Top 10 Tuesday | Top 10 Favorite Reads of 2017 So Far

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly tag hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s prompt is…

Top 10 Recommendations for Audiobook Listeners


I swear I feel like 2017 just started but like … IT’S ALREADY ALMOST JULY?!

I know I have complained a lot about all of the disappointing book releases I have read this year, but I think it would be nice to point out the bright shining reads as well ❤

These are listed in a completely random order.


 

Red Rising series by Pierce Brown

 


 

The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer


Monsters of Verity series by Victoria Schwab

 

 


 Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor

 


Wayfarers series by

 

 


starflight by Melissa LandersStarflight series by Melissa Landers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover


Illuminae by Amie KaufmanThe Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

 

 

 

 

 

 


The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

 

 

 

 

 

 


 Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

This one might be a bit tough of a listen for some people … because it’s heavy with the sexual content. Surprisingly I was fairly mature enough to feel

 


What are your favorite reads so far this year? Comment below!

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Monthly Wrap-up | July 2017

 

Weekly Wrap-ups

Weekly Wrap-up | July.02.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | July.09.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | July.16.2017


 Monthly Overview

This month I finished reading 4 books


I read 1 books that were 2017 new releases

 

 

 

Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab


I completed 1 series

 

Monsters of Verity series by Victoria Schwab


I re-read 1 book

 

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer


I read 0 ARC

 

 


My favorite read this month was …

 

 

Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab


Monthly Book Haul

This month I purchased 16 new e-books

 

Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe Abercrombie

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Foxhole Court (All for the Game #1) by Nora Sakavic

The Raven King (All for the Game #2) by Nora Sakavic

The King’s Men (All for the Game #3) by Nora Sakavic

The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight #1) by Melissa Grey

The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2) by Melissa Grey

The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling #2) by Erika Johansen

Cage of Deceit (Reign of Secrets #1) by Jennifer Anne Davis

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) by Victoria Rossi

A Song of Ice and Fire (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin

The Bear and the Nightingale (The Bear and the Nightingale #1) by Katherine Arden

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

For Darkness Shows the Stars (For Darkness Shows the Stars #1) by Diana Peterfreund

 

This month I purchased 21 new hardcover books

This month I purchased 3 new paperback books

 

 


August Outlook

July will be a Kindle Unlimited month for me so expect a lot of KU reads.

I will also be participating in a Throne of Glass series buddy read (continuing with Heir of Fire) with two of my favorite people and bloggers in the world Chelsea @ The Suspense is Thrilling Me (Check out her blog and most recent post!) and Solomon @ The Bookish King (check out his blog and most recent post!).

The Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League will be kicking off again with Gathering Darkness the first week of July.

I’ll be in Florida visiting family and enjoying the beach for the first week of this month, so I may be a little sporadic with my posting and with my reading but I will try to stay on track!

As always, I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable month!


How many books did you read this month? What was your favorite read? What are you looking forward to in the upcoming month?

I would love to hear about your month as well! Comment below!

Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Series That Got Better

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey) and is currently hosted by Samantha (Thoughts on Tomes). For more information, check out the group on Goodreads.

This week’s prompt is…

Top 5 Series that got better


 

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Peter Pan by J M BarriePeter Pan by J. M. Barrie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The Neverending Story by Michael EndeThe Neverending Story by Michael Ende

 

 

 

 

 

 


The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan StroudLockwood & Co. series by Jonathan Stroud

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

furthermore by taherah mafiFurthermore by Tahereh Mafi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Coraline by Neil GaimanCoraline by Neil Gaiman

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 What are your favorite Hat-to-Love romances? Comment below!

Weekly Wrap-up | July.23.2017

This week has been a rough week for me … and I really don’t know why. I have been super unmotivated and a little mopey … it’s pretty depressing 😛

Anyway … I am sorry for being quiet this past week but things have been crazy around here and I am behind on about 90345 things I need to do right now … EEK!

Weekly posts

Game of Thrones | Book Tag

Audiobook Monday | July.17.2017


Currently reading

The Copper Promise by Jen WilliamsThe Copper Promise (The Copper Cat #1) by Jen Williams

This book has been siting on my CR list for weeks! But I am honestly still reading through it a few pages at a time. It’s not a bad read and it’s not that I’m not enjoying it … I just feel like taking it pieces at a time. Not to mention how swamped I have been with my reading and writing lately!

 

 

 


 

The Near Witch by Victoria SchwabThe Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

In a few short weeks I will be going to see the queen herself and I am SO EXCITED OMG!!! I seriously hope I can remember how to act like an adult human in from of Victoria Schwab … but I honestly doubt it …

Anyway … I have decided to read the last remaining Schwab books on my TBR in anticipation starting with this one and finishing with the Archived series next!

