- The Bibliophile Papers Newsletter - February 2021 -
👩🏻💻 Hello my name is Claire, i'm an avid bibliophile blogger, Mumma Bear, Crazy Cat Lady and Teaching Assistant from Essex.
Welcome to my first bookish monthly newsletter for all you lovely bibliophiles.
It will be featuring every month the following:
◦ Upcoming releases for this month
◦ My 'Buy Of The Month' pick
◦ Author Feature Spotlights
◦ Blogger Of The Month
◦ Discounts Codes
◦ Self Care Shelf
◦ My Book Of The Month choice
All books discussed will be available to preorder through my affiliate links via the grey word below. Please support our authors and local book sellers, every pre order helps :)
I also have a blog on Instagram and Twitter which you can access below if you fancy listening to my rambles about all things books & life.
I really hope you enjoy these monthly papers that I will put together for you and please feel free to chat to me in the comments below.
February Releases
First up here is a handful of some of the upcoming releases for this month...
Bridgerton fans you are in for a treat ;)
A Net For Small Fishes by Lucy Jago
- My Book Of The Month pick -
Read my review Here
◦ Release Date: February 4th
◦ Genre: Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Bloomsbury
◦ PreOrder Here
Available in hardback - £13.19
Frances Howard has beauty and a powerful family - and is the most unhappy creature in the world.
Anne Turner has wit and talent - but no stage on which to display them. Little stands between her and the abyss of destitution.
When these two very different women meet in the strangest of circumstances, a powerful friendship is sparked. Frankie sweeps Anne into a world of splendour that exceeds all she imagined: a Court whose foreign king is a stranger to his own subjects; where ancient families fight for power, and where the sovereign's favourite may rise and rise - so long as he remains in favour.
With the marriage of their talents, Anne and Frankie enter this extravagant, savage hunting ground, seeking a little happiness for themselves. But as they gain notice, they also gain enemies; what began as a search for love and safety leads to desperate acts that could cost them everything.
[big & bold:] Based on the true scandal that rocked the court of James I, A Net for Small Fishes is the most gripping novel you'll read this year: an exhilarating dive into the pitch-dark waters of the Jacobean court.
Daughters Of Night by Laura Shepard Robinson
◦ Release Date: February 18th
◦ Genre: Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Mantle
◦ Preorder Here
Available in hardback - £11.99
From the pleasure palaces and gin-shops of Covent Garden to the elegant townhouses of Mayfair, Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s Daughters of Night follows Caroline Corsham as she seeks justice for a murdered woman whom London society would rather forget . . .
Lucia’s fingers found her own. She gazed at Caro as if from a distance. Her lips parted, her words a whisper: ‘He knows.’
London, 1782. Desperate for her politician husband to return home from France, Caroline ‘Caro’ Corsham is already in a state of anxiety when she finds a well-dressed woman mortally wounded in the bowers of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The Bow Street constables are swift to act, until they discover that the deceased woman was a highly paid prostitute, at which point they cease to care entirely. But Caro has motives of her own for wanting to see justice done, and so sets out to solve the crime herself. Enlisting the help of thieftaker Peregrine Child, their inquiry delves into the hidden corners of Georgian society, a world of artifice, deception and secret lives.
But with many gentlemen refusing to speak about their dealings with the dead woman, and Caro’s own reputation under threat, finding the killer will be harder, and more treacherous, than she can know . . .
Nick by Michael Farris Smith
◦ Release Date: February 25th
◦ Genre: Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: No Exit Press
◦ Preorder Here
Available in hardback - £10.55
Critically acclaimed novelist Michael Farris Smith pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this exhilarating imagination of his life before The Great Gatsby
Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's world, he was at the centre of a very different story - one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I.
Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed first-hand, Nick delays his return home, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance - doomed from the very beginning - to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavour of debauchery and violence.
An epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping, romantic story of self-discovery, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know only from the periphery. Charged with enough alcohol, heartbreak, and profound yearning to transfix even the heartiest of golden age scribes, NICK reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades.
West With Giraffes: a novel by Lynda Rutledge
◦ Release Date: February 1st
◦ Genre: Literary/Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
◦ Purchase Here
Available in paperback/hardback - £3.99
“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”
Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.
