Stacking the Shelves: The Second Set 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.

This week was so much better than the previous 4-6 weeks. I feel like I can breathe again. Now, the only problem is how freakin' hot it is. That's slowing me down in terms of working out and just wanting to do things in general. Air conditioning is essential right now. I'm still not reading as much, though. I was in a bit of a slump. However, I think I'm on the other side of it. Thank goodness. I hate staring at all of my books and not feeling like picking up a single one.

As for the books I received this week, it was a pretty decent haul. I did something spontaneous and ordered the Allurial edition of Dhampira by Amy Pennza. It was one of their three-book monthly options and first-time subscribers could get the book and a hat for only $9.99. So, I did it. How does this impact my book-buying ban, you ask? Well, I'm choosing to believe it doesn't because I already read this book prior to purchasing an extra copy (regular edition to come soon). Also, it's technically a special edition, and I don't limit myself with those since they can go out of stock quickly and secondhand markets are terrible sometimes. Also also, it was only $10. That's pretty cheap for a hardcover.

 

 

 

Here, I have a second set of the 2026 JLA ApollyCon exclusive Blood and Ash books, From Blood and Ash and The War of Two Queens. I didn't get an official event ticket until very, very late, so I didn't expect to get a set at the actual event. Therefore, I had preordered these books online to be shipped to me. But I did end up getting a ticket. Unfortunately, JLA's online shop (now called the ApollyCon shop, I believe), doesn't do cancellations, so now I just have duplicates. I might sell these later or I might keep them. Idk. Oh, and yes, my ApollyCon wrap up post is still coming. It's just taking a long time due to work and mental health ickiness. (I'm fine now. May was just pretty bleak.)

 

Next, I have a FairyLoot preorder. It's The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson. I haven't read the first book in this series yet, but I ordered book two, just in case. I actually did start the first one, but I got a chapter in and didn't continue. At the time, there was a lot going on. I was prepping for ApollyCon and work was hectic (not May hectic, but hectic, nonetheless). I'm still unsure about this series overall, though. It doesn't call to me. If anyone's read them before and can give me comp titles, that'd be great. I want to figure out what I'm in for. 

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

May Wrap-Up & June TBR

May was not a good month mentally, but I survived. June is a new dawn, a new day, with a new season coming up to boot, so maybe I can cheer up a bit. We shall see.... Honestly, things are already looking up, but I'm trying not to set my hopes too high. I did that last month, thinking that I could take a much-needed vacation in late May/early June and those hopes got crushed. Hard. I'm hesitantly hoping that the end of June will work. I want time off so bad! 

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 May

Frozen by Stardust: 4 stars

Dhampira: 4 stars (review to come)

Hunt the Villain: 3.5 stars 

Blood Bound: 3.5 stars (my review)

Check & Mate: 3 stars

Bonds of Hercules: 4 stars

Nemesis Mine: 4 stars (review to come)

Wolfseeker: 3.5 stars 

Suck: 3 stars 

I read nine books in May, which is crazy considering how bogged down I was with work. All I could do for a couple of weeks was come straight home, curl up in a ball, and scroll on my phone until my brain stopped working. But, I managed to read somehow, someway. Only four of the books were physical copies, though. Those included Hunt the Villain by Rina Kent, Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter, Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood, and Bonds of Hercules by Jasmine Mas. Technically, Blood Bound was also a NetGalley book, as I received an e-ARC for it and got about 10% in when I got a physical copy at ApollyCon that I started reading instead. In addition to Blood Bound, I also read two other NetGalley books. I was on a roll in May. Those were Dhampira by Amy Pennza and Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer. My reviews will be posted in June. I also managed to read three other ebooks, including Frozen by Stardust by Elizabeth Helen, Wolfseeker by Amy Pennza, and Suck by Cora Rose and E.M. Lindsey.

Books Bought/Received in May

May wasn't as bad as last month, since there was no ApollyCon, but it still wasn't great for someone who claims to be on a book-buying ban. Anyway, in total, I purchased 13 books and received 15 titles for review or from preorders that I'd already paid for in previous months. The numbers are slowly going down. The dollar amount isn't as low as it needs to be, but as long as I'm not overwhelming my physical TBR, I can deal for now.

