Stacking the Shelves--The Mostly Keeper Copy Edition

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks! The meme is now hosted by Reading Reality. 

 

Another week has flown by! Is the year just winding down to nothing for everyone else as well? It's crazy how fast time flies once Halloween comes and goes! The work week was more normal, of course Friday, one of our main systems was not working at all and it was a pain as I couldn't do any of the requests that were assigned to me because I use this system. So yeah, Friday I had a whole lot of nothing for my short day. I did have a book signing this week and got to see Renee Ahdieh! I've met her before at festivals but this was the first time I really got to listen and hear her talk! So that was fun! Other than that, it was just a normal dull week. But I am like 99% done with my Christmas shopping! I just need one more little thing and if I happen across something too cute for my lil niece and nephew that would be a bonus! But other than that...I think I am done! Currently waiting on one more thing for my Secret Santa as I hit a snafu in my packing and it cut me deep...so I am adding something extra with a hopeful promise to correct the snafu should everything go as planned for January! So fingers crossed!

 

Here's what I got:

 

 

The Ruined by Renee Ahdieh--SIGNED keeper copy
The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard--SIGNED keeper copy
Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry--keeper copy
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young--this and Henry's book were my Cyber Monday deals from B&N!

Then I received for review from the publisher:

Bride by Ali Hazelwood (ARC)

THANK YOU Berkley Books!

Then I got my November Doll of the Month from Pages of the Night! This doll is AMAZING! It's funny because I was just getting ready to message Britnee about making this as a custom as I saw her recent one for Gilded Prison...or something from that series and thought, ooh that could work for THIS idea! And then Britnee announced it just before I got around to messaging her! The timing couldn't be more perfect!

For those who don't know, this is Tella from Legendary based off the Taiwanese cover! See below. This is one of my favorite international covers of Stephanie's and was what led me to buy my own birdcage and use another Tella doll I had to recreate it on the fly a few years ago! Now I got the perfect replica!

THANK YOU Britnee for another AMAZING creation!

Then in my family we celebrate St. Nicholas' Day on the 6th with stockings! Usually just candy, an ornament for the tree and a little gift or two. This was in mine and I LOVE it! I can't wait to have it in my library room...now I just need the house that has said library room! Lol.

And that was it for me this week! What did you all get?
 

Book Blogger Hop

 

 

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

 

 

 

This week's question is: Where do you like to read the most? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) 

MY ANSWER: I mainly do my reading in bed! It's the comfiest place I have to read. As I am house hunting I do hope I can find a nice library room where I could do my reading...it's going to have to be a big room since I also want to take my pictures in there too! Lol. A nice comfy reading chair is what I would like to read in though!

Books from the Backlog #60

 

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. This meme is hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books!

 

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London — working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward — both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells’s classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman’s Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we’ll do anything to know and the truths we’ll go to any lengths to protect.

 

So I added The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd to my TBR pile in April of 2015. I thought it sounded intriguing and I was hearing good things. Then I think not too long later, or a few months, I'd really have to check my photo albums in storage, it could've been a year later too, I added the rest of the trilogy to my pile as I was attending the Southern Festival of Books where Megan was attending and I thought why not get them all signed?! I have a bad habit of doing this sometimes...but then other times I don't and the books go out of print. So really, it's 50/50 that something bad will happen: either I won't like it all that much and have all the books, or I'll love it and stupidly didn't buy the books!

 

 

 
 

 

Can't Wait Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

 

The author of What Lies in the Woods returns with a novel about three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count.

Emma hasn't told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn't spoken to her sisters in years. Then they lose their apartment, her husband gets laid off, and Emma discovers she's pregnant―right as the bank account slips into the red.

That's when Emma confesses that she has one more asset: her parents' house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters. They can't sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means that Emma is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband: that the house is not a run-down farmhouse but a stately mansion, and that her parents died there.

Were murdered.

And that some people say Emma did it.

Emma and her sisters have never spoken about what really happened that night. Now, her return to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don’t want revealed. As Emma struggles to reconnect with her old family and hold together her new one, she begins to realize that the things they have left unspoken all these years have put them in danger again.

 

I STILL need to read Kate's first adult debut even though they're not a series from what I can tell. I still need to read a few of her YA books, but I've loved what I've read from her so I keep buying her books! Lol.

