Recent Reads | Bride and Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

Posted March 14, 2024 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments
Recent Reads | Bride and Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

This book was really something. I kind of have no idea what to make of it. I had previously avoided Hazelwood’s books becuase I just didn’t think they were for me. The Reylo fanfic inspiration and the continuous use of big man/small girl are just not for me. I saw absolute rave reviews for this one and thought maybe THIS is a Hazelwood I could read and get on board with. It’s a paranormal romance with werewolf and a vampire in a world where both species coexist (kind of) with humans. It took a solid 100 pages to get interesting and less confusing but I did get more hooked after that point. The book has an arranged marriage between a werewolf groom and vampire bride to help broker peace between their people for a while. Beyond that, the MC Misery (yes that’s her name) is trying to find her best friend that went missing. So there were two main elements – a romance and a mystery – and I’ll tell ya, the mystery and political backdrop are what kept me reading. The romance absolutely gave me the creeps and thanks to Ali Hazelwood, I’ll never think of a knot the same again. It was just WEIRD. I think the politics and mystery were 20x more interesting than the romance and luckily those were at the forefront of most of the book. I was genuinely surprised by the reveals and events at the end, which is why my rating is decent […]

Crescent City Series Review

Posted March 6, 2024 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Crescent City Series Review

I knew this series was a bit different than her usual books. I haven’t read a ton of urban fantasy before and the concept feels a little foreign to me! I wasn’t sure what to expect and kept putting these books off. All in all, I’m glad I waited – I found myself in a little group of people who were mostly rereading the first two in order to prepare for the third book’s release. I managed to fit both in and finished HOSAB on the same morning HOFAS released. I’m writing these reviews a bit late so details are fuzzy and reviews may be brief for the first two, but here we go! SJM baby girl this book did not need to be this long. That’s my only qualm. I really kind of loved this otherwise. It definitely took some getting used to with the cell phones and email addresses mixed in with fae and angels and witches. Absolutely nothing wrong with the genre but it’s so weird to see it from Maas! I liked Bryce as a character even though she wasn’t written to be a super likeable MC. She was stubborn and made some dumb decisions but it was cool to see her evolve and understand why she acted certain ways. I liked the friend group, including Hunt, that started to develop in this book. I also really enjoyed that there was kind of a mystery at the center – it was more interesting to learn about […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | February 2024

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | February 2024

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. February was a bit rough. Thank GOD for the series of six novellas that I read in February to make up for spending the literal entire month reading HOFAS. I also quickly read a couple of egalleys toward the end of the month when I was really craving some fast-paced mysteries.      9 books in February 9 read  •  0 reread  •  0 DNF Pages read: 1,822 •   Average rating: 3.89 stars Genres: 6 contemporary, 1 fantasy, 2 mystery/thriller Formats: 6 mixed format, 2 ebooks, 1 egalley Sources: 7 purchased, 2 review Age Target: 9 adult      Here are all the books I read this month with ratings and one-line thoughts! THE IMPROBABLE MEET-CUTE COLLECTION: The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren //  Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez // Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne // Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory // With Any Luck by Ashley Poston // Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson //        Popsugar Reading Challenge: 14% 52 Book Club: 19% Book Cover Bingo: 36% 24 in 24: 4%      Breakdown: 6 hardcovers […]

March TBR

Posted February 29, 2024 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 1 Comment
March TBR

My monthly TBR feature here shows my progress based on last month’s TBR, my plans for this month, and anything else I might be thinking about from a reading perspective. Sometimes I feature a little poll at the bottom so you guys can help me figure out a certain title I should read from a group of books. March TBR I was doing great with not requesting a ton of egalleys but I got wild in February. I managed to squeeze in two of them at the end of February but I decided that March is going to be FILLED with review copies so I can get back on track. Here’s my TBR for the month! Egalleys   I’m going to try to read all of these in the month… even though there isn’t a great mix of genres! I have been definitely missing my mystery/thriller books after reading a ton of fantasy and romance in Jan/Feb. I plan to finally get to CANADIAN BOYFRIEND for my romance pick. The mystery books to read are FINLAY DONOVAN, THEOTHER LOLA, KILL FOR ME KILL FOR YOU, EVERYONE IS WATCHING, and THE MAIN CHARACTER. Owned / Physical Books   I haven’t read any Hazlelwood yet but for some reason this one is really intriguing me. My sister let me borrow her copy of BRIDE so I’m hoping to give it a shot next month! I preordered THE SPLIT and purchased FAEBOUND recently so I do hope to get to those as well.

ARC Reviews: Listen for the Lie and The Heiress

Posted February 28, 2024 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
ARC Reviews: Listen for the Lie and The Heiress

This book was exactly what I needed! I’d been slogging through HOFAS the entire month of February and kept telling myself I should just pick up a mystery/thriller and break my slump. I don’t know why I kept delaying but once I finally did it, I knew it was the right choice. LISTEN FOR THE LIE was an incredibly engaging story that I never wanted to put down. I’m sure it’ll end up on some of my best-of lists this year. Lucy’s best friend was found murdered… and then Lucy was found wandering around with her friend’s blood all over her. The town made assumptions while Lucy couldn’t remember anything from that day/night. When she finally returns to town around the same time a new true crime podcast releases about the case, she ends up working with the podcaster to try to figure out what happened… even if that means she learns she’s the guilty one. As usual, I loved the mixed media elements of this story. I don’t care what anyone says… I love a true crime podcast plotline still! There were a lot of interesting characters and connections that you learn throughout. I didn’t see the ending coming but I wouldn’t be surprised if other readers were able to. The main character was super funny and sarcastic; she wasn’t always likeable but she was very entertaining, which helps! I liked that Lucy made mistakes a lot because she felt real but she definitely could frustrate some readers. I […]

