Month: April 2016

Top 10 Favorite Contemporary Romances

Posted April 18, 2016 / Book Challenges, Book Lists, Features / 7 Comments

As you (probably don’t) know, one goal I had when starting this blog was to feature recommendation lists for people seeking new books to read within different topics. Top Ten Tuesday kind of took over for this area for me, which is perfect, but sometimes I like to create my own. The Contemporary Romance Challenge hosts a monthly topic to partake in. Past topics this year: Anticipated Early ’16 Romances • Recs for Newbies • Favorite Tropes Here’s April’s topic: Favorite Romances EVER Ummm, come on guys this is like impossible for the girl who reads 50% contemporary romance each year out of my reading total. I’m going to keep this very basic with some that I always recommend, no matter what. Sigh, the swooooons… After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid • Yep, I shipped them immediately and wished throughout the entire book that they would get back together in the end. The One That Got Away by Bethany Chase • Huge fan of this book in general, but I really loved the second chance romance element. That always gets me! Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid • Not sorry that TJR is here twice. I loved the friendship in this book even more than the romance, but I actually loved the way this ended. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins • I know that a lot of people obviously love this book (myself included) but don’t agree with how the romance happened. It just never bothered me that much and I ship Anna x […]

ARC Review: Two Summers

Posted April 15, 2016 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

I really enjoyed this one. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting in a lot of ways, but it was a super fun and summery read. I love parallel life books SO much. Just waiting to see what happens at the end is my favorite part. You always wonder – will the two lives/paths/choices leave them to a different result? Will their life end up the same in the end? Every book has this question and I’ll admit, I haven’t read many that led to two very different outcomes. No spoilers here though. I definitely didn’t LOVE this as much as I hoped. It sounded right up my alley and I’ve enjoyed Aimee Friedman’s books in the past, so it was nice to be with her writing again. The premise is that Summer is planning to go to Paris to see her dad for the summer. She’s having second thoughts and then her phone rings with an unknown number the moment before she steps on the plane. Her life splits into two different directions – what happens when she answers, and what happens when she doesn’t. Like most parallel life books, the story alternates between the two choices and how her summer turns out. Summer in Paris vs. Summer in New York Instead of switching between the two parallel storylines every other chapter – like most books do – this one has longer “parts” so you only switch between the two a handful of times. In some ways, I liked […]

Summer Releases to Add to Your TBR

Posted April 14, 2016 / Book Lists, Features / 21 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of time so far reading May, June, and July releases really freaking early. I’ve included a few of my favorites on a TTT lately, but wanted to highlight a couple more you should keep your eye on. I love when bloggers make “save the date” style posts like Jamie and Ginger, so this is sort of a quick version of that. Here are a few books coming out in the summer (starting in May, because I can’t resist recommending MOAR BOOKS) that I’ve already read and enjoyed. BONUS: This morning I finished The Lost and Found by Katrina Leno and EVERYONE needs this book on their TBR. Magical and engrossing and so, so wonderful. Comes out July 5th!

Review: Right of First Refusal

Posted April 13, 2016 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Dahlia Adler has literally never let me down. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of her books (and now I have officially read ALL of them) and I can’t see it changing any time soon. This is the second in her Radleigh University NA series and I liked it even more than the first book. Every book by Dahlia is so well-rounded, covering every important topic in a young person’s life, without feeling like it’s “too much.” This book had strong friendships, romance, family issues, and – of course – a few sexytimes. Every single thing you could want in a book, really. Our main girl Cait was fierce and I fucking loved it. She wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted and be super intense doing what she loved: playing lacrosse. I LOVED that she prioritized it above a lot of other things, because it shows how dedicated she was. She never let anyone tell her otherwise; she didn’t care if they didn’t get it. I really loved how strong she was. Friends & family Lizzie (from book one) and Frankie (book three coming next, eeeeek) were, as usual, fantastic, supportive friends. They had Cait’s back, even when she kept things from them to protect someone else. I love their relationship so, so much. I could probably go on about it all day. Their personalities are so distinct and fleshed out. I have to say though, the best part is the constant sexual innuendos 😉 Those are my people! Her sister, Cammie, […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #85: Feminist Books

