Bookshelf Roundup 01/25/20: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every 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 summarize what I’ve finished reading in the last week 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!
Kicking off this roundup, a big thanks to Titan Books for Light of Impossible Stars by Gareth Powell, book three in the Embers of War series. I’m very excited to finish up this trilogy, right after I catch up with Fleet of Knives, very soon! Also thank you to Saga Press for sending along a finished copy of A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris, an unexpected but very welcome surprise. I loved the first book An Easy Death, and I look forward to reading this sequel. With thanks also to Orbit books for The Shadow Saint by Gareth Hanrahan, which was a solid follow-up to The Gutter Prayer. In case you missed it, I reviewed the first book in audio earlier this month.
Courtesy of the kind folks at William Morrow, I also received a copy of No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez. They’ve been spoiling me with some nice looking thrillers lately, and this is one I’m curious to check out. And the awesome team at Del Rey also sent the following: a finished copy of A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne, which is the sequel to Plague of Giants. I’ll be honest, I did not like the first book at all, but I haven’t discounted continuing the series yet. Guess I’ll just have to see what my reading schedule is like and the mood I’m in. But I’m super pumped for this next arrival, an ARC of Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett. Feels like I’ve been waiting for this one forever, and finally its release is nearly upon us.
In the digital pile, I received quite a few new audiobooks. With thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio, I received The Tenant by Katrine Engberg, which I actually reviewed earlier this week. To read my thoughts on this addictive murder mystery, check out the link below in the Reviews section. Next from Macmillan Audio, I received Burn the Dark by S.A. Hunt. From Penguin Audio I received the sci-fi dystopian The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray, and from their YA imprint Listening Library I received The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz.
And because I’m on a roll when it comes to thrillers, I also grabbed Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine with thanks to Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley. This is the fourth book of the Stillhouse Lake series which has been going really strong, and I’m hoping to start it by the end of the month. And huge thanks to Kaye Publicity for hooking me up with eARCs of Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus, a YA horror sci-fi coming out from Henry Holt & Company, as well as The Living Dead by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus, a zombie horror coming out from Tor Books this summer. Daniel Kraus is the author who co-wrote, with Guillermo del Toro, the novel The Shape of Water (which I loved) based on the movie of the same name. I’m very excited about these next projects of his, especially in the case of The Living Dead, which is the novel left unfinished by George Romero when he died, and Kraus was tapped by his estate to do the honors of completing it.
Reviews
The Tenant by Katrine Engberg (4 of 5 stars)
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez (4 of 5 stars)
The Night Country by Melissa Albert (4 of 5 stars)
Mr. Nobody by Catherine Steadman (3 of 5 stars)
This Week’s Reads
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 
Happy reading!
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Thanks!
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Ooh I look forward to reading your thoughts on Infinity Son, I almost picked it up the other day.
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Unfortunately, I didn’t love it – it wasn’t bad, but I don’t think it really stands out amidst a sea of YA. There’s probably better out there 😀
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A Blight of Blackwings caught my eye but I did hear mixed things about Plague of giants, it’ll be interesting to see how this book does. I love the look of The Tenant as well, and Bent Heavens and The Other People too.
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Yeah, I wasn’t crazy about Plague of Giants. Still deciding whether I want to read Blight of Blackwings 😛
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OOh nice! I’m curious about Charlaine’s new series! I hope you enjoy the 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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I loved the first book of Charlaine Harris’s new series, though I’ve heard some mixed things about this sequel! Kinda nervous now!
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I’ve heard good things about Burn the Dark. This was a rather soft week for me. Nothing new in the mail (although I know a few books are working their way through the mail – Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole among them), and a few digital requests (Goldilocks by Laura Lam & Privateers by Charlie Newton atop the pile) but no approvals.
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I just received Sixteenth Watch so yours should be on its way if not there already! I’m also curious about Goldilocks, but still thinking on it 🙂
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Yup, got my copy of Sixteenth Watch just the other day. 😊
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Yay for Shorefall😁 I’m looking ahead at my schedule for the next few months and panic is starting to set in. So many books are coming out in March/April and I feel like getting started on them now😁
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I know, February is already going to be insane! I’m not even thinking about March and beyond yet, lol
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Aaah, Shorefall. I… feel like I don’t remember the first book well enough, arrghhh. This is why I dislike reading incomplete series.
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Yeah it’s been a while since the first book, hasn’t it? I’ll need to refresh my memory too, lol!
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As always you have some great books in your haul. Looking forward to seeing your opinion on A Longer Fall after reading Tammy’s recent review. 🙂
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Yeah, I’m a little nervous going into it now, I read Tammy’s review too and some others, and they all say the same mixed things about the ending! 😛
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Oh I didn’t know Bent Heavens was YA. Still looking forward to reading it.
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Yep, apparently it’s YA according to the pitch I was sent anyway, lol 😀
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Great haul! I’m looking forward to reading Bent Heavens.
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Hoping it will be good! It’s always dicey with YA horror.
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I’m beyond thrilled in seeing the cover for Gareth Powell’s third book in the Embers of War series! Book 2 ended in something of a cliffhanger, and I really NEED to see how the story wraps up – or if it goes on with more books, which would be even better 🙂
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I loved your review of book two and I’m looking forward to getting to it myself so I can be ready for book 3!
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Great haul. I would love that copy of Shorefall – happy reading 😀
Lynn
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Thanks, you too 😀
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Some great books here and I NEED that Living Dead book in my life!
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Yes, I’m so excited about that one! It only recently landed on my radar and already I’m unbelievable hyped for it!
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