Stacking the Shelves: The Additional Zodiac 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, this week has been weird. First, I cleaned my place to prep for my couch delivery, then because of the cleaning and moving, I ended up injuring my neck/shoulder which meant rest instead of working out. And then it snowed. Like SNOWED snowed, so I didn't go into the office for multiple days. It was nice, but it's thrown off my week a bit. And I still haven't gone back to the gym yet. I do plan to. It's just been so cold and disgusting, on top of the injury, which is better but still a little sore.

 

But, on to this week's haul. First up, I have the new foiled edition of Ruthless Fae by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. It's the second book in the Zodiac Academy series. I already own this series in the old covers, but the foiled editions have bonus chapters that I want. The ebooks apparently have this bonus material too, but I don't own all of those, just a couple. So, I figured I might as well just own the actual physical copy, even though the books will take up so much space on my shelf.

And next, I have a random Amazon purchase. I think I had some store credit due to some previous returns, and I noticed that the Pierce Brown books were super cheap, so I grabbed them because my other copies were damaged. I also got Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot and Slaying the Frost King by Candace Robinson and Elle Beaumont. Slaying the Frost King is the third book in an interconnected world of standalone books by different authors. It was also really cheap. I think I own all of the "series" now in hardcover except one, which seems to be out of print. Ugh.

And lastly, I have the ebooks. I downloaded from Kindle Unlimited. I finished the second book in the Beasts of the Briar series by Elizabeth Helen, so I kind of started book three, Forged by Malice. However, I have some ApollyCon and review books that are taking priority, so I'll only be reading this one when I have free time or feel like I'm in a slump. I also need to read The Veiled Kingdom by Holly Renee in the next week, as that's when her preorder for ApollyCon closes. Yikes. And then I downloaded Speak of the Demon by Stacia Stark and The City of Gods and Monsters for funsies. 

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

Stacking the Shelves: The Second Study 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, it's been another week of snow and ice and cold and ick. Yuck. I was just getting back into the groove of being a productive human being again, and now, I don't want to leave my blanket nest. But, I am getting a new couch set today, so that's exciting. And because of that, I've had to clean things I've been putting off, like sweeping under my old couch. Lol.

 

But, on to this week's haul. First up, I have the FairyLoot Romantasy book for January, The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard. I abhor this cover and the entire design overall. It's such an ugly looking special edition. And the edges look fuzzy and dull. I was honestly really disappointed in FairyLoot for this one. I'll read the book to see if I like it, but I definitely won't be buying any sequel versions they make. 

 

 

 

And next, I have the second set of Study books by Maria V. Snyder: Shadow Study, Night Study, and Dawn Study. I haven't read the first three books in this series yet, but I have a feeling it'll be a decent read. Therefore, I splurged on the FairyLoot editions. Is that a surprise to anyone? I doubt it. I've splurged a lot lately. I need to actually figure out how to not splurge.

 

And lastly, I have the ebooks. I downloaded both of these from Kindle Unlimited. I recently finished the first book in the Beasts of the Briar series by Elizabeth Helen, and I want to read book two, Woven by Gold. However, I'm debating on waiting until the FairyLoot editions release or even just until closer to the release date of book five. I'm not sure I can wait that long, though. Bonded by Thorns, book one, was the first book I'd read in a while that I devoured in just two days. It would've been only one day if I had started it on a weekend. The other book I downloaded was Of Sky & Embers by Claire Butler. It's the sequel to a book I read last year. I'm going to try to get to this one soon so I can remember at least some of the events from book one. 

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

January Wrap-Up & February TBR

One month of 2025 down, 11 to go. Not that I have any particular reason for the year to go by quickly. I'm more so looking forward to warmer weather than anything else. January wasn't a big month for me. I ate, I slept, and I wasn't as productive as I should have been. I also spent a lot of money on books and new furniture that's coming soon. Other than that, life hasn't been too crazy.

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 January

Kingdom of the Wicked: 4 stars (reread)

Kingdom of the Cursed: 4 stars

The Blood of Gods and Monsters: 4 stars

Kingdom of the Feared: 3 stars

I read four books in January, which, once again, isn't a ton, but, three of them have been on my physical TBR for a couple of years now, so that is good progress. Yes, that's right. I finally read the entire Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy by Kerri Maniscalco. I think the first book is still my favorite in the series. Book two starts out good, but goes a little wonky towards the end, and book three is like a fever dream. I love the demony vibes of Kingdom of the Feared, but, honestly, it made very little sense. I also read one ebook, The Blood of Gods and Monsters by Lucinda Dark. It's the third book in the Mortal Gods series. I enjoyed this one. I'm reading the series to prep for ApollyCon, so now I have to decide if I want to buy the books in physical form to get signed. I'm on the fence. I might have to decide when I get there.

