Month: July 2023

August TBR

Posted July 27, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
August 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 TBR July was an interesting month because I did read the major books I had outlined on my TBR (especially the smaller version posted on Instagram stories) but kind of let myself go with the flow the minute Summerween was over haha. I wanted to read a lighter book but ended up picking up a giant fantasy as well?? ARC August I wrote a post the other day announcing that I’m aiming to to ARC August this year, something popularized in the book blogging community years ago. You basically focus on reading a ton of review copies in August! I came up with my own challenge/prompts to read books of all types and here’s the “final” list (subject to change depending on mood, but I feel pretty confident in these!). My goal is to read all 8 of these, or read 80% review copies in August regardless. Here are my picks and why: 2023 release – IN NIGHTFALL Mystery/thriller – THE HIKE Contemporary romance – BUSINESS OR PLEASURE Picked by random number generator – I’M THE GIRL From my “jazzed up for this” shelf – ALL THAT’S LEFT TO SAY Publishing […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #419: DNFs

Posted July 25, 2023 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 8 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #419: DNFs

Most Recent DNFs 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 usually talk about DNFs on my blog or review them so I’m excited actually to touch on this topic! I’ve been a bit better with quitting books lately but I do feel like finding 10 DNFs will bring me back a few years haha.    

ARC August Challenge

Posted July 24, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
ARC August Challenge

Back in the day, ARC August was a big deal and a way of life. I did it all the time. I always think of doing it unofficially (because I don’t know that it’s a real thing anymore? lol) but in a more casual way. My goal for August 2023 is to read 80% ARCs. I know there’s a good chance that a library hold comes in or something and I get sidetracked, so my overall hope for the month is to read 10 books, 8 of them being ARCs. I have a lot to choose from (ugh…) but thought it would be fun to give myself some prompts and challenges to pick out the TBR. I’m only going to read past-due or current month egalleys – no ARCs that are coming out in September or later. This is a way for me to catch up and get closer to 80% on Netgalley – usually I’m around 70% or a little more but lately I’ve been at 69%. At the time of writing this, I have 98 books that were published prior to August 2023 that I could read. I’ve definitely lost interest in a few so there’s a good chance that I try to read and DNF a book or two throughout this process, but I’m going to give it the ol’ college try. Here are the 8 challenges I’m using to try to pick out my TBR and the books that I’ve selected to match. I’m going to go with […]

ARC Reviews: The Legacies and Dark Corners

Posted July 20, 2023 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
ARC Reviews: The Legacies and Dark Corners

It’s no secret around here that I love a “rich people behaving badly book” – there’s something about it that appeals to my Gossip Girl-loving heart. I KNOW they’re bad people and I’m okay with reading about them. I don’t have to like or root for the characters in every book I read. I know it’s a personal preference thing and I’m okay with that. Just be warned, if you aren’t a rich kid drama girlie, you probably won’t find much to like in this one. This book feels simultaneously similar and different than Goodman’s other books. I’ve rated her other books 3, 3.5, and 4 stars, respectively, so she’s always been a good-but-not-a-favorite author of mine. I still find myself so drawn to her synopses and eagerly await each new release! The whole vibe of this one (like her other three books) is more of a contemporary fiction book with some death and suspense as the backbone. Her books aren’t thrillers, they’re sort of mysteries, but they’re more like… mysterious contemporary fiction? This book is the first that features unlikeable rich kids at a prep school in NYC – the others are set in normal high schools or at summer camp. The story alternates between Bernie (a rich kid living in her mom’s shadow), Isobel (another rich kid and Bernie’s best friend with a substance abuse issue), and Tori (the scholarship kid whose mom died the year before). I enjoyed reading from each of their POVs for the most part […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #418: One-Word Titles

Posted July 18, 2023 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 12 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #418: One-Word Titles

Books with One-Word Titles 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 decided to keep this topic (books with one-word titles) to just the ones on my TBR so it would be easier to track them down on Goodreads!    

The Program Series is Getting NEW COVERS! // 10 Year Anniversary

Posted July 18, 2023 / Features / 3 Comments
The Program Series is Getting NEW COVERS! // 10 Year Anniversary

It’s no secret that I am a giant fan of Suzanne Young and all of her work. There are a whopping 2-3 books out of her entire backlist that I haven’t read (and don’t worry, they’re still on my list). I first read THE PROGRAM in 2015 and quickly read every book in the series immediately upon release. I checked them out from the library at the time so this new collection of covers being rereleased has me SO excited to finally add them to my home collection! My friend Andi let me know some of the purchase links and I’m happy to help Suzanne out with spreading the word on the new redesigns. Ya girl would love another book or two in the series so who knows what the future holds if everyone snatches these ones up! 😉 Purchase Links & Details Please note that the books are going to be available in BOTH hardcover and paperback, so be sure to select the correct edition when purchasing. They will be available NOVEMBER 14TH so get your preorders in! Here’s where you can find them: Target // Barnes and Noble Bookshop (Boxed Set) The Covers  

