Stacking the Shelves: The Possible Slump 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.

Nothing crazy happening this week. Things have actually been pretty quiet. I have a day off on Monday, as I have vacation time that's set to expire soon. Sadly, I've been in a slight reading slump as well as an exercise slump, so not a lot of progress on things that I typically enjoy doing. I'm hoping a three-day weekend will really pep me back up. But anyway, here's my haul for the week!

I took a break from the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series, the prequel/spinoff to Zodiac Academy, after book three because I was getting burnt out. But I had hoped maybe I could easily get back into the series and then get out of my small reading slump, since the Zodiac world is so addicting. So, I downloaded Broken Fae on Kindle Unlimited. My plan hasn't worked so far, but it's only been a couple of days and I'm just on chapter three. Hopefully the slump disappears soon.

Redbubble had a coupon, so I made an FBAA fan art order. Are we surprised? Nope. And this is where most of my raise went. *Sigh.* I have a mix of different artists here. That's something I love about Redbubble, is you can order from various artists because everything prints in one location, versus Etsy that ships from all over the world and is super expensive, though I do love me Etsy artists. I have a few things still to come in this Redbubble order. In fact, they may be in my mailbox now, but I'm too lazy to go get them.

And lastly, I have more FBAA stuff. And speaking of Etsy, this is a dustjacket set I preordered there. I don't even have extra hardback covers to put these on...yet. But I had to order them in case they sold out. While the faces of Poppy and Cas aren't quite how I imagined them, I do love the details in the background and the outfits. Plus, Kieran is on TCOGB's cover. And that's amazing. ;)

What books have you bought/received lately?

Stacking the Shelves: The Post-Easter 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.

So, this week has been interesting. Stressful, but not as much as the past few weeks. Mostly it's been stress of the "Should I take this new job or stay at my current one?" variety. I did decide to stay, only because they gave me a raise and have better time off and less expensive insurance. But it was very exciting to have a job offer from another company that really did want me! It's the first time that's really happened to me in the work world!

I guess I should talk about what everyone's actually here for, though, so here are the two books I got this week: Complicated Hearts Part 1 and 2, by Ashley Jade. Both are ebooks I borrowed on Kindle Unlimited. This was a fun contemporary duology. I read it because Ashley Jade is going to Apollycon, and I've never read her books. I didn't love the books enough to buy hardcopies (I rarely do with contemporary titles), but I'll for sure get her to sign the frame I'm taking to the event.

Other than those two titles, I really only got one other bookish thing. This Kieran Contou sweater. For those who don't know, Kieran is a character in From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Right now, he's my comfort character. I love him. Also, excuse the weird hand position in the photo. I was trying to show off the sleeve design. I had planned to wear this to Apollycon, but it's definitely too warm for July weather. I'll have to order the T-shirt version, which was only available AFTER I'd already made this order. *Sigh*

And lastly, just for fun, here's the Easter basket my mom gave me when she visited a week before the actual holiday. I've had this thing sitting on my counter for a long time. Needless to say, not all of the candy made it that full week before Sunday. However, I do still have quite a bit left over now.

What books have you bought/received lately?

Anticipated May 2022 Releases

  I realized I've been terrible at keeping up with release dates over the past couple of years. To help with that, I've decided to try out a monthly anticipated list on the blog. I'm starting with May, since April is already halfway over.

Now, even though these are listed in numerical order, there isn't really a "Top" book except the last few. The rest of them are all pretty equal in terms of desirability. Oh, and please remember that these are just my opinions about what I am most looking forward to.

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From the Mouth of Sirens by Abigail Hair (May 7, 2022)

This is a new addition to my anticipated list. I actually only added it on Goodreads a couple of weeks ago. I've never been a huge fan of mermaid/siren stories (I like them more in theory than in execution for some weird reason), but I was intrigued by this one. I'll probably wait to hear some buzz before diving in, though.

Book of Night by Holly Black (May 3, 2022)

Everyone and their brother knows that this book is releasing in May. While I'm not a huge Holly Black fan, I do have a couple of special editions coming my way. Since this is her first adult book, I wanted to see if I might love this one. I did like her Folk of the Air series (though I wasn't in love with them) and I really liked her Curseworkers books. So, hopefully BoN is worth the special edition money I spent.

Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky (May 3, 2022)

This one sounds like a cute read. While I haven't been super into contemporary romances lately, every once in a while, I get the urge to do a palette cleanse from all my fantasy series. I might pick this one up during such a time.

