Tag: contemporary

April book Haul

Hello Bookworms! Hope you’re all having magnificent starts/ends to your  day 💜 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 🤞🏼) & 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 TBR 💜

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All Out: The No Longer Secret Stories Of Queer Teens Throughout The Ages | Moonstruck Volume 1: Magic To Brew | Leah On The Offbeat Creekwood #2) | The Wicked Deep (my review)

The Black God’s Drum | Mirage | The Queen Of Crows (The Sacred Throne #2) | Girls Of Paper And Fire | The Wicked King (The Folk Of The Air #2)

* I’m currently buddy reading Mirage & enjoying it SO MUCH! I had no idea it was a sci-fi/fantasy so it was a nice surprise 💜

Empress Of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

*I was approved for this one on Netgalley early on in April for this Asian inspired Fantasy & I couldn’t be more over the moon hyped for this 💜

April Fairyloot

Beyond A Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake

*I’m already using the Carpe Diem notepad cause one can never have too many stationery 😂 LOVE the travel mug 💙 the candle I can do w/out, I’m just not a fan of strong musky scents. The art print is beautiful 😍 and this is honestly one of the books I’ve been really interested in. Definitely cool getting a book I hadn’t read as an arc but had high interest in 🙌🏼 Overall this box gets…

   

April Book Of The Month

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Circe by Madeline Miller

*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 💜


I hope you all are having wonderful days & reading all the great books! I also wanted to congratulate Darnell again on winning my Dread Nation Giveaway! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 I hope to have a few more giveaways throughout the rest of the year, for books as good as this one! 💜

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books With My Favorite Color On the Cover (or In the Title)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

*Purple Rain Purple Rain* I LOVE every shade of Purple there is, some more than others but they all get my love! These are just a few of the books I’ve either read or own a copy of to be read very soon ☺

May 8th 2018: Books With My Favorite Color On the Cover (or In the Title)

💜 Toil & Trouble: 16 Tales Of Women & Witchcraft: “witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era” the blurb alone sold me on what I’m sure is one amazing collection

💜 Whisper Of The Tide (Song of the Current #2) by Sarah Tolcser: last year I was lucky to get an arc of Song Of The Current & it left me hella curious about the fate of the characters. I’m here for all the feminist fantasy & amazing parents navigating the high Seas 🙌🏼

💜 The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1) by Rin Chupeco: I’m pretty sure this book makes an appearance in all my memes/tags 😂 not only is it beautiful inside with lush writing, but the cover is one of my all time faves! Purple with flecks of gold & skull for the icing! 🙌🏼

💜 They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera aka the brother I never had: Online the book may appear more blue than anything but this baby is Indigo which means purple is all up in that mix 😂 Ugh! this book my 💔 so good!

💜 When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore: IMO nobody can do Magical Realism like McLemore, I mean the imagery is on point! The LGBTQIA+ representation is beautifully weaved in, I read this one in 1 sitting with a tear streaked face 😭

💜 Moonstruck Vol 1: Magic To Brew: This was a recent purchase while on a date with my hubby. We stopped by The Strand & Moonstruck legit stopped me right tin my tracks 😍 besides the fact that it’s a perfect blend of pastel purple & pink…we are getting LGBTQIA+ rep and plus sized rep on the cover and I legit jumped for joy while hubby just kinda looked around to see if anyone was filming me 😂

💜 Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan: BREATHTAKING! 😍 I think by now ya’ll know I welcome all LGBTQIA+ Fantasy and when I caught wind of this I decided to go out on a limb & request an ARC. The Book Gods blessed me & now I am basking in all the beauty of this purple gem, will be reading soon ☺

💜 Smoke In The Sun (Flame in the Mist #2) by Renée Ahdieh: Ok this du-ology has one of my all time fave ships in it & we are but a few weeks away now from returning to this world 🤗🤗🤗 & the cover is absolutely STUNNING! I can’t wait for my pre-order to get here!

💜 The Disasters by M.K. England: Pitched as “The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy” spoke straight to my soul! the dance I did when I got approved for this arc was a bit shameful but no regrets here 😂

💜 Mirage by Somaiya Daud: Currently buddy reading this one & LOVING it so much! I had no idea it was a sci-fi/fantasy, the only thing I knew was that it has Morrocan influences. I’m about 110 pages in & I find it hard to put down.

Happy Tuesday Bookworms! Hope you’re all having a wonderful week reading all the great books! My post is up way later than I would’ve liked but its been on of those days…the ones where you’re a professional juggler 😂

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PICTURE US IN THE LIGHT AESTHETIC & GIVEAWAY!

