Category: Features

Summer Reading Challenges

Posted June 8, 2026 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
Summer Reading Challenges

I’m someone who lovesss a seasonal TBR and a reading challenge. When you combine the two for a great reading season – summertime – I’m definitely going to get on board. I’m joining two challenges and tracking them on Storygraph, so I thought I would share here and cover some TBR options based on what I hope to read this summer. Book Clurb Some gals I know in real life have an in-person Book Clurb and I think this is the second year of their summer reading challenge. I enjoyed it last time and hope to complete it this year!   Read a book by a debut author: IF BOOKS COULD KILL is the main one that I know for sure is by a debut author and I’d like to read my review copy ASAP Read a book set during summer: There are a ton of books set in summer so just know that the vast majority of the books you see here will work for this prompt lol I added OUR PERFECT STORM specifically here for it Read a recommendation from a friend: I’ve had THE NAME GAME on my physical TBR for a few months now and I saw a bookstagram friend recommend it for summer reading this year Read a book without reading the synopsis: I could do DOLLY ALL THE TIME for this one because while I definitely read the synopsis a long time ago, I randomly started the audiobook this week without re-reading it… which […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | May 2026

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | May 2026

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 did a good job of reading more books in May but I still managed to stay behind on my reading challenge. I need to read 9-10 books the next few books to get ahead, which I talked about in my summer goals post. I enjoyed this month’s books as well! It was nice to have some variety ratings-wise, unlike last month lol.      8 books in May 8 read  •  0 reread  •  0 DNF Formats: 3 physical/audio, 2 egalleys, 1 hardcover, 1 paperback, 1 ebook/audio Status/source: 4 review copies, 2 preordered, 1 owned, 1 Kindle Unlimited Age Target: 7 adult, 1 young adult Here are all the books I read this month with ratings!      Shelf Reflection Challenge: 49% Read with Allison Challenge: 52% Buzzword Reading Challenge: 58% Buzzword Cover Challenge: 67%      Breakdown: 3 hardcovers | 1 paperback | 0 ARC | 4 egalleys | 0 ebooks | 0 audiobooks All review copies were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. Review Copies From Simon & Schuster: The Silent Appeal by Hallett From Harper Collins: It’s Beginning to […]

June TBR

Posted June 1, 2026 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
June 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. June TBR May was a little better from a quantity perspective. I did a pretty good job of reading review copies and some TBR books too. June will have some leftovers and also get into the new/upcoming releases for summertime. Really hoping to get back on track with my reading numbers. Review Copies I read all three books on my review copy TBR for May! Great work by me for once. I have some June and July releases I definitely plan to prioritize immediately, including THE SINKING SEASON, ROMANTIC HERO, LIES BETWEEN US, and IF BOOKS COULD KILL. New/Recent Releases incl. Preorders I can’t believe I missed the boat on requesting a review copy of DOLLY ALL THE TIME since I’ve gotten the last few of hers from Netgalley. Regardless, I went ahead and requested this in all three formats from the library 😉 I preordered THE SOMEDAY GARDEN since I also apparently haven’t requested Poston’s books lately either lol. I saw Jenn Bennett’s newest book THE SUMMER OF LOST THINGS is on Kindle Unlimited so you better believe I downloaded that right away. Series Binge I only read one of these […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | April 2026

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | April 2026

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 feel like I didn’t read anything in April, and it was weirdly 100% four-star books plus one DNF. I’m not sure what my favorite of the month even was as a result? I hope May is better but for whatever reason books are just taking me forever these days.      6 books in April 6 read  •  0 reread  •  1 DNF Formats: 3 ebook/audio, 2 physical/audio, 2 egalley Status/source: 3 Kindle Unlimited, 2 review, 1 purchased, 1 library Age Target: 6 adult, 1 young adult Here are all the books I read this month with ratings!      Shelf Reflection Challenge: 42% Read with Allison Challenge: 38% Buzzword Reading Challenge: 42% Buzzword Cover Challenge: 58%      Breakdown: 7 hardcovers | 2 paperbacks | 0 ARC | 2 egalleys | 2 ebook | 1 audiobook All review copies were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. Review Copies From Penguin: If Books Could Kill by Eberle From Hachette: The Season of Sinking by Woolsoncroft From Macmillan (audiobook): This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone by Mack Physical Books Book box: King of Ashes by […]

May TBR

Posted April 30, 2026 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
May 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. May TBR April was yet another weird month, with me trying to keep up with my challenge and completely failing. I feel like I wasn’t in the mood to read anything! I ended up getting through a few of the Emma M. Lion books because they involved very little brainpower but it wasn’t great for keeping up with my TBR. Here’s hoping May looks better… and I’m going to finish that series to get it over with! lol Review Copies    I did a really bad job with review copies in April but there are quite a few on my radar for May. I decided to keep it tight since I know I’ll be reading a lot on my Kindle for one of the TBR sections below. ONCE AND AGAIN, STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED, and THE ANNIVERSARY are probably the big ones to get to soon. New/Recent Releases incl. Preorders I have a copy of THISTLEMARSH from the library on my Kindle and also the audiobook, so I’d really like to get to that soon. I’ve preordered some books by authors I love, like Carley Fortune, Sarah Dessen (her first book in […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | March 2026

