Stacking the Shelves: The Blood and Ash Set Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

The year is almost over. Thank god. We're closer every day to having sanity back. Hopefully. But now that it's autumn, it's darker out, which means I get in bed by 7 p.m. Lol. I haven't been reading much because I've been stuck in my Interview with the Vampire obsession, but I did get a bunch of books. And, of course, there are more books on the way.

As for books I actually received this week, two Jennifer L. Armentrout Books for Days Crate sets arrived. One of them was the much-anticipated Blood and Ash set. These are sooooo pretty. I'm not a huge fan of the plain red background, but the artwork is so gorgeous. I also got an acrylic Poppy/Cas/Kieran add-on standee in my order, along with an art print, sticker, and a few overlays. Oh, and my preorders of the FBAA coloring book also came in. I got two copies. One to color and one to collect.

 

 

The other Books for Days Crate set is the last two books in the Lux series/Lux spinoff. It's Oblivion and Obsession. I haven't read either of these yet. I think I'll do a whole reread of the series when/if the last book in the Origin series is released. Now, I do like the covers for this particular set, but I still haven't found a special edition Lux set that blows me away. Maybe FairyLoot will do editions one day. Not that I need to spend more money on these books.

 

 

 

And finally, I received my preorders of three different books from very different places. The first is The Strength of the Few by James Islington, which I received from Barnes & Noble. Next, is Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff, which I ordered from Blackwells, and then, I finally received my Origins Zodiac Academy novella special edition from the authors' company. It had been delayed for months, so it's weird to finally have it in my hands.

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?

Stacking the Shelves: The German Zodiac Academy Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

It is another week of 2025. But, it is a bit of a happier one. Things are looking up. I just hope we can all last until next November. As for my personal life, it's been quiet. Mostly just sleeping, eating, working, and obsessing over the Interview with the Vampire AMC show. I've been devouring actor panel interviews, fanfic, and everything else I can get my hands on. I haven't had this level of fandom since Game of Thrones and Supernatural. It feels great, but I don't want to wait until April to see season three. Sigh...

As for the actual books I received, I have a mix of stuff. I went to my local used bookstore last Saturday and got The Road of Bones by Demi Winters with trade credit. My Barnes & Noble preorder of the hardcover edition of The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen also arrived. It came with a wonderful mark on the front cover, so I don't know what to do about that. I don't think B&N will replace it. I also don't even know if I want it anymore. Ugh. Then, my preorder of the UK edition of Wrath of the Fallen by Amber V. Nicole also arrived. It's so pretty and purple and white. I love it. If the UK ends up doing all of the previous and future books in this series in this style, I might finally get rid of the other editions I have. I have like two indie paperbacks, the FairyLoot set, one tour edition, and a LitHaven version. It's too much. The last preorder that arrived was the German edition of Zodiac Academy's The Awakening by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. I will not be getting all of the books in this series in German. It's too much money and the art isn't absolutely amazing, but I think I'm going to get an edition here are there based on the character. Like, for instance, if there's a Seth and/or Caleb one, I might have to buy it.

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?

October Wrap-Up & November TBR

Well, it's November. This year is simultaneously taking 1,000 painful days but also going by super fast. I wasn't reading a whole lot this month. I got sucked into a new show, so I was fixated on that, and I spent a lot of time doom scrolling instead of reading. Hopefully, I can fix that in November. Who knows? Certainly not me.

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in October

A Fire in the Sky: 3 stars

Bitter Burn: 4 stars

Four Ruined Realms: 4 stars

Warrior Princess Assassin: 4 stars

I read only four books in October, and I can contribute the downfall to the current state of affairs in the country. It's hard to read when crazy people are trying to take over. The four books I did get to read, though, were pretty good, for the most part. My first read was A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan, then I read Bitter Burn by Sierra Simone, Four Ruined Realms by Mai Corland, and Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer. Three of them were physical books off of my TBR too, so that was great. The only ebook was Four Ruined Realms, which I read on Kindle Unlimited.

Books Bought/Received in October

This month was a big, BIG YIKES. I spent waaaaaay too much. And it's looking like November and December won't be any better. Sigh. I need to really start reading the books I have so I can sell the ones I don't want to keep after I've read them. I'm both running out of space and money. Lol. Overall for October, though, I bought 22 books and received 18.

