November Wrap-Up and Haul

Let’s be honest…November wasn’t the best of months for many & we’re all wishing for a much better 2017, well I know I am lol. November marks the beginning of my favorite time of year because of Thanksgiving. I have many beautiful memories tied to this holiday and i’m making new ones for my two tiny humans. This month was filled with family time and I managed to surprise myself with my reading because I really didn’t think I would get much done at all. Favorite read of the month goes to Heartless, it was just what I needed at the time and I was so glad to have buddy read it with Gretchen @Chicnerdreads. Every month I squeeze in a audiobook & it’s always a treat when I go with Gaiman, The Graveyard Book did NOT disappoint. Fractured was a fast paced page turner that hooked me in til the very last page. Crooked Kingdom was a bittersweet conclusion to what has now become my favorite duology *fingers crossed for more Dregs*

Heartless by Marissa Meyer ★★★★★ (5 Stars)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman ★★★★ (4 Stars)

Crooked Kingdom (Six Of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★ (3.75)

Fractured by Catherine McKenzie ★★★★ (3.75)

I seriously thought I had purchased way more than I actually did this month and for this I am very thankful LOL! Besides digging myself out of my ARC hole, I have also taken advantage of some e-book deals this month. I love adding to my physical library but for now, i’m scaling back just a smidge. In my haul I include my Owlcrate subscription (ongoing Valentines Day gift from hubby), Book of The Month subscription, physical books, e-books, and the random books/bookish items my hubby gifts me from time to time. So, Let’s get on with it…

Heartless was the November Owlcrate selection & The Trespasser by Tana French was the book I selected for my Book Of The Month subscription. I ordered Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them the same night I watched the movie cuz it was THAT good! hehe. The Sun Is Also A Star will be my 1st Yoon even though I own Everything Everything, I was hooked once I read the synopsis for The Sun Is Also A Star so I hope that it’s as good as what I hear its predecessor was.

Gifts from Lé hubby: Potter, Beasts & Blanket ❤

Kindle Deals I couldn’t resist for $1.99 or less, Blood Lust by Jill Cooper was a free book I found thanks to the lovely Liz at CoverToCover who featured a Sci-Fi & Fantasy Mega Promo on her blog mid November💕

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them was Fan-Frikkin-Tastic!!! Hubby and I felt a wave of nostalgia hit us as soon as we heard the Harry Potter theme music intro. As a matter of fact he turned to me & said “BABE! I’ve missed that intro” 😂😂😂 we completely fangirled/boyed out Lol. The actors were all pretty great but as many will probably agree, The Niffler stole the show haha. Also, major brownie points for taking place in the 20’s, my fave time period in history (Real & Fantasy) I’m looking forward to the upcoming movies in this new installment to a beloved world 💕

SoOo I am currently OBSESSED with This Is Us…it’s intense what I feel for this show lol. I recently watched the first 9 episodes on Hulu and every single one…hit me in the feels! all of them! every single time! This show has it all and then some, I don’t think there’s anything to compare to this show on tv at the moment. I’ve heard it be compared to The Parenthood but I never watched that show so I wouldn’t be able to confirm this to be true. The acting…The writing…I really can’t even describe how amazing of a show this truly is. Told in present day & flashbacks this show weaves the lives of this family together in a most seamless way. I love it & will sit back and wait for the Emmy announcements to start rolling in LOL 😉

Hope you all had a good November filled with good food and great reads! Although November was a bit rough, i’m hoping for a better December. What were some of your EPIC reads for November? watch anything new on Netflix/Hulu?

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 😉

September Wrap-up & Book Haul

September…a month that I am usually looking forward to every year by the time the sweltering 90 degree weather in June make it’s presence felt. This year however, I was a bit apprehensive about all of the changes taking place with my little one starting in a “real” school lol. After completing pre-k in the same center as her daycare, this would be her 1st venture into an actual school building. Thankfully all went well & we just received news that she is actually at a 1st grade level. Could not be any more happier honestly. My reading month however, wasn’t the best but I managed to get 5 in & a very special book event (check out my About Last Night post here). October will be MUCH better 😉

I’ve linked my reviews for each of my reads down below

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova ★★★★★ (5 stars)

Empire of Storms by Sara J. Maas ★★★ (3.5 stars @ the time of review but…lol)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★ (5 stars)

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson ★★★★★ (5 stars)

Wrecked by Maria Padian ★★★★ (4 stars)

After having a pretty slow book buying month in August (view August Book Haul here)…well slower than my usual LOL, I thought September would be mayhem but I think I kept it reasonable HAHA!…

Follow me on Instagram @Lair_Of_Books for more photos 😉

Kindle Deal $1.99 (no longer available however if you have Kindle Unlimited, it’s currently free)

I’ve read 2 of the books I hauled in September & i’m seriously avoiding Crooked Kingdom smh, I’m just not ready Gals & Ghouls *hides face* to let go of my favorite fictional characters or this deliciously dark world *sigh* avoiding book spoilers on Twitter has become quite the challenge. I’m not sure what i’ll read after my current eGalley (When The Moon Was Ours), i’ve managed to get my Netgalley ratio at a respectable percentage that i’m content with. It may not be perfect but it’ll do 😉

