2020 Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

2020 Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

Sunday, July 5, 2020

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Can you believe it's July already?  

Honestly, there's nothing I would like more than press the reset button and re-install 2020, because the version we downloaded is definitely bugged...but when nothing seems to be working, books offer comfort and the option to escape reality!

I only see one way to sum up the first 6 months of 2020: I read 41 books and I am on target to hit my year-end goal of 80 books (I read 83 books in 2019)!

So, without further ado, let's look at the #MIDYEARBOOKFREAKOUTTAG  

BEST BOOK you've read so far in 2020?

After falling in love with The Night Circus, I couldn't wait to read The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. 

Click here to view my full review of this Masterpiece.  

❤❤❤❤❤

BEST SEQUEL you've read so far in 2020?

That would be Blue Lily, Lily Blue (book 3 of The Raven Cycle) by Maggie Stiefvater!  

If you haven't read this series, I suggest you order your copies now!

❤❤❤❤❤

NEW RELEASE you haven't read yet but want to?  

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin is sitting on my shelf and I'm planning on reading it in July.  

I have very high expectations for this book!

❤❤❤❤❤

Most ANTICIPATED RELEASE for the second half of 2020?

There are 2 books coming out in September that I already pre-ordered and can't wait to get my hands on: 

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 

and

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

❤❤❤❤❤

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT?

Hmmm, I have to confess that I DNF'ed Crave by Tracy Wolff.  

It just didn't do it for me :-(

❤❤❤❤❤

BIGGEST SURPRISE?

One debut book that was a total surprise to me was Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas! 

I read it without high expectations and yet, this book was a solid 5 stars!

❤❤❤❤❤

Favorite NEW to you AUTHOR?

After reading both The Simple Wild and Wild at Heart,  K.A. Tucker quickly became a favorite!

❤❤❤❤❤

Newest FICTIONAL CRUSH?

Hunt Athalar from House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. 

I mean, who wouldn't fall for the notorious fallen angel? 

❤❤❤❤❤

Newest FAVORITE CHARACTER?

Twelve-year-old Edward Adler! 

I got very emotional when followed Edward on his coming-of-age journey from feeling like he didn’t deserve to survive to understanding that he is a survivor!!!  From learning to put away his guilt of being alive to deciding to do something to honor the people that didn’t make it.⁠

❤❤❤❤❤

Book that made you CRY?

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle made me cry at the end and I wasn't sure if I was happy or sad with the ending...how did that happen?

❤❤❤❤❤

Book that made you HAPPY?

Little Wonders was a breath of fresh air. It was funny and SO real!

❤❤❤❤❤

Favorite Book-To-Movie ADAPTATION you saw this year?

I haven't really been watching lots of TV lately, and even though I haven't watched it yet, I can't wait for Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo TV series to release on Netflix!

❤❤❤❤❤

Favorite REVIEW you've written this year?

Pretty much the same answer as last year's book tag, I like every review I write.  

I do it because I enjoy it, so it's not an obligation, it's my opinion.  I'm not sure I can choose a favorite, except the one review that got chosen by Penguin Books, which was How to Stop Time by Matt Haig.

❤❤❤❤❤

Most BEAUTIFUL BOOK you've bought so far this year?

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is just stunning!

❤❤❤❤❤

What BOOKS do you need to READ by the end of this year?

That might be the toughest question of all!!!

Honestly, I'm like a kid in a toy store and want to read all the books...

❤❤❤❤❤

There you have it.  

I'm not going to tag anyone so feel free to #TAG yourself, and let me know if any of these books made to your list as well! 

✌🏼

“Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.” 

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Choose to be an ALLY

Choose to be an ALLY

Sunday, June 7, 2020

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The recent events have left me thinking of
“how can I help?"
“what should I be doing?”
…and I came to the conclusion that one of the most important things we can all do right now is to take some time to listen and absorb the stories and messages coming from the Black community.

