January Book Haul

My goal to read two books from my TBR shelf for every one that I add to it (and read those two before I add a new one) is off to a terrible start. Here's my video of the books I've received so far this year. 

Books mentioned:
The Night Lies Bleeding by M. D. Lachlan (Gollancz, 22/2/2018)
What Fresh Hell by Lucy Vine (Orion, 8/3/2018)
Doing It by Hannah Witton (out now)
Snakewood by Adrian Selby (out now)
Flying Tips for Flightless Birds by Kelly McCaughrain (Walker Books, 1/3/2018)
The Goose Road by Rowena House (Walker Books, 5/4/2018)
White Rabbit Red Wolf: This Story Is A Lie by Tom Pollock (Walker Books, 7/6/2018)

What books have you received recently? Have you read any of these or got them in your TBR pile?
-Ailsa

May & June Book Haul

I'm going to try over the summer to do more of the things I enjoy, rather than just getting home from work and slumping in front of the tv - so that includes regular blog and booktube posts! Here's my May & June book haul.

Have you read any of these books? What books have you bought/borrowed/been given recently? Let me know in the comments!

~Ailsa

March & April Book Haul

I haven't posted many book haul type posts for a while, because mostly they go onto my BookTube channel and I forget that I haven't talked about the books here on the blog, too. I don't think that's going to change, but I will start cross-posting my videos more often, and you might see more 'book post' type posts on my Instagram.
Anyway, here is my epic March & April book haul, featuring some excellent books from the Orion Blogger Fest, amongst other things!

What books have you received recently?

Stacking the Shelves: February Book Haul part 1

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews as a way to share books you've received recently. 

Between things I've bought, been given, borrowed, and got from work, I've got quite a stack of books this month! I know we're not quite at the end of February yet but I'm going to break it into two haul posts and do the other one next week.

I went on a 'London Bookshop Crawl' a couple of weeks ago, visiting lots of independent bookshops, organised by Bex at An Armchair By The Sea. I was very restrained and came home with two books:

The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers. I've seen so many people talking
about this book and loving it since it cam out, I had to give it a go. It's space opera, I'm a couple of chapters in and really enjoying it so far.







Vendetta, by Gail Z Martin. Second book in an urban fantasy series, the main character is a
psychometric who runs an antique shop and takes dangerous magical objects out of public circulation.




A couple more books I'm very excited about are:
Dumplin, by Julie Murphy. I've seen great reviews from a lot of US book bloggers about this, and it just came out in the UK. Hopefully I'll get to reading this one soon.






Beyond Ruin, by Kit Rocha. The latest book in the 'Beyond' series, this one is
an ARC and comes out on Tuesday. I'll be doing a release day post with a giveaway, so come back on Tuesday to enter!






And then there were these, which I don't know much about (with the exception of the Julia Kagawa books, which my friend Karen has been raving about for years), but they sounded good, and were in the freebie box at work:

My final book is one my Dad got me, and that's The Death Of Dulgath, by Michael J. Sullivan. It's book 3 of the Riyria Chronicles. I haven't read the rest of the series yet, but my parents (who got me in to reading fantasy in the first place) have all of his other books and love them. 

What books did you get recently? Have you read any of these? Don't forget to come back on Tuesday for the Beyond series giveaway!

~Ailsa

Stacking the Shelves: January Book Haul

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to share the books you have got recently.

It's been a couple of weeks since I did a book haul post, so here's everything I got in January:

Books mentioned:
The Rest Of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness
Always The Bridesmaid, by Lindsey Kelk
The Queen's Choice, by Anne O'Brien
The Shock Of The Fall, by Nathan Filer
Prudence, by Gail Carriger
The Boy Who Wept Blood by Den Patrick
The Girl On The Liar's Throne by Den Patrick
Just Like Heaven, by Julia Quinn
An Offer From A Gentleman, by Julia Quinn

What books have you read recently?

~Ailsa

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews as a way to share the books you've acquired in the last week.

I received three books this week, all of which I'm looking forward to reading.

