State of the Stack #84 (June 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. Sweet Tea and Secrets by Joy Avon (June 5)
2. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy (June 6)
3. A Merciful Promise by Kendra Elliot (June 12)
4. Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer (June 25)
5. Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger (June 26)
6. Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews (Aug. 20)

Read Previously, Reviews Posted This Month

1. The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (May 1)
2. Below the Fold by R. G. Belsky (May 2)
3. Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (May 7)
4. Spark by Sarah Beth Durst (May 8)
5. The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White (May 14)
6. Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist (May 16)
7. Smitten by the Brit by Melonie Johnson (May 21)
8. The Beyond by Chloe Neill (May 26)
9. The Right Sort of Man by Alllison Montclair (May 28)
10. The Summer Country by Lauren Willig (May 29)
11. Death in Kew Gardens by Jennifer Ashley (May 30)

I Added These Books

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

1. A Highlander Walks into a Bar by Laura Trentham (July 30)
2. The Duke Is But a Dream by Anna Bennett (July 30)
3. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (Sept. 3)
4. The Princess Plan by Julia London (Nov. 19)
5. Read and Buried by Eva Gates (Oct. 15)
6. Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer (June 25)
7. Past Perfect Life by Elizabeth Eulberg (July 9)
8. Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews (Aug. 27)

My Review Pile

July

• Past Perfect Life by Elizabeth Eulberg (YA; July 9)
• The Pawful Truth by Miranda James (July 16)
• Death in a Budapest Butterfly by Julia Buckley (July 30)

• A Highlander Walks into a Bar by Laura Trentham (July 30)
• The Duke Is But a Dream by Anna Bennett (July 30)

August

• Singapore Sapphire by A. M. Stuart (August 6)
• Death Comes to Dartmoor by Vivian Conroy (August 13)
• Death in the Covenant by D. A. Bartley (August 13)

• A Killer Edition by Lorna Barrett (August 13)
• Pride, Prejudice & Poison by Elizabeth Blake (August 13)
• Cold Woods by Karen Katchur (August 13)

• The Last Good Guy by T. Jefferson Parker (August 13)
• In the Line of Fire by R. J. Noonan (August 13)
• Stolen Things by R. H. Herron (August 20)

September

• The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (September 3)
• Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (September 3)
• Ice Cold Heart by P. J. Tracy (Sept. 10)

• Remembering the Dead by Elizabeth J. Duncan (September 10)
• Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron (September 10)
• The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams (YA; September 17)

October

• New Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia (YA; October 1)
• The Books of the Dead by Emilia Beernhard (October 8)
• The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif (YA; October 8)

• A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (October 8)
• Read and Buried by Eva Gates (October 15)
• All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell (YA; October 29)

November - January

• The Princess Plan by Julia London (November 19)
• Just Watch Me by Jeff Lindsay (December 3)

• Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen (YA; December 3)
• The Prized Girl by Amy K. Green (January 14)

Next Month's Plan

I'm keeping up with my review commitments partially because I'm selecting fewer books to review. I seem to be concentrating on mysteries and science fiction and letting other sorts of books pass me by. I also chose a couple of romance which is a genre that I had pretty much quit reading a while ago to see what romances are like these days.

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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!