I still cannot believe that December’s come and gone and we are more than one week into 2019! After my going overboard during Black Friday sales in November (and thankfully not many anticipated releases for December), this haul is significantly smaller and consisting mostly of previously released titles that I hadn’t picked up yet. In 2019 I want to focus on my owned TBR and am hoping to schedule a couple of buddy reads a month to keep my reading more balanced between backlist and frontlist. Expect a post on this very soon!
Before I get into the haul, I want to reiterate that you do not need to buy and own a lot of books in order to be considered a book blogger or lover. I am quite frugal with everything else so that I can buy books because I love them, but I do not ever want to make you feel bad if you cannot afford to buy books or have poor access where you live.
The Haul
- Seafire by Natalie C. Parker (gift from Becca 💖)
- Stronger, Faster, And More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton (Mysterious Galaxy Fantastic Firsts)
- Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao (CW’s giveaway, The Quiet Pond)
- Gemina (Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
- Obsidio (Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Kindle Deals
- Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Audible)
- Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Audible)
- Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Audible)
- Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft ($2.99 deal)
- Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri ($2.99 deal)
- The Sisters of Winter Wood by Rena Rossner ($2.99 deal)
- Nevernight by Jay Kristoff ($2.99 deal)
- The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang ($1.99 deal)
ARC Approvals
- The Priory of the Orange Tree EXCLUSIVE EARLY EXTRACT by Samantha Shannon (available on Read Now on NetGalley)
- Savage Species by Jonathan Janz (currently reading, thank you Flame Tree Press for the physical ARC!)
That’s it for the books that I hauled in December! Are any of these on your TBRs, or have you read them? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Let’s go on another adventure together!
I, too, snagged the Poppy War on deal! I was sorely tempted by a lot of the Orbit deals, but I have such a back log I managed to resist for now. Great haul!
Those Orbit deals were a curse on my bank account but I was so excited to nab so many books on sale! Thanks so much for stopping by and happy reading!
Great haul!
I’m so nervous that the Priory of the Orange Tree is going to let me down, but I’m optimistic, haha
Honestly… me too. I haven’t even opened the excerpt yet because what if I hate it?!?!?!
Omg I feel this. Lucky for me I probably won’t be able to read this when it first releases, so I can get everyone else’s opinion (besides die-hard Shannon fans, of course, haha) to know if I should just avoid it or not
Yea I feel like this book could wind up being overly hyped though, so I may avoid reviews. But then again it is so long I don’t want to invest time if I wind up hating it. UGH
UGH
this is a great haul!
Thank you!
In all of this my heart skipped a beat with the Illuminae Files and The Priory of the Orange Tree. A time is going to be had with these wonder twin.
A
TIME.
<3
I want to finish Illuminae Files but honestly I don’t want it to end yet so I don’t know when I will read Obsidio haha
I feel that emotion. BIG mood lol
I’m still debating whether or not to read The Priory of the Orange Tree, I’m so tempted but it’s so long!! Enjoy your new books!
I’m tempted, too😁 But I think I’ll wait until I get the entire book as I prefer to start fresh from chapter 1.
Smart!
I know the length is honestly a huge turnoff for me. That’s kind of why I am glad I got the extract from NG so I can see if the story and writing style will be for me before getting invested in an 800+ page book.
Fantastic haul! I really want to read Forest of a Thousand Lanterns!
Thank you, and me too! I hope I am in the read for fantasy soon!
Nice haul! 💜
You did a lot better than me. I went a little book crazy this past month with the book buying, but those look like some great books. http://fallingdownthebookhole.com/no-control-book-haul/
Oh goodness, looking forward to checking out your haul!
That’s so commendable, Kaleena! I need to practice my self-control, too. I’m gonna pause ARC requesting this year, at least until I have only 5 ARCs left or something.
You’ve got some really good ones in this haul! I’d LOVE to do some buddy reading this year, do you have a list of books you’ll be reading for that?
P.S. Do you think Joan of Arc/witchcraft count as mythology/folklore?
My self control honestly ebbs and flows, I wish it were a bit more consistent! I am trying to be careful about requesting too many arcs; hopefully I can sort out my backlog before March ends!
