Bookshelf Roundup 02/15/20: 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!
Whee, first a big thank you to Ace/Roc/DAW for the following pair of beauties: Unreconciled by W. Michael Gear is the fourth book in the Donovan sequence, a sci-fi exploration/colonization series that I’ve been enjoying. I thought it was going to end with three books, so I was so happy when I found out there’ll be more. And of course, The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence needs no introduction. It’s the start of the author’s new series set in the same world as his Book of the Ancestor trilogy, and I can’t wait to read it! A huge thanks also goes to the kind folks at Harper Voyager for a finished copy of Carved From Stone and Dream by T. Frohock. She’ll be spotlighted here on the blog with a guest post at the end of the month to celebrate the release of the book, so make sure to check in for that!
With thanks also to the ever generous Subterranean Press for ARCs of The Properties of Rooftop Air by Tim Powers and The Darkling Halls of Ivy edited by Lawrence Block. I couldn’t find either of these titles on Goodreads at the time of this writing, so the info I have on them is limited. But man, the cover to that Tim Powers book sure looks disturbing! Have I ever mentioned how much clowns creep me the hell out? I’d also like to thank Kaye Publicity and Henry Holt & Company for sending me a finished hardcover of Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus. As you might recall from my comments on this book on another roundup post a while back, this is a YA horror sci-fi about alien conspiracies and abduction. Intriguing, right?
Next, my thanks to Tor Books for sending along a finished copy of The Firmament of Flame by Drew Williams, book three of the Universe After series. I’ve only read the first book which was enjoyable, but I remain on the fence about continuing the series. Perhaps once all the books are out, I will re-evaluate the decision. Also thank you tor Anchor Books for Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles edited by Ellen Datlow. This publisher always sends me the most intriguing anthologies! While short stories aren’t really my thing, I do love the sound of a collection inspired by the dark side of cinema and television. And finally, big thanks to Wunderkind PR and Mira for this surprise copy of The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet. I hadn’t heard of it before it showed up, but it sounds interesting. Even though it’s probably going to wreak havoc with my reading schedule this month, I think I’m going to have to work it in!
And yes, I know my digital haul this week is embarrassingly huge. A bunch of review copies came in from multiple audiobook publishers this month, but first, from Del Rey via NetGalley, I snagged an eARC of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The author’s always full of amazingly unique ideas, so I can’t wait to see what she’ll have in store for us with this one.
With thanks to Harper Audio, I also received a couple of YA titles: Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold, a fabulously dark looking retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, and Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland, the highly anticipated sequel to Dread Nation. Courtesy of Macmillan Audio, I also received an advance listening copy of Black Leviathan by Bernd Perplies, a fantasy retelling of Moby Dick but with dragons, as well as a couple of YA titles All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace and The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller. From Penguin Audio, I received a mystery-thriller that has been on my radar for a long time, The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. And finally, from Audio Studios, I received Terminus by Peter Clines, the fourth in his Threshold series. At least at this point, it appears he’s publishing more in this series exclusively as Audible Originals now.
Reviews
A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers (4 of 5 stars)
Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong (4 of 5 stars)
Ashes of Onyx by Seth Skorkowsky (4 of 5 stars)
A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris (3.5 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 
Relax it’s not like you get a bunch of books each week 🤣 I’ve always wanted to read the Threshold series but haven’t gotten around to it! Worth it?
LikeLike
Haha, I know – never a shortage of books, though I suppose it’s a good problem to have 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This reminds me that I still have to read the first of the Donovan books at some point. I feel a bit of despair looking at my TBR and being in a reading slump!
LikeLike
Hope you get to read the first Donovan book soon! I can’t believe we’re on book 4 😀
LikeLike
I really dig that vintage horror vibe of Subterranean Press arc covers.
Looking forward to your The Girl and the Stars review!
LikeLike
Yeah, I like the vintage style of those covers…but they still give me nightmares 😛
LikeLike
OOh nice new reads! Quite a few new to me ones, though I did read and love The Shadows Between Us and All the Stars and Teeth was also really good! I hope you enjoy all the new reads!