Donate if you can, but most importantly,  LISTEN, LEARN and UNDERSTAND.  Don't be afraid to make mistakes, but when you do them, apologize.  Stop undermining people's feelings.  I admit that I have been guilty of telling people something to the effect of "I'm not racist, I'm a minority too", which I've just come to realize is the wrong thing to say, and for that, I apologize.
I have a long journey ahead of me, but I'd like to think that this path will make me a better ally.  As Ibram X. Kendi mentions in his book How to be an AntiRacist:
“The good news is that racist and antiracist are not fixed identities. We can be a racist one minute and an antiracist the next. What we say about race, what we do about race, in each moment, determines what -- not who -- we are.”

There are a lot of resources out there, and it's up to us to do the work,  so here's a list that has been helping me better myself in this process:

1. Self-educate with audiobooks about racism and antiracism, and amplify Black voices.  Libro.fm has curated a playlist of “How to Be an Antiracist”.  https://libro.fm/playlists/required-reading
2. The audiobook version of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning is now available for free on Spotify.
3. The NY Times has put together a list of children’s books that can help explain racism and protests to your kids. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/parenting/kids-books-racism-protest.html
4. The book White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo is sold out right now, but you can listen to her chat with Jonathan Capehart on his podcast, Cape Up: https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/cape-up/the-author-of-white-fragility-doesnt-think-most-white-people-care-about-racial-injustice/
5. Buy, read and promote the fiction books by POC.  Nic Stone, Jason Reynolds, Kiley Reid, N.K. Jemisin, Tomi Adeyemi, Angie Thomas and Uzodinma Iweala, just to name a few.
6. Be more selective of the companies you choose to support on social media.  Several #Bookstagrammers have dropped their support of BookOutlet due to their comments on #BlackLivesMatters movement.

Finally, the 2 images on this blog post are just some of the books that my #bookstagram friends and I are reading this week...

"I want to live in a world where no man’s life is valued more or less than another’s. I have been reading recommended works of Black authors and have joined community readalongs to listen, to learn, unpack my privilege, to hold myself accountable in supporting change." - Nikki @saturday_nite_reader

Please drop your suggestions and any other resources to add to my list in the comments section below.  

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9 Book Pairings to Enhance Your Reading

9 Book Pairings to Enhance Your Reading

Friday, May 22, 2020

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A Guest Post by Karen Geiger

My 5th grader is required to write a book report every week, and one of the recurring questions is, “Does this book remind you of another book you have read?” Suffice it to say, making connections between books is something we are taught to do from a young age. These days, I love creating both obvious and not-so-obvious pairings between books I’ve read. Here are 9 of my concoctions, visualized!

Writers & Lovers by Lily King 
Normal People by Sally Rooney
You would think Writers & Lovers is a book about present-day millennials, but it takes place in the 1990s. 31-year-old Casey Peabody is facing the aggravation of early adulthood, just as Connell and Marianne do in Normal People. They suffer from the consequences of foolish choices, missed connections, and crippling indecision. In between wanting to yell at them, you will recognize yourself in their vulnerabilities.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid 
Happy & You Know It by Laura Hankin Kiley Reid and Laura Hankin have each written searing, satirical accounts of wealthy Manhattan mommies behaving badly. These privileged moms are juxtaposed by their younger hired help – an African-American nanny in Such a Fun Age, and a singer turned playgroup musician in Happy & You Know It. When the moms try to befriend their employees, be prepared for all hell to break loose.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
The first person male narration immediately connected The Dutch House and The Knockout Queen for me. In both stories, the narrators are outcast from their homes as young boys. They then spend their formative years pining (non-romantically) after females that have protected them. Patchett and Thorpe have created utterly unique characters with unconventional yet compelling relationships.

Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb 
Listen to the Marriage by John Jay Osborn 
It turns out that witnessing the dialogue between psychotherapists and their patients is a surprisingly effective narrative device. Lori Gottlieb is a practicing psychotherapist who shares the journey of four real-life patients, while Listen to the Marriage is the fictional account of a separated couple’s experience with therapy. There are universal truths inside these pages that will make you realize you probably need therapy, too.

