Cold Front – The Unseen Library

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 to list books with one-word titles. While this was an interesting topic, and one that I might look at again in the future, I am instead going to continue my literary examination of the first half of 2023 by looking at the top books from the first half of the year that I still need to read.

While I have already enjoyed some amazing reads in 2023, there are still quite a few impressive novels that have come out in the first half of the year that I have yet to read. Many of these were on my most anticipated reads lists for 2023 (both fantasy and other), and while I was really excited for them, I have honestly not had a chance to check all of them out. Therefore, I am going to use this freebie session to shame myself in the hopes that it gets me into gear to finally get around to checking out these epic reads. This was a very easy list to pull together for me, as many of these books had been weighing on my mind for a while. All 10 novels below (plus honourable mentions) sound really, really good, and I hope I get a chance to read all of them soon.

Honourable Mentions:

Lenny Marks Get Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne

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The Last Highway by R. J. Ellory

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The Helpdesk by Shane Dunphy

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Star Wars: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs

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Top Ten List:

The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding

The first entry on this list is the big one, both literally and figuratively with The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding. One of my most anticipated fantasy books of 2023, The Shadow Casket is the sequel to Wooding’s epic fantasy novel from a few years ago, The Ember Blade. The Ember Blade was an exceptional book that got an easy five-star rating from me and which really stuck in my mind. I have been waiting ages for a sequel to come out, and it is very surprising to me that I haven’t tried to read The Shadow Casket yet. This is mainly because The Shadow Casket is such a brick of a book and I will need to spend ages getting through its audiobook version. However, I fully intend to make the effort before the end of the year as I know it will be really worth it.

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Star Wars: The High Republic: Cataclysm by Lydia Kang

I’ve been a little neglectful with my Star Wars reading this year as I haven’t read the latest High Republic book, Cataclysm by Lydia Kang. Set in the second phase of the massive High Republic sub-series of fiction, Cataclysm follows on from Convergence and Path of Deceit and showcases the events that lead to the rest of the High Republic series. I really need to get my butt into gear and read this book, especially as Phase Three is coming later this year, and I am very curious to see how this excellent series continues.

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The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan

I had hoped to have read The Sword Defiant, the new fantasy novel from acclaimed author Gareth Hanrahan at this point in the year, but I missed out on getting a copy. Following a legendary hero and his companions who were corrupted by their evil opponent’s cursed magic swords after their great victory, The Sword Defiant sounded like an extremely epic and compelling book that I know I will have a good time with. I am going to try and get a copy of The Sword Defiant before the end of 2023, especially as I know it will turn out to be an amazing book.

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City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

An intriguing murder mystery that sees an intrepid protagonist conduct a dangerous investigation in a mysterious settlement, City Under One Roof is a fantastic sounding 2023 debut that caught my eye last year and I have been meaning to read for some time. I really love the sound of its cool plot and hope I can check it out at some point.

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Seven Faceless Saints by M. K. Lobb

An outstanding fantasy debut with a compelling murder mystery centre, Seven Faceless Saints is an excellent sounding novel from new author M. K. Lobb, and one that I really wanted to check out when it first came out. I unfortunately couldn’t fit it into my reading schedule, although I am still hoping to later this year. Seven Faceless Saints sounds like a pretty awesome read and I really hope I can find the time to read it.

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The Winter Solider: Cold Front by Mackenzi Lee

An intriguing Marvel tie-in novel focusing on the Winter Soldier, Cold Front really needs to get to the top of my to-read list.

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Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

I still need to check out the awesome historical thriller that Dennis Lehane wrote earlier this year, Small Mercies. I am a big fan of Lehane’s previous novels and Small Mercies sounds extremely good, focusing on murder, disappearance and desegregation in 1970s Boston.

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The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan

After blowing the fantasy community away with his 2022 novel, The Justice of Kings, Richard Swan had a sequel come out this year with The Tyranny of Faith, that looked set to continue his excellent combination of murder mystery and fantasy fiction. I have had The Tyranny of Faith high on my reading list for months, but I still haven’t had the time to check it out. This is a mistake that I really need to rectify soon, as The Tyranny of Faith will probably end up being one of the top fantasy books of the year.

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The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

A fun sounding book about a group of authors getting killed at a murder mystery writers retreat, why have I not made time for this awesome novel yet?

