June Wrap-Up + Book Haul…A Little Bit Of This & A Little Bit Of That ;)

Hello Bookworms! When this goes live I’ll be counting down the last few hours in the office before I can do my FriYAy Dance 🤗 it’s been a long week & I am thrilled to finally start the weekend *huge sigh of relief* I’m actually participating in the #Smuthathon Readathon hosted by the lovely GingerReadsLainey & RileyMarie over on Booktube & so far it has been a awesome new experience 🙌🏼 Those of you lovely readers that have been around this blog for a while now know that I primarily read YA Fantasy/Fantasy however, sometimes a gal needs a pallette cleanser 😂 I am finding enjoyment in the books that I’m reading & so you’ll see the occasional New Adult, Rom-Com, or smutty read review on Lair Of Books. If this happens to be your wheel house, please leave me some recommendations in the comments down below 💜 For those who love Fantasy, fear not! I have a ton of titles I’ll be reading & reviewing throughout the rest of the year 😉 But 1st, let’s Wrap-up June…

LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff (Unique AF! Kristoff really built a world from scratch including the slang, never read anything like this)✨4.5 STARS ✨

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher (Audiobook, not exactly what I was expecting–RTC)

The Queen Of Crows (The Armored Saint #2) by Myke Cole (Really hoped this would’ve gone a different way but still hoping for a strong follow-up–RTC)

Whisper Of The Tide (Song of the Current #2) by Sarah Tolcser (Favorite read of the month! EPIC & satisfying end to this duology)✨5 STARS ✨

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (a taste of Winter to to cool off in this summer heat, spell-binding!) ✨4.5 STARS ✨

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JUNE FAIRYLOOT

Grace & Fury by Tracy Banghart (RTC Grace & Fury was a 3.5 star read for me; favorite item in this box is costume mask necklace. Would’ve LOVED the journal if it was for a full year, instead it covers July-December 2018)

JUNE BOOK OF THE MONTH

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (Recently found out that this is a series and after reading & listening to so many rave reviews, this is exciting news!!! really looking forward to this read)

Season 2 binge of Luke Cage was even better than expected! This is a Netflix show I really enjoy watching with the hubby for so many reasons! Ok, for me it’s all about the Wutang soundtracks Luke listens to while he kicks a** 🙌🏼😂🙌🏼 Luke is so old school & the show reflects that. The first season really made me fall in love with this show but season 2 solidified that love 💓 Luke is going through a transformation of sorts & by the very end he isn’t the same man we’ve come to love and trust. Also, we get introduced to a new character who challenges Luke & I surprisingly ended up enjoying. Why of why did it have to end? season 3 where are you?

June was one of those months that had me feeling off kilter which was mostly due to Bookcon at the very beginning of the month. I didn’t expect to read much of anything but ended up happy with the 5 books that I did finish. Surprisingly, I didn’t watch any movies. July however is already off to an AMAZING start so stay tuned for a more exciting Wrap-up/Book Haul for this month 😉

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May Wrap-Up

This Month’s Wrap-Up comes to you very late & that’s honestly more because I’ve been going back & forth with the idea of eliminating my wrap-ups as a whole. I’ve been easing my way back in from a huge blogging slump and content has been on my mind a whole lot lately. Whelp! this is up mid June which means I decided to keep them but there will be some changes. I’ve been here for 2 years now and found that I really enjoy getting to know the bloggers behind the posts. I love reading a good wrap-up that gives me the 411 on the highlights some of my favorite bloggers experienced throughout the month. The bloggers who talk about the books they read, movies & tv watched, foods cooked/restaurants visited (extra lurking when baking is thrown in), travel, and anything really that gives me a better sense of the person behind the blog.