It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.
Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.
The Shadow Man by Helen Fields
◦ Release Date: February 4th
◦ Genre: Thriller
◦ Publisher: Avon
◦ Preorder Here
Available in paperback - £6.55
The brand new crime thriller from the bestselling author of the Perfect series – Helen Fields is back with her first stand-alone novel!
He collects his victims. But he doesn’t keep them safe.
Elspeth, Meggy and Xavier are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know why they’re there. They only know that the shadow man has taken them, and he won’t let them go. Desperate to escape, the three of them must find a way out of their living hell, even if it means uncovering a very dark truth. Because the shadow man isn’t a nightmare.
He’s all too real. And he’s watching.
LightSeekers by Femi Kayode
◦ Release Date: February 4th
◦ Genre: Thriller
◦ Publisher: Raven
◦ Preorder Here
Available in hardback - £11.34
Winner of the 2019 UEA Crime Writing Prize, Lightseekers is the start of a major new crime series introducing investigative psychologist Dr Philip Taiwo.
When three young students are brutally murdered in a Nigerian university town, their killings - and their killers - are caught on social media. The world knows who murdered them; what no one knows is why.
As the legal trial begins, investigative psychologist Philip Taiwo is contacted by the father of one of the boys, desperate for some answers to his son's murder. But Philip is an expert in crowd behaviour and violence, not a detective, and after travelling to the sleepy university town that bore witness to the killings, he soon feels dramatically out of his depth.
Will he finally be able to uncover the truth of what happened to the Okiri Three?
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
◦ Release Date: February 4th
◦ Genre: Thriller
◦ Publisher: Bantam Press
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in hardback - £10.49
EVERYONE'S IN DANGER. ANYONE COULD BE NEXT.
An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother's recent engagement, she has no choice but to accept.
Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. Though it's beautiful, something about the hotel, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, makes her nervous - as does her brother, Isaac.
And when they wake the following morning to discover his fiancée Laure has vanished without a trace, Elin's unease grows. With the storm cutting off access to and from the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.
But no-one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she's the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they're all in . . .
The Promise by Lucy Diamond
◦ Release Date: February 18th
◦ Genre: Contemporary
◦ Publisher: Macmillan
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in hardback - £11.99
When faced with the sudden death of his brother, Dan’s mission is clear. He puts together a project to help pick up the pieces and support his grieving sister-in-law Zoe, plus her young children. This is Dan’s promise - to ensure his family’s happiness, and to try and live up to the man his brother was.
But tying up loose ends brings a shocking secret to light, and calls into question everything Dan knew about his older brother. With more than just his promise on the line, Dan is faced with an ultimatum: Should he tell the truth and risk his family’s fragile happiness, or will his brother’s secrets end up becoming his own?
The Downstairs Neighbour by Helen Cooper
◦ Release Date: February 11th/16th
◦ Genre: Thriller
◦ Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in
paperback - £12.40 hardback - £13.79
In a converted Georgian townhouse in south west London, three families live under one roof.
The large flat that takes up the top two floors is home to the Harlow family: happily married Paul and Steph, and their bubbly teenage daughter Freya. The smaller first floor flat is rented by Emma, who spends most of her time alone, listening to people coming in and out of the building. And the basement flat belongs to Chris, a local driving instructor, who prefers to keep his personal life private from the neighbours.
But their lives are all upended when Freya vanishes. As the police become involved and a frantic Paul and Steph desperately search for answers, they begin to realise that the truth behind their daughter's disappearance may lie closer to home than they were expecting.
When everyone has something to hide, can you ever really know those closest to you? Or will some secrets be taken to the grave?
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
◦ Release Date: February 9th
◦ Genre: Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Two Roads
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in hardback - £11.99
PARIS, 1939
Odile Souchet is obsessed with books, and her new job at the American Library in Paris - with its thriving community of students, writers and book lovers - is a dream come true. When war is declared, the Library is determined to remain open. But then the Nazis invade Paris, and everything changes.
In Occupied Paris, choices as black and white as the words on a page become a murky shade of grey - choices that will put many on the wrong side of history, and the consequences of which will echo for decades to come.
