Schitts Creek – LairOfBooks

January was a month of much post holiday rest, organization, and goal setting. 2019 was a massive healing year for me which meant I focused more on Quality vs. Quantity reading last year to make room for new life experiences. January however had me back in the saddle with books on my radar for the rest of the year. It was also the month where I participated in my very first Readathon (SMUTATHON Wrap-Up) Challenge & had a blast! It was truly the BEST way to start off the new year, light & fun with a side of steam 😉

Besides a ton of steamy reading, I also found my love for Netflix backlist shows like Schitts Creek and continued with the latest season of Grace & Frankie. I also started Journaling, something I’ve been wanting to get back into for years but never quite took the steps & placed pen to paper. Writing has been truly cathartic in my journey to self alignment & self healing. As the new year takes off, I’m also keeping a small list of places/things I’d like to visit & do. I’ll include snippets of some of these trips in future wrap-ups as a way for me to look back on & share with you lovely readers 🙂

The Loner’s Lady by Jessa Kane – ✨2.5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) This age gap romance just was NOT my cup of tea haha! it felt very primitive & not my idea of a good time with a fake dating trope. I was generous here with my rating but in all reality it was a quick read that left me very underwhelmed.

Grading Curves by Naima Simone -✨4.5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) GOODNESS! SUPER SEXY! who would’ve known a tattoo parlor would host such potential for steam haha! Naima Simone is on my list of go-to authors for smut 😉

The King Maker by Kennedy Ryan – ✨4.5 STARS✨(SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) Kennedy Ryan blew me away with this very heavily researched read. A perfect balance between hardcore relevant topics & romance, this one I definitely plan on reviewing here on the blog. This is a age gap romance I can get behind & best of all it follows our characters over the years from the time they met in their 20’s to present day. Can’t wait to read the sequel in the All the King’s Men Duet, The Rebel King.

The Headmaster by Tiffany Reisz – ✨5 STARS✨ (SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) Gothic Romance fever anyone?!? YEA that’s what Tiffany Reisz left me with after finishing Headmaster. I’mnot sure why but it gave me the same vibes I felt while reading Cassie Clare’s The Infernal Devices if only for the steam punk atmosphere. SO worth it especially if you dig Paranormal Romance.

SKYWARD by Brandon Sanderson – ✨5 STARS✨ (MY REVIEW) I wouldn’t be surprised to see SKYWARD make my end of the year TOP 20 of 2020! it gave me such an adrenaline rush & reminded me of my experience with Pierce Brown’s Morning Star. Not just cause of the camaraderie between the pilots but also because of the flight patterns & attacks that really jump off the page and pull you in. I already have secured a copy of the sequel STARSIGHT & a more happier little bean I could not be *jazz hands*

Beautiful Dreamer by Melissa Brayden-✨5 STARS✨(SMUTATHON WRAP-UP) This F/F Romance legit transported me to a small beach town & immersed me in every single characters lives like nobodies business! UGH! I did NOT want to leave & the characters who are the epitome of polar opposites had me shipping them so hard all throughout. I have a list of Melissa Brayden backlist books I will be reading throughout the next couple of months… the Next one on my radar is Strawberry Summer thanks to the wonderful Leigh Kramer who I appreciate wholeheartedly! ❤ a whole review will hit this blog in the very near future, currently I’m reading faster than I’m writing SMH! haha!

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord – ✨5 STARS✨ (MY REVIEW) on the Cuteness Meter, this one smashes the scale! This is another read that I may throw into my top 20 of 2020 but we shall see. I laughed & enjoyed the character interactions so much so that I traded in sleep haha! I have a full review linked above.

Ok soooo I may have binged almost all 5 current season of Schitts Creek onNetflix…I say almost cause in typical Lilly fashion I stopped myself from watching the last 3 episodes of season 5. I’m not a fan of endings & even though there is currently a season 6, I have to wait for it to hit Netflix sooo yea LOL! I had HUGE doubts about this show but JEEZ am I so happy I decided to give in & start this show. It appears to be super pretentious & ridiculous but I promise you there’s so much more depth to these characters. Ultimately it’s the reason I’ve fallen back in love with Netflix so if there are any shows that offer up this much comedic relief, please drop them down below in the comments Luvs!

OK! Bragging rights here cause my BF did NOT think this one was worth us going to see in theaters. WHELP! boy was he happy we went cause this was so GOOD! & possibly not the end of this franchise *fingers crossed* the boys are back & although they’ve aged just a bit, that does NOT stop them from getting back behind the wheel & catching them some bad guys…Ok well Marcus played by Martin Lawrence needs a bit of convincing & it is EVERYTHING seeing this duo back in action.

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

January has been very good to me & I’m really hoping this streak continues. Hot off the heels from #Smutathon I’ve already started to tackle my ARC spreadsheet while still picking books off my back-list (2020 Resolution). The ONLY real challenge to my reading time has been Netflix, Lé struggle! I walked away from a recent friends dinner with a small list of recommendations & I now live, breathe, speak Schitt’s Creek SMH…

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord –

“All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.” – Goodreads

This was just about all I had to read before requesting it on Edelweiss. I read 25% of this book today & had to pry myself away from my Kindle. It’s witty & addictive, I LOVE jumping into this story when I have time to cuddle up with it. Otherwise I TRULY struggle putting it down. EARLY PREDICTION: This may be 5 star worthy *fingers crossed*

SKYWARD (SKYWARD #1) by Brandon Sanderson –

Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul. -Goodreads

I’m about 20% into Skyward & have already grown fond of Spensa who is fierce & ambitious. When I picked this one up I had no idea this featured a close father/daughter relationship which I’m ALWAYS in search of in my books. Sanderson also happens to be one of the very few male authors who in my opinion writes female characters well. EARLY PREDICTION: This will probably be my first 5 star YA/Sci-Fi of the year *fingers crossed*

BEAUTIFUL DREAMER BY MELISSA BRAYDEN

This past weekend I finished reading Beautiful Dreamer by Melissa Brayden (Smutathon Wrap-up), a F/F Romance set in a beach side town I’d HIGHLY recommend to anyone who’d listen *heart eyes* I have a full review coming over the next few days & plans to make my way through Brayden’s backlist. Beautiful Dreamer is a small town romance with a cast of colorful characters you can’t help but get invested in 😉

DARK AND DEEPEST RED BY ANNA-MARIE McLEMORE

Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves.

Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.

With McLemore’s signature lush prose, Dark and Deepest Redpairs the forbidding magic of a fairy tale with a modern story of passion and betrayal.

-Goodreads

Having only read When the Moon Was Ours by McLemore in 2016, my backlist for this author is growing. Lyrical, lush, atmospheric, haunting are just a few of the words that describe this authors writing. I was very lucky to get approved on Edelweiss but could’ve sworn I had another week before publication date. Whelp! I was wrong (unless it was bumped up) & will absolutly be reading this next. EARLY PREDICTION: McLemore can do no wrong in my eyes, only the highest of hopes here for a new favorite.

At the time this post goes live I will probably be making my way through Grace & Frankie season 6 which premieres TODAYYYY!!! *clutches pearls* let’s hope my reading doesn’t take a complete hit this week…