State of the Stack #86 (August 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. Singapore Sapphire by A. M. Stuart (August 1)
2. In the Line of Fire by R. J. Noonan (August 3)
3. Pride, Prejudice & Poison by Elizabeth Blake (August 4)
4. Death Comes to Dartmoor by Vivian Conroy (August 6)
5. Death in the Covenant by D. A. Bartley (August 7)
6. The Last Good Guy by T. Jefferson Parker (August 10)
7. Cold Woods by Karen Katchur (August 11)
8. Stolen Things by R. H. Herron (August 17)
9. How to Love a Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne (August 24)
10. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (August 27)
11. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (August 28)
12. The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier (August 29)
13. Well Met by Jen DeLuca (August 31)
14. Vendetta in Death by J. D. Robb (Sept. 1)
15. Remembering the Dead by Elizabeth J. Duncan (Sept. 3)
16. Ice Cold Heart by PJ Tracy (Sept. 4)
17. Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron (Sept. 5)
18. Save Your Breath by Melinda Leigh (Sept. 10)

Read Previously, Reviews Posted This Month

1. Eye Spy by Mercedes Lackey (July 4)
2. Past Perfect Life by Elizabeth Eulberg (July 6)
3. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman (July 7)
4. The Pawful Truth by Miranda James (July 9)
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)

I Added These Books

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

1. Vendetta in Death by J. D. Robb (Sept. 3)
2. Golden in Death by J. D. Robb (Feb. 4, 2020)
3. Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer (Nov. 19)
4. Don't Say a Word by Amber Lynn Natusch (Sept. 17)
5. Save Your Breath by Melinda Leigh (Sept. 17)
6. Thin Ice by Paige Shelton (Dec. 3)
7. Trace of Evil by Alice Blanchard (Dec. 3)
8. The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer (Oct. 15)
9. Redemption Prep by Samuel Miller (April 20, 2020)

My Review Pile

September

• The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams (YA; Sept. 17)
• Don't Say a Word by Amber Lynn Natusch (YA; Sept. 17)

October

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

• The Adventure of he Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer (Oct. 15)
• All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell (YA; 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)
• Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer (YA; Nov. 19)

December

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

• Thin Ice by Paige Shelton (Dec. 3)
• Trace of Evil by Alice Blanchard (Dec. 3)

January

• The Woman in the Veil by Laura Joh Rowland (Jan. 7)
• The Prized Girl by Amy K. Green (Jan. 14)

February

• Golden in Death by J. D. Robb (Feb. 4)
• Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace by Patricia Marcantonio (Feb. 11)

April

• Redemption Prep by Samuel Miller (YA; April 14)

Next Month's Plan

I had a good month and really cleared a lot of review books off my stack. I was also pretty limited in the number of new review books I added. I am rather wondering if I'm being too selective but this seems to be working for me now.

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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!