I’ve seen Stacking the Shelves on a few blogs and I decided to do it to replace my book haul posts because, why not? It is hosted by Reading Reality and this is how the meme is described: “Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! And audiobooks. Don’t forget audiobooks!so go check out her blog!”
Book Purchases – (ebook or physical)
I bought some book trophies on Book Outlet also some books I’ve been wanting to read!
I hope This Doesn’t Find You – Ann Liang ~ book trophy
Snarky and romantic, I Hope This Doesn’t Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters.
Sadie Wen is perfect on school captain, valedictorian, and a “pleasure to have in class.” It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She’d never send them of course — she’d rather die than hurt anyone’s feelings — but it’s a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie’s work.
All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. “You’re attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you’ve been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft…”
Sadie doesn’t have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them… that is, until they’re accidentally sent out.
Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It’s her worst nightmare — now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they’re not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there’s one person growing to appreciate the “real” Sadie — Julius, the only boy she’s sworn to hate…
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XOXO by. Axie Oh – book trophy
Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo.
Jenny didn’t get to be an award-winning, classically trained cellist without choosing practice over fun. That is, until the night she meets Jaewoo. Mysterious, handsome, and just a little bit tormented, Jaewoo is exactly the kind of distraction Jenny would normally avoid. And yet, she finds herself pulled into spending an unforgettable evening wandering Los Angeles with him on the night before his flight home to South Korea.
With Jaewoo an ocean away, there’s no use in dreaming of what could have been. But when Jenny and her mother move to Seoul to take care of her ailing grandmother, who does she meet at the elite arts academy she’s just been accepted to? Jaewoo.
Finding the dreamy stranger who swept you off your feet in your homeroom is one thing, but Jaewoo isn’t just any student. Turns out, Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world. And like most K-pop idols, Jaewoo is strictly forbidden from dating anyone.
When a relationship means not only jeopardizing her place at her dream music school but also endangering everything Jaewoo’s worked for, Jenny has to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love. XOXO is a new romance that proves chasing your dreams doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your heart, from acclaimed author Axie Oh.
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Never Thought I’d End Up Here by. Ann Liang
Leah Zhang has spent her whole life in LA – it’s all she’s ever known. But after accidentally wishing her cousin ill health and a very depressing marriage at her wedding, her parents stage an intervention. She’s forgotten most of her Mandarin, has zero regard for etiquette, and can’t hold a conversation with her own grandparents for longer than a minute. Their solution? Send her on an intensive two-week travel program across China’s most beautiful cities. To them, it’s the perfect opportunity for Leah to get back to her roots. To Leah, it’s simply a much-needed escape.
But before Leah can even begin to enjoy the luxurious hotels, stunning scenery, and mouth-watering cuisine, she finds that also on the trip is her former classmate and least favorite person cynical, sarcastic Cyrus, who’s somehow only gotten more annoyingly handsome since they last saw each other.
While Leah might be tempted to shove him off the peak of the Yellow Mountain when nobody’s looking, she can’t get rid of him just yet. After all, she might never get another chance to get revenge on the boy who ruined her life.
Yet the deeper they wander into China’s provinces, the deeper Leah finds herself falling in love – with the boy she once thought she despised, the home she never thought she’d call her own, and the parts of herself she thought were already lost.
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King of Ravens by. Clare Sager
He’ll do anything to keep her. She’d do anything to escape.
Rhiannon is dying—of what, she doesn’t know. Kept protected by her family in their remote seaside cottage, she spends her days searching for a cure. Her world is torn apart, however, when a fae King of the Dead invades her home.
Cold and cruel, Drystan offers her a choice: descend to the underworld as his bride or watch her family die. Trapped in a twisted bargain, Rhiannon is thrust into a world of withered gods, scheming courtiers, and ancient magic, but she refuses to be a pawn in a game she never agreed to play. She attempts over and over to run away, until Drystan offers her a new bargain: escape his deadly labyrinth, and he will set her free. Fail, and become his bride.
