Weekly Wrap Up | 7/14/24

Aloha friends!

First part of the week we did nothing really because my son had covid. But he recovered quick (yay!) then we went to the library and they had a dental appointment. So it was a very chill, and boring week but at least my son is better and my daughter and I stayed healthy. I did get a chance to read some books which is nice!

My hubby told me there is a conference at his old work place here that he wanted to attend since his employer would be paying for it so he’s coming back home for a week and on Wednesday! An old college friend of mine who I haven’t seen in like 5 years is also visiting and I get to see her on Wednesday as well so it should be a fun and busy week.

I hope all of you have a good week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

  • A Winter Wish by. Emily Stone
  • The Thirteenth Child by. Erin A. Craig
  • All Roads Lead to Rome by. Sabrina Fedel

Currently Reading:

  • Shadow & Storms by. Helen Scheuerer
  • Not In Love by. Ali Hazelwood
  • The Mist Thief by. L.J. Andrews
  • Birding with Benefits by. Sarah T. Dubb
  • Can’t Help Falling in Love by. Sophie Sullivan

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • House of Dragon (Season 2, Ep. 4) – what a dragon battle. But UGH I hate Ser Criston Cole with a vengeance.

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: July – Ruby


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!

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. ☺️

Castle of the Cursed by. Romina Garber | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Castle of the Cursed

Author: Romina Garber

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 7/30/24

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Mystery, Gothic, Paranormal, Romance

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!

A delicious and dark gothic romance from bestselling author Romina Garber!

THE HOUSE IS ALWAYS HUNGRY…

After a mysterious attack claims the lives of her parents, all Estela has left is her determination to solve the case. Suffering from survivor’s guilt so intense that she might be losing her grip on reality, she accepts an invitation to live overseas with an estranged aunt at their ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra.

Beneath its gothic façade, la Sombra harbors a trove of family secrets, and Estela begins to suspect her parents’ deaths may be linked to their past. Her investigation takes a supernatural turn when she crosses paths with a silver-eyed boy only she can see. Estela worries Sebastián is a hallucination, but he claims he’s been trapped in the castle. They grudgingly team up to find answers and as their investigation ignites, so does a romance, mistrust twined with every caress.

As the mysteries pile up, it feels to Estela like everyone in the tiny town of Oscuro is lying and that whoever was behind the attack has followed her to Spain. The deeper she ventures into la Sombra’s secrets, the more certain she becomes that the suspect she’s chasing has already found her . . . and they’re closer than she ever realized.

Content Warning: violence, kidnapping, death, loss of a parent, depression, grief

+ The gothic vibes in this book is nice. Estela moves in with her estranged aunt who lives in a Spanish castle called la Sombra. It’s dark, it’s falling apart, it’s old and she feels like someone is watching her. The town around la Sombra, feeds into the lore of the castle and the families that have lived there, almost like they are the rulers of the town. Estela learns about her family’s dark past and I thought where the story took me was quite unexpected.

+ Estela feels like an unreliable narrator at first because things that have happened in her life without a normal explanation. Also, because of her parents death – she’s being treated for PTSD and she doesn’t at times trust her own memories so I thought that made more engaged in the story because I didn’t know where it would be heading. I thought her growth and journey was strong though.

+ I did like the twists in the story, especially the ones I wasn’t expecting. There is a whole theme of family in this story that I thought was done well, especially when it’s about family secrets and there is a lot that Estela uncovers about her family, good and bad.

~ There is a paranormal romance in this story. Sebastián is a dark presence in the castle that is trapped and only Estela can see him. She finds out that he’s a vampire which even more fantastic given the gothic atmosphere of the book and I love paranormal romance. But I didn’t love the romance in this one. I didn’t feel the chemistry between them, even though there were heated moments, it fell kind of flat to me. It’s a bit too insta-love for me especially for someone like Estela going through so much trauma. I wish there was more build-up to their attraction.

My Thoughts:

I like how this book took me on an unexpected, twisty, and mysterious journey with Estela who is overcoming some difficult things like grief and trauma. I thought the gothic vibes were great and la Sombra was definitely creepy but I felt like I needed more from the story and wish the romance wasn’t so insta-love.

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Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Mirror of Beasts by. Alexandra Bracken | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Mirror of Beasts (Silver in the Bone, #2)

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 576

Publication Date: 7/30/24

Publisher: Hachette Children’s Group

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Series, King Arthur, Romance

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

Thank you to Hachette Children’s Group for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death’s plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. As the Wild Hunt carves a bloody path across continents, Tamsin is mustering allies, tracking down powerful artifacts, and traversing into new otherlands in search of a way to stop him.

Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts,” powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror’s strength to defeat her enemies.

Arthurian legend bleeds into contemporary action, and scars of the past are torn open anew by a starcrossed love that refuses to go quietly. This riveting conclusion to the Silver in the Bone duology will hold you in its thrall until the very last page.

Content Warning: violence, death

This story throws you right in after the events that happened in Silver in the Bone. It is action filled and for the most part moves at a quick pace. There are quests and the found family trope really brings these characters together. I enjoyed everything that was going on between Tamsin and her friends, Tamsin and Emrys, Tamsin and Cabell her brother who has had a hell of a journey being on the opposite sides of things. They all had stuff to work out and they do so with all this chaos going on.

The story about King Arthur and Excalibur being the basis for this adventure is really cool too. I like that there were some surprises I wasn’t expecting. I loved the romance storyline with Tamsin and Emrys, who have a ways to come back to trusting one another again but they work through it eventually!

I do think this book was long but it makes sense since it’s a duology and there were some things to wrap up. I wonder if it would have been better as a trilogy though? Not sure but I was losing some steam to read it at 75% into the book. There might have been too many characters for me to follow, not the main ones but the sorceresses that are new. I also thought Lord Death was a funny name for a villain, but he was not a funny guy at all – I hated that Cabell was working for him.

My Thoughts:

Overall, I was entertained with this conclusion to the duology! I think it’s a great end to the series that centers on found family. The action and quests really move this story along and the romance is resolved for Emrys and Tamsin which I’m happy about. If you liked Silver in the Bone, I think you’ll also enjoy this one!

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Instagram (crafts🎨) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (shop)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books By This Author:

Silver in the Bone by. Alexandra Bracken | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Lore by. Alexandra Bracken | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WWW Wednesday | 7/10/24

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?

Well, the weekend took a turn for my son who caught Covid – I’m suspecting from Chuck e Cheese since it was packed. 😒 But he was the only ONE wearing a mask in there! Anyway he woke up with a itchy throat and sniffles Saturday morning (which I gave him Zyrtec for because I thought it was allergies) and I even ate bacon from his breakfast plate 🙃…we went to his piano lesson, then by the evening he was running a fever. He is much better! His fever only lasted 2 days and his coughing hasn’t been bad at all! I think this has been the most mild covid he’s had. Anyway, stay healthy out there!

What are you currently reading?

Shadows of Perl by. J. Elle – 2% going to work on this one this week since I’m working on September arcs!

A Game of Malice and Greed by. Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti – 4% in – this might go back to the TBR list.

Shadows and Storms by. Helen Scheuerer – 4% in – not sure when I’ll be in the mood to finish this one.

The Mist Thief by. L.J. Andrews – 3% I’m going to tackle this one so I can be caught up with the series.

The Thirteenth Child by. Erin A. Craig – 28% in – this one is so fascinating so far and not exactly what I expected and not in a bad way.

What have you just finished reading?

The Seventh Veil of Salome by. Silvia Moreno-Garcia – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A Winter Wish by. Emily Stone – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 7/9/24

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

The Spellshop by. Sarah Beth Durst

The Spellshop is a cottagecore cosy fantasy following a woman’s unexpected journey through the low-stakes market of illegal spell-selling and the high-risk business of starting over . . .

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people, and as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.

She and her assistant, Caz, a sentient spider plant, have spent most of the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s precious spellbooks, protecting the magic for the city’s elite. But a revolution is brewing and when the library goes up in flames, she and Caz steal whatever books they can and flee to the faraway island where she grew up. She’s hoping to lay low and figure out a way to survive before the revolution comes looking for her. To her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town in disarray.

The empire with its magic spellbooks has slowly been draining power from the island, something that Kiela is indirectly responsible for, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right. Opening up a spell shop comes with its own risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the quirky townspeople, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must break down the walls she has kept so high.

Goodreads | Amazon

The Darkness Within Us by. Tricia Levenseller

Chrysantha Stathos has won.

By hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl, she has gathered important secrets, earned her father’s constant care, and become a wealthy duchess—all by age nineteen. Now, she is only one elderly, dying duke away from having all the freedom, money, and safety she’s ever wanted.

Or so she thought.

