I am so, so excited to be starting Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl) this week given the theme. I love the idea of really concise reviews because I always write too much. I don’t think I reviewed a good amount of the last ten books I read, so it’s even better that I do this now.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
One-Word Review: Mysterious
The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
One-Word Review: The f*cking sh*t
(cheating here but if you know Dave Grohl, it is the only fitting review)
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
One-Word Review: Magical
The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren
One-Word Review: Lacking
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
One-Word Review: Important
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
One-Word Review: Sweet
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
One-Word Review: Hot.
The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
One-Word Review: Angsty perfection
(cheating again but I couldn’t just leave it at angsty)
Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
One-Word Review: Underwhelming
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
One-Word Review: Forgettable
This was harder than I expected! I tried to pick words that weren’t so generic that they could be applied to literally any book. And obviously I cheated a couple times. No regrets!!
Ok, I technically was not tagged in this. BUT I’m kinda just making up my own rules with this blogging thing. I’ve been running this blog for three months, which is honestly a lot longer than I expected myself to get with this. I saw Leslie do this, so I thought I’d take it and use it as a 3-month milestone post!
Hi y’all! I’m Louise! I’m a 24-year-old grad student studying to be a librarian, and I currently work in an engineering library on campus. I am definitely considering going into public librarianship, though, because I love working with kids and other people who aren’t in academia 🙂 I’m currently living in Illinois but am originally from Boston! And that is pretty much all I have to say in way of introduction lol.
Something most everyone wants to know…do you have any pets?
I have a 6 year old maltipoo named Gigi (after George Harrison), but she’s back home in Boston with my parents while I’m in school 😦
Here’s one of my favorite pictures of her after a grooming!
What is your favorite thing to drink?
Going to be veeeery boring here and just say water. There’s nothing like drinking a glass of ice water when you’re thirsty. Although, I do love a glass of wine on nights where I don’t have to work the next day!
What is your favorite season?
Spring!!! I love the feeling of everything coming back to life and the first warm day after a cold winter. It also just gives me a lot of nostalgia for when I was younger and would be finishing up the school year.
Do you have any special talents?
My family is all very musical, so we’re all singers and play instruments. I like piano and flute even though I haven’t spent much time practicing either. Not really a special talent, per se, but just a normal talent.
Blogging
When and why did you start your blog?
I’ve been blogging technically since I was about 14 on different platforms. First Tumblr, then I shared a WordPress book blog with a friend throughout high school. I started this one 3 months ago, obviously. Every time has been because I love talking about books and I wanted to share that with others. Not many people in my life are huge readers, so having all of you is really important to me 🙂
What is something that you wish you knew about blogging when you first started?
This is definitely premature, but I wish I had known all the WordPress tricks I do now. Other than that, I think there’s probably still a lot I have to learn!
What has been the hardest part about blogging?
Just getting myself to sit down and actually write the stuff out. I have all these ideas I want to post, and it’s been hardest to get myself to put them down on paper. Even though it feels good when I’m actually writing it out, I have so much going on with school and work that sometimes it’s just hard to stop myself from watching two hours of TikTok when I have some free time.
What has been the most rewarding part of blogging?
Definitely everyone I’ve interacted with so far!! I love seeing books I have in common with people and finding new books from people I follow. I hope to really get to know a lot of you continuing on 🙂
Do you write your posts ahead of time or write them the day of posting?
Usually write them day of, unless I have time to write two posts in one day. I don’t plan things out, because then it would become too much of a chore for me.
Reading
Who are your top 5 favourite authors?
This was incredibly hard but:
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Ali Hazelwood
Emily Henry
Jane Austen
What genre do you read the most?
This year it has been romance, but definitely overall fantasy/romance/romantasy are my top genres. I will never move away from these genres.
What genre surprised youby how much you love it?
Science nonfiction! I shouldn’t have been surprised because I love random facts, but I am a story girl through and through. Science nonfiction kinda snuck up on me in a few of the classes I was taking. I readThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for a biology class as an undergrad as well as a few others and was hooked on the genre!
Which popular book didn’t live up to the hype for you?
I’ve said this before, but it will always be the first to come to mind. I really did not like House of Earth and Blood. Sooooo so long with barely anything that happens.