The 15 books I received mostly consisted of the preordered books that all decided to arrive in May. This included the Waterstones edition of Riftborne by Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox, the hardcover author edition of Tortured Souls by Melissa K. Roehrich, the FairyLoot set of books 1-3 in the Lady of Darkness set, the Acrylipics editions of The Crown of Gilded Bones and The War of Two Queens, the author hardcovers of the first two books in Emily Blackwood's Wings So Wicked series, The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks blue author edition, Kings of Anarchy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, and The Night Prince by Lauren Palphreyman FairyLoot edition. I also received two ebooks: Soul Sworn by Kate Dylan via a NetGalley review copy and A Vow in Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez via Nook. Technically, I "purchased" this Nook copy, but I used my credit, so I don't really count that. It was on sale at the time for like $1.99 anyway. The final book I received was Flamefall by Rosaria Munda, which was a book I got via trade credit from my local bookstore.
 

Now, for what I bought in May. It actually wasn't terrible. I'm pretty proud of myself. There was only one real issue, and that was a special edition that I didn't expect to drop. But anyway, the seven books I bought that actually arrived in the month include the Fury Bound Waterstones edition; the US Fury Bound edition, Archangel's Eternity by Nalini Singh, and The Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker (B&N); my May Adult FairyLoot book, Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliaren, and the Romantasy book, Verity Guild by Mai Corland; and The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch (indie bookstore). 

 As for the remaining six books, they include preorders that haven't arrived yet. The FairyLoot preorders were for This Blade of Ours, Broken Dove, and the Sorrowsong University duology. Then, I had one Illumicrate preorder for The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy, and the major culprit for how much money I spent was the Tome Tunnel edition of A Fire in the Flesh by JLA.

Currently Obsessed With

I don't think I watched anything particularly fascinating in May. I'm making my way through The Middle as a meal show. It has some funny moments but it's definitely not a favorite. I also rewatched the first three Hunger Games films and learned that I don't own either Mockingjay Part 1 or 2 on DVD/Blu-ray, so I couldn't watch Part 2 since it wasn't on any of my streaming apps like the other three movies were. Grr... 

June TBR

My TBR is similar to last month, but I have made some progress on my NetGalley reads. Thank goodness. Now, I only have To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast and A Viper Among Kings by Sydney Olivia on my immediate NetGalley TBR with the new additions of Turncloak by L.K. Steven and Soul Sworn. (Note from future me who is editing this paragraph: I've finished Soul Sworn. Yay me!) I'm still reading The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde and Lore by Alexandra Bracken. I'd still like to try to continue my Melissa K. Roehrich read-through and get through the final two Legacy books, and I need to read J.R. Ward's Crown of War and Shadow for book club. Maybe. We might be swapping this one for something else. To add some new things to the mix, I'm thinking I'll be in a vampire mood due to the upcoming season of The Vampire Lestat, so it'd be nice to read the Empire of the Vampire trilogy, Bride of Brutal Hearts by Kate Stevens, or Feathers from the Sky by Jess Wisecup.

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Okay, well, that's the month of May, plus some June 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 Stacked 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 the weekend! Hallelujah! This week hasn't been bad, but it was still a lot. I'm ready to chill at home for a while. I have a lot of reading to catch up on, since I've mostly been coming home and scrolling on my phone. Plus, I've definitely been in a slump the past week. I finished one good book and now I'm just stuck. That's been happening a lot lately. It'll take me days to get over the good book and find something new to take over my attention.

As for the books I received this week, there's another pretty hefty stack. First up is a book I've been waiting to haul for like a month now. My replacement copy of Cursed Fates by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. The first copy that arrived was very smashed, so I'm glad they replaced it. It just took time. My FairyLoot edition of The Dragon and the Sun Lotus by Amelie Wen Zhao also came in.

 

 

 

Here, I have two books from a Barnes & Noble preorder. Those include Tara Sim's The Dawn Throne and Caty Rogan's Kissed by the Gods. The Dawn Throne is book three in Tara Sim's series. I think the fourth book comes out this year as well, so I'll be bingeing the entire four books very soon. The other book is an international edition of Born of Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout that I ordered. I think it's Hungarian, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

 

Next, I have more international editions of the Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. These are German editions... Maybe? Again, I'm really bad at keeping track of all my international editions. There are just so many of them. These aren't as impressive as I thought they'd be. The dust jackets are a bit flat and they weren't packaged with any bubblewrap or foam, so they kind of bounced around in the box. They definitely have the dings to prove it. I'm not sure if I'll order the next three books in the series. I'll have to decide soon, though. They're on sale now. 

