Top Ten Tuesday | 10/22/19

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’d Give Different Titles To

Wow, this is a hard one! So I’m going to give 5 titles and I don’t even know if I can suggest a new title, I’m not that creative haha.

This is an eARC I just read on NetGalley and I really enjoyed the story, review will come in January 2020 but I don’t think the title gives a hint at the story at all! Maybe should be called the Ghosts Between Us?…😅

I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I enjoyed this book but I can never remember the full title of this book! I’ll be like A Curse So Dark and…? 🧐 And I have no good explanation for me blanking out on it all the time – maybe it’s too long? HAHA…don’t mind me. And I have no suggestion, it’s a lovely title, I just can’t remember it offhand.

This title is totally fine, but I just wanted to say there are SO MANY books lately with “stars” in the title. That sometimes it all blends together.

There wasn’t much gaming in this book or getting the girl 🤷🏻‍♀️ – there was a storm and being stuck in a mall. The main character was a gamer but this title was so misleading. I wanted a gamer love story and I did not get that. It should’ve been called Surviving the Storm or something like that haha.

This one is on my TBR but why does that title sound so strange? 🤔 I’ve said it aloud a few times and nope, it doesn’t sound right. HAHA, but am I intrigued by the cover? Very much so!

This topic was hard so that’s what I got for today so five is what I got!

Top Ten Tuesday | 10/01/19

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?

Top Ten Tuesday | September 24, 2019

Books On My Fall TBR List

Perfect topic! I have a stack of these right on my desk, so let’s get to it.

I’m starting this SOON…like sometime this week since it’s officially Fall now. Haha…no I’ve been meaning to get to it, I just had others I had to finish up!

I won a copy of this arc! Yay, so I just got it in the mail and will get to it before it publishes in October.

I just got this in the mail with my OwlCrate box! So excited!!

Another arc I won on Bookishfirst! The blurb sounds interesting, cupid and a dating service?

Finally got my hands on this from my library. It’s been awhile since I read the first book though so I hope I can remember details when I start reading this one.

Been saving this one for Fall just to get into a spooky mood! It’s been sitting on my shelf for awhile.

I have a copy of this eARC in my NetGalley shelf but I want to read it closer to publication (which is next year), but I may just read it before Halloween because look at that cover! I mean…come on…🤷🏻‍♀️

Another NetGalley and yes the cover caught my eye plus I was requesting all kinds of things when I was done with my reading list last month! Haha…now I got all these random books to read.

I loved the cover, but reviews on it are average on NetGalley – so we shall see what I’m getting myself into!

And I had to at least have one contemporary ya book on my NetGalley shelf right?! I get approved for most ya fantasy, but I do love contemporary book as well!

That’s 10 but I have so much more for Fall because I need to clear up some NetGalley reads. What is on your list? I have a feeling I’ll be adding more on my TBR after reading other blogger’s lists! 😊

Top Ten Tuesday | September 17,2019

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!

Top Ten Tuesday | Books On My TBR I’m Avoiding Reading and Why

Books On My TBR I’m Avoiding Reading and Why

(maybe you’re scared of it, worried it won’t live up to the hype, etc.) (submitted by Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea)

I just picked it up at the library this week, but I put it at the bottom of the library haul stack I got, which consists of 7 books. The cover is gorgeous and I even read the first few pages on Bookishfirst. I thought it was interesting but I’ve seen either hyped up reviews for it or lukewarm. So…has the hype died down yet? Because I rather read books when the hype is gone.

Bought this purely because of the over and it was on Bookoutlet for a steal! I’m saving it for when we get into October.

Apparently this has been on my Goodreads TBR since 2015! And I still see this title floating around, that’s some awesome staying power and I really should get to it SOON.

I read the Kushiel’s Dart series back in high school! That’s the last time I read her books and when I saw this book, I added to my TBR. I’m afraid to read it because I really don’t know what to expect from this book.

I’ve read every Kristin Hannah book except this one because at it’s release my mother-in-law read it first and told me it dealt with heavy subjects and I should at least get in the right mindset to read it. So I’ve put it off for too long. Will read it soon!