Who are some popular authors you haven’t read?
Casey McQuiston! Her books have been on my TBR for a while, I just haven’t gotten to pick them up yet.
What upcoming release are you excited to read?
Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood. Enough said.
Do you listen to music while reading?
Nope! If I listen to music, I’ll just end up singing along. Yes, even if it’s classical music.
Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.
James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.
Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…
I was a little scared going into this one, I’m not gonna lie. The Goodreads reviews are bad. If the reviews for a Christina Lauren book are this bad, then there must be some serious problem with the book, right?? I kept waiting and waiting for something seriously offensive to happen in this book, but it really was just a nice quick and cute read from the author-duo.
First and foremost, James and Carey were sooooo cute together. He was just so sweet and caring and I loved how their relationship developed.
I was also very appreciative of how Carey’s disorder was discussed and represented. Chronic illnesses and disorders are not usually portrayed often in romance books, so it was really great to see here.
I do think we could have done without the interview and blog post interjections between chapters. The interviews were useful to build suspense for the ending, but the blog posts were kind of just there to reinforce what we were already being told about the story.
In general, I would have just loved to see more of Carey and James and really understand more of their background. There are a lot of things hinted to about Carey’s life growing up that the authors could have really expanded on.
These are really just small ideas I had though, and overall, I thought this was a very cute and quick read. It wasn’t the best romance book I’ve ever read, but it definitely has the Christina Lauren touch which you just can’t seem to go wrong with.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Have you read this one? Let me know what you thought below!
Happy Wednesday, everyone! I’m finally getting out of a major slump this week, so I have some good books for you today!
Currently reading: Daughter of the Moon Goddessjust came in from the library the other day, so I’ve been speeding through it! My finals are pretty much done, so I don’t have much to do at work. Yesterday I was able to read through most of my shift! I’ve also been listening to Dave Grohl’s new autobiography, The Storyteller. It took a bit to get into, but he’s finally getting into how he got into music and his time with Nirvana, so I’m really enjoying it!
Recently finished: I just finished The Honey-Don’t List yesterday. I had been going through it quickly and just decided to sit down and read the rest yesterday. It was a really cute and quick read! Review will be up in the next few days 🙂
Reading next: I just got approved for the ARC of Of Beasts and Burden which comes out in a few weeks, and I think I am very in the mood for a fae story right now. My audiobook of These Violent Delights as well as a kindle version of The Inheritance Games also just became available to me this week through the library, so I think I’ll need to prioritize these three, possibly reading them at the same time. Wish me luck!
What are you reading this week? Link your WWWs or current reads down below!
I saw this tag on Jordyn Reads and thought it looked fun! While I usually love a lot of popular authors and series, I do have some opinions that many of you might fume over for a while. To that, I just have to say: I’m sorry! And with that, here we go!
A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES THAT YOU DIDN’T LIKE
This is probably my most controversial opinion. I hatedHouse of Earth and Blood when I read it in 2020. I usually love Sarah J. Maas’s writing, but this one was just soooooo slow and boring. I felt like nothing happened in this book. Everyone was getting so excited about the sequel that came out a month or two ago, and I just cannot understand where all the hype is coming from.
A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO HATE BUT YOU LOVE
Ok, so this is a very beloved series. BUT there are a lot of people who think this series is poorly written which I could not disagree with more. I also technically have not read the fourth book yet, but there was a lot of drama surrounding a specific plot point (yes I was spoiled) that we ALL should have seen coming. So, if you were mad about that, I’m sorry but it was 100% foreshadowed.
A LOVE TRIANGLE WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER ENDED UP WITH THE PERSON YOU DID NOT WANT THEM TO END UP WITH OR AN OTP THAT YOU DON’T LIKE
I’m going to steal Jordyn’s answer and go with Shadow and Bone. This is mostly because I just watched the Netflix series recently and Jessie Mei Li and Ben Barnes have insane chemistry. I do remember loving the Darkling when I read this series years ago, and I still feel like the series could have gone a different way with this.
A POPULAR BOOK GENRE THAT YOU HARDLY REACH FOR
I usually say that I’ll read pretty much any genre. Graphic novels, though, are probably a genre I’ve read the least of, and I’m not really sure why. I think this is just because I don’t enjoy consuming two types of media at the same time–it just slows down the story for me.
