From Jo’s Book Blog)

‘Frost-demons have no interest in mortal girls wed to mortal men. In the stories, they only come for the wild maiden.’

In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church.

But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods…

The Girl in The Tower by Katherine Arden (From Jo’s Book Blog)

For a young woman in medieval Russia, the choices are stark: marriage or a life in a convent. Vasya will choose a third way: magic…

The court of the Grand Prince of Moscow is plagued by power struggles and rumours of unrest. Meanwhile bandits roam the countryside, burning the villages and kidnapping its daughters. Setting out to defeat the raiders, the Prince and his trusted companion come across a young man riding a magnificent horse.

Only Sasha, a priest with a warrior’s training, recognises this ‘boy’ as his younger sister, thought to be dead or a witch by her village. But when Vasya proves herself in battle, riding with remarkable skill and inexplicable power, Sasha realises he must keep her secret as she may be the only way to save the city from threats both human and fantastical…

Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes (From Always Trust In Books)

Trapped in a storm, with no way out …

DI Ben Kitto needs a second chance. After ten years working for the murder squad in London, a traumatic event has left him grief-stricken. He’s tried to resign from his job, but his boss has persuaded him to take three months to reconsider.

Ben plans to work in his uncle Ray’s boatyard, on the tiny Scilly island of Bryher where he was born, hoping to mend his shattered nerves. His plans go awry when the body of sixteen year old Laura Trescothick is found on the beach at Hell Bay. Her attacker must still be on the island because no ferries have sailed during a two-day storm. 

Everyone on the island is under suspicion. Dark secrets are about to resurface. And the murderer could strike again at any time.

The House Beneath the Oak Trees by Faye Belle (from, Author @faye_belle_writes)

Penny couldn’t believe her luck when they first arrived at Oak Tree House, the grand country estate where she would be spending the week to celebrate her sister’s 30th birthday along with her mum and aunt. Guarded by two gigantic oak trees, the empty house stands alone within Oakdene, a quiet and desolate village. She ignores her mischievous aunt as she jokingly tries to convince them that their rented apartment is haunted the moment they step foot inside. Always rational, Penny tries to place logical explanations to unexplainable events that start occurring from the very first day. When these encounters become more and more frequent, and more terrifying, Penny cannot avoid it anymore. Someone, or something, is staying in the apartment with them and Penny needs to find out what it is and more importantly, what it wants from her?

Mr Mercedes; Finders Keepers; The Gunslinger by Stephen King (from @littlereaderxoxo)

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Book Purchases: