Hi there! Time for another Spell the Month in Books! I saw this on several blogs, including Carla Loves to Read, Bookworm Blogger, and Secret Library Book Blog and thought it looked like fun! It was originally created by Reviews from the Stacks, and the idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles.
For September, I’m highlighting books on my TBR!
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S: Stalking Shadows by Cyla Panin
Title: Stalking Shadows
Author: Cyla Panin
Publication Date: Sept. 14, 2021
Publisher: Amulet Books
Synopsis: A gothic YA fantasy debut about a young woman striving to break her sister’s curse and stop the killing in her small French town
Seventeen-year-old Marie mixes perfumes to sell on market day in her small eighteenth-century French town. She wants to make enough to save a dowry for her sister, Ama, in hopes of Ama marrying well and Marie living in the level of freedom afforded only to spinster aunts. But her perfumes are more than sweet scents in cheap, cut-glass bottles: A certain few are laced with death. Marie laces the perfume delicately—not with poison but with a hint of honeysuckle she’s trained her sister to respond to. Marie marks her victim, and Ama attacks. But she doesn’t attack as a girl. She kills as a beast.
Marking Ama’s victims controls the damage to keep suspicion at bay. But when a young boy turns up dead one morning, Marie is forced to acknowledge she might be losing control of Ama. And if she can’t control her, she’ll have to cure her. Marie knows the only place she’ll find the cure is in the mansion where Ama was cursed in the first place, home of Lord Sebastien LeClaire. But once she gets into the mansion, she discovers dark secrets hidden away—secrets of the curse, of Lord Sebastien . . . and of herself.
E: Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli
Title: Edgewood
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Page Length: 384
Publication Date: Jan. 18, 2022
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Synopsis:No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions.
When she learns her grandfather disappeared from his nursing home, leaving only a milky orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. After searching for him almost everywhere, Emeline finally succumbs to the call of Edgewood, entering the forest she has spent years trying to escape.
Emeline finds herself in the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of a life she has worked so hard to forget.
With the help of a handsome and brooding tithe collector, a surly blacksmith, and a lost childhood friend, Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice.
P: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Title: The Priory of the Orange Tree
Author: Samantha Shannon
Page Length: 848
Publication Date: Feb. 26, 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Synopsis: A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
T: Thronebreakers by Rebecca Coffindaffer
Title: Thronebreakers
Author: Rebecca Coffindaffer
Series: Crownchasers #2
Page Length: 384
Publication Date: Oct. 12, 2021
Publisher: Harper Teen
Synopsis: Perfect for fans of Aurora Rising, The Hunger Games, and Three Dark Crowns, this electrifying duology closer is jam-packed with tension and thrills that will hook readers from its first page.
Alyssa Farshot never wanted to rule the empire. But to honor her uncle’s dying wish, she participated in the crownchase, a race across the empire’s 1,001 planets to find the royal seal and win the throne. Alyssa tried to help her friend, Coy, win the crownchase, but just as victory was within their grasp, Edgar Voles killed Coy—and claimed the seal for himself.
Broken-hearted over her friend’s death, Alyssa is hell-bent on revenge. But Edgar is well protected in the kingship. Alyssa will have to rally rivals, friends, and foes from across the empire to take him down and change the course of the galaxy.
E: Equinox by Brittany Weisrock
Author: Brittany Weisrock
Series: Triad #2
Page Length:
Publication Date:
Publisher: Lake Country Press
Synopsis: Athena’s journey continues in Triad…
Can fire reclaim a frozen heart? Or will their love be lost forever to the darkness?
Xercarus, the blood demon, is dead.
Kalen is lost, leaving Athena Whiteridge and her brothers, Anders and Atlas to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. The Triad has never been so fractured
With the stability of the Unseen hanging in the balance, Athena must push on to ensure the Alliance remains intact, but with a missing mate, a pining vampire, and a former flame who’s hell-bent on dominating all humankind, her mission grows more complicated by the day.
Turns out, being a leader isn’t as black and white as Athena imagined and no one can hide from the truth—not even a Queen.
When Solstice goes awry and lies are uncovered, Athena is forced to learn that being an Alpha comes with a price….
Will Athena set aside her pride to reach Kalen in time and save both worlds, or will they all perish?