So I guess this means I’ll be sharing a little more of me on the blog on my Wrap-ups for now. This isn’t as easy as it sounds since I don’t really enjoy talking about me lol but sometimes breaking out of your comfort zones can be a good thing? this is what I’m going with haha! I’ve also been bitten by the travel bug which means future travel posts may be a thing as well. I hope you enjoy getting to know the bit of me that I do share here, especially since there are quite a few new bloggers subscribed. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you so *exhale* onto this Wrap-up…

Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2) (5 STARS) This sequel was EVERYTHING! finished it last week & it’s still on my mind. If by any chance you enjoyed Labyrinth Lost but it possibly didn’t blow you away…this is the sequel to do just that for you! not to mention the epic world expansion. Currently eyeing Zoraida’s Twitter for any kernel of news on book 3 smh 🙂

Airports, Exes, and Other Things I’m Over (4 STARS) Cute & fluffy were just what I needed when I picked this one up and it did its thing haha!

MIRAGE (5 STARS) (Review to come next week)

Picture Us In The Light (5 STARS) I was very happy to have been invited to participate in the blog tour for this poignant read! this is one that has something for everyone and leaves you with a little hope but not before breaking your heart 😉

Nyxia: Unleashed (5 STARS) the author of this book Scott Reintgen is fully aware of how badly I want that last book in this trilogy, I hide nothing about my love for these books! honestly, if you’re looking for an AMAZING YA Sci-Fi look no further! the diversity is strong, the action intense, plot full of twists, female characters empowered & respected…I can go on & on but only ask that you pick this one up and see for yourselves cause it is SOOOO worth it!

CORRUPT (Devil’s Night #1) (4 STARS) I don’t really review NA on this blog but I think going forward I will leave some thoughts on Goodreads (link at the end of this post). I was recommended this book by my wonderful friend Melanie from Meltotheany & I’m now a full fledged Penelope Douglas fan! I will read anything she writes grocery list included bahhha! jk…not really smh. This is a very dark NA & there are a ton of trigger warnings Melanie lists on her review here. I will say this, if you’re looking for full fledged smut…this may not be the author for you lol. Douglas enjoys making her MC’s torture each other with epic long waiting/mind games but when it gets going it is A+ my friends! 😉

The month of May let me squeeze in two flicks at the theater & those were Avengers: Infinity War & Deadpool 2.

Infinity War did NOT disappoint & it was a fun time watching all of my favorites come together for this AMAZING movie! perhaps most surprising of all was the complexity & depth of the villain Thanos. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy his story line so much but I did & it made me really appreciate how that took the story to the next level. Of course there was some heartbreak along the way with some losses but I’m still very excited to see the next chapter cause THAT ending *raises eyebrow* haha!

Not quite the 5 stars in my book & that came as a surprise cause I am a HUGE fan of Ryan Reynolds. The first Deadpool was effortlessly funny in my opinion but this one was laying it on to thick which made it seem to me as if they were trying to hard to keep up his rep for baddest mouth in the Marvel Universe. However, the second half was epic for many spoilery reasons so I’ll leave that out. I will say that I enjoyed the addition of Zazie Beetz as Domino and Josh Brolin as Cable (pictured above). Also, THAT ending threw me for a whirlwind but then again I should’ve expected that from the MCU 🙂

May was such a hectic month & reading 6 books was a feat cause my mind was in a million different places as was I hehe. Some of you may already know this, I am a mom of 2 tiny humans ages 4 & 7 and so that meant celebrating Mother’s Day was in the plans. I had this amazing breakfast cooked up my sister & hubby and some awesome gifts from said tiny humans and hubby. Had a wonderful dinner at this Japanese Steak place in Brooklyn called SALT + CHARCOAL. Their steak was AMAZING but I only ended up with a photo of their “green tea” cake which wasn’t my favorite at all but they put some effort into the presentation so…

I also came home to a package from hubby with the entire Mother’s Day LUSH collection which smells amazing & had some kick ass super hero bombs in it! I’m a scent LOVER & these all were the PERFECT gift that keeps on giving cause HELLO! ME TIME! baths + books = BEST LIFE!

