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

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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.

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Red Rising series by Pierce Brown

 

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The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

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Monsters of Verity series by Victoria Schwab

 

 

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 Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor

 

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Wayfarers series by

 

 

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Starflight series by Melissa Landers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

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The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 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

 

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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

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 Monthly Overview

This month I finished reading 4 books

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I read 1 books that were 2017 new releases

 

 

 

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

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I completed 1 series

 

Monsters of Verity series by Victoria Schwab

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I re-read 1 book

 

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

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I read 0 ARC

 

 

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My favorite read this month was …

 

 

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

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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

 

 

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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!

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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!

Monthly Wrap-up | June 2017

 

Weekly Wrap-ups

Weekly Wrap-up | June.25.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | June.17.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | June.10.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | June.02.2017

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 Monthly Overview

This month I finished reading 12 books

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I read 6 books that were 2017 new releases

 

Roar (Stormhearts #1) by Cora Carmack

A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas

The Black Witch (Black Witch Chronicles #1) by Laurie Forest

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Nenon

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas

 

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I completed 1 series

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

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I re-read 1 book

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab

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I read 1 ARC

Hearts are Like Balloons by Candace Robinson

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My favorite read this month was …

 

Roar (Stormheart #1) by Cora Carmack

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Monthly Book Haul

This month I purchased 4 new e-books

A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

Furies of Cauldron (Codex Alera #1) by Jim Butcher

The Last Kingdom (The Savon Stories #1) by Bernard Cornwell

Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault (Glass Vault #1) by Candace Robinson

This month I purchased two new hardcover books

Roar (Stormheart #1) by Cora Carmack

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

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July 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!

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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 Ships I hate to love

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 Ships I hate to love

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Ok seriously, this week’s prompt was “hate to love ships” … that was the wording … no explanation at all. So, my brain automatically went into a tailspin of “what does this mean” and “but there are multiple interpretations” and so I decided to interpret it two  ways with two separate Top 5 Wednesday posts this week. See my other post for this week HERE.

In my other, I listed my top 5 favorite romances that started out as hate and grew into love (which by the way is one of my favorite tropes of all time!)

For this post, I am going to list my favorite ships that either make me feel guilty for shipping them because they are oh-so-wrong or almost no one else ships them but me. My guilty pleasure ships if you will.

*SPOILERS BELOW*

for Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare, Witchlands series by Susan Dennard, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.

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 Favorite Reads of 2017 So Far

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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.

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Roar (Stormheart, #1) by Cora Carmack 

Hardcover, 380 pages

Published June 13th 2017

I just finished this book just over a week ago and I loved it SO so much! I still feel like I’m living in this world! My review is basically me fangirling for 15 minutes. Read the review here. 5/5 stars.

Burn, Rewrite, Reread | Book Tag

I was tagged by Danielle @ Life of a Literary Nerd (check her out!), and it looks like so much fun!

Start by randomizing your Goodreads “read” shelf, pick the first three books, and assign an option to each. 5 rounds …. let’s do this!

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Round 1

Burn

The Notebook (The Notebook #1) by Nicholas Sparks

This was an easy choice because I hated this book. This book was SO BORING! I was literally listening to this audiobook while watching paint dry and I think the paint situation was more exciting. I gave this book 1/5 stars.

Rewrite

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This was a little tougher because The Great Gatsby is honestly one of my all time favorite stories! Unfortunately I find Fitzgerald’s writing to be a bit cumbersome. This is the only reason I chose it for a rewrite vs. City of Ashes. I just feel like it could be cleaned up a bit to make it an easier read. Still this book garnered a 5/5 star rating from me.

Reread

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

I didn’t love this series as much as I did Clare’s other works … but it was a solid read and I would be down for a reread at some point. No complaints really. Somewhere around the 4.5/5 stars on this one.

Top 10 Tuesday | Top 10 Favorite Fathers in Fiction

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

Top 10 Favorite Fathers in Fiction

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Father’s Day is this upcoming Sunday so let’s take some time to discuss some pretty amazing fathers in fiction! I am also extending this list to father figures as well because I think these guys deserve some recognition both in fiction and in real life!

But can we take a moment to mention the lack of amazing father representation in fantasy books? I didn’t realize it until I started sifting through my read list but way too many fathers are either dead, or evil? We need more positive father representation in fantasy.

