Tag || Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award

Hi there! I’m finally here to answer one of the many tags I have yet to answer…I am pretty horrible at tags but thanks for everyone who’s ever tagged me! I see you and I appreciate the appreciation! Today, I’m responding to a tag from Morgan at Morgan is Reading Again. Thanks Morgan, I really liked your questions. ♥

What is The Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award?

The Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award is a non-official award to the bloggers as a reward of wonderful work on their blogs. It’s just as important because it really reflects the good impact we can have on other people’s lives. It is important for the inspiration towards the success journey of our fellow bloggers and especially newbie’s to become the future stars.

How It Works

• Thank the person who has nominated you and provide a link back to their blog
• Answer their questions
• Nominate up to 9 other bloggers and ask them 5 new questions
• Notify the nominees through their blog by visiting and commenting on their blog
• List the rules and display the “Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award” logo
• Provide the link of the Award creator of the Ideal Inspiration Blogger award as Rising Star from: https://idealinspiration.blog

1. Do you like classical music?

My immediate answer is yes….I just don’t know much about it. I like using the IDAGIO app, which is kind of like Pandora but for classical and other instrumental music. I especially like listening to it when I read.

2. Do you play on any musical instruments? Or would you like to?

No I don’t, unfortunately! I took guitar lessons many years ago in high school and learned how to play some of Let it Be by The Beatles and Mr. Jones by Counting Crows (not my musical choices), but that’s as far as it went. I mostly just liked going to my classes because my guitar teacher would tell funny stories and play/sing me Beatles songs. I would like to play an instrument, but I don’t think I have the patience to learn at this point in my life.

3. What is your absolute favourite TV show ever?

AHHHH! What a question…I’m going to have to say My Mad Fat Diary. I watched it as it was airing every week from 2013-2015, which was during a time I was having a tough go of it, plus I was around the same age as the characters. I’ve watched it at least 3 times and I’m due for another re-watch. Every single time I watch it, I find comfort in a different aspect of. It always gives me this beautiful sense of hope and it is also hilarious.

I would definitely recommend it, just be aware that it focuses a lot on mental health, self-harm, disordered eating, and death of a loved one.

4. How do you recharge after a long day?

I mostly just read and play video games (although less so on the video games recently- Animal Crossing has started to stress me out!). I also love making tea and watching my comfort shows/movies on the weekends.

5. What is one genre you’d like to read more from in 2021?

Horror! I started reading horror last year and I realized that I really enjoyed it. I’ve already read 3 horror novels and I’m properly irked. I don’t even like horror movies, so it’s interesting that I can read horror and not be completely freaked out.

I’d like to nominate these lovely bloggers:  Erin @ Rin’s Reads, Mayurakshi @ Bookshelf Life, Jawahir @ Jawahir the Bookworm , Becky @ Dusts of Magic , Ahaana @ Windows to Worlds, Cherelle @ A Bolt Out of the Book, Elli at AceReader♥

I know there are probably tags piling up, so no pressure!

Here are my questions:

1. What is the TV show or movie that you have re-watched the most?
2. What is one of your favorite non-book things that is bringing you joy right now?
3. Do you watch booktube and if so who are your favorite creators (if not, then just YouTubers in general)?
4. Do you have any auto-buy or auto-read authors?
5. What is something that you really miss from pre-pandemic days?

(I just realized that these questions have a lot of hyphens.)

Thanks for reading! What is one of your favorite TV shows? I’m currently on the search for new ones to watch! Until next time,

Top 5 Tuesday: 5 Recommendations from Friends

Hello there! Today I wanted to join in on the fun and participate in Top 5 Tuesday, which is being hosted by Meeghan Reads ! Check out her blog for all Top 5 Tuesday prompts.

Today’s prompt is:

top 5 recommendations from friends

My best friend is really the one who encouraged the resurgence of my love of books three years ago, which school had completely killed. Shout out to her for being my actual soulmate and recommending me such amazing books. All of the books in this list are recommendations from her!

