Bookshelf Roundup: 07/31/21: 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.
This last week has been chaos with work and also my parents visiting, so my time for reading and review has taken a hit. I got a lot of exciting reads lined up though, and I’m hoping to attack them with a vengeance!
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!
Lots of activity in the mailbox recently. With thanks to Del Rey for a finished copy of The Desert Prince by Peter V. Brett. I can’t wait to dive right back into the Hollow, and this is one of my top anticipated reads lined up for next month. Also thank you to Head of Zeus and the kind folks at Kaye Publicity for a copy of The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy. Historical fiction isn’t really one of my go-to genres, but dude, Ancient Rome from an author who knows his stuff. I just couldn’t resist. I also have an excerpt from the book lined up for early August, so be sure to keep an eye out for that! From Minotaur Books I also received The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indriðason, an Icelandic mystery about a “cold case” of a frozen body discovered in a glacier, apparently that of a businessman who disappeared decades before. This is the first book of the series, so a good place to jump on.
A huge thanks also to DAW Books for a finished copy of The Godstone by Violette Malan, which sounds like an intriguing new epic fantasy series for fans of magic and adventure. It’s also the first physical book I’ve received from the publisher in more than a year so I was pretty psyched at its arrival. Thank you also to the Titan Books team for The Follower by Nicholas Bowling, described as “Twin Peaks meets Welcome to Night Vale.” Featuring a mountain-worshipping cult and bizarre townsfolk, it sure sounds like it! And of course a big thank you to Subterranean Press for this lovely ARC of Vile Affections by Caitlín R. Kiernan, the author’s seventeenth short fiction collection which should be very exciting to her fans.
And a huge explosion in the digital haul this week, thanks mostly to the amazing folks at Macmillan Audio! From the publisher I received the following listening copies: From the same authors who brought us the Awakened trilogy, The Stowaway by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth is a new mystery thriller set aboard a cruise ship. Also, you might recall last year I reviewed They Threw Us Away, a middle grade horror novel about a group of teddy bears who came to life after being tossed in a garbage dump. They Stole Our Hearts by Daniel Kraus is the follow-up to that, the next chapter in the The Teddies Saga. Next up is Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney, the next domestic thriller from an author known for her killer twists. This will be my third novel by her, and I’m excited that Richard Armitage will also return to narrate another one of her books!
Now for some sci-fi and fantasy! So thrilled to receive a listening copy of The Exiled Fleet by J.S. Dewes, sequel to The Last Watch. I loved the first book, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. I also received Mordew by Alex Pheby, the start of an epic fantasy trilogy with a touch of gothic darkness. And rounding it all up is Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff, which probably needs no introduction. There’s an embargo on reviews until the release date for this one so I probably won’t be tackling it until September, but I’m already buzzed with anticipation.
Finally, I also received a review copy of the audiobook for Pawn’s Gambit by Rob J. Hayes, which just released a few days ago! Huge thanks to Rob who contacted me to let me know of this exciting news, and also provided me an eARC of Spirits of Vengeance, the next novel in the Mortal Techniques sequence. And check out that sweet, sweet amazing cover!
Reviews
The Empire’s Ruin by Brian Staveley (4 of 5 stars)
The Final Girl Support Group (4 of 5 stars)
What I’ve Been Reading
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!
The BiblioSanctum 
I was offered a sampler (well a 400 page sampler, lol) of Empire of the Vampire but not the full book, so that was disappointing. That’s one I’ll have to read on my own, I guess😁
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Wow, that’s quite a lot of pages for a sampler!
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OOh very nice! Lots of new to me ones here! 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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Thanks!
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I am green with jealousy that you got EOtV!!!! And I can’t wait for your review!
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I probably won’t be starting it until closer to the release date since there’s a review embargo, but I can’t wait either 😀
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Ooh, some nice covers there. Enjoy!
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Thank you!
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Great looking books. I like the look of Rock PAper Scissors.
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I’ve been quite pleased with her books so far, can’t wait to see what this one’s all about!
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Oh damn! I’m always so grateful but so STRESSED when my dad visits, so I hear you there, haha. I really should read some of the Kristoff on my shelf before getting excited over Empire of the Vampire, huh? I just love vampires so much, Mogsy!! And that cover is striking… fanservicey as heck but the use of colours is beautiful.
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My parents are pretty cool, but we just ended up going out a lot and doing things with them, and I’m still working from home so a lot of my schedule got shifted around, and well, reading kinda took a backseat 😛
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Haha, I know how that goes.
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Wooowww, you scored Empire of the Vampire? Well done! Man, I really want to request Spirits of Vengence but I have so much on my TBR….but I’ve really liked the author’s past books!
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Sometimes reviewing audiobooks has it perks, I know there are some books I would never score a review copy otherwise 😛
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Short on time but an overabundance of books! Looks like some great ones here, can’t wait to hear about them.
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Story of my life! I just keep falling more and more behind!
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So many books to read for August and somehow I couldn’t even get one done before July ended. I’m nearly done with the Godstone, and I can’t wait to see what you thought of Lux! As for Kristoff’s new one… I’m pretty sure you can just read it now, right? Because, well, now seems like a good time. Some might even say not soon enough 😉
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Summer months are always so busy! Where’s all my beach reads time at? 😛
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Well I didn’t take it 😂 Don’t think I’ve been to a beach in 3 years!
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I wonder about the fort, that onesounds good to me
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I love historical fiction about Ancient Rome!
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I can’t wait to read Empire of the Vampire – because VAMPIRES.
Lynn 😀
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