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
My 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!
A big thank you to Redhook for sending me an ARC of The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky, an upcoming historical epic fantasy about a young Inuit shaman’s quest for survival in the frozen lands of North America in the Viking age. Also thanks to William Morrow for this beautiful proof of The Binding by Bridget Collins which features a magical story about bookbinding that is sure to be a hit for those of us who are book lovers and fans of “books about books”. My deepest appreciation also to Orbit for Soulbinder by Sebastian de Castell, the fourth book in his Spellslinger series, which I’m completely addicted to right now.
From the kind folks at Tor also comes this trio of finished copies: City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender is one I’m really looking forward to, featuring the exploits of an elite bomb squad that specializes in defusing magical weapons; Nothing to Devour by Glen Hirshberg is the third book in the Motherless Child trilogy; and The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson is the highly anticipated follow-up to the author’s brilliant novel debut, The Traitor Baru Cormorant.
Next up, a huge thanks to Little, Brown and Company and the Jimmy Patterson imprint for getting in contact about Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy, described as a sci-fi gender-flipped retelling of the King Arthur legend. Courtesy of Simon & Schuster, I was also surprised with a copy of Limetown created by Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie with Cote Smith, described as the prequel novel to the podcast of the same name. I’m not familiar with the series, so if you are, please feel free to share your thoughts. This book looks really intriguing, and want to know more.
Also thanks to Saga Press and Wunderkind PR sending me Mage Against the Machine by Shaun Barger, described Harry Potter meets The Terminator. This book has been getting some mixed reviews, but with a blurb like that, I just have to try it. The Wunderkind team was also kind enough to hook me up with a copy of Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton from Delacorte Press, a YA sci-fi that explores how far society is willing to go to remake ourselves into the perfect specimen. This one’s new to me and I haven’t had the best experience with the author, but I’m curious to check it out.
From DAW Books, I also received Abandoned by W. Michael Gear, book two in the Donovan Trilogy. I have not started this series yet, but I have every intention of getting to the first book soon, hopefully before November is over so I can review it for Sci-Fi Month, so wish me luck. And finally, with thanks to Dey Street Books, I received this surprise copy of Astounding by Alec Nevala-Lee, described as a biographical portrait of John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, and L. Ron Hubbard. I’m not really one for non-fiction, but anyone interested in learning more about these authors and the history of the Golden Age of Science Fiction will probably want to take a look.
I have been a good girl lately, staying away from the temptations offered at NetGalley and Edelweiss. I haven’t even requested any audiobooks. I do, however, want to give a shout-out to Sigil Independent, the writing guild founded by a group of self-published fantasy authors, many of whom have been featured in current and past Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Offs (SPFBO).
In the coming months, three of their members will have new books out, and they were kind enough to send a long a few eARCs. The Woven Ring by M.D. Presley is actually the first novel of the Sol’s Harvest series, a flintlock fantasy reimagining of the American Civil War. The third installment is coming out soon, but for something that sounds this amazing, obviously I want to be starting at the beginning. The Prince of Cats by D.E. Olesen has been described an Arabian Nights-inspired fantasy steeped in mystery and adventure, featuring a jewel thief tasked to hunt down the elusive title character, a target shrouded in rumors and legend. And last but not least, Chasing Graves by Ben Galley is the first book of a grimdark fantasy series featuring a tale of murder and collecting ghosts as currency. I’m looking forward to having more free time later this winter so I can check out these books, and also be sure to keep your eyes peeled for possibly even more Sigil Independent coverage here in the next few weeks.
Reviews
A summary of reviews posted since the last update:
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson (4.5 of 5 stars)
An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris (4.5 of 5 stars)
Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White (4 of 5 stars)
Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey (4 of 5 stars)
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix (4 of 5 stars)
Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang (3.5 of 5 stars)
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri (3 of 5 stars)
Roundup Highlights:
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
Here’s what I’ve managed to “unstack” from the TBR since the last update. More reviews 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 
That cover for “Breach” looks interesting. I’m looking forward to your review to see what the book is actually about…
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That cover actually made me think sci-fi, but it turned out to be more of an alternate historical urban fantasy. Imagine my surprise when I picked it up for sci-fi month!
