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!
My thanks to Titan Books for the following received: Mass Effect: Annihilation by Catherynne M. Valente is the newest official tie-in to the hit game about a mysterious mass murderer who is spreading a contagious virus aboard a colony ship heading to the Andromeda galaxy (can I also just take a moment to geek out about the fact Valente wrote a Mass Effect novel?) The publisher also sent along The Arrival of Missives by Aliya Whiteley as part of the blog tour which the BiblioSanctum participated in last month.
From the awesome team at Subterranean Press, I received Perfunctory Affection by Kim Harrison, a short novel described as a blend psychological suspense and urban fantasy from the author of the beloved Hollows series. I’ve always been curious about her work, so I might just give this one a try.
Also thanks to Ace and DAW Books for the following: Rowankind by Jacey Bedford is the third installment in the Rowankind series, the first book of which I read and loved. I’ll need to do a bit of catching up with the second book before I can read this one, but I’m looking forward to it. Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence is another third in a sequence, chronicling the next chapter in the life of Nona Grey in the Book of the Ancestor series, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this ARC. Rounding up this trio is Tales from Plexis by Julie E. Czerneda is an anthology featuring a collection of short stories set in the author’s Clan Chronicles universe.
With thanks to Tor Books, I also received a surprise copy of The Razor by J. Barton Mitchell, a sci-fi thriller about an engineer inmate who struggles to survive among the galaxy’s most dangerous criminals after a disaster at a labor camp on a prison planet. I might give this one a try if I have some extra time this month, because the premise sounds absolutely amazing.
With thanks to Tor Teen, I also received Dark Mind Rising by Julia Keller, sequel to The Dark Intercept which I’d meant to read earlier this year, but didn’t get the chance. There’s still time!
I’d also like to thank Holiday House, a new YA publisher I discovered after they sent me this gorgeous hardcover of Realm of Ruins by Hannah West. After a bit of research though, I found out this was actually a sequel, and something tells me this won’t make a good starting point, so I’m going to have to look up the first book.
My thanks to the team at Orbit, who were kind enough to send me a finished copy of Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri. This is a book I already read and reviewed, and you can check it out my thoughts here.
And a big thanks to Inkshares/Sword & Laser, from whom I received a finished copy of The Animal in Man by Joseph Asphahani, a dark fantasy set in a world where rival kingdoms of animal-human hybrids are forever locked in constant battle.
Last but not least, my thanks to Night Shade Books for the following anthologies: Black Moon: The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin by Seabury Quinn is the fifth and final volume collecting the stories of the eponymous supernatural detective made famous in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, and Not One Of Us edited by Neil Clarke is a huge collection featuring stories by some of the biggest names in sci-fi writing about alien first contact and extraterrestrial life on Earth.
In the digital haul this week, I managed to knock a bunch of book off my NetGalley pile last month so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to request a few titles. From the Albert Whitman Company, I received Descendant of the Crane by Joan He which is described as a Chinese-inspired YA fantasy with all the intrigue of A Game of Thrones. I just LOVE that cover! From Crooked Lane Books, I received Little Darlings by Melanie Golding, and I blame Lynn’s Book Blog for turning me on to this one because I became intrigued by the story after I saw it featured over there. And it appears I’m still on my thriller kick, because I also grabbed The Hiding Place by C.J. Tudor, which I’m excited to read after being so impressed by her debut The Chalk Man. My thanks to Crown Publishing for approving my request.
In case I’ll be doing some traveling this month over the holidays, I also grabbed a listening copy of Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin with thanks to Penguin Random House Audio. The print version is probably best to have because of the visuals, but this also strikes me as having the amazing potential to be a good listen on long car rides, especially when read in the dulcet tones of narrator Simon Vance.
Reviews
A summary of reviews posted since the last update:
Outpost by W. Michael Gear (4.5 of 5 stars)
Breach by W.L. Goodwater (4 of 5 stars)
Harley Quinn: Mad Love by Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan (4 of 5 stars)
The Testament of Loki by Joanne M. Harris (3.5 of 5 stars)
Toxic by Lydia Kang (3.5 of 5 stars)
Redemption’s Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky (3.5 of 5 stars)
Mage Against the Machine by Sean Barger (3 of 5 stars)
Roundup Highlights:
Interviews & Guest Posts
Here’s to the authors who stopped by The BiblioSanctum this week!
Guest Post: “Back to the Roots: The Unexplored Fantasy” by Daniel E. Olesen
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 
Looking forward to what you think of Holy Sister. First to see if it’s actually a real trilogy and second, to see if you like it as much as the previous two.
