Lauren's Boookshelf

Sunday, June 5, 2022

May 2022 Wrap-Up + Haul

May was a very interesting month for me. I only read two books and didn't really love either. I was very busy this month and tended to turn to watching my favorite shows to relax rather than read. Oh well! I did haul eight books as well, which was quite exciting. I can only hope that June will involve more reading and less stress.

Title: Stealing Their Harley

Authors: Amanda Perry & AJ Anders

Rating: 2 // 5 stars

Title: Unwritten Rules

Author: Eliah Greenwood
Rating: 3 // 5 stars

April 2022 Wrap-Up

April 2022 Book Haul

The first book I picked up this month was my preorder of Book of Night by Holly Black. This is the signed Waterstones edition with the gorgeous stenciled edges. I've heard good things about Holly Black's adult fantasy so I'm hoping that I'll enjoy it. Additionally, the edges on this one are stunning. I think most importantly, though, I used a gift card that got thrown away to preorder this so I couldn't cancel for a different edition without losing the money.

Speaking of, I also got the Illumicrate edition of Book of Night this month as well. This edition has an exclusive cover, sprayed edges, fancy endpages, embossing on the naked hardcover, and bonus content. It's a beautiful edition, though I do think I prefer the edges on the Waterstones one. I do really like the cover change to a lighter cover as I think it was a bold choice that differentiates this edition from others.

I picked up a copy of Payback's A Witch by Lana Harper. This one was on my wishlist and TBR from last fall (specifically around Halloween time). I didn't pick it up then, though, as I wanted to read it from the library first and I just never got to it. However, when I saw it go on sale for 1/4 the original price, I snatched it up. I adore the premise of this witchy, sapphic romance and the cover is stunning. I probably will wait to read it, though, until we're closer to spooky season.

Up next I got Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li. This is the Illumicrate edition from the April box and I'm so excited about it. I wanted a copy of this book and finding out Illumicrate were doing a special edition was so exciting. I had to wait a while, though, for this edition to come in after release. This edition has an exclusive cover, sprayed edges, artwork on the dust jacket, embossing, and is signed. I love it and I can't wait to read it this summer.

Then I picked up the new UK paperback of Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova. I love the UK covers for this duology and I had picked up the paperback of the first book last fall when it was on sale. My plan right now is to read the duology from these paperbacks and annotate and tab them. I just want a set of this duology that is annotated and looks well-loved.

Up next I got my preorder of the Waterstones paperback of A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas. This is the paperback edition that has recently published with a bonus story at the back (that was originally included in the hardcovers). I am looking at getting the new paperbacks of this series and annotating them in the near future. However, I'm even more excited for the Barnes & Noble paperback later this year that has an exclusive cover change.

I also grabbed Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake. This book was recently picked up for traditional publication but I knew that I wanted the indie version as well before that happened. AWYITE has also been blowing up recently online and I've heard nothing but good things. It's a bit intimidating but I'm also very intrigued to read it.

The last book I got in May was The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah. This is the Fairyloot edition that came in the May YA box. I knew this was the book in advance and I was excited for it as I've heard good things and it was on my wishlist. I'm also quite happy with the customizations on this one. It has an exclusive cover, sprayed edges, artwork on the endpages, embossing, and is signed. I love the purple changes as purple is my favorite color. However, my copy did come a bit damaged so I'm waiting to hear back from Fairyloot on if I qualify for an exchange/replacement.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Wednesday, May 11, 2022

April 2022 Book Haul

Another month, another book haul! This month was pretty interesting in terms of hauling as I mainly preordered books for future months. However, I did get eight books this month which I'm quite excited about. Let's go ahead and just dive right in!

The first book I got was the Illumicrate edition of The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake. This is my third edition of the book and I haven't yet read it...oops. However, this edition is stunning and I've heard such good things. I was able to get this during the regular sale for retail price, thankfully, as the secondhand prices are insane! I'm hoping to finally read this later in 2022 when the sequel releases!

The next book I picked up was Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko. This is the sequel to Raybearer and I read both books in this duology in April. I really enjoyed this fantasy duology and have definitely grown to like the UK covers a lot more than I initially did. Did you notice that there's a face hidden in the cover? I was stunned when I realized! I also definitely love this cover more than the first book...something about the color purple makes me happy.

Of course, when Heartstopper came out on Netflix, I got pulled back into the world. I picked up Heartstopper, Volume 4 by Alice Oseman and I'm pretty excited. I definitely think this is my favorite cover, seeing as purple is my favorite color. I haven't yet read the third and fourth volumes so I'm excited to have this one finally so I can catch up. Though, I might binge them all on Webtoon instead as there's content past this fourth volume on there. Also, if you haven't seen the show yet, you definitely need to!

Up next, I grabbed the UK hardcover of Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova. This edition goes out of print when the paperback publishes and I've been collecting this series so I wanted to grab it before that happened. Now, my Hollow Crown duology collection is almost complete! These books are stunning. Now, to just finish reading it...I anticipate reading it in the very near future after an extended reading slump that prevented me when it first game out.

Then I got the Broken Binding editions of The Unspoken Name and The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood. These are signed, numbered editions with absolutely stunning stencil sprayed edges. The edges on these are some of the most complex, intricate edges I've seen done on a book and I couldn't pass up the chance to own these before they ran out.

The next book I got was the Fairyloot edition of The City of Dusk by Tara Sim. I was really intrigued by this book and when I saw that Fairyloot was doing it for their Adult box, I knew I had to have it. It has an alternate cover, sprayed edges, special artwork and embossing, and is signed. It's absolutely stunning and I'm so excited about this edition. Plus, the book itself sounds so intriguing!

The final book I got in April was Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore. I got the first three books in this series (the Graceling series) on sale. When this one popped up on sale as well, I knew I had to get it. With the sale price for these four books, I got the entire series for less than the retail price of just a single book. I'm pretty excited about that, plus these UK covers are stunning! I can't wait to binge these.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Sunday, May 1, 2022

April 2022 Wrap-Up

How are we already done with four months this year? 2022 seems to be flying by but it also feels like the start of April was ages ago. Either way, this month was pretty eventful, both in terms of reading and my personal life. I read a total of ten books this month, though I definitely could have read way more if I'd watched less TV...Either way, I'm really happy with what I read.

I enjoyed every single book this month and didn't rate a single one less than 4.5 out of 5 stars. This year I've been mood reading a lot and I think that's why my ratings have been so high. I also finished three series this month! Two were brand new but I also reread the entirety of one of my favorite series. I guess you could say I'm pretty happy with how this reading month went. Hopefully this momentum carries into May!