Another month gone in the blink of an eye! I took on WAY too many review books in April, and wasn’t very successful in getting to most of them, unfortunately. Hopefully I have a light month or two coming up where I can actually CATCH UP. We’ll see. In the meantime, May is another crazy month here on the blog! I’m thrilled to be joining Tor Books’ wonderful campaign #FearlessWomen, a blog tour that will highlight some of their biggest books by women authors coming out over the next few months. I’ll explain more below! I’m also attending Phoenix Comic Fest (previously known as Phoenix Comic Con) at the end of the month, and I couldn’t be more excited!
And then THIS happened recently:
Yep, my daughter has committed to moving ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY to go to college. But I couldn’t be happier for her:-)
So let’s get this post going, because there is a LOT to talk about. First up, here are my May review books which I hope to read (and let’s be real, I’ll try to get to as many as I can!):
Most Anticipated May Releases:
High on my list of “must reads” this month is 84K by Claire North, and this will be my first read by North. This story sounds very high concept and so I’m curious to see how she pulls it off.
And Only Human, the conclusion to Sylvain Neuvel’s fantastic Themis Files series is here! I can’t wait to see how he wraps things up, I’m sure it will be epic!
Also on the May review list are these three titles, all of them highly anticipated:
Obscura by Joe Hart is psychological terror in space! Is there any sub-genre more exciting to read? I don’t think so:-)
Aetherchrist by Kirk Jones is a novella (which I’m so grateful for this month!) If you can get past this amazing cover, the story sounds just as good. Check it out!
Terror is Our Business: Dana Roberts’ Casebook of Horrors by Joe R. Lansdale and Kasey Lansdale is a father/daughter short story collection that I’ve heard great things about.
I’m also going to try to squeeze in a couple of April review books that I just couldn’t get to, so this list is by no means firm. Expect the unexpected, I say!
Author Events:
I’m excited to be hosting author K.R. Richardson on the blog this month, to talk about her latest book Blood Orbit! There will also be a giveaway of the book, so check back soon.
I’m interviewing author Özgür Mumcu about his newly translated book, The Peace Machine. I don’t yet have a date for the interview, but check back often so you don’t miss it! I’m fascinated with translated books and I’ll be reviewing this as well.
#FearlessWomen Blog Tour with Tor Books!
I’m super excited to be part of the blog tour for Tor’s #FearlessWomen campaign, where they will roll out seven new books by women authors over the next four months! They’re kicking things off in May with three new titles, see below. I’ll be posting about each book on the Tuesday of its release, so expect to see things like excerpts, author bios and general flailing over some amazing upcoming releases. There is a great combination of bestselling and debut authors, so stay tuned for the celebrating! You can also follow #FearlessWomen on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for lots more fun, including giveaways. Take a look at May’s #FearlessWomen books:
Death Doesn’t Bargain by Sherrilyn Kenyon kicks things off on May 8th! On May 15th, stop by to learn more about By Fire Above by Robyn Bennis, and finally on May 29th, the rerelease of V.E. Schwab‘s amazing Vicious, in preparation for the sequel which is coming out later this year.
Bookish Events:
It’s been a disappointing two years on the Comic Con front, having been shut out of getting tickets for San Diego Comic Con two years in a row. So this year I decided to turn things around and get tickets for Phoenix Comic Fest instead! Super easy to get, and really very cheap, plus I got a nice, nearby hotel room without any stress at all (very different from SDCC where it’s literally a lottery to get a hotel room. Don’t EVEN get me started about tickets!) PCF is a much smaller event, but I know there will be a publishing presence there, and hopefully I’ll get to meet some authors and bring back some books too. Let me know if you’ve been to Phoenix Comic Fest! I want to know all about it:-)
Finally, if you missed any of my April reviews, now is your chance to catch up. I didn’t read nearly as much as I wanted (blame my high stress volunteer jobs with my daughter’s choir!), but overall it was a great reading month:
The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
The Underwater Ballroom Society edited by Tiffany Trent and Stephanie Burgis
The Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
Congrats to your daughter, Tammy!
I can’t wait to try more from Claire North after The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Plus Only Human is going to be fantastic.
Happy reading!
Lauren @ Always Me recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’d Slay A Lion To Get Early
Thanks Lauren! I totally missed Harry August but I heard so many great things about it. If I love 84K I will definitely be going back to pick it up.
Tell you daughter congrats. I love on the East Coast (sort of) and it’s not all that bad but bring some warm clothing. I’m so happy for her to be starting this next stage. How exciting. Looks like you have a lot of things coming up in May. I really want to read 84K and LifeLike but didn’t get ARCs so I’ll have either grab them or see if my library will purchase them. The Tor feature sounds awesome and as a huge fan of theirs, I’ll be looking forward to it. Hope we both have great reading months!
Barb (boxermommyreads) recently posted…TTT- No Animal Cruelty….Books I’d Slay a ZOMBIE To Get Early
I hear the weather can be brutal in Boston, but my daughter doesn’t care. Oh to be young again, lol!!
Definitely try a few more small events! I haven’t visited any huge ones, my biggest was Thought Bubble in Leeds back when it was in it’s infancy and it’s become a hge thing now. I recently went to a little con which was majority small stalls of stuff (I ended up bying Pokemon baby clothes and far too many LEGO minifigures) but we had a great time, there was lots of cosplayers wandering about, a couple of people dressed as pretty realistic massive dinosaurs (my poor 2 year old was terrified) and some people that had been in Doctor Who and Star Wars. Oh and a few independent authors! We bought tickets on the door which was definitely better than madly trying to get tickets online.