Hello Bookworms! today I bring you the book that I wasn’t able to put down this past week. When I wasn’t reading Picture Us in the Light, I was thinking about its characters and their life decisions. This book covers such a vast array of relevant topics many can relate to. We get a realistic view of the pressures of applying to colleges with a focus on standards set at home by many Chinese American families. Our MC’s parents immigrated from China under unfortunate circumstances with big dreams for their new and growing family. However, the secrets that they keep linger in the background haunting their every move. A marriage on the fringes, a son burdened with guilt, and the consequences of past actions all come together in this poignant yet powerful read.

In this book you’ll find…

🎨 Discussion on Visas & immigration, the fear that comes with being in the United States illegally. Families torn apart without a moments notice

🎨 Cultural exploration from many different POV’s, our MC Danny has a very different reality than that of each of his Chinese American friends

🎨 Friendships, study groups, and the pressures both in the home and in school to over achieve & get into the top colleges

🎨 Art & its healing abilities 

🎨 Parents who play a integral role in the main plot of this story, we get to see their decisions made before having children, play out throughout the book

🎨 LGBTQIA+ Representation that doesn’t play center stage however is very much a part of our MC’s identity. Everyone in this book was also very supportive of Danny’s sexuality

🎨 Grieving & suicide

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:

www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

1-800-273-8255

Crisis Text Line:

www.crisistextline.org

Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the USA, anytime, about any type of crisis

United We Dream

Unitedwedream.org

About the Book

Danny Cheng has always known his parents have secrets. But when he discovers a taped-up box in his father’s closet filled with old letters and a file on a powerful Silicon Valley family, he realizes there’s much more to his family’s past than he ever imagined.

Danny has been an artist for as long as he can remember and it seems his path is set, with a scholarship to RISD and his family’s blessing to pursue the career he’s always dreamed of. Still, contemplating a future without his best friend, Harry Wong, by his side makes Danny feel a panic he can barely put into words. Harry and Danny’s lives are deeply intertwined and as they approach the one-year anniversary of a tragedy that shook their friend group to its core, Danny can’t stop asking himself if Harry is truly in love with his girlfriend, Regina Chan.

When Danny digs deeper into his parents’ past, he uncovers a secret that disturbs the foundations of his family history and the carefully constructed facade his parents have maintained begins to crumble. With everything he loves in danger of being stripped away, Danny must face the ghosts of the past in order to build a future that belongs to him.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Reviews: Publisher’s Weekly | Kirkus | Booklist 

Book Aesthetic

About The Author

Kelly Loy Gilbert believes deeply in the power of stories to illuminate a shared humanity and give voice to complex, broken people. She is the author of Conviction, a William C. Morris Award finalist, and lives in the SF Bay Area. She would be thrilled to hear from you on Twitter @KellyLoyGilbert or at http://www.KellyLoyGilbert.com

 

Twitter | Instagram | Website | Goodreads

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

Enter to win a finished copy of Picture Us in the Light + prize pack! Enter by 05/10! U.S. only.

💙💙💙CLICK HERE💙💙💙

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April Wrap-Up

Hello Bookworms & happy Friday!!! here in NYC we’ve decided to skip Spring & go straight to Summer and although when I’m outside I truly dislike it…when I’m inside, I get to blast that A.C. & no sleep is better than one right next to that powerful ice machine 😂 anyways, I pulled up Goodreads to see how many books I’d read in April & had to do a Britney…

I cannot remember the last time I read 8 BOOKS!!! *GASP* it was a great quality reading month, no complaints here (except for maybe Professed haha!) I was able to get ahead in my TBR 💜 I participated in 2 Buddy Reads and had so much fun talking to the Bookworms in our group chats. I also borrowed for the very first time from another blogger buddy who is simply an amazing human being! Thank you Sarah @TheYaBookTraveler I appreciate your kindness 💜 Out of the 8 books that I read, 4 were 5 star reads which means I had a lot of fun reading in April. I’m hoping for an equally as good May & so far I think I’m getting my wish thanks to Harper & some new arc approvals that came through. Now without further ado I present to you my April Wrap-Up…

Professed by Nicola Rendell ★★ STARS: Not what I expected but I read along since this was a book club pick for Julie & Chelsea’s Book Hangover Book Club. The characters just felt over the top & the “steamy scenes” were terrible 😞

Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas ★★★★ 4 STARS: This being the first book I p/u as a reintroduction to the NA genre (not that I’ve read all that very many 😂) was UNPUTDOWNABLE! 😳 I seriously couldn’t stop reading & now I’m on a Penelope Douglas binge

Ace Of Shades by Amanda Foody (Review) ★★★★ 4 STARS: Falls into the younger side of YA but still very enjoyable with its Sin City/Moulin Rouge vibes. Book 2 was just announced today, titled King of Fools for 2019 & I’m REALLY looking forward to It 💜💜💜

Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young (Review) ★★★★ 4 STARS: Character driven, less focused on the bloody history of Vikings we’ve all come to know. This one is for those bookworms who love stories about family bonds and loyalty and choosing who your family is when you’ve lost it all.

