It’s so uncertain at the moment and despite being at home for longer (thankfully) the time to read seems more reduced than ever, In light of that my TBR for April is somewhat shorter than normal. I’m going for 3 books and anything more will be a bonus! I’m also picking up a new book challenge for the next 3 months, The Book Tempters TBR Challenge has been set by Run Along The Shelves and as you’ve probably guessed from the title it’s all about making a dent in those TBR’s during the 12 weeks that we’re likely to be in lockdown, and even if we’re not, it’s still a great challenge!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I’ve heard amazing things about this book and I picked up the special edition from Waterstones when I was in Edinburgh for my 40th. I’m going to be buddy reading this one with the lovely @veganshiftworker in what seems to be a regular monthly feature which is amazing as reading with a friend is always better. For the #booktemptingchallenge this will fit the Do Not Transcend Genre prompt as Fantasy is my favourite!

Looking Glass by Christina Henry

Sent to me by the lovely people at Titan Books, Looking Glass is a novella collection set in the world of Alice and Red Queen, due for release on the 21st of this month, the cover is amazing and the Waterstones edition has gorgeous stencilled sprayed edges. Four novella’s are included here and I’ll have a review for you on release day! This will match the Collector Prompt for the #booktemptingchallenge

Lovely Creature
In the New City lives a girl called Elizabeth, a girl who has a secret: she can do magic. But someone knows Elizabeth’s secret–someone who has a secret of his own. That secret is a butterfly that lives in a jar, a butterfly made by a girl called Alice.
Girl in Amber
Alice and Hatcher are just looking for a place to rest. Alice has been dreaming of a cottage by a lake and a field of wildflowers, but while walking blind in a snowstorm they stumble into a castle that seems empty and abandoned…at least until nightfall.
When I First Came to Town
Hatcher wasn’t always Hatcher. Once, he was a boy called Nicholas, and Nicholas fancied himself the best fighter in the Old City. No matter who fought him he always won. Then his boss tells him he’s going to battle the fearsome Grinder, a man who never leaves his opponents alive.
The Mercy Seat
Alice has a secret–a secret that not even Hatcher knows yet, but pretty soon she won’t be able to keep it from him.

Parasites by Matthew Samuels

I’m on a huge YA sci-fi kick at the moment so when Matthew Samuels reached out to request a review I jumped at the chance, this book sounds amazing and I can’t wait to pick it up.

Parasites is a YA science fiction, solarpunk exploration novel that takes place at the end of the universe, just as it slowly starts to contract in the ‘big crunch’. On the planet Lyra, humans evolved late, on a resource-poor world, in a resource-poor solar system. The Lyrans master space flight, only to discover that their nearest worlds have also been stripped of resources. The population begins to decline, until a scientist discovers a technology allowing people and vehicles to travel through ‘thinnings’ – patches of space linking universes.
Kael and Alessia are explorers, charting where the thinnings go and bringing valuable resources back to Lyra, trying desperately to extend the lifespan of their home world. Alessia’s father, Ben, set out two years ago to uncover another species’ reference to a ‘solution’ to the big crunch problem – but never returned. A chance discovery leads Kael and Alessia to a clue, prompting another expedition to see if they can avoid the mistakes of the past and help to unravel the mystery.
Kael, Alessia and their gruff bodyguard Basteel retrace Ben’s steps, seeking closure for Alessia, a solution for Lyra and together begin a voyage through wild, weird and wonderful planets.

If I get the chance I’m also going to try and pick back up on The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard, I read book one and then never quite got round to picking up the rest even though I have all of them, if I do reach it this month then I will add it to the Three’s Company prompt!