A birthday book haul with some library love

Yesterday was my birthday and much thanks to all those who wished me well. How I spent the day , we’ll get to in a moment but first I need to share my delight in the many books I received as presents!

Some of these books are already earmarked for a readathon or two this summer so I won’t go into them just yet. One of the titles that I am happy to highlight is Iron Flame, the second entry in Rebecca Yarros’ series that started with the breakout bestseller Fourth Wing.

Book two chronicles the further adventures of Violet Sorrengail aka Violence, as she continues her dragon rider training while being separated from Xaden, her reluctant romantic partner whose dragon is bonded to one of the two that she has at her side.

In addition to Xaden’s absence, Violet also has to deal with the secrets and lies that she’s discovered about the true nature of her country’s enemies as well as a new vice commander targeting her for what she may know.

I know full well that many people who read the first book are not fond of this follow up (to put it mildly) but I found Fourth Wing to be fine popcorn entertainment and not placing high expectations on what’s to come here.

Don’t get me wrong; I do want to be reasonably engaged with the book and by that standard, this should be fun. Besides, a girl and her dragon tale is hard to resist:

One of my birthday books that I definitely will be reading this June for the Sci-Fi Summer readathon is Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater.

This Regency England set fantasy’s leading lady is Dora Etting, who suffers from the title affliction due to a fairy land noble making off with the part of her inner being that feels emotion.

Seeking restoration, Dora and her cousin Vanessa go to London in order to claim the assistance of the Lord Sorcier who may be able to cure her condition. However, that remoteness comes in handy when a mysterious plague of supernatural origins sweeps the town, giving her a distinct advantage in finding a solution for that sinister situation.

I’ve heard so many wonderful things about this story that sounds much like a Bridgerton with magic creation that my anticipation levels are considerably high indeed:

Meanwhile, my big birthday plans revolved around a trip to my local library where I just had to borrow a few choice morsels off the shelves.

One of those tempting treats was Nisha Sharma’s Dating Dr.Dil, which happens to be a modern take on a classic Shakespeare play.

On her thirtieth birthday, Kareena learns that her father is planning to sell the house that her late mother owned and that she herself is emotionally attached to. To stop this from happening, she promises her father that she’ll get engaged to be married within the next four months.

Kareena winds up making an agreement with Prem, who needs good PR for his charitable endeavor, to pretend to be engaged to him. However, this plan is proving to be very hard to abide by as time goes on, especially when these “fake” feelings become all too real.

This new twist on Taming of the Shrew sounds like a lively page turner that ought to be as romantically amusing as any funky film adaptation of this story:

I also added a pair of mysteries to the mix, one of which was The Appeal by Janice Hallet.

When a sudden death occurs among a small theatrical group with complicated family ties, two law students are assigned the not enviable task of sorting out the paperwork for the legal proceeding of the title.

As they sort through the mass of emails and other documents relating to this case, a pattern of potential deception begins to emerge that could explain why murder charges were brought but was the right suspect named? And if not, who might it actually be?

Recently, I finished reading one of Hallett’s newer books, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, and that book was amazingly good. I will talk more about it once the Spring into Horror readathon is over but I am very happy to have made the effort to get a copy upon the recommendation of Books Like Whoa’s Mara indeed.

 Finding the author’s debut novel at the library like this was a grand stroke of serendipity and a strong sign of the tension to come within the book is that the theater company in question was planning on performing Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, quite the dramatic feast to savor:

After this, I am planning to take a mini break from book buying (for a while at least!) but don’t regret getting any of these reads at all.

What with summer hiatus coming up for some of my favorite shows and the headlines in the news getting more stressful by the day, a few good books on hand is truly a must have these days. Although I must say that I’m grateful to my family and friends for giving me their attention and support on my special day. This definitely has been one week to treasure in more ways than one: