Tag: reading

Let’s Talk Bookish:  Authors Branching Out | 10/3/25

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

October 3: Authors Branching Out (Melanie @ Melanie’s Book Blog)

Prompts: How do you feel when an author you love does something new and not at all like their previous work? Do you still read all their books, or do you stop after a point? If they write in a new genre that you don’t read, do you read it for the author, or stop following every title the author releases (in the new genre)? What are some of your favourite books where the author veered away from their previous work quite drastically?

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How do you feel when an author you love does something new and not at all like their previous work? Do you still read all their books, or do you stop after a point?

I definitely get intrigued and try out their new books. I continue to read their books if I like their new stuff, if not then I stop.

If they write in a new genre that you don’t read, do you read it for the author, or stop following every title the author releases (in the new genre)?

I want to say I read it for the author but I will stop reading it if I’m not into it. But I at least give it a try.

What are some of your favourite books where the author veered away from their previous work quite drastically?

I can’t say these books are drastic changes from the genres they’ve written in but it’s the only ones I can think of right now. 😅

I just listened to Marie Lu’s adult fiction debut, Red City and loved it!! It’s definitely a departure from her YA stuff, it’s more violent and bloody but I really enjoyed it.

I read almost all of Sarah MacLean’s historical romance books so when she ventured into contemporary romance, I was definitely going to read it since I already know I loved her writing and it did not disappoint!

I read Julie Soto’s romance novel Forget Me Not and loved it. Then another romance came out last year, Not Another Love Song and loved that as well. Then she did something different this year. She put out The Thrashers which is a young adult thriller – loved it. And then she put out Rose in Chains, a dark romance and I loved that too! She’s been putting in the writing work and I’m loving her dip into different genres so far!

I read Lynette Noni’s The Prison Healer series a few years ago and loved it. It’s young adult fantasy and when I saw her name on a ya contemporary romance, Wandering Wild, I thought to give it a try and I enjoyed it a lot! I’m looking forward to see what she does next.

October Topics:

October 3: Authors Branching Out (Melanie @ Melanie’s Book Blog)

Prompts: How do you feel when an author you love does something new and not at all like their previous work? Do you still read all their books, or do you stop after a point? If they write in a new genre that you don’t read, do you read it for the author, or stop following every title the author releases (in the new genre)? What are some of your favourite books where the author veered away from their previous work quite drastically?

October 10: TBR Roulette

Prompts: What makes you keep a book on your TBR? Find a random number generator, put in the number of books on your TBR and roll 5 times! Note down the book each number corresponds to on your list (or just pick 5 books at random off your TBR) and tell us: what made you add the book to your shelf—was it a cover add? Does it have your favourite tropes? How long has it been on your TBR? If it has been on your TBR for a long time, do you still want to read it or have you lost interest?

October 17: Oh, the Horror (Snapdragon @ Snapdragon Alcove)

Prompts: Do you read horror? What do you think of when you hear the word horror? Are there any books you read that are not practically horror but have some horror element in them?

October 24: Recapping Anticipated Reads

Prompts: With two months left in the year following October, let’s recap your anticipated releases so far. How have you fared with your most anticipated releases in 2025—have they mostly met with your expectations or have you been let down? Were you surprised by 2025 releases you weren’t anticipating but ended up being more enjoyable than expected? Are there any 2025 releases you’re still waiting on? If you like, share your top 2025 releases so far!

October 31: Halloween Freebie! 👻

Prompts: Happy Halloween, folks! 🎃 To celebrate the spooky fest, we’re making today a Halloween freebie! You can check out our blogs for inspiration (Aria and Dini) or write about something else you’re interested in!


Monthly Wrap Up | September 2025

September was long and I was busy! I was also working on arcs because I had so many for September. I can’t believe we are in the last three months of the year, let’s just get through it, yeah?

I read 25 books and posted 23 book reviews in September.

Books I Read – 25 books:

  1. The Austen Affair by. Madeline Bell
  2. Hekate: The Witch by. Nikita Gill
  3. Fevered Star by. Rebecca Roanhorse (audiobook)
  4. Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang
  5. You Make it Feel Like Christmas by. Sophie Sullivan
  6. Thief of Night by. Holly Black
  7. We Who Will Die by. Stacia Clark
  8. And the River Drags Her Down by. Jihyun Yun
  9. Starchaser by. R.M. Gray
  10. Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry (audiobook)
  11. Moth Dark by. Kika Hatzpoulou
  12. Heartsick by. Kristina Forest
  13. The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson
  14. Yours for the Season by. Emily Stone
  15. My Favorite Holidate by. Lauren Blakely
  16. The Crimson Throne by. Sara Raasch and Beth Revis
  17. Bitten by. Jordan Stephanie Gray (audiobook)
  18. To Cage a Wild Bird by. Brooke Fast
  19. Spellcaster by. Jaymin Eve (audiobook)
  20. With Thoughts of Jason by. Caleb A. Mertz
  21. Traitor Wolf by. Leia Stone
  22. Red City by. Marie Lu
  23. I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by. Ann Liang
  24. Eldritch by. Keri Lake
  25. For No Mortal Creature by. Keshe Chow

