Category: Book Lists

Summer TBR and Bucket List – 2023

Posted May 25, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, Goals & Planning, Personal / Information / Etc., TBR Lists / 8 Comments

I used to write these all the time and got back into it last year, so here we are again with a somewhat similar post! I really am hoping to read some good seasonal stories this year because I failed with last summer’s TBR. Bring on the beach reads! Summer TBR Summery Review Copies & Upcoming Releases Backlist Summer Stories Summer Plans & Bucket List 1. Go to the beach more than once I’m not huge on the beach usually but I had a great time last summer going with some of my aunts, cousins, and sister. I hope Chris and I manage to go a few times (especially in Maine – we’re hoping to get back up there during the Fourth of July holiday weekend). I love reading under an umbrella and now I have some decent bathing suits too! 2. Read on the porch/outside every nice day I know this is a big-sounding goal (“every day”) but it’s pretty reasonable as long as I’m home! I can take my lunch outside with the pup and read or sit on the porch after work to read a chapter or two. If it’s not raining and not a million degrees, I need to enjoy my porch while I can! 3. Use my roller skates I bought skates a year ago and have been generally too afraid to use them after I fell in the house lol. I need a helmet and then I’ll be good to go! 4. Eat 2 […]

Fantasy Era

Posted May 22, 2023 / Book Lists, Discussions, Features, TBR Lists / 2 Comments

I wrote a post earlier this year with all of the books on my somewhat-soon-TBR that I wanted to read that were NOT mystery/thrillers or contemporary romance/fiction. Since my reading has been choppy during the pandemic years and is finally back to normal, I’m reading a lot more fantasy books (and thinking about reading more science fiction again too). I finally got back into the Throne of Glass series to reread them and then finish it off, and then I plan to read a lot more fantasy (and “romantasy” – the new trendy name for romantic fantasy). Ya girl is back in her fantasy (faerie, dragon, paranormal, etc.) era. Here are some of the fantasy books I’ve read so far this year and the other books/series I hope to read by the end of 2023! 2023 Fantasy Reads THRONE OF GLASS / CROWN OF MIDNIGHT / HEIR OF FIRE / QUEEN OF SHADOWS These were all a part of the reread portion of the series. My immediate plan is to read the next two books in the series as a tandem read at the end of this month (probably into early June). FOURTH WING / LEGENDS & LATTES / EMILY WILDE These three books definitely could be considered in the “I read these because of the insane hype” category. All three are super different from each other but still equally interesting to read. NINTH HOUSE / LOST IN THE MOMENT / THE STOLEN HEIR And these three are either starting or continuing […]

Bout of Books 37 | Last Minute TBR & Reading Plans

Posted May 10, 2023 / Book Challenges, Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments

It’s been a long time since I’ve participated in Bout of Books! When I was reminded it was kicking off this week (technically Monday), I decided to hop on board. I had read about 20% of Queen of Shadows that day so I made enough reading progress to feel good about joining late 😉 Here is more information about the readathon: The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, daily Discord questions, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 37 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team Reading & TBR Plans This is a good week to get a lot of reading done for a few reasons. It’s playoff season for various sports we’ve been enjoying lately (basketball and hockey) – I don’t pay full attention to these because I’m not super invested, so I like to read during the games instead of scroll on my phone. I also plan to drive around a lot this week (primarily between heading to the office and errands one day and driving 2 hours roundtrip for an author event on Friday). That’ll be some good audiobook time! Chris will be out of town on Friday and Saturday for work so I will have time […]

May TBR

Posted May 1, 2023 / 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. May TBR April was an interesting month haha. I ended up getting sucked into the ToG reread and throwing away my TBR a little bit. I had planned to participate in two readathons and basically didn’t finish any books or focus on them at all because of my vacation haha. I did read a few books from those TBRs at least… just not during the actual readathons lol. Throne of Glass I thought I would get to QOS in April but it just didn’t happen. After finishing it up (the reread portion of my series binge!) – I’ll be tandem reading EOS and TOD. I’m not sure I’ll actually get to KOS to finish the series without feeling like I’ve overdone it! haha. There’s also a very good chance I end up being desperate to finish the series right away. I have this series as Kindle books and audiobooks but don’t think I’ll actually read another physical book while tandem reading – it’ll be too hard to keep track of even if it’s a contemporary romance. Recently Published Review Copies I have some holdover review copies from April or earlier that I […]

“Throw the TBR Away” Kind of Month

Posted April 7, 2023 / Book Lists, Discussions, Features, TBR Lists / 2 Comments

I am actually quite good at generally staying on track with my monthly TBRs. I never use them as an exhaustive list and always plan to NOT read some of the books, while subbing in other books where mood or opportunity strike. I also usually include upwards of 15+ books just to have variety when I look at what I might want to read next. My TBR lists are usually structured with the following criteria in mind: Upcoming review copies that are due Variety of formats (audio, ebook, physical, mixed) Variety of genres (usually contemporary, mystery, maybe some fantasy, etc.) Books I’ve generally been in the mood to read New releases I’ve been excited and waiting for Book club and readathon selections I usually read two books at once, and typically I have an audiobook available for one of them. I may be reading one physical book and mix in the audio of that book, while also reading another book on my Kindle. I may have a Kindle book and audio option to alternate between, plus another book as a physical copy. There are plenty of times I’m not listening to an audiobook and just skip it altogether. As you can see, I like to have all my options. I also read multiple genres at the same time – you’ll never catch me reading two contemporary romances at once. I may be reading one contemporary and one mystery, for example (this is the most common lol). I also try to […]

