*Stacking the Shelves* 29 September 2018

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up the past two weeks. All Goodreads First Reads ebook wins unless otherwise specified.

Hard Deal by Stefanie London
Gheidh by Marishka Grayson
Double Lives: True Tales of the Criminals Next Door by Eric Brach
Murder at Harbor Village by GP Gardner
The Nanny Manual: How to Choose and Nurture the Perfect Childcare Partner by Alyce Desrosiers
The Confectioner's Guild by Claire Luana - I pre-ordered this book because it's only 99 cents at the moment and it just looks so good (even though I also requested a review copy through Netgalley as part of my YA Request Roulette almost two weeks ago). 
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter - I snagged a copy of this audiobook on sale for just $2.95 as an Audible Daily deal because it sounds bloody fantastic. 
The Watcher by Caroline Eriksson
Anything for You by Susan Coventry
Russian Nazi Troll Bots!: The Busy Person's Guide to How Trump's Trolls Won the Internet, What's Ahead, and What You Can Do by Eric Saeger
Fringe War by Rachel Aukes
The Cries of Vampira by Sean H. Robertson
Eden Chip by Scott Cramer
Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son by Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez - I snagged the audiobook version of this during a 3 for 2 credit sale. 
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation by Blake J. Harris - I grabbed this audiobook as part of the Audible 3 for 2 credit sale.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman - This was my final book in Audible's 3 for 2 credit sale. 
How We Use English to Communicate: An Introduction by Kenneth Chastain
Bait by Samantha Keith
Greener by Heather S. Ransom
Marked by Bridget E. Baker - I snagged this book on sale for just 99 cents (no longer on sale) after I tried to win a bouncy box giveaway for it because it just looks so good. 
The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli - I snagged this book on sale for just $1.99 (still on sale). I think I just saw it as a recommended book on Amazon and I'd seen it on a few other blogs and thought it looked good. 
The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
Busted in Bollywood by Nicola Marsh
More or Less a Temptress by Anna Bradley
A Choice of Secrets by Barb Hendee
The Spectral City by Leanna Renee Hieber
In the Common Interest II: Embracing Five Star Customer Service by John Carona
100 Gates by P.D. Kalnay
Political Dirty Trick by James R. Callan
The Jizmatic Trilogy by Michael Andre-Driussi
No Comfort: Hurricane Maria - Murder on the Beach by Pedro Miranda
Firsts: Coming of Age Stories by People with Disabilities by Belo Cipriani
The Rule of One by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders - This was my Kindle Firsts Reads selection for September. 
It Started with a Lie by Lisa Suzanne - I snagged this beauty on sale for just 99 cents (no longer on sale) when I saw the author share the sale on Facebook. 
Montana Dreams by Kim Law
Buck Wild by Lauren Landish
Blue Flower Red Thorns by Ted Clifton
Tramps, Thieves, and IT by Val Grian
Wings & Destruction by G.K. Derosa - I snagged this beauty on sale for just 99 cents (no longer on sale). I don't remember where I saw it exactly. 
Born in Fire by K.F. Breene - I snagged this for free (still free) after seeing it on Amazon. 
Differently Morphous by Yahtzee Croshaw - I snagged this audiobook on sale for just $3.95 (and ended up not paying a penny for it because I had a $5 Audible gift card for pre-ordering Fear by Bob Woodward a couple weeks ago). 
Two Cabins, One Lake by Shaye Marlow - I snagged this as a freebie (maybe still free) after seeing it shared by the Celebrity Readers. 
Benjamin Ashwood by AC Cobble 
StrategyMan vs. The Anti-Strategy Squad by Rich Horwath
The Council of Twelve by Oliver Pötzsch - I snagged this on sale for just $1.99 (maybe still on sale). It's the 7th book in a series that I now own every book of even though I've only managed to find the time to read the first. I loved it so much I really need to get to the rest of them at some point though. 
Halcyon Park by Evan James Clark
The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan by Stephanie Chandler and Karl W. Palachuk
Feeding the Dragon by Sharon Washington - I got this audiobook for free because it was one of the Audible originals selections this month (and I still had one left to pick from before the month was over). 