The last week of May saw us take a road trip to Virginia to spend the holiday weekend with some family. Although I didn’t get to take pics cause we were having so much fun in the moment we all ditched our phones smh. I really do wish I had taken some photos of our bowling competition and trip to a sea side restaurant in the rain that was….interesting haha! I did however get a photo of my new haircut the day before we hit the road so I’ll just leave that down here…#shorthairdontcare

I’d like to say that the madness stopped in May but the very next weekend we got back from VA, there was BEA & Bookcon…

We are 6 days away from the first day of Summer & already life feels both lighter and busier all at the same time <3’s! I hope you’re all having an amazing month reading, watching, doing all of the lovely things! ❤

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November Wrap-Up

Hello Bookworms! I come to you with my November Wrap-Up which is only a slight bit different in format than what I typically post here on Lair Of Books. I usually include my Book Haul but that tends to leave me with a lengthy post & so I decided to split them up and I think I may keep it this way. I really didn’t expect to get as many books as I did in November but that’s usually the case whenever I try to convince myself that I can go on a book buying ban smh, check out my My November Book Haul where I bake my soul for judgment…please be easy, i’m just a woman with a profound love for books, the prettier the better haha!

November was a roller coaster of events for me with close friends and family experiencing loss & sadness. I found myself really wanting to be around my loved ones, people who are known for being strong & always being there for others. It was time to give back & be the source of strength for two very important people in my life. Thanksgiving was bittersweet but I found so much to be thankful for. I’m a little late with this post but I just want to say Thank You to all my blogging buddies both new & old. I’ve enjoyed getting to know a lot of you a bit better & the wonderful conversations we’ve had, many times have changed my day for the better. I appreciate you all & can’t wait to see what 2018 brings us 🙂

*My reviews for each are linked below

Her Body and Other Parties ★★★★ 4 STARS (RTC)

Artemis ★★★ 3 STARS

The Closest I’ve Come ★★★★ 4 STARS

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance ★★★★ 4 STARS

Renegades ★★★★ 4.5 STARS

After the EPIC month of October, I knew it would be a tough act to follow lol. No 5 star reads but they definitely came close & so I am satisfied. Renegades was my best read of the month, I was just happy to have a new book by Marissa Meyer but it wasn’t w/out its flaws. My overall enjoyment overpowered the fact that there were large chunks of inactivity & it’s a HUGE book so there’s that. Still though, highly recommend to any superhero/villain lovers out there. Be warned though, that ending will leave you begging for the sequel like yesterday. My biggest disappointment was Artemis by Andy Weir & whelp, I wasn’t expecting that to be the case (review linked above). I may still give The Martian a go but I’m not so sure I’ll be continuing on with the follow-up to Artemis that is rumored to be in the works.

December is already lining up to be a pretty EPIC reading month, I’ve already finished my first read & it is a EPIC 5 stars! currently reading The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden & gahhhhh! how I’ve missed Katherine Arden’s LUSH WORLD BUILDING!!!! her books feel like a warm blanket on a cold winter night & I just don’t ever want to leave *sobs* My December TBR will be going up this Friday so stay tuned <3’s!

I was actually surprised that I managed to squeeze in 2 movie dates with the hubby & a Netflix binge but it happened and it was AMAZING!…

Thor Ragnarok

SO worth the 5 Butterflies!!! I can honestly say I LOVED this movie so much so that it made the 2011 flick fade to black #jussayin Thor Ragnarok had incredible action sequence scenes, EPIC call to action soundtrack, fun plot, and LOTS of screen time with Tom Hiddleston (still not enough though lol). We also get to catch up with Hulk & see where he’s been, those scenes brought some humor & levity to the flick. Similar to how how I felt about Spiderman Homecoming…this movie made me see Thor in a new light. Whereas before I didn’t really care much for the God and his hammer, now I’d like another movie please 🙂

Justice League

4 stars to the movie that surprised the heck outta me! I was not expecting to enjoy JL as much as I did after not quite loving Batman VS. Superman but I did! Ben Affleck toned it down several notches & I found him to no be as annoying this time around. I actually really enjoyed his Bruce Wayne scenes especially those with The Flash who wonder & awe added some comedic relief. Didn’t think I’d love this Flash because I LOVE Grant Gustin’s version so much on the CW but surprise surprise lol. Aquaman legit made my heart skip beats & yes! yes I would like more Jason Momoa on the screen please lol. Gal Gadot friggin Killed it, she can do no wrong in my eyes at this point. Cyborg is a essential & awesome new addition to the team, he is constantly evolving as he is part machine which I thought made him all the more interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed Justice League & hope it continues in this new direction.

