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Good Books with Bad Covers

the space between time by Charlie laidlaw
Picture from Goodreads

The Space Between Time by Charlie Laidlaw

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was amazing. I was contacted by the author with the opportunity to read an e-ARC of his book, and I accepted expecting a light quick read. This was not a light read at all, it was full of depth and it dealt with really hard but relevant topics. You can read my full review here.

I thought this cover should’ve had a starry night in the background with some planets on there and maybe a few mathematical equations floating in between. This cover definitely would not have attracted me to the book in the first place.

This savage song by v.e schwab
Picture from Goodreads

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book I experienced as an audio book. It was voiced by a male and female voice for the two main characters, and I thought they did a great job. This was a very unique world that I’m very interested to read more of. You can read my full review here.

I like the violin on the cover, but for a very long time I could not even tell it WAS a violin. I get what they were trying to do, but the violin definitely needs to be brighter so we can see what they’re trying to depict inside of it.

A very large expanse of the sea by tahereh mafi

A Very Large Expanse of the Sea by Tahereh Mafi

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I mentioned in my review that I thought the whole point of this cover was “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” which is one of the main messages I feel like this story tries to get across. But more could’ve been done to get this point across and to attract more people to buy the book. For me it was enough that Mafi wrote it, because I will forever read anything she writes, but for other people that might not be the case.

the eternity cure by Julie kagawa book
Picture from Goodreads

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve mentioned before that Julie Kagawa is one of my favorite authors, and this is one of my favorite series by her. I already love Dystopian novels, but her descriptions, dialogue, and overall way of making this world seem so real is what sold me on this story. This cover definitely does not do it justice.

the time traveler's wife by Audrey niggenegger
Picture from Goodreads

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I absolutely loved this book and I thought it was so unique in the way it portrayed time travel; not as something cool but as a burden to be bared. But it definitely needed to have something better on the cover, the child is kind of creepy. I will definitely be doing a re-read of this soon.

Which books do you think could have gone unnoticed because of the cover? Any recommendations?

booktag image
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Audio Book Tag

I found this book tag in Rathertoofondofbooks blog. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while.

Have you always listened to audio books or when did you begin?

I only began listening to audio books a few months ago. I needed something productive to do on my work commute. I used to think I was not an audio book person, and believe me it takes me a while to find a book I will tolerate listening to, but whenever I do find one it’s great.

aurora rising audio book picture from my bookstagram
Picture from my bookstagram

What is your favorite audio book?

For now, it has been Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, narrated by a whole cast of eight people: Jonathan McClain (Tyler), Kim Mai Guest (Auri), Candice Moll (Cat), Steve West (Kal), Donabella Mortel (Zila), Lincoln Hoppe (Fin), Erin Spencer (Scarlett), and Jonathan Todd Ross (Magellan). A full cast makes for a great listening experience, almost like listening to a very descriptive movie. You can read my full review here.

Sticky notes and highlights of book
Picture taken by me

What is your least favorite thing about audio books?

I never write on my books, but I like sticking sticky notes on there with my favorite quotes and passages. When it’s an e-book, I highlight things and write notes on my Kindle app. That’s something I’m not able to do with an audio book. I try to leave a note open on my phone to add anything interesting I hear, but that leaves me scrambling to pause the audio and it kind of ruins the experience for me.

What do you think is the difference in experience between physically reading a book and listening to it?

Apart from not being able to put sticky notes in it and park my favorite passages and quotes, there’s just nothing like holding a physical book in my hands. I like seeing exactly how far I am in the story, and not a percentage. I love feeling and flipping the pages. Also, I love the smell of books, it’s one of the best smells in the world. I don’t think anything will be able to replace reading a real book for me.

How and when do you listen?

I usually listen on my work commute, I drive on average 45 minutes to and from work, so that gives me 90 minutes of listening time a day. Also, whenever I have shores to do around the house, and sometimes if it’s a really good book I will play it in the shower.

