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
Big thanks to the publishers and authors for the following review copies received, and be sure to click the links to their Goodreads pages for more details and full descriptions!
My thanks to Titan Books for Occupy Me by Tricia Sullivan, which made a big splash last year and was a nominee for the 2017 Arthur C. Clarke awards. I hear that it’s on the weird side, but the premise sounds so interesting that I can’t help feeling a little curious, so I’ll probably check it out.
From the awesome team at Orbit, I also received the following finished copies: The Land You Never Leave by Angus Watson is the sequel to You Die When You Die, a book I really enjoyed, so I’m doubly looking forward to reading this one. Charmcaster by Sebastien de Castell has already been read and reviewed, and it was another fun installment in the brilliant Spellslinger series.
Also a big thanks to Pyr Books for this ARC of Black City Dragon by Richard A. Knaak. I know I’m painfully behind on this series, but one day I will catch up! Described as a historical urban fantasy combining action, mystery, and romance set in Prohibition-era Chicago, this just sounds too good to pass up.
Up next is The Rule of One by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders, which was unfamiliar to me. After some digging though, I discovered that it is a near-future YA sci-fi dystopian about a pair of twin sisters, written by a pair of twin sisters. Pretty neat, and the premise sounds interesting too, so I might check it out if time allows. Thank you Skyscape and Wunderkind PR for putting this one on my radar.
And my thanks to HarperVoyager for sending me a finished copy of The Accidental War by Walter Jon Williams. I’ve heard of the author and his Dread Empire’s Falls series, though I’ve never read any of the books. This one is apparently the start of a new trilogy set in the same universe. Thing is, I’m not sure how much I need to know about the previous trilogy or whether I can just dive right in at this point as a new reader. If anyone knows, feel free to chime in!
This next one I’m super excited about: Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean is a YA fantasy with East Asian influences featuring a protagonist who is secretly a yōkai (a supernatural spirit in Japanese folklore) training to be empress. But if her true nature is discovered, her life will be forfeit. Needless to say, when the publisher contacted me asking if I would be interested in an ARC, I said yes right away. With thanks to HMH Books for Young Readers.
Earlier this month I was also lucky enough to score an ARC of Lies by T.M. Logan from a Shelf Awareness sweepstakes. This is a thriller I’ve had my eye on for a while, and I couldn’t believe it when I won a copy. I’m definitely going to be reading this one soon. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity.
I also want to thank the kind folks at Tor.com for sending me an ARC of The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark. Smuggler airships, kidnapped scientists, and mysterious weapons, oh my. Add to that a supernatural element in the form of divine powers granted by the orisha of wind and storms, and this sounds like an amazing adventure.
And finally, rounding up this week’s new arrivals, I would like to thank the kind folks at Ace/Roc/DAW for the following finished copies: The Late Great Wizard by Sara Hanover is an urban fantasy about a magician’s daughter and her enigmatic quest to find her father after he vanishes mysteriously, and Worldshaper by Edward Willett is the first book of a new portal fantasy series featuring a young woman who discovers she has the powers to unlock an infinite possibilities of new dimensions. I’ve heard great things about both books, which are going onto my fall and winter TBR. And of course, last but not least is Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven, which you probably know I loved if you caught my review earlier this week. If you’re a resident of the US, there’s still a couple more days to enter my giveaway, so be sure to check out the link to the details in the sidebar.
Well, I almost made it through the two weeks without requesting from NetGalley, but earlier in the week I caved on White Stag by Kara Barbieri when an email popped up in my inbox from the publisher offering the eARC as a Read Now. What can I say, I can never resist a Goblin King story. With thanks to Wednesday Books.
Reviews
A list of my reviews posted since the last update:
Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven (4 of 5 stars)
Charmcaster by Sebastien de Castell (4 of 5 stars)
Mecha Samurai Empire by Peter Tieryas (4 of 5 stars)
The Chrysalis by Brendan Deneen (4 of 5 stars)
The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner (3.5 of 5 stars)
Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel (3.5 of 5 stars)
City of Lies by Sam Hawke (3.5 of 5 stars)
Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Black (2.5 of 5 stars)
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
Here’s what I’ve managed to “unstack” from the TBR since the last update. I’m on a roll! A few of these have already been reviewed, but stay tuned, because more are coming soon.
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 
I like the sound of the empress one 😀 But at the same time it does sound like such a common ya trope. A girl hiding something trying to be empress/princess/ etc. but I hope it proves me wrong
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It is a common trope, I agree! I hope the awesome setting will make up for it though!
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“Lies” has the more intriguing approach to a synopsis/blurb I have ever seen, since it puts it all on the *front* cover: if they wanted to draw my attention, they succeeded very well!!! 😉
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Haha yeah, I actually like the ARC cover more than the “real” cover 😀
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Black City Dragon does sound interesting, and The Rule of One sounds really unique. Lies definitely has me interested as well. Looks like a pretty awesome review line up!