 

 

 

And the final physical copies in this haul are two books from Ariana Nash. I've been collecting Ariana's backlog and purchasing them via resale sites. I got these two on eBay. They're Primal Sin and Eternal Sin. I haven't read these yet, but I'm hoping to do so soon. These were only like $14 total, so I don't feel bad for breaking my book ban. It's really tough to get Ariana's books on secondhand sites, so I have to nab them when I can. 

 

I have one ebook for this week, and it was a total surprise. I was approved for a NetGalley ARC of Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer! I did not think this was going to happen. I wasn't approved for book one, so I didn't have high hopes when I made the request a few weeks back. But on Thursday morning, I was approved! And it was amazing! I'll probably be picking this up soon, as I think it'll help with my slump.

 

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

Stacking the Shelves: The Stressed 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 a week. Work has been insane, and I'm definitely happy it's the weekend. I've had so much anxiety that past five days that I need time off before I have to do it all over again next week. Sigh. I really need May and June to be done. These have been the months from hell.

As for the books I received, there's a decent stack. Up first, I have my special author edition of Charissa Weaks's The Witch Collector. I preordered this a few months ago and was kind of regretting it afterwards simply because I have so many editions of this book. However, now that it's actually arrived, it's absolutely gorgeous! I think I'll be getting rid of my LitHaven edition to keep this one. The order also came with a couple of stickers and art prints.

 

 

 

Here, I have three books from different places. My preorder of the author edition of Kings of Anarchy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti arrived. It's beautiful. I think I like these editions better than the Zodiac Academy ones they did. I also have The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch, which I bought at an independent bookstore despite saying I was on a book-buying ban. However, it was both a pick-me-up for an absolutely crappy week and it provided a sticker for my indie bookstore entry since it was in a city I don't normally go to on a regular basis. But anyway, I've been wanting to read it for a while, so now I can. Oh, I also got my Barnes & Noble preorder of The Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker. I've had this book preordered for like two years at this point. Wow.

 

These are my May FairyLoot subscription books. The Adult book is Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni. I originally liked this design when I first saw it posted online, but I'm not sure about it in person. It's fine, but I feel like it's not as dynamic as it could be. The Romantasy book is Verity Guild by Mai Corland, which has an eh cover. I do like the art under the dust jacket, though. It's very pretty. 

 

 

 

And my final books are The Night Prince by Lauren Palphreyman and Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen. The Night Prince is the FairyLoot edition, which arrived with a bit of damage. I emailed FairyLoot, but I don't think it's going to qualify for a replacement. We shall see. Fury Bound is the Waterstones edition. I still have to decide if I'm going to keep the Waterstones ones or the US hardcovers. Ugh. Oh, and I also ended up getting a two-month Kindle Unlimited subscription for like $3. I'll cancel before it renews for full price, but I did download and read a couple of books. I also downloaded a bunch I haven't read yet. It's a bit overwhelming, so I'll skip sharing all that mess. You can see the ones I read in my monthly wrap-up when I post it in the next couple of weeks.

 

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

The First Unhaul of 2026

I could have sworn I'd posted an unhaul earlier this year, but when I went back to check, I was shocked to discover the last unhaul I posted was from summer 2025! That's crazy! I need to get into the unhauling spirit. I have a whole list to get rid of, I'm just waiting for the mental and physical energy needed to post the pics on FB marketplace and such. But anywho, this post is about my current unhaul. Over the past six months-ish, I've gotten rid of a good number of books. These are them.

First up, I have what I believe is the first stack of books I got rid of in 2026. I took all four of them to my local used bookstore for trade credit. The stack includes the new hardcover version of The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman, which I got rid of because I bought the FairyLoot edition, not because it was a bad book. I also had duplicates of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice and Vicious Fae by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, so those needed to leave to clear up shelf space. And then, I read The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix in December of last year and wasn't impressed enough to keep my FairyLoot edition.

