Stacking the Shelves (497)

And here we are again, with another edition of “as the overstuffed bookcase collapses”.  The overstuffed-ness of my stacks is probably going to keep going through June. The “judging year” for the Overachievers’ Book Club ends on Halloween, so things should start slowing down. On my own, I do get more books than I can read, because the tsundoku is strong and the books are shiny, but usually not quite this much!

For Review:
Alias Emma by Ava Glass
All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
Always the First to Die by R.J. Jacobs
Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa
Black Cloud Rising by David Wright Falade
The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart
The Chosen Twelve by James Breakwell
The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman
Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias
Good Morning, Love by Ashley M. Coleman
The Heroine with 1,001 Faces by Maria Tatar
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson
The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews
How the Wallflower Was Won (Last Chance Scoundrels #2) by Eva Leigh
The Latinist by Mark Prins
The Lost Kings by Tyrell Johnson
Master of Furies (Firemane #3) by Raymond E. Feist
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monoghan
The Old Place by Bobby Finger
The Recovery Agent (Gabriela Rose #1) by Janet Evanovich
The Roguish Baron (Diamonds in the Rough #9) by Sophie Barnes (REVIEW!)
Station Eternity (Midsolar Murders #1) by Mur Lafferty
Ten Thousand Stitches (Regency Faerie Tales #2) by Olivia Atwater
Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott
Up Against It by Laura J. Mixon
The Yeoman’s Tale (Geoffrey Chaucer Mystery #2) by M.J. Trow

Borrowed from the Library:
House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2) by Sarah J. Maas


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

Please link your STS post in the linky below:


The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-15-22

Here’s that picture I promised yesterday. I present to you…George, Destroyer of Worlds! (Or at least, destroyer of boxes, packing paper, and OMG shoes!

After George had his fun we cleaned up after him. He has such a good time with the boxes and the packing materials that we can’t resist letting him play for a bit. We’re also grateful that the pair of slippers in the picture hasn’t been subject to his depredations – at least not yet. As they have neither straps nor shoelaces they are probably safe, but we don’t dare leave him with any shoes unsupervised.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the May Flowers Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: When Blood Lies by C.S. Harris
Life’s A Beach Giveaway Hop
B Review: The Impossible Us by Sarah Lotz
A- Review: Heroic Hearts edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes
May Flowers Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (496)

Coming This Week:

Moms Rock Giveaway Hop
Last Exit by Max Gladstone (audio review)
Captain of the Guard by Anna Hackett (review)
The Roguish Baron by Sophie Barnes (review)
Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan (blog tour review)

Stacking the Shelves (496)

Tomorrow’ Sunday Post is going to include a positively demonic picture of George, in the midst of the destruction he has wrought among the empty book boxes. He clearly was having MUCH too good a time. Or perhaps I just get too many books.

Nah, that couldn’t be it. LOL

For Review:
Babel : Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang
Bluebird by Genevieve Graham
Captain of the Guard (Galactic Kings #3) by Anna Hackett
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Desperate Undertaking (Flavia Albia #10) by Lindsey Davis
The Edge of Summer by Viola Shipman
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
The Forty Elephants by Erin Bledsoe
Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales #1) by Olivia Atwater
High Times in the Low Parliament by Kelly Robson
An Indiscreet Princess by Georgie Blalock
Leech by Hiron Ennes
The Lives of Diamond Bessie by Jody Hadlock
Lute by Jennifer Marie Thorne
Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
Old Country by Matt Query and Harrison Query
The Oleander Sword (Burning Kingdoms #2) by Tasha Suri
Outside by Ragnar Jonasson
Raven Unveiled (Fallen Empire #3) by Grace Draven
Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
The River of Silver: Tales from the Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
Self-Portrait with Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka
The Stardust Thief (Sandsea Trilogy #1) by Chelsea Abdullah (audio)
The Unbalancing (Birdverse) by R.B. Lemberg
Wake by Shelley Burr
Where We End & Begin by Jane Igharo
Will Do Magic for Small Change by Andrea Hairston

Borrowed from the Library:
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris


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

Please link your STS post in the linky below:


Stacking the Shelves (495)

“So many books, so little time.” I could say that every week – and it would be applicable every time! But there are always a couple or three that I’m looking forward to just that teeniest bit more than the others. And that’s true this time around as well. Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match is giving me a few of the same vibes as The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, and I miss that series a LOT. I’m also more than curious about Uncanny Times by Laura Anne Gilman. I LOVED her Retrievers series, but haven’t connected quite as much with her later work. So I have hope. We’ll see. And Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride just sounds adorable!

