State of the ARC #5 | The Last ARCs of 2018

State of the ARC is a monthly meme at Avalinah’s Books meant to motivate you to finish up all your long overdue ARCs (Advanced or Early Reader Copies).

Usually I don’t post my State of the ARC until the beginning of each month, but after seeing Evalina’s last State of the ARC of 2018 and shared with us all the new bingo sheet for 2019 I couldn’t believe I hadn’t planned to do a State of the ARC wrap-up! Instead of the review I had planned to write today (which definitely has nothing to do with the fact I didn’t get round to writing it…), I’ve decided to post my next State of the ARC a few days early and combine it with a little recap of my 2018 ARCs.

Current State of the ARC

I haven’t managed to read many ARCs this month, partly due to being very busy with Christmas but also saving a lot of my ARCs for the late-a-thon in January where we will be catching up on our long overdue ARCs with Destiny. I have, however, managed to finally catch-up on my overdue reviews which had been waiting since October and now only have 1 outstanding review which I’m really pleased about!

Read

 

Green Jay and Crow by D.J Daniels – ★★★☆☆

Green Jay and Crow was an unsolicited ARC sent by one of my favourite publishers and I was immediately intrigued by the concept. It is an enjoyable yet very bizarre book about a 3D printed copy of a human woman who has escaped from her creator and involves sickening time travel, strange mysteries and curious creatures. I’ll be posting a full review of it in January!

 

 

Acquired

I acquired some ARCs this month that I am very, very excited about and one which I wasn’t expecting to end up with at all!

 

New Suns is one of my highly anticipated releases for 2019. I was invited to take part in its cover reveal by Rebellion Publishing, which I was over the moon about, and also got an ARC of it. New Suns is an anthology of original speculative fiction by authors of colour across science-fiction, fantasy and horror. The stories in it sound great and just get a load of the stunning cover. New Suns is expected to be published March 12th 2019.

 

 

 

The Outcast Hours is another 2019 release I’ve been looking forward to from Rebellion Publishing that also has a fantastic cover. I read The Djinn Falls in Love & Other Stories which was edited by Murad & Shurin a few months ago which I loved and I’ve been excited to read another collection by them. This time, Murad & Shurin bring us a collection of stories of those who live out their lives at night, in the outcast hours. Expected publication date is February 2019.

 

 

 

I came across A Memory Called Empire whilst looking into 2019 releases and was immediately drawn to it from the cover and title alone. Once I read the blurb I immediately requested it on Netgalley and was ecstatic to receive my approved notification (ily Tor!) A Memory Called Empire looks to be a fascinating sci-fi novel packed full of political conflicts, palace intrigues, interstellar frontier culture, and an all-around incredible debut novel. I am HERE FOR THIS SO BAD. Expected publication date is March 2019.

 

 

Wicked Saints is the ARC I received this month which kind of came completely out of nowhere, wasn’t on my radar at all and yet I’ve managed to end of on the blog tour for it. It’s a YA Fantasy which also features a lot of political conflict, secret plots and brewing rebellion but other than that (and knowing its one of the most anticipated 2019 releases) I don’t know much about it so I’m looking forward to throwing myself into it. Expected publication date is April 2nd 2019.

 

2018 Recap

2018 has been such an incredible year for me and ARCs. I remember in 2017 looking with envy at my favourite bloggers receiving physical ARCs and anticipated 2018 release, wondering how you get to that point. I was over the moon to be able to read some big 2018 releases as e-ARCs this year as well as received my first physical ARCs from publishers that I adore. I’m very grateful for all the ARCs I receive and have had the pleasure of reading some outstanding books this year.

Here’s the ARCs that I managed to read this year (with the exception of 3 which I DNF’d – Ibuki, The Gilded King, and Trans Liberty Riot Brigade) The total ARCs read in 2018 = 19 (not including the 3 DNFs).

 

I still have lot of ARCs that I received this year to look forward to reading in 2019, some of which I am aiming to finally get read during the late-a-thon starting on January 1st. Not pictured is also A Spy in the Deep by Patrick Samphire and Space Unicorn Blues by T.J Berry.

On the 1st January, I’ll share with you all which of these I plan to read for the late-a-thon. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to get some of my long suffering ARCs read and reviewed so I can do away with all of that ARC guilt!

I’m looking forward to delving into these ARCs and am also really excited to see what ARCs 2019 brings me! Let me know which ARCs you’re most looking forward to tackling next year or ARCs you’re hoping to get your hands on.

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