Stacking the Shelves ★ 8

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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Wow! This is the eighth STS post! I'm super shocked that it's been this long, I know y'all are. Anyways, I have had the worst case of bookblock for a while now, hello depression, and I'm just starting to get through it. Things are, tentatively, getting better. Now, on to the pretty books in my life.

The Milk Lady of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan

The elevator door opens. A cow stands inside, angled diagonally to fit. It doesn’t look uncomfortable, merely impatient. “It is for the housewarming ceremony on the third floor,” explains the woman who stands behind the cow, holding it loosely with a rope. She has the sheepish look of a person caught in a strange situation who is trying to act as normal as possible. She introduces herself as Sarala and smiles reassuringly. The door closes. I shake my head and suppress a grin. It is good to be back.

When Shoba Narayan—who has just returned to India with her husband and two daughters after years in the United States—asks whether said cow might bless her apartment next, it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between our author and Sarala, who also sells fresh milk right across the street from that thoroughly modern apartment building. The two women connect over not only cows but also family, food, and life. When Shoba agrees to buy Sarala a new cow, they set off looking for just the right heifer, and what was at first a simple economic transaction becomes something much deeper, though never without a hint of slapstick.

The Milk Lady of Bangalore immerses us in the culture, customs, myths, religion, sights, and sounds of a city in which the twenty-first century and the ancient past coexist like nowhere else in the world. It’s a true story of bridging divides, of understanding other ways of looking at the world, and of human connections and animal connections, and it’s an irresistible adventure of two strong women and the animals they love.

Tidbit

I honestly added this to my library because of that gorgeous cover. I don't really like memoirs and biographies anymore. I used to read them all of the time as a kid but I read one when I was twelve that just made me dislike them. But I have a few on my shelves just waiting for the day when I change my mind. Like this one. Look at that cover!

Game Misconduct by Bianca Sommerland

The game has always cast a shadow over Oriana Delgado's life. She should hate the game. But she doesn't. The passion and the energy of the sport is part of her. But so is the urge to drop the role of the Dartmouth Cobra owner's 'good daughter' and find a less...conventional one.

Playmaker, Max Perron, never expected a woman to accept him and his twisted desires. Oriana came close, but he wasn't surprised when she walked away. A girl like her needs normal. Which he can't give her. He's too much of a team player, and not just on the ice.

But then Oriana's father goes too far in trying to control her and she decides to use exposure as blackmail. Just the implication of her spending the night with the Cobra's finest should get her father to back off.

Turns out a team player is exactly what she needs.

This ebook contains material not suitable for readers under 18. In also contains scenes that some may find objectionable, including BDSM, ménage sex, bondage, anal sex, sex toys, double penetration, voyeurism, edge play, and hockey equipment being used inappropriately.

Tidbit

I bought this on kindle centuries ago, just to check out the series since it was a freebie (it's still a freebie FYI) and I love the series.

The Dollmaker of Krakow by RM Romero

In the land of dolls, there is magic.

In the land of humans, there is war.

Everywhere there is pain.

But together there is hope.

Karolina is a living doll whose king and queen have been overthrown. But when a strange wind spirits her away from the Land of the Dolls, she finds herself in Krakow, Poland, in the company of the Dollmaker, a man with an unusual power and a marked past.

The Dollmaker has learned to keep to himself, but Karolina's courageous and compassionate manner lead him to smile and to even befriend a violin-playing father and his daughter--that is, once the Dollmaker gets over the shock of realizing a doll is speaking to him.

But their newfound happiness is dashed when Nazi soldiers descend upon Poland. Karolina and the Dollmaker quickly realize that their Jewish friends are in grave danger, and they are determined to help save them, no matter what the risks.

Tidbit

Honestly, I had this mixed up with a book that centred around matryoshka dolls which I'm obsessed with and bought it because of cover love. I'm kinda tired of hearing reading about real-life Nazis in today's world, so I haven't read this yet, but it's bought and waiting in my bookcase for one day. 

The Fever King by Victoria Lee

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.
The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.
Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good. 

Tidbit

I actually won The Fever King in a Goodreads Giveaway that I entered because I heard on Twitter that it was 'just another book pushing the gay agenda'. Needless to say, it had to be read. It's on this year's reading list, but I'm shite with schedules if you haven't noticed.

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler

Living in small town Rockabill, Maine, Jane True always knew she didn't quite fit in with so-called normal society. During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human.
Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures alternatively terrifying, beautiful, and deadly- all of which perfectly describe her new "friend," Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire.
It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never-ever rub the genie's lamp. 

Tidbit

This was one of the books that I bought in my post-rape mental break. The original physical copy was lost in my house from hell, but hey, that's the beauty of ebooks. They don't get destroyed. I'm currently doing a reread because, procrastinating my actual reading list is a hobby.

Okay! That's it for this episode of Stacking the Shelves and I hope y'all enjoyed the small peek at my reading habits. Has anybody reading this ever read any of these? What did y'all think of them? Did I add any books to your TBRs? (I am so sorry if I did, I know the struggle!) Leave me a comment and let me know!