Month: January 2023

Blog Tour Review: Just the Nicest Couple

Posted January 13, 2023 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Blog Tour Review: Just the Nicest Couple

Purchase links: Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Bookshop // IndieBoundBooks-A-Million // Kobo //  AppleBooks // Google Play // Libro.FM Review Believe it or not, as a heavy mystery/thriller reader (especially in the past 3-4 years), this is my first Mary Kubica book! I’ve had a few of her backlist titles on my TBR over the years but for some reason never dove in. I thought this blog tour would be the perfect time to finally give her a shot.  This story is about two married couples – Lily and Christian, and Nina and Jake. From the outset, it seems like Lily and Christian have a pretty solid relationship. Nina and Jake… not so much. They had a huge fight and he’s been missing ever since. I was very curious from the first handful of chapters how this book would continue. It seemed like it could be straightforward from the overall setup, so I kept turning the pages to see how Kubica would end up getting me! From a writing perspective, Kubica uses short sentences, very staccato. It took some getting used to, and I saw a lot of other reviews also commented on it. Not sure if this was done on purpose for this book or if that’s her usual style? (Friends have since confirmed her writing is different in other books, so that’s good!) I didn’t like the characters and they (especially Christian) made a ton of dumb decisions. It was good because I didn’t really trust them, […]

2023 Resolutions and Goals

Posted January 12, 2023 / Book Challenges, Features / 0 Comments
2023 Resolutions and Goals

I’ve been making these posts ALMOST every year since starting my blog (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022). I fell off the wagon for 2021 but I was back preparing for 2022. I posted a few resolutions on my Instagram stories (trying to be better about being active there!) and was reminded to make this post for 2023. I took off the personal resolution section because I just don’t believe in them. I prefer to have some areas of focus for each year but don’t find value in them overall. Stay on track or ahead of my Goodreads challenge | I got really behind last year and will touch on this more a few bullets down, but I want to have my Goodreads goal always say I’m on track or ahead throughout the year. If I read 6-7 books per month as I discuss below, I can maintain my goal progress instead of scrambling in November and December. Keep up Instagram stories about current and completed reads | I usually do this for a few months and lose interest, but I hope that I can keep it up this year. I’m feeling pretty good about where I am overall and hope to build up my Instagram in general. I want to keep up with sharing what I’m currently reading, reviews when I finish books, monthly wrap-ups and TBRs, etc. Read 1-3 owned (physical) books per month | I read a ton of Kindle books each year but have been slightly getting better […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #392: Most Anticipated

Posted January 10, 2023 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #392: Most Anticipated

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023 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. We’re a little ways into January but worth sharing some books from the first week or two of the year even though they’re out already! I’m going month by month and they’re going to be my true “most anticipated” reads – I want to be able to refer back to this like I did in a recent post (and last year). January February No highly anticipated February releases! March April May June

Recent Reads: No Exit, Stay Awake, and Anon Pls

Posted January 9, 2023 / Bite-Sized Reviews, Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Recent Reads: No Exit, Stay Awake, and Anon Pls

I’ve read a few books at the end of last year (that didn’t really involve the holiday season) and just wanted to share some quick thoughts, so we’re here today with mini reviews (part two!). NO EXIT was a wild ride. Lots of people have recommended it for a super addicting thriller that you can’t put down, which is exactly what I needed at the time, so I finally decided to give it a go. I picked it up from BOTM and hopefully will be able to watch the movie soon to finish up the overall ~experience.~ As I was reading I kept wondering how it was possible that this book could go on and on based on the promise – I had no idea what could possibly happen…and I really just kept reading until I found out. I think I expected something else in some ways? But it was overall quite a thrilling read. Like many others, I won’t share any details to spoil it. Just know that there are more twists and turns than you could imagine possible. Very creepy, good book to read in the dead of winter! I didn’t realize when I first added this book to my TBR that Megan Goldin wrote one of my recent fave mystery books (THE NIGHT SWIM). Such a pleasant surprise that her second book STAY AWAKE was just as fun of a read. The premise was unlike any other mystery/suspense book I’ve read before. The main character has amnesia where […]