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | March 2026

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. March was a better month for sure! I feel like we got into a good swing with the pups and I was able to crank through books. There were some days I didn’t read and some days I read an entire book, but it was a great month overall.      6 books in March 6 read  •  0 reread  •  0 DNF Formats: 4 physical/audio, 1 ebook, 1 ebook/audio Status/source: 2 preordered, 2 library, 1 book box pick, 1 Kindle Unlimited Age Target: 6 adult Here are all the books I read this month with ratings!      Shelf Reflection Challenge: 38% Read with Allison Challenge: 33% Buzzword Reading Challenge: 42% Buzzword Cover Challenge: 58%      Breakdown: 4 hardcovers | 1 paperbacks | 0 ARC | 4 egalleys | 2 ebook | 0 audiobooks All review copies were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. Review Copies From Hachette: Book Club Boyfriend by Holiday, The Thoroughbreds by Hilderbrand/Cunningham   From Macmillan: The Women in White by Pekkanen, Hot Girl Murder Club by Winstead Physical Books Book box: This Story Might Save Your […]

April TBR

Posted April 3, 2026 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
April 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. April TBR March was a better month though there were a couple of short books in there! I hope to continue that series and add to my progress. As of now, I’m on track with my reading challenge. Review Copies I have more review copies upcoming than I thought! I really hope I can keep on track. Most of these are April books but there’s at least one May book because I’m excited to read it and may jump the line lol. New or Popular Releases   I decided to consolidate this section because it’s kind of a mix of physical books I own, preordered, or have coming soon, among other things. I’m currently reading the new FINLAY DONOVAN book and the third EMMA M. LION book. I got into the Emma series on a whim because everyone’s been loving them and they’re fun to read at bedtime on my Kindle. I preordered AGNES AUBERT and got ADRIFT from my last book box so I definitely want to read them soon. And finally, THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF and THIS WEEKEND DOESN’T END WELL FOR ANYONE are coming this month via BOTM or […]

March TBR

Posted March 6, 2026 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
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 February was a rough reading month but I’ll blame it on the new puppy. I really wanted to get back on track in March but that proved to be a bit challenging initially (yes we’re fully 4 days into the month now). Review Copy & Book Club   I know that I had a bunch of review copies for February and didn’t knock it out of the park but I want to read PARADISE COAST this month at minimum. Not even going to try more. I’ve already started it but am having trouble getting into it. I completely forgot about book club this month but luckily this TBR post reminded me. We’re reading THE PLOT, which has been on my list for a long time. I have a random ARC of this that I got from someone so I’ll probably pick that up and assume it’s similar to the finished copy lol. Physical Copies   I knew I wanted to read a few Veronica Speedwell books this year so this felt like the right time to read the second book. I’m currently reading this one as well. I also picked […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | Februrary 2026

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | Februrary 2026

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. Well I certainly used January to get off to a good start and then took a complete nosedive in February. To be fair, we adopted a puppy and I’ve spent most of my time managing two dogs and not a ton of time reading. As we speak, the two have some nice bones they’re working on and leaving me alone lol. I expect a bit more from March but am keeping my March goal around 6 books instead of the usual 8 I’d like.      4 books in February 4 read  •  0 reread  •  1 DNF Formats: 2 egalley, 1 physical/audio, 1 paperback, 1 full mix Status/source: 2 review, 1 purchased, 1 library, 1 owned Age Target: 5 adult Here are all the books I read this month with ratings!      Shelf Reflection Challenge: 27% Read with Allison Challenge: 23% Buzzword Reading Challenge: 25% Buzzword Cover Challenge: 50%      Breakdown: 7 hardcovers | 3 paperbacks | 0 ARC | 2 egalleys | 1 ebook | 0 audiobooks All review copies were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. Review […]

Literary and Slow-Burn Mysteries

Posted February 20, 2026 / Discussions, Features / 0 Comments
Literary and Slow-Burn Mysteries

I’ve always been a fan of mysteries and thrillers. Some of my first memorable favorites were the Pretty Little Liars and Private series, featuring rich teens behaving badly to various degrees. Sometimes murder and death was involved and other times a little less, but still… I didn’t always just read cute contemporary romances when I was a teen! However, I’ve realized that I’m way more likely to read a classic mystery or, more often, a fast-paced thriller. I like the twists and turns and am often disappointed when the book isn’t giving me whiplash with twists. I’m always expecting more from it and that’s probably not fair. One thing I’ve noticed lately is that – despite my nerves about reading them – I really enjoy the slower-burn literary mysteries. I read BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN thinking that it was a bit out of my comfort zone but for some reason it called to me. It was my first book of the year in 2024 and my brief Goodreads review said: This is going to stick with me. I was on the fence about reading it and hadn’t even marked it as “to read” on Goodreads when I bought it on a whim at the store and started it within the week. I don’t follow serial killer true crime stories or podcasts because the victims aren’t at the forefront so my only knowledge of the man “featured” in this book was the Zac Efron movie (watched only because of said actor). This […]