Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves, Coloring Books, Recent Reads
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every other weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I round up what I’ve read since the last update and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.
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Things are winding down in my inbox, while activity is revving up in real life as we approach the holidays! Still, there are some really exciting arrivals this week, as review copies are starting to show up for a few massively anticipated titles that I’ve been waiting for all year.
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW
The Last Mortal Bond by Brian Staveley – Christmas came early for me when I received an unexpected package from Macmillan earlier this month and I couldn’t believe my eyes when this ARC came out! I’ve been pining for this finale to the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy since last year, thank you so much Tor Books!
In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan – Continuing with the awesome surprises from Tor, I received this ARC of the fourth book in Marie Brennan’s amazing Memoir by Lady Trent series, which I wasn’t expecting for another couple months! This is one of my favorite series right now, and Todd Lockwood’s dragon artwork gracing this latest cover is beautiful as always.
Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen – One last arrival from Tor, and it’s this gorgeous finished copy of Barsk. Be sure to keep an eye out for my review on release day (December 29) along with a giveaway!
Midnight Taxi Tango by Daniel José Older – I knew as soon as I finished reading Half-Resurrection Blues last year that I wanted to continue this really unique and cool series. My thanks to Roc for this finished paperback.
River Marked by Patricia Briggs – Today I’m also thrilled to announce that I’ll be participating in the Mercy Thompson Re-Read Blog Tour! For eight days, eight bloggers are each covering one of the first eight books to drum up excitement in the week leading up to the release of Fire Touched, the upcoming ninth book in Patricia Brigg’s excellent series. I was so happy that I got picked for my favorite title, River Marked (Book 6)! I’ll be highlighting Mercy’s adventures and all of the reasons why I love this book in my re-read, so look forward to all that fun in March!
Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs – Speaking of Mercy Thompson and Fire Touched, I was sent this ARC earlier this week and I can’t be more excited to read it! Thanks, Ace Books!
The Dragon Round by Stephen S. Power – I featured this book in my Waiting on Wednesday a couple weeks ago, and funny enough it showed on on Edelweiss for request later on that same day! My thanks to Simon and Schuster for approving me.
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore – Audiobook with thanks to Audible Studios. My audio listens have been on the darker, heavier side lately, so I was in the mood for a lighter YA. I’ve heard a lot of great things about this one and it sounded perfect. Plus, forbidden love!
Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger – This book was on my watch-list, so when I saw it go up on NetGalley I couldn’t resist! Thanks Quirk Books, and yay for auto-approval. “A sharp and funny urban fantasy for “new adults” about a secret society of bartenders who fight monsters with alcohol fueled magic.” Haha, what could possibly go wrong?
The Devil You Know by K.J. Parker and A Song for No Man’s Land by Andy Remic – The kind folks at Tor.com also sent over e-galleys of these novellas by a couple of fantabulous authors. Thank you!
Good Girls by Glen Hirshberg – My thanks to the generous folks at Tor for an eARC of this standalone sequel to Motherless Child. I’ve always wanted to read the first book which is still glaring at me from my shelves, but I just couldn’t resist the temptation of “standalone”!
NEW FEATURE: COLORING BOOKS FOR ADULTS
After months of trying to resist the temptation, I finally couldn’t take it anymore. Yep, that’s right. I gave in to the magical world of adult coloring books. Starting in the new year, I’m kicking off a new feature. The plan right now is to review one book per month, though sometimes it might be longer between (I do need time to color, after all!) Since expressing my interest in reviewing coloring books earlier in the year, I’ve already been sent a few sweet looking titles by publishers, and I can’t wait to experiment with my various color pens and pencils. Check out what’s coming up the pipeline!
The Time Chamber by Daria Song – Review copy via Blogging for Books, with thanks to Crown Publishing.
Animal Kingdom and Tropical World by Millie Marotta – Much thanks to Sterling Publishing for providing me with review copies!
REVIEWS
Here are the reviews I’ve written and posted since the last update, gathered together and listed here for your convenience and viewing pleasure. This Roundup’s highlighted reads are Skyborn and Wolf by Wolf not only because I loved them but also because they shook up my expectations and ended up being really special gems.