January TBR

Posted January 5, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 2 Comments
January 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. January TBR January is about getting ahead or staying on track with review copies. My lowkey goal is to read 7 books most months this year – if I can manage that for 8 out of 12 months, I’ll stay on track with my goal of 80 books for 2023. This month’s TBR features the aforementioned review copies coming up, some new cookbooks, and other new and exciting releases. Review Copies I managed to snag FINALY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN as an audiobook review copy, which is awesome – I’ve listened to this whole series by audio so far. I have an egalley of THE VILLA that I should get to ASAP as well. Other review copies on deck include BEGIN AGAIN (one of my fave authors!) and JUST THE NICEST COUPLE (blog tour). Owned Books I bought SHELF COOKING 101 late last year but knew I wouldn’t be able to fit it in. I hope to get to this one and/or DAMN DELICIOUS in January. I need the excitement of a new cookbook to get me going this month!   I preordered both THE STOLEN HEIR (out this week) and FIVE […]

Recent Reads: Made in Manhattan, The Family Game, and You’re Invited

Posted January 4, 2023 / Bite-Sized Reviews, Book Reviews / 2 Comments
Recent Reads: Made in Manhattan, The Family Game, and You’re Invited

I’ve read a few books at the end of last year (that didn’t really involve the holiday season) and just wanted to share some quick thoughts, so we’re here today with mini reviews! I’ve become a huge sucker for Lauren Layne’s books. I adored the Central Park Pact series and found them super addicting, and her follow-up (TO SIR WITH LOVE) was excellent too. I just think her writing is so easy to read and exactly what I need in my life when I’m struggling with books holding my attention! MADE IN MANHATTAN was a reverse “My Fair Lady” retelling. Posh NYC heiress Violet is asked by her de facto grandmother to help whip her newly discovered grandson, Cain, into shape so he can (hopefully) take over their family business. The two spend time getting to know each other and disagree on a ton of things before the obvious happens. This was a cute story and I’m glad I finally picked it up – I definitely needed something light and breezy. Cain and Violet were nice characters with more in common than they thought. The ending was sweet and the drama was minimal, which is generally what I prefer from my romance these days! I’d recommend it if you like her other books for sure. THE FAMILY GAME was a was super intriguing and addicting! Harry and her fiance begin spending more and more time with his family and she’s quickly brought into their world. His father seems intense (and […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #391: 2022 Faves

Posted January 3, 2023 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 4 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #391: 2022 Faves

Favorite Books of 2022 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 only rated 7 books five-stars this year and one of them was a cookbook! I’m going to just feature those in this post and be a little loose about the top ~ten~ Tuesday aspect. This is partly because I rated 23 (!!!) books 4.5 stars, so it would be a pain in the butt to show all of them. Contemporary and Magical Realism Cozy and Fun Mysteries Comics and Cookbooks

2022 End of Year Wrap-Up and Stats

Posted January 2, 2023 / Features, Wrap-Ups / 2 Comments
2022 End of Year Wrap-Up and Stats

75 Books Read I managed to absolutely crank through my reading in December – I read way more books in order to meet my challenge. You’d think that would deter me from choosing the same amount of books for 2023 but believe it or not, I’ve added five MORE books to my goal for the year. Regardless, here’s my usual wrap-up for the year! Books Read I continued my path of reading slightly less than 50% contemporary! I’m also thinking of splitting out true romance books but I’m not great about determining what’s truly romance compared to just contemporary fiction, which is why I lump everything together. Either way, 49% contemporary! Not surprised to see my mystery/thriller category around a quarter of my reads for the year. I like seeing a more even split here. Not super even but closer than usual, I’d say. I also did a lot more mixed reading this year because Scribd is a lifesaver when I want to crank through a book in multiple ways. I read more owned/purchased books and ebooks this year but egalleys are still my top format. Not an abnormal split here. Most of my reading happens with my Kindle and/or via audiobooks. If I read a physical book and also listen to an audiobook, I’ll choose the format I utilized more while reading. This chart actually just inspired me to add another category (mixed) for when I read a little bit of each. Not surprising again! Most contemporary romance books […]