I read a lot this past year, more than ever in fact. But somehow I still managed to miss out on a lot of books that I had meant to read. I guess it’s just a case of too many books, too little time and also prioritizing my reading (what I’m in the mood for, what I have to read for review, books for specific challenges, etc). Hoping I get to these in 2019!

• The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards

I’ve heard so many good things about this book from friends. It sounds really amazing, but I just haven’t had a chance to pick it up somehow. It’s been languishing in my TBR pile on my stairs for half of the year and I want to get to it soon.

Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment’s missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home.

With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam’s relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune’s Court. 

In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family’s death and the torments of his past?

 

 

• City of Lies by Sam Hawke

Speaking of books that I’ve heard praises for that have been languishing in my TBR pile. Not sure why I didn’t work this one in except that it’s a bit of a thicker book and perhaps I just wasn’t in the right mindset to take it on (I’ve been in a very light, fluffy, romance-y, cozy book kind of mood for most of the year).

I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me…

Outwardly, Jovan is the lifelong friend of the Chancellor’s charming, irresponsible Heir. Quiet. Forgettable. In secret, he’s a master of poisons and chemicals, trained to protect the Chancellor’s family from treachery. When the Chancellor succumbs to an unknown poison and an army lays siege to the city, Jovan and his sister Kalina must protect the Heir and save their city-state.

But treachery lurks in every corner, and the ancient spirits of the land are rising…and angry.

 

 

 

• Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

This one came out closer to the end of the year and I just haven’t had a chance to read it yet because I had a crazy busy November and December was pretty much me reading a ton of shorter and lighter reads so I could get to 200 books before the end of the year. It was really just poor timing which led to this one not getting read. Really hoping to pick this one up soon because I’ve heard so many great things.

The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.

When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.

Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance…

 

 

 

• Summerland by Hannu Rajaniemi

Ok, I’ll admit that I was initially attracted to this book because of the cover, which is gorgeous. But the concept seemed really intriguing to me as well. This one is also one I picked up much earlier in the year and just haven’t gotten around to yet so onto the 2019 TBR pile it goes.

Loss is a thing of the past. Murder is obsolete. Death is just the beginning.

In 1938, death is no longer feared but exploited. Since the discovery of the afterlife, the British Empire has extended its reach into Summerland, a metropolis for the recently deceased.

Yet Britain isn’t the only contender for power in this life and the next. The Soviets have spies in Summerland, and the technology to build their own god.

When SIS agent Rachel White gets a lead on one of the Soviet moles, blowing the whistle puts her hard-earned career at risk. The spy has friends in high places, and she will have to go rogue to bring him in.

But how do you catch a man who’s already dead?

 

 

• The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal

Why didn’t I read this yet?! I bought it as soon as it was out! And I LOVED the first book! Which ended in a spot where I wanted to know what happened next! So why haven’t I gotten to this?! Maybe that first book was so perfect I was afraid the second one would spoil it for me somehow? Don’t know. Either way, shame on me, I need to read this.

Of course the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but there’s a lot riding on whoever the International Aerospace Coalition decides to send on this historic—but potentially very dangerous—mission? Could Elma really leave behind her husband and the chance to start a family to spend several years traveling to Mars? And with the Civil Rights movement taking hold all over Earth, will the astronaut pool ever be allowed to catch up, and will these brave men and women of all races be treated equitably when they get there? This gripping look at the real conflicts behind a fantastical space race will put a new spin on our visions of what might have been.

 

 

 

 

• Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

And yet another book I have heard nothing but good things about and bought when it came out. Still haven’t read. I’m terrible. Siiiiiigh.

Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.

But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.

Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.

To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.

 

Well, those are just some of the books from 2018 that I meant to get to and didn’t to for a variety of reasons. Here’s to hoping I get to them in 2019! Between this list, my ongoing list of series I want to finish, my Discworld reading challenge, and all the books coming out next year that I’m looking forward to, my 2019 is pretty much set and already jam packed full. Are there any books you missed in 2018? Thoughts on these? Leave a note in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!