The standalone novel was Schwab’s debut and I have to say … for a debut fantasy this book is really quite great! It’s got a lot of the darkness I have come to know and love from Schwab, and while it would not stand toe to toe with her later series work … this is a really enjoyable story.

 


Too Late by Colleen HooverToo Late by Colleen Hoover

I picked this book up a while ago on Kindle Unlimited … but the first chapter hit way too close to home for me and I was not emotionally ready to tackle my ghosts. This month, I have KU again and I felt like I was better prepared to take this on seeing as how I knew what to expect. I have to be honest though … I do have to keep putting this down at places other people probably do not … and I have already cried a few times and not because of this story … but because of my own. Somehow CoHo managed to write a large chunk of my own life into this story and I know this is going to be crushing … will someone please hold my hand?


 

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky ChambersThe Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers

I started this audiobook about a week ago and have not really had a lot of time for it … but it is a really interesting, diverse world and I am excited for it!

I love a slow burn plot and really developed characters and relationships … and this book has all that! So I am fully expecting to love this series when I’m done 🙂

 

 

 


Gathering Darkness by morgan rhodesGathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3) by Morgan Rhodes

This week the Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League completed chapters 5-10 … this upcoming week we will be taking a week off for some of us to catch up (remember how I said I was a thousand years behind on like everything?)

This is book 3 in the Falling Kingdoms series and the next book being read by the Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League. The series has some serious issues, but reading with this group has been a lot of fun!

 

 


Finished Reading

hunted by meagan spoonerHunted by Meagan Spooner

Well … this book didn’t exactly woo me. It was enjoyable enough but it was not amazing or epic for me. This retelling of Beauty and the Beast was a unique take on the classic fairytale. Unfortunately, I was not able to connect to the relationship between Beauty and Beast … and that’s sort of the point yeah? I adored the other relationships in this story … between the sisters, between friends … so the romance was stilted … it was not well developed and did not have enough of a foundation to make me feel … anything. I ended up giving this a 3.5/5 star rating.

 


The Player and the Pixie (Rugby #2) by LH Sosway and Penny ReidThe Player and the Pixie (Rugby #2) by L.H. Cosway, Penny Reid

After reading Hunted and getting very little accomplished on my other fantasy reads … I decided I was starting to slump on the fantasy and decided to feed my New Adult cravings with this horribly titled (and fugly covered) book. You guys! This book was great! I loved it! These characters were so much fun and this romance was a beautiful hate-to-love trope that I ADORED! Sean is seriously bae. So broody and snarky but deep down he’s a tender broken boy who was terribly hard not to fall head over hills in love with! I gave this book a 4.5/5 star rating but I may decide on a full 5 … maybe.


Just a Little Junk by Stylo FantomeJust a Little Junk by Stylo Fantome

Continuing with my New Adult Kindle Unlimited kick … I have had this book on my tbr since this adorable cover caught my eye a few months ago. I promised I would give it a try next time I had KU so here we are … and OMG IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!

I was not expecting to love this book so much because 1) it sounded sort of dumb 2) I don’t care for mystery suspense …  but I was wrong … I was so wrong to judge!

Ok yeah … it’s dumb … in a less ridiculous The Hangover or Bridesmaids sort of way … but hilarious and sexy and ❤

Yeah … I don’t want to give too much away here but this book was great guys … ok … GREAT! I gave this a 4.5/5 star rating but this one might get a full 5 as well … we will have to see how I feel in another day or two.

 

 


Weekly Outlook

Hopefully things will chill out a bit this week and I can regain some of my sanity and motivation and positive energy!

This next week I plan to continue tackling my Goodreads Currently Reading list. I have sworn to get it down to a manageable number by focusing on completing the books I have already started before adding a million more … it’s not going well … oops.

I will be adding my bookish bestie Roxy to the blog as a guest reviewer this week starting with a meet and greet interview and introduction post this upcoming Thursday. which should be great! I was supposed to do it this past week but … life. Anyway, she reads more contemporary books while I tend to sway more toward the fantasy genre. I think this will be an awesome new partnership and allow me to get more reviews up on the blog in both genres. We also have a new idea for a fun conversation style buddy read review feature.

As always, I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable week!


What books are you currently reading? What books did you recently finish reading? What do you have planned for the upcoming week?

I would love to hear about your week as well! Comment below!

