Stacking the Shelves (541)

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!

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

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.

Current Giveaways:

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

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop is Debbi

Blog Recap:

C Review: The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
A+ Review: The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
B Review: Illuminations by T. Kingfisher
Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Knightmaster by Anna Hackett
Stacking the Shelves (540)

Coming This Week:

The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
The New Guys by Meredith Bagby
The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian
The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear
One Extra Corpse by Barbara Hambly

Stacking the Shelves (540)

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.

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

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)

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!

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

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.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop
$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

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Wish Big Giveaway Hop is Wanda

Blog Recap:

A Review: The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner
A+ Review: Nightwatch by M.L. Buchman
Lady Luck Giveaway Hop
For the Love of Reading Giveaway Hop
Leaping Leprechauns Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (538)

Coming This Week:

Dead Country by Max Gladstone (review)
The Sister Effect by Susan Mallery (blog tour review)
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill (review)
Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace (review)
A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas (review)

Stacking the Shelves (538)

This week’s stack is just chock full of really pretty covers, especially, Under the Tamarind Tree, Where Peace is Lost and Where There Was Fire. Also two books I’m already planning to read at the first opportunity, Payback in Death (In Death #57) and most especially Thornhedge because T. Kingfisher. Honestly, everything looks fascinating and I want to start them all right away but that’s not humanly possible. Dammit.

For Review:
Brother & Sister Enter the Forest by Richard Mirabella
Built from the Fire by Victor Luckerson
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Herald of the Black Moon (Dominion #3) by Stephen Deas
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 39 edited by Jodi Lyn Nye and Dean Wesley Smith
Las Madres by Esmeralda Santiago
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur
Payback in Death (In Death #57) by J.D. Robb
Pulling the Chariot of the Sun by Shane McCrae
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy
Under the Tamarind Tree by Nigar Alam
Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes
Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias


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 2-26-23

This week was just a damn good reading week. Next week should be fun for everyone as I’m giving stuff away more than I’m reviewing – which is rare. But it gives me a break to sink my reading teeth into something long and meaty which can be a bit difficult for me to pull off at times.

Speaking of something long and meaty – also large and round and meaty – here’s Tuna. This isn’t so much a case of ‘if I fits, I sits’ as it is ‘if I doesn’t fit, I sprawls’. The biggest cat in the house in the tiniest cat bed, looking just a bit bewildered because it works fine for everyone else!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop (ENDS TUESDAY!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2022-23 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the February Favorites Giveaway Hop is Rajee

Blog Recap:

Presidents’ Day 2023 (Guest post by Galen)
A+ Review: The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry
A Review: The Weight of Command by Michael Mammay
B+ Review: Full Exposure by Thien-Kim Lam
A+ Review: Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris
Stacking the Shelves (537)

Coming This Week:

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner (blog tour review)
Nightwatch by M.L. Buchman
Lady Luck Giveaway Hop
For the Love of Reading Giveaway Hop
Leaping Leprechauns Giveaway Hop

Stacking the Shelves (537)

This time around the covers are mostly more interesting than they are pretty. But they are VERY interesting indeed. The book I’m most looking forward to reading is The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis. Some of her early books are among my all-time favorites, especially Bellwether – which I still reread every now and again. This one is supposed to be a return to her more lighthearted work – like Bellwether as well as To Say Nothing of the Dog, so I have pretty high hopes for it. The proof, as always is in the reading.

For Review:
All the Knowledge in the World by Simon Garfield
Almost Brown by Charlotte Gill
An Amerikan Family by Santi Elijah Holley
Call and Response by Gothataone Moeng
Crook Manifesto (Ray Carney #2) by Colson Whitehead
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa
Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle
Flight & Anchor (Firebreak) by Nicole Kornher-Stace
I Meant It Once by Kate Doyle
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
A Most Tolerant Little Town by Rachel Louise Martin
Paper Names by Susie Luo
The Rediscovery of America by Ned Blackhawk
The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis
Thinning Blood by Leah Myers
Tropicália by Harold Rogers
You Are Here by Karin Lin-Greenberg


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 2-19-23

Lucifer gave us a bit of a scare this week, so we took him to the vet yesterday to see what was up. Or down in this particular case, as he wasn’t quite his usual grumpy but bouncy self. He’s going on 12 so he’s getting up there, and he has arthritis and is slowing down a bit. Still, he worried us this week and that meant a trip to the V-E-T. Today’s picture of is of his rather disgruntled self while waiting for his exam.

He seems to have had an arthritis flare-up, as we do, and was just uncomfortable for a couple of days. We have meds for him now if it happens again. Of course, he’s still peeved about the whole experience – but that’s just normal catitude.

This turned out to be a damn good reading week. Never Too Old To Save the World turned out to be an especial favorite, and I’ve been referring to it – as appropriate – in quite a few reviews, so I’m glad to finally get its own review out into the world!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the February Favorites Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Winter 2022-23 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop is L Lam

Blog Recap:

A+ Review: Never too Old to Save the World edited by Addie J. King and Alana Joli Abbott
A- Review: The Scarlet Circus by Jane Yolen
A+ Review: Junkyard War by Faith Hunter
Wish Big Giveaway Hop
A Review: World Running Down by Al Hess
Stacking the Shelves (536)

Coming This Week:

Presidents’ Day 2023 (Guest Post by Galen)
The Weight of Command by Michael Mammay (review)
Full Exposure by Thien-Kim Lam (review)
Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris (review)
The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry (review)