I was expecting this week and next week to be slow on the book front so I’m rather surprised that I have so many book “presents” to share with you this Christmas Eve – which is also the sixth day of Hanukkah. I still think that next week is going to be not so much a “Silent Night” as an entire silent week as far as new books are concerned, but we’ll see. With the actual holiday days being on the weekends fewer people may have days off this week than usual.

But whatever you celebrate, Happy Holidays to you and yours and a safe, happy and healthy New Year!

For Review:
The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna
The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) by Heather Fawcett
Not of This World (Gideon Sable #4) by Simon R. Green
Remember Me (Ravenswood #2) by Mary Balogh
Scarlet (Scarlet Revolution #1) by Genevieve Cogman
A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato
The Wager by David Grann
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
The Gingerbread Cat by Stephanie Osborn
In the Shadow of Lightning (Glass Immortals #1) by Brian McClellan (audio)
Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People edited by Andrea D. Lobel and Mark Shainblum (Kickstarter)

If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

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And, we’ve reached that time of the year when the stacks wind down to almost nothing. I actually have few more books than this – although not many – but their covers haven’t been revealed yet so there’s nothing pretty, or interesting, or pretty interesting, to show.

Speaking of pretty and interesting and covers not being revealed, the most interesting cover this week is City of Last Chances. This one is also interesting because I’m not 100% positive whether this is the US cover or the UK cover. The prettiest cover – or at least the most tempting – is The Last Drop of Hemlock. And then there’s The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies which is a book I picked up because that title is simply irresistible. We’ll see if the book lives up to its title in the OMG YEAR ahead!

For Review:
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies (Ill-Mannered Ladies #1) by Alison Goodman
City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Dragonfall (Dragon Scales #1) by L.R. Lam
The Duke Gets Even (Fifth Avenue Rebels #4) by Joanna Shupe
The Last Drop of Hemlock (Nightingale Mysteries #2) by Katharine Schellman
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
Striker (Sentinel Security #3) by Anna Hackett

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I picked up Unbound II because there’s an Ink & Sigil story in it by Kevin Hearne. It’s the origin story for “Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite” and I’ve been terribly curious about just how she got that name. Now I know. I also picked up The Last Unicorn because it looks like I’m going to be reviewing The Way Home by the same author which includes two Last Unicorn novellas. I’m sure I read The Last Unicorn at some point, by that point was probably 50(!) years ago and I don’t remember a thing. It would probably help the review if I did. At least a bit.

For Review:
Blade of Dream (Kithamar #2) by Daniel Abraham
Infinity Gate (Pandominion #1) by M.R. Carey
Spring’s Arcana (Dead God’s Heart #1) by Lilith Saintcrow
Twice Cursed edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane
The Way Home (Last Unicorn #2) by Peter S. Beagle

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Unbound edited by Shawn Speakman
Unbound II edited by Shawn Speakman

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I did say I was going to pick up the rest of the Merry Folger series, didn’t I? I really liked Death on a Winter Stroll because I really liked Merry as a character so I expect her series to be a great comfort read.

But speaking of comfort reads, well, sorta/kinda, I bought A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny earlier this week because I adore the Gamache series, even if – or especially because – it uses its very comforting characters to tell some quite disturbing stories – as was the case this time.

The book I’m most looking forward to in this stack – since I’ve already read and reviewed the Gamache – is City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita. It seems to be based, at least a bit, on Whittier Alaska, which really is a city where all the inhabitants live under one roof. What a great place to set a mystery!

For Review:
Chasing Cleopatra (Cleopatra Chronicles #1) by Tina Sloan
Chasing Othello (Cleopatra Chronicles #2) by Tina Sloan
Children of Memory (Children of Time #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita
Immortal Longings (Flesh & False Gods #1) by Chloe Gong
One Extra Corpse (Silver Screen Historical Mystery #2) by Barbara Hambly

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Death in the Off-Season (Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #1) by Francine Mathews
Death in Rough Water (Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #2) by Francine Mathews
Death in a Mood Indigo (Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #3) by Francine Mathews
Death in a Cold Hard Light (Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #4) by Francine Mathews
Death on Nantucket (Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #5) by Francine Mathews
Death on Tuckernuck (Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #6) by Francine Mathews
The Sign for Home by Blair Fell (audio)
A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Gamache #18) by Louise Penny (A+ REVIEW)

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I honestly didn’t think there would be much this week, considering the official US holiday on Thursday and the unofficial holiday on Friday. But my prognostications turned out to be more than a bit off and brought me some lovely books this week. I’ve already read Never Too Old to Save the World and it was AWESOME. Plus there are two books that I have been looking forward to, the upcoming Sparks & Bainbridge historical mystery (The Lady from Burma) AND the forthcoming contemporary mystery The Way of the Bear, the latest in Anne Hillerman’s Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito series.

So many books to look forward to, not nearly enough time to read them all. But I’ll certainly give it my best shot!