Reviews I Posted On My Blog: 23 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 – ⭐️⭐️

Book Tags:

Birthstone Book Covers: September – Sapphire

Blog Tours:

BLOG TOUR} The Dating Prohibition by. Taj McCoy | Book Excerpt

Other:

How was your month?

WWW Wednesday | 10/1/25

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?

Last week was so busy but finally I got some down time during the weekend and managed to finish Eldritch by Keri Lake, which is 766 pages. 😅 I was reading it while sorta watching football (the sound was off).

What are you currently reading?

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie – chapter 3

Julia Song is Undateable by. Susan Lee – audiobook – 2%

Blackthorn by. J.T. Geissinger – 9%

The Possession of Alba Díaz by. Isabel Cañas – 1%

What have you just finished reading?

Eldritch by. Keri Lake ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Traitor Wolf by. Leia Stone ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red City by. Marie Lu (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by. Ann Liang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

For No Mortal Creature by. Keshe Chow ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

Mirrored Heaves by. Rebecca Roanhorse

Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan

The House Saphir by. Marissa Meyer

Fallen City by. Adrienne Young

Burning Daylight by. Emily McIntire

What are YOU reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 9/28/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ Today is my break! It’s been a long week, starting from all the events we had last weekend and straight into the week filled with doctor appointments, had to renew my driver’s license and then my daughter’s annual school carnival which is held from 2-5pm (the HOTTEST time of the day) – I dread it every year because it’s a sweat fest, but she loves it so I take her. 😅

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

Currently Reading:

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie

Red City by. Marie Lu (audiobook)

For No Mortal Creature by. Keshe Chow

Eldritch by. Keri Lake

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Chief of War (Apple +) – amazing finale! I hope there is a season 2.
  • Football

Albums I listened to:

  • Cardi B – Am I the Drama? – so good! On repeat!
  • Doja Cat – Vie – I love the 80’s sound but I think the album has to grow on me.
  • Mariah Carey – Here For it All – love it!

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!

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Let’s Talk Bookish:  Are Published Books Losing Quality? The Impact of Social Media Platforms and Trope-Based Marketing | 9/26/25

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

September 26: Are Published Books Losing Quality? The Impact of Social Media Platforms and Trope-Based Marketing

Prompts: Reading has become increasingly more “popular” due to platforms like booktok and bookstagram, which tend to promote certain types of books. It has also given rise to the “trope only” marketing trend. Do you think the hype that’s been created on these platforms has impacted the quality of books that are published these days? Do you think it’s impacting only certain genres or do you notice it across all genres? How do you think this will impact book quality and publishing in the years to come (i.e. is it just a phase or will it continue)?

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Reading has become increasingly more “popular” due to platforms like booktok and bookstagram, which tend to promote certain types of books. It has also given rise to the “trope only” marketing trend. Do you think the hype that’s been created on these platforms has impacted the quality of books that are published these days?

I’ve been wondering about this for awhile now because I’m on booktok and tried out some of the books that are hyped on there. I think more people reading is a good thing. But I’m not gonna lie, before booktok and bookstagram – I sometimes would scour Kindle Unlimited for tropey books (academies, dark romance, romantasy before it was called romantasy) because I NEED those type of books when I want my brain to not over think on detailed world-building. I just needed to vibe, and read smut and just have fun. So I think there is a place for those books and honestly I was happy for indie authors doing these genres getting more publishing deals with big publishers.

I don’t think it has impacted the quality of books because I can still find quality books! But I think it has taken out the surprise of what happens in a book. If it’s being marketed as enemies to lovers, I’m looking for it in the book. But I think before the trope marketing, readers would at least be surprised about enemies becoming lovers, or one bed, or touch her and die, etc…you know the tropes.

Do you think it’s impacting only certain genres or do you notice it across all genres?

I mostly read fantasy and romance and I do think it’s impacting “romantasy” a lot. Can’t say much about the other genres. But the tropes in romantasy are rinse and repeat to the point sometimes I’m wary of romantasy books.

How do you think this will impact book quality and publishing in the years to come (i.e. is it just a phase or will it continue)?