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

My favorite recommendation ever has been Foolish Hearts. After I graduated from university and moved back home, my best friend and I started going to the library together.  How I miss those times!

She recommended me to check out this book first and it was perfect. It is such a fun, heartwarming book that I have reread since then and still love totally and completely. Emma Mills is my one auto-buy author and I am forever impatiently awaiting her next book. If you want an easy contemporary YA to pick up your mood, definitely check this masterpiece out.

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

This is a book that I think is super underrated. It follows Mara, who is forced to confront the fact that her brother has been accused of rape by one of her friends. It is such a heavy topic and difficult situation that is dealt in such a caring and nuanced way by the author. I read this a few years ago, so it’s due for a reread.

 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Do I even need to explain this one? Like so many other readers, this is one of my all-time favorite books. I cried, I laughed, I cried some more. Another recommendation from my friend that I am so happy that I read and one I plan on rereading very soon when I’m prepared to experience a busload of emotions.

 

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I am maybe, probably, definitely known to perhaps tease my friend about not being interested in books that she recommends to me, which is completely unfounded since I almost always love them. This is one of those books.

I wasn’t very interested in Beartown when I started since it’s so hockey-centric and I didn’t love the slower pace at the start, but of course I ended up completely consumed by the story and its characters. Fredrik Backman is a master at writing characters that feel so real and multi-faceted. It’s about time I get to the other book in this series already!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

I checked this book out before my friend read it, but she said that she loved the way the particular copy from our local library smelled and that I had to check it out. I’m convinced that someone loved reading this book so much that they found their favorite cologne or perfume and sprayed it between the pages of the book. It smelled so warm and woodsy and enhanced the reading experience for me to be honest. An odd thing, I know, but it’s something I remember so vividly.

I also loved this book because it takes place in Los Angeles and I read a majority of the last half of the book while in traffic going home from Hollywood. Thinking of this book transports me to a time in my life when I was figuring my adult life out and it truly helped me out. *Fist bump to Evelyn Hugo*

I haven’t seen my friend in real life since the start of the pandemic, so this ended up being an appreciation post to her and the books that connect us, plus all the other books that connect us in this community!

What is one of your favorite recommendations from a friend? Share your posts if you wrote your own in the comments!

 

WWW Wednesday || October 21, 2020

Hello there friends! Despite my massive TBR for October, I haven’t been able to actually finish many of the books on my list. My new kitten has been demanding much of time (on top of work), but I’m hoping that this next week I get a lot of reading done. So for now, here is what I’ve been up to this past week!

What are you currently reading?

🍂 Borage by Gill McKnight

This was one of the books that I purchased from The Ripped Bodice Romantic Bookstore here in California. I decided that I wanted to read an independently published book and after seeing the cover for this one, I immediately added it to my cart. Borage by Gill McKnight is a bit of a mystery, a bit of a sapphic romance (very light romance so far- more than halfway through), and a lot of quirky magical characters. Borage is the name of the cat, by the way. I am having a fun time reading this and am excited to see where the story goes.

🍂 Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

I’m reading this for a post I’m doing on speculative fiction, a mind-bending and imaginative genre. The stories in this book are so macabre and eerie, but underneath it all lay darker truths about the reality of the world. This is a heavy book with content warnings for basically everything from heavy drug use to graphic depictions of murder, but it is so haunting that I can’t look away.

🍂 The Passengers by John Marrs

Ever since I read The One in April and decided that it was my favorite thriller, I’ve wanted to check out John Marrs’ other books to see how they compare. I just started this on audio, but I’m hoping it is almost as much of a page-turner as The One. Self-driving cars that change passengers’ routes and tell them that they will be dying in a few hours…sounds like a good time to me!

What did you recently finish reading?

🍂 The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice by Donna Kauffman, Kate Angell, Allyson Charles

This is 100% a book I read solely because of the cover. I was also under the impression that it was one story about one set of characters, but instead it was a series of three short stories that got blander and blander as it went on. The romance was so bad, too. It was awful. Yikes. It was so bad that I had to keep listening to the audiobook to see where it could possibly go. I was duped by the blurb and I was duped by myself by thinking that this was the book for me. It was all my fault, really!

