Stacking the Shelves--The Great September First Haul

 

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 down in the books. It was a shorter week since I took time off since my aunt came in town for a visit. It's our busy season and we're steadily picking up and just before I left I learned the unfortunate news that two of my coworkers were let go in a series of layoffs we had happen a month ago. It was a blow that I didn't see coming and yet thinking back, I was suspected something as we had a meeting one day and I remember my coworkers both not being online that day and they weren't scheduled to be off. But then life returned to normal and I thought maybe it was a fluke. Sadly, it was not. Our team just got a little smaller right in the thickest of our busy season, so things are definitely going to be a little more intense until our team can find our grove again on a shorter staff.

The house front is still moving along nicely. We are trying to see if we can move closing up a week as I am eager to get in and start making some updates with my parents' help. I finally learned that the paperwork I was told I needed to sign with the incorrect information was just the "initial" disclosures and not necessarily final as I continued to go through them I found more mistakes and I was like why are we having these? I think this was the info I gave when I first started my "loan" application over three years ago, so nearly everything was wrong! Lol. But the pages were signed, I will have updated and corrected ones for the "final" disclosures...which really, someone ought to have told me they were INITIAL as no one did! But it's taken care of now I suppose. Guess I will see when the final ones come into play and now it's just more of a waiting game. Waiting to see what more is needed on my end and what other steps I need to take. Pretty much just waiting on directions now! Lol.

I attended one signing this week to see J. Elle and Britney Lewis again! It was a fun night! I almost was going to go to the Rachel Gillig event but then skipped it since I wasn't going to meet the author, get a picture signed, or any other books signed. It was basically an in-person virtual event. Which just wasn't worth it to me, but I did still pickup my signed book because that was worth it at least! Lol.

As for books...oh boy! I forgot how many September 1 releases I had this week!

Rebel: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu
Divine Oaths by Elizabeth Agyemang
The Wolf Queen's Curse by Kaylee Armstrong
The Endless One by Emma Hamm
The Heart Trials by J. Elle--SIGNED!
The Knave and The Moon by Rachel Gillig--SIGNED!
Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig
We Are For the Dark by Gretchen McNeil
Cursebreaker by R.M. Gray

Then I received by Fairy Loot edition of Tides of Fortune! Since this was an announced sequel that FL showed off, I decided to show off its pretty cover and edges!

Tides of Fortune by Lauryn Hamilton Murray--Fairy Loot edition!

Then my replacement Hemidall coin from LitJoy Crate's Illuminae Files Kickstarter arrived and it is super cool! My geeky self is so happy about this! Lol.

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

Book Blogger Hop #427

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

This week's question is: What book do you think deserves more love but flies under the radar?

MY ANSWER: Oh that's a toughie! I mean, we all have different reading tastes. One person's favorite is another person's meh and one person's meh is another's beloved top of the line favorite! Lol. I mean there are lots of books I read in my youthful days that I feel like deserve more love, but other people would be like...but it's old...and not like our ye old classic assigned reading in school old, but still old. 

Books that were kind of older when I was reading them even, L.J. Smith's The Forbidden Game trilogy, her original The Vampire Diaries, Night World (which I still need to read more of!), Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate or Silver Kiss! And of course, Demon in My View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes.

When you read other YA books in the paranormal or fantasy genres they seem to be thicker and have a bit more complex storyline going on. Some of these storylines had a simpler theme going on but were still incredible! I think because some of these books were so short is why I was always out of new reads growing up! Lol.
 

Books from the Backlog #201

 

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 is a fun meme hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books!

Sunshine Griffith can communicate with ghosts. Even more amazing, she recently discovered—with the help of her would-be boyfriend, Nolan—that she’s a luiseach, one of an ancient race of creatures who have lived among humans for centuries, protecting them from dark spirits and helping them move on to the afterlife. Now, Sunshine’s powers are awakening and she feels spirits everywhere—intense and sometimes overwhelming.

Eager to get her supernatural abilities under control, Sunshine agrees to begin training with her mentor, her estranged father Aidan. He takes her to an abandoned compound deep in the Mexican jungle. But what she learns there about her powers, and her family history, turns out to be more terrifying than Sunshine could have imagined. Can anything—Aidan’s experiments, her friendship with another luiseach named Lucio, even Nolan’s research—prepare Sunshine to face the frightening woman who haunts her dreams, and to finally learn the truth about the rift that threatens the future of the luiseach and all of humankind?

The stakes grow ever higher in this sequel to The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, revealing that Sunshine has to protect more than her own friends and family—she may be the key to saving the entire human race.

So I apparently also added The Awakening of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie to my TBR pile in April of 2018 when it released in March of 2016. Horrendously bad that I forgot to add both books to my TBR pile at their right time! I actually forgot to check if I added the third book at the right time! I know I have the trilogy on my pile to read and still want to read at some point! Lol.

Can't Wait Wednesday #264

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 worldwide sensation as you’ve never seen it before. Step into a bold new Divergent series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth.

Beatrice Prior stands on the brink of a decision every person in her world must make: five factions, five futures, five lives.

She has a plan: she's going to make the bravest choice, and leave Abnegation behind to join Dauntless, even though it means leaving her family behind.

But when tragedy strikes at her Choosing Ceremony, everything changes—her world, her plans, even Beatrice herself.

Her ensuing decision thrusts her into the crosshairs of an underground rebellion, and into the path of a boy with secrets as dangerous as her own—a boy with only a number for a name.

One choice will change everything.

I feel like I was in the minority for enjoying the Divergent series--ending and all! It was fitting to the story. Still had a gut wrenching reaction. But this new book has me SUPER curious! I know everyone is thinking things might go in another way where we get a different kind of ending...but I'm half wondering if there will be that "you can't escape your fate" kind of twist! Will we see it coming or will things actually go in another direction? I can't decide! Lol.

TITLE: The Sixth Faction
AUTHOR: Veronica Roth
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
GENRE: YA Dystopian
RELEASE DATE: October 6, 2026

Return to the world of Truly Devious as Stevie Bell and her friends travel to New York to solve a murder in the next standalone mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

Stevie might be the greatest teenage detective Ellingham Academy and the world has ever seen, but even she can’t figure out what happened with her boyfriend, David. What she needs is a distraction: a good old-fashioned murder. Stevie is much happier dealing with dead people. They’re a lot less confusing—they don’t send cryptic texts and make out with other girls in British pubs.

But then Stevie gets exactly what she wanted when a dead body turns up in the middle of a Manhattan apartment complex, and this one is . . . complicated. Caught in a web of messy alive-people feelings, Stevie finds herself questioning all human connection. Is magnetism only manipulation? Can you trust anyone? Does anyone realize that they’re joining a cult—before it’s too late? And are things with David really over?

Shockingly, this is one series I am actually caught up in! Now have I read her newest book from last year? Not yet...but it's in the TBR pile! Lol.

TITLE: The Velvet Knife
AUTHOR: Maureen Johnson
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
GENRE: YA Mystery
RELEASE DATE: September 29, 2026

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the House of Night series Kristin Cast comes the next spicy and spellbinding light romantasy in the Towerfall series.

In a world built on illusion, the truth is often deadly…

Juniper Chase has perfected the art of being exactly what everyone needs, especially her best friend's older brother, Beckett Davenport. He's the one man she's spent years pretending she doesn't want…and the one man she cannot have.

When a magickal tarot card rips her and Beckett from their world and into the enchanted Kingdom of Swords, Juniper is mistaken for their future queen, but slipping into the role should be instinct. After all, she knows how to play a part.

Except things in the Kingdom of Swords are not what they seem. Prince Luca Sterling, the man she's meant to marry, is hiding something beneath his devastating charm. Juniper can feel it, because in this kingdom, her instincts are literal power. And the deeper she falls into the prince's glittering, carefully crafted world, the clearer it becomes:

This kingdom is built on lies, and it's collapsing under their weight.

To uncover the truth behind the throne and the ancient Tower pulsing at the heart of the kingdom, Juniper will need the help of the man who sees her more clearly than anyone ever has. And when Beckett takes to his position as her guard with a fierce yet gentle protectiveness that brings new heat between them, Juniper uncovers the truth between them, too.

But exposing Luca's lies could send the realm crashing down around them. And choosing the truth might cost Juniper her future, her heart, and any chance of making it home.

Still need to start this series too but it seems like they are standalones from what I recall! Kristin toured here for the first book at least! It sounds like fun! I love books that involve tarot as it's always interesting to see what the author will do!

