Stocking the Stacks- My Recent Book Haul

Stocking the Stacks is inspired by Tynga’s Stacking The Shelves weekly feature, which is all about sharing the books we are adding to our endless To Be Read Piles (both physical and digital)!

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Haley here and I am super excited to share our first ever Stocking the Stacks Book Haul post. Recently, a Half Priced Books opened about ten minutes from where I live (dangerous I know). I have visited it twice since its grand opening at the end of October, I have no regrets.

So of course, my Friday date with my husband included stopping in to see what I could find and I was not disappointed.

Half Price Books Haul

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Goodreads

A contemporary YA novel that examines rape culture through alternating perspectives.
Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it.
Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone.
As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

In the past year I have read just about every book by Mindy McGinnis and I have loved them all. I started with Heroine and have loved how she respectfully, but honestly, portrays prevelant socicial issues in her books. It only seems natural that, as the year wraps up, I pick up one of McGinnis’ most well known titles. Having purchased it on Friday, I am actually almost halfway through; so I guess you could say I’m enjoying it.

The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey
Goodreads

The Grand Dark is a dark, stand-alone fantasy that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.
The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism—drugs and sex and endless parties—distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can’t mask.
Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city’s streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion—and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.
But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo’s, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms.

I have seen The Loneliest Girl in the Universe around Instagagram and Twitter since its release. Especially in conversations a out books set in space. While the setting is all fine and dandy. However, what pushed me to pick up Laura James’ unique sci-fi romance was the point that the 19 year old protagonist struggles with anxiety. As someone who battles daily with depression and anxiety I am always looking for books that have a particular interest in the accurate depictul. of life is like with a mental illness. Having read the first twenty-five pages, I can say I have been rewarded for choice to snatch it from HPB.

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
Goodreads

A surprising and gripping sci-fi thriller with a killer twist
The daughter of two astronauts, Romy Silvers is no stranger to life in space. But she never knew how isolating the universe could be until her parents’ tragic deaths left her alone on the Infinity, a spaceship speeding away from Earth.
Romy tries to make the best of her lonely situation, but with only brief messages from her therapist on Earth to keep her company, she can’t help but feel like something is missing. It seems like a dream come true when NASA alerts her that another ship, the Eternity, will be joining the Infinity.
Romy begins exchanging messages with J, the captain of the Eternity, and their friendship breathes new life into her world. But as the Eternity gets closer, Romy learns there’s more to J’s mission than she could have imagined. And suddenly, there are worse things than being alone….
Now nominated as a YALSA Quick Pick!

First of all, can we talk about this cover? It is everything. Another science fiction title (honestly I think I’ve felt a little burnt out on fantasy lately), I was actually surprised to find this at Half Price because it is a relatively new release. But honestly, I’ve pined for this book since I got denied for it on Netgalley *cue sad violin music*. Described by Kirkus as a genre bending novel in the vein of Chuck Wendig’s The Wanderers (which I have read part of and adored)- I cannot wait to sink my reading teeth into this delicious novel.

Digital ARCs from Edelweiss

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
on March 10, 2020
Goodreads

Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.
2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.
2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?
Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.

I can already tell that this novel is going to be controversial and I am here for it. A story about a precocious, yet naive teenager who becomes entangled in an affair with her forty two year old English teacher, this book is taking Bookstagram by storm and I can’t wait to read it and get in on the lively discussion. If you have already read this early 2020 release comment below! I need to know your (spoiler-free) thohghts!

The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag
on March 31, 2020
Goodreads

The critically acclaimed author of The House at the End of Hope Street combines love, mystery, and magic with her first foray into bewitching fantasy with a dark edge evocative of V.E. Schwab and Neil Gaiman.
Once upon a time, a demon who desired earthly domination fathered an army of dark daughters to help him corrupt humanity . . .
As children, Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea dreamed of a strange otherworld: a nightscape of mists and fog, perpetually falling leaves and hungry ivy, lit by an unwavering moon. Here, in this shadowland of Everwhere, the four girls, half-sisters connected by blood and magic, began to nurture their elemental powers together. But at thirteen, the sisters were ripped from Everwhere and separated. Now, five years later, they search for one another and yearn to rediscover their unique and supernatural strengths. Goldie (earth) manipulates plants and gives life. Liyana (water) controls rivers and rain. Scarlet (fire) has electricity at her fingertips. Bea (air) can fly.
To realize their full potential, the blood sisters must return to the land of their childhood dreams. But Everwhere can only be accessed through certain gates at 3:33 A.M. on the night of a new moon. As Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea are beset with the challenges of their earthly lives, they must prepare for a battle that lies ahead. On their eighteenth birthday, they will be subjected to a gladiatorial fight with their father’s soldiers. If they survive, they will face their father who will let them live only if they turn dark. Which would be fair, if only the sisters knew what was coming.
So, they have thirty-three days to discover who they truly are and what they can truly do, before they must fight to save themselves and those they love.

Okay, I’ll admit it. I was initially drawn to this book by the gorgeous cover (iust look at it!). If you caught my most recent wheelhouse post then you already know that dark fantasy is my weakness and this beauty does nothing short of exploiting that facet of my reading taste. “Once upon a time, a demon who desired earthly domination fathered an army of dark daughters to help him corrupt humanity . . .” Need I say more? I will definitely be picking this gem up very soon so stay tuned for my full review.

Well, thanks for sticking around! Let me know your thoughts about any of these titles in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe. Also, tell us about your recent book hauls and what you’re reading! You can never have too many books on your TBR, right?