Another hyped title! I’ve read Colleen Hoover books before but everyone was raving about this one and yup…haven’t gotten to it yet. Maybe I’ll read it this fall.

Been waiting for this to show up at my library but it’s taking awhile and I enjoyed the first book but I feel like I’m forgetting what it’s about. So I definitely need to get to this one soon.

The Arcana Chronicles 🙃…I think I read books 1-5…yeah I think and I was seriously getting tired of Evie doing the back and forth dance between Arik and Jack! Don’t know if I will read this one – but I did enjoy the whole tarot card theme of the book.

Found this on my Goodreads TBR list and I remember the movie made me cry. So I would think the book will make me cry too. Which means I don’t know if I will ever read this one lol.

Well this TTT made me go ahead and clean up some of my Goodreads lists so that’s a good thing! 😅 I had so many books I wanted to read on there that I didn’t remember adding. If you have a list, leave a link in my comments below! Would love to see what is on your TBR list…I may just add it to mine.

Top Ten Tuesday

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.

That’s my TTT today! I look forward to reading your lists ~ are any of these out of your comfort zone as well? Let me know in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday

This week’s topic is…

Books I’ve Read That I’d Like In My Personal Library

(perhaps you checked it out, borrowed it from a friend, received it for review, etc. and want to own it yourself.) (Submitted by Annemieke @ A Dance with Books)

I have so many I want – now only if I had the space…haha…

Vow of Thieves by. Mary Pearson – because the Dance of Thieves duology is one of my favorites. I love Kazi and Jase! ❤️ Read it as an arc and need it to complete my set.

The Nightingale by. Kristin Hannah – it’s the book that got me reading all of Kristin Hannah’s work. Read it as an ebook and definitely need a hard copy.

The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, & The Queen of Nothing by. Holly Black – I’m actually getting the Barnes & Noble trilogy set when it releases in November. Can’t wait!

Every Judith McNaught book in Hardcover – because her books made me fall in love with reading when I was a teenager.

Most of Lisa Kleypas historical romance books – I want almost all of them, because after Judith McNaught stopped writing, Lisa Kleypas books filled that void for my love of historical romance novels.

His Hideous Heart by. Dahlia Adler – because I love Edgar Allan poe and only read this as an arc. Will add it to my collection once it releases.

The Bridge Kingdom by. Danielle L. Jensen – hopefully I can get the set once the series is complete. Love this first book, hope the rest lives up to it!

Inferno and Mafiosa by. Catherine Doyle – I have Vendetta, from the Blood for Blood series but need the other two. One of my favorites!

The World on Either Side by. Diane Terrana – read this as an arc and I absolutely loved it.

The Bone Witch Series by. Run Chupelco – because I need more filipino authors on my book shelf and I love this series.

What books do you want on your bookshelf? Leave me your answers or link in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out her awesome blog to check out other Top Ten Tuesday topics! This week’s topic is Cover Redesigns I Loved/Hated (submitted by Rachelle @ Shell’s Stories).

Shatter Me by. Tahereh Mafi

Definitely love the redesigned cover more, it’s so pretty. Looking at them side by side, wow, what an upgrade the new design is!

Throne of Glass by. Sarah J. Maas

The original is pretty but the redesign is much more fierce!

The Luxe by. Anna Godbersen

I read this a long time ago and don’t remember much about it. But I just saw the redesigned cover on Book Outlet and had to wonder if it was the same Luxe I read! It’s so different. I don’t love the redesigned cover.

City of Bones by. Cassandra Clare

I remember buying City of Bones when it was first published and I’m partial to how the original looks more vibrant. So I’ll say I like the original better, the new one looks so bland.

An Ember in the Ashes by. Sabaa Tahir

I thin both these covers look great in their own way. I think I’m more drawn to the first one because of the lettering and colors. For some reason I’m not feeling the red coloring in the new design.

Shadow and Bone by. Leigh Bardugo

I love both covers but the original just embodies the mood of the series I think. Dark, a bit steampunk and Russian inspired.

