Adrian Selby – The Unseen Library

It has been a while since I have done a Book Haul post, but seeing that I received several interesting books today, I thought I would quickly do one to highlight some of the best books I have gotten in the last few weeks, especially as I am expecting some additional books in the coming weeks. Each of the below books sound extremely cool and captivating, and I cannot wait to see how they all turn out.

The Chase by Candice Fox (Trade Paperback)

The Chase Cover

The first book on this haul is the impressive new release from Australian author Candice Fox, The Chase, a cool thriller set around a mass escape from a maximum security prison. I have actually already read this book and it was pretty amazing, containing a clever and exciting story with some great twists to it. I will hopefully get a review together for this one soon but it is really worth checking out.

Turn a Blind Eye by Jeffery Archer (Hardcover)

Turn a Blind Eye Cover

Next up we have the latest novel from bestselling author Jeffrey Archer, Turn a Blind Eye, the third book in the William Warwick series. The William Warwick books are a fantastic and entertaining series which follows the titular character, William Warwick, a notoriously honest copper, as he attempts to stop some of the worst criminals in London. The first two entries in this series, Nothing Ventured and Hidden in Plan Sight, have both been fun reads and I look forward to seeing Warwick attempt to solve his latest crime.

Judas Horse by Lynda La Plante (Trade Paperback)

Judas Horse Cover

I was also lucky to receive a copy of the new Lynda La Plante crime novel, Judas Horse. La Plante is an author whose work I have been really enjoying in recent years, mainly with her Jane Tennison series (check out my reviews for Good Friday, Murder Mile, The Dirty Dozen and Blunt Force). Judas Horse is the second book in La Plante’s new Jack Warr series and features an intriguing plot about detectives using an informer to lure out a group of bank robbers. I am rather keen to see what La Plante’s other series are like and I cannot wait to see what happens in Judas Horse.

Artifact Space by Miles Cameron (ebook)

Artifact Space Cover

I was incredibly grateful to recently receive an advance proof of Mile Cameron’s upcoming science fiction debut, Artifact Space. Artifact Space is an intriguing and fantastic sounding science fiction read that features mysterious disappearances, impossibly large ships and alien races. I am hoping to dive into this one soon and based on how amazing some of Cameron’s latest fantasy novels have been (Cold Iron and Dark Forge), this should prove to be quite an exceptional read.

A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements (Trade Paperback)

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This is another book that I have been looking forward to for a while. A Prince and a Spy is the latest book from excellent historical crime fiction author Rory Clements, and will be the fifth book in the Tom Wilde series of World War II novels (check out my reviews for Nucleus, Nemesis and Hitler’s Secret). This latest book contains a fantastic sounding mystery, centered around the mysterious real-life death of the Queen’s uncle. I cannot wait to see how this story unfolds and I am expecting an impressive and clever read.

Brother Red by Adrian Selby (Trade Paperback)

Brother Red Cover

I was also lucky enough to receive a copy of Brother Red, the latest novel from intriguing fantasy author Adrian Selby. I am not as familiar with Selby as I am with most of the other authors featured in this post, but I have heard some great stuff about his previous books from other reviewers. Brother Red looks set to be a captivating standalone fantasy adventure and I look forward to learning some more about this cool author.

Crusader by Ben Kane (Trade Paperback)

Crusader Cover

The final book in this Book Haul post is Crusader from top historical fiction author Ben Kane. Crusader is the second book in Kane’s latest series which follows the life of the legendary Richard the Lionheart. The sequel to last year’s impressive Lionheart, Crusader should be another amazing read and I look forward to checking it out.

Well that’s the end of this latest Book Haul post. As you can see I have quite a bit of reading to do at the moment thanks to all these awesome books that have come in. Let me know which of the above you are most interested in and make sure to check back in a few weeks to see my reviews of them.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was Ten Signs You’re a Book Lover. While that did sound like an interesting topic, I thought I would do something a little different. Today was actually my first day working from home due to the current coronavirus outbreak. While my city is not officially locked down yet, I am going to be spending a lot of time indoors for the next couple of months, which I fully intend to use as an opportunity to catch up on some reading that I have been meaning to do. Unfortunately, it is very likely that I am going to get a limited number of new books coming in, due to businesses shutting down and release dates being knocked back (the main bookshops in my city literally just announced they were closing their doors today). Luckily, I have a huge number of books already on my shelf which I have been hoping to read for some time. As a result, I thought I would take this opportunity to list the top ten books from previous years that I want to go back and read during this homebound period.

