Welcome to What’s On My Plate, my monthly post where I lay out my reading and blogging plans for the month ahead! It’s a great way for me to focus on the books I’d like to read for review that month, and hopefully you’ll see something you’ll want to come back for.
I have to say I had a great reading month in January. I posted eight reviews which is the number I’d love to do every month. But I did have a head-start, as I started reading my January books in December. This month I have lots of books I want to read, but I’m going to have to work harder to keep up. We’ll see how it goes! Here’s what’s on my plate this month:
Review books:
Let’s start out with my two most anticipated books of February!
Winter of the Gods (Olympus Bound #2) by Jordanna Max Brodsky. I loved the first book in this series, The Immortals, and I have high hopes for the sequel.
Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey. Yes, it’s true. I have never read Carey before! So here’s where I’m starting, with this retelling of The Tempest.
Gilded Cage by Vic James. I’ve already read some great reviews of this book, although not everyone has been blown away by it. I can’t wait to see for myself whether it lives up to the hype machine!
Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales edited by Ellen Datlow. I’m quite looking forward to this anthology. Not only is Ellen Datlow superior in the field of editing SFF collections, but this is a nice mix of high profile authors and “new to me” authors.
A Perfect Machine by Brett Savory. It’s been a while since I’ve read an Angry Robot book, and this looked tempting. Some mixed reviews, but I love the cover and the story sounds promising.
The Speckled God by Marc Joan. Not crazy about the cover, but I’m always up for a book from small publisher Unsung Stories (in this case, their imprint Unsung Signals). This is a story told in epistolary format, which I love!
Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. Kiernan. Kiernan seems to be EVERYWHERE these days. I have another book of hers to review next month as well. Looking forward to this very short novella from Tor.com!
Zodiac by Sam Wilson. I got this unsolicited from Pegasus books, but it sounds so good that I’m going to try to get to it if I can.
Idle Ingredients (Sin du Jour #4) by Matt Wallace. I love this series, and I’m very proud of myself for staying up to date with it! LOL.
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai. This book already has some mixed reviews but I’m giving it a crack anyway. I love that it’s “literary science fiction.”
Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza. Another book that caught my eye a few months ago, but has since been receiving some rather “meh” reviews. This is one I’ll get to if I can, but at this point it’s not a priority.
Author events and Giveaways:
I have quite an unusual mix of giveaways coming up, mostly due to an increase in pitches from publishers. Even though I’m not necessarily interested in reading these books, I thought a giveaway would be fun. Take a look!
At the end of the month (February 27th), stop by to enter to win a copy of Humans Bow Down by James Patterson! I know what you’re thinking: James Patterson?? Hey, he’s not my go-to author at all, but his latest is science fiction, so I wanted to give my readers an opportunity to win a copy.
Starting February 14th (Valentine’s Day!) you can enter to win a copy of The Fallen by Tarn Richardson, courtesy of Overlook Press. This series has great reviews on Goodreads, and it looks like historical fantasy.
And finally, my Book Review Giveaway is back, beginning on February 16th. I read some really good books last month, and you’ll want to get your hands on one!
You have a lot of good looking book on your list. I have Gilded Cage, so I hope we both like it. 🙂 I got carried away with the review books too even though I said I wouldn’t…gah. I hope I can get to them. I read one of my Feb books last month and I wasn’t impressed so now I worry…lol.
Happy reading!
Stormi
It’s going to be hard to beat January, I really had a great reading month. We’ll see how February goes:-)
I love the cover for Winter of the Gods, and I’m really surprised I haven’t heard of that series before because it sounds awesome. I’m also looking forward to reading Gilded Cage, but the beginning isn’t very compelling for me. Maybe I just need to make time to sit down and read it 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Darn, another blogger who isn’t loving Gilded Cage…on a happier note, you would probably love The Immortals, I’m so excited to start book two!
I can’t wait to read your Black Feathers review. I just finished up a Datlow anthology called Nightmares and it was a mixed bag. Enjoy your books this month 🙂
I think many anthologies are a mixed bag, but the premise sounds so good:-)
I’m definitely looking forward to Winter of the Gods as well!
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Monthly Musings – January 2017
Yes! I hope it’s as good as the first book.
I definitely want to get to Miranda and Caliban, A Perfect Machine and Agents of Dreamland sometime this year if not this month.
I hadn’t heard of Zodiac before today. Sci-fi thriller? All here for it!
I was so looking forward to Empress of a Thousand Skies but after that cover and now the mixed reviews, I’m not all that excited.