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo 
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell Russell’s fictional account of a 15-year-old girl groomed by her 42-year-old teacher is highly reminiscent of Taddeo’s true account of 17-year-old Maggie's story in Three Women. Neither victim can come to terms with what they’ve experienced, as they grapple with how the most formative relationships of their lives could constitute abuse. Both stories are at once shocking and palpable.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata Untamed by Glennon Doyle
This is probably my most unconventional pairing, but it rings so true for me. Untamed is a powerful anthem to women: to dismantle the world’s expectations of us and begin reclaiming who we are truly meant to be. Convenience Store Woman is the story of Keiko, who never quite fits in and struggles to conform….until she delightfully decides to live her quirky, unabashed truth.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong 
How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones Both Vuong and Jones take a deep dive into intersectionality, with coming of age stories of young gay men of color. What makes them distinct is their language. Vuong is a poet whose lyricism is lush, layered, and at times inscrutable. Jones delivers a more straight-forward narrative with language that is refreshingly unadorned, yet no less profound.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes 
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
The Giver of Stars and The Henna Artist give new meaning to The Resistance: we are not the first, nor will we be the last. Both books feature fierce, unapologetic feminists who fight the patriarchy in 1930s Kentucky and 1950s India respectively. Moyes’ Alice Wright and Joshi’s Lakshmi Shastri are downright modern in their insistence on charting their own paths regarding marriage, motherhood, and career.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah 
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Educated by Tara Westover
Three stories of young women facing harsh circumstances – on the Alaskan frontier, the marshlands of the North Carolina coast, and a survivalist’s compound in rural Idaho. The sense of place in each story provides an immersive backdrop for each woman’s transformative journey. You will be transfixed as they break through devastating cycles of violence, mental illness, and isolation.

Bio: Karen Geiger is a technology executive by day and a voracious reader by night. She resides in the Bay Area, California with her husband, two young boys, and a Labradoodle. She shares book musings and reviews on Instagram at @kindlepics.

Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think of Karen's Book Pairings! 

Do you have pairings of your own?  

Do tell.

📚

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In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

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AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Release Date: March 10th, 2020

Genre: Romance/Fiction/Contemporary

Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Goodreads Rating 

BOOK BLURB:

Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day—a striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Cohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan.

But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.

After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.

That is, until four-and-a-half years later, when by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.

Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.

MY THOUGHTS:

What if you wake up one day, 5 years in the future, and your life is totally different?  Different apartment.  Different fiancee.  How did this happen?⁠

Well, grab a copy of In Five Years and you're in for a ride! It's a love story, but don't jump into any conclusions, because the real love story is about a lifelong friendship and all the memories built throughout the years...the love of NYC, the love of bagels, the beach house, all the summers spent together, the careers they chose, and the promise of forever.⁠

Dannie and Bella have the kind of friendship you last saw on the movie "Beaches" (I know, that's an oldie) and I think I too, longed for that feeling.
OMG, so many feelings!

I liked this audiobook SO much that I now want a physical copy for my personal library!

“You mistake love. You think it has to have a future in order to matter, but it doesn't. It's the only thing that does not need to become at all. It matters only insofar as it exists. Here. Now. Love doesn't require a future.”⁠

⁠⁠🎧Thank you @librofm & @atriabooks #ALCprogram for the gifted listening copy!

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Social Distancing and April 2020 Monthly Wrap-Up

Social Distancing and April 2020 Monthly Wrap-Up

Thursday, April 30, 2020

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8 GREAT BOOKS WE READ WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING 

April 2020 was the first full month while social distancing and #stayathome time.  It took a lot of adjusting to this new reality of working from home, virtual classes, virtual book club meetings, video conferencing, grocery deliveries (if you're lucky to get a time slot)...all of this while dealing with the uncertainty and anxiety of what's to come.