So that's all the new books I've picked up in the last two weeks, and I'm going to try to not go two weeks before posting an STS again. 

What new books have you added to your shelves recently? - Katie 

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can check out all your new pretties.*

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*Book Blogger Hop* 28 September 2018

We are on to a new week for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the lovely folks over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This weeks questions is:

Do you sneak a peek at the number of views your posts have gotten? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

Absolutely! In fact, here on blogger on my post dashboard it shows me how many views each post has gotten, so I don't even have to search that information out. But I do sometimes go back through and check out some older posts to see those numbers, because I have a few posts that have a LOT of views (like way more than my average post). In fact, checking my post view counts helped me to discover that one of my reviews is one of the top Google hits when you search reviews for that particular book, and that was kind of an amazing feeling. So I definitely recommend checking those numbers yourself, because sometimes you just might be surprised by what you find.

Do you check your view counts? - Katie

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and see your answer.*

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*Top Ten Tuesday* Books by My Favorite Authors that I Haven't Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This weeks theme is books by my favorite authors that I still haven't read. And you know what, I'm not sure if I'm ready for this list because I'm pretty sure I have more than ten favorite authors with books published that I haven't read yet. So I guess I'm just going to list out ten of my favorite authors who have published books I have yet to read and we'll call it good.

J.K. Rowling - This may come as a shock to you, but I have not read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child or Fantastic Beasts and Where the Find Them. I obviously haven't read The Crimes of Grindelwald either (because it doesn't come out until the middle of November), but I imagine it'll be a while before I get to reading it too.

Stephen King - Doctor Sleep is the book that stands out most in my mind as the oldest recent release that I still need to read, but when I think about it, the last King new release that I felt like I had the time to read was 11/22/63, which means it's been about seven years since I read a Stephen King book. I really need to get on that.

Lisa Suzanne - Lisa Suzanne was one of the first authors I discovered after finding the indie book world on Facebook and for a while I was up to date on her books. Then she released Not Just Another Romance Novel and I didn't have time to read it. In fact, I haven't read any of the books she released between that one and A Little Like Destiny (the first book she hired me to proofread). I definitely need to find some time to dive into all those books I missed.

L.B. Dunbar - I'm going to be totally honest with you, and tell you that I originally joined Ms. Dunbar's street team (like four years ago) because at the time, it only had like ten people in it, and even though I hadn't read any of her books yet, I was already pimping pretty heavily for a few authors and adding one more wasn't going to be a big deal, and her books sounded good. But she's an author who it would be easier to list the few books of hers that I have found the time to read rather than all of her books that I haven't. I'm going to say that I'm most anxious to find time to read some of her #SexySilverFoxes books though, which I believe start with After Care.

SJ McCoy - SJ McCoy has written like three hundred thousand books and I've only read one of them, the fourth book she published. I was starting at a three book deficit, which with blogging and feeling like I should accept every review request that came my way at the time was incredibly overwhelming.  So even though I absolutely loved the one book I read, I have not found the time to read any more of her sweet romances since, and I need to remedy that at some point, but there are just so many to choose from. I'm thinking about giving Mason a try, even though he's part of a different series than the one I already read from.

Alexandrea Weis - I have read most of Ms. Weis' books, either as a beta reader or as a proofreader, although a few were read simply for review as a member of her street team. That being said, there are some books of hers that I haven't cracked the cover on. Broken Wings is one of them that I'm hoping to read sooner rather than later.

Penelope Douglas - I've been a Penelope Douglas fan since Bully was indie (a fact I like to brag about basically all the time), but that doesn't mean I've read all her books. I was doing really well on that for a while, but then I got busy with proofreading and missed a few, Birthday Girl for example, as well as Hideaway and a couple others. I own them, and someday I will surely find the time to read them.