Cold as Hell by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle (May 24, 2022)

Every once in a while, I try to get out of my comfort zone and read a sci-fi/fantasy book that doesn't have a strong romance or relationship element. This would be one of those. A cowboy monster hunter stuck in purgatory sounds pretty interesting, especially with it being compared to The Witcher series.

Charm by Tracy Wolff (May 3, 2022)

I'm still not caught up on this series, and I don't plan to be until the last book's release date is closer, but I'll more than likely be buying Charm when it's out so I can binge the entire series. I've only read book one, Crave, so far, and that's been a couple of years ago, so a re-read will be necessary. While the first book didn't overly impress me, I have a feeling I'll love the sequels due to the various romantic relationship drama.

The Prince's Poisoned Vow by Hailey Turner (May 2, 2022)

I truly don't know much about this book other than it's a gay fantasy story, so I'm all in. It's going to be a Bookish Box book, I think, so I decided to check it out and see if I liked it. I really hope it's good. We really need more fantastic LGBT+, poly, and non-conventional fantasy books.

A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy (May 31, 2022)

I'm cheating for this one and copying/pasting from my 2022 Most Anticipated list I wrote back in January: "While I don't really care for country music, this book intrigues me. A boy who wants to become the biggest gay country superstar and a boy working at an amusement park set to fall for each other. Sounds very cute?" I have it on hold at my local library.

The Inadequate Heir by Danielle L. Jensen (May 24, 2022)

I love the Dominique Wesson covers for this series! I plan on meeting Danielle at Apollycon this year, so I'm debating on which book I want to get signed by her. Since this is book one of the Bridge Kingdom spinoff, I don't know if it'll make the suitcase cut, but it'll be a shame not to have all of the pretty copies signed.

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah (May 17, 2022)

I already read this courtesy of Orbit books, as they sent me an ARC. And it was a super fun desert fantasy story! I'm very excited to have a physical copy coming in one of my subscription boxes next month. I may even need to purchase a regular US hardcover as well. I'll decide once I see what the special edition looks like.

Glow by Raven Kennedy (May 19, 2022)

Sadly, I just found out that this is only book four in a five book series. I was kind of hoping it would be the last book so I didn't have to wait a year for the the final installment. While I always love me a good series, I hate waiting. But I am super excited to see where Auren and Rip's story goes after the events of Gleam.

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Alright, there you have it. My most anticipated May 2022 books. What titles are on your list? And let me know of any May releases I may be missing.

Stacking the Shelves: The Zodiac Addiction 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.

Just when I think I get a handle on blogging fairly regularly again, work and/or life gets in the way. I guess you'll just have to put up with my sporadic posts. #SorryNotSorry. I will say that I am happy it's the weekend and that a big work task is over. Now, hopefully, my brain can gel out and calm down. To help with that, let's talk about my favorite thing—books!

I don't have a lot to share this week in terms of physical books. It's been pretty sparse buying-wise, though I've preordered quite a few things. I actually only have The Atlas Six to haul. This is the first FairyLoot Adult book from their new monthly subscription. I'm a little disappointed in this edition, just because I think the Illumicrate and Waterstones ones are prettier. I am still very excited for April's Adult book, as it doesn't have a gazillion other special editions like March and May's choices. Plus, the April book choice is one of my favorite reads of the year (so far).

Next up is a mish-mash of stuff. My preorder incentive for Crescent City #2 came in. It's larger than I would prefer for a book print. It's basically poster size. I also forgot to share The Witcher Funko Pop my mom preordered for me during Christmas time. I picked it up at her house back in March when I visited. Oh, also not pictured is my new bookcase! I'll share photos soon-ish. Once I get things arranged. And lastly for the physical items, I have a library book of Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei.

I've been diving back into the Zodiac Academy world even though I told myself to hold off since book eight in the series isn't out until December. But I couldn't stop myself. So, I downloaded books 1-3 of the prequel/spinoff series, Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac, on Kindle Unlimited. I don't love this series as much as Zodiac Academy, but it's fun. I do like Leon, Dante, and Ryder, though. I also downloaded A Court of Honey and Ash on Kindle Unlimited. I saw that Bookish Box is doing a special edition for this series, so I thought I'd try it out.

Speaking of Zodiac Academy, I preordered an ebook of Nightingale, which is an anthology that includes a short story from the ZA world. The anthology came out in early April and benefits those in Ukraine. So far, I've only read the ZA story. I haven't even looked at the other authors who contributed. And, lastly, I bought A Court of Bitter Thorn by Kay L. Moody because it was only $2.99 on Kindle. And I think that's all I got over the past couple of weeks... I hope...

