Saturday, October 20, 2018

Book Haul: Anticipated 2018 Releases




Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently. I’ve acquired of some of my most-anticipated 2018 releases (and a few other books because I have no self-control).






Anticipated 2018 Releases








The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah



Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.


















Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Hess




Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming—like many—that Blade will become just like his father.

In reality, the only thing Blade has in common with Rutherford is the music that lives inside them. But not even the songs that flow through Blade’s soul are enough when he’s faced with two unimaginable realities: the threat of losing Chapel forever, and the revelation of a long-held family secret, one that leaves him questioning everything he thought was true. All that remains is a letter and a ticket to Ghana—both of which could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift.

















Revival by Stephen King



In a small New England town, in the early 60s, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs Jacobs; the women and girls–including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister – feel the same about Reverend Jacobs. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond, based on their fascination with simple experiments in electricity.

Then tragedy strikes the Jacobs family; the preacher curses God, mocking all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

Jamie has demons of his own. In his mid-thirties, he is living a nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll. Addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate, he sees Jacobs again–a showman on stage, creating dazzling ‘portraits in lightning’–and their meeting has profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings. Because for every cure there is a price.


















An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green



The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship—like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor—April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world—everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires—and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight. 

Now April has to deal with the pressure on her relationships, her identity, and her safety that this new position brings, all while being on the front lines of the quest to find out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.


















The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #2)



Felicity Montague is through with pretending she prefers society parties to books about bone setting—or that she’s not smarter than most people she knows, or that she cares about anything more than her dream of becoming a doctor.

A year after an accidentally whirlwind tour of Europe, which she spent evading highwaymen and pirates with her brother Monty, Felicity has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of Callum Doyle, a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh; and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.

But then a small window of hope opens. Doctor Alexander Platt, an eccentric physician that Felicity idolizes, is looking for research assistants, and Felicity is sure that someone as forward thinking as her hero would be willing to take her on. However, Platt is in Germany, preparing to wed Felicity’s estranged childhood friend Johanna. Not only is Felicity reluctant to opening old wounds, she also has no money to make the trip.

Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid. In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that will lead her from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic.









Have you read any of these? What did you think?








38 comments:

  1. I actually keep my "anticipated" releases on a spreadsheet along with my CWW picks, and I only really read them if I get an ARC . You are so much more committed to your anticipated releases. I have been on the wait list for Hannah's book for eternity, but you know, it could come available while I am still alive. I am curious about the Hank Green book too.

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    1. I’m impressed with how on top of new releases I’ve been this month. Usually it takes me years to acquire a copy of whatever book I’m excited about. This time, I preordered, and it was a good idea. I loved reading the books right after they came out.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  2. I have never read anything by Stephen King. I know I probably should, I don't do well with scary stuff haha. I really should give one a go though. I hope you enjoy your new books.

    My STS: https://sparetimebookblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/stacking-shelves.html

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  3. I got given a free copy of Revival but I haven't read it. I haven't been keen on anything much by Stephen King over recent years but hey, it's free so I'll look at it!

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    1. I liked Revival more than some of King’s other recent books. It could have been shorter, though.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  4. I haven't read Stephen King in ages...but Revival looks tempting. Great cover!

    I enjoyed The Great Alone. Have a great week, and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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    1. I liked Revival and The Great Alone. I think I gave them both 4 stars on Goodreads.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  5. I've only read two novels by Stephen King but I need to read more - I'm super-interested in his newer stuff in particular. The Lady's Guide was a lot of fun, but it didn't exactly live up to my expectations. I was quite frustrated with Felicity at multiple times and didn't like how some characters, one in particular, were treated better than they deserved. Hope you'll love these!

    Veronika @ The Regal Critiques

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    1. A lot of people have been saying that about Lady’s Guide. That sucks because I loved Gentleman’s Guide. It’s one of my favorite books I’ve read this year.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  6. Petticoats And Piracy looks like one I might enjoy :-)

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  7. I'm listening to the audiobook of Solo right now, and I want to get a copy of Petticoats and Piracy.

    Hope you have a great weekend. - Katie

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  8. The Great Alone is still on my TBR, although I'm intimidated by it a little. I hope you enjoy Lady's Guide!

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    1. I was intimidated by The Great Alone, too. I think it took me 3 weeks to get through it. It’s huge and dramatic.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  9. I still need to read The Gentleman's Guide! I'm going back and forth on The Great Alone; I like Hannah, but not sure I can get through the tough topics in this one!

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    1. Read Gentleman’s Guide! It’s fun. I understand the hesitation with The Great Alone. It’s a tragedy porn book where tons of bad stuff happens.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  10. I can't wait to see what you think of Hank Green's book! I JUST finished it a few minutes ago. I enjoyed it!

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  11. ohh I read Solo earlier this year and I liked it! And The Lady's Guide is SO GOOD AND FUN AND HEARTWARMING. Monty's cameos were my favourite though.😂I'm hoping to read An Absolutely Remarkable Thing soon too, eep, it's on library order and fingers crossed it comes in fast!

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    1. I’m glad you liked them! I’ll cross my fingers and hope that your library hold comes in.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  12. I haven't read any of these but I have heard wonderful things about them. The Great Alone was a library book club read recently but I haven't had a chance to read it. Enjoy all your new reads AJ.

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    1. The Great Alone would make a great book club read. There’s a lot to discuss, and I had some pretty strong opinions.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  13. I tried The Great Alone, but gave up around 40%. Was moving super slowly and I couldn't take the main character's decision-making...

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    1. That’s understandable. It took me weeks to read The Great Alone because it’s huge, and slow, and every character is infuriating.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. I really liked Revival when I read it. I haven't read too many King books and that was the first full length book by him that I ever read so I was really taken by it. I have The Great Alone on my wishlist. I hope you enjoy all of these, AJ!

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    1. I really liked Revival. It’s been a long time since I read a King book. Reading it reminded me that I need to get back to his stuff.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  15. Oh, I want to read Hank Green's book too! I haven't got it yet, but I am currently reading a Stephen King novel and I missed his writing a lot! Hope you enjoy your books!

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    1. I liked Hank’s book more than I thought I would. Every time I read a King book, I want more and more of them.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  16. Solo sounds fabulous. I'm going to add it to my Goodreads 👍✨

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  17. Once I get caught up on my reviews,I'm downloading the audio for Felicity's book!

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    1. I’m going to start it as soon as I finish reading the Ballot Book for my state. Ballot Books should count toward Goodreads goals. It’s a long, boring book!

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  18. I really enjoyed Revival and I've only heard good things about the Mackenzi Lee series. I really enjoyed Monstrous Things by her and keep meaning to try this series. I've not seen Solo but it sounds like one I want!

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    1. I liked Revival and This Monstrous Thing. I’m looking forward to Lady’s Guide and Solo.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  19. Great haul! I've been dying to read The Great Alone.

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  20. The great alone is one I'm dying to get to! I was happy to see you enjoyed Revival :)

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  21. OH YES I am so happy to see Hank Green's book on here. I ADORED IT. I mean, I loved it so, so, very much, it is one of my favorite books now. I really hope you'll enjoy it :) happy reading!! :)

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