Ginna Moran - Considering how many Ginna Moran books I've read lately, it's hard to believe that she has any that I haven't read, but it's true. While I read her first book for review on the blog a few years ago and loved it, I didn't find the time to get any further in that series, or in its spin-off series, but I'd really like to go back and read them at some point, and I think I'd start with Altered to Kill.

Kristen Banet - I recently started proofreading for Kristen Banet, and while she's had me work on most of her published works at this point, there are a couple that I haven't had the pleasure to read yet (because I haven't had the time). These are A Life of Shadows and A Heart of Shame which would give me some much needed backstory that I missed before proofreading the third book in that series.

Jon Messenger - I have only read one of Jon Messenger's books so far, and this kind of makes me a garbage human being because he's an author that I talked into writing me into a book to kill me off (it didn't take much to convince him, but he did it and I haven't even read the book in which I die). The problem is, he doesn't kill me off until the third book in the Magic and Machinery series, so I have to read Wolves of the Northern Rift and The Blood Thief of Whitten Hall first just to get to The Golem of Solomon's Way and my death. And that's just a whole lot of commitment. (I do already own all three of those books though in ebook and paperback, so maybe I'm not like stinky garbage at least.)

So there you have it, ten favorite authors with books I still need to read, and it's not all of them, just the first ten that popped into my head. Who are some of your favorite authors with books you still need to read? - Katie

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and check out your list.*

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*Book Blogger Hop* 21 September 2018

We are on to a new week for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the lovely folks over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This weeks questions is:

Do you like to finish one book before starting the next or do you read several at once? (submitted by Cathy @ What Cathy Read Next)

I always read several books at once. I've got over 30 books on my currently reading shelf on Goodreads in fact. Not that I'm reading all 30+ books back to back, but I can certainly choose to pick any one of them up at any given time and read a bit before moving onto something else if it's not really piquing my interest. (And in reality I should probably go in and try to cull that list some, just pick a book and read it to the end, then do that to the next and so on to get the list down to about 15, but I'm just not sure if I have the time for that.)

Are you a monogamous reader or do you prefer polyamory when reading? - Katie

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and see your answer too.*

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*Top Ten Tuesday* YA Request Roulette Round Two

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This weeks theme is fall 2018 TBR, but aside from the books that I'm hired to proofread (most of which I don't even know the titles of yet), I don't really plan out my TBR's in advance. And while I've already got a list for my 12 Books of Christmas reading challenge for this year that I will hopefully be starting in the fall, it should be winter reading, and it's already got its own blog post. But I had so much fun last time I played YA Request Roulette on Netgalley, so I decided I'd like to do it again.

So with that in mind, here are ten books from Netgalley's Teens/YA section that I have requested, and I will try to update this post as I get approved or denied.

Title: Paper Girl
Author: Cindy R. Wilson
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Release Date: December 4, 2018
Genre: Romance
Goodreads
Request: Approved

Blurb

I haven’t left my house in over a year. My doctor says it’s social anxiety, but I know the only things that are safe are made of paper. My room is paper. My world is paper. Everything outside is fire. All it would take is one spark for me to burst into flames. So I stay inside. Where nothing can touch me.

Then my mom hires a tutor. Jackson. This boy I had a crush on before the world became too terrifying to live in. Jackson’s life is the complete opposite of mine, and I can tell he’s got secrets of his own. But he makes me feel things. Makes me want to try again. Makes me want to be brave. I can almost taste the outside world. But so many things could go wrong, and all it takes is one spark for everything I love to disappear…

Amazon

Title: Bloodleaf

Author: Crystal Smith

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group

Release Date: March 12, 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads

Request: Denied

Blurb

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.

But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life?

Amazon

Title: War of the Wilted

Author: Amber Mitchell

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC

Release Date: October 1, 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads

Request: Approved

Blurb

Like flowers denied water, people are wilting under the emperor's tyranny.

Rose will not rest until the Gardener is dead. But there are bigger battles to fight, and Rayce—leader of the rebellion and the only man Rose has ever loved—believes their best chance at winning the war is to join forces with her sworn enemy.

