Bookshelf Roundup 08/05/23: 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.

With a blink of an eye, July is over and August is upon us! I still can’t get over how quickly 2023 seems to be zipping by. At the end of next week, my family will also be jetting off on our summer vacation before school starts, so right now I’m also dealing with a lot of pre-travel jitters as I try to get everything squared away before our trip, ahh! As such, just a heads up there will be no Bookshelf Roundup next Sunday, though I do hope to get a couple of reviews up in the next few days. Anyway, moving on to the books:

Received for Review

With thanks to Tordotcom for:

• Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney, an eldritch Lovecraftian inspired tale (if the tentacles on the cover aren’t enough of a hint) about a boy whose creepy grandfather comes to visit. Hard to believe this wasn’t on my radar before, but I’m definitely glad to receive this book.

With thanks to Blackstone Publishing for:

• Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton, another surprise arrival but also very intriguing. I’m not sure how well I’d like this one, given the story and its themes sound very abstract, but fans of mythological fantasy should check this one out.

With thanks to Del Rey Books for:

• Dreambound by Dan Frey, who also wrote The Future Is Yours which I enjoyed immensely. This is one of my most anticipated fall releases and I was so excited when the ARC showed up.

With thanks to Berkley Books for:

• Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas, a supernatural western which pits vampires against vaqueros (in reference to cowboys in areas where Spanish is spoken) on the Texas-Mexico border. I’m always up for original and fun takes on vampires and this definitely sounds like it!

With thanks to Ace Books for:

• Medusa’s Sisters by Lauren J.A. Bear, a reimagining of the Gorgon myth of Medusa and her sisters, Stheno and Euryale, from before they were transformed into monsters.

With thanks to Minotaur Books for:

• The Trade Off by Sandie Jones. I have been following the author’s books for a while, and it was a nice surprise when a finished copy of her upcoming thriller about the cutthroat world of tabloid journalism showed up.

With thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for:

• Whalefall by Daniel Kraus, a thriller survival tale about a scuba diver who has been swallowed by a whale, with only an hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. The thing about this that intrigues me most is the description that it’s supposed to be scientifically accurate.
• The Last One by Will Dean, also known as The Last Passenger in the UK. A woman goes on a cruise with her new love and wakes up after the first night to find she is completely alone on the ship. I first learned about this one from Lynn’s blog, and the twists just sound so crazy!

Reviews

• 4 of 5 stars to Silver Nitrate by Silver Moreno-Garcia
• 4 of 5 stars to Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey
• 3.5 of 5 stars to Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Recent Reads

I certainly didn’t expect to finish this many books, but earlier this week I spent a whole day repainting my daughter’s bedroom and a couple of great audio listens kept me company and just made the time fly by. You guys, Delicate Condition was SO AMAZING. Let me just say I love being a mom but I didn’t particularly enjoy being pregnant because I was stressed out the whole damn time. Reading this brought back some of those anxieties and what the character went through was absolutely horrifying, but suffice it to say I devoured this book in one session. The other standout was Boys in the Valley. It’s one of those books where when you are done you look back on it and think, holy crap, that was spectacularly well done and put together. Also, someone really ought to make it into a movie.

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!