Tag: books i read

Monthly Wrap Up | June 2024

June started off busy with an overnight stay, and my hubby being home for a little bit. Then my daughter and I getting sick after he left, and my son having his piano recital then his summer week-long program at his middle school. I feel like June just really started for us but actually now it’s over?! How can that be? 😅

How is it that my kids go back to school in 5 weeks? It’s too fast I tell you. And with these days just flying by me, I had no energy to read between being sick and then hitting lazy summer mode – is there such a thing as lazy summer mode when the kids are home? I feel like I haven’t been reading as much this year in general but that’s totally okay.

Here is how my book ratings for June went:

What I Posted: 8 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:

    4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

      4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

      3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

      3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

      2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

      2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

        I finally had to request more books on NetGalley for the second half of 2024 because I realized I barely had any! Now I have a pretty decent list so hopefully they are good books! 🤞🏽

        How was your month?

        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!

        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!

        Weekly Wrap Up | 6/30/24

        Aloha friends!

        It’s been an easy, chill week for me – lazy summer days for sure! Took my kids to the pool, went to the mall to play at the arcade and that’s about it. I cleaned the house, took some bags for donation but nothing exciting at all. I do have time to read though so that’s nice!

        I hope all of you have a good week!

        Blog Posts:

        Books I Read:

        • The Unmaking of June Farrow by. Adrienne Young
        • Dungeons and Drama by. Kristy Boyce
        • House of Thorns by. Isabel Strychacz
        • The Monstrous Kind by. Lydia Gregovic
        • The Girl with No Reflection by. Keshe Chow

        Currently Reading:

        • The Seventh Veil of Salome by. Silvia Moreno-Garcia
        • Shadow & Storms by. Helen Scheuerer
        • Not In Love by. Ali Hazelwood

        Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

        • House of Dragon (Season 2, Ep. 2) – what an ending 😦
        • Gossip Girl – so I never watched Gossip Girl when it came out in 2007 because I felt I was too old for it and Sex and the City was my show and related to that one more. But since I have my Max subscription for House of Dragon I decided to watch it!
        • Brat – Charlie xcx – I listen to it when I’m cleaning the house and it makes the time go by! lol
        • The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and Good Luck, Babe- Chappell Roan – because I’m addicted to her voice.

        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!

        Weekly Wrap Up | 6/23/24

        Aloha friends!

        It was a chill week and I got to finish two books at least! Can you believe June is almost over? I cannot. Because that means I have to go back to school shopping already. I went to Target last week and they still had their summer stuff but we’ll see if the school stuff appear soon. And that’s that – my daughter will be in 2nd and my son will be in 6th and time just keeps flying by! 😅

        I hope all of you have a good week!

        Blog Posts:

        Books I Read:

        • This Summer Will Be Different by. Carley Fortune
        • The Break-Up Pact by. Emma Lord
        • The Mirror of Beasts by. Alexandra Bracken

        Currently Reading:

        • House of Thorns by. Isabel Strychacz
        • The Unmaking of June Farrow by. Adrienne Young

        Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

        • House of Dragon (Season 2, Ep. 1) – not much to say so far. Expected more but it is episode 1 and I know it has to build. 🐉
        • Dune 2 – now that I renewed my Max subscription, I’m trying to watch what I can before I cancel after watching House of Dragon lol. Honestly the story is slow but I love this movie series because of the visuals. It’s really amazing! 📽
        • Inside Out 2 – my kids and I went to the theater and loved this movie! I love how they portray our complicated emotions. It’s a great way for them to learn about it and I wish I had a movie like this when I was young. 🍿
        • Brat – Charlie xcx – I bought the vinyl (yes how am I a vinyl collector now?! As if I needed a new expensive hobby). This album is so good, who needs coffee? This album is like caffeine.🎧
        • The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan – I just bought the vinyl so definitely had to give it a listen. 🎵

        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!

        Weekly Wrap Up | 6/16/24

        Aloha friends!

        My daughter and I are recovered and we had a much more chill week, which was so needed. My son did a summer program this past week at his new middle school and he came home excited each day. He’s really looking forward this new phase of his life and I just hope it stays that way. I know when the work begins he’ll probably have a change of heart but we’ll see.

        I did a lot of cleaning around the house, took things to be donated, cleaned up the rooms – especially with all the stuff my kiddos bring home at the end of year from school. So much papers to go through and decide what to keep and trash. It gets overwhelming but I got it done. I hope I get to read more this week since we don’t have much planned. We’ll probably go watch Inside Out 2 today or tomorrow.

        I hope all of you have a good week!

        Blog Posts:

        Books I Read:

        • A Magic Fierce & Bright by. Hemant Nayak
        • Happily Never After by. Lynn Painter

        Currently Reading:

        • The Mirror of Beasts by. Alexandra Bracken
        • The Break-Up Pact by. Emma Lord
        • This Summer Will Be Different by. Carley Fortune

        Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

        • Hierarchy (Netflix) – So much drama! Too many long dramatic looks with music but I still ate it all up.
        • Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 (Netflix) – I hate that there was two parts to season 3 because it’s such a fun season. I felt like there was more humor in this one. I love how this one was about friendships whether it’s about best friends or friends to lovers. There were so many different relationship dramas going on but in the best way. The Queen is hilarious and her wigs are magnificent! But from what I’ve heard of Francesca’s story…I feel like that one will devastate me so I’m scared for hers – already her love story is so sweet. I think Kate and Anthony is still my favorite couple and I love seeing them still in the show. ❤️
        • Hit Me Hard and Soft – Billie Eilish – cleaning the house and playing this album really passes the time!
        • Brat – Charlie xcx – Honestly I only picked this up because she was all over my FYP on tiktok and I liked what I was hearing and honestly it’s summertime and I wanted to put away the sad girl music! THIS is summer music. Makes me wish I was in my 20’s and still partying lol.
        • The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan – This was on repeat for me at the end of 2023 and my kids and I loveeeeeeee singing her songs (no, they don’t know what any of the sexual stuff in her songs mean lol). So happy to see her star is rising!