The 18 books I received consisted mostly of preorders that I'd already paid for. These include Lily Mayne's Monstrous series editions by Renegade Romance, the UK bindup editions of Meg Cabot's Mediator series, the Doylestown signed TPOBAB, a replacement B&N TPOBAB, the UK Waterstones edition of What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller, the FairyLoot Unearthly set, the FairyLoot edition of The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten, the Acrylipics 3D edges version of FBAA, Bitten by Jordan Gray, and Bitter Burn by Sierra Simone, both from B&N.

 

Now, for what I bought. I only received 16 of the 22 books I purchased. Those included preorders from B&N: Mate by Ali Hazelwood; Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick; Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent; the new deluxe Narnia edition; the B&N and regular edition of Bonds of Hercules by Jasmine Mas; and Beyond the Veil by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. It also included four in-store B&N purchases: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson, The Shadow of the Gods by Johyn Gwynne, The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington, and a collection of Edgar Allan Poe. I also received my FairyLoot editions of Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson, which was the October Romantasy book, and my September Adult book, Alchemised came as well. I did receive my Owlcrate Romantasy book as well, What Fury Brings, and my Mercari order of The Black Prince by Ariana Nash. I also ordered a Kindle copy of North Queen by Nicola Tyche.

 As for the remaining seven books, some of them should be on their way soon and others won't ship out for a while yet. Those include the Lilac Library edition of Quicksilver, the Blackwell's edition of The Wrath of the Fallen, and the FairyLoot editions of Fallen Stars, Dire Bound, and Bonds of Hercules.

Currently Obsessed With

I finally watched a TV show I'm now obsessed with. It's AMC's Interview with a Vampire, which was perfect for Halloween time. I am now back on my vampire obsession ways. I need more in my books and shows. I think I'm going to watch Castlevania next and maybe re-read Empire of the Vampire to prepare for the finale coming soon. Other than that, I did go see The Life of a Showgirl in theaters earlier this month for the premiere of the new Taylor Swift music video. I also listened to the album for a few weeks. I stopped listening recently, though. I didn't want to get burned out. Other than that, I continued to rewatch the Shrek films.

November TBR

I am currently reading Wrath of the Dragons by Olivia Rose Darling, The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde, and Court of Nightmares by K.A. Linde. I'd also like to read Blood & Steel by Helen Scheurer, Rein of Shadows and Endings by Melissa Roehrich, The Nightshade God, and re-read Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. I very much need to read We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark, Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Marsh, and To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast as well. Those three are all NetGalley eARCs.

***

Okay, well, that's the month of October, plus some November sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!

Stacking the Shelves: The Too Much Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

It's November. Wow. October was nuts, but it's time for a quiet fall month. I hope. Maybe. Ugh. It's getting scary out here in the U.S. Send help, international friends. Or take me with you. But anyway. Cheerier subjects, once again. Books. I've spent too much money on them lately, and FairyLoot keeps dropping special editions right before the holidays. What the heck, FairyLoot?! Grr.

As for books I actually received this week, I went nuts. Well, I went nuts months ago, and am now paying the price. By that, I mean my preorders went insane. I have the new deluxe Narnia omnibus edition, the B&N and regular edition of Bonds of Hercules by Jasmine Mas, and Beyond the Veil by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. I also have my FairyLoot edition of The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten that arrived. I'm very mad that it has a dent in the top of the spine, but FairyLoot won't replace it. It'll look bad sitting next to the two other books. I can deal with damage on the bottom of a spine and the back of the book, but if it's at the top of the spine and the front of the book, where it's noticeable, I get upset.

 

 

 

If my preorders weren't enough, I also went to B&N this week when I stopped by for a dentist appointment, and I bought four books. The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington and The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne were on a buy-one-get-one-half-off table, so I got those two. I also wanted a collection of Edgar Allan Poe's work, so I got that and Brandon Sanderson's Skyward, which I've been wanting to read for a while now.

