Showcase Sunday #18

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.

It may look like I spent a lot of money on books, but only two were full price here. The rest were free or only a few dollars each.

Received:

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

Thank you to Delacorte Press and Netgalley! I've been meaning to read some of Jay's works for a while now, and this story about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, who is a warrior and dresses as a boy, sounds like such a me book.

Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Part of my birthday haul from my parents. Thank you! I love this premise and am  really excited to read this one. Plus, I think it will be perfect for some writing research.

A Darkness Strange and Lovely (Something Strange and Deadly, #2) by Susan Dennard

Part of my birthday haul from my parents. Thank you! I read the first book via my Kindle, purchased the third book at a signing, and needed a copy of the second to round out the trilogy and my reading of it.

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2) by Sarah J. Maas

Part of my birthday haul from my parents. Thank you! I wasn't the biggest fan of Throne of Glass, but I've only heard the series gets better, so again after purchasing a third copy for Sarah's signing, I asked for a copy of the second.

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

Part of my birthday haul from my parents. Thank you! I feel like I've been waiting for this book for years now. I love retellings and I love that this mixes the historical fiction surrounding the first "Rapunzel" retelling with the fairy tale itself.

Purchased:

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3) by Sarah J. Maas

I went to Sarah's signing at the beginning of September, so of course I had to buy a copy of one of her books. Despite having only read the first, I bought the third since the signing was for its release.

Strange and Ever After (Something Strange and Deadly, #3) by Susan Dennard

Susan was an invited author at Sarah's signing, and since I had enjoyed Something Strange and Deadly, I decided to get a signed copy of one of her books. I chose the third because I rather liked the idea of having the finale signed, instead of the second one.
Not a Drop to Drink (Not a Drop to Drink, #1) by Mindy McGinnis

The ebook version of this was on sale last month (not sure if it still is). The premise of a girl guarding her family's waterhole in a post-apocalyptic world sounds really interesting, and it's received fairly positive reviews.

Angelbound (Angelbound, #1) by Christina Bauer

This was free for Kindle. It looks like it's received fairly decent reviews, so I decided why not. Though I'm not entirely sure what this is about or why she has a tail. Guess I'll find out!

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Amazon was killing it with some awesome Kindle freebies this past month. I mean, no way was I going to refuse a chance to read some Sanderson. And getting this acts as a good reminder that I really need to read his stories.

Hale Maree by Misty Provencher

So I'm not quite sure how much I'm going to enjoy this one. It's about an arranged marriage between a white-trash family and a wealthy one where they're both intent on keeping something secret. It has the potential to be good, though.

Storm (Elemental, #1) by Bridgid Kemmer

The final Kindle freebie I acquired last month. Again, I'm not really sure this story is for me, despite positive reviews from friends. But after receiving it for free, I'm willing to give it a try.

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

I haven't read anything by Anne Brontë, so I figured it was high time to give her a try after enjoying works by her sisters Charlotte and Emily. My understanding is that this is somewhat autobiographical and also a social commentary about the lives of governesses in the 1800s.

Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Brontë

I loved this story when I read it back in high school. I haven't had the opportunity to re-read it since then, but I plan on it soon. As I actually enjoyed this romance about two messed-up people, I'm not sure what that says about me...

 

Borrowed:

Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Work book club is not dead! Yay! Our newest pick is a family saga of sorts about the blue-collar people who inhabit the town of Empire Falls, Maine, and their daily struggles.