Stacking the Shelves

 

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.

This was a pretty decent week! I mean for the most part it was long and boring. But the best news was that my book from B&N ARRIVED ON TIME! It was magical! Lol. I had a book signing on Thursday in which I got to meet Kaylie Smith which was fun! My sister and cousin joined me for the first time...and possibly the last time. I don't think it was their thing in the long run to meet the author they had been reading. But it was still fun. Otherwise the week was pretty typical and that was my last signing until May. I have 2 I signed up/bought tickets for and there's one I am debating about. It's not an author I read or know but was a book I'm curious about. I put in a possible "attending" placer for it but since it's way back at that location that I don't like going to, I may end up passing. I have some time to decide at least!

Here's what I got this week:

Enchantra by Kaylie Smith--B&N edition SIGNED!
Enchantra by Kaylie Smith--standard edition SIGNED!

A Ruinous Fate by Kaylie Smith--SIGNED!
A Reckless Oath by Kaylie Smith--SIGNED!

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout--The Bookish Box Edition SIGNED!
Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout--The Bookish Box Edition SIGNED!

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

Let's Discuss: Release Date Changes

Okay, this random idea popped up in my head as I was doing my early morning blogging and I thought, I have time for a quick discussion! Thankfully I woke up early! Lol.

Release Date Changes

Do release dates for your anticipated books ever change on you? Either by a week, a month, or years? I feel like this happens to me too often! One of my most anticipated releases--outside of Stephanie Garber that is--was postponed for 18 months! Yes, not just 6 months, not even just a year, but practically a year and a half!

I am not sure why it had to be delayed so long, I know the author writes other books and no, I am not talking Rebecca Yarros, I still need to read Iron Flame before I bemoan the wait for this yet to be named fourth book! I am talking about Tracy Wolff's Calder Academy series. Already this series is breaking my heart because we had what I believe was at least a one year delay for the first book that was supposed to be about other characters, but we eventually got an amazing story anyway with the aforementioned book to eventually come at the end of the trilogy.

But now book 2 has been delayed and I just want to cry. Yes, there's still a release date in mind but omigosh it sometimes makes my head spin and my heart break constantly as I've chased other books like this for years that just kept getting delayed further and further but never actually released and I guess I am partially terrified of having a repeat with this series as it's been off to a rocky start!

Other books that I have seen get a release date and then watch it get bumped back year after year to the point that I am almost giving up were Cora Carmack's final book in the Stormheart trilogy, Reign. Currently sitting at a January 1, 2026 release date that I have no doubt will change. But at least with Carmack, I know that some health issues played a part in the delay, I just don't know anymore as her social media posts have been few and far in between lately.

Morgan Rhodes' Bad Blood is another I kept pining for, but I did see she popped back up on Instagram last week, and hopefully she will have news for us soonish! She at least hinted at it and I am soooo hoping it comes out soon because ever since she mentioned it like 3-4 years ago I have been dying to read it! Pretty much all she said then was a vampire book and I was dying to read it! Lol.

But yes, needless to say, I have had my heart broken several times with constant release date changes that were extensive and of course the dreaded cancellations. Sooo many cancelled series, I feel like it's the unbreakable curse placed on me that I will forever fall for the series publishers cancel.

What about you? Have you had highly anticipated books get delayed again and again? Has a whole series nearly been delayed book after book? I'm curious to see if it's just me afflicted by this blight or if it happens constantly to others too. Lol.

Book Blogger Hop #353

 

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

This week's question is: How many days does it usually take you to finish reading a book? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

MY ANSWER: Oh how I wish I could give you a specific answer! But alas, there are tons of varying factors to this one! First it depends on my work week or what time of year we're in and how busy I am with work. Then you have to factor in the book's length. I've got ones that are under 400 pages and I have ones that are over 600 pages. Then you have to look at the formatting, how small is the font? How small is the line spacing? How these little things factor in, I can't explain exactly, just the way the page looks and how it reads is how my brain processes the words. It's bizarre! Lol.

I'd say as an estimate that I can finish a book usually within 5 days. Maybe less. A good all day readathon can get me done in 2 days or 1.5ish but I haven't had days like that in years! Lol. Of course as I write this post, I just got over yet another cold that knocked me out for a good few days in which I got no reading done and I am still struggling to recoup from it and I didn't get much read today (the day I write this) either. It's devastating to get a cold that effects you so much when you're a reader! It's just torture!

Review--The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

 

From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Mary E. Pearson comes a thrilling romantic fantasy full of dangerous fae, dark secrets, and addictive romance-- the first book in a duology.