For Review:
The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz
Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne
Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer
Catch Her When She Falls by Allison Buccola
City of Orange by David Yoon
Complicit by Winnie M. Li
A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
Forbidden City by Vanessa Hua
The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream by Jeannie Zusy
The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani
Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford
An Honest Living by Dwyer Murphy
I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown
Into the Windwracked Wilds (Up-and-Under #3) by A. Deborah Baker
Kalmann by Joachim B. Schmidt
The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead
Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen
The Maid by Nita Prose
Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close
Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride by Lorenzo Carcaterra
Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach
Notorious Sorcerer (Burnished City #1) by Davinia Evans
Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
Trouble the Water by Rebecca Dwight Bruff
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
Uncanny Times (Huntsmen #1) by Laura Anne Gilman


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

Please link your STS post in the linky below:


The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 5-1-22

As far as reviews go, this week started with a bang and ended pretty close to a bang, but in the middle there were a couple of days of whimpering. A couple of books that I expected to be much better than they actually turned out to be. C’est la reading vie. At least this week’s reviews are already off to an excellent. start. I finished Kiss Hard and it was as good a read as I was expecting. The one I’m really curious about, however, is The Dachshund Wears Prada. If the book even half lives up to that title it’s bound to be a winner.

Speaking of winners, here’s a picture of our two tabby boys, not exactly snuggling. I think they’re both looking for the brain cell, just in opposite directions.

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee
C+ Review: Love, Hate and Clickbait by Liz Bowery
C+ Review: Boss Witch by Ann Aguirre
A+ Review: The Wrong Victim by Allison Brennan
B+ Review: Mirror Lake by Juneau Black
Stacking the Shelves (494)

Coming This Week:

Kiss Hard by Nalini Singh (review)
When She Dreams by Amanda Quick (blog tour review)
The Dachshund Wears Prada by Stefanie London (blog tour review)
By the Book by Jasmine Guillory (review)
Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr (review)

Stacking the Shelves (494)

Another tall stack of books in this week’s STS, some of which look even more interesting than usual.  (Not that all books don’t inherently generate at least a tiny bit of interest!) I think the most interesting cover in this bunch probably goes to Legends & Lattes if only in the sense of “who woulda thunk it?” The book I’m most looking forward to, again, not that I’m not looking forward to all of them eventually, but looking forward to immediately as in I’m reading it this weekend, is Kiss Hard by Nalini Singh. I’ve found her Psy-Changeling series interesting but I’ve kind of lost steam with it – or possibly vice versa – with the last couple of entries. But I love her contemporaries – possibly because they’re both excellent and relatively rare. (Rock Hard, which is a precursor to the Hard Play series, is still a big favorite.) And in the “big shoes to fill” category there’s Dead Man’s Hand by James J. Butcher whose urban fantasy protagonist Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby is going to have to live up to – or perhaps that’s down to – the reputation of Harry Dresden every bit as much as son James J. will be compared to his dad Jim Butcher.