What style/genre do you prefer?

I find that simple straightforward plots with a lot of action work better for audio books. It doesn’t really matter which genre, but any books with a lot of world building and explanations usually lose me as audio books.

catwoman soulstealer by sarah j maas audio book
Picture from Goodreads

What are some audiobook/narrator recommendations?

I already mentioned Aurora Rising, I also really enjoyed Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas translated by Julia Whelan. Whelan does all the accents and everyone’s voices perfectly. You can read my review here.

What is your opinion on audio books?

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WWW Wednesday

This is a meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where you answer three questions: What are you reading now? What did you just read? What will you be reading next? I find this a great way to touch base every week, and to get on the right reading track.

The girl the sea gave back by Adrienne young
Picture from Goodreads

What I’m reading now:

I couldn’t believe it when I got an e-ARC of The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young from Netgalley. I will forever read anything she writes. I’m also finally reading Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman, which I’ve only been looking forward to forever.

My bookstagram

What I just read:

I just read Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, which wasn’t as action packed as Six of Crows or Crooked Kingdom, but I do understand a lot of world building was necessary. I also listened to an audio of Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, which also reminded me a lot of Six of Crows, a band of misfits full of special and unique talents. You can read my mini reviews for those here. Finally, I read an e-ARC of Call it What you Want by Brigid Kemmerer, she has also quickly become one of my auto-read authors.

My Bookstagram

What I will be reading next:

I hope to finally get to Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and hopefully start making a good dent on my physical TBR. The e-books and audio books I pick up next will depend on what’s available to be checked out on Libby, and if I get approved for any e-ARCs from Netgalley. I don’t usually buy e-books or audio books, unless I have free credits on the Audible app, or a good book is available for free on kindle first reads. If you have the kindle app and have not signed up for kindle first reads I highly recommend it -it’s free and they let you choose a free book every month from a list.

What are you guys’ WWW’s?

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Mini Reviews

shadow and bone by leigh bardugo
Picture taken by me

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – Mini Review

The problem with wanting…is that it makes us weak”

The Darkling

Since this book is part of a trilogy there was a lot of world building that I really appreciated. This was the difference between this book and the Six of Crows books. There was a lot more explaining in this one about the different Grisha and what their powers entailed. We as the readers got to learn it all right along with Alina. By the way, I loved Alina. She was a very strong likeable female character who said whatever was on her mind most of the time which was great. She reminds me of a prickly easily riled cat.

I also had a thing for the Darkling, he reminds me a lot of Kaz Brekker from the Six of Crows books. One of my favorite side characters was Botkin, the combat trainer, he was hilarious: “Should not hit girl in the face when she is going to party…Botkin will be fairer tomorrow.”

This was one of those books where I did not understand what the cover meant until I read it, I don’t come across those very often. Sometimes I had trouble believing this world wasn’t real, especially during the scary parts in the Fold. I’m pretty sure Bardugo travels to alternate universes and then comes back to write about them.

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff -Audio Mini Review

The whole place seems like it’s being held together by spit and good luck.”

aurora rising

This was such a great audio book. The full cast really made the difference for me, and I always wonder why more audio books don’t do this. This book had seven different points of views, and each one is voiced by a different person. There are sound effects in the audio book which really makes the whole story come alive, and it becomes almost like listening to a really good descriptive movie.

I loved the humor throughout this book and the play on words. I did roll my eyes sometimes at some of the dialogue and internal dialogue, which is why I took off one star. A few of the characters were full of themselves, but I thought that it made them very entertaining if maybe a bit annoying at times. Tyler reminded me of Captain Thorne from Cinder, except with killer dimples.

The plot is action packed as the characters are thrown from one predicament into another. I really loved this unique group of characters, they reminded me of the gang from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, a bunch of misfits who have really special talents.

Have you read these? What did you think?