Saving innocent people is more important than her quest for revenge. But their new ally can’t be trusted—and he knows her darkest secret. One betrayal could leave the war and Rayce’s life hanging in the balance, and Rose will need to make the ultimate sacrifice to save them all.

Amazon

Title: Illusions

Author: Madeline J. Reynolds

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC

Release Date: November 6, 2018

Genre: LGBT Fantasy

Goodreads

Request: Approved

Blurb

Dear Thomas,

I know you're angry. It's true, I was sent to expose your mentor as a fraud illusionist, and instead I have put your secret in jeopardy. I fear I have even put your life in jeopardy. For that I can only beg your forgiveness. I've fallen for you. You know I have. And I never wanted to create a rift between us, but if it means protecting you from those who wish you dead―I'll do it. I'll do anything to keep you safe, whatever the sacrifice. Please forgive me for all I've done and what I'm about to do next. I promise, it's one magic trick no one will ever see coming.

Love,
Saverio

Amazon

Title: Five Feet Apart

Author: Rachael Lippincott

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: November 20, 2018

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Goodreads

Request: Pending

Blurb

Can you love someone you can never touch?

Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

Amazon

Title: The Confectioner's Guild

Author: Claire Luana

Publisher: Live Edge Publishing

Release Date: October 23, 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads

Request: Approved

Blurb

A magic cupcake. A culinary killer. The perfect recipe for murder.

Wren knew her sweet treats could work wonders, but she never knew they could work magic. She barely has time to wrap her head around the stunning revelation when the head of the prestigious Confectioner’s Guild falls down dead before her. Poisoned by her cupcake.

Now facing murder charges in a magical world she doesn’t understand, Wren must discover the true killer or face the headsman’s axe. With the help of a handsome inspector and several new friends, Wren just might manage to learn the ropes, master her new powers, and find out who framed her. But when their search for clues leads to a deep-rooted conspiracy that goes all the way to the top, she realizes that the guild master isn’t the only one at risk of death by chocolate.

If Wren can’t bring the powerful culprit to justice, she and her friends will meet a bittersweet end.

The Confectioner’s Guild is a delicious YA fantasy mystery. If you like spunky chefs and twisty mysteries with a drizzle of romance, then Claire Luana’s scrumptious tale is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Amazon

Title: The Skylark's Song

Author: J.M. Frey

Publisher: REUTS Publications

Release Date: September 4, 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads

Request: Denied

Blurb

A Saskwyan flight mechanic with uncanny luck, seventeen-year-old Robin Arianhod grew up in the shadow of a decade-long war. But the skies are stalked by the Coyote—a ruthless Klonn pilot who picks off crippled airships and retreating soldiers. And as the only person to have survived an aerial dance with Saskwya’s greatest scourge, Robin has earned his attention.

As a pilot, Robin is good. But the Coyote is better. When he shoots her down and takes her prisoner, Robin finds herself locked into a new kind of dance. The possibility of genuine affection from a man who should be her enemy has left her with a choice: accept the Coyote’s offer of freedom and romance in exchange for repairing a strange rocket pack that could spell Saskwya’s defeat, but become a traitor to her country. Or betray her own heart and escape. If she takes the rocket pack and flees, she could end the war from the inside.

All she has to do is fly.

Filled with intrigue, forbidden romance, and a touch of steampunk, The Skylark’s Song soars in this new duology from the award-winning author of The Accidental Turn Series.

Amazon

Title: Changeling

Author: Molly Harper

Publisher: INscribe Digital

Release Date: August 22, 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads

Request: Approved

Blurb

If 14-year-old Cassandra Reed makes it through her first day at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladieswithout anyone discovering her secret, maybe, just maybe, she’ll let herself believe that she really does belong at Miss Castwell’s.

Except Cassandra Reed’s real name is Sarah Smith and up until now, she lived her whole life in the Warren, serving a magical family, the Winters, as all non-magical “Snipes” are bound by magical Guardian law to do. That is, until one day, Sarah accidentally levitates Mrs. Winter’s favorite vase in the parlor...