Audiobook Monday | July.17.2017

Monday is the day I get my life together … cleaning the house, grocery shopping, you know … all the boring adulting type things. So needless to say … I don’t get a lot of reading time in. Luckily I have a bit of an obsession with audiobooks which happen to be the perfect way to read and adult at the same time! This is where I post about my audio-reads on Mondays when I can.

So, what am I listening to this Monday?

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Game of Thrones | Book Tag

IS ANYONE ELSE AS EXCITED AS I AM FOR THE RETURN OF GAME OF THRONES SEASON 7?!?!

game-of-thrones-season-7

It’s basically a holiday over here at my house because this is better than Christmas guys ❤

So in honor of this beautiful show’s return and my inability to contain my epic fangirling any longer … I decided to post this awesome Game of Thrones Book Tag I found over at Thrice Read (check out this fantasitc blog!).

This awesome tag was originally created by BiblioNyan whose blog I totally just stalked and fell in love with! Check it out!

So let the fangirling begin shall we ❤

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Weekly Wrap-up | July.16.2017

 

Weekly posts

Audiobook Monday | July.10.2017

Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Favorite Children’s and Middle Grade Reads

I’ve Been Nominated | Liebster Award

First Lines Friday | Prayer candles flicker in my bedroom …

Book Review | The Distance Between Us


Currently reading

The Copper Promise by Jen WilliamsThe Copper Promise (The Copper Cat #1) by Jen Williams

This book has been siting on my CR list for weeks! But I am honestly still reading through it a few pages at a time. It’s not a bad read and it’s not that I’m not enjoying it … I just feel like taking it pieces at a time. Not to mention how swamped I have been with my reading and writing lately!

With all the things on my CR list, I feel like I won’t get much of this one done this week either. But we will see … I was on a contemporary kick the past few weeks but I can feel my heart returning to the motherland … that is to say the fantasy genre 😉


hunted by meagan spoonerHunted by Meagan Spooner

I started this audiobook the beginning of last week but I only listened to about an hour of it at the time. I was able to get through about 60% of it yesterday before my Overdrive loan expired … fortunately I purchased this as a Kindle book during a recent sale for $1.99 so I will be finishing this book up as an e-book read this week.

I have been on a bit of a Beauty and the Beast kick lately which has been a fun ride. This book is interesting but a bit on the slow side. The writing is really well done which is nice. I am excited to see how this all comes together.


Heir of fire by sarah j maasHeir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J Maas

I started this book a while ago when I finished Crown of Midnight. Unfortunately, I was not feeling it at the time so this book was moved to the backburner … and then into the currently reading list of forgetfulness.

Well … this book has fallen back to the wayside as I have literally only read the first chapter … oops. Seriously this is the most failed BR of all time as my buddies have also abandoned the read! I’m still going to keep it here on my CR list and hopefully I’ll get back into this one sometime soon.


Caught Inside by S Briones LimCaught Inside (Caught Inside #1) by S. Briones Lim

As many of you know … I recently returned from a week and a half visit back “home” to the Florida beaches ❤ AND I MISS IT ALREADY! There is just something about living a life that most people only have when on vacation. I love the sun and the sand and the heat and the water and the waves … and I wasn’t ready to let it go! So I found this collection of surfer romance books that I was hoping would be the perfect light beachy reads to keep me in the spirit ❤

I have read about 50% of this Kindle Unlimited read and it’s okay at best. It’s a little too simplistic and sort of anticlimactic and I’m really not connected to the characters. Still a quick easy read … but not great.


Gathering Darkness by morgan rhodesGathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3) by Morgan Rhodes

This week the Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League completed chapters 1-5 … this upcoming week we will be tacking up to chapter 10. This is book 3 in the Falling Kingdoms series and the next book being read by the Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League. The series has some serious issues, but reading with this group has been a lot of fun!

 

 


Finished Reading

Our Dark Duet by Victoria SchwabOur Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab

I listened to this audiobook while driving to and from Florida over the past few weeks … and I am crushed! In the best ways of course! Schwab is masterful in her writing and storytelling and this series has been no exception ❤

IT’S SO GOOD OMG! 5/5 stars ALL DAY EVERY DAY!

The worst part though was driving with tears streaming down my eyes … probably not the safest move tbh … but I’m still here … albeit missing a piece of my soul … but still here.

SCHWAB WHY DO YOU DO THESE THINGS … I’m not mad at you though … I love the pain!


the wall of winnipeg and me by mariana zapataThe Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

Roxy has been on my case about reading this book for all of FOREVER! But I don’t run into contemporary kicks too often so it took me a while to pick this one up! I’m very glad I did too! While the writing definitely had some issues and I feel like there was a need for some more aggressive editing in this book … in the end I loved it. It was a really great story with characters that I truly cared about and felt for.

