I’m away on vacation as you read this, hopefully picking up all sorts of fascinating books at Worldcon. And probably running around like crazy. Hence this crazy Stacking the Shelves post.

The books listed below are books that I picked up on either Netgalley or Edelweiss a while ago, but then things got weird. One has no cover. One has a cover but I’m not sure it’s official yet. One has a cover, but as soon as I picked it up from Edelweiss it disappeared off the face of the earth – or at least off the face of the net. It’s not on the publisher’s website, not on Goodreads, not on Amazon. It’s a mystery – in more ways than one!

And of course all of the above could have changed by the time you read this. We’ll see when I get back!

For Review:
Highfire by Eoin Colfer
The Glass Thief (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt #6) by Gigi Pandian
The Immortal Conquistador by Carrie Vaughn

I cut this one off a little early, to get it ready before our trip. And I still had plenty of books!

For Review:
Dead Man Stalking (Blood and Bone #1) by TA Moore
Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane
This Earl of Mine (Bow Street Bachelors #1) by Kate Bateman
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes
The Lying Room by Nicci French
Meant to Be Yours (Happily Inc. #5) by Susan Mallery
Murder at Kensington Palace (Wrexford & Sloane #3) by Andrea Penrose
The Queen’s Secret by Karen Harper
Salvaged by Madeleine Roux
A Trace of Deceit (Victorian Mystery #2) by Karen Odden

Purchased from Amazon:
Medusa in the Graveyard (Medusa Cycle #2) by Emily Devenport (audio)

About all those audiobooks…Audible was having a sale, a whole bunch of interesting stuff for $5 each. Nothing new of course, but still lots of books that have been on my TBR pile forever. So now they are on my TBRTM (To Be Read To Me) pile instead. Unfortunately, Magic for Liars was not part of the sale – but I’m already in the middle of it and it’s excellent!

For Review:
Cowboy Christmas Redemption (Gold Valley #8) by Maisey Yates
The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada
The Library of the Unwritten (From Hell’s Library #1) by A.J. Hackwith
Lowcountry Boomerang (Liz Talbot #8) by Susan M. Boyer
My Fake Rake (Union of the Rakes #1) by Eva Leigh
Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders (Woman of WWII #1) by Tessa Arlen
The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (audio)
Artemis by Andy Weir (audio)
The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal (audio)
Firefight (Reckoners #2) by Brandon Sanderson (audio)
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey (audio)
Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson (audio)
Warbreaker (Warbreaker #1) by Brandon Sanderson (audio)
The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle #2) by Patrick Rothfuss (audio)

More than I thought – as usual! And one book that I’ve been really, really looking forward to. That would be Crush the King by Jennifer Estep. That series has been absolutely fantastic so far and I’m so happy to have the opportunity to see where it goes next – without having to wait until next March!

For Review:
The Bone Ships (Tide Child #1) by RJ Barker
Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3) by Jennifer Estep
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
The German House by Annette Hess
The Ghosts of Eden Park by Karen Abbott
Lost You by Haylen Beck
A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs
The Other Windsor Girl by Georgie Blalock
The Poppy Wife by Caroline Scott
The Price of Grace (Black Ops Confidential #2) by Diana Muñoz Stewart
Ribbons of Scarlet by Kate Quinn, Sophie Perinot, Laura Kamoie, Stephanie Dray, E. Knight, Heather Webb
St. Frances Society for Wayward Pets by Annie England Noblin
Taaqtumi by Aviaq Johnston, Richard Van Camp, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, Anguti Johnston and Repo Kempt

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) by Arkady Martine (audio)
The Orphans of Raspay (Penric and Desdemona #7) by Lois McMaster Bujold

I have a completely mixed bag this week. With some really pretty covers. But there’s one book in here that I’ve been waiting for all year, and that’s Spaceside by Michael Mammay. I loved his first book, Planetside, to the point where it not only appeared on my best of the year list but it was also on the Library Journal Best of the Year list for 2018. I can’t wait to read it, but I’m the midst of the “so many books, so little time” conundrum. Maybe on the plane to WorldCon next month. I’ll have plenty of time, and it’s oh-so-relevant to the trip!

For Review:
The Bitterroots (Cassie Dewell #4) by D.J. Box
The Cold Way Home (Bell Elkins #8) by Julia Keller
A Jewel Bright Sea (Mage and Empire #1) by Claire O’Dell
Kill Monster by Sean Doolittle
The Last Good Guy (Roland Ford #3) by T. Jefferson Parker
Say It Again (First Wives #5) by Catherine Bybee
Sentinel (House of Rone #1) by Anna Hackett
Spaceside (Planetside #2) by Michael Mammay
Tidelands (Fairmile #1) by Philippa Gregory
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
The Truth Behind the Lie by Sara Lövestam
Unbreak Me by Michelle Hazen
Violet by Scott Thomas
Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Fallen Empire Omnibus by Lindsay Buroker (audio)

Not a huge stack, but some interesting books on it all the same. Like always.

About Empress of Forever. Well, I was on a treadmill, and was about to bail on my second audiobook in a week. And I was in an SFnal mood and well, here we are. A couple of days in, this one looks like a winner! At least it keeps the time on the treadmill feeling shorter than it is – as an audiobook is supposed to do. There were a couple there that were making the time on the treadmill seem LONGER, and it’s long enough already!

