Month: May 2017

June TBR

Posted May 31, 2017 / Book Challenges, Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 23 Comments

I recently started a monthly TBR feature, where I try to pin down which books I plan to read in the upcoming month. It also helps remind me throughout the month which books I’m supposed to be reading, for various reasons. I add a little poll at the bottom too, so you guys can vote and help me narrow down some of my options as well. Here are my top TBR choices for this month and how I did last month… May Progress May was a pretty good reading month! I had two HUGE books to read between ACOWAR releasing and THE SWEET FAR THING being “due” for my book club. Those two books totaled 1,435 pages. I’m impressed I was able to finish as many books as I did! I’m glad I prioritized some of the May releases I was really looking forward to as well. Definitely a solid job on my May TBR. On Deck for June ARCs to Read Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel | The Possible by Tara Altebrando I Believe In a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo I’ve had a couple of these on my TBR before (and I’m very excited to read them) but keep letting them slide into the following month. I hope to bang all three of these ARCs out before their release date (or at least very close to their release date!). Fingers crossed they’re all awesome, obv. Owned and/or New Releases Just Dreaming by Kerstin Gier […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #141: Anticipated

Posted May 30, 2017 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 8 Comments

Most Anticipated Books for the Second Half of 2017 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 about the top ten books you’re anticipating for the second half of 2017. As always, I am very technical about these posts and usually choose books publishing after July 1st. As usual, I went above ten books because I’m an overachiever who is overly excited about booooooks. Gimme the Sequels! These Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee {August 29th} I definitely can’t wait to see what happens next. I couldn’t put the first book down and didn’t stop thinking about it for days! I love the futuristic Gossip Girl vibes and there was a definite cliffhanger to get resolved. The Broken World by Lindsey Klingele {August 29th} I don’t read a lot of portal fantasy books (if any??) but this one reminded me a little of The 10th Kingdom as a result. I may even try to reread the first book because I have a terrible memory. I really enjoyed it though! Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather {October 3rd} I was really intrigued when I learned where this series was headed, plot-wise! The first book was really interesting and perfect for October, so I hope this one will be the same for me. AND TITANIC! […]

ARC Review: What I Lost

Posted May 29, 2017 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

Trigger warning for eating disorders and some self-harm. Initial Excitement I had almost zero thoughts about this book before I started it. I’ve always been interested in books that involve treatment centers for some strange reason, so I decided to join the ARC tour for this one. I looked at the length of the book, read the synopsis again, and sighed. I figure this was going to take me forever to read and be super heavy. I’m glad that first impressions can be wrong 😉 Quick Summary Elizabeth is sent away to a treatment facility (that’s actually in her hometown) for her anorexia. The story follows her journey and watches her growth throughout the month-long process. She makes friends, tries to develop better eating habits, and struggles with other things in her life. When she first checks in, she receives mysterious packages that seem to point to her ex-boyfriend, so she tries to figure out who they’re coming from and why. Storytelling, Setting, and Feels GUYS. I physically could not put this book down. I started it on a Saturday morning and before I knew it, 350 pages (out of 400) were read. I stopped a couple times to do quick things around the apartment but I preeeetty much finished it in one shot. For a “difficult” book with tough topics, it was so easy to keep reading. I know part of it was my weird fascination with books set in treatment facilities (oh, that just inspired a new read-bait […]

The Nostalgia Project | Gemma Doyle Trilogy

Posted May 26, 2017 / Book Reviews, The Nostalgia Project / 5 Comments

The Nostalgia Project is my way of revisiting and rereading old favorites from my young adulthood to see if they still resonate with me. Learn more here and read old posts or reviews here! I didn’t include the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray in my original post about this project. Honestly it doesn’t really fit because it’s not the same kind of genre I was looking to analyze. However, if this trilogy is anything to me, it’s nostalgic. My book club decided to read this series for our meetings for March, April, and May, so it was finally the right excuse to make this reread happen! Man, this book. ? I love when rereads are a perfect mix of homey, nostalgic feelings plus a “brand new” story (because I forgot almost everything that happened!). It’s time like these where I love that my bookish memory is terrible. This was like revisiting an old favorite and being surprised at the same time. I think the biggest difference, looking back, is the pacing. I can see how some people may consider the story somewhat slow or even boring at times. The pacing is similar to a historical fiction book (which makes sense, because it is one), but there are some fantastical elements. The pacing is definitely not like that of a fantasy novel. I didn’t mind the slow-moving plot because my feels kept me going, not gonna lie. Gemma and her friends were worse to me this time around. I liked Gemma overall, even though she was definitely […]

Who Am I? | Blog Tag

Posted May 25, 2017 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 4 Comments

I saw this blog tag on Rebel Mommy Book Blog by Grace and thought it looked fun! I bookmarked it for a rainy day and decided now is finally the time. I’ve been fresh out of ideas and blogging mojo lately, aside from my usual posts, so I wanted to add in a little variety! This isn’t a book-related tag but instead gets at the blogger underneath. 1. What is the meaning of your name? This is weirdly hard to track down because the website Grace used listed it as a boy’s name, so I wanted to find it elsewhere. Here are a few summaries from different sites: Lauren may be a given name or surname. The name’s meaning may be “laurel tree,” “sweet of honor,” or “losing against wisdom.” {Source} Variant or feminine form of LAURENCE (1). Originally a masculine name, it was first popularized as a feminine name by actress Betty Jean Perske (1924-), who used Lauren Bacall as her stage name. {Source} 2. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type? This is actually not surprising to me at all. I feel like I’m almost 50/50 between being an introvert and an extrovert. I enjoy being around people but really value alone time too. I tend to follow my gut, heart, and feelings more than almost anything else. I’m not sure what to make of the last two, though! {Source and more here} “Advocates tend to see helping others as their purpose in life, but while people with this personality type […]

