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!
Thank you to Tachyon Books for an ARC of Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein, a new-to-me arrival. After reading the synopsis, certain elements from it remind me of The Hazel Wood with its light fairy tale vibes (as well as a character whose relative is a famous author of a fantasy classic that has garnered a legion of obsessed fans) which definitely makes me want to check it out.
And a big thanks also to Penguin Books for sending along a finished copy of The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell. Holy crap, this book was amazing. I became a fan of the author after reading her book The Silent Companions, and I think this one is even better. My review is scheduled for release week and I cannot wait to share it with all of you.
Thank you also to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for The Good Sister by Gillian McAllister, a crime thriller about two grown sisters whose bond is tested when one of them is accused of the horrible crime of murdering the other’s child. I’m looking forward to reading this one when I’m in the mood for a dark mystery.
And a big shout out to the PR team at Kaye Publicity who sent me finished copies of a couple of highly anticipated titles from Pyr: The Fall by Tracy Townsend is the sequel to her brilliant debut, The Nine, and Three Laws Lethal by David Walton is a near-future sci-fi novel about the deadly consequences of relying too much on superintelligent AI.
Earlier this week I also received a surprise in the form of the The Haunted by Danielle Vega. This was a book I reviewed already in audio format, but I have to say receiving a finished copy was nice, especially since it’s got this really cool lenticular cover!
Up next, a big thanks to Redhook for the unexpected gem of The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, a book I’m really looking forward to reading. The cover is so beautiful too, and when it came out of the package, my ARC was presented with a ribbon and gift tag along with a lovely key charm I’m hoping to make into a bookmark at some point!
Courtesy of the wonderful folks at Ace/Roc/DAW, I also received the following ARCs: The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith is a fantasy mystery about a librarian of the afterlife’s Library of Unwritten Books who is assigned to track down a missing codex; and How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason is a quirky fantasy/sci-fi mashup that re-imagines fairy tale tropes within a space opera. I hadn’t known about either of these books before they arrived, but they sound interesting!
Also thank you to Tor for sending me a finished copy of Starship Repo by Patrick S. Tomlinson. I loved his book Gate Crashers, but apparently the humor is a lot more over-the-top and the author’s politics and messages are way more in-your-face and unsubtle in this one, which makes me think I will probably struggle with it. I guess I’ll still want to try this book at some point, maybe if I have some extra time this summer.
From LibraryThing, I also also excited to score an ARC of After the Flood by Kassandra Montag last month. Publishing in the fall from William Morrow, it’s a post-apocalyptic dystopian that has been compared to Station Eleven. I’m already enchanted by the gorgeous cover and the intriguing synopsis!
And with thanks to Harper Voyager, I received a surprise ARC of Boundless by R.A. Salvatore, which is part of the author’s Legend of Drizzt saga. However, it’s also the second book of a trilogy, and since I don’t think I’ve ever read a Drizzt book in my life (or if I had, it was so long ago that I don’t recall), something tells me it might not be possible for me to just jump into this one without being all kinds of lost, ha.
Thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books, I also received this shiny (literally) finished hardcover of Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. It was a complete surprise, but since I’ve read and enjoyed the author’s previous book An Enchantment of Ravens, I think I will read this one too!
With thanks also to DAW Books for a finished copy of A Sword Named Truth by Sherwood Smith. I’ve never read the author, but I’m looking forward to diving in with this first book of a new epic fantasy trilogy set in the same world of her popular Inda series. Even though it picks up certain threads from the previous books, I’ve heard this can be a good jumping on point, so I’m pretty excited.
And finally, thank you to Del Rey for sending me a finished copy of The Soul of Power by Callie Bates, the final book of The Waking Land trilogy. In case you missed it, I reviewed this book earlier in the week, and you can check it out by finding it in the review links below.
On to the digital haul, it doesn’t seem like I’ve shown much self-restraint when it comes to requests these last two weeks! In the NetGalley pile alone, I received: Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence, the sequel to One Word Kill, with thanks to 47North; The Grace Year by Kim Liggett after I was sent an email from Wednesday Books informing me that the eARC was Read Now for a limited time, so I jumped on it because I am a fan of the author; The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters courtesy of Crooked Lane Books after learning about it from Tammy at Books, Bones & Buffy; The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy after I received an invitational widget from the wonderful folks at St. Martin’s Press, because I’ve always wanted to read the author; and The Whisper Man by Alex North, a compelling mystery thriller that has been on my radar for a while, with thanks to Celadon Books. Whew! At least most of these don’t come out until later in the year, plenty of time to plan out my reading and catch up.
From Edelweiss, I also picked up a couple digital galleys. With thanks to Pamela Dorman Books for Someone We Know by Shari Lapena, and Tu Books for The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas. Both are titles I’ve featured on Waiting on Wednesday, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to received them.
Just a couple titles in the audiobook haul this book, and they’re both thrillers. Thanks once again to Tammy for introducing me to Deception Cove by Owen Laukkanen, which sounds awesome, and I also downloaded a listening copy of Cari Mora by Thomas Harris of Silence of the Lambs fame. With thanks to Hachette Audio for the opportunity.
Reviews
Here is a quick summary of my reviews posted since the last update:
Beautiful by Juliet Marillier (4 of 5 stars)
Warlock Holmes: The Sign of Nine by G.S. Denning (4 of 5 stars)
Shark Beach by Chris Jameson (4 of 5 stars)
Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town by Adam Christopher (3.5 of 5 stars)
Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Soul of Power by Callie Bates (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Queen’s Gambit by Jessie Mihalik (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden (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. Stay tuned for more reviews!
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 
After the Flood has me super curious with a premise like that. And How Rory Thorne has me intrigued too- another one I need to take a look at! I love that cover too.
I’m looking forward to Limited Wish, I think I’m gonna read that one next.
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I hope you enjoy it! It was a short read, nice and quick.
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So many intriguing titles! I would not know where to start and just looking at them makes me feel like the proverbial kid let loose in a candy shop… 😀 😀
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I feel that way sometimes, when I have no idea what to read first 🙂
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Ooh I see some really nice titles on here!
(Www.evelynreads.com)
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I’m definitely intrigued by many of them! Happy reading!
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Starship Repo has the same font as Starship Troopers so I was hoping it would be a fun riff, as I love Starship Troopers. While Heinlein wasn’t subtle, I’ve found most authors today can’t write message fiction without hitting you in the face, with a hammer, while sitting atop an elephant, wearing a vest of dynamite 😀
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I have a feeling for this one it’s going to be more than just a hammer, more like a wrecking ball. Apparently there is a character named Fonald Plump with “size issues”. Yeah okay, just no!
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Oh lordy. Well, cross this author off my list of authors to try then…
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Library of the Unwritten sounds really cool.
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I was definitely interested when I read the synopsis.
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OOoh very nice! See lots of new to me ones and some familiar too! I also picked up The Haunted, but it didn’t have the lenticular cover. Was that exclusive somewhere? Or just from the publishers perhaps? I thought it would be cool, but my copy doesn’t have that feature sadly.
Happy Reading!!
My StS will be up tomorrow, so stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
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I have no idea if my version of Haunted is an exclusive, I just assumed it was a regular finished copy from the publisher. The lenticular part of it is actually a sleeve, but I would have thought that all the retail editions would come with it. Hmm, it’s a mystery!
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The Magnolia Sword?? What?? I’m interested!
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A “own voices” Mulan retelliing! Doesn’t it sound awesome?! 😀
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I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on Deception Cove! I also can’t wait to read The Poison Thread, I hadn’t realized it’s out already. I don’t have a review copy so I may have to buy it. If you thought it was even better than The Silent Companions, I know I’m in for a treat😁
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Yeah, I think Poison Thread is coming out in a couple weeks. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
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I am so curious for your thoughts on The Grace Year, I want to compare notes! Starship Repo sounds like a fun book to check out down the road.
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Hopefully I’ll be able to get to The Grace Year soon, but probably closer to release! I hope I’ll like it! I really enjoyed her book The Last Harvest, but I wasn’t as enamored for her previous one.
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I need to read that Purcell book right now. Forget everything else – if you thought it was better even than Silent Companions then I’m on it.
Lynn 😀
Great Haul – 😀
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YES. YES YOU DO!!! 😀
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Is it oke if i am just a tad bit jealous of some of these books.
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Any particular one you are eyeing? It might be available for you to request via NetGalley or Edelweiss, etc!
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The Drizzt book most definatly. It would mean i need to track down the original series first tho. Those books are said to be very rare…
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So many good looking ones!
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It’s gonna be a pretty awesome summer of reading!
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I loved The Silent Companions so can’t wait to check Laura Purcell’s other book out, especially as you felt that it was even better. I’m super excited for Sorcery Of Thorns and also really looking forward to The Grace Year and The Magnolia Sword.
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I hope you love The Poison Thread! I definitely want to compare notes after you read it 😀 And I hope we’ll both enjoy all those books 😀
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Thank you (: I’ll let you know what I think about it once I’ve read it although for some reason my copy of it is called The Corset :L Thanks again and I really hope that you enjoy everything on your list!
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Ah that is the UK title/edition. You guys got the book months before we did 🙂 She also has another boom coming out called Bone China, again the UK has a release date already but the US still needs to wait for news 😀
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I figured it must have been something like that. That just makes it even worse that I haven’t read my copy yet. I’m definitely hoping to get to it soon though. Yes I’ve seen that and added it to my calendar so I remember when it comes out :L I hope that you don’t have to wait too much longer for news about it where you are. It sucks that the release dates for so many things differ in various places.
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I am super curious about The Library of the Unwritten… Looking forward to seeing what you make of it!
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I was definitely intrigued by the book’s description!
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I want to try that Mark Lawrence books-I love the covers too!
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I have a really bad habit (well, I guess it really isn’t bad) of visiting your and Tammy’s hauls to find all the new books I want to read! Between the two of you, you’re killing me!
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The Library of the Unwritten sounds like it’s one for book lovers, and How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse seems somewhat campy, but in a super fun way? 😊 I also like the sound of A Sword Named Truth; I’d pick it up if I saw it in a bookstore.
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Looks like a lot of great books in this batch. I love the cove for Ivory Apples and it sounds intriguing to me. May have to check that one out.
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