Book Titles That Would Make Great Newspaper Headlines | TTT | 11/7/23

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is:

Book Titles That Would Make Great Newspaper Headlines

I think these titles would make interesting newspaper headlines and articles!

Don’t Read the Comments by. Eric Smith

People We Meet on Vacation by. Emily Henry

She Who Became the Sun by. Shelley Parker-Chan

The Only Purple House in Town by. Ann Aguirre

Summer Reading by. Jenn McKinlay

Carrie Soto is Back by. Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Night in Question by. Kathleen Glasgow & Liz Lawson

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

The Project by. Courtney Summers

Runaway Groomsman by. Meghan Quinn

Have you read any of these books? Are any of these on your TBR? What’s on your TTT?

Goodreads Monday: Iron Flame

Happy Monday!

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.

Title: Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2)

Author: Rebecca Yarros

Pages: 623

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Publication Date: 11/7/23

Synopsis:

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!

Weekly Wrap Up | 11/5/23

Aloha friends!

Well, I was sick all week. I got a sore throat on Monday – but got through parent conferences. Tuesday was Halloween and I got through trick or treating but wow right after I was super exhausted and started to cough. I woke up Wednesday with a bad cough, congestion, body aches and chills. I tested negative for covid so I think I had the flu. The body aches and chills stuck around for 2 days and I even lost my voice but the coughing and congestion have been the worse. I barely had a fever but had lots of sweating (but it IS hot here in Hawaii). My birthday was yesterday and I didn’t have energy to celebrate but that’s okay because we leave for Osaka, Japan in 16 days. I’ll celebrate there! My main priority is to get better and get rid of this cough and congestion.

That was my miserable week and I didn’t get much reading done – but I did have fun with my kids on Halloween at least!

I hope all of you have a good week and thanks for reading!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

Plot Twist by. Erin La Rosa

This Cursed Light by. Emily Thiede

Artifacts of an Ex by. Jennifer Chen

Currently Reading:

Her Dark Wings by. Melinda Salisbury

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ The Hunger Games ~ because The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes comes out in theaters soon, and I still need to read the book. But the Olivia Rodrigo song for the movie, “Can’t Catch Me Now” sounds amazing!

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Birthstone Book Covers: November – Citrine and Topaz

The original creator of this book tag is **Leslie @ Books Are The New Black** so go check out her blog!

THE RULES

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back to me so I can see your post!
Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!
Nominate people if you want!

November birthstone is Citrine and Topaz

Let’s find some book covers in this color:

I nominate everyone! It’s a fun and easy tag to do so try it out. ☺️

Artifacts of an Ex by. Jennifer Chen | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Artifacts of an Ex

Author: Jennifer Chen

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 11/14/23

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

When Chloe Chang gets dumped via USPS after moving across the county from NYC to LA, her first instinct is to throw her box of memories in the garbage. Instead, she starts buying other teenagers’ break-up boxes to create an art exhibit, Heartifacts. Opening night is going great, until she spots Daniel Kwak illicitly filming his best friend’s reaction to his ex’s box. When she tries to stop him, an intense discussion ends up launching a creative partnership and friendship… and a major crush for Chloe.

There’s just one problem: Daniel is dead set on not being another rebound.

Five times he’s been the guy who makes the girls he’s dating realize they want to get back with their ex. And he refuses for there to be a sixth. She insists she’s over her ex, but when he shows up unexpectedly with his new girlfriend, it turns out Daniel was right. She isn’t ready for a new relationship.

She throws herself into making Heartifacts successful, but flashy influencers threaten her original vision of the exhibit. To create the exhibit she’s always wanted, Chloe needs to go back to basics, learn to work with artists in a more collaborative way, and discover what love can be. Only then will she convince Daniel she’s truly ready for everything they could be to one another.

In the tradition of Jenny Han and Emma Lord, Jennifer Chen’s Artifacts of an Ex is a story of love, art, and finding your way when everything you know has changed completely.

Content Warning: family member with declining health

+ I thought this was a cute read. Chloe moves from NYC to LA because her grandma needs help but before she left she gets dumped by her famous artist boyfriend. Chloe is aspires to be an art curator so she creates an exhibit in LA using people’s breakup boxes. A breakup box is the box full of items that mean something to the person while in the relationship. She meets Daniel and starts to like him.

+ The art aspect of this book was very interesting. I like the concept of the Heartifacts exhibit that Chloe is working on.

