January Book Haul Part One #StackedShelves #Bookreviews #BookMail #BookPost

Hello all and welcome to my first book haul of 2018 and it is already filled with a fantastic selection of reads from some brilliant publishers. Little Brown were generous enough to send me three books, one from my favourite author Christopher Brookmyre, and one of them, It Devours, returns to Night Vale. If you haven’t heard about the Welcome To Night Vale podcast then go check it out. (I am trying a new format of Book Haul so all you have to do now is click on the image of the book to go to the publishers page). So many exceptional additions to the TBR! Have any these graced your shelves? Let me know! To the books!

January Book Haul Part One

Released 17/10/17 via Orbit (Little, Brown)

I am ecstatic that I get to plunge into the world of Night Vale again. The podcast is pure genius and I couldn’t get enough, even after 100+ episodes. Night Vale is weird, wonderful, geeky, strange, bizarre, hilarious and downright random but it is sensational too. There are few words available to describe it effectively so I just recommend you go and check it out yourself. Thankfully the chaps expanded their universe into novels too so that I can incorporate the stories into my blog. Very chuffed with this!

Book Synopsis

The creators of the wildly successful Welcome to Night Vale podcast bring their genius to the page for a second time, with this follow up to the New York Times bestselling Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel.

A second novel set in the strange, beautiful and oddly compelling town of Night Vale. A follow up to the New York Times bestselling Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel.

Night Vale is a friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while its citizens pretend to sleep. It’s a town like your town, with a city hall, a bowling alley, a diner, and a radio station reporting all the news that’s allowed to be heard. It might be more like your town than you’d like to admit.

Released 09/11/17 via Orbit (Little, Brown)

I am a hardcore Chris Brookmyre fan. I have read his standalone Bedlam which explores both video games and science-fiction but Places Into The Darkness is the first purely SF novel I have read from him. I have high expectations for this novel which has definitely hurt me in the past so I will try and keep a straight head but from what I have already experienced from CB, he will nail it.

Book Synopsis

Million-copy-selling Chris Brookmyre takes his fiction further than ever before in this wildly inventive and sharply-plotted novel set in the unforgiving emptiness of space.

“This is as close to a city without crime as mankind has ever seen.”

Ciudad de Cielo is the ‘city in the sky’, a space station where hundreds of scientists and engineers work in earth’s orbit, building the colony ship that will one day take humanity to the stars.

When a mutilated body is found on the CdC, the eyes of the world are watching. Top-of the-class investigator, Alice Blake, is sent from Earth to team up with CdC’s Freeman – a jaded cop with more reason than most to distrust such planetside interference.

As the death toll climbs and factions aboard the station become more and more fractious, Freeman and Blake will discover clues to a conspiracy that threatens not only their own lives, but the future of humanity itself.

Released 14/11/17 via Orbit (Little, Brown)

I have been hearing pretty sensational things about Mira Grant’s work so I had to get myself involved in her latest release. I don’t really read much deep sea stuff as I have a slightly insane phobia of the sea, yeah Blue Planet is torture!, but I am willing to give this a go in pursuit of another author to appreciate.

Book Synopsis

‘VISCERAL . . . IRRESISTIBLE . . . a claustrophobic, deep-sea terror tale that will leave readers glad to be safely on dry land’ Kirkus

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR MIRA GRANT RETURNS WITH A RAZOR-SHARP TALE OF THE HORRORS THAT LIE BENEATH . . .

Seven years ago the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary, bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend.

It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a tragedy; others have called it a hoax.

Now, a new crew has been assembled to investigate. And they’ll discover that whatever is down there is definitely no joke…

Released 23/03/17 via Coronet (Hodder)

I have already had the pleasure (and crippling stress…) of being a parent for fours years already but I am always looking for help and advice on how to raise my boys right. I have already had a peek within Grow! and there is plenty of helpful advice for us to utilise to help with the daily task of bringing up small people!

