“Beach Read” by Emily Henry

I’m going to put this really simply and bluntly: it’s been a rough couple of months for all of us. If you need an escape and an injection of happiness and witty banter, you need to read Beach Read.

When bestselling author January goes through a breakup and her father unexpectedly passes away, she must take on the daunting task of cleaning out and selling his cabin in Michigan (the one he shared with his mistress). She’s the queen of the happy ending in her books, but now she’s not sure that those are even real. Which makes her other summer task difficult: writing her next novel before her publisher drops her.

But little does January know, she’s moved in next door to none other than her college rival, Augustus (Gus), who is also a bestselling author, but of the literary, almost snobbish type. Both January and Gus think the other’s genre is hacky and easy to write, so they make a bet. They’ll write their next books as the other’s preferred genre, and the one that sells better wins. Part of this deal is research “dates” — January takes Gus to the carnival rolling through town, and Gus takes January on an interview with a former cult member.

But despite some darker tidbits and themes, this book is really fun. The two clearly like each other, but are trying to play hard to get. The book is full of fun banter that made me laugh, and awesome imagery in one of my favorite places, northern Michigan. Ultimately, it’s a fun read that can take you away to an easier time for a while. And we all kind of need that right now.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Purchase your copy here (Amazon). Or join Book of the Month Club (where I got my copy of Beach Read) here and get your first book for $5.

Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“Sky in the Deep” by Adrienne Young

New Release Tuesday! Eelyn is a Viking warrior from the Aska tribe. Their mortal enemies, as decreed by the gods, are the Riki. Every five years the two clans must meet each other in battle to honor their gods.

Five years ago in battle, Eelyn saw her brother Iri fall in battle, rolling down an unreachable ravine. So when she sees her brother fighting with the Riki five years later, she assumes she’s seeing his spirit. The battle rages on, and Eelyn is shot through the he shoulder and taken hostage—by her brother and his new Riki family. There’s Fiske’s curious little brother, Inge, the village healer, and Fiske. The rude, bull-headed young man who shot Eelyn.

Eelyn must learn to survive while she waits out her escape once winter ends. Along the way, she makes new friends, new enemies, and realizes the Riki are much more alike the Aska than they are different. What follows is a great political and savage story where it seems like it may be hopeless—where everyone Eelyn knows might perish.

Another great thing about this story is that it is a standalone story. Everything is wrapped up at the end and you don’t have to wait tortuously for the sequel. If you like badass warrior women, Viking fierceness, and a fast-paced story, Sky in the Deep is definitely for you.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Buy the book here.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

I HAD to have it…but why haven’t I read it yet?

If you’re anything like me, you have a lot of books you are anticipating the release date of, all the time. I am always excited for something big coming out, and most times I’ll have them pre-ordered to guarantee release date delivery and to take advantage of any pre-order incentives!

Yet, I find myself looking at my shelf, wondering why all of these highly-anticipated books remain unread! I have a feeling that it may be something of a worry that the book won’t live up to my hype-levels. Plus, there’s just so many AMAZING books coming out all of the time. LIKE SLOW DOWN Y’ALL, there are only so many hours in the day!

So here are the books that have been sitting neglected on my TBR pile, waiting to be read. If you’ve read any of them and liked them, please YELL at me in the comments to get on it!

1. Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
2. Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
3. City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
4. Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley
5. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
6. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
7. Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas
8. This Savage Song *and* Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab
9. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
10. Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu
11. A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess
12. Sourdough by Robin Sloan
13. Armada by Ernest Cline
14. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
15. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
16. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
17. Saga Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan

Now having looked at these…many of them are sequels or in a series! I hate having to try to remember a year ago and what happened in a book to read the newest installation! Sometimes I’ll even wait for more than one to come out so I don’t have to do that!

So what do you think? Are you shunning me yet? Which of these do I NEED to read, and which should I just skip?

“Ace of Shades” by Amanda Foody

New release Tuesday! Take a card and stake your soul with Ace of Shades, book 1 in The Shadow Game series.

Enne (pronounced like the letter “N”) has no choice when her mom, Lourdes Alfero, doesn’t come back from her trip. She has to go to New Reynes to find her. With her handy tourist guidebook, she sets off to find Levi Glaisyer, the only name her mother left behind.

