ARC Review: Replica

Posted December 7, 2016 / Book Reviews / 12 Comments
ARC Review: Replica

I usually break these reviews out into my typical categories below, but I decided to divide my review into the two “books” within one book. You can read this book in multiple ways. You can read Lyra’s story then flip the book around to read Gemma’s, or you could alternate chapters between the two books (as if it were one book with two alternating points of view). I decided to read all of Lyra’s story then all of Gemma’s because it was frankly easier than flipping between the two sides each chapter. TL;DR? I’m happy with how I chose to read this book. It was really interesting as certain events happened and I thought about what happened on the *other* side of the book during that time, and it did make me wonder how it would have been reading the other way. I wish it were easier to do; maybe I’ll reread it someday. I knew that Gemma and Lyra met up for a portion of the book, but they weren’t always with each other. This was helpful because otherwise it would have been really repetitive to essentially read the same story twice! I liked getting inside both of their heads – in the order I read them – to piece it all together. There wasn’t too much overlap between each point of view. So many big reveals and connections came together at each story’s end! I loved seeing how all of their research would crash together. When I read Lyra’s ending, […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #118: New-to-Me

Posted December 6, 2016 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 13 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #118: New-to-Me

Top New-To-Me Authors I Read For The First Time In 2016 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 ended up narrowing this down quite a bit! I read a good amount of 2016 debut books AND a lot of “established” authors for the first time. Here are some of my favorites from this year, plus the next book I have to read by them. Some authors I read their newest book and have to go back to the previously published one next, and some were debuts who have a new book coming out soonish.I was a huge fan of History is All You Left Me, which I read waaay back in the summer even though the book doesn’t come out until January. It was fantastic, so I need to head back and read his debut next.Tell Me Three Things was definitely a 2016 favorite. I loved her style of writing and that cover always makes me hungry! She has a few adult fiction books on her backlist I may read, but I love the sound of her 2017 book.OMG The Fixer and The Long Game were so perfect. They broke me out of a major slump and kept me turning pages like crazy. I have to read her […]

Favorite Holiday Books and Tropes

Posted December 5, 2016 / Book Lists, Features / 11 Comments
Favorite Holiday Books and Tropes

I’ve done holiday things on the blog basically since it first started. I only read 14 holiday books before this 2016 season, but I think it’d be worth recapping all of those here! I’m going to rank them from favorite to least favorite, plus include a mini review or summary about the book so you can decide if maybe you’d like it more than I did! But first, let’s look at some of the elements of holiday books that make me love them. ? ? ☃ ❄️ What makes me love a holiday book? | Favorite Tropes Perfect snowy, cozy setting | This is the biggest thing I look for. I need to FEEL like its Christmas and let there be snow all over the place. Some of the books below have really fun settings like a B&B in a cold place, or a big mansion full of Christmas decorations and cozy rooms with fireplaces. Lots of holiday feels | I need there to be days leading up to the holidays and then a full exploration of Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I love the anticipation of the day coming and then getting to celebrate with the family. Snowed in | There are a couple books on here where a couple gets snowed in together and ends up falling for each other. This “stuck together” trope is one of my favorites (and will hopefully be a read-bait topic sometime soon!). I love the cozy feeling of being snowed in and trying to keep warm. Short stories | I […]

Holiday Review: Winter Street

Posted December 2, 2016 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments
Holiday Review: Winter Street

Basics and Initial Excitement I decided to make this my first Elin Hilderbrand novel, as well as my first holiday book of this season. The synopsis grabbed me right from the beginning… and it helps that it takes place on Nantucket, one of my favorite places to read about. (It’s a couple of hours from me and I’ve never been there, but it’s similar to Cape Cod – one of my actual favorite places.) The book came in quickly at the library and I set off on my first seasonal read. Characters and Story The story is set over the Christmas holiday and begins on December 23rd. The Quinn family is used to gathering for the holidays at the Winter Street Inn that their father owns (and some of them still live at). This year, a wrench is thrown into the works when their stepmom is found kissing Santa Claus and leaves their father. The family has to move through the holiday parties and Christmas morning without one of the main caretakers of the inn. I liked that the story alternated between all of the main characters so you could get into their heads a little bit. Some of them were harder to connect to or get a read on (because of all the POV switching) but I’m glad that format was chosen for this book regardless. The children include Patrick, who is having a breakdown over some things happening at work; Ava, a schoolteacher that lives at the inn and can’t get […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | November 2016

Posted December 1, 2016 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 11 Comments
Bookmark Lit Bulletin | November 2016

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my book haul, books I read and reviewed, posts I shared, challenge updates, and more from the previous month. I also let you know what may be coming up on the blog in the coming month. You can read past bulletins here. I recently split out my personal posts into the Lauren Lately feature, so this is a bit shorter! I finally got my reading mojo back!! I was able to finish three books plus one novella in three days. I was a reading addict around the middle of the month thanks to two books that were exactly what I needed to break my slump. I also got back into some audiobooks a little bit, managed to finish off the fall bingo card, and still was able to keep up with my TV shows. I’m finally getting the balance I’ve been wanting to find. I hope I can carry this attitude with me into the new year because this is what I had in mind when I set my goals/resolutions for 2016. Average rating for books read in October: 3.64 stars Highlights & Lowlights All of the books read this month: Year-Long Seasonal Fall Bingo Challenge I’m pleased to say that I FINALLY filled an entire bingo card! I was pretty determined this time and knew it was actually in reach, based on the books ahead on my TBR. I made a fake TBR to get […]

Seasonal TBR Moods

Posted November 30, 2016 / Discussions, Features / 10 Comments
Seasonal TBR Moods

