Top Ten Tuesdays #61: Halloween

Posted October 27, 2015 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 14 Comments

Ten Halloween-y and Fall-time Books 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 Halloween-themed freebie. I’m not a scary book type of gal, but I don’t mind something creepy or paranormal from time to time! I definitely find myself reaching for these books during the fall season (and October, specifically). I’m going to split this up into a few categories to keep things interesting (and yes because I probably don’t have enough books to fit in each one). If you’re like me and prefer less creepy books, then these are for you. (ALSO, you should definitely read my guest post on Alyssa’s blog for Fortnight of Fright! It features similar recommendations for not-so-scary Halloween books, movies, and food.) Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is a really interesting paranormal story with awesome photos included. I read this one last year for Book Buddies and have decided to finish the next two books in the trilogy this October and next October. Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young is incredibly atmospheric and creepy. I was unfortunately able to predict some of the twists (which I blame on similar books/movies I’ve read that others probably haven’t). Regardless, I REALLY enjoyed this one. Shadowlands by Kate Brian is an extremely underrated […]

Inside & Out #17: Laura from Scribbles & Wanderlust

Posted October 26, 2015 / Features, Inside and Out / 17 Comments

Admiring book covers and bookmarks, shared by you! Welcome to INSIDE AND OUT. This feature includes two of my absolute favorite book-related things: bookmarks (inside) and book covers (out)! I’ve invited guest posters to share their favorite book covers and bookmarks here on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Sign-ups are always open (see bottom of post)! Check out past posts here. Laura from Scribbles & Wanderlust Twitter: @LECrockett| Instagram: @lauraecrock| Goodreads Tell me a little about yourself: I’m a literary agent and bookseller by day, and blogger by night. Whenever my life isn’t consumed with books, music takes over. Also, if I meet someone who’s the least bit interested in Victorian literature, I chat their ears off for days. Talk about your blog (what you blog about/kinds of books, features, etc.): Scribbles & Wanderlust mostly has book reviews, but I also participate in Top Ten Tuesday, A to Z book survey, End of Year book survey, #ReRead2015, Seasonal Rewind (my own take on the monthly recap), Advance Excitement at a Glance (a glimpse at ARC reviews coming up for the month), and the occasional discussion/observation post on book and reading preferences. Favorite genre: All genres within Young Adult, though I also read and review whimsical Middle Grade and Adult historical fiction. I realize I mentioned categories more so than genres, but I’m across the board! Three books you recommend most often and why: Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (because it has everything),Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (it’s that perfect upper-YA that even younger YA readers can appreciate and enjoy. […]

The Evolution of Blog Tours

Posted October 23, 2015 / Discussions, Features / 17 Comments

Lately I’ve noticed a new trend within blog tours: creative and unique posts. The content within the posts is more interesting to read about, and there are themes for each tour. Now, I’m not necessarily saying that the more traditional blog tours aren’t fun to read, but these ones have taken things to a new level. There are a few lately that piqued my interest. If this is the way blog tours and promotional posts are headed, I consider that a major win. I wanted to recognize some of the more unique and fun tours I’ve seen lately, as well as share some of my feelings about blog tours and their overall improvements. I’ve always had mixed feelings about blog tours. I am the kind of blogger that generally avoids requesting ARCs (and I don’t often get the ones that I do request), so that means I usually find other ways to gain access to these titles if I’m really dying for them. Blog tours usually provide the blogger with an eARC (or sometimes physical ARC!) of the book, so I would sign up for the tours of highly anticipated books. Sometimes this would blow up in my face if the book didn’t hit the mark for me, but other times I’d be extremely glad I got the opportunity to read the book early. Either way, blog tours can be a commitment. If you sign up and don’t like it that much, your post will change at the last minute to a […]