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Monday Cleaning Day

It’s Monday again, and the only good thing about my Mondays is that I get to clean up my TBR. As always I ordered by TBR on Goodreads in reverse chronological order, and I skipped the books I have already decided to keep in my past posts. I then took a look at the next ten books and decided to keep them or delete them.

the lightning thief by rick riordan
Picture from Goodreads

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)

I feel like this is a right of passage book, and I’m totally ashamed I have not read it. I believe I’ve seen a few of the movies. I definitely need to read this series.

Keep 🙂

The Great alone by Kristin Hannah
Picture from Goodreads

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

I’ve never read a book set in Alaska before, and like I said on my previous post I’m trying to expand my horizons. This book has pretty good ratings on Goodreads and has been talked about a lot on Bookstagram. I will give it a try.

Keep 🙂

The woman in the window by aj finn
Picture from Goodreads

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Many people on my Goodreads are saying this book should get more than five stars so I’m really intrigued. It reminds me of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins which I also loved.

Keep 🙂

Grit the power of passion and perseverance by angela duckworth
Picture from Goodreads

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

I must’ve been in one of those peppy/ inspirational moods when I added this to my TBR, but honestly now I’m rolling my eyes at it so…

Delete 😦

World war z an oral history of the zombie war by max brooks
Picture from Goodreads

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

I really liked the movie, and in my experience the book is always better. So I’m keeping this one, and I’ll just imagine Brad Pitt the whole time.

Keep 🙂

The belles by Dhonielle clayton
Picture from Goodreads

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

What an interesting and unique concept. People are born “gray and damned” and only with the help of a “belle” can they become beautiful.

Keep 🙂

Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Picture from Goodreads

Scythe by Neal Shusterman (Arc of a Scythe, #1)

This one is really famous amongst the bookstagrammer community and I see it everywhere. It has great reviews on Goodreads as well. I will definitely give it a try.

Keep 🙂

Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Picture from Goodreads

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Such a pretty cover. Great reviews as well. This one is a keeper.

Keep 🙂

The winners curse by marie rutkoski
Picture from Goodreads

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

I recently found this book while reading Call it What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer. In her book one of the main characters talks about enjoying books like Harry Potter, An Ember in the Ashes and he also mentioned this one. It looks like there are several of these books out and I’m very behind the times.

Keep 🙂

The girl who could move sh*t with her mind by Jackson ford
Picture from Goodreads

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford

I may or may not have added this book to my TBR solely because of the cover. It has mixed reviews and it doesn’t have a lot of them, so I might just wait until there is a more solid opinion on this one. I’m being very selective of what I keep on my TBR lately, and this one is not covering it.

Delete 😦

This time I only deleted two out of ten books, which can only mean I’m getting really good at only adding books I will actually read to my TBR. Would you have done anything different?

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June Wrap-up

a curse so dark and lonely by brigid kemmerer
My bookstagram

Books I read this month

📖A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (hardback) review here

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖The Raven Boys (audio) review here

⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖Call it What you want by Brigid Kemmerer (e-Arc) review here

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖Shadow and Bone (paperback) -mini review coming soon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff (audio) -mini review coming soon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa (e-Arc) review here

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (audio) review here

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

the book of dust by phillip pullman
My Bookstagram

June Bookhaul

For my shelves

📖Cinder by Marissa Meyer

📖An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

📖Rest of Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi (excluding last book released)

📖Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

From book subscription boxes (TBR)

📖 Birthday by Meredith Russo

📖This time will be different by Misa Sugiura

Bought

📖The book of dust by Phillip Pullman

E-books (from kindle first reads)

📖False step by Victoria Helen Stone

Wrap-up

I don’t feel like I made good progress on my TBR this month, maybe because I barely read any physical books; they were mostly audio and e-books. But I do feel like a read good quality books, so maybe quality over quantity is a good thing. I definitely want to get to more of my real books in July. Especially Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. After having read Aurora Rising by them I’m really excited to read the Illuminae series.