I had enough time to binge watch a few shows on Netflix and Amazon, but mostly, I wanted to catch up with my reading 📚

Here are the books I read in April and feel free to click on the links to see my full reviews:

🙌🏼FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH

     

     Crescent City - House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

❤️BOOKS I LOVED

     A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

     Wild at Heart by K.A.Tucker

     The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves

🤩BOOKS I LIKED

     

     Verity by Colleen Hoover

     The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

     The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

👌🏼BOOK THAT WAS JUST OK

     

     Reborn Yesterday by Tessa Bailey

What about you?  

Any favorite books and/or TV shows?  

Please share in the comments section!

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Travel through books when social distancing

Travel through books when social distancing

Saturday, April 11, 2020

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#SocialDistancing messed up your travel plans?  Mine too, but instead of moping around the house feeling sorry for myself, I embraced a different attitude and so far, have "travelled" to  the following places without leaving my house:

1. Travelled to Vietnam for a bike ride (The Red Lotus) only to come back to NYC and face a biological threat - sounds familiar?
2. Drove to Fell, NY to stay in a haunted motel (The Sun Down Motel) and help solve a series of cold cases.
3. Went back to NYC to experience what true friendship is when faced with the most difficult time (In Five Years).
4. Was summoned to The London ShadowHunters Institute to slay some demons (Chain of Gold).
5. Flew back to Coney Island, to work in a funeral home and fall in love with a vampire Prince (Reborn Yesterday).
6. Transported myself to Crescent City to live in The House of Earth and Blood, hang out with a Fallen Angel and become a legend.
7. After all that I needed to relax, so I went to live in Alaska, near Anchorage with a sky cowboy, a goat, a raccoon and a grumpy neighbor (Wild at Heart).

Where have your books taken you to lately? Did you learn anything about the places? 

Books give you somewhere to go when you have to stay where you are - and that can lead you to a wonderful adventure...C'mon, tell me when was the last time you slayed a demon or talked to a ghost?

And, right now, you have the chance to get the new and old releases for free:

• Scribd.com is giving 30 days free, no credit card, no commitment.  Download e-books, audiobooks, podcasts and magazines.
• Libro.fm gives you the chance to support a local bookstore of your choice.  Enjoy the first month free and feel good about supporting a local store.
• Hoopla lets you borrow digital movies, music, eBooks and more, 24/7 with your library card.  That's a game changer!
• If you are an Amazon Prime member, you already have access to Prime Reading which includes a selection of more than 1,000 books and magazines.  Best of all, dozens of Prime Reading books are available with Audible narration — so you can listen while you are busy cooking, gardening or just relaxing.

With all of these free options, you have no excuse! Grab a book in the format of your choice and Happy Reading!  Who knows? Maybe you and I will meet at some distance land conquering kingdoms! LOL.

🗡👑

“That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet."― Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake

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COURT OF SAVAGES by Christy Sloat BLITZ

COURT OF SAVAGES by Christy Sloat BLITZ

Monday, April 6, 2020

8 comments

I am SUPER excited that COURT OF SAVAGES by Christy Sloat is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Christy Sloat, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for an eBook from Christy’s collection courtesy of Christy. and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The Book:

Title: COURT OF SAVAGES (The Savage Hunt Series Book 1)

Author: Christy Sloat

Pub. Date: March 31, 2020

Publisher: CHBB Publishing 

Pages: 180

Formats:  eBook

Find it: Amazon,  Goodreads

High atop a mountain crest sits the grand Gahana Royal Hotel. The world’s most elite are dying to see what lies beyond its iron gates, yet only a select few earn an invitation.

How do they find themselves on that VIP list? By being truly monstrous human beings capable of the most fiendish acts. Once an invitation is extended, the evaluation begins. The Court of Savages thrive off the hunt, the thrill of the chase and the delight of the feast. Yet they adhere to a strict code. Never will they harm a human who is innocent, good, or reformed. Their beastly pallets require the most vile of beings and an invitation to the secretive resort has just been extended to London Stiles.

Can she prove there’s enough goodness in her to save, or will her check-out date be postponed indefinitely?

