Month: December 2016

ARC Review: Replica

Posted December 7, 2016 / Book Reviews / 12 Comments
ARC Review: Replica

I usually break these reviews out into my typical categories below, but I decided to divide my review into the two “books” within one book. You can read this book in multiple ways. You can read Lyra’s story then flip the book around to read Gemma’s, or you could alternate chapters between the two books (as if it were one book with two alternating points of view). I decided to read all of Lyra’s story then all of Gemma’s because it was frankly easier than flipping between the two sides each chapter. TL;DR? I’m happy with how I chose to read this book. It was really interesting as certain events happened and I thought about what happened on the *other* side of the book during that time, and it did make me wonder how it would have been reading the other way. I wish it were easier to do; maybe I’ll reread it someday. I knew that Gemma and Lyra met up for a portion of the book, but they weren’t always with each other. This was helpful because otherwise it would have been really repetitive to essentially read the same story twice! I liked getting inside both of their heads – in the order I read them – to piece it all together. There wasn’t too much overlap between each point of view. So many big reveals and connections came together at each story’s end! I loved seeing how all of their research would crash together. When I read Lyra’s ending, […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #118: New-to-Me

Posted December 6, 2016 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 13 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #118: New-to-Me

Top New-To-Me Authors I Read For The First Time In 2016 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. I ended up narrowing this down quite a bit! I read a good amount of 2016 debut books AND a lot of “established” authors for the first time. Here are some of my favorites from this year, plus the next book I have to read by them. Some authors I read their newest book and have to go back to the previously published one next, and some were debuts who have a new book coming out soonish.I was a huge fan of History is All You Left Me, which I read waaay back in the summer even though the book doesn’t come out until January. It was fantastic, so I need to head back and read his debut next.Tell Me Three Things was definitely a 2016 favorite. I loved her style of writing and that cover always makes me hungry! She has a few adult fiction books on her backlist I may read, but I love the sound of her 2017 book.OMG The Fixer and The Long Game were so perfect. They broke me out of a major slump and kept me turning pages like crazy. I have to read her […]

Favorite Holiday Books and Tropes

Posted December 5, 2016 / Book Lists, Features / 11 Comments
Favorite Holiday Books and Tropes

I’ve done holiday things on the blog basically since it first started. I only read 14 holiday books before this 2016 season, but I think it’d be worth recapping all of those here! I’m going to rank them from favorite to least favorite, plus include a mini review or summary about the book so you can decide if maybe you’d like it more than I did! But first, let’s look at some of the elements of holiday books that make me love them. ? ? ☃ ❄️ What makes me love a holiday book? | Favorite Tropes Perfect snowy, cozy setting | This is the biggest thing I look for. I need to FEEL like its Christmas and let there be snow all over the place. Some of the books below have really fun settings like a B&B in a cold place, or a big mansion full of Christmas decorations and cozy rooms with fireplaces. Lots of holiday feels | I need there to be days leading up to the holidays and then a full exploration of Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I love the anticipation of the day coming and then getting to celebrate with the family. Snowed in | There are a couple books on here where a couple gets snowed in together and ends up falling for each other. This “stuck together” trope is one of my favorites (and will hopefully be a read-bait topic sometime soon!). I love the cozy feeling of being snowed in and trying to keep warm. Short stories | I […]

Holiday Review: Winter Street

Posted December 2, 2016 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments
Holiday Review: Winter Street

Basics and Initial Excitement I decided to make this my first Elin Hilderbrand novel, as well as my first holiday book of this season. The synopsis grabbed me right from the beginning… and it helps that it takes place on Nantucket, one of my favorite places to read about. (It’s a couple of hours from me and I’ve never been there, but it’s similar to Cape Cod – one of my actual favorite places.) The book came in quickly at the library and I set off on my first seasonal read. Characters and Story The story is set over the Christmas holiday and begins on December 23rd. The Quinn family is used to gathering for the holidays at the Winter Street Inn that their father owns (and some of them still live at). This year, a wrench is thrown into the works when their stepmom is found kissing Santa Claus and leaves their father. The family has to move through the holiday parties and Christmas morning without one of the main caretakers of the inn. I liked that the story alternated between all of the main characters so you could get into their heads a little bit. Some of them were harder to connect to or get a read on (because of all the POV switching) but I’m glad that format was chosen for this book regardless. The children include Patrick, who is having a breakdown over some things happening at work; Ava, a schoolteacher that lives at the inn and can’t get […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | November 2016

Posted December 1, 2016 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 11 Comments
Bookmark Lit Bulletin | November 2016

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my 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. I recently split out my personal posts into the Lauren Lately feature, so this is a bit shorter! I finally got my reading mojo back!! I was able to finish three books plus one novella in three days. I was a reading addict around the middle of the month thanks to two books that were exactly what I needed to break my slump. I also got back into some audiobooks a little bit, managed to finish off the fall bingo card, and still was able to keep up with my TV shows. I’m finally getting the balance I’ve been wanting to find. I hope I can carry this attitude with me into the new year because this is what I had in mind when I set my goals/resolutions for 2016. Average rating for books read in October: 3.64 stars Highlights & Lowlights All of the books read this month: Year-Long Seasonal Fall Bingo Challenge I’m pleased to say that I FINALLY filled an entire bingo card! I was pretty determined this time and knew it was actually in reach, based on the books ahead on my TBR. I made a fake TBR to get […]