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Rapid Fire Book Tag

I saw this tag on the For Book s’ Sake page and it looked like so much fun. So without anything further here are the questions and my answers.

E-book or physical Book?

Here is the thing, there’s nothing like holding a physical book in my hands, being able to turn the pages and seeing how far I’ve come, and the smell of a book is one of my favorite scents. BUT, I do have two kids under four and it’s much easier for me to read an e-book while I watch them than to read a real book.

Paperback or hardback?

This is a hard one. Paperbacks are so much easier for me to hold and carry around everywhere. Hardbacks are so pretty and look much better on my shelves. I always have to remove the dust cover so that I don’t damage it while I take it everywhere, and then when I’m done with the book I put the dust cover back on and put it on my shelf. If I really had to choose, I think I would choose paperbacks.

Mother’s Day bookhaul

Online or in-store book shopping?

Books are so much cheaper online, but there’s nothing like walking through a bookstore for me. It’s actually one of my favorite things to do in the world. This year for mother’s day that was actually my only wish, going to the bookstore. My husband was such a trooper, he handled the kids while I spent some uninterrupted time browsing for books. As you can see on this picture, I really spoiled myself.

Trilogies or series?

As long as the book is good, I don’t really care if it’s a trilogy or a series. As long as I like the author and the story still holds my interest I will read all the books they write, even if it’s an 18 book long one (Black Dagger Brotherhood anyone?).

Heroes or villains?

Heroes all the way. Give me heroes I can root for the whole time. Once I start liking the villains and wishing they would kill the hero already, that’s when I know I’m hating the book.

harry potter and the sorcerer's stone book, jk rowling
My bookstagram

A book you want everyone to read?

Hands down the Harry Potter series. I could read those books over and over. I’m in love with that whole world, and I always hope I can pass my love on to others. You can read all about how I grew up with this series here.

Recommend an underrated author?

Is Julie Kagawa considered underrated? I’m not sure, but her Immortal Rules series was one of the best I’ve read and I never see it talked about anywhere. You all already know I loved her Shadow of the Fox and Soul of the Sword books.

The last book you finished?

Call it What you Want by Brigid Kemmerer. It was a four star out of five for me, and you can read my review here.

Weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark?

*Cringes* …a banana? Okay, hear me out. I was really busy at work multi-tasking, I was reading and eating, and then I got a phone call…so what do I do? I stick my banana in my book to hold my page. Don’t judge me.

Used books: Yes or no?

I love all books, definitely yes. I like imagining where the book has been and how many people have read it. I don’t sniff them like I do new books, but still used books are great.

Top 3 favorite genres?

Fantasy, YA, and does New Adult count? I occasionally delve into Contemporary, but I really try to avoid it because it makes me cry.

Borrow or buy?

I try not to borrow books, when I do I warn the owners that it might not come back in the same condition. Like I said, I have two kids. I love buying books. My bank account not so much though.

Character or plot?

Plot. If the plot goes downhill, then it doesn’t matter how good your characters are. For example, I really loved the Divergent series, an I loved the characters, but once the plot started slipping I hated the whole thing. Also, I hate bad endings.

Long or short books?

Size doesn’t matter! Okay, but for real if you can tell me everything you need to tell me, if the characters are well developed, and so is the plot, then I don’t really care what the size of the book is.

Kingdom of Ash, Throne of Glass, Sarah J Maas
Throne of Glass (#7)

Name the first three books you think of?

Throne of Glass

Lunar Chronicles

Shatter Me

Three of my favorites 🙂

Books that make you laugh or books that make you cry?

I hate crying, I love books that make me laugh. I’m currently listening to an audio of Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff, and I love the humor they use.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Picture taken by Me

Our world or fictional worlds?

Depends on the world. I would love to live in the Harry Potter world, but would not like to live in the post Apocalyptic Shatter Me world.

Audiobooks: Yes or no?