My Favorite Instagram Pictures

Posted May 24, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 9 Comments

I don’t do a lot of fancy bookstagram things. I usually use ~action shots~ to show what I’m currently doing, where I’m currently reading, and especially what I’m currently reading! I like to share my book hauls, the food I’m eating while I read, and other related objects/locations. I don’t do much with props. So, in other words, my bookstagram is actually kind of boring. However! I decided to toot my own horn a little and share my personal favorite Instragram pictures from my account. (I’ve previously shared my favorite other bookstagrammers also, FYI.) A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on May 17, 2017 at 10:12am PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Apr 14, 2017 at 12:35pm PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Nov 14, 2016 at 4:38am PST A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Apr 13, 2016 at 4:25am PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Feb 16, 2016 at 4:27am PST A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Oct 16, 2015 at 6:31pm PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Jul 5, 2015 at 12:05pm PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Jul 1, 2015 at 11:52am PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Oct 31, 2014 at 7:58pm PDT

Top Ten Tuesdays #140: Beachy

Posted May 23, 2017 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 11 Comments

Beachy Book Vibes 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 a Summer Reads Freebie (books to go in your beach bag, best books set in summer, books with summer-y covers, best beach reads for people who don’t enjoy contemporary/realistic reads, best beach reads for fans of X genre, etc.). I LOOOOVE summer reads – anything I can read on the beach, anything about the beach, books set at the beach… the list goes on. I decided to do something based on the book covers and beachy settings, kind of like my Cover Colors feature. Nantucket Blue and Red by bookmarklit featuring turkish cotton beach towels The Names They Gave Us by bookmarklit featuring cotton beach towels Wanderlost by bookmarklit featuring a stripe beach towel Islanders / Alex by bookmarklit featuring Missoni Summer Days & Nights by bookmarklit featuring striped beach towels Summer Series by bookmarklit featuring turkish cotton beach towels

ARC Review: Dark Breaks the Dawn

Posted May 22, 2017 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Initial Excitement I haven’t read Larson’s other series (yet) but this one really intrigued me. I do have a tendency of requesting books or signing up for ARC tours even when they’re not exactly in my wheelhouse. Regardless, I started this one pretty quickly once I received it to see how it would work for me. It was nice that there were almost no reviews to go on so I could form my own opinion. I didn’t even realize it was a Swan Lake retelling either, so that added to my excitement when I noticed! Quick Summary The Light and Dark kingdoms have been at war because the King of the dark kingdom wants to rule them both. Evelayn is the Princess of Eadrolan, the Light kingdom, and suddenly has a lot of power thrust into her lap. The goal is to get to King Bain of Dorjhalon and make sure peace is achieved in any way necessary. I don’t really want to say anything else because honestly this book could be summed up in three sentences and be over. All the Things So… yeah. I’m struggling to remember much about this one and I finished it a day ago. I think it’s kind of a mixed bag for me. There wasn’t a lot of plot at all but it was incredibly easy and quick to read. I usually find fantasy books with complex magic systems to be very slow-going for me, but this one was fast. There were LOTS of elements involved […]

Seriously, How Have I Not Read This Yet?

Posted May 19, 2017 / Discussions, Features / 25 Comments

A lot of books end up on my “jazzed up for this” shelf on Goodreads. I made a whole 2015 challenge about the books I MUST read because I was previously so excited for them. So why do I never read them?! This happens way way way too often. Here are some of the books I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t read even though I’ve been ~so excited~ about them for years. Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour | This was one of those books I added to my TBR riiiiight before I started blogging. I loved the cover and the Hollywood-centered premise. The Catastrophic History of You & Me by Jess Rothenberg | I love books where people are stuck in between life and death, in that kind of ghost-y afterlife watching their friends and family move on. The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes | This synopsis has me written all over it, but for some reason I haven’t opened it up yet. I even own this book like an asshole, as usual. 17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen | I loooooved the other Rachael Allen book I read and have had this one sitting around for quite some time. I don’t have excuses because this seems perfect for me. Before I Go by Colleen Oakley | Much like the previous one, I read another Colleen Oakley first. BEFORE I GO has been on my shelf for years and the concept sounds great, but I’m not prepared for the sads. My Heart […]

ARC Review: When Dimple Met Rishi

Posted May 18, 2017 / Book Reviews / 14 Comments

Initial Excitement I was excited for this book for so many reasons. I saw it a long time ago when it was added to Goodreads and discussed it with my friend Natasha, who is Indian and always reads books about white people. She was so excited to hear about the premise and added it to her non-book-blogger-TBR-in-her-head. When Nick offered it up for me to borrow, I jumped on it immediately. Quick Summary WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI is set up to bring together classic rom-coms like When Harry Met Sally and some classic Bollywood movies and plot points. I’ve seen a good amount of these movies (Bollywood and US-based rom-coms) and have to say it was a great combination. Dimple’s family is pressuring her to wear makeup, find a serious Indian boyfriend, etc. and she is not a fan of the idea. Rishi’s family is doing the same thing, but his attitude is very different from hers. The two meet at a summer coding camp called Insomnia Con. Little does Dimple know, Rishi is there because their parents are all pushing for an arranged marriage. This sets off a funny chain of events where Rishi comes on too strong… and the relationship grows from there <3 Storytelling, Setting, and Feels Plot: I adored the premise for this story. Dimple and Rishi head to a coding summer camp-type of thing and end up working together on the project. The setting and competition of who can develop the best app was a lot of fun […]