Let’s Talk Bookish: End-of-Year Reading Goals

✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

This week’s topic is:

Prompts: What books do you want to read before the end of the year? Are there any new releases you’re still looking forward to? What goals did you set at the beginning of the year? Have you changed or added to those goals?

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Book Review: You, With A View by Jessica Joyce

You, With A View
Publisher: Berkley
Pub Date: 6 July 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Two high school enemies must reunite for a road trip inspired by their grandparents’ broken engagement in this electric debut romance.

Noelle Shepard is unemployed, living with her parents, and grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos of Gram and a smitten man, tucked alongside a love letter. She creates a TikTok to search for the mystery man, which goes viral, and she’s shocked when his grandson responds—a man who happens to be her high school nemesis, Theo Spencer.

Noelle refuses to let Theo’s annoying accomplishments in adulthood—or his sexy smirk—stand in the way of meeting his grandfather and unlocking the secrets he knew about her gram as a young woman. When she learns that their plans to elope were thwarted, Noelle decides to take the honeymoon road trip they planned but never got to carry out. There’s a catch, though: Paul, Theo’s grandfather, asks to come with her, and he insists that Theo join them.

It’ll be a miracle if they make it through the trip without Noelle throwing Theo out of the moving car—or the bed they end up sharing. As the miles tick by, the tension simmers hotter between them…until she discovers that Theo’s hiding a secret that could cause their tenuous relationship to end before it can restart.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS FROM THE AUTHOR

-Death of MC’s grandmother, which is off page in the past, of natural causes in her 80s. No terminal illness involved.

-Grief is experienced, discussed, and described by the MC throughout the text.

-There are brief discussions of a strained parent/child relationship between the LI and his father. There is plenty of healthy family dynamic representation with the MC’s family.

-Given the overall themes of the book, I feel it’s also important to mention that everyone’s parents are alive and well in the book and remain so. This is true for everyone in the book.

-Open door sex scenes.

TL;DR: You, With A View is a fun road trip romance that’s written so much heart. It’s more than just a romance between two people who have a long history of rivalry, it’s a story about coping with grief and loss, as well as accepting love. Noelle and Theo are realistic characters who are going through it, but over the trip, they come to accept change, believe in themselves, and learn that sometimes, it takes a while to find the right path for you, and that’s OK. I loved them so much, not to mention Paul and Noelle’s family too! Also, Joyce knows how to write sexual tension and chemistry so well because the slow-burn build up to the steamy scenes was chefs kiss! I adored Noelle and Theo’s banter and how satisfying it felt to see them together. 😍

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#WWWWednesday: 19 November 2025

Leslie and I are planning a group read for Dungeon Crawler Carl starting in January 2026! Find more details on Leslie’s page or at the end of this post!

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?
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#TopTenTuesday: “O”ll the Books on my TBR

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is: Modern Books You Think Will Be Classics In The Future (submitted by Veros @ Dark Shelf of Wonders)

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Let’s Talk Bookish — December 2025 Topics

Happy Monday, book lovers! Can you believe we’ve gone halfway through November already and we’re down to the final month of the year!? It’s madness but in case you’re still looking for things to post in the month ahead, here’s what’s in store for the ✨December 2025 LTB Topics!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [306]

We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.

I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday in bed reading The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah. I’ve been enjoying this so much and I’m now about 60% through. Could I even finish this tonight? Possibly! These characters are all very intriguing and their journey through the desert very engaging. I’m very keen to see where the story goes!

What book are you spending your Sunday in bed with?

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Are Special Editions Even Special Anymore?

✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

This week’s topic is:

Prompts: With the amount of ‘special’, ‘limited’, or ‘collectors’ editions that have saturated the market (including special limited ARCs), do you still consider special editions to be special? Do you buy special editions? If so, what makes you want to buy one  (i.e. sprayed edges, foiling, character art, etc.)? Give us the tea— what books do you think have too many special editions, and what books do you wish had more (or even one!) special editions?

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#WWWWednesday: 12 November 2025

Leslie and I are planning a group read for Dungeon Crawler Carl starting in January 2026! Find more details on Leslie’s page or at the end of this post!

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?
Read More »

Book Review: A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman

A Man Called Ove
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub Date: 15 July 2024
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, bullying, deadly bus accident (recounted), pregnancy loss (recounted),

TL;DR: Oh my days, what can I say about this book that everyone else hasn’t already? I’m extremely late to the Ove party, but I’m more than thrilled to be joining the ranks of readers who fell in love with this book—as well as those who got seriously emotional while reading it. This is a story about loss, love, loneliness, friendship and family, and it’s undoubtedly a massive tearjerker! If you’re an emotional reader like me, I’d caution you to not read it in public because it’s liable to make you cry (big ugly tears) unless, of course, you don’t mind being a hot mess in front of everyone, lol. Ove is a wonderfully grumpy and messy character written with so much heart and complexity and while I was unsure at first, this curmudgeonly old man completely won me over in the end. All the stars!

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