Like a lot of people, my mood reading can really pick up depending on what season it is. I know Cristina talked about this at one point so I know I’m not alone! (Since I started putting this post together forever ago I’ve seen more posts like this, but I can’t remember who!) I traditionally read a lot of summery, beachy books during the summer (duh) and gravitate towards fantasy books in the winter. Some of the other seasons are less obvious because the weather isn’t hugely different. I started thinking, though, about how different months of the year and seasons can impact my reading. This doesn’t only include the weather – I’m also talking about readathons or monthly challenges. I think the biggest factor in my reading can be the season. Depending on the weather (and the location that I’ll be reading in!), I’ll gravitate towards specific genres to fit those ~vibes~ outside. In the summer, I’m all about fluffy contemporaries or stories that take place on a beach or in a beachy town. I don’t like to think too much during the summer because the weather is usually too nice for that shit. I love sitting out on my porch or laying on the beach while I read. There’s just something about that season that makes me happy I hoarded all of the summertime books throughout the year, no matter how much I may have wanted to read them otherwise. I love the fluffiness or the beach settings so much. I like to […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #117: Holiday Gift Guide

Posted November 29, 2016 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 15 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #117: Holiday Gift Guide

Ten YA Books I’d Buy My Sister for Christmas 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. This week’s TTT is a Holiday Gift Guide freebie (ten books to buy the YA lover in your life, 10 books to buy for your dad, etc.). I’m loving these open-ended freebies! My little sister is 14 years old – soon to be 15 in April, holy shit – and she reads a lot of YA along with me. She has some similar books on her “TBR” and there are some I’d like to buy for her this year for Christmas. I usually get her Lego sets and I’ve already bought her a pair of Lularoe leggings for Christmas, so I don’t go the book route. In any case, here are 10 books I’d buy her!My little sister, Jordyn, loves the Harry Potter books (as everyone should) and tends to read a good amount of contemporary as well. She loves any books about fanfiction and books with “nerd” in the title because she feels like she is one! (No shame in that game.) She is obsessed with YouTubers and uses the word “ship” on a regular basis, with just about anyone/anything. She’s one of us! She does color guard in the high school band and is very […]

ARC Review: Heartless

Posted November 28, 2016 / Book Reviews / 9 Comments
ARC Review: Heartless

Initial Excitement I think it’s pretty obvious why I was excited for this one! I adored the Lunar Chronicles series by Meyer and was SO ready to see how she would work in a different world! I love that she is staying with retellings, because clearly she’s great at them, but I am definitely intrigued to see where she heads from here. Will she keep them going?! Anyways, I have been waiting for an Alice in Wonderland retelling that I’d love. I had super mixed feelings about the last one I read but I kind of loved that world. (I need to reread one other Alice retelling series again because I LOVED it back in the day.) So, in any case, you could say I was pumped for this book. I saw lots of people who were excited because of Marissa Meyer, but nervous because they don’t enjoy Alice retellings as much. Quick Summary Cath is just a normal girl in Wonderland when the King of Hearts sets his sights on her for marriage. She quickly determines she isn’t interested him and instead wants to open a bakery with her best friend/maid Mary Ann. She also (just as quickly) falls for the court joker, Jest. They have a bit of a secret love affair while the king continues to court her. She has to find a way to break it off with the king and make her ~dreams come true~ instead. BUT we all know how the Queen of Hearts turns out, right? Storytelling, Setting, and […]

2016 Holiday Books & Celebration

Posted November 25, 2016 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 14 Comments
2016 Holiday Books & Celebration

In previous years, I have really cozied up in the holiday season and done a lot of Christmassy reading. I absolutely love letting the snow fall outside and reading holiday books with a nice cup of hot chocolate. I am a very indoorsy person during the winter months, let me tell you. As always, I have to include a TBR post for this holiday season and share what I plan on doing on the blog. I like to read and review the books quickly so you may have some recommendations before it’s too late. (Most of my reviews are scheduled weeks or months out, which wouldn’t help you read holiday books during the actual holidays.) You can see past TBRs, readathons, and wintery graphics from 2014 and 2015 if you’re curious. I love featuring holiday-themed reviews that start at the end of November and end before New Year’s. I hope it gives people enough of a shot to get some last-minute holiday recommendations while they’re in the mood! I started a new holiday cheer-o-meter feature last year, where I rate the book on how much holiday-related cheer and feels it brings to the table. Some books I read are more winter-focused while others are full-on Christmas stories. I also include a little graphic to tell you quickly the holidays that are involved in the story. If you’re looking for something more specific, I’ve got you covered. In each review, I want to let you know just how holiday-oriented the story is, as well as […]

Three Things

Posted November 24, 2016 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 4 Comments
Three Things

As you know, I sometimes steal borrow from lifestyle bloggers when it comes to more personal features around the blog. I know it’s my job to blog about books here, but I do love sharing some more info about myself from time to time! I saw this post on a new blog I started following and she grabbed it from someone else, but I ended up adding a few more of my own as well to make it a longer. Feel free to join in but share the credit around 🙂 Three things I’d never give up | Books, pizza, football This is kind of easy for me off the top of my head but there are countless other things I’d never want to do away with. I’m thinking tacos, margaritas, coffee, Friends, crab rangoon, Netflix… Ugh. And obviously I didn’t include people in this because let’s stick with the things here. Three favorite vegetables | Onions, corn, lettuce I love salad so I have to include lettuce here. Give me all the ranch dressing, please. Otherwise, I am one of those weird people who LOVES onions of all kinds – cooked or uncooked. I don’t care. I also just love corn for some reason. Veggies aren’t my favorite overall but these are my picks, dude. Three favorite fruits | Blueberries, clementines, strawberries I had to add this question in because it seemed like a no-brainer. I have to say that raspberry is my favorite fruity FLAVOR but I would pick these three actual […]