Stacking The Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga’s Reviews that shares the books (both physical and virtual) that you recently purchased, borrowed from a fellow reader or the library, won from a giveaway, or received as gifts. Stacking The Shelves will post on Saturdays as new books are added to my shelves.
This is getting embarrassing – to the point where, apart from new releases, I might have to institute a temporary “book-buying” ban. (*blushes*) Not to mention this was going to be one installment of Stacking The Shelves. Next week I’ll explain why I split it in two.
For now, here’s Batch #1, a mix of 2016 books with the latest additions to my ongoing “market research” project on fairy novels. Let’s have a look:
From top to bottom:
Winterwood (Rowankind, Book #1) by Jacey Bedford (Historical Fantasy): When your favorite SFF book bloggers rave about the same book, you know you should pay attention. That’s the case with Winterwood. It also ticks off so many fantasy-element boxes. Magic, pirates, shapeshifters, ghosts, Fae – and it’s set in alternate Great Britain in the year 1800, during the reign of King George III. I’m game! 🙂
Shadowmarch (Shadowmarch, Book #1) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy): I wish I could remember who had suggested Shadowmarch, since apparently there are Fae in it… But I don’t remember who it was. Either way, I’ll read it at some point for my “market research” project. It sounds like a very dark take on epic fantasy, too.
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope (Children’s / YA Historical Fantasy): This came highly recommended by fellow writer Rebekah Hendrian. The Perilous Gard has been around for a while (first published in 1974); and it’s a twist on the Tam Lin myth where a young English girl is exiled by Queen Mary I to a remote castle and becomes involved with the Fair Folk. So, yes, another fairy read, and one I’m looking forward to quite a bit.
The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us, Book #1) by Emily Skrutskie (YA Science Fiction): It feels weird sharing this book in Stacking The Shelves after reading it, instead of before. But that’s OK – I can simply direct you to my review of this rockin’ sci-fi adventure about pirates and genetically engineered sea monsters. Many thanks again to author Emily Skrutskie for the Twitter giveaway!
Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception (Books of Faerie, Book #1) by Maggie Stiefvater (YA Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance): Maggie Stiefvater is yet another fantasy writer whose work I still need to check out. So, when I noticed she had written a couple fairy novels, I figured Lament might be a good place to start. Plus, the protagonist is musically inclined! So I’m even more excited about reading this now.
The Faerie Guardian (Creepy Hollow, Book #1) by Rachel Morgan (Self-Published YA Paranormal Romance): I haven’t had a lot of luck with paranormal romance. But fairies pop up in that subgenre quite a bit; and if I’m doing a “market research” project on fairy novels, I’ll need to give PR a chance. That said, The Faerie Guardian sounds promising and has gotten a lot of positive reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. Plus, PRETTY COVER.
House of the Rising Sun (Crescent City Trilogy, Book #1) by Kristen Painter (Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy): Same disclaimer about paranormal romance above applies here. However, House of the Rising Sun has a super-cool real-world setting – New Orleans. Ohhhhhh this story already has the potential to be colorfully, bizarrely fun, in a Neverwhere-ish way. 🙂
The Immortals (Olympus Bound, Book #1) by Jordanna Max Brodsky (Mythological Urban Fantasy): This came out last month and has gotten a ton of praise from the SFF blogging world. It’s described as Percy Jackson meets American Gods, mixing Greek mythology with a murder mystery in current-day Manhattan. I haven’t read a lot of myth-inspired fantasy, so this could be a neat change of pace.
The Girl From Everywhere (The Girl From Everywhere, Book #1) by Heidi Heilig (YA Time Travel / Historical Fantasy): One of the most-talked about YA fantasy debuts of the winter, The Girl From Everywhere blends history with pirates (the current trend in fantasy, I guess?), time travel, familial tension, and romance. Some of the reviews I’ve read have complimented Heidi Heilig on the quality of her writing, too – and that’s always a big plus for me.
What books did you recently buy or acquire? Have you read or are planning to read of the books discussed above?
Sara Letourneau 
Ah! I also must get hold of the Jacey Bedford – I’ve also heard lots of good things about this and she is SUCH a nice lady:). I went to one of her workshops on submitting your work and she was so very generous with her advice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s awesome, Sarah! It’s always fun and exciting to go to workshops like that. 🙂
I actually wasn’t aware that Jacey had written other books before Winterwood. (*blushes*) What has she written in the past?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No – I think it was Winterwood that she was talking about – she had just sold it to Daw…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I finished The Immortals, it was very good! I also really need to make time to read Winterwood!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! I know Mogsy @ Bibliosanctum really enjoyed The Immortals, too, so I’m excited to check it out.