Turns out her little sister somehow snatched the true victory away from her: Alessandra is wedding the Shadow King, the most powerful man in the world. Meanwhile, after the death of Chrysantha’s no-good, lecherous husband, a man claiming to be the duke’s estranged grandson turns up to inherit everything that should be hers.

Chrysantha is enraged. There is no way that she’s going to let some man take everything from her. Never mind that he’s extremely handsome and secretive and alluring with mysterious powers… No, Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, a Stathos girl always gets what she wants.

Goodreads | Amazon

The Game Changer by. Lana Ferguson

A hockey player and a baker shoot their shot in this steamy new romance by Lana Ferguson, USA Today bestselling author of The Nanny.

When a very public breakup becomes a PR nightmare for Ian Chase’s team, he hopes to focus on his game, but that suddenly seem less likely than a hat trick. With his career and the team’s image in jeopardy, Ian is surprised to find a solution through none other than Delilah Baker, his best friend and teammate’s little sister…who isn’t so little anymore.

Delilah Baker is known as “the darling of baking” on her local cable show, and being in the public eye is her bread and butter. But with her numbers dwindling and her producers turning up the heat, Delilah offers up the half-baked idea to collaborate with her brother’s team to entice the hockey fans of Boston to tune in to her show. Delilah thinks it will be a piece of cake—until the team sends Ian Chase, her brother’s best friend and the object of a decade-long crush that she’s never quite gotten over.

Delilah’s and Ian’s teams think it’s a true win-win situation—gaining higher numbers for Delilah’s show and casting Ian in a more positive light. And viewers are eating them up like a cupcake, sparking the idea to play up their relationship for the goal of good press. With more than just their careers on thin ice, the line between what’s real and what’s for show begins to blur, but one thing’s for certain: This PR stunt will either be a total game changer—or leave them both totally pucked.

Goodreads | Amazon

Black Tide Son by. H.M. Long

The Winter Seas series continues as a prisonbreak to save Benedict leaves him, Sam and Mary trapped in a desparate race for survival in enemy territory. Expect epic adventure, intrigue and espionage, and fleet battles on the high-seas, perfect for fans of Adrienne Young, L. J. Andrews and Naomi Novik.

Samuel and Mary are thriving as privateers on the Winter Seas. As they navigate the complexities of their growing bond, in a world that would see Mary as chattel to be traded, the pair are forging a new, better way to live, under the sails of Hart.


But when their latest prize brings tales of Benedict’s capture by Mereish forces, they must make an impossible choice: to serve their nation or save Sam’s brother.

Thrust into a mission of intrigue and infiltration, they seek to break into the most secure prison on the Mereish Coast. But as they sail deep into enemy territory, they find themselves hunted by a cunning and mysterious new foe—an enemy who seems to know their every secret, and who will kill to keep their own.

As the Black Tide rises, and fleets take to the water, Samuel, Mary and Benedict are on a desperate race for survival—both their own, and the free nations of the Winter Seas.

Goodreads | Amazon

Beneath These Cursed Stars by. Lexi Ryan

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lexi Ryan comes a romantic fantasy in which a human princess armed with death’s kiss and a fae shifter on the run become unlikely allies when a mission to assassinate an evil king collides with a fatal prophecy.

Princess Jasalyn has a secret. Armed with an enchanted ring that gives her death’s kiss, Jas has been sneaking away from the palace at night to assassinate her enemies.

Shape-shifter Felicity needs a miracle. Fated to kill her magical father, she’s been using her unique ability to evade a fatal prophecy.

When rumors of evil king Mordeus’s resurrection spread through the shadow court, Jasalyn decides to end him once and for all. Felicity agrees to take the form of the princess, allowing Jas to covertly hunt Mordeus—and starting Felicity on the path that could finally take her home.

While Jasalyn teams up with the charming and handsome Kendrick, Felicity sets out to get closer to the Wild Fae king, Misha. Kendrick helps Jasalyn feel something other than anger for the first time in three years, and Misha makes Felicity wish for a world where she’s free to be her true self. Soon, the girls’ missions are at risk right alongside their hearts.

The future of the human and fae realms hangs in the balance as fates intertwine. Between perilous tasks, grim secrets, and forbidden romances, Jasalyn and Felicity find that perhaps their stars are the most cursed of all.