Punisher

There’s a new order to my fave Netflix Marvel series & it goes like this…Luke Cage (#1), Punisher, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Defenders. I haven’t had a Netflix binge since Luke Cage & when I sat down with the hubby for some Pizza & the pilot episode to Punisher, I wasn’t expecting to watch 8 episodes back to back but again, I did. This month was definitely filled with some unexpected goodies in my viewing so yay for that! 🙂 this show is not for the feint of heart, there is a lot of violence & revenge taking place but I just couldn’t tear my eyes away. Frank Castle is seriously bad a**!& I’m here for it! haha!

Happy reading in December Bookworms!!! Hope you all had a wonderful November & an even better start to December. What are you currently reading/watching? drop your comments down below <3’s!

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Spider-Man Homecoming Gush! (Spoilers)

Spider-Man Homecoming (2017)

Director: Jon Watts

Producers: Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal

Writers: Jonathan Goldstein (Screenplay), John Francis Daley (Screenplay)

Stars: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr.

Run time: 2h 13min

Rating: ★★★★★ 5 Stars

Spoilers lay ahead…

Its been months since Peter joined the team during the events of Captain America: Civil War. He’s back in High School while also “interning” for Tony Stark…well actually, it’s more like he has a phone where Happy Hogan who works for Tony as a chauffeur and personal assistant keeps tabs on him. Tony really wants Peter to stay grounded and just be a teen doing normal teen things as opposed to taking on mega villains. He’d prefer it if Peter kept to low level street crime like petty theft while keeping a low profile. Peter on the other hand feels he is more than ready to take on the bigger missions & fully feel part of the team. Living a double life, Peter juggles all of the angst of being a H.S. student by day & vigilante by night.

When one of his routine night excursions has him stumble across a weapons dealer, Peter decides to follow the trail which eventually leads him to a deadly operation led by Vulture (Michael Keaton). Utilizing scrap metals from the alien ships last seen in The Avengers (2012) EPIC battle in New York, Vulture has been creating weapons of mass destruction. In an effort to prove himself ready to Tony Stark, Peter decides to take Vulture down while Happy Hogan is made to believe that he is in school & not getting himself in any real life threatening danger. This of course takes a bit of cunning on Peters part since Tony is no fool and has gifted him with a fully decked out new suit. The new suit comes with all sorts of new neat tricks with artificial intelligence built in however, it also has a tracker & limitations to ensure Peter isn’t biting off more than he can chew. Basically wherever Peter goes that isn’t school or home triggers a call from Happy. With the help of his best friend Ned, Peter figures out how to remove the tracker and off he goes to catch the bad guy…

CHARACTERS

Peter played by Tom Holland is bouncing off the walls excited to be “interning” for Tony Stark & from the opening scene this excitement jumps off the screen. I LOVED how authentic Peter the high school student felt. From vlogging his every day shenanigans, navigating high school as the unpopular one, chillin’ with his best bud Ned, AND having a high school crush…Peter has a pretty normal teenage life. It’s his night time activities that keep him always on the go & one wrong step away from getting caught. I enjoyed seeing this version of Peter more than I have his predecessors which caught me by surprise. Also, he’s hella effortlessly funny & a total fanboy of all things Marvel superheroes 🙂

Vulture played by Michael Keaton made for an interesting villain. We got a brief glimpse of this character before he turned into a baddie. This was a man contracted to clean up the mess left behind by the events that took place in NYC during The Avengers. He had a team of workers he cared for but quickly lost the contract to Damage Control which is a company created by Tony Stark specifically tasked with the clean up of superhero-created messes. Instead of walking away, he kept a piece of the alien ship and with the help of an inventor under his employ, created weapons of mass destruction. A family man himself, Vulture is keeping his nefarious dealings away from his wife and daughter. Was anyone else shocked when he turns out to be the father of Peter’s crush? I sure had a shocked soap opera moment haha!

