I wanted to try a new weekly prompt for my blog and I’ve seen this one from a few blogger friends so let’s give it a try!
This prompt is hosted byMandy at Devouring Books so check out her blog for bookish content. 😊
Rules!
Share your top 5 books of the current topic– these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
Tag the original post (This one!)
Tag 5 people
This is a big trigger book because of the cutting but this story creeped me out. 😖 It’s a murder mystery in a small town with a reporter who has messed up memories about the town, her family is something else 😳 – and the murderer pulls teeth. AHHH! I just can’t. Lol…creepy.
Edgar Allan Poe re-imagined. A few of the stories in this anthology creeped me out so good! I mean being buried alive is creepy. 😧
This book was something! I reviewed it as an arc but I can still remember how on edge I was reading this book. Sending girls out to an encampment to get their “wildness” out before getting married…and the girls turn on each other and there are poachers on the outskirts waiting…yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever forget this book. HAHA.
I haven’t read this yet but it’s on my shelf. The cover alone looks creepy. My son picked it out for me when we were shopping at Target. He said the trees branches looked cool. 🤷🏻♀️
I read this a long time ago in high school, so late 90’s? It’s a collection of novellas and the one story that creeped me out was the one called The Langoliers. There are people on a plane, a few wake up and the rest stay sleeping. I don’t remember much of what happens but just the whole idea of waking up on a plane with everyone asleep including the pilot and couldn’t wake up was creepy to me. There is a lot of Stephen King book that scared me as a teenager
And that’s what I got! Have you read any of these? Leave me a comment below!
Thank you to Emer at A Little Haze Book Blog for tagging me for this award! It’s my third one and since I just finished #2, I might as well post #3 right away before I forget and procrastinate on it again. 😂 I am in a fog of sinus pressure so please excuse me! Emer has been so awesome at supporting my blog and she’s so friendly and welcoming, please check out her awesome website!
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.
Emer’s Questions:
Do you own more than one copy of any book? If yes then what book/s?
Yes, Pride and Prejudice because you know…I need all versions. 🤷🏻♀️ Nah, I only have 2 copies of it, one I bought for myself and the other because my hubby had the foresight (finally) to grab all the Jane Austen books the library at his workplace were giving away for free.
Describe your perfect day.
It would start off with 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, then a large cookies n creme ice blended coffee drink from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, half caff/no whip. Then my kids and I would have a fabulous day, and no one would be sick, I would have no sinus headache or allergies, etc…LOL…and I’d have a chance to finish a book in peace while they played together.
What attracts you to a book? The cover? Blurb? Recommendation from others?
I admit, I judge a book by it’s cover…mostly. LOL
You are having a dinner party and can invite three famous people (either living or dead) to the party. Who do you invite?
Prince, Michelle Obama and Lizzo 🤷🏻♀️ my brain is mush, and that’s a really random dinner party guest list 😂 but sounds like a fun party right?!
Who is your favourite superhero?
Batman because at least in the Lego show versions he’s so sarcastic, which is quite funny to me.
Which would you prefer to win: an Oscar or a Grammy?
An Oscar maybe? I can’t act to save my life, but maybe like an Oscar for like costume design sounds cool! And no I can’t design costumes either.
What is the first book that you ever wrote a review for?
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?
This Blogtober challenge is created by The Library Looter and Anniek’s Library – check out their awesome blog sites to find more Blogtober challenge prompts!
Oh the thing I wish we had in Hawaii is a true Autumn with leaves turning and temperatures dropping…but we don’t. It will stay hot out here until about late December, early January and the lowest it will get is in the low 70’s. But reading helps me get into an autumn mood and all things pumpkin spice haha.
So here are my picks for 5 Perfect Autumn Reads:
It’s so good and so witchy and perfect to get you in the mood for Halloween!
Book Blurb from Goodreads:
Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.
Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.
The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.
I haven’t read this one yet but look at that cover! I have this on my October TBR.
Book Blurb from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Aderyn (“Ryn”) only cares about two things: her family, and her family’s graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead.
The risen corpses are known as “bone houses,” and legend says that they’re the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?
Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.
Another title I haven’t read yet but it’s called Pumpkin Heads! I mean…enough said. 🤷🏻♀️
Book Blurb from Goodreads:
Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends.
Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1.
But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.
Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . .
What if their last shift was an adventure?
Because it’s a vampire book and look at that dark, beautiful cover! Still waiting on my copy from the YA Book of the Month. 😕
Book Blurb on Goodreads:
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
Another one on my TBR! Look at that cover – I love it and it sounds perfect for this season.
Book Blurb on Goodreads:
Once a year, the path appears in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Who is brave enough to find her–and who won’t make it out of the woods?
It’s been exactly one year since Sara’s sister, Becca, disappeared, and high school life has far from settled back to normal. With her sister gone, Sara doesn’t know whether her former friends no longer like her…or are scared of her, and the days of eating alone at lunch have started to blend together. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her estranged friends to “play the game” and find local ghost legend Lucy Gallows, Sara is sure this is the only way to find Becca–before she’s lost forever. And even though she’s hardly spoken with them for a year, Sara finds herself deep in the darkness of the forest, her friends–and their cameras–following her down the path. Together, they will have to draw on all of their strengths to survive. The road is rarely forgiving, and no one will be the same on the other side.
And there you have my 5 picks! What are some autumn reads you’d like to recommend? Leave me a comment below and Happy Reading!