My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (RTC closer to publication date) ★★★★★ 5 STARS: I mean C’mon! I LOVED My Lady Jane to pieces when I first read it & waited ever so patiently for this sequel. When a bookworm friend offered to loan me her copy I was STUNNED & Happy & grateful! I devoured it & all I can say is THANK YOU My Lady Janies for the ode to my childhood faves The Ghostbusters 😂😂😂

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson (RTC) ★★★★★ 5 STARS: a witchy read with a plus sized POC MC who’s a bit of a curmudgeon dishing out the sarcasm when she sees fit. Practicing witchcraft was never supposed to yield any real results until she needed it to & then…👀

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Review) ★★★★★ 5 STARS: This is perhaps my fave read of the month! a black MC who kicks a** & doesn’t back down whether it’s racist white men or the walking dead trying to make a snack out of her. This book has so much more going on underneath the surface, #Blacklivesmatter, Colorism, and racism are all weaved into this tale. I have a giveaway currently running until Sunday 5/6, open to international Bookworms as well 💜 Click on the link to take you to my review post to enter 💜

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw (Review) ★★★★★ 5 STARS: Take me back to this little town & island PLEASE! so atmospheric & haunting, I cannot stop singing this books praises! Please pick this one up before the Netflix series airs, it’s a short read but sooooo good that it’s guaranteed to stick around even after you’ve read that last line 😉

Avengers: Infinity War

    

Date Day this month with the hubby was a ton of fun & led us to visit some of our favorite haunts. Starting off with breakfast at our fave diner by the theatre & a quick trip to The Strand where I picked up Leah On the Offbeat (Creekwood #2)by Becky Albertalli & the Graphic Novel Moonstruck: Magic To Brew. I spent a little too much time in the stacks & we ended up having to cab it to the other side of Manhattan to the theatre for a 1:30pm show. IMAX 3D…why do I always forget to wear contacts? instead I watch movies through 4 lenses 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

The movie was about 2.5 hours long & it just exceeded expectations! Thanos our villain is one complex character with depth to him, he wasn’t just trying to kill everything in sight for power or control. I found this villain really interesting but that ending still had me giving him major side eye 😂 It was awesome seeing some faves back on the screen & after watching Black Panther just last month, I was super stoked to return to Wakanda. This being part I of II, I expected to walk away with unresolved story line and I felt the ending sets up for the next movie rather nicely. The after credit scene led to a really cool development & now I spend my time on Screen Rant looking for any bread crumbs being released for the next set of Marvel movies. Overall I gave this movie 5 BUTTERFLIES!!!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful start of the month 💜 what was your favorite read in April? feel free to link those wrap-ups down below & I’ll make my way over to your corner of the interwebz 💜’s! Don’t forget to throw your 🎩 in the ring for a chance to win a copy of Dread nation (see here)! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’d Slay a Lion to Get Early

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I’ve had these 10 drafted for the past two weeks now cause they’re simply the books I’m MOST eagerly anticipating! I have a feeling I will be making some of these wishes come true but for now 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

May 1st 2018: Top Ten Books I’d Slay a Lion to Get Early

🦁 What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera– Self appointed #1 Adam Silvera fan, there really isn’t anything he writes that I won’t read! I go in knowing my heart will be torn to pieces but there really isn’t anyone I’d let break my ♥ like I let Adam 🤷🏻‍♀️ This being a collab with his bff Becky Albertalli makes it easily one of those books I have a feeling will be a 5 star read 🙌🏼

🦁 City Of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab– Three reasons for which I need this book…. One: being that it’s Victoria Schwab & I can’t stay away from her books…Two: this book is set in Scotland which is one of my FAVE book settings…Three: Ghost-hunters 👻 that is all I needed to know 💜

🦁 King Of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1) by Leigh Bardugo- Its been a minute since I read the Grisha trilogy but there’s one character that remains fresh in my memory. Nikolai in my opinion stole the show when he showed up & I knew there had to be more to his story. SUPER stoked to see the cover reveal today, EVERYTHING GOLD! I can’t wait to have a copy in hands since from what I’ve heard, there won’t be any arcs in circulation *sobs* haha!