Ned aka Peter’s best friend played by Jason Batalon was one of my fave characters! after finding out Peters identity as Spider-Man, he is convinced this is the 1 way ticket to finally being popular. Once he realizes he can’t share Peters identity with anyone, he settles for being his wing-man. Ned is smart & tech savy (read as: hacker extraordinaire) which helps Peter in working around the protocols Tony Stark has placed on his suit. Also very happy to see Marvel casting a Filipino-American actor for this role, to me it’s a step in the right direction when it comes to diversifying our media.

Aunt May played by my love Marisa Tomei was AMAZING! yea I’m totally a biased opinion since I have loved all of her movies ever since My Cousin Vinny! Marisa plays a younger version of Aunt May who encourages Peter to have fun & “loosen up” lol. She’s also not as unaware of his night time comings & goings as Peter would like to think. Still she allows him his space but checks in on him every once in a while. That ending scene where she walks in on him in his suit & gives us a “WTF?!?!?!” was classic Marisa Tomei & I LOVED IT!

Mary Jane played by Zendaya (doesn’t need a last name cuz she’s cool like that lol) was literally a nice surprise! The girl Peter has a crush on throughout the whole movie who also happens to be Vultures daughter *gasp* isn’t Mary Jane. Instead, the girl who throughout the movie has turned up wherever and whenever with side commentary (lived for these) is Mary Jane & I LOVE HER! she gave me Breakfast Club vibes & that scene where she’s willingly sitting in detention drawing peoples faces while they’re “in desperation” was one of my faves! CANNOT wait to see how her role is further developed *insert excited emoji*

FINAL THOUGHTS

I will be the first to admit that up until Homecoming, I enjoyed the Spider-Man movies but never walked away saying I LOVED THAT MOVIE!!! this time around both my hubby & I couldn’t stop talking about all of the things we loved. One of the things we noticed right away was that for the most part, Homecoming was filmed in Queens. For hubby, seeing the streets he grew up around was nostalgic & exciting because we don’t typically get major motion pictures in the “Outer Boroughs” (anything that isn’t Manhattan lol). Although there were some scenes in Manhattan, these were minimal. Marvels continued efforts to diversify their cast did not go unnoticed with the casting of Zendaya (Mary Jane), Jason Batalon (Ned), Laura Harrier (Liz aka H.S. Crush), Doris Toomes (Liz’ mom), and Selenis Leyva (teacher) to name a few. With many humorous moments & scenes where it seemed like Peter could not get in any deeper, Homecoming succeeded in making me a fan. I found myself at times rooting for him to take down Vulture & others squinting and wishing he’d just call Tony haha! which only further proves that Marvel succeeded in portraying Peter as just a 15 year old teenager NOT yet ready to take on super villains. Last but definitely NOT least! who do I need to thank for bringing back Pepper Potts?!?!? BEST come back EVER!!!

I’ve seen a lot of my blogging buddies raving about Homecoming on Twitter, I want to know…is this the BEST Spider-Man movie? & Tom Holland or Tobey Maguire, who played Spidey better? 🙂

March Wrap-Up & Book Haul

March found me a bit scatter brained in all things life & reading but I took this as a sign of adjusting to my new place & neighborhood. I did a little neighborhood exploring (for those who don’t know, I recently moved) & arranging in our new place. I finally unpacked the last bit of boxes but i’ll be honest, the sole motivator for that was the end of the month bday party I was having at home for my daughter. If I were pregnant (I’m not lol), I’d call March my nesting period & I was just waiting for the moment it would feel like home. Whelp, I’m fully comfortable now & moved on to the next stages of paint swatches *silent prayer to the universe* which i’m personally intimidated by. Anyways, in the month of March I read 4 quality books, this seems to be a pattern lately (can’t break out of 4) but i’m hoping April will be a little different since I have Graphic Novels to read as well *fingers crossed*…