But in a court where every promise has teeth, Annon must make an impossible choice: return to the home she’s always loved or claim her place in a world where she might finally belong.
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House of Bane and Blood by. Alexis L. Menard
After the death of my father, I vowed that if I ever met a member of the Attano family, I’d kill them. Instead, I married one.
Magic, smoke, and steam swirl in the air. High in their mansions, the ruling cartels play games of blood and secrets, while monsters lurk in the alleyways below.
Once I was the most powerful heiress in this city. Then the Attanos killed my father and left my family’s business empire in ruins. I’ll do whatever it takes to get it back…
So when the man who destroyed my world offers to pay our debts—in exchange for my hand in marriage—I have no choice but to accept.
Nicolai Attano is everything I was raised to hate. Arrogant, heartless and devastatingly handsome, he leads a group of criminals with lethal magical abilities.
I know I can’t trust him, but Nicolai claims his offer is strictly business—if I help him find the serial killer who stalks the streets on his side of the city, he will release me from our contract. As we plunge into an underworld of magic and forbidden desires, I can’t deny the attraction drawing me to my new husband… or the thrilling power I feel whenever he’s around.
Can I hunt down a killer and escape with my life, before the most dangerous man in the city steals my heart?
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City of Mirth and Malice by. Alexis L. Menard
Some debts are not so easily repaid—or forgiven.
Nicolai Attano finally has everything he’s ever wanted: control over the Iron Saint Railway, safety for his family, and not a single rival syndicate to stand in his way. Never could he have imagined he’d want anything more than power—not until Camilla Marchese.
Six weeks have passed since the disaster on the train and his wife was kidnapped, but to get her back, he’ll need help. Nico struggles to work with a city poisoned against him and is instead forced to seek the aid of a disreputable black-market dealer. A simple deal to ensure her rescue, Nico doesn’t think twice. A bargain is struck, and the cost is higher than ever. The collateral? His life.
Meanwhile, Camilla fights to gain control over her newfound powers as the alchemist in charge of her confinement puts her to the test. Forced to free what she’s held so close, the only light in this hellish prison is the hope to see her family again, and the husband who stole her heart. Three trials and three chances to find the source of her Chaos and use it to save herself, if it doesn’t destroy her first.
Cracks in the city draw lines between loyalties, and time is running out until everything comes crashing down. Return to Lynchaven in this action-packed and swoony conclusion of Nico and Milla’s story.
Library Haul – (physical and online library):
The Romance Revival by. Christina Lauren – audiobook
An unforgettable novel in which one fateful accident erases a troubled marriage from memory—and love gets one extraordinary do-over.
Three years ago, Emery Finch did something completely out of character: She got married. To Luca—the impossibly charming landscaper she met on one blistering night in Vegas who made her laugh, made her dance, made her feel.
But now, Emery is consumed by her top-secret job, missing dinners, forgetting anniversaries, and promising herself Luca will understand once her cutting-edge research comes to light. Until the unthinkable happens: A tragic accident takes Luca from her.
Desperate not to lose him, Emery breaks every rule to bring him back. And Luca would probably thank her for it, if only he could remember her. Their first kiss, their Sunny Sundays at the beach, the life they built together…all of it is gone.
It may be a miracle of science, but for Emery it’s her one shot at a second chance. And this time, she won’t waste it—because true love is always worth reviving.
NetGalley Haul
I am SO excited for some of the books I got approved for on NetGalley lately!! I’m trying not to read them right away haha, but we’ll see…
Deadlock by. Chloe Gong (The Strangeloom Trilogy, #2) (Release Date: November 17, 2027)
One wrong move will end the world…
The nation can’t stop talking about Eirale Ward. After a perilous mission with the enemy, she has been rescued and returned to NileCorp. Her gracious employer cleared her charges of treason and restored her status as an elite soldier.
Once, that would have been enough—but she is not that same Eirale anymore. She is a spy for the Coalition, tasked to take down NileCorp from the inside.