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

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Longest Books I’ve Ever Read | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday 7/9/24

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: Throwback Freebie

Longest Books I’ve Ever Read

Why are books more than 500 pages? I don’t know! 😅 And of course most of these are Sarah J. Maas. I think a perfect book length is 350-400 pages but I know it’s hard to do that with a fantasy.

What’s on your TTT?

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Instagram (crafts🎨) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (shop)

Top Ten Tuesday Topics:

May 7: May Flowers — Pick your own title for this one to reflect the direction you choose to go with this prompt (books with flowers on the cover, flower names in the title, characters whose names are flower names, stories involving flowers/gardeners)
May 14: Favorite Book Quotes (You can pick your favorite quotes from books, or about books! You can set a theme like quotes from books about love, friendship, hope, etc. or you can just share quotes you loved from your recent reads!)
May 21: Authors I’d Love a New Book From (These could be authors that have passed away, who have retired from writing, who have inexplicably gone quiet, or who might jut not be able to keep up with how quickly you read their books!)
May 28: Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read

June~~
June 4: Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About (Any emotion! Did a book make you super happy or sad? Angry? Terrified? Surprised?)
June 11: Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!)
June 18: Books on My Summer 2024 To-Read List
June 25: Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024

July~~
July 2: Books with My Favorite Color on the Cover
July 9: Throwback Freebie (Pick a TTT topic that has been previously done. Maybe you missed it, weren’t blogging then, or you’d like to update an old list you made. All previous topics are listed below.)
July 16: Ten Things I Loved About [Insert Book Title Here] (Pick any book and tell us ten things you loved about it!) (submitted by Cathy @ WhatCathyReadNext)
July 23: Debut Novels I Enjoyed (A debut novel is an author’s first published book. You could also choose to share genre or age group debuts if you’d prefer, such as an adult fiction author’s first YA book or a mystery writer’s first romance.) (submitted by Angela @ Reading Frenzy)
July 30: Books I Wish Had More/Less [Insert Your Concept Here] In Them (for example: more/less romance, more/less world building, less info dumping, more/fewer pages, more character development, fewer characters, fewer descriptions, more suspense, etc.)

That Prince is Mine by. Jayci Lee | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: That Prince is Mine

Author: Jayci Lee

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 7/30/24

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Categories: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Interracial Romance, Foodie Romance, Royal Romance

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

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A love-averse Korean royal court cuisine instructor in search of a perfect-on-paper husband is waylaid from her practical, heartbreak-proof plan when she meets a gorgeous professor—and prince in disguise—who will do anything to prove to her that love and happily ever after can be theirs.

Emma Yoon runs a small business as a culinary instructor in Los Angeles teaching Korean royal court cuisine to young ladies striving to marry into the exclusive upper crust Korean families. She has built her business alongside her renowned Korean matchmaker godmother, which brings her one step closer to her dream of opening up a culinary school on her own. But when her godmother’s fellow matchmakers decide to meddle in Emma’s love life in a bid to sabotage her godmother, and indirectly push Emma’s dream out of her reach, she must go on a series of arranged first dates and find herself the perfect-on-paper husband to help save both, her godmother’s reputation and her dream–even if she’s not ready for love. But when she meets Michel Aubert, a professor at USC, after a series of disastrous first dates, she wonders if she might reevaluate her position on love.

Prince Michel Aubert is bound by duty and responsibility to his country, but an arranged marriage is the last thing he wants. If he is going to spend the rest of his life in service of his people, then he at least wants someone he loves and trusts by his side while doing it. He needs to find a woman who loves him for who he is before his engagement to his handpicked bride is announced. Emma Yoon might be just the woman he is looking for.

Content Warning:

This one was a cute, fluffy romance. Emma is a culinary instructor who’s matchmaking godmother is trying to find her a husband. Michel is a Prince disguising himself as a professor at USC. For the most part the romance is straight-forward and kind of reminds me of the movie The Prince & Me, except with older characters. I thought their romance was very sweet with some spicy scenes here and there, but for the most part I thought this story was wholesome.

I did like the family themes in this book. Emma is Korean-American and she has a great support system in her dad, brother and godmother. I loved the Korean foods mentioned in the story. On the other side, I loved Michel’s relationship with his cousin, Gabriel. Both characters valued family and I thought they made a good match.

There isn’t much conflict between Michel and Emma except for the part of him being a prince and what that means for her when he tells her about it.

My Thoughts:

This one is an easy read. It’s a fluffy romance without much conflict. I thought the family, different cultures, and food themes were nice. Emma and Michel’s romance is very sweet so if you are into sweet, easy romances, you will enjoy this one.