After losing both their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters struggle to stay afloat in their small, quiet town of Bowskeep. When Bristol begins to receive letters from an “aunt” she’s never heard of who promises she can help, she reluctantly agrees to meet—and discovers that everything she thought she knew about her family is a lie. Even her father might still be alive, not killed but kidnapped by terrifying creatures to a whole other realm—the one he is from.

Desperate to save her father and find the truth, Bristol journeys to a land of gods and fae and monsters. Pulled into a dangerous world of magic and intrigue, she makes a deadly bargain with the fae king, Tyghan. But what she doesn't know is that he's the one who drove her parents to live a life on the run. And he is just as determined as she is to find her father—dead or alive.

The Courting of Bristol Keats is Mary E. Pearson's adult debut and was an exciting new fantasy story with a modern twist. It wasn't quite the story I had anticipated but I found myself enchanted with Bristol's story.

Bristol and her two sisters have been on their own for almost a year after their father mysteriously died, but Bristol always thought that he might still be alive and when money becomes tight, she decides to answer the mysterious letter they received from someone claiming to be their father's sister. She soon learns however that they are fae living alongside of their world and they need Bristol's help.

Before she knows it, Bristol is striking a deal with the leader named Tyghan who needs her to find a magical door and close it. But naturally, things are not as simple as that.

I remember I started this book during times of high stress, so I feel like some of my beginning comprehension might have been slightly off, as it turns out Bristol is now training with other humans to help the fae with their task. There's definitely a lot more going on in this story than we know just yet. Everything in Bristol's life is changing and she won't be able to come out of this unscathed.

Bristol isn't sure how far she can trust Tyghan or any of the other fae in this world. She suspects that Tyghan is keeping things from her about her father and it turns out Tyghan knows quite a bit about her father after all.

This was a story told from multiple points of view and I feel like this is where things started to get messy for me. Again, I also blame being highly stressed at the start of this book, so the changing points of view didn't help my case. I truly blame my circumstances from when I started this book that made it slightly challenging to get into. At times I was overwhelmed with so many different characters popping up onto the page that I wasn't really sure where they came from and how Bristol seemed to know them already.

There was a bit too much describing of things or events that I felt like didn't really need that much explaining either. I don't know, sometimes things did need some explanation but then I felt like we sometimes drifted off course from the story and had a few pages that felt like filler. Then there were some choices Bristol made that had me shaking my head, but since it's a first book I guess I can't get too mad at her just yet. Lol.

The tension in this book though was amazing! There's romantic tension and suspenseful tension; I couldn't get enough of it! The tension brewing between Tyghan and Bristol was on par! That when the romance between them finally started, it was explosive!

Despite a few hiccups that were entirely on me, I did enjoy this book! There are lingering questions at the end of this one. Lots of shocking reveals were had at the end and it was just jaw-dropping! I did finally learn that this will be a duology so of course now I am bemoaning my luck at starting this one now! What will happen in the next one will be anyone's guess and I hope to see some more resolution with some of the other characters who we had not seen for a few chapters.

If you're looking for an intense new fantasy read with a heated romance, then I would highly recommend starting Mary E. Pearson's adult duology! Maybe closer to November when the final book comes out but that's just me! While the ending does leave things in the air, it rates pretty low on the agonizing cliffhanger scale, for which I am most grateful!

Overall Rating 3.75/5 stars--yes, that awkward rating again! It was higher than a 3.5 for me, but not quite a solid 4, mainly due to my own issues when starting the book, but it was still an amazing read!

Books from the Backlog #130

 

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!

The only way to grow up is to survive.

London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived the destruction and the outbreak of a deadly virus are children, among them sixteen-year-old Gwen Darling and her younger siblings, Joanna and Mikey. They spend their nights scavenging and their days avoiding the deadly Marauders—the German army led by the cutthroat Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer.

Unsure if the virus has spread past England’s borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook is on the hunt for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the surviving children. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. None ever return.

Until one day when they grab Joanna. Gwen will stop at nothing to get her sister back, but as she sets out, she crosses paths with a daredevil named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and the fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all been living in a city hidden underground. But in a place where help has a steep price and every promise is bound by blood, it might cost Gwen more than she bargained for. And are Gwen, Pete, the Lost Boys, and Bella enough to outsmart the ruthless Captain Hook?

I added Wendy Spinale's Everland to my TBR pile in May of 2016. Based on that date, I am fairly certain I got this at BEA 2016 as well! I am still very interested in reading it as I LOVE a good Peter Pan retelling! The rest of the series sounds intriguing as well as based on the titles I take it other fairy tales take a lead, but I haven't read what they are all about because I always fear spoilers. I have been spoiled for previous books when I "read" ahead like that! Lol.

