Hey all, Sam here.
I know we’re almost halfway through January, but it seems the perfect time to talk about the books I’m excited for in the first half of 2023. Now, I’m sure there’s some I’m missing, especially in the last few months of this post. But, there’s still a whole bunch of books on this list, and honestly there’s quite a few that I’ve already gotten digital ARCs of via NetGalley, so that’s pretty darn exciting.
I’ve broken this post down month by month, so let’s go ahead and dive right in.
January: The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent Vol 7 by Fujiazuki, Yuka Tachibana, and Yasuyuki Syuri (Jan 10), Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (Jan 10), Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire (Jan 10), Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston (Jan 17), Barrow of Winter by H.M. Long (Jan 17), Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (Jan 19), and Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson (Jan 17)
Can we pause for a moment and take in just how beautiful the covers are for these January releases? Because seriously, some of these are just absolutely stunning. I’m continually amazed at the artistry that is cover creation. See, we like to say “don’t judge a book by its cover” but the truth is, if covers didn’t matter then we wouldn’t need to pay people to design the covers. But we do. Because covers are sometimes the reason someone picks up a book. So, thank you cover artists and cover designers because you are amazing at your jobs.
Obviously I’ve already read and reviewed a couple of these, and my review of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is coming next week. That’s it for my January anticipated releases/NetGalley reviews. Now, this doesn’t mean these are the only January releases I’m looking forward to, nor the only NetGalley books I have to read and review. I didn’t want to make this post extremely long, so I narrowed down my choices for most months.
February: The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney (Feb 7), The Pearl Hunter by Miya T. Beck (Feb 7), Out of Character by Jenna Miller (Feb 7), Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More Vol 4 by Megumi Sumikawa, Hisaya Amagishi, and KEI (Feb 7), The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry (Feb 28)
I have The Pearl Hunter and The Magician’s Daughter on my e-reader already, so hopefully I can keep my reading and review streak going, and get those finished before release day. I actually have my early review schedule planned through the end of February, which kind of gives me a TBR to really stick to. We’ll see if I can actually pull it off though. I have hopes that I can do it. Having some awesome sounding books to look forward to helps too.
March: The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten (March 7), The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (March 7), Ravensong by Cayla Fay (March 14), The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher (March 14), Damsel by Evelyn Skye (March 14), and The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores (March 21)
I have already read The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway and I have e-ARCs of The Foxglove King, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, Damsel, and The Witch and the Vampire, so again, there’s definitely the hope that I’ll have these read and reviewed by their release dates. Actually, I started The Foxglove King a couple days ago, because I have REALLY been wanting to read it. I’m only 50 pages in, but I am loving it…so yeah, we can definitely expect a review for it coming in February.
April: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (April 4), Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken (April 4), and Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee (April 11)
Yes, April is a small list at the moment, but I believe it will probably grow as I discover more upcoming book releases. But I do already have e-ARCs of Divine Rivals and Untethered Sky, so I’m excited to read those. I really like being a book reviewer, and having access to sites like NetGalley, where I can easily request early copies of books for review. It’s wonderful. Although, yes, I really do need to get caught up on my extensive ARC review list…because I think about 80% of the books I have downloaded on my e-reader have technically been released, so I’m a bit behind. I’d love to get my ratio percentage of books reviewed/books approved up quite a bit. I didn’t put that on my 2023 goals, but I guess that’s technically implied. If I want to read more and blog more, then reading and writing reviews of those books for the blogs also increases my review percentage…which then helps me get approved for even more books.
May: The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent: The Other Saint Vol 2 by Aoagu, Yuka Tachibana, and Yasuyuki Syuri (May 2), A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand (May 9), Painted Devils by Margaret Owen (May 16), The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol 5 by Kyouka Izumi (May 16), Lore Olympus Vol 4 by Rachel Smythe (May 23), Of Light and Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena (May 23), and Witch King by Martha Wells (May 30)
At the moment I only have one May release as an e-ARC, and that is Of Light and Shadow, but I may have more come in, especially since I enjoy browsing NetGalley and requesting more books. I don’t know what the upcoming months will mean for life and work and travel and all that…but I’m hoping that the husband and I can continue our tradition of spending Memorial Day Weekend in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio, visiting his grandparents. I love going off grid for a few days and just reading and relaxing. It’s wonderful.
June: The Grimoire of Grave Fates edited by Margaret Owen and Hannah Alkaf (June 6), Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool (June 20), and Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs (June 27)
Again, June is a smaller list at the moment, and I have The Grimoire of Grave Fates and Garden of the Cursed as e-ARCs already. But wow, look at those beautiful covers. They actually fit together nicely since they’re all dealing with a purple hue for the covers.
Honestly, I’m always really excited to keep track of and follow all the book releases month after month. It helps me stay organized, and gives friends and family an idea of what they could get me as a present if they really need to. Why yes, I do keep track of both my NetGalley reads and reviews in a spreadsheet and my book releases list in another spreadsheet. It has really made me a lot more focused and organized with all things pertaining to books, so I like it.
Well, I guess that is all from me for today. Feel free to let me know some of your most anticipated 2023 releases, because I would love to know if there’s any I should be on the lookout for too.
Thanks for stopping by and I will be back soon with more geeky content.
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