The Roanoke Girls by my Engel ★★★★ (4 Stars)

You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner ★★★★★ (5 Stars)

Hunted by Meagan Spooner ★★★★★ (4.5 Stars)

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (First Book of the Ancestor) ★★★★★ (5 Stars)

This is a 1st on LairofBooks haha! other than my Owlcrate & Book of the Month (view here) I actually did NOT buy any physical books *gasps* I know, shocking right? yeah well I think it was my subconscious telling me to chill cuz May 2nd is right around the corner & on that date my pockets will weep. Now, I can’t really say that I didn’t buy ANY books though…my Amazon Kindle deals addiction is very much strong & alive *no worries* I didn’t realize just how many e-book deals I jumped on but this wrap-up is a real eye opener LOL!…

Yea…so…a bit much but ummm at least they’re only taking up digital space? smh, i’ll do better in April though. I’ve already passed up some tempting deals & i’m quite proud of myself. Oh & The Chaos Of Longing was FREE so yea 😉

March sadly did not see me watching one of my most anticipated movies Beauty & the Beast. I hope to remedy that this coming weekend but don’t want to jinx it so i’ll leave it at that. I Did manage to watch 1 movie & 1 Netflix show…

Logan

I’m a HUGE X-men fan & even named my soon to be 3 year old son Logan after my fave X-men (close tie with Storm but didn’t think naming the kid that would help much). Every month, well at least once a month the hubby & I have ourselves a a date night & this was our pick. No regrets here! this is easily one of Hugh Jackman’s greatest films, his performance was on POINT! Dafnee Keen the little girl who plays X-23 is a perfect fit for the role & i’m very interested in seeing what is done with her story arc. Also very pleased to see a Latinx child actress on the screen for a change *whoop whoop*

This movie is Rated R for a change & I for one think this improved the cinematic quality overall. The fight scenes were def more intense & gory, just as an FYI there are no sex scenes in Logan. The story line was A+ & held my interest from start to finish. I was very emotional by the end & have plenty of questions but primarily…WHAT’S NEXT?!?! I’ve heard rumors of Fox producing a Marvel series with the children in this movie, not sure how I feel about that. I’d probably check it out but I’d much rather prefer a continuation on the big screen. Overall I rated Logan 5 stars 😉

Iron Fist

So…thoughts…I have plenty but they aren’t very nice smh. I have watched all of the Netflix Marvel series (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage) and really enjoyed them (Daredevil ssn2 was a bit meh for me). Iron Fist however was hard to watch & no I am not talking about the well known reasons that are being talked about on social media. I caught on to the discussion on twitter regarding Marvel’s decision to cast a white actor to fulfill the role of a “master of distinctly Asian traditions of fighting” (Link to NYT article) a bit late. What I do know is that the actor (didn’t bother looking up his name), is either a terrible actor or his character was written poorly. It felt awkward by episode 7, watching this character come off as dumb (i’m trying to be nice). He continued to come off as lost & naive from start to finish no matter how many times he was stabbed in the back. What sucks the most is that the supporting actors were actually good & I enjoyed their parts the most including the villains. To be honest, given how much of this show featured Asian traditions of fighting & how awkward Danny Rand (fictional name) came off explaining & “teaching” these traditions…I am also of the opinion that a opportunity was missed to feature a asian actor. Overall I rated Iron Fist a meh 3 & that’s simply for the supporting performances.