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Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim

The final book I want to highlight on this list is Spice Road by Australian author Maiya Ibrahim. Spice Road is an outstanding sounding fantasy debut set in a Middle Eastern inspired kingdom which has a really compelling plot behind it. I really need to check this book out and I hope that I can fit this cool debut into my reading schedule soon.

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Well, that is the end of this latest list. As you can see, there are a bunch of exceptional novels from the first half of the year that I need to check out. All the above books sound incredibly epic, and I know that I will have a brilliant time getting through all of them. So, I am going to have to try a lot harder to start reading through them as soon as I can. In the meantime, let me know which books released in the first half of the year you most regret not reading in the comments below. Make sure to also check out my second Top Ten Tuesday list of the week where I look at my favourite pre-2023 novels that I have already enjoyed this year.

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight a fantastic upcoming comic book tie in with the anti-hero focused The Winter Soldier: Cold Front by Mackenzi Lee.

The Winter Soldier - Cold Front Cover

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Back in 2019 I was lucky enough to listen to a copy of a fantastic young adult tie-in novel, Loki: Where Mischief Lies, by the talented Mackenzi Lee. Where Mischief Lies was an intriguing read that followed a young Loki and showed one of his unique adventures in 19^th century London, where his lies, tricks and morality where strongly tested. This was a fantastic book and it served as a great first entry in a new Marvel young adult tie-in series from Lee, with all the planned entries looking at conflicted anti-heroes and villains from the Marvel universe. This series was followed up last year with the intriguing Gamora and Nebula: Sisters in Arms, which looked at the two fan favourite characters from Guardians of the Galaxy, Gamora and Nebula, as they worked a complex mission for their father. While I have not had the pleasure of reading Sisters in Arms yet, it sounded really fun and I have been meaning to check it out for a while. Luckily, due to the standalone nature of these series, I don’t have to read it before getting excited for the next Marvel novel from Lee, as there is a third book in the series coming out early next year with The Winter Soldier: Cold Front.

Synopsis:

1954: The Winter Soldier is the Soviet Union’s greatest weapon. Assigned the most dangerous covert missions from the USSR’s secret military branch, and guided by a handler who knows him better than he knows himself, he has only one purpose: to obey orders.

But he wasn’t always the Winter Soldier . . .

1941: As World War II begins, sixteen-year old Bucky Barnes is determined to enlist in the US army—if only the local commander will stop getting in his way. When Bucky is offered enrolment in a training program with the British Special Operations Executive—the UK’s secret service—he leaps at the chance to become a hero. But Bucky has hardly touched down in London when he finds himself running from a mysterious assassin and accompanied by an English chess champion fond of red lipstick and double crosses. She’s in possession of a secret every side is desperate to get their hands on. If only they knew what it was . . .

Decades later, the Winter Soldier struggles to solve the same mystery Bucky is just beginning to uncover. As their missions intersect across time, their lives collide too—in a way that neither of them would have expected, and that will change the course of their respective wars.

In The Winter Soldier: Cold Front, on-sale on February 7, 2023, New York Times best-selling author Mackenzi Lee explores the youth of one of Marvel’s most compelling characters, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes—and the enemy soldier he is forced to become.

Now, I first have to geek out a little about there being an upcoming book about the Winter Solider. I love this cool character (pun intended) and have been a massive fan of the unique way they brought back Bucky ever since his appearance in the comics. His brilliant use in the MCU movies has only increased my love of this character, and there are honestly few anti-heroes in the Marvel canon more conflicted than the Winter Soldier. As such I am very excited to read a whole novel about him, especially one that sounds as great as Cold Front.

I am deeply intrigued by the amazing synopsis featured above, especially as it looks like Lee is going to use multiple time periods to tell a complex and interlocking story. The plan to focus on various points in Bucky’s life, including his time in the army before meeting Captain America, as well as his early days as the Winter Soldier in the 1950’s Soviet Union sounds extremely awesome, and something I am very keen on. Watching the various phases of this character’s life is going to be great, and I am particularly keen to see how the author portrays the brain-washed version of the Winter Solider in comparison to the carefree teenager. I am also interested in seeing how the storylines interlock, and it sounds like the two time periods are going to come together in some fantastic ways.

I honestly was keen to check this book out the moment I heard that Mackenzi Lee was writing anything about the Winter Soldier. However, Cold Front has a great plot to it, and it sounds like it is going to spend a lot of time diving into the mind of the titular character and show multiple key parts of his life. Set for release in February 2023, Winter Soldier: Cold Front, is going to be epic, and I reckon that I am going to have an outstanding time reading this upcoming read.