Hello Bookworms! I honestly am looking for ways to occupy my mind away from the very grim reality we are all facing. That means I may actually get some more reading & reviewing done, glass half full amiright? I read some really good books in February that I’ll break down in my Wrap-up which should be up early this week. I’m still keeping to my 2020 goal of buying only my favorites OR titles I know I’ve been eager to get to. I also happened to take a trip to Philadelphia & stopped by one of my favorite Comic Book shops on South Street Atomic City Comics. This comic book shop has such a chill vibe with AMAZING staff that really go out of their way to talk to their customers & make some dope recommendations. I LOVE their spotlight table where you can find titles featuring LGBTQIA+ and POC, Abbott(Pictured down below) is one of the titles I scooped up from their shop ๐ค
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Hello Bookworms! this week has sort of blown right by, no complaints here though cause the weekend is where it’s at! ๐๐ฝย Girl Scout season is OVER so this Lil Mama can take a break & catch up here with you lovely readers ๐ย February is well under way & I’ve been good about not buying too many books but my January was EPIC! I made use of my birthday gift cards & was a smidge spoiled by my boyfriend as well. January was also the first time in over a year that I reached out to a Publisher for an ARC (The Faithless Hawk) & was STOKED to have been granted my request. Theย Golden Girlsย bookmark caught my attention as I was ready to walk out of a book store in New Jersey making my night! All in all it was a great way to start 2020 ๐
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*Book of the Month did allow their members to choose 1 free book from their list of 2019 BOTY Finalists. I already owned copies of all their finalists with the exception of Recursion by Blake Crouch.
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I love when a book subscription box offers up a couple of useful items because it makes me feel like it was money well spent. I was satisfied with the January Owlcrate box items, especially theย Crooked Kingdomย socks & theย Children of Blood and Boneย inspired candle which smells AMAZING! It’s always a treat when they send out newย Harry Potterย mugs, I’ve collected them all so far. I’m planning on buying a backpack this week which I may just use to show off the wonderful pins I get from Owlcrate ๐ค
Hello Bookworms! I haven’t done a book haul since July here on the blog (book buying never stopped)ย & that’s because during the end of August/beginning of September I was on vacation. My first one in over 10 years & it was the most magical & happiest place on earth…more to come -pictures too- in my Wrap-Up. In September I got two subscription boxes and one Exclusive Box. My Kindle probably saw the most love during September & I’m kind of happy it worked out that way cause I’m way overdue for a un-haul & cleansing of my physical shelves. I’m really excited for the books that I did haul, they’re titles I have been eagerly anticipating and can’t wait to dive into. We’ll start this haul off with a little Gosling appreciation *heart eyes*
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I read Mirage as part of a ARC Buddy read & was surprised in a good way to find that it’s a Sci-Fi Fantasy. I wasn’t expecting the sci-fi aspects but loved every bit of the world building this 1st book delivered. As for the FL box, with the exception of the shoelaces (major side eye)ย I’m really satisfied with the contents of their September box. My fave items are the art prints, notebook, and candle…although if I’m being honest I can’t smell anything from these teeny tiny candles so it’s more for the label *shrugs*
Fairyloot art prints & apron with quote
Owlcrate Vicious & Vengeful Exclusive Edition
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BOOK OF THE MONTH
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Hello Bookworms! I hope you’re all having a wonderful day with your next best read โค The next two weeks are HUGE in the publishing world with so many great newย releases what are some you’re excited to see hit the shelves? Sound off in the comments down below ๐
Hello Bookworms! It’s been a minute since I’ve done an unboxing here on Lair Of Books but in the spirit of starting them up again I come to you with one worthy of your attention ๐ย I recently started repping for Candles in Booklandย who also recently curated their first themed box. Titled “The Thirteen” this box is centered around Manon Blackbeak and the 13 witches in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I was over the moon excited to hear my favorite character in the series was getting a box focused on them cause Queen Manon is worthy of all that & more! You can find Candles In Bookland on Instagramย & the shop link is linked above and will be linked at the very end of this unboxing as well.
