Stacking the Shelves #7

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week. 

Hello Lovelies! Weekend is finally upon us and my library has grown again during the weekdays.

I purchased two ebooks this week, one of my requests got accepted on NetGalley, I recieved a blog tour e-ARC and I also downloaded a new Eighth Doctor audio adventure. I don't have a reason to complain, none whatsoever.

Without further ado, behold this week's newcomers:

Purchased: 

Title: Blackmail, Sex and Lies

Author: Kathryn McMaster 

Source: Amazon

Goodreads

Blackmail, Sex and Lies is a Victorian murder mystery that is based on true events. 

Frankly, I've never heard of Madeleine Smith before, but people has apparently believed her to a be a murderess since 1857. All we know is that a love triangle got resolved with a murder in that year and it probably came naturally to people to blame a girl who had the indecency to show interest in a working class fellow... But I'm jumping ahead, making guesses. I'll read this book to get to know the story and Kathryn McMaster's opinion on who dun it.

Title: The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls

Author: Emilie Autumn

Source: Amazon

Goodreads

I say I purchased it, but that's not entirely true. The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls was free on Amazon a couple of days ago so if you check, there is a chance you can still download it, and it won't cost you a penny.

Two girls, both shut away in an asylum share a special bond through time in this book. I'm curious how the author connected the two worlds!

Title: The Natural History of Fear

Writer: Jim Mortimore

Source: Big Finish Productions

Goodreads

I decided to continue listening to the main range Eighth Doctor Audio Adventures. If some of you don't know yet, I'm a Whovian and Eight is one of my favourite Doctors. I actually met Paul McGann at one point, so yeah, I'm a fan.

I quit listening to these a while back, but I'm in the mood again, which means you can expect to see a few audio adventure reviews later on the blog.

ARCs:

Title: Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1)

Author: L. Penelope

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads

I've read excerpts from Song of Blood & Stone and I know it's beautifully written. The protagonist, Jasminda, falls in love with an enemy spy and together they try to stop the war that threatens to tear their world apart. There is also magical singing involved according to the synopsis. I can't wait to see how Jasminda and Jack work together towards their mutual goal.

Title: Hiding

Author: Jenny Morton Potts 

Source: b00k r3vi3w Tours

Goodreads

I'm excited to be part of this tour because I haven't read a psychological thriller in a while.

Hiding tells the story of two families whose story is somehow intertwined. It has an intriguing premise and its cover is breathtaking. It's partly set in Scotland. Need I say more? I've only read the synopsis and I'm already hooked... The tour is scheduled between April 2-6, so you can expect a review from me around that time period.

What books did you put your hands on this week?  Let me know in a comment below!

Happy reading!

Stacking the Shelves #6

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

I purchased a graphic novel and a novel this week (well, exactly a week ago) in London. I didn't buy more books, because I couldn't have crammed them in my luggage... unfortunately. But I'm really happy for these!

Title: Doctor Who: Supremacy of the Cybremen
      
Author: George Mann, Cavan Scott

Illustrations: Alessandro Vitti

Synopsis: Exiled from Gallifrey at the very end of Time, Rassilon, fallen leader of the Time Lords, has been captured by the last of the Cybermen. Now the Cybermen have access to time travel. With it, every defeat is now a victory. Every foe is now dead -- or Cyberised.

The Legions march across time and space, leaving devastation and converted civilisations in their wake, their numbers growing with every world that falls. Evolving. Upgrading. Reconfiguring. All seems lost. Forever.
 

Can the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors - each battling the Cybermen alone, on a different temporal front - undo the damage that has been wrought on the universe, before they are converted themselves? Or is this how the universe dies? Not in fire, but in cold, unfeeling metal...

A multi-Doctor treat that I really need right now. And I LOVE the cover!!

Title: The Savage Garden
      
Author: Mark Mills

Synopsis:

Tuscany, 1958

Behind a villa in the heart of Tuscany lies a Renaissance garden of enchanting beauty. Its grottoes, pagan statues and classical inscriptions seem to have a secret life of their own - and a secret message, too, for those with eyes to read it.

Young scholar Adam Strickland is just such a person. Arriving in 1958, he finds the Docci family, their house and the unique garden as seductive as each other. But post-War Italy is still a strange, even dangerous, place and the Doccis have some dark skeletons hidden away in their past.

Before this mysterious and beautiful summer ends, Adam will uncover two stories of love, revenge and murder, separated by 400 years... but is another tragedy about to be added to the villa's cursed history?

