Hey everyone, I randomly decided during the filming of a vlog that I would do a giveaway of The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling, because….why not? (It’s the Book of the Month version if that matters to anyone.)

If you want to enter go HERE to this google form! You have until February 13 to enter.

I will select the winner by random number generator and post it on my Booktube Channel on Valentine’s Day!

Dear Future Self,

Do not ever pick up this book again. I know everything that you think and have formulated a list of rebuttals below:

“I didn’t hate the movie…”
Yes you did, you only watched it because Saoirse Ronan was in it, do not lie to yourself.

“Well if I can stand to read Twilight, I can stand to read this…”
False. You have tried to read it twice now, and both times you hated every second of it.

“Maybe an audiobook…”
You just tried that and you got 2/3 of the way through, saw how much longer it was going to go on, and gave up because it wasn’t worth it.

“Yeah, but so-and-so loves it…”
So-and-so obviously has infinite patience, but you don’t. Move on.

“But-“
No seriously think of one thing you liked about this book. Go on. One little thing.

Exactly. Now go read something good.

Best Wishes,
Your Past Self

Life has been….not so fun… And work has been crazy, but I’m still managing to read 3 books right now!

Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt (34%)
This is a regular reread for me and I’m loving it just as much now as I have every single other time I’ve read it. I’m just hitting the part where the main plot is about to kick off. Up until now it’s been world building and character establishment and a little of just showing how Gwyn’s life was before it’s all about to change. It sounds like that should be boring and I’ll admit it’s a bit slow, but being slow is the point and I still don’t find it boring.
For those who haven’t been on my blog before, this is the first in a series of loosely-connected, non-magical fantasy books called the Tales of the Kingdom. So basically it’s set in a fictional feudal-inspired kingdom (and neighboring lands) but there’s no magic or dragons, and each book is separated from the next by about a generation. Each book can be read as a standalone or as part of the series. This first book features innkeeper’s daughter Gwyn and legendary highwayman Jackaroo (but it’s not a romance between the two).

Victory Lap by K.A. Mielke and Riley Alexis Wood (40%)
I was sent this book by one of the authors and I am genuinely loving it. Josh’s chapters are interesting even though I think he needs some major character development. Kiki’s chapters are my favorite! She’s interesting and funny and I wish I could be friends with her in real life. I just want all the best for her!
This is a duel-POV novel featuring 5th year high school student Josh and senior high school student Kylie aka Kiki, a trans girl navigating her first school year officially “out”. The two meet in a Writer’s Craft class and become fast friends, but the rest of their lives are not going to smoothly. Josh’s girlfriend just left for college where she promptly dumps Josh for his best friend, and Kiki’s parents’ (and classmates’) attitudes about her identity leave a lot to be desired. Victory Lap came out in December of last year.

sometimes i fall asleep thinking about you by Catarine Hancock (28%)
I got this as a ARC from NetGalley and so far I’m very glad I did. It’s a tough read because it hits so close to home, so I’m going through it slowly, just a little bit each day. It’s already made me cry a couple times and I’ve highlighted sooo many quotes!
This book is a poetry collection about that feeling you have after a bad relationship ends with no real closure. It drops April 6th of this year and I’ll have a review up probably in early March.

Come When I Call You by Shayna Krishnasamy
Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Review:  Yes
Format:  eBook
Reading Dates:  June 28 – July 4
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Hard to put down.
Least Favorite Thing:  Gave me anxiety.

I received an eARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

It’s hard to explain how I feel about this book. I don’t know that I’d read it again, but also I can’t stop thinking about it.

My Posts About Come When I Call You

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Rating:  ★☆☆☆☆ – did not like it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  July 8 – 14
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Short.
Least Favorite Thing:  See image below…

This was a horrible book. I literally hated every single character and moment in this book.

It took me 3 days just to get to chapter 2 because the narrator is so insufferable…

Also I made this dumb meme because this line made me so irrationally angry, and it doubles as my least favorite thing so here it is:

My Posts About The Great Gatsby

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  July 16 – 22
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  I just love the way Griet lays out her story…
Least Favorite Thing:  So everyone knew how van Ruijven is and yet no one was like “maybe we should keep him from molesting the teenage girl”???

I reread this on a whim and I’m so glad I did. I remembered enjoying it, but I didn’t remember just how engrossing it was.

My Posts About Girl with a Pearl Earring

Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman
Rating:  ★★★★★ – it was amazing
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  July 22 – July 31
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  The Drama
Least Favorite Thing:  That whole thing with Lola Montez’s feet??? Big yikes!

This book is bad for my wallet! I keep buying more books based on what I’m reading in this book lol

My Posts About Sex with Kings

/ˌpanəˈjirik/
noun

1. a public speech or published text in praise of someone or something

Catherine assented — and a very warm panegyric from her on that lady’s merits, closed the subject.

– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

/vəˈsisəˌt(y)o͞od/
noun

1. a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant
2. (literary) alternation between opposite or contrasting things

But from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventful lives.

– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

First Lines:

Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.

Did the quote pique your interest? View this book on Goodreads!

/ˈpräfləɡəsē/
noun

1. reckless extravagance or wastefulness in the use of resources
2. licentious or dissolute behavior

What a strange, unaccountable character! — for with all these symptoms of profligacy at ten years old, she had neither a bad heart nor a bad temper; was seldom stubborn, scarcely ever quarrelsome, and very kind to the little ones, with few interruptions of tyranny; she was moreover noisy and wild, hated confinement and cleanliness, and loved nothing so well int he world as rolling down the green slope at the back of the house.

– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

/ˌənprəˈpiSHəs/
adjective

1. (of a circumstance) not giving or indicating a good chance of success
2. unfavorable

She had a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without colour, dark lank hair, and strong features; — so much for her person; — and not less unpropitious for heroism seemed her mind.

– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

/ləˈɡ(y)o͞obrēəs/
adjective

1. looking or sounding sad and dismal

Mornings, we walked down to the beach, a distance of a mile, or sometimes we took bicycles, big lugubrious cruiser that didn’t belong to anyone in particular, and went swimming.

– Carolyn Cooke, Amor and Psycho: Stories