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
Ahhhhh it’s a huge explosion in my mailbox this week! My thanks 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!
My thanks to Orbit Books for the following: A finished copy of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White, which I’ve already been hearing some great things about. I can’t wait to dive in. Also a couple unsolicited but no less exciting ARCs of Rosewater by Tade Thompson, which is being reissued by Orbit this fall, as well as Competence by Gail Carriger, the third book of the Custard Protocol series starring the daughter of the protagonist from Parasol Protectorate.
My thanks also to Pyr Books for sending me an ARC of Keepers by Brenda Cooper. I love the author’s books, and this is the sequel to last year’s Wilders.
From the wonderful folks at Titan Books I also received review copies of The Synapse Sequence by Daniel Godfrey, who is an author I’ve always wanted to read, as well as A Demon in Silver by R.S. Ford, the first book of a new grimdark trilogy called War of the Archons. Earlier in the week, The BiblioSanctum took part in a tour for this book, and in case you missed the author’s guest post we hosted, you can read it here!
I was also so excited to receive a finished copy (actually, I got two!) of The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French, with thanks to Crown Books, the traditional publisher who picked up the book after it won the 2016 Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off. I am so happy for the author, because this book is just amazing and needs to be shared far and wide. As such, I’m planning to hold a giveaway for my extra copy next week, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.
Next up, another surprise arrival, this time courtesy of Simon & Schuster. I don’t know much about We Begin Our Ascent by Joe Mungo Reed, only from what I’ve read from the publisher description. But it sounds like a mix of themes, exploring the dramas of a young family caught between love and ambition. Not my usual genre, I’ll admit, but it does sound interesting.
With thanks to Tor Books, I also received a finished copy of Starless by Jacqueline Carey. It’s one of my most anticipated books of the year, and I plan on starting it later this week. In fact, since I’m drafting this post in advance, by the time you see this, hopefully I will already be well into the story.
And this is another nice surprise: Sweep: The Story of a Girl and her Monster by Jonathan Auxier is categorized as a Middle Grade fantasy novel, following a 10-year-old chimney sweep in 19th-century England who accidentally creates a golem made up of all her favorite things. The story sounds so sweet and magical, I just might have to make time for this. My thanks to Amulet Books for the ARC.
I was also thrilled to receive a finished copy of The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay from the awesome team at William Morrow. I didn’t love the author’s last book, but I’ll always read anything he writes. Here’s hoping I’ll like this one better.
And this next one is a new experience for me. I’d never received an unsolicited physical copy of an audiobook in the mail before, and this one even included some swag! Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier is a mystery suspense thriller which also came with, appropriately, a jar of cinnamon candy hearts. It’s described as a story about three best friends–one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who never stopped searching for the truth–and now that my interest has been piqued, I’m dying to listen to it. My thanks to Macmillan Audio.
And huge thanks to Nightshade Books/Talos for sending me a bunch of goodies this week! An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor is the latest installment in The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. However, this is the ninth book in the sequence and I’ve only read the first so it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. And speaking of catching up, The Soldier by Neal Asher is another book set in the author’s Polity universe, but since it kicks off a new trilogy, I’m crossing my fingers that I might actually be able to jump into this one without being too confused. The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Three edited by Neil Clark is the latest anthology of buzzworthy stories from the best and biggest names in the genre. And I’ve had The Reign of the Departed by Greg Keyes on my wishlist for a while, so I was really happy when a copy arrived!
Courtesy of Subterranean Press, I also received an ARC of Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant, also known by her real name of Seanan McGuire. I swear she is really churning out the books these days!
And finally, with thanks to the kind folks at Berkley I received a finished copy of The Mermaid by Christina Henry. I’ve already read this one and I enjoyed it, so stay tuned for my review next week.
Onto the digital pile, there’s just one ebook for me this week. Liath Luachra: The Swallowed by Brian O’Sullivan is the second book of the Irish Woman Warrior series, but can be read as a standalone. You might remember the first installment when it was covered on The BiblioSanctum as one of the titles from our initial batch of books in SPFBO 2016. When the author contacted me earlier this week to see if I would like a review copy of this sequel, I gladly said yes. Thanks, Brian!
And now for a parade of audio listening copies! From Macmillan Audio, I received By Fire Above by Robyn Bennis. I also have a hardcover of this, but of course I just couldn’t resist the audio. I listened to the first book last year and loved it, and the narrator is Kate Reading, who is awesome. With thanks to Hachette Audio, I received A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal, a thriller about a virus that sweeps the world, turning people into something more. From Audible Studios, I received The Singularity Trap by Dennis E. Taylor, who of course also wrote the super fun Bobiverse trilogy, so I have a great feeling about this one. From Serial Box Publishing, I received Born to the Blade by Michael R. Underwood, Malka Older, Cassandra Khaw, and Marie Brennan. I’ve been looking forward to this serial for a long time, and now that all eleven episodes of the first season are almost out, I can finally take a look.
With thanks to Harper Audio, I also received a copy of Awakened by James S. Murray with Darren Wearmouth, a supernatural novel about an underground horror that becomes unearthed by a new subway line in New York City. And finally, courtesy of Random House Audio, I received a couple of video game tie-ins: Minecraft: The Crash by Tracey Baptiste and World of Warcraft: Before the Storm by Christie Golden, which I’m psyched to read in anticipation of the upcoming Battle for Azeroth expansion.
