Month: June 2025

July TBR

Posted June 30, 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. June TBR June was not as productive of a reading month as May but that’s fine – I sacrificed quantity for quality and ended up with two five-star reads back to back! I’m drafting this post before finishing my final book of the month so who knows, what if it’s three in a row?! In any case, I have a bunch of books to choose from in July! Review Copies Okay so embarrassing for June… I only read one egalley from my previous list. To be fair, I was distracted by new releases and book club picks. I also got a book hangover from binge-reading a 600 page book in two days. Anyways, here are the remaining books from last month that I just need to lock in on for July. I especially want to read MAINE CHARACTERS while I’m in Maine for obvious reasons. There’s also Summerween to think about, so that TBR will be at the bottom! Physical Books As you know by now, we’re moving! By the time this post goes up we will have fully moved out of our house (the one we’ve rented […]

Five-Star Recent Reads | All the Colors of the Dark and Atmosphere

Posted June 26, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

It’s taken me a really long time to write this review because there’s SO much within this book that could be discussed. I got it a year ago with BOTM and put it off because of the length. I wasn’t sure how another historical literary mystery would go for me. I loved THE GOD OF THE WOODS but surely this isn’t a genre for me, right?! Very wrong. I loved this book! We picked it for my local mystery/thriller book club and there was no shortage of topics to discuss. Everyone gave it 5 stars with a few 4.5 stars sprinkled in. We love the fact that he tackled so many topics without ever feeling like too much, or feeling like the book was too long for a mystery. It’s very much a character study, a story of the time period, and a mystery all rolled into one. The reviewers who didn’t like this book thought the writing was trying too hard or thought it was boring, and I definitely disagree. I read this 600+ page book in two days and literally could not stop reading it. The short chapters coupled with the way he created suspense even within paragraphs because of the writing style made this impossible to put down for me. I will say, my only complaint is that some passages were confusing because of how he wrote them. Sometimes I had to read things more than once. The author was so careful with his language though because […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #472: Anticipated Reads

Posted June 24, 2025 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 3 Comments

Anticipated Reads for EOY (Jul-Dec) 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 love posts like this to see what is going on for the remainder of the year. I’m surprised to see I currently have no books planned for December but I’m sure they’ll pop up as the year progresses! I usually don’t include my egalleys on here because they’re not “anticipated” when I have them on my ereader, right? But I like advertising all the goods! Note: I already read DEAD OF SUMMER by Jessa Maxwell – that would be featured in my July section otherwise. I drafted this in early July so there’s a chance more books get read before this goes live too 😉 July August September October November

Top Ten Tuesdays #471: Summer TBR

Posted June 17, 2025 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 4 Comments

Summer 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’ve posted a number of summery things lately (summer reading challenges, summery books on my general reading list, and summer TBR/bucket list) but thought I would use this TTT to share the summer TBR graphic I shared on Instagram.

Recent Reads | Parents Weekend and One Golden Summer

Posted June 9, 2025 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I’ve had books by Alex Finlay on my TBR for a long time – I don’t know why this one is the one I finally read but I think it maybe gave me a good sense for his writing and overall style. I’m definitely interested in reading more books by him now! This was good. The story follows a parents weekend at a college in California. Five students (of parents attending the weekend) go missing and a newly relocated FBI agent, Keller (I guess she’s from some of his other books), is on the case. Many of them are rich and powerful so there are theories about why these kids were taken, by who, how, and – most important – where they are. A few things kinda bugged me (lots of red herrings and plot points that didn’t do anything) but overall I liked the format and writing. I did predict whodunnit. The more middling reviews I read, the more I think I should have lowered my rating to the 3.5 range… but honestly it kept me engaged the whole time. I was curious to read more and thought the multiple POVs were decent, albeit a little confusing. I’ll be especially curious to read more books featuring Keller! Carley Fortune is soooo good. I was really craving a summer read like this thanks to a conversation with my friend Jackie, and this totally hit the spot. I wrote a TTT about this and a summer bucket list within the last week […]

Summer Reading Challenges

Posted June 5, 2025 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments

I’m a sucker for a reading challenge, as you’ve come to know over the years, but I’m an even bigger sucker for a summer-themed one. Anything to bring me back to the school days! lol. I’ve now written multiple summer bookish posts for 2025: bucket list and TBR, summery reads, and upcoming 2025 summer releases I’m excited about. I think another TTT will be coming in a few weeks too! In any case, I’m signing myself up for two summer reading challenges this year and thought I’d share them for those interested! The Book Clurb 2025 Summer Reading Challenge is hosted by some friends from high school! They have an in-person book club that they’ve extended online with a fun reading challenge for others to join. I did so on the Storygraph challenges page. I did a lot of scientific analysis to perfectly match books already on my summer TBR to various prompts and make sure I check them all off. Set during summer: I just finished DEAD OF SUMMER this week and it certainly meets the prompt in a few ways. Really enjoyed it overall. Less than 250 pages: Pretty easy choice here is to read SAGA vol. 12 since it came out recently and is a graphic novel in the 200 page range. I like to keep up with these every time a new one comes out. Sports romance: I wasn’t sure what book I was going to do for this since I’m kind of out of my hockey romance […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #470: Summer Freebie

Posted June 3, 2025 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Summery Books on my List 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. My friend reached out to me the other day and was looking for recommendations on a classic summer read – boardwalks, small town vibes, beaches, cottages, ice cream, etc. – all of the books I used to love reading within the YA age target. Think Carley Fortune and Emily Henry for adult books and Jenny Han for young adult. There are still a number of YA books on my list that I should read for the nostalgia and all the feels. I thought I’d share some new and old summery reads that are on my list that I may dive into.

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | May 2025

Posted June 2, 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. Thrilled to announce that I busted my reading slump! I read double the amount of books in May than I did in April, and I’m feeling so relieved. I was in the mood to read way more often and prioritized it as well. I don’t expect to read this much going forward as we get busier with moving and stuff, but hopefully close! 10 books in May 10 read • 0 reread • 0 DNF Formats: 7 mixed format, 2 egalley, 1 hardcover Status/source: 3 purchased, 2 preordered, 2 review, 2 library, 1 owned Age Target: 10 adult Here are all the books I read this month with ratings! 25 in 25: 40% 52 Book Club: 60% Buzzword Reading Challenge: 58% Buzzword Cover Challenge: 75% Breakdown: 7 hardcovers | 6 paperbacks | 3 egalleys | 2 ebooks | 0 audiobooks All review copies were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. Physical Books Preordered: One Golden Summer by Fortune, The Missing Half by Flowers, Saga vol. 12 by Vaughan Book Drop Subscription: Time Loops & Meet Cutes by […]