Skyborn by David Dalglish (4.5 of 5 stars)
Black Wolves by Kate Elliott (4.5 of 5 stars)
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin (4.5 of 5 stars)
The Flux by Ferrett Steinmetz (4 of 5 stars)
Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski (4 of 5 stars)
Time and Time Again by Ben Elton (4 of 5 stars)
Ash and Silver by Carol Berg (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (3.5 of 5 stars)
WHAT I’VE READ SINCE THE LAST UPDATE
As you can see, I’m back on track with my reading schedule. This is a lot, even for me. I blame it on the post-NaNoWriMo reading binge after suffering withdrawal in November. This is also my catch-up month, so I’m reading some books that I’ve missed earlier in the year that I’m really excited about, so that helps a lot.
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Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? Nothing makes me happier than sharing my love for books, so let me know what you plan on checking out. I hope you found something interesting for a future read! Until next time, see you next Roundup! 🙂
~Mogsy/Steff~
The BiblioSanctum 
I want to read The Last Mortal Bond so bad!
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It’s going to be great!
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I can’t wait for the Last Mortal Bound ! I might die of jealousy right here, right now x) but at least, the later I read it, the later I will finish this incredible trilogy and since it’s so great, I don’t even want it to end it. 😛
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You’re right, it’ll be a bittersweet moment when I’m finished this trilogy. Of course then we can look forward to Staveley’s next project 🙂
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Look at all those pretties…
I am echoing other comments- Last Mortal Bound! One of my most anticipated 2016. books. Fantastic series; I hope you’ll like how Staveley wrapped everything up. :),
I am looking forward to Mercy Thompson reread blog tour. I love what Patty Briggs did with both series in same world and it looks like Fire Touched will be fun; Fae trouble was brewing for several books. 🙂
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I’m looking forward to the finale as well, it’s a huge book so I guess there’s lots of stuff to tie up. And I’m very excited about the Mercy Thompson blog tour as well, and so psyched to read Fire Touched to see where the Fae storyline will go 🙂
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Labyrinth of Drakes! *distressed longing noises*
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Yay, more love for Lady Trent! 😀
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I really want to read more of Older’s books, so I will be on it next year. Lots of goodies this week!
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His writing is gorgeous, I want to read more of his books too!
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yay for thenew Briggs one! So curious about it! Can’t wait. Happy reading!
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Yeah, I always look forward to more Mercy Thompson 🙂
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Very cool that you got some of the adult colouring books! I picked up a couple for myself recently too, and I’m really enjoying them, and I’d definitely like to get my hands on more!
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I’m having lots of fun with them. The illustrations are so pretty! Definitely looking to get more of them as well 🙂
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I’m loving your idea to feature coloring books, I can’t wait to see your first post, great idea! And I’m definitely salivating over Barsk, it caught my eye months ago, and I’m curious to read your review. I saw Last Call…and it sure was tempting, but I’m trying to reign myself in a bit (not working!)
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Just started Barsk – nothing at all like what I expected, and a little weird – but in a good way! I’m really enjoying myself.
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Ugh, I’m so jealous you’ve got In the Labyrinth of Drakes already. I cannot wait to read it.
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I probably won’t be able to get to it until the new year with all the holiday craziness – but I’m definitely looking forward to it 🙂
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MOGSY BOUGHT COLORING BOOKS!!!! 😀 😀 😀
Sorry. I had to get that out of the way first. *lol* I’ve never heard of Daria Song and The Time Chamber. That one looks pretty neat. Which book do you think you might start with?
I hope you enjoy The Weight of Feathers! I liked it quite a bit when I read it a couple weeks ago. And yes, forbidden love. 😉
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I did! I actually got The Time Chamber off Blogging for Books. After I tweeted about it, I was offered Tropical World and Animal Kingdom by Sterling Publishing! They’re all so pretty!!!
I’ve started coloring from each book already, but I’m thinking I’ll start my reviewing with the Marotta books 🙂
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That’s so cool! Coloring books 😀 I’d love some too, but then I’d need fancy pens
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Definitely need fancy pens! I love using the gel pens for coloring.