For Review:
Aftermath by LeVar Burton
Base Notes by Lara Elena Donnelly
The Book of Sand by Theo Clare AKA Mo Hayder
Dead Man’s Hand (Unorthodox Chronicles #1) by James J. Butcher
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
Front Page Murder (Homefront News #1) by Joyce St. Anthony
Her Name is Knight (Nena Knight #1) by Yasmin Angoe
Holy Terror by Cherie Priest
Hooked by A.C. Wise
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Kiss Hard (Hard Play #4) by Nalini Singh
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer
The Lunar Housewife by Caroline Woods
The Maker of Swans by Paraic O’Donnell
Midnight Hour by Abby L. Vandiver
The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta
Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg
One-Shot Harry by Gary Phillips
A Proposal They Can’t Refuse (Vega Family Love Stories #1) by Natalie Caña
The Reunion by Meghan Quinn
The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose #4) by Charlaine Harris
The Shadow of the Empire (Judge Dee #1) by Qiu Xiaolong
They Can’t Take Your Name by Robert Justice
They Come at Knight (Nena Knight #2) by Yasmin Angoe

Borrowed from the Library:
Forging a Nightmare by Patricia A. Jackson
Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens
The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Waite Clayton


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

Please link your STS post in the linky below:


The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-24-22

WHEW! I made all my deadlines both here and at Library Journal but it was certainly a bit of a mad dash to get all the books read and written up this week! The novellas I reviewed here turned out to be a VERY interesting bunch! Spear was utterly wonderful – especially in the audio – and Detroit Kiss was just plain fun. An excellent week all in all.

But speaking of fun – here’s George basically Georging. He normally has such a serious expression on his little face, but once in a while, he’s just a total clown. And this was definitely one of those whiles!

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the first April Showers Giveaway Hop is Sharon B.
The winner of the second April Showers Giveaway Hop is Angela H.

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Detroit Kiss by Rhys Ford
B+ Review: And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin
A- Review: Acadie by Dave Hutchinson
A- Review: The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
A Review: Spear by Nicola Griffith
Stacking the Shelves (493)

Coming This Week:

The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee (review)
Love, Hate and Clickbait by Liz Bowery (blog tour review)
Boss Witch by Ann Aguirre (review)
The Wrong Victim by Allison Brennan (blog tour review)
Last Exit by Max Gladstone (audiobook review)

Stacking the Shelves (493)

This week’s ginormous stack has more than a few interesting books in it, but there are some I want to point out particularly. First, I’ve already read and reviewed Detroit Kiss and it was just terrific urban fantasy so I’m really glad I picked it up. Two of the titles on this list I think I got just for the title; Saint Death’s Daughter and The Middling Affliction. Come to think of it, The Middling Affliction is also urban fantasy, so I’m sensing a trend. If urban fantasy really is back I’d be delighted. And speaking of delighted, isn’t the cover of In a Garden Burning Gold absolutely gorgeous?

For Review:
Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan
Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti
Drop Dead Gorgeous by Rachel Gibson
Good Intentions by Kasim Ali
The Honeymoon Cottage by Lori Foster
In a Garden Burning Gold by Rory Power
Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc by Katherine J. Chen
The Lost and Found Girl by Maisey Yates
Metropolis by B.A. Shapiro
Misrule (Malice #2) by Heather Walter
The Middling Affliction (Conradverse Chronicles #1) by Alex Shvartsman
The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
The Orchard by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry
Quantum Girl Theory by Erin Kate Ryan
Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond
Saint Death’s Daughter (Saint Death #1) by C.S.E. Cooney
Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist
True Biz by Sara Novic
Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings
Vicious Creatures by Ashton Noone
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Detroit Kiss by Rhys Ford (REVIEW!!!)


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

Please link your STS post in the linky below:


The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 4-17-22

Happy (almost) everything. It’s Easter Sunday, Passover started Friday night and tomorrow is Tax Day. Two good things out of three ain’t bad. Or maybe that should be 50/50, as this marks the official end of my annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration, as the giveaways have closed and the winners have been chosen. (Except for the two April Showers blog hops. Those end when the organizers say they end.)

This week has turned out to be novella week. Due to a lack of planning on my part, or an overindulgence in the demon procrastination, I have five additional books to read and review this week for Library Journal. Poor planning on my part definitely equals an emergency on my part as well. Life isn’t just what happens when you’re making other plans, sometimes life is what happens because you forgot to plan at all. (I’d say something about “live and learn” but I’m a procrastinator from way back and have never learned no matter how often I’ve gotten myself into this fix!)

