2018 on Always Trust In Books #2018 #Books #Reviews #Guests #Releases #Goals #Targets #Excited

Hello everyone! If I haven’t already wished you a Happy New Year then Happy New Year! I have seen plenty of 2018 posts and I have decided I should map a little of my own 2018 here on Always Trust In Books to give me an idea of where I am trying to take this blog in the new year. I am going to share some of my goals, developments and some releases in 2018 that I can’t wait to get my hands on. Thanks as always for stopping by to check out what is going on at ATIB and I can’t wait to get stuck in.

2018 Goals

I have big goals and smaller more achievable goals planned for 2018. I am in a place right now where I want to focus more on books as a whole then specific titles. I will remain a reviewer at the core of this blog but I want to explore what books mean to us as well more than I have done so far.

• Read more classic books. Robert Louis Stevenson, H.P Lovecraft, Steven King, H.G Wells, Jules Verne and George Orwell to name a few.
• I also want to participate in more reading challenges, book clubs and co-reads too.
• Expand Always Trust In Books’ viewership and possible venture out into other means of entertainment and publishing.
• Interact with other bloggers more often and in more meaningful ways.
• Create more thought-provoking and interesting posts to do with books, reading and art.
• Take more risks and go bigger and better, where possible.
• Continue to have fun and celebrate books as much as I can!

2018 Developments

• I am planning to expand my blog’s viewership on WordPress, Twitter and Instagram if I can. These seem to be my favourite platforms and I am happy to invest my time in them more.
• I aim to (if there is time) create a sub blog on ATIB all to do with Non-Fiction. I am amazed by the responses that my NF content gets and would like to expand into a purely NF page if I can.
• I also want to increase the breath of my blog. I am constantly thinking up new ideas and then chickening out because I am not sure how to make them work. I want to trust in myself a bit more and expand the content that my blog covers.
• I would love to work more closely with authors, writers and artists to create more personal and exciting posts for you all to read. I like reviewing books but it is getting slightly repetitive and I want to change it up as much as I can. Time to think outside the box.
• I would like to work more closely with other bloggers too. I have always wanted to do things like book clubs, co-reading, joint reviews and themed interviews so I am going to explore these ideas more in 2018.

2018 Releases

Out 17/05/18 via Gollancz

It is looking to be another great mythological adventure coming from Joanne Harris in 2018. I loved The Gospel Of Loki so when I heard there was a follow-up due in 2018 then I of course lost it a little… I know I shouldn’t wish away time but it seriously needs to be May already!

Book Synopsis

THE GOSPEL OF LOKI ended at Ragnarok, the End of the Worlds, with Asgard fallen, the gods defeated and most of them either dead, or consigned to eternal torment in Netherworld. However, Loki manages to escape into another World through Dream, and finds himself, to his surprise, incarnate in a human host – a 17-year-old girl called Jumps, and living in our own World. But, as he starts to come to terms with the challenges of being in a human host, Loki realizes that there may be a way to escape the chains of mortality and return to the World of the gods.

THE TESTAMENT OF LOKI can be read alone, or as part of a sequence of RUNE books, which include RUNEMARKS, RUNELIGHT and THE GOSPEL OF LOKI.

Out 14/06/18 via Gollancz

This just might be my most anticipated release of 2018. I have used the US cover here as the U.K one hasn’t been announced yet. This series blew out of the gates in 2017 and I cannot believe how addictive Ed McDonald’s writing, characters and settings truly are. If you haven’t read Blackwing by now then drop everything and find a copy. Ed has set the foundations for a ground breaking trilogy so no pressure for book two 😀

Book Synopsis

For Ryhalt Galharrow, working for Crowfoot as a Blackwing captain is about as bad as it gets – especially when his orders are garbled, or incoherent, or impossible to carry out.

The Deep Kings are hurling fire from the sky, a ghost in the light known only as the Bright Lady had begun to manifest in visions across the city, and the cult that worship her grasp for power while the city burns around them.