Over the last couple of years, I have been building up a massive collection of books which I have been meaning to read. This is a pretty eclectic mixture of novels from across the various genres, featuring an interesting range of topics and authors. I am hopefully going to get around to reading all of them at some point, but for this list I went through and selected the top ten (with an honourable mentions section) that I want to try and check out first. I figure that this list will be a good focusing tool, and hopefully by the time this whole crisis is over I will have managed to get through a reasonable chunk of them. For this list, I am limiting my choices to those books that I physically have on my shelf right now, and I won’t be including books that I want to read that I have to go and buy. I have to admit that this is a pretty random collection of books, and I haven’t always chosen the best books on the shelf. These are the ones that I want to read first, either because I enjoyed the previous entries in the series, I have heard good things about them or because the plot sounds really interesting and I want to finally check it out. So let’s see which books made the list.

Honourable Mentions:

State of Fear by Tim Ayliffe – 22 July 2019

State of Fear Cover

The sequel to the excellent 2018 Australian thriller The Greater Good.

The Warehouse by Rob Hart – 13 August 2019

The Warehouse Cover

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris – 20 August 2019

The Second Sleep Cover

Top Ten List (By Release Date):

The Deathless by Peter Newman – 14 June 2018

the deathless cover

This first entry on my list is rather intriguing-sounding fantasy novel that I picked up a couple of years ago but never got a chance to read. I have been quite keen to check this out for a while and I even featured it on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Read in 2018 list. Newman has already written two fantastic-sounding sequels to this book, so I definitely need to pick up my game and have a go at reading The Deathless.

Watch the Girls by Jennifer Wolfe – 10 July 2018

Watch the Girls Cover

This next book is a rather cool-sounding thriller novel, which I rather regret not reading back in 2018. I really liked the interesting concept that Watch the Girls had, and I always thought that this would be quite a fun book to read.

The Winter Road by Adrian Selby – 13 November 2018

The Winter Road Cover

Now this is one that I have been really trying to read for ages. The Winter Road was probably one of the more awesome-sounding fantasy novels of 2018, with amazing plot about a massive merchant caravan trying to get through a dangerous wilderness. I honestly have no idea how I never got around to reading this one, and I will be extremely happy if I finally get a chance in the next few months.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons – 5 February 2019

The Ruin of Kings Cover

The Ruin of Kings is one of the biggest fantasy releases of last year, and I have been hoping to check it out since I first got it. Unfortunately, it has just been sitting unread on my shelf instead, even though I included it on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Read in 2019 list. The third and final book in this series is just around the corner, so I really cannot afford to waste any more time with this one.

The Bear Pit by S. G. MacLean – 11 July 2019

The Bear Pit Cover

The Bastille Spy by C. S. Quinn – 1 August 2019

The Bastille Spy Cover

This was one of the more fascinating historical fiction releases of last year, and I am truly sorry I did not get around to enjoying The Bastille Spy. Following a female British spy who helps free and smuggle noblemen from revolutionary France, this book sounded absolutely incredible. I really need to have a look at this book soon, as the sequel is hopefully coming out soon.

Magebane by Stephen Aryan – 6 August 2019

Magebane Cover

The third and final book in the Age of Dread trilogy, Magebane sounded like an extremely fun and explosive fantasy novel, which I did hope to check out last year. I really enjoyed the previous novel in the series, Magefall, so I have high hopes for this latest book.

Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw – 20 August 2019

Grave Importance Cover

Duplicity by Richard Evans – 1 September 2019

Duplicity Cover

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton – 29 October 2019

Salvation Lost Cover
Well that’s my list. I am hopeful that I will get a chance to check out all of the books featured above in the next few months, and I am sure that they will keep me extremely entertained and sane during my time at home. I hope everyone is staying safe during these hard times, and I wish you all luck during the difficult coming year. In the meantime, let me know which of the books above you enjoyed and what novels you are hoping to read during your lockdown period.