Meanwhile, everyone in Atahua is watching Nik Grant. Though he succeeded in his mission to retrieve Project Wit, he has put a target on his loved ones, and NileCorp will stop at nothing to bring him in. Working for the Coalition was supposed to help him destroy NileCorp, but the Coalition is pushing restraint while he wants action. He’s running out of time.
When Atahua’s charismatic vice president joins the scene at NileCorp, the company grows untouchable. Kieren is unwavering in his belief in Lia and her ability to rupture the power in virtual reality—but NileCorp sees all, and it has long set its trap. Before total and absolute control can land in NileCorp’s hands, Lia must embrace what she was built to do…
Either change the world or burn it all down.
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Merciful Carnage by. Sara Hashem (Release Date: February 2, 2027)
A deathless girl’s single-minded pursuit of the cure for a mysterious plague entangles her in a web of intrigue as an immortal ruler becomes set on uncovering the truth of her existence . . . and her hold on his attention in Merciful Carnage, the first in a new fantasy romance duology from USA Today bestselling author, Sara Hashem.
Tala’s life has been defined by her inability to die. Her superstitious village has treated her with distrust and hostility since she was found floating in the Liyan River as a newborn. When a mysterious water-borne plague starts to ravage the oasis villages, Tala is sent across the desert to the city of Axsanda to seek refuge for her village. Determined to find a cure to the plague, Tala will stop at nothing to prove herself a worthy healer and member of her community.
Upon Tala’s arrival in Axsanda, a would-be fatal encounter lands her in front of Selim, the chillingly beautiful High Judge and first of the four immortal siblings ruling the land. Intrigued by Tala, Selim agrees to shelter her village if she remains in his palace until they arrive.
Despite his detachment from mortal emotions, Selim finds himself increasingly fascinated by the odd, ambitious girl, but Tala’s deathlessness threatens the sacred balance he is sworn to uphold. As Tala hunts for a cure to the plague, Selim hunts for an answer to her existence.
As terrifying omens spread across Axsanda and Tala shows signs of an impossible power, the two must reckon with their attraction . . . and its catastrophic consequences.
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Blade of Honey by. Hafsah Faizal (Release Date: March 2, 2027)
The first in a duology, Blade of Honey, by #1 New York Times–bestselling author Hafsah Faizal, is a tantalizing romantic fantasy with a dark and deadly twist on The Bachelor, where a girl’s only chance at her target’s throat comes with a chance at his heart.
A wounded bee can still sting…
Yasmine Ra’ad has a vendetta against the most powerful man in Arawiya: the king himself. His throne was built upon the bones of her family, and though she’s never wielded a blade, she dreams of the day she can end his life. That day arrives with an invitation, for the king is in need of a wife.
A cornered lion will still roar…
Altair al-Badawi will die by the next full moon—unless he takes a bride. And if he chooses her from one of the houses of old, the rest will riot, so when his captain of the guard proposes a competition in which anyone invited might try her hand at becoming queen, he agrees.
Love can make or break a life…
Yasmine knows she must play the part of a doting suitor if she wishes to enact her revenge. She does it well. Too well. Altair knows he must marry even when he wishes for nothing less. But as the hourglass empties, will they find a love worth forgiving—or dying—for?
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Fated Dawn by. Katherine Quinn (Stolen Midnights, #2) (Release Date: April 6, 2027)
Weeks have passed since Wren fell under the spell of Callie and Everett. Trapped in a gilded cage, she remains oblivious to their sinister plans, but can sense that something isn’t right. Each night, she is haunted by dreams of a mysterious stranger, leaving her restless and yearning for answers.
Damien is determined to rescue Wren from Everett’s clutches, but is thwarted by a rogue Fate, who draws him into a growing rebellion against the corrupt ruling class of Andalay. As Damien uncovers the truth about his dark powers, he is faced with a heart-wrenching to restore Wren’s memories, but at a steep price.
This sets the stage for a daring escape and a fragile alliance against Everett, Callie, and the Fates. With the support of the rebels, Damien and Wren gear up for an epic showdown, fueled by their quest for justice and a fierce resolve to reclaim their destinies—and their love.
