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.
Received for Review
Thank you to the publishers and authors for the following review copies received. For more details and full descriptions of the books, be sure to click the links to their Goodreads pages!
With thanks to the kind folks at Ace Books for kicking us off with this gorgeous new arrival – an ARC of Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence! I can’t wait to catch up again with Nona Grey in this second installment of the Book the Ancestor series.
A pair of intriguing looking ARCs also arrived earlier this month, courtesy of St. Martin’s Press: Black Star Renegades by Michael Moreci is a space opera described as a “galaxy-hopping space adventure” in the tradition of Star Wars. Well, that’s certainly got my attention! Wonderblood by Julia Whicker on the other hand is set in a dystopian 500 years in the future where a mad cow-like disease has killed off most of the population. Sounds a little disturbing, but still very cool.
With thanks to Simon & Schuster, I also received these two new-to-me titles. First is Immortal Life by Stanley Bing, a sci-fi dystopian about the battle for immortality. A Big Tech mogul has poured his wealth into finding the cure for death, but not surprisingly, the human being specifically created to house his consciousness has other ideas. The second book is this ARC of School for Psychics by K.C. Archer, the first volume in what looks to be an entertaining series about a young woman who discovers she has psychic abilities. Sounds right up my alley, and I’m excited to check it out.
Tor Books also surprised me earlier this week with this finished copy of Mississippi Roll edited by George R.R. Martin, a Wild Cards novel. I’ve never read anything from this series, believe it or not. The recommendation for current fans and and new readers alike makes me think this might be a good place to start, though!
And speaking of surprise arrivals, I would also like to thank Delacorte Press for sending me a finished copy of The City of Sand by Tianxia Bachang. I did some research into this one and discovered it is a translation of a very popular Young Adult fantasy novel in China, now available in English for the very first time. Unfortunately, the reviews on Goodreads have been pretty dismal, which makes me wonder if there might be something lost in translation. Regardless, I’d like to give this one a try, given its unique origin, and it looks to be a pretty fast read.
Next up, I make no secret my love for video game tie-in novels so I was pretty excited to receive Mass Effect: Initiation by N.K. Jemisin and Mac Walters, the second book in the Andromeda sequence. I haven’t read the first one yet, but I’m pretty sure these novels can be read as standalones – good thing too, because a Mass Effect book by Jemisin is not something I want to miss. My thanks to Titan Books!
Finally, rounding up my physical books is Kill Creek by Scott Thomas. It appears the poor thing spent the last three weeks or so stuck in transit, this being a busy time of the year for the post office and all, but I’m glad it eventually arrived safely. In case you missed it, I read this one back in October around Halloween, and I loved it. Thank you Inkshares for the finished copy!
On to the digital pile! From William Morrow I requested Noir by Christopher Moore, a book I’d actually featured for Waiting on Wednesday last week so I’m absolutely thrilled to have been approved. I also decided to pick up Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira when Harper Voyager sent me the widget, because you know I just can’t resist a good sci-fi murder mystery. From G.P. Putnam’s Sons, I also downloaded The Hunger by Alma Katsu after finding out about this supernatural reimagining of the Donner Party from a fellow blogger.
I also went a bit heavy with the audiobook requests this month, but seeing as I have more time to listen than to read these days, I’m finding it to be a more convenient format. From Audible Studios, I received The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter by Michael J. Sullivan, which I’ve already finished. It’s the fourth book in the Riyria Chronicles, and I think it might actually be my favorite one so far!
I’m also grateful to Macmillan Audio for Glass Town by Steven Savile and One of Us Will be Dead by Morning by David Moody. I actually have ARCs of these two titles, but being able to switch back and forth between the print and audio will ensure that I can get to them much quicker – and I really do very badly want to read both!
And courtesy of Hachette Audio, I received The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. I’ve never read her before, which is why I’m doubly excited about this one. I don’t expect to be disappointed!
Rounding things up, a big haul From Penguin Random House Audio: The Queen of All Crows by Rod Duncan is a return to the author’s Gas-Lit Empire universe with a new series about one woman trying to prevent the world descending into endless war. Star Wars: Canto Bight by Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, John Jackson Miller is a collection of four interconnected stories taking place in the eponymous casino city as seen in The Last Jedi movie. From the Listening Library collection, I also received Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu which is the second DC Icons novel, this time featuring the Dark Knight himself; Runaways by Christopher Golden, which offers a fresh take one of my favorite Marvel series ever; and finally Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, a YA sci-fi adventure featuring some tomb-raiding action on an alien planet.
Reviews
A quick summary of the reviews I’ve posted since the last update:
The Nine by Tracy Townsend (4.5 of 5 stars)
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden (4.5 of 5 stars)
The Fall of the Readers by Django Wexler (4.5 of 5 stars)
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (4 of 5 stars)
The Squirrel on the Train by Kevin Hearne (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Core by Peter V. Brett (3 of 5 stars)
All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault by James Alan Gardner (3 of 5 stars)
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (3 of 5 stars)
Roundup Highlights:
Interviews & Guest Posts
A huge thanks to author Tracy Townsend for stopping by The BiblioSanctum this week with a guest post discussing the motivation behind her debut novel, The Nine!
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
Here’s where I list the books I’ve “unstacked” from the TBR since my last roundup post. The last couple of weeks were mostly spent cleaning and doing holiday prep around the house since I have family coming over for Christmas, and some days it would take hours for a big job to get done. That’s when audiobooks really came in handy. Depending on how time-consuming my task was, sometimes I would even finish a book a day if I had it on at faster playback speeds! Stay tuned for my reviews of the following books.
Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read! Let me know what you plan on checking out. Until next time, see you next Roundup!
The BiblioSanctum 
Great round up. You’re getting and reading an impressive array of books!
Have you played much Mass Effect?
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Oh yes, I love the Mass Effect games!
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School for Psychics looks great, and so does The Hunger and Winter’s Daughter. that one in particulargot my attention with the blurb, even if it is book 4 of a series. The Runaways one is new t ome (I love that cover). And Unearthed- yeah. 🙂
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I’m glad Winter’s Daughter caught your attention! Yes, it’s technically book four in the sequence, but the good news is all of them can be read as standalones! 😀
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I am SO glad to hear that you enjoyed Winter’s Daughter. The hardcover is one its way to me even as I type and I’m hoping it lives up to the rest of the Riyria books. The kickstarter was certainly a fantastic success!
Blackstar renegade “sounded” like a winner too. Then I read some of the indepth reviews. All the highstar reviews were those generic “I loved this, you’ll love it too if you like X, Y and Z”. All the lowstar reviews talked actual nuts and bolts. So I’ll be crossing that off of my interest list. Best of luck with it 😀
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Yes, I loved Winter’s Daughter and I’m seriously impressed with Sullivan’s growth as a writer. I mean, the first two Chronicle books were good, but his writing was still a bit raw at that point, and while I enjoyed Death of Dulgath, hands down I thought Winter’s Daughter was better. Loved the mystery, characters and dialogue, everything! You need to read it, STAT! 😀
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Great, it just moved up to number 1 on my high priority!
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Oh I’m so jealous about the Mark Lawrence novel there! I want it! happy reading!
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The first book was excellent, I can’t wait to get back into this series 😀
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Oooh what lovelies!! Super excited for Batman and The Cruel Prince!! Hope you enjoy all your awesome new reads!!
My STS will be up tomorrow, so stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
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I’m starting The Cruel Prince today! Wheee, I’m beyond excited, my first Holly Black book!
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I really need to start listening to audio books, I’m sure my house would be a lot cleaner! I’m reading Glass Town right now…and struggling. I hope it picks up soon. I’m dying to read The Cruel Prince and I just requested Wonderblood. So many good books on the horizon!
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You really do need to get into audiobooks! It’s so convenient. In the last few years my kids and dogs have done a number on the kitchen walls so last week I had to scrub every inch clean – it took HOURS, but I managed to get an entire book completed in the time it took to finish the job. I love multitasking 🙂
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For some reason, my eyes zoomed right on Gunpowder Moon (maybe because I can’t resist a story based there…) and the synopsis sound beyond intriguing: without your post I might have missed this one so… THANK YOU!!! 🙂
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I can’t resist moon stories either! The sci-fi noir mystery angle drew me in, but it was the moon setting that sealed the deal for me as well 🙂
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Some cool ones there 😀
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I don’t know where to start! 🙂
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Awesome haul!! I’m psyched for Grey Sister!! 😀 And I really like Holly Black and am looking forward to Cruel Prince
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I still can’t believe I’ve never read Holly Black. Well, that’s about to change! Starting The Cruel Prince today and I’m so excited! 😀
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Awesome!! 😀
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Oooo Grey Sister ARC!! I’ve got my fingers crossed for one of these!
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Crossing my fingers for you too! I’m looking forward to catching up with Nona 🙂
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You are certainly going to be busy! Next year I plan to try and get audiobooks of some of my favourites and try to find time to sit and listen to them!
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Hopefully you’ll love it. I can’t imagine life without audiobooks now 🙂
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So many good books here and it looks like you have a lot to read on over the holidays. I can’t wait to read the Christopher Moore book – he’s one of my favorite authors but I have to admit I’m a tad behind on his last few books.
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Yep, I’ll definitely be busy over the Christmas holiday! 😀
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How is it that your hauls are always so awesome? I don’t think there was anything in particular this week that’s also on my list, but I looked at all the books a few times and thought, OOOOH PRETTY SHINY THINGS. XD
As for me, I received some early Christmas gifts this past weekend, and some of them were books! Here they are:
Vicious by V.E. Schwab (which I’m planning to read as soon as I finish my current fiction read!)
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Fade Out by Nova Ren Suma
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Oh I didn’t know you hadn’t read Vicious yet, you’re in for a treat!
The rest I have not read, which is terrible of me! Especially for Coraline and The Handmaid’s Tale. And I’ve heard amazing things about Code Name Verity!
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Currently playing through Mass Effect: Andromeda. 🙂
Also cool to see a Runaways Novel.
Runaways Season 2 (Brian K. Vaughn) &
Runaways Season 3 (Joss Whedon) are
personally the pinnacle of comic book
writing & art in my collection. After that,
not so much. Haven’t checked out the
Hulu series (a little scared to be honest)
Happy Holidays to you and yours, all the
best for the new year also.
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Brian K. Vaughn’s Runaways run was my favorite. I love everything BKV does though 😀
Thank you, and happy holidays to you and your family as well!
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Yes, I would definitely like that Alma Katsu book. 😀
Lynn
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Agreed, that looks so good! I learned about it from a fellow blogger’s WoW, and when I saw it, I knew I had to read it!
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Huh, a Runaways novel? Interesting! And interesting how both Marvel and DC seem to be focusing on novels with their iconic characters lately.
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It’s true! I still haven’t tried the DC Icons books (still need to read the Wonder Woman one by Leigh Bardugo)! Hope I’ll get to chance to read them soon, and Runaways too, so I can do some comparisons!
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School for Psychics sounds good to me. On my tbr it goes!
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Yeah that one was a new one for me, but I read the description and now I’m definitely intrigued!
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