Stacking the Shelves (541)

Posted on March 25, 2023March 23, 2023 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

Well, this stack is certainly…eclectic to say the least. I picked up The Right Stuff because of The New Guys, Summer in Orcus because of Illuminations and Midnight, Water City (Water City Trilogy #1) because of Eventide, Water City (Water City Trilogy #2). Books are kind of like potato chips, in that I can’t grab just one!

There seem to be more pretty covers than usual this time around, but the book I’m most looking forward to is Cassiel’s Servant. I think there have been rumors about that book coming ‘real soon now’ for at least a decade if not longer, so I’m thrilled to have it in my hands at last!

sir hereward and mister fitz by garth nix

beach reads bookshop by lee tobin mcclain

sleeping with the ancestors by joseph mcgill jr and herb frazier

For Review:
The Beach Reads Bookshop (Hometown Brothers #3) by Lee Tobin McClain
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
Cassiel’s Servant (Kushiel’s Legacy #4) by Jacqueline Carey
The Comeback Cowboy (Jasper Creek #4) by Jackie Ashenden, Caitlin Crews, Nicole Helm, Maisey Yates
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Eventide, Water City (Water City Trilogy #2) by Chris McKinney
Fatal Legacy (Flavia Albia #11) by Lindsey Davis
The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng
The Isolated Séance (Irregular Detective #1) by Jeri Westerson
Monsters by Claire Dederer
A Rogue at Stonecliffe (Stonecliffe #2) by Candace Camp
Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz by Garth Nix
Sleeping with the Ancestors by Joseph McGill Jr., and Herb Frazier
Traffic by Ben Smith
The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
Whispers at Dusk (Blackbird Trilogy #1) by Heather Graham

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
Midnight, Water City (Water City Trilogy #1) by Chris McKinney
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher

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 3-19-23

Posted on March 19, 2023March 16, 2023 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

The following picture is both adorable and apropos today. This is a rare shot of Hecate and Luna sharing the same space, and it’s perfect for today because we’ll be on our way home from a visit with one of my oldest and dearest friends, someone I’ve known since kindergarten but have not shared the same space with in almost 20 years. We’ve always kept in touch but haven’t been in the same geographic area in literally aeons. I don’t even care if the weather is good while we’re there – although I certainly hope it is. The opportunity to just sit and talk together is, as they say, priceless.

Stacking the Shelves (540)

Posted on March 18, 2023March 13, 2023 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

I’m looking forward to several books in this batch, but in completely different ways. The Court War because the first book, The Godstone – which at the time wasn’t obviously the first of anything – was a compelling hot mess and I want to see where things go next. Mammoths at the Gates because the Singing Hills Cycle has been lovely and awesome and fascinating, and The Splinter in the Sky because OMG the protagonist is a TEA expert and I can’t wait to see how that works in a space opera.

Come to think of it, Mammoths at the Gates is also a contender for the prettiest cover of the week, right along with The Berry Pickers – especially because all those luscious blueberries look delicious as well as pretty.

marion lane and the ravens revenge by ta willberg

dear ijeawele by chimamanda ngozi adichie

For Review:
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Better Left Unsaid by Tufayel Ahmed
Beyond the Hallowed Sky (Lightspeed Trilogy #1) by Ken MacLeod
Big Little Spells (Witchlore #2) by Hazel Beck
Blind Fear (Finn Thrillers #3) by Brandon Webb and John David Mann
The Court War (Godstone #2) by Violette Malan
Daughters of Muscadine by Monic Ductan
The Great Displacement by Jake Bittle
The Happiness Plan by Susan Mallery
The Horoscope Writer by Ash Bishop
Mammoths at the Gates (Singing Hills Cycle #4) by Nghi Vo
Marion Lane and the Raven’s Revenge (Marion Lane #3) by T.A. Willberg
The Secret Hours by Mick Herron
The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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 3-12-23

Posted on March 12, 2023March 12, 2023 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

I’ve got to admit that I’m not totally sure about this week’s schedule – or at least the middle of it. I’ve finished The Atlas Paradox – and do I ever have OPINIONS – as well as Knightmaster – about which I have much better opinions. And of course the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop will happen as scheduled. The other two books are both books I want to feature – but my round ‘tuit is a bit frayed around the edges this week.

But speaking of things that are just a bit unsure, there’s Tuna. Not in this picture of “big Tuna energy” from Galen’s desk, in which Tuna looks dignified, large and in charge – only one of which is EVER true. Tuna managed to do something this week that I unfortunately don’t have a picture of but have to share anyway. You know how cats occasionally get claw-stuck? They grab at something – like my office chair’s upholstery – and can’t get one claw retracted with the rest and get stuck? Tuna managed to claw-stick his own front paws together when he grabbed at a toy that slipped out of his grasp. Leaving him stuck. To himself. It was not pretty, it was not dignified, but it was very Tuna. I’d say he was still embarrassed but he’s also not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so not.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the For the Love of Reading Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Leaping Leprechauns Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2022-23 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Blog Recap:

A Review: Dead Country by Max Gladstone
A- Review: The Sister Effect by Susan Mallery
B+ Review: The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
A+ Review: Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace
B+ Review: A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas
Stacking the Shelves (539)

Coming This Week:

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake (audiobook review)
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (review)
Illuminations by T. Kingfisher (review)
Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop
Knightmaster by Anna Hackett (review)

Stacking the Shelves (539)

Posted on March 11, 2023March 9, 2023 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Stacking the Shelves

After diving back into the Sebastian St. Cyr series a couple of weeks ago I decided to just go ahead and get the few in the middle that I had neither read nor already acquired. I know I’ll be getting around to them eventually so I figured I might as well just give in to the impulse.

The book I’m most looking forward to is, of course, Anna Hackett’s new SFR series opener, Knightmaster. I’ve already started and so far, so wonderful! I think the prettiest cover in this stack is Banyan Moon, but a case could certainly be made for The Witching Tide. We’ll just have to see whether the books inside those covers live up to them!

to shape a dragons breath by moniquill blackgoose

history of a difficult child by mihret sibhat

moon represents my heart by pim wangtechawat

when the hibiscus falls by m evelina galang

light at the end of the world by siddhartha deb

For Review:
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
Differ We Must by Steve Inskeep
The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat
Knightmaster (Oronis Knights #1) by Anna Hackett
The Light at the End of the World by Siddhartha Deb
Loot by Tania James
The Moon Represents My Heart by Pim Wangtechawat
The People’s Hospital by Ricardo Nuila
Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
The Salt-Black Tree (Dead God’s Heart #2) by Lilith Saintcrow
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath (Nampeshiweisit #1) by Moniquill Blackgoose
When the Hibiscus Falls by M. Evelina Galang
The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer

Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Etc.:
Where the Dead Lie (Sebastian St. Cyr #12) by C.S. Harris
Who Buries the Dead (Sebastian St. Cyr #10) by C.S. Harris
Why Kings Confess (Sebastian St. Cyr #9) by C.S. Harris

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 3-5-23

Posted on March 5, 2023March 4, 2023 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand> Winner announcement

The week that was was a week for getting lucky. Not one, not two, but three giveaway hops! Think of it as a warm-up for next month’s annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration Week. Reading Reality is turning TWELVE!

Speaking of lucky, here’s a picture of Luna in all her glory celebrating just how lucky she is to be between her people in the big people bed. It’s a rare shot of her underside with all its tabby spots, so we were lucky to get the shot as well.