 

TITLE: No One Can Know
AUTHOR: Kate Alice Marshall
PUBLISHER: Flatiron Books
GENRE: Thriller
RELEASE DATE: January 23, 2024

 

 

 

 
 

Review--Devouring Darkness by Chloe Neill

 

In the newest installment of the USA Today bestselling Heirs of Chicagoland series, vampire Elisa Sullivan unearths an ancient grudge, with potentially devastating consequences.

As the only vampire ever born, and the daughter of two very powerful Chicago vampires, Elisa Sullivan knew her life was going to be...unusual. But she wanted to make her own way in the world, preferably away from her famous family. Then supernatural politics--and perhaps a bit of destiny--intervened, and Elisa had to steady her nerves and sharpen her steel to fight for the city of Chicago. Luckily, Connor Keene, son of the North American Central Pack's Apex wolf, is right by her side.

When Elisa and her Ombudsman colleagues agree to escort a troubled sorcereress to Chicago, they inadvertently set in motion a scheme of long-awaited magical vengeance. The city may pay an arcane price it can't afford unless Elisa and her allies rise to the challenge.

 

Devouring Darkness is Chloe Neill's fourth installment in the Heirs of Chicagoland series and it was just as exciting and action-packed as to be expected from this author! Chloe Neill is one of my favorite urban fantasy authors as she gets the genre! There's the perfect blend of action, romance, mystery, and of course the added paranormal characters!

Elisa is called in to help protect a young sorcereress who is fleeing from trouble, but upon escorting her, she and her team are immediately ambushed by ghosts! Yes, GHOSTS! In the melee the sorcereress runs away or it taken, it's not clear yet, but Elisa is troubled by this. It's not long though before her attention is taken over by a new set of problems! Largely there being a demon afoot who is looking to create a little chaos in Chicago as it looks for one of the Cornerstones that is deemed a place of power.

Soon Elisa's loved ones become in danger and it will be up to her and Connor and their cast of friends to help rescue their loved one and put a stop to the demon trying to take over the city.

One of the things I've always loved about Urban Fantasy is how plot driven the stories are. There's never a dull moment, the action is always moving forward and there are a lot of moving pieces in this one! Characters will be challenged, there will be fights, there will be losses, and revelations will be made. It's a whirlwind of activity that will have you devouring the pages, which was aptly done with that title! Lol.

I loved getting more glimpses at Elisa and Connor's relationship! It's been several books since I last read from this series but all the feelings I had are still there and were revived upon diving back in. It's like I wasn't gone for an insanely long time! What continues to be nice about this series is how seamlessly I can dive back into the story despite all that time! While it is necessary to read in chronological order with this one, there are only a few plot threads that carry over time and time again. They get summed up in some ways that make it easy to understand what had happened and how it relates to the current events.

I'm about to dive into the final book of the series and am a nervous wreck! There were some exciting things happening at the end of this one that is sure to lead to an exciting conclusion! I love that we do still get to see Merit and Ethan again and some of the other original cast! Though they aren't center stage with these books, it's still nice to know that they are all there!

If you're a fan of the Chicagloand Vampire series than you probably don't need me to tell you to read this series asap because you probably already are! If you have not read the first incredible series, you don't have to necessarily in order to grasp what's going on in this series! As long as you start at the beginning of it, you will be fine! This is a series, and author, for all fans of the beloved Urban Fantasy genre and comes highly recommended from this reader!

 

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

 

 

 

 

Let's Discuss: Long Books

 

It was literally as I was writing up that last post that I thought of another discussion idea! Just a little one...about BIG BOOKS!

Long Books

So when you encounter that deliciously long book, one that is over 500 pages...when do you decide to read it? I am SOOO behind on Jennifer Armentrout's books these days because her books have turned deliciously long! Then I am still behind in Sarah J. Maas' Crescent City books as those are delightfully long too!

I am a slow reader. I used to get by with my challenges as I had a job where I sat at a desk and answered phone calls and greeted guests...I didn't have much to do. My manager said I could read if I wanted, so I did! Lol. I mean why not? So yeah, I read all day just like I used to when I was on summer break!

Nowadays, I work all day. Yes, I take a break, but it's never long enough and then I read for awhile before bed, but then I eventually go to bed at an ungodly early hour as I wake up ungodly early to exercise before I start work. So you see why I wish I didn't need to sleep. That I could just go all night and day and still be perfectly healthy!