The Bookmarks…
The STUNNING artwork for the Manon & Abraxos bookmark was created by Kaya @Kayadoodles
๐คย Created by Julie & Brittney @babymybook this bookย sleeve will fit most tomes. My hardcover copy of A Court Of Mist and Fury fit snug as a bug & the kangaroo pouch allows you to stash any stationary on the go
The Candles…
๐คย Everything was packaged so nicely & the red really pops and gives off Manon Vibes!ย
Elide-ย Amber, Musk, Cherry, Floral, Jasmine, Berry, and Sandalwood
Asterin-ย Leather, Woody, Raspberry, and Vanilla
๐คย The Manon candle is a two color blended candle that has this amazing citrus scent. Elide’s candle is my fave of all, warm with hints of cherry and jasmine that make me want this candle is a HUGE jar ๐ย The Asterin candle smells of lovely Raspberry with a hint of vanilla ๐ย to top it off these have glitter on top and look so beautiful!ย
Sorrel- Amber, warm spices, sandalwood
Abraxos- wild flowers, spice, clean air fresh herbal scent, a hint of leather
๐คย Sorrel smells like Autumn in a jar while Abraxos reminds me of my fave laundry detergent with its fresh scentย
“The Thirteen” is a June Exclusive box by Candles In Bookland that will leave fans of Manon Blackbeak and the 13 blown away!!! This is their first themed box and the quality really speaks for itself. The box does have a quote written on the front flap that has a misspelling the shop owner is aware of. However, this mishap is quickly forgotten the minute you open your box. I’m always on the hunt for bookishย merch, candles & bookmarks being the top two items I buy the most of. I am MOST certainly looking forward to the next one! ๐ค๐ค๐ค
Hello Bookworms! Hope you’re all having magnificent starts/ends to your ย dayย ๐ย this post is scheduled so I imagine by the time you’re reading this I am somewhere under the concrete jungle that is NYC playing Frogger jumping from one train to the next all in an effort to get to work. Your comments down below are the first thing I see when I get in the office (with some time to spare ๐ค๐ผ)ย & reading them is my fave way to decompress in the AM before adulting. Feel free to comment down below if you’ve read any of these titles or if you feel I should bump up any one in particular on my TBRย ๐
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*I’m already using the Carpe Diem notepad cause one can never have too many stationery ๐ย LOVE the travel mug ๐ย the candle I can do w/out, I’m just not a fan of strong musky scents. The art print is beautiful ๐ย and this is honestly one of the books I’ve been really interested in.ย Definitely cool getting a book I hadn’t read as an arc but had high interest in ๐๐ผย Overall this box gets…
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April Book Of The Month
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*I was fully prepared to start this one two nights ago until I realized I had a buddy read scheduled & this had to be paused. I feel like Circe is going to need my undivided attention, super stoked to get to this one next ๐
I hope you all are having wonderful days & reading all the great books! I also wanted to congratulateDarnell again on winning my Dread Nation Giveaway! ๐๐๐๐ย I hope to have a few more giveaways throughout the rest of the year, for books as good as this one! ๐
Hello Bookworms! hope you’re all having a wonderful morning & for some of you afternoon/night ๐ it’s my 1st day back in the office after a week off from work & I’m so NOT ready! but there is one good thing about getting back to the daily grind of commuting…READING! ๐ being home with my wonderful family was much needed & so reading took a back seat. Today I’m back at it with a heavy commute that gives me a total of 5 hours for reading or listening to a audiobook. This means I can get back to whittling down the stacks to make room for…well, you know?
MORE BOOKS! …
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2018 is the year I mix it up even further on Lair Of Books. I already read Diverse/Own Voices whenever possible but I’d also like to try other genres. Although I’ll still mostly read YA Fantasy &ย contemporary, I’ll also be giving New Adult and Middle Grade a go (polar opposites haha!). Also, since I’ll be making a moreย conscious effort to read from my shelves more often, you’ll be seeing Fiction & Adult Fantasy as well. Maybe this way I’ll finally tackle my past Book of the Month boxes ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ย
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*I’m getting better at requesting only what I’m super stoked for ๐
Considering a couple of these were Twitter giveaway wins, I’d say this was a good month? ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ although I’ll no longer be subbed to Owlcrate, I will be giving Fairyloot a shot so we’ll see how that goes. I’m pretty stoked for my 1st box this month ๐ค๐ค๐ค Did youย haulย anything exciting in December? if you’re a BOTM subscriber, what were your picks?
