My health continues to be terrible, but c’est la vie! Thank the gods for great books and great friends.

ARCs Received

I couldn’t BELIEVE I got approved for these, when they’re all such hyped releases! I continue to be amazed and delighted that publishers keep giving the thumb’s-up to my weird little blog.

Read

Even less read this month than in January – just 16 books – but my health being what it’s been, that doesn’t surprise me, and I’m not stressing about it.

I did a lot of mood reading this month, and I think it shows – Saint Death’s Daughter, Artifact Space, and House of Shadows are all dear comforting favourites, and I indulged in the very-indulgent-indeed Four Kings, which I utterly adored.

Focusing on new-to-me reads, The Archive Undying and To Shape a Dragon’s Breath are two arcs that are going straight on my Best of the Year list (although they are nothing alike!); The Saint of Bright Doors will almost certainly be joining them. I also finally came back to Foundryside, which I read a chunk of way back when but then set aside. I can’t remember what nudged me into picking it up again, but I’m really glad I did – the last 20% or so of the book was epic, and I’m very interested in checking out the rest of the trilogy.

To the best of my knowledge, 26% of this month’s authors were BIPOC. Way better than January!

Reviewed

I’m damn proud to have gotten FIVE reviews done this month, because my hands have been awful, and the physical effort of typing has been immense! And I think these reviews all came out okay.

DNF-ed

I was majorly disappointed by Dragonfall and Dead Country, which were some of my most anticipated books of 2023. As was Furious Heaven, but unlike the other two, I think Furious Heaven is a pretty great book – I just wasn’t enjoying the direction the story was going in.

ARCs Outstanding

I’ve now finished three of these, and am going to have a LOT of fun explaining how epic they are in reviews!

Misc

I was able to add quite a few new entries to my Unmissable SFF of 2023 list, thanks to spending far more time than is really sensible on Edelweiss! I was SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED to find unexpected sequels from some of my favourite authors, and new books from authors I adore but haven’t heard of in a while. (No shade – I’m amazed anyone’s gotten anything creative done the last few years, never mind writing full-on novels!)

Looking Forward

Most years March is packed full of books I’m excited for, but 2023 is clearly going for quality over quantity! The sequel to the amazing Blackheart Knights; a new book in the Black Jewels universe; a beautiful-sounding queer historical fiction from debut author Natasha Siegel; and the latest novel from my favourite indie press Candlemark and Gleam! I HAVE SUCH GRABBY-HANDS!

It’s my birthday tomorrow – I’m turning 30! – and I’m looking forward to the month ahead. I’m excited for new releases, and for the red velvet birthday cake from my favourite bakery! I’m determined this month’s going to be a good one.

May it be so for all of us!