BTB - Early February Reviews (2023)
Greetings
Welcome to the Books That Burn Fortnightly Roundup! Releasing every two weeks (one week early for Patrons). Remember to head to Transcripts That Burn for all available transcripts of the podcast.
Recent Reviews
Reviews forthcoming for TRAVELERS ALONG THE WAY by Aminah Mae Safi, BLOOD HEIR by Ilona Andrews, and WOLF-SPEAKER by Tamora Pierce.
BREAKABLE THINGS by Cassandra Khaw is Fantasy/Horror marketed as Adult. This anthology tells strange and visceral tales of breaking. Told in an Anthology with multiple POV styles.
PALADIN'S STRENGTH by T. Kingfisher, book 2 of The Saint of Steel is Fantasy/Romance marketed as Adult. Clara is a lay-sister, travelling to find her kidnapped sisters of St. Ursa, when she meets a paladin of a dead god. Told in Third Person with Dual POVs.
LIONESS RAMPANT by Tamora Pierce, book 4 of Song of the Lioness is Fantasy marketed as Young Adult. Alanna seeks out the Dominion Jewel to help Jon and Tortall, then returns home to face her greatest enemy once again. Told in Third Person with Ensemble POVs.
SO MANY BEGINNINGS by Bethany C. Morrow, book 2 of Remixed Classics is Historical/Retelling, with queer character(s), marketed as Young Adult. The March Sisters live in the Freedpeople's Colony of Roanoke Island in this remix of Little Women. Told in Third Person with Ensemble POVs.
PALADIN'S HOPE by T. Kingfisher, book 3 of The Saint of Steel is Fantasy/Romance, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Piper is a lich-doctor, who accompanies a paladin and a gnole on an investigation of several mysterious dead bodies. Told in Third Person with Dual POVs.
WILD MAGIC by Tamora Pierce, book 1 of The Immortals is Fantasy marketed as Young Adult. Daine learns about her wild magic and builds a new life after her family is killed. Told in Third Person with Ensemble POVs.
DNFs
I tried re-reading a book I'd loved in middle school, BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE by Anette Curtis Klause. Unfortunately, this time around I didn't like it and didn't get very far.
I made it a few minutes into THE FIRST BINDING by R.R. Virdi, but I don't like the narrator and the tone of the story.
I wrote a formal DNF review for THE ATLAS SIX by Olivie Blake.
BTB 2023 Reading Challenge
For 2023 I'm hosting a reading challenge that lasts the whole year. February's prompt is to read something with snow as a theme (or with a white cover). Our patrons voted for YEAR ONE by Nora Roberts.
Current Reads
I took a bit too long to read A RESTLESS TRUTH by Freya Marske, so I can't resume until it comes back from the library. I'm also working on re-reads of HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir and THE DREAM THIEVES by Maggie Stiefvater.
I'm almost done with THE GOLEM'S EYE by Jonathan Stroud, part of the Bartimaeus trilogy.
In Case You Missed It
This time last year I read THE MARROW THIEVES by Cherie Dimaline, a fantastic book that we later ended up covering on the podcast.
Pluggables and Podcast News
If you're looking for a place to buy any of the books I've reviewed, please consider our Bookshop page (if you use our links to purchase any books we get a small commission). Let us know if there's a category you'd like to see curated and we'll see if we can get some titles together.
The 2023 prompts are now available from the annual reading challenge! It runs from January 1st to December 31st this year. Find info and links here.
As for the podcast, hopefully you're enjoying our most recent episode discussing A BLADE SO BLACK by L.L. McKinney. If you'd like to receive episodes early, as well as bonus content, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Patrons receive this newsletter one week early, as well as a list of upcoming podcast episodes.
Patrons pledging $20 or more each month receive a bonus episode. Patrons pledging $50 or more can vote once per month on what we'll cover in the podcast. You can find all of those polls here. Patrons at any level receive the booklist with our planned episodes for up to three months at a time.
Thanks for reading, the next roundup will be in two weeks!
-Robin
Co-host of Books That Burn
