Month: August 2016

Recent Read-Bait: Fake Dating, Bucket Lists, and Family Drama

Posted August 4, 2016 / Book Lists, Features / 12 Comments

You may remember my read-bait series from a long time ago, where I talked about certain keywords, phrases, and tropes that call my name. I planned to keep going with these posts because there are many, many topics that suck me right in. My most recent post discussed reunions, memory loss, and boarding school. Here I am today to talk about recent words that have grabbed me… I’ve been adding books to my TBR that feature these three topics because of the above books. I recently (finally) read The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West. I waited forever because I was nervous about some of the other elements of the story. It wasn’t my favorite by her, but it definitely succeeded in getting me to add more fake dating to the TBR. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson is a book I read back in 2014, but it got me thinking about bucket lists and other situations where the main character is checking items off some kind of list. I love that kind of thing so much because there are always so many adventures to be had! And lastly, adult fiction is generally something I don’t read as much as I want to… and I have SO many on my TBR! I’ve been loving the books about family drama or changing family dynamics lately, which started with Where We Fall by Rochelle B. Weinstein. Any kind of family going through changes or growing apart or getting divorced makes it onto my TBR very quickly. Recent TBR […]

Rebel Belle Trilogy

Posted August 3, 2016 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

When REBEL BELLE was selected for the Make Me Read It Readathon, I was a little nervous. I planned to binge Hawkins’ HEX HALL series previously and was stuck after book one. I just never had the burning desire to pick up the second book. However, something about this particular series kept me reading. I started the first book via audio and then finished it up with my physical copy. I immediately went on to the audiobooks for the next two stories. There won’t be spoilers from the current book in the current review, but there will be spoilers for the PREVIOUS book(s) – so don’t read beyond book one below if you haven’t read the series!! The biggest thing I can say about this book and its plot is that it’s super unique. It doesn’t feel similar to other paranormal romances I’ve read before. First of all, I’d never even heard of a Paladin before. Second, the southern setting really enhanced the story quite a bit. It took me a VERY long time to get used to the setting though, to be honest, because it seriously felt like historical fiction. Anytime she referenced Marvel or something else that happens in “present day,” I was thrown a little. Like, oh wait, this isn’t taking place in the early 1900s or something. It just felt old-school because of the southern vibes, cotillion, and all of her manners/lady-like behaviors. Not something I’m used to reading outside of historical fiction! Expanding a little […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #100: Gift Card Buying

Posted August 2, 2016 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 9 Comments

Ten Books I’d Buy if Someone Gave Me a Gift Card 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. This week’s topic is the Ten Books You’d Buy Right this Second if Someone Handed You a Fully Loaded Gift Card. I love this because I honestly don’t buy a lot of books anymore. I try to save space on my shelves for favorites and use my library a bit more. In any case, if someone were to hand me a gift card that could buy these ten books exactly, I would use it FOR SURE. I decided not to cheat and count preorders. I want to walk into Barnes & Noble and buy 10 books that are currently sitting on the shelf. PS I Like You by Kasie West / The Lake Season by Hannah McKinnon / Once Upon a Kiss by Robin Palmer A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody / Things I Can’t Explain by Mitchell Kriegman (Whoops I actually just bought A Week of Mondays with the B&N coupon, YOLO) Smash & Grab by Amy Christine Parker / Summer in the Invisible City by Juliana Romano / Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen / After You by Jojo Moyes / The Season by Jonah Lisa Dyer and Stephen Dyer

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | July into August 2016

Posted August 1, 2016 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 10 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my life happenings, book haul, books I read and reviewed, posts I shared, challenge updates, and more from the previous month. I also let you know what may be coming up on the blog in the coming month. You can read past bulletins here and learn more about the feature here. This reading month got off to a good start, I’d say. I finished a few books really early on and kept being in the reading mood through the rest of the month. I struggled during the readathon a little because I found myself not exactly in the mood for certain books.This feeling kind of continued through the rest of the month – I read some MEH books and that impacted my reading mojo. I’m well on my way to finishing my Goodreads Challenge early! Average rating for books read in July: 3.86 stars All book covers link to their Goodreads pages Best of the Best • Pleasantly Surprised • Disappointed All of the books read this month: Average rating for books reviewed in July: 3.77 stars My final Secret Sister package from Ginger was perfect. I can’t believe this round is already over! Insanity. She filled it with my favorite snacks (Oreos, Sour Patch Watermelons, Junior Mints), two books I’ve been super excited for, bookmarks, and some cute sticky notes/paper. I’ve loved receiving her thoughtful packages because she always seemed to intuitively know when […]