What do you think you’ll read next?

🍂 Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko & Sergey Dyachenko

I’ve been meaning to read this for ages and I’m hoping to finally get to it this month. I want all the dark academia, Kafka-esque vibes for the rest of October!

What are you currently reading or plan on reading next? Have you read any books recently just for the cover and how did it turn it out? Hopefully better than the book that I read!

Thanks for reading, hope you have a lovely rest of the week!

The Sunshine Blogger Award

Hello there! Today I’m answering some fun questions from Liza at The Inharmonious Heroine and Erin at Rin’s Reads. My very first tag from fellow book bloggers, so thanks to both of you!

What is The Sunshine Blogger Award?

The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to those who are creative, positive and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.

How does it work?

• Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

  

Question 1

Liza: When did you start your blog?

I started my blog in June 2020, so it’s been three months!

Erin: What’s the most rewarding part of blogging?

Interacting with people and sharing thoughts about books! I love this community and how welcoming it is so much. Being a part of it has really been the most rewarding part of itall.

Question 2

Liza: What motivated you to start your blog?

I had been wanting to get into the community to gush about books with fellow bibliophiles ever since I found booktube a couple of years ago, but I couldn’t bear filming myself and having to edit it. I tried out bookstagram, but it also proved to not be my thing. I really can’t remember how I found book blogging, but it was probably through bookstagram or twitter. I realized that there is actually a community where I could gush about books through writing, which is perfect for me!

Erin: When did you start reading (childhood, teenage years, adulthood)?

I started reading as a pastime since childhood, which was spurred by my grandpa encouraging me to read anything I could get my hands on and my amazing elementary/middle school/Jr. High library. I have loved it for as long as I can remember.

Question 3

Liza: What is your absolute favorite thing about reading?

Definitely the ability to immerse myself in another world or perspective. Whether it be for escapism or to learn something new, books allow me to become a part of another time and place. I’m also able to put myself in someone else’s shoes and learn about their experiences. I’d much rather be able to read about the endless stories and experiences that people live/create than only view the world through my single perspective.

Erin: Who’s your ride-or-die character?

Jem Carstairs. I love him and I know he will never do me wrong.

Question 4

Liza: If you could only read one genre for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Probably nonfiction. Although it isn’t my favorite genre, I do love reading it for the education factor and the ability to look at the world through different viewpoints. There are a plethora of genres under nonfiction such as memoirs, social science, and historical. I don’t think I would ever get bored.

Erin: If you could only read one author for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Yikes, you are really hitting me with the tough questions! Maybe John Steinbeck. He has so many books, he reminds me of my home state of California, and I have many memories attached to the novels of his that I’ve read so far.

Question 5

Liza: What is your favorite thing about blogging?

Being a part of a community and interacting with people who also love reading. I absolutely love getting new recommendations, reading about people’s perspectives, and just being able to talk to people I would otherwise never have interacted with. The world is a big place, I think it’s kind of beautiful that the internet can bring like-minded people together to share a wholesome love of books.

Erin: What’s your favorite post to write?

Recommendation posts! I haven’t written many yet, but I love categorizing books into moods, subjects, genres, and formats. I love enabling people to add more books to their TBR and I’m here to do just that! I have a bunch of topics in mind that I hope to get posted soon.

Question 6

Liza: What is something you wish you’d known before starting your blog?

I wish I would have known how easy it is to become a part of the community with just a little genuine effort. I always thought that I would be a tiny fish in a huge pond of massive “influencers” and my efforts wouldn’t see any return (this is kind of based on booktube assumptions). I eventually decided that I should just start a blog for my own enjoyment even if no one read it and without any expectations. I let my fear of yelling into an empty void stop me from starting anything book related, which I’m glad I finally got over. There are so many book blogs popping up constantly and we are all so excited about this one thing, we just want to share it!

Erin: Physical book, e-book or audiobook?