Review Roundup | The Wishing Game, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, and Live and Let Chai

Posted July 17, 2023 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments
Review Roundup | The Wishing Game, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, and Live and Let Chai

I was soooo looking forward to THE WISHING GAME. The book sounded so magical (while being realistic and not actually featuring any magic or fantastical elements) and the cover? Absolutely one of my favorites I’ve ever seen… which is why it’s such a bummer that I feel so incredibly mixed on this book. I had to really think about a rating for it. At its core, this book is a whimsical ode to children’s books and the lifelong impact they have on us. I loved that aspect! It was so cute in a lot of ways. If I sit here and think about the story as a whole and ignore a lot of the details that really bugged me, this could have easily been very highly rated. I appreciate the granting of wishes and foster care/adoption plotline in a general sense but I was really uncomfortable with how Lucy went about it all with Christopher. It’s one thing to want to adopt a child that needs it but I personally found it to be inappropriate that she was kissing his forehead and having him sit on her lap (and discussing her desire to adopt him before she was permitted to – I have to think, if it didn’t happen or come true, wouldn’t the kid be in a worse mental space? She even tried to argue that sleeping on the floor of her bedroom in a house she shared with drunk college students would be a better situation for him […]

Christmas in July: Upcoming 2023 Holiday Books

Posted July 13, 2023 / Book Lists, Features / 0 Comments
Christmas in July: Upcoming 2023 Holiday Books

Here I am for my annual “Christmas in July” post that features upcoming holiday releases for the new season. I’m sure this isn’t an exhaustive list and I do try to keep it to books I hope to read or have some interest in, but I’ll try my best to get them all here for you to add to your TBR! I said it last year and I’ll say it again – I love that more and more holiday books seem to come out every year! Egalleys I Have Snowed in for Christmas by Snowe // This cover is so cute! I love any romance where people are snowed in, so the title alone grabbed my attention 😉 The synopsis mentions grumpy/sunshine too, if that’s your thing! The Christmas Wager by Cassidy // Another cute cover – especially sold because of the dog! This one has enemies-to-lovers and an adorable mountain town with holiday games… sign me up. The Christmas Cafe by Evans // This one sounds soo cute and, like the other two, definitely like a Hallmark movie! A girl tries to save the Christmas Cafe in a cute Christmassy town by getting the Holiday Channel to visit. The Wake-Up Call by O’Leary // This one may not be a specific holiday romance but the synopsis does indicate that the hotel won’t stay open beyond Christmas and it appears to be somewhat related to the holiday season? Again, a lowkey holiday option, but still there! Other Upcoming Releases The Christmas Guest by Swanson […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #417: Freebie

Posted July 11, 2023 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 14 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #417: Freebie

Books I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read Yet (2023 Edition) 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 always start to analyze my TBR and think about the books I still need to read around the middle of the year. There are so many new releases that it’s hard to keep up with those on top of balancing backlist reads and review copies. I thought this week’s freebie could be fun to share the ten books that I can’t believe I haven’t read yet this year. These are books I was super excited for or review copies that have been sitting on my Kindle somehow.

2023 Midyear Stats

Posted July 10, 2023 / Features, Wrap-Ups / 0 Comments
2023 Midyear Stats

Back again with some of my stats from 2023 now that we’ve (somehow) hit the midpoint! I cannot believe it’s July, you guys… this year is flying by! Here’s where I am on my goals and reading for the year. Books Read 55 Read + 5 Rereads + 2 DNF Approx. 21,769 pages read This is actually a crazy one for me – I always make it a goal to read under 50% contemporary romance/fiction just because I love other genres and want to diversify my reading in that way. The fact that I’m under 30% for contemporary is just insane to me. I love that it’s almost equal between Mystery/Thriller, Fantasy, and Contemporary – with some others squeezed in for the final 15%. Similar breakdown as above, with Fantasy being a little higher from a page perspective… those tend to be longer (especially with my TOG reread/series finish). This is another interesting one! As you’ll see later in the Acquisitions section, I’ve been acquiring less egalleys and review copies than usual (trying to be intentional about only requesting what I am super interested in and can commit to reading within a month or so of release)… but I’ve been reading a little more of them! I’m trying to catch up and make sure I’m on top of them. I love reading books in multiple formats (usually means mixing in the audiobook) so I’m not surprised that’s the biggest percentage. This is probably similar to last year around this time […]