The Defenders Trailer with Easter Eggs

For those like myself who didn’t see much in the short trailer released by Marvel yesterday 😉

I’m only 6 days late with this wrap-up/haul, record breaking! for the most part I am still seeing these posts on my timeline & will be making my rounds btwn today & tomorrow. If you’ve done yours please drop that link & I’ll swing by your corner of the interwebs for a chat. Have any of my bookish peeps read or watched any of the books/movies/shows I mentioned? if so, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Each week, a new topic is put into place and bloggers share their top ten accordingly. This week was Top Ten Favorite Graphic Novels/Comics OR Ten Comics on My TBR or Top Ten Favorite Picture Books. I decided to go with my Top Ten Favorite Graphic Novels/Comics on My TBR:

*All photos will take you to their Goodreads page except for America by Gabby Rivera which is not yet on GR. However, I’ve linked the EW article announcing this new Comic by Marvel*

1.Saga Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan

2.Wires and Nerve Volume 1 (Wires and Nerve #1) by Marissa Meyer

3. Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler

4. Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates

5. Mockingbird: I Can Explain by Kate Niemczyck, Chelsea Cain

6. America by Gabby Rivera

7. Zodiac Starforce: By The Power Of Astra

8. Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan

9. Archie by Mark Said & Fiona Staples

10. Jughead

Which Graphic Novels/Comics are you all looking forward to in 2017? excited about any of the ones I’ve listed? Today is the release date for Wires & Nerve…anyone else heading to the bookstore after work/school? I know I am 😉

October Wrap-Up & Haul

Wrap-Up

October saw me reaching for cozy reads which I find mostly in mystery, suspense, and humor. I was lucky to have come across some quality reads, three of these were real page turners and 1 was an audiobook. I’m now interested in reading more books by Lisa Unger, Cyna Blog, and Anna-Marie McLemore. Personally, I love when I come across new or under the radar authors in my TBR’s that truly surprise me. October was a slow blogging month for me & I’m only now crawling out of my blog slump but I never stop reading. As a matter of fact, the rest of the year is going to demand that I organize my reading schedule & tackle some arcs. The month of October was pretty AMAZING for me with bookish experiences. I attended my very 1st Comiccon/Bookcon (event post here) with my husband & bookish twin Gretchen @Chicnerdreads where I met some AMAZING authors & scored some epic arcs. I attended 3 days out of 4 and learned some valuable tips & tricks all while having a blast surrounded by the book community. I loved my October & I’m looking forward to Bookcon 2017 since at the moment BEA is up in the air due to all of the changes taking place with the event (Publishers Weekly article). November is here & with it comes Thanksgiving & basically the start of all of the end of the year festivities. I’m hoping to take advantage of some of my days off to read on the go since mostly, I spend it with family. Next week on the 17th, I have a Crooked Kingdom Buddy read & i’m hyped up for that 🙂

When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore 5 Stars

Gemina by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman 5 Stars

The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer (audiobook) 3.5 Stars

Ink And Bone by Lisa Unger 4.75 Stars

Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog 5 Stars

Book Haul

My October Book Haul was humble…at least I think it is compared to previous months LOL. A major reason for this was that as I mentioned above, I attended Bookcon & came home with a good stash to keep me far away from the bookshop. Two of the books listed below were gifts from my hubby (Harry Potter & Vassa) and the others were either Bookoutlet, B&N, and Book Of The Month. I did purchase 1 Kindle book, I jumped when I saw The Underground Girls OF Kabul for $1.99 since this is a book that i’ve been itching to read since last year smh ~~*covers eyes*~~ Overall though, my book shopping is going to see a MAJOR slow down for the rest of the year. I won’t call Book Ban LOL cuz that would be setting myself up for failure haha! BTW I had to cancel Book Of The Month, they changed their plans after I subscribed for the very 1st time. Switching me from my preferred month-to-month plan to a 3 month plan at $48…yea no, as much as I love BOTM I am simply not rollin in the dough to give them all my $$$ so instead I’ll check out their monthly picks & continue buying books from their selections sans a subscription. If they ever bring back the month-to-month plan I would gladly sign right back up but until then, i’ll admire from afar 😉

A Study In Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1) by Brittany Cavallaro (Bookoutlet)

Every Heart A Doorway (Wayward Children #1) by Seanan McGuire (Bookoutlet)

