Month: March 2019

[ARC] April TBR

Posted March 29, 2019 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 11 Comments

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. March Progress I did a fucking great job with my TBR this past month! I was determined to get some challenges going (okay yes just the Retellings Challenge) while finishing up required reading (book club picks, review copies, blog tour, etc.). I did DNF the first book listed above because I couldn’t get into it. Oh well. I only read one book that wasn’t on my TBR because I didn’t realize I’d be able to get it so quickly through Hoopla. Up Next in April As I’ve done in the past, I’ll use the months starting with A for focusing on reading ARCs! There’s the actual ARC August challenge but sometimes I make my own little ARC April. I’ll be definitely doing that this month, with the exception of audiobooks (unless it’s an already-published review copy I have that now as an audiobook available) and my book club/required reading picks as needed. You’ll see, based on individual goals below, I’m hoping to make at least 6 books review copies during April (but ideally I would read more like 8-10, or all of the books I read) Review Copies (Egalleys) Past […]

Currently… On My iPhone

Posted March 28, 2019 / Currently, Personal / Information / Etc. / 3 Comments

On My iPhone | March 25, 2019 I really enjoy writing “Currently” posts, where you share the things you’re loving, watching, wearing, etc. in a very straightforward format. Plenty of bloggers do them and they’re some of my favorite posts to read too! I thought it might be fun to share an iPhone-oriented version of this, where I screenshot various things on my iPhone to show what I’m currently seeing on there, favorite apps I’m using, things I’m listening to, etc. On my Lock & Home Screens Lock screen: Even though we’re out of football season, this has remained on my lock screen! Chris and I haven’t taken a lot of great photos lately (lol) and I really enjoy having him on my front screen. This is when we went to Charlotte for my birthday and got to meet Sir Purr, the mascot! Home screen: This is my main group of best friends from college. I always have them on my home screen too. This photo is also from September, from Natasha’s wedding. This is one of the pictures from the professional photographer and we all look so good. On my Podcast List Currently listening (bottom bar): I usually listen to podcasts on Tuesday and Wednesday (sometimes Saturday/Monday depending on what I get to), so I only have a quick one from this morning. I listened to the preview/intro to the Bellas new podcast! By the time this posts, it will have had its first episode already. Up next: I have a weird […]

Review Round Up | The Fairest Kind of Love, Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee, The Winter Sister, and I’ll Be There For You

Posted March 27, 2019 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 2 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 books I’ve read or listened to recently. Sometimes they’re newer releases and sometimes they’re all backlist titles. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! This series is something I would call a guilty pleasure if I believed in that term. I genuinely don’t. BUT it’s a whimsical, short, breezy, easy, and cute series. There isn’t a lot of substance involved but I love the magical beings and seeing what Amber gets up to next! This is the final book in the series, I believe, and it’s one I’ve remained loyal to over the past few years of new releases. I saw it on Hoopla and immediately downloaded it, of course. Amber is gearing up to meet with a matchmaker to determine a few things – can she get her powers back and functioning properly? AND, is Charlie her soulmate? Since her abilities have gone haywire, she’s been trying to figure out how to get them back and move on with her life after graduating high school. I liked that this installment involved fairies, my fave magical creature, and some of the classic elements you’re familiar with (like wishing using fairy dust and having to be very specific about what you want!). This one felt cheesier than the last two. I’m not sure if it’s just because there’s been enough time in between where I forgot what they were like, or if […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #228: Audio

Posted March 26, 2019 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 12 Comments

Audio Freebie: Favorites 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 an audio-related freebie. I probably spend more of my week listening to podcasts than I do listening to audiobooks, but I’ve done a good job balancing them lately. The first few days of the week will usually involve podcast episodes (since I have some scheduled to come out each weekend and in the early part of the work week) and the rest of the week will be more audiobook-focused. I thought I would highlight some very broad categories of audio-related favorites, including narrators, services, and books themselves for this freebie topic! Favorite Narrator: Julia Whalen She will easily be my favorite narrator, forever. I’ve listened to her narrate some TJR books (excellent) and a few others. She just has the best voice and I can’t get enough of it. I think you’ll see her on a lot of people’s lists this week because she seriously knows what she’s doing. Listened to already: Here are some of the books I’ve already listened to and enjoyed her narration for… even if the book wasn’t perfect lol. (Note: I have listened to all three books in the Charlotte Holmes series but […]

What a Reading Year So Far

Posted March 25, 2019 / Discussions, Features / 8 Comments

Every time I finish a great book, I say to myself “DAMN what a reading year I’m having!” … and every time I remind myself it’s only MARCH somehow, I picture this: Seriously though, it’s been quite a good year already for me. I am having so much success with the books I’ve been picking out. I’ve talked about my lack of five-star ratings from 2018 as well as me generally getting pickier with the books I choose to read and rate so highly, but I’m doing REALLY well so far. Honestly I’m just here today to be excited about some books, share my thoughts on this bizarre phenomenon, and more. Books read so far: 32 Average rating: 3.9 5 Star Reads Girls with Sharp Sticks was one of my most anticipated reads, and I genuinely can’t believe I had the ARC in my possession for months and didn’t read it. I promise you, this book is perfection. I LOVE Suzanne Young and each of her books/series gets better than the last. If you want to hear my entire saga with this duo and thoughts on Crooked Kingdom itself, click that link. Long story short: I put off reading it because I was nervous and then realized I HAD to read it before KoS. It did not disappoint, clearly. And finally, last but certainly not least, The Bride Test (review to come) was an utterly perfect rom-com for me. It didn’t have some of the slightly cheesy sexual dialogue from […]