 

 

This is another stack of books that went to my local used bookstore. I actually took these a couple of weeks ago. Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward and Cinder Vale by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti were duplicates, so, again, it was a shelf space decision. As for The Spanish Love Deception Bookish Box edition, I got rid of that because it's been on my shelves for years and I don't think I'll ever read it. And the final book, The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard FairyLoot edition was unhauled because it was a pretty disappointing read, unfortunately.

 

 

 

Next up is a singular title, The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole tour edition. I have like five different editions of this series and the tour edition is just not it. It's a naked hardback with gold foiling, which is pretty, but the sequels look exactly like the first book, so there's no point in collecting identical books. I think I'll stick with the paperbacks/FairyLoot/Waterstones editions for now. I do need to get rid of the LitHaven one eventually too. Ugh. I sold this one, since I knew it'd be easy enough to make my money back.

 

 

 

 And the final book is Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver. Sadly, I DNF'ed this book. I knew at about fifty pages in that I was not going to like the tone. But, thankfully, DNF'ing means I can unhaul and get it off my shelves so I can put new books in its place. Yay for more space! I believe this book also went to my local used bookstore for trade credit. I think that's where I got it from originally too, so it's kind of funny that it returned to its original location.

***

Have you unhauled any books recently? Let me know in the comments below!

Stacking the Shelves: The Book-Buying Ban 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.

Work was not fun last week so I didn't want to spend any time in front of a computer to write blog posts. Therefore, no StS was posted. I should've posted one though, because now I have five hundred thousand things to show you. Ugh. I'm actually putting myself on a book-buying ban. My new goal is to read 10 physical TBR books before I can purchase a new book. Both because I'm spending too much money and I'm out of room on my shelves. Now, special editions don't count because they're limited, and I'm still going to do the Barnes & Noble preorder sale the next time that opens. I'm just going to limit myself to books I reeeeally want. There's another exception as well, but I'll get into it later.

As for the books I received, we'll start with the Melissa Roehrich order. I preordered the hardcover exclusive of Tortured Souls from Melissa Roehrich's site directly. I was really excited about this one, but when I was at ApollyCon, I noticed from her preorder stacks that the cover was shiny and slick versus matte. That kind of disappointed me. So when my order arrived in the mail, I was prepared, but still sad. It did come with some awesome art, though. I think my plan will be to just buy the regular hardcover later, after I've read this version first. Then, I can unhaul the shiny copy if I want. It was too expensive to purchase the sequel(s) for anyway.

 

 

 

My Acrylipics order of The Crown of Gilded Bones and The War of Two Queens arrived last week as well. They're the 3D-printed edge editions. And let me tell you, those printed edges are so ugly. I honestly just want the dust jackets. I wish they'd sell those separately. The character artwork is very pretty. I mean, just look at Kieran here. I love him.

 

Now, this next set is kind of a unique story. I'd shipped back about 4-5 books from ApollyCon back in April. Well, I shipped them to my parents' house, and my parents' proceeded to leave the package on the porch without knowing it was there. It was fine, but that just meant I had to wait an extra couple of weeks to get my box. Thankfully, these were the only two new books I needed to actually post in a haul and in my ApollyCon wrap-up (still to come). But anyway, it's Emily Blackwood's A Wing So Wicked and Blood So Brutal.

 

 

 

And here we have a couple of preorders. One's from Barnes & Nole, Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen, and the other, Riftborne by Grenwich & Lennox, is from Waterstones. Not much to say about these other than I can't decide if I want to keep the new US hardcover deluxe editions of the Wolves of Ruin series or keep my Waterstones editions. I'm waiting on the Waterstones edition of Fury Bound to arrive before I decide. But I can't keep collecting the entire series when the covers aren't that different. I just like the different endpaper/reverse dust jacket art too much. Sigh.

 

 

 

Here are a couple of paperback books. The first is Flamefall by Rosaria Munda, which is the other exception to my book-buying ban. It's an exception because I got it at my local used bookstore with trade credit. Since I'm technically not spending money, I'm allowed to "purchase" via my local bookstore, especially since I usually unhaul books when I go. I also only visit that bookstore like once every month, so it shouldn't be a major issue. The second book in this pic is one I received from a B&N preorder, Nalini Singh's Archangel's Eternity.

