Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & 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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Hope you all had a wonderful holidays and happy new year! I’m actually on the road this week visiting family in Cape Cod, so I’ll be keeping this Bookshelf Roundup update short and sweet.
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW
Like I said, I’m currently out of town so I don’t have access to the titles of my physical books at home and I’ll have no idea what else is waiting for me until I get back. So in the meantime, check out the new digital galleys received for review! My thanks to the authors and publishers!
The Last Dream Keeper by Amber Benson – Last month, Ace Books surprised me with an invite to this title. I read the first book last year and was on the fence about continuing the series, but now that I have the sequel on hand, I might just check it out after all. My thanks to the publisher.
The Lazarus War by Jamie Sawyer – Much thanks to Orbit Books for providing me with a review copy. This is looks like one cool military sci-fi!
The Guns of Ivrea by Clifford Beal – I first saw this one featured at another blog and I practically ran to request it at NetGalley. Epic fantasy and pirates! With thanks to Solaris/Rebellion Publishing.
Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal – This one was actually supposed to be featured in my last Roundup, but I somehow missed it in the shuffle thanks to the holiday madness. The story sounds interesting, and look at that gorgeous cover! Thanks, Tor.com!
The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt – My thanks to the author and publisher for hooking me up with a review copy of this. When Dan emailed me about his book, I told him I would gladly check it out. I happen have a weakness for Vegas illusionists…
Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell – My love for Peter Pan retellings strikes again! Not to mention delicious rogue pirates. Review copy received through Edelweiss with thanks to Simon Pulse.
GIVEAWAY WINS/PURCHASED
I also bought a bunch of ebooks/audiobooks over the course of November and December because of all the sweet holiday sales. Who can say no to a book and hours of entertainment for the mere price of a cup of coffee? Here are some of the deals I jumped on, because I’ve heard so much about them from fellow bloggers. Tammy from Books Bones & Buffy wrote this fantastic review for The Unnoticeables, how could I not take a look? Bookwraiths also had great things to say about Clash of Eagles and I’ve been curious about it for a while. Lynn’s rave review of The Invisible library made me grab this audiobook. And folks all over the blogosphere have been gushing about Rainbow Rowell, but it was Kaja’s Author Addiction post and awesome review of Fangirl that finally convinced me to jump on the bandwagon.
I also picked up a few titles that caught my eye in 2015, like Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, and Angry Robot had a giant ebook sale so I one-clicked The Dragons of Heaven and a preorder of Steal the Sky which won’t even be out until later this week. Earlier in the fall I won an audiobook code from Tantor so I used it on Rise Again because I wanted to check out more from new-favorite-author Ben Tripp, and it just so happened the sequel Rise Again Below Zero popped up soon after as a Kindle Daily Deal, so I snapped that one up too!
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. Just two, because I didn’t post that many during the holidays, but I hope you enjoyed the end-of-year lists!
Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen (4 of 5 stars)
Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen (4 of 5 stars)
WHAT I’VE READ SINCE THE LAST UPDATE
December was my catch-up month and I made the most out of it. I got to finish a couple books that have been on my TBR since late summer/early autumn, and even got to get a jump on several January titles. As you know, my review and giveaway for Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard is up now, but be sure to look out for the rest in the coming weeks! I’ll be back to my regular schedule upon my return.
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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 
Good books 🙂
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A good start to 2016!
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Great stack! I’m just gonna come visit you so that I can read all of your kick-axx sci-fi and fantasy books. You don’t even have to feed me!
My STS
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I could say the same for you, you get great stuff every week as well! 🙂
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You made me curious about The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt ! I hope you’ll enjoy your new books. happy reading!
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I know, I couldn’t resist that one when I saw it either. Decided to give it a look see 🙂
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So many great additions! I’ve only ever read Attachments but Rainbow Rowell, but really enjoyed it. I need to check out Fangirl soon. I always hear wonderful things about it.
The Invisible Library also looks good. I might have to snag that one soon too.
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I hear wonderful things about the author – I’ve never even heard of Attachments until recently. Apparently she’s written a lot of books I don’t even know about! Can’t wait to check out Fangirl.
