Ten Books I Meant to Read in 2017 But Didn’t Get To (and Plan to Get to in 2018) 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 could probably list all of the books on my TBR because good lord, Lauren. I feel like I always get sidetracked about random new books or series instead of ever paying attention to books I’m excited about. I actually own ALL of these freaking books except for the last one, which I have repeatedly checked out from the library and not read. I am the worst. 2018 Priorities    Royce Rolls by Margaret Stohl /// A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May     The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine /// Windwitch by Susan Dennard By Your Side by Kasie West /// In This Moment by Karma Brown    If Birds Fly Back by Carlie Sorosiak // Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu Far From the Tree by Robin Benway  

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors Read in 2017 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 read a lot of great books by “new to me” authors this year but decided to really narrow it down to ten! I loved all of these books and can absolutely see myself buying MANY more by them. Some were debut authors and some are more established, but they were all new to Lauren in 2017! Ashley Poston / Sandhya Menon / Alexandra Ballard    Wendy Brant / Angie Thomas / Julie Israel / Kristan Higgins   Jared Reck / Mackenzi Lee / Karen M. McManus

Eighteen Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2018 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 decided to use this as 2018 releases I can’t wait for because of course there are WAY TOO MANY OF THEM. I could have focused on books I’ve put off reading until 2018, but I think that topic is coming up soon on TTT. Without further ado, here are some of my top anticipated releases for 2018 (organized by release month). I only chose books with actual release dates planned AND ones with cover art (otherwise this list could have gotten even MORE out of hand, folks.) January     Together at Midnight by Jennifer Castle | New Years story with random acts of kindness The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory | Fake wedding dates fall for each other Love & Other Train Wrecks by Leah Konen | 24 hour romance stuck on a train in the snow Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke | Big Brother-like reality show for students February and March    All We Can Do is Wait by Richard Lawson | Teens brought together at Mass General after an accident The Sweetest Kind of Fate by Crystal Cestari | Sequel in the Windy City Magic series Not If I Save You […]

Nine Books I Hope Santa Brings Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, 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 didn’t ask for as many books as I usually might this Christmas! I also traditionally feature other things on my Christmas list, but I’m feeling a bit lazier this year. Here are some of the books on my wishlist (and some books I may buy with holiday gift cards!). On my wishlist    Picture Perfect by Catherine Clark // Summer in the City by Elizabeth Chandler Suite Dreams by Rachel Hawthorne I have no real logical reason for requesting these books, except for how much I love old cheesy YA romances! I’ve read these authors before and sometimes they’re JUST what I’m in the mood for. I think they may have been on my list last year and I decided to keep them on? Either way, I look forward to reading these in one sitting after they inevitably appear under the tree. Post-Christmas gift card buys    Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills // I love her books so much. It took a lot of willpower to hold off on buying this book, but I had a feeling that Amazon gift cards would be coming my way. I RESISTED. The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody […]

Favorite Books of 2017 Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, 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. Honestly this year did not have as many all-time favorites or REALLY GREAT books as I expected or hoped for. Of course, the ones I did really like were so perfect… but the quantity was just not there with the quality for so many others. In other words… this list may be a little easier to narrow down! However, as I usually do with my top books of the year, I’m going to feature all of my five star books AND 4.5 star books.      The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas //  The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord // When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon // The Cruel Prince by Holly Black    What I Lost by Alex Ballard // Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel // The Dirty Book Club by Lisi Harrison // The Cruel Prince by Holly Black // The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed  Honorable Mention: 4.5 Stars     Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide by JK Rowling // Geekerella by Ashley Potson // Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett // The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron // Chloe Snow’s Diary: Confessions of a High School Disaster by Emma Chastain    The Adjustment by Suzanne Young […]

Bookish Settings I’d Love to Visit Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, 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 recently posted about how much I love companion series set in small towns, so sorry if this gets repetitive. There are definitely a few other bookish settings I would love to visit though! Black Dog Bay     This series definitely kicked off my obsession with cozy small towns, especially because Black Dog Bay is so unique! Each little shop, restaurant, hotel, etc. has some kind of theme about heartbreak (and getting over it). I loved learning about each resident and the establishment they owned that kept with the theme. Even though I’m not currently heartbroken or single, I would totally visit Black Dog Bay and have the BEST time. Coronado Cove, Countryside B&B Glamping, and European Group Trip    One of the most fun settings I can remember, especially in a standalone novel. It was fully developed in ALEX, APPROXIMATELY as this fun California beach town with a boardwalk and awesome stores and restaurants to browse. One of the main mini settings of the book is the museum where they worked: The Cavern Palace. I don’t remember the major details of this particular museum but it was basically a mansion from a very eccentric rich […]

Ten Books I’m Thankful for (Read in 2017) Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, 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. Thank you for bringing much-needed attention to the issues of race relations and police brutality in the United States. I’m so glad this book was a #1 bestseller for so, so many weeks, and will soon be an equally important movie. If I could thank only one book this year, THUG would be the one. I can’t really describe just how important and truly perfect this story is, in my eyes and many others. I loved the moments of lightness and humor for this family even while they dealt with the unthinkable. I hope the movie doesn’t disappoint! [The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas] Thank you for continuing to bring feminism to the forefront in YA books. I loved this book but definitely agree with some critics that it’s not AS intersectional as it could be. I loved the different points of view from each girl in this group (especially in the “Us” chapters), including the three main characters. They brought different issues to light (and points of view of all types of women) while fighting for justice in an incredibly flawed system. Just a very powerful story. [The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed] Thank […]

Ten Books for my Sister Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, 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 not sure about the whole kids thing, so I decided to take this week’s topic (Top Ten Books I Want My Future Children to Read (Or nieces and nephews, Godchildren, etc.)) and spin it around again. I previously made a list of books I’d buy my little sister for Christmas and we’ve done a good job of sharing books with each other since then. Out of the books I put in that list, she has since read four of them! Here’s my spin on this week’s topic for books I’d recommend that my little sister (now 16 years old) read. Fluffy & Shippy Contemporaries    Meet Cute edited by Jennifer L. Armentrout | This book seriously has her name written all over it. I told her the premise of it the other day and she started freaking up. So many meet cutes for her little shipping heart to enjoy. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon | This shiiiiiiip, she’s gonna freak out. I have a feeling she’ll love the nerdiness plus the sort-of-hate into love romance happening here. At First Blush by Beth Ellyn Summer | I didn’t looove this one but I think she’d really enjoy it. […]

Ten Characters Who’d Make Great Teachers Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, 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 really wasn’t sure where to go with this one because I don’t think I’ve thought about it that much. There were a few directions to go with this one, but I decided to think more in the context of teachers instead of leaders. So, here are some YA characters who would make great teachers/professors someday (and of course the class they would specialize in). Literary & Cultural Studies   Professor Kennedy | Introduction to Journalism & Newspaper Editing Professor Paige | Classic Literature Computer Science     Professor Dimple | Introduction to App Development Professor Watt | Advanced Artificial Intelligence Professor Cammie | Hacking & Tech for Spies History   Professor Samantha | History of the Salem Witch Trials Professor Rowan | Forgotten U.S. History Electives    Professor Lara Jean | Baking 101 Professor Victoria | Introduction to Sewing & Fashion Design Professor Jordan | Physical Education