Stacking the Shelves: The Snowstorm 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 was absent last week for specific reasons. Nothing bad, but between that event and the big snowstorm, I just didn't have the time to write up an StS post. I will say that I had a lot of orders come in over the past two weeks. I honestly didn't think I'd bought this much, but stuff just kept coming, and now, it's too cold to drop off my recycling so the boxes are piling up. Oops.

As for books I got in the past two weeks, I'll start with the most recent stuff to just to do everything backwards and out of order. My Barnes & Noble preorders of Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik and The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May arrived, along with my Walmart order of Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry. I tried to find a first-print edition of SoS with the sprayed edges, but they resale for way too much, sadly. I should have gotten it when it came out, but I was hoping another company would release a prettier edition. So far, no one has. So, I just got the regular edition. Oh, and my FairyLoot January Romantasy book arrived. It's King of Ravens by Clare Sager, and it's very pretty.

 

 

Next, I have a large stack of books in a kind of blurry pic. Sorry. I tried to sharpen it as much as possible. I was too lazy to retake the photo. I ended up buying books 3-6 of the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid via B&N, and my preorders for the new Wicked paperback by JLA and If All the Stars Go Dark by S.G. Prince also arrived. My preorder of Owlcrate's edition of The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk came in as well. I honestly forgot I'd even ordered this. It's been so long. And, my FairyLoot edition of Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross came in too. It was damaged (no surprise, my FL editions are always damaged lately). A replacement is on its way. And the reason I made the Walmart order for the SoS book was because I noticed my local Walmart had one copy of their exclusive edition of Hollow by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti in stock. So, to get free shipping, I just ordered SoS with it.

 

 

 

And here, I have the Spanish special edition of From Blood and Ash by JLA. It's very pretty. I ordered this from B&N, thankfully, as I was worried I'd have to spend $50+ on it from another online retailer. I'm so happy B&N had it available. Next time, though, I'm going to wait and preorder the sequel during one of their 25% off sales. I didn't think they'd have a sale before this one was released, but B&N did, so I could've saved some money. Oh well. Story of my life. Patience is a virtue and all that jazz.

 

 

 

Here, I have my Ink Pages editions of the first two books in the Flesh & Fire series. The order came with some fun swag as well, including a pin and some prints. Now, I've heard some sketchy things about Ink Pages, so I'm not sure what to do about that. I already have an order in for the last two books in this series, but I know they're going to release the Blood and Ash set soon as well. Ugh. Difficult decisions must be made. 

For the ebooks, I have one. It's Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer. I was approved for it on NetGalley via the publisher. It's one I've had my eye on for a couple of months now, so I'm glad I was approved to review it. I'm also glad it isn't out until summer because I have three other NetGalley ARCs to review in the next few months already.

 

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

My Most Anticipated Releases of 2026

There are quite a few books I'm looking forward to in 2026. All of them are sequels. That's crazy. I do have some non-sequels I'm looking forward to, but they just weren't the titles I was super duper excited for. I'm just a normal amount of excited for them. Anyway, for your reading pleasure, here are my ten most anticipated sequels of 2026 in no real order, even though they're numbered.

***

Broken Dove by Dani Francis

Full disclosure, I was thinking about putting Tempest by Victoria Aveyard here instead of Broken Dove, but I'm not a huge fan of pirate ship-esque stories, and that's what Tempest will be. So, even though it's her adult debut, and I think I'll enjoy it, I do think Broken Dove will be easier to digest. Potentially. I had some problems with Silver Elite's story too, so, let's hope those issues are resolved in the sequel.

The Misfit Caravan by K.D. Edwards

No cover for this book yet, but I am excited for it. I think the author is still planning to release it in 2026. I'll need to find a summary of the previous three books, as I remember some things, but there are some worldbuilding details that I'd like to refresh myself on before diving into the fourth installment.

The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig

The second book in the duology is releasing in September. I got an ARC of book one, so I'm curious if I can be lucky enough to get an early copy of this one as well. Fingers crossed. I'm mostly in it for Bartholomew though. He is the main character. This cover is also very pretty.

The Dawn Throne by Tara Sim

This book has been pushed back for a couple of years now. It's also not releasing in hardcover anymore in the UK, and that makes me nervous that FairyLoot isn't going to have a matching edition. I will be super upset, if so. While I've only read book one of the series so far, I enjoyed it a lot, so I do plan to binge the whole thing at some point. I'll wait until book four releases, though, as this is only book three.