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Okay, so I’m pretty jealous about Lady Trent, and it pretty awesome you got The Dragon Round, and the K.J. Parker and Andy Remic books too – but I cannot deserve how jealous I am that you got an ARC of THE LAST MORTAL BOND!!!!! I actually sent an e-mail to Tor about that! Which I never do!
I think the new coloring book feature is going to be great! I hope you show us how you colored some of the pictures! 🙂 I am not a very good colorer, but when I saw the GoT coloring book, I did become eager to start again. I still feel like I color like a kindergartner XD
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Oh cool, good luck with TLMB! And I totally know the GoT coloring book you’re talking about! I wants it! It’s actually on my Christmas wish list, lol 😀
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Sweet damn this is a hot haul! YOU GOT THE DRAGON ROUND!! Gah, that books sounds amazing – I hope it delivers for you Mogsy, especially after you’d just featured it 😀 And YAY for adult colouring books ♥ I’m hoping to get into them as well soon, especially with the Harry Potter, Doctor Who and newly announced Throne of Glass ones!! Enjoy all your fantastic goodies^^
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I hope The Dragon Round delivers too, and I have a good feeling about it 🙂 And if you get the HP coloring book, I’d love to hear about it! I had no idea they were making a Throne of Glass coloring book too, that one sounds amazing 🙂
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The idea about coloring books is quite intriguing and I look forward to hearing more! 🙂
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They are surprisingly fun to do, lol! 🙂
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Looking forward to your coloring book adventures! The two by Marotta particularly made me go OOOOOH! Also lots of great reading for you!! December is a good month to catch up isn’t it!
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They’re gorgeous, and perfect for me since I love animal/wildlife motifs!
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What a great book haul – I’m particularly eyeballing Briggs and Brennan of course. I love the dragon artwork – those covers are my absolute favourites, I think using the full jacket is just so cool.
I have a copy of The Dragon Round which I’m really looking forward to.
I love that you’re reviewing the colouring books – this is the hobby of one of my friends, when she first told me about it I think she was a bit sheepish – like I’d laugh about it or think it was silly! I totally don’t. I love it and she says it’s a bit like stress relieving.
Lynn 😀
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I love wraparound jackets too, I think more books should do this 🙂
And I know what you mean about coloring books! Initially I was a bit sheepish in admitting that I wanted to try as well, but in the end it’s becoming such a huge trend, what the hey 🙂 I know lots of folks who find it stress relieving, though not me – I’m too much of a perfectionist to relax while coloring, but I have so much fun trying out different colors/color combinations!
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I look forward to your new Questing (in color) feature!! 🙂 And The Last Mortal Bond is definitely one I’m really looking forward to. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on that one!
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I’ve been brainstorming how to review coloring books, the format, what to comment on, etc. I’ve never done this before, hopefully I’ll figure it out by the time I ready to post my first review 🙂
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I can’t wait to read your review of Barsk 😀 Also those coloring books look like so much fun – I like to doodle more than color, but all the same, you should totally post pics of your masterpieces after you’ve finished filling in the colors 😛
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I’m an artist by trade so I definitely prefer drawing to coloring as well, though these days I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to work on any art. I find now that doing things like painting miniatures or coloring these coloring books is a pretty good way to keep skills honed, like shading, detailed painting, etc. 🙂
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Mogsy – oh how neat that you’re an artist 😀 (I only dabble in art as a hobby :P). With those superior art skills, you could definitely transform those coloring patterns into something totally epic!
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You must have lost if when you got the Marie Brennan book, I know how much you love that series! The books themselves are so gorgeous – kind of like bookish art pieces. I’m intrigued to hear more about adult colouring books, too!
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Heh heh, you know me well! 🙂 There were definitely a couple freak out moments this roundup, for The Last Mortal Bond and for In the Labyrinth of Drakes.
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I love that you’ll be adding adult colouring books to the site! Very cool!
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I’m glad, I just thought it might be something different and cool 🙂
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