First, 'The Queen's Choice' by Anne O'Brian
Description: France, 1399: The Duke of Brittany is dead and his widow, Joanna of Navarre, has inherited control of their land - a testament to her intellect, integrity and political prowess. Then comes an unprecedented proposal from Henry IV, King of England. The price of becoming his Queen? Abandoning her homeland, leaving her children and sacrificing her independence. Henry’s hold on the crown is unsteady and war is brewing. With the constant threat of rebellion, Henry will trust no-one – not even his new Queen. Crossing the channel is a dangerous prospect. But the union between Joanna and Henry would bring the chance of a vital alliance between two proud states – if they will allow it.
One question. Two paths. A choice that will make history.

Second, 'Always The Bridesmaid' by Lindsey Kelk
Description: Maddie Fraser has never been anything other than the girl in the background: golden boy Dan’s little sister, crazy Shona’s minion, workaholic Sebastian’s ex and now she’s also the girl in the middle of her warring best friends.

Lauren has announced she’s getting married – just as Sarah’s husband asks her for a divorce. Nothing in Maddie’s career in event organising has prepared her for this particular combo of planning and real pain. The news that her ex is also tying the knot is the final straw. While the magazines say she should be leaning in, all she wants to do is sleep in. But whether she likes it or not, everything is about to change for Maddie. For better or worse, this grown-up bridesmaid is taking centre stage… 

The third book is Prudence, by Gail Carrier. I've already read & reviewed this one, but I had a library copy. I got this one from someone who attended the recent 'Drink YA' event in London, which was a lot of fun and I'll be blogging about it tomorrow. You can see my review of Prudence here.

Which books did you get this week?

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to share the books you've bought, borrowed or been given recently.

This week I have one book - I joined my local library and they have LOADS of great ebooks and audiobooks that you can borrow! I didn't want to get too carried away, so I picked one to start with which I've been wanting to read for ages - The Rest Of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness:

I've also been reading a book I'll be part of a blog tour for this week, which honestly I'm not loving, but you'll hear about it in my review.
And then there have been a few books I've read from work - these are fun to read on the tube during my commute, but none of them so far are particularly stand-out books, and as I work for the publisher I think it would be a bit... not okay? for me to say bad things about books we've published! At the same time I'm absolutely not going to lie in reviews and say I liked something just because I work for the company, so my policy with these books for now is going to be that I just won't talk about them unless I genuinely loved a book and think people should check it out.

What have you been reading this week? Leave your links in the comments & I'll check them out!

~Ailsa

Stacking The Shelves: December Edition

Welcome to Stacking the Shelves! StS is a weekly meme hosted at Tynga's Reviews.

I haven't received or bought many books this month - I'm trying really hard to cut down on books I buy until I've cut my TBR pile down a bit. I had a big life change this month as well: I moved from Scotland to London, and started working at a publisher.

I do get books from work now but I haven't quite decided if I'm going to feature or review them on the blog or my Youtube channel so for now I'm leaving them out. So here are the three books I got in December:

All Of The Above, by James Dawson - I won this from George Lester's Youtube channel and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it. It's about Toria, a girl going in to her penultimate year of high school, starting at a new place in a town her family have just moved to. It's about friendship, eating disorders, self harm, figuring out your sexuality, and a whole lot of other stuff - basically being a seventeen year old at high school! I'll review this one properly soon, but I really think James hit the nail on the head with what the experience of being that age is like. It's not neat and tidy, there's always a lot going on.





Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone illustrated edition - this one was a Christmas present from
my parents, it's the only book I asked them for, but I wasn't expecting to actually get it - it's quite expensive for a book. It's so beautiful and I really like it. The illustrations bring it to life in a new way - some similarities to how things are shown in the film, and some things which are more like how I imagined scenes, or something totally new. If you're a Harry Potter fan, I highly recommend this one.

London Falling, by Paul Cornell - I also got vouchers for audiobooks for Christmas, and this is the book I chose. I've just started it so I'll talk more about it in a review when I'm finished. It's about a London police team dealing with a magical suspect.