Book Synopsis

Trevor Silvester is a Harley Street therapist and author of Lovebirds who is revolutionising the way we understand human nature.

Grow! is a distillation of over 20 years of experience as a therapist applied to the task of raising happy children.

Your children develop primarily in response to your influence, says Trevor. Writing with wonderful wit and clarity, he shows why parents need to nurture their own personal growth so their children can grow to become who they want to be. He shows how parents can overcome their own limitations so they don’t pass them onto their children, and how best to guide the young toward becoming strong, resilient and fulfilled adults.

Trevor identifies two ways of being in the world; we’re either in a state of growth or a state of protection, and he argues that our interpretation of childhood events, and modern culture, often needlessly trigger us into a state of protection, leaving us anxious, fearful and unwilling to live life fully. Grow! describes strategies for keeping us, parents and children, in a state of growth.

Using eight parenting mantras to guide you, he shares valuable lessons gained from the latest scientific research, as well as many hours in the therapy room. Incorporating them into your parenting will improve your child’s wellbeing enormously. Incorporating them into your life will improve everything.

To assist in making these new ideas habitual in the shortest space of time, Trevor has also created a series of downloads for you to listen to, using principles of unconscious influence that have been proven to work.

Released 06/02/18 via Titan Books

I am currently read this right now and I am amazed by how brilliant it is. I am enjoying the unique and poetic prose as well as the fascinating story. I think this will be a hard review for me because I don’t usually pick up books like this but I am going to give it my best shot. I am intrigued to see where this novel will take me and I am enjoying the journey.

Book Synopsis

Nell Crane has never held a boy’s hand.

In a city devastated by an epidemic, where survivors are all missing parts—an arm, a leg, an eye—Nell has always been an outsider. Her father is the famed scientist who created the biomechanical limbs that everyone now uses. But she’s the only one with her machinery on the inside: her heart. Since the childhood operation, she has ticked. Like a clock, like a bomb. And as her community rebuilds, everyone is expected to contribute to the society’s good . . . but how can Nell live up to her father’s revolutionary ideas when she has none of her own?

Then she finds a lost mannequin’s hand while salvaging on the beach, and inspiration strikes. Can Nell build her own companion in a world that fears advanced technology? The deeper she sinks into this plan, the more she learns about her city—and her father, who is hiding secret experiments of his own.

Sarah Maria Griffin’s haunting literary debut will entrance fans of Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking series, Paolo Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker, and Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven.

Released 28/12/17 via Coronet (Hodder)

We could all do with eating better. I know I definitely need to start looking at what I eat! The Mad Diet mixes something I fear, Dieting, and something I love, Psychology, so I am hoping this will be a great read. Bit of fear and a bit of joy. Looking forward to picking this up soon.

Book Synopsis

Science reveals the truth about how our food is making us mad and fat.

Are you depressed or struggling to lose weight? You are not alone. 1 in 4 people are taking antidepressants and two thirds of us are obese or overweight. Something is clearly very wrong. Mad Diet lifts the lid on what is really going on with our food and provides an easy guide to restoring your mind and waistline.

Mad Diet provides a fresh new approach to healthy eating, in a market full of ‘gurus’ who don’t have the scientific knowledge to back up their claims, Suzanne Lockhart provides an accessible, scientific and empowering approach to healthy eating.

By detailing how harmful processed foods are, and showing your how to eat better for your body and your mind, Mad Diet enables you to change your outlook on food with positive outcomes for your mental health. As Suzanne says: ‘We really are what we eat. If we change what we eat we can change ourselves. And if we do that we might just change the world!’

Released 25/01/18 via Gollancz (Orion)

Elysium Fire looks really good! Alastair Reynolds is an accomplished SF novelist and I am always happy to dive into his worlds. I do admit that I prefer SF standalone novels at the moment due to blogging commitments so this is perfect! I really hope it is as cool as it looks and sounds!

