Month: August 2018

ARC August 2018 Wrap-Up

Posted August 31, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features / 0 Comments
ARC August 2018 Wrap-Up

ARC August is over! I signed up because I had some goals to get my ARC percentage to 80% by the end of the year, so this challenge was set to be a nice push for both backlist books and some coming later this year. I planned to focus on egalleys, with maybe a couple of ARCs in between, because I can focus on the NG/EW Challenge I’m working on. All of the details for this challenge can be found here! Challenge Tracking ARCs read: Book title/author: After Nightfall by AJ Banner Dates read: 8/1 – 8/2 Book title/author: Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll Dates read: 8/4 – 8/10 Book title/author: Sadie by Courtney Summers Dates read: 8/5 – 8/7 Book title/author: The Last Wish of Sasha Cade by Cheyenne Young Dates read: 8/7 – 8/14 Book title/author: Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Dates read: 8/11 – 8/13 Book title/author: The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle Dates read: 8/15 – 8/22 Book title/author: A Date with Darcy by Tiffany Schmidt Dates read: 8/2 – 8/21 DNF Book title/author: One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards Dates read: 8/23 – 8/26 Book title/author: The Universe is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler Dates read: 8/26 – 8/28 Non-ARCs read: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Strange New World by Rachel Vincent Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire Final Numbers Total ARCs read: 9 Total non-ARCs read: 3 Percentage of ARCs: 75% My goal was to have 75% of the books I read this month be ARCs. That way, if I […]

September TBR

Posted August 30, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 4 Comments
September 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. August Progress      I did a pretty good job of reading books on my TBR from August. I knew that things could change with ARC August depending on what I got approved for during the month, or where my mood reading took me. I also didn’t include ALL of my ARCs in the TBR so I did technically pull from the ARC August TBR and had more success. On Deck for September Possible Series Binge     Rose Gardner Mystery Series by Denise Grover Swank This is incredibly random, I know, but here’s the story and the two connected reasons: Reason #1: I randomly got addicted to some Hallmark mystery movies a few months ago when I was still in Maine. I specifically loved the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, starring Candace Cameron Bure. I loved the true-crime-obsessed, small-town librarian and her Real Murders Club, often banding together to solve crimes in the local area. I LOVED the “cozy mystery” vibe of each movie and have been anxiously awaiting the new installments twice per year (I think). Reason #2: My coworker got addicted to a book series – the Rose Gardner Mysteries series above – […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #198: Back to (Boarding) School

Posted August 28, 2018 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 9 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #198: Back to (Boarding) School

Boarding School Books Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, 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’m always a fan of these back to school-oriented freebies because there are endless possibilities. (This time around, Jana suggested: In honor of school starting back up soon, come up with your own topic that fits the theme of school or learning! Books that take place at school/boarding school/during study abroad, books you read in school, textbooks you liked/didn’t like, non-fiction books you loved or want to read, etc.) Some topics that I’ve done in the past are here in case you’re curious: books & backpacks and required reading at the BL High School. This time around, I decided to feature some books about boarding school or fancy private schools. This was inspired by Nick asking me if I’d read any good ones lately, since people are pretty well-aware of how much I love this book setting! I’ve featured private school books as read-bait and other boarding school books in various posts. Without further ado, here are some boarding school books! On the TBR    The Deceivers by Kristen Simmons | Welcome to Vale Hall, the school for aspiring con artists… When Brynn Hilder is recruited to Vale, it seems like the elite academy is […]

Bout of Books Wrap-Up

Posted August 27, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features / 0 Comments
Bout of Books Wrap-Up

