Oh boy have things been crazy. I had plans to go to ApollyCon as an aide, but I got an actual ticket the Sunday before the con. And holy cow, did that mean some crazy last-minute packing to make sure I brought everything I needed to, which mostly consisted of books for authors to sign. I'll have those recap posts up at some point. I'm currently still recovering from the trip, so things are slow going. Plus, work has been terrible. I'm just tired and blah right now, and I need this weekend to rest.
As for the books I received, none of these are in any order whatsoever. Some I received before I went to ApollyCon, and others I received after or even during. Some are still missing (aka they're at my parents' house because I had them delivered there). It's all a mess because there are soooooo many. First up, though, is an Illumicrate order I made before I left for the con. Illumicrate had a sale for Lord of Ruin by K.M. Enright, and I'd been eyeing these books for a while, so I got both Mistress of Lies and Lord of Ruin on their website. Lord of Ruin did come with some flaws, so I think Illumicrate is sending another copy.
Right before I left for ApollyCon, my Arcane Guild Hunter set by Nalini Singh came in. It's just books 1-3. I'm not sure if I'll keep these or the other set I got, which I believe was from Faecrate...? I should probably remember who I ordered from. Oh well. The other set will arrive eventually, right? I think the artwork just doesn't look as good close up as it did in the concept art posts. I do plan to read the first book again and the sequels before actually deciding which set to keep though.
This particular set just arrived on the first of May because my parents came to drop it off. It's the FairyLoot Lady of Darkness set by Melissa K. Roehrich. I have a couple of different editions of this set now, but I'm hoping FairyLoot does a matching set for the Legacy series, which is a spinoff of these. So far, no book box has done a matching set, even though the worlds are connected. It annoys me.
And here's the big one. The ApollyCon haul. I'll get into more detail of what everything is when I do my recap, but here's the list: A Crown of Ruin, The War of Two Queens ApollyCon edition, FBAA Grim Gates edition, The Summer King Arcane edition, FBAA ApollyCon edition, Visions of Flesh and Blood Bookish Box edition, The Prince, The King, and The Queen Arcane editions, all by JLA; Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter, Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward, Beg the Night by Emily Blackwood (I bought two other books by her, but those are at my parents' house), The Rose Witch by Chandelle LaVaun, The Midnight Arrow by Zoey Draven, A Darkness So Sweet by Emma Hamm, and Tales from Tiressia by Charissa Weaks, Unrelenting Winds by Melissa K. Roehrich. And there was also a sneak peek by S.M. Gaither for her upcoming Ashwalker book.
Like five minutes before I left for the airport, my dad handed me a box from Barnes & Noble with a couple of preorders in it. Those included Princeweaver by Ellen J. Morgan and City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards. I'm excited about both of these. Well, I'm excited about all of the books I got, and now my shelves are overflowing. I have to go on a book-buying ban ASAP.
I think I actually got these a couple of weeks ago, but I kept forgetting to include them in a haul. I ordered Ariana Nash's King of the Dark trilogy off of Pango or Mercari. I can't remember which. They were isolated for a while, as I've been having an issue with bugs on my front porch, where larger packages get delivered, so I wanted to be sure they hadn't been contaminated out there. They seem fine, though. Thankfully. I'm now having the post office hold my large mail, which has helped my peace of mind. I hate bugs. Books and bugs just don't mix.
And next up, I have two preorders that I've, thankfully, already paid for. One is the Big A.S.S. Party. It's a novella set in the Zodiac Academy world. The other is A Tongue So Sweet and Deadly by Sophia St. Germain. It's the Bad Women Books edition. The cover is very pretty. Actually, both covers for these are pretty. I will say, I did receive the next book in the ZA series as well, but it came with a dented corner, so I submitted for a replcament. The damaged one is just hanging around my kitchen while I wait to see if I have to send it back.
And lastly for the physical items, I have something I bought on a whim on Mercari right before knowing I was going to drop like $400 on a resale ApollyCon ticket. Someone was selling an Arcane dust jacket of AKOFAF for only $10, so I decided, why not? That way, I can use the reverse dust jacket. Now, I just have to find a book to put inside it.
As for ebooks, I have one: Frozen by Stardust by Elizabeth Helen. This is probably my most anticipated book of the year, besides the next FBAA book, which I don't think will release until 2027 based on what JLA said. I'm currently reading Frozen by Stardust right now, but I had it preordered on Kindle because I had some credit from them. I'm only about a third of the way in, but it's reading super fast. I'm glad the next two books are releasing this year, because it would have been terrible to have to wait another year.
Well, that's all for me. What books have
you bought/received lately?
Whoa! That is a mega haul! And it wasn't even all Apollycon books! I reallllllly want to go to that one of these days, but I have zero lucky getting tickets for the last 5 or 6 years. I can't bring myself to join the waitlist at any point because I'm a planner and like in your situation a ticket opened up last minute. That would stress me out! I mean, I know you already had your flight and hotel booked since you were planning to be an aide, but still. My need to plan ahead can't handle the gamble! Lol.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy all the fantastic new reads!
My StS will be up tomorrow, stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
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