For Review:
The Lady from Burma (Sparks & Bainbridge #5) by Allison Montclair
The Lost War (Eidyn Saga #1) by Justin Lee Anderson
Never Too Old to Save the World edited by Alana Jolie Abbott and Addie J. King
The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre
Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee
Queen Wallis (Widowland #2) by C.J. Carey
Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay
The Way of the Bear (Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito #26) by Anne Hillerman
White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher (audio)
The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev

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It’s not just me, is it? This year is going by really, really fast? The Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop starts on OMG MONDAY! and Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I know “time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana” but this year has just zipped by. At warp speed!

I swear I did not simply cut off this stack after the letter ‘C’ although it sure looks that way! This is what I have covers for so far. And so far, the covers for the Saffron Everleigh series, which started with A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons, certainly win the prettiest cover award!

For Review:
All the Queen’s Spies (Agents of the Crown #3) by Oliver Clements
Arca (Five Queendoms #2) by G.R. Macallister
Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
The Blood Gift (Blood Gift Duology #2) by N.E. Davenport
A Botanist’s Guide to Flowers and Fatality (Saffron Everleigh #2) by Kate Khavari
Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling
Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
A Caribbean Heiress in Paris (Las Léonas #1) by Adriana Herrera (audio)

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A few more books this week because last week a faithful follower of Reading Reality recommended Combined Operations as a readalike for Steel Fear. And I was tempted…

In other reading notes, someone in my reading group made the observation that publishers have been using “romcom” as a replacement description for “contemporary romance” – even though not all contemporary romances are romcoms. Far from it. But the observation continued that the cartoon-style, drawn, cover art seems to be leading everyone down a primrose path of thinking that the stories within are lighter in tone than they actually are. I’m thinking in particular of A Proposal They Can’t Refuse of a few months back, which was, most definitely, a romance, but deals with a lot of very serious stuff and isn’t really a comedy at all.

I’m curious if anyone else has any thoughts on the matter?

For Review:
The Archive Undying (Downworld Sequence #1) by Emma Mieko Candon
Death Comes to Marlow (Marlow Murder Club #2) by Robert Thorogood
Full Exposure by Thien-Kim Lam
Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea
Mr. Clarke’s Deepest Desire (Enterprising Scoundrels #2) by Sophie Barnes
Playing it Safe (Electra McDonnell #3) by Ashley Weaver

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Between Two Graves (Combined Operations #4) by Dorothy Grant
Blood, Oil and Love (Combined Operations #2) by Dorothy Grant
Going Ballistic (Combined Operations #1) by Dorothy Grant
A Perfect Day, With Explosions (Combined Operations #3) by Dorothy Grant

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Out of a mere nine books, I have one I’ve just finished, one I’ve been waiting for for months, one that requires me to check to see if I’m caught up with it’s series and one book in a new series by a favorite author that I’m terribly curious to read. All of that, and the prettiest cover this week goes to Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter which is none of the above. A short stack filled with absolutely oodles of intriguing choices!

For Review:
Conqueror (Galactic Kings #4) by Anna Hackett
The Fourth Enemy (Daniel Pitt #6) by Anne Perry
Hel’s Eight by Stark Holborn
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter by Lizzie Pook
The Peacekeeper (Good Lands #1) by B.L. Blanchard
Queens of Wonderland (Defenders of Lore #2) by Gama Ray Martinez
The Three Dahlias (Dahlia Lively #1) by Katy Watson
The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

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Another short stack for a week I’m cutting off a bit early. This isn’t exactly a stack of pretty covers, but there are several I’m really curious about, particularly A Quiet Teacher and Rubicon. (Please tell me I’m not the only person who enjoyed the movie Edge of Tomorrow for the opportunity to watch Tom Cruise die over and over and over again! Not that Emily Blunt wasn’t terrific, but seriously…) And honestly, that cover of Death on a Winter Stroll is giving me chills because it looks so damn COLD!

For Review:
Death on a Winter Stroll (Merry Folger Nantucket #7) by Francine Mathews
For the First Time, Again (Take Them to the Stars #3) by Sylvain Neuvel
Hide (Detective Harriet Foster #1) by Tracy Clark
Look Closer by David Ellis
Mission: Uncovered (Treasure Hunter Security/Team 52/Norcross Security) by Anna Hackett
A Quiet Teacher by Adam Oyebanji
Rubicon by J.S. Dewes
The Stars Undying (Empire Without End #1) by Emery Robin (audio)

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks (audio)

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It’s kind of a short stack this week, and that’s likely to be normal for the next few months. But happily, two old book friends are back in this stack, Sebastian St. Cyr and Miranda Chase. The St. Cyr book won’t actually be out until April, but I’m happy to have it now. Howsomever, Miranda’s next outing is due out next week so I’ll be reading her this weekend. I can’t wait!

And isn’t the cover of Threadneedle GORGEOUS?

For Review:
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
A Most Intriguing Lady by Sarah Ferguson
North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan
Queen of Dust by H.E. Dare
Skibird (Miranda Chase NTSB #11) by M.L. Buchman
Threadneedle (Language of Magic #1) by Cari Thomas
Who Cries for the Lost (Sebastian St. Cyr #18) by C.S. Harris

If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page

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