YAY BUDDY READS! Honestly I am willing to buddy read anything that’s on my owned TBR but it might be a couple of months because somehow I have a bunch this and next month? And I am on day 13 of a slump, sooooo.
I don’t know, my personal inclination is more historical fiction than folklore? why do you ask?
I have so far stemmed myself from requesting any ARCs(except for Descendant of the Crane—it’s a Chinese-based historical epic fantasy—, I told myself just this one, hehe. It’s too good to pass up! The reviews mention wonderful twists!).
I took that reading speed test you shared and, hypothetically, I could finish my ARCs by the end of this year at my current speed.(60+ books >.<) You'd finish much faster than me!
Lollll, my, 13 days! That sounds more like me than you! Looks like us bloggers are more alike than we think 😛 It's okay though! I buddy read with other ppl while I wait for you 😀
Lol, I was asking cuz I'm doing this Hodderscape challenge and this month's pormpt is folklore/myth. And I'm trying to figure out if I have any from my ARC pile that fits the genre.
KALEENA WHAT IS SELF CONTROL. I know no such thing (lol I have so much control because budget so thanks for that, budget?). Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is deliciously evil and dark, though I found myself struggling through maybe the first half of the book? But I LOVED the parts later, so I’ll say I like the darkness. 😏
I LOVE DARKNESS and EVIL, so I will be sure to push through if I find it a little slow to start, thanks for letting me know!
I gotchu ❤️
The Illuminae Files series is always a good choice!
I know, I have ZERO REGRETS! I still need to read Obsidio but I am not ready for it to end yet!
I have heard of these books but I haven’t read any of them so far. I mostly got freebies and ARCs in December. I’m still in a book buying ban, if I’m being completely honest. I also didn’t see that many deals in December that were available in my neck of the woods, at least not for the books I wanted to read.
The good thing about no good sales where you live is you weren’t tempted to break your ban! Silver lining and all that! Good luck with your ban, Ruby!
Ah that’s not too bad !
Ive successfully read 4books out of my owned shelves now !
I’ve got the two I wanted for christmas (finished one already, need to wait for my reread of the serie to start the other because well …its the last tome) and i’ve got accepted for only ONE arc, which is a poetry one, so shall go pretty quick.
However … I have a giftcard for our bookstore from christmas that I still need to use so, haul coming soon !! hahah
YAY good job reading off your shelves and tackling some of your owned TBR! December was a good catch-up month and lately I have found myself focusing more on backlist than anything. Happy reading and looking forward to your haul!
love a good haul post
Thank you!
A much smaller haul then the last one I saw you do! 😂 So there’s definitely some self-control showing. You got some great books here, though!
HAHAHAHA that’s an understatement if I have ever heard one, hehehe thank you! I am proud of holding back a bit!
Did you regret starting Savage Species before bed? It looks super creepy!
Yes, yes I did. I literally had made that tweet & opened the book and page like 3? was a gorefest. Hahahaha. It’s definitely kind of a supernatural slasher if that makes any sense, and I still need to finish it. Creepy indeed!
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns looks so interesting, and the cover <3
I know I am REALLY EXCITED to read that book soon!
I also downloaded The Priory of the Orange Tree! Hoping it’s a good one!
Crossing fingers!!!
EEP SO EXCITED TO SEE SEAFIRE HERE. I loved that one! ♥ Happy reading!
I have heard SO MANY GOOD THINGS about Seafire, I can’t wait to read it!
Oh, Gemina & Obsidio <3 I'm still debating whether i want them on kindle, or the printed version.
I'm also a bit like you. Don't really spend on much else, just books. It got to the point where the BF offered to buy me a handbag, cuz apparently women change their bags often and mine is like 4 years old. Still in perfect condition tho. 😀
I have heard the Kindle version doesn’t do the mixed media format as well, but I haven’t seen them myself to be able to say for certain one way or another. Marie Lu’s artwork in Gemina is incredible though!
HAHAHAA. Why would I want a new handbag when my current one is fine? I don’t need shoes… just give me more books!
Ain’t that right? 😀