State of the Stack #82 (April 1, 2019)

This is my monthly State of the Stack post. It is my way to keep track of my review books and to hopefully reduce the stack that I have waiting for me. I take a look at my review commitments on or near the first of the month. Link with Avalinah's Books (description below) to check out other people's progress.

Here is my Review Books Spreadsheet I list them in publication order and sort them by month. I can quickly see how many books I have for each date. Ideally, this keeps me from over-committing to review books. Check my spreadsheet to find out where I got each book.

I also do this post because sometimes (frequently) review books sit on my stack for a while before I read and review them. I try to read and review books within two weeks of publication date. Sometimes I can't, though, if too many books are releasing on the same date or if the book arrives too near its publication date and my calendar is already full.

I am very grateful to the authors and publishers who support my reading habit.

I Read This Month

These are listed in the order I read them. Links go to my reviews for all that have been posted already. Otherwise, the date the review is scheduled for is listed.

1. Grave Destiny by Kalayna Price (March 30)
2. The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman (March 26)
3. Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn (March 28)
4. The Ghost Manuscript by Kris Frieswick (March 31)
5. Dreaming Darkly by Caitlin Kittredge (April 2)
6. A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (April 4)
7. Come and Get Me by August Norman (April 6)
8. The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey (April 10)
9. Under the Table by Stephanie Evanovich (April 11)
10. Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine (April 16)
11. Hide and Seek by Mary Burton (April 18)
12. Read on Arrival by Nora Page (April 30)
13. The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (May 1)

Read Previously, Reviews Posted This Month

1. Trouble on the Books by Essie Lang (March 3)
2. The True Queen by Zen Cho (March 5)
3. A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn (March 6)
4. Murder in Belgravia by Lynn Brittney (March 9)
5. Murder from Scratch by Leslie Karst (March 10)
6. Sherwood by Meagan Spooner (March 12)
7. The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst (March 13)
8. Secrets Never Die by Melinda Leigh (March 14)
9. Killing November by Adriana Mather (March 20)
10. An Artless Demise by Anna Lee Huber (March 27)

I Added These Books

These are listed in the order I received them. Links go to Amazon. Date published is listed in parentheses.

1. The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White (May 21)
2. The Summer Country by Lauren Willig (June 4)
3. Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine (April 23)
4. Death in Kew Gardens by Jennifer Ashley (June 4)
5. Liaden Universe Constellation IV by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (June 4)
6. Singapore Sapphire by A. M. Stuart (August 6)
7. Death Comes to Dartmoor by Vivian Conroy (August 13)
8. Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (May 7)
9. Ice Cold Heart by P. J. Tracy (Sept. 10)
10. Girls Like Us by Christina Alger (July 2)
11. Death in the Covenant by D. A. Bartley (August 13)
12. Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong (June 25)
13. The Book Supremacy by Kate Carlisle (June 4)
14. The Pawful Truth by Miranda James (July 16)
15. Death in a Budapest Butterfly by Julia Buckley (July 30)
16. A Killer Edition by Lorna Barrett (August 13)

My Review Pile

May

• Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (YA; May 7)
• Below the Fold by R. G. Belsky (May 7)
• Spark by Sarah Beth Durst (YA; May 14)

• The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White (May 21)
• Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist (YA; May 21)
• Smitten by the Brit by Melonie Johnson (May 28)

June

• The Book Supremacy by Kate Carlisle (June 4)
• A Liaden Universe Constellation IV by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (June 4)
• Death in Kew Gardens by Jennifer Ashley (June 4)

• The Summer Country by Lauren Willig (June 4)
• The Soul of Power by Callie Bates (YA; June 4)
• Sweet Tea and Secrets by Jay Avon (June 11)

• The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy (June 11)
• The Darwin Affair by Tim Mason (June 11)

• Girl in the Rearview Mirror by Kelsey Rae Dimberg (June 18)
• Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong (June 25)

July

• Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger (July 2)
• The Pawful Truth by Miranda James (July 16)
• Death in a Budapest Butterfly by Julia Buckley (July 30)

August

• Singapore Sapphire by A. M. Stuart (August 6)
• A Killer Edition by Lorna Barrett (August 13)
• Death in the Covenant by D. A. Bartley (August 13)

• Death Comes to Dartmoor by Vivian Conroy (August 13)
• Stolen Things by R. H. Herron (August 20)

September

• Ice Cold Heart by P. J. Tracy (September 10)

Next Month's Plan


*********

I am keeping about one month ahead. I am also trying to be much more selective about which ARCs I choose. You'll notice that there are many fewer YAs than I used to feature. I have also seemed to be focusing on mysteries with a few science fiction titles mixed in for variety.

I am also linking up with the State of the ARC meme. Here is the explanation and rules.

State of the ARC is a monthly meme at Avalinah’s Books meant to motivate you to finish up all your long overdue ARCs (Advanced or Early Reader Copies). You can track your reading progress and link up with your own post. Most commonly it comes out on the 30th of every month.

Rules of State of the ARC:

• Mention that you’re linking up with State of the ARC @ AvalinahsBooks, which is a fun way to share our ARC progress, challenges, wins, woes and mishaps.
• Include the link to this post, or the current State of the ARC post. You can use my State of the ARC image too.
• Don’t forget to visit all the other people in the link-up and comment.
• And most importantly – have fun!