🦁 On The Come Up by Angie Thomas- The Hate U Give had to be one of the most impactful, moving, and thought provoking books of 2017. Soon after I was buying copies for my closest friends & loved ones in hopes they’d see just how important Angie Thomas’ books are. Some have expressed concerns over the date of publication for On The Come Up being pushed back however, I think it’s a smart move. Production on The Hate U Give movie wasn’t without its hurdles & some distance between the projects is probably for the best. Nevertheless, I cannot wait to dive back into this wonderful authors writing.

🦁 Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown-  Having recently read Iron Gold, finding out that book 5 would be out later this year was EPIC news! Can’t say too much about this one since it’s way deep into the series, but I will say that it feels great to be back in this world even when certain characters continue to royally mess things up.

🦁 The Winter Of The Witch (The Winternight Trilogy #3) by Katherine Arden- Katherine Arden is after my own heart with some of the most beautiful atmospheric writing I’ve ever come across on the page. The MC Vasya is one of my all time fave heroines who reminds me so much of Merida from Brave 💜 This is the conclusion to the Winternight Trilogy & although I’m not ready to say goodbye, I also really need to know what happens next!

🦁 Blanca & Roja by Anna Marie-McLemore- EVERYTHING McLemore writes is a MUST for this bookworm! magical realism at its best, it’s so hard to stay away from these books. I fell in love with this authors writing while reading When The Moon Was Ours & I can honestly say, I’ve never read anything that quite compares. All of McLemore’s books have LGBTQIA+ representation and POC main characters. I know I’ve said this for all the others but this is one I’m SOOOOO ready to get my hands on 🤗

🦁 Holy Sister (Book Of The Ancestor #3) by Mark Lawrence- Having just very recently read Grey Sister (Book Of The Ancestor #2) I can honestly say this is is my FAVORITE adult Fantasy! although seeing it end will be bitter-sweet, I have felt very much a part of Nona’s journey & can’t wait to see how her story comes to a close.

🦁 The ShadowGlass (The Bone Witch #3) by Rain Chupeco- eeeeK! I can’t even see the title of this book on the screen without flailing with happiness 🤗 this is perhaps the book I’d slay TWO lions for! 😂 It’s just SOOO good! Rin Chupeco’s writing is just a atmospheric as Katherine Ardens & just as beautiful. The main character Tea is one of my fave morally ambiguous MC’s & the ship in this book! *swooooooN*☺ oh & if you’re looking for a fantasy with a necromancer, this would be the book for you! 😉

🦁 Sea Witch by Sarah Henning- Hi! I’m Lilly & ever since I could remember, The Little Mermaid has been my favorite Disney movie of all time! haha! no seriously though, I obsessed over this movie. Did I ever think Ursula would get her own POV story? hell nah! evil sea Queens never get to tell their side of things. That being said, I read To Kill a Kingdom recently & LOVED the ish outta that dark gem! Sea Witch looks just as promising & I’m hoping it slayyyyyys my little ♥️! 

Happy Tuesday Bookworms! Hope you’re all having a wonderful week reading all the great books! What are some of the titles you’d slay a lion to get a early copy of? feel free to drop those links to your Top Ten Tuesday 💜💜💜

Friendly reminder, I have a Giveaway for Dread Nation by Justina Ireland running from 4/30/18-5/4/18. This giveaway is open to International peeps as well (See Here) 💙💙💙

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Meme Book Tag

The Meme Book Tag was originally created by Books are my Social Life & Dylanthereader5! I was tagged by  Melanie over at Meltotheany who has an AMAZING blog & EPIC reviews! ❤ ❤ ❤ This tag had me giggling quite a few times, thank you Mel for tagging me 🙂

Crying Kim Kardashian – A book that made you cry.

My last real tear jerker was The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw (RTC) this book made me ugly cry at the very end *sobs*

 Salt Bae – A book that needed a little something more

Having just finished Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young, I’d say this book could’ve used a bit more in terms of plot. Well at least I would’ve appreciated a not so straight forward plot youknowwhatImshayin’ *CardiB voice*?