Boox Palma | Review and First Impressions as a Kindle User

Boox Palma | Review and First Impressions as a Kindle User

I recently noticed a few people trying out the Boox Palma as an ereader instead of a Kindle (or in addition to!). On a total whim like the frivolous spender I am, I decided to buy one. I thought I would share my first impressions as a gal who loves her Kindle and wants to keep using it. How do I like it and when would I use it compared to my Kindle? Here are my thoughts. Overview I’m not big on the tech side of things so I added a quick image from their website (linked above) if you do care about that. All I knew was that the Palma is essentially a smartphone mixed with a Kindle. It has the e-ink pages you’re used to reading on and an operating system like an Android, including the Google Play store for apps.           The Palma fits in your hand and is pretty much the same size as an iPad. The screen is obviously in black and white due to the ink-like technology. It’s truly like if your Android phone had a baby with a Kindle. It has similar functions to a phone where you can take photos, download apps, browse the internet… all with a screen that doesn’t hurt your eyes!  Pros and Cons These are my personal pros and cons for this device. You may feel differently! My cons may be your pros and vice versa but hopefully you can understand its functionality a […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | January 2024

Posted February 14, 2024 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 0 Comments
Bookmark Lit Bulletin | January 2024

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. I didn’t have an amazing reading month in January from a quantity perspective, but man was the quality good! I had a great overall rating. I managed to even finish both of the first two Crescent City books by the end of the month, which was my goal. Now I’m still slogging through the third one…      8 books in January 8 read  •  0 reread  •  0 DNF Pages read: 3,486 •   Average rating: 4.38 stars Genres: 4 fantasy, 1 contemporary, 1  cookbook, 1 historical fic, 1 mystery/thriller Formats: 6 mixed format, 1 audio, 1 hardcover Sources: 4 purchased, 2 review, 1 preorder, 1 borrowed Age Target: 7 adult, 1 middle grade      Here are all the books I read this month with ratings and one-line thoughts!      Popsugar Reading Challenge: 10% 52 Book Club: 13% Book Cover Bingo: 28% 24 in 24: 4%      Breakdown: 2 hardcovers | 1 egalley | 6 ebooks | 2 audiobooks All review copies were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. For Review From Hachette/Forever: Just for the Summer by Jimenez Ebooks Kindle Sale: Defend […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #440: Love Freebie

Posted February 13, 2024 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 2 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #440: Love Freebie

Love Freebie: Books I Hope to Love Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I’ve been slacking at blogging this year but I just haven’t had the creative energy for some reason. Hopefully I’ll get back into the swing of things soon! I haven’t done a Five Star Predictions on here in a while but I thought this would be a good opportunity to use a freebie to share some books I hope to love when I read them this year! These are listed in reverse pub date order – the first book comes out later this year.

February TBR

Posted January 31, 2024 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
February TBR

My monthly TBR feature here shows my progress based on last month’s TBR, my plans for this month, and anything else I might be thinking about from a reading perspective. Sometimes I feature a little poll at the bottom so you guys can help me figure out a certain title I should read from a group of books. February TBR January got a way from me even though the month felt like 5 months packed into one! I definitely used the final two weeks of the year to binge-read the Crescent City series so I know I didn’t read as much to start the year as I would have preferred, but I’ve got like six novellas to read in February so I’m sure I can make up for it! Egalleys   I got derailed on egalleys in January because of my commitment to reading Crescent City lol. I plan to catch up with CANADIAN BOYFRIEND and THE HEIRESS this month for sure. I have FINLAY DONOVAN ROLLS THE DICE waiting on my Kindle as well as THE OTHER LOLA. Romance for February I plan to read, if I can, all six novella in the IMPROBABLE MEET-CUTE collection this month, especially during a couple of romance read-a-thons and Valentines Day weekend. These feature some of my favorite authors and one new-to-me author. They have ebooks and audiobooks, which is even better! Owned and Preordered   THE WRITING RETREAT and TRUE CRIME STORY have been on my immediate TBR for many months […]

Review: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

Posted January 24, 2024 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Review: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

It’s no secret that the first EMILY WILDE book was my favorite of 2023. I had high hopes and expectations that the same could be said about the second installment. Luckily, I ended up loving it! It took me a while to read but that’s because I ended up waiting for release week to mix in the audiobook I had preordered. I really enjoyed the first audiobook so it only felt right to keep that going! We follow Brambleby, Emily, her niece, and one of the other professors at their university in the Austrian Alps. She’s working on a map book this time and they hope to track down a lost professor of dryadology while they’re there. This story was just as whimsical and cozy as the first, with a dash of intrigue and danger where appropriate! I like that Emily has become more self-aware and able to recognize when she’s struggling to related to other people. The first book took a while for her to understand how to avoid insulting the locals. Emily was aware when she was messing things up with her niece and tried her best to fix them. We got to learn more about Brambleby’s world, which was a lot of fun. There were lots of faeries to meet and discuss along the way too. I know I’ve said this before but I was obsessed with faeries as a kid. Not the ACOTAR type but these small sprites and little mischievous ones. I don’t think this type […]