Recently Bought Books | Book Haul

So my reading has basically stalled. Who knew that anxiety could kill everything you loved, but there you go. One thing it hasn’t manage to kill, yet, is my love of book shopping. So to try and make myself feel just a little better I went and hit Waterstones to see what they had to offer, and an hour later here is what I walked out with.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games #0
on May 19, 2020
Goodreads

AMBITION WILL FUEL HIM.COMPETITION WILL DRIVE HIM.BUT POWER HAS ITS PRICE.
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

I have wondered whether or not to buy this one. I wasn’t massively sure whether I wanted to read this one, but it was on sale and I thought now would be a good time to try it out. I don’t know whether I’m going to wait though and do an entire reread though, so we shall see!

Thunderhead

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Series: Arc of a Scythe #2
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on January 9, 2018
Pages: 504
Goodreads

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

I read Scythe not too long ago and I definitely want to carry on with the series so I thought this would be the perfect time to pick this one up and see whether it becomes one of my favourite series or not. I did enjoy the characters in the first one and I’m hoping as the series progresses that they grow even more.

The Toll

The Toll by Neal Shusterman
Series: Arc of a Scythe #3
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on November 5, 2019
Pages: 625
Goodreads

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.
In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

I’m being super ambitious and buying the entire series before reading the sequel. I am hoping that this series lives up to my expectations, I have heard amazing things about these books so I don’t think it’s all that big of a risk if I’m honest.

The Sisters Grimm

The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag
on February 6, 2020
Goodreads

The critically acclaimed author of The House at the End of Hope Street combines love, mystery, and magic with her first foray into bewitching fantasy with a dark edge evocative of V.E. Schwab and Neil Gaiman.
Once upon a time, a demon who desired earthly domination fathered an army of dark daughters to help him corrupt humanity . . .
As children, Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea dreamed of a strange otherworld: a nightscape of mists and fog, perpetually falling leaves and hungry ivy, lit by an unwavering moon. Here, in this shadowland of Everwhere, the four girls, half-sisters connected by blood and magic, began to nurture their elemental powers together. But at thirteen, the sisters were ripped from Everwhere and separated. Now, five years later, they search for one another and yearn to rediscover their unique and supernatural strengths. Goldie (earth) manipulates plants and gives life. Liyana (water) controls rivers and rain. Scarlet (fire) has electricity at her fingertips. Bea (air) can fly.
To realize their full potential, the blood sisters must return to the land of their childhood dreams. But Everwhere can only be accessed through certain gates at 3:33 A.M. on the night of a new moon. As Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea are beset with the challenges of their earthly lives, they must prepare for a battle that lies ahead. On their eighteenth birthday, they will be subjected to a gladiatorial fight with their father’s soldiers. If they survive, they will face their father who will let them live only if they turn dark. Which would be fair, if only the sisters knew what was coming.
So, they have thirty-three days to discover who they truly are and what they can truly do, before they must fight to save themselves and those they love.

I have had this book on my wishlist for a really long time and I was always planning to buy it on my Kindle and have it that way. However when I saw how beautiful the hardback is I definitely had to pick that one up! So there is now a new book sat on my shelf.

Castle in the Air

Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Published by Greenwillow Books on August 7, 2001
Pages: 298
Goodreads

In which a humble young carpet merchant wins, then loses, the princess of his dreams
Far to the south of the land of Ingary, in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, there lived in the city of Zanzib a young and not very prosperous carpet dealer named Abdullah who loved to spend his time daydreaming. He was content with his life and his daydreams until, one day, a stranger sold him a magic carpet.
That very night, the carpet flew him to an enchanted garden. There, he met and fell in love with the beauteous princess Flower-in-the-Night, only to have her snatched away, right under his very nose, by a wicked djinn. With only his magic carpet and his wits to help him, Abdullah sets off to rescue his princess....

Has anyone else watched Howl’s Moving Castle multiple times on Netflix? Just me. Okay. Well I read the first one a really long time ago and thought that it might be time to start reading the series again so picked this one up.

Have you read any of these books? Which are your favourites? Let me know!