Guy thinking – A book that made you think

Easy! Furyborn by Claire Legrand & in such a satisfying way! This book is formatted so that the reader is following two timelines 1,000 YEARS apart! I buddy read it with some amazing bookworms & it was fun theorizing along the way 🙂

 Confused guy – A book whose hype you don’t understand

SMH…this one is kind of mean no? haha! Ok If I’m answering honestly that would have to be The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. I went in fully expecting to love it cause it had all the ingredients to be a hit in my corner. Ultimately it came down to this book not really being what it came across as…the Grim Fairy tales are there but they’re at the very end of the book. Still looking forward to the follow-up which I hear will be about the Hinterland…YASSSS! ❤

Evil Patrick – A guilty pleasure read (whatever you consider guilty pleasure to mean)

*giggles* I don’t feel guilty at all about this read but it is a genre I’m new to and am enjoying inhale reading cause they’re just that good & easy to digest. Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas was innnneresting haha! & perhaps not the book to read in public #jussayin

Meryl Streep – A book that you’re always hyping up 

Ok…I really hadn’t realized how hard I push the Winternight trilogy until several bookworm buddies told me they’d read it & loved it after seeing me gush about. Whelp, the second book came around & it was even better than the first which meant I had to go on another round of promos cause it’s Katherine Arden & I friggin love this human!

The Bear and the Nightingale

The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy #2)

Successful baby – A book (whether you liked it or not) that you felt accomplished after reading

For this one I’m going with my first venture into Adult Fantasy, cause I had always been intimidated for a number of reasons. I think the complex world building worried me the most in terms of remembering everything. Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor #1) by Mark Lawrence however proved me so wrong! this is another series I will gush about til’ the ink runs dry. I recently reviewed the sequel Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor #2) & it was also a 5 star read! Mark Lawrence really thinks about his readers & the world building is laid out in such a way that feels organic & won’t overwhelm.

Pennywise – A book with a promising concept/a book that you had high expectations for, but ultimately let you down

The hype was real on this one because of this authors last work. I never read Andy Weir’s The Martian but the love for that book wasn’t missed by this bookworm. So much so that I haven’t watched the movie cause so many of my closest bookworm buddies have said to read the book 1st! haha! I still plan to but I decided to get his latest Artemis & sadly it just didn’t work for me. I had such high hopes & was determined not to let the train leave the station w/out me but ultimately there were some problematic thangs in this one.

 Headphones guy – A audiobook that you enjoyed

The Serpent king by Jeff Zetner cause it hit me all in the feels & I’ll never be over that ending! *sobs for days* seriously this book is all about friendship & grieving and gahhhh! my book babies, love them so much! ❤

 Distracted guy – Two books; one you’ve been neglecting on your TBR for a long time and a new one that’s distracting you/peaking your interest. 

hmmm…not sure if I’m neglecting this one but I sure am willfully NOT reading it at the moment haha! with reason! I’m a big fan of Laini Taylor so much so that the wait in between books is brutal & can leave me slumping hard sooo…

Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor (Promise I’ll be reading this one in the VERY near future)

As for the book that continues to make me break my neck every time I walk by my bookshelf…

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black  (I won this from a NOVL giveaway & I doubt I’ll be able to hold out for much longer cause y’all know those who read The Cruel Prince, that ending! smh)

 Cash me outside girl – A book that tried to be something that it’s not (pretentious, didn’t live up to what it was marketed as, etc.) 

Like Melanie, I’m also not fond of this meme. I had to dig through my Goodreads shelves & I did come up with one that really wasn’t what I expected. Wintersong (Wintersong#1) by S. Jae-Jones which I rated 3.5 stars at the time but would probably take my rating down to 2.5 stars now that I’ve had much time to think about it. Pitched as a Labyrinth re-telling, Wintersong is great when we’re with the Goblin King in the underground. Otherwise the heavy use of Classical music terminology all throughout really made me feel like a real outsider with scrunched eyebrows lol. Less Labyrinth, more something else…

Dog in fire – How many unread books do you own? 

Well this got awkward hella fast…I honestly couldn’t tell you since I own 2 large bookshelves in my living room & 3 medium sized ones in my bedroom and I don’t keep my unread books separate from the rest. Anywhere between 70-100 SMH (working on it) I know…I Know…

 BONUS – Pick a meme that wasn’t featured in this tag and pair a book with it 

My Question: A book with an ending you didn’t see coming…

Image result for shocked meme

3 words…The Cruel Prince! Holly Black legit shooketh the house with THAT ending & it took me a minute to recover. Twisted up more than ya fave pretzel haha! 🙂

