It’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
What did you read last?
🎉I FINALLY FINISHED PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE LAST WEEK! 🎉
Excuse the all caps because I was SO excited that I managed to finish that hunk of a tome before the end of September. I was so certain that I’d be reading it straight through to October. I still haven’t written my review for it because I’m still not really sure how I feel about it. I enjoyed reading it and when I had it in my hands I would be speeding(ish) through the pages; but when I put it down I didn’t feel compelled to pick it back up again. I knew that I couldn’t have set it down to just read any other book too as I’d probably never come back to it 😂But I still enjoyed it. I think? Anyway, my review will hopefully be coming soon! I binged The Perfect Moment(review coming soon) and Two Weeks Notice (my review for Two Weeks Notice). on Friday night/Saturday morning (yes, both in one night lol) because my soul was craving something super light and fluffy after Priory, and I had no regrets staying up all night reading!
What are you currently reading?
I was feeling restless not knowing what I wanted to read after binging on two contemporary romances after finishing Priory last week, but I ended up choosing The Bookish Life of Nina Hill on a whim the other day and I’ve been speeding through it! The style is not at all what I expected and I wasn’t sure how I felt about Nina at the start, but the style and characters have grown on me. There’s a lot of quirkiness going on in this book and I’m actually really here for it! I’ve laughed aloud countless times since I started and it’s giving me some lightness that I need right now.
What will you read next?
Okay y’all, I have TONS of books outside of my ‘possibility pile’ that I need to get to this October before even turning to look at the ones I want to read! These definitely fall in the ‘must read’ category because they’re eARCs. I’m gonna give priority to several eARCs that are well overdue (I’m sorry pls don’t judge me) and ones whose pub dates are very quickly approaching! I’m actually pretty annoyed at myself for thinking the Shadow Frost pub date was later this month when it was actually yesterday! 🤦🏻♀️Epic fail, Dini! I’ve had this e-ARC for a while so I’m annoyed at my ability to push things off until they’re overdue. Someone tell me, why isn’t this a skill we actually need in life?! Lol
What are you currently reading? How’s your week going? Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂
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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
It’s the last Sunday of September! I’m gonna say it again because my brain is still like WHAT, but I can’t believe we’re already walking into the tenth month of the year. 2019 is flying! I’ve been out and about today and have been thinking about what book I want to move forward with now. I (finally) finished Priory on Thursday and I was determined to read some romance this weekend, and thanks to staying up reading ’til the early hours of Saturday, I finished not one but TWO books! It just felt so good to read something that I knew would end soon? Haha
I also started House of Salt and Sorrows because mum has been staying with me but now that she’s gone until tomorrow, I don’t know if I want to keep reading it because I’M CHICKEN AF 😂 I’m sure y’all have heard by now how much I can’t handle the ghosty stuff, right? I’m really hesitating, which means I don’t know what I want to read now? I think I might pick up another ARC since I have two that need reading before the end of October, and I don’t want to add anymore to my backlist ARC list, so the following two books might be my main contenders:
Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She’s only a few months past the heart transplant that—just in time—saved her life. Now, finally, she can be a normal twenty-eight-year-old. She can climb a mountain. Dance. Wait in line all day for tickets to Wimbledon.
But first, she has to put one foot in front of the other. So far, things are as bloody complicated as ever. Her relationship with her mother is at a breaking point and she wants to find her father. Then there’s Lennox, whom Ailsa loved and lost. Will she ever find love again? Her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it. From the hospital to her childhood home, on social media and IRL, Ailsa will embark on a journey about what it means to be, and feel, alive. How do we learn to be brave, to accept defeat, to dare to dream?
Former Little League champion Kimitake “Clyde” Koba finds strength in the belief that he is the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe as he struggles to escape the ghost of his brother and his alcoholic father.
Born on Yom Kippur, teen prodigy Raphael Dweck has been told his whole life that he has a special purpose in God’s plan. The only problem is, he can’t shake off his doubts, his urges, or the trail of trouble and ruin that follow in his wake.
A decade later, Raphael and ‘Marilyn’ find each other wandering the plastic-bright streets of Hollywood and set out to make a documentary about the transmigration of souls. But when the roleplaying goes too far, they find themselves past the point of no return in their quest to prove who and what they are to their families, God, the world, and themselves.
