Review: First & Then

Posted December 4, 2015 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

THIS BOOK WAS THE CUTEST. It took me a little while to get settled into the plot and the characters for some reason, but once I did… oh boy. So perfect. This is definitely one of my favorite books this year based on sheer cuteness and readability. I read this in basically just a couple of sittings over the course of two days because I was determined to finish and feel all the things. Devon’s annoying younger cousin, Foster, moves in with her family after basically being abandoned by his mom. Come to find out, he’s a great kicker and is invited onto the football team. Their family feels progress and grow slowly throughout the book, as does the romance between Devon and SOMEONE. I’m keeping this sentence spoiler-free but you may be able to guess by the end of the review. Sorry, not sorry. I will also totally reread this book, and that’s a big honor. So far the only books I’ve reread are Sarah Dessen (duh), the Harry Potter series (double duh), and books I read a long time ago because I wanted to finish the series. To have a random YA contemporary (non-Dessen) be thrown in as a worthy reread is kind of big deal. Perfect things are perfect THE FEELSSSS between Devon + Foster (seriously, the way they warmed up to each other killed me) between Foster + Ezra (what a fucking adorable friendship. I can’t) between Ezra + Devon (mmmm what a slow burn, with a […]

Top 10 Books with Unique Storytelling Styles

Posted December 3, 2015 / Book Lists, Features / 18 Comments

Look at me, getting back into the swing of things. That seems like a stupid thing to say since my blog usually has 5-6 posts per week, but I mean back in the swing of my GOALS. I had decided when I first started this blog (and didn’t know of any memes or ARCs or even bloggers) that I would give recommendation lists for people who were seeking specific types of books. I have generally failed with those types of posts. Plus, Top Ten Tuesday does a really good job of creating those list topics for me on a weekly basis. One of my biggest goals (or resolutions) at the beginning of the year was to get back into some of my own recommendation / top ten lists. I made it a point to reevaluate my challenges back in November to see which I could reasonably succeed at finishing, and resolved (again) to do at least ONE top ten recommendation list before the end of the year.Today I’ll be sharing some books that just have a ~different~ style to them that really enhances the message of the book. These come from my “cool story style” shelf on Goodreads, because I recently found that I needed to make some more fun shelf categories. Now that I’m reading way more books per year, I needed to find a way to remember certain details or feelings. (Honestly, it helps so much with TTTs!) Without further ado, here are the top ten books you should read if you’re […]

Reading Recap #6 (including End of 2015 TBR!)

Posted December 2, 2015 / Features, Reading Recap, TBR Lists / 6 Comments

Because my reviews are usually posted at least a month after I finish the book, I never really talk about what I’m currently reading or just finished reading. This Reading Recap feature will let you know the the books I just finished, am currently reading, and plan to read next. Past recaps here! I wasn’t sure what I wanted to listen to for an audiobook, so I decided to use a Scribd credit on Fairest by Marissa Meyer. I also have this out from the library, so I plan on mixing the two of them. (You know how much I love to do that!) I’m also reading Icing on the Lake by Catherine Clark to kickstart my wintery holiday reads. I also found it on Scribd, so that saves a few bucks on the ebook 😉 I love these older romantic comedy-style contemporary books. I want to save some of my really Christmas-oriented books for later on in the month. I somehow finished an 800 page book within a few days and managed to read a total of 17 books in November (that does include a DNF). I read three books in a row that received 4 stars, then had a couple of duds. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater was a Book Buddies pick for Kaitlin and me during November. I enjoyed it overall, but am mostly intrigued to see what happens next. I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest was a far-fetched but fun read that my real life book club chose for tonight’s meeting. […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #66: 2016 Debuts

Posted December 1, 2015 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 24 Comments

Ten 2016 Debuts Novels I’m Looking Forward To 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 actually terrible about knowing which authors qualify as debuts each year, but thank glob for Goodreads Listopia! Here are some of the 2016 debuts I’m excited for, as well as the sentence in their synopses that had me say YAAAAS GIMME. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman “Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances.“ Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn “Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom.” The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry “The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it’s as if time just stops and nothing exists.” Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider “Warm Hawaiian sun. Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle. These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer” Underwater by Marisa Reichardt “But her kind act inadvertently played a role in a deadly tragedy.” Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira “In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins’ life would be a book. Preferably a YA novel with magic and a hot paranormal love interest.” Summer of Supernovas by […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin – November 2015

Posted November 30, 2015 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 4 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my life happenings, 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 and learn more about the feature here. I’m damn surprised at how much I killed it this month. I couldn’t stop reading. I managed to read 11 books in the first half of the month alone… and one of them was over 800 pages long! I think it helps that Chris got really addicted to a video game and I was able to have uninterrupted reading 😉 Average rating for books read in November: 3.75 stars Highlights of the best and worst… Best of the Best | Pleasantly Surprised | Disappointed All of the books read this month: Average rating for books reviewed in November: 4.29 stars Secret Sister Project LEGO THEMED PACKAGE. LIKE YOUUU ARE THE BEST EVER. She gave me two homemade Lego bags (one like a purse and one little wallet/clutch), a Lego-style journal, two sizes of Lego minifigure prints for the wall, two Lego books (I Love that Minifigure and The Cult of Lego), Lego earrings, a Lego Movie keychain, and some gummy Warheads. I literally teared up. So grateful. Books acquired Books-a-Million haul | Saga volumes 4 and 5 by Brian K. Vaughn, Sex Criminals volume 1 by Matt Fraction, Dreamland by Sarah Dessen /// Amazon orders | Harry Potter coloring book (preordered), An Abundance […]

Harry Potter Spells Book Tag

Posted November 27, 2015 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 9 Comments