Books Bought/Received in January

Will I ever stop buying more books than I can possibly ever read? Apparently not. In total, I bought 49 books in January and received 14 that I didn't pay for in the month, which basically means they were gifts or preorders/books ordered in prior months or free ebooks/review copies. Altogether, 38 of the books actually made their way to me in January, and the rest will come later.

The 14 books I received, were, like I mentioned, a mix of gifts, preordered books, ARCs, and ebooks. The gifts include paperback copies of Quicksilver by Callie Hart and Fireborne by Rosaria Mundo. Technically, I wasn't supposed to open these yet since they were for book club Christmas, but it got very delayed for reasons. I couldn't wait any longer, though, as I needed to make sure I didn't order things twice. I can pretend to be shocked though, right? I also got my Amalie Hutchins Arcane books 3-5 after they were originally returned to sender for a label issue. And my Owlcrate copies of The Songbird and the Heart of Stone and Six Scorched Roses, my panic order of Born of Blood and Ash Primal of Life hardcover edition from the JLA Shop, and my Waterstones preorder of Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon also arrived. For review, I received a NetGalley ARC of Arcana Academy by Elise Kova and physical ARCs of The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig and The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodson. And, for free Kindle ebooks, I downloaded Blood Laws by Lexi C. Foss and The Lost Siren by Raven Storm.

And here is where things go crazy. I bought sooooo much. A lot of which was book box special orders/ApollyCon preorders. Icky. The 24 books I bought and actually received in the month include An Ember in the Ashes 1, 2, and 4 (B&N); Cruel is the Light by Sophie Lark (Waterstones); Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (B&N); Lightfall by Ed Crocker (B&N); A Beautiful Darkness trilogy, Snow Likes Ashes, and Forever (Pango);  Sanctuary, The Blood Trials, The Discord of Gods, Lover Avenged, Conquer the Kingdom, Tear Down the Throne, Murtagh, A Sky Beyond the Storm, The Lost City of Faar, The Never War, and Archangel's Light (Book Outlet); and A Fire in the Flesh and A Light in the Flame (eBay).

For books that were either preorders or ones that didn't arrive until February, I have 25 of those. They include the French edition of A Soul of Ash and Blood (FNAC); the Flesh & Fire series 1-4 from Cover2Cover; the FairyLoot edition of Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi; Stacia Stark's ApollyCon set 1-4 of Kingdom of Lies; Melissa Roehrich's ApollyCon preorder for Lady of Darkness and Rain of Shadows and Endings; Bookish Box's edition of Jess Wisecup's Between Fear & Favor; Books for Days Crate edition of FBAA 1-5; the Serbian editions of FBAA 2-4; the FairyLoot Romantasy book, The Starlight Heir; the FairyLoot Adult book, Immortal; a B&N replacement copy, Code Name Cassandra; and the Iridescent Fairytale ApollyCon copy of FBAA.  

Currently Obsessed With

As for TV/films, it's not overly impressive for January. 

I just stopped my watch of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as I was running out of decent episodes. Now the cast members are unrecognizable and I'm kind of over it. So, the new show to rewatch is House, M.D. I started from season four, as that's about when I stopped my rewatch last time. I hate the new cast members, so that's why I stopped. I'm not sure I'll keep going. The old dynamic was so much fun. The new characters are a little lame. That's pretty much all I can remember watching, sadly. January was a quiet month.

February TBR

It's a new month in the new year, but there are a couple of books still holding on from my 2024 TBR. I still need to read Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu and The Bound Worlds by Megan E. O'Keefe for review. Now, I have to add The Raven Scholar, The Knight and the Moth, and Arcana Academy to that list as well. I need to stop requesting books for review. Lol. I also need to read Worthy of Fate by A.N. Caudle to decide if I want to purchase her special edition for ApollyCon. I'm about 10% in right now, and it's looking like a no so far.

***

Okay, well, that's the month of January, plus some February 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 French-Serbian 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, the first week of February has come and gone. We're so close to spring. I can't wait for the warmth and sunshine. But I'm not looking forward to the bugs and potential allergies. This week has been pretty chill. I'm finally getting some book-organizing-related tasks completed. I've cleared out two bins of books. Now, I only have two left. I just have to find space for them on my shelves, which takes time. But, I'll make significant progress this weekend, since next weekend I'm getting furniture delivered, and I want my house to look decent when it arrives. That means no books stacked on kitchen counters or in bins on my floor.

 

Now, on to this week's haul. First up, I have books two through four of the Blood and Ash series. These are the Serbian editions, though. I had to have a fellow FBAA collector help me out for these, as the website wouldn't let me check out with my payment info. And thankfully, these ones made it to my house no problem, unlike when I bought the first book and it traveled back and forth across the Atlantic a couple of times over a solid three-month period. 

