June Book Haul || Oops … I Did It Again

Posted July 3, 2020 by Sammie in book haul / 17 Comments

TBR Status: ♫ Oops, I did it again. I ordered some new books, got lost in the shelves. ♪

Okay, I know I said I wasn’t going to order more books until I started reading some of the ones I owned, but hear me out. Ummm … it’s the library’s fault? Yeah, that’s it. I’m totally gonna blame my director here.

I’ve actually been looking for a good way to get books in good shape without spending an arm and a leg, because as much as I love Thriftbooks, where I normally order my older backlist books, they’re a little hit or miss when it comes to quality. So I decided to try Book Outlet, and since the minimum to qualify for free shipping was $35, I of course spent $50. Yes, I assure you this makes sense.

Physical Haul

The Bone Ships: I have bone houses and bone ships and bone minions. Wait. You weren’t supposed to know about that last one. Scratch that. I was super lucky and won the giveaway for participating in Wyrd & Wonder, hosted by imyril @ There’s Always Room For One More and of course I was super excited because there’s a freaking dragon on the cover. Plus, I’ve heard it’s fantastic, and I look forward to reading it!

Black Leviathan: I loved this eARC so much that I had to get a finished copy, which I intend to throw at people. It’s kind of what I do. Moby Dick with dragons, featuring a lush world that if a genie were to pop up today and grant me three wishes, all of them would be to live in this place. Okay, two of them would be that. The third would be a never-ending supply of bacon.

Oddity: After reading Sarah Cannon’s Twist earlier this year, I was really interested in reading some of her backlist books. I checked out the preview of Oddity on Amazon, and it hooked me right away, so I knew I had to read it!

The Monster of Elendhaven: I’ve been meaning to read this one forever, but none of the libraries I’m part of had it, and now that I’ve finally managed to get my hands on it, I’m looking forward to it!

Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows: A book comped to Rick Riordan except with Hispanic folklore? That’s gonna be a big yes from me. I actually heard about this when I started seeing the sequel around, but again, both of my libraries didn’t have the first one (although, one now has the sequel, which doesn’t help me when I haven’t read the first one yet!).

Trail of Lightning: At this point, I’m absolute trash for books that have Gods walking among humans. Major bonus points for the fact that this is based on Navajo folklore!

The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts: I’m not even sure what it was that caught my eye about this one? Something about historical fiction combined with adventure. I’m sure the criminal masterminds helped, too.

What It Means When A Man Falls From the Sky: Another one I’ve been wanting to read for a while! While I confess that short story collections usually aren’t my thing, I’ve heard such good things about this one, and the blurb makes the story sound perfect for me, so I’ve decided to give it a try.

Mirage: Uhhh … I was told I had to read this one? And who am I to pass up an order like that? Also, it was on a pretty good sale, so definitely win-win there.

The Last Gargoyle: One, this was comped to The Graveyard Book, which got my attention immediately. But also I was just having a conversation not too long ago about how there aren’t enough books about gargoyles. And why not? They’re fabulous fantasy creatures. Also, I grew up on the show Gargoyles, so obviously, there are compelling stories out there to be had about them. So yeah, gargoyle.

Ghost and Bone: This was comped to Nevermoor, and if you’ve visited this blog, well, ever, you probably know how much I love that series. The summary is also giving me some low-key Danny Phantom vibes, and it seems like it’ll be a really fun world.

Summer Bird Blue: This is another book I’ve heard wonderful things about and have been meaning to read, so when I saw it on sale, I couldn’t not buy it.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom: Another one I’ve had my eye on for a while! Listen, it just sounds too cute and too perfect not to read, okay? That is the best reason, end of story.

Kindle Haul

Northern Wrath     Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders     Piranesi     The Conductors     The Archive of the Forgotten    


Northern Wrath: Remember way back up there a little ways where I said I’m trash for books featuring gods? Yeah, that applies here, too. Norse gods! Always have a soft spot for them. I went through a heavy Norse-inspired reading phase about a decade ago and haven’t read many since, and this really brought that back and I thought, yeah, I need to read this.

Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders: Sooo … when I requested this, I hadn’t realized it was #3.5 of a series. It does say it’s a standalone set in the same world, though, so hopefully it’ll be fine. I mean … the three things in the title are basically my three favorite things, so obviously I was going to request this.

Piranesi: I’ve honestly never read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, much to my brother-in-laws horror. I will. Eventually. But he speaks so highly of it that when I saw the author was releasing another, I knew I had to read it. Plus, this just sounds absolutely perfect.

