JULY BOOK HAUL

Hello Bookworms! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend & an even better start to your week! ❤ I legit spent the weekend reading The Raging Ones by Krista & Becca Ritchie. I don’t usually ever have the time to read a whole book in 1 weekend but I did which means I lived & breathed this book at all hours of the day LOL! My hubby cheered me on all the way every time I reached a certain percentage & by the end I felt like I had accomplished the biggest feat! Two tiny humans on the weekends usually take up all of my time but the wonders a couple of remote control race cars can do to let Mommy read haha! 😉

I come to you now with my July Book Haul!!! I have a mix of books I bought, was gifted, and received from the publishers so without further ado…

For more Bookish photos, click on the photo to follow LairOfBooks on Bookstagram

Thanks again Mellie Mel! You ROCK & so does that face mask you sent me! XoXO! 🙂

FAIRLYLOOT

Heart Of Thorns

Ok….so this wasn’t my favorite box at all and it breaks my heart to admit this. It just seems like the curation was off par with what we’re used to receiving in terms of quality this go-around. i am still very excited to get this book with the red sprayed edges & the Children of Blood and Bone print is by far my MOST favorite item in this box….it’s getting framed by my desk *heart eyes*

BOOK OF THE MONTH

The Last Time I Lied

KINDLE & AUDIBLE

eGalleys

SOooo this Fall is looking AMAZING amiright?!?! Excited for all of these reads & sequels. I’ve been mixing up my reading to make sure I’m reading from all of the genres I really enjoy & it has made quite the difference! No more Fantasy burn-out, I’m actually craving Fantasy more now & have been reading some AMAZING ones lately! Keep an eye out for my blog tour stop tomorrow for The Raging Ones by Krista & Becca Ritchie…this is one I’m going to HIGHLY recommend to all of my YA Sci-Fi Bookworm Buddies 🙂

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WWW Wednesday 7/18/2018

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:
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!!! It’s been a minute since I posted one of these reading updates here on Lair Of Books. Mostly I’ve been updating Goodreads & Instagram (links at the end of post) but I’d really like to get back to doing updates here on the blog on Wednesdays or Fridays (there will be weeks I alternate days). Personally I love reading updates on the books you all are reading, loving, not so much enjoying haha! and doing these posts for me goes hand in hand with blog hopping. Also, sometimes mid-read I just need to rant or rave about my current book & what better place than here amiright? 😉

Strange Grace by Tessa Graton

I am buddy reading (currently @65%) this bone chilling book (thank the stars) with Melanie, Julie, and Candace & I’m legit hooked Bookworms! & I don’t know why cause this isn’t typically my genre…horror has always made me look like a chump. I steer clear of high key horror anything & yet I requested this cause the blurb spoke to my soul *covers eyes* yea I dunno why I do the things I do but I have ZERO regrets. The writing is A+ spooky and why didn’t I know this was LGBTQIAP+?!?! It’s giving me LIFE! I’m still reading it with the lights on but yea, look out for this one! witches, demons, demon forest, and one hell of a romance!

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

This has so far been the summer of me reading all the contemporary my heart desires which includes ROMANCE! I’m also buddy reading this one with Melanie cause we’re reading all the books together at this point & she’s the BEST buddy read partna! LMAO! I’ve fallen behind though so today I plan on binge reading the last half. So far, I’m enjoying the read & REALLY appreciating the body positivity. This is a interracial fake dating romance that has all the ingredients for a cute romance movie. I don’t think this will be quite the 5 star read but it is highly enjoyable, we shall see.

Check, Please!: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu

Oh goodness I am enjoying this webcomic turned graphic novel oh so MUCH! which is probably why I’m taking my time with it smh. I do plan on finishing Check Please tonight. This is a LGBTQIAP+ story about a guy who is in his freshman year of college & is also on the hockey team. He’d much rather be baking pies but Hockey has the potential to help with the costs of college. I am OBSESSED with the MC Bitty & will be pre-ordering a copy ASAP! this is an arc I received at Bookcon, Check, Please! will be out on 9/18/18 🙂

Josh + Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating by Christina Lauren

I recently finished & thoroughly enjoyed this one, gave it a 4 star rating over on Goodreads. My review will be up closer to publication date as per the request of the publicist. This is a friends to lovers contemporary romance, my first by this author duo and I found it to be fun & quirky. We also get a Korean MC who I imagined to be quite dreamy haha! more thoughts to come, this one hits the shelves 9/4/2018 🙂

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart

Last week I finished Grace and Fury and gave it a solid 3.5 star rating (my spoiler free review) & think it’s a promising start to a new Duology? I only see 2 books listed in Goodreads & that seems to be the trend lately. Grace and Fury has strong feminist themes threaded all throughout the story but ultimately it really came down down to my enjoyment of one sisters arc over the other. They both started off strong but I do feel the sister I was initially in love with, had her fire put out before it started. I do however plan on reading the follow-up since the ending left me eyes wide open! this one is filled with plot twists to keep you breakin’ your neck haha!