 

 

 

And next, I received my preorder of the 3D-printed edge of From Blood and Ash that Acrylipics did. Now, I don't really care about the fancy 3D edge. I honestly only care about the dust jacket. I collect different covers of the FBAA books, for the most part, not the edges. I've already purchased book two, though, and I am hoping Acrylipics holds off on selling the rest of the series for a while, as I need to save some money.

 

  

And finally for the physical books, I received my preorder of Lily Mayne's Monstrous series. Or at least, it's the first five books in the series. I wasn't sure about buying these because the series was fun, but only one of the books is really one I think I'd like to reread. However, now that I've canceled Kindle Unlimited, I'm glad I did purchase them. Plus, these editions from Renegade Romance look way better than the original cover art. Not offense to the designer of the original covers, I just like this style of these more. The order also came with some cute couples bookmarks.

 

And, for the ebooks, I have one I bought only because I had some Kindle credit that was expiring at the end of December. It's the North Queen by Nicola Tyche. It was on sale for $0.99, so I got it for like $0.24. Now, normally I would have just read this on Kindle Unlimited, but, like I said, I actually decided to cancel KU. Amazon has some terrible business practices, and I'm kind of over it. I really wish B&N would make some competition for them in the indie/ebook space. And canceling KU also gives me the opportunity to read the books I already own. 

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?

Review: Our Vicious Oaths by N.E. Davenport

Our Vicious Oaths

N.E. Davenport

Publication Date: October 28, 2025

Paperback, 528 pages, Harper Voyager

Genres: Adult, Fantasy/Romantasy

Goodreads

Enter a new world of romantic fantasy from award-winning author N.E. Davenport—a journey of powerful magic, enemies-to-lovers, and political intrigue—as a warrior-princess and a vengeful king from rival fae courts form a fierce alliance to take down a merciless despot.

 

Princess of the Aether Dominion, Kadeesha wants nothing to do with fae politics. She is a warrior, first and foremost, and believes her greatest strength is leading her squadron of elite winged serpent flyers to protect her homeland. But bound since infancy to be betrothed to the Hyperion High King, ruler of all Dominions, she has no choice but to do what men have chosen for her.

 

Repulsed by the idea, she decides to spend one last night of freedom—in the arms of a dangerous stranger who takes her to sexual heights she’s never experienced before…but who is only using Kadeesha to set a trap for the High King

 

 For the High King and the kings of his six Dominions were responsible for the decimation of the Apollyon Court, and its new king, Malachi, wants his pounds of flesh.

 

 On Kadeesha’s wedding day, Malachi and his special forces attack. Her father is killed, and Malachi wounds the High King, ultimately taking Kadeesha as hostage back to his land.

 

 But she is no true hostage. The two form a pact: she will help lure the High King so Malachi can kill him once and for all, and he in turn will not harm Kadeesha or the Aether people. And as much as Kadeesha hates politics, she is now the Queen of her folk. Fae bonds are unbreakable…and so, perhaps, is the attraction Kadeesha and Malachi feel for each other. For even as they must publicly display their connection to provoke the High King’s jealousy, they struggle to resist the powerful allure between them in order to achieve their ultimate goals.

My Review

If you're looking for a romantasy book with a tension-filled relationship similar to Amber V. Nicole's Gods & Monsters series only set in an all-out fantasy fae world, I think Our Vicious Oaths could definitely be for you. It has characters with magical powers, kongamatos (giant serpent dragons), and two main characters who loathe each other.

The two main characters are fairly antagonistic to each other. At times, I got a bit uncomfortable thinking "Oh, we're doing that? Okay." It's a very unconventional relationship in a fantasy romance story simply because of their thoughts and actions towards each other. The female main character, Kadeesha, is an aether fire-wielding, kongamato-riding princess who reeeeally wants to kill Malachi, the king of the Apollyon Court. She even plans to kill him when things seem to be going well in their alliance. And Malachi, the shadow-wielding king, has a tendency to play the bad guy to everyone except his close companions. So yeah, reluctant allies to lovers with enemies to lovers thrown in too. Like I said, she wants to kill him, and he is extremely... intense.

