Let’s Talk Bookish: DNFing Books | 10/7/22

Let’s Talk Bookish is a bookish meme that was created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and now is hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, where each Friday, bloggers write posts discussing the topic of the week! Definitely check out her blog for more bookish content plus more Let’s Talk Bookish topics and the schedule.

This week’s topic is:

October 7: DNFing books (Mint @ Mint Loves Books)

DNF is an acronym that stands for did not finish.

What makes you DNF a book?

If I am constantly putting down a book because it’s boring me or I have a hard time concentrating then I either DNF or tell myself to come back to it at a later time. I still have a hard time DNF’ing arcs though – so if I get halfway through the book and that’s all I can push through – I’ll skim the rest.

How often do you DNF books?

Not a lot – but if I have too many books I’ve borrowed, or arcs due in a month, I find myself letting the borrowed books go past due date. I can always come back to them. I think I’ve been DNF’ing a book every other month this year lol.

What’s the silliest or pettiest reason why you DNF’d a book?

A main character who gets on my nerves to the point I cannot continue reading about them anymore. I feel like my will is pretty strong to push through any book and I sometimes like unlikable characters. But if it comes to the point where everything about them just puts me off then I DNF the book.

Do you review books that you DNF?

If they are arcs – yes I do review them as best I can. It’s super rare for me to give a one star review, even for a DNF’d book because someone else out there might actually love the book. But books that aren’t arcs? If I have the energy to write a review after DNF’ing it I will – but most times, I don’t.

Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Seasonally | 9/23/22

This week’s topic is:

Reading Seasonally

Do you read seasonally?

I think I’ve done much better at reading seasonally but I never used to care about it before. I think joining the blogging community made me more excited to read seasonally. I look forward to reading more spooky reads near Halloween and of course holiday romances near Christmas.

Do you like a beach read in summer, a spooky book in the autumn and holiday themed ones in winter?

Definitely spooky books in autumn and holiday ones for winter but as for beach reads…I like a good contemporary romance for summer time. What happened to spring?! lol…are there no books for spring? I guess spring break would include beach reads also.

What’s your favorite season?

I like all things about fall even though there isn’t much seasonal changes here where I live. But I love when pumpkin flavored foods makes it way into the grocery stores and I really love Halloween. The longer nights make me want to get cozy to read also.

Do you have any favorite seasonal reads?

I don’t have any favorite seasonal reads that I re-read every year. But here are some of the books I want to read this Autumn!

Let’s Talk Bookish: Tips for Newbie Bloggers | 9/16/22

I’ve seen this one around on many blogs that I follow and always wanted to give it a try so why not now? This week’s topic is:

Tips for Newbie Bloggers

What have you learned since you first started blogging?

I’ve learned that patience is key and do what you can. When I first started blogging I struggled to come up with posts that wasn’t a book review but following other bloggers and researching book memes and prompts really help add other things to my blog other than book reviews. I was reading so many books just to have something to post and it was killing my enjoyment of reading. So the second year of blogging I told myself to scale back on book review posts and add other things to the blog. I think this is my 4th year of blogging now? And I finally feel like I’ve enjoyed more this year because I put less pressure on myself.

What advice would you give to new bloggers?

It’s okay to take breaks!
Pre-write you posts especially if they are memes or prompts like this one or Top Ten Tuesday. I try to pre-write my posts a month ahead, meaning I will do all my Top Ten Tuesday posts for the month of September in one go so it’s set and I don’t have to think about it anymore. Same with New Release posts and Arc Reviews.
You don’t have to tag anyone on book tags if you feel uncomfortable, now I just say I tag everyone lol.
If you need help with making graphics for your blog, try Canva.
If you are on NetGalley – remember don’t request more than you can read. I felt so much pressure to finish the books I requested and it was a long list in the first 2 years. I’ve gotten SO much better at pacing myself. Because remember you are going to read books you borrow and books you buy too…so it can pile up quick!

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

I love books, have always loved reading and I have found my community here in the blogging world. I can count on one hand the amount of people in my life that read as much as I do or like the same books I read. But here….I have found hundreds of you who mostly like the same books I love to read! It’s wonderful. I love meeting all of you new bloggers from all over the world, it’s so much fun. Also having this blog gave me access to arcs on NetGalley which is the best thing ever…it’s why I started blogging in the first place and I accomplished that goal!

