ARC Review: The Wicked King

Posted December 14, 2018 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

* No spoilers for this book, but there will be spoilers for THE CRUEL PRINCE * Initial Excitement & Summary There were so many moments since I finished THE CRUEL PRINCE that I just wished I had this book. It’s funny, because I was often in a reading slump this summer and I kept saying “if I just had THE WICKED KING aka the only book I want to read, I wouldn’t be in this predicament.” Needless to say, I was extremely excited and did not want to wait until January to read this. After the events of TCP, I was ready to see what the hell was going to happen next. Jude and Cardan had gotten a bit closer, but then she screwed him over by crowning him Prince. Everyone betrayed everyone and Jude ended up as an adviser (meaning she had a spell/charm on Cardan so she could command him to do whatever she wanted him to do) to him as the king. The events of this book start out with the status of their relationship and how Jude has fallen into her position of power. Without getting too much into it, there was a lot of focus around those relationships and Taryn’s upcoming marriage to Locke. Storytelling, Characters, and Ending I was so eager to see what was going to happen next, after the way TCP ended! Talk about a cliffhanger. I was eager to see how Jude would grow into her new role and power, because […]

Review Round Up | The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, The Towering Sky, and The Chase

Posted December 13, 2018 / Book Reviews, Review Roundup / 4 Comments

In an effort to cut down on posts and burnout, my Review Roundups will feature 2-4 books I’ve read or listened to recently. Sometimes they’re newer releases and sometimes they’re all backlist titles. My ARC reviews usually get the solo treatment. Enjoy the mini reviews! I first read THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN when everyone else did and it took the country by storm. I liked the made-for-TV movie version too. My parents even read the book and they don’t read books like this ever (lol). I was pretty excited to see a sequel 15 years later because it’s been a long time since I’ve read any Mitch Albom book, and he is definitely an author I wasn’t sure would “hold up” for me now that my tastes have grown and changed over the years. This book was the best way to check him out again since it would feature some familiar faces AND involve my favorite concept to read about – how everyone is interconnected and one small decision could change everything, and impact everyone. This story is about Annie, the little girl that Eddie saved before dying in the first book. It takes you through her life, leading up to the wedding day that leads to her trip to heaven. She had a difficult life after the accident at the amusement park and finds herself making a lot of mistakes (in her mind at least). It was pretty interesting to follow along and learn about her, but I […]

Favorite Ornaments + Some Holiday Decorations

Posted December 12, 2018 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 4 Comments

I’m here today with a simple post highlighting my favorite Christmas ornaments, as well as the overall decor of my house right now. I’ve loved Christmas as long as I can remember and have acquired at least one new ornament every year. My mom has a bunch of mine from childhood – including this HUGE picture frame of me that’s all glittery – packed away because she’s stopped getting trees for some Scrooge-y reason. In any case, all of my ornaments from my dad’s house (literally 100% Panthers ones) have made their way to me. At some point in my life I’ll have a second tree for just them! Without further ado, here are some highlights of my favorite Christmas ornaments and the memories attached to them. Tree & Ornaments We went to a local farmstand to get our tree right after Thanksgiving, and it was a nice way to spend Small Business Saturday! The people there were super friendly and we LOVE the perfect shape of it. Finn and Jake (from Adventure Time), a pizza, one of the Winged Keys from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, an ornament from book pages, an ice cream cone Panthers airplane with Santa, Lego cat, lounging snowman, WWE chair (from TLC set), Finn Balor WWE gingerbread man, homemade Elmo from childhood Marauder’s Map from Harry Potter, Lego Christmas tree, Tinkerbell, Christmas sweater, Kurt Angle WWE gingerbread man, Panthers bell, John Cena WWE gingerbread man Goofy from a trip to Disney, Tweety ornament from childhood, […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #213: Freebie – Series

Posted December 11, 2018 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 8 Comments

Top Series I Need to Finish 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. Today’s freebie topic is going to be about some book series I need to finish! There’s usually no in-between for me: I’ll binge-read a series within a short amount of time, or take forever to finish (even if all of the books are released). My goal is definitely to finish off some series next year, so I thought I would make this post to remind myself! Books pictured are the ones I still need to read. Hope’s Crossing Series I kept putting this one off because I wanted to read one per month, allowing the holiday book to be read in December. I ended up messing this up and avoiding the timing I was hoping for, so now (because I’m annoying about reading holiday books only in the winter) I will probably not start this remainder of this series until September 2019… or just read the next three books and wait for the final two later in the year? I’m the worst. Dark Star Trilogy I enjoyed the first book here even though it was definitely out of my comfort zone? These are superhero-ish books from before that genre became […]

Five Star Predictions

Posted December 10, 2018 / Book Lists, Features / 6 Comments

Post found on Pretty Deadly Reviews | Inspired by Mercy’s Bookish Musings My Post from last year found HERE Inspired by a post I read last year, I went ahead and made my own version. I’m here again to do the same thing this year! The premise here is that I will predict which books I think will earn a five star rating from me in 2019. I have been a lot pickier about my books lately, so I feel like many will end up as 4.5 star reads, but here’s why I think these will be rated highly – (a) the premise sounds RIGHT up my alley, like a super Lauren-book, (b) it’s from a favorite author, and/or (c) the book already has mostly five star reviews from friends with similar tastes. Let’s get to it! Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young | As you know (especially from last year’s post), Young is one of my favorite authors and she realistically has not disappointed me yet. I got a copy of GIRLS recently and I guarantee I’ll be reading it ASAP in the new year. It seems like a powerful story that could earn five stars. Finale by Stephanie Garber | I’m happy that the CARAVAL universe is expanding once more! After rereading book one before starting book two this year, they were cemented in the “favorites” list. I didn’t love LEGENDARY quite as much as its predecessor but I have super high hopes for the finale (ha!). Famous in […]

