I haven’t done a book haul post in years because it takes me a while to create that type of post. I save that time for creating anticipated book releases posts (like this April 2026 book releases one), or I’ll post a snapshot on my bookstagram. However, I’d been waiting a while to make a Blackwell’s post. I saved up titles I’d been eying for a while (or found while browsing their website a few days ago) and made one big purchase for my birthday (last weekend).
I thought it’d be fun to show you all what I purchased, especially because I don’t see these titles promoted at all here in the U.S. In fact, I think there are a few that aren’t even available in the U.S. Books are also slightly cheaper in the U.K., too, even with the conversion rate. Anyway, here’s a list of the fiction and nonfiction titles I snagged in my Blackwell’s birthday purchase!
Fiction
And as I put together this post I realized I clearly had a theme with my fiction purchases! They’re all early medieval time!!
BRIGID by Kim Curran: Charlotte over at Bewitching Books, Ravenous Reads alerted me to Curran’s latest. Have I read Curran’s first book about the Morrigan yet? No, but I bought this anyway. “A WITCHY, RADICAL RE-IMAGINING OF IRELAND’S MOST BELOVED SAINT AND GODDESS.”
THE BOOK OF I by David Greig: An early medieval historical fiction? Yes, please! “The year is 825 CE. In the aftermath of a vicious attack by raiders from the north, an unlikely trio finds themselves the lone survivors on a remote Scottish isle.”
MERE by Danielle Giles: I kept coming back to this one over the past year. It’s set in 990 CE Norfolk amongst an isolated convent. A young boy goes missing and it becomes more of a mystery, I guess. I don’t usually read mysteries, but it also looks like it might have a horror or suspense element to it. And I always like to find more early medieval historical fiction to read.
STORM OVER CAMELOT by Sophie Keetch: This is the third book in a trilogy about Morgan Le Fay that I still haven’t started. But the hardbacks are only available overseas, so now my collection will be complete. (In the U.S. there are paperback versions.) I just love the medieval stained glass look of the book covers in this series.
Nonfiction
CASH COW by Alev Scott: Ok, technically this will come out in the U.S., but not until October. If it was already on NetGalley I would’ve requested an ARC, but it’s not. Does this mean I’ll read it before October? No idea, but the topic intrigues me. Shoutout to the Blackwell’s newsletter for always having titles I’ve never heard of. “A thought-provoking deep dive into the global fertility industry and the commodification of the maternal body.”
LOVE MACHINES by James Muldoon: I think I saw this in one of Blackwell’s weekly newsletters. It’s a look at how people are using AI to fulfill emotional roles in their lives. It sounds kind of depressing, not going to lie, but also like one of those things you can’t stop looking at. “A captivating, uncanny journey to the frontier of human-computer interaction.“
THE POSTAL PATHS by Alan Cleaver: I like learning about the logistics of some things, including mail carrying. (Check out my review of MAILMAN by Stephen Grant!) So when I stumbled across this on Blackwell’s website I thought it looked like a perfect read for me. Plus I think it’s something my husband might pick up, too. “Seeing the hills, the crofts, villages and ruins only tells half the story. The people who worked, walked, lived and died here are the other half.”
Books are definitely cheaper here. I love to go into bookshops when I visit the US but often don’t buy anything because they are so expensive
I love your medieval collection and there are several that I’ve never heard of so I obviously need to go and investigate further. The postman book sounds like a really good fit for you too
Happy reading😀
Hardcovers especially are expensive. For thick books or super popular authors sometimes I’ll see prices at $35 or $40!! I bought quite a few books when I was in England and Wales last year because of the cheaper prices.
And then there’s the tax that gets added on in the US. I was really shocked when I bought a hardback in Boston
Oh yes, tax on everything! I don’t recall how it is in England…is there tax added on at check out or is it already included in the list price?
Lovely haul! I remember being like a kid in a candy store when I took a trip to London and prowled the bookstores. All the covers are different too (and often better than US covers😁) Enjoy!
I do wish I’d had more time to do more bookstore crawling last year when we were in England & Wales. But to be fair, we fit in a good amount considering the trip was about a week long or so. I agree that UK covers are often better than US ones, though I feel like I’ve seen some pretty nice US ones this year.
So many interesting sound books that I’ve not heard of at all before now! The Postal Paths sounds really interesting actually, as does Love Machines. I hope you enjoy all of these reads 🙂
Thanks, Dini! Maybe I’ve influenced your TBR a bit, haha!
Happy Belated Birthday, I hope you had a wonderful time and am glad you managed to treat yourself to some books 🥰🥰 I really hope you enjoy Brigid. I still need to read it but I adored the authors debut and have heard good things about it. I have the Sophie Keetch series on my Kindle and havent gotten to it yet either 🙈 like you I love the covers though. And Ive also been super curious about Mere. I was actually highly tempted to put it on my Summer Of Horror TBR last year but I couldn’t decide how strongly it would fit within the genre from the premise and Goodreads rating alone 🤔
I hope you enjoy all of the books you’ve picked up fiction and non fiction. It sounds like a lovely mix 🥰
Thank you! I’m excited about all these books. Nice that we gravitate to the same ones, haha!! I hope you like Brigid whenever you get around to it!
Thank you 🥰 I’ll let you know how it goes.
What a great haul! Hope you enjoy them all — looking forward to hearing more!
Happy belated birthday! Looks like a great haul.
Thank you!
I love all the books you bought! I’ve been craving more medieval books so I’m going to add them all to my TBR 😀