This book is not a dramatic tumultuous romantic relationship but a slow burn building of a true friendship that blossoms into lasting love. It was true and fresh and real and I really enjoyed it (once I started ignoring the exhaustingly long monologues and the repetition of the narrators thoughts) ❤ This one is getting a solid 4/5 stars rating though I have not reviewed it yet. (I literally finished this book 6 hours ago).

Plus it’s on Kindle Unlimited!


beauty and the goblin king by lidiya foxgloveBeauty and the Goblin King (Fairy Tale Heat #1) by Lidiya Foxglove

“I really want to read a smutty fairy tale retelling” are the exact words I recall telling my bookish bestie only a few days ago. Well my friends … ask and you shall receive because while looking up “erotica” for some good laughs on Amazon I came across this collection of fairy tale erotica that is sure to please. And on Kindle Unlimited too!

I mean come on! An erotica retelling of Beauty and the Beast and with the inclusion of the classic Goblin King … just what I was looking for when those words were spoken 😛

If you are thinking of trying this book … please keep in mind that this series is essentially erotica. It’s sex with a plot … not plot with sex. The sex and sexual innuendo takes on a much heavier presence in this story than it would in a basic romance novel and the plot is glazed over quicker and with less emotion than a basic romance novel. It’s fun.

What I was surprised at though was how good the writing actually was for a book of this genre as well as the intricate plotline which was really well done (again for a book of this genre).

I feel like this description is quickly becoming a full review here lol so I will stop now … review to come though. 3.5-4/5 stars for this erotica retelling of Beauty and the Beast.


Weekly Outlook

This next week I will continue tackling my Goodreads Currently Reading list. Somehow I let it get even more out of control this past week! So I have sworn to get it down to a manageable number by focusing on completing the books I have already started before adding a million more.

I will be adding my bookish bestie Roxy to the blog as a guest reviewer this week starting with a meet and greet interview and introduction post this upcoming Thursday. which should be great! She reads more contemporary books while I tend to sway more toward the fantasy genre. I think this will be an awesome new partnership and allow me to get more reviews up on the blog in both genres. We also have a new idea for a fun conversation style buddy read review feature.

This week will be pretty chill … we are starting to get back into a basic routine around here so nothing too exciting. The good news is I should be able to get a lot of reading, writing, and reviewing done! Here’s hoping *crosses fingers*

As always, I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable week!


What books are you currently reading? What books did you recently finish reading? What do you have planned for the upcoming week?

I would love to hear about your week as well! Comment below!

First Lines Friday | Prayer candles flicker in my bedroom …

First Lines Fridays is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words.

What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Rules:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

quotation marks_11“Prayer candles flicker in my bedroom. The Scriptura Sancta lies discarded, pages crumpled, on my bed. Bruises mark my knees from kneeling on the tiles, and the Godstone in my navel throbs.quotation marks_22


Read on to find out what book this excerpt is from

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I’ve Been Nominated | Liebster Award Tag

I was nominated a while back by Mischenko @ Read Rant Rock and Roll for The Liebster Award. I’d like to thank her for thinking of me. She has an awesome blog, so please check it out! I was very excited to receive an award and the rules are fun!

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What is the Liebster Award?

“Liebster” is a German word meaning beloved, dearest, sweetheart, or darling.

For bloggers, the Liebster Award is an online recognition given by other bloggers to new bloggers for enjoying or appreciating their work. It highlights up and coming blogs.

Once nominated, a blogger is asked to answer 11 questions provided by the nominating blogger.  They are then expected to nominate 11 other favorite new bloggers and come up with a list of 11 new questions for those nominees.

The Rules:

  1. Acknowledge the blog who nominated you and display the award.
  2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger gives you. 
  3. Nominate 11 blogs.
  4. Notify those blogs of the nomination. 
  5. Give them 11 questions to answer. 

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Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Favorite Children’s and Middle Grade Reads

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey) and is currently hosted by Samantha (Thoughts on Tomes). For more information, check out the group on Goodreads.

This week’s prompt is…

Top 5 Favorite Children’s and Middle Grade Reads


This post felt like a walk through memory lane for me! There are so many books and series I wanted to include in this list that I just didn’t have rooms for. I do find it funny that Samantha (the current host of T5W) pleaded with everyone to stray from Harry Potter and Percy Jackson (assuming that literally everyone was going to include those in their list this week) – well … I have literally never read a single HP or PJ book in my life … oops!

But here are some of my all time FAVORITE children’s and middle grade books and series that I HAVE read.

– Listed in random order –

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