April’s subscription boxes arrived with their vibrant colors & I am more than happy with the selections. earlier in April I read & reviewedThe Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli& fell hard for the characters & Becky’s writing style. This book brought me so much happiness thatย I flew right through it. My smile lingered for many days after & I still think about Molly Peskin-Suso & crew. This means that I am all the more curious about Simon who had a small cameo in Upside. I own the e-book so I suppose it’s all a matter of timing now ๐
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April’sย theme was Head Over Heels, in the box wereย the following items:ย
1 Hardcover copy of The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalliย (5 star read)
1 signed bookplate sticker
1 Decal sticker (not pictured above, found this waaay after photo was taken lol)
1 Simon Vs. the Homosapiens Agenda keychain from the Bookworm Boutiqueย (maybe once I read Simon, I’ll feel less fraudulentย about carrying this item on my key chain ha!)
1 Anna and the French kiss Chocolate Cherry Bomb Tea from The Tea SPotย (will be trying this one out this wknd but it smells delish!)
1 Novelly Yours Candle inspired by one of Rainbow Rowell’s books (1 of 3 scents were sent), I received Baz & Simon in Raspberry & (GAHHHHH! smells SOOooooO Good! fave item besides book of course lol)
1 Evie Bookish print inspired by A Court of Thorns & Rosesย (least fave item simply because i’m not big on these small art prints)
1 Umberland (Everland, Book 2) by Wendy SpinalePREVIEW (Amazon buy link for finished book here) (Never read the 1st book soooo yea…lol)
1 Owlcrate exclusive themed pinย (goes right on my book tote)
My Box Rating:ย โ โ โ โ (3.75 STARS)
April’s BOTM pick was a bit tricky, but there was one name in the blurb that sealed the deal for this one: for readers/fans of Mindy Khaling…moment of silence for my Queen…K, I’ll pretty much read any non-fiction with a bit of humor so I wasย so happy to come across Scaachi Kohl’s short story collection. Goodreads has since edited the blurb to exclude any comparisons to Mindy K. but I read some reviews & they maintain that it is in fact along those lines. Besides this though & most importantly is that this is a short story collection by a woman of color, daughter to Indian immigrants based on relevant issues affecting manyย woman of color. I may get the audiobook to read along since I prefer to listen to memoirs narrated by the authors themselves ๐
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Goodreads Blurb
A collection of essays about growing up the daughter of Indian immigrants in Canada, “a land of ice and casual racism,” by the cultural observer, Scaachi Koul.
In One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, Scaachi deploys her razor-sharp humour to share her fears, outrages and mortifying experiences as an outsider growing up in Canada. Her subjects range from shaving her knuckles in grade school, to a shopping trip gone horribly awry, to dealing with internet trolls, to feeling out of place at an Indian wedding (as an Indian woman), to parsing the trajectory of fears and anxieties that pressed upon her immigrant parents and bled down a generation. Alongside these personal stories are pointed observations about life as a woman of colour, where every aspect of her appearance is open for critique, derision or outright scorn. Where strict gender rules bind in both Western and Indian cultures, forcing her to confront questions about gender dynamics, racial tensions, ethnic stereotypes and her father’s creeping mortality–all as she tries to find her feet in the world.
Every time I consider canceling my BOTM subscription just so that I can catch up with the ones I have so far…They hit me with the ALL STAR LINE-UP of books I can’t resist smh. I’ll tell you right now, May was no different since I’ve already selected my books & they sweetened the deal lol. Another perk to this box is that at least one of the books in the box (as of late) is a pre-release which I think is AWESOME! So, since they’ve already charged me the renewal fee, you can expect to see at least 3 more of these un-boxings LOL!
What are yourย thoughts on the April Owlcrate box? Have any of my bookish peeps read The Upside of Unrequited? For my fellow BOTM subscribers, what were your selections for April? also, if you subscribe to any other boxes & have done a unboxing, drop yourย link down below <3’s!
Sorrel- Amber, warm spices, sandalwood
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