Vampire Academy by. Richelle Mead

I love the redesigned cover more for sure. I love instead of Rose’s face, we get a rose dripping in blood.

Judith McNaught Books

This goes for all Judith McNaught books, but I had all the books that didn’t have a woman on the cover and I really loved that about her books. So I’m definitely going for the original versions.

Jane Austen Books

I don’t think you can go wrong with Jane Austen book covers! I mean look at these beauties! I can’t compare them to the original, but I bet even the original cover is amazing.

Harry Potter – by. J.K. Rowling

Remember the original? For the middle grade kids that read the original, it’s a totally charming cover. I’m sure there are lots of versions out there but yes I definitely love it with redesigned covers.

Leave me your link to your top ten or top five in the comments! Would love to read your post. 😘

Top Ten Tuesday: Auto-Buy Authors

This Top Ten Tuesday topic is Auto-Buy Authors. Let’s see if I can come up with ten authors. I say that because I downsized a lot when I moved years ago, and stopped buying books! I mostly borrowed from the library and then couldn’t wait for new releases to show up in the catalog so I bought ebooks. But I’m back to buying physical books again. Yay! 💃🏻

Sarah J. Maas – I can honestly say I wasn’t totally on board when I read Throne of Glass. But I kept up with the series because I thought Celaena was a cool character. It got better with each book. It kind of lost me again at the last book, but I think by then I was just way more invested in the A Court of Thorn and Roses series. That’s when she became an auto-buy author for me. I look forward to her new series, Crescent City and can we also get a Cassian/Nesta spin off, please?

Holly Black – I love faerie stories and who kicked off my love for them? Why Ms. Holly Black herself. When I read Tithe, I was so intrigued, I devoured all Fae stories from then on out. I never read her middle grade books, but everything else of Holly’s I’ve read and loved. And she’s in top form with there The Folk of the Air Series with Jude and Cardan. Absolute auto-buy.

Lisa Kleypas – my first love will always be romance novels. And after my favorite Judith McNaught stopped writing them there was a huge void to fill. Then I stumbled upon Lisa Kleypas. I absolutely love her historical romance novels. Her contemporary ones aren’t on the same level, but if it’s a historical romance, it’s an auto-buy for sure.

Sarah MacLean – And when Lisa Kleypas started writing contemporary, I needed someone to fill the hole for historical romance and I tried a few. Many were misses, but one lady hit it – Sarah MacLean. Her books are passionate and fun, fun, FUN. Absolute auto-buy.

Jenny Han – I’m sure I’ve loved all her novels since the Summer series and can we talk about the aesthetic of her book covers? So pretty. Okay I didn’t love the Summer series as much as my best friend did, but I liked the story-telling, the whole two brothers in love with the same girl theme is not for me. Obviously my fave will be To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before because, Lara Jean and Peter K!

Sarah Dessen – Sarah Dessen was a staple for me in my college years. I was going through a lot of changes and there is something special about Sarah Dessen books. I can relate to her stories so well. They are about complicated families, and complicated feelings usually. She’s still an auto-buy after all these years.

Jenn Bennett – I stumbled upon Jenn Bennet because of the cover of Alex, Approximately, which I adored. I love the dialogue between her characters. I’ve read four books of hers now and I think it’s time to add her on my auto-buy list.

Karen Marie Morning – speaking of historical romances. Karen Marie Morning wrote this highlander books before her Fever Series and I loved it. Love her alpha male Highlanders who could wield druid magic and travel time. And then she wrote Darkfever and that was it – she’s been an auto-buy author for a long while now.

Christi Caldwell – another historical romance author that I stumbled on but this time with a Kindle Unlimited account where I could devour most of her books. And she has a lot. Christi Caldwell never seems to stop writing it seems. I love most of her books, though some fell flat for me too, but I’ve enjoyed her Wicked Wallflower series a lot. So she’s an automatic read for me on my Kindle Unlimited account.