What books have you bought/received lately?

An Updated Bookshelf Tour: Bookshelf #3

Like I mentioned a month or so ago, I realized I hadn't shared any up-to-date photos of my bookshelves in a long time, so I figured I'd let you all see what I've got. And again, the shelf I'm sharing pics of today is also a mess. I really, really need a library. *sigh* If you haven't seen the first bookshelf tour, you should totally check it out and gawk at my extreme disorganization. Haha.

This is Bookshelf #3. It contains a mix of genres, from adult romance to middle grade chapter books. It's a variety of stuff that I don't know where to put. And it, like Bookshelf #1 and #2, is temporarily at my parents' house until I get a bigger place. Also, these are primarily books I've already read. Most of my TBR books are at my apartment, so I can actually read them.

Alrighty then, let’s move on to the good stuff.

***

Here's an overview of Bookshelf #2 and #3. I have them situated in the corner, so it was just easier to take a photo of them both together versus separately. As you can see, both are a total mess. Stacks upon stacks of books. It makes my book-loving heart hurt.

The top shelf holds my HP copies. I talked about this shelf with Bookshelf #2's post, so I'll just leave it at that. I will say that this shelf space used to look a lot better before I packed some of my HP swag away. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, either. I still love HP, but you know...

The shelf below that is where my YA contemporary used to live and still does for the most part. But I just threw my Iron Fey FairyLoot copies here since I had some room after doing a YA contemporary unhaul earlier this year.

The next shelf is mostly paranormal romance with a mix of YA fantasy and paranormal. And look! L.J. Smith's Night World series that will never be finished. Gah!

On the middle shelf, there's some YA and a YA/middle grade series called Pendragon by D.J. MacHale. The series is so underrated! Fans of Percy Jackson should definitely check this one out. I'd like to go back and do a re-read of the series one day, but I haven't had time lately.

More paranormal romance here. There's some J.R. Ward and Gena Showalter. There's also some Meg Cabot books, and in the corner you can see my Bailey School Kids set. What a mix of titles. Lol.

Ah, here's a better view of that corner. You can see all the Meg Cabot now. Haha. You can also see the Intertwined series by Gena Showalter. Another unfinished series. Urgh. I hate unfinished series so much.

 On the bottom of this shelf, I have some larger hardcovers and paperbacks, like Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments books. There are a few other YA fantasy/paranormal hardcovers hiding out here as well..

And, not to be forgotten, we have the Angelfire series in the corner. I remember spending hours online writing comments to try to win a signed edition of all three books. I actually ended up only getting the first two (in separate giveaways), but man, was it cool to have free time like that on my hands.

  Oh, and this is a stack of random books that I think I threw on this shelf after I realized I didn't have a place for them anywhere else. I guess I ended up moving the Cassandra Clare boxset that was sitting here in earlier photos. I don't have these shelves at my apartment, so I can't easily check to see.

***

Well, that's the third shelf. I'll eventually get around to sharing pics of my apartment shelves, but I'm experiencing a bit of an issue trying to have a new bookcase delivered right now. You'll eventually get photos, though, I promise!

Do you have any pics of your bookshelves up? If so, link them below so I can check them out. I love looking at pretty book collections.

March Wrap-Up and April TBR

March was dreadful. Well, not all of it. The first half was great! But the last half was terrible. Mostly because of work-related issues. Thankfully, I can clock out at 4:30 and come home to all of my books. That's all that's getting me through at this point. Ugh. Anywho, let's get to this blog post.

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 March

Zodiac Academy: Heartless Sky: 4 stars (ebook)
Seth on the Moon (novella): 4 stars (ebook)
Zodiac Academy: The Big A.S.S. Party (novella): 3.5 stars (ebook)
Once Upon a Broken Heart: 2.5 stars

Something Fabulous: 3 stars (ebook)

Unhinged: 3 stars (ebook)

Psycho: 3 stars (ebook)

Zodiac Academy: Origins of an Academy Bully: 3 stars (ebook)

The War of Two Queens: 4.5 stars (ebook)

Heat Wave: 3.5 stars (ebook, review to come)

