Five-Star Books of 2023 So Far

Posted August 18, 2023 / Book Lists, Features / 2 Comments
Five-Star Books of 2023 So Far

I don’t usually recap my favorite books of the year but it’s honestly been a great year so far. I thought I would share some of my five-star favorites of 2023! I almost added all of my 4.5 star reads and called this my “favorite” books of the year… but the quantity overwhelmed me hahah. I have 10 five-star reads through mid-August (one of them was a children’s book that I didn’t review called Dewdrop so the cover isn’t below.) Have you read any of these?

ARC August Reviews: In Nightfall and The Blonde Identity

Posted August 16, 2023 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
ARC August Reviews: In Nightfall and The Blonde Identity

As everyone around here knows, I’m a huge fan of Suzanne Young and all of her books. She’s such a talented writer and her prose is so accessible (definitely mean that as a compliment – I read her stories SO quickly!). IN NIGHTFALL is a bit different for her in some ways, and different for my reading tastes as well… which I loved! The story follows Theo and her brother Marco as they head to Nightfall, Oregon with their father for the summer as punishment for a big party they threw. Her dad is originally from there and his mom lives there, so they stay with her. She’s been an enigma in the kids’ lives and they’re basically meeting her for the first time. She’s prickly and has a lot of weird rules, like don’t stay out after dark and don’t talk with the locals. Naturally both of them ignore these rules and immediately fall in with some local teens. The town (and most people there) are really creepy and mysterious. There are some upcoming traditions that they want Theo and Marco to partake in, as well as their nightly parties on the beach. Theo starts to feel like something weird is in the air in Nightfall and these two podcasters in town for the Midnight Dive event are investigating it as well. The book is a little creepy but breezy and easy to read as well. I really liked the tension being slowly turned up throughout the book as […]

Priority 2023 Reads & Exciting Releases for the Rest of the Year

Posted August 14, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
Priority 2023 Reads & Exciting Releases for the Rest of the Year

I know I’m going to get to the end of the year and have a ton of books left on my list to read but hopefully this guides me a little bit! I always make anticipated release lists or TBRs each month/season, but I’ve been fresh out of blog post ideas lately and this seemed like a good option to share! I also made the decision to not include any holiday books or cookbooks on here just for the sake of not adding one million books lol. Already Out & Priority 2023 Releases All That’s Left to Say by Lord // I’ve been a huge fan of hers for years and am always anxiously awaiting her next book. This one sounds like a contemporary/mystery and I’m excited for it. Business or Pleasure by Solomon // Another author I adore and can’t wait to read! I’m shocked I didn’t read this earlier in the year actually. None of This is True by Jewell // This has gotten super high ratings so far and I made sure to include it in my BOTM box! I read and liked one of her other books but hopefully this segues into more of her backlist as well. Wrong Place, Wrong Time by McAllister // McAllister’s debut is one of my favorite thrillers so I have super high expectations for this one! Also snagged it for my BOTM selection. One of Us is Back by McManus // My favorite YA mystery/thriller author! Really excited to get back into the Bayview world. […]

Series Review: Crowns of Nyaxia

Posted August 7, 2023 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Series Review: Crowns of Nyaxia

(These titles are too long to include in the blog post title.) I surprised everyone on Threads when I put vampires last on my “fantasy creatures” ranking. Honestly it’s because I’ve basically only read TWILIGHT? I can’t think of many other vampire books I’ve actually read lol. Regardless, the hype was getting to me with this series! I read the first book on a whim a few days after I checked it out from the library, also on a whim. I wasn’t expecting to see it on the shelf! I thought it would be something I’d read on Kindle Unlimited when I did my annual “one month of KU” subscription to read a few things before cancelling. Once Jamie posted about loving it and reading it in 24 hours, I decided to just go for it. Yes, it delayed me finishing the ToG series yet again but it was worth it. I ended up also subscribing to KU so I could read it on the go, and then I figured I’d start the second book while I had the subscription. I was advised to actually read the novella (#1.5) in between the books so I went for that first, and then launched into the official second book. I’m sorry in advance for how this review is mostly built around a comparison to FOURTH WING, but hear me out. I basically heard about these books at the same time. Both were popular romantasy series getting SO much hype out of nowhere. […]

Review Roundup | Practice Makes Perfect, The Risk, and No Good Tea Goes Unpunished

Posted August 4, 2023 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 0 Comments
Review Roundup | Practice Makes Perfect, The Risk, and No Good Tea Goes Unpunished