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team Instead of posting a million updates or even a kickoff post, I decided to do my tracking in this post (while it was a draft) and just let the final numbers publish at the end of the readathon. I did write a goals and TBR sign-up post though. I usually have a goal to read double the normal amount of books I would in one week but I don’t really see that happening, so I adjusted my plans for the readathon a little bit. Here are my original goals, how I progressed, and the final numbers/bingo cards after completing BoB. Original Goals & Thoughts Because this readathon fell during ARC August, my goal was to read only ARCs during the readathon. This didn’t work out quite as well as I planned because I started a library book the week before BoB started and didn’t have time to finish it over the weekend. I was traveling, watching wrestling, and doing some family stuff all weekend instead. My other goal was to make progress on both […]

ARC Reviews: Kiss Me in Paris and Sadie

Posted August 24, 2018 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment
ARC Reviews: Kiss Me in Paris and Sadie

I didn’t fully think about the fact that KISS ME IN PARIS was actually a holiday story when I started reading it, so it quickly became a “Christmas in July” kind of read. I usually don’t enjoy reading Christmassy books outside of November or December but I made an exception for the sake of my Goodreads challenge (and yes my Netgalley percentage, okay). I was dying to read something short, quick, and sweet, and I determined this would fit the bill. I loved the idea that the main character, Serena, would be retracing her parents’ steps when they first fell in love in Paris. The synopsis implied some good ol’ hate-to-love romance too, as the guy she has to stay with (Jean-Luc) isn’t overly happy about her arrival. The story happens over the course of one night, which I also love. Some of my issues were surrounding the romance. The first thing, kind of related to that, is that the book is very short – just barely over 200 pages. This almost puts it in novella territory and I tend to struggle with rushed romances. Another issue with the romance was that the couple spent quite a bit of time either focusing on an ex (Jean-Luc) or debating a new-ish flame from home (Serena). I understand creating some conflict for the sake of a story but I just didn’t get on board with actually shipping the couple as a result. There was too much time in their heads thinking about […]

Excellent Adaptations: Crazy Rich Asians (with Book Review) + To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Posted August 23, 2018 / Book Reviews, Book to Movie Reviews / 6 Comments
Excellent Adaptations: Crazy Rich Asians (with Book Review) + To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

I have been #blessed with some amazing movie adaptations lately. Both involve Asian or Asian American casts and/or main characters, which provides some excellent representation, and both are amazing romantic comedies. I’ve already reviewed To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before on the blog (and the sequels here and here), so I won’t review it again, but I will be sharing my book review for Crazy Rich Asians as well since I haven’t yet. Crazy Rich Asians   Thoughts on the movie: Phew, this movie was a whirlwind. I took Chris to see it because I was sure he would love it, and I happened to be right! The man who doesn’t like rom-coms was totally smitten with this movie. We were in a super packed theater on a Tuesday night and it was made up of probably 80% Asian patrons. He thought it was really powerful to share the experience and laugh about some of the cultural pieces with other people. (REPRESENTATION IS SO NECESSARY.) I can’t speak too much about his experience, but those were some points he hammered home for the rest of the night. He thought the movie was well-done, funny, and deeper than a “normal rom-com.” I kept getting slightly annoyed when things differed from the book, but it truly didn’t ruin my experience of the movie at all. The biggest differences I noticed were with the ending and with Peik Lin’s family. Her personality (and her family overall) was kicked up about 100 notches. I […]

The Queer Eye Book Tag

Posted August 22, 2018 / Book Tags, Features / 1 Comment
The Queer Eye Book Tag

This tag was created by Ayla @ Books and Babbles and I saw it for the first time on Of Wonderland! (Banner above created by me.) I loveeee Queer Eye (so much that I’m hoarding the second season episodes a bit, watching them sloooowly over time, because I binged the first season in one sitting). I’ve been looking for a new book tag to complete for this month and this definitely fit the bill. How it works: the book tag consists of five categories for each member of the Fab Five. For each category, you pick a book (or more!) that come to mind to match the category. Then, there’s a category at the bottom inspired by the #QEHipTips at the end of the episodes – here called #QEBookTip. You recommend your favorite queer books. Food & Wine ||| Antoni Even though Antoni makes some silly food items at times, he’s the cutest and I love him so much. Look at that face ugh I stan. ANYWAYS, the food topic was bound to be the easiest for me on here! So many books I read make me crave something specific, and I’m highlighting three of the top ones below.     To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han | I have to include this one, in honor of the movie debuting on Netflix this month! This trilogy always made me crave cookies and I’m not the biggest sweet tooth (compared to many of my friends/most people!). I suck at baking and never […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #197: Reading Slump-Busters

