February 2022 TBR

Let’s talk tbr. I’m having a hard time planning my tbr this month. I went into a slump in January, and I don’t really want to read anything. But I’m excited about some of these so I’m hoping it will break the slump. So here’s my February 2022 tbr.

Elantris

Synopsis:

Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.

Arelon’s new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping — based on their correspondence — to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.

But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

Continuing with my goal of reading into the Cosmere, Elantris is up next. I don’t know a lot about this one, but everyone recommended it before starting The Way of Kings. I trust Brandon Sanderson, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s the priority of the month, but I’m probably going to read a few non-fantasy books before picking this one up.

Purchase

If We Were Villains

Synopsis:

On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.

A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ing nue, extras.

But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent.

My favorite book of 2021 was The Secret History. It made me want to dive into more dark academia. If We Were Villains is recommended almost as much as The Secret History, so I want to give it a try. I’m hoping it will get me out of my slump.

Purchase

Reckless Girls

Synopsis:

ONE ISLAND

Beautiful, wild, and strange–Meroe Island is a desolate spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. It’s the perfect destination for the most adventurous traveler to escape everything… except the truth.

SIX VISITORS

Six stunning twentysomethings are about to embark on a blissful, free-spirited journey–one filled with sun-drenched days and intoxicating nights. But as it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in, sending them on a dangerous spiral of discovery.

COUNTLESS SECRETS

When one person goes missing and another turns up dead, the remaining friends wonder what dark currents lie beneath this impenetrable paradise. With its island gothic sensibility, sexy suspense, and spine-tingling reimagining of an Agatha Christie classic, Reckless Girls will wreck you.

I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs, so I would like to give Rachel Hawkins new book a try. The synopsis doesn’t pull me in as much as The Wife Upstairs, but I still want to give it a shot. I’m not a huge fan of books set on an island, but the book promises a gothic island vibe. I can get behind that.

Purchase

So that’s my February 2022 TBR. I’m interested to see if I will stick to these or jump around like I did last month.

What are you planning to read in February?