Physical! A lot of the time I have one of each on deck because I love them all for different reasons, but I prefer flipping the pages of a good book more than anything.

Question 7

Liza: What is your all-time favorite novel?

Another tough one! It’s a tie between East of Eden by John Steinbeck and Rain of Gold by Victor Villaseñor…I know I know that’s two, but I love them both for very similar reasons. They are both family sagas that deal with major drama, the idea of history repeating itself, and breaking or not breaking those patterns (at least from what I can remember). I cried reading both of them because I felt like I could see my family members and ancestors while reading the authors’ words, especially with Rain of Gold since it is about a Mexican-American family. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I could feel the words in my blood and they healed me a little bit.

Erin: Do you have a favorite reading snack or drink?

I like to curl up with some tea and perhaps a cookie or two during the colder months (which I’ve been impatiently awaiting for agessssss). Give me all the cozy vibes!

Question 8

Liza: Who is your ultimate favorite author?

I feel like I haven’t read enough books from enough authors to truly decide this, so I’ll just take the easy route and say Jane Austen. I have yet to read all of her books, but she hasn’t failed me yet with the four that I’ve read so far and I know that I will reread them countless of times in my life. Flawless, beautiful, amazing, gorgeous!

Erin: What are the top three books that encompass you as a person?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills, and Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Question 9

Liza: If you had to describe yourself using three literary characters, who would they be?

Holden Caulfield, Edward Cullen, hmmm who else…just kidding! It was fun to look through all of the books I’ve read and figure this one out. Final answer is Chicky from Miss Meteor (she is very similar to me), Mildred from The Worst Witch series (she’s a mess- as am I), and Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice (I’m stubborn and a hopeless romantic even though I try not to be).

Erin: What are your hobbies outside of reading?

I really don’t do much else other than read and play Animal Crossing, although I do like sewing when I can build up the stamina to sit down and start a project (I don’t stop until I’m finished even if takes 12 hours straight). The last time I sewed anything though was 6 months ago at the start of the lockdown to make face masks and I’ve been procrastinating making more ever since. My entire body was sore for three days after…I tense and crouch a lot.

Question 10

Liza: What advice do you have for beginner bloggers?

Just start! I waited so long because I didn’t want to be talking to an empty void, but if you put a little bit of effort to comment on posts that interest you and write about topics that excite you, then it will become something that is fun and worthwhile.

Erin: What’s your favorite time of day to read?

Nighttime! I’m a night owl all the way, so even though I read a lot during the day, nighttime is always the best time.

Question 11

Liza: What’s your favorite post you’ve ever written? (Link it below)

I don’t feel like I’ve posted something that is my true favorite yet (so little time, so many ideas!)…but probably my August Mini Reviews just because it was fun to write. I’m sorry, but writing about books I don’t like is a lot of fun *cough* Midnight Sun.

Erin: Lastly, have you ever thought about writing your own book?

Writing a book was my ultimate dream as a kid, but school killed that for me. I still want to write a book one day, even if I self-publish it. Not sure what it would be about yet, but I’ve always loved the idea of writing a middle grade book. I once read a self-published book that featured a boy who turned a potato into a little brother and it stuck with me even though I can’t remember the title for the life of me! I want to have that impact on at least one person. For now though, I’m content to just read other people’s work.

Thanks Liza and Erin for tagging me, I had so much fun answering your questions!

I am nominating the following people, but if you have already been tagged or want to skip, no worries! 🙂

Cherelle @ Cherelle the Bibliophile ||  Fleur @ Fleur is Reading Again  || Catalina @ Catarpillar Thinks || Ashmita @ The Fictional Journal || Siena @ Booksophobias || Alison @ Antari Reads || Halee @ HD’s Reading Life || Mayurakshi @ Bookshelf Life || Adira @ Introvert Interrupted || Sahi @ My World of Books || Shan @ Shan Shelves

The Questions

1. How did you come up with your blog title?
2. If you could have a sequel and/or prequel to any book, what book would it be for?
3. What do you listen to while you read, or do you prefer silence?
4. What book character would you want to be your best friend?
5. What is your favorite book to movie or TV show adaptation?
6. What three books encompass who you are?
7. What was your favorite book as a child?
8. What do you like doing on your free time other than reading?
9. What is your favorite music album? If you don’t have one, what is your favorite song?
10. What has been your biggest bookish blog accomplishment so far?
11. What’s your favorite post you have written so far?