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Knaak’s series is one I really need to check out! And I’m hoping I’ll have time this month to check out Rule of One, because it does sound pretty good.
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The first Praxis trilogy had potential that wasn’t lived up to. The covers were the best thing about them. So best of luck with anything else by Williams 😦
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Damn. That’s disappointing, but good to know. Probably won’t bother with it then 😦
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I still need to try Angus Watson-I have a few of his books on my ereader but at the moment I’m trying to concentrate on reading mostly paperbacks in the hope of creating room on the bookshelves that are stuffed!
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He’s amazing! But you gotta brace yourself though, his books can be pretty brutal, especially his Iron Age trilogy!
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Ooh nice new reads! Some new to me ones here and a few familiar faces too! Haven’t read any though. I hope you enjoy them all!
My STS will be up tomorrow, so stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
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Thank you, happy reading to you too!
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All those beautiful covers!! I’m sure the words are nice too!
I really enjoyed The Black God’s Drums. Great alt history fantasy. Fun!
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Yeah, let’s hope all the stories live up to these gorgeous covers! Happy reading! 😀
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I saw that White Stag email but gritted my teeth and resisted! Someone from Orbit saw my comment on someone’s review of You Die When You Die and sent me a copy! I was pretty surprised, 1. That publicists are reading comments, and 2. That she was kind enough to send it to me. I can’t wait to read it!
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Haha, you were stronger than me! I saw the cover, read the description, and I was toast 🙂
And yeah, it’s pretty cool that publicists sometimes read our posts and comments! Definitely cool you were surprised with a copy of You Die When You Die, I think you’ll like it 😀
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I definitely want that Angus Watson book – I loved the first and so will have to pick up a copy soon. Unfortunately, as with all my bought books though, they always play second fiddle to review copies. I have 3 and 4 of the Charmcaster books to catch up with and hoping to pick those up soon. I also want to read Phoenix Unbound – it has such glowing reviews.
Happy reading.
Lynn 😀
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I can’t wait to read The Land You Never Leave! The first book was so good, I’m really looking forward to see where the Mushroom Men will go next. And I know what you mean about the bought books piling up – I really have to stop buying any more!
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I also got rule of one, as part of “kindle first”, but haven’t read it yet. Let’s hope it’s good 😀
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Yeah, here’s hoping! I noticed it in my kindle firsts email too and I actually picked it up so I could get a good whispersync deal on the audiobook as well 😀
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Great haul! I’ve been curious about The Late Great Wizard, so I look forward to hearing what you think of it
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Yeah, it’s a bit of a question mark right now, I haven’t see much coverage on it. It’ll be interesting to see what it’s all about 🙂
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oh many intriguind ones there! Happy reading my friend!
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Happy reading to you too Melliane!
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A lot of books!
The Black God’s Drums in in my wish-list…
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People have been praising that one left and right, can’t wait to check it out!
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I keep meaning to read Walter Jon Williams’ books — I hear *such* good things.
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I’ve never read him! Some of the things I’ve heard have made me curious!
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Looks like you have a lot of great stuff on the horizon. I am really tempted to start that de Castell series but I’m in the middle of so much other stuff at the moment lol.
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Pretty much the story of my life too, haha. Too many books, never enough time 🙂
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Occupy Me is definitely a weird one! I’ll be curious to see what you think of it! 😀
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I remember your review! I don’t always do well with weird, so crossing my fingers this one won’t be too bad 🙂
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Nice haul, Mogsy! (Then again, your hauls are always good ones – enviable, even.) I think I’ve seen Worldshaper somewhere else recently, so I’ll definitely be interested in hearing more about that one if/when you review it.
Here are some of my most recent book “acquisitions” (some were gifts, others were buys):
– “The Beginning Place” by Ursula K. Le Guin
– “Sky in the Deep” by Adrienne Young
– “Isle of Blood and Stone” by Makiia Lucier
– “A Room Away from the Wolves” and “Imaginary Girls” by Nova Ren Suma
– “Vengeful” by V.E. Schwab
– “For a Muse of Fire” by Heidi Heilig
– “Anansi Boys” by Neil Gaiman
– “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller
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Ah, I have been eyeing The Song of Achilles ever since reading Circe – I hope you’ll enjoy it! I will be eager to hear your thoughts to see if it’s worth reading, though all the things I’ve heard and all signs point to yes 🙂 Sky in the Deep was a good one too – full of tropes, but the author writes very well and made good use of them, if you know what I mean. And ooh, Vengeful! I just got a copy of that in the mail, so I’m hoping to dive into that one soon! 😀
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I was tempted to get White Stag, too! I look forward to your thoughts. I’m also curious about The Role of One. It was one of Amazon’s First Read choices, but I decided to grab a different book.
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Haha, your willpower was stronger than mine! I lasted about 2 minutes before I clicked the Read Now button 🙂 And I did see the Rule of One in Amazon’s First Reads – actually picked it up so I could grab the audiobook whispersync deal too! 😀
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