This is certainly an interesting bunch of new books! I got lucky with a couple of the Audible Daily Deals, which accounts from some of the audiobooks, but the ones that really intrigue me this week are the “book books”. I’m fascinated by the concept of Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea because it looks like someone is trying to find that same cozy fantasy sweet spot that Legends & Lattes filled so wonderfully and successfully. So this one has my curiosity bump itching to see whether or not this lives even remotely adjacent to that marvelous book. I have hope!

The other book that is piquing extra interest in this stack is Dead Country by Max Gladstone. I loved the first few books in his Craft Sequence, which started with Three Parts Dead, but it eventually succumbed to the deadly “so many books, so little time” problem. Dead Country is supposed to be the first book in a trilogy that will bring the entire series to a close – by going back to the protagonist of that first, utterly marvelous book. It’s also being billed as a good entry point for the series so I’m hoping to jump right back in. We’ll see.

For Review:
The Atlas Paradox (Atlas #2) by Olivia Blake
The Atlas Paradox (Atlas #2) by Olivia Blake (audio)
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes & Tea #1) by Rebecca Thorne
Dead Country (Craft Wars #1) by Max Gladstone
The Girl with the Emerald Flag by Kathleen McGurl
Nothing but the Rain by Naomi Salman
When Life Gives You Vampires (Slaying It #1) by Gloria Duke
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb (audio)

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
The Atlas Six (Atlas #1) by Olivie Blake (audio)
The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings (audio)
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall (audio)

Borrowed from the Library:
Boldly Go by William Shatner with Joshua Brandon

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Hands down – or perhaps that should be covers up – the one I’m most looking forward to in this batch is this year’s Pets in Space collection. Because pets. In space. With romance. What’s not to love?

I’m also looking with deep curiosity at Engines of Chaos by R.S. Ford. Because the first book in the series, Engines of Empire, turned out to be a rage read – or at least a rage listen – for me. I found the story utterly compelling but absolutely hated nearly all of the point of view characters. There are just SO MANY characters I want to see get their just desserts – but most of them seem to be the ones we’re supposed to be rooting for. So I really want to find out what happens next even if I want to see at least half of them BURN.

For Review:
Breaking the Circle (Margaret Murray #2) by M.J. Trow
Courting Dragons (King’s Fool #1) by Jeri Westerson
Engines of Chaos (Age of Uprising #2) by R.S. Ford
The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller
The Immortal Detective (Immortal Detective #1) by D.B. Woodling
Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen (audio)
The Meister of Decimen City by Brenna Raney
One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake
Pets in Space 7 by S.E. Smith, R.J. Blain, Grace Goodwin, Skye MacKinnon, Carol Van Natta, Honey Phillips, Carysa Locke, S.J. Pajonas, JC Hay, Kyndra Hatch
The Warden by Daniel M. Ford
The Winter Knight by Jes Battis

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I said these would start getting smaller, and they have. YAY! If you’re wondering why, it’s because of the ALA committee that I’m on, jokingly referred to as the ‘Overachievers’ Book Club’. To be eligible for the awards that we’re working on this year, a book has to be published between 11/1/2021 and 10/31/2022. While people can submit books for consideration up to the very end of the period, in reality we’re past the 90% mark. So stacks get shorter. Again, YAY!

This is my final year of eligibility for this particular committee. I’ll volunteer for something else, but most have shorter lists overall than this one does – hence the ‘Overachievers’ nickname.

Several here I’m REALLY looking forward to. A House with Good Bones because I love me some T. Kingfisher even when she’s writing horror. Witch King by Martha Wells of Murderbot fame because I’m interested in her take on fantasy and this looks like a standalone. And, most definitely and most surprisingly, Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton. I loved its predecessor, Mickey7, but the ending didn’t seem like it was pointed at a potential sequel. Although I’m very happy to see that it spawned – or perhaps that should be cloned? – a sequel anyway!

For Review:
Antimatter Blues (Mickey7 #2) by Edward Ashton
The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
Intrigue in Istanbul (Jane Wunderly #4) by Erica Ruth Neubauer
The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner
Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow
A Rogue’s Rules for Seduction (Last Chance Scoundrels #3) by Eva Leigh
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
Witch King by Martha Wells

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Sweep of the Heart (Innkeeper Chronicles #6) by Ilona Andrews (preorder)

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I absolutely did pick up Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone for the title. Because seriously, who could resist? I have The Cradle of Ice because the first book in the series, The Starless Crown was intriguing – if a bit uneven. And the audio of God of Neverland was an Audible Daily Deal. Some stacks have a teeny bit more thought put into them than this one does, but they all look fascinating!