For Review:
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
Black Hornet (Lew Griffin #3) by James Sallis
The Blacksmith Queen (Scarred Earth #1) by G.A. Aiken
Bluebottle (Lew Griffin #5) by James Sallis
The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
Cooperative Lives by Patrick Finegan
Count on Me (Petal, Georgia #3) by Lauren Dane
Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
Eye of the Cricket (Lew Griffin #4) by James Sallis
Ghost of a Flea (Lew Griffin #6) by James Sallis
Moth (Lew Griffin #2) by James Sallis

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone (audio)
Half Moon Street (Leo Stanhope #1) by Alex Reeve

For those of us in the U.S., I hope you are having a good 4-day July 4th weekend. For those of us who have pets, I hope your furry friends are not too traumatized by the nightly fireworks. Our new neighborhood has been quiet so far this weekend, and we’re all happy about that!

For those in Canada, I hope you had a terrific Canada Day weekend last weekend.

Whatever you celebrate, even if it’s just the ability to stay inside where it’s cool, it’s a wonderful long weekend to read. But aren’t they all – even if they aren’t nearly long enough!

In addition to all of the books below, I received the fruits of my participation in the Diving Universe Kickstarter and got ebooks of the entire Diving Universe series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Which was a LOT of lovely books!

For Review:
A Cruel Deception (Bess Crawford #11) by Charles Todd
Empire of Lies by Raymond Khoury
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
The Heart of the Circle by Keren Landsman
Hunter (Galactic Gladiators #12) by Anna Hackett (review)
The Ingredients of Us by Jennifer Gold
The New Voices of Science Fiction edited by Hannu Rajaniemi and Jacob Weisman
A Queen in Hiding (Nine Realms #1) by Sarah Kozloff
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
Those Who Came Before by J.H. Moncrieff

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
Deception Cove (Neah Bay #1) by Owen Laukkenan (audio)
Early Riser by Jasper Fforde (audio)
Sweep of the Blade (Innkeeper Chronicles #4) by Ilona Andrews (preorder)

I saw some wonderful books at the ALA Conference last week. From the looks of this list, possibly a few too many. Maybe. But for anyone wondering how I carried so many books around, the answer is that I didn’t. These were all ebooks and eARCs. Not that I didn’t see wonderful things, but when I saw them (or heard their authors) I placed requests on NetGalley and Edelweiss. My days of carrying this much around are long over.

I did also get some terrific books read in between conference sessions. And on the plane. There just isn’t enough time in the universe to read ALL THE BOOKS. Dammit.

For Review:
Akin by Emma Donoghue
Angel in a Devil’s Arms (Palace of Rogues #2) by Julie Anne Long
A Beach Wish by Shelley Noble
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
Bursts of Fire (Addicted to Heaven #1) by Susan Forest
Coming Home for Christmas (Haven Point #10) by RaeAnne Thayne
A Divided Loyalty (Inspector Ian Rutledge #22) by Charles Todd
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson
Golden in Death (In Death #50) by J.D. Robb
The Harp of Kings (Warrior Bards #1) by Juliet Marillier
Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict
A Little Hatred (Age of Madness #1) by Joe Abercrombie
The Murders of Molly Southbourne (Molly Southbourne #1) by Tade Thompson
Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
The Rage of Dragons (Burning #1) by Evan Winter
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman
Rival’s Break (Sharpe & Donovan #10) by Carla Neggers
Royal Holiday (Wedding Date #4) by Jasmine Guillory
Sidelined by Suzanne Baltsar
Shrouded Loyalties by Reese Hogan
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Warehouse by Rob Hart
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty

This is the during-ALA stack, which mostly consists of books held over from last week’s stack. Even so, there are a couple of books here that I’ve been looking for for quite some time, like The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl and The True Bastards. Both are followups to books I absolutely adored (see Monday’s review of European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman for plenty of squeeing about the Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club and my A+ review of The Grey Bastards for more deets on both series)

While you read this, I’ll be at the American Library Association Conference in Washington DC, hopefully not sweating to death, and trying not to pick up many too many ARCs and eARCs after seeing all the bright, shiny new books on display! I’m not sure whether to ask you to wish me luck – or not!

For Review:
Gallows Court by Martin Edwards
Grave Expectations (Dickens of a Crime #2) by Heather Redmond
A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl (Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club #3) by Theodora Goss
Steel Frame by Andrew Skinner
The True Bastards (Lot Lands #2) by Jonathan French

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder (Herringford and Watts #1) by Rachel McMillan
Conductor of Light (Herringford and Watts #2.5) by Rachel McMillan
A Lesson in Love and Murder (Herringford and Watts #2) by Rachel McMillan
Of Dubious and Questionable Memory (Herringford and Watts #1.5) by Rachel McMillan
A Singular and Whimsical Problem (Herringford and Watts #0.5) by Rachel McMillan
The White Feather Murders (Herringford and Watts #3) by Rachel McMillan

This is the pre-ALA stack, which quite frankly means that I split what should be this stack into two so I can prep posts ahead. I will be tied up in meetings next weekend, possibly literally. Sometimes literarily, but definitely meetings.

So this week’s stack and next week’s stack are both a bit short, to be followed by the post-ALA stack which tends to be ginormous. We will see.

Lead me not into temptation; I can find it myself – at least when it comes to books!

For Review:
The Art of Theft (Lady Sherlock #4) by Sherry Thomas
Careful What You Wish For by Hallie Ephron
Dom (Hell Squad #17) by Anna Hackett
Missing Person by Sarah Lotz
The Mythic Dream edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe
Say You Still Love Me by K.A. Tucker
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry
Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

Purchased from Amazon/Audible:
For the Killing of Kings (Ring-Sworn #1) by Howard Andrew Jones (audio)
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (audio)
The Sentence is Death (Hawthorne #2) by Anthony Horowitz (audio)