But Snipes aren’t supposed to have magical powers…and the existence of a magical Snipe threatens the world order dictated during the Guardians’ Restoration years ago. If she wants to keep her family safe and protect her own skin, Sarah must figure out how to fit into posh Guardian society, master her newfound magical powers and discover the truth about how an ordinary girl can become magical.

Amazon

Title: Toxic

Author: Lydia Kang

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC

Release Date: November 6, 2018

Genre: Science Fiction

Goodreads

Request: Approved

Blurb

Cyclo, the first and largest biological ship of its kind, is dying. A small crew of mercenaries have handed over the rights to their life to document the death of the ship, but the abandoned ship is anything but abandoned—one girl has been left behind.

Hana has known nothing but the isolation of a single room and the secret that has kept her there for seventeen years. When she meets Fennec, the boy assigned to watch her, she realizes that there is a world she has yet to experience but she is doomed to never meet.

When crew members begin mysteriously dying, Hana and Fenn realize that they are racing against the death of the ship to find a way to survive—unless someone kills them even before Hana’s truly had a chance to live.

Amazon

Title: The Revolution of Jack Frost

Author: K.M. Robinson

Publisher: Bleeding Ink Publishing

Release Date: November 6, 2018

Genre: Dystopian

Goodreads

Request: Approved

Blurb

No one inside the snow globe knows that Morozoko Industries is controlling their weather, testing them to form a stronger race that can survive the fall out from the bombs being dropped in the outside world—all they know is that they must survive the harsh Winter that lasts a month and use the few days of Spring, Summer, and Fall to gather enough supplies to survive.

When the seasons start shifting, Genesis and her boyfriend, Jack, know something is going on. As their team begins to find technology that they don’t have access to inside their snow globe of a world, it begins to look more and more like one of their own is working against them.

Genesis soon discovers Morozoko Industries is to blame, but when a foreign enemy tries to destroy their weather program to make sure their destructive life-altering bombs succeed in destroying the outside world, their only chance is to shut down the machine that is spinning out of control and save the lives of everyone inside the bunker--at any cost.

Amazon

So there you go. Ten books that I have just requested on Netgalley. Can you tell what my favorite color is? I bet you can make a pretty good educated guess based on these book covers. 

So how many of these books do you think I will be approved for with a current feedback percentage of 22%? - Katie 

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and check out your Fall TBR.*

For more info or to sign up, click here.

*Stacking the Shelves* 15 September 2018

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week. All Goodreads First Reads ebook wins unless otherwise specified.

Boss Nova Odyssey by Michael N. Graham
Dispatches From the Heart by Ed Innerarity and Paige Innerarity
The Golden City by Liz Long - I snagged this beauty on sale for just 99 cents (no longer on sale) after seeing the sale price mentioned in a group I'm part of on Facebook. 
The Blood King by Liz Long - I snagged this book on sale for just 99 cents (no longer on sale) because it's the first book in the duology and I'd already one-clicked the second, so I kind of had to buy it. 
Tequila Mockingbird by Tim Federle - I snagged this book on sale for just $3.99 (no longer on sale) because I've kind of had my eye on it for a while. I don't drink cocktails often, but when I do, I want them to be literary. LOL. 
Ever After: A Gay Fairy Tale by Christina Lee and Riley Hart - I snagged this on sale for just 99 cents (no longer on sale) because I love fairy tale retellings and getting one that's M/M is just kind of icing on the cake.
The Motivation Trap by John Hitler
Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman - I paid full price for this book (sort of), but I also technically got it for free. See it's a Great on Kindle book, and I had a whole lot of Great on Kindle credit from Goodreads ebook wins (which was a shock to me since while those show up as orders, they also indicate that I paid zero dollars for them, and 40% of zero is zero), and some of it was about to expire. This was the first GoK book that I saw that I was really interested in. 
Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward - I used an Audible credit to pre-order this book, because doing so got me a $5 audible gift card, and much like Omarosa's book, this was the first book available for preorder that I was interested in "reading."
Cross-Stepping Your Way to Success by Carolyn Bowen
Units by Hargus Montgomery
Murder Mystery Weekend by Bruce Beckham
Captain Bjorn by Anyta Sunday and Dru Wellington - I snagged this book for free, no longer free after seeing it shared by one of the Celebrity Reader's (at least I'm pretty sure this is the freebie they shared that I one-clicked this week. I should take better notes). 
Dark Stranger: The Children of the Gods by I.T. Lucas
Among Wolves by Jordan Vezina
The Delphi Resistance by Rysa Walker - I snagged this book on sale for just $1.99 (still on sale) because I already own the first book in the trilogy and this is the second. 
Fawkes by Nadine Brandes - I snagged this beauty on sale for just $1.99 (still on sale) because I just absolutely fell in love with the cover. And the blurb sounds pretty good too. 
Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra - I snagged this beauty on sale for just $1.99 (still on sale) because the cover and blurb really drew me in. 
The Architect's Key by Edward Evans
The Inn at Blue Hollow Falls by Donna Kauffman - I snagged this on sale for just 99 cents (no longer on sale) because it's a Christmas book, and I need to increase my Christmas book stockpile for the 12 Books of Christmas Reading Challenge this year. 
If Sin Dwells Deep by David Michael Williams
Life, Love and the Pursuit of: I Won't Give Up, if You Don't Give Up by Acamea Deadwiler
Dark Moon Fell by Mari Biella
A Pledge of Silence by Flora J. Solomon - I snagged this book on sale for just $1.99 (no longer on sale) because it's set during WWII and I buy all the books set during that time period. 