Reviews
A list of my reviews posted since the last update:
Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf (4.5 of 5 stars)
Before Mars by Emma Newman (4 of 5 stars)
City of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts (4 of 5 stars)
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (4 of 5 stars)
Brief Cases by Jim Butcher (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Hollow Tree by James Brogden (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Memory of Fire by Callie Bates (2.5 of 5 stars)
Roundup Highlights:
Interviews & Guest Posts
A huge thanks to the authors who stopped by The BiblioSanctum this week!
Guest Post: “Worldbuilding on the Fly” by R.S. Ford
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
Here’s what I’ve managed to “unstack” from the TBR since the last update. Tons of reviews coming up!
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 
What a haul!
And yes, The Grey Bastards is excellent.
Happy reading:)
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Glad you also enjoyed The Grey Bastards! Hope you’re having a good weekend 🙂
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The Morgan one! And ohhhh Grey bastards, kind of just want it cos of that cover
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They did a good job with that cover!
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Oh my word – WHAT a fabulous haul, Mogsy! The ones making me churn with jealousy are Starless, An Argumentation of Historians and The Mermaid… I also look forward to reading your review of Furyborn – it’s divided opinion, somewhat. Have a great weekend – you clearly have some wonderful reading ahead of you!
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Yeah, my feelings were kind of mixed on Furyborn so I know what you mean. And looks like I have quite a ways to go with the Chronicles of St. Mary’s before I can read An Argumentation of Historians 😀
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You certainly have plenty of adventures to get through before you get to an Argumentation of Historians – what fun is ahead of you! And heartbreak and adventure, too… I love Jodi Taylor’s writing:).
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A Big Ship and Starless are two I’m interested in, and Awakened looks good (and maybe a little creepy) as well. And Bring Me their Hearts has been popping up a lot, and the reviews I’ve seen have been prtty good- I may need to acquire that one. 🙂
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I just started Awakened – it really is quite creepy! Especially since I’m still quite early in the story ad we don’t really know what’s going on yet. Tons of bloody death already 😀
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Rosewater caught my attention as well, especially since it promises a new, and different background from what it’s usually on offer, so I marked it for request as soon as I can 🙂
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Yes, I’m quite curious as well. Especially with all the great reviews so far!
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Whoa!! That’s a lot of books! I still need to start Prudence’s books! And The Mermaid has been on my pile for awhile now since I won a Goodreads contest two months or so back?
Hope you enjoy all your lovely 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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Thanks! And I hope you’ll enjoy Prudence – she’s hilarious! The Mermaid was great too!
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I’m so happy to see that Orbit is doing a rerelease of Rosewater, I loved that book so much!
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Yes, I remember your rave review! Hopefully this wider release will give it more attention.
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Just as an fyi, Asher’s “Soldier” does deal with an established character from his Agent Cormac series and while I haven’t read Soldier yet, it sounds like it is basing a lot on previous info “in universe”.
So I’ll be very interested to see how it works out as a stepping in point for someone not already invested in the Polity universe.
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Ack, that’s what I was afraid of, that it might built upon a long-running story or character. Oh well! Hopefully it’ll still make a good jumping on point for new readers. I don’t mind a spin-off that adds to a world as long as it truly is “spinning off” – i.e. it shouldn’t reference important information without explaining, or assume I should already know everything!
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I’ve got Cabin at the end of the world pre-ordered!
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Nice! I hope it’ll be good!
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Jar of hearts sounds good and it’s on my list too 😃
Cinnamon candles are my favourite! It sounds like a nice surprise ❤️
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Yes, cinnamon hearts are the best! Though my kids devoured most of the jar 😀
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So many great books, wow! :O Currently reading The Grey Bastards and it has been godlyyyyy ❤ It definitely needs to be known by the whole wide world!
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Live in the saddle, die on the hog! 😀
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I read a review of Starless at Tor.com earlier this week, and now I really, REALLY want to read it. So if you do, too, then I may have to run out and grab a copy as soon as it’s available.
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My reading plans went a little awry this week, so unfortunately I still haven’t started it – but I’m really excited! In fact, I’m worried I might be too hyped up and I’m trying to temper my expectations 😛 It’s Jacqueline Carey though, so I just can’t help it. Something tells me I probably wont like it as much as her Kushiel books (that trilogy is just in a league of its own!) but I still have super high hopes 🙂
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I was about to have a heart attack by the end of the first chapter in Cabin at the End of the World. I had to DNF for my own safety. 🙂 I can’t wait to see how it goes for you!
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Ah, yeah the first chapter was intense! I don’t know if you finished it yet – the book was okay, but the ending was terrible!
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Man, you’ve been reading and receiving lots of great books lately. I hope to start Mermaid soon. I loved Lost Boy which makes me kind of scared to start this one. I’m also anxious for Cabin at the End of the World to come out. I think I’ll preorder it for my Kindle. I’ve heard nothing but praise for the Jodi Taylor series. I need to check it out as well.
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I hope you’ll enjoy The Mermaid! Don’t be scared, it’s very different from Lost Boy so you probably won’t really have to compare them 😀
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So many booooks. *_*
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I can barely keep up!
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A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising << I want that book so bad!! It makes me think of Guillermo del Toro's The Strain, which is virus and zombies. I want it! I want it! 😀
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I really want to start that one soon! It definitely has been compared to The Strain, so I’m curious!
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Wow, what a haul! It’s great to hear Grey Bastards was so amazing for you, and Demon in Silver seems kinda cool? Also, I hope to hear your thoughts on Furyborn in a review or something! 🙂
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Sorry for taking a week to reply to comments here, but Furyborn review is up now! 😀
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Hooray!! 😀
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So many books. Great haul. Happy reading.
Lynn 😀
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Thanks, you too! 😀
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