A month ago this would’ve been a no, but recently I have developed a liking for audio books. I only listen to them on my work commute, in the shower, and while I’m doing chores around the house. It has been a good way for me to stay productive. I always listen to a sample first before I get the book though, because if I don’t like the narrator’s voice then the whole thing is ruined.

Do you ever judge a book by its cover?

Too many times to count, although I have learned from my mistakes. I now read the reviews and usually a sample before I commit to buying a book now. I’m a sucker for pretty covers, and thanks to Bookstagram my TBR is full them.

Game of thrones series, books, George rr martin
Picture form Goodreads

Book to movie or book to TV adaptation?

It depends on the book? I recently was so disappointed by the Game of Thrones TV show 😦 But I did love most of the Harry Potter movies, they really made the whole world come alive with only a few minor flaws and omissions.

A movie or TV adaptation you preferred instead of the book?

None, I always like the book better.

Series or stand alone?

I like series. Stand alone books always leave me feeling empty and with no purpose after. At least with a series I can delay that feeling until the last book 🙂

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Five Star Reads

We’re half-way through the year already, so I thought I would summarize all the five star reads I’ve had up to now. I’ve either been very generous this year with my ratings, or I’ve just been reading a lot of fantastic books. I’ve read a total of eleven five star books this year. For me these are books that I’ve absolutely loved and I would re-read them again. Also, these tend to become my auto-buy authors, and I will buy anything they write forever and ever.

Fairest Lunar Chronicles by Merissa Meyer
Picture from Goodreads

Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles, #3.5) by Marissa Meyer

I loved the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, and this was Queen Levana’s story. I haven’t read many stories from the villain’s point of view, and this was a very interesting read. In reality I just really missed this world and even a small mention of the main characters made me happy. I enjoyed finding out exactly what happened to Cinder and Snow when they were children at the hands of Queen Levana. I liked reading about the events that made her into the evil Queen. After reading this novella I had to go and reread the whole series of course. I’m planning to write a full review on the whole Lunar Chronicles soon.

The Space between time by Charlie laidlaw
Picture from Goodreads

The Space Between Time by Charlie Laidlaw

This story was profoundly real. It delves into hard topics such as depression, anxiety and suicide, while also throwing some humor into the mix. I would recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about the human condition and what it means to be alive. Read my full review here.

A very large expanse of the sea by tahereh mafi
Picture from Goodreads

A Very Large Expanse of the Sea by Tahereh Mafi

I love Mafi’s Shatter Me series, and this stand alone totally unrelated book was amazing as well. The characters felt so real. It had a diary kind of feel to it that kept me glued to the pages wanting to find out what was next. You can read my full review here.

The red scrolls of magic by Cassandra clare, shadowhunters, the eldest curses
Picture from Goodreads

The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses, #1) by Cassandra Clare

I had been looking forward to The Red Scrolls of Magic for almost a year. One of my favorite characters from her other Shadowhunter books is Magnus Bane, and when I saw the book was mostly about him I was super excited. On the other hand, one of my least favorite characters is Alexander Lightwood, but this book was exactly what I needed in order to understand his personality more. You can read my full review here.

A curse so dark and lonely by brigid kemmerer
Picture from Goodreads

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

I found the plot to be fast paced and gripping, but without feeling too rushed. I’ve read a lot of fairy tale retellings, and this one was different enough to be entertaining yet it still kept many of the familiar concepts I associate with Beauty and the Beast. It included the beast (of course), a girl taken against her will, and an enchanted castle. I also thought the romance aspect of the story was very realistic, especially the fact that at a young age it’s hard to identify what love feels like. You can read the rest of my review here.