Which do you think I should read next? What are you currently reading?
Much the same as last week, I pretty much did nothing this weekend. As I mentioned above, mum flew over from Jakarta and has been staying with me. It was her birthday on Wednesday and us kids got her an iPad Mini that she’s been wanting for ages so that she could download an app to watch her Korean dramas on 😂 Since she unwrapped it, the iPad has been GLUED to her hands and she’s been staying up pretty late despite having early mornings, and getting headaches from staring at the screen for too long. She’s so cute?
Today saw me moving a little bit more, i.e. I left my house! I met my cousin for brunch at one of my favorite spots! I decided to try a different meal today and unfortunately, that was a hella regrettable decision 😭 Sometimes it pays to not stray from what you already know is good! Also, for the first time in a very long time, I’m not exactly dreading that Monday is around the corner. It’s a good feeling and I’m hoping that the anxiety that has taken up residence inside me lately continues to loosen its grip. Little by little, day by day. Progress!
Reading & Blogging Recap
This weekend alone I managed to finish THREE books, so I’m pretty chuffed. To be fair, I was already 65% through one and it was an easy Middle Grade read too, while the other two were fast and easy contemporaries to satisfy my need for something fluffy after finishing Priory! I’m legit SO PROUD OF MYSELF for finishing this book before September ended. It was seriously a journey. I was 80% convinced that I might’ve DNF’d this book (okay, I don’t DNF but I would’ve put it on indefinite hold) when I started it, but I’m glad I kept on. I need to write my review before every thought I had about the book disappears from my head but I’m still not sure how to review it?! I’m hoping that my discussion with my buddy readers will help me figure it out! 🙃
I’m still working on catching up on my blog hopping and responding to comments! I’ve been doing okay with keeping up with the comments in the last week, but the day(s) after catching up always see me scrambling to catch up AGAIN! *So I’m Sorry if I only respond to your comments 3-4 days after you write them!* Other than that it’s been a pretty decent blogging week; I’ve been blogging fairly consistently lately and thanks to WordPress who’ve been sending me reminders whenever I post, I know that I’m now on a 41-day streak! 🙌🏽 It helps that I’ve also added one more weekly post to my schedule. This actually makes me feel so productive 😊 On that note, you can find a list of all the posts I made this week, in case you missed it:
Goodreads: The Stopover Publish date: 29 October 2019 Publisher: Amazon Publishing UK Genre: Contemporary Romance Panda Rating:
I was upgraded to first class on a flight from London to New York. The food, champagne, and service were impeccable—the blue-eyed man sitting next to me, even better. He was smart, suave, and sexy. We talked and flirted—and though the plane was unexpectedly grounded, we still felt sky high in each other’s company. We danced and laughed our way around Boston…and had a night of crazy passion that no woman could forget. That was twelve months ago, and I haven’t heard from him—until today. I started a new job and met the CEO. Imagine my surprise when I saw those naughty blue eyes gazing at me from behind his mahogany desk. But I’m not that carefree girl anymore. I have a boyfriend now, and responsibilities. Now he wants to see me in his office for a private meeting. How can I resist?
I’m torn with how to review this because I won’t lie: I read it straight through the night and suffered from lack of sleep at the office the next day because of it. It’s a very quick and easy read, but there’s also nothing here that I haven’t read before. This was also one of the most toxic relationships I’ve ever read! I found myself laughing at how ridiculous the ‘relationship’ was, and then I was tearing my hair out and trying not to scream in complete frustration with what was happening. But then again, I couldn’t seem to put the book down and found myself staying up until 5am to finish it… So, there’s that? I’m warning you now, this is a fair bit of a rant (but I’ve tried to reign it in as much as possible)!
It me. FULL OF CONFUSION.