A POPULAR OR BELOVED CHARACTER THAT YOU DO NOT LIKE
This is another one I’m cheating on. I haven’t read this one. I DID just watch the new movie adaption on Hulu. If the movie characters are anything like their book counterparts, I absolutely hate them. So, so annoying and Joshua is not hot at all.
A POPULAR AUTHOR THAT YOU CAN’T SEEM TO GET INTO
Colleen Hoover. I actually read a good amount of Colleen Hoover books years ago and just have no interest in revisiting her writing. To be honest, I get really tired of seeing her books all over my feed.
A POPULAR BOOK TROPE THAT YOU’RE TIRED OF SEEING
I don’t see this as much anymore, but I’m sick of seeing the evil woman trope, where there is a girl who is just evil and antagonistic toward the protagonist for no reason or without any sort of redeeming quality. I’ve never met a woman with no depth. They do not exist. Stop writing them as if they do.
A POPULAR SERIES THAT YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN READING
I actually love Naomi Novik’s writing, but I’m kinda over dark academia. Although, I thought of this originally, now reading the synopsis I kinda wonder if I would enjoy it🤔 Anyway, I probably will never read this even though everyone says this is an incredible series.
THE SAYING GOES ‘THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN THE MOVIE’, BUT WHAT MOVIE OR TV SHOW ADAPTATION DO YOU PREFER MORE THAN THE BOOK?
THE HANDMAID’S TALE. Hands down. I love the book but the show is just. Perfection. Highly, highly recommend this show to literally everyone. Yes, over the book.
Do you agree with any of my unpopular opinions? Share your own hot takes below!!
I saw Jordyn Reads do this tag, and thought it looked fun (also I’ve been in a reading slump the past couple weeks), so thought I’d jump on the tag train! If you want to do this, consider yourself tagged by me 🙂 I’m not sure who actually created the tag, so if you know please tag them below!!
How many books have you read so far?
I’ve read 30 so far! Definitely my best year so far since 2014, and although I’m currently in a slump, I think this is a good sign for the rest of the year!
Have you already found a book you think might be a 2022 favorite?
LISTEN, I will NEVER get over The Love Hypothesis. I am counting down the days until Love On the Brain. Fake-dating/enemies-to-lovers will always reign in my brain. I also can’t get over Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle. It was just so beautifully written, and the way the characters develop throughout their lives is perfection. Cannot recommend enough.
If not, what was your favorite book you read that wasn’t quite five stars?
So, I did have two favorites (obviously), but I wanted to give honorable mention to these three romances. Just so cute and aghhhh. I wish I could read them all again for the first time. I technically rated The Roughest Draft and The Spanish Love Deception five stars, but they were really more like 4.75 stars in my head. You Deserve Each Other was a solid 4/4.5 stars.
Have you read any one star books this year? Or what has been your least favorite read so far?
The Moonstone Girls. Racism and horrible writing. Enough Said. Honorable mention to Ramón and Julieta which just had horrible writing. DNFd both. Don’t want to spend any more time thinking about them, lol.
What is your most read genre so far?
I knew it would be romance, but here it is straight from Storygraph. This all checks out.
What is a book that surprised you?
Going with two on this one. Rules of Arrangement was just such a unique story, and I did not expect it to be so dark and romance-focused, but I really enjoyed it! As for Little Thieves, I think I just expect to be very underwhelmed by young adult fantasy, but this one proved me wrong because it was just so fun!
Is there a book that has come out already in 2022 that you want to read but haven’t yet?
She Gets the Girl immediately came to mind with this question. I have it on hold at the library, and I will be dropping everything to read it once it becomes available to me.
What’s one goal you’re succeeding at?
I definitely am doing way better at maintaining this blog and my bookstagram than I thought I would be! As Spring is upon us, I just feel very excited about the reading and interactions I’ll be having through this platform.
What’s one goal you need to work on?
I need to be better at reading a variety of genres. I have so many books on my shelf that aren’t romance, but that look so good. Romance is very easy for me to speed through, but I need to feel less intimidated by my books that are outside the genre.
How are you all feeling about your reading a quarter way through the year?