What books did you get in December? Leave your links in the comments and I'll check them out!

~Ailsa

August Book Haul & Reading Wrap Up

Hello! I'm kind of combining Video Day & Stacking The Shelves this week - here's my August book haul & reading wrap up :)

Have you read any of these?

~Ailsa

Stacking the Shelves: London Book Haul

Good morning everyone! I've mentioned I spent a couple of weeks in London doing work experience at Penguin Random House earlier this month (and I'll blog about that soon). You won't be surprised that I picked up a few books while I was in the city :-)

Most of these are published by PRH and were free copies but I also went to 'Fantasy In The Court' hosted by Goldsboro Books and Hodderscape, where I bought another book as well. I've listed them below the video if you prefer to read about them.

Mountain Rescue - I love to ski and so do my family, so I thought this would be an interesting read to share with them. It's non fiction, about accidents in the mountains of New Zealand.

Hiroshima - This was originally published in a New York paper shortly after the disaster & tells the stories of some survivors. It's very short and I've almost finished reading it.

Highbridge, by Phil Redmond - This is a crime novel, set in Northern England, by someone who has done a lot of writing for TV in the UK. I don't know much about it but as this one doesn't come out until January, I'm not going to read it just yet.

In A Dark Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware - This is a brand new thriller which I've finished reading already. I really enjoyed it, and just realised I haven't done a written review yet, but you can find my video review by clicking here.

Watch The Lady, by Elizabeth Fremantle - Historical fiction, similar to Philippa Gregory. I haven't started it yet but I'm hoping to get to it later in September.

Vowed, by Liz de Jager - This is the one I bought, it's the sequel to Banished and follows Kit as she
tries to sort out some badly behaved fae in England. I'm reading it at the moment and will definitely be reviewing it when I'm done.


So that's all of my books this week! If you want to join the link up for Stacking The Shelves, you can do so on Tynga's blog.


Have you read any of these? Leave me the links for your own book haul posts and I will have a look at them :-)

~Ailsa

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, to share the books you got this week.

Last week the publisher Hachette UK ran an 'Insight Into Publishing' day with talks from staff in a variety of departments giving more information about what their jobs involve. I was lucky enough to be there and apart from it being a really interesting day, we got a couple of free books!

First there was an ebook of 'A Man Called Ove' by Fredrik Backman. I don't really know much about this one and I haven't started it yet, but since it's an ebook, it'll be one of my 'back up books' on holiday next week. Here's the description: At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots - neighbours who can't reverse a trailer properly, joggers, shop assistants who talk in code, and the perpetrators of the vicious coup d'etat that ousted him as Chairman of the Residents' Association. He will persist in making his daily inspection rounds of the local streets. But isn't it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed? Such unswerving conviction about what the world should be, and a lifelong dedication to making it just so? In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible...

Next we got a paperback copy of The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith. This is a crime novel, the sequel to A Cuckoo's Calling, and while I haven't read the first one, I started reading this on the tube and it seems good so far. I'm thinking of taking it on holiday and finishing it there. It's about a private investigator who is looking in to the disappearance of an author, then the author turns up murdered. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.


Finally, while I was in London I caved in & bought the latest Psy/Changeling novel - Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh. This is the 14th book in the series and follows two of the Arrow Squad, the elite soldiers who protect Psy. I loved this book and will review it very soon.

What books did you get this week?

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to talk about the books you've received recently. 

I've got four books to talk about today, and only one of them I actually bought, the rest I'm borrowing from my boyfriend and Dad. I love being able to share books with people! :)

I've recently started doing Youtube videos again, after watching some 'book tube' videos & seeing how happy and enthusiastic everyone is, so here is my latest 'book haul' video that I made for there. It covers some books I've talked about here in a previous StS post, and misses out my most recent purchase. My written thoughts are below the video if you prefer that :)



First book I borrowed from Dad is 'The Girl On The Train' by Paula Hawkins. I've seen a lot of fuss about this one and it's a strong bestseller so I'm interested to check it out.

