Category: Book Lists

Potential 2019 Rereads

Posted January 21, 2019 / Book Lists, Features / 4 Comments

I don’t do as much rereading as I could, should, or want to. I always tell myself I don’t have enough time with all of the other NEW books out there. However, the best kinds of rereads that sort of take away from this issue are (a) audio rereads because it’s like bonus reading time anyways and (b) rereads of books I read for the first time a VERY long time ago, so it’s like I’m reading it again for the first time. I’ve had success with some nostalgic series in the past. I hope to reread some more recent releases this year though, because lots of books have sequels coming out and I decided I wanted to be prepared! Last year, I featured SIX books I hoped to reread in 2018. Guess how many I reread? ONE. I reread Caraval in preparation of Legendary and it was an excellent choice, but good lord – I need to prioritize rereading more!! GOSSIP GIRL series by Cecily von Ziegesar Reason: This is one of two books I’m keeping on here from last year because… I’ve been itching for more nostalgic rereads after finishing the A-LIST series with Cristina, and this is the ultimate classic high-school-into-college series for me. Format: I absolutely would love it if this series had audiobooks, but they don’t (they might for the first book or something weird?). I recently went and purchased some of the paperback books because they were super cheap but I have to round out my […]

January TBR

Posted January 3, 2019 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 4 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. December Progress I knew I was going to read mostly Christmas books throughout December, so this is not surprising at all. I basically kept my TBR open with these reads. I didn’t read for book club because we pushed it to January and didn’t finish the ROSE GARDNER series either. (I knew that’d happen!) I ended up DNFing one of the books above, but it was on my TBR and I attempted it! Up Next in January First Book of the Year! Foolish Hearts by Mills I made FOOLISH HEARTS my first read of 2018 for a few reasons – Emma Mills never disappoints me. Her books are quick, cute, and fluffy, which means I can usually finish them in 1-2 days. Getting my reading year off on the right foot is key for me, so I borrowed a copy of FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN from a friend in order to make Mills my first author/read of the year in 2019 too. WOO! [Already finished] Required Reading: Book Club & Blog Tour Archenemies by Meyer | Pretty in Punxsutawney by Crompton We pushed ARCHENEMIES to January because one of […]

DNFs & Books Put on Hold in 2018

Posted December 29, 2018 / Book Lists, Features / 2 Comments

I don’t DNF books very often because I think I’m quite good at determining which books will work for me and which won’t. Looking through these six books I stopped reading or put on hold, I see a few patterns. I typically will DNF a book around the 20% mark, sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less. I think that’s usually enough for me to know for sure that I’m not interested anymore. A few of these DNFs are books where the audio narrator wasn’t for me or the writing style wasn’t what I expected. One of these books was “out of my norm” so I’m not surprised it didn’t work for me either. Regardless of the reason, keep reading to see the “mini Goodreads reviews” that I posted when I stopped reading. The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox DNF at 35%. Yikes, this was nothing like I expected. I feel so weird right now. I was expecting something witchy and creepy, but this gave me the heebie-jeebies in a totally different way. I strongly disliked all of the characters initially and then the story took a few turns I don’t currently want to read about. I can’t fault the book though; I knew this wasn’t in my wheelhouse and decided to read it to get out of my comfort zone. Many, many others have enjoyed it! I truly think if gothic historical fiction with (apparently, later on) witchiness is your thing, give it a shot. Leah […]

Five Star Predictions

Posted December 10, 2018 / Book Lists, Features / 6 Comments

Post found on Pretty Deadly Reviews | Inspired by Mercy’s Bookish Musings My Post from last year found HERE Inspired by a post I read last year, I went ahead and made my own version. I’m here again to do the same thing this year! The premise here is that I will predict which books I think will earn a five star rating from me in 2019. I have been a lot pickier about my books lately, so I feel like many will end up as 4.5 star reads, but here’s why I think these will be rated highly – (a) the premise sounds RIGHT up my alley, like a super Lauren-book, (b) it’s from a favorite author, and/or (c) the book already has mostly five star reviews from friends with similar tastes. Let’s get to it! Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young | As you know (especially from last year’s post), Young is one of my favorite authors and she realistically has not disappointed me yet. I got a copy of GIRLS recently and I guarantee I’ll be reading it ASAP in the new year. It seems like a powerful story that could earn five stars. Finale by Stephanie Garber | I’m happy that the CARAVAL universe is expanding once more! After rereading book one before starting book two this year, they were cemented in the “favorites” list. I didn’t love LEGENDARY quite as much as its predecessor but I have super high hopes for the finale (ha!). Famous in […]

New Additions to the Cover Love Shelf

Posted December 6, 2018 / Book Lists, Features / 6 Comments

Just use the search bar on the side if you’re looking for more cover-oriented posts because MAN do I post too many to even include links anymore! Today’s installment of Cover Love features some new covers I added to my Goodreads shelf. They’re most likely newer releases or upcoming releases, because I usually add to that shelf as soon as a gorgeous cover makes its appearance. Here are some recent/new/upcoming favorites! Cover trends I’m loving lately There are plenty of things I love on book covers and I’ve talked about it extensively before, but I’ve noticed some amazing new trends lately — these gorgeous illustrated, cartoony covers with gorgeous typography. This is increasingly popular in romance novels, like in so many of the covers above. I always prefer illustrated people on a cover instead of actual human models; I think it’s perfect to help you picture the main character(s) without having an actual person in mind, if that makes sense. You’ll see a bunch of these illustrated covers above but there are still a few others that just fall into my usual trap of beautiful typography, cute colors, and pretty scenery. Link to my Goodreads cover love shelf so you can read summaries and add books – HERE!