Review: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

Posted October 22, 2015 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

Usually the longer it takes for me to finish a book, the less I’m going to like it. I know that this usually has nothing to do with how good the book is. I happened to be away on vacation while reading this one and just didn’t have enough time to read. When I did sit down to read it, I felt oddly detached from the story as I kept reading. From the beginning, this book was going to be iffy for me. It’s really out of my comfort zone but I wanted to give it a try with my book club. Cults have always interested me, but religion in generally really does not at all. I don’t think this book was too in-your-face about religion, which was nice, but it was still explored quite a bit. It makes sense given Minnow’s history and lack of education about a lot of things. I started out really intrigued by the story, mostly because of the writing style. I loved how the chapters slowly revealed more from her past, while mixing in with present-day in juvie. (I have to say though, I couldn’t stop thinking of Orange is the New Black.) The plot was really interesting and I was certainly wondering what the fuck happened back at the Kevinian camp. There was a good amount of suspense, again because of the writing style, but I still felt too detached from all of it. I liked Minnow as a character – I think she […]

Review: The Deal

Posted October 21, 2015 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

This book was exactly what I needed at the time. I had recently finished a few “heavier” books with stronger sci-fi/paranormal or just plain crazy themes… so I wanted something relatively mindless and fun. I’m so happy that this book delivered that for me! Hannah is coerced into tutoring the school’s egotistical hockey star, Garrett, in exchange for his help in getting her crush to notice her. The two of them end up moving beyond the “fake relationship” stage into something much more. Two of my favorite tropes were here in full-force: slow-burn and hate-to-love. Garrett is cocky and annoying to Hannah at the beginning, but the two of them clearly have banter-filled chemistry. I loved getting inside both of their heads, as this book alternated between their two points of view. Some New Adult books with the guy’s point of view tend to annoy me, at least at first. Garrett was a typical NA guy in the beginning: very focused on how hot she was and all sorts of bullshit about her tits and ass. I generally don’t like reading it, but usually see some good character development that enables me to look past that stuff in the beginning. This book was one of those, thank god. As I said, the hate-to-love romance trope is usually full of banter, teasing, and sarcasm. Their chemistry oozed off the pages from the very beginning of the book. If you’re looking for a steamy New Adult that doesn’t have as much drama and has […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #60: Book Genie

Posted October 20, 2015 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 15 Comments

Ten Wishes for the Book Genie to Grant 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’ve been looking forward to this week’s topic ever since I saw it – ten wishes I’d ask the book genie to grant me (new book from a certain author, reading superpower, new library, character to come to life, meet an author, etc.). I’m going to hit on most of the suggested topics because they’re all too fun. Here we gooooo. John Green’s latest book • Yes, I was once an ardent John Green fangirl. My obsession with him, in general, has gone down lately. BUT IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE HIS LAST BOOK. I want to read some new material from him in hopes that it doesn’t follow the same formula. Come on John, blow me away again! The genie better poke John in the butt so he writes faster. Audiobook narration speed • I love listening to audiobooks but they always read too slow for me! I know Audible has the speed-up option but then their voices sound warped. I can’t win. Even trying 1.25x sounds weird. It’s not that they become too fast – you can just tell that their voices are sped up. It’s annoying and I need a happy medium! House with […]

Review: Resonance

Posted October 19, 2015 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

OH MAN. Yet again, I was slayed by Erica O’Rourke. I loved being back in this world… or should I say, multiverse? 😉 The concept behind this duology is literally too cool (and too complicated) for words. I couldn’t explain all of it if I tried. I think that’s really my one issue with it. I think I’m a pretty smart person but this whole multiverse thing confuses the crap out of me. Every time they’d learn about some new loophole or whatever, I would find myself even more confused. I honestly don’t mind though because I love it so much. The world-building is, again, very complex. I expected to not learn AS much about how the multiverse worked because the whole first book had the explanation, but it ends up being even more complex than expected. I loved it – so suspenseful! Because of the suspense, I was completely captivated by the story. I don’t know what it is about O’Rourke’s writing; I just never want to stop reading once I start. Del is very headstrong and determined, which is the same as the first book. I love her as a character but wish she had some more going on aside from obsessing over Simon. I know it’s a major part of her characterization and the whole plot, but I dunno. I wish there was a bit more. Looking back, it’s hard to even remember all of the different events that happened in this book. I read it in such […]