What is the hardest part of blogging for you?

I made it a goal to post something everyday. I guess it’s an experiment to see how much I could make through ad revenue alone because I’m curious! It was not a lot when I first started this blog because I wasn’t posting as much as I do now. So when I made it my goal to have a post everyday it became a challenge. But it became a challenge that made me think up more topics, and made me try out more book prompts/memes like this one. I’ve found that there is so much you can post about! You just have to actually sit there and write the post lol. Sometimes it’s hard finding motivation to type something up but that’s why I love the prompts and memes. If you have nothing – they have topics for you! So thank you to all of you who hosts them!

Is there anything you wish you’d done differently with your blog?

I fussed a lot about the graphics on my blog. I think I’ve changed the look of my blog at least 10 times! lol…I have finally gotten it to a place where I hope I can just be satisfied with it and leave it alone. I’ve also written my reviews differently over the years. So of course I kinda wish off the bat I knew how I wanted my blog to look but that wasn’t the case. It’s okay do, I think trial and error is good and it’s made me learn a lot.

That’s all I got for newbie bloggers – I say dive in! The learning kind of happens as you go along and you will know how you want your blog to look eventually. Just keep in mind why you have the blog in the first place, even if you don’t get much views and likes in the beginning…it will come! I made a blog to get NetGalley arcs and and now I get to read books before they are published (yay!)…and all I have to do is leave a review for the book! Easy peasy! Now that I succeeded with the NetGalley goal, my blog is here to give people some book reviews, bond with my fellow book lovers, see what other book lovers are reading and see what’s happening in their lives if they want to share. I’ve found that it’s been a fun and safe space for me to share my love of books and I appreciate that about this community. ❤️ Thanks for reading!

Blogging | New Layout

Hi everyone!

I was playing around with a new blog theme yesterday. I wanted one that showcased many things on the home page instead of just my latest post, so I think I finally got it looking somewhat close to what I envisioned?

Are you someone who likes to stick to the tried and true or do you like to change the look of your blog often, like I do?

What’s your favorite wordpress theme to use for your blog? The one I’m using right now is called Maxwell and I like the clean look of it even with so many things going on with the homepage.

Every time I mess with my blog, I end up seeing the Pages section which I don’t update regularly. I haven’t updated the Pages since the end of 2020. Here we are at mid 2021 and I’m wondering if I should update the Book Reviews list and Bookish links right now since I’m updating my blog. How often do you update your Pages info? Are you consistent about it or wait until the end of the year like me?

I really should be writing four book reviews though….so let me get it and leave this layout alone before it changes again! 🤪

Thanks for reading! ~ Yolanda

WWW Wednesday | 10/23/19

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?

What are you currently reading?

I am 60% done with this and hopefully will finish soon. I am approved to read the sequel on NetGalley so I definitely needed to bump this TBR up my list. It’s intriguing and definitely not what I was expecting but I think in a good way so far.

What have you finished reading?

This releases in January 2020 so my review will post nearer to the publication date. But I was surprised by this book – I enjoyed it! Here is the book blurb:

Veronica sees ghosts. More specifically, her mother’s ghost. The afterimages of blinding migraines caused by the brain tumor that keeps her on the fringes and consumes her whole life haunt her, even as she wonders if it’s something more…

Golden boy Sawyer is handsome and popular, a state champion swimmer, but his adrenaline addiction draws him to Veronica.

A girl with nothing to live for and a boy with everything to lose–can they conquer their demons together?

What are you going to read next?

Another NetGalley arc that I’m going to finish up next so I can take it off my list. And it sounds perfect as a October read, though it’s official release date is in December. Here’s the book blurb:

We stand in a tight cluster, high above the lake. One-by-one, we made our way up the narrow trail from the edge of campus. Now, we wait shoulder to shoulder behind the police tape. Nineteen summer students.

All but one.

When Nora gets accepted into her dream summer program at the prestigious Winthrop Academy, she jumps at the chance to put her coding skills to use. But then a fellow student goes missing—and the tech trail for the crime leads back to Nora. With no one else to trust, Nora must race to uncover the truth and clear her name…or she might be the next to disappear.

