Showcase Sunday (36): Entire May Haul Edition

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits, and Tea, where we showcase what books we've gotten over the course of the week, whether it be from a book store, bought for your eReader, received from the library, or from the publishers for review, etc.

Oh, boy, I am going to be exhausted after writing this post. This is what I get for taking a hiatus that lasts about a month long. This post will be my entire haul for the month of May, pretty much, so expect a lot of scrolling through book covers to see my commentary of the haul I've received this past month. Unless my haul is less than what I am expecting it to be, in which case please please please be less than what I'm expecting it to be... (It was less than what I was expecting it to be! *high fives*)

For Review: 

(click on the covers for Goodreads)

     

        

Gifted:

           

Thank you so so much, Kara! 

         

Thank you so so much, Jessie!

Bought: 

Mortal Fire: I'm really looking forward to reading this one, and it'll definitely be one of my next reads. I love anything that has to do with witches and magic, and this sounds absolutely spellbinding. Pun intended, of course. (Also, this is kind of irrelevant, but when I got this ARC, I realized that those things on the cover? They're bees. So when I'm reading this, I'll likely be reading it by holding the cover with my sleeves. I have this thing where I don't like touching pictures of things I'm afraid of.) Thank you, Farrar, Straus, and Girroux!

The Troop: EEEEEEE! This sounds so. freaking. awesome. My large amount of enthusiasm over a book that has a pitch of a bunch of boy scouts dying on a secluded island may not reflect too well on my character, but quite frankly I'm too excited to care. Thank you, Gallery!

The Impossibility of Tomorrow: I haven't read The Alchemy of Forever yet, but I've heard really good things about it, and I don't think I've read a book dealing with incarnation before, so I'm looking forward to reading this and its predecessor! Thanks, Simon and Schuster! 

Untold: I started this one a few weeks ago because I couldn't not jump into it immediately after finishing Unspoken, and what I read was fantastic. I had to put it aside to make room for other ARCs I had to read that were published sooner, but I hope to get back to it soon and have a Coming Attractions post for you all. Thanks, Random House!

Tumble & Fall: You probably know how excited I am for this book, and if you don't, let me just tell you I'm very excited for it. Pre-apocalyptic? Hell yeah! Here's to hoping this one stomps on my heart and leaves me in a crying heap on the floor in fetal position! Thanks, Farrar, Straus, and Girroux!

Always Watching: This sounds really interesting and creepy, and I've heard really good things about the author's other novels, so I'm looking forward to this. Thanks, St. Martin's Press!

The Wolves of Midwinter: I'll keep an open mind towards this one. I wasn't the biggest fan of The Wolf Gift, but it kept me entertained despite my contempt for the protagonist. I just hope Anne Rice doesn't send her horde of crazed fans after me should I dislike this. Fingers crossed! Thanks, Knopf!

All Our Yesterdays: Anything involving time travel and I'm in. Really looking forward to this. Thanks, Disney Hyperion!

The Cutting Room Floor: I haven't had the best luck with Flux, but this sounds really original and mysterious, so I had to at least give it a shot. Thanks, Flux!

Dance of the Red Death: I already read this, and really enjoyed it. I didn't love it quite as much as I did Masque of the Red Death, but I still found it to be a worthwhile sequel and a satisfactory conclusion to the series (duology?). Thanks, Greenwillow!

Fire with Fire: Another sequel to a book I haven't read yet! This one comes out in September, so I have a bunch of time to catch up and read Burn for Burn, but I'm really looking forward to it. I've been looking for a good old-fashioned revenge story since I read Premeditated. Thanks, Simon and Schuster!

Gated: Okay, from what I know about this one, it's a dystopian with ties to 9/11. Sounds interesting and original, though I really, really hope 9/11 is touched upon thoughtfully in this, because if it's not that would certainly impact my enjoyment a bit. Thanks, Random House!

This Song Will Save Your Life: This sounds amazing. Really. The last line of the synopsis got me, though, where it said this had a laugh-out-loud funny voice and how it describes the power of music and how it brings people together. Seriously, how awesome does that sound? Thanks, Farrar, Straus, and Girroux!

Across a Star-Swept Sea: I haven't read For Darkness Shows the Stars, but apparently instead of a sequel to that this is more of a companion novel, with a different story set in the same world, so I'm just glad this is a book where I don't need to stress about reading the first book. Thanks, Balzer + Bray!

Insignia & In the Shadow of Blackbirds: I've been looking forward to reading both of these ever since Kara gave them both rave reviews, and Kara, being the amazing person that she is, sent me both of them (much to my chagrin--you didn't need to get me anything, but thank you and I love you!). Thank you so much, Kara! 

Vessel and Let the Sky Fall: Have been looking forward to both of these immensely for quite a while, too, so thank you so much, Jessie! As I said above, you didn't need to get me anything, but I love you for doing so and can't wait to read these books!

The Alchemy of Forever: See my commentary for The Impossibility of Tomorrow above. 

Moonglass: Words cannot describe how much I adore Kirby's Golden, so when I saw this one was on sale for Kindle, I bought it like there was no tomorrow. Can't wait!

Parallel: If my 2013 reads has proven anything, it's that I really, really love parallel reality stories, and this one has gotten good reviews from friends of mine, so I'm looking forward to reading it eventually! 

Phew. And that's what I got throughout the month of May. What did you get this week? Let me know in the comments, or leave a link to your haul, and I'll check it out as soon as possible!