The Lunar Chronicles Book Tag

Posted October 17, 2015 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 7 Comments

I’ve mentioned on here before that I’m participating in The Lunar Chronicles Readalong, hosted by Brittany at The Book Addict’s Guide. She mentioned something a looong time ago about hosting this (re)readalong in preparation for the final book, Winter. I kept it in the back of my mind and figured it would be a great time to read the books for the first time! After all, I joined the Isla Is Coming Readalong when I first started blogging and it helped introduce me to SO many people. (I will always be grateful for that readalong!) It gave me to one of my all-time favorite books, Anna and the French Kiss, and countless bloggers to befriend. ANYWAYS I DIGRESS… I’m so glad I decided to join with this readalong to finally start The Lunar Chronicles. I’m joining in with Brittany’s book tag inspired by the series! The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis • Oh, I loved this book. The reviews for this one are overwhelmingly positive, but not enough people have read it! I loved the characters and the uniqueness of this story. I’ll be pushing this one on people for years to come. Plus, the author is the SWEETEST person ever. The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo • I haven’t read many books in this category, but there are plenty on my TBR. I think the Grisha trilogy should count just fine! Alina, Mal, the Darkling, Sturmhond… *sigh* I miss them. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas • Feyre’s mother isn’t […]

Review: The Boy Most Likely To

Posted October 16, 2015 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments

I AM SAD AND DISAPPOINTED. I don’t know how else to start this review. 🙁 In the first book, I didn’t really like Tim at all. He grew on me, for sure, but not enough to make me say “hey I’d love to read a book about him.” Regardless, when I saw this one on Scribd, I thought it’d be a perfect audiobook to start. I was pretty interested at the beginning and Tim continued to grow on me even more. And then the TWIST happened (which happens so early in the book that it feels weird to call it a spoiler?) and everything went downhill. Don’t worry, I’ll be spoiler-free for a while. In the most general terms I can say, I didn’t MIND this turn of events. It’s not what I was expecting when I set out to read this book, but it also wasn’t surprising. I knew exactly what was going to happen when certain things started happening. Sorry for the vagueness, but go with it. Regardless, I don’t think this particular element of the story (which turned into pretty much the entire plot) bothered me like it may have bothered others. I didn’t care about Tim much so it didn’t upset me that this was happening to him. I was intrigued but slowly that interest waned. I had a big feeling of what was going to happen by the end of the book, so it all felt pointless to me. There were some pretty big glaring holes that […]

Library Dreams

Posted October 15, 2015 / Discussions, Features / 13 Comments

Chris and I have been looking into houses, because frankly we have too much shit for our one-bedroom apartment. We both have major hobbies that take up LOTS of space – Lego and reading. We’ve talked about looking into 2 or 3 bedroom houses (hopefully with a finished basement) so I can have a library and he can have a Lego studio. Maybe these are pipe dreams, but we’re certainly looking! We have zero plans for children in the future, so we’re going to let ourselves do whatever we want with our extra rooms!I love Amy’s Nookish posts and have been adding bookshelf pictures to my Pinterest for as long as I can remember. I love planning what I want my library to look like in my nonexistent house, so here are some ideas I’ve been pining over. [Images from Pinterest and/or link to stores] Built-in bookshelves My dad is a great DIY person and has a huge built-in wall of shelving for his CD collection (#dads, amrite?). I plan to have him deck out the walls with built-ins, so I don’t have to worry about buying and assembling a million shelves. I would love to have them around at least three out of the four walls. I know my dad would take care of this for me, so it feels like a pretty achievable goal for this room! I may leave one wall empty (above the bed – more on that in a second) because I’d like to have a […]