LikeLike
You grabbed a lot if great books. In fact, I may be adding a couple of them to my wishlist. Hope you enjoy them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Barb! 🙂
LikeLike
Yay, Winterwood! Reading this, I was like, oh yeah, there are fae in it! Mostly because there’s also all this other goodness, it’s so hard to remember everything it encompasses. Hope you’ll like it, and it’s definitely an interesting one for your research 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! It’s actually going to be the next book I read after The Wise Man’s Fear, which I started last night. 😉
LikeLike
I have been meaning to start that Kristen Painter series. I enjoyed her House of the Comarre series and I am hoping she does Nola justice in the Crescent City series. I love coming to see all your fae books. Have you added The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe? I haven’t read it yet but I met him last year and have heard such good things about his series. Happy reading!
Bambi’s StS
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Bambi! And yes, I’ve heard of The Hum And The Shiver. It’s on my wishlist, actually. 😉
LikeLike
Great stack of book but a book buying ban? Oh no!! Say it isn’t so. Happy Reading.
Deanna’s Stacking the Shelves
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! And yeah… I’ve bought a ton of books since the beginning of this year, which is making the unread books on my shelves overwhelming. So… yeah. Apart from upcoming new releases that I’ve already pre-ordered, I think I’ll need to lay low on the book-buying front for a while.
LikeLike
I really loved The Girl From Everywhere. I have never heard of Lament, by Maggie Stiefvater (and I am a huge fan of the Mags), so I will need to check it out at the library. Have a wonderful week.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Ardis! Glad to hear you loved The Girl from Everywhere. I can’t wait to check it out for myself soon. 🙂
LikeLike
So much fantasy *drools* I’m definitely going to have to check these out. I would be really curious to read your thoughts on The Girl From Everywhere, let me know if/when you get to it! I’m a huge fan of Stiefvater’s works and Lament was good, although I absolutely love her Raven Boys series and The Scorpio Races. Enjoy all these 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Alise! I’ll try to remember to let you know my thoughts on The Girl From Everywhere once I’ve read it. 😉
I’d really like to read The Scorpio Races, too. Maybe the Raven Boys series, but I’m always hesitant about paranormal and urban fantasy, since I don’t seem to enjoy those types of fantasy as much as others…
LikeLike
Pingback: Reading Links…3/16/16 – Where Worlds Collide
Ooh, I’m really curious about The Fairy Guardian, Winterwood, and the Girl From Everywhere! I’ve added them to my list. But I know what you mean by needing to refrain from book-buying for a while, because I really need to catch up with the books I already have before purchasing more! 😀 As always, can’t wait for your reviews on these!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Winterwood is actually the next book I’m going to read after the one I’m reading right now. Not sure if I’ll finish it in time for the March Recent Reads (posting in early April), but if I like it enough, I’ll definitely review it. That goes for the other books you mentioned, too. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can’t wait to hear what you think about these.
I also went on an embarrassing book binge. I was in East Lansing last weekend, and all “save money, save money,” but then there was this indie bookstore, with a huge used book section and . . . urgh.
I bought about 4 books/textbooks on learning Japanese, but the rest of them were novels I already read/had been meaning to read . . . And then I got home and my piles of books in the living room made angry faces at me. I have a problem too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
XD It seems to be a common problem among us bookworms. I guess the only thing we can do is commiserate together, right?
What were the novels you bought that day, btw?
LikeLike
*This is really embarrassing* I can’t even remember. I’m actually at my parents’ using their internet, and since the books aren’t literally in front of me – I don’t know. Oh wait – one of them was a gorgeous hardcover of “The Book of Three” by Lloyd Alexander (first of the Prydain Chronicles, one of my favorite MG series ever). It was so shiny . . . but the rest are gone from memory. I’ll have to look later, lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 25: March 2016 Haul, Part 2 | Sara Letourneau's Official Website & Blog
I’m trying to understand why I enjoy these “stacking the shelves” posts so much. Logically, I shouldn’t care what books you just bought… right? But I find myself irresistibly curious every single time. x’D
In other words… keep doing them! Haha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Actually… Vol. 25, which I posted this past Saturday, is going to be my last STS post.
I’ll explain it in my March Time Flies wrap-up, but I don’t think the STS posts are good uses of my blogging time. I have ideas for other writing- and creativity-related posts in the near future; and in order to make time for them, something has to go. STS is a logical choice.
So, I’m sorry I won’t be continuing this series… But I’m glad you enjoyed the posts nonetheless. 🙂 Did any of the books in this one catch your attention?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, that’s kind of ironic! xD Oh well! None of them really caught my eye, except The Girl From Everywhere, simply because I’ve heard a lot about it, but I’m not really interested in it personally. *shrugs*
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Time Flies!: March 2016 | Sara Letourneau's Official Website & Blog