Bookshelf Roundup 09/18/22: 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!
Quite a few arrivals to feature from Orbit this week. A couple of these were actually delivered last month while I was away, but I only just got to finish going through all my mail. First, the ARCs: One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig and A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson are both soon to be released and look to be perfect fall reading. I can’t wait to start them soon. I was also super excited by the arrival of an ARC of The Stars Undying by Emery Robin, a space opera debut inspired by Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, and that’s all I needed to hear to know I desperately want to read it. And finally I was also excited to receive a finished copy of Ruination by Anthony Reynolds, a League of Legends novel. I don’t actually play LoL, but I would never turn down the chance to read a video game tie-in.
With thanks to Tor Books, I also received a surprise ARC of Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell late last month. I had mixed feelings about Winter’s Orbit, but since this is a standalone set in the same world, I’m feeling good about giving this one a try. And another surprise arrival with thanks to Minotaur Books, Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner is a historical drama and suspense that spans several generations from 1950s Egypt to modern times in a post-9/11 world. I don’t know much more at this time, but I’m major side eyeing these big name blurbs plastered all over this ARC from Stephen King to James Patterson.
In the audiobook haul, with thanks to Penguin Audio, I was thrilled to receive an early listening copy of Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison – I am loving her books so much! And from the amazing folks at Macmillan Audio, I also received ALCs of The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler and The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce, plus earlier this month also saw the release of Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer and I am over the moon about there being another Enola Holmes book!
With thanks also to HarperAudio for a listening copy of Sand by Hugh Howey, which I hope to get to before the release of its follow-up Across the Sand next month. And finally, thank you to Brilliance Audio for The Final Equinox by Andrew Mayne, the second novel in the Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood series in which our protagonists star in a thrilling tale of possible first contact. The synopsis sounds totally bonkers and I’m all for some over-the-top madness from Andrew Mayne!
Reviews
Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson (3.5 of 5 stars)
Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas (3 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 will be very interested in hearing your thoughts about The Stars Undying: like you, I was very intrigued by the Caesar/Cleopatra comparison, but the book did not work for me for a number of reasons and it ended up as a DNF, so another point of view will prove invaluable to understand what went wrong for me…
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Oh I’m so disappointed to hear it didn’t work for you! Actually I did wonder if you had gotten to it yet, since I know we share the fascinating with the history of Caesar/Cleopatra 🙂 I will know to temper my exepctations then, thanks!
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OOoh very nice! I recently got intrigued by One Dark Window, but I think I heard that it might be in a book box next month that I subscribe to. So hopefully I’ll have a copy next month! The rest are pretty much new to me ones but I hope you will enjoy them all!
Here’s my StS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
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I hope your prediction is correct so you get your copy of One Dark Window!!!
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Very jealous of your ARC deliveries. l really want to read Ocean’s Echo as I loved Winter’s Orbit. Some of the others sound great too.
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Ocean’s Echo felt too fan-fictiony to me, but I figure that was because it did start off as a fanfic. I did like the characters and story though, so with Winter’s Orbit, I’m hoping the style will be a little more polished!
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September has sort of gotten away from me and I’m trying to figure out how to squeeze in One Dark Window, it does sound really good😁
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Haha, same here, it still feels like early Sept for me, but the month is more than half over! I still have a ton of books to read this month, not to mention all the books from summer I need to catch up with!
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The cover for Picture in the Sand caught my attention. I don’t know nearly enough about it yet to have any idea if I’d enjoy it, but I’m very curious to learn more. And it might be time soon to listen to another Andrew Mayne book. Not sure which I’m up to, not that it really matters. 🙂
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Yeah, I don’t know if Picture in the Sand is my kind of book, but I’m willing to give it a try if I have some time. And pretty much any time is a good time for an Andrew Mayne book, especially in audio! 😀
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Ahhhh back to a full schedule: twelve books in seven days! I hope you like One dark window more than I did, but hey, this year’s been a weird one for me, so I’m sure you will. I’ve heard nothing but good things!
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Haha, it’s not so much the rate of book arrivals but my reading schedule I’m more concerned with! I miss the days where I read 20-25 books a month and can churn out 5 reviews a week!
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Ooh I’ll look out for your review of Witch in the Well.
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I hope to start it soon!
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Great haul! The Undying Stars and the Picture in the Sand both sound very tempting. I’m looking forward to your reviews.
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New books, yay
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Ooh, I look forward to your thoughts on Stay Awake.
Lynn 😀
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