Posted April 12, 2016 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 14 Comments

Ten Books Every Feminist Should Read Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, 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. Today we’re sharing Ten Books Every X Should Read (up to you! Examples: every history nerd, memoir lover, ballet lover, feminist, college student, etc etc.). This is a tough one to pin down because DAMN I am into so many of these suggested topics. However, of course, one of these hits me right in the heart. Today you shall seeeee… I decided to split this into two general sections – YA novels featuring feminist themes or badass feminist main characters, and nonfiction/memoirs. I’ve enjoyed all of the works below and think that they encompass some great feminist themes and topics; they’re informative and entertaining at the same time. (If you’d like to see some thoughts on feminism in YA and slut-shaming, feel free to check out my post on the topic!) Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate • slut-shaming, pansexuality I like when books feature more than just the more common types of sexuality. I realize that the inclusion of pansexuality in this book isn’t, in and of itself, doesn’t make it a feminist book… but I just want to point it out. It’s refreshing. Anyways, this book has a main character who is pretty empowered sexually. […]

Inside & Out #24: Stefani from Caught Read Handed

Posted April 11, 2016 / Features, Inside and Out / 6 Comments

Admiring book covers and bookmarks, shared by you! Welcome to INSIDE AND OUT. This feature includes two of my absolute favorite book-related things: bookmarks (inside) and book covers (out)! I’ve invited guest posters to share their favorite book covers and bookmarks here on the second Monday of each month. Sign-ups are always open (see bottom of post)! Check out past posts here. Stefani from Caught Read Handed Twitter: @StefaniSloma| Instagram: @stefanisloma Tell me a little about yourself: Hi! My name is Stefani, and I’ve been blogging for 2 years over at Caught Read Handed. I’m a Young Adult Librarian in Mississippi, a literary agency intern, a wanderer, and a nerd. When I’ve not got my nose buried in a book, I can usually be found on the road traveling to a concert, a book event, or a place I’ve never been. Talk about your blog (what you blog about/kinds of books, features, etc.): My blog was created to talk to other people about our mutual love of books and reading. I mostly read young adult books (but also MG and picture books sometimes; as a librarian, I have to and I love it!), so my blog and its reviews really reflects this. I also talk about book to movie adaptations, the music I’ve been listening to, the road trips I go on and the book festivals I attend. My blog is me, so it’s a little bit of everything. Favorite genre: Definitely fantasy, but I’ve also gotten super into contemporary – particularly, diverse contemporary – […]

Bookish Bingo Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up

Posted April 10, 2016 / Book Challenges, Features / 2 Comments

I really loved participating in the Bookish Bingo Readathon, hosted by Pretty Deadly Reviews. These bingo cards are some of my favorite challenges to join in on. I usually do a very good job at filling them, if I say so myself, but this readathon was too fun to pass up. More details on the challenge: The readathon will start at 12am on April 3rd, and run the entire week, ending at 11:59pm on April 9th. The Bookish Bingo Readathon is all about reading books that fit into the squares of the Spring Bingo card. You don’t have to make a bingo or anything, just make sure the books you read for the readathon match up on the card. This is all about getting a good chunk of your card covered! Bingo card now I had 14 squares marked off when starting the challenge. My goal was to check off 2-3 more boxes on the bingo card. Let’s see how I did: Books read You can see my potential TBR here. I ended up editing it after a day or two because I thought of more options that fit in with the themes. I was able to read the following books that aligned with a few categories on the Bingo card: Flowers on the cover – Two Summers [flowers located in one of the sunglasses’ lenses] Nonfiction – We Should All Be Feminists [shorter, but still counts!] Retelling – Queen of Hearts [came in from ARC tour] Still working on this book: Green cover – […]