Deal with an Elf King: 3.5 stars

I read eight full-length books and three novellas. The physical books were Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber and Deal with an Elf King by Elise Kova. I'm so happy I got to Deal, as I plan on meeting Elise Kova at Apollycon this year, but I wasn't sure I'd like her books, as I've heard mixed things. Thankfully, this one was fun. I probably won't get to any more before July, but I may buy a signed book or two of hers at the event. Oh, and both physical books I read were ones I bought/received in 2021. The rest of the books were all ebooks, and most were due to my new Kindle Unlimited subscription. I'm trying to read as many as possible as quickly as possible, so I don't have to keep my subscription for longer than the summer months. That's the plan anyway. Of the KU books, I read Zodiac Academy #7 and three ZA novellas, Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall, and Unhinged and Psycho by Onley James. Then, of course, my preorder of JLA's The War of Two Queens came in, and, amazingly, it's my favorite book of the year (so far)! I'm obsessed with it! I also read Heat Wave by TJ Klune via a NetGalley ARC, so a review for that will come in July.

Books Bought/Received in March

I have a bit of a crazy haul this month. In total, I purchased 18 books in March and received 21 books. The 21 books include purchases, preorders, or anything else that arrived to my apartment during the month. Of the books I bought, 17 were physical and one was an ebook, The War of Two Queens. (Technically, I got a lot of books off of Kindle Unlimited, but I don't count those, since once I stop paying for KU, they'll disappear.) The physical books I bought include 13 Yasmine Galenorn mass market paperbacks I purchased from local used bookstores; Zodiac Academy: The Awakening: As Told by the Boys, which I bought at B&N; and then I have three FairyLoot orders that haven't arrived yet. I also had five books delivered this month, including a February B&N order that arrived in early March. That order included Fire in You, The Dragon Republic, and The Burning God. My February FairyLoot book Daughter of the Moon Goddess and my preorder of The Iron Sword also arrived. And then, I received a free ARC of The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah, which I just finished reading, and I got a NetGalley ARC of Vows of Empire by Emily Skrutskie, which I'm currently reading. So yeah, it's been a big book month.

Currently Obsessed With

Not a ton to talk about TV-wise this month, except one of the biggest romance shows of recent years.

Yeah, so I binge-watched Bridgerton season 2 in one weekend. Is anyone surprised? Nope. I started the first four episodes with my mom, and then finished it up after I returned home from visiting her. While at my parents' house, I also watched Spider-Man: No Way Home via Amazon, and then we went to the local theater to watch Edward Cullen...err... The Batman. Haha. Both movies were good. Nothing amazing, but I enjoyed them.

April TBR

So there's a mix of books I have to get to this month versus books I just want to get to. The have to's include two library books, So This is Ever After and All That's Left in the World as well as Midnight Sun for April's book club. I also really need to read Defy the Night and A Promise of Fire, as these are two books by Apollycon authors. While I've read Brigid Kemmerer's books before, I need to know if I like Defy the Night enough to buy a US hardcover edition at the event because I don't like my FairyLoot copy. As for want-to-read books, I would like to get to An Ember in the Ashes, The Dragon Republic, and The Last Namsara. I also have some NetGalley ARCs I need to start/finish up, including Vows of Empire and Silk Fire. And the Kindle Unlimited books I want to read are What Lies Beyond the Veil, A Court of Honey and Ash, Court of Dragons, The Rise of Monsters, and Lola and the Millionaires. Will I get to all of these? Heck no. But I'm hoping to maybe read half of them.

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Okay, well, that's the month of March, plus some April 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 Return to the Library 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.

Oh man, has this been the week from h-e-double-hockey-sticks. Work has just been unbelievable stressful. Thankfully, I was able to take the past weekend to go visit my parents and get away from everything. I ended up watching Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman with them, so that was fun. I didn't get much reading done, though. BUT, I do have a solid book haul this week!

 

 

First up, I have a couple of library books. There's So This is Ever After by F.T. Lukens and All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown. Both of these sound fun, and I hope they scratch the itch of cute, sci-fi/fantasy reads to get me through a slight life slump that's been causing my reading to suffer this past week. I definitely need some light-hearted fiction right now.

In addition to those, I downloaded Court of Dragons by Frost Kay on Kindle Unlimited. Like many of the other Kindle Unlimited books I've downloaded, I'm not sure I'll get to this one before I end my subscription. However, it has a gorgeous cover, right!? I really hope it's a good, if not great, read because that cover deserves a good story.

My preorder incentive for Julie Kagawa's Iron Sword also came in. I'm assuming these are the two main characters from her Iron Fey series, but I haven't read the newer installments yet, so I don't know if they're still the same characters or if the new additions follow other characters in the Iron Fey world. It looks like Ash and Meghan, though.

What books have you bought/received lately?