MONTANA, 1983
Lily is a lonely teenage desperate to escape small-town Montana. She grows close to her neighbour Odile, discovering they share the same love of language, the same longings. But as Lily uncovers more about Odile's mysterious past, she discovers a dark secret, closely guarded and long hidden.
Based on the true Second World War story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable novel of romance, friendship, family, and of heroism found in the quietest of places.
Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
◦ Release Date: February 4th
◦ Genre: Romance
◦ Publisher: Penguin
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in paperback - £7.89
MEET JESSIE, CARA AND NELL.
Married to brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam Casey.
Three very different women tied to three very different men.
Every family occasion is a party - until the day the secrets spill out.
PLAYTIME IS OVER.
BUT WHERE ARE THE GROWN-UPS?
THE LATEST NO. 1 BESTSELLER FROM MARIAN KEYES, THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE BREAK - THE PERFECT ANTIDOTE TO MODERN LIFE
Space Hopper by Helen Fisher
◦ Release Date: February 4th
◦ Genre: Contemporary
◦ Publisher: Simon & Schauster
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in hardback - £11.99
This is a story about taking a leap of faith
And believing the unbelievable
They say those we love never truly leave us, and I’ve found that to be true. But not in the way you might expect. In fact, none of this is what you’d expect.
I’ve been visiting my mother who died when I was eight.
And I’m talking about flesh and blood, tea-and-biscuits-on-the-table visiting here.
Right now, you probably think I’m going mad.
Let me explain…
Although Faye is happy with her life, the loss of her mother as a child weighs on her mind even more now that she is a mother herself. So she is amazed when, in an extraordinary turn of events, she finds herself back in her childhood home in the 1970s. Faced with the chance to finally seek answers to her questions – but away from her own family – how much is she willing to give up for another moment with her mother?
Space Hopper is an original and poignant story about mothers, memories and moments that shape life.
For you Bridgerton fans... here is a little Bridgerton take over!!!
The Viscount Who Loved Me - Anthony's Story {Bridgerton Family}
by Julia Quinn
◦ Release Date: February 11th
◦ Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Piatkus
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in paperback - £8.99
The second book in the beloved and globally bestselling Bridgerton Family,now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix.
Welcome to Anthony's story . . .
1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry. And in all truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
- Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814
Anthony Bridgerton needs a wife.
Having spent his twenties in a rakish pursuit of pleasure (whilst taking care to ensure the financial security of his mother and seven younger siblings and mother) he knows it's high time he settled down and ensured the continuation of the Bridgerton line.
Edwina Sheffield is considered the most beautiful debutante of the current season. She is also sweet, innocent and eminently biddable - Anthony is sure she'll make a perfectly acceptable wife and vows to make her his.
The only obstacle in his way is Edwina's older sister, Kate. Kate is determined to do all she can to allow her sister the chance to marry for love rather than convenience. And the roguish viscount is beginning to think he may have met his match in Kate's keen wit and sharp tongue. Until, that is, he makes the mistake of kissing her...
See Previous books in this series:
The Duke and I: Book one - Here
An Offer From A Gentleman - Benedicts's Story {Bridgerton Family}
by Julia Quinn
◦ Release Date: February 11th
◦ Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Piatkus
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in paperback - £7.37
The third novel in the beloved Regency-set world of Julia Quinn's charming, powerful Bridgerton family, now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix.
Welcome to Benedict's story . . .
This year's most sought-after invitation must surely be that of the Bridgerton masquerade ball, to be held Monday next. Will some fortunate young lady use the mystery of a masquerade night to snare one of the eligible bachelors?
- Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, May 1815
Sophie Beckett never dreamt she would sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball - or that 'Prince Charming' would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie had been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But that night, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she felt like royalty. Yet she knows all enchantments must end.
But Sophie has reckoned without Benedict's determined heart: he has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, for he knows this is his only chance for a fairy tale love . . .
