Category: Book Lists

September TBR

Posted August 31, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
September 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. September TBR My main goal for August was to catch up on some ARCs – I was hoping that 80% of the books I read would be ARCs, or at least 8 books (assuming I’d read around 10). At the time of writing this, I’ve read 5 so hopefully I can sneak in a couple more. Library September I decided that after focusing on ARCs for August, I would focus on my library books for September! It’s not as catchy of a name but whatever. Below are the books I currently have checked out. I know I won’t end up reading all of them but my plan is to prioritize some of the overdue books first and then work my way through in somewhat “due date order.” I don’t think I need to be as aggressive in this one – about half of my library books could or should be read in September, so hoping for 5-6! That order would be: VENCO (already returned this because it was overdue and I now have a Kindle copy), A CURIOUS BEGINNING, KINGDOM OF ASH, THE FIREFLY SUMMER, DROWNING, LITTLE SECRETS, DIVINE RIVALS, THE FAIRY […]

EOY Series Goals & TBR

Posted August 28, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
EOY Series Goals & TBR

I recently developed a way to track all of my series, which has definitely been helpful and interesting! I kind of audited where I was with a bunch of them and tracked if I do an okay job of finishing them. I’ve had the numbers adjust just a little bit since February. Right now, 50% of my series are completed, 17% have been started (only one book read), 18% are ongoing (I’ve read more than one book in it), and 15% of them are no longer of interest to me. Not too shabby, honestly. It would be great to finish more without starting a bunch but who can resist that siren song? I thought it would be fun to share some series I hope to start, finish, and everything in between before the end of the year. New to Binge   I’ve had these two series on my radar for a while and it’s finally time to read them! I plan to read all three books in the ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART trilogy when the third book comes out in October. I own the first two and just want to read all three in a row. THE NATURALS was recently redesigned and rereleased so I made it a point to buy all of them right away. I had been planning to track down older copies and researched it many times before learning of the new covers! I definitely know I’ll want to read all four of these in a row […]

Five-Star Books of 2023 So Far

Posted August 18, 2023 / Book Lists, Features / 2 Comments
Five-Star Books of 2023 So Far

I don’t usually recap my favorite books of the year but it’s honestly been a great year so far. I thought I would share some of my five-star favorites of 2023! I almost added all of my 4.5 star reads and called this my “favorite” books of the year… but the quantity overwhelmed me hahah. I have 10 five-star reads through mid-August (one of them was a children’s book that I didn’t review called Dewdrop so the cover isn’t below.) Have you read any of these?

Priority 2023 Reads & Exciting Releases for the Rest of the Year

Posted August 14, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
Priority 2023 Reads & Exciting Releases for the Rest of the Year

I know I’m going to get to the end of the year and have a ton of books left on my list to read but hopefully this guides me a little bit! I always make anticipated release lists or TBRs each month/season, but I’ve been fresh out of blog post ideas lately and this seemed like a good option to share! I also made the decision to not include any holiday books or cookbooks on here just for the sake of not adding one million books lol. Already Out & Priority 2023 Releases All That’s Left to Say by Lord // I’ve been a huge fan of hers for years and am always anxiously awaiting her next book. This one sounds like a contemporary/mystery and I’m excited for it. Business or Pleasure by Solomon // Another author I adore and can’t wait to read! I’m shocked I didn’t read this earlier in the year actually. None of This is True by Jewell // This has gotten super high ratings so far and I made sure to include it in my BOTM box! I read and liked one of her other books but hopefully this segues into more of her backlist as well. Wrong Place, Wrong Time by McAllister // McAllister’s debut is one of my favorite thrillers so I have super high expectations for this one! Also snagged it for my BOTM selection. One of Us is Back by McManus // My favorite YA mystery/thriller author! Really excited to get back into the Bayview world. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

July TBR

Posted June 29, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
July 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. July TBR I did a pretty good job of reading books from my TBR from June! I definitely have some that are rolling over but I have good plans for them this month. I think the biggest miss was not getting to KOS in June. Regardless, a good jumping off point for July! Summerween My TBR for Summerween is a little aggressive maybe but five books in one week (where one is a graphic novel) is definitely doable! Here are the prompts and generally what I plan to read for them: black on the cover (KITTY KARR), set in autumn (THE LEGACIES), a thriller (DARK CORNERS), read in the dark (LIVE AND LET CHAI), and a graphic novel (ENOLA HOLMES). Summerween starts on July 7th and I’m really pumped to participate! Leftover from June & New Releases    I’m lumping these together because they all mostly fall into the “new release” category from the last few months, with the exception of KINGDOM OF ASH – I’m hoping to finally finish the TOG series this month and read KOS in the second half of the month once Summerween ends. I had THE HALF […]

Long-Term TBR Plotting

Posted June 7, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 2 Comments
Long-Term TBR Plotting

I remember a few years ago I got totally wild with planning out my TBR in order to finish a bunch of books off. I had a few readathons and readalongs and book clubs with specific books I had to read and made a crazy schedule to help myself plan out my reading. (I don’t think this really helped me, if I’m being honest, but boy do I LOVE a TBR plan.) You’ve seen so many lists lately of books I hope to read within certain genres or books that I’m scared to read and should read anyways… just lots and lots of potential TBRs up in here lately. The Reasons for Monthly TBRs I’ve started using Libby again and am at the mercy of my hold list all the time. Books keep coming available and I keep letting people jump me in line because I’m knee deep in this stupid (and enjoyable) Throne of Glass series binge. I don’t like to read books within the same genre at the same time so the minute a fantasy book comes available, I find myself freaking out and trying to figure out when the heck I’m going to read it around TOG and all of the other reading plans. I also have a lot of readathons or ~reasons~ for reading certain books at certain times. I thought it would benefit me (let’s be real, I’m the audience for this post, not you guys) to sit here and plan out my TBR for the […]

June TBR

Posted May 31, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 1 Comment
June 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. June TBR I managed to sneak in quite a few books before I embarked on my tandem read of EMPIRE OF STORMS and TOWER OF DAWN in May! I knew I wanted to start those in the second half of the month with the goal of finishing before June, and I pulled it off! I was even able to finish and get started on a couple of other books over Memorial Day weekend to kick off summer. My June TBR is (as always) aggressive but I want to have a lot of great summery options. Fantasy Era SOMETHING CLOSE TO MAGIC is a lighter fantasy read (I think) that I have a review copy for – it expires on the pub date because it’s on the Netgalley app so this will be the first fantasy I read in June. Otherwise, I knew I wouldn’t end up getting to KOA in May so here we are, ready to finish the series off in June! I can’t decide if I’m going to read SILVER IN THE BONE before or after KOA… If my Libby hold for SITB becomes available before the middle of the […]