I’m mostly a mood reader so my plan is to reread and continue The Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu, finish Six Wakes, Hold Back the Stars, Hunger Makes the Wolf, read Crooked Kingdom and reread Shades of Magic series for the release of A Conjuring of Light.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Six Wakes when you’re finished. I absolutely LOVED it:-)
Tons of good looking books here. I hope to read the Kiernan book as well and you are right, she really has been knocking out the books lately. I hope you love the Matt Wallace book, but I’m pretty sure you will. I can’t wait for the next one already. I have Miranda and Caliban on my “mights” list which should up tomorrow. Gilded Cage appears on my list as well.
Barb (boxermommyreads) recently posted…January 2017 Wrap Up
I’m going to try to sneak in Idle Ingredients this weekend, hopefully. I just realized I have way more books on my plate that I can possibly read:-/
Lots of good books on your plate at the moment. I’m looking forward to the Carey and Brodsky. Gilded Cage I had very mixed feelings for so it will be interesting to see what you make of that one.
Lynn 😀
Oh yes, you are one of the bloggers that wasn’t crazy about Gilded Cage. I’m SO curious to read it!
Winter of Gods- I am so ready for that one!!!
Greg recently posted…Three Dark Crowns
Me too! I think it’s going to be next.
You’re not the only one who has not read anything by Jacqueline Carey, yet! I’ve heard so much about this author, especially her Cushiel series, that I know I need to satisfy my curiosity soon. “Miranda and Caliban” sounds like the perfect place to start, and it has a very special “vibe” to it…
Looking forward to your review!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Short Story Review: SPECTRUM, by Aidan J. Reid
So far I love it! The writing is very Shakespearean so it takes some getting used to, but that makes sense because it’s based on The Tempest:-)
Ah, then it’s doubly fascinating! Even if it will require some little effort…
After all, sometimes challenges can be fun! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Short Story Review: SPECTRUM, by Aidan J. Reid
I’m waiting to see what you think of Black Feathers, Miranda and Caliban, and Agents of Dreamland (especially Black Feathers). For myself I’m a little over halfway through a book from last year, Collecting the Dead by Spencer Kope, marketed as a mystery/thriller, but the main character has a special ability that helps him solve crimes, so it fits in slightly with speculative genres. Give it a look, Tammy, you might enjoy it. After that I think I’ll start Waypoint Kangaroo by Curtis Chen, also from last year.
Hey, I did check out Collecting the Dead, and it does look good. Thanks for the suggestion!
I have read about a quarter of the Black Feathers anthology. So far none have blown me away but there have been a few strong stories. And one with a amazing premise that I wish could have pulled it off better.
Nathan (@reviewbarn) recently posted…Sci-Fi Review: ‘Binti’ by Nnedi Okorafor
I think many anthologies are like that, not every story will wow you. I’m looking forward to it, it will be fun to compare:-)
I see a few books on my list here too. Finished Gilded Cage the other day and my final reaction was not what I expected, so I’m curious to see what you’ll think! I also just cracked open Miranda and Caliban and so far things are off to a good start.
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Book Review: Bookburners by Max Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap, Mur Lafferty, Brian Francis Slattery
I’m really enjoying Miranda and Caliban so far, it’s not quite what I was expecting, but I just love her writing. And yes, Gilded Cage has me so curious. Some readers love it and some hate it!
I love the cover for Winter of the Gods! I haven’t read The Immortals yet but I plan to at some point this year! Haven’t planned my reading past March! I think I’ll be reading more of Matt Wallace at some point as I enjoyed the humour in the first book of the series.
The Immortals was excellent, I hope you get to read it sometime soon!
I’ve been seeing a lot of “meh” reviews for Empress of a Thousand Skies too, which is a bummer. But oh well, maybe we’ll like it more than other folks! Haha. Can’t wait to dive into Miranda and Caliban!
Danya @ Fine Print recently posted…Review: Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
Ooh I just finished M&C and loved it! I hear it’s very different from her other books.
I’m really looking forward to your review of Winter of the Gods. I, too, really enjoyed Immortals and I’m curious to see how the series continues.
I just started it so we’ll see!
Excited to see what you think of Agents of Dreamland… sounds really good! And am anxious to see how All Our Wrong Today’s go for you. 🙂
Bonnie @ For the Love of Words recently posted…Stacking the Shelves (161)
Me too, I’m always curious when a blogger I trust doesn’t really like something, we’ll see!
You have an exciting month planned! I’m so glad you enjoyed The Speckled God and I hope you really enjoy everything else you read this month as well! 🙂