BOOK HAUL: Stacking the Shelves 5!

I am behind on blog posts and am attempting NaNoWriMo (lol) so I decided to do another Stacking the Shelves post instead of getting a review together.

Also, some links in this post are affiliate links which will give me a teeny commission if you use my link to buy (no cost to you). I am trying this out to see if it is worth it so bear with me for the next couple of months!

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly post hosted by Reading Reality and you can see all the details about Stacking the Shelves on their page. Basically Stacking the Shelves is a weekly thing where you share all the books (electronic or physical) that you have acquired that week.

As a disclaimer, the shelves in the header photo are not mine. I took this photo at Mostly Books in Tucson. I adored this small independent bookstores and will be back!

eBooks!!

Do I keep buying ebooks that are on sale and then not reading them? Yes.

The Fake Santa Apology Tour by Julie Olivia (Amazon Link)

I saw a few people on bookstagram say this was a good one so I of course downloaded it. I do like holiday books so I’m hyped.

Synopsis: I’m Birdie Mae, and let’s skip to the weird part of my story: Short-term relationships with good looking Santas are kind of my thing. And Nicholas Ryan is the good looking Santa I really don’t need in my life.

They say the spirit of Christmas finds you on holiday vacations, but instead I run into the only person who could get my Christmas lights twisted: freaking Nicholas. A man I haven’t seen in twenty years and who I never wanted to see again. Except now he’s my hot bartender, complete with a silver-fox beard, a twinkle in his eye, and looking a lot like my kryptonite: jingle belling Santa Claus.

It’s five days until Christmas, I’m stuck in a snowy town straight out of a Hallmark movie, and my ultimate goal? Avoid the Grinch who stole all my Christmases and pretend that our chemistry is simply just the magic of Christmas in the air.

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas (Amazon Link)

I’ve seen amazing things about this one so when it was on sale I jumped on the deal. (Especially since my library will not purchase a copy even though I recommended it). It is no longer on sale, but I will keep y’all posted if I like it! I’ve been wanting to read Sherry Thomas for years and I am excited. I also love the purple of the cover.

Synopsis: Millicent understands the terms of her arranged marriage all too well. She gets to be a Countess by marrying an impoverished Earl. And in return, the Earl Fitzhugh receives the benefit of her vast wealth, saving his family from bankruptcy. Because of her youth, they have agreed to wait eight years before consummating the marriage–and then, only to beget an heir. After which, they will lead separate lives.

It is a most sensible arrangement. Except for one little thing. Somehow Millie has fallen head over heels in love with her husband. Her husband, who has become her very best friend, but nothing more…Her husband, who plans to reunite with his childhood sweetheart, the beautiful and newly widowed Isabelle, as soon as he has honored the pact with his wife…

As the hour they truly become husband-and-wife draws near, both Millie and Fitzhugh must face the truth in their hearts. Has their pact bred only a great friendship-or has it, without either of them quite noticing, given rise to a great love?

The Speed of Seduction by Cara Maxwell (Amazon Link)  

This one is free at the time on me writing this one so go go go! I have no idea why I decided I needed this one but something spoke to me (it being $0) so I downloaded it.

Synopsis: He has spent years arranging the pieces on the chessboard to entrap his enemy. Now, a wager made in jest threatens to waylay his plans… and his heart.

Meet William Armstrong: rogue, rakehell, devil may care duke-to-be. Everyone knows Will can’t walk away from a wager, especially if it involves horseracing. The subject of this wager? The prim and proper Lady Simone Laurent. This is a bet he will enjoy winning.

The youngest sister of a large and boisterous family, Simone is used to being overlooked. She is wise enough not to fall for a future duke’s honeyed words. But as she is swept into his world of racing and excitement, she feels herself changing and becoming confident that the feelings Will inspires are more than a passing fancy.

But there is more to Will than meets the eye—a burning determination that he has carefully kept hidden from friends and family alike. When Simone discovers his secret, will she join his quest for revenge, or will they both be consumed by the tempest?

The Player Next Door by Elizabeth Davis (Amazon Link)

Did I buy this because it had basketballs on the cover? Yes. Anyways. This was only 99 cents and even though I didn’t love the author’s prior book I needed this one because of basketballs.

Synopsis: Finance bro Logan and tabletop game designer Clare couldn’t be more different. They know this because their apartments face each other, and they’ve noticed. But not, you know, in a creepy way.

Still, when they get stuck in the elevator together, sparks fly and they each see an opportunity: Clare needs her co-workers to believe that she is capable of a one-night stand to get them to buy into her new role-play character, and Logan needs a steady girlfriend to prove his maturity to his boss.

After one night together, they’re keen to get on with their respective plans. Except Clare can’t understand why her hook-up seems to want to date her, and Logan is confused that Clare isn’t responding to his flirting.

A kiss in the rain might clear up any confusion over their chemistry, but this whole ‘relationship’ thing is a two-player game, and both want to win. With their hearts and their pride on the line, could the prize be love?

The Wolf of Westmore by Amalie Howard (Amazon Link)

This one is free at the time of me writing this so go go! I saw someone rec this one on booksta so I downloaded it! I’ve also seen a lot of Amalie Howard hype lately so I figured I would download this one too!

Synopsis: lol couldn’t find one on goodreads?

physical books!!

Blood, Fire and Gold by Estelle Paranque 

Thanks to the publisher for both an ARC and a finished copy of this one! I really need to read it so then I can pass it along to my friend who loves history books. I loved reading about Elizabeth I when I was a kid so I’m curious to see if I still do.

Synopsis: One a Virgin Queen who ruled her kingdom alone, and the other a clandestine leader who used her children to shape the dynasties of Europe, much has been written about these iconic women. But nothing has been said of their complicated relationship: thirty years of friendship, competition and conflict that changed the face of Europe.

This is a story of two remarkable visionaries: a story of blood, fire and gold. It is also a tale of ceaseless calculation, of love and rivalry, of war and wisdom – and of female power in a male world. Shining new light on their legendary kingdoms Blood, Fire and Gold provides a new way of looking at two of history’s most powerful women, and how they shaped each other as profoundly as they shaped the course of history. Drawing on their letters and brand new research, Estelle Paranque writes an entirely new chapter in the well-worn story of the sixteenth century.

If you’ve read any of these, where should I start?

xoxo, Tree