Friday, June 2, 2017

May 2017 Book Haul!

So this month I got quite a bit of books. There's a bit of a reason why, of course. Firstly, there were so many amazing book releases this month! And a lot of the new releases were some of my most highly anticipated books of the year! Then I also graduated in the month of May and I have some amazing family and friends that I am so grateful for who gave me money and gift cards. So I did get a few books with said gift cards. All in all I got 24 physical books, 9 eBooks, 5 audiobooks, and 2 exciting merch items. As always, enjoy.


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To start off this haul, I got 24 physical books. As usual, there are descriptions for each as to why I bought/received them. Let's jump right in!

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This month started off by releasing my most anticipated book of the year: A Court of Wings and Ruin. by Sarah J. Maas. I ended up with four copies, all shown here:
First and foremost, I had my preorder from Amazon (above) so that I could read the book the day it came out. I ended up highlighting and annotating all over this book. Then there were two special editions from Target (top) and Books-A-Million (bottom), pictured here:


I am a collector and of course I needed these special editions on my shelf. Then I also preordered a signed copy because of course I needed this book to be signed!
I absolutely adored this book. It's my new favorite book of all time (sorry Empire of Storms). For more of my thoughts, here is my review (TK).

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Also on the same day ACOWAR released, the ACOTAR Coloring Book dropped, and I had to buy it of course. 
The illustrations are so amazing and I love seeing my favorite characters brought to life. I wish there was more pictures of shirtless Illyrians, but I'll make do with what I can get ;) Plus, seeing my main man Cassian in picture format is just amazing.

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Next I bought a book I've been interested in for a while now and that is Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin. 
I've seen this book around for a while and ever since I heard the synopsis I've been interested. Finally the hardcover was available on Amazon again and I snatched it up. I am so excited to read this alternate history about the aftermath of WWII, which is something I've been fascinated with for a while.

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Then I got the Grisha Trilogy boxset, including Shadow and Bone, Seige and Storm, and Ruin and Rising all by Leigh Bardugo.
I participate in a monthly blind date with a book group and my date this month sent me the entire trilogy! I was so surprised and felt so spoiled. I've read SoC but not CK or this trilogy. I enjoyed SoC but can't really remember it and I didn't fully love it. I am excited to read this trilogy as I've heard simply amazing things about it.

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Then I bought The Falconer by Elizabeth May.
Now, I've been interested in this book for a while and decided to buy it from an independent online bookseller through Amazon Marketplace. I was so excited because I ordered what was described as a brand new copy for a few bucks less than Amazon's price. When it arrived, however, there was a big rip on the front cover as well as the spine of the book was a little beat up and the corners were bent. They refunded me half of my price and let me keep the book, so I'm okay with the situation but it's just disappointing that it happened in the first place. Still, I'm beyond excited to read this book. It was even blurbed by my queen, Sarah J. Maas!

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Next I got Burned by Karen Marie Moning.
Then I was at Schnuck's looking for mother's day flowers for my mom and I, as usual, looked through the bargain book bin and found this book. It has to do with fae and mystery and steaminess, or so I have been able to garner from the description. I'm interested, but I don't know if I should read the rest of the series first. From what I understand, it doesn't look like you do and this is book 12, so I'm not going to buy the rest of the series just to read this one. Anyway, I was drawn by the cover and those glorious abs *swoon*

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Then I got Flame in the Mist by RenĂ©e Adieh.
This book released this month as well as many I bought. This actually wasn't even on my radar until April, as Adieh's other series never appealed to me and I didn't know anything about this one. However, reading that it was somewhat of a Mulan retelling sold me on this book at once! I love Mulan and am so excited to read this when I get a chance, whenever that may be.

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Then I picked up Wandering Star and Black Moon by Romina Russell, books 2 and 3 in the Zodiac series.
I randomly picked up the first book in this series this month and loved it. So, naturally, I bought the rest of the available books in the series for when I finished. I'm excited to continue on, but I don't know when that will be as a few others books released this month that I'm dying to read first.

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Next up is another copy of Charcoal Tears by Jane Washington.
I got home one day to this waiting in the mail for me and I was a little confused. I love this series and this author, but I hadn't won a giveaway and I already owned a signed copy from the author. Still, I'm grateful to have it and it will be great for reading and bookstagram. If you want to know my thoughts on this book, you can read my series review here :)

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Then, I got Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare!
I am so excited to have this book in my hands after such a long wait. I can't wait to be able to dive into it, as at the time I am writing this the book just arrived in the mail on release day and I haven't been able to start yet. The ending of LM killed me and I can't wait to see how these characters progress and grow!

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Then a wonderful human sent me A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess.
I am so excited to have an ARC of this book in my possession. I adored ASBAB (book 1) and I didn't want to have to wait until September for this installment! I think I might do a reread of book 1 before diving into this sequel. Also, this cover is GORGEOUS, am I right?

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Then I got The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
My friend convinced me to go to Barnes & Noble the same day I had bought 6 books on Amazon with a gift card (more on those next). Luckily enough I had spare dollars and change in my purse and was able to get this book, which had been sitting in my Amazon cart since Christmas. I finally have it in my hands! I've heard amazing things and I am excited to read it when I get a chance.

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Then I had an Amazon order where I got quite a few books, the first being Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller.
This is a novel about a female pirate and I'm so excited to read it. I love pirates and the main character has been said to be a Lady Jack Sparrow, and since Jack is my favorite pirate I'm pretty excited. I don't know much else other than it is about a female pirate, and I think I'm going to keep it that way.

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Second in that order I picked up Trickery by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington.
I love this book so much. I first read it when it came out on Kindle and I'm so glad to finally have the physical edition in my hands. This is hands down one of my favorite books of all time and I adore the main character. Willa is my soul animal and I've never related as much to a book character as I have with her. More of my thoughts on this book can be found in my review here.

