June Book Haul

June 29, 2019June 29, 20191 Comment

Happy Saturday, I hope your all having a good weekend. Can you believe June is over. I really wasn’t expecting to haul so many books this month! But I am so thankful and blessed to have gotten books from publishers and I won a giveaway. I’m really excited about all of these.

Physical Books I Purchased

> Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

> Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

> Tithe by Holly Black

> Valiant by Holly Black

Sent by Publishers / Giveaway I Won

> Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle

> The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

> That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert

> Silver in the Woods by Emily Tesh

> Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki

> Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan

Ebooks Bought / Kindle Unlimited

> All Fired up by Elle Kennedy and Vivian Arend

> On the Way Down by Ella Fox

> On the Rocks by Kandi Steiner

> Getaway Girl by Tessa Bailey

> A really Bad Idea by Jennie Colette

> Center of Gravity by K.K Allen

That’s all for this month! Let me know down below if you got any of these books 😊 To all my Canadian followed, I hope you all have a happy Canada day on Monday ❤️

Summerathon TBR

June 19, 2019June 19, 20196 Comments

THE DATES:
June 21 – June 27

THE HOSTS:
Amy @ A Court of Crowns and Quills

Jen @ Pinot and Pages

Heather @ Bookables

Aimee @ Aimee Reads

Reading Challenges

THE CHALLENGES:
1. A Beachy Read: this can be either a book set at the beach or just a book think would be perfect to read on the beach or poolside.

Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

2. Sunrise colors on the cover: pink, orange, yellow, purple, blue…really, there are so many directions to go for this.

Josh and Hazels guide to not Dating by Christina Lauren

3. Book with a roadtrip, traveling, or vacation

Next Year in Havana by Chanel

4. Book set in the summer

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

5. Food on the cover (Or drink! Make it your own!)

Natalie Tans book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim

6. Drink your favorite summertime drink while reading!

I’m going to leave this challenge open in case I pick something up I really want to read and it doesn’t fit the other challenges.

I’m so excited for all of these books ! Are your participating in this readathon? What are some summer-ey type books your reading?

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

June 16, 2019June 19, 2019Leave a comment

Thank you so much to Dutton, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read Riley Sager’s previous novels and absolutely LOVED them and this one was no different. I had really high hopes for this book and oh boy did it deliver.

Jules Larsen has recently been laid off from her job, broke up with her cheating boyfriend and finding herself in need of a place to live with little to no money. When she accepts a job as an apartment sitter at one of NYC most famous buildings, The Bartholomew, Jules beloved her luck is about to change. The pay is amazing so she pushes away thoughts that this could be to good to be true. Of course there are a lot of rules she must follow; she cannot ever have any visitors, she must sleep in the apartment each night, no sharing anything on social media as the residents of the building are very private. Which also includes no talking to the residents unless they speak to her first.

“Every so often, life offers you a reset button. When it does, you need to press it as hard as you can. “

So, Jules moves into apartment 12A and meets a young girl, Ingrid. Who lives in the apartment below her in 11A, who is also an apartment sitter. They quickly become friends, and agree to meet in Central Park every day at noon for lunch. Ingrid shares her feelings with Jules about how the Bartholomew frightens her but she needs the money so she stays.

The next morning Ingrid is gone, she apparently moved out during the middle of the night without a word to anyone. Jules tried repeatedly to get into contact with her, texts and phone calls go unanswered. Of course Jules becomes worried about the girl and is curious about how she left. As Jules tries to uncover what happened she starts to uncover a series of dark and disturbing secrets that have been happening at The Bartholomew for quiet some time.

This is a fast paced read, suspenseful and it kept me wanting to pick it back up and read until it was finished. There were a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and a few I figured out but it was still an incredible book.I am a huge fan of Sager’s thrillers and I cannot wait to see what he writes next! Definitely recommend if you enjoy atmospheric settings, mystery and shady people.

*Quotes included are from a digital advanced reader’s copy and are subject to change upon final publication

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

June 10, 2019June 10, 201915 Comments

Thinking about history makes me wonder how I’ll fit into it one day, I guess. And you too. I kinda wish people still wrote like that. History, huh? Bet we could make some.

Trigger warnings for drug use, drinking to excess, outting, depression, grief depiction, racist/homophobic views/statements, and mention of a past attempted sexual assault

I adored this book. So. Much. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if it ends up being my favorite book of the entire year. I want to mention that this book is new adult (not YA!) So there are some steamy scenes! Most fade to black, but they’re still steamy nonetheless.