For Review:
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi #1) by Shannon Chakraborty
The Bequest by Joanna Margaret
Conquer the Kingdom (Gargoyle Queen #3) by Jennifer Estep
The Cradle of Ice (Moon Fall #2) by James Rollins
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Foul Lady Fortune (Foul Lady Fortune #1) by Chloe Gong
The Foxglove King (Nightshade Crown #1) by Hannah Whitten
The Queen’s Price (Black Jewels #12) by Anne Bishop
Solomon’s Crown by Natasha Siegel
A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey
A Wish for Winter by Viola Shipman

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
God of Neverland (Defenders of Lore #1) by Gama Ray Martinez (audio)

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As you can all see, the stacks do eventually get smaller. Thank goodness! If these were all or even mostly print books, the house would have caved in long ago!

The covers this week aren’t so much pretty as they are curious – or at least I’m curious about the books inside them. And not that the Valdemar Companion pictured on the cover of Shenanigans isn’t pretty, because it is and they are. But there are some I’m terrible curious about this week. Essex Dogs because it’s historical fiction about the Hundred Years’ War, and after reading 1632 again I’m interested in the period. A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas because the Lady Sherlock series both fascinates me and drives me bananas, sometimes in the same book. And finally, Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen because it looks absolutely fascinating while sounding nothing like the previous book of his that I’ve read, Light Years from Home.

For Review:
Don’t Open the Door (Regan Merritt #2) by Allison Brennan
Essex Dogs by Dan Jones
Hades (Sentinel Security #2) by Anna Hackett
The Poet’s House by Jean Thompson
Riverside by Ian Skillicorn and Glenda Young (audio)
Shenanigans (Valdemar #16) by Mercedes Lackey
Singer Distance by Ethan Chatagnier
A Tempest at Sea (Lady Sherlock #7) by Sherry Thomas
Three Assassins by Kotaro Isaka
Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen
The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew
Wings Once Cursed & Bound (Mythwoven #1) by Piper J. Drake

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I just finished Remarkably Bright Creatures, which leads me straight into The Mountain in the Sea as both stories are about octopi. Not that they way they deal with their respective octopi resembles each other in the slightest, but two books about octopi relatively close together does stretch the long arm of coincidence a bit. Or possibly eight arms of coincidence. We’ll see.

The other book in this batch I’m really curious about is Bitter Medicine. The cover is understated, but the story looks like fun!

For Review:
Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai
The Gathering Dark: an Anthology of Folk Horror edited by Tori Bovalino
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (audio)
Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah
Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra
O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker
The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter
When the Night Bells Ring by Jo Kaplan
Where it Rains in Colour by Denise Crittendon

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Get Off My Lawn by Stephanie Osborn
Never Meant to Meet You by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans

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The stacks they are finally getting shorter. YAY!

This week I have a tie for which book I’m most excited about on the list. Horowitz’s The Twist of a Knife had held that position all by itself – until Friday. Because that’s when I learned that Scalzi had just let loose with another Dispatcher audio novella. I can’t wait to listen to Travel by Bullet, but I’m trying to finish the audiobook I’m in the middle of first and it isn’t nearly as exciting! Still, I’m halfway done and I’m afraid that if I don’t finish it now I won’t. We’ll just have to see how strongly the Dispatcher calls to me in the week ahead!

I picked up The Book Haters’ Book Club for the title but it really does look like fun!

