Well, Christmas is officially over. Now, I have to wait until April for my next big thing to look forward to. ApollyCon 2025, here I come. My holiday over all was a bit different, as we celebrated early this year. So on actual Christmas day we just kind of hung out and played games. But, when we did celebrate the weekend before (Christmas on a Wednesday is a terrible idea, btw), I got some pretty good gifts, including books, which are obviously my favorite type of Christmas present.
So on to this week's haul. First up, I have the Christmas books. My parents, mainly my mother, got me the first two books in Lauren Roberts's Powerless series, a hardcover of From Blood and Ash, and the entire Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima. Cinda is going to ApollyCon this year, so I needed the series for her to sign. I think I'll just have her sign the first three, but I'm not sure. Packing paperbacks across the country is difficult. I might just have to get one signed instead. My sisters also got me the Eras Tour Taylor Swift book and Book Lovers by Emily Henry.
Next up, I have the other gifts I got for Christmas. I got a Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD box set, a punk Spike Funko Pop, a Tootsie Roll pillow that was super random but fun, and some home care/decor items like a face wash scrubber and shower curtain. I also got a huge blanket and a walking pad treadmill for working out. It's still at my parents' house though, as it was too big for me to transport on my own.
And now I have some gifts to myself. Haha. My FairyLoot orders came in. The December Adult book, The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson is kind of plain. I'm a little disappointed in what they tried to do with the cover redesign. I don't like the original version either, but this is boring. The edges are really pretty though, and so are the endpapers. Serpent Sea by Maya Ibrahim is the sequel to Spice Road. I enjoyed that book when I read it a couple of years ago, and I'm glad to have the FairyLoot edition to match. Now, I need to look up if this will be a duology or a trilogy so I can decide when to finish reading the series.
I also got two books from Waterstones around Christmas time. The first is the UK collector's edition of Red Rising. It has foil under the jacket and a different spine design. Honestly, it's not worth the price I had to pay for it. It also came damaged at the top. I emailed Waterstones, but they likely won't get back until after New Year's. I got Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon too. It's a Waterstones exclusive, and, like Red Rising, the top came bent. Almost like the warehouse is just tossing them in and not caring if they are properly fit into the box. But with this one, it's not as visible once I bent it back into place, so I'm not worried about getting a replacement.
Next is another Prettygal Pins/Jemlin character card set. This one is for Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti's Harlequin Crew series, which I have yet to read. I will. For sure. I just haven't gotten to it. It's high on the list, though. My only hesitancy is I need to read their other contemporary series before this one, and I'm not as enthusiastic about it since it's set during the pandemic.
More character cards! This set was a preorder incentive for Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas, which I also have yet to read. It sounds pretty good though. I'm looking forward to reading it. I just need to finish the other why choose demigod story I'm reading first, so I don't mix up plotlines. I tried to read The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen along with Lucinda Dark's Mortal Gods series, and I was mixing up world-building and character backgrounds, so I put The Games Gods Play on hold. It's a similar situation here. I should finish the third Mortal Gods book soon, though, and then I may read the fourth book and then dive into all the other godly books I own.
And lastly, I have the ebooks I downloaded on Kindle. There was a Stuff Your Kindle Day on the 26th, so I got a few things. Blood & Brujas by Mikayla D. Hornedo is a book I'd like to read before ApollyCon in April, especially since I preordered some Jemlin character cards for the series. I also got The Fae King's Assassin by Alisha Klapheke and On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn.
Well, that's all for me. What books have
you bought/received lately?
OOh very nice Christmas haul! I have to admit, I am a bit disappointed by that FL of Mary Pearson's book. I canceled my adult subscription to them last year as the books were all dreadful picks and the covers were kind of lackluster. Mary's was one I would want it for, but yeah, that's just meh. I hate when they have amazing covers than the lackluster ones. It just doesn't add up. Lol.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy all of your lovely new reads and goodies!
My StS will be up tomorrow, so stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
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