But I can’t close out this Sunday Post without a cat picture. Galen managed to snap a picture of Hecate while she was rolling on the floor doing the feline equivalent of the “hoochie-coochie”, showing off all the pretty colors on her underside. How she’s managing to look cute and disgruntled at the same time I’ll never know!

Current Giveaways:

April Showers Giveaway Hop #1 (ENDS TUESDAY!!!)
April Showers Giveaway Hop #2 (ENDS FRIDAY)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of The Detective or The Medic by Anna Hackett is Lysette
The winner of ANY book by T. Kingfisher is Teresa
The winner of $25 in Books in my Blogo-Birthday Celebration is Elizabeth
The winner of the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop is Sherry
The winner of a $25 Amazon Gift Card in my Blogo-Birthday Celebration is Susan

Blog Recap:

B Review: Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham
B Review: Summer at the Cape by RaeAnne Thayne
B Review: Sand Dollar Lane by Sheila Roberts
B Review: The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman
B+ Review: Two Storm Wood by Philip Gray
Stacking the Shelves (492)

Coming This Week:

Detroit Kiss by Rhys Ford (review)
And Then I Up by Malcolm Devlin (review)
Acadie by Dave Hutchinson (review)
The Black God’s Drums by P. Djeli Clark (review)
Spear by Nicola Griffith (audiobook review)

Stacking the Shelves (492)

There’s a question I get fairly often, because these stacks are ginormous, especially in the spring. There’s a reason for that. Actually there are two reasons for that.

First, I have terrible tsundoku and always have. I like knowing that I have choices about what to read next, and next, and next, so I’ve always acquired more books that I could possibly read. Before ebooks, when we went on a trip it would be normal for me to take a carry-on bag filled entirely with books and to stop at a bookstore at least once to buy more.

Second, for the past nine years I have been on a series of book awards committees for the American Library Association. And, as a perk or a punishment or both for being part of one of these committees – often referred to as the Overachievers Book Club, I receive actual tons of books over the course of a year. I won’t be required to read all the books I receive, but there’s no way of knowing exactly which ones I’ll have to read until later in the year. And there are always plenty in the pile that I want to read. The committees’ year of deliberation starts in early February, which means I start getting metric buttloads of books not too much after that.

Yes, the UPS delivery people all hate me.

In the long term, or long tail, I read about half of what I receive. But that tail can be very long. I’ll be reviewing a book this coming week that I received four years ago. The stacks will be this big until at least the end of May, possibly into June, but then things will calm down – so to speak – until next year. Or at least that’s the plan. We’ll see!

For Review:
The Birdcage by Eve Chase
Child Zero by Chris Holm
Cleopatra’s Dagger by Carole Lawrence
The Colony by Audrey Magee
Count Your Lucky Stars (Written in the Stars #3) by Alexandria Bellefleur
Girls Before Earls (Rogues to Lovers #1) by Anna Bennett
The Great Witch of Brittany by Louisa Morgan
Hell Bent by Calista Lynne
Housebreaking by Colleen Hubbard
The Light Always Breaks by Angela Jackson-Brown
Little Foxes Took Up Matches by Katya Kazbek
Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein
Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare
One Lucky Summer by Jenny Oliver
Pignon Scorbion and the Barbershop Detectives (Pignon Scorbion #1)  by Rick Bleiweiss
The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann
Scarlet in Blue by Jennifer Murphy
The Sign for Home by Blair Fell
Sister Stardust by Jane Green
The Sizzle Paradox by Lily Menon
Spear by Nicola Griffith (audio)
String Follow by Simon Jacobs
The Unkept Woman (Sparks & Bainbridge #4) by Allison Montclair
An Unlasting Home by Mai Al-Nakib
The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall
Wicked Beauty (Dark Olympus #3) by Katee Robert
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Acadie by Dave Hutchinson


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

Please link your STS post in the linky below: