It’s been a long time since I wrote one of these posts, and truth be told the most pressing reason why I’m doing so now is because it’s a quicker, easier, post to create while I’m knee-deep in revision for my end of year exams. The second reason is related – because of my exams I’m not going to be able to get to my review copies as soon as I would like and therefore feel the need to mention them at the time they are being published rather than solely afterwards when I review them. If honesty’s the best policy, I’ve perhaps never been so honest.

But aside from this, all of the books I am presenting to you today are ones I’m truly very interested in reading. I’m not in a position in life nor in sanity to accept every proposal that drops into my inbox, and therefore the books that I have lined up for review are ones I’m passionate about for one reason or another.

Ella Drake: Desert Blade – Having just about completed my venture into romance, Drake has become a rare exception in my decision to not take erotic romance any further. Whilst I may not always be comfortable with explicit sex scenes, especially when it comes to reviewing (you will notice from my forthcoming review of the book that I have an unconscious tendency to review such books in the same fashion I do a history non-fiction), Drake’s ability to create often unique and always well-planned worlds is something I find too appealing to pass up, and therefore no matter my strange reviewing methods, I always look forward to her latest book.

Nichole Bernier: The Unfinished Work Of Elizabeth D. – I have absolutely no idea what to expect with this book, besides the basic information on Bernier and the plot summary, but it managed to attract the interests I have in society, culture, and domesticity in today’s world. The context is the personal aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on a woman who lost her friend, and the usage of a diary in discovering secrets was an aspect I found attractive.

Pia Juul: The Murder Of Halland – I know I need not define my reasons for accepting this book anywhere near as much as any of the others here. Peirene Press consistently publish fantastic novellas from the continent. I have read four of their books so far, out of the eight they’ve released (The Murder Of Halland being one of those eight) and have never awarded less than 4/5 to them. Having high expectations of each is a “no-brainer”, with little chance of being disappointed.

Samantha Sotto: Before Ever After – A début novelist writing about a woman torn asunder by the death of her husband, only to later find out she may not really have known him – and that he might still be alive. The mystery in the summary gripped me straight away, because I love books with a possible paranormal reasoning behind them (I specifically love the paranormal being an ever-present possibility rather than definite feature). As a bonus the book appears to be literary fiction, which I want to read more of despite not being keen on the term itself.

Shannon Stacey: Slow Summer Kisses – Shannon Stacey is the second of the romance authors I’ve marked for continued reading, and whilst I found the last book of hers I read to be strictly adequate, the others were the best things since sliced bread (I reject the notion that Hovis’s Soft White bread is “the best thing since sliced bread”). This time Stacey has written a novella, and I am desperate to get back to a better example of her writing, which I hope most fervently this will be.

So there you have it. These books are likely to make up the core of my reading for the next month or so, if not the entirety. I have a couple of non-fictions on my shelf which my inner geek is begging to read, but after having revised for history exams you can be sure that reading the subject for pleasure is going to be far from my thoughts for at least a short while.

These are my first exams in several years, and although I’m nervous because as a teenager I had no clue how one undertook study, I am going to view the events as a fun few hours in which to ramble on about a subject I enjoy. Hopefully that will aid my motivation.