As for my viewing, cuz ya girl really does love TV & movies! it was actually really meh LOL. I didn’t catch any movies in the theatre BUT I did binge watch season 2 of Gotham with the hubby. truthfully speaking, I wasn’t a big fan of the first season but it’s so atmospheric & they did an AMAZING job of giving it authentic classic Gotham feels that we stuck with it. I enjoyed season 2 WAY more because we get a different side of Gordon, he’s been through a lot that I won’t list because of spoilers but he’s pretty bad a** now. The performance I enjoyed the most however, goes to Cory Michael Smith who plays Edward Nygma aka future Riddler. Season 2 focused on Nygma’s development into who he will ultimately become. I can’t get enough of this guy’s shenaningans but in all seriousness he truly kills it on this show *tips hat off*

Photo on IMDB

Fun fact: a lot of the outdoor filming in Gotham was done around my neighborhood. Some around the corner from my block & other shots were filmed by the train station near my place. We often joke our neighborhood might as well be Gotham since it’s so Gray smh. Whelp I guess word got out to FOX & Gotham has come to us. My husband took photos of the vehicles parked overnight for the shoot. There’s a pretty big old abandoned building that looks like an old bank but served as a Boys & Girls club many years ago, that was also used in one of their episodes where a banquet/party was filmed. I couldn’t get photos of that w/out trespassing though LOL.

Hope you all had an AMAZING September! We are now in October & i’m sure a lot of us are looking forward to all of the exciting book releases this month. What are some October books you all are looking forward to?

May 2016 Wrap-Up

My very 1^st monthly wrap-up! I honestly couldn’t even remember how many books I read this month so thank goodness for good ol’ Goodreads! This month I read 5 books & survived an EPIC book hangover after A Court of Mist & Fury so I think I did well lol…

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle #4) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The beautiful conclusion to the Raven Cycle was perfect! This series will always be a favorite of mine. TRK was much darker than its predecessors & I felt deeply immersed in Cabeswater. Every time I put this book down & picked it back up it felt like I was fully stepping into a dreamland. These characters will forever hold a special place in my heart. Not just Blue & the boys, but the AMAZING supporting cast of characters we get. Especially loved the strong & individualistic women from 300 Fox Way!

One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker (Ten Tiny Breaths #2)★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Finished this one with a big cheesy smile on my face! Who would’ve thunk it…i’m diggin the NA books. I think mostly because, K.A. Tucker writes her cast of characters well & tackles some pretty serious topics while at it. Ten Tiny Breaths was told from Kacey’s perspective but we still got to know Livie (Kacey’s sister). In One Tiny Breath, we get Livie’s perspective. The younger sister who made it her duty to watch over her older sister & stuck by her side even when she hit rock bottom finally goes to college. Livie has had to keep a strong front ever since her parents passed away in a tragic car accident, her dad’s last words to her were his wish to see her off to Princeton to continue the family tradition. Livie’s story was one of self-discovery and finding love. There are some trigger warnings for child abuse with one of the characters in this story, these parts often made me pause and re-group but overall It was a solid read.

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas (A court of Thorns & Roses #1) ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This is only my 2nd fairytale re-telling, the first being The Lunar Chronicles & just like Marissa Meyer, Sarah J. Maas slaaaaaayed!!!! Of course there were flaws but overall I enjoyed this 1st book in the ACOTAR series.

What I LOVED about this book:
* The friendship btwn the trio (Feyre, Lucien, and Tamlin), the dialogue was often laugh out loud funny
* The introduction to the other courts (Day, Night, Summer, Autumn, Spring, Winter, & Dawn I believe), since we didn’t get much world building in ACOTAR it gives me hope that we will get it in ACOMAF
* Nesta’s revelation, so there isn’t just 1 badass btwn the siblings?!?!? LOVED IT! Hopefully we find out how she fared
* Rhys…yea leave it to SJM to throw in a bad boy to make things more innnneresting…I know where this is going SJM!

Burying Water by K.A. Tucker (Burying Water #1)★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Burying Water was a roller coaster of emotions for me, many times brutal/harsh & others sweet and Kismet. Our leading lady Alexandra is put through the ringer in the first half of this book. There are trigger warnings for domestic violence and rape. It was difficult at times but Alex proved to be “resilient” and tough as nails. In the second half of this book we get introduced to the small town of Sisters and all of its interesting residents. I absolutely love when a setting in a book is filled with charm and personality so much so that it becomes a character of its own. I LOVED this book! The plot, characters, the small town of Sisters which often had me wanting to leave the city & possibly own some horses lol.

A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns & Roses #2) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

After reading A Court of Thorns & Roses I was left with the same feelings I had after reading Throne of Glass. I knew that I wanted to continue with the series but also hoped to see some growth and world building. ACOMAF did just that & so much more!!! The personal growth displayed on Feyre’s behalf, the world building, the pacing & plot were all on point! This is my favorite book of 2016 so far & will be re-reading it at some point this year for ALL THE FEELS!