The Night Prince & The Wolf Queen by Lauren Palphreyman

This one is a little different. I actually just finished reading the first book, The Wolf King, and I really enjoyed it. However, it has a trope I LOATHE. So, I plan to wait until book three comes out before I actually finish the trilogy. I want to spoil myself to see if it's worth investing my time in. I'll be disappointed to DNF the series, but I just can't do that trope anymore.

Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer

This is the second book in Brigid Kemmerer's Braided Fate series. I think it's going to be a trilogy, though I'm not sure about that. And I'm hoping this book releases in 2026. I haven't really heard anything about this. I didn't even know it had a title until I went on Goodreads.

Tempting Venom & Hunt the Villain by Rina Kent

I binged the Legacy of Gods series, the Villain series, and the Vipers series by Rina Kent over the past month. That was nine books total in less than four weeks. Although, two of those were rereads. But anyway, the second installment in the Villain series and the third installment in the Vipers series come out in 2026. I will be reading them both as soon as they're in my hands.

Frozen by Stardust by Elizabeth Helen

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I read the first four books in the Beasts of the Briar series. I really miss the characters and the world. The good news is, this fifth book releases in March and then books six and seven are supposed to release in 2026 as well. So, no year-long waits between installments. It also means the story will be over, though, which is a bit sad.

Unrivaled by Rachel Reid

Obviously, I watched the new Heated Rivalry show. And then I read the books. I'm honestly surprised I hadn't read them earlier. I was a big MM hockey romance fan in the spring of 2024. I think the first book's synopsis threw me off a bit because I didn't like barista-esque storylines. But, anyway, I've read the first two books, and I'm planning to read the other four very soon, which means I'll be ready for this one to come out in September.

The Throne of Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I used The Primal of Blood and Bone cover, since TTOBAA doesn't have one yet, but I think TTOBAA might be my most anticipated book of 2026. Honestly, I'm not sure. When I finished TPOBAB, I wasn't super enthused about what might happen in the next and final installment in the series. I feel like JLA left too much up in the air in TPOBAB that she can't possibly resolve in one book. But, I read the recent novella JLA released, and it got me back to being excited for TTOBAA. So, I'm back on the hype train!

***

Alright, there you have it. My most anticipated 2026 releases. What 2026 books are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments section.

Stacking the Shelves: The Two Week 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 didn't post last week. Work was chaos, and I was so tired of looking at a computer screen that I couldn't make myself sit down and write, even if it was about pretty books. But, I'm here now, and work, while still not fun, is better. The world on the other hand, it's on fire. I think I'm going to have major celebrations once 2026 is over. Or at least, I hope so.

As for books I got in the past two weeks, some of my pre-New Year's orders from Barnes & Noble came in, including The Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice and The Aspect of Essence by Samantha Amstutz. My B&N preorder of The Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz also arrived, and holy cow. That book has been pushed back for so long. I remember preordering it like two years ago. My friend sold me her Bookish Box edition of What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller, and my Bad Women Books edition of The Knight and the Moth also came in. It came with a bookmark and art print. And then, at my local used bookstore, I used trade credit to get Brimstone by Callie Heart. I wasn't going to get the ugly new covers of this series, and I was holding off for a special edition set, but I don't think a book box is going to be allowed to do the series any time soon. I think I'm going to buy some alternative dust jackets though. We'll see.

 

 

Next, I have a pin order. This is from Celestialfaetrove, I believe. I'm too lazy to look up if that's correct. It's something with celestial in the name. It's their Sera and Nyktos enamel pin. It was super expensive. While I don't love it as much as the Poppy and Cas one they did, it is pretty. I think this one just doesn't have as much color, so it's a bit neutral in comparison. The order did come with a sticker too, so that's fun. No idea what I'll do with it. I need to make something for all of my Blood and Ash stickers. Hmmm...

 

For the ebooks, I have one. I think. Honestly, I didn't check my ebook apps, so it's entirely possible I forgot about something. I do know that I got The Lies that Summon the Night by Tessonja Odette via NetGalley for review. I've started this one, and I'm already like 10% in and it's only the very beginning of the book. I knew it was short, but it's reeeeally short for an adult fantasy. I've heard good things, though.

 

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

December Wrap-Up & January TBR

It's 2026! I'll pretend to be excited about another year going by, but really, I hate the passage of time, though it is great when a new year of new books is upon us. But, as for life in general, it was good in December. Christmas was nice, work is okay, and I'm ready to get through these next couple of months of cold weather and experience warmth again.