I tag…

Flavia @Flaviathebibliophile

Ashley @SociallyAwkwardBookworm

Raven @DreamyAddictions

Sarah @TheCleverReader

Regina @Bookishinbed

Amy @ACourtofCrownsandQuills

Rebecca @BookishlyRebecca

Larkin @WonderfilledReads

Amanda @PeaksandPages

This was a fun tag &was a labor of love! haha (Thanks Mel for sharing the links to the memes). I invite everyone who is interested to take a stab at it 😉 also, friendly reminder when tagging a fellow blogger, choose one of their posts to link back to so that they get a ping aka notification letting them know you tagged them or were tagged by them <3’s

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WWW Wednesday 4/18/2018

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On a World of Words and to participate all you have to do is answer the three W’s listed below. Once you’ve posted your WWW, drop a link to your post in Sam’s comments <3’s!

The questions are:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

Happy Hump Day Bookworms!!! I hope you’re all having a good week, if not *HUGS* I have been on a reading binge this month & I don’t see myself stopping anytime  soon *fingers crossed* Recently I’ve decided to try out other genres that I’ve visited in the past but haven’t returned to in a while. This week I’m trying out New Adult Romance & I’m a little excited if I’m being honest. Spring hopefully will make an appearance in this lifetime & I’m in the mood for some light reads to mix in with my love for Fantasy.  Happy reading <3’s!!! 

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

I am 82% into this buddy read & although it’s not quite what I expected, it is one I’m really enjoying. Slower paced with writing that transports me each & every time I dive into its pages. More than anything, this Viking story is more about family and loyalty. Coming together in the face of adversity. This is NOT the book you’d go to for non-stop bloody Viking battles. Although we do get some of that, it really isn’t the core focus. I’m in the final stretch now wondering how it will all end & kind of wishing there is a sequel out there I haven’t heard about yet…

Birthday Girl by Penelope 

Highly persuaded by Melanie @Meltotheany who can basically sell me anything through her Instagram stories SMH…Seriously though, not only is she the Queen of EPIC reviews but her IG stories & unboxings are not to be missed 🙂 So Mel was really hyped to hear Penelope Douglas had released Birthday Girl a few days early & her excitement was contagious. I know nothing of this author & I’m a newb to the genre having read only 3 K.A. Tucker books so I figured why not start with one of my most trusted friends fave authors? So! by the time this post is live, I’ll already be reading this one on my breaks at work. Possibly not the best place to start a steamy romance but what can I say? I’m a newb HAHA!

 

Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody

I recently finished Ace of Shades & gave it 4 stars (my review) & can honestly say this is one new Fantasy series I will be continuing with. In this book I found influences from some of my favorites like Cabaret, Moulin Rouge, and many of the gangster movies I love. I have a deep appreciation for Fantasy writers who diversify their cast of characters & in Ace we get Bi-sexual & gender fluid representation. The reviews on goodreads seemed to be a mixed bag, with many comparisons to Six of Crows. It’s hard to compare to anything by Leigh Bardugo, there may be some similarities but the same can be said of Six Of Crows. Both draw inspiration from some of our favorites but their characters are VERY different & Ace isn’t heisty.  I say, if you can separate the two & enjoy casinos, seedy characters, mobsters, and friendships over romance (there’s still some) then this may be one worth checking out 😉

Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1) Justina Ireland

Influenced by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the author gives us a different version. In a Bustle interview with author she tells us about her inspiration…

“I wrote [Dread Nation] many moons ago, after I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” Justina Ireland tells Bustle. “Sure, you have well-to-do white women fighting, but it didn’t seem realistic. It would’ve been black women fighting in the streets.”

I am BEYOND ready for this read & can’t wait to dive in! 🙂

Professed by Nicola Rendell

Two of my FAVORITE Booktubers Chelsea @Chelseadollingreads & Julie @PagesandPens  started a book club called Book Hangover Book Club They chose Professed as their April book pick & I will be buddy reading with Melanie from Meltotheany this coming weekend! I’m excited to read more from this genre Bookworms & can’t wait to see how these two New Adult books I’ll be reading this week fare with me 🙂

Happy reading Bookworms! I’ll be blog hopping in just a few & can’t wait to see what you all are reading. I’m always up to hear from you down in the comments below, what’s on your nightstand? also, out of curiosity since I mostly review & talk about Fantasy & contemporary, would you be interested in me possibly reviewing New Adult here on Lair Of Books? 💜

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March Book Haul

Hey there Bookworms! March was a bit of a slow month for me here on the blog & I’m not sure there’s any specific reason. We all experience those lows but I will say that it thankfully didn’t hinder my reading. I read some hefty books that blew me away & I can’t wait to discuss those in my wrap-up which I promise to have up this week. Here I come to you with my March Book Haul in which I once again didn’t buy very many yet somehow ended up with a good stack. No complaints here though, this is the time of year I kick my reading into high gear, so without further ado…

This is probably the look I give a book with with a epic cover haha!