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Nice haul! The Guns of Ivrea caught my attention as well, but I already have a pretty heavy reading list for Jan/Feb.
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My February is already looking crazy, but I just couldn’t resist pirates and fantasy.
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Oooh very nice! I’ve had Unhooked to read for awhile myself! But then naturally I got a short stack of January books that require immediate attention! So hoping to get to that one after 2 more reads! Hope you enjoy all these awesome new reads!
My STS will be up tomorrow, so be sure to stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
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Oh great, you’ll probably be able to get to Unhooked before I do, I eagerly await your thoughts!
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You reminded me I need to pick up Ben Tripp’s backlist! I’m so curious to hear what you thought of Nightwise. I don’t think I’ve read any other reviews from fellow bloggers, which is weird. The publisher really didn’t push this book at all, which I find strange. I literally had to beg for a review copy. Anyway, looks like you have plenty of goodies to start out the year!
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I think I’ve only read reviews of Nightwise from you and Nathan! And other than the shaky ending, I really enjoyed it. I’ll definitely get into more detail in my review 🙂
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Clash of Eagles is one I wish I had read but fell by the wayside. And, I really need to read a book by Ben Tripp! Great list of books!
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I’ve been curious about Clash of Eagles for a while too, and I didn’t even realize there was a sequel planned…which I think is out soon!
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Mmm… Interesting! The one that drew my attention more than others is “The Lazarus War”: while I’m a bit wary about military SF, this one is described on GoodReads as a cross between Edge of Tomorrow, Alien and the Expanse. How could I resist it? 🙂
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Yeah, there aren’t a lot of Orbit releases in Jan and Feb 2016, but the two that caught my eye were The Immortals and this The Lazarus War. Those descriptions piqued my interest too. Is it too good to be true? Maybe, but I’m still curious 🙂
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Lynn’s review of the Invisble Library also made me want to read it ^^
I read Fangirl and I really enjoyed it even if I am not the biggest YA contemporary reader. I plan on reading Carry On by Rowell pretty soon because I’ve heard so many great things about it 🙂
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Yeah, doesn’t it sound great? I think Lynn and I have pretty similar tastes, so whenever she loves a book, I take note. I definitely want to try and listen to The Invisible Library later this month 🙂
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GORGEOUS haul Mogsy! I’m very curious about Unhooked, Clash of Eagles and The Invisible Library sounds amazing! I’m looking forward to see how you make out with Fangirl too – I loved it which is HUGE for me since I don’t tend to read contemporaries. It was my first Rowell read too. After that I read Eleanor & Park by her but sadly, my luck didn’t extend to that one >.< LOL! Happy reading ♥
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Rainbow Rowell has written so many books I’ve never even heard about! This is the first I’ve heard of Eleanor & Park. Lots of people seem to love Fangirl though, so I’m pretty sure it’ll turn out well for me too. I don’t read a lot of contemporary either, but it sounds like fun 🙂
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Gah, I clearly need to just take over your inbox! I want Forest of Memory so much, it looks good. The Invisible Library and sequel are a lot of fun.
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I’m glad to hear that! I’m looking forward to checking out both The Invisible Library and its sequel very soon. I can’t believe the print isn’t even due out in the US til this summer! Thank goodness for audiobooks.
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Ahh now I’ll feel super responsible if you DON’T like Fangirl! 😀 It’s always a thin line between recommending a book and over-hyping it. I hope I’m not guilty of the second and that your experience won’t be marred by my gushing about it.
Enjoy your reading! 🙂
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Don’t worry, so many people are raving about Fangirl! I would say you ALL have a responsibility in pushing me over the edge so no pressure 😉
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I love these posts – they raise my awareness to all the books I’m missing. I ran to Netgalley after reading and requested The Guns of Ivrea – fantasy and pirates, yay – and thanks!
Lynn 😀
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Heh heh, I did the same thing with that book. I think I first glimpsed that book over at Civilian Reader. I hadn’t even heard of it or seen it at NetGalley before then (my SFF filter didn’t catch it, because I don’t think it was tagged as such) but as soon as I saw the description I ran to request 😀
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