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 December

We Who Will Die: 3.5 stars (my review)

The Ones We Burn: 3 stars

God of Malice: 3 stars

God of Pain: 3 stars

God of Wrath: 3 stars

God of Ruin: 3 stars

God of Fury: reread

God of War: 3 stars

Kiss the Villain: reread 

I read nine books in December, and it would have been more if the holidays didn't take up so much free time. Of those nine, though, two were rereads, God of Fury and Kiss the Villain by Rina Kent. I'm prepping for the next two Rina Kent releases coming in 2026 by reading the entire Legacy of Gods and the Vipers series. I read through the LoG books so fast that I couldn't really give them super accurate ratings. I think they're all in the 3-3.5-star range, though, except for GoF and KtV. I'd give those 4 stars. In addition to the Rina Kent books, I had one other physical book I read in December. It was The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix. The only ebook I read was We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark, which was a NetGalley ARC.

Books Bought/Received in December

I was doing so well with the book buying in the beginning of December, then... all of the B&N sales hit, and I was weak. Overall, I bought 18 books and received 22 in December. I ordered much more than that, though, but thankfully, they won't charge until next year. Whew.

The 22 books I received consisted mostly of preorders that finally arrived and Christmas gifts. They include the Bookish Box box set of the Lady of Darkness series, the Acrylipics A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire 3D-edge edition, the FairyLoot Epic November book Tower of the Tyrant by J.T. Greathouse, the FairyLoot Call of the Forgotten trilogy by Julie Kagawa, the FairyLoot What Fury Brings edition, and the FairyLoot The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy edition. I also got Frankenstein, Dracula, Three Shattered Souls, Four Ruin Realms, Unchained, and the first three books in the Crowns series by Nicola Tyche for Christmas. In addition to those, I also downloaded the free novella, A Crown of Ruin by JLA, and I got Prince of Fortune by Lisa Tirreno via trade credit at my local used bookstore.

Now, for what I bought. I only received six of the 18 books I purchased. That includes Meet Cute with a short story from JLA, Children of Fallen Gods by Carissa Broadbent, Red City by Marie Lu, Kill the Beast by Serra Swift, Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair, and the FairyLoot Adult book for December, Dawn of the Firebird. All of the non-FairyLoot books were ordered from B&N.

 As for the remaining 12 books, some will be here soon, while others will be a while from now. They include the Aurora Crate editions of two of Melissa K. Roehrich's books and FairyLoot editions of Slaying the Vampire Conqueror, the last two books in the Ashes of Thezmarr series, and The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman. The other six books will come from B&N in the next week or so. Those include Game Changers, Heated Rivalry, Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, The Aspect of Essence, Vicious Fae, and The Bride of Brutal Hearts.

Currently Obsessed With

I am officially out of my Interview with the Vampire obsession and I moved right into my Heated Rivalry obsession. I wasn't too sure about the show at first. It seemed fun, but nothing amazing. Then, the last two episodes happened, and I was hooked. I ordered the books too. Surprisingly, they're like some of the few MM hockey romances I haven't read yet. Weird. Other than that, I've watched the Taylor Swift End of an Era documentary series as well as continuing to watch Grey's Anatomy. I'm on season two now of like five million. Lol. I also watched Home Alone 1 and 2 over the holiday.

December TBR

I'm carrying over a whole giant list of TBR books into 2026, most of which, I'm actively reading right now and have been for the past few weeks. I am currently reading Wrath of the Dragons by Olivia Rose Darling, The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde, Court of Nightmares by K.A. Knight, Three Shattered Souls by Mai Corland, and The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amelie Wen Zhao. I'd also like to read Rain of Shadows and Endings by Melissa Roehrich, The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten, A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene, The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman, and re-read Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. I very much need to start Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Marsh, To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast, and Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter as well. Those three are all NetGalley eARCs. Oh! And I need to read A Crown of Ruin by JLA.

***

Okay, well, that's the month of December, plus some January 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 Christmas and New Year's 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, 2025 is officially over. Good riddance. I hope 2026 is better, but I don't know if it will be. Sigh. In happier news, Christmas was good. Saw family, ate food, opened presents, etc. It was also nice just being off of work for a while. I need to take some more time off in 2026. Since I don't have ApollyCon tickets, I think I should be able to do so without any problems.

As for books I got in the past two weeks, I'll start with the Christmas haul. My mom got me quite a few books off my list, including Frankenstein and Dracula, the B&N editions. She also got me Unchained by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Four Ruined Realms and Three Shattered Souls by Mai Corland, and North Queen, Shadow Queen, and War Queen by Nicola Tyche. And she got me the Supernatural box set and a couple of other DVDS. And a new Buffy Funko Pop.

 

 

Next, I have a preorder that's taken a loooong time to get here. It's the Bookish Box box set of Melissa K. Roehrich's Lady of Darkness series. It's very pretty. While the font on the spines annoys me, the colors are very pleasing overall. I'm glad I bought this set, even though I haven't read the series yet. Oops. Because it took so long to ship, Bookish also sent out a free crown with the others. That was nice of them.