Galharrow may not be able to do much about the cult – or about strange orders from the Nameless – but when Crowfoot’s arcane vault is breached and an object of terrible power is stolen, he’s propelled into a race against time to recover it. Only to do that, he needs answers, and finding them means travelling into nightmare: to the very heart of the Misery.

RAVENCRY is the second book in the Raven’s Mark series, continuing the story that began with the award winning epic fantasy BLACKWING.

Out 15/05/18 via Titan Books

Look at that cover art 😀 Tis incredible! Deborah A. Wolf was a stand out new author for me here on ATIB in 2017 and I am certain her follow up to The Dragon’s Legacy is going to be a sensational addition to the 2018 roster of epic releases. Keep you eye out for this in May.

Book Synopsis

In this book, Jian begins a brutal and bloody climb up the ranks of the Daechen as the Emperor’s long plans near fruition.

Sulema is likewise initiated into the ways of Atualon and the power of Atulfah, and finds that her father’s bright city is built on a foundation of dark and terrible secrets.

Hafsa Azeina begins a trek down paths stranger and more dangerous than even she could have imagined.

And the Zeeranim must face not only their traditional, external enemies, but treachery and betrayal from within.

Out 15/05/18 via Titan Books

This series was a hidden gem for me in 2018 and I am eagerly awaiting another instalment. G. S. Denning took Sherlock Holmes to another level for me and I was taken aback by how much I got sucked into this alternative version of the Sherlock universe. More please! And soon!

Book Synopsis

Warlock Holmes and Dr John Watson find themselves inconvenienced by a variety of eldritch beings, and the fact that one of them has goat legs. Christmas brings a goose that doesn’t let being cooked slow him down, then they meet an electricity demon, discover why being a redhead is even tricker than one might imagine, and Holmes attempts an Irish accent. And naturally Moriarty is hanging around in some form or other.

Out 17/07/18 via Titan Books

I came across this recently and I couldn’t believe my eyes! Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller and Horror elements? This could possibly be the read of 2018 for me. July is a long time away but I have patience… Not really! Need it as soon as possible.

Book Synopsis

Europe. 1963. And the true Cold War is fought on the borders of this world, at the edges of the light.

When the assassination of a traitor trading with the enemy goes terribly wrong, British Intelligence agent Christopher Winter must flee London. In a tense alliance with a lethal, mysterious woman named Karina Lazarov, he’s caught in a quest for hidden knowledge from centuries before, an occult secret written in the language of fire. A secret that will give supremacy to the nation that possesses it.

Racing against the Russians, the chase takes them from the demon-haunted Hungarian border to treasure-laden tunnels beneath Berlin, from an impossible house in Vienna to a bomb-blasted ruin in Bavaria where something unholy waits, born of the power of white fire and black glass . . .

It’s a world of treachery, blood and magic. A world at war in the dark.

Out 26/06/18 via Orbit

A Big Ship At The End Of The Universe just sounds like it is going to be a great read. I am looking to invest in plenty of new series in 2018 and this is at the forefront. Science fiction, adventure with grit thrown in for good measure. I am intrigued to see where this novel will take me.

Book Synopsis

Furious and fun, the first book in this bold, new science fiction adventure series follows a ragtag group of adventurers as they try to find a legendary ship that just might be the key to clearing their name and saving the universe.

Boots Elsworth was a famous treasure hunter in another life, but now she’s washed up. She makes her meager living faking salvage legends and selling them to the highest bidder, but this time she got something real–the story of the Harrow, a famous warship, capable of untold destruction.

Nilah Brio is the top driver in the Pan Galactic Racing Federation and the darling of the racing world–until she witnesses Mother murder a fellow racer. Framed for the murder and on the hunt to clear her name, Nilah has only one lead: the killer also hunts Boots.

On the wrong side of the law, the two women board a smuggler’s ship that will take them on a quest for fame, for riches, and for justice.