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Sweet Black Waves | The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2) | Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) 

I’ve already read Obsidio & The Heart Forger, RTC ☺ Also, I messed up & forgot to include my fave book hauled this month…Children of Blood and Bone *sobs*

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Toil & Trouble | Airports, Exes, and Other Things I’m Over | To Be Honest| Grim Lovelies | Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor #2)- finished copy

I finished Grey Sister & it was EVERYTHING I could’ve ever wanted! RTC ☺

Undead Girl Gang | From Twinkle, With Love | LIFEL1K3 | The Way You Make Me Feel 

Spring is in the air! 💜💜💜

March Fairyloot

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State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury

I’m currently rocking the hell outta this scarf! the runes are so friggin beautiful & it legit goes with everything I wear. I’ll be using the soap tonight so cross your fingers for my skin please, it smells amazing I just don’t want it to morph me into anything 😂🤞🏼

March Book Of The Month

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Rainbirds | The Astonishing Color of After | Not That I Could Tell

Happy Thursday Bookworms!!! I hope you’re all having a wonderful start to the month reading ALL the good books 🤗 I’ve been having such an AMAZING reading year so far & hope to keep it going in April 🤞🏼Are any of the books I hauled on your TBR? I am LOVING the different types of rep in this haul & will continue to seek out diversity of all kinds in my books 💜

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WWW Wednesday 3/14/2018

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On a World of Words and to participate all you have to do is answer the three W’s listed below. Once you’ve posted your WWW, drop a link to your post in Sam’s comments <3’s!

The questions are:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco

I’m 75% into this buddy read with Melanie from Meltotheany and enjoying every minute of it! This 2nd installment in the Bone Witch Trilogy takes off right from the very 1st page. All of our well loved characters are back & this being a book about necromancy, you can expect some of those to be from the land of the dead. There’s also a ton more action & battle in this book than its predecessor. Tea is still traveling with Bard the Chronicler & she is done with being in exile. Fully out to seek vengeance, Tea isn’t holding back no matter who comes at her! I can’t stop flipping pages, I NEED to know if Tea has fully gone dark cause that is the road she was on at the end of the 1st book & she’s still blazing a trail down into questionable paths. Also, Prince Kalen totally has the keys to my ❤ smh…*reddened cheeks* haha!

The Final Six by Alexandra Monir

I’m reading The Final Six in eGalley, trying to get back in the habit of reading more than one book at a time cause Le struggle is real haha! I was approved for a egalley from Harper & I’m about 30% into this story. It’s sort of post apocalyptic by way of most of Earth having been inundated with water. It’s legit Humanity vs. the Environment. Similar to Scott Reingten’s Nyxia, there’s a space exploration program & 24 young adults are chosen from every corner of the planet. Out of these 24, only 6 will be chosen to form the final team that will probably be sent to their deaths…just kidding…or am I? lol that’s typically how Sci-fi books go amiright? They’re going on a mission to colonize Jupiter’s Moon. It’s still too early to tell on this one but it’s definitely turning out to be more character driven & well ya know how I feel about these types of books, give me someone to love & my heart will bleed for them haha!

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha #1) by Tomi Adeyemi

If it weren’t for the the fact that I’ve been anticipating The Heart Forger for over a year now, I’d probably be struggling with a book hangover. Children of Blood and Bone (my review here) is holding the crown for #1 book of 2018 & I honestly don’t see anything taking its place. There’s a reason why this book is making waves & I fully believe it’s well worth all the hype! Today I updated my review & added Tomi Adeyemi’s Quiz link where you can find out which Maji Clan you descend from *excited face* I took the test & included my results in my review (linked above).