WWW Wednesday || September 16, 2020

Hi there! Today I’m doing my very first WWW Wednesday, hosted by Taking on a World of Words.  All you have to do to participate is answer the following three questions.

1. What are you currently reading?

2. What did you recently finish reading?

3. What do you think you’ll read next?

Here are my WWWs this week! ☕

What are you currently reading?

🍃 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I’m currently reading The Shadow of the Wind for a new book club my tía, cousin, and I decided to form. My aunt picked this book and I’m so excited about it because I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time. I’m currently less than a quarter of the way through and taking it slowly so I can keep at the pace of my other book club members, but I’m very much enjoying the atmosphere of it so far. It’s a mystery that takes place in Barcelona and there is so much magic without their being actual magic or magical realism. I love when books are magical in all of their reality!

🍃 You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria

I just started listening to the audiobook for this and so far I’m liking it. I basically decided to read this solely because of all of the book bloggers I follow that have read it recently. I’m interested to see how I feel about it compared to everyone else. I also love Ugly Betty and Jane the Virgin + watched many novelas with my mom as a kid, so I’m excited to feel those telenovela vibes with this book.

What did you recently finish reading?

🍃 Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020! I am super happy that I was able to get an ARC of the book for a blog tour because I feel like it’s been ages since I first saw the beautiful cover and added it to my TBR. It was such a fun, cute book with so many different things going for it. Sisterhood, friends-to-lovers x2, pansexual rep, transgender rep, cute friend groups, small town vibes…it reminded me so much of the TV show Roswell that I got way too into several years ago, but with a Latinx twist. Review and blog tour post for this book will be coming on release day, September 22nd!

What do you think you’ll read next?

🍃 The Mothers by Brit Bennett

I recently found this book at the 99 cent store, which I’m SO stoked about. I’m always searching the book selection at dollar stores and I finally found one that doesn’t have horrendous reviews. It’s the debut from Brit Bennett, the author of The Vanishing Half, which I’ve also been wanting to read ever since it came out. This is a book that I’m hoping will refresh my reading mood since it’s short and I can jump back into the big stack of books that I have checked out from the library!

What are you currently reading or plan on reading next? Have you read any of these books?

Let me know in the comments what you have been up to!

Weekly Snapshots No. 2 + Stay at Home Book Tag

I accidentally flew through a bunch of audiobooks and got a lot of my August TBR done this week, which I’m very happy about! I also finally received the romance novels I purchased from The Ripped Bodice, a romance bookstore here in Southern California, and have had a blast starting my *romance journey*. I think that this pandemic portion of my life will be marked by the beginning of my obsession with romance novels…they are just so inexpensive and cute and I can’t stop searching the internet and thrift stores for all the romance novels. It’s truly an addiction.

I also watched Love Between the Covers on Amazon Prime, a documentary on the booming romance novel business, and became even more fascinated by the romance industry.  My haul and reviews on the romance books I received will eventually be posted here. For now, I want to have some fun- so here is the Stay at Home Book Tag created by Princess of Paperback on YouTube!

Laying in Bed: Book you could/have read in a day

I started and finished listening to the audiobook of Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars yesterday. It was a super quick read that mixed magical realism with a memoir-ish format. I have mixed feelings about the execution of the book, but it was still a very impactful read all about the true and not-so true story of Kai Cheng Thom as she moves to a new city and embraces her identity as a trans woman.

Snacking: Guilty pleasure book

I’m all about being comfortable with what you like, so I don’t really love saying something is a guilty pleasure. But in the traditional sense, I think that the Vampire Academy Series would fall under this title. There are some issues I have with certain aspects of these books, but I still love reading them. They are a lot of fun and revolve around vampires…and I will always have time for vampires! I haven’t finished the series, but I am slowly going through them so I can extend the experience. (The movie is also awful and wonderful and I have watched it way too many times.)

