State of the Stack #85 (July 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 and links go to Amazon.

1. The Pawful Truth by Miranda James (July 9)
2. Past Perfect Life by Elizabeth Eulberg (July 6)
3. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman (July 7)
4. Eye Spy by Mercedes Lackey (July 4)
5. A Highlander Walks Into a Bar by Laura Trentham (July 23)
6. The Duke Is But a Dream by Anna Bennett (July 24)
7. Death in a Budapest Butterfly by Julia Buckley (July 25)

Read Previously, Reviews Posted This Month

1. Liaden Universe Constellation IV by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (June 1)
2. The Book Supremacy by Kate Carlisle (June 2)
3. The Darwin Affair by Tim Mason (June 4)
4. Sweet Tea and Secrets by Joy Avon (June 5)
5. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy (June 6)
6. A Merciful Promise by Kendra Elliot (June 12)
7. Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong (June 18)
8. Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer (June 22)
9. Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger (June 26)

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 Woman in the Veil by Laura Joh Rowland (Jan. 7)
2. Echoes of the Fall by Hank Early (Nov. 12)
3. Tracking Game by Margaret Mizushima (Nov. 12)
4. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman (July 9)
5. Well Met by Jen DeLuca (Sept. 3)
6. Eye Spy by Mercedes Lackey (July 9)
7. How to Love a Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne (Aug. 27)
8. The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier (Sept. 3)
9. A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh (Dec. 3)
10. The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas (Oct. 15)
11. Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace by Patricia Marcantonio (Feb. 11, 2020)

My Review Pile

August

• Singapore Sapphire by Anne Stuart (August 6)
• In the Line of Fire by R. J. Noonan (August 13)
• Pride, Prejudice & Poison by Elizabeth Blake (August 13)

• 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)
• The Last Good Guy by T. Jefferson Parker (August 13)
• Cold Woods by Karen Katchur (August 13)

• Stolen Things by R. H. Herron (August 20)
• How to Love a Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne (August 27)

September

• The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (Sept. 3)
• Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (Sept. 3)
• Well Met by Jen DeLuca (Sept. 3)

• The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier (Sept. 3)
• Ice Cold Heart by P. J. Tracy (Sept. 10)
• Remembering the Dead by Elizabeth J. Duncan (Sept. 10)

• Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron (Sept. 10)
• The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams (Sept. 17)

October

• Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappie (Oct. 1)
• The Books of the Dead by Emilia Bernhard (Oct. 8)
• The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif (Oct. 8)

• A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Oct. 8)
• Read and Buried by Eva Gates (Oct. 15)

• The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas (Oct. 15)
• All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell (Oct. 29)

November

• Echoes of the Fall by Hank Early (Nov. 12)
• Tracking Game by Margaret Mizushima (Nov. 12)
• The Princess Plan by Julia London (Nov. 19)

December

• Just Watch Me by Jeff Lindsay (Dec. 3)
• Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen (Dec. 3)
• A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh (Dec. 3)

2020

• The Woman in the Veil by Laura Joh Rowland (Jan. 17)
• The Prized Girl by Amy K. Green (Jan. 24)
• Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace by Patricia Marcantonio (Feb. 11)

Next Month's Plan

I just finished my last July review book and will soon be beginning the August releases. August is my biggest month right now. I am trying to be selective but still leave room for offers that I don't want to refuse. Being a month ahead on reviews gives me less flexibility for books that arrive without that lead time. My calendar is already full with books from my TBR mountain. This August is an example. I have six reviews scheduled already of books from my TBR mountain that I moved to fit in new review books that recently arrived.

I seem to be specializing in historical mysteries now with a sprinkling of other genres of books. This is okay. I have enjoyed all the historical mysteries I've been reading.

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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!