So, I should definitely start this off by saying this haul spans three months, one of which includes my birthday. Typically when I go through a month I only pick up a couple of books or just pre-order a book I’ve had my eye on, but when July comes around I pile up books. It’s just inevitable. I ask for mostly books for birthday, and then also go on an annual book buying spree with my friend, which we generally term a “book adventure”. Both our families know at this point that that just means to expect a lot of books. By the end of August it just has grown until I’ve shocked myself. The following pictures and break down pretty much reflect just how crazy it got this year.
June
June was mostly a month of grabbing some classics to add to my shelves, so I wouldn’t have excuses to not read them. Still have yet to read a classic this year, but we’ll see. The big book of this month was Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh, which was as always a pre-order.
-Beowulf w/annotations from Tolkien
– The Arabian Nights by Anonymous
– Aesop’s Fables
-Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
– Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Brother’s Grimm
– Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
-The Archived by Victoria Schwab
-Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
-Flame in the Mist (This came as a promotional freebie if you preordered Smoke in the Sun) by Renee Ahdieh
–Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh.
July
Part one of July, this was part of the aftermath of our book adventure/expedition. We went to Park Road Books (favorite for atmosphere), Barnes and Noble, and 2nd and Charles (great used books), all of which had great selections, and ended with this lovely stack!
-Calamity by Brandon Sanderson (The Reckoner’s Trilogy Book #3)
-Firefight by Brandon Sanderson (The Reckoner’s Trilogy Book #2)
-Paper Princess by erin watt
-An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet
-Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
-Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne
-Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerhill
-Reboot by Amy Tintera
-Recreated by Colleen Houck (Reawakened Book #2)
-The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
The Birthday stack, and last part of July. I’ve already read four of these, and reviewed all of them (links below). This month’s books have already been a lot of fun to read, and have set me up with some amazing new series!
-Warcross by Marie Lu
- Review: Okay, that was an awesome read. I’m still reeling with the shock of finishing this book, and how quickly it flew by. I have never read any of Marie Lu’s work, but I’m really considering it now, especially with the book hangover I’m about to have. I worried that ending was coming, but when it did I feel like it was so much worse than I imagined, not in terms of writing (her writing was amazing), but my emotions. Her antagonist was also unbelievably well written, going so much deeper than the typical ‘I hate everyone, so let me threaten them’ concept. Gosh I really want that next book now, I can’t take waiting to see how Emika is going to work to her next big challenge
-Vicious by V.E. Schwab
-My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton
-The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross
-Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
-Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett
-A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes Book #3)
-The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon (Bone Season #3)
-The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon (Bone Season #2) – SEE Review of Bone Season (GOODREADS)
- Review of Bone Season:
When I picked this up I had no idea what to expect. Clairvoyants were a first for me, and now I feel like any other books like this will have to work extra hard to be as amazing as this was. Beyond the struggle in the beginning to understand the complexities of this world and the many different types of clairvoyants this was a gripping read that kept me excited for every next page and chapter. I’m already looking up the next books and when I can get them too! Highly recommend if you enjoy sci-fi and magic; an odd but exciting mix!
August:
-Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
- Review:
I’ve been slow picking up this series considering how many times I heard about it, but finally I picked it up! It took a little while to get back in the swing of reading Fantasy after so many contemporaries, but this book made it really easy, the pages flying by, and of course that ending is really making me feel conflicted about my plan to pick up the other books for Christmas. Why??? I think the only reason I didn’t want to give this book five stars was due to some of the relationships feeling a little rushed around halfway through the book. It just felt like snap and they love each other! I’m all for romance, but I was shocked at how fast that happened. I feel like once I just went along with it though I enjoyed the book even more. I’m definitely going to pick up the next books in the series, I’m just going to have to figure out how to deal with my already crazy tbr stack.
–Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
-Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
- This one I didn’t really write a review for originally, but I ended up flying through this trilogy. These books were fun, jam packed with drama, and so chic! There is so much fashion, wealth, and excess that it’s like watching Gossip Girl, but on an entirely crazier level. That our main character, Rachel Chu (a professor) is thrown into this world and judged to be a gold digger just makes this an entire series so binge worthy. Definitely worth picking up if you plan to watch the film, or already had and were on the fence. I personally, have not seen the film, but plan to the first available weeked I have.
-Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han (To All the Boys… Book #3)
-P.S. I still love you by Jenny Han (To All the Boys… Book #2)
-To All the Boys I’ve loved before by Jenny Han
- I got all the books in this series in one go, though had to go to two different stores since Target only believed in having the first two books (Wth?), but it was worth it, and likely the best plan I’ve had books wise in a while. These novels were hard to put down, and hard to keep the smile down, some of the scenes just so cute and romantic. Small warning when reading in public, you might get looks for the huge grin on your face.
-Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt
-Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
-Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Wooh, I made it through that long list! I think I did pretty well making sure all the reviews for books reviewed made it on here. I hope if you were looking at any of these those reviews help, and maybe one of your favorites is on here and I haven’t picked it up yet! Let me know your thoughts and opinions on this mad stack of books and comment below!
A Writer Can Dream 
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