I borrowed this one from the library last year in London but didn't get around to reading it, so it landed back in the library eventually, unread. Now that I own it I don't have to worry about having to part with it. It has a haunting cover, hasn't it?

What books did you add to your collection this week?

Happy reading!

Stacking the Shelves #5

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

I became the happy owner of two e-books this week:

Title: Girl in Disguise

Author: Greer Macallister

Source: NetGalley

Synopsis:

 

For the first female Pinkerton detective, respect is hard to come by. Danger, however, is not.

In the tumultuous years of the Civil War, the streets of Chicago offer a woman mostly danger and ruin-unless that woman is Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton detective and a desperate widow with a knack for manipulation.

Descending into undercover operations, Kate is able to infiltrate the seedy side of the city in ways her fellow detectives can't. She's a seductress, an exotic foreign medium, or a rich train passenger, all depending on the day and the robber, thief, or murderer she's been assigned to nab.

Inspired by the real story of Kate Warne, this spirited novel follows the detective's rise during one of the nation's greatest times of crisis, bringing to life a fiercely independent woman whose forgotten triumphs helped sway the fate of the country.

My prayers were answered and the publisher sent me the book at last... I was waiting for it eagerly as you know. Look out for my review on March 25!

Title: Witch's Sacrifice

 

Author: Crissy Moss

Source: NetGalley

Synopsis: Her forbidden secret will make her powerful… and hunted. In Marizza's world, magic is evil. Since her youth, her mother told her witches were wicked creatures who deserved imprisonment. The tyrannical acolytes sacrificed all users of magic to the almighty kraken. It was the life she knew, until one fateful day changed everything.

When young Marizza is attacked by the town bully, she defends herself with magical abilities she didn't even know she had. After the acolytes come looking for the next witch to sacrifice, Marizza is left with no choice but to flee. She must journey across the Sea of Tears, where she'll make a choice that could transform the lives of everyone she loves.

Witch's Sacrifice is the first book in the Witch's Trilogy, a young adult dark fantasy series featuring intricate world-building, memorable characters, chilling horror, and captivating romance.

 

 RELEASE THE KRAKEN! Witches and waterworld sounds like a good combination to me. Although with this book I'll break my resolution that I won't start another series until I finish at least one that I have already started. Well, apparently I suck at keeping resolutions, maybe I shouldn't make them in the first place, haha :)

Stacking the Shelves #4

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

I have three e-books to show you this week.

Title: Bohermore

Author: Jennifer Rose McMahon

Source: NetGalley

Synopsis:

'When your dreams become reality, being cursed can be a real nightmare.'

Like a punch in the face, eighteen-year-old Maeve O'Malley's visions knock her off her path. The Pirate Queen stalking Maeve in her dreams, killed her mother years ago, and now is coming for her.

Maeve's decision to ditch Boston College takes everyone by surprise as she packs her bags, leaves Boston, and heads to the west coast of Ireland to chase her dreams – and end them.

Maeve uncovers an ancient family curse that refuses to remain silent until she accepts her predestined role in what many thought was only legend. Her Irish history professor – a man she shouldn't be falling for – is the only person who understands the origin of the tormenting events.

Maeve's journey becomes a medieval treasure hunt through Ireland's castles and ruins as she tracks the wrathful Pirate Queen who has her marked for vengeance...

I'm excited for this one, because it's set in Ireland and the protagonist is going to go on castle tours... sort of. Who can that mysterious Pirate Queen be? 

 

Title: The Cult of Unicorns (Penny White #2)

Author: Chrys Cymri

Source: the author

Synopsis:

Raven's ears flicked. 'Dragons aren't known for their patience.'

'More is the pity, ' said the unicorn. 'Father Penny and I were about to amicably settle our differences. A dragon invading our home vastly complicates matters.'

Five months ago my life was changed forever when I learned about Lloegyr, the sister nation to England on the magical parallel world of Daear. Thrilling rides on Raven, a darkly beautiful search dragon, break up the monotony of my life as the priest of a small village church. Nor are things dull at home, not with a sarcastic gryphon, a snail shark, and my younger brother all sharing my living space. And then there's Peter, the almost too perfect police inspector who enjoys Doctor Who and single malt whisky as much as I do.

But Lloegyr is facing its own struggles. As various races such as dragons, gryphons, elves, vampires, and harpies flood to the rapidly growing cities, they all trust the unicorns to act as peace makers. But dead humans are turning up in the city of Northampton, with wounds which only a long spiral horn could have made...