Out 25/01/18 via Penguin Life

Neuroscience is one of my not so guilty pleasures. I love books that explore the mind in deep and interesting ways so I was so glad when this book popped up in my blogger vision. I will no doubt be tucking into this Non-Fiction delight very soon and I can’t wait to tell you all about it as soon as I can.

Book Synopsis

It took us 4 billion years to evolve to where we are now. No question, anyone reading this has won the evolutionary Hunger Games by the fact you’re on all twos and not some fossil. This should make us all the happiest species alive – most of us aren’t, what’s gone wrong? We’ve started treating ourselves more like machines and less like humans. We’re so used to upgrading things like our iPhones: as soon as the new one comes out, we don’t think twice, we dump it. (Many people I know are now on iWife4 or iHusband8, the motto being, if it’s new, it’s better.)

We can’t stop the future from arriving, no matter what drugs we’re on. But even if nearly every part of us becomes robotic, we’ll still, fingers crossed, have our minds, which, hopefully, we’ll be able use for things like compassion, rather than chasing what’s ‘better’, and if we can do that we’re on the yellow brick road to happiness.

I wrote this book with a little help from a monk, who explains how the mind works, and also gives some mindfulness exercises, and a neuroscientist who explains what makes us ‘us’ in the brain. We answer every question you’ve ever had about: evolution, thoughts, emotions, the body, addictions, relationships, kids, the future and compassion. How to be Human is extremely funny, true and the only manual you’ll need to help you upgrade your mind as much as you’ve upgraded your iPhone.

Out 14/06/18 via Bloomsbury

The Songs sounds so good! What a refreshing and compelling story 😀 I like to try novels that will push my own boundaries of what I enjoy and this certainly will be a book I either love or hate. Let us find out which it is in June 2018.

Book Synopsis

Iz Herzl, renowned political activist and protest singer, has always said that you should concentrate on the future, not the past. Now aged eighty, a reclusive figure holed up in Muswell Hill, Iz’s refusal to reflect on his life leaves his teenage children, maths wunderkind Rose and her dying brother Huddie, adrift in myth and
uncertainty.

Iz doesn’t talk about his other child, Joseph, a West End songwriter whom Rose and Huddie have never met. Joseph’s single, disastrous encounter with his father many years earlier set him on a violent path to self destruction. Now he tries to impose order on his chaotic world with rhyme, transforming traumatic events into song.

As the scattered children of Iz Herzl begin to converge, the ambiguities at the heart of their father’s life start to surface in a way that will change them all. The Songs is a bittersweet tale of family, fame and ambition that is both darkly comic and deeply affecting.

Out 06/09/18 via Mulholland Books

I was really taken  by The Second Girl and when I released another instalment in the series was due I got myself ready. Swanson’s writing is gritty, dark and gripping while his characters have soul. I am intrigued to see what Swanson has to offer in his brilliant series in September 2018.

Book Synopsis

Frank Marr was a good cop with a bad habit, until his addiction to cocaine forced him into retirement from the D.C. police. Now barely making a living as a private investigator, he agrees to take on a family case as a favour for his aunt.

Frank’s surveillance confirms that his cousin Jeffrey is involved with a drugs operation. It seems small, until Frank’s own home is burgled, leaving a body on the kitchen floor: Jeffrey. Frank’s .38 revolver – the murder weapon – is stolen, along with his cherished music collection.

Clearly, his cousin was deeper in the underworld than anyone realised. With his reputation and his own life on the line, Frank searches for the real culprit: following the stolen goods through a tangled network of petty thieves, desperate addicts, deceiving fences, good cops and bad cops.

Frank’s as determined to uncover the truth as he is to feed his habit, and both pursuits could prove deadly. This time, it may just be a question of what gets him first.

Thank you for stopping by to check out my plans for 2018 and some of the books that I hope to share with you all in the coming months. I think it was a good idea to map out where I am going with the blog as it will help me focus my efforts in the places that it is needed. I am grateful for all the support and experience I have received in the last 18 months and it is about time I put it all to good use and make some waves in 2018. Thanks again and have a good 2018 from me here at Always Trust In Books.

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