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT had a lot to live up to. I fell head over heels for WHEN IN ROME and was pretty certain its companion sequel wouldn’t match up. My sister marked this one as her favorite of the two but she predicted that I’d love WIR more. Surprisingly, both ended up being five-star reads for me! (But yes, if I had to pick, Amelia/Noah are my peeps and edge out Will/Annie just a bit.) I thought Annie would annoy me a bit based on her characterization in WHEN IN ROME – she’s treated like a little angel who doesn’t swear and keeps track of her siblings cursing. Let me just say: she has so much more under the surface, and all of those little things I thought would annoy me weren’t really accurate. Will definitely had me from the beginning – I loved learning more about him and his childhood. I think I would have liked a LITTLE more there but it was good overall… There was a lot of telling instead of showing in regards to his background (and some things later in the book I won’t spoil). The two of them embark on a “fake dating” journey but more like “practice dating” – Annie wants to be less boring so she can land a husband and start the rest of her life. Will is simply just bored hanging out as a bodyguard in Rome, Kentucky… can’t fault him for that! I really loved watching their relationship develop […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | July 2023

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | July 2023

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. I had most of my good luck in June because July was mostly just okay for reading. Not a lot of major standouts, with one or two exceptions. I did manage to read 12 books, which is always my secret goal in the back of my mind! (Usually monthly recaps on Instagram have either 9 or 12 book slots on them so I aim for one of those numbers lol.) I had a few disappointments and books I expected would go better for me as well.      12 books in June 12 read  •  0 reread  •  0 DNF Pages read: 3,932 •   Average rating: 3.83 stars Genres: 5 mystery/thriller, 3 contemporary, 2 fantasy, 1 nonfiction, 1 graphic novel Formats: 4 mixed, 4 ebooks, 2 paperbacks, 1 hardcover, 1 egalley Sources: 53 purchased, 3 review, 3 library, 1 owned, 1 borrowed, 1 BOTM Age Target: 9 adult, 1 young adult, 1 middle grade, 1 new adult      Here are all the books I read this month with ratings and one-line thoughts!      Popsugar Reading Challenge: 72% 52 Book Club: 67% Must Read in 2023: […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #420: Backlist Titles

Posted August 1, 2023 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #420: Backlist Titles

Forgotten Backlist Titles I’d Recommend 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 have been very hip to new releases and hyped up books this year, so it’s definitely refreshing to find some hidden backlist gems that need more readers these days! I have an entire “underrated” shelf on Goodreads I would recommend you try out, but here are ten favorites that fit the bill here (and are all published in 2021 or earlier). Trilogies and Duologies Young Adult Fiction Adult Fiction/Romance

August TBR

Posted July 27, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
August TBR

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. August TBR July was an interesting month because I did read the major books I had outlined on my TBR (especially the smaller version posted on Instagram stories) but kind of let myself go with the flow the minute Summerween was over haha. I wanted to read a lighter book but ended up picking up a giant fantasy as well?? ARC August I wrote a post the other day announcing that I’m aiming to to ARC August this year, something popularized in the book blogging community years ago. You basically focus on reading a ton of review copies in August! I came up with my own challenge/prompts to read books of all types and here’s the “final” list (subject to change depending on mood, but I feel pretty confident in these!). My goal is to read all 8 of these, or read 80% review copies in August regardless. Here are my picks and why: 2023 release – IN NIGHTFALL Mystery/thriller – THE HIKE Contemporary romance – BUSINESS OR PLEASURE Picked by random number generator – I’M THE GIRL From my “jazzed up for this” shelf – ALL THAT’S LEFT TO SAY Publishing […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #419: DNFs

Posted July 25, 2023 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 8 Comments
Top Ten Tuesdays #419: DNFs

Most Recent DNFs 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 don’t usually talk about DNFs on my blog or review them so I’m excited actually to touch on this topic! I’ve been a bit better with quitting books lately but I do feel like finding 10 DNFs will bring me back a few years haha.    

ARC August Challenge

Posted July 24, 2023 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments
ARC August Challenge

Back in the day, ARC August was a big deal and a way of life. I did it all the time. I always think of doing it unofficially (because I don’t know that it’s a real thing anymore? lol) but in a more casual way. My goal for August 2023 is to read 80% ARCs. I know there’s a good chance that a library hold comes in or something and I get sidetracked, so my overall hope for the month is to read 10 books, 8 of them being ARCs. I have a lot to choose from (ugh…) but thought it would be fun to give myself some prompts and challenges to pick out the TBR. I’m only going to read past-due or current month egalleys – no ARCs that are coming out in September or later. This is a way for me to catch up and get closer to 80% on Netgalley – usually I’m around 70% or a little more but lately I’ve been at 69%. At the time of writing this, I have 98 books that were published prior to August 2023 that I could read. I’ve definitely lost interest in a few so there’s a good chance that I try to read and DNF a book or two throughout this process, but I’m going to give it the ol’ college try. Here are the 8 challenges I’m using to try to pick out my TBR and the books that I’ve selected to match. I’m going to go with […]