My favorite part of the book had to be the friendship and banter between Emily, Aaron and Molly. I was so worried the latter would end up being bad people but I was glad to be proven wrong! Their friendship reminded me a lot of how I interact with my friends and it just felt completely natural. The interactions between these friends brought much needed comedy to the story to distract from all the silly drama between the two MCs. I initially also liked Emily’s character, mostly for her drive to pursue her passion without letting anything deter her. She knew what she wanted and she went for it without letting anything hold her back. It’s a pity that all but disappeared the minute Jameson came into her life. She mildly protested every now and again but it’s like her backbone shriveled up whenever he came around.
Like I mentioned, this was one of the most toxic relationships I’ve ever read. Emily and Jameson/Jim/Jay’s relationship yo-yo’d from getting into ridiculously blown out of proportion fights over (literally) nothing, to jumping straight into bed for wild sex. It took a really long time for them to even get to the point where they would try being civil and having normal conversations without blowing up; and even then it didn’t really last long most of the time. The basis of their relationship was physical and in my opinion, it never really progressed out of that phase by the end. I will say though that their physical chemistry was off-the-charts. If you don’t like explicit sexual scenes in books, this will not be for you! If I had to rate the heat out of 5, it’d be a solid 5 though lol
But literally me throughout this whole read
For someone who’s meant to be an “older man”, Jay was the most immature rich CEO character I’ve encountered. He was petulant, emotionally unavailable and often times acted like a really big man-child, and at his office no less. He would be cruel and cold one minute and in the next he’d be messaging Emily, demanding she go with him to dinner, as if he hadn’t just treated her like trash not too long back? I wanted to slap him so hard. What gave me hope the first time was that she would say no and I’d be like HELL YEAH EMILY! And then in the next scene she’d cave and they’d end up screwing like rabbits before the night’s out. GIRL, PLEASE! *roll my eyes so far back they get stuck* 🙄 At the same time though, towards the end of the book, I found myself curled over with laughter over some of Jay’s drama queen antics–especially during the camping scene. It was actually hilarious and 100% amusing? Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to redeem his character from start to finish. There were other inconsistencies with the events in the book that had me scratching my head for a while before shrugging and moving past it because I was more concerned with other issues in the book.
All in all, I finished this book laughing in bewilderment (at myself mostly) and I was genuinely curious whether this is what people felt when they finished reading the After series. I’m referring to the people who acknowledge that the relationship in that series was toxic AF and yet they STILL couldn’t put that book down. Is this how you felt?? Haha I’ll still never read that series, but after reading this book, I do think I get what you mean with your comments 😂
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out 29 October 2019. Have you read The Stopover? Have you read the After series? I’m still shook by how I just couldn’t put this down.Come chat in the comments if you feel this! LOL
Goodreads: The Grace Year Publish date: 08 October 2019 Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopia Panda Rating:
No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden. Girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive. Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for their chance to grab one of the girls in order to make their fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.
I think it’s safe to say that I’ve been pulled out of my reading slump because I finished The Grace Year in one night (literally); and despite being hella tired the next day, I had zero regrets doing it. I tried putting it down at one point because responsible adult etc., but it didn’t work. I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I picked it up and kept reading until the end!
“In the county, there’s nothing more dangerous than a woman who speaks her mind. That’s what happened to Eve, you know, why we were cast out from heaven. We’re dangerous creatures. Full of devil charms. If given the opportunity, we will use our magic to lure men to sin, to evil, to destruction.”
The Grace Year was… wow? I really don’t have the words for it but I will say that it’s probably one of my favorite reads of 2019! Whoever said it’s reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale and Lord of the Flies was spot on. It’s dark and full of twists. It’s mind-bending and insanely spooky and makes you question whether the magic is real or not. It’s also surprisingly violent and gruesome–don’t let that beautiful pink cover fool you. This book is not full of roses and fluff! It’s a dark read that makes you think and question your role in perpetuating inequalities (whether you know it or not). It’s set in a dystopian society but I have no doubt that elements of this story will ring true for many women because on some level, we have all experienced what these girls/women go through. It took me on an emotional and mental journey that I was totally unprepared for (lol) but hell, it was worth it! I didn’t expect to find myself in tears by the end of this book, but there I was at 4AM hugging my Billy bear to my chest and crying into my pillow.