LINKS: Goodreads
M: May Day by Josie Jaffrey
Title: May Day
Author: Josie Jaffrey
Series: Seekers #1
Page Length: 392
Publication Date: July 9, 2020
Publisher: Silver Sun Books
Synopsis: If the murderer you’re tracking is a vampire, then you want a vampire detective. Just maybe not this one.
It’s not that Jack Valentine is bad at her job. The youngest member of Oxford’s Seekers has an impressive track record, but she also has an impressive grudge against the local baron, Killian Drake.
When a human turns up dead on May Morning, she’s determined to pin the murder on Drake. The problem is that none of the evidence points to him. Instead, it leads Jack into a web of conspiracy involving the most powerful people in the country, people to whom Jack has no access. But she knows someone who does.
To get to the truth, Jack will have to partner up with her worst enemy. As long as she can keep her cool, Drake will point her to the ringleaders, she’ll find the murderer and no one else will have to die.
Body bags on standby.
May Day is the first book in Josie Jaffrey’s Seekers series, an urban fantasy series set in Oxford, England.
B: Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller
Title: Blade of Secrets
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Series: Bladesmith #1
Page Length: 336
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher: Fiewel & Firends
Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in her forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her magical gift to craft unique weapons imbued with power.
Then Ziva receives a commission from a powerful warlord, and the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims’ secrets. A sword that can cut far deeper than the length of its blade. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. When Ziva learns of the warlord’s intentions to use the weapon to enslave all the world under her rule, she takes her sister and flees.
Joined by a distractingly handsome mercenary and a young scholar with extensive knowledge of the world’s known magics, Ziva and her sister set out on a quest to keep the sword safe until they can find a worthy wielder or a way to destroy it entirely.
E: The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson
Title: The Empire of Dreams
Author: Rae Carson
Series: Girl of Fire and Thorns #4
Page Length: 432
Publication Date: April 7, 2020
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Synopsis: New York Times-bestselling author Rae Carson makes a triumphant return to the world of her award-winning Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy in this extraordinary stand-alone novel. With action, adventure, and a heroine set on destroying the patriarchal limits meant to keep her in her place, The Empire of Dreams once again proves that Rae Carson is a master of epic fantasy.
Even though Red Sparkle Stone is a foundling orphan with an odd name and a veiled past, she’s about to be adopted into the royal family—by Empress Elisa herself. Sixteen-year-old Red can hardly believe her luck. Then, in a stunning political masterstroke, the empress’s greatest rival blocks the adoption, and Red is left with no family and no future.
Grieving and lost, but determined to find her place, Red hatches a daring plan: she will prove herself as a recruit for the world’s most elite fighting force, the legendary Royal Guard—something no woman has done before. But it’s no coincidence that someone wanted her to fail as a princess, someone whose shadowy agenda puts everything she loves at risk. As danger closes in, it will be up to Red and her new friends—and maybe some new enemies—to save the empire. If they can survive recruitment year.
R: Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard
Title: Rules for Heiresses
Author: Amalie Howard
Page Length: 312
Publication Date: Oct. 26, 2021
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Synopsis: Amalie Howard whisks you away with a historical romance full of drama, true love, and the perfect happily ever after.
Sometimes, finding love means flouting the rules…
Born to a life of privilege, Lady Ravenna Huntley rues the day that she must marry. She’s refused dozens of suitors and cried off multiple betrothals, but running away–even if brash and foolhardy–is the only option left to secure her independence.
Lord Courtland Chase, grandson of the Duke of Ashton, was driven from England at the behest of his cruel stepmother. Scorned and shunned, he swore never to return to the land of his birth. But when a twist of bad luck throws a rebellious heiress into his arms, at the very moment he finds out he’s the new Duke, marriage is the only alternative to massive scandal.
Both are quick to deny it, but a wedding might be the only way out for both of them. And the attraction that burns between them makes Ravenna and Courtland wonder if it’ll truly only be a marriage of convenience after all…
Have you read any of these? What did you think? Are any on your TBR?
Was your theme, eye catching covers on my TBR? These had me saying, Whoa, they are all so amazing. I think my favourite is Edgewood. I think I am going to add that one to my TBR.
I know – they’re all so fantastic! I hope you enjoy Edgewood if you get a chance to read it.
Stalking Shadows is on my TBR too! Great list!
Thank you!
Oof, so many great eye-catching cover! Might have to add a few of these to my GR TBR, too!
Lol – Aren’t they great?