Now, I was worried their tension wouldn't work because of how their original meeting played out in the early chapters of the story. It was a bit underwhelming when the characters first got together. However, their tension gets better as time goes on, and the intimate scenes are much more impactful. So, keep reading, even if those first few chapters throw you off.

 The two main characters having to work together to defeat a tyrannical bad guy is a good plot. Very solid. And it works well for a standalone like this. I will say, the book did have a weakness, though. Its clunky sentence structure was difficult to read at times. For example, the sentence, "His other hand moved to cup her hip, his fingers splayed along its length, a possessive brand that was searing." The sentence could have ended with "a possessive searing brand" to be more impactful. This is just one of many examples. And although these sentences did hinder my enjoyment a little, I was still able to read the book without any major issues.

That being said, I do think the plot and characters carried this story. The two main characters were feisty and powerful with unique personalities in an interesting fantasy world. I do wish the side characters in Malachi's Cadre and the kongamato flyers had more time to shine, but maybe that means spinoffs in the future? Seeing the side characters romances could be fun...

All in all, Our Vicious Oaths was a good time. It has cool shadow and fire powers, characters seeking vengeance from evil rulers, and battles with dragons. I think romantasy readers will enjoy this one just like I did.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Stacking the Shelves: The October FairyLoot Romantasy Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

Well, I'm still alive. I guess everyone could say that about October. Yikes. This country is a dumpster fire. I truly hope things can get better, but it's really scary right now. Like, super scary. It sits in the back of my mind every day how far gone our country is. When rights are taken away from one group of people, it's not too long before they start being taken from everyone, and we're seeing that in real-time. It's disgusting. But, I'm going to talk about books to have a small happy place to go during this chaos.

I received my October FairyLoot Romantasy book this week, and I am very disappointed. It's Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson. This cover is so meh. The hardcover and the endpapers are fine, but this design is not it. I'm not a fan of throwing a bunch of gold foil on a plain, dull background. It just doesn't work for me, like those Hawthorne Legacy books FairyLoot did. It's not my preferred design style. This book is actually all I got this week. I do think I ordered a couple of things though. They just won't be delivered for a while.

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?

Stacking the Shelves: The Unearthly Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

I had a rough week, so I'm going to make this post quick. I had to get a new phone, and I got my flu shot which messed me up a bit more than I'd planned on, so things just did not go well these past seven days. I'm hoping next week will be a nice reset.

I got a lot more than I thought I would this week. I say that every week, though. My Unearthly trilogy FairyLoot set came in. It's extremely pretty. I don't think the spines really capture how gorgeous the covers and naked books are. My Owlcrate Romantasy sub book for October, What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller, also arrived. I love this one. Both the design and the book itself. I'm very happy with it. I still may end up canceling my sub soon, though, depending on their future book picks. I've only really liked one out of the three so far. Well, I haven't read the other two, so I can't say that definitively. Based on their designs, it's one out of three, for sure. My Barnes & Noble preorder of Carissa Broadbent's traditionally published version of Daughter of No Worlds came in too, and I bought The Black Prince by Ariana Nash off of Mercari. 

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?

Review: The Primal of Blood and Bone by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Primal of Blood and Bone

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(Blood & Ash #6)

Publication Date: September 23, 2025

Hardcover, 1,288 pages, Blue Box Press

Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads

 

In the shadows and flames, Primals will fall…

 

And from the blood and ash, new gods will rise.

 

 What was dreamt.

 

Poppy was never meant to awaken, and the consequences are devastating and far-reaching, stirring ancient powers from their slumber and transforming Casteel and Kieran in ways even the Fates couldn’t have foreseen. But what that means is the least of their concerns. For now.

 

What was foreseen.

 

The Blood Crown has fallen, but what has risen is a far greater danger than they’ve ever faced. From flesh and fire, the Great Conspirator has returned to the mortal realm, and he wants only one thing. They must stop the true Primal of Death before he regains his strength, and it won’t be easy. Even weakened, his influence is undeniable. His power, unthinkable. 

 

Has come to be.

 

 While the future of the realms rests upon them, they won’t stand alone. The gods have awakened—each harboring their own blood-soaked secrets. But they must navigate an unbalanced realm, where every choice—past and present—has the potential to not only undo everything they’ve fought for but also destroy the very bonds that have Joined them together.