Netflix: Series you want to start

The Wildwood Duology by Juliet Marillier is one that I have been wanting to read for awhile. All I know about this series is that it is a fantasy with strong female characters, talking frogs, and GORGEOUS covers. That’s all I need to know. I will probably read this series this fall!

Deep Clean: Been on your TBR for ages

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder has been on my TBR longer than any other book. It still seems like an interesting plot and I have it on my Kindle…so I’ll get to it…eventually.

Animal Crossing: Book you recently bought because of hype

I don’t ever really buy books, but since romance novels are so inexpensive compared to other books and not typically carried at my local libraries, I’ve purchased quite a few recently. The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics is just one of these books. It’s a sapphic historical romance that I’ve heard praise of from many different book bloggers and booktubers across many genres. I think the hype will prove to be well deserved for this one and I can’t wait to read it!

Productivity : Book you learned from or had an impact on you

I’m just going to link to this post about the nonfiction books I read last month. Inside This Place, Not of It was my favorite from this list, though. It was a tough read, but taught me a lot and put actual faces and stories to the flawed prison industrial complex in the United States.

Facetime: A book you were gifted

I haven’t been gifted a book in a long time, but I was gifted a bookstore gift card from my mom for Christmas. With that card, I bought Lucky Caller by Emma Mills, who is my one auto-buy author. She writes the cutest books with the most heartwarming friend groups. I really liked Lucky Caller and ended up giving it 3.5 stars.

Self Care: What is one thing you have done recently to look after yourself

I went back to basics recently and decided to listen to one of my favorite albums while reading some historical romance with my cat. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with cassettes and I found Live Through This by Hole on cassette at a local record store. Ever since then, it is has been one of my prized possessions. Nothing like 90s grunge on scratchy tape to get through the angst!

BONUS: Name a book coming out soon

I am super excited to be on the blog tour with Hear Our Voices for Miss Meteor  by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore, which is coming out on September 22nd. It has been on my TBR ever since I first discovered it mostly because of how cute the cover is. I’m excited for the Mexican-American representation and what I’m sure will be a cute story!

How has your week gone? Have you read any of these books yet or want to soon?

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great week! 💖

Favorites & Not-So Favorites: Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

Welcome to In the Lost & Found! My all new blog about books and travel and whatever I feel like, really. I decided that I just wanted to jump into this thing and start off with a book tag that would give a big overview of the kind of reader that I am. So here I go!

After I graduated from college, I quickly realized that I needed something else to take up space in my mind and keep it absorbing knowledge. 2020 has been a bit of a slower year in terms of my reading due to the pandemic causing so much disruption in my mind and throwing me off course (as well as a little thing called Animal Crossing sucking up most of my time from March to June). Nonetheless, I’m still super proud of the 52 books I have read so far. From those 52 books, here are my answers to these tag questions!

Best book you’ve read so far in 2020

I always make a “2020 Five Stars” list on Goodreads. So far, I have 9 five star books from various genres. Some standouts are Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (made me emotional and was just plain beautiful), Little Fires Everywhere by Celestia Ng (examined the intricacies of race and class so wonderfully- the show was a great adaptation too), and The One by John Marrs (a TRULY page-turning thriller/mystery with a cliff hanger at the end of every single chapter.)

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020

This one definitely has to go to Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare. It was another five star book that had me absolutely beaming. I am just a complete sucker for Clare’s brooding, angsty Shadowhunters. As a sequel to the prequel that was Infernal Devices/my favorite Shadowhunters series, it definitely lived up to my expectations. Writing this is making me want to read Chain of Gold all over again.

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

 

I am currently impatiently waiting for The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar to be available for me from the library. All I know is that it is a sapphic YA novel and that people love it. The cover is so cute, too! I AM READY.