The Conductors: I’ve been loving all the historical fiction books layering magic on top of history, so when I saw one come out that was magic over the aftermath of the Civil War and the Underground Railroad, I jumped on it immediately and was so freaking excited to get approved! This doesn’t even publish until 2021, which is an insanely long wait, but this is probably already one of my most anticipated releases of 2021!

The Archive of the Forgotten: Listen. I’m so ready to revisit these characters. I really enjoyed Library of the Unwritten, and I can’t wait to go on another adventure with these characters!

The Ukinhan Wilds     Anxious People     These Feathered Flames     Whispering Pines     The Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira    


The Ukinhan Wilds: The blurb of this opens with, “Assassin. Rogue. Demon’s bane. Dragon-slayer. Kylac Kronus has been called many names, and earned every one of them.” Um. Yes? Heck yes. *grabby hands* I have a feeling I’m going to absolutely love Kylac.

Anxious People: OMG LOOK, IT’S FREDRIK BACKMAN. *melts into puddle of fangirl goo* I somehow missed that he had an upcoming release, but I saw it on someone’s blog and immediately requested it and got it and I may have totally squeed in the middle of the library when I got the approval notice. It’s okay. They know me by now. It wasn’t even surprising. This is one of my favorite authors, and I’m fully prepared to have my feels eviscerated.

These Feathered Flames: First? That cover is *chef’s kiss*. Second, it was comped to Wicked Saints and is a queer #ownvoices retelling of “The Firebird,” which is a Russian folktale. I’m not sure which part of that doesn’t sound absolutely perfect, so yeah.

Whispering Pines: Fun fact: I actually requested this on EW and was convinced I wouldn’t get to read it, because it was ignored and it wasn’t on NG. So the moment it dropped on NG, I immediately smashed the request button! Everything about this sounds brilliant. Small town ghost hunting sounds like a super fun premise, and the cover looks sufficiently spooky. Really looking forward to this one!

The Tinderbox: So, I’ve been a big fan of Lou Diamond Phillips since I was young. Longmire was my grandmother’s favorite show, and she had a thing for Lou Diamond Phillips, too, so I have some very fond memories of watching him act. So when I heard he wrote a book? Of course I requested it. Good thing for me, it also sounds absolutely fabulous!

Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air     How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It     Ship of Shadows     Knightmare Arcanist    


Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air: I absolutely loved the first book in this series, The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, so I’ve been waiting for this since I finished reading that! I’ve actually already started it, and gosh, how I missed the main protagonist, Teagan. She’s even snarkier than I am (impressive, right?) but just as incompetent with basic life skills, which makes me laugh.

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It: Okay, how could you not pick up something with this title? I mean, maybe I’ll even learn something helpful for when I take over the world? “This is the story of Notker, an occasionally good man and a terrible liar.” This sounds like a character I’m going to absolutely love.

The Ship of Shadows: I’m on a blog tour for this! A crew of ruthless women pirates? This is obviously the pirate book I’ve been waiting for.

Knightmare Arcanist: Another blog tour, and oh my gosh, I can’t wait for this one! I don’t even know where to start with it, except to say that this sounds like a world I obviously want to live in!

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Stay Fierce, Sammie

17 responses to “June Book Haul || Oops … I Did It Again

    • I WISH I COULD NOW. Ugh. Have you seen that book two is already been announced? I’ll be waiting for the cover reveal to pop up on your blog eventually (when they do actually reveal it). It’s high up there. I want to get to it ASAP, but I have some things I really need to read first lol.

  1. Mirage and Trail of Lightning are outstanding. I hope you enjoy them. I can’t wait to try Clarke’s newest since I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I can’t recommend that one enough on audiobook because the narrator is great. I also recommend the miniseries adaptation – I think it’s on Netflix right now actually. 🙂

    • I tried starting the miniseries, but I had trouble getting into it (although, I also tried watching it with my brother-in-law, bless his heart, who kept interrupting to tell me all the reasons why each scene was amazing haha). I might try the audiobook, though! Thanks.

    • Thanks! I hope you’re able to. I already shouted at my director that we had to preorder it ASAP. I’d like to say it took her by surprise, but she’s used to my eccentricities by now. Helps that there’s another big Backman fan there, too, and she gathered something was up by all our excited squealing. xD

  2. I follow Aliette de Bodard on Twitter, and Of Dragons, Feasts, and Murders has been discussed as a good entry to the series if you haven’t read the other books, so that’s good! (Because I also preordered it when she first announced it and haven’t read the rest of the series yet.)
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