Posted August 21, 2018 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 4 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #197: Reading Slump-Busters

Books That Have Pulled Me Out of a Reading Slump Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, 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. The topic for this week is books that will pull you out of a reading slump, but I honestly feel like slumps come in too many varieties! Sometimes I personally get burned out of a genre that then causes a reading slump. Other times I just don’t have any motivation to read anything. I thought I would share instead some of the books that have personally gotten ME out of a reading slump – see if they may help you too! Go-To Slump-Breaking Series The Program series by Suzanne Young (Not pictured: The Complication) I think this has to be the number one slump-buster for me. I have counted on every book in this series to break me out of a slump… and it’s worked each time. I love her writing style because it’s easy to read and so addicting. The stories had me turning pages SO quickly; I could not stop reading any of these installments. I have to show them all here because there aren’t words to describe how helpful all of these were to my reading life. Specific Books that Broke Slumps    […]

ARC Review: The Leading Edge of Now & Interview with Marci Lyn Curtis!

Posted August 20, 2018 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
ARC Review: The Leading Edge of Now & Interview with Marci Lyn Curtis!

Review When Marci put a call out for bloggers to put together an ARC tour for her new release, I obviously hopped on board. (Thanks to all the participants for making this happen!!) I was sooo eager to read more words from her after loving THE ONE THING so much, too many years ago. Her humor mixed in with heartbreak was so well-balanced that I couldn’t wait to see what else she could come up with. I needed more main characters like Maggie, who didn’t let the hand she’d been dealt bring her down too much, and still managed to be sassy and funny at every turn. The story is about Grace, who returns to her almost-home of New Harbor, Florida, after spending two years in foster care. Her uncle finally signed the papers to be her legal guardian, and she’s brought back to a place where painful memories are just one room away. She was sexually assaulted, and her dad passed away from a heart attack soon after. She’s still reeling and attempting to cope with what happened, but moving to New Harbor full time is not making that easy. She’s faced with her ex-friend Janna and ex-boyfriend Owen as well. There are other interesting elements to the story, like Grace’s recent bout with stealing peoples’ wallets. She’s not perfect and never tries to be; she just tries to cope with what happened in the best way she can. I’m happy to report that this was exactly what I […]

Review: The Kiss Quotient

Posted August 17, 2018 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments
Review: The Kiss Quotient

I won’t lie: I was planning on sleeping on this book for a LONG time until the hype died down. This story was all I saw in my feeds (Twitter, Goodreads, RSS, etc.) for quite a while. The hype kept pushing me farther and farther away from it. When I saw the audiobook on Hoopla, though, it was the only one calling my name for some reason. Well, I recommend throwing any reservations out the window and just picking this one up folks, because the hype was well worth it. The premise was… unique, to say the least. Stella has Asperger’s and (so far) hasn’t enjoyed any of her intimate experiences. She decides to hire a male escort in order to get over these fears or concerns. I absolutely loved their dynamic and haven’t read such great steamy moments in a LONG time. There were a few parts of those scenes that made me cringe because of the dirty talk (like Stella did initially haha), but they were otherwise SO good. Both Michael and Stella felt so REAL to me, which I really appreciated. The characters were fully fleshed out and their personalities went much deeper than any kind of stereotypes that could have been used. Michael’s history with his family (especially his father) was very interesting and I kept wondering when we’d learn exactly what happened there. I think Stella’s parents were okay for most of the book but was surprised they weren’t more present, since the story opened […]