Next, also borrowed from Dad, is 'All The Light We Cannot See' by Anthony Doerr. It's about a young blind girl living in Paris who then evacuates to the coast with her father when the German army moves on Paris during the Second World War. I'm looking forward to reading this one soon.

Then there's 'Ancillary Justice' by Ann Leckie. This is a science fiction story that has won a whole load of awards. I've read the first couple of chapters and I'm hoping to finish it this week and post a review.

Finally I bought 'A Darker Shade Of Magic' by V. E. Schwab the other day. I've seen reviews on loads of blogs this spring and my friend was kind enough to tell me Amazon had it on sale, so I've got that waiting on my Kindle app for when I have time. Too many print books to read just now but I'll hopefully get to it later in the summer.


Which books did you get this week?

~Ailsa

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's reviews to show off the books you've borrowed, bought or been given this week.


I haven't done this for a couple of weeks, so here are my books. The first is an ebook. The other two I got this week in Edinburgh. I told myself "I can't buy more books!" But I was hunting around the charity shops for a new jacket, and found a couple of things I couldn't resist. It's money going to charity so it doesn't count as buying books ;-). All links go to goodreads.

 Leave Your Mark, by Aliza Licht. This one is a bit different for me. It's non-fiction, sort of half advice book, half autobiography of Aliza Licht who is the head of public relations for DKNY. I saw a few promotional excerpts for this one, and since I'm applying for publishing jobs just now, I thought it would be useful to see her advice. I'll be reviewing this one sometime in June I expect.

Clariel by Garth Nix. I love Garth Nix and his 'Old Kingdom' series is one I come back to re-read again and again. Clariel is set many years (a couple of hundred, I think) before the events of Sabriel. I think it might even be set before Touchstone is born, but I can't quite remember. I'm very excited to read this, I'll be getting to it very soon. And the shop had it for just £2 for the hardback! Can you blame me for buying it?

Natural Causes, by James Oswald. This is a crime novel, set in Scotland, written by a Scottish author. And yes, that is Edinburgh on the cover, for the curious. It appeals to me for all of those reasons! It started as a self published novel but he eventually picked up an agent who sold the series to Penguin. He's now also got a fantasy series being released, which I'd love to read too. This is definitely going to be coming on holiday with me this summer, if I don't end up reading it sooner!

Have you read any of these books? What did you get this week?

~Ailsa

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. 

I'm back staying with a friend who has a brilliant college library. I'm making good use of his library card! So here are the books I got this week. All title links go to goodreads.

Not pictured: First Test by Tamora Pierce. (Check my review here!)

Protector of the Small: Page, by Tamora Pierce. This is the sequel to First Test, and I'll probably read it and the rest of the sequence this week. 

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. This has been a huge bestseller in the UK since it was released last year, and it sounds intriguing with a dolls house making things happen. I thought I would give it a look. 

Honor's Knight, by Rachel Bach. This is book 2 in a trilogy. I read the first one in the autumn and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. It's more sci-fi than I'd normally read but I enjoyed book 1.

The Witch With No Name, by Kim Harrison. The last book in the Hollows series!! Nooo!! I'm really excited to see how things finish for these characters though. 

Prudence, by Gail Carriger. It doesn't have the dust jacket on, so I didn't spot it on the shelf at first! Book 1 of a new series from Ms. Carriger. I love her writing and this was one of my 'Waiting on Wednesday' picks the other week so I was very excited to find it here. I'll probably review this later this week. 

Leave me your links and I'll check out the books you got.

~Ailsa

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's reviews. 

I've actually had 'Farlander' for a while, but my Dad has been saying I should read it, so it's been rescued from the depths of my TBR shelf. The other two were also lent to me by my Dad.