Skincare and Makeup Lately: Hits and Misses

Posted March 22, 2019 / Health & Beauty, Personal / Information / Etc. / 8 Comments

Skincare My focus lately, for the most part, has been on new skincare items and routines. I have this problem where if something doesn’t work immediately (or breaks me out initially), I quit using it and assume it won’t work. I really need to give things a fair shake and see if they last. Tatcha’s Starter Kit After reading Sydney’s post about her experience with Tatcha, a brand I’ve been looking to try, I decided to buy the two week starter kit. I have oily skin but it’s been very tame in the winter months this year. This is probably due to a combination of a few things, which I’ll talk more about later, but it starts with skincare. The Starter Ritual Set (Normal to Oily Skin): I think I’ll talk about each item individually because I have mixed feelings about some of them. I like the kit in general though because the small-ish sizes are big enough to definitely last more than two weeks, in my opinion. Pure One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil: ?? So I’ll admit that cleansing balms and oils are just not for me. People who wear a LOT of makeup on a regular basis – do any of these work nicely for you?! I have to use 5 pumps to get everything off, I hate using it on eye makeup, and it just feels weird on my skin. It’s not the oil’s fault here because it’s ALL oils and balms, but I won’t bother with this in the […]

ARC Review: The Princess and the Fangirl

Posted March 21, 2019 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

Initial Excitement & Summary I adored GEEKERELLA and was SO excited to see a companion sequel. I already need there to be a million books in this series. The first book was basically a love letter to being a fan, attending cons, and geek culture as a whole. I’m not QUITE as into fandom things (for anything really) as many of my friends, but I totally get it. While the first book was a Cinderella retelling, this was a Princess and the Pauper retelling – the classic situation where two people look like each other and switch lives for a few days. In this case, the actor who plays Princess Amara in Starfield (Jess) switches place with Imogen (a Starfield fan and leader of the “Save Amara” movement). The two switch lives so Jess can track down who leaked the new Starfield script. Storytelling & Characters Just like the first book, this was filled with geeky references that I loved. (Sometimes it feels like a little too much, but not bad! – I liked that Jess was not really a geeky character so the references were only during one of the POVs.) The Princess and the Pauper trope was really well done and super fun to follow in a con setting. I enjoyed both Jess and Imogen as main characters. Jess was hard to get used to in the beginning because she didn’t like Starfield; it was off-putting to hear her grouchy inner monologue. This definitely changed throughout the book […]

“Consideration” and “Maybe” Shelves

Posted March 20, 2019 / Discussions, Features / 11 Comments

As I look through my Goodreads shelves and wonder how the hell I’ve acquired so many books on my digital TBR list, I started to wonder how other people use their shelving system. Do you use shelves like “consideration” or “maybe” or “to check out” on Goodreads to track books? These are the books where you think you MIGHT want to read them but probably not? Maybe? … So you put them on your in-between to consider later. Do you ever purge this shelf? Do you leave it as a gray area or book purgatory forever? I have a few answers to all this. My “consideration” shelf on Goodreads is primarily books I’m *considering* reading. I guess it IS that simple, to start with. I don’t think “I definitely want to read this” when I see the book, which is why it doesn’t end up on my main TBR. If I say “maybe I’d read this,” I kind of go from there. I get annoyed at myself when I look at the number of books on there (currently 557) and think: I’m never going to read ANY of these. I have 2,016 (!!!!!!!) books on my actual to-read list PLUS the 348 on my TBR for unreleased books. Do I really NEED a consideration shelf? Honestly, the main reason I keep it around is to keep track of books I’ve seen and keep getting distracted by. Let me explain. I have this whole book cover addiction, as you are aware of by […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #227: Spring TBR

Posted March 19, 2019 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 10 Comments

Top Spring Releases on my TBR (that I don’t already have review copies of) 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 your spring TBR but I already did a spring bingo TBR (and do monthly TBRs), so I thought I would expand specifically into books releasing in the spring that are on my to-read list! These are March, April, and May releases. I purposely did not put any advanced copies I have on here… even if I’m super excited for them. March A Question of Holmes by Cavallaro | The Fairest Kind of Love by Cestari Crashing the A-List by Heacock | Killing November by Mather (1) I’ve been casually enjoying the Charlotte Holmes series and am mildly excited for the next book. I don’t know why, but I don’t LOVE this series… yet I keep feeling the need to read each new installment? I think it’s because the audiobooks are easy listening. Note: I realized I have yet to read the LAST book in the series like an idiot. (2) There’s another sequel in the Windy City Magic series, which I think is adorable. It’s not perfect but it’s cute, young, and fluffy paranormal-ish YA. Also note: […]

Blog Tour Review & Cover Colors: Night Music

Posted March 18, 2019 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Review I’ve gone on record to say, controversially probably, that I am not one of those people who actively seeks out books about music. I LIKE music as much as the next guy but you’re more likely to find me listening to a podcast or audiobook at this point. I don’t find new music; my music selections are probably 80% from before I was born and 20% from the 90s and early 2000s (some outliers from my HS/college years too of course). So, you could say that a book surrounding classical music would not be up my alley. That is the exact reason I decided to join this blog tour. I’ve been itching to expand my reading horizons, even within my favorite genre of YA contemporary. I wanted to learn about the classical music world I knew virtually nothing about. On top of that, I ADORED the other book by Jenn Marie Thorne that I read – The Wrong Side of Right – and was due for another of her stories. This book is about Ruby, one member of a very famous family in the classical music world, right after she decides that this world is not necessarily for her. She doesn’t feel talented enough, or that she fits in it. Oscar is the latest prodigy to stay in her house (!!) and learn from her famous father. The two fall together pretty quickly, swept away into a summer of music and attraction. The description in the synopsis of “breezy […]