Sky in the deep by Adrienne young
Picture from Goodreads

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

The women in this book are strong, and many of them are leaders. The men worship their women, and fight to protect their people. I liked that both sexes are seen as warriors and providers. I heard her next book The Girl the Sea Gave Back is in part about him. I recently got approved to read it on Netgalley and I cannot wait to get started. I loved everything about this book, and I will definitely be reading anything else she writes. Come read the rest of my review here.

shadow of the fox by Julie kagawa
Picture from Goodreads

Shadow of the Fox (Shadow of the Fox, #1) by Julie Kagawa

This was my first audio book. I never thought I would get into audio books but I really needed something productive to do while on the way to and from work, and I thought listening to an audio book was a great idea. I liked the fact that Yumeko and Tatsumi were voiced by a female and a male respectively. They each changed their voices when another character was involved, and I thought it was well done. I did have the e-book as well, and that was nice to have for any down time, and to check the correct spelling of names and places. It also had a handy glossary at the end. The story, the characters, and the scenery were described in great detail, and at the time I could not wait for the second book. You can read the rest of my review here.

soul of the sword by Julie kagawa
Picture from Goodreads

Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox, #2) by Julie Kagawa

**Some spoilers for Shadow of the Fox, the first book in the series**

Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa transported me to a warm campfire under a starry night, while a bearded old man told this mythical tale in between puffs of smoke from his old wooden pipe. Suddenly, I was in a world in which emotions like grief and despair had smells, and everything from the scenery to the food was described in poetic detail. I particularly found the Forest of a Thousand Eyes terrifying, even when described from Hakaimono’s demon perspective, who tried to make everything sound amusing. Read the rest of my review here.

catwoman soulstealer by sarah j maas
Picture from Goodreads

Catwoman: Soulstealer (DC Icons, #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Catwoman: Soulstealer was written by Sarah J. Maas, and the audio book was narrated by Julia Whelan. I read it in my down time, and listened to it on my work commute, as well as in the shower and while doing house-work. Honestly, I found myself looking for any possible excuse to listen to this book. This narrator was the best I’ve heard yet, she did all the male and female voices perfectly and even did their accents. Read my full review here.

the wicked king by holly black
Picture from Goodreads

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2) by Holly Black

In this sequel to “The Cruel Prince” by Holly Black. We continue the story of Jude Duarte, a human in the realm of Elfhame, who is struggling to hold on to her newly acquired power over its high King Cardan and his subjects. The graphics on this cover were amazing, and I loved the little drawings of dragonflies throughout the book along with the drawings at the beginning of each chapter. The dialogue between Jude and Cardan was so entertaining to read. I could just read about those two talking forever. Read my full review here.

crooked kingdom by leigh bardugo
Picture from Goodreads

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) by Leigh Bardugo

I loved this band of misfits. This was a super fast paced book packed with action, even more so than the first book in the series. If you love stories with a good heist in them, then this is the book for you. It is told from six different points of views, but Leigh Bardugo does it seamlessly so that it never becomes an issue. Each character is unique and fleshed out, even if their names weren’t at the top of each chapter, you could still probably tell who was narrating every time. Come read my full review here.

What were some of your five star reads this year?

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Call It What You Want

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer is a Contemporary/ YA novel involving two teenagers Rob and Meagan. Rob is living with the consequences of his dad’s actions, while Meagan is dealing with the repercussions of her own mistakes and those of her sister Sam.

People love finding the weak link that makes them feel superior.”

Sam

I usually try to avoid Contemporary, because good Contemporary fiction always ends up making me cry. But Kemmerer wrote this one so I just had to read it. Kemmerer paints such a vivid picture of what it’s like to a be a High Schooler that it brought back all my horrible High School memories. I hated High School. Emotions are so real in this story, and by real I mean not described in flowery detail, but in basic and deeply relatable terms.

My life has collapsed to the point where a ninety-nine-cent cup of coffee with a stranger is meaningful”

Rob

Another thing I liked about this story was Kemmerer’s inclusion of other books I love, like An Ember in the Ashes and Harry Potter. Call It What You Want is the only book that has ever made me add another book to my “to be read” list. She kept mentioning all these books I love, so when she mentioned Winner’s Curse I had to add it.