December TBR [Update]

Posted November 30, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 3 Comments

I posted a dual November-December TBR last month with the books I assumed I’d be reading to finish off my challenges. Since then, I’ve come to happy terms with not finishing my NG/EW challenge (but have no problem with the other two!), so I thought I’d do an updated TBR for December based on those changes and my holiday TBR plans. 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. November Progress A suuuuper successful TBR month. I really busted ass to finish off my challenges, for the most part. There were a few books out of my norm, which was great! I enjoy the variety and hope to keep that up in the coming year. I managed to read two nonfiction books, a few historical fiction or paranormal stories, some mystery… It was a diverse reading month and I’m really happy with myself. November allowed me to finish off my two major book challenges so I could focus ahead on reading holiday romances. (I’m still listening to THE TOWERING SKY right now but had to include it since I started in November, which is the point of a TBR I suppose!) Book Club Archenemies by Meyer We’re […]

Tis the Season! | Holiday 2018 Plans

Posted November 16, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 5 Comments

I feel like I’m more excited for Christmas than ever before this year. Not sure why, but it’s true y’all. I found myself getting the itch for Christmas movies in late September and I’ve been holding myself back until Halloween to finally listen to Christmas music – that’s always my deadline. Otherwise, my decorations are up after Thanksgiving and we get our tree the first weekend of December. This year’s holiday posts will be plentiful because I’ve already started reading some light holiday books. Keep reading to see what’s happening on the blog over the next month and a half! I pulled this TBR together back in mid-October because I LOVE CHRISTMAS. It also happened to be because I was in the middle of planning my November TBR and I knew I wanted some holiday reads on there. You’ll see that I have four books for review, four books pulled from last year’s TBR that I didn’t get to, and six books that are either newly published in 2018 or just new-to-me. Mistletoe Cottage by Mason | The Best Little Christmas Shop by Morrey It Started with Christmas by Hale | The Corner of Holly and Ivy by Mason I have one egalley from last year that I never got to – CHRISTMAS SHOP – so I definitely want to catch up on that. I also have three more books. I have a physical ARC of MISTLETOE COTTAGE (plus an egalley by the same author – CORNER OF HOLLY/IVY) and […]

Some Adult Fiction On My TBR

Posted November 2, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 3 Comments

You all know that I read mostly YA fiction, but I’ve noticed a trend toward ~adult~ fiction, either contemporary or mystery/thrillers. A lot of it is because I’ve been binge-reading one author’s cozy mystery series a for a month or so, but I’ve found myself adding more books that are closer to my age target. I feel very in-between YA and adult though because so many books are about divorce or familial problems with characters 40+ years old. Someone in their late-twenties or early-thirties is more in my range of life experiences, so I’ve been excited to see some of those books coming to fruition lately. Here are some of the top adult/older fiction books on my TBR! Life on the Leash by Victoria Shade September 2018 | Goodreads Must Love Dogs meets My Not So Perfect Life in this hilarious romantic comedy about a dog trainer who’s a master at managing her four-legged friends, but when it comes to her love life…let’s just say she still has a lot to learn. Cora Bellamy is a woman who thrives on organization. She’s successfully run her own dog training business for years, perfectly content with her beloved rescue pitbull as the main man in her life. She’s given everything to her business, and her lack of social life (or slobber-free clothes) has been completely worth it. But all that changes when she meets Charlie Gill, the hottest client she’s ever had. The only problem? Charlie’s taken. Luckily, Cora has a new friend—the sweet, lovably […]

November & December TBR – Finishing Challenges

Posted October 29, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 4 Comments

I always do some check-ins in the middle of the year and again toward the end of the year, because you know I’m trying to finish my challenges successfully! I try to make a big TBR post that highlights all of the books I should read before the end of the year and usually writing this in November kicks me into gear. How is the year almost over?! HELP. Because I can’t decide which end-of-year books I want to read dependent on the month (and have a separate holiday TBR posting mid-November), I thought I would highlight what books I should read OVERALL between Nov/Dec to get my challenges done with. 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. October Progress Another successful TBR month! It helps that I’ve been binging that series, TBH, but still! I’ll take progress wherever I can. From left to right above… I read two more Rose Gardner books, my two book club picks for October (one early in the month and one later), one blog tour book, an egalley I was hoping to get to for the Halloween feels, and a library book. Book Club EOY TBR The Reckoning of Noah […]

October TBR

Posted September 28, 2018 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 4 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. September Progress I actually did a great job for September! I started my series binge and got fairly far into it (about halfway?), as well was completed the CRAZY RICH ASIANS series. I read IN OTHER LANDS for my book club too. I pushed off some of the end-of-summer books I hoped to read because it just wasn’t gonna happen. On Deck for October Continuing My Series Binge Rose Gardner Mystery Series by Denise Grover Swank I read the first few books in this series and really think I’ll just continue on right away. I haven’t done a full-on series binge in a long time! I have taken some “breaks” in between (meaning I’m reading multiple books at once) but am always also reading one of these… if that makes sense. I was able to borrow two from my coworker that she owned but I’ve had to buy the rest on Amazon. (The series WAS on Kindle Unlimited but it’s rudely not there anymore!) Library Books The Royals by Hawkins To Right the Wrongs by Scarborough I managed to catch up on some of my library books so I […]