I loved (MC) Tierney’s character and how she developed throughout the story. Most of the other characters were minor, but I still enjoyed the roles that they played too, especially Ryker, Gertie, Michael and Tierney’s parents. The story was tense and fast-paced; I always felt as if some unknown horror was lurking around the corner waiting to be unleashed. There’s a pervasive eeriness to Liggett’s writing that had me sitting on the edge of my seat and goosebumps constantly rising on my skin, especially towards the latter half. After everything the girls survived, what happens in the end brought me to tears. The defiance and camaraderie, the willingness to acknowledge the need for change, and to open their hearts to making it happen by taking just that small step against the patriarchy, made me emotional AF.
“The things we do to girls. Whether we put them on pedestals only to tear them down, or use them for parts and holes, we’re all complicit in this. But everything touches everything else and I have to believe that some good will come out of all this destruction. The men will never end the grace year. But maybe we can.”
If there’s anything to critique it’s that: 1) I don’t think the romance was necessary. It also came off as hypocritical, especially considering Tierney’s strong stance on marriage throughout the story. 2) I wish that there was more groundwork for how this society came to be. There were hints that things were different beyond the borders, but how did this county and the poachers come to be this way? I would’ve loved to know more of the backstory to this world. And 3) This might be because I read the ARC, but there were some editing errors that I hope are caught before publication because the way it reads right now, paragraphs start in next sentences and it’s often confusing, especially when there’s so much time that’s passed in between (hopefully that explanation makes sense).
This isn’t a story that has a typical HEA, and it was a little bit open to interpretation (imo), but it does bring hope and that’s just as important. I honestly can’t wait until everyone gets the chance to read this because I’d highly encourage you to pick it up. I’m so excited to see what else Liggett has in store!
The quotes used in my review were taken from an advanced copy, so there may be minor differences in the final publication.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out 08 October 2019. Have you read The Grace Year or does it sound like something you want to read? Come let me know in the comments and let’s chat!
Anonymous break up stories from men and women, old and young, serious and silly and the cartoons that inspired them. Author and artist Hilary Campbell turns the painful into the hilarious, validating emotions from forgotten middle school tragedies to relationships that ended only hours ago. Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and cartoonist. Her films have won top prizes at Slamdance, SF IndieFest, and more. She was the co-illustrator of Jessica Bennett’s critically acclaimed Feminist Fight Club.Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, But You Could’ve Done Better is her first book of cartoons.
As the author states repeatedly in her introduction (and also at the end) of the book, people can be pretty terrible. Some of these had me cracking up (mostly in shock) at how awkward and terrible a break up went. Some had me exclaiming out loud at how awful people could be. I’ve had my fair share of awful relationships and break ups and so many of these instances and feelings were absolutely relatable (as cringeworthy as many of them are). Reading these stories and having that peek into other peoples’ lives brings me a weird kind of satisfaction. Lol not that I take pleasure in other people’s unfortunate situations, but it’s honestly comforting to know that you’re not the only one who goes through some crazy heartbreaking things, and also crazy awful things you never want to repeat. Some people are seriously twisted though. Yikes!
I enjoyed most of the graphics that illustrated and complemented all the stories but I also thought that they weren’t anything spectacular. Some did make me chuckle. I guess I misunderstood the blurb and thought that the stories would be illustrated in comic format, but it was still enjoyable the way it was. Needless to say, this was a very fast, mostly fun read! The author ends the book with a note saying that she’s still accepting these break up stories over on her website, but as I just realized this book was published two years ago, I don’t know if she’s still taking any. If she is, I might go ahead and share some stories myself! Lol
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!Have you read Breaking Up Is Hard…But You Could’ve Done Better?What did you think?
Goodreads: The Love Solution Publish Date: 15 August 2019 Publisher: Avon Books UK Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit Panda Rating:
It’s all in the chemistry… Sisters Sarah and Molly are close, but they couldn’t be more different. Sarah runs a craft business and is obsessed with all things shiny and glam, whilst Molly is much more at home in her white coat and goggles, working in a science lab. When Molly is put onto a new assignment, she’s over the moon. It’s a high-profile, top secret project – and she has a handsome new boss to ogle at when she’s not bending over a petri dish… But when Sarah finds herself on the painful end of a disastrous break-up, no amount of Ben & Jerry’s or trashy rom-coms can cheer her up. She wants to take a more drastic approach to dealing with her heartbreak, and one that only her sister – and perhaps a sprinkle of science – can help with… Will Sarah find love where she least expects it, or is it really all in the chemistry?