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The Us We Knew by. Katy Upperman (Release Date: February 2, 2027)
Celeste has had a crush on Chase for as long as she can remember, but his brother may be the love of her dreams in this new emotional and captivating YA contemporary romance about the fragility of life and restorative power of love by Katy Upperman, author of Everything I Promised You and All We Once Had.
When Celeste bumps into Chase at the county fair, she’s certain her misfortune is over. Sure, the cheer team has turned its back on her and her whole family is grieving her beloved grandmother’s passing. But Chase is her older brother Owen’s closest friend, the carefree, charismatic, hot friend she’s had an unrequited crush on for forever. Now that she’s finally caught his attention, Celeste will do whatever it takes to keep it—and keep the spark between them secret. Especially when an impulsive decision leaves her full of regret.
At school, Celeste finds herself paired with Chase’s younger brother, Ty, for their senior project. Celeste’s once-stellar grades tanked after Gigi’s death, and a lot more rides on their partnership than she’d like to admit. Though their brothers are lifelong friends, Celeste and Ty have never been close. She’s surprised at just how much they have in common. Ty is easygoing, considerate, and smart–clearly the right Fortier brother for Celeste. If only she’d discovered that sooner. If only she’d been honest with Ty from the start… Celeste doesn’t want to deceive the boy she’s falling for, but she can’t risk ruining the only relationship keeping her afloat.
Then one phone call shatters both their worlds. Amid the wreckage of all they knew, is there any hope that Celeste and Ty can find love?
Kindle Unlimited
Kissed by the Gods by. Caty Rogan
Survivor. Rebel. Weapon.
Leina has spent a lifetime submitting, starving amid wheat fields reserved for the king, standing by while his men crush her loved ones. When soldiers come for her brother, her divine fury erupts in a bloody massacre.
She expects to be executed for her crimes—her people have met bloody ends for far, far less. Instead, Ryot, a gods-blessed warrior born to privilege, delivers her to a military fortress renowned for its brutality.
There, a gift from a goddess drags Leina into a realm of war, where her survival depends on her ability to ride a winged horse.
As Ryot pushes her to master the power she never asked for, a battle rages within her heart. Each lesson, every touch, binds them tighter—but love is a dangerous weakness in a world designed for war.
Soon, Leina must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to protect the family she has found … and the one she left behind. Because while her divine gift could save the kingdom, it could also shatter its very foundation.
With immersive lush writing, an unflinching heroine, and an inventive fantasy world, Kissed by the Gods is the gripping fantasy debut you won’t want to miss.
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They say your beliefs run deep. But corruption runs deeper.
Raelyna Kingsley has lived her life with one goal: keep her sisters—and herself—out of the temples in Solis Quarter. After the execution of her father, Raelyna finds herself questioning everything she knows to be true about Aurelia—The City of Gold. What was once a sprawling city filled with people that held a deep belief and respect for the Eternal, has been fractured into four quarters, with each turning to their own religion and resulting darkness.
But when Raelyna’s sister is marked with the aetherial affinity of a seer, and is subject to a life of servitude in the temples, Raelyna strikes a bargain with Luc—her childhood best friend, the king, and the man that killed her father.
In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Raelyna agrees to perform—as a dancer—whenever and where the king desires. But despite her best efforts to keep herself out of the spotlight, Raelyna finds herself in the company of the elite Shade of the Aurelian Guild. She can’t deny the pull to Callum Blackwood, but his mission in Solis Quarter could jeopardize the life Raelyna has come to build for herself and her family.
As tensions begin to rise, it becomes clear there’s more to the events happening in Solis, leading Raelyna to question everything she once thought to be true, leaving destruction in its wake. In an effort to save her family, and herself, Raelyna must work alongside Callum to expose the darkness and corruption before it’s too late.
But will Raelyna succumb to the wreckage left after it all comes falling down? Or will she rise from the rubble and into the light?
What’s new on your shelf or kindle?
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 