Showcase Sunday #5

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. 

Free Audiobooks from AudioSync:
The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy, #1) by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Once again, I figured no harm in trying out the free audiobook. This is actually something I've mean waffling on whether or not to read (it's MG and it's been compared to one of my all-time favorite series, The Queen's Thief). Who am I kidding, though, if it's been compared to The Queen's Thief series, then I'm down for giving this a try!


Purchased:
The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand
As opposed to what so many of my reviews seem to suggest, I'm actually not allergic to romance. What I am allergic to is a contrived romance that serves simply to lure readers in, while another aspect of the plot that should be better highlighted gets pushed backwards. I saw this ebook on sale and, after reading Keertana's review, as well as others from Angie and Holly, I decided that this could be a fun way to spend a few hours. Fingers crossed!
Black Ships (Numinous World, #1) by Jo Graham
I read and loved Graham's book about Ancient Egypt, Hand of Isis (which is a companion novel to this, rather than an actual continuation), and I've been meaning to read this for a while now. And then I decided to read The Aeneid and retellings of it for the Classics Retold challenge. And then the Kindle ebook price dropped. Clearly the stars aligned here, and I'm super excited to read this reimagining of Aeneas' journey from the perspective of a young female oracle.
The Griffin Mage (The Griffin Mage Trilogy, #1-3) by Rachel Neumeier
I've been meaning to read some of Neumeier's works for a while now. The omnibus edition of this trilogy went on sale for Kindle (three books for far cheaper than the usual price of one ebook - how could I refuse?). This includes Lord of the Changing Wind, Land of the Burning Sands and Law of the Broken Earth. Griffins are awesome. and I'm not sure why there aren't many books written about them. So yes, I am definitely looking forward to reading this trilogy!
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
I'm on a roll with Kindle deals over the past month. Patrick Ness is one of those authors I need to read soon. Really, I don't have much of an excuse here. While I'm a little afraid of the subject matter, I'm also pretty certain that this will end up being one of those powerful books that I'm glad I took the time to read. 

Borrowed:
Dreamhunter & Dreamquake (Dreamhunter Duet, #1-2) by Elizabeth Knox
I saw this series floating around the blogosphere and it was recommended as a lengthier, more substantial read, so I decided to give it a try. I actually liked this duet pretty well. The two books are very heavy, make no mistake. They're bogged down by tons of worldbuilding, but that's where the genius of this series really lies. I give full-marks to Knox on creativity, and I cannot begin to express how absolutely refreshing it was to read a more sophisticated fantasy. It felt much more like an adult fantasy than a YA one, and after reading almost exclusively YA fantasies recently, this was a much-needed break.
Rampant & Ascendant (Killer Unicorns, #1-2) by Diana Peterfreund
I decided that duologies are definitely the way to go with the Summer Series Challenge. I wasn't as huge a fan of Peterfruend's For Darkness Shows the Stars as many people were, but that was mainly because I'd literally just re-read Jane Austen's Persuasion, which For Darkness Shows the Stars retells. I did think Peterfreund's writing style was nice, though, and I look forward to reading about some killer unicorns!
 
Let me know what books you've recently acquired!