As for ebooks, I have two: Soul Sworn by Kate Dylan and A Vow in Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriquez. Soul Sworn is a NetGalley eARC I received from the publisher. I'm really excited about this one. I don't know a ton about it. I read the synopsis back when I first added it to my Goodreads shelf, but I've forgotten the details by now. I do love that cover though. And then, A Vow in Vengeance was on sale, so I bought it on Nook with some B&N rewards money.

 

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

Review: Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter

Blood Bound

Ellis Hunter

(Cursed Covenant #1)

Publication Date: April 28, 2026

Hardcover, 485 pages, Atria Books

Genres: Adult, Romantasy

Goodreads

A debut high-stakes fantasy romance trilogy set against a once-in-a-generation duel to the death between rival witches and dragon riders as they battle to control the source of all magic in their kingdoms. Perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, and Quicksilver.

 

You duel or you die.

 

Astrid has always known she is destined to die. She is the last Nachstern witch and heir to the Queendom of Arturea, cursed by a centuries-old covenant to duel the heir to the Kingdom of Vatra for the source of all magic: the Heart. And now Astrid’s time is up. She is heading into enemy territory to face Prince Zryan, the most powerful dragon rider in eons, with only her familiar, her potions, and her wits to aid her. She is going to die, and any chance her queendom has of curing the Blight that’s ravaging the lands and killing her people will die with her.

 

Meanwhile, deep in dragon country, Skylar and her travelling troupe arrive in Vatra’s capital, ready to profit off the legions of spectators swarming to the city ahead of the duel. She despises the royals and all they stand for, especially as the King’s guard murdered her mother. But when her best friend disappears, suspected to have been taken in the conscription, her search takes her closer to the royals than she ever could have imagined.

 

As the duel looms over the kingdom, Skylar and Astrid’s fates intertwine. They must battle a growing rebellion, their inner demons, and ultimately, those they love most, to determine if together they will save—or doom—their world.

My Review

Blood Bound has most definitely been advertised correctly. It is perfect for fans of Fourth Wing due to the dragon companions and deadly competitions, but I also think fans of Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series would like this one. Blood Bound has powers, squabbling royal families, and attractive princes. It's basically like if Red Queen and Fourth Wing threw some witches and familiars in the mix. So of course I had a good time reading it!

The story starts out a bit slow, as it's introducing the two main POV characters: Astrid, the witch heir, and Skylar, a knife thrower in a traveling troupe. It took a bit for things to pick up speed enough for me to start caring for these two characters. I think it was due to the shorter chapters and the two separate POVs. However, events happened about a quarter of the way through the book that blew my mind. I totally wasn't expecting that twist. And the twists just kept coming. Some of them, I guessed, but there were a few that I didn't expect at all.

As for the worldbuilding, it was pretty good. There's a blight happening across the world with a hidden power source, corrupt rulers, and secret rebellions. Then of course, you have the fuzzy familiars, like Quincy the giant fox and Bastet the cat. And the beaver! Oh, so cute! I do think the ending was a bit rushed, which does have to do with the worldbuilding. I wish there had been a bit more foreshadowing for the finale, as the big reveal seemed to come out of nowhere. (Or maybe I'm just not as observant as I thought I was.) The ending still hooked me, though, so I'm ready for book two!

 Honestly, I enjoyed almost every aspect of the book despite some flaws. I think the only major weakness I saw was the relationships. Things just seemed to move so fast between various characters. It was a tad insta-lovey in a few parts, unfortunately. So, I think this is definitely a story more for the plot readers than the character/romance readers. While Zryan reads like a sexy male love interest, I felt somewhat disconnected from him. Again, I think that comes back to the shorter chapters each being from two different POVs. If the book had been a bit longer, it may have established his character a bit more. I think just one extra chapter of a tension-filled scene between Zryan and Astrid could have helped. Same for other relationships I won't mention due to spoilers. This includes non-romantic ones as well.

All in all, I liked Blood Bound a lot. It was a good time, and, once I got about 10 chapters in, it started reading fairly quickly. I often told myself to put the book down, but the next thing I know, I've read five more chapters. There's action, high stakes, and magic galore! I'm excited to read the sequel when it comes out.

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