I’m really torn about this one. It held promise at the start, but as the story continued I only kept noticing how there was so much missed potential for character development and deepening the plot. It’s such a shame because I think it could’ve been a great read otherwise! A lot of the time I was confused because there’s no indication of how much time has passed but considering how all of a sudden characters have become “very close”, you can only assume a fair amount of time has passed. One thing I can say is that the pace of the story never really lagged, but at the same time, there wasn’t a whole lot that happened.
I enjoyed the premise of following two sisters on their journey to finding love after losing their parents at such a young age. While the idea of one sister giving up her dreams to raise her younger sister so they won’t get separated isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, I always love to see how this new dynamic has shaped them and their relationship with each other. I liked Molly and Sarah’s characters initially but again, I felt like there was so much missed potential in developing them. We never really saw how they were affected by their parents’ death or how it shaped their characters; whenever their parents would come up randomly in conversations, they’d move on so quickly and never touch the topic again. I also felt that their chapters were a bit repetitive after a while, with Sarah going back and forth on Niall, and Molly continuously thinking about having sex with Ewan everywhere. I wished that we got more beyond that! You could see that they both cared for and loved each other, but I also felt that was more told than actually shown through the writing. Can we also talk about how frustrating it is to watch characters make insanely stupid decisions — that they also know are stupid — and that you’re going to have to watch it all play out anyway? Yep. That’s exactly what happened here. It’s like a train wreck you can see coming but can do nothing to stop it and I hate that feeling!
I was also not 100% sold on the romances, although Ewan and Molly’s budding romance was a lot more believable than Sarah and Liam’s. There was absolutely no development in the latter’s relationship and yet we’re meant to believe they’ve grown extremely fond of the other and might even be in love? I’m not sold. And I won’t even go into how much I disliked Niall’s spineless character. I didn’t see what was great about him at all that Sarah would go to such lengths to make him grovel.
Overall, while I hoped to enjoy this read, it really fell short for me. It could’ve been so much more developed in so many aspects, and I was disappointed that it never happened.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.This book is now available in stores!Have you read The Love Solution?What did you think?
With how much I’ve been whining about my reading slump this month, it should be pretty obvious that it was not the best month. The slump came swooping in very close to the start of August and continued for almost two weeks! Yikes. It definitely threw off my reading game, especially since I was hoping to really kick ARC August’s ass, but it is what it is. In the end, I managed to read: 14 books.
★★★★★
★★★★☆
★★★★½
★★½
★★★☆☆
★★★½
★★½
★★★★★
★★★★☆
★★★★½
★★★½
★★½
★★★☆☆
★★★★☆
Out of these 14 reads, I managed to get in five ARCs, which is better than none but definitely not my best! Looking back on the month, it seems pretty clear that I’ve been on a contemporary romance streak. I always do like a good romance and since coming out of my slump, it seemed like the only genre of books that I could stick to fairly easily. I only had two 5★ reads and I have to say The Grace Year by Kim Liggettwas my favorite for the month, and it might also be one of my favorites for the year. My review for it will be posted sometime this week so be on the lookout. It was such a surprising book and I can’t wait until it comes out early October so that everyone can read it! It’s claimed to be a cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and The Lord of the Flies, and it’s a pretty spot on description of this wild story!
I’ve now read 142 of 90 books and I’m already thinking what I should set as my Goodreads goal next year. I might make it 100 just in case 2020 will be a complete turn around from 2019. But if I also surpass the 100 books before the end of the year, I think I’d bump it up to 120. I hope my reading keeps on the up 🙂
I’ve seen other people do this in their monthly recaps too so I thought I’d do the same. Below is a list of all the posts I’ve made this month case you want to read them and happened to miss them! Happy reading, friends. Hope September will either be a better reading month for you or that your good reading streak will continue!