TITLE: Death
AUTHOR: Kristin Cast
PUBLISHER: Bloom Books
GENRE: Fantasy Romance
RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2026

 

August Wrap-up

Well it's been another month! I didn't do so well with the reading challenge this month, but I was still avidly reading! The problem actually was that I was reading reallllly long books! They all were nearly 500 pages! One was an ARC, so the page count is an estimate, so yeah! 500ish x 5 is 2500 pages as a rough, rough estimate! Plus there were other stresses throughout the weeks and work is steadily picking up, so August was pretty busy!

ARC Reads:

The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace (9/22/26)

New Release Reads:

The Shattered Mirror by Dana Evyn (7/6/26)
The Killing Rules by Bree Despain (8/4/26)

TBR Reads:

The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten (7/15/25)
Shadows of Perl by J. Elle (9/3/24)

Top Ten Tuesday #693

 

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: Titles Beginning with the Letter "B"

*in no particular order
**I am going rogue because I could only find 2 titles in my collection that fit the original topic!

10. BREATH OF FIRE by Amanda Bouchet
9. BELLADONNA by Adalyn Grace
8. BLUE BLOODED by Amanda Carlson

7. BLOODROSE by Andrea Cremer
6. BITTERBURN by Ann Aguirre
5. BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA by April Genevieve Tucholke

4. BLACK ICE by Becca Fitzpatrick
3. BELLE MORTE by Bella Higgin
2. BE RIGHT BACK by Bill Wood

1. BUTCHER & BLACKBIRD by Brynne Weaver

 

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 Read:

Shadows of Perl by J. Ell (3.5 stars)

Currently Reading:

Fortress of Ambrose by J. Elle

What I Plan to Read Next:

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

Other Posts of Interest:

The Book Circus Challenge
Top Ten Tuesdays #692
Can't Wait Wednesday #263
Books from the Backlog #200
Book Blogger Hop #426
Stacking the Shelves--This is It!

Stacking the Shelves--This is It!!

 

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 in the books. Well, I the offer I put in on the townhouse last week was actually accepted!! I am now in the long grueling process of buying a home and OMG my head hurts! This was something school could never prepare you for! Lol. What's making it somewhat worse is that my original lender is out on maternity leave, her backup is on vacation for a few days, but I do still have people I can reach out to, it's just hard still. For one they have a wrong address down in ALLLLLLLLL the paperwork. For the last few years I've used my parents' address as my mailing address who live in the neighboring state to me, it's like legit right over the border, so it's not far at all and I lived with my sister. I would go back and forth between houses and whatnot when it was needed for one reason or another, but for whatever reason they took my "mailing address" as my "residential address" and I am like no no no. I've told them twice now and the documents I need to sign still reflect the mailing address and I keep saying I do not feel comfortable signing these because they say I LIVE at my mailing address and not my actual address. The bad thing is everything is virtual now. They use an app for all the paperwork, they work remote. The dang "papers" are always loading when I try to go back and forth to read them, like I'll be reading page 7 and be like wait, what did it say on page 4, scroll back and have to wait for it load...it's aggravating. They did start sending me a PDF version of it, but that's when I saw the wrong address again on the papers and I am like I can't sign this because it's saying I live somewhere I don't. I felt like this would come back to bite me in the you know what eventually, but at the time I was worried about getting my important mail. A few other little things are popping up as well, but it is the weekend and we're heading to a holiday. But hopefully we can get these things cleared up eventually.

I am so glad I have a long weekend coming up because I have to say this was a very long week! I had a headache trying to deal with some of this new homeownership-ness. I did make some progress on a few things with it. I'd get that paperwork signed if someone will tell me when I can expect to see my actual address reflected in the paperwork! Lol. This week I also have a book signing to go to! And naturally, my B&N copy of the book has NOT shipped yet but my other preorders have! I'm like WHY?! I just need that ONE book to ship ON TIME so I can get it ON TIME! Lol.

This week I actually didn't get much. I guess there were no preorders for this week, but I know next week is another story! I did get my Fairy Loot book for the month which I once again forgot which title it was but I was excited to get it because it was one I wanted and I had forgotten about ordering it before its US release!  This FL cover is alright. I mean, I kind of like the US one better when I think of it, but I'll still just keep this one. Gotta start cutting back on the multiples. Minus Stephanie Garber of course! Lol.

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