Thanks for reading! What are you reading right now? Leave me a comment below. 😘

The Sunshine Blogger Award #2

I’m FINALLY getting around to posting this one but Thank you so much to Lindsay at Paw-Some Reads for tagging me with my second Sunshine Blogger award. Check out her awesome blog for great book reviews and other fun book content!

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.

Lindsay’s Questions:

What is your favorite genre to read?

It used to be romance but I think I have to admit now that it’s fantasy. Fantasy that has romance in it is my most favorite.

Would you rather read a great plot with average characters or a boring plot with amazing characters?

Ah! What a question…I’ll go with boring plot with amazing characters because maybe the characters can somewhat salvage the story! Haha

Do you have any pets?

Does a bat decoration from the Target store count? My son insists it’s his pet and he’s named it Miko, it even comes with his own cage! HAHA…on a serious note, I lost my sweet baby girl, Sky last year. I don’t think I’ve recovered yet – we miss her dearly. The kids want another pet but I don’t think I’m ready.

What has been your favorite read of 2019?

There have been SO many good ones!! But I’ll say Serpent & Dove because it’s my most recent favorite.

What was the last movie you watched, and did you like it?

I watched Moana couple days ago with my kids since it was on the tv and I LOVE the movie. As for new movies? i don’t get out much. 😩

Who is your favorite fictional villain?

My brain is drawing a BLANK but I say it’s due to the sinus pressure in my face (ugh HATE being sick)…so let’s go with my fave from the tv series Game of Thrones, the Night King. Even Cersi was pretty bad-ass, I hated her and loved her villainous ways!

How do you feel about audiobooks?

Don’t like them. I have no focus and patience for them.

What’s your dream job?

An author? At least that used to be my dream job. Right now a travel writer would be nice too…been stuck in Hawaii since I gave birth to my son seven years ago! I have the travel bug…BADLY.

Do you watch booktube/who are some of your favorite booktubers?

I only know one booktube duo so far and learned of them through Instagram – they are called AudioShelf!

Do you review books that you DNF?

Nope – and if it’s an arc on NetGalley, I think I DNF’ed one and reviewed it on NetGalley but not on my blog.

Would you rather read outside by the pool on a sunny day or inside curled up with blankets on a rainy day?

Blankets on a rainy day! A sunny day by the pool would probably mean I am IN the pool because it’s so dang hot in Hawaii. I overheat too quick haha.

And that’s my answers! So here are my question and yes some are inspired by Halloween:

What are your plans for Halloween?
What’s the spookiest book you’ve ever read?
What is your favorite Halloween movie?
What’s your favorite candy?
Where was the last place you went to on vacation/holiday?
What is your favorite romance trope? (Enemies to lovers? Friends to lovers?)
Do you dress up for Halloween? If yes, what will be your costume this year?
How many books have you read so far this year?
Do you keep a reading journal?
Name one thing that is challenging about blogging?
Do you buy books online or in a physical store?

I’m tagging:

Chelsie @ My Reading Escape

Sarah June

Nadya @ Pop of Geek

Nicole – The Anatomy of a Bookworm

BiCoastal Confessions

And remember you are not obligated to do this tag at all! It’s just for fun and only if you feel like it. Would love to see your answers. ☺️

First Lines Friday (9/27/19)

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Happy Autumn and Aloha Friday everyone! Wow…what a September so far. Was trying to get my son better because he had a cold, and we finally got a handle on it last week. He’s much better but his little sister got sick this past weekend. So off to the doctor we went yesterday and she has an ear infection. I feel like I’m coming down with whatever she has and trying desperately not to. It gives me an excuse to read though! I’m definitely more in the mood to read than review though. 📚

Here are my lines for today:

“The gravedigger’s children were troublemakers. They chased chickens through the neighbor’s yards, brandishing sticks like swords, claiming that the fowl were monsters in disguise.”

🤔

I got this book in OwlCrate’s September box that graced my mailbox this past weekend! AND instead of the black cover I got a white cover. It’s gorgeous. I don’t have the black cover to compare but I think both covers look amazing and I’ve heard good things about this book. Can’t wait to dig in…but I will dig in AFTER I read Serpent & Dove, because I really need to read that book. HAHA…have a wonderful weekend everyone!

First Lines Friday (09/12/19)

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! 🌕 Isn’t it also a full moon tonight?

My son was down with a cold for half the week, so that’s what I was dealing with. But it gave me time to read since he finally rested a little.