See Previous books in this series:
The Duke and I: Book one - Here
Romancing Mr Bridgeton - Penelope & Colin's Story {Bridgerton Family} by Julia Quinn
◦ Release Date: February 11th
◦ Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Piatkus
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in paperback - £7.37
The fourth book in Julia Quinn's globally bestselling, Regency-set, Bridgerton Family series, now the inspiration for the Netflix series Bridgerton by Shonda Rhimes. Welcome to Colin and Penelope's long-awaited story . . .
Everyone knows that Colin Bridgerton is the most charming man in London . . .
Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for . . . well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret . . . and fears she doesn't know him at all.
Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad, he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same - especially Penelope Featherington! The girl who was always simply there is suddenly the girl haunting his dreams.
When he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide... is she his biggest threat - or his promise of a happy ending?
See Previous books in this series:
The Duke and I: Book one - Here
To Sir Phillip, with love- Eloise's Story {Bridgerton Family}
by Julia Quinn
◦ Release Date: February 11th
◦ Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Piatkus
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in paperback - £7.37
The fifth novel in Julia Quinn's globally beloved and bestselling Bridgerton Family series, set in Regency times and now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix.
This is Eloise's story . . .
My dear Miss Bridgerton,
We have been corresponding now for quite some time, and although we have never formally met, I feel as if I know you.
Forgive me if I am too bold, but I am writing to invite you to visit me here at Romney Hall. It is my hope that after a suitable period of time, we might decide that we will suit, and you will consent to be my wife.
Did he think she was mad?
Eloise Bridgerton couldn't marry a man she had never met! But then she started thinking . . . and wondering . . . and before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match.
Except . . . he wasn't. Her perfect husband wouldn't be so moody and ill-mannered, and while Phillip was certainly handsome, he was a large brute of a man, rough and rugged, and totally unlike the London gentlemen vying for her hand. But when he smiled . . . and when he kissed her . . .
the rest of the world simply fell away.
She couldn't help but wonder . . . could this imperfect man be perfect for her?
See Previous books in this series:
The Duke and I: Book one - Here
When He Was Wicked - Francesca's Story {Bridgerton Family}
by Julia Quinn
◦ Release Date: February 11th
◦ Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Piatkus
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in paperback - £7.37
The sixth novel in Julia Quinn's globally beloved and bestselling Bridgerton Family series, set in Regency times and now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix.
Welcome to Francesca's story . . .
In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breath-taking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous bachelor, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton.
After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing.
Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer - the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin . . .
See Previous books in this series:
The Duke and I: Book one - Here
Its in His Kiss - Hyacinths's Story { Bridgerton Family }
By Julia Quinn
◦ Release Date: February 4th
◦ Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Piatkus
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in paperback - £7.37
The seventh novel in Julia Quinn's globally beloved and bestselling Bridgerton Family series, set in Regency times and now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix. This is Hyacinth's story: she's all grown up and ready to cause havoc . .
All the ton agree: there is no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton.
Fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken and - according to some, particularly Gareth St. Clair - probably best in small doses. But there's something about her - something charming and vexing - that grabs one and won't quite let go.
Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual - and annually discordant - Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers to help him out with a knotty inheritance problem he's facing. However, as they delve into the mysterious St Clair history, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the past - but in each other; and that there is nothing as simple - or as complicated - as a single, perfect kiss.
See Previous books in this series:
The Duke and I: Book one - Here
On The Way To The Wedding - Gregory's Story {Bridgerton Family}
by Julia Quinn
◦ Release Date: February 11th
◦ Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction
◦ Publisher: Piatkus
◦ Pre Order Here
Available in paperback - £7.37
The eighth novel in Julia Quinn's globally beloved and bestselling Bridgerton Family series, set in Regency times and now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix.
Finally, this is Gregory's story . . .
Unlike most men of his acquaintance, Gregory Bridgerton is a firm believer in true love.
He'd have to be an idiot not to be: all seven of his siblings are happily married. Gregory figures he is just biding his time until the right woman comes along. And so when he sees Hermione Watson, he knows with every fibre of his being, that she is meant to be his.
But through Hermione's closest - and slightly less beautiful - friend, Lucy Abernathy, he finds out that Hermione is desperately in love with another man. Sadly, by the time Gregory figures out the right girl is actually the wrong girl, and the right girl was Lucy all along, it's too late. Lucy is to marry another!