Let's Discuss: The Classics

 

So it was as I was writing that last discussion post another idea popped up in my head! It's always something so little that I think, sure, let's discuss it!

My Struggle with the "Classics"

So I pretty much remember all thorough my school years, never really liking the books that they forced us to read. You know, those required reading books. They were never my thing sadly, none of the stories really grabbed at me and it was a chore to read them.

I feel like most of my friends had at least one that they enjoyed, but I was like, ugh no. It was so not my kind of read and I barely was able to finish each of them. There was one that I don't think I finished reading because it was hurting my brain. That one was Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed. I tried, I really, really tried to read and finish it for my Conspiracies in Literature class, but once it had a chapter that repeated itself I was done. It was already getting so complicated and a bit convoluted that I was like...my brain cannot take this anymore! It hurt! I remember another kid in class felt something of the same as he threw his book across the room one day! Lol. I couldn't even do that to the book I loathed! LOL.

Other books I remember friends enjoying were The Great Gatsby or The Catcher in the Rye and both of those annoyed me to tears. That I watch reruns of the classic Roseanne episodes and Darlene becomes obsessed with the latter even annoyed me to tears. 

I really think I could not get into these particular books because at this point I was in my paranormal game! There were tons of paranormal books for me to read and I was at my happiest...until I had to read these books for school. Granted, this was when I HAD to read multiple books, so I figured, what's one more going to hurt among the 2 or 3 I was balancing...I needed one of mine to keep me sane!

I admit I did try to find paranormal-like classics. I read Dracula and it was entertaining enough at the time, but I don't know how well I'd do with it now. Lol. There was maybe a few more attempts to read classics with a spooky take but that didn't last long as I was like, this is not enjoyable for me, I'm going back to what one of my professors might have called "trash" books. She might not have said that exact word, but she said something that I didn't find very complimentary to the type of books I read. Which I think she was applying this basically to anything that wasn't deemed "classic" or "literary" by professor standards. She was a fun professor and all, but I basically kept my personal book deep inside my backpack for her classes! Lol.

I don't know, despite being an English major I just could never really get into the classics. I do still enjoy the Brothers Grimm fairy tales and all the other OG fairy tales! I mean, those were meant for adults, so I guess we can call them literary classics? Right? Lol. And of course, I did finally meet my favorite classic near the end of my school years with The Count of Monte Cristo! Definitely think it was the revenge plot that hooked me in. Revenge is a dish best served cold after all! And at some point I would like to try to read Frankenstein just to give it a whirl as I think that's the last "classic horror movie" book I wanted to try out.  

What about you? What's your take on the literary classics? Were they required reading for you in school? Did you enjoy them? Hate them? A mix of both? Do you still read them now or want to read them now? 

Can't Wait Wednesday #191

 

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.

Death at a Highland Wedding is the fourth installment in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's gripping Rip Through Time Novels.

After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel. Although it isn’t what she expected, she's developed real, meaningful relationships with the people around her and has come to love her role as assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie.

Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are on their way to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie's younger sister's wedding. The McCreadies and the groom’s family, the Cranstons, have a complicated history which has made the weekend quite uncomfortable. But the Cranston estate is beautiful so Gray and Mallory decide to escape the stifling company and set off to explore the castle and surrounding wilderness. They discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, a slightly pompous and prickly man, has set up deadly traps in the woods for the endangered Scottish wildcats, and they soon come across a cat who's been caught and severely injured. Oddly, Mallory notices the cat's injuries don't match up with the intricacies of the trap. These strange irregularities, combined with the secretive and erratic behavior of the groom, put Mallory and Duncan on edge. And then when one of the guests is murdered, they must work fast to uncover the murderer before another life is lost.

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s unique time travel mystery series continues to entertain as Mallory adjusts to life in the 1870s.

It should surprise no one that I am still behind in this series! Lol. I think I am only one book behind though which is amazing since it's Kelley Armstrong! She writes too darn fast for me these days! I don't know how she does it!

TITLE: Death a Highland Wedding
AUTHOR: Kelley Armstrong
PUBLISHER: Minotaur Books
GENRE: Mystery
RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2025

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.

"They were only halfway down the walkway when a screech pierced the air. Bristol reeled backward as the marble of one column came alive, a monstrous head jutting toward her with teeth and scales and flared nostrils. She screamed as a marble dragon strained toward her, nearly pinning her against the opposite column." p 165

TITLE: The Courting of Bristol Keats
AUTHOR: Mary E. Pearson
PUBLISHER: Flatiron Books
GENRE: Fantasy Romance
RELEASE DATE: November 12, 2024

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: Top Ten Books with Springy Covers

*in no particular order

10. A RIVALRY OF HEARTS by Tessonja Odette--pure spring cover here! The colors, the roses, and books! Of course, books are all year round, but it still fits!