Scream All Night by Derek Milman

This is one that I’ve actually already started & stopped reading at about the 15% mark. No real reason other than I just wasn’t in the right mood for it. The 15% I read was enjoyable and also very odd with a bit of humor. I’m actually really curious to see where this goes.

Happy reading Bookworms! Does anyone else feel like today is Thursday? cause I’ve spent the entire day saying”heeeeeeY at least tomorrow’s Friday right?!?!” SMH. In some part of the world today is Thursday! so happy Friday’s Eve 😉 its been a long week & I’d love to see what you’re reading, drop some luv in the comments below <3’s!

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2018 Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

Mid-year? I’d love the ability to time travel right about now or possibly even freeze time. Anything so that I can read all the books & I know y’all can relate *SOBS* I am however very thankful for having a really good quality reading year so far & hope it continues 🤞🏼 I’m thinking it will since many of my MOST highly anticipated releases of 2018 will be out later this year.

Original tag was created by ReadLikeWildfire and Earl Grey Books

Best book you’ve read so far in 2018

Children Of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

It’s been months since I read COBAB and yet I can still recall specific details. I have terrible short term memory tbh but the world Tomi has created is so rich and the characters have so much depth that they’re pretty hard to forget. Also, COBAB had one of the best endings I’ve read this year cause what I wanted to happen actually happened 😂 and I reallllllly need the sequel Children of Virtue and Vengeance in my little hands 🤗 lastly, Jimmy Fallon has started a Summer Reads Book Club and COBAB is on his list. Head on over to cast your vote if you loved it as much as I did! 💜

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2018

Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2) by Zoraida Córdova

Best in so many ways but mainly because it superceded the first book Labyrinth Lost which I also enjoyed. I really felt like Córdova went into her writing room and gave it her all in this book. Not only was the supernatural world expanded in this sequel but the character growth & development was A++!!!

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by:

Ellen Oh, Elsie Chapman, Melissa De La Cruz, Julie Kagawa, Renee Ahdieh, Roshani Chokshi, Aliette De Bodard, Cindy Pon, Alyssa Wong, Sona Charaipotra, Aisha Saeed, Lori M. Lee, Shveta Thakrar, Preeti Chhibber, E.C. Myers, and Rahul Kanakia

“Fifteen bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.”

This first bit of the Goodreads blurb was honestly all I needed to read to know this was one I MUST read this year. I am picking up my copy on Saturday & yes It’s all I can think about. Check out my amazing friend Melanie’s review here 🖤

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Ok, there are way too many titles that fit this prompt if I’m being honest. I decided to go with Archenemies (Renegades #2) by Marissa Meyer. Recently it was announced that it was being extended to be a trilogy which made me so happy. After THAT ending in Renegades!!! how could I NOT?!?😱😱😱 haha! high hopes, I have high hopes 🤗

Biggest disappointment

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

No one is sadder than me with this one cause I really did think I was going to fall head over high tops in love with this one. Ultimately, there was some that I really enjoyed but MUCH that I did not. The positive is that the sequel or companion book being written will focus on the noir fairy tales written about in the Hazel Wood & that is what I loved most.

Biggest surprise

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Never did I ever think this tiny beautiful book would be so haunting! sucked me in and kept me entranced in this little town by the water. Still think about TWD & will MOST definitely re-read come this October. Also, Netflix will be adapting the book into a series & this just means more from this story which makes my 🖤 so happy!

Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Mirage by Somaiya Daud

This Morrocan Inspired debut YA Sci-Fi book seriously took me by surprise! I tried not to include an arc in this tag but as I scrolled through my “Read” shelf I quickly realized this has been my year of reading sequels so nothing really fit the bill for “new fave author” & I’m also not trying to repeat my answers. Mirage honeslty wasn’t what I expected in the best way possible, spoiler free review linked above 🖤

Newest fictional crush

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

The feeeeeels over this hate-to-love/slow burn Bookworms!!! 😍 caught myself having to fan myself a FEWWW times smh 😳😂 Would like some more Kalen in my life if the Book Gods allow 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

Newest favorite character

Lemon Fresh from LIFEL1k3 by Jay Kristoff

Lemon Fresh has to be the MOST fun, loyal, roll with the punches character I’ve come across this year. Hyped to hear she’ll be getting her POV in the sequel 🖤

Book that made you cry

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angleo Surmelis

This book hit close to home, it wasn’t pretty…it was brutal! which I fully expected going in with the knowledge the this was based on the authors own childhood experience broke my heart. My review contains Content Warnings.

Book that made you happy

My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2)

I was lucky enough to read this earlier this year thanks to an amazing friend! 🖤 I have a review going up on July 6th as I am participating in the #MyPlainJane Blog Tour 😃 and gahhhh! is all that comes out when I try to put words into sentences! I LOVE the lady Janies, they are an amazing trio of authors who deliver humor and paranormal twists to the beloved Janes of well known classics.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

Circe by Madeline Miller

I caved & purchased the U.K. edition Of Circe & I have ZERO regrets! This book is STUNNING both with & without the dust jacket 😍 I mean the FOIL bookworms! THE FOIL! #WEAK 😂 I do have a Book Of The Month edition I purchased before finding out about the U.K edition. I’m running a GIVEAWAY for CIRCE that ends on 6/29 over on my Instagram for the BOTM edition 🖤

What books do you need to read by the end of the year

Strange the Dreamer by MY QUEEN LAINI TAYLOR

I thought about listing all of the books I consider a MUST READ IN 2018! but there’s really only 1 book sitting at the very top of my TBR & that’s Strange The Dreamer. I am a lover of all things Laini writes & I have this weird thing with my favorites that I do…I don’t read their books when I know their sequel is light years away. Ok just 1 year but it sure does feel like an eternity when nothing compares in writing style to your fave author. Whelp the time has come! I’ve already pre-ordered my shmancy U.K. exclusive edition with the shmancy red sprayed edges 😍

Favorite book community member

This is such a tough question to ask because I honestly have so many bloggers I truly enjoy visiting & who I’ve developed genuine friendships with. That being said, the idea has been running around in my mind for quite some time now to compile a list and share the love. I also have come across many new bloggers with AMAZING content that I’d love to share with you all. Stay tuned for this bookworms! 🖤

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May Book Haul

Hello Bookworms! a part of me wanted to believe I could abstain from buying or collecting books in any shape or form in May… what with BEA/Bookcon right around the corner first week of June SMH. Things didn’t quite pan out that way & May ended up being the month of book mail/approvals every other day. This isn’t the norm around these parts haha! but nonetheless I rolled with it & also finally purged my shelves of some books to make space for new stories…

*Both FURYBORN & To Kill A Kingdom were 5 star reads, so happy to have them on my shelves! Girls’ Night Out is the only physical arc I received in May, super excited for this one since the thriller/suspense bug has finally bitten me 🙂

The Hating Game | The Astonishing Color Of After | Filthy Gods | OPAL | Ramona Blue

*Here’s where I started justifying my purchases smh…I have physical copies of Astonishing Color & Hating Game but I just couldn’t resist a good Kindle deal ($1.99) & said why not?!?

No words…well maybe a few 😂 I can honestly say I’m excited over each & every one of these titles. I’ve already rated Bruja Born 5 EPIC stars!!! Scream All Night is not a book I’d gravitate towards cause spooky and I don’t mix. However, the publisher reached out after reading my review of The Dangerous Art Of Blending In & sold me on this book! Both What If It’s Us & Blanca Y Roja are on my HIGHLY anticipated list. Adam Silvera & Anna-Marie McLemore are two of my FAVORITE YA authors, ANYTHING they write is a MUST read for this Bookworm! 💜

FAIRYLOOT

ONYX & IVORY BY MINDEE ARNETT

Sprayed edges is almost always a win for me but Onyx & Ivory is one of those book I’ve really been looking forward to. This box was a slam dunk! from the beautiful book sleeve to the practical lip scrub I had heart eyes while unboxing 😍 the art print is STUNNING & I’m already using the page flags 💜 my least favorite item is perhaps the tea once again 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

BOOK OF THE MONTH

THE PERFECT MOTHER BY AIMEE MOLLOY

I hope you’re all having a wonderful day while squeezing in a good read or two along the way! 💜 if you’ve read any of the books I’ve posted here & think I should boost up on my TBR, drop a comment down below 💜

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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!