New Reynes is called the City of Sin for a reason. The South Side of the city is considered “safer” — this is where rich tourists go to vacation. The North Side, where Levi is the Lord of the gang called the Irons, is dangerous. There’s other gangs (the Scarhands and the Doves), plus notorious mafia casino families. Enne’s guidebook strongly advises not going to the North Side. But she must.

Ace of Shades switches from Enne’s and Levi’s perspectives. While Enne needs Levi to help her find Lourdes, Levi needs Enne to pay him for his help in order to pay off a large debt that if left unpaid, will cost him his life.

Told over the 10 days Levi has to pay back his debtor, we follow him and Enne through this magical, dangerous, Vegas-meets-carnival adventure. If you liked Caraval, and want more of the same, you have to pick this one up.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Buy Ace of Shades here.

I also highly recommend Foody’s debut, Daughter of the Burning City – click this link to buy!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I was so excited this year when I saw that Taylor Jenkins Reid was coming out with a new book! I’m a total fangirl for her work (I loved One True Loves, adored Maybe in Another Life, and Forever Interrupted and After I Do broke me). And this one was no different. It is one of my favorite books of the year. I also got to meet Taylor Jenkins Reid this year at BookCon and it was so wonderful!

But more about the book: Evelyn Hugo is a world-famous actress known for her beauty, many movies, and most importantly, her sordid love life that the tabloids have followed through her entire life. More specifically, she has been married SEVEN times. Everyone wants to know what really happened with all of these men, and which, if any, was her soulmate. And everyone was forced to wonder. Until one day, Hugo agrees to be interviewed for an article in one of the nation’s most popular magazines.

The story goes from present day, with Monique, the reporter, interviewing Evelyn, to Evelyn telling her life story. Sprinkled within are articles from tabloids reporting the public’s view of what’s happening in Evelyn’s life.

This is such a whirlwind story, full of celebrity, fame, loneliness, and romance. To tell you any more would spoil the amazing read. I’ll just end by saying that by the end of this book, my chest physically hurt with emotion. It’s such a beautiful love story, but it’s also unfathomably sad. I cannot recommend this book enough. The audiobook is also great, with fantastic narrators. I can’t wait to reread this soon.

★★★★★

Buy the book here.  You can also buy Reid’s other books (and you should!) here.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

The Mara Dyer Series by Michelle Hodkin

Okay everybody, take a seat. This is another case of “Why didn’t anyone force me to read these before?!” So here I am to shove these books in your face and make you read them.

This is a three-book series: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer starts off with Mara starting a new school in Florida after surviving a building collapse that kills her three best friends. Mara is understandably distraught and is diagnosed with PTSD that leaves her hallucinating at random. At her new school, Mara meets Noah Shaw, a supposedly notorious ladies’ man. There’s something about him that she can’t put her finger on, but he eventually convinces her to go on a date with him.

But Mara isn’t sure all of her hallucinations are actually figments of her imagination. Some of them are too real. She starts receiving creepy messages and photographs, and she suspects they’re coming from her deceased ex-boyfriend, Jude.

I can’t really get into any more details because it’ll be too spoiler-y.

This series is awesome because it combines so many genres flawlessly. It has YA contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, historical fiction, and more. It’s amazing, really. The audiobooks are narrated by Christy Romano… yes, that one — Christy Carlson Romano, known best for her role in Even Stevens and the voice of Kim Possible.

My review of the first book was few words — I couldn’t process it. “Wowwwww. Yes. Amazing.”

The same happened with the second book. ” Wow wow wow. Normally a second book falls flat. But that ending……..On to the next oneeeee!!!”

And the last book prompted this, “Well that ending had me SHOOK. But it definitely felt like it was dragging in the middle there. I can’t wait to read The Shaw Confessions series. NOVEMBER GET HERE NOOOOOW.”

Because *excited face* there’s a new spinoff series coming out that focuses on Noah! The first one is called The Becoming of Noah Shaw and it comes out November 7th, 2017.

So get caught up now, because there’s about to be another installment in the series! Overall, I give this series 4.5 stars.

Buy the box set of the first three books here.

Pre-order The Becoming of Noah Shaw here.

“Hello, Sunshine” by Laura Dave

New release Tuesday!