 

 

 

And here, I have part of the B&N order I made when they were having their 50% off sale online. I couldn't partake in the 25% off sale in-stores, so I splurged online. And this isn't even all of what I ordered. It's just what came in before New Year's. I got Red City by Marie Lu, Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair, and Kill the Beast by Serra Swift, but I expect a few more things will arrive soon. 

 

 

 

Here, I have some FairyLoot orders that arrived, and a B&N preorder that came in. My FairyLoot preorder of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy came in right before the holidays, and I think Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana also came in around then. It's the December Adult sub pick. Now, Meet Cute, a Valentine's Day anthology featuring a short story by JLA, came in, and I ended up getting a slight refund, as the dumb publisher decided to use stickers to group the individual stories together so you can "open" one each day before Valentine's Day. The stupid sticker rips the pages! I was so mad. I wouldn't have ordered it if I knew that. Thankfully, it wasn't super expensive, so I just decided to keep it and get the 20% refund from B&N for the damage. I'm just super annoyed at whoever thought that was a good idea. At least use stickers that don't rip the pages. Yeesh.

 

For the ebooks, I have one, and it was a surprise one as well. Jennifer L. Armentrout released a novella in the Blood & Ash world, specifically one that has bonus content from her recent release. I downloaded it immediately, but I still haven't read it. I know. I know. It's terrible. But, I'm in the middle of like five other books right now. I really want to finish some of those first. And, I'm really into reading physical copies, so reading on my ebook apps just sounds icky at the moment.

 

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

Review: We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark

We Who Will Die

Stacia Stark

(Empire of Blood #1)

Publication Date: December 30, 2025

Hardcover, 423 pages, Avon

Genres: Adult, Romantasy

Goodreads

From the bestselling author of the Kingdom of Lies series comes a slow-burn romantasy set in a Roman-inspired world ruled by merciless vampires. Filled with breathtaking combat, vengeful gods, and magical creatures, We Who Will Die is the epic first installment in an enthralling new series perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent, Jasmine Mas, and Rebecca Yarros.

 

Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.

 

Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering—an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard.

 

She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court.

 

With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart… and with the emperor’s sadistic son, Rorrik—two vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developing—abilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.

 

To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself—and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny…

My Review

Vampires in a gladiator/Ancient Rome-inspired magical fantasy setting? Sounds amazing! Written by Stacia Stark, author of the Kingdom of Lies series? Even more amazing! We Who Will Die is a fun time, and its comparison to The Vampire Diaries universe is definitely adequate. It has prime CW-level qualities. Honestly, it gives True Blood vibes too with all of the creatures. But the romance. That's TVD all the way.

I will say that I was hoping for a bit more vamp lore and gritty times. That's my own fault because this book is not dark and gritty. Even though there are sad moments, it's a really high-vibes type of book. Like, people are dying and we're kind of just breezing past it. I did really enjoy Arvelle's relationships with her brothers and her friends, though. As the female main character, Arvelle herself isn't very unique as a protagonist and she makes some dumb decisions. Those dumb decisions are explained later on, but still... I guess she makes the story interesting. For the other two main characters, those are the male love interests. One more so than the other at this time. Now, their dynamic kept me reading. I loved the vamp and spoilery relationship between the two that was revealed towards the end. It was a good bit of drama. And I think towards the end is really when everything comes together for these characters. They're seemingly working together versus keeping secrets constantly, so things started clicking.

My main criticism towards this book was honestly the middle. It was a bit underwhelming compared to the beginning and the ending. The middle just seemed like events were happening one right after another with no pause for the reader to care why they were happening. It was like BAM! Arena fight scene. BAM! Party to celebrate! BAM! Dramatic murder! It all needed to slow down for some character reflection or scenery description. For example, during the party scene, Arvelle has a conversation with like four characters back-to-back in less than five pages. That whole party scene should have taken up one long chapter with descriptions of the scenery, Arvelle's dress, the food, other characters' outfits, etc. But it was all glossed over. But again, that's simply what I would have preferred. And, like I said, the beginning had a lot of fun introducing readers to the world and characters and the ending was fun because everything kind of blew up and secrets were revealed. I definitely still enjoyed the story, even though the middle was a bit underwhelming.

All in all, if you're looking for a fun, angsty romantasy, then We Who Will Die is 100% for you. It has vampires for the paranormal lovers, griffons and gorgons for the mythology lovers, and strange deaths for the murder-mystery readers. It's a good time with the promise of an even better time when book two comes out. I am pretty excited to see how all that drama unfolds.
 

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