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*

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

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

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

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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February Book Haul

Hey there Bookworms! today is a work from home day for me so I figured why not jump in here & post my book haul. Whether I’m subconsciously trying to conserve space on my shelves for later this year or not, it’s a thing that’s happening & I’m embracing the extra $$$ in my bank account. Of course this has been the flow for January & February but let’s not talk about March yet cause well…ya’ll already know how FANTASTIC March has been in the publishing world *woot woot* & I had no chill with my pre-orders smh. Here is my humble February Bookhaul <3’s!

Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1) | The Poet X | Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (Special edition) | The Belles (The Belles #1)

February FairyLoot

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Side note: I already used the bath salts & it smelled like an explosion of green jolly rancher which had me in heaven haha! the socks I used just the other day, yes they’re Halloween socks but this is what I resort to when I’m not feeling like picking up my laundry smh. What I’m enjoying most about FL is how much actual use I’m getting from the items included & this is only my 2nd box 😉

February Book Of The Month

An American Marriage | Red Clocks | The Woman In The Window

Fresh Ink: An Anthology | Nyxia Unleashed (The Nyxia Triad #2) by Scott Reintgen | Genesis (Project nemesis #2) by Brendan Reichs | Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor #2) by Mark Lawrence | Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

Happy Hump Day Bookworms! I’m working from home & feeling pretty played by the weather forecast…supposedly we were to get 4 to 8 inches of snow & yet all I see is raindrops falling on my pane le sigh Whelp! keeping true to my Pluviophile nature, I think i’ll go make some tea & read my buddy read chapters for the day…Furyborn Bookworms! I am LOVING it! What are you currently reading? hauled any great books in February? drop those links down below & I’ll go take a gander 😉

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The Wonder Woman Book Tag

Diana Prince, my favorite Superhero of all time has a tag! I gave a silent YASSSSS & fist pump when I got the notification from the WONDERFUL Sarah over at The Clever Reader! Thank you Sarah, this warrior is ready! ❤ ❤ ❤

Wonder Woman: Your favorite badass female book character…

Vasya from The Bear and The Nightingale (my review) is the definition of a free spirit! she won’t let anyone dictate her path in life & she knows exactly what she doesn’t want. Vasya reminds me most of Brave’s Merida…

Fantasy Island: A book setting you want to escape to…

This may seem odd to some but for those who have read The Bone Witch (my review) & LOVED it…you probably fell for the LUSH beautiful world building Chupeco brought to life through the eyes of young Tea. The Bone Witch gives off Memoirs of a Geisha vibes & I’m SUPER stoked to escape to this world again with The Heart Forger...

London: A hyped book that let you down…

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert…this book had all the ingredients to be one of the books I’d end up loving but ultimately it just didn’t work out that way. I am however hoping that the follow up Tales of the Hinterland is more up my alley since I’m guessing it will focus more on the dark fairy tales.

Steve Trevor: A book that has a beautiful cover and a great story (i.e. good personality)…

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell (my GUSH review). Not only is the cover STUNNING with its embossed coiled dragon, but the story takes place in NYC during the 20’s which is my favorite time period in NYC History…think Gangs Of New York! The follow-up to The Last Magician will hit shelves this October, The Devil’s Thief looks like it will be just as AMAZING as TLM 🙂

Lasso of Truth: A book you hated…

Hate is such a strong work & I try not to use it on the regular but I will say that I highly disliked Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Its been YEARS since I read this book but it still maintains the spot on my Goodreads shelves as the only 1 star read. It all came down to plain boredom cause circus stories are actually some of my FAVES! (heart eyes at The Night Circus)..