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!
Aloha fellow readers and bloggers and everyone out there! How are YOU? I hope everyone is having an awesome October so far.
Just when I think my kids are over the illnesses they came down with in September something else happens. I guess my daughter is allergic to her antibiotic but she had a late reaction because she was at the end of her treatment and flared up yesterday in hives! Poor kiddo, but she is in a much better mood than I ever was when I had hives for week when I was around 8 or 9 years old. My doctors never figured out what triggered it either! I remember the itching drove me mad and I would cry from the welts. She’s barely bothered by it, except for the ones on her knees and elbows. Anyway I hope it’s out of her system soon because…mommy needs a break! 😩 That’s how the start of my October has been! I hope yours has been way better!
I am very excited seeing all the houses decorate for Halloween though! My son is still afraid of some of the decorations but my daughter loves all of it. Such opposites, but I hope we just all get better so we can enjoy the festivities this month. 🎃
Let’s get to the lines!
“A lace-trimmed wedding invitation sits on my nightstand and I know, beyond the shadow of the doubt, that Mama is not coming back.”
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This cover is gorgeous! I got this book in my LitJoy Crate box so review will come soon to my blog.
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.
Book Titles with Numbers In Them
(You could really challenge yourself and do numbers 1-10 or just any numbers at all. Submitted by Emma @ Words and Peace)
There have been a few books lately with numbers in them like these books featuring crowns.
Sorry…I feel like I’m cheating LOL, this whole Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake all have numbers in the titles!!
Just because I’m randomly looking for titles – this one popped up. I never read it before though.
And then there is always the classic Fahrenheit 451.
And of course from one of my favorite historical romance authors we have these titles below.
It’s a pretty easy topic today and that’s what I got. What do you have?
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.”
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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!
Hi everyone, let’s take a break today from book reviews and do something fun. I saw this floating around the blog world and thought it was super cute. Plus it comes with adorable graphics – thanks to the creator kat @ novelsandwaffles.
Feel free to use any of the waffle graphics in this post, just make sure to credit Kat
Tag away if you want.
I always say Pride & Prejudice is my favorite classic novel but…I’ll change it up and say Jane Eyre. I love the moment when Mr. Rochester’s secret is revealed and Jane decides to leave him. Such angst, I felt horrible for both of them.
Wholesome goodness vibes is what Peter K and Lara Jean always give me. And not only because of the two of them. I think it’s because Lara Jean is always baking something and she and her sisters are so cute together.
I read this when it was first published in the 90’s and I was in love with the whole series. This reminds me of middle school! For years after I left middle school, every time I reread this series it reminded me of my middle school library.
I’m cheating LOL…I cannot think of ANY character right now in the recent books I’ve read or am reading who is SWEET. 😆 But I read a lot of children’s books to my kids and Hattie and Horace are the sweetest!!!
The perfect book for this category. Broke my heart but it made me smile too.
A dystopian western?! Yup and with paranormal aspects in it too! Review coming soon for this one, but for me it was different – but good different!
Even though I wasn’t into it by the end – I finished the series.
My favorite accessory? A bookmark-or whatever I use for a bookmark, my cellphone, a receipt, one of my kids’ drawing laying around, a hair tie, etc…😂
Such a super short and sweet tag! I enjoyed doing this one – and definitely help yourself to doing this tag if you like! Would love to see your answers. 😘
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.
Favorite Things to Eat/Drink While Reading
Today’s topic is a very easy one but I don’t think I’ll have ten to list since I don’t really snack when I eat, so let’s do a top FIVE:
Because coffee DOES own me. Except I don’t drink my coffee like this…I like it in an ice blended. Not even as iced coffee…I needed blended.
And sometimes, when I feel funky, like my tummy is feeling weird or my throat is feeling scratchy and I just want to read and really really relax – then it’s all about chamomile tea for me.
Then on the days I really have time to read all day and I got some cookie dough in the fridge, then I will bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies to eat while I read!
Sometimes I find myself getting anxious when reading an action packed book and then I start munching on chips! Hummus and chips sometimes.
I’m a daily iced tea drinker though so I think I always have iced tea on hand if I don’t have any of the above.
And that’s what I have on my list! What did you have on yours? Leave your TTT link in my comments, or leave me a comment if you didn’t make a TTT. Would love to hear from you!
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?
This is my first WWW Wednesday so let’s get to it:
What are you currently reading?
I am reading this eARC called Unspoken by Celia McMahon. It is set to publish September 17, 2019 by The Parliament House Press. It’s pretty good so far, check out the link for the book blurb. It’s got a Princess who loves to hunt, forbidden magic, shape shifters and so much more!
What have you just finished reading?
I have finally read Nocturna! It was only on my book shelf for about 3 or 4 months. Haha, not too bad, but I wanted to read it before the summer came to a close. Review will be up before the end of this week.
What are you going to read next?
Going to try and read Descendant of the Crane this week. It’s due at my library soon, so hoping I can finish it quick.
And that’s all I got for Wednesday! It’s been a long weekend as my family and I were staying at a hotel for Labor day weekend. So I’m trying to catch up on everything. And I can’t quite say I had a relaxing weekend…I barely slept. At one point I had 4 kids in my hotel room (I only have 2 children 😂 – the other 2 were my nephews)….SO…relaxing it was not, but getting away from my house for 2 days always makes me feel a bit different. 🤷🏻♀️
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 