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Well, my interest just died 😦
Thanks for the warning…
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The Donovan trilogy sounds kind of interesting!
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I just finished the first book. OMG I loved it!
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OOh nice new reads! All totally new to me ones! 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!
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I would love to read any of De Castell’s books! I’ve heard good things from a friend so naturally I must give his works a try!
Chasing Graves sounds very interesting. I’ll keep an eye out for your review on that one! And Toxic too 🙂 since I bought another book by Lydia Kang today
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De Castell is a gem! I highly recommend his Greatcoats series, and if you prefer YA, his Spellslinger series is excellent too! I can’t wait to read the next one 😀
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I’m really curious to hear what you thought of Breach. It was just ok for me, and I’m bummed because I really wanted to love it!
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I definitely liked it more than I thought I would, but it’s probably because I went in with no expectations whatsoever 😀
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I haven’t read them but Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful is a hell of a cover! I wanted to request this one but it’s not avalable for my country. Have fun with all these!
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I love that cover too! Not sure about the story or the author, but at least the book is amazing to look at 😀
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Everything looks interesting! But I’m really curious to see what you’ll say about Brodsky’s new book. I enjoyed her previous trilogy and the new book looks very different.
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Yeah, I’m looking forward to dive into the Wolf in the Whale early next year!
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Spellslinger has definitely been popping up all over the place in the blogs I follow….definitely making that a goal to check out next year!
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I think the series was first released in the UK. Now that the US has caught up with the series release schedule, I think that’s why we’re seeing the books everywhere 😀
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Ahhh, that makes sense.
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And I have not even read Charmcaster yet!
Ohh the Brodsky! I do like her
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You need to catch up with the de Castell series! 😀
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Not gonna lie, I’m really, really, REALLY excited about Wolf in the Whale. So I’ll be on the lookout for your review of it… in, what, 2 months? Three? Whenever it comes out? Not soon enough? XD
The only new book to report on my end is Neil Gaiman’s Smoke & Mirrors. One of my aunts like to give her nieces and nephews small Thanksgiving gifts, so she took care of one of the items from my Christmas list. 🙂
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Almost forgot: Hope you and your family had a happy Thanksgiving!
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I’m pretty excited about The Wolf in the Whale too. I didn’t finish her Olympus Bound trilogy, that one sort of fizzed out for me after book two, but I think the premise of this one might work better for me!
And I hope you had a great Thanksgiving too! Happy to hear you got some nice bookish gifts 😀
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I’m kinda curious about The Wolf in the Whale- that premise is intriguing and I’m curious to see Brodsky’s next project. Stronger, Faster and More Beutiful looks great too!
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Yeah, I’m looking forward to Brodsky’s next project too, especially since her Greek Gods urban fantasy trilogy sort of fizzled out for me. I have high hopes for Wolf in the Whale though, it sounds like it’s more my thing.
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I did read the BOlinder one but that’s the only one. Happy reading!
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I’m so curious about that one, since the reviews so far have been so mixed!
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Harry Potter meets The Terminator is an interesting mix. Haha.
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Yeah it is, haha. I’ve seen some mixed reviews for Mage Against the Machine, but I’m still so curious because of that description!
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Looks like you have a lot of great stuff on your shelves! Looking forward to Once & Future. 🙂
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I’m very excited about that one too! How can I resist that premise!
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Great haul. I have a few of these to look forward to and looking at the Sigil Independent books I actually think I bought a copy of The Woven Ring – I shall have to check.
Lynn 😀
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I’ve picked up a couple titles by Sigil authors too. It’s a nice feeling, being able to buy self-published books with confidence 😀
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The Binding sounds very intriguing. Adding that to my TBR.
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Mage against the machine?? 😀
I need to read those mixed reviews.^^
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