The quality of stories I don’t think will be affected. I actually think an author can only get better (hopefully) from the hype and success. I’ve read a few hyped indie books that I thought was just okay, but hoping because of the hype the sequel will be better. But I’ve read some amazing indie books that deserve the hype also. I do think it’s a phase because that’s the thing about the book world there are always phases or cycles.

Romantasy books are trope heavy but so is contemporary romance – and I don’t think we had a problem with all the contemporary romance tropes feeling like a formula (even though it is) because people weren’t pointing tropes out all the time until very recently. Even as a blogger who hardly listed tropes during my first 3 years of blogging in my reviews have now automatically been adding “enemies to lovers”, “forced proximity” into my reviews. I still don’t do it as much because I don’t remember all the tropes, I don’t take notes while I read or else it will feel like a chore. But sometimes stating the tropes does help someone decide if they want to read that book or not. I love enemies to lovers, so I am always looking for those books, but I won’t necessarily read it if the premise doesn’t intrigue me or if it sounds like every other book out there.

Maybe marketing is just giving too much information? It needs to be like a movie trailer (and not the ones that show basically what happens in the whole movie lol)…give us a juicy, intriguing synopsis. And now I’m questioning my reviews and maybe should go back to not mentioning tropes! 😅 That would be easier on me actually!

September Topics:

September 5: In Which Season Do You Do Your Best Reading? (Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: Is there a month, quarter or other specific time of year when you do your most reading and why do you think that is? Does this tend to fluctuate every year or is your reading pretty ‘steady’?

September 12: Following the Reader

Prompts: What makes you want to follow a bookish account on social media? What makes you want to follow a book blog? Are you very discerning or do you follow back whoever follows you? Do you prefer or find it easier to engage with other readers on one platform over the other (i.e. blogs vs. bookstagram or booktok)?

September 19: Favourite Genre Recommendations

Prompts: What is your favourite genre(s) and what makes it your favourite? If someone wanted to try your favourite genre(s), what are five books that you would recommend to them and why those books specifically? Has your favorite genre changed over time?

September 26: Are Published Books Losing Quality? The Impact of Social Media Platforms and Trope-Based Marketing

Prompts: Reading has become increasingly more “popular” due to platforms like booktok and bookstagram, which tend to promote certain types of books. It has also given rise to the “trope only” marketing trend. Do you think the hype that’s been created on these platforms has impacted the quality of books that are published these days? Do you think it’s impacting only certain genres or do you notice it across all genres? How do you think this will impact book quality and publishing in the years to come (i.e. is it just a phase or will it continue)?


WWW Wednesday | 9/24/25

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?

It was a busy weekend but I managed to get some reading done. I’m making a rule for myself that I am not reading more than 10 arcs a month in 2026! Hopefully I can stick that rule – I signed up for way too much this year. 😅

What are you currently reading?

For No Mortal Creature by. Keshe Chow – 7%

The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson – 11%

Red City by. Marie Lu – audiobook – 2 %

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie – chapter 2

What have you just finished reading?

Bitten by. Jordan Stephanie Gray ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (audiobook)

My Favorite Holidate by. Lauren Blakely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With Thoughts of Jason by. Caleb A. Mertz ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Yours For the Season by. Emily Stone ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry – audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (audiobook)

The Crimson Throne by. Sara Raasch and Beth Revis – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spellcaster by. Jaymin Eve – audiobook – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

Eldritch by. Keri Lake

Mirrored Heaves by. Rebecca Roanhorse

Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan

The House Saphir by. Marissa Meyer

Fallen City by. Adrienne Young

What are YOU reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 9/21/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ How are we all getting through the week? I’ve thrown myself into books – and why, why, why do all my audiobook requests come through at the same time? 😩

+ Kids had Friday off from school but it was a busy weekend with my dad’s birthday (we had lunch at our house), kids going to piano and swim, and then a cousin’s daughter’s birthday is today – so we are going to that!

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

Currently Reading:

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie

Red City by. Marie Lu (audiobook)

The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson

The Crimson Throne by. Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry

Spellcaster by. Jaymin Eve

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video) – Season 3 – It’s over and it took awhile but there was growth when Belly and Conrad finally just talk about things. I hear there’s a movie next? Hope it’s the wedding!
  • Chief of War (Apple +) – episode 8
  • Football – Eagles/Rams play today!

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!

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Let’s Talk Bookish:  Favourite Genre Recommendations | 9/19/25

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

September 19: Favourite Genre Recommendations

Prompts: What is your favourite genre(s) and what makes it your favourite? If someone wanted to try your favourite genre(s), what are five books that you would recommend to them and why those books specifically? Has your favorite genre changed over time?

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What is your favourite genre(s) and what makes it your favourite?