Books I’m Scared to Read

Posted April 6, 2023 / Book Lists, Features / 0 Comments

I hope I’m not the only person out there who has books on their TBR that they’re genuinely afraid to read… You know the ones. The big chonky fantasy books, or the super literary and flowery fiction, or the author that’s way smarter than you are… All of the books below fall into some of these categories for me and while I’m interested in reading them someday, I’m afraid to even crack the spine open. BABEL by RF Kuang // This is such a dense book! I’ve heard that it can read like a textbook at times which sounds boring and tedious, but it’s on SO many people’s “best of” lists from 2022! I’m so drawn to it because of the college setting and high ratings, but it’s such a scary length. I’m also for sure convinced that Kuang is way smarter than me and that this whole book will go right over my head. CRESCENT CITY series by SJM // The only reason I’m less afraid of this one than others on the list is because I trust SJM to write a pretty good story at this point. I’m rereading ToG to finally finish it off and adored all things ACOTAR, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this one. The book is LONG though. I’ve seen semi mixed reviews (if not for this book, definitely the second book) so I’m just a bit cautious to devote the time to it! THE KIND WORTH KILLING by Peter Swanson // This author is on a lot of my […]

April TBR

Posted March 31, 2023 / 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 was my best month of the year and I was already off to a great start. I kept hoping I could crack 10 books in a month since I’ve read 9 each of the previous! I’m excited because I hope to read a few fantasy and/or dense books this year and it’s lovely to have a cushion and be ahead of my challenge to do so. I have a few readathons scheduled for this month so there’s a good chance April will also be a big month of reading! Readathon Books I’ve been really looking for some fun readathons lately and I always discover them one or two days too late! I managed to stumble into a few for the end of March into April so I thought I would share them here. (I’ll be reading a couple of books for Lala-thon as a channel member but that goes from March 29-31.) Flowerathon (April 7-9): I saw Rachel from Happy Go Lovely Sleeves is hosting a readathon where you read books with flowers on the cover… very easy for me 😉 Hoping to finish two books for this […]

Spring & Summer Review Copies

Posted March 17, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments

I always do my seasonal TBRs with new releases coming out that season that I DON’T have review copies for. I thought it would be fun to do a separate TBR here for the spring into summer with review copies that I have and am excited to read. There are so many great books (especially romances) coming out in April and beyond that I want to share what I’ve got waiting for me on my Kindle! April May June July

Favorite YA Mystery/Thrillers

Posted March 9, 2023 / Book Lists, Features / 0 Comments

My TTT for last week’s genre-related freebie was for my favorite adult mysteries and thrillers. I was inspired, when running through my Goodreads shelves, to take a look at the 140 young adult mystery/thriller books I’ve read and share a similar list. Because I’ve read about double the amount, I thought I would allow myself to exceed 10 books if needed. I also decided to stick to true suspense, mysteries, and thrillers – I’m not including any books that have some paranormal elements alongside the mystery (like THE DIVINERS – as much as I love that series!). I’ve found it to be super common for YA “mysteries” to blur the line a lot more, so I broke it into three semi-distinct categories to include my favorites. True Mysteries and Thrillers This category is for the books that are true murder mysteries and thrillers. These ones don’t have a ton of fluff or “contemporary” vibes like others on this list might. The first three books below are my absolute favorites within the genre. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series is the real GOAT when it comes to YA murder mysteries. It just is. And book three? Good lord, she went there. She really did. Truly Devious is one of my personal favorites and I will read every book following Stevie and the gang… and I don’t feel bad about it. Yes, the romance stuff is annoying, but I just get this FEELING with this series that I don’t get with any other […]

March TBR

Posted March 2, 2023 / 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. March TBR I’m really impressed with my reading this year and happy that January wasn’t a fluke! I managed to squeeze 9 reads into the shorter month of February, which is the same amount as January. I hope to knock out a lot of review copies in March since a few of them absolutely crept up on me haha. Review Copies I’m reading MISSING CLARISSA as we speak – this is one that comes out soon and I’m genuinely shocked I didn’t read it the minute I was approved for it last year haha. The same could totally be said for OFF THE MAP. I am obsessed with this companion series so far and this one will be excellent, I’m sure of it. ANA TAKES MANHATTAN is another March release I have to get going on and it sounds great. THE GOOD LUCK CAFE by my girl Annie Rains definitely surprised me – I kept thinking it was publishing in May! Ugh. And finally, VERA WONG. I have yet to read her popular previous release/series but thought this standalone (I think?) is a good place to start. Owned and To-Be-Purchased Books For […]