In this story, the President of the United States is a democratic woman from Texas who was elected after Obama. Her re election is coming up quickly, the politics and scheming were so well done. The MC Alex, is the son of the president, and is is to attend a royal wedding with his family. At the wedding he comes across Prince Henry, whom he strongly dislikes as he has always been a jerk to Alex in the past. Things get heated between them, an incident occurs where Alex accidentally destroys the wedding cake. In order to get the media to stop with all the negative comments the two families have come up with a game plan that Alex and Henry will spend time together convincing everyone there friends. I bet you can guess what comes after that.

Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz – The First Son, who is quickly realizing that he is bisexual, but slowly coming to terms with how he feels about this new term for himself. He starts to come out to the people in his life he feels safe with. Alex is also biracial (Mexican and white). He’s is bold and confident in himself, he doesn’t shy away from any situation. He is also witty and loyal to his family.

“He’s just as attracted to Henry’s cloudy tempers, the way he comes back from them, and the millions of shades in between.”

Henry George Edward James Fox-Windsor – A Prince of England,in Whales to be specific, who is closeted gay to most in his family and to all public, because he feels the weight of the expectations placed on him by royal family and his country. He is charming, charismatic and handsome.

If you couldn’t guess this is a romantic comedy, so of course I need to talk about the romance. This book starts out as enemies to lovers, and if you didn’t know by know that is my absolute favorite trope in any book! Alex and Henry felt so realistic, and genuinely felt like real people, that I wanted to google them and see how they were doing. . I was rooting for Alex and Henry so hard and fangirling even harder when they started to explore there feelings for each other. I could gush forever, honestly. And the humor in this story! I laughed out loud so many times, especially when it came to the turkeys.There texting/emails are the most adorable thing ever! Casey’s over here making me swoon and killing me with cuteness!

“That kind of love is rare, even if it was a complete disaster.” He sucks his teeth, considering. “Sometimes you just jump and hope it’s not a cliff.”

This book explore other topics such as coming out to your family and friends and how that effects you. This book has so much heart, Alex is very close with his sister June and there friend Nora. There friendships are so pure and I was so here for it. Henry is also very close with his sister Bea. I was rooting so hard for everything happening in this book, from Alex and Henry to the reelection, all of it.

This story is a 10/10 for me. There was not a single thing I could think of that would have made this story better.

Pride Month: LGBTQIAP+ Book Recommendations

June 4, 2019June 4, 201911 Comments

Happy June which is also Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈 I’ve seen a lot of people posting TBR’s and recommendations so I wanted to jump in and share some queer books I have read and at the end I listed some I have not read yet.

Books I Have Read

These titles below are LGBTQ+ titles I have read and loved. Of course I couldn’t include them all. I also tried to mention the representation in the book.

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Rep: Gay character and Bisexual character (MC)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rep: Bisexual character (MC), Lesbian Character

Simon vs the Homosapiens agenda by Becky Albertalli
Rep:Gay character(MC) , gay side character and bisexual side character

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Rep: Bisexual (MC), Demi/Ace Character,Lesbian and gay side characters

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
Rep: Poly relationship And everyone is queer

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Rep: Gay character, bisexual character

Lets Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Rep: Ace character

Books on my PRIDE TBR

These LGBTQ+ books are on my TBR and I am going to read a few of these for PRIDE MONTH! I don’t like to make TBR’s because I never stick to them so I stead I’m just mentioning a bunch I want to read.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Heart Stopper by Alice Oseman

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up With Me by Mariko Tamaki

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta

Switchback by Danika Stone

If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann

Let me know in the comments what id you favorite Queer Book? Or what Queer books are on your TBR for June?

May Wrap Up

June 2, 2019June 2, 201910 Comments

I hope everyone is having a beautiful Sunday ! I’m bringing you my May Wrap Up where I tell you all about the books I read this month. I wanted to have so many posts this month but I’m not sure what happened, I started slacking lol I was in a bit of a reading slump in the beginning of the month. So I started watching Lost, it’s been years since I watched it. Also I was so hyped up about Game of Thrones. I still ended up reading 7 books, because even though I was slumpy, there was so many amazing book releases this month. I’m hoping June is amazing! And it’s pride month so watch out for some recommendation posts!

Books Read in May

(Like always, you can click the links in each of the titles if you would like to read a more in-depth review of each book.)

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabba Tahir ★★★★

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare ★★★★

Finale by Stephanie Garber ★★★★

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston ★★★★★

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang ★★★★

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager ★★★★★

The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda ★★★

Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

May 25, 2019May 25, 2019Leave a comment

An ARC was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey THIS WAS SO ADORABLE AND CUTE!!! I’ve seen a couple of my friends give it a low rating and I can see why some people wouldn’t enjoy it. That wasn’t the case for me. This book is basically a long homage to romantic comedies, which made me realize I have not watched a lot of the movies mentioned, and I quickly wrote them all down to add to my Netflix queue.

