Welcome to Over-Booked, where I share my latest and greatest book acquisitions! I’m linking up with Stacking the Shelves over at Tynga’s Reviews and The Sunday Post at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
Just a small book haul this week, but that’s OK. I am trying to restrain myself from requesting too many books this year. I did go a bit crazy on Edelweiss this past week when Harper Collins dropped a bunch of Spring releases! Here’s what I’ve received in the last couple of weeks:
Physical books for review:
I’m so looking forward to Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel. Frankenstein meets Jane Austen! Big thanks to Wunderkind PR and Saga Press for the review copy:-D
A surprise from Blackstone Publishing which actually looks pretty cool: Deliverance: Hell Divers #3 by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. I have no idea if I’m able to jump into this series at book #3 (I may shoot the publicist an email and ask), but I sure hope so, because I’m intrigued!
Digital books for review:
Thanks to HarperTeen and Balzer + Bray for these lovelies! I recently highlighted the first two in my Twelve 2018 Sci Fi Books I Can’t Wait to Read, and I didn’t even hesitate a second before pushing the Download button.
First up is Contagion by Erin Bowman. Man this sounds SCARY! I hope it is. Scary science fiction is the best kind:-)
I couldn’t resist this gorgeous cover: These Rebel Waves (Stream Raiders #1) by Sara Raasch. A soldier, a pirate and a crown price get together and do stuff. But seriously, I love this cover!
Nine by Zach Hines. This story sounds crazy! In an alternate world, people have nine lives. I can’t wait to read this!
Big thanks to Tor for Semiosis by Sue Burke. It took me a while to get approved for this, and I had nearly given up hope! This is a February release and it’s on my plate next month.
I was asked to join the blog tour for By a Charm & a Curse by Jaime Questell, and although I don’t do a lot of blog tours, I’m very curious about this circus-centric story. Look for my tour stop in February. Thank you Entangled Teen!
Finally, a very sad story. I have been eyeing The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander, and when it popped up on NetGalley I immediately requested it. But I’ve never had this problem before: the formatting was so bad that I couldn’t comfortably read it. Every page had whole lines of words strung together without spaces between them. I thought it was just a glitch, but I kept scrolling through the book and this odd formatting was on just about every page. My poor eyes just didn’t want to try to untangle those long strings of words, so I sent feedback to the publisher (Tor.com) about the issue, apologizing that I wouldn’t be reviewing the book. Has that ever happened to anyone?
I’m very excited about Semiosis too!!! 😀 Contangion sounds good too! Been a while since I’ve read a si-if horror.
Sci Fi horror is the best! There are some good ones coming out this year, yay!
Contagion looks intriguing – scary, yes, but very intriguing! I can’t resist stories about deadly epidemics, and one that’s based on an alien planet, with a Roanoke vibe added to the mix is simply irresistible!!! 😀
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: DEN OF WOLVES (Blackthorn and Grim #3), by Juliet Marillier
I love epidemic stories as well, and they are doubly frightening because I suppose they could actually happen:-D
I am trying hard to refrain myself but I still managed to pick up a couple this week. I knew I couldn’t stay away from those sites. 🙂 Pride and Prometheus sounds kind of interesting! Enjoy your reads!
It’s so hard to say no to books, especially when the release date is months away and you just KNOW you won’t have any trouble reading them:-)
OMG! Pride and Prometheus sounds really good. I completely forgot I had an ARC of By a Charm and a Curse! I need to read that book ASAP. I hope you enjoy all of your new books!
Have a wonderful weekend, Tammy. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Alyssa Susanna (The Eater of Books!) recently posted…Stacking the Shelves (#266)
I hope we both enjoy By a Charm and a Curse, the cover sure is gorgeous!
I find it so awesome that of all the Harper YA stuff they put up on Edel this week, you and I also requested the same two! I grabbed Contagion and These Rebel Waves as well, because they sounded so good!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Cool, I can’t wait to get to the Harper titles, they do sound really good, and I think their GR ratings are pretty high, which is encouraging!
I once had really bad formatting issues from a First to Read book and I was unable to get very far. I finally ended up buying a copy once it was released. I’m super excited to read Contagion so I can’t wait to hear what you think of it. Pride and Prometheus sounds interesting too. Daniela from Nocturnal Devices LOVES the Hell Divers books so I’m sure she could let you know if you need to read the first 2 first. Great haul this week!
I’ll have to touch base with Daniela, I’m very curious to read Hell Divers but not if it’s going to be confusing. Thanks for the heads up!
Contagion sounds really good. and freaky- yay!! lolol
Greg recently posted…Sunday Post #230
I’m ready for freaky!
Contagion and Pride and Prometheus both sound exciting – I’ve also recently had an unhappy experience with a dreadfully formatted arc – WaR: Wizards and Robots… the text was fractured with line breaks alll over the place and in amongst it on EVERY line were numbers in amongst the wording. I really, really tried, but I simply couldn’t concentrate on the story – it was such a shame, because in amongst the textual mayhem, it looked as though there lurked a good story!
This is the first time I absolutely could not read an eARC, and I am terribly disappointed. I will most likely buy the book because I really want to read it. I’m wondering if the publisher will say anything about my feedback. So far no response!
No, I’ve not experienced such bad formatting — something must have gone seriously wrong with it! Also Pride and Prometheus? LOVE IT !!
I’ve seen lots of formatting problems with e-books, but they are few and far between. This issue was on every page, so I couldn’t even attempt it, unfortunately.
I would definitely like to read Pride and Prometheus. Although part of me wonders it if can fill such huge boots.
I’ve got a copy of Semiosis and hoping to start it this week.
Happy reading.
Lynn 😀
I’m hoping Pride and Prometheus is really different from the source material, I agree! Big shoes to fill:-)
Great haul! I have had to reply to a publisher before that I couldnt read an e-ARC because of formatting issues. I think it happened twice and pretty sure both times were a different publisher (not Tor.com). I was sent physical copies in those cases, the publisher was really nice about it. But it is so frustrating when you pick something out, go sit down to read it and realize you can’t
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…The Sunday Share – January 28, 2018
Tor.com hasn’t said anything to me about my note. I guess I didn’t expect them to, but still! It would have been nice to be offered another format or at least if someone had acknowledged that there are formatting issues.
Gah, you got a copy of Hell Divers III?! I’m kind of jealous since I love that series lol. Looks like you got lots of great books though! A Charm and a Curse is one I want to read too. Looking forward to your thoughts!
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Update: Life and Books (1/28/18)
Oh good, I can ask you if Hell Divers needs to be read in order! If so I’m going to need to catch up before I read this
I need to get my hands on Contagion! It sounds AMAZING!
I also can’t wait for Semiosis. Sadly, I didn’t get approved 🙁 So, I’m eagerly awaiting the library to get it!
Happy reading!
Oh sorry Nadine! I just got turned down for something I was really excited about and I was bummed too:-/
Semiosis by Sue Burke has such a stunning cover! Definitely got your hands on some nice books. Happy reading, Tammy! 😀
Thanks Lashaan, I do love the cover to Semiosis as well:-)
Pride and Prometheus! So excited to hear your thoughts on that one, you know I love me some Jane Austen vibes.
Danya @ Fine Print recently posted…Review: This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong