Month: April 2022

Top Ten Tuesdays #375: Floral Covers

Posted April 26, 2022 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 1 Comment

Recent/Upcoming Books with Flowers on the Cover 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 will never turn down the chance to share pretty book covers! This one is fill-in-the-blank where we can share books with certain items on the cover. Here are some of my favorite covers with flowers on them! Most are coming soon or have been recently published.

Top Ten Tuesdays #374: Bookish Merch

Posted April 19, 2022 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Bookish Merch I’d Love to Own 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 don’t buy or own a lot of bookish merch anymore. Back when I was first blogging and getting hardcore into reading again, I did buy a lot more book or reading-related merch. I think I’m just trying to not acquire as much stuff around this little house anymore! I did buy some great gifts for my sister for Christmas (and a few bookmarks for me) from Emily Cromwell Designs though. So, with that in mind… Bookish Gift Wishlist from Emily Cromwell Designs Top links: Magnet | Sweatshirt | Bookmark | Bookmark | Sweatpants Bottom links: Flag | Notepad | Bookmark | Blanket | Bookmark

ARC Review: Part of Your World

Posted April 18, 2022 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

How are all of her books so good!? PART OF YOUR WORLD centers around Alexis, a doctor with a strong family history in medicine at a specific hospital in the city, and Daniel, a mayor/carpenter/B&B manager in the country. When Alexis is driving through his small town and runs her car off the road, Daniel helps her out of the ditch. They cross paths later that night when she stops by the local VFW for dinner and end up having a great night together. Their relationship picks up over the coming weeks until they’re basically a couple (at least in his small town). She could never bring Daniel into he world. Her twin brother’s new wife doesn’t pass her parents’ test of a suitable partner so clearly a tattooed, bearded man who is 10 years younger than her won’t either. She tries to protect Daniel from their scrutiny and the other side of her life but it gets harder and harder. I wasn’t fully sold on the age-gap romance (not my cup of tea) but it wasn’t the “main issue” these two had going for them, so it worked out fine for me. I really loved their chemistry in this one and the kind of opposites attract vibe. (Clearly I can’t resist it because this is the second book with that trope in a row where I read 60% or more of it in one sitting.) Daniel’s small town and all of the people in it were so cute. I loved […]

ARC Review: In a New York Minute

Posted April 13, 2022 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

This was definitely on my radar as a top anticipated read for 2022. I tend to love the rom-coms from Forever Romance and was hoping Kate Spencer would be added to my auto-buy list. Spoiler alert: definitely has been! This story centers around a meet cute that goes viral. Franny is having a terrible day – she gets laid off from her job and then her dress rips in the subway door, exposing her butt to the world. Luckily a kind stranger (Hayes) shares his fancy suit jacket with her so she can get home. They start trending as #SubwayQTs and inevitably meet up again in real life to appease the masses. I like that this was an “opposites attract” romance. They were both drawn to each other for different reasons and complemented each other well, despite being so different. Franny is loud and confident while Hayes is a bit awkward and professional. On paper, they don’t make a ton of sense. I also love that New York City was like a third main character in this story, as it often is! I live close enough to NYC where I could go there every weekend if I wanted, but I don’t like the place in real life – just enjoy reading about it in books. This was another book that made me feel that New York magic. I loved that Franny and Hayes were both passionate about the city but had very different experiences there. They were able to share […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #373: Authors I Haven’t Read

Posted April 12, 2022 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 1 Comment

Authors I Haven’t Read But Want To 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. This is tough! I feel like I do a decent job of reading at least one book by authors I want to read. It’s harder to think of authors on my TBR where I haven’t managed to read a single one of their books yet. In any case, here’s my list! (1) Mhairi McFarlane is probably the best example of this. I’ve had her books on my TBR since the very beginning of my blogging days. I even managed to buy two of them from the Book Depository (UK versions) because I was desperate to read them… and never did. I have two freakin’ review copies of her books from Netgalley and yep, still have not managed to read a single book by her. Wooooof. (2) Lindsey Kelk has this long, cute-sounding series “I Heart” and I’ve always been intrigued by them. Aside from that, I have three of her books on my TBR. I think this one pictured is even a review copy I have? Either way, I’m definitely sleeping on her books when they sound right up my alley. (3) Marie Rutkoski is one of those authors everyone read (especially […]

ARC Review: The Suite Spot

Posted April 8, 2022 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I really loved FLOAT PLAN so I had pretty high hopes for THE SUITE SPOT. These books were both similar and different from each other and therefore perfect companions. I could spend this whole review comparing the two books and sisters but I’ll try to keep it (mostly) about this one. When Rachel is fired from her job at a fancy boutique hotel in Florida, she and her daughter Maisie aren’t sure what’s next. She receives a lead from a friend that a guy on a small Ohio island is looking for someone to run his brewery-centered hotel/glamping spot. When her “boyfriend” disappoints them once again, she decides to take the plunge and the job. Mason, the owner of the place, wasn’t fully up front with her when he offered the job – the cabins aren’t even built yet and the brewery is barely done. He’s mourning the loss of a few things/people in his life too and remains pretty guarded around Rachel and Maisie. I adored the small island setting AND brewery hotel storyline. I would 100% stay at a glamping resort like this one! Small town vibes are my favorite to read and this setting had the perfect little town of people to flesh that out. Maisie was super cute and Mason was an excellent love interest. I like how this series so far has been very heavy on the family feels and/or overcoming some kind of grief or loss – taking relationships and romance slowly after disappointment […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | March 2022

Posted April 6, 2022 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 1 Comment

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. March was a better reading month than February but I’m definitely still behind. I managed to finish four books in two days to finish off the month strong. I had preordered two cookbooks that published the last week of the month so I was able to read both of them, then finished off the audiobook I’d been listening to and the egalley I’d been reading. 6 books read in March 6 new books • 0 rereads • 0 DNF Pages read: 1872 • Average rating: 3.92 stars Sources: 2 preordered, 2 review copies, 2 borrowed Formats: 2 egalley, 1 hardcover, 1 paperback, 1 audio, 1 mixed Genres: 3 mystery/thriller, 2 nonfiction, 1 contemporary Age Target: 5 adult, 1 young adult Check out my 2022 challenge sign-up post for more details, goals, etc.! Popsugar Reading Challenge 4 read this month | 13/40 read total Set during a holiday, with a recipe in it, reflected image, becoming a 2022 movie Calendar of Crime Challenge Pub month, money/fortune Breakdown: 7 purchased | 0 borrowed | 0 free/gifted | 6 for review […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #372: Freebie

Posted April 5, 2022 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Review Copies on my TBR 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 usually am decent at keeping up with review copies, for the most part. My reading has been minimal the past 9-12 months though. Because some of my review copies are late (ugh) I thought I would share a roundup of some of the egalleys I have on deck to catch up or read in the near future. If I’m not sharing a review on time, hopefully this spreads the word about these fun books!

April TBR

Posted April 4, 2022 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 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. April TBR March was not the worst, thanks to some cookbooks, but I still got behind on my reading challenge. I finished one egalley, one audiobook, and two cookbooks within the last two days of the month to get somewhat back on track. It just took me forever to read things and I wasn’t ever in the mood to read. Review Copies I’m still playing catchup from March review copies and need to get ahead in April. I have IN A NEW YORK MINUTE, ALWAYS JANE, THE NO-SHOW and THE SUITE SPOT on deck. Audiobooks and/or Owned I have a copy of MAJESTY as an audiobook and maybe an ebook? Not sure. I have a copy of THE PARIS APARTMENT coming in my Book of the Month box so I hope to read that and also listen to the audiobook on Scribd. We’re hopefully going to read FRIENDS LIKE THESE for my book club this month and I bought the ebook on sale recently.

Review Round Up | Kamila Knows Best and Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead

Posted April 1, 2022 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 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! I’m enjoying Farah Heron’s books a lot! This book, like the first one I read by her, made me so hungry! This time for biryani instead of beer and bread. In KAMILA KNOWS BEST, she is struggling to balance everything in her life. She loves her job at a small accounting firm run by her father and family friends, volunteering for party planning and with an animal shelter, and hosting elaborate weekly Bollywood movie nights for her friends. She has a ton on her plate and still manages to take on more. Kamila was a…challenging character to get along with for me. Her actions and the fact that she constantly cut people off, assuming she knew what they were going to say about her, was so frustrating. I know that her father and Rohan sometimes acted like they knew what she wanted and assumed things when they shouldn’t, but she totally did the same thing to them too. Aside from those frustrating moments, she otherwise had a fun personality and generally wasn’t afraid to be herself… I just struggled to LIKE her a lot of the time. The ending was so cute and I love the way everything wrapped up. The romance was top-notch for most of […]