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To Kill a Mockingbird (To Kill a Mockingbird #1) by Harper Lee

I don’t think you can make a list of fabulous fictitious fathers without including Atticus Finch, who is definitely one of the greatest book dads of all time!

This man is a shining example of integrity. He is an excellent roll model even when he questions his worth as a single father being judged by his community.

(Goodreads synopsis):

“The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior – to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos.”

Weekly Wrap-up | June.02.2017

 

Weekly posts

Top 10 Tuesday | May.30.2017

Most Anticipated Book Releases of June 2017

This is My Truth Now | Book Tag

Book Review | By Your Side

Book Review | Then and Always

First Lines Friday | June.02.2017

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Currently reading

Rebel Spring (Falling Kingdoms #2) by Morgan Rhodes, Michelle Rowen

Continuing this book and series with the (really awesome) Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League group. This week we covered chapters 16 – 20. Looking forward to more fun predictions and discussions over the course of the next few weeks!

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The Black Witch (The Black Witch #1) by Laurie Forest

I was able to get a few more chapters read in The Black Witch this week. This story is well written and developing nicely! I am really excited to focus more on this book this week. There has been a lot of recent controversy over this book, and so far from my own experience and research, this controversy has been completely misrepresented and unwarranted.

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

I continued reading The Copper Promise with a fellow GR friend and reviewer (Follow her Instagram @haileesbooksandstuff). I was really only able to get maybe 2 more chapter through this because Lord of Shadows monopolized my reading time this week. But still a lot of snark, a lot of brutal stuff, and I’m getting major Indiana Jones vibes … so basically ALL GREAT THINGS! I am very much looking forward to reading more of this story over the following week.

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Finished Reading

Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare

NO BIG DEAL … ONLY MY MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2017 and honestly absolutely worth the hype – although me and Cassandra Clare need to have words about that ending!

One thing I know I am going to get when reading A CC book is dynamic easy to love characters, awesome action scenes, and heart wrenching moments! Boy did this book deliver … especially on the “heart-wrenching” bit. From the very beginning, this book was one of the most beautifully painful reads of the year and I loved it! I mean the first 8 words on the inner cover just about killed me …

“Would you trade your soulmate for your soul?”

I mean crap! tears already! This book was a part of my soul from the very beginning! Here are a few of my Goodreads updates on this book so you can see what I mean:

2.36% “I’ve already teared up 3 times … this is not a good sign.”

 8.75% “I have already experienced every emotion there is and I’m only on chapter 4!”

 16.53% “OMG MY HEART”

27.78% “The tension in my chest … the one that feels like my heart is being ripped from it … has not relaxed at all since I started this book!

31.94% “Im going to need to lay on the floor for a week and contemplate the meaning of life after this book NO LIE”

64.58% “I think that makes 10 times I have shed tears reading this book ….keep in mind I am an emotional wreck so it’s not that surprising.”

Yep … you get the idea! Total emotional destruction and 100% worth the pain! I am a little irked that this book ended on a MAJOR CLIFFHANGER and Clare will not be releasing the conclusion of this story until 2019 … but it will most likely take me that long to pick up the broken pieces of my soul and put them back together just in time to be destroyed again I’m sure.

I have not yet gotten around to writing a review for this book – I feel like the books that are closest to my soul are the hardest ones to write about – but it is an overwhelming 5/5 stars!

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Weekly Outlook

I feel like over the past month my weeks have been crazy unproductive! I usually read so many more books than I have of late. I feel like week after week I’m just posting the same post here because I have made no progress. Ugh sorry.

This next week I will be finishing up a few things on my Currently Reading list and hopefully getting some more reviews written and posted!

I’m heading to the lake for a family camping trip this weekend! I would like to think I will have tons of time to relax and read … but unfortunately it never seems to work out that way. Maybe this time?

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

This is My Truth Now | Book Tag

I have been tagged by James @ This is My Truth – blogger and creator of this super fun tag – to participate is his awesome Truth-or-Dare themed book tag!