Goodreads: The Avant-Guards Publish date: 03 September 2019 Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Sports, LGBTQIA+ Rating: ★★★★★
When Charlie transfers to the Georgia O’Keeffe College of Arts and Subtle Dramatics, she struggles to find her feet, but winds up exactly where she belongs…in the school’s (terrible) basketball team. As a transfer student to the Georgia O’Keeffe College for Arts and Subtle Dramatics, former sports star Charlie is struggling to find her classes, her dorm, and her place amongst a student body full of artists who seem to know exactly where they’re going. When the school’s barely-a-basketball-team unexpectedly attempts to recruit her, Charlie’s adamant that she’s left that life behind…until she’s won over by the charming team captain, Liv, and the ragtag crew she’s managed to assemble. And while Charlie may have left cut-throat competition in in the dust, sinking these hoops may be exactly what she needs to see the person she truly wants to be.
I LOVED this one! Oh my goodness, I want more issues/volumes now! This was a super fun and inclusive graphic novel about females playing college basketball. It’s a simple premise, and there’s a love story that’s quickly involved, but it’s all sweet. I really enjoyed the characters, how they’re all queer and how their personalities and ethnicities were all mixed. The friendship group reminded me a lot about my own friendship group from uni and how we were always together and sticking by each other’s side. Although Charlie’s character is a bit sullen at first, I love seeing glimpses of her happy side but also about her past–it seems like something big and bad happened to her that badly affected her trust, and I really can’t wait to find out what her reason was for moving schools (I don’t believe it’s only because of no longer playing basketball?)! Liv’s character, while mildly annoying, was also sweet and I loved seeing her vulnerable sides. She’s such an exuberant, high energy character that seems confident 100% of the time but it’s nice to read from her perspective as well.
I really enjoyed the artwork. The work gave me old(ish) school Archie Comic vibes, also with the text/speech bubbles. I loved the colors that are used in the comic, it lends the story an even happier vibe. I liked that there were some moments with a lot of text, but not too often, and that the text wasn’t so squished into speech bubbles that they were illegible. Also, did I mention how much I love the name of the comic and the basketball team? Super cool! There were four issues in this volume but I just want more now. I can’t wait for people to read this one because it is funny, quirky and a little bit romantic!
Thanks to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for the free copy in exchange for an honest review! This graphic novel is out 03 September 2019.
Since I posted my last update about the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge at the end of July and then announced joining ARC August at the start of this month, I hit a pretty big reading slump that derailed basically all of my plans to keep my amazing July reading streak going. Thankfully, I’m past it now, but since August and therefore summer too is over, I thought I’d put these challenges to bed and see what the rest of the year has to bring!
The GRSRC had 11 ‘For Beginners’ prompts and I completed 8 of those! While I was sure that I’d be able to finish this challenge, I’m not mad at what I did finish. I mean, yeah, there were only eleven prompts, but I feel like August didn’t even count 😂 So here are the ones that I managed to tick off the list:
Short & sweet: Read a book with less than 100 pages (or a book you can finish in one sitting) – The Woods, Vol. 1: The Arrow by James Tynion IV | (my review)
On the bandwagon: Read one of the most read books right now on Goodreads & New voices: Read a debut novel – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | (my review)
Actually want to read: Read a book that’s been on your Want to Read shelf for more than a year. This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel | If I’m being honest, this was the book that set off my slump this month. I didn’t review this book yet because it took me ages to get through, but I really did love the characters and Claude/Poppy’s story. I think it was the meandering writing and very floaty? dreamy? writing style that I didn’t gel with. So in this case, I think it was definitely a ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ moment.
In the friend zone: Read a book that a friend has recommended – The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary | (my review)
Wheel of format: Read a book in a format that you don’t normally read in (a graphic novel, poetry, a play, an audiobook, etc.). – Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Full disclosure, I’m cheating a bit with this one because while I did listen to Daisy Jones on audio, it wasn’t the audio I set out to finish when I made my list! I’m still counting it though because flexibility and all that, right?! This is another review that I haven’t gotten around to blogging yet, but I did gush about it on Goodreads, so you can check it out there.
