Bookshelf Roundup 09/24/23: 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.
Received for Review
With thanks to Ace Books for:
- The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher, the long awaited sequel to The Aeronaut’s Windlass. It’s been a while for sure, and I will probably need to reread the first book or at least find a good summary. But I am really excited to read this!
With thanks to Del Rey for:
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden, whose Winternight trilogy I adored. I was just wondering the other day what she was up to, and I was overjoyed to learn it was this book, another magical historical fantasy that sounds amazing.
- Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare, a story about a prince, his bodyguard/stand-in, and a kingdom on the verge of unraveling.
With thanks to Titan Books for:
- The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey, a horror mystery noir for the Halloween season!
With thanks to Berkley for:
- Murder Road by Simone St. James, who wrote The Sun Down Motel and The Book of Cold Cases, both of which I loved. I can’t wait to read another creepy paranormal mystery from the author.
With thanks to Hachette Audio for:
- The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub, described as a witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice but told from the perspective of the youngest Bennet sister. Sounds like all kinds of amazing!
Reviews
- 5 of 5 stars to Dreambound by Dan Frey
- 4 of 5 stars to Where Peace Is Lost by Valerie Valdes
- 4 of 5 stars to Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
- 3 of 5 stars to Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian
Recent Reads
I picked up Cassandra Clare’s Sword Catcher this week, figuring that reading a longer book would give me a break to catch up with my review writing. Well, it was definitely a saga. It was interesting enough, I suppose, but did it really have to be 600 pages? I don’t know. Like I said, I enjoyed it, but there were also plenty of moments where I felt like nothing much was happening, if that makes sense. The other book I finished was Starter Villain which was typical Scalzi, the kind of story that makes you think, wow, this is so stupid…but I guess kind of fun as well? Only he can pull off something like this. A review for it is on my to-do list for next week.
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 
Wait a second, did I read that right?
You are going to RE-READ a book from 2015? I did notice how you cleverly didn’t say you would be reviewing that re-read though 😉
I’m going to wait another book or two to see if Butcher makes this series a never ending one like Dresden or if he has an end goal in mind like with Codex Alera.
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Lol I also said I’m hoping to find a summary online of the first book. I mean come on, there’s got to be one, I can’t be the only one in this boat, right???!
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Ahhhh, reading comprehension 101 😀
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Nice new reads! Mostly new to me ones but I’ve of course seen Clare’s book around. Sadly could never get into her books so I decided to pass on this as well. But definitely been there with those mammoth tomes that just seem to be long because the author already has a mega following and publishers are just like, sure! Lol.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your new reads!
Here’s my StS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
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Sword Catcher was my first Clare book. It was definitely not what I expected, lol! She’s clearly a good writer, but wow, so long winded!
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Ha ha yes Starter Villain was the Scalzi-est of his books yet!
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For sure! And I thought we’d reached peak ridiculousness with Kaiju!
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I have just reread Aeronaut’s Windlass and it was every bit as good as I remembered. I can’t wait for the new one to arrive
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That’s awesome! If I can’t find a summary online, maybe I’ll try and get the audio of the first book from the library.
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Very interested in your full review for Sword Catcher, I had some similar feelings. Like it moved really well, but when I looked back, my overall feeling was “…what did we actually accomplish?”
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Oh my gosh, so glad I’m not the only one who felt that way about Sword Catcher! We definitely went no where fast.
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Seeing The Warm Hands of Ghosts is another reminder how far behind I am at trying certain specific books and series, as I’ve been meaning to try the Winternight trilogy since it came out.
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The Winternight Trilogy was gorgeous! Highly recommended, I hope you get a chance to read it 🙂
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A pride and Prejudice variation, yes please
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I knew that would get your attention 🙂
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The Warm Hands of Ghosts – yes please.
Lynn 😀
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I’m just soooo glad to see a new Arden book, it’s been a while, no?
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Excellent book haul!! I feel like all of Cassandra Clare’s books suffer from bloat – looking forward to your full review 😊
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It’s my first Cassandra Clare, wish I had known about the bloat beforehand 😂
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