.png)
Books in February - Book Recommendations
- The Little Bookshop
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Hello February, a new month full of great new books. Also one of the best months for romance fans? We'll have a bit more romance books in the shop but this list also has some thrillers, horror, and other genres... of course ^^ Enjoy adding more to your TBR!
Fantasy/Thriller/Sci-fi/Contemporary
Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake (3 February)
Because we always have the latest Ashley Herring Blake! April Evans’ life is in shambles. She’s had to close her tattoo shop in Clover Lake and she’s subletting her house just to make rent. And her love life? Nonexistent ever since Elena, her ex-fiancée, left her for a younger woman three years ago. When she is asked to teach a summer art class at the town’s new resort called Cloverwild, April jumps at the opportunity, especially since the job comes with boarding. She’s sure that this is the silver lining she needs . . . until she meets her cabinmate: Daphne Love, the woman who stole her ex-fiancée. And even worse, it’s clear Daphne has no idea who April is. Love is cursed in, well, love. She thought she’d found the unconditional love she craved in her girlfriend, Elena, but now she’s single again and utterly brokenhearted. When her friend hooks her up with a summer gig as an art instructor at a swanky resort in New Hampshire, Daphne feels optimistic for once. If only she had a roommate and coworker who didn’t seem to hate her on sight. Their already-tense relationship gets even shakier when April and Daphne find themselves competing for a rare opportunity to showcase their art in a London museum. But slowly, barriers begin to fall, and an inexplicable allure keeps drawing them closer, leaving them to wonder if the perfect picture they’re looking for can only be painted with each other.
Model Home by Rivers Solomon (5 February)
Because I loved The Reformatory by Tananarive Due and they say you'll love this one as well! The three Maxwell siblings keep their distance from the lily-white gated enclave outside Dallas where they grew up. When their family moved there, they were the only Black family in the neighborhood. The neighbors acted nice enough, but right away bad things, scary things—the strange and the unexplainable—began to happen in their house. Maybe it was some cosmic trial, a demonic rite of passage into the upper-middle class. Whatever it was, the Maxwells, steered by their formidable mother, stayed put, unwilling to abandon their home, terrors and trauma be damned. As adults, the siblings could finally get away from the horrors of home, leaving their parents all alone in the house. But when news of their parents' death arrives, Ezri is forced to return to Texas with their sisters, Eve and Emanuelle, to reckon with their family’s past and present, and to find out what happened while they were away. It was not a “natural” death for their parents . . . but was it supernatural?
Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi (26 February)
Because this sounds just so good!
After the death of her father, nineteen year old Cleopatra is thrust upon the throne, unaware of what the next twenty years would bring. Blessed by the Goddess Isis, Cleopatra's reign is plagued by Roman intervention that even her deity cannot stop. She must navigate the Roman civil war, the wrath of the gods, but most of all the lure of love.
Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin (26 February)
Because I love debut novels... and I talked with the publisher about this one! Brought up in a devout household in Ireland, Jay is now living in London with her girlfriend, determined to live day to day and not think too much about either the future or the past. But when she learns that her beloved older brother, who died in a terrible accident, may be made into a Catholic saint, she realises she must at last confront her family, her childhood and herself...
YA Book Recommendations
Carnival Fantástico by Angela Montoya (3 February)
Because it sounds fantastico! A dual-POV YA romantasy pitched as Hotel Magnifique meets These Violent Delights, in which Esmeralda Montero, a thief pretending to be a fortune-teller, competes for the starring role at a magical traveling circus in the hopes of gaining the wealth and respect she's always longed for. But when the irritatingly handsome boy who once broke her heart resurfaces and warns her that carnival is more sinister than it appears, Esmeralda must decide whether fame and fortune are worth their deadly price.
Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven (5 February)
Because how fascinating sounds this one?! Evelyn can remember all her past lives. She can also remember that in every single one, she’s been killed before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being whose soul is tethered to hers. And it doesn’t matter whether she kills them first—they both die. The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and more importantly, her sister needs her to stay alive for bone marrow transplants. So now Evelyn has to: a) find the centuries-old enemy who hunts her through each life and break their curse for good, b) figure out exactly why she’s being hunted in the first place, and c) try quite hard not to fall in love with them. Again.