Farlander, by Col Buchanan. The Heart of the World is a land in strife. For fifty years the Holy Empire of Mann, an empire and religion born from a nihilistic urban cult, has been conquering nation after nation. Their leader, Holy Matriarch Sasheen, ruthlessly maintains control through her Diplomats, priests trained as subtle predators.
Ash is a member of an elite group of assassins, the Roshun, who offer protection through the threat of vendetta. Forced by his ailing health to take on an apprentice, he chooses Nico, a young man living in the besieged city of Bar-Khos. At the time, Nico is hungry, desperate, and alone in a city that finds itself teetering on the brink.
When the Holy Matriarch's son deliberately murders a woman under the protection of the Roshun, he forces the sect to seek his life in retribution. Ash and his young apprentice set out to fulfill the mandate, and their journey takes them into the heart of the conflict between the Empire and the Free Ports...into bloodshed and death.

Blood Song, by Anthony Ryan. We have fought battles that left more than a hundred corpses on the ground and not a word of it has ever been set down. The Order fights, but often it fights in shadow, without glory or reward. We have no banners.
Vaelin Al Sorna's life changes forever the day his father abandons him at the gates of the Sixth Order, a secretive military arm of the Faith. Together with his fellow initiates, Vaelin undertakes a brutal training regime - where the price of failure is often death. Under the tutelage of the Order's masters, he learns how to forge a blade, survive the wilds and kill a man quickly and quietly.
Now his new skills will be put to the test. War is coming. Vaelin is the Sixth Order's deadliest weapon and the Realm's only hope. He must draw upon the very essence of his strength and cunning if he is to survive the coming conflict. Yet as the world teeters on the edge of chaos, Vaelin will learn that the truth can cut deeper than any sword.

Ice Forged, by Gail Z Martin. Condemned as a murderer for killing the man who dishonored his sister, Blaine "Mick" McFadden has spent the last six years in Velant, a penal colony in the frigid northern wastelands of Edgeland. Harsh military discipline and the oppressive magic of the governor's mages keep a fragile peace as colonists struggle against a hostile environment. But the supply ships from Dondareth have stopped coming, boding ill for the kingdom that banished the colonists.
Now, McFadden and the people of Velant decide their fate. They can remain in their icy prison, removed from the devastation of the outside world, but facing a subsistence-level existence, or they can return to the ruins of the kingdom that they once called home. Either way, destruction lies ahead...


What books did you get this week? Share your links in the comments and I'll check them out!

~Ailsa

Stacking the Shelves/Letterbox Love

StS is hosted by Tynga's reviews, and Letterbox Love was started by Lynsey at Narratively Speaking. 

I said in my last StS/LL post that there is a great library here. I picked up a few more this week.

A Murder of Crows, by Anne Bishop. #2 in the Others series. I read book one at the start of the summer and loved it, and book 2 is just as good. I'm racing through this one at the moment and will probably post a review soon. Meg and her friends are trying to figure out why Crows are being attacked.








Lola & the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins. I loved Anna & the French Kiss, and I've been
looking forward to reading this one. I know it'll be a quick read, so I was happy to find it in a library. May or may not review, we'll see.

Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo. #1 in the Grisha trilogy. This was one of the books I mentioned in the top ten Tuesday about series' I want to start. Looking forward to starting it later this week.









Indexing, by Seanan McGuire. I'm pretty sure this is a standalone story. I love everything by Ms. McGuire that I've read so far, and I like the sound of this one - fairy tale stories can affect the lives of some people, and there's a Bureau trying to help them.







I also borrowed the audiobook of Nalini Singh's 'Kiss of Snow' - it's one of my favourite books in the Psy/Changeling series, and I think the narrator is really good.

So what did you get this week? Have you read any of these books?

Stacking the Shelves/Letterbox Love

 

Hello!

Letterbox Love (from Narratively Speaking) and Stacking the Shelves (from Tynga's Reviews) are memes to share the books you've received this week.

Busy times here, as per usual. I'm in Texas for a few weeks visiting a friend, and the library here is brilliant, they have so many books I want to read! Here are the three I got to start me off. (Links go to Goodreads.)

