The one regular feature that I have on this blog are the monthly posts listing the new releases on my radar (it counts as a feature even without a clever title, right?). I thought it would be interesting to have a look back at the year so far and see which ones I’d read, and how they stacked up.
The books marked with an * are the ones I really liked, some additional comments in italics as well.
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Bought and read:
- Julie Hyzy‘s HOME OF THE BRAISED (cosy mystery)
- KJ Charles‘ A CASE OF POSSESSION (m/m romance/fantasy)
- Sharon Lee‘s CAROUSEL TIDES (contemporary fantasy)
All were 3-star reads in Goodreads terminology, i.e. I’m glad I read them, but while they were good installments in their respective series, they didn’t quite make it to my re-read/keeper shelf.
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Bought and read:
- Diana Wynne Jones & Ursula Jones‘ THE ISLANDS OF CHALDEA (MG fantasy): I did wait until the price dropped though. Worth reading – thought it was lots of fun, though the ending was a bit too tidy.
Possible DNF:
- Suzanne Brockmann‘s DO OR DIE (romantic suspense): I stalled midway – not yet an official DNF as I may still go back to it. Nothing was happening, really.
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Bought and read:
- Anne Bishop‘s MURDER OF CROWS (fantasy): Liked but I had some issues
- Seanan McGuire‘s HALF OFF RAGNAROK (UF)
- Patricia Briggs‘ NIGHT BROKEN (UF)
- Julie Cross‘s THIRD DEGREE (new adult)
- Eloisa James‘ THREE WEEKS WITH LADY X (historical romance)
Bought, but still lurking in that TBR pile:
- Carla Kelly‘s THE WEDDING RING QUEST (historical romance): It’s a bit weird – I never feel an urge to read a Carla Kelly, but when I do get around to reading one, I wonder why I waited so long.
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Bought and read:
- Katherine Addison‘s THE GOBLIN EMPEROR* (fantasy)
- Jo Beverley‘s A SHOCKING DELIGHT (historical romance)
- Allison Parr‘s IMAGINARY LINES* (NA romance): I haven’t yet read a Parr that I didn’t enjoy
- KA Mitchell‘s BAD INFLUENCE (m/m romance)
- KJ Charles‘ NON-STOP TILL TOKYO* (romantic suspense):
Bought, but still in the TBR pile
- Lynn Flewelling‘s SHARDS OF TIME (fantasy)
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Bought and read:
- Tammara Webber‘s BREAKABLE (NA romance): Very much a companion book as opposed to a standalone
- Joanna Chambers‘ ENLIGHTENED (historical m/m romance)
- Josh Lanyon‘s STRANGER ON THE SHORE (m/m romance/mystery)
Borrowed from library and read:
- Jim Butcher‘s SKIN GAME (UF): I had a feeling this wouldn’t be a re-read, hence the library reservation.
Borrowed from library, but DNF:
- Richelle Mead‘s THE IMMORTAL CROWN (fantasy?): Couldn’t get into the story, may borrow again as I suspect it was more my mood.
Waiting for price drop:
- Seanan McGuire‘s SPARROW HILL ROAD (fantasy): I’ll wait until the mass-market paperback, I think.
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Bought and read:
- Sarina Bowen‘s THE YEAR WE HID AWAY* (NA romance)
- Diana Gabaldon‘s WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD (historical fantasy)
- Julie Cross‘s RETURN TO US (YA romance)
- LB Gregg‘s SAM AND AARON (m/m romance)
Bought, but in TBR pile:
- SUMMER RAIN, edited by Sarah Frantz (romance)
Library reservation:
- Nalini Singh‘s SHIELD OF WINTER (paranormal romance): I totally planned on buying this, then started seeing mixed reviews, and figured that I could wait on reading it.
Waiting for price drop:
- Johanna Lindsey‘s STORMY PERSUASION (historical romance)
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Bought and read:
- KJ Charles‘ THINK OF ENGLAND* (historical m/m romance)
- Miranda Kenneally‘s BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE* (NA romance)
- Rachel Aaron‘s NICE DRAGONS FINISH LAST* (urban fantasy)
- Ilona Andrews‘ MAGIC BREAKS (urban fantasy)
- Kelly Hunter‘s THE HONEYMOON TRAP* (contemporary romance – novella)
- Sarina Bowen‘s BLONDE DATE* (NA romance – novella)
You can tell July was a good month for reading.
Library reservation:
- Mary Balogh‘s THE ESCAPE (historical romance)
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Bought and read:
- Stephanie Perkins‘ ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER* (YA romance): No other author captures that teenage rush of crazy-emotions-all-over-the-place like she does
Borrowed from library, read:
- Kelley Armstrong‘s VISIONS* (UF): I suspect I’ll be buying the next book.
Library reservation
- Lee Child‘s PERSONAL (suspense)
Not yet bought
- Ann Aguirre‘s I WANT IT THAT WAY (NA romance)
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So, in numbers?
- 8 months = 41 new releases in total
- 28 bought & read, 3 bought & not read (could be far worse…)
- 2 borrowed from library & read, 3 waiting on library reservations
- 2 DNFs (1 purchased, 1 from the library)
- 3 to be bought at some point
Me and My Books 
Oh! I also have a whole list on draft in my blog of books I’ve read, books in my TBR and books I’ve “placed back in my TBR” or DNF’d! (From the books I’ve highlighted this last year). It’s a way for me to keep track of them.
Interesting. I see you read Visions by Armstrong (how did you like it? I’m really liking the series). I began reading her other release but couldn’t get into it. And I read The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire but have the other two releases in my TBR… no hurry on those. And, I love Mary Balogh! But, I still have her latest historicals in my TBR pile!
VISIONS was good! I thought she got the balance just right between the number of reveals in this book v. those left for the next. I was also intrigued by her foray into motorcycle clubs – I haven’t read any MC romances, so not sure if she’s just using “generic rules” or if she’s nailed the subculture though.
The books I ended up requesting from the library are the ones I didn’t feel the urge to buy during release week (and UK-pubbed – my library system’s pretty big, but it doesn’t work if the release is US-only).
I’d love to see your hit-to-miss ratio too 😉
This is a really nice recap of the year so far, Li! LOL, I was looking for the * and had to wait a while to find one! Guess that July was your best month 🙂
Wow, you read 90% of what you bought. That is quite an amazing number!! I know my number is probably not as high as yours…
Glad you enjoyed Visions! I don’t know, I thought it was a bit weak compared to Omens, although I did like some of the answers provided. I think you should buy Shield of Winter, although perhaps you should wait for the paperback release.
Skin Game was okay.
Hey Nath – the year definitely started out slow. I *wish* I read 90% of what I bought – this list excludes impulse buys, books on sale (the two may be one and the same…) and books rec’d by others!
I liked VISIONS more than OMENS myself, but I think it was because she did the heavy lifting in the first book and could focus more on the story in the second? Agree SKIN GAME wasn’t a standout. I may just buy SHIELD OF WINTER – depends on my patience…
Oh, good idea to do a list like this, Li. I certainly wouldn’t have read 90% of my monthly list of books, but I might try a list like this and see if I’ve read even 50% of my books…LOL.
Hey Jan – I was thinking mine would be materially lower, so I was pleasantly surprised 😉 It’s interesting to see how new releases live up to your expectations…
Well, I’ll have to see what my list shows! I might make it an end of year list though.
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