My StS will be up tomorrow, so stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
LikeLike
That’s fantastic, thanks for sharing! I’m really looking forward to reading Shadows Between Us!
LikeLike
I was really excited to get Unreconciled as well😁 I hope you read The Unwilling because I want to know if it’s worth it!
LikeLike
I’m hoping to hit it at the end of this month, so I’ll let you know!
LikeLike
Nice haul! I have a digital ARC of The Girl and the Stars but I’d love a paperback. There’s a finished copy of Black Leviathan coming my way, so hopefully I can showcase it next week.
LikeLike
Yay, I hope we’ll both enjoy Girl and the Stars!
LikeLike
Pingback: Bookshelf Roundup 02/15/20: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads — The BiblioSanctum | Slattery's Magazine for Writers
The Unwilling has been haunting my Netgalley pending shelf since November, just waiting for it to cross to the other-side now it’s been published.
The Girl and the Stars, however, I did receive an eARC for which I haven’t started yet. Looking forward to seeing what you think of it.
LikeLike
Oh, I hate those NG requests that hang in pending purgatory! I hope you get approved!
LikeLike
I agree with you on the cover of The Properties of Rooftop Air. Wow that’s twisted. Looks interesting, though.
LikeLike
I know, it gives me the creeps! Nightmare fuel!
LikeLike
I am *so* excited for The Girl and the Stars! 🙂
LikeLike
Same here! Huge fan of that world, I’m glad Lawrence is returning to it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m looking forward to your review of ‘The Will and the Wilds’! It’s still on my list but I haven’t seen any opinions on it yet
LikeLike
I definitely liked it better than the last book I read by her…but I think it would have worked better as a novella 🙂
LikeLike
Bent Heavens looks fabulous and I do want to read more Mark Lawrence. I tried him with One Word Kill and need to get back to those.
The Sun Down Motel is one I want to read also. And I’m really curious about the Peter Clines book! I read one of his a while back and that one has me wanting to know more!
LikeLike
I saw a fantastic review of Bent Heavens that makes me think I will love it – hoping to start it later this week! Also need to find time to fit in Sun Down Motel because I’m so intrigued by the description.
LikeLike
I am curious about the new Mark book…he is sort of a hit or miss for me
LikeLike
His newer books, and the characters are much better than Jorg, that’s for sure 🙂
LikeLike
Unreconciled!!!! More Donovan!!! 😀
Waiting until May will take some inner strength though… 😉
LikeLike
Agreed! I’m still so happy that there’s a fourth book.
LikeLike
The new Tim Powers looks unreasonably creepy, and yet I’m quite intrigued! 😀 Mexican Gothic also looks promising.
LikeLike
I definitely want to try some Tim Powers at some point. I’ve heard his stuff can be pretty wild 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, were quite big fans of his books at Re-Enchantment 😉 There are several reviews on our blog if you’re interested; his books vary widely, from English Romanticism to Cold War to time travel to Muslim invasions on mediaeval Europe to Hollywood golden years to pirates… 😄
LikeLike
What can I say, I always love to see your book hauls. Even though I know I can’t possibly read this many books I still like to look at them.
Lynn 😀
LikeLike
I like to look at others’ book hauls for the same reason 🙂 Even though I have plenty on my TBR, I still love discovering new reads, haha!
LikeLike
Ooooh, Carved From Stone! So excited for that one. Also you got the new Mark Lawrence, very curious about that one.
LikeLike
I’m looking forward to checking out Carved From Stone! The publisher also sent the previous book to help me catch up, so I’ll be reading that one first 🙂 Soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice, hope you enjoy, I really loved that book.
LikeLike
Seeing all the Girl and the Stars ARCs is reminding me I need to finish the first trilogy! Hope you enjoy The Shadows Between Us, that was a fun one for me.
LikeLike
What a fabulous book haul! Mexican Gothic is one I want to get hold of – and start the Donovon series… Not to mention The Will and the Wilds:))
LikeLike