Book Synopsis

Featuring Inspector Dreyfus – one of Alastair Reynolds most popular characters – this is a fast paced SF crime story, combining a futuristic setting with a gripping tale of technology, revolution and revenge.

One citizen died a fortnight ago. Two a week ago. Four died yesterday . . . and unless the cause can be found – and stopped – within the next four months, everyone will be dead. For the Prefects, the hunt for a silent, hidden killer is on . . .

Alastair Reynolds has returned to the world of The Prefect for this stand-alone SF mystery in which no one is safe. The technological implants which connect every citizen to each other have become murder weapons, and no one knows who or what the killer is – or who the next targets will be. But their reach is spreading, and time is not on the Prefects’ side.

Released 19/10/17 via Harper Collins

This was a bit of a random arrival at my door! But I am not complaining 😀 I requested this late last year but heard nothing back from the publisher so thought nothing more of it. It has finally arrived and I am elated I get a chance to find out more about one of the most influential people in heavy metal. Bruce Dickinson has had an incredible life and this book should be an unforgettable read!

Book Synopsis

Bruce Dickinson Iron Maiden’s legendary front man is one of the world’s most iconic singers and songwriters. But there are many strings to Bruce’s bow, of which larger-than-life lead vocalist is just one. He is also an airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, motivational speaker, beer brewer, novelist, radio presenter, film scriptwriter and an international fencer: truly one of the most unique and interesting men in the world.

In What Does this Button Do? Bruce contemplates the rollercoaster of life. He recounts in his uniquely anarchic voice the explosive exploits of his eccentric British childhood, the meteoric rise of Maiden, summoning the powers of darkness, the philosophy of fencing, brutishly beautiful Boeings and firmly dismissing cancer like an uninvited guest.

Bold, honest, intelligent and funny, this long-awaited memoir captures the life, heart and mind of a true rock icon, and is guaranteed to inspire curious souls and hard-core fans alike.

The Unnoticeables Trilogy – Out 26/12/17 via Titan Books

I read The Unnoticeables last year and really enjoyed it so when I got the chance to review the other instalments of the series I was really happy! Robert Brockway certainly has a unique vision and I am intrigued to see where he took the narrative in the later novels.

Synopsis for Kill All Angels

The concluding volume in the punk-rock fantasy epic that began with THE UNNOTICEABLES and THE EMPTY ONES.

Carey and Randall get to LA’s Chinatown in the early 1980s just as the punk scene is starting there. But it’s not all cheap guitars and back-alley bars: the Empty Ones have set up shop in LA, too. A deceptively young, shockingly brutal Chinese girl with silver hair runs things here, watched by a former lover, Zang, who might be the best ally Carey and Randall have ever had . . . if he doesn’t eat the both of them first.

Kaitlyn is also back in LA, with powers she barely understands, and something you might call a plan, if you were feeling particularly generous: if she can find one specific angel here and kill it, she might just set off a chain reaction that will bring all the angels down, for good.

Out 23/01/18 via Titan Books

I really enjoyed the last installment I read in this series so I have high hopes for this too. I have no idea what to expect (other than Sherlock of course) and I am looking forward to reading another re-imagining of the classic detective tales.

Book Synopsis

Sherlock Holmes receives a request for aid from Lord Cary, whose family home, Torre Abbey, is seemingly haunted. While skeptical, Holmes believes that the Carys are in danger, a belief that proves horrifyingly accurate when a household member dies mysteriously. As strange sightings and threatening apparitions become almost commonplace, Holmes and Watson must uncover the secrets of the abbey if they are to have any hope of protecting the living and avenging the dead.

Thank you for stopping by to check out all of the epic reads that I have received from publishers this month. There are already some immense reads out already in 2018 and it is a good sign for a brilliant year of books. I really appreciate the opportunity to share all these review copies with you all. I am also grateful for the publishers sending me great books to feature. I hope everyone has a great year of books in 2018 and pop back to Always Trust In Books for plenty of reviews, interviews and giveaways. Thanks again!

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