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The next three books I got were Trying to Live With the Dead, When the Dead Come A Knockin', and When to Fear the Living all by B.L. Brunnemer and the first 3 books in the Veil Diaries series.
I adore this series and was so psyched when the author finally put them all out in matching paperbacks. Originally I had the first book in a format that was kind of like a mass market paperback, but these new editions are so big and beautiful. I love seeing them on my shelf. I have already read all three of these books so if you want to know my thoughts and feels on them, I have linked the reviews here:
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3

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Lastly from this order I got From the Ashes by Amber Lynn Natusch.
I was first drawn to this book because of the stunning cover and the fact that the author said it was leaning towards RH/Menage. I love that subgenre and this book sounded so interesting. So I decided to read it in eBook format because it was a lot cheaper. I ended up loving the book so much that I used the last of my gift card to buy the physical edition! It's even more beautiful in person!

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I bought/received 9 eBooks this month, most of them being new releases or RH books. I've read some of them but not all. Let's jump on in!

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First I had preordered Roadie by C.M. Stunich, which was delivered to me on release day (yay!)
This is the sequel to Groupie which is a steamy RH novel about a lonely girl and a group of rockstars. It's a bit cliche but I really liked it and decided to continue on with the series. I have already read it and you can see more of my thoughts in my monthly wrap-up (linked down below). 

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Then I got The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Yes, I did already buy this book in hardcover, but I was on BookBub and the eBook popped up at only $0.99, so I bought it. As I stated above, I'm super excited to read this book as it sounds amazing!

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Then I grabbed When to Fear the Living by B.L. Brunnemer.
This was another anticipated book for me and I'm so excited to have gotten it and read it. I thought it was a fantastic continuation to this series and I loved the B.L. released it two days early! I read it the moment it went live and didn't care that I was up until 3:45 am finishing it. For more of my thoughts, check out my review here.

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Then I bought From the Ashes by Amber Lynn Natusch
I had seen this book before and had decided to get the sample on my Kindle App. One day I randomly started reading it and couldn't stop. I bought the book and I flew through it, reading through the night. I finished it in the wee hours of the morning and loved it. Plus, the cover is gorgeous. You can get more of my thoughts in my monthly wrap-up :)

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Then I got Forseen by AJ Anders
This is the second installment in the Soulja Guild series. I read the first book when I bought the Falling For Them anthology with a bunch of different RH novellas and loved it. I'm so glad to have this book so that once I finished my reread of book 1, I can jump straight into this one. 

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I also got an ARC of Make Me A Wish by K.B. Ladnier and Anita Maxwell.
I'm about a third of the way into this book currently and I'm not sure how I feel. I was excited about it but it's just dragging on so far. We'll see how I feel by the time I finish this book. It has an interesting premise and the cover is gorgeous, so hopefully I end up liking it more by the end.

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Next, Tradition Be Damned by Rebecca Royce.
I'll be honest, I don't even remember what this book is about, just that I remember thinking it looked interesting. I preordered it and have yet to read it as I'm kind of getting into the groove of summer and switching between my two jobs. However, this cover is stunning and I've heard amazing reviews on this one.

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A Demon's Blade by C.C. English-Rose.
This is another RH book I had preordered and have forgotten the synopsis. I've heard great reviews and will probably end up reading it sometime within June. I've also heard it's hilarious and amazing, so I'm excited.

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Lastly, I got Persuasion by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington.
This was probably tied with When to Fear the Living as my most anticipated RH release this month. I'm so excited to have it, and by the time this gets posted, I will probably have already finished reading it. 

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I picked up 5 audiobooks this month, which is actually a pretty big number when you think about how expensive audiobooks are. So grateful that Amazon has Whispersync for voice or else my audiobook collection would seriously be lacking.

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First I used a credit I had from April to get The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon
The samples I'd heard of this audiobook sounded so good and I figured it couldn't hurt to switch between listening and reading for this sequel. I'm excited to read/listen when I get the chance as I loved TBS and need to know what happens next.

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Of course I got  A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
You can't expect a SJM book to release without me getting the audiobook, now can you? Despite the fact that the narrator changed for this one, I still love it. I've listened to it occasionally whenever I want to revisit Prythian and my favorite characters and it's just as good as the first two audiobooks. 

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Then I got Zodiac by Romina Russell
A friend recommended this book to me earlier this month, which is why I randomly read it since it wasn't on my TBR. But I had my May credit for audible and I decided to get this one. I switched between listening and reading and I honestly think that it just improved my overall experience with the book and these characters. More thoughts on this book in my monthly wrap-up :)

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I also got The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Wow, a book that spans three categories in this haul...impressive. I got this audiobook simply because I'm really interested (as I've stated before) and because it was only $2 since I owned the eBook edition as well.

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Lastly I picked up Trickery by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington.
I absolutely adore this book so when I saw the audiobook had discreetly released, I flipped out and one-click ordered it so fast. I'm so excited to listen to Willa's sassiness and the amazing Abcurses.

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I also got two awesome bookish merch items, both themed from ACOTAR. Firstly, I got this amazing pillow. It was a graduation present/library aide gift from the librarians at my school. I seriously cried when they told me they bought me it.
I also got the preorder promotional swag from Bloomsbury for the release of ACOWAR. This year it was an amazing color map of Prythian and the surrounding lands. I love it so much! I'm planning on framing it so that it won't get all bent from the times I'm going to move in the future.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed seeing all the books and merch I bought/received this month! Stay tuned for June, because there are definitely some exciting releases coming up soon! If you want to know about the books I read this month, click here :)
xoxo
Lauren

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