Here is my first post in a new series here at the blog: Read-Bait! Over the coming weeks, I’ll be featuring different words or phrases that catch my eye in book descriptions, the books I’ve read under those categories, and the books I plan on reading. I hope it shares some insight about my reading preferences and interests. As always, feel free to recommend any books you’d think I like! You know how it goes: you’re browsing Goodreads, clicking on books that look interesting, and checking out their summaries. All of a sudden you see a certain word or phrase in the synopsis that triggers an automatic reaction to click that “Want to Read” button. I call this “read-bait” – any word(s) that make you instantly think that you MUST read this book. One example for me is… The minute I see a plot summary for a book involving some kind of special school, I’m on board. I loved the idea of attending boarding school when I was younger: living with your classmates, walking to class like you’re at college – it all sounded awesome. My first foray into this category was the Private series by Kate Brian. It featured a girl who attended private school on scholarship and got involved in some pretttttty crazy shit, including murders, mean girls, and boy drama. Along that same vein, when Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar branched out and gave Jenny her own series, The It Girl, I was in heaven. Jenny was headed […]

Here’s another post in a new series here at the blog: Read-Bait! Over the coming weeks, I’ll be featuring different words or phrases that catch my eye in book descriptions, the books I’ve read under those categories, and the books I plan on reading. I hope it shares some insight about my reading preferences and interests. As always, feel free to recommend any books you’d think I like! You know how it goes: you’re browsing Goodreads, clicking on books that look interesting, and checking out their summaries. All of a sudden you see a certain word or phrase in the synopsis that triggers an automatic reaction to click that “Want to Read” button. I call this “read-bait” – any word(s) that make you instantly think that you MUST read this book. One example for me is… Clearly this topic sounds a bit morbid, but hear me out. You all know you agree with me. When there’s a book about the various aspects involved with death, moving on, or grieving – I’m all about it. Whether the person in the book actually dies (not a spoiler, it’s in the synopsis!), or they’re getting over the death of someone, or they’re obsessed with the concept of death, or even if they’re in that “in between” place between earth and the afterlife… I am so on board. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin is a book I read a LONG time ago, but was my first introduction into books that occur after death. In this case, […]

Here’s another post in a new series here at the blog: Read-Bait! Over the coming weeks, I’ll be featuring different words or phrases that catch my eye in book descriptions, the books I’ve read under those categories, and the books I plan on reading. I hope it shares some insight about my reading preferences and interests. As always, feel free to recommend any books you’d think I like! You know how it goes: you’re browsing Goodreads, clicking on books that look interesting, and checking out their summaries. All of a sudden you see a certain word or phrase in the synopsis that triggers an automatic reaction to click that “Want to Read” button. I call this “read-bait” – any word(s) that make you instantly think that you MUST read this book. One example for me is… I joined in with Andi and some others on a feature called Parallel Time Loop, where we featured our favorite books about time travel and parallel universes. I have been fascinated with this topic for as long as I can remember and chose Just Like Fate for my book. My post over there about my background and experience with parallel universes and how every decision shapes our lives in some way. ANYWAYS, that book was really my first foray into the genre and I loved it. It was a parallel life book, where one decision that Caroline makes alters the path of her life forever. It asks the question: do we end up in the same […]

Here’s another post in a new series here at the blog: Read-Bait! Over the coming weeks, I’ll be featuring different words or phrases that catch my eye in book descriptions, the books I’ve read under those categories, and the books I plan on reading. I hope it shares some insight about my reading preferences and interests. As always, feel free to recommend any books you’d think I like! You know how it goes: you’re browsing Goodreads, clicking on books that look interesting, and checking out their summaries. All of a sudden you see a certain word or phrase in the synopsis that triggers an automatic reaction to click that “Want to Read” button. I call this “read-bait” – any word(s) that make you instantly think that you MUST read this book. One example for me is… I think in general fairy books can be VERY hit or miss for some people. I’ve always been fascinated by the possible existence of faeries. (Yes I’m probably going to switch between different spellings throughout this. Sorry. Not sure why this happens to me.) My cousins and I used to run around looking for them and literally talk about them nonstop. Some of the first fae stories I read were Tithe by Holly Black and Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan. I read them SO long ago that I genuinely don’t remember much about them. In fact, I recently mixed the two series up and ended up buying quite a few books in one series when I […]

I used to do quite a few posts under this umbrella and am simplifying them a little bit to share some more! I’ve always loved books set in cute bed and breakfasts, hotels, or campgrounds. There’s something about this kind of insular setting where people stay, get to know each other, and sleep overnight. This is probably part of the reason I love boarding school books so much! I wanted to go slightly beyond the “vacation” aspect and talk about more specific places people may stay for a week or so – health resorts, marriage “boot camps,” summer camps – things like that. All of the books on this list (except TWO that I’ve already read) are on my TBR. Retreats and Resorts    Nine Perfect Strangers was fascinating – the book alternates between these people (and a couple of the retreat’s employees) as they start their so-called wellness journey. I can’t get into the specifics really, as the story gets weird and wild, but I thought it was so interesting. Couldn’t put it down! The Last Resort is waiting in my Netgalley queue and is specifically about a resort that deals with failing marriages. When a tropical storm hits and traps everyone inside, some shit apparently goes down. Christmas at the Lakeside Resort was on my TBR for the holiday season but I never got around to it. When the MC inherits some cabins by a lake, she sets out to turn them into a little camping resort. This story seems lighthearted and more vacation-oriented […]