To paraphrase Chandler Ainsley’s review of this novel, it was bizarre, but I didn’t hate it. I didn’t hate this novel at all, and in fact, I finished this novel feeling like my heart had grown two sizes.
Naomi and Nicholas are engaged but they hate each other, or so Naomi thinks. She is set on being the worst fiancée she can be in order to get Nicholas to call off the wedding. Obviously, this doesn’t really go as planned.
Admittedly, the beginning of this book made me kinda sad. I could see that there was a huge misunderstanding on each of the love interests’ parts. I was honestly a little confused on how they got there after just two years and having already committed to getting married.
The beginning was a little rough, but when it turned around, BOY did it turn around. Sarah Hogle is incredible at writing sweet moments between two characters. I almost started tearing up at how sweet Nicholas and Naomi became towards each other.
The one thing I don’t think I’ll get over is how Naomi was treating Nicholas when it just seemed like he was needing support. It was also just felt like it was written with the intention of being quirky which can sometimes put me off. The second half of the book was so, so worth it though, and I absolutely recommend this as a fun and unique romance for anyone who needs something new.
This month was a prime example of why I absolutely cannot be held to a set TBR every month. I don’t know how y’all do it. I had a plan for my reading when I went on vacation mid-March, and it went completely out the window when I actually got to my destination.
I really wanted to reread all of the FBAA series so that I could read The War of Two Queens when it came out. I think I got so caught up in the drama surrounding the contents of this book (I got spoiled, unsurprisingly), that I just didn’t want to deal with the series at that moment. I definitely do want to keep going with my reread, though.
Aside from all that, I had a pretty good reading month! I read 8 books (4 of which I finished this past week!).
March Favorites:
All of these are enemies-to-lovers in some way which is my favorite favorite of all time trope. So, it’s really no surprise that these are my favorites this month.
March Least Favorite:
I honestly feel bad putting Dream On with Ramón and Julieta just because I really, really disliked the latter. But both did nothing for me, and I need to say they were both my least favorite.
The Rest:
FBAA would be a favorite, but it was just a reread so it’s in this category. The rest of these, I enjoyed but they weren’t anything too special. I don’t see myself coming back to these at any point.
Have you read any of the books on my March Wrap-Up? What did you think of them?
Y’all. Y’ALL. I will never understand why this book has such a low rating (for a romance) on Goodreads. I know the writing is a little more flowery than most romance novels, but seriously, everything about this book was a win for me.
Katrina and Nathan, former co-writers of an international bestseller, want nothing to do with each other after a previous falling out. The two are forced to finish their publishing contract for one more book, live together on a writing retreat, and face the reality of what they mean to the other.
Y’all, THIS is the level of angst I need in a romance!! I was completely giddy while reading this wondering who would slip up first in their game to avoid the past.
There is something that is so rarely done in romance novels which is capturing the complexity of a feud between two people, especially between those that are in a relationship. I often find that complications that arise in most romance novels are so simple and easy to understand–the solution is essentially served to you. This is not reality. Fights often have two sides that are not so easily reconciled–two people might think they are arguing about two completely different things.
Wibberley and Siegemund-Broka do an incredible job of capturing this complexity. I was blown away by the collision of Katrina and Nathan.
I do think the ending reveal was a bit anticlimactic, but the buildup was so good that I honestly could not care less.
Needless to say, this will definitely be one of my top favorites for the year.
Currently reading: Rereading the Kingdom of Flesh and Fire right now to prepare for the release of the fourth book. It’s been a bit slow-going with work, but I’m hoping to finish by the end of the week! Also been reading A Touch of Darkness which has also been slow-going. I read this one before bed through Libby, but I’ve been so tired from work that I usually pass out within a few pages. Again, hoping to get through more before the week is up!
Recently finished: Finished my reread of From Blood and Ash and phew, it did not disappoint! It took me a while to get through (these are big books ok!), but definitely glad I’m rereading them all!
Reading next: Obviously, I need to finish my reread with The Crown of Gilded Bones, but I’m going on vacation, so I definitely need a light beachy read. I think I’ll be picking up The Roughest Draft for sure, which I just bought on an illicit Barnes and Noble run the other day.
Louise Reads 