~ There is hardly mention of school in this book and it was kind of hard to believe that these artistic kids were only in high school! At times I felt like they weren’t high school kids with how easy they got their exhibits and vendors together to put on big events. Chloe was a bit judgmental about LA though

~ I felt like the book was very surface level and lacked some depth to the characters. I did like Chloe making friends but everything seemed to come so easily – even letting go of her ex.

Tropes:

My Thoughts:

This one was just okay for me. It’s a quick read and light-hearted romance but I felt like it was lacking character depth. I can definitely see this as a movie on Netflix though because of the art aspect of the story.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Most Anticipated Book Releases | November 2023

There are some exciting book releases coming up this month!

This is what I’m looking forward to:

The titles above are books I haven’t read but I think I also should showcase the arcs I read that are releasing this month. So here they are:

What is your most anticipated book release this month?

WWW Wednesday | 11/1/23

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Happy November! Kids got sick over the weekend, we had parent conference meetings on Monday, and Trick or Treating on Tuesday so it’s been already a busy week! I hope I can finish these two books this week. I’m trying to finish my November arcs because I’m going on vacation around Thanksgiving.

What are you currently reading?

This Cursed Light by. Emily Thiede – I made headway and am 30% into the book yay! Hope I can finish this weekend!

Artifacts of an Ex by. Jennifer Chen – just started this one.

What have you just finished reading?

Plot Twist by. Erin La Rosa – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Didn’t See That Coming by. Jesse Q. Sutanto – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman in Me by. Britney Spears – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

Her Dark Wings by. Melinda Salisbury

Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by. Amelie Wen Zhao

What are you reading right now?

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 10/31/23

Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:

The Graham Effect by. Elle Kennedy

Gigi Graham has exactly three goals: qualify for the women’s national hockey team, win Olympic gold, and step out of her famous father’s shadow. So far, so good, except for two little things. Fine–a little thing and a big, grumpy thing. She needs to improve her game behind the net, and she needs help from Luke Ryder.

Ryder is six-foot five, built, opinionated, rude…and sexy as hell. But he’s still the enemy.

Briar’s new hockey co-captain has his reasons, though. The men’s team just merged with a rival program, leaving Ryder with an angry roster where everyone hates one another’s guts. To make matters worse, the summer coaching spot he’s angling for with the legendary Garrett Graham is out of reach after he makes the worst possible first impression on his hero. So, really, this compromise with Gigi is win-win. He helps her make the national team, she puts in a good word
with her dad.

The only potential snag? This bone-deep, body-numbing, mind-spinning chemistry they’re trying to ignore. It’s a dangerous game they’re playing, but the risks just might be worth it.

Goodreads | Amazon

Starling House by. Alix E. Harrow

A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Goodreads | Amazon

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by. Jacqueline Firkins

A beautiful story of friendship, and second chances at love.

Imogen Finch has just been through her seventeenth breakup. She saw it coming, so she’s not as crushed as she might be, but with all seventeen of her exes leaving her for other partners, she’s come to believe a prediction her well-intentioned and possibly clairvoyant mother made over twenty years ago: that Imogen would never come first at anything or to anyone. Is her love life failing due to a magical curse? Insufficient effort? Poor timing or personality mismatches? Everyone has opinions on the matter. Imogen’s ready to give up altogether. But when Eliot Swift, her secret high school crush, returns to their small coastal town after a decade of nomadic travels, Imogen has new motivation to try again. Eliot’s full of encouragement. He suggests that her curse is not only imagined, it’s easily breakable. All they need is one win–any win–and she can believe in love, and in herself again.

From trivia games to swimming races to corn-shucking contests, the pair sets out to snag Imogen her first first. But when victory proves more elusive than Eliot anticipated, and when his deep-seeded wanderlust compels him to depart for far away places, Imogen fears she’s destined to remain in second place forever. Fortunately for them both, sometimes magic lingers in the most unexpected places. And love is far from predictable.

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

Spooky Book Covers | TTT | 10/31/23

This week’s topic is: Halloween Freebie

Creepy Book Covers

Happy Halloween everyone!!🎃

Have you read any of these books? Are any of these on your TBR? What’s on your TTT?

Goodreads Monday: Sword Catcher

Happy Monday!

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.

Title: Sword Catcher

Author: Cassandra Clare

Pages: 597

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Publication Date: 10/10/23

Synopsis:

Two outcasts find themselves at the center of world-altering change in the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill.

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword-Catcher—the body-double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are close as brothers, but Kel knows he has one destiny: to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community who still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls in the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend Mariam without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces. As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will Lin and Kel’s discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?

Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!