So that's all the new books that I've added to my virtual shelves this past week. What new beauties have you picked up? - Katie 

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to leave a link to your post below so I can stop by and see all your new books when I have a free moment.*

For more info or to sign up, click here.

12 Books of Christmas 2018 Challenge List

It's that time again, y'all. I am hosting the second annual 12 Books of Christmas reading challenge, and what kind of host would I be if I didn't also participate? You can find more details about the challenge here, but the basic idea is to try and read and review twelve holiday themed books between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which gives you just over a month to get it done. But I also understand that not everyone can read twelve books in a month (last year I only managed to read and review four holiday themed books during the challenge myself) so I have created four achievement levels so that anyone who wants to participate may, regardless of how much time they have to read themselves. 

So last year I ended up being in the middle of a trans-Atlantic move during the challenge (and I'm totally blaming that entirely on my failure to achieve Santa Status), so theoretically I should be able to do much better this year. Except I have picked up several new clients for my proofreading business since last year and I don't think I can talk them all into writing me holiday novellas to proofread so that I can achieve Santa Status and still work too. So in spite of the fact that I really want to be able to read twelve holiday books between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm only shooting for Reindeer Status this year. But I'm still going to list a full twelve books that I'd like to read this holiday season. 

The Christmas Star by Donna VanLiere

The Christmas Tree Guy by Railyn Stone

Christmas in London by Anita Hughes

Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle

The Christmas Wishing Tree by Emily March

Christmas at the Vicarage by Rebecca Boxall

Sugar Pine Trail by RaeAnne Thayne

A Cold Creek Noel by RaeAnne Thayne

The Christmas Cottage by Samantha Chase

Christmas at the Castle by Melissa McClone

A Cotswald Christmas by Kate Hewitt

The Christmas Cookie Shop by Ginny Baird

So there's my list of twelve potential holiday themed books to read this upcoming holiday season. If I'm lucky, I'll get to all twelve of them (or I'll at least read twelve holiday themed books. I've got 392 books in my Amazon library that show up with a search for Christmas, so I have options). 

Will you be joining me in the 12 Books of Christmas Reading Challenge this year? You can sign up here! - Katie 

*Book Blogger Hop* 14 September 2018

We are on to a new week for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the lovely folks over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This weeks questions is:

What author do you not read and why? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

Short answer, Faleen Hopkins because of #CockyGate (this is a time where pre-building posts is AMAZING because I'm writing this in May when all of this is fresh, and now I can remember it in September). If you did not hear about #CockyGate and it has completely blown over by now, I bet you can still find out all about it by searching the hashtag on Facebook and Twitter. It was a big hullabaloo when it was going down though, and sets a very dangerous precedent, so I absolutely refuse to read anything by Ms. Hopkins.