Furyborn (Empirium #1) by Claire LeGrand

Last week I also finished a Furyborn buddy read & it was quite the EPIC journey with this book! Told from the perspective’s of two Queens 1,000 years apart. This is one of those that has very polarizing reading experiences but it was a hit in my corner. Yes there were some minor flaws but my rating/review is mostly based off of my personal enjoyment. Legrand took a complex plot/story line & served it up in a way that was easy to digest. I have a review going up this Friday 😉

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobhao Rao

I really stared at my spreadsheet long and hard trying to decide what I’d read next which is probably why this post is going up so late in the day *hides* I need a tiny bit of a Fantasy break before I plunge into some heavy ones next week. I decided it was time to start this one, Flatiron approved me for this galley & after reading some reviews, I started getting worried I wasn’t ready for this read. I know I’m going to love this book but I also know it’s quite heavy in the subject matter but I’m way overdue so *pulls out box of tissues*

Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Jay Kristoff

I’m trying to not throw shade at Barnes & Noble buuuuut…they crossed the line with my Obsidio Pre-order smh LOL! all of my pre-orders this month have been really delayed making for one sad Lilly. I’m really hoping to receive my copy no later than the end of this week cause I have every intention of binge reading in 1 maybe 2 sittings to keep with tradition haha! *fingers crossed*

What are you wonderful bookworms currently reading? planning to read next? any good ones? & if you’re reading any of the ones I mentioned, sound off in the comments down below! ❤ ❤ ❤

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January Book Haul & Wrap-Up

Happy February Bookworms! I come to you with my belated January Wrap-up & Book Haul. In December I had decided to separate these post & enjoyed the outcome however, something MOST unprecedented occurred & no one is more surprised than myself!…I only purchased 1 book!!! yea I know, never have I ever practiced self control in the book buying department & can honestly say it wasn’t intentional which is probably the only reason why it worked out that way. I’m not good at book buying bans but my pockets did thank me in January for the break. I also think my reading had a big role to play in my inactive book buying. I was enjoying mostly everything I was reading & so every minute I had to spare saw me nose deep in my current read. I’d love to come on here & say I had an exciting month overall but tbh, January saw me hunker down at home. There wasn’t anything really exciting in the theater and all of my favorite tv shows returned lol so I got nice & cozy on my couch with my favorite blanket and bonded with my DVR. I did discover 1 new tv show I’m pretty much obsessed with but more on that at the end of this post 😉

I buddy read Iron Gold with my hubby & although he’s not yet finished, we share a lot of the same feelings about this 4th installment in the Red Rising Saga. We’re very happy to see Pierce Brown continue on with our beloved characters & after THAT ending…I need the next book like I need air (good thing it’s out in September). I will be posting a mini non-spoilery review some time this week for Iron Gold. Overall I am very happy with my January reading & hope for the same in the verrrrrrry short month of February *fingers crossed* 🙂

Love Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed ★★★★★ (5 STARS)

Meet Cute by various authors ★★★★ (4 STARS)

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert ★★1/2 (2.5 STARS)

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis ★★★★ (4 STARS)

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton ★★★★1/2 (4.5 STARS)

Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) by Pierce Brown ★★★★1/2 (4.5 STARS)

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Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) | Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them | Saga Vol. 8

*Iron Gold & Fantastic Beasts were gifts from the hubby

Ace Of Shades | Everything Here Is Beautiful | Love Hate & Other Filters | Whisper of The Tide (Song of the Current #2)

Circe | To Kill A Kingdom | Sky In The Deep

January FairyLoot

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The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black (My Spoiler-free review)

Book Of The Month

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As Bright As Heaven | A Gentleman In Moscow

ABOUT THE SERIES 

On Chicago’s south side, an average day finds kids prepping for school as their parents head off to work, young adults trying to make a living, and the elders keeping an eye on things from their front porches. But in this tough neighborhood, real dangers threaten daily to squelch dreams, and the simplest decisions can have life or death consequences. From Emmy® winner Lena Waithe, The Chi is a timely coming-of-age drama series centered on a group of residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption. –Showtime Official

Thoughts so far…

I stumbled across a subway advertisement for this show & knew I’d be checking it out that weekend. It’s only about 4 episodes in so far & I can already say this will be one of my fave new series for 2018. Powerful & often times sobering, The Chi doesn’t hold back. Many of the dangers faced by the residents in this small Chicago neighborhood are more common than not. We follow different characters in their every day lives, they all vary in age and all are linked in one way or another. My favorite character is Kevin played by Alex Hibbert who is just a kid trying to stay out of trouble but trouble seems to always find him. Kevin is in school & we see him with his friends doing normal kid things. It’s when school’s out & he goes back to his neighborhood that we see why Kevin has a #survivalofthefittest mentality. More thoughts to come at the end of this first season 🙂

Hello Bookworms! hope you’re already off to a fab start in February 🙂 & that you’re already reading your next favorite book…I’m currently reading YA Sci-Fi Honor Among Thieves & gahhhhh! so damn good haha! What are you all reading? Sound off in the comments below <3’s!