9. ENCHANTED TO MEET YOU by Meg Cabot--this one is purely for the color! I mean purple can fit into many categories depending on the theme but the lower portion does have a nice pastel vibe!
8. GUILLOTINE by Delilah S. Dawson--mainly for the pastel pink cover...and the rose, it's still a flower after all. Just...mind the blood like substance that's also going on!

7. THE UNDERMINING OF TWYA AND FRANK by Megan Bannen--another cover that's for color purposes! That I am finding so many pastel and lightly colored covers on my TBR is astonishing! Lol.

6. EMILY WILDE'S COMPENDIUM OF LOST TALES by Heather Fawcett--the FL version...which is a variation of the UK edition! These covers are very springy with all the flowers on them!

5. A WEREWOLF'S GUIDE TO SEDUCING A VAMPIRE by Sarah Hawley--another pastel cover but there's also plants!

4. DEADLY FORECAST by Victoria Laurie--an old school pick! It's a blustery rainy looking day for Abby's wedding, so you know, spring = storms. We've had so many storms already and it's still early April. My anxiety cannot take this much longer! It's even storming as I write this post!
3. THE ROSE BARGAIN by Sasha Peyton Smith--though I have the Fairy Loot edition, this cover felt very springy to me with all the roses on it...thorns and all!
2. WHEN THE BONES SING by Ginny Myers Sain--still need to read this one, but there's a nice array of flowers going around the dirt...and bones.

1. A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE by Stephanie Garber--so yeah, I went overboard here! Lol! I honestly could not decide on which cover to choose! The new B&N paperback works with the lighter color and pretty much ALL of the UK ones work because of the flowers and the color choices still give off springy vibes. So take your pick! Lol.

Let's Discuss: Cover Lovin

 

So another topic popped up in my head! Another cover related one! When it comes to covers you see at the bookstore, which ones are you drawn to?

Cover Lovin...had me a blast!

What covers draw you in where you are likely to at least pick it up and read what it's about? I don't want to say automatically buy it, because even I must read what the book is about if it's by a new to me author or even an author I love! I'm very much a person who needs to read that cover jacket before heading to the registers!

Covers that will catch my eye every time are the ones that are dark and spooky looking where you get the vibe that something supernatural is afoot!

Recently, this one, The Corpse Queen by Heather M. Herrman caught my eye, because, hello, a coffin with a bloody shovel and that title! It's totally eye-catching to me! But alas, something about the storyline just didn't quite grab at me the way I wanted it to. It sounds mildly intriguing and may be one I keep an eye on for reviews, but it's not something I will immediately add to my wishlist anytime soon.

But let's not forget the cover of my obsession from the early days of this blog:

The cover for 13 to Life was probably my first instance of cover love! I saw this being promoted at my first RT Convention and it was love at first sight! That one of my FAVORITE author's had a blurb on the cover just made it even better and I HAD TO HAVE IT! Sadly, Shannon didn't have ARCs with her at that time but I got plenty of swag from her, postcards, posters, bookmarks, buttons; one of everything! Lol. I still feel tempted to buy one of her reprints of it, but I don't think she's had any for sale from herself personally, I'd want a signed one to go with the rest of my copies! Lol. I'm weird, yes.

Then Celina Myers' Hollow popped up for me somewhat recently and after seeing this cover with those SPRAYED edges I was grabbing at the bite--hee hee--to see what it was about and immediately added it to my wishlist...I will likely preorder this one at the next B&N sale as it doesn't release until 2026.

So yes, there are always covers that I am drawn to. It's hard to pinpoint a type...but clearly paranormal ones grab my attention right away! Lol. Sometimes they are a good fit and other times they aren't. I have books where I was sucked in by the cover but then the story wasn't really my type of read. I don't want to say it was terrible, because a book isn't horrible just because I didn't enjoy it. So yeah, I can't ever say something was bad. It just wasn't for me...and there have been ones I absolutely LOATHED but we don't need to get into that...today...;)

What kinds of covers draw you in? What are you likely to pick up for that closer look?

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 Re-Read:

Morrighan by Mary E. Pearson (4.5 stars)

Currently Reading:

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

What I Plan to Read Next:

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Let's Discuss: The Jelly Bean Book Cover Tag
Challenges Monthly Wrap-up: March
Can't Wait Wednesday #190
Books from the Backlog #129
Let's Discuss: My Hesitancy with Space Books
Book Blogger Hop #352
Stacking the Shelves: The I-was-Left-Unsupervised Edition