Wonder Woman’s Shield: A book so sad that you need a shield…

Hands down They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (my review)…CONFESSION: I actually struggled to pick one of the 3 Adam Silvera books cause they all broke my heart into millions of little pieces. However, TBDATE was the only book I actually needed emotional support from my fellow blogging buddies via Twitter DM’s (thanks again Krysti @ YA & Wine & yawednesdays lol)…

Ares: a villain that is scary, but you can’t seem to hate them…

This was perhaps the toughest prompt for me because I tend to really dislike my villains (not counting anti-heroes) but after recently reading & becoming OBSESSED with To Kill a Kingdom (RTC), I’d have to say Lira the MC. TKAK is basically Ursula’s story w/out saying as much. Deliciously dark, this book introduced me to Lira who now holds a special place in my <3! Yes she’s a villain. Yes I love her. No I don’t feel bad about this HAHA!

The Amazons: A book that you wish had more/better LGBT+ representation…

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis (my review) means so much to me for personal reasons but it isn’t without its flaws. The relationship between Evan & another guy on the surface seems Ok but in reality it felt like a ton of pressure being placed on the MC coming out as Gay before he was ready. There’s a lot going on in this book & 13 year old Lilly would’ve found strength in Evan’s story. Still I am thankful to have read this book if only to reflect on how far I’ve come in my personal journey. Evan’s story is based on the authors real life experiences & so that would be something to keep in mind when thinking about picking up this read…not everyone’s journey is filled with supportive people.

Justice League: What superhero book friends do you tag…

Flavia @FlaviatheBibliophile

Beth@ReadingEveryNight

Melanie @Meltotheany

Ashley@Sociallyawkwardbookworm

Larkin@WonderfilledReads

Destiny @HowlingLibraries

Kristin@KristinKravesBooks

Jasmine @Jasmine’sReading

TheBookishChic

Raven @Dreamyaddictions

Kelly @AnotherBookintheWall

Tiana@ TheBookRaven

Amanda @PeaksandPages

Kelly@Kelly’sRambles

I decided to tag some of my closest book blogging buddies that I know enjoy tags along with some new to me book bloggers I’ve discovered over the past couple of days. Friendly reminder if you’re tagging other WordPress bloggers, please choose any of their posts to link back to otherwise they sadly won’t get the notification telling them you’ve tagged them (took me a minute to figure that one out haha!) but most of all, I hope you have fun with this one <3’s!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

This past week I participated in a group buddy read for a book that I loved to pieces! I also started one of my MOST anticipated reads for 2018 & have been absorbed within its pages (more on that down below) which probably means there will be a GUSH review coming your way. I don’t know about you Bookworms but 2018 has been SOOOOO good to me with the books I’ve been picking up. Maybe it’s because I’m being a lot more tougher on myself with the books on my TBR & those I request, but it’s been a great January & February soooo let’s cross our fingers & hope for an even better March 😉

Heart Of Iron by Ashley Poston

Last week I embarked on a fun & fast paced Sci-Fi journey that was Heart Of Iron. I rated this book 3.5 stars which is still a really good rating from me…I feel like 3 star ratings get such bad rep but in my book, anything above 3 stars is considered enjoyable. If this gets turned into a series I will definitely continue on with this story. If you enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles, chances are you’ll enjoy this new adventure. I LOVED the characters & history introduced, I just wanted them to be more fleshed out because I found them to be so interesting. Heart of Iron will hit shelves tomorrow 2/27, my review may be viewed here.

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

I’m going to trrrrrry & control myself in this post when it comes to this book. I LOOOOOVED this book *inserts Toy Story reference* to INFINITY & BEYOND!!!! I had the pleasure of buddy reading TKAK with Melanie at Meltotheany, Destiny at Howling Libraries, Jules, and Wren at Fables & Wren who are all phenomenal Book lovers & Bloggers! I will have a spoiler free GUSH review up by Thursday 3/1.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

I had a feeling I would enjoy this book but nothing could’ve prepared me for the love I already have in my ❤ for these characters. I’m only 135 pages in & have already shed a few discreet tears on the subway. I’m walking around with page flags Bookworms! yeah this tome is chock full of info, the world is rich & deeply layered. My understanding of the religion COBAB is influenced by only deepens my attachment to this story. Vulture recently interviewed Adeyemi (Vulture) & when asked about her research for this book, she recalls a visit to a shop in Brazil. A visit that led her to discovering a poster with 9 African Gods & being taken aback because all her life she had only seen white Gods. This is where the idea for COBAB started formulating & I found this to be super interesting because I grew up learning about these Saints/Angels. I won’t know til’ I finish reading but it’s looking like this book may just make it into my Top of 2018 🙂

Furyborn (Empirium #1) by Claire Legrand

On March 1st. I will be joining a buddy read for this highly anticipated book & I’m SUPER stoked! no, seriously Bookworms! I already penned it into my planner with a cute little reading girl sticker which means it’s GOING DOWWWWWN! Haha! when a Goodreads blurb starts off with “Follows two fiercely independent young women” it’s pretty much a given that I will want to read said book lol so I have my fingers crossed this will be yet another hit in my book cause I’m on a roll *knocks on wood*…don’t judge me 😉

Happy Monday Bookworms! hope you all had a wonderful weekend & that you discovered your next best read 💜 What have you recently finished reading? plan on reading next? Sound off in the comments below 💗 ‘s!