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Instagram (crafts🎨) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (Shop)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

BLOG TOUR | Secret Crush Seduction by. Jayci Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BLOG TOUR} Temporary Wife Temptation by. Jayci Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Dating Dare | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️💫

ARC Review | A Sweet Mess ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Weekly Wrap Up | 7/7/24

Aloha friends!

I hope all of you had a nice, easy week. It was pretty chill for us, all we did this week was grocery shopping and then we went to Chuck e Cheese for 4th of July since my daughter requested we go – and it was packed even though we went right when they opened. And then I thought my son’s allergies were acting up but then yesterday he kept feeling worse (itchy throat, slight cough, congestion) and then before bed I took his temp and he had a fever. A friend of mine just had Covid last week so I decided to test my son and sure enough his test turned positive quickly! 😫 I mean, yay, hopefully this means he won’t get it when school begins in a few weeks (because both my kids usually get sick in the first month of school). But, BOO, because it’s summer and he’s sick. My daughter and I already had a cold last month so I really, really, REALLY don’t want to have Covid. I’m just so tired of being sick and it’s summer time. Being sick in the summer SUCKS.

Anyway, I hope it’s a mild case and it goes away by the end of this week and my daughter and I and my parents who were exposed to him yesterday – don’t get it. 🙏🏼

I hope all of you have a good week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

  • The Ever King by. L.J. Andrews
  • The Ever Queen by. L.J. Andrews
  • The Seventh Veil of Salome by. Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Currently Reading:

  • A Winter Wish by. Emily Stone
  • Shadow & Storms by. Helen Scheuerer
  • Not In Love by. Ali Hazelwood
  • The Mist Thief by. L.J. Andrews

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • House of Dragon (Season 2, Ep. 3)

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!

Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag – 2024

I’ve been seeing this tag all around the blogosphere so I have to do mine too!

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2024

I feel like this year I have gravitated to more contemporary reads and less fantasy? I read a lot of fantasy but I don’t know there was anything that really wowed me yet this year. But these three books are my top three so far: The Women by. Kristin Hannah, Not Another Love Song by. Julie Soto, and Funny Story by. Emily Henry.

BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2023

I thought Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross was a great conclusion to the duology!

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET, BUT WANT TO

This one, Poison in Their Hearts by. Laura Sebastian, just came out and I want to read it. I hope I get to read it sometime this year.

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

  • The Grandest Game by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent
  • Heir by. Sabaa Tahir

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

King of Sloth by. Ana Huang, one was my least favorite of the series and least favorite book of the year.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le was such a surprise to me, actually it’s one of my top reads of 2024 also.

FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR (debut or new to you)

I really liked the world building in this one and that it’s an academy book. I’m excited to read book two.

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

I don’t think I’ve actually had a new fictional crush this year, which is so surprising! The one fictional guy though that had me in my feels a little is Miles from Funny Story by. Emily Henry. Usually I like the alpha guys buy Miles was the totally opposite of being an alpha and I loved him.

NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER

Nhika in The Last Bloodcarver because she’s a survivor.

Arthie and Jin from A Tempest of Tea because their friendship is everything.

Rune from Heartless Hunter because she’ll do anything to help the witches who are being hunted.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

I don’t think a book made me shed too much tears this year so far but I did tear up at the ending of the The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

Dungeons and Drama by. Kristy Boyce made me feel happy!

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE BOUGHT SO FAR THIS YEAR (or received)

I definitely broke my book banning to get this hardcover: Heaveneaker by. Sara Wolf

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR?

I have The Wren in the Holly Library by. K.A. Linde on my bookshelf so would love to read that by the end of this year. I have Heir by. Sabaa Tahir as an arc so I know I’ll be finishing that this year! And I can’t wait for The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent.

FAVORITE BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION YOU’VE SEEN THIS YEAR

I haven’t seen any book to movie adapations this year – at least books that’s I’ve read but I did watch Dune 2! Haven’t read the book though but I’m a fan of the movies because they are so visually stunning.

Oh and I also watched The Idea of You and I know there is a book The Idea of You by. Robinne Lee but that’s also one I haven’t read.

It’s been a fairly slow reading year for me this year I think. But I’m totally okay with that because that just means my attention and energy had to be elsewhere. I’m 59/125 on my Goodreads reading challenge so I think I’m on a good pace!

How has your 2024 been so far?