So I’ve been on a weird spectrum with the books I’m reading. It’s either ya dark fantasy or light contemporary ya books lately. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to finish up the contemporary stuff so I can just be all in with the darker themed books. It’s getting me in the mood for Halloween, which is one of my favorite holidays. Here are some lines from a book I am dying to read:

“There’s something haunting about a body touched by magic. Most people first noticed the smell: not the rot of decay, but a cloying sweetness in their noses, a sharp taste on their tongues.”

🤔

I’ve heard amazing things about this book and yes I have the physical copy on my shelf! Have you read it? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful weekend fellow readers and bloggers!

Lover – Book Tag

I found this super fun book tag from Sara @ The Bibliophagist . She created it and it is inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album Lover, which I was playing all of last week. Check out Sara’s blog for more amazing book content!

Rules:

Link back to the creator, Sara @ The Bibliophagist!
Answer the questions!
Tag whoever you want and link back to the person who tagged you!

I Forgot That You Existed: a book from your childhood that you don’t remember anything about

♪ it isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference ♪

Required reading – I forget at what age, 5th grade? Something like that, but all I remember is the cover because of the dogs and that’s it.

Cruel Summer: the worst book you’ve read this summer

♪ it’s blue, the feeling I’ve got and it’s… it’s a cruel summer ♪

It’s not horrible, I just couldn’t get into this one! 😒

Lover: a bookish relationship that’s perfect exactly the way it is

♪ can we always be this close forever and ever ♪

Because I just love Lara Jean and Peter K. together. They just make sense. 🤷🏻‍♀️💕

The Man: a book with a badass female main character

♪ if I was a man, then I’d be the man ♪

Lara from The Bridge Kingdom – I’m scared of her and ready to see how much she kicks ass in book 2. 😅 I’m actually reading at eArc of Diamond City right now and the protagonist, Aina, actually is more scary badass than Lara, but I’m going with what is published.

The Archer: a book with great character development

♪ I see right through me ♪

A lot of characters in this book show growth, it’s an awesome book. I read it as an arc but I now need a physical copy to re-read it.

I Think He Knows: your fictional crush

♪ he got my heartbeat skipping down 16th Avenue ♪

Rhysand – High Lord of the Night Court. 🖤

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince: a book set in high school

♪ waving homecoming queens, marching band playing, I’m lost in the lights ♪

A high school enemies to lovers, next door neighbors, love story.

Paper Rings: a book with a happy ending

♪ I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings ♪

I’ll go with THE classic happily ever after, no not Cinderella….Pride and Prejudice. A thousand times, yes.

Cornelia Street: a setting you’ll never forget

♪ “I rent a place on Cornelia Street,” I say casually in the car ♪

I just finished this book recently and I won’t forget it for sure. It’s a retelling of one of my favorite childhood stories Twelve Dancing Princesses. I love the setting, the whole vibe, a house by the sea, with a creepy curse, a mystery, and horror. 😱

Death by a Thousand Cuts: a book that broke your heart

♪ I can’t pretend that it’s okay when it’s not ♪

I was not okay at the end of The Shadow Glass. Was there no other way? 😭

London Boy: a setting that plays a big role in the story

♪ show me a gray sky, a rainy cab ride ♪

The setting in We Hunt the Flame is vital to the story – the Arz, a cursed forest is what prompts the protagonist to go on a treasure hunt. I loved the setting in this book!

Soon You’ll Get Better: a book that made you cry

♪ what am I supposed to do if there’s no you? ♪

I went into this book laughing and contemplative, then it hit me in the end with a sad event. It was kind of out of the blue and I was like…what? 😢

False God: a book with a well-written sexy scene

♪ I know heaven’s a thing, I go there when you touch me, honey ♪

I read two books in August with sex in it (I swear I used to read more books with sex in them 😂🤷🏻‍♀️) – I’ve been in YA bookland for awhile I think…so I’ll go with The Spitfire, an adult historical romance.

You Need to Calm Down: a book featuring an LGBT romance

♪ shade never made anybody less gay ♪

The most recent LGBT book I read and reviewed recently is Mooncakes. It’s a super cute graphic novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Review to come.