Holiday Read-a-Thons: Progress, Tracking, TBRs

Posted December 8, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features / 4 Comments

As you saw in my initial post and various TBR posts throughout the month, I’ve been joining in on some reading challenges and read-a-thons throughout December! I thought I would make ONE master post for before, during, and after all of these fun posts. I’ll just update this and won’t be doing individual wrap-ups. Tis the Season-a-thon When: December 3rd – 9th | Hosts and information: Twitter / Instagram Challenges / Progress: Instagram challenges: I did post on Instagram for each challenge day – check it out! Reading challenges: Red or green on the cover: The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily Read while listening to holiday music: The Proposal Warm and fuzzy: Snow in Love Short book (under 250 pages): The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily Holiday-themed book: The Best Little Christmas Shop [didn’t finish during the challenge] Bonus buddy read: Snow in Love Oh What Fun Read-a-thon When: December 16th – 23rd | Host and information: Twitter / Instagram Challenges / Progress: Instagram challenges: I did post on Instagram for each challenge day – check it out! Naughty Stay up all night reading: It Started with Christmas Holiday romance: Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane Book from last year’s Christmas Read by the fire: Christmas on Mistletoe Lane Book about villains Read and watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas Book bought for the cover Nice Read a Harry Potter book Buddy read with a friend/family member 25th book on your TBR shelf Light a candle while reading: Season of Wonder Read and watch The Polar Express Read the nativity story

Blog Tour | Review & Author Interview: The Accidental Beauty Queen

Posted December 7, 2018 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

On Sale: December 4, 2018 Gallery Books | Trade Paperback Original Available for purchase here ISBN: 9781501197604 | $16.00 E-ISBN: 9781501197611 | $7.99 Audio-ISBN: 9781508283553 | $17.99 Review Once I learned that this author had written books and Hallmark movie adaptations, I was sold on this book. I also tend to love books that are billed as more “romantic comedies” as well, a la Sophie Kinsella. Another key point? The reference to Miss Congeniality. I’m so happy that this book lived up to my expectations! Charlotte and Ginny are twin sisters. The former is a children’s librarian and the latter is a beauty queen… until they have to secretly switch places. While Charlotte visits with Ginny in Florida for a pageant, Ginny suffers an allergic reaction that would otherwise derail her participation in the pageant. Much to Charlotte’s initial dismay, Ginny begs her to compete instead… and she agrees. It was interesting to see these two seemingly different sisters try to bond and essentially become the same person for a few days. It was even better to meet others in the competition and see how Charlotte’s biases toward them completely changed; she was able to see that her sister was right – they ARE about more than just outward appearances. The contestants are supportive and encouraging to each other, and there were a lot of sweet scenes along those lines. Of course, it wouldn’t be a rom-com without the romance element! It’s not exactly in the synopsis so I won’t spoil […]

New Additions to the Cover Love Shelf

Posted December 6, 2018 / Book Lists, Features / 6 Comments

Just use the search bar on the side if you’re looking for more cover-oriented posts because MAN do I post too many to even include links anymore! Today’s installment of Cover Love features some new covers I added to my Goodreads shelf. They’re most likely newer releases or upcoming releases, because I usually add to that shelf as soon as a gorgeous cover makes its appearance. Here are some recent/new/upcoming favorites! Cover trends I’m loving lately There are plenty of things I love on book covers and I’ve talked about it extensively before, but I’ve noticed some amazing new trends lately — these gorgeous illustrated, cartoony covers with gorgeous typography. This is increasingly popular in romance novels, like in so many of the covers above. I always prefer illustrated people on a cover instead of actual human models; I think it’s perfect to help you picture the main character(s) without having an actual person in mind, if that makes sense. You’ll see a bunch of these illustrated covers above but there are still a few others that just fall into my usual trap of beautiful typography, cute colors, and pretty scenery. Link to my Goodreads cover love shelf so you can read summaries and add books – HERE!

Top Ten Tuesdays #212: Cozy Winter Reads

Posted December 4, 2018 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 4 Comments

Cozy Winter/Holiday Reads 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’m the queen of holiday reading, as you probably can see from my two-month-long holiday celebration each year on the blog! I’ve given general recommendations of favorite holiday books before but thought I would REALLY lean in on the “cozy winter” theme here. Yes, there will be plenty of holidays involved, but all of these books will be cozy and snowy at the very least. Jenny Hale’s Books ICYMI – there’s a read-a-long happening right now! They’re the epitome of cozy, somewhat cheesy, holiday romances. I always read my annual Jenny Hale book the week of Christmas because they give me the very most Christmassy feels. There’s always snow, a grumpy leading man, family feels, and lots of gorgeously described decorations. Bonus information: COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is also a Hallmark movie! Snowed In Trope I love books where the main characters are snowed in together and ~love happens~ in the meantime. The first two books above were pretty good, quick reads, but nothing major to write home about. SNOWFALL ON HAVEN POINT is one in a series I LOVE that has season-based reads. It alternates between summer and winter stories, so […]

TRULY DEVIOUS Paperback Release Celebration

Posted December 4, 2018 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

If you remember back in January, I read and loved TRULY DEVIOUS by Maureen Johnson. There were a lot of twists and complexities that I really appreciated. I remember continuing to flip the pages way later than I planned on reading that night! So, when I was approached to share some excitement again for the paperback release and the upcoming sequel, THE VANISHING STAIR, it was a no-brainer. Here’s more about this one: New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the first book of a striking new series, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and E. Lockhart. Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.” Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history. True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the […]