        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!

        Monthly Wrap Up | May 2024

        May went by in a flash it seems but at least my reading slump was broken! Yay! I was so busy in May with my daughter’s dance recital, my son’s graduation and my hubby coming home that I’m surprised I even managed to read any books.

        A few anticipated reads for me did fall short of my expectations but there were a few surprises for me this month also. Here’s what I posted in May!

        What I Posted: 13 Books

        5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:

        4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

          4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

          3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

          3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

          2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

          2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

            I did better this month in posting more book reviews. I did one blog tour and posted one book excerpt. I do feel like my reads are landing in the 3-3.5 stars range and I’m hoping to get some better reads in June but we’ll see if that happens. There isn’t many June releases I’m looking forward to, so maybe it will be a light reading month again.

            How was your month?

            Weekly Wrap Up | 6/9/24

            Aloha friends!

            Well I guess all the festivities caught up to me and my daughter – that or we caught a bug going around because of graduations and then being at the crowded hotel. We’ve been sick since Tuesday! I hate being sick at the start of summer – getting sick in the fall and winter, I get it but summer? Ugh. I hate. We got enough fun time in at least with their dad before he had to leave back to Okinawa on Friday. He comes home for good in 6 months though and with the days flying by so fast, it will be in no time at all.

            I didn’t read much because I could barely stay awake when I was reading and my body just ached from coughing. So I slept a lot. My son had his piano recital yesterday and I had to try and get as healthy as I can for that. I’m so proud of him! He is doing a summer bridge program this week at his new school – he’s starting middle school in August and I’m a little emotional about it.

            Anyway I just need to rest and get better.

            I hope all of you have a good week!

            Blog Posts:

            Books I Read:

            • Ghostsmith by. Nicki Pau Preto

            Currently Reading:

            • The Mirror of Beasts by. Alexandra Bracken
            • Happily Never After by. Lynn Painter

            Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

            • Hierarchy (Netflix) – I just started this K-drama!

            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!

            Weekly Wrap Up | 6/2/24

            Aloha friends!

            What a week! I had my first colonoscopy and have to do another in 5 years. 😅 My son graduated from elementary school and school ended on Thursday. It was my husband’s birthday so we went to The Cheesecake Factory since we had a gift card. Then on Friday we went to the Disney Aulani Resort for one night only because even with my kama’aina (Hawaii local) discount it was pricey! But it was a treat for our kids since we didn’t do to Japan for spring break like we planned. So we went and enjoyed the pools, hot tubs and the beach. They kids had so much fun it’s a shame it’s so pricey and we can only stay for one night. We checked out yesterday morning and had to take my son straight to his piano lesson which he couldn’t miss since he has a recital this Saturday!

            My hubby leaves for Okinawa on Friday so we’re bummed but that means there is only 6 months before he returns for good! He gets to at least watch my son’s piano rehearsal before he leaves. Anyway, I’m hoping to rest a little this week!

            I hope all of you have a good week!

            Blog Posts:

            Books I Read:

            • That Prince is Mine by. Jayci Lee
            • When the Moon Hatched by. Sarah A. Parker
            • The Dixon Rule by. Elle Kennedy

            Currently Reading:

            • The Mirror of Beasts by. Alexandra Bracken
            • The Rule book by. Sarah Adams

            Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

            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!

            Weekly Wrap Up | 5/26/24

            Aloha friends!

            Friends, my a/c is finally fixed! Thank you to my brother-in-law. I’m hoping the repair holds out until December when my hubby will finally be back home for good and then we can buy a whole new unit which is gonna cost us a pretty penny but it must be done.

            My kids had a Song Fest on Wednesday and their cafeteria is not big enough to fit all the kids and parents so it was held out on the field. Even though it was from 8:30-9:30, it was SO hot, I was dripping sweat. I know it’s because I’m peri-menopausal but how do some people just deal with the heat? I’m out there dying 😅. The teachers had spray bottles and constantly were misting the kids. It was cute, but I swear it gets hotter each May. They haven’t done a performance like this since covid lockdowns, so it was nice to see the kiddos perform. My 5th grader was so over it though. I cannot believe this is the last week of school for them. My son will be going to middle school in August. My daughter will be in 2nd grade…it goes by so fast. 🥲

            My hubby flew in yesterday and he’s going to visit for 2 weeks which is nice. We have a lot of things planned but first I am going to have my first colonoscopy on Tuesday, so I prep tomorrow – wish me luck! 😬 Oh the joys of being 45 years old lol but yes I am doing it before all our celebratory events. So I can enjoy the rest of the week.

            I hope all of you have a good week!

            Blog Posts:

            Books I Read:

            • Curious Tides by. Pascale Lacelle
            • Just for the Summer by. Abby Jimenez
            • Heavebreaker by. Sara Wolf

            Currently Reading:

            • The Mirror of Beasts by. Alexandra Bracken
            • That Prince is Mine by. Jayci Lee

            Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

            • Hit Me Hard and Soft – Billie Eillish – I love Chihiro and Birds of a Feather. The whole album has amazing beats!

            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!