Right now my favorite is fantasy (adult or young adult) with romance. It used to be romantasy until the genre got flooded with books with the same tropes. 😅

If someone wanted to try your favourite genre(s), what are five books that you would recommend to them and why those books specifically?

ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) series by. Sarah J. Maas – I get that people love or hate it, but I love it! But the world building is great and the romance. Same with the Thorn of Glass series – world building.

The Bridge Kingdom by. Danielle L. Jensen – love this first book of the series so much. Love the characters, the betrayal, the high stakes and action!

Legendborn Series by. Tracy Deonn (but I think this is more YA Urban Fantasy? I still recommend it.) – the world building, characters, black girl magic/power.

Crowns of Nyaxia series by. Carissa Broadbent – world building, the romance, Vincent!

The Folk of the Air series by. Holly Black – scary Fae, love how Jude had to navigate this dark/threatening world

Has your favorite genre changed over time?

I’ve been reading since I was in middle school (a long time ago LOL – I had the original Vampire Diaries books back in 1991 😅 and let me tell you my first book boyfriends were Stefan and Damon Salvatore). So yes I went from young adult horror/paranormal, young adult romance, historical romance, fiction, contemporary romance, then back to young adult when Twilight and Divergent and all those vampire books came out (what a time!), back to historical romance fiction lol…then contemporary romance, fantasy (with romance) for a long time, then romantasy. I think I’m back to mostly reading fantasy (young adult or adult with romance) sprinkled with contemporary romance, and horror. I can’t stick to one genre or I will get bored.

September Topics:

September 5: In Which Season Do You Do Your Best Reading? (Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: Is there a month, quarter or other specific time of year when you do your most reading and why do you think that is? Does this tend to fluctuate every year or is your reading pretty ‘steady’?

September 12: Following the Reader

Prompts: What makes you want to follow a bookish account on social media? What makes you want to follow a book blog? Are you very discerning or do you follow back whoever follows you? Do you prefer or find it easier to engage with other readers on one platform over the other (i.e. blogs vs. bookstagram or booktok)?

September 19: Favourite Genre Recommendations

Prompts: What is your favourite genre(s) and what makes it your favourite? If someone wanted to try your favourite genre(s), what are five books that you would recommend to them and why those books specifically? Has your favorite genre changed over time?

September 26: Are Published Books Losing Quality? The Impact of Social Media Platforms and Trope-Based Marketing

Prompts: Reading has become increasingly more “popular” due to platforms like booktok and bookstagram, which tend to promote certain types of books. It has also given rise to the “trope only” marketing trend. Do you think the hype that’s been created on these platforms has impacted the quality of books that are published these days? Do you think it’s impacting only certain genres or do you notice it across all genres? How do you think this will impact book quality and publishing in the years to come (i.e. is it just a phase or will it continue)?


WWW Wednesday | 9/17/25

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?

Trying to lose myself in books this week because my head is tired – the real world is a hard place to be right now! These holiday romances are really appealing to me right now.

What are you currently reading?

Tusk Love by. Thea Guazon – 4%

Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry – audiobook – 40%

Yours For the Season by. Emily Stone – 10%

With Thoughts of Jason by. Caleb A. Mertz – I got asked to read this one! 14%

Bitten by. Jordan Stephanie Gray – (audiobook) 38%

What have you just finished reading?

Fevered Star by. Rebecca Roanhorse – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (audiobook)

Heartsick by. Kristina Forest – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Hekate by. Nikita Gil – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Moth Dark by. Kika Hatzopoulou – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson

The Crimson Throne by. Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie

Eldritch by. Keri Lake

Mirrored Heaves by. Rebecca Roanhorse

My Favorite Holidate by. Lauren Blakely

What are YOU reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 9/14/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ This week was mentally and emotionally draining. I am sick of gun violence. I cannot believe this country puts the value of guns over lives. People’s lives. CHILDREN’s lives. I am SICK of it.

I know it’s more complicated than gun control but that’s a step in the right direction, right? I don’t understand how all of us right now cannot agree on that alone, that it’s not OKAY that our kids are unsafe and sitting ducks at school. Smh…make it make sense.

SIGH…I’ll get back this week into reading, since I have some arcs I need to finish up, but my heart is so heavy.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

Currently Reading:

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie

Tusk Love by. Thea Guazon

Moth Dark by. Kika Hatzopoulou

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video) – Season 3 – I don’t love these last episodes. But honestly this is what I wanted for Belly BEFORE she agreed to marry Jere! LOL, not after. Like see she’s living it up in Paris and growing. She needed that growth earlier.
  • Chief of War (Apple +) – episode 7, it made me cry, broke my heart and made me angry.
  • Football – Eagles/Chiefs play today!

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!

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