Monthly TBR: January 2021

Welcome to my Monthly TBR post for January 2021! If you’ve been following this blog and/or my social media for any amount of time, it should come as no surprise that I didn’t achieve my reading goal for the rest of 2020. It would have been possible if I’d had even just a few hours a day where I could read undisturbed during my 2 weeks off…

Alas, even with the pandemic, I was kept busy with phone and video calls with family and friends, Christmas present porch drop-offs, donating books to little libraries, etc. This is why, as you’ll see, a good portion of my end-of-2020 TBR spilled into this January. The next goal is to get through all of them by the end of the month, haha. I’ve already picked up a contemporary YA read being released in February (everything else I’m reading from the 2020 TBR right now is fantasy, and I like to mix genres when reading multiple books, so needed a contemporary in there to keep things fresh)! So there is definitely hope! I also managed to only request one ARC for January? So it was kind of meant to be?

Do you have monthly TBRs? And what does your monthly TBR look like for the rest of this month/year?

⤖ October 2020 TBR ⬻

I’m a Gay Wizard by V.S. Santoni

You try magic once and it sticks to you like glitter glue . . .

When Johnny and his best friend, Alison, pass their summer holidays dabbling in magic, they never expect it to have consequences. Sure, it’d be great if they could banish bullies or change their lives for the better, and what harm could come from lighting a few candles and chanting a few spells? When they cause an earthquake that shakes Chicago to its core, they draw the attention of the Marduk Institute, an age-old organization dedicated to fostering the talents of young wizards.

Once there, Johnny and Alison are told they can never return to their previous lives, and must quickly adapt to a new world shimmering with monsters, fraternities, and cute boys like Hunter and Blake. But when they’re pulled into an epic, supernatural fight that could cost them both their lives, Johnny and Alison find strength they never knew they had as they battle for love, acceptance, and their own happy ending—all with the help of a little magic.

⤖ October 2020 TBR ⬻

In the City of the Nightmare King by V.S. Santoni

Note: This book is part of a series, and there are likely some spoilers in the synopsis below.

None of them expected the nightmare to continue…

In the sequel to I’m a Gay Wizard, V.S. Santoni imagines a world where Johnny, Hunter, Alison, and Blake are forced once again to prove that love and magic can save the day.

When Johnny wakes up, something isn’t right. It’s a blissful summer day, and Johnny’s father is taking him to begin a brand new life in Misthaven, and all his best friends, Alison, Hunter, and Blake, join him in the idyllic town.

Once reunited, Johnny and his friends discover that this Misthaven is actually Dreamhaven―the Marduk Institute’s mystical prison for wizards―and they’re trapped. But that’s the least of their problems when Hunter falls ill with a magical sickness, and his soul is thrown into the Night City, an underworld ruled by the Nightmare King.

Johnny will not leave Hunter. Vowing to stay together, he, Alison, and Blake enter the Night City, a domain of the dead where both their powers and trust in each other will be tested. But in a realm where the Nightmare King rules second only to Death itself, Johnny’s love for Hunter must continue to be his most powerful magic.

⤖ October 2020 TBR ⬻

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Kerri Maniscalco introduces her next series, a dark tale of a beautiful young witch, a troubled demon, and their epic romance, set against a 19th century Italian backdrop.

Emilia and her twin sister Victoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Victoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to discover who did this, and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, the outlier among the seven demon brethren, always choosing duty over pleasure. He’s been tasked by his master with investigating a series of women’s murders on the island. When Emilia and Wrath’s fates collide, it’s clear this disturbing mystery will take a bewitching turn…

⤖ November 2020 TBR ⬻

The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige

Kappa Rho Nu isn’t your average sorority. Their parties are notorious. Their fundraisers are known for being Westerly College’s most elaborate affairs. But beneath the veil of Greek life and prestige, the sisters of Kappu Rho Nu share a secret: they’re a coven of witches. For Vivi Deveraux, being one of Kappa Rho Nu’s Ravens means getting a chance to redefine herself. For Scarlett Winters, a bonafide Raven and daughter of a legacy Raven, pledge this year means living up to her mother’s impossible expectations of becoming Kappa Rho Nu’s next president. Scarlett knows she’d be the perfect candidate — that is, if she didn’t have one human-sized skeleton in her closet…. When Vivi and Scarlett are paired as big and little for initiation, they find themselves sinking into the sinister world of blood oaths and betrayals.

⤖ November 2020 TBR ⬻

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

⤖ November 2020 TBR ⬻

How the King of Elfhame Learned
to Hate Stories by Holly Black

Note: This book is part of a series, and there are likely some spoilers in the synopsis below.

An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame.

Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue.

Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone . Revealing a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king, Cardan, tis tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.

This new installment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humor, and drama that enchanted readers everywhere. Each chapter is paired with lavish and luminous full-color art, making this the perfect collector’s item to be enjoyed by both new audiences and old.

⤖ January 2021 TBR ⬻

Wings of Ebony by J. Elle

“Make a way out of no way” is just the way of life for Rue. But when her mother is shot dead on her doorstep, life for her and her younger sister changes forever. Rue’s taken from her neighborhood by the father she never knew, forced to leave her little sister behind, and whisked away to Ghizon—a hidden island of magic wielders.

Rue is the only half-god, half-human there, where leaders protect their magical powers at all costs and thrive on human suffering. Miserable and desperate to see her sister on the anniversary of their mother’s death, Rue breaks Ghizon’s sacred Do Not Leave Law and returns to Houston, only to discover that Black kids are being forced into crime and violence. And her sister, Tasha, is in danger of falling sway to the very forces that claimed their mother’s life.

Worse still, evidence mounts that the evil plaguing East Row is the same one that lurks in Ghizon—an evil that will stop at nothing until it has stolen everything from her and everyone she loves. Rue must embrace her true identity and wield the full magnitude of her ancestors’ power to save her neighborhood before the gods burn it to the ground.