Rules

• Create your own new post and call it “Tag: This-Is-My-Truth-Now” and be sure to include in your tags the words — without quotes — “ThisIsMyTruthNow Tag”
• Be sure to mention the person who tagged you and maybe tell everyone something interesting about the person who tagged you.
• Include a link to the original post (https://thisismytruthnow.com/2017/05/31/tag-this-is-my-truth-now/) mentioning the creator of this tag (James @ This is My Truth) so we can see how many people choose to play along.
• Choose 12 bloggers to tag and include a link to their latest post, so others can check them out and meet new people.
• Answer all 12 questions in The Challenge Questions section, but replace the 12th question with your own new one around telling the truth or revealing something interesting about yourself — you can leave the existing if you can’t think of something. (comment your answers to my question below before you change and post)
• Make sure to add your own DARE to your tagged guests at the bottom of the post!
• If you haven’t been tagged, but you want to play along, you can totally jump on in and post responses to the tag on your blog.
• Include these rules when you copy/paste to your own post.

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TRUTH: Answer the challenge questions as truthful as possible!

OR

DARE: If you choose not to accept the tag, you have to follow through on whatever dare the person who tags you chooses

The DARE given to me is to re-read [within the next 30 days] the book that has the lowest rating of all the books you’ve read in the last five (5) years.

Nope! No way I’m suffering through that!

So here is my TRUTH:

Weekly Wrap-up | May.26.2017

 

Weekly posts

I WAS LITERALLY THE WORST BLOGGER IN THE WORLD THIS WEEK!

Whoops?

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Currently reading

Rebel Spring (Falling Kingdoms #2) by Morgan Rhodes, Michelle Rowen

Continuing this book and series with the (really awesome) Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League group. This week we covered chapters 11 – 15. Not so much enjoying this book, but loving the group discussions! Looking forward to more fun predictions and discussions over the course of the next few weeks!

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The Black Witch (The Black Witch #1) by Laurie Forest

I was able to get a few more chapters read in The Black Witch this week. This story is well written and developing nicely! I am really excited to focus more on this book this week. There has been a lot of recent controversy over this book, and so far from my own experience and research, this controversy has been completely misrepresented and unwarranted.

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

I continued reading The Copper Promise with a fellow GR friend and reviewer (Follow her Instagram @haileesbooksandstuff). I was really only able to get maybe 2 more chapter through this because Lord of Shadows monopolized my reading time this week. But still a lot of snark, a lot of brutal stuff, and I’m getting major Indiana Jones vibes … so basically ALL GREAT THINGS! I am very much looking forward to reading more of this story over the following week.

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Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare

NO BIG DEAL … ONLY MY MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2017 WAS RELEASED THIS WEEK! (ok I lied, it’s totally a big deal!).

I honestly feel like the most blessed human on the earth right now to have this book in hand … and I’m already almost finished reading it. From the very beginning, it has been one of the most beautifully painful reads of the year and I love it! From the first line of the inner cover blurb, I knew this was going to be a heart shattering read.

“Would you trade your soulmate for your soul?”

I mean crap! tears already! This book is a part of my soul from the very beginning! Here are a few of my Goodreads updates on this book so you can see what I mean:

2.36% “I’ve already teared up 3 times … this is not a good sign.”

 8.75% “I have already experienced ever emotion there is and I’m only on chapter 4!”

 16.53% “OMG MY HEART”

27.78% “The tension in my chest … the one that feels like my heart is being ripped from it … has not relaxed at all since I started this book!

31.94% “Im going to need to lay on the floor for a week and contemplate the meaning of life after this book NO LIE”

64.58% “I think that makes 10 times I have shed tears reading this book ….
keep in mind I am an emotional wreck so it’s not that surprising.”

Yep … you get the idea! Total emotional destruction and 100% worth the pain! Unfortunately I am heading out for family vacation (where I will be shoved into a 1 bedroom mountain condo with 5 people in total) … so I don’t foresee being able to finish the last 200 pages until Monday (boo).

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Finished Reading

This week was monopolized by Lord of Shadows in all honesty. But I was able to get an audio read in this week.

Any Duchess Will Do (Spindle Cove #4) by Tessa Dare

Another fantastic read in Tessa Dare’s Spindle Cove series. Regency romance is not a genre that I had given a chance until recently and I have enjoyed each and every book in this series so far! This particular book was perhaps the worst as far as inta-love I have read by Dare … but I honestly didn’t care because everything else was on point! Beautiful heartfelt story and sexy moments. I have not yet written a review for this book, but I gave it 4/5 stars.

 

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Weekly Outlook

This next week I will be finishing up with my Currently Reading list and hopefully starting The Goblins of Bellwater by Molly Ringle. Also I will be designating a lot of time to writing and posting reviews!

Heading to the mountains for a quick family vacation this weekend … then it’s read read read for the rest of the week!

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