Series Review: Crowns of Nyaxia

Posted August 7, 2023 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

(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

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

Posted August 2, 2023 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 2 Comments

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

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

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

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

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 […]

ARC Reviews: The Legacies and Dark Corners

Posted July 20, 2023 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

It’s no secret around here that I love a “rich people behaving badly book” – there’s something about it that appeals to my Gossip Girl-loving heart. I KNOW they’re bad people and I’m okay with reading about them. I don’t have to like or root for the characters in every book I read. I know it’s a personal preference thing and I’m okay with that. Just be warned, if you aren’t a rich kid drama girlie, you probably won’t find much to like in this one. This book feels simultaneously similar and different than Goodman’s other books. I’ve rated her other books 3, 3.5, and 4 stars, respectively, so she’s always been a good-but-not-a-favorite author of mine. I still find myself so drawn to her synopses and eagerly await each new release! The whole vibe of this one (like her other three books) is more of a contemporary fiction book with some death and suspense as the backbone. Her books aren’t thrillers, they’re sort of mysteries, but they’re more like… mysterious contemporary fiction? This book is the first that features unlikeable rich kids at a prep school in NYC – the others are set in normal high schools or at summer camp. The story alternates between Bernie (a rich kid living in her mom’s shadow), Isobel (another rich kid and Bernie’s best friend with a substance abuse issue), and Tori (the scholarship kid whose mom died the year before). I enjoyed reading from each of their POVs for the most part […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #418: One-Word Titles

Posted July 18, 2023 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 12 Comments

Books with One-Word Titles on My TBR 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 decided to keep this topic (books with one-word titles) to just the ones on my TBR so it would be easier to track them down on Goodreads!

The Program Series is Getting NEW COVERS! // 10 Year Anniversary

Posted July 18, 2023 / Features / 3 Comments

It’s no secret that I am a giant fan of Suzanne Young and all of her work. There are a whopping 2-3 books out of her entire backlist that I haven’t read (and don’t worry, they’re still on my list). I first read THE PROGRAM in 2015 and quickly read every book in the series immediately upon release. I checked them out from the library at the time so this new collection of covers being rereleased has me SO excited to finally add them to my home collection! My friend Andi let me know some of the purchase links and I’m happy to help Suzanne out with spreading the word on the new redesigns. Ya girl would love another book or two in the series so who knows what the future holds if everyone snatches these ones up! 😉 Purchase Links & Details Please note that the books are going to be available in BOTH hardcover and paperback, so be sure to select the correct edition when purchasing. They will be available NOVEMBER 14TH so get your preorders in! Here’s where you can find them: Target // Barnes and Noble Bookshop (Boxed Set) The Covers