Afterglow: a great second chance romance

♪ why’d I have to break what I love so much? ♪

In The Lady Rogue, Theo and Huck are so cute especially when they are bickering. 😂 But they are totally meant to be together, despite what happened in the past.

ME!: your all-time favorite book

♪ I promise that you’ll never find another like me ♪

Going off the books I’ve re-read a lot the past few years – it has to be this series, for now…😬

It’s Nice to Have a Friend: your favorite friends-to-lovers book

♪ something gave you the nerve to touch my hand ♪

I feel like every Sarah Dessen novel could be a Taylor Swift song! What do you think? I can’t say this is my favorite, but the most recent friends to lovers I’ve read all year.

Daylight: a book with a positive message

♪ you gotta step into the daylight and let it go ♪

Okay I looked at my list of books I’ve read and geez…do I need more upbeat, happier reads! I mean most of what I read has a positive message whether the characters go through some crazy obstacles in life. But Vow of Thieves…had it all for me, it was an emotional rollercoaster, yes, it made me cry more than once. I love the characters, main ones, secondary ones…the message of strength, keep fighting, don’t give up. Kazi is MY hero. I’m glad she got her daylight in the end.

Tagging:

A Little Haze Book Blog

Kitty Marie’s Reading Corner

nen & jen

….and if you like doing book tags like I do, and I didn’t tag you, go ahead and try this one out! 😘

Top Ten Tuesday

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:

Books I Enjoyed That Are Outside of My Comfort Zone

(i.e., a genre you don’t typically read or subject matter you’re not usually drawn to)

I just got done reading this eARC of Mooncakes which is a graphic novel and I hardly read graphic novels. I saw awesome reviews for this one and gave it a try and LOVED it! I have a review on it coming up this week!

I don’t read middle grade books but I love Catherine Doyle and decided to give it a try. And I was not disappointed!

I’m not a big mystery fan, but I enjoy this series by indie author K.A. Miltimore who reached out to me to read and review her books. I love the supernatural characters and paranormal elements in this series. It always makes me want to move to a small town in Oregon. 🤔 And eat strangely shaped delicious pastries…😬

My comfort zone for the fantasy genre is more young adult fantasy which are broken up into trilogies and so when I borrowed this book I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Priory of the Orange Tree is a hefty book clocking in at 800+ pages. I read it in one week and I felt like it went slow because I couldn’t connect to the characters as I wanted to and I wanted more dragons really. It was pretty epic in scale, the world building , the length, the weight of the book (I felt like I was carrying around a newborn baby!).

I’ve been easing into reading sci-fi but I still enjoy reading it more as a space opera type books. It has to have romance and I definitely prefer it in as a young adult book. If it gets too technical, it loses me, so give me a book with action and emotion, like The Honors series and I can get into it.

Once in a great while I have the urge to read a book like Gone Girl. It’s not my favorite genre, but sometimes, just once in awhile, I need a good scare or freak out – I don’t know why! 😂 Last year I read Sharp Objects because I heard Amy Adams was going to star in the tv series. So I read the book beforehand and ugh…..it’s disturbing and just what I strangely wanted at the time. TOTALLY out of my comfort zone.

I read this one years ago when it came out in 2008 and I was working in a college library at the time and I borrowed from our collection. There was so much hype over it and so I read it and the whole series afterwards. What I really enjoyed about it was the computer hacking and revenge aspects but geez…it has a lot of disturbing scenes.

Apparently I’m digging deep in my Goodreads READ list to finish this topic…😅 but I read this 10+ years ago?! And I wasn’t into dystopia yet, Twilight was SO big that year, I remember falling in love with Vampires (again, you know there is always a cycle haha)…and I picked up this series and was like…whoa. It was just so different from all the vampire stuff I was reading, it was a breath of fresh air.

Bully romances…I actually liked book one Broken Legacy of this series, but after book two I decided to give up on the series and probably bully romances in general. I love the romance genre, it is what made me fall in love with reading in general. But I can take only so much unhealthy relationships in the romance genre. 😂

Reverse harem books are definitely out of my comfort zone – I tried this series because I love indie author Jaymin Eve, I liked book one but by the time I got to book four I stopped. I couldn’t make myself read book five. I just can’t do the whole one girl, five brothers relationship. 😅 It’s just way too much sharing for my taste. I can deal with a love triangle but more than that…it’s too much for me.