But there are other authors that I just don't read because they write in genres that I tend to not prefer. These authors include Dean Koontz, James Patterson, and J.D. Robb among many others. I'm sure these are great authors, but I don't tend to enjoy the genres they write in in general, so I just don't read them.

What about you? Are there any authors you don't read? - Katie

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and check out your answer.*

*Stacking the Shelves* 8 September 2018

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up the past two weeks (I skipped last week because it was my anniversary and I felt like maybe I should spend the day with my husband instead of working on my blog). All Goodreads First Reads ebook wins unless otherwise specified.

Slither by Valerie Savage Kinney - I snagged this book for free (no longer free) when I saw the author share it on Facebook. 
The Last Relicuin by Hargus Montgomery
Life Love Fun Living in Australia: Part 2 by Beverly Dowdell
Paradise: A Michael Quinn Short Story by Kevin Scott Olson
Consequential Damages by Joseph Hayes
The Miracle Donut by Mark Zona
Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell
When You Can't Stop by James W. Hall
Life Lessons of a Prodigal Son: A True Story of Dreams from God by Moses Elijah
Becoming Charlie: Part 1 by Kristie Haigwood - I snagged this for free (no longer free) after seeing the author share it on Facebook. 
Fire Master by Rhonda Denise Johnson
Warcross by Marie Lu - I snagged this beauty on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). I've had my eye on this book for quite some time now, so finding it on sale was a major bonus for me. 
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey - I snagged this on sale for just $1.99 (no longer on sale, but only $2.99 now). The Dragonriders of Pern series was one of my favorite series in middle school (my mom owned most of them), and I'd really like to read them again at some point. 
The Neuromorphs by Dennis Meredith - I snagged this for free (no longer free). I'm not quite sure how I found out about this book, but the cover really drew me in so I just had to one click it. 
Beyond Boundaries by Bela Kaul
Signal Box Tales by Dermot O'Hanlon
Lying by Cat Phoenix
The Bold Trail by L.R. Pendleton
At Death Do Us Part: A Grieving Widower Attains Healing After the Loss of his Wife to Cancer by Frederick Marx
The Baker's Secret by Stephanie P. Kiernan - I snagged this audiobook on sale for just $5.95 because it's set during WWII, and as we should all know by now, I'm absolutely fascinated by the time period. 
Wonder by R.J. Palacio - I got this audiobook on sale for just $5.95 because my son wants the movie tie-in edition from his Scholastic book order, and I think having the audiobook as well for him to listen to would be a good thing. 
Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks - I got this audiobook on sale for just $5.95. I've heard great things about this book and it's narrated by the author, so that's an added bonus to having the audiobook. 
Fallout Stories by Michael Andre-Driussi
How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry - I snagged this book on sale for just $1.99 (still on sale) because I'd guaranteed a copy through Penguin's First to Read program, but my loan expired before I had time to read it, and I still want to. 
Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life by Sarah Clarkson
Eternity is Now in Session by John Ortberg
Plebeian Reborn by Debbie K. Lum
Magic with Skin On by Morgan Nikola-Wren
A Familiar Solution by Julie Wetzel - I snagged this book on sale for just 99 cents (no longer on sale) because it's basically written about my arch-nemesis. 
Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation by Chris Stuckmann, Ernest Cline, and Alicia Malone
Kinetic by Anna Durand
Nothing Ventured, Everything Gained by Dileep Rao
The Facts of the Matter by David Parish
Emma by Jane Austen - I was able to get this Audible Original audiobook for free because audible has changed their membership benefits slightly. Now every month I get my one free credit and can choose two audible originals from the selection offered on the first Friday of each month. I'm still deciding what I want to get for my second Audible Original this month. 

So that's all the books I've picked up the past two weeks. What new books have you added to your shelves lately? - Katie 

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and visit when I have some time.*