Kristin Hannah – I read The Nightingale when it first published then devoured all her books. She is one of my favorite authors. I have yet to read The Great Alone and I will excuse that because I had a year old baby when it published and my mother-in-law told me it was a bit heavy and dark. But I will read it soon!

Who’s on your auto-buy author list? Let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!

Top Ten Tuesday: Fierce Female Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl – definitely check out her awesome website.

This Top Ten Tuesday was a free topic about Characters. I had such a hard time picking a topic. 😫 But eventually I ended up with this one to celebrate some of the badass female characters I’ve read throughout the years. I’ve read SO many books over the past thirty years that I chose the ones at the top of my head. Now this list is mostly from YA Books because it’s what I read most of lately. But this is a super short list folks, and not listed in any ranking at all. There are so many fierce female characters that I love and I keep adding to my mental list.

Feyre Archeron from A Court of Roses and Thorns Series. The first chapter where we meet Feyre, I was like, YASS..this is going to be good. She’s starving, hunting her next meal and dealing with family that don’t appreciate her. She’s a survivor and fighter from beginning to end.

Caelaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass Series – Now before ACOTAR there was Throne of Glass. I thought TOG, the first book was just okay. Wasn’t totally in love with it, thought it was a light fantasy read but the sequels after were pretty amazing. Caelaena is a beautiful, fierce assassin.

MacKayla Lane “Mac” from the Darkfever Series. This one is not YA but Adult Urban Fantasy. Years before any Feyre, Caelaena and anyone on this list came along I was obsessed with Mac. On the chase for her sister’s killer, Mac meets enigmatic Jericho Barrons and she gets introduced to the Fae world. I think Mac’s appeal was she was this Barbie girl who loved bright colorful clothing and she gets thrown out of her comfort zone into this world with Fae and Alpha Males. She learns to fight but still keep her love of all things pink. She’s fierce and still a girly girl and there is nothing wrong with that!

Karou from Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series because she’s like a dream. When I first read this book years ago, it transported me to a magical world with angels and Chimeras and other creatures. Karou was like a unicorn to me with her blue hair, sketching all the time and living in Prague. All of it: the setting, the characters, the wishes, the story was just MAGIC. And Karou was the perfect centerpiece.

Jude Duarte from The Cruel Prince Series. I can’t make this list without Miss Jude Duarte! What can I say about Jude? I love her. She isn’t charming, she’s flawed, she’s bold and brave too. I like how committed she is to her task no matter what happens, she is cold as ice sometimes! She’s smart and fierce and I’m addicted to her and Cardan!

Allison Sekemoto from The Immortal Rules Series. Some characters just stay with you and in a time when vampire stories were about dying out in popularity, Julie Kagawa published this book. This story blew me away – it was a vampire dystopian story and Allison Sekemoto wasn’t only an Asian character I could fangirl about, but she carried a Katana. I mean…YES, please! She’s an Asian vampire who is gritty, snarky, means business and oh so fierce.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Series. The series that started my love of young adult dystopian novels. Katniss had a unique name, so I already knew she was going to be special. How can you not love a character who will take her sister’s place in an event where most people don’t survive? She’s a survivor until the very end.

Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy Series. Speaking of vampire stories, I was obsessed with the Vampire Academy series! Rose isn’t a full vampire, which was nice – she’s a Guardian, basically a bodyguard for vampire royalty. She got some butt kicking skills, and it helps to be trained by a hottie, right? 😅 Rose is fun, brave and totally fierce.

Tea from The Bone Witch Series because a necromancer like her has to be mentioned as a fierce character. And yes she had the power to raise the dead and bond with scary creatures but what was super fierce about her was her love for her brother. Even just thinking about it breaks my damn heart. UGH. 😭💔

Roselle St. Sismode from Secondborn Series rounds up this list. What a fighter in this sci-fi/fantasy world. I love her and though she’s a badass with a fusion blade, she suffered from anxiety as well. Killing and seeing death is traumatic and I liked that she shows vulnerability because we all break down sometime, right? But no matter how many times she gets beaten down she gets back up and keeps fighting.