Armchair traveler: Read a book set in a destination you want to visit – The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah | (my review)
The three prompts that I didn’t manage to complete were: Good as gold: Read a book that won a Goodreads Choice Award | The book is better: Read a book being adapted for TV or film this year | Not from around here: Read a book set in a different culture from your own. I’m surprised that I haven’t even picked Vengeful up yet, but I’m not surprised by my reluctance to get into the other two. The Goldfinch has sat unfinished on my shelf since February and I finally picked it up again to take with me to a doctor’s appointment to read while waiting, but I didn’t even touch it 😭 I’m still determined to finish it before the movie comes out coz I really do wanna know what happens!
I’m actually really bummed that I only managed to read 5 ARCs for ARC August. FIVE ARCs IN ONE MONTH. I’m quaking with disappointment 😫 It’s not like I planned to only read ARCs in August, but I still hoped to make a bigger dent in my pile! While I might not have ‘fast-tracked’ my progress, I hope to get a 100% rating before the end of the year! Is it ambitious? Yah. Though I’m not taking or making new requests at the moment, let’s see how long I can resist the urge 😅 I’m hoping I can cut down at least five *cough* more ARCs before I cave! LOL
So what other challenges are there for the rest of the year? I think I heard about one called Series September, which involves wrapping up a series or reading the next book in the series, to get caught up. I could be completely making this challenge up based on something I heard in passing and my fragmented memory just pieced it together as this challenge, but it kinda sounds like a good idea! There’s also Non-Fiction November, which I think will be fun because I’m always looking to read more NF and a challenge will give me some good incentive to do it! There’s also the PopSugar Reading Challenge, which I’ve been doing since the start of the year, although I’ve been (unsurprisingly) horrible at actually keeping track of my progress! I did take a peek at the prompts the other day and realized that I’ve made a pretty good dent in the basic challenges, so I’m quite happy with that! I’ll probably make a post for that challenge soon too.
And that’s wrap folks! Sorry for blabbering so much 🙃
Did you participate in the summer reading challenge or ARC August? Will you be participating in any other challenges this year?I’d love to know your progress! Leave me a comment and let’s chat about it!
It’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
What did you read last?
Over the last week I managed to read these five books. While it’s not crazy impressive, I’m happy that I managed to keep the reading momentum going! Probably the Best Kiss in the World was okay but it wasn’t what I expected and felt a bit let down by it; you can read my review here! I still have to write my reviews for Stalking Jack the Ripper, Luna and the Lie and The Simple Wild, which I only finished last night, but completely loved! Luna and the Lie was my first Mariana Zapata and holy mother of slow burns! I mean, I’m all for a slow burn romance but when it gets to 80% mark and nothing indicates something more will happen between the characters, I felt a little miffed. Did I mention that this is probably the longest romance that I’ve ever read? It comes in close to 600 pages, and yet thanks to my sleeping issues, I managed to finish it in one day! SJTR was… interesting. Different to what I expected and while I enjoyed it, I’m sorry to say that I didn’t love it 😫 All reviews coming soon (I hope)!
What are you currently reading?
Although I’m not in a slump I’m still finding it difficult to choose what to read next, which is why I’ve been sticking to contemporary romances that I know won’t give me too much bother. That Forever Girl (Getting Lucky #2) by Meghan Quinn just released yesterday and I’m planning to start it tonight! I’m trying to get out of the romance stream, so I’ve also picked up Miracle Creek on a whim! This was one of the highly anticipated additions to my physical shelf since it released and it’s still been sitting untouched for a few months now 😅 I’ve also still got My Lovely Wife going but haven’t picked it back up again since SJTR was gorier than I expected and I needed a break (is this my age speaking?)!
What will you read next?
I feel like I’ve failed epically with #ARCAugust but I’m going to continue steadily whittling my ARCs down as I go. I recently put myself on a requesting ban but a whole bunch (that I forgot about since it’s been months since I requested them) got approved last week and whelp, here we go again! 😅 But September is coming up and with it a buddy read and a blog tour that will take priority! I’ll be participating in my second TheWriteReads blog tour this time for A Different Time by Michael K. Hill and I’m really looking forward to it! My date is set for the first week of September so I have to get cracking on that read soon. I’ll also be doing a buddy read for The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, which will take place over the month of September coz have you seen the size of that tome?!
What are you currently reading? Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂
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