Sunshine Makenzie is a YouTube star, coming up in the world with a fresh cookbook deal and a Food Network show in the works. But when her twitter account is hacked and the hacker posts proof that she’s a fraud and has cheated on her husband, Sunshine’s world falls apart.

When her apartment is sold out from under her, she is forced to go to her last resort — her estranged sister in Montauk. Burned from the cooking celebrity world, she has to rebuild her confidence in herself, her friends and family, and the world to get back to what she enjoys. She makes some new friends — a burly fisherman, a chef with a Gordon Ramsay-like temperament, and her own 10-year-old niece, Sammy.

This is the classic story of a woman’s life falling apart, her losing everything, then fighting to regain some semblance of normalcy in the aftermath. But the unique part about this book is that it has lots to tell about the celebrity chef world — gaining a following, creating recipes, working in a restaurant, getting a cookbook deal and Food Network show.

I absolutely love watching Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Next Food Network Star, and the like, so I enjoyed the subject matter here. In fact, I read this entire book in one night, which doesn’t happen too often anymore! I originally picked it up because of the adorable cover and because I really enjoyed Dave’s last book, Eight Hundred Grapes.

Bottom line: Want a fresh, tasty read with a couple of spicy twists? Get this one to-go — you won’t be able to put it down until you devour the whole thing.

Rating: ★★★★

Purchase the book here: Hello, Sunshine

April Wrap-Up!

It’s time for the April wrap-up! I read 23 books in April! That makes 87 towards my goal of 200 for this year!

1. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
2. The Sellout by Paul Beatty
3. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
4. Leave Me by Gayle Forman
5. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan*
6. Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer
7. Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
8. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher (reread)
9. Saga Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan
10. This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
11. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
12. Sisters One, Two, Three by Nancy Star*
13. Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig
14. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
15. Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust*
16. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (reread)
17. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (reread)
18. Good-bye, Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson
19. Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge
20. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
21. Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge

*Indicates a book not pictured because I read it via library book, ebook, or audiobook.
Does not include 2 books read for work that do not fall in the scope of this blog.

What did you read this month? What are you looking forward to reading in May?

“Anna and the French Kiss” by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss is a YA contemporary book that despite its frustrating premise and the questionable actions of one of the main characters, is too cute for words. Anna, to her disgust, has just been forced to attend a boarding school in Paris, far away from her best friend Bridge and her love interest, Toph. (At this point, I’m like BOO-freaking-HOO! You’re having your school and living expenses paid for to study in Paris! How awful could that be?!)

Though Anna is angry and frustrated at starting at a new school in a new country, she quickly becomes friends with her dorm neighbor, Mer, and all of Mer’s friends.Including the absolutely dreamy Etienne St. Clair (known to most as just St. Clair). He’s gorgeous, funny, smart, and British. *swoons*

But there’s one problem. St. Clair has a girlfriend already at a nearby college (and her name is Ellie, which made this book really hard for me to read!). But then St. Clair begins to take an interest in Anna, finding out they both like movies and they both enjoy each other’s company. They become very close — like best friends close.

As much as Anna likes St. Clair, she has to remember Ellie. And St. Clair seems to have a hard time remembering her as well. Thus, here’s the book’s big question: Will St. Clair stay with Ellie, or will he follow his new crush with Anna?

This book had me feeling very conflicted. I found it absolutely adorable and fun and unputdownable, but I also had a lot of issues with Anna’s spoiled attitude and St. Clair’s unfaithfulness (while not physical, it was still emotional cheating). If you can look past these things, it was really enjoyable — don’t get me wrong. It’s just really exhilarating to cheer for Anna to finally get her French Kiss.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Purchase the book here.

March 2017 Wrap-Up

March was a little bit better for reading, but I made it through some BIG books. So, March was made of 20 books for me. As of the end of March, I am at 64 of my goal of 200 — 33% of the way there!

Here’s what I read:

1. My Secret: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren*
2. A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
3. Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
4. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
7. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones*
8. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
10. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
11. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
12. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
13. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
14. Legend by Marie Lu
15. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
16. Prodigy by Marie Lu
17. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
18. Champion by Marie Lu

*Indicates a book not pictured because I read it via library book, ebook, or audiobook.
Does not include 2 books read for work that do not fall in the scope of this blog.

What did you read in March? What are you looking forward to in April?