Excerpt:

The last to speak was Nola. When she spoke, everyone listened intently, her presence commanded silence. Especially when it came to Lathan. His dark eyes constantly watched her, even as she was just merely watching others. Whether she knew he was looking her way was never known.

She pulled her red hair out of her face.

“And these humans you hired as staff, they’ll keep our secret?”

Amon nodded.

“How can you be sure?” she urged. Amon smiled at her. She was his favorite, not because he was in love with her like Lathan was, but because he respected her more than the others.

“Do you doubt me?”

Without hesitation, she said, “I do not trust humans, Amon. Do you not remember how my family died? How the humans hunted us down like we were the monsters. All we killed then were their livestock and they killed my family like they were killing their children. All we took from them was their food. What would the humans do here, if they knew we were killing their own kind?”

A good question for Amon, who didn’t look shaken by it. Still, she didn’t trust Amon’s plan. He leaned forward and touched her cold cheek.

“My dear Nola, you must understand that I have this under control. I am older than all of you put together. I have seen the earth before humans inhabited it. Before they became the kings and queens that ruled. My life has given me one thing, and that’s an understanding of how they work.

“I know what makes them tick. What they desire. And that is to see their kind suffer. Not the ones who are innocent, no. The humans who deliver nothing but cruelty. The hatred they have for their kind that do bad onto others. The evil they hold in their hearts for those who have hurt them. It’s delicious. Can you not taste it, my friends?”

Amon pressed a button and the door to their room opened. In walked fifty humans, dressed in Amon’s strict uniform as the new staff of the hotel. Their fear apparent on their faces and in the air.

“Taste it, friends,” Amon said quietly before he addressed his staff. “Humans, tell my court here how much you hate the humans who have hurt you. But, do not use your words. Use your mind. Think of how they damaged you inside and how badly they deserve to die by our hands. Go ahead, you are safe with us.”

With that they closed their eyes, or stared at the monsters who sat in front of them. And Nola sniffed the air around her, her teeth-baring and she rubbed her throat as the familiar feeling of hunger clung to her senses. Mariet’s teeth chattered as she gripped the table in front of her; hunger boiling in her belly.

Lathan stared at Nola as he had learned to control his hunger, but not to control his desire for Nola. God how he’d love to pull her onto the table and undress her. He wanted nothing more than to stare down at her bare pale body and treat her like the goddess she was.

The twins writhed in their seats, barely able to control the burning rage in their bones. They were born to deliver justice to these people. The Sister’s Karma, they were sometimes called, but sirens of the sea they truly were.  For them the hunger was overpowering, for they truly only fed on humans who did the worst. Siren’s often got overlooked the most.

“Do you believe me yet?”

As they all anticipated feeding, now more than ever, Amon dismissed his staff. He addressed his friends once again.

“Well, what say you? Are you to be in my court? To trust me in taking care of you and delivering justice to those humans who have been wronged. I assure you, you will be treated as the royalty you are.”

Lathan smiled at Amon, and gave his nod of approval. The twin’s both said, “Aye,” in unison. Mariet made Amon promise that the humans who resided in the sleepy town some miles away would never know what was happening. Once he did, she seemed content.

It was Nola who was the hardest to convince. There were too many what if’s for her to consider. She’d seen too much horror in her life and she wanted a peaceful existence.

“Nola,” Lathan said, addressing her from across the table. “You lost a family, let Amon give you that back. With us you’ll have safety. Out there, there are no promises.”

Something struck a chord within as she seemed to relax a bit more. Lathan was known to calm many. Perhaps it was his dashing good looks, or maybe his deep voice. But whatever the reason, she said, “I’m trusting you here. Do not make me regret it.”

“Oh, I won’t,” Lathan assured her. He meant it.

“Well then it’s settled, we are the Court of Savages, truly and surely. Welcome to your new home.” Amon said.

About Christy: 

I am Southern California native, now living in New Jersey! How did that happen? I am married and have  two beautiful little girls who love to read just like Mommy. I have had a passion for books since I was a little girl and an imagination for just as long. I hope my books can inspire others to read and to write too.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win an eBook from Christy’s collection, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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