Chrys Cymri was kind enough to send me the next book in the Penny White series (Yesssssss!). Can't wait to join Penny, Morey the gryphon, Raven the dragon and the rest of the team for another adventure.

 Title: The Lady and the Highlander

Author: Lecia Cornwall

Source: NetGalley

Synopsis:

Laire MacLeod’s father has married a mysterious widow who is a vain beauty that deals with potions and spells. Laire does not drink them with the rest of her family and is the only one who could see through her stepmother’s games. When Laire flees to find help from her Uncle the Lady’s huntsman follows her with orders to kill. Laire must survive in a dangerous new city and find the antidote to a poisonous potion before it is too late.

Iain Lindsay is cursed. He is bound for seven years to be the hunter of a Lady who uses him to bring back birds to use in her potions. When Laire MacLeod escapes the Lady’s nets, Iain tracks her to Edinburgh, where she’s found shelter with an unusual band of thieves, but he cannot bring himself to harm her. Instead, he finds himself falling in love with the MacLeod beauty.
But a Highlander’s oath is his bond, and the price for helping her is death, both his own, and of those he loves.

I'm still not awfully keen on fairy tales but who knows? Maybe a pinch of Scottish charm can put that right...

Stacking the Shelves #3

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week.

This week I received two physical copies through the post, both of them I ordered online:

Title: El Príncipe de la Niebla (The Prince of Mist)

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Synopsis:

In 1943, Max Carver's father – a watchmaker and inventor – decides to move his family to a small town on the coast, to an abandoned house that holds many secrets and stories of its own. Behind the house Max discovers an overgrown garden surrounded by a metal fence topped with a six-pointed star. In the centre is a large statue of a clown set in another six-pointed star.

As the family settles in they grow increasingly uneasy: Max’s sister Alicia has disturbing dreams while his other sister, Irina, hears voices whispering to her from an old wardrobe. With his new friend Roland, Max also discovers the wreck of a boat that sank many years ago in a terrible storm. Everyone on board perished except for one man - an engineer who built the lighthouse at the end of the beach.

As they learn more about the wreck, the chilling story of a legendary figure called the Prince of Mist begins to emerge...

The Prince of Mist is the first book in Carlos Ruiz Zafón's middle grade series called Niebla (means fog or mist in Spanish). I've decided to start this series because I absolutely adored The Shadow of the Wind – find my review here – and I think it's time for me to start reading in Spanish as well (I've done a language exam but I've still got a lot to learn).

The three books in the series:

• The Prince of Mist
• The Midnight Palace
• The Watcher in the Shadows

Title: Joseph Severn – A Life: The Rewards of Friendship

Author: Sue Brown

Joseph Severn was a painter and a very dear friend of John Keats. I have a personal little project in progress that is about discovering those people's life and work that gathered around Leigh Hunt in the 1810s and thus were part of the literary/art circle of the era. I have mentioned before on this blog before that I love the Romantics and this purchase is just another proof of that.

This is my haul for now. What books did you put your hands on this week?

And another question for today:

Have you ever read a book in a language that is not English and not your mother tongue?

Stacking the Shelves #2

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves - physical or virtual - during the week.

Got through a book exchange site:

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

The main character has my name, so I'm very excited to read this. Also, I haven't read anything from Nicholas Sparks so far, it's time to change that.

Purchased:

Blood & Beauty, A Novel of the Borgias by Sarah Dunant

A beautiful book about a deliciously scandalous family. 

The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe

'Cause I don't read nearly as much poetry as I should.

When I look at these beauties I feel absolutely chuffed *bursts with joy*.

What about you? What books have you received/purchased/borrowed this week? Please, share with me in a comment below if you like! :)

Stacking the Shelves #1

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves - physical or virtual - during the week.

This week two books I ordered from BookDepository arrived at last:

Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee: I'd like to read more modern (20th century) plays and this one seems to be a good one to start with. 

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier: I heard nothing but good things about this series and this book particularly, and since I should read more fantasy books for my challenge it's very likely I'll start Daughter of the Forest soon.

I made a trip to the university library on Monday and since I finished watching The Borgias not long ago, of course I had to put my hands on something connected to The Family:

The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis

I'd like to read this in the next month or so as well.

So that's it, these are all the books I got this week. Let me know what books YOU added to YOUR shelves in a comment below! :)