Vassa In The Night by Sarah Porter (Owlcrate-recurring VDay gift from Lé Hubby)

The Mothers by Brit Bennett (Book Of The Month $5 for their 1st box)

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris (B&N Coupons & Sale =$5.99)

Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (full price cuz it’s worthy LOL)

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (gift from Lé Hubby)

The Underground Girls Of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg (Kindle $1.99)

In Other News…

October saw me become OBSESSED with Luke Cage!!! every night I came home & after settling our 2 tiny humans in for the night, hubby & I would watch 1 episode a night. Netflix has been putting out some quality series & this one is no exception. Luke Cage touched on relevant current day issues taking place within black communities, thought provoking with it’s subtleties. I couldn’t stop watching this man who is bullet proof…a man of color…bullet proof…let that sink in my fellow bookies. Hands down, this show was one of the best i’ve watched in 2016 & I’m looking forward to any news of a 2nd season. Also, the soundtrack…I am truly old school with my music & when I say old school I mean old school hip hop. The series has WuTang on it’s soundtrack which was a perfect fit & gave it more character. If you’re into that old school feel with a mix of politics and kick a** scenes then Luke Cage is for you. It does have a bit of a slow beginning but the pay off is HUGE! This is the 3rd series after Daredevil & Jessica Jones (to be followed by Iron Fist last) that will tie into Marvel’s The Defenders (Youtube trailer here).

Hope you’re all having a great November, I’m a bit late with my October wrap-up & haul but if you’d like to share a link to yours, i’d love to take a gander 😉

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Each week, a new topic is put into place and bloggers share their top ten accordingly. This week was a freebie, either do a topic of your choice or go back & do one of the weeks that you missed. I decided to do the June 7th topic “Ten Reasons I Love X” and chose Jessica Jones…

Top 10 Things I love about Netflix Jessica Jones:

1. Jessica Jones is relatable whereas some of our other favorite super humans seem (and sometimes are) a whole galaxy away. Jessica deals with (more like gets by) PTSD, alcoholism, and a slew of other issues. We see her struggle with guilt & a lot of the time, it’s not pretty.

2. The cast of badass female characters starting with Kyrsten Ritter herself (Jessica Jones), Carrie-Ann Moss (Jeri Hogarth) who eerily looks a lot like Robin Wright from House of Cards, and Rachael Taylor (Patsy Walker). These women are the no-nonsense type which I LOVE!

3. The dark tone of the show in general is appealing to me & sets it apart from the Marvel Universe we see on the big screen (same goes for Daredevil). We see the not so pretty side of NYC or what the majority of New Yorkers see on a day to day basis. We also get scenes that aren’t in Times Square which is refreshing, some of lower Manhattan is shown. So our not so flashy city streets made the cut & that was cool to see.

4. Kilgrave- one of the most twisted, manipulative, sadistic, & in many ways sociopath of a super villain. I enjoyed David Tennant’s performance just as much as the amazing cast of women. He is wicked but his thought process & remarks are very funny. I can’t help but laugh at some of the things he says.

5. The introduction of Luke Cage. Seeing as the next Marvel Netflix series will be Luke Cage, it’s awesome to see his history with Jessica Jones play out so that we’ll have that background going into the new series. It also doesn’t hurt to see they have wicked chemistry on screen 😉

6. The subtleties of Jessica Jones’ human powers. It’s not in your face, as a matter of fact if you knew nothing about her from the comics, you’d prob miss the first few times she popped a lock on a few doors lol.

7. Back to Killgrave. This villain will play on your emotions, especially after you learn his story. I found his backstory to be interesting & also raised a few questions.

8. Jessica’s neighbor, I can’t give too much detail as to why I enjoy this character w/out spoilers but he is a fave.

9. The supporting cast- because of how complex & deeply layered some of them are.

10. Last but NOT least, the PLOT! It’s gripping and fast paced. The twists & turns make it binge worthy.

Side note: I am currently watching episode 11 & I am obsessed with this series! I’m already looking into buying the graphic novels that are out so far 😎😬😎