This story follows Annie, a screenwriter who is obsessed with rom- coms and finding true love. She especially loves Nora Ephron/Tom Hanks movies, and therefore has very high standards when it comes to men. She wants to meet a kind, loving man with some cut quirks and helps make her life complete. A movie director she admires in coming to town to film his latest movie, luckily for Annie, her uncle knows him. Landing her a job as his assistant. One downside to this job is it puts her in close proximity to Drew Danforth. A heart throb movie star, which she very much dislikes.

Of course following the Rom-Com formula this book has all the fun classic cliches, from an awkward hilarious meet-cute, the denying or the feelings, misunderstanding, and finally the grand gesture. Annie and Drew were so easy to root for, and there relationship developed was paced quite nicely.

This book also has an amazing cats of side characters, Annie’s Uncle is a huge comic fan who plays weekly games of D&D. Then we have Annie’s best friend Chloe, she is fun and spunky. I really liked their friendship, Chloe would call out Annie on her expectations of love. Telling her nothing happens like they do in the movies that she should try and live her life,go on some dates. And Nick, he reminded so much of Luke from Gilmore Girls, which instantly made him one of my favorite side characters. As some of you know Gilmore Girls is my all time favorite show and I love Luke. Nick is the owner of a local coffee shop, where everyone is town seems to gather on a daily basis. Oh, and Chloe works at the coffee shop as well, and I really hope that Chloe and Nick will have a companion novel!

The ending felt a little rushed and there were a few moments where I was really annoyed with Annie. Which is why it only got a four star rating and not a five.This book had me smiling throughout the whole story. Waiting For Tom Hanks is the perfect fun summer beach read!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

May 13, 2019May 13, 201910 Comments

Trigger warnings: talks of suicide, mental illness, depression, stalking, cheating, loss of a parent, abuse from a parent.

This book is Alex Michaelides debut novel and it is one twist after another. this novel had me captivated from start to finish. Daaaamn. I did not see that ending coming! I went in pretty much blind, I didn’t know anything about it other than the main character didn’t speak.The Silent Patient is not a long novel but don’t let that fool you into thinking there isn’t that much going on. I really recommend this book.

“There’s so much pain everywhere, and we just close our eyes to it.
The truth is we’re all scared. We’re terrified of each other.”

Alicia and her husband Gabriel look like they are the perfect couple. Alicia is an aspiring painter and Gabriel is a fashion photographer. There young, beautiful,there careers are kicking off and there crazy about each other. But this book isn’t a love story it’s a thriller, soon we find Alicia standing over her dead husbands body and covered in both of their blood. As everyone struggles to understand why she would do this, their met with a dead end. Alicia is refusing to utter a word, she sits by as she is sentenced guilty to killing the man she loved, she continues to sit silently. She is saved from the death penalty and instead put in a psychiatric hospital, where she still is not speaking.

Theo Farber is a criminal psychotherapist, who is interested in Alicia’s case and is determined to find out what happened that night her husband was murdered. He accepts a new job at The Grove the mental hospital where Alicia was assigned. He is determined to get her speaking again, through therapy and building a trusting rapport.The book is told almost entirely from Theo’s perspective with some flashbacks from Alicia’s journal.

“You become increasingly comfortable with madness – and not just the madness of others, but your own. We’re all crazy, I believe, just in different ways.”

I really enjoyed this book. It has definitely lived up to its reputation as a page turner. I listened to this on audiobook and it was fantastic, the voice actors were so good and pulled you right into the story.

Buddy read with Amy and Amber!

April Wrap Up

May 5, 2019May 6, 20192 Comments

Hey, loves! I know this is so late! I have been slacking with reviewing and commenting, but hopefully I’ll get that caught up soon. In May I have a lot of blog posts already planned out and many are drafted so I have a really good feeling about this month.

So to get to the books that I read during the month of April. I read some fantasy books this month which I feel great about as it’s my favorite genre but I have been struggling to get into lately, I give many thanks to the lovely ladies who buddy read with me! I have some varied ratings with the books I read starting from 2 stars up to 4 stars. Okay let’s stop talking and get into what books I read in the month of April!

(Like always, you can click the links in each of the titles to read a more in-depth review of each book.)