This tag was created by Kimberly Faye Reads and BookNerd Betsy. I’m actually incredibly picky about using other people’s graphics in book tags because I’m a control freak. I like to make my own matching graphics thankyouverymuch. HOWEVER, these are just way too perfect too ignore… and she linked up a handy ZIP file to download them all at once! Holla. Without further ado, (I say this way too often in blog posts now) here it isssss. An upcoming release you wish you could get your hands on right now Summer Days and Summer Nights edited by Stephanie Perkins | I am so here for this. I actually don’t have a LOT of highly anticipated reads yet for 2016, but you bet your ass this is one. I absolutely loved the previous holiday compilation she edited, and I know this will be no exception. AND THE COVER IS PERFECT LIKE THE OTHER ONE. Lord help me handle this wait. Favorite series-starter The Program by Suzanne Young | This one was my favorite in the series! I couldn’t put it down and was so eager to figure out what was going to happen next. This book really made me want to read the next couple of books and see how the world was before and after Sloane’s story. A book that gave you all the warm fuzzies Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins | I know you’re not surprised. Would it be a book tag without me mentioning the feelsy shippy glory of AATFK? […]

Review: Winter

Posted November 26, 2015 / Book Reviews / 12 Comments

Well well well, Marissa Meyer. I see what you did there. You made each book get increasingly better than the last until I finally said holy SHIT this is one of my favorite series. When I finished Cinder, I wasn’t totally convinced. When I finished Scarlet, I said “that was very good, not fantastic” yet again. When I finished Cress, I thought she was headed towards something excellent. I loved being introduced to more and more characters who were special and important in their own ways. With the introduction of the ultimate bae Carswell Thorne, I was pretty sold in general… but I knew that the final book would have to blow me away to make up for my this-is-great-but-not-a-favorite feelings that I was working with from the first two books. AND THEN SHE DID IT. There are so many wonderful things about this book and about the whole series that come to a head in this finale. I would venture to say that it’s my favorite series-ender ever. (This may be because I haven’t finished a lot of series like this, but seriously it’s gotta be top three at least!) How do I love thee? Let me count the ways… 1. SQUAD GOALS Has there ever been a group of people this perfect before? Prob not. As each book progressed, we were introduced to more and more characters to make up the final crew of saviors. Book one brought us Cinder and Kai, the smart cyborg and the emperor. Book […]

Book Buddies Review: The Raven Boys

Posted November 25, 2015 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Book Buddies is a discussion-style review that takes place with one of my two buddies. (Learn more and see past reviews here) We both read the book and then have a private discussion about it. We post our discussion as a review on the last Wednesday of each month. You’ll be able to see our similar/different opinions on the overall book, characters, writing style, etc. – just like a regular review. The first half our discussion will take place right here, and the second half will be on Kaitlin’s blog! (Link below) View Kaitlin’s part of the discussion here. Some spoilers ahead! How did you feel when you started? Did the hype make you excited or nervous? Kaitlin: I definitely did not know what to expect from this book because the synopsis had been super vague about what was going down within this book. All I know was what happened in the beginning chapter and that Blue would eventually become attracted. I don’t think hype really affects my enjoyment for books too much. It motivates me to try to enjoy a book that has lots of love to it but other than that, I mostly enjoy the majority of the books I read so hype is never a huge problem for me when it comes to how I enjoy a book. Lauren: I know what you mean about motivating you to enjoy it! That was such a driving factor in my enjoyment of this book. I felt like I needed to like it because everyone else […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #65: Thanksgiving

Posted November 24, 2015 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 14 Comments

Giving Lots of (Bookish) Thanks 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 topic is a Thanksgiving-themed Freebie (books or authors I’m thankful for, fictional families I’d celebrate Thanksgiving with, personal thankful post, etc.). As usual, all of these suggestions are too fun so I’ll be bringing you a big ol’ thankful post for all things bookish! Queenie & Merry Carole’s house for amazing Southern food {Nowhere But Home} Covey house for more amazing food and my fave fictional family {To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before} Anywhere with the amazing squad from the Lunar Chronicles, just because I love them {Winter} The Garrett household for all of the love and chaos they would bring {My Life Next Door} I couldn’t resist the urge to share a few different thing in this category. I’m very thankful for all of the bloggers who make up our great community, as well as every author that keeps us reading. Jenny Han because binge-reading her Summer series got me through a rougher time in my life, and I can always count on her stories to make me feel all the things. Sarah Dessen because… honestly does she need a reason? Her books are life and what introduced me to contemporary young adult. Kate Brian because her Private series (among others) kept […]

Inside & Out #19: Kate from Mom’s Radius

Posted November 23, 2015 / Features, Inside and Out / 5 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. Kate from Mom’s Radius Twitter: @momsradius| Instagram: @kunger1 | Facebook Tell me a little about yourself: Hello, Bookmark Lit readers. I am an avid reader, always have been. I am married to a non-reader and I’m a mother of one – a 5.5 year old boy who loves books and is just learning how to read. I work full time and squeeze in reading pretty much every spare second I have. I started my blog in May. Talk about your blog (what you blog about/kinds of books, features, etc.): I blog about life, love, and books. I review YA and adult fiction – mostly contemporary. I also review some children’s books. I talk about my family and occasionally share recipes. I try to cover all of my interests, but it’s mostly books. In October I started a weekly series, Fiction Friday, where I share creative writing. I’m working on improving my descriptive prose and enforcing a deadline on myself is helping me make time for this type of writing in addition to traditional blogging. Favorite genre: YA Fiction is definitely my favorite. I especially love series: The Lunar Chronicles, The Hunger Games, […]