Bookshelf Roundup 10/22/23: 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
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!
Tonight, I Burn by Katharine J. Adams (Orbit): A witchy coven book that’s coming out early November which I confess wasn’t even on my radar until I read the description. Now I’m adding it to my list of fall’s must-reads.
The Darkness Before Them by Matthew Ward (Orbit): The first book of a trilogy called The Soulfire Saga. I’ve read Legacy of Ash by the author and am curious about the start of his new epic fantasy series.
Saevus Corax Captures the Castle by K.J. Parker (Orbit): The second book of the Corax trilogy, whose first book I just received last week. Fortunately, they’re releasing all three books in rapid succession, so there won’t be too long to wait between installments!
The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers (Redhook): A darkly whimsical fantasy debut about a cursed family where one member in every generation is stolen away to another world as punishment for a crime no one remembers. This book sounds absolutely amazing.
Short and Long by Michael Blumlein (Subterranean Press): A set of two books featuring the author’s short fiction, the former aptly containing the shorter works while the latter contains the longer stories and novellas!
Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry (Berkley): Three women from different walks of life find themselves inside stories they know aren’t their own. I didn’t love the last couple books I read by Henry, but she’s still a must-read author, and I do love the concept behind this one.
Spooktastic Reads 2023
Kind of a last minute decision, but I’m doing Spooktastic Reads again this year. Since the last time I participated was in 2020, if you need a refresher, this is a mini-event held for the thirteen days before Halloween exploring everything spooky-related. This can be horror, dark fantasy, ghost stories, urban legends, psychological thrillers, even Gothic romance–pretty much anything related to the “shadowy territory where fantasy tiptoes towards the edges of horror,” as the event’s official description puts it. It’s not even limited to books, if other media like movies, video games, etc. are more your thing.
Why have I decided to take part now? Well, that’s because 2023 has been a year swimming in horror book releases, and I have a bunch coming up in my reading list along with a few more from earlier in the summer that still need reviewing. I figured, why not? Spooktastic Reads is also as casual as it gets, with no schedules or sign-ups required. However, if you do feel like doing a prompt challenge, you can find it here with more information about the event. This year, the hosts are Imyril, Annemieke, Ariana, Jorie, and Lisa, the team also behind Wyrd & Wonder.
Reviews
- 4 of 5 stars to The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young
- 4 of 5 stars to An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka
- 1.5 of 5 stars to Edenville by Sam Rebelein
Recent Reads
This week, I finished The Unmaking of June Farrow, which is already reviewed, as well as Holly. The librarian at my daughter’s school where I volunteer is a huge Stephen King fan, and when he mentioned that he still had to read Holly and that his library hold would be available soon, an impromptu “buddy read” was born. While it wasn’t as good as The Outsider, and it was also more detective noir thriller than paranormal horror, it was still a very compulsive read.
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 
Hope the buddy read went well. I’ve never done one with a “real” person before, just those I know from online. Was it any different from doing one online?
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It was super casual, and it was also in audio so just kept updating each other every day with the percentage and catch up/slow down as required. I had a lot of questions for him too because I never read the Finders Keepers trilogy (where Holly first appeared and was a major character) so I needed some background on her history. We texted and talked about the book as we read, and luckily King’s books usually generate a lot of discussion!
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Is the Finders Keepers the same as the Bill Hodge trilogy?
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Yep!
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I had totally forgotten about King’s “Holly”, so thank you for reminding me: it would seem that he’s recently branching out in directions different from horror – knowing that beforehand, I hope not to be disappointed by the lack of his “usual” themes… 😉
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I confess, there was a part of me that had hoped we’d be getting something similar to The Outsider, but the resulting story was no less addictive! There’s no supernatural horror in this one, but it was still plenty messed up!
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I’m not sure how I missed City of Stardust. Hopefully it will be offered as a finished copy in January!
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For sure, they’ll probably offer them then!
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I have City of Starlight to read too. I loved the Legacy of Ash trilogy and so a new series by Matthew Ward definitely sounds interesting
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Yes, it’s been a while since Legacy of Ash ended so I’m curious to see what he has next!
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I’m interested in reading Holly one of these days. For Halloween this season I’m doing a reread, but this time in audiobook form, of The Exorcist. It’s just as creepy as I remember, and it’s always fun reading something close enough to where you live that you know the area they describe.
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Ooh, The Exorcist in audio! I can imagine the production values of that would be very high. Does it have sound effects, multiple narrators, etc?
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The version I’m reading doesn’t have all the extras some audiobooks have, like the sound effects, etc. This one is just the narrator, which happens to also be the author, but he does a great job with a voice I think works well for the story.
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I added the Unmaking of June Farrow to my TBR as it only gets stellar reviews!
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And they’re all well deserved!
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I’m looking forward to a couple of these – City of Stardust for example.
Happy reading.
Lynn 😀
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That one looks so delicious! Happy reading to you too!
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