 

For the Harbinger and the Bringer of Death and Destruction has risen.

My Review

The penultimate Blood & Ash book. I was not prepared for it at all. So many revelations and crazy things happening. It was chaos. In both good and bad ways. My emotions were all over the place, and I honestly didn't know what to do with myself when I finished reading. It took me two days to feel in any way normal about this book. I also kept a giant list of questions for JLA in my notes app. She has a lot to answer for after The Primal of Blood and Bone.

This book picks up right where A Soul of Ash and Blood left off. Poppy is in stasis, and Cas and Kieran are trying to keep things together. Well, Kieran is. Cas is a mess throughout the entire story. He's got a lot going on, so I get it. BUT! Treating my sweet baby Kieran poorly is unacceptable! UNACCEPTABLE! Truthfully, both Poppy and Cas treated him poorly, and I was very upset at both of them. Shame on them. I hope he gets an apology in the final book.

  TPOBAB reminded me a lot of The Crown of Gilded Bones, book three in the series, which wasn't my favorite installment, as it mostly consisted of long conversations full of info-dumping. TPOBAB also had conversations about events that happened in the Flesh & Fire series that we as readers already know about, so some of the dialogue just got a bit slow, and it was a lot. There honestly weren't very many scenes that weren't just lengthy conversations. There was one particular conversation that was repeated three times! Once to Poppy, once to Cas, and once to Kieran! The original conversation could have happened with all three major characters present to save valuable page time. I mean, come on! There's only one book left after this! Please give us more domestic trio scenes before its too late!

But, if you take out all of that, the book itself is solid. I definitely had to give it some time to marinate though. I think, trying to binge read it isn't a good idea. You'll burn out quickly. Read it slowly over a week or two, and maybe have the audio book going in the background, if you're an audio reader. I think it'll have more impact that way, especially with the twists. I am happy to say that I managed to guess the ending of the book based on context clues. I can't normally follow all of JLA's Blood & Ash prophecy-related plots, but I got this one. Gold star for me! Now, did I like where we left off? No. That was evil, JLA.

 Overall, as I've had time to reflect on TPOBAB, I've grown to appreciate it more. I think it's setting up for an insane last book, and I can't wait to see more of Kieran, Cas, Poppy, and Kieran. And, did I say more Kieran already? I really don't want this series to end, though. I'm scared. The spinoffs just won't be the same without our main trio.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book for myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Stacking the Shelves: The More TPOBAB Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

It's almost mid-October, and it's finally getting cooler here. Thank goodness. While I'm not looking forward to the cold months, I needed it to stop being 80 degrees in autumn. It was just rude. Now that the weather is better, I've been taking more walks outside lately, and loving it. I hope the 60-70-degree weather continues for a few weeks at least before I have to hibernate indoors for winter.

Now, it's time to talk about books. I have more copies of The Primal of Blood and Bone to share, of course. This one is my Doylestown preorder that I got signed by Jennifer L. Armentrout. It came with a large sticker, character art cards, and a small bag. It's also personalized. I really just wanted the swag. It's the only reason I ordered this copy. It's a good thing I did though, because my other hardcover I ordered from Barnes & Noble came damaged, so I have a good replacement for that one. 

 

 

 

Up next, I have the replacement B&N edition of TPOBAB. That first copy I received also came very damaged, so B&N sent a replacement. They didn't do that for the regular edition. It wasn't damaged enough for their standards. My B&N preorders of the new edition of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and Mate by Ali Hazelwood also arrived. And, I got my September Adult book, Alchemised by Senlinyu. I'm on the fence about reading this one. I want to see what all the hype is about, but the actual content sounds blugh to me. I'll keep it for a while and then decide. And finally, my Waterstones preorder of What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller came this week. It was a pretty good week for preorders, honestly.

 

 

 

And here, I have my preorder incentive swag from Macmillan. It's the two characters in art print form and a signed bookplate for What Fury Brings. I love the artwork for this book, so I'm glad they gave it to us in print form. I didn't want to display the naked hardcover, which also has this character art on it, on my shelves without the dust jacket. That's just not my style, so now I can display these prints instead. Yay!

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?