Month: April 2025

Recent Reads | Swept Away and Magpie Murders

Posted April 23, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I’ve loved quite a few of O’Leary’s books but actually DNFed her last release – for whatever reason the story just wasn’t clicking for me and I haven’t felt pulled to start it again. I was really hoping to get back on track with her for this novel and I’m happy to report that happened! The story follows Zeke and Lexi as they deal with the aftermath of a one-night stand. They realize when they wake up in the morning that the houseboat they were using has somehow gotten untied and was swept out to see. They don’t have power, they’re running out of food, and – to top it all off – they literally don’t know each other at all. Obviously the premise alludes to a bit of a survival story but for some reason I didn’t realize how intense it would be! I kind of just assumed they’d get rescued in a few days but there was actually a lot of peril and accidents to deal with. Some early reviews had folks unprepared for this and it affected their enjoyment, but I still really enjoyed it. It’s just not a straightforward fluffy romance. The ending had some twists that I didn’t see coming (which makes me feel like an idiot because maybe they were obvious?). It took a little while to get on board with those reveals but I was pretty pleased by the end of the book with how everything turned out. This was a super emotional […]

Sunday Post #5 – She’s Back?

Posted April 13, 2025 / Sunday Post, Weekly Memes / 2 Comments

The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where you share news about your blog on a weekly basis. It can include what you’ve been reading, what you’ve posted, what’s coming up next, and any books you added to your shelves! I did four of these back in 2015 and clearly fell off. They’re meant to be a weekly link-up but I know I’d never keep up with that at this point in my life! I thought it would be fun to occasionally highlight some things I’ve been up to since I rarely – if ever – share about my life on here anymore? I used to do monthly personal life recaps but they just haven’t happened in years. Without further ado, let’s give this a go again! It’s hard to know where to even begin since I haven’t talked about my life in ages on here. My last Lauren Lately was in March 2020… a literal lifetime ago for so many reasons. I did some DITL posts and a big life recap post in 2021 as well as a Currently installment in 2023, but that’s it! Without getting into the million little things and very few big things since 2023, let’s just go with the last few weeks or 2025 in general. (UConn) Basketball UCONN WOMENS BASKETBALL WON THE NATTY AGAIN! We got so into basketball this season and I became way too invested in Paige Bueckers winning her national championship before graduating. All of the girls […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #469: Springy Covers

Posted April 8, 2025 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 1 Comment

Springy Covers 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 a huge sucker for a book with flowers and cute springy vibes! These are some of my favorites from the last couple of years, including books releasing soon.

Recent Reads | The Searcher and The Lodge

Posted April 7, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

My book club is really getting me out of my comfort zone at times but so far it hasn’t been a successful endeavor lol. I guess I just know what I like, and this kind of book is not it. The books that were already on my TBR when we selected them have generally worked out pretty well, and the two books I’ve read ONLY because of the club… not so much. Why do we need to read about annoying men? This book follows Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago cop who moves to Ireland to fix up an old house and live quietly post-divorce. When a young boy approaches him one day and asks for help looking for his missing brother, Cal can’t resist helping him out. Unfortunately, this was SO INCREDIBLY BORING. I could truly sum up the plot in three sentences (just add one to the paragraph above that describes the ending) and yet I had to read almost 500 pages. Even the reveal at the end was incredibly obvious. Most reviews were surprised by it but I thought it was pretty glaring who was involved. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I just don’t like reading about men. Or cops / ex-cops. Or guns and hunting. Unfortunately all three of these things were present in spades. Tana French wrote Cal Hooper in a way that a lot of men write women – stereotypically and frustratingly. Did we really need to hear about him adjusting […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | March 2025

Posted April 4, 2025 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 0 Comments

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. My reading slump unfortunately continued into March. I fell back into some old habits with reading two cookbooks to keep on track lol. I did enjoy a few books but otherwise there were a lot of unfortunate misses. Please cross your fingers April is better. 7 books in March 7 read • 0 reread • 0 DNF Formats: 3 mixed, 2 hardcovers, 1 egalley, 1 Netgalley audiobook Status/source: 3 purchased, 2 review, 2 library Age Target: 7 adult Here are all the books I read this month with ratings! 25 in 25: 20% 52 Book Club: 35% Buzzword Reading Challenge: 42% Buzzword Cover Challenge: 67% Breakdown: 4 hardcovers | 3 paperback | 5 egalleys | 1 ebook | 1 audiobook All review copies were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. Physical Books Purchased: The Official Disney Parks Cookbook and The Official Disney Parks Celebration Cookbook BOTM: Our Infinite Fates by Steven Book Swap: Broken Things by Oliver Purchased: Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Fawcett [audiobook] Blind Date with a Book then purchased: Mistborn trilogy by […]

April TBR

Posted April 2, 2025 / 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 wasn’t bad but I really need to get back into reading 8+ books per month instead of the 6-7 I’ve been reading. I just keep scrolling on my phone instead! I’m hoping with college basketball coming to an end and there being a lull with sports for a few more months, maybe Chris will play video games while I read in the evenings. Review Copies I started SWEPT AWAY this week and am hopeful it’ll go better for me compared to O’Leary’s last release! I’ve also had THE SEVEN O’CLOCK CLUB on my Kindle for months – I’ve been tempted multiple times to read this super early and now release month is actually here. I think it will be a refreshing genre to read in the midst of the others I’ve been reading. And finally, I was recently approved for A PROPOSAL TO DIE FOR and think it’ll be a fun cozy mystery. Library Books & New Releases Believe it or not, I’ve put off both the new Emily Wilde book (it’s the last in the series so I’m sad) and the new book by Libba Bray (it’s […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #468: Spring TBR

Posted April 1, 2025 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 1 Comment

Spring TBR (Late Post) 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 never miss a TBR post, except apparently this month. I haven’t been keeping up with blogging too much lately. In any case, I can’t actually skip a seasonal TBR! Here’s my late Spring TBR Upcoming Releases: April Upcoming Releases: May Released & to Read in Spring