Five on Fridays #20

Posted April 8, 2016 / Five on Fridays, Weekly Memes / 14 Comments

Five on Friday displays the the top five things that have been on my mind this week! It could be book-related, but it may be music, movies, TV, personal life, food, etc. Previous posts can be found here! As you know, I’m a big Lego fan with my boyfriend. We build our own stuff (called “MOCs” = my own creations) as well as collect minifigures and sets. We had seen rumors lately about a new minifigure series involving Disney characters, but it wasn’t confirmed for a long time. Well, as of the end of March, here it is! IT’S COMING FOR REAL AND I’M SO EXCITED! We’re excited to announce new #LEGO Minifigures The #Disney Series! Available starting May 2016! #LEGOMinifigures A photo posted by LEGO (@lego) on Mar 29, 2016 at 7:01am PDT I can see a lot of non-Lego collectors wanting to get their hands on these, I’m sure. I figured they would be fun to share and see what you guys think! Even if you’re not a Lego fan, would you buy these guys? Chris and I overall have some mixed feelings on the design, but are very happy they’re coming around. The biggest problem is that some of the figures here already exist as mini-dolls instead of minifigures, so it’s not consistent. But whatever, beggars can’t be choosers! 😉 In other general Lego news, we’re working on some new builds for our Lego Club. We’re planning a movie build for a competition for this month’s meeting (the 16th). Chris and […]

ARC Review: Dreamology

Posted April 7, 2016 / Book Reviews / 11 Comments

I knew I needed this book the moment I saw it – starting with the cover and ending with the synopsis. It sounded right up my alley because it seemed parallel universe-ish and dreamy and did I mention that cover?? I somehow didn’t grab it at ALA because I’m a chicken about talking to publishers, but luckily I was able to grab it from an ARC tour. I seriously seriously loved this book. The concept and storyline was incredibly unique. Basically, Max and Alice have been dreaming about each other since they were kids. Then, she moves to Boston, finds out Max is a real person, and things! develop! I shipped these two literally immediately, during the first dream we got to see. The characters were just SO funny, adorable, and charming. Alice and Max were cute cute CUTE. I loved all of the secondary characters as well: the humor that Oliver brought to the story, Alice’s friendship with Sophie, the inclusion of Celeste, and Jerry the awesome dog. The story definitely had some sciencey elements because obviously these two are legit sharing dreams, but I like that it didn’t get too bogged down with the details as they started figuring THINGS out. It’s very much a contemporary romance – not a lot of sci-fi or paranormal as you may think. A few other things I loved? They were teens who sometimes went to a party and had some drinks. I always think it’s refreshing when there are party-like scenes that […]

ARC Review: When We Collided

Posted April 6, 2016 / Book Reviews / 14 Comments

I have a ridiculously large amount of mixed feelings on this book. It’s a tough one to rate for me, because what am I supposed to go by – the way it made me feel and my level of enjoyment? The quality of the story and its importance? These two ratings are insanely different. I talked with Angie about it after finishing and she helped me put it to words. The book itself – the story, the portrayal of mental illness – is VERY important. It’s so well-done. However, it just isn’t a book that I like reading about. It was frustrating, sad, and kind of disappointing because of it. I didn’t go into it expecting something super fluffy, like Lord’s other books, but I also didn’t expect to be so upset throughout the whole thing either. I was hoping for a mix of the two. The first third of the book was utter perfection, like the entirety of Lord’s other books that I’m obsessed with. The setting of Verona Cove was amazing and reminded me of all the Sarah Dessen books that happen in Colby. Jonah was fucking adorable and Vivi was vivacious. (See what I did there?) I loved them right away. The book had some instalove but for some reason it felt right. I don’t necessarily have an issue with it because I really think some people do hit it off right away. I have no issue with people feeling like they’re meant to be. I don’t know; […]