 

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi is the sequel I have been impatiently awaiting ever since I finished The Gilded Wolves shortly after its release. Definitely a bit of a polarizing book, but one that I absolutely loved. It has been compared to Six of Crows quite a bit and the magic system is kind of confusing at the start, but I connected to the characters in this series so much and loved Roshani’s lush writing style, bumping it up to five stars. If fantastical, heisty books are your thing, I would recommend this to you. I’m a bit curious to see if I still think it is worthy of five stars and will be rereading it to prepare for the sequel’s release on September 22nd.

Biggest dissappointment

The two books that immediately come to mind are these two. I won’t go over my qualms in detail, because I could go on about it all for ages, but here are a few quick thoughts.

Find Me by André Aciman [Call Me by Your Name #2]

I don’t understand the need for age gaps in the two relationships he focuses on in this book. We got it with Call Me By Your Name, we don’t need these continued forced tropes (including the insta-love). There were a few great quotes, but this one did NOT affect me in the way CMBYN did. Going to pretend this is not in the same universe, especially since Aciman forgot that a character from the previous book should not exactly be alive during the timeline of Find Me. (Also…wtf Miranda…if you know you know.)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Did we need a President Snow story? No. Did it provide entertainment? Yes. Did it make sense? Absolutely not…and the “relationships” irked me. I get the point, but it was just not executed amazingly well.

Biggest Surprise

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover is one of the very small handful of romance books that I have read. I made the mistake of reading a dark romance book a couple of months ago after I decided to throw myself into the world of romance and I was very confused and somewhat disturbed. That was probably not the way to get started with romance…less of a dipping of toes into the genre and more of a getting pushed into the deep end of it. My friend was also confused as to why I was reading said book and recommended me Colleen Hoover. I was not disappointed. It Ends With Us is such a great take on a romance novel. It examined so many issues that I wouldn’t think a typical romance novel would tackle. I don’t want to say anything else to avoid spoilers, but if you are interested in a romance with a message I would highly recommend this one. Just try not looking up detailed information about it so you can be surprised by the story and its depth like I was.

Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Celeste Ng is an author new to me this year. I read both of her books, Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere this year and was truly blown away by both. The mysteries in her books are so intriguing and impactful. I love the way she writes about her characters with compassion while at the same time exposing their flaws. I’m excited for whatever she has coming next!

Newest fictional crush

This is a tie between James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs from Chain of Gold. Like I said, I’m a sucker for a Shadowhunter and these two characters are my ultimate brooding, beautiful, angsty dream.

Book that made you cry

I don’t typically cry while reading, but there is a book every now and again that will cause me to do just that. Although Find Me by André Aciman was a massive disappointment, I won’t deny that I cried during certain scenes involving a certain reunion of characters. I recalled all the feelings I had about the previous novel and became a ball of yearning and tears.

Book that made you happy

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills is a book that remains close to my heart since it is the first book my best friend recommended to me when I restarted my reading journey a couple of years ago. I reread it at the beginning of the year and it was still just as perfect the second time around. Emma Mills’ books never fail to make my heart glow with happiness and warmth. The characters are cute, the relationships are adorable, and the humor is right up my alley. Cheers to every single book Emma Mills has ever written. She will continue to be an auto-buy author for me!

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year

 

My book buying typically runs under two categories: Loved it and Need it On My Shelf or Just Came Out and Need to Read it ASAP. Plus, I rarely ever buy new, unused books. This year, I’ve only purchased 8 books and the prettiest would have to go to The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. Plus, I purchased it from Thriftbooks and it came wrapped in clear library plastic with a unicorn “Fantasy” label on it…just really loving that library vibe on my bookshelves.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I have a little list of books I want to read by the end of the year…mostly classics. Here are a few from that list: Middlemarch by George Eliot, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen , One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez , and Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (has been on my TBR for the longest amount of time). I don’t know much about these books, but I know that they will be getting finished by the end of 2020 (hopefully). 

What about you?

Let me know your thoughts on any of the books I mentioned and what you are looking forward to reading for the rest of 2020. I love getting other people’s opinions on books, whether they are like mine or not!

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