 

 

 

And next, I have the French part of the haul. The collector's edition hardcover of A Soul of Ash and Blood released this month. And it only took FNAC three days to deliver it to me. They're always so incredibly fast. I honestly don't understand how they can be so fast while Barnes & Noble is so freakin' slow. I just want my preorder less than five days after it releases. Why is that so hard?

 

 

 

Next up, I have the FairyLoot edition of Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan. This was the January Adult book of the month, I believe. It's pretty, but I think I prefer the Waterstones design, as it matches the aesthetic of her other UK covers and the previous FairyLoot designs a bit more. I'll have to read this one to decide if I'd rather have the Waterstones copy. It's sold out, so it'll be a secondhand buy, if I do. 

 

And here we have an order I'd been debating making for a while now. It's L.J. Andrews's Ever King series, which recently got picked up by a U.S. publisher right before the fourth book releases. I hate that, especially because I really liked the original indie cover designs. Something about them is just very calming and cool. The new designs look a little amateurish. They're basically just solid background recolorings in garishly bright colors. I have the Arcane set for the first two books, which was kind of meh, so I decided to just splurge and buy the indie paperbacks to get signed at ApollyCon, even though I know I won't ever have a full matching set. Oh, and I got these online from Walmart, since I had a gift card.

 

 

This is the last of the physical copies. As you can see, I've had a rough time trying to obtain a decent copy of Code Name Cassandra by Meg Cabot. My third copy arrived today from B&N. It looks okay when compared to the second copy that arrived, which came in a mailer with sticky insides that ripped off sections of the cover. The back of the third copy, the replacement, was ripped off a bit too. I seriously need them to stop using those freaking mailers, but at least it's not the front. The first copy I got was from Amazon, and it just looked like it was used copy, not brand new. So yeah, that was not a fun time. But, I think I only have one more copy to obtain in the series, Safe House. I have it in the wrong size right now, and it's very difficult to find it in the mass market paperback edition in decent condition. Ugh.

 

Excuse the terrible photo quality for these, but they arrived after I'd already prepped my haul post. I guess my packages now arrive mid-day versus late at night. I don't understand the post office. They seem to just make up their routes willy-nilly every couple of weeks. But anyway, my preorder of TJ Klune's The Bones Beneath My Skin B&N edition arrived as well as two books I ordered from B&N to replace copies I had sold. Those are Moonlight and Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne. I also bought a copy of the U.S. Constitution because, with how things are going right now, I figured it'd be handy to have.

And lastly, I have the ebooks. I downloaded a Kindle copy of Vela Roth's Blood Tribute because it was free, and then I randomly decided to download a Kindle Unlimited copy of Hailey Turner's Resurrection Reprise. I started reading it, and I'm not entirely sure why, as it's a spinoff book from another long series that I started and don't really think I'll ever finish. I just wanted a good vampire MM story. However, I got about 15% into this one, and I don't think I'll like it. I'm not really a fan of the detective urban fantasy stories that focus too much on the case and not enough on the romance. 

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

Stacking the Shelves: The Final Books of January 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 finally February! OMG! One month closer to sunshine and warmth! Woohoo! Other than waiting for spring, I haven't been up to much since last week. Just working, eating, sleeping, etc. I've also been planning for ApollyCon, which has gotten really expensive. I've bought so many books in January. It's very upsetting to my bank account. Very, very upsetting. I need authors and book boxes to stop dropping so many special editions.

So on to this week's haul. First up, I have an ARC that showed up from Orbit. I had requested The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig a month or so ago. I've heard good things about Rachel Gillig's other duology, so I thought I'd give this one a try. Plus the cover is very pretty. I also forgot to share last week that I received a Pango used books order that included Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. There were a few other books in this order, but I'm not sure I'm going to keep them. They're not in very good shape, unfortunately. I really need to demand photos of all angles of books from now on. Sigh. 

 

 

 

And next, I have an order I should have made years ago. For some reason, it hit me about a week ago that these covers of Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes series would be going out of print in hardcover, so I had to order them before then. Unfortunately, book three was already gone, so I'll have to order that one from a used retailer. Ugh. But, I'm glad I finally have these. I've been putting off reading this series for some weird reason, even though I think I'll love it. Now's my chance. I'll probably wait to buy book three until I finish book one though, just in case I don't like the series.

 

 

 

And for the last of the physical books, I have the Waterstones edition of Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark. I preordered it because it was pretty, and I have no self-control, obviously. My preorder of Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros arrived as well. Like most copies that have shipped out, mine managed to get a bit warped. I don't care as much as some people, since this isn't a series I collect editions of, but I really wish Red Tower would stop rushing their books and take their time so there are fewer production issues.

And lastly, I have the ebooks. Worthy of Fate by A.N. Caudle is a Kindle Unlimited book that I downloaded because the author is going to ApollyCon. I downloaded a free copy of The Lost Siren by Raven Storm on Kindle as well. No idea if it's any good, but it was free, and I like free books. 

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