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The Valentine’s Day Book Tag

The Valentine’s Day Book Tag was originally created by CC’s Books and As Told by Tina! & I was tagged by the wonderful Mel over at Mel To The Any <3! Thank you Mel XoXo! ❤ Now I know Valentine’s Day was yesterday & some may say that it’s over but…LOL! I don’t celebrate my Valentine’s til’ tomorrow Friday. Such are the woes of a city gal always on the go with two tiny humans 😉

I hope you all had wonderful day yesterday whether you celebrate the holiday or not cause I love ya! I had so much fun watching all of my IG stories and Booktube Q&A’s with significant others & Galantines. Next year I definitely want to squeeze in a date night with my BFF cause it’s been a minute…but I digress haha! onto the tag..

1. Stand Alone Book you love

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Although If I’m really being honest here I really could go for more Eliza & her world *SOBS*

2. Dystopian Book you Love

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

This book! Gah! Mesmerizing while at the same time carrying a deeper message. This is one you won’t want to miss out on. I am FULLY supporting & showing my love for this book for many reasons, the main one being that in this world Clayton has given us a society who loves all skin tones & complexions. The social commentary on body image & high standards set by this fictional society really mirrors our own. There’s also LGBTQIA+ rep with three of the characters, one of them plays a main role & sexuality in this society is fluid–two women marrying would be considered normal by their society as subtly mentioned in the book (my heart warmed when I read this). I LOVED This book to pieces!!!!

3. A book that you love but no one else talks about

You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

Why am I not seeing more Bookworms talking about this BEAUTIFUL gem of a book?!?! for all but especially those who enjoy literary fiction from time to time…this YA book about 3 generations of women will warm your heart & leave you smiling! almost entirely made up of female MC’s this book covers an older matriarch, her children & her grandchildren…GAH! LOVED it & want to see more books like this one hit our shelves 🙂

4. Favorite Book Couple

Mustang & Darrow- Red Rising Saga…these two are fierce alone & together they’re a force to be reckoned with.

5. Book that other people love but you haven’t gotten around to read

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor...with reason Bookworms LOL! Laini is one of my top 3 fave authors & I just couldn’t bear the wait til the sequel but now that we have cover art, guess what time it is?!?! (U.K. cover for Muse of Nightmares has yet to be released but this stunner down below is already giving it a run for my $$$)

6. A book with Red on the cover

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas, a recent add-on to my BOTM box that I am really looking forward to reading soon 🙂

7. A book with Pink on the cover

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena. My awesome friend Flavia over at Flaviathebibliophile was kind enough to get me a arc copy of this book signed by the author! & I am over the moon happy to get started on it very soon 🙂

8. You were given a book of chocolate what fictional boyfriend/girlfriend would give them to you.

ummm well after this last book (Iron Gold) I don’t know how I’d receive this gesture but I think if Darrow walked up to me with some chocolates I’d be lying if I told you I’d say no….#jussayin

9. You are Single on Valentine’s Day. What Book would you read? What TV show would you watch? What Movie would you watch?

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne which I haven’t read yet but the hype is real & it seems ideal for the day & as for what I’d watch… It’s a tie btwn Sleepless in Seattle and Love & Basketball < ❤ ❤ ❤

10. You are in the Book Store. All of the sudden you get shot with an arrow by Cupid. What New Release will you love.

Easily Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda cause the Universe has been screaming BLOODY READ IT ALREADY! @ me 😉 oh & BTW I’m counting this because the new special edition released 1/30 includes new Simon and Blue emails, a behind-the-scenes scrapbook from the Love, Simon movie set, and Becky Albertalli in conversation with fellow authors Adam Silvera and Angie Thomas….basically all of my faves Gushing about this book *eeeeeK*