Caraval by Stephanie Garber – ★★★★

This was a re-read, because I really wanted to get to Legendary before Finale was released. This time around I read this book via audiobook and it was just as amazing as the first time I read it. This book was just absolutely ENCHANTING! From the very first page up until the last, there was never a dull moment.I got to fall in love with the characters all over again. Stephanie Garber is an incredibly talented author, and a master at weaving beautiful lyrical words.

Legendary by Stephanie Garber – ★★★★★

It has taken me over a year to read Legendary, and I am so happy to have finally read the sequel to Caraval. This book is on my must reads of 2019 and I can now say that I love this book so much! I loved being back in this world, Caraval was such a magical story and Legendary was no different. The romance in this book, I was completely living for it! And that ending!?! The big reveal took me by surprise because it felt a little to obvious so I wasn’t expecting it. Needless to say I am beyond excited for Finale!!

Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kauffman – ★★

I want to start this review by saying that I was very fortunate to have been given a EARC, I swear that my neighbors could hear me cheering. With that said, this book disappointed me so much! I really wanted to love it and I really didn’t like it until the last 30% of the book. I loved Jay and Amie’s Illuminae Files and I do enjoy there writing. I just wasn’t connecting with the story.This book was a huge miss for me, I know there is a lot of high praise already. I know I’ll probably get some hate for this but no one is more disappointed with my feelings than I am.

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott – ★★.5

I originally rated this book a three but I took it down to two and a half stars. I only read this book because I want to see the movie. And I only want to see the movie because of Cole Sprouse. Anyway this book is about two teens living with cystic fibrosis, and there relationship. The story overall I enjoyed it, i found it entertaining but the writing was so cringe worthy. I love beautiful prose and this definitely want it.

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson – ★★★★

I really LOVED this book! The Storm Crow is filled with the potential to be a great, captivating series. It’s gripping within the first chapter, the characters are all amazing and the magic is uniquely written. With a large variety of majestic crows that can control the elements they provide everything needed for it’s country. The crows gave me major How to Train your Dragon vibes. Josephson has created such a rich and gorgeous world!

Wilder Girls by Rory Power – ★★★★

Wilder Girls has been everywhere lately, with its gorgeous cover to amazing synopsis. I have to say this cover is probably my favorite cover of the whole year.I’m going to need all the sapphic horror books from now on. The female-female relationship in this book was everything! I loved these girls so much and was horrified for what they were going through.Rory power’s writing is beautiful yet it does a fantastic job at making your skin crawl, with it’s deliberate descriptive details. Power’s does not hold back on the horror scenes, as a horror movie lover I found some of the horror to be tame but to others it can be quite triggering. That being said this was one of the most unique young adult novels I had the pleasure of reading.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing – ★★★★

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey – ★★★★

THIS WAS SO ADORABLE AND CUTE!!! I’ve seen a couple of my friends give it a low rating and I can see why some people wouldn’t enjoy it. That wasn’t the case for me. This book is basically a long homage to romantic comedies, which made me realize I have not watched a lot of the movies mentioned, and I quickly wrote them all down to add to my Netflix queue.This book is the perfect summer beach read!

That’s all! I am so sorry this is going up so late! So those are the books I read this month let me know down in the comments what your favorite book was in April.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

May 4, 2019May 5, 201912 Comments

I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

I have been unimpressed with thrillers lately both oh boy did this one deliver. If you’re a fan of Dexter, than you are going to love this book. Power couple, serial killers, that’s all I needed to know to pick up this book.This is a brilliant debut novel by Samantha Downing. I simply couldn’t get enough of this book, and I loved every minute of it.

“Officially, the Oaks is one of the safest communities in the state. That’s because all the violence is behind closed doors.”

I’m not going to go to much into the plot because the the best way to read thrillers, but here is a brief description. This book is told from the perspective of the unnamed husband, and centers around seeing the whole story from the perspective of the killers. Millicent and her husband have two children Rory and Jenna and they live in the suburbs. They look like everyone else in the neighborhood, a normal family. Millicent works in real estate and the husband is a tennis instructor at the country club. But they are hiding some very dark secrets, instead of role playing to spice things up, they indulge in murder.

The husband gives the reader a play by play of how the event unfold, while giving us a look at his inner dialogue and twisted thoughts. This book is so twisted, I was unable to put it down. Just when you think you have everything figured out Downing throws us upside down. I loved the tone of the story, it includes so dark humor that I often found myself smiling at the most inappropriate times.

If your looking for a book you cant put down, I would pick up My Lovely Wife and be prepared for a wild ride! I can’t wait to see what Samantha Downing comes up with next, this was an incredible debut.