A Literary Escape

ARC Review: The Words of Kings and Prophets by Shauna Lawless

Published on January 8, 2024January 14, 2024 by Celeste2 Comments

THE WORDS OF KINGS AND PROPHETS is the second installment of the Gael Song series. Set shortly after the first book, the reader continues to follow Fódla and Gormflaith, both of whom are part of King Brian’s court. Infighting among immortals and Gormflaith’s self preservation threaten to upend the mortal world.

Author: Shauna Lawless
Series: Gael Song Book 2
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publish Date: October 03, 2023
Print Length: 416

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of The Words of Kings and Prophets on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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Anticipated First Quarter Book Releases in 2024

Published on January 4, 2024January 4, 2024 by Celeste25 Comments

Well, here we are! With 2023 gone it’s now time to look forward to anticipated first quarter book releases in 2024. January through February looks like a banger quarter for book releases in 2024. I think this is the most excited I’ve been about book releases ever. Will I read them all? Probably not. But I can dream about it! What I also love is that so many of the books that look interesting to me are also standalones. That makes me super happy because, frankly, I don’t want to commit to too many more series. (But that’s hard to avoid with the fantasy genre.)

I know a lot of bloggers already seem a bit stressed at the amazing possibilities. At the time of writing this post I have so far held off from requesting too much. However, my January looks stacked and I’m still digging out from 2023!

No matter, though. Let’s take a look at some anticipated first quarter book releases in 2024 that I’m looking forward to. I listed the books in the order they will be released in the U.S. If more than one book has the same release date, then I second ordered them by the author’s last name. Also, if you want more “anticipated book release” lists, check out mine from the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2023.

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2024 Bookish Goals

Published on January 3, 2024December 31, 2023 by Celeste11 Comments

I made bookish goals for the first time in 2023. With one more year under my belt, it seems only prudent to make some 2024 bookish goals. They’re similar to the ones I made last year, with a few exceptions. New notable topics to my 2024 bookish goals are to complete ongoing series reads and track my bookish spending. Kal at Reader Voracious has a lovely spreadsheet system that is great if you like numbers.

I nixed SEO improvement from my 2024 goals because I feel like I more or less figured it out. I considered adding a goal about writing timely reviews. But I don’t usually have an issue with that and tend to write them within a week of finishing a book.

Anyway, keep reading to learn more about my 2024 bookish goals.

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January 2024 TBR List

Published on January 2, 2024December 29, 2023 by Celeste17 Comments

There are so many books I need or want to read that I’m just going to lay them all out here. No “priority” vs. “hopeful” January 2024 TBR list. I’ll just put it all on the table, especially since I am still behind on my ARCs. I did so well for most of 2023 and stayed on top of things, meaning reading most ARCs before their publication date. However, I’m not perfect, which is evident when you see this January 2024 TBR list!

I also have to read at least two of the novellas assigned to my SFINCS team by January 30. This sounds reasonable. I haven’t yet decided which ones to read, so they are not in the January 2024 TBR List.

Overall, I don’t have a ton of books in my January 2024 List. However, this doesn’t take into consideration what’s in the February pipeline. Ideally I like to start an ARC a month ahead of time. But I haven’t followed my own rules lately. Alas. Anyway, here is my list.

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Book Review: Feeding the Soul by Tabitha Brown

Published on January 1, 2024December 30, 2023 by Celeste1 Comment

Today’s review is about FEEDING THE SOUL by Tabitha Brown. I read this book nearly a year ago and forgot to post my review. The start of a new year seems like a good time to finally let this review out into the world. FEEDING THE SOUL is an approachable self-help book and I highly recommend listening to the audiobook.

Author: Tabitha Brown
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publish Date: September 28, 2021
Audio Length: 5 hours, 49 minutes
Narrator: Tabitha Brown

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of Feeding the Soul on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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