Vee @ Under The Mountain
I’m excited to try something smaller! I’ve been caught up in the hype of SDCC, mostly because they have an awesome publisher presence. But Phoenix is a little more intimate so it should be fun. I love the idea of buying tickets at the door!
Huge congrats to your daughter! She’s going to need a wardrobe for all seasons. The weather is so erratic here. This morning I woke up to 30 degree coldness and it’s supposedly heading up 60 soon so make she sure brings layers because it’s hard to know how to dress when leaving in the morning.
Ha ha, yes I’m sure in addition to expensive tuition I’ll have to buy her a whole new wardrobe:-/
I’m so pumped for Only Human. I’m a little more than half way through Waking Gods and i’m loving it!
Obscura is fantastic. Easily one of the best sub-genres 🙂
I’m excited for your #FearlessWomen posts.
Happy reading 🙂
Waking Gods was awesome! I can’t wait to get to Only Human as well. And I’m so happy to hear from someone who’s read Obscura! Now I’m even more excited:-)
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
You have a lot going on!! I hope you have fun at PCF, it would be so cool to go to something like that!!!
I think PCF will be fun, I do know of a few authors that will be there for sure, maybe I’ll throw together a “Most anticipated” post before I go:-)
Phoenix Comic Fest sounds awesome! I have only ever been to Denver Comic Con and Emerald City Comic Con (In Seattle) and I love them both!!! I want to go to San Diego Comic Con someday!
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I heard Emerald City CC is really good, I’d love to try that some year:-) SDCC is amazingly fun but super crowded so you have to go in knowing you’re going to be spending a lot of time in lines and pushing past people in crowds.
Congratulation to your daughter!
Even if you had a busy month, you still managed to post seven reviews so that’s very good, even on very productive month I don’t believe I’ve managed to publish more than five haha.
The FearlessWomen blog tour is great thing, I just saw Mogsy’s post and I will be following this blog tour closely! 🙂
I guess seven reviews is actually pretty good, but there were a lot of books I just didn’t get to, oh well:-)
Big congratulations to your daughter!
I’m reading Only Human now and I just don’t want to be at work so I can focus on it. lol
Bonnie @ For the Love of Words recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Books I’d Fight a Care Bear For
Thanks Bonnie! I’m so glad you to hear can’t put down Only Human. I’ve read a few mixed reviews so I’m very curious to see what’s going to happen:-)
Aww congrats to your daughter!
And I’ll be on the lookout for those fearless women posts.
Thanks Zeezee:-)
Congrats on joining #FearlessWomen, and on the Phoenix Comic Fest as well! Sounds awesome. And good luck to your daughter! Exciting but nerve wracking times I’m sure. 🙂
I’m excited for 84K as well. and Underwater Ballroom society I hope to start reading soon. Sky in the Deep I just bought!
Greg recently posted…Top Ten Books I’d Slay A Lion To Get Early
I’m glad to hear so many people are going to try Sky in the Deep, hopefully I did not steer you wrong:-)
Wow, they’re already rereleasing Vicious. I really need to finally get around to reading that. Also curious about Obscura and By Fire Above (I like the cover).
And congratulations to your daughter, I hope she has a great time there (and learns a little something, too :-)).
Thanks Todd! I definitely recommend reading Vicious before the sequel comes out:-)
I’m really excited for the #FearlessWomen campaign, and also for all the new releases in May! I don’t know how I’ll be able to fit them all in, and I probably won’t, but hey I’ll try my best. And oh, you might be pleased to know I caved and requested the Sky in the Deep audiobook after all! ALL YOUR FAULT 😉 Also grats to your daughter for getting into Berklee! Pack warm clothes for those Massachusetts winters! 😀
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…#FearlessWomen: Celebrating Women’s Voices in Speculative Fiction
Oh wow, I hope you enjoy Sky in the Deep! And yes, I’m actually wondering how long my California daughter will last in that cold:-P
84K sounds really good! Congrats to your daughter – that’s fantastic!
Sam @ Sharing Inspired Kreations recently posted…A Look Back at April 2018
As ever, you have managed to find some awesome reads, Tammy – and where exactly did April go?? The ones that have my mouth watering in particular are 84K and Blood Orbit… I look forward to hearing your thoughts on all your choices – but these two especially have piqued my interest. You had a good reading month in April – I hope that May is just as good, if not better:)
What a wonderfully exciting time for you and your daughter. I hope she loves it.
Excellent month – I’m looking forward to the ‘fearless women’ posts.
Lynn 😀
I was invited into #FearlessWomen, and then turned down when they didn’t look up my region xD so that was quite.. tough. Meh! But I’m glad you’re on it, it had some really cool books 🙂
Also, I really want to read The Oracle Year.
Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks recently posted…[Fantasy] Book Two Of Fantasy During The Times Of The Prohibition In… Eden?
I absolutely loved Only Human and hope you will, too! I’m so excited that the author has an upcoming novella by Tor next year. He’s definitely an author to watch out for.
Aetherchrist looks pretty interesting and I should be reading Blood Orbit soon, I have high hopes.
Happy reading!