For Review:
The Book Haters’ Book Club by Gretchen Anthony
Cast in Eternity (Chronicles of Elantra #18) by Michelle Sagara
Chef’s Kiss by TJ Alexander
Cold as Hell (Black Badge #1) by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings
The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry
On the Hustle (Dating in Dallas #2) by Adriana Herrera
Pets of Park Avenue (Paws in the City #2) by Stefanie London
The Scarlet Circus by Jane Yolen
The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo
The Shore by Katie Runde
Standalone (Dickie Cornish #2) by Christopher Chambers
The Twist of a Knife (Hawthorne and Horowitz #4) by Anthony Horowitz
VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Travel by Bullet (Dispatcher #3) by John Scalzi (audio)

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Two books here feel like a blast from the past. It’s even the same past, as I’m pretty sure I was reading the early books in both series at around the same time. One is Sword-Bearer by Jennifer Roberson and the other is Into the West by Mercedes Lackey. I read both the first book in Roberson’s Tiger and Del series (Sword-Dancer) and the first book in Lackey’s Valdemar series (Arrows of the Queen) when they first came out back in the mid-1980s. My reading of both series fell prey to the “so many books, so little time conundrum” but it’s good to have them both back again.

BTW, the first book in the Founding of Valdemar subseries, Beyond, was excellent and a terrific way to get back into Valdemar if you’ve been gone from it a long time – as I had. Now I’m eager to read this next installment!

For Review:
Big Red by Jerome Charyn
The Cloisters by Katy Hays
Empire of Exiles (Books of the Usurper #1) by Erin M. Evans
Furious Heaven (Sun Chronicles #2) by Kate Elliott
The High Mountain Court (Five Crowns of Okrith #1) by A.K. Mulford
The Hostage by A.F. Carter
Into the West (Founding of Valdemar #2) by Mercedes Lackey
Long Past Summer by Noué Kirwan
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope (audio)
Nameless Acts of Cruelty by Julie Cameron
Queen of Thieves by Beezy Marsh
The Rogue Crown (Five Crowns of Okrith #3) by A.K. Mulford
Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder
Sleep No More (Lost Night Files #1) by Jayne Ann Krentz
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
Sword-Bearer (Tiger and Del #8) by Jennifer Roberson
The Witches’ Blade (Five Crowns of Okrith #2) by A.K. Mulford

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus

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What a mixed bag this stack is! There’s one I’ve already read, The World We Make, for an LJ review, and it is excellent. Not quite as good as the first book, The City We Became, but still excellent. The most intriguing title award goes to The Fortunes of Jaded Women, and the book that tempts me the most – but is one of the furthest out, of course – is The Cliff’s Edge. And there are two calling my name right now, The Shop on Royal Street and The Seventh Bride.

So damn many books, so damn little time! Dammit!

For Review:
Acts of Oblivion by Robert Harris
The Cliff’s Edge (Bess Crawford #13) by Charles Todd
Flirting with the Beast (Modern Love #2) by Jane Porter
The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh
Husband Material (London Calling #2) by Alexis Hall
The Invincible Miss Cust by Penny Haw
The Last Crown (Bold #2) by Elżbieta Cherezińska
The Last Lie Told (Finley O’Sullivan #1) by Debra Webb
The Malice House (Malice Compendium #1) by Megan Shepherd
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
Should I Fall by Scott Shepherd
Small Angels by Lauren Owen
The Socialite’s Guide to Murder (Pinnacle Hotel #1) by S.K. Golden
Standing by the Wall (Slough House) by Mick Herron
Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
The Wheel of Doll by Jonathan Ames
Witchful Thinking (Elemental Love #1) by Celestine Martin
The World We Make (Great Cities #2) by N.K. Jemisin
Ymir (Violet Wars #2) by Rich Larson

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Babel by R.F. Kuang (audio)
The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

Borrowed from the Library:
The Shop on Royal Street (Royal Street #1) by Karen White

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This batch looks more interesting than it does pretty, but that happens some weeks. I’ve already listened to the Star Trek: Picard audio because I really needed to go to my happy place this week. I’m planning to read To Each This World for a Library Journal review. Silver Under Nightfall looks fascinating, so that may move up the towering TBR pile in the near future.

Tho’ I still need a bigger “Round Tuit”, don’t I?

For Review:
Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty
The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas
The Family Compound by Liz Parker
Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates
The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley
The House in the Orchard by Elizabeth Brooks
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Moth by Melody Razak
Now in November by Josephine W. Johnson
One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke
Sign Here by Claudia Lux
Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco
Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim
They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe
To Each This World by Julie E. Czerneda
The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel
Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin
The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce
The Work Wife by Alison B. Hart

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Star Trek: Picard: No Man’s Land written by Kirsten Beyer, Mike Johnson, performed by Michelle Hurd, Jeri Ryan and a full cast (audio)

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

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