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Yeah, so far the series is holding steady for me. I think I rated both books 4 stars. So, it’s solid – but hasn’t blown me away quite yet. We’ll see with book 3.
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I hope you’ll like animal in man. The Husband got it via Netgalley, but DNFed it. He said it was an interesting concept but he was a bit lost and than it expired 🙈 am very interested to see what you think of it though!
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Yeah, I read his DNF review – it’s making me nervous, but I’d still like to try the book if I have time 😀
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As always the YA books looks great, and they are always the ones that have me most worried 😉
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I feel the same way. YA books have the best premises, but execution can be hit or miss. In my experience, more misses than hits 😉
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I ordered Fire and Blood, hoping that turns out to be as good as I’m thinking it will be. 🙂 And Little darlings is in my reading future as well I think- it sounds good and I’ve pretty much decided to get it!
Have a great weekend!
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Yeah, doesn’t Little Darlings sound good? I learned about it from Lynn’s blog and immediately requested it after reading the synopsis.
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As a huge fan (or rather victim…) of GRRM’s Song of Ice and Fire, I’ve been curious about Fire and Blood, but being somewhat wary of prequels I keep hesitating. On the other hand, since there is no firm date on the publication of The Winds of Winter, this one might help in the waiting process… 😀
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That’s my thinking too. I would so much rather have the next ASoIaF novel, but oh well, beggars can’t be choosers 😉
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I’m a bit disappointed with my Fire and Blood cover which is different from your pretty one! I wanted that cover!!! Have a good reading week!
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Oh, I haven’t even seen the UK cover. I need to look it up!
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Ooh nice!! I actually just ordered Kim Harrison’s new book! Super excited for it too! I love her books! Took forever to get the order to go through, I tried doing it weeks ago and it never moved. Then I tried it again this week when I got a newsletter for Kim and I thought I’d give it one more try! Naturally, it went in this time since I have a portion of Christmas shopping on my credit card already! Lol!
Hope you enjoy all your fantastic looking 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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I hope you’ll enjoy the new KH book! It was the first I’ve heard of it. I haven’t read anything by her, but I’ve wanted so badly to read The Hollows for the longest time 😀
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I just picked up Empire of Sand. I’ve heard great things!
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I hope you enjoy! I thought it was a bit slow, but the writing is gorgeous.
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We’ll see where I can fit it in…
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I’ve seen lots of bloggers talking about Descendant of the Crane, I’ll have to start paying attention! I’m also very curious about The Razor, which wasn’t really on my radar but it’s been popping up a lot.
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Yeah, Descendant of the Crane seems to be getting a lot of buzz. I confess, I didn’t know that it was getting that much attention, it was mostly a pure cover request for me, lol! But I’m hoping it will be good! 😀
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Sadly dnf animal in man as it was taken down for the publication. I have only semi completed ME 2, never knew there were books about it aswell. Also i have a lot of catching up to do expect likes and comments comming soon…
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Yeah, I read your review and it’s making me nervous because I still want to try it, but I’m afraid I might have a lot of the same issues with it as you did. Oh well, hopefully I’ll have time to check it out! 😀
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Ooh, Holy Sister! Niiiice. 👌😁
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Can’t wait to what’s next with Nona!
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Oh wow, lots of great stuff there. I’m especially curious to see how Descendant of the Crane is. Hope you enjoy these!
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Yeah, DotC totally got me with that beautiful cover – now let’s just hope my weakness for pretty covers doesn’t bite me in the ass 😉
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I’m acutally starting the new Mark Lawrence one and I’m curious about the new Kim Harrison one because it’s the first time I hear about that. I’ll check it out right now. Happy reading!
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I hope you enjoy Holy Sister! I probably won’t start it until closer to release date, so I’ll be looking out for your review!
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Holy sister looks awesome 😀 Have you read the first two books in the series? Are they good?
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Yes, I’ve read the first two books and they’re solid. I still like his Red Queen trilogy best, but this series is shaping up to be pretty good as well 🙂
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I want to give that Mark Lawrence series another try. I keep hearing such good things, and I don’t know why Red Sister wasn’t working for me.
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Yeah, I have to say Red Sister was quite different than his previous books. I know a lot of people who enjoyed his Broken Empire trilogy and Red Queen trilogy that did not like Red Sister at all. Was it the first time you’ve tried Mark Lawrence?
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Fingers crossed for Little Darlings.
Lynn 😀
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