One choice doesn’t determine your whole future.”

Sam

I appreciate authors who can branch out into other genres and still write amazing stories. I loved A Curse so Dark and Lonely by her, which was Fantasy/ YA, and Call It What You Want definitely lived up to all my expectations as well. I would recommend this book to all Contemporary/ YA fans. This book delves into hard topics such as suicide, underage drinking, and abortion, amongst others. Overall, the main lesson I took from this story was that everyone is fighting their own battles and not everything is black and white. Real people live in the gray areas.

Sometimes when we’re trying to protect the people closest to us, doing the right thing doesn’t always look so clear.”

Maegan’s dad

This book released today June 25th. I hope you guys have time to check it out.

Many thanks to Bloomsburry and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Monday Cleaning Day

Lately, I’ve really been trying to expand my reading horizons and come out of my YA/Fantasy shell a bit. This has led to adding all sorts of random books to my TBR, books I never would’ve read before. But, the time has come to clean up by TBR a bit I order to soothe by OCD and make it more manageable.

As always, I’ve organized my Goodreads TBR in reverse chronological order of when I added the books, I skipped the books I already decided to keep in my other Monday posts, and then I selected the first nine books and decided whether to keep them or delete them.

The smell of other people's houses book
Picture from Goodreads

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Like I said…expanding my horizons. But…my friends on Goodreads gave this one really bad reviews, and one of them didn’t even finish it *gasp*

Delete 😦

how it feels to float book
Picture from Goodreads

How it feels to float by Helena Fox

This is a YA/Contemporary, so it still counts as expanding my reading material. It has great reviews from all my friends on Goodreads. It deals with loss, so I might have to wait until I’m in a mood to read it. But it seems like a wholesome read that I might enjoy. Terrible cover though.

Keep 🙂

the forgetting book
Picture from Goodreads

The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron

I’m 99.9% sure I added this book to my TBR merely because of the pretty cover. It has terrible reviews by both my like-minded friends on Goodreads and the people I follow. Some are even calling it a waste of their time, and goodness knows I don’t have any time to waste on bad books.

Delete 😦

the city of brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Picture from Goodreads

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

This seems interesting and I really like the cover. It was published back in 2017, but I must’ve somehow missed it. It has great reviews, a 4.18/5 on Goodreads. I can’t wait to read it.

Keep 🙂

Red, White and Royal Blue book by Caey McQuiston Contemporary
Picture from Goodreads

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

I don’t think I’ve ever read a Contemporary Romantic Comedy before, but this looks like a good first one to read. It also looks like it would make a great movie someday.

Keep 🙂

On Earth we're briefly gorgeous book by ocean vuong
Picture from Goodreads

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

First thing I thought when I first saw this book was “what a terrible cover.” Are they hugging? Is one person holding the other one down? Why are they so dirty? The reviews are good, but the synopsis doesn’t sound very interesting.

Delete 😦

five feet apart by rachael Lippincott mikki Daughtry tobias iaconis
Picture from Goodreads

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis

Do I want to do this to myself? Are they both going to die at the end? I don’t think I can take another book like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and this one reminds me a lot of that one. I think I’ll just have to be in a certain mood for this one. I also always like to read the book before I watch the movie.

Keep 🙂

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Picture from Goodreads

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

This is another one that seems like it might make a great movie one day, seems like a nice read. I always liked the friends to enemy plot. The cover is so great too. I think I need a vacation now.

Keep 🙂

The Werewolf Queen by Brandi Elledge
Picture from Goodreads

The Werewolf Queen by Brandi Elledge

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve been drunk adding random books to my TBR or something, I think it has just been really tired and overworked late night TBR adding. This doesn’t seem like something I would enjoy at all.

Delete 😦

I ended up deleting four out of nine books. Would you have done anything different? Let me know in the comments!