The Undead Pool, by Kim Harrison. The penultimate book in the hollows series. I've been looking forward to reading this for a while, can't wait to see how it goes, and of course I'm looking forward to seeing how things go between Rachel & Trent in this book. Reading it at the moment, review coming soon.

















Black Arts, by Faith Hunter. (#7 in the Jane Yellowrock series.) Evan Trueblood comes to New Orleans looking for his wife. I started reading this on the bus yesterday, and I'm excited to see how it goes. Getting to see more of the Trueblood family? Yes, please, I love seeing Jane with her 'pack' and it looks like this book might see the mending of some bridges between them.

Fortune's Pawn, by Rachel Bach. 1st in the series. I first heard of this book when I think Ilona Andrews reviewed it on her blog, and I've noticed it in a couple of places since then. Something a little different for me, but I think it'll be interesting.















What books did you get this week? Leave your links in the comments and I'll check them out, and let me know if you've read any of these three!
-Ailsa

Letterbox Love/Stacking the Shelves

 

Hello everyone!
It's a very gloomy Sunday here in Edinburgh, but luckily I have books to cheer me up in my study breaks.

Here's what I got recently:

Before Jamaica Lane, by Samantha Young - book 3 in her 'Dublin Street' series. These are set in Edinburgh, and over all I liked this book. Review coming soon.

Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell. Reading & loving this just now, will definitely be reviewing it very soon.

Hounded, by Kevin Hearn - Book one of the 'Iron Druid Chronicles'. Lots of friends have talked about this series, so I thought I'd check it out.

I also saw that 'The King', the latest Black Dagger Brotherhood book from J. R. Ward was reduced to about £2.50 on amazon at the moment, so I've downloaded that to read sometime. I've read the first chapter and wasn't getting in to it, but I know I'll want to read it sometime.

How about you? What did you get this week?

-Ailsa

Letterbox Love: belated birthday edition

This is a catch-up Letterbox Love/Stacking the Shelves post for the last few weeks, because I've been so busy lately!

 

All links go to Goodreads.
First up, there's the great 'Beyond Jealousy', book 4 in the 'Beyond' series by Kit Rocha. I loved this, and posted my review on Thursday. (Click through to see a contest!)
   

Next, there's 'The Lady Always Wins' by Courtney Milan, a short historical romance story which was free on Kindle for a while. I'll be posting my review for that one this week.

Then there were my birthday books:

'Prince of Thorns' by Mark Lawrence. First in a fantasy series that has been on my wishlist for a few months. I'm planning on taking this on holiday with my in April.

'Half-Off Ragnarok' by Seanan McGuire. 3rd in her InCryptid series. I'm not sure if I'll review this one yet, as I really don't have praises I haven't already said. I love every one of Ms McGuirre's books I've read, and this was no exception.

'Curtsies & Conspiracies' by Gail Carriger. Book 2 in the 'Finishing School' series. I'll probably review this one when I read it, sometime next week after my dissertation is handed in.

'Lunch in Paris' by  Elizabeth Bard. Another that's been on my wishlist for a while. It's been a while since I read any travel stories, so I'm looking forward to this.

Last but by no means least, I was one of the 'Gollancz Geeks' picked out the hat to review this.

'The Boy With The Porcelain Blade' by Den Patrick. I'm reading this at the moment & enjoying it. I think 'gritty fantasy' might be an apt description.

What did you get recently?

-Ailsa

Letterbox Love: another UK author

 

As always, welcome to Letterbox Love/Stacking the Shelves, memes hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Lynsey at Narratively Speaking.

I hadn't planned on buying any books, as I still have a massive pile to read through that I picked up in November at WFC '13, but this book has been on my radar for a while and I noticed that the Kindle edition was really cheap this week - only 79p!

Brighton Belle, by Sara Sheridan.

As you can guess, this is set in the UK, and the author is actually from Edinburgh, where I live! I've read the first couple of chapter, and I'm enjoying it so far. I expect I'll finish it by the end of February or early March. If you're interested, it's still reduced on amazon UK.

What books did you get this week?

~Ailsa