So when I encounter that book that's over 500 pages or over 700 pages I want time to read it without interruptions! I want to dive in and not come out until I'm ready for a meal or bed when it's whatever time I am too tired to keep going! Lol. So yes, my epically long reads from Jennifer and Sarah get set aside until I'm on a vacation of sorts. Sadly, all my last road trips I had to go solo, so I couldn't even read them then either!

I'm hoping maybe the week of Christmas I can read one of these babies! Yeah, I'll probably have to juggle my reading queue again, but it might be worth it! Lol.

So when you get your hands on one of these epically long novels, do you tend to read it asap or save it for a "rainy day/week" when you can devote the time it deserves to be read uninterrupted?

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Purple Princess of The Purple Booker. 

Here are the rules:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

 

"I dreamed of grasping hands and shrieking ghouls and woke with a hard shudder, my heart pounding. The screeching was my screen, beeping an incoming call." p 39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TITLE: Devouring Darkness
AUTHOR: Chloe Neill
PUBLISHER: Berkley
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: September 20, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

This week's topic is: FREEBIE: Top 10 Books with Cartoony Covers

*in no particular order

10. A WITCH'S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING A DEMON by Sarah Hawley
9. PRINCE OF SONG AND SEA by Linsey Miller
8. THE VAMPIRE'S MAIL ORDER BRIDE by Kristen Painter

7. DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING by Tricia Levenseller--original cover
6. MY ROOMMATE IS A VAMPIRE by Jenna Levine
5. THE EX HEX by Erin Sterling

4. SECONDHAND SPIRITS by Juliet Blackwell
3. ABBY COOPER: PSYCHIC EYE by Victoria Laurie
2. VAMPIRES, HEARTS, & OTHER DEAD THINGS by Margie Fuston

1. TEMPEST RISING by Nicole Peeler

Let's Discuss: Font Size

 

So this question will be more for my "real" book readers since with ebooks you can adjust things like font and font size. But I was about to pick up another fantasy read when I saw how teeny tiny the text was and thought...maybe not just yet.

Font Size

How much does font size effect your reading? Coming from a real book reader where you can't adjust things, which I know, I know, THIS is the benefit of ereaders. But I still can't get used to them. I like knowing my page length so I can internally pace myself with my reading speed and I can't do that with an ereader. Yes, they can apparently track your reading speed as well, but I've found my kindle to be grossly inaccurate at times with their ETA. 

So for the sake of this matter, let's just ignore ereaders and their benefits.

When you see a book has a smaller font size and smaller line spacing how likely are you to pick it up? Say it's an author you love or a book you're dying to read? Are you likely to pick it up right after reading another epically long fantasy book...when the new book is another epically long fantasy book? Same genre at least, and when I say "epic" I am just describing size and not actual epic fantasy as a genre.

I had just finished a 400+ page fantasy read and the font size was actually pretty standard but since I read it over the holiday week and then some, my reading time was cut drastically so I didn't get to devote the time I wanted to it. So it took me way longer to read than normal. When I picked up my next planned read, I saw that it was under 400 pages but the font. Was. So. Tiny! And I just thought...that's going to take me longer to read since there are more words on the page and the line spacing is just as small as the last book I read with normal size text.

And I just thought...I need a little break from fantasy for the moment before I dive back into this kind of length and storytelling. Granted, when I say I "need a break," I really am talking about maybe 1 or 2 reads. It's only 2 reads this time because I want to finish off a series and thought let's just do this now instead of after that planned read. I'm still reading a branch of fantasy even! I just felt like the fantasy world I was about to dive into might be too much for me to handle with that size text and my reading speed. It's a weird situation. I know I don't read fast and with small text I just felt like a quick break was just the thing I needed!

So I suppose my question is, in a roundabout way, has a book's formatting ever had you postponing when you want to read it? I have put off loooooong books for when I know I can devote good time to it. It's why I am sooooo behind in Jennifer L. Armentrout's books and still a book behind in SJM's Crescent City series.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

 

 

Last Week I Finally Finished:

Lore by Alexandra Bracken (3 stars)

 

 

Review That Was Posted:

The Ruined by Renee Ahdieh (ARC) (4 stars)

 

 

Currently Reading:

(Yup, changed it up again!)

Devouring Darkness by Chloe Neill

What I Plan to Read Next:

Cold Curses by Chloe Neill

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Can't Wait Wednesday
Books from the Backlog #59
Book Blogger Hop
Challenges Monthly Wrap-up: November
Stacking the Shelves--The ACFTL Edition: Part 6...The Untold Sequel