Kill Me Now by Helen Price (12 February)
Because thrillers are always a great idea! School golden boy Riley North had it all – talent, charm and a stellar future. Now he’s dead. Guy 'Reaper' Mortimer, the funeral director’s son, stands accused of his murder. Keen to clear his name, Reaper teams up with cute new girl, Samira; sweet but naïve Betty; and Riley’s two best mates, Bunsen and Snake. Together, they unravel the twisted layers of school, where secrets hide and deception is rife. But what starts as a search for answers soon becomes a fight for survival. Because the killer knows the truth and is determined to expose it – one deadly sin at a time. And Riley North is just the first...
Love Me Tomorrow by Emiko Jean (12 February)
Because a new YA romance series. Lonely girl Emma doesn't believe in love, but she wishes for proof of its existence. When she receives a love letter from the future If I'm being honest, I've loved you since the moment I met you, the search begins for the mysterious boy who claims he is the love of her life. Is it Ezra, the absurdly popular musical genius? Theo, the literal boy next door, who knows Emma best? Or Colin, the overly confident, overly handsome, overly rich kid she's just met? As Emma tries to uncover the identity of the letter writer, the mystery turns into something greater: a journey of self-discovery. In the end, Emma will learn the key to making love last and how it’s the point of, well... everything.
Children’s Books
Sunny and Stormy by Sarah Holliday (5 February)
Because the subject sounds great for kids! In the sky above a little village, magical sisters Sunny and Stormy control the weather with their unique powers. But while Sunny is adored for her warmth and light, Stormy feels unloved for her wind and rain. When Stormy’s jealousy causes chaos in the village, she flies away, believing she has ruined everything. But Sunny can’t restore balance without her. Together the sisters must learn that embracing their differences and accepting themselves is the key to bringing out the best in each other.
The Awesomely Adventurous Librarians by Donna David (5 February)
Because librarians are great... We all know that librarians are superheroes, but does anyone know what they really do when the library lights go out and the readers have gone home? In Sleepy Creek Library, living and breathing stories have to be retrieved from the Land of Books. Rida loves helping her grandad in the Sleepy Creek Library. She makes a list of all the readers' requests and passes it to Grandad to retrieve them. But when Arun asks for a book so adventurous no one has ever been able to catch it, Grandad says he can't help. Can Rida secretly journey to the Land of Books and find the story herself?
Detective Stanley and the Green Thumbed Thief by Hannah Tunnicliffe (5 February)
A new graphic novel about detective Stanley! It’s a botanical burglary! Who is swiping precious and priceless plants from the Narlybone Gardens? Barnaby Moss, Head of Horticulture is flummoxed. Somebody is thieving very rare specimens from the wintergarden and they are worth a lot of money!
Murder at the Ivy Hotel by Emily Hourican (12 February)
Because like we said: thriller is always a good idea ^^ Twelve-year-old Meredith and ten-year-old Macy feel like the luckiest girls around. The Ivy Hotel in Dublin is old, beautiful and beloved, with a tight-knit staff that feel like family, and they get to call it home. Meredith and Macy's mum is the General Manager, and their modest apartment is tucked away in a corner, but it has lots of perks. The girls make friends with long-term residents - like Colin, the quiet little boy who plays piano, and Agatha, the eccentric older lady who stays in a plush suite with her dog, Milo. The girls love spying on fancy events, sneaky treats from the restaurant and knowing all the secret stairs and corridors that guests never see, where the staff move around invisibly, making sure everything runs like clockwork... This is going to come in handy. Because within the cosy walls of the Ivy Hotel, there is also danger, intrigue and threat. Just as the hotel's new owners arrive, ready to sniff out any excuse to make cuts and fire staff, the girls are faced with their biggest task yet: a murder to solve.
We hope you enjoyed our little list and that it gave you some book inspiration!
Looking to pre-order one of these books? Just follow the path! 👇
This blog post is written by The Little Bookshop, your bookshop for English books in Rennes.
