Tag: books

Little White Lies (Debutantes #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Review

Posted January 27, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

Debutantes, high Southern society, and a mystery are all right up my alley when it comes to premises for YA novels, so I was so looking forward to Little White Lies which gave me major Pretty Little Liars vibes. Jennifer Lynn Barnes did not disappoint, with a YA novel that focused on strong female characters, high society scandals and some serious twists at the end! Plot Like any good YA mystery book, Little White Lies has a somewhat absurd (in the best way) premise. Sawyer, independent daughter of a flaky single mom living above a bar and working as an […]

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine | ARC Review

Posted September 9, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 2 Comments

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine immediately caught my eye at ALA midwinter this year because of its striking cover. I had never heard of it before, but it was GORGEOUS and I knew I had to add it to my TBR immediately. With a release date 8 months in the future, I saved it as one of my special reads for the end of the summer season. When I finally picked it up over the Labor Day holiday weekend it did NOT disappoint, and is easily one of my favorite contemporary reads of the year. I was thrilled by the format […]

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen | In Which I Fall In Love With Dessen’s Summer Stories Again

Posted August 26, 2019 in Bookish Thoughts, California Here We Come, Reviews / 6 Comments

I think there are few adult readers in the YA communities that didn’t grow up with Sarah Dessen being a staple on their summer reading list. Whether it was set on the shores of the lake in Colby or in the quiet suburban streets of Lakeview, reading her novels are like coming home to one of the best summers of your teenage life. I was, however, a little scared that this magic was starting to wear off when I was terribly underwhelmed with Once and For All and then reread This Lullaby and could not fathom why it was a […]

The Undoing of Thistle Tate by Katelyn Detweiler | ARC Review

Posted August 11, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

*Thank you so much to Holiday House Publicity and the Publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!* I’ve been a fan of Katelyn Detweiler’s since I read her debut novel, Immaculate, which explored themes of faith, religion, and miracles in modern society. I found it incredibly well written and thoughtful in its approach to question the inexpiable. So when I was offered the opportunity to read her newest novel that provided an inside look into the publishing world, I quickly accepted. The Undoing of Thistle Tate follows Thistle, a prolific teen author who has penned […]

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay | ARC Review

Posted July 29, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 1 Comment

Patron Saints of Nothing was brought to my attention by the lovely Mel to the Any, so when I attended ALA midwinter this year I couldn’t resist picking up a copy, especially after seeing the striking cover. Though I myself am not Filipino, my husband’s family is and I am making an effort to read more diversely and learn more about his Filipino heritage, so I was excited to read this title that not only explored the experience of a Filipino-American protagonist, but actually explored the current state of the Philippines as well when the protagonist visits his birth country […]

Daisy Jones & The Six | Mini Audio Book Review

Posted July 8, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 3 Comments

I will be the first person to admit that I did NOT think that this book was going to work for me. Though I adored The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I still miss the days when TJR wrote adult contemporary romance and 60s-70s rock isn’t really an era I’m too familiar with (though I do love a good Fleetwood Mac song). I had heard from several reviewers that listening to this book was the way to go (which makes sense considering it’s a book about music) but I was surprised to find that the format was literally in interviews […]

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren | Review

Posted April 8, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 3 Comments

Over the course of the past year or so I’ve fallen in love with Christina Lauren’s romantic comedies, enjoying the witty banter, the impossible situations, and the laugh out loud moments. So you can imagine my surprise going into Love and Other Words expecting another fun romance novel and experiencing instead a much more emotional, heart-string pulling book, and by far the most painfully evocative novel by the duo that I’ve come across so far. Love and Other Words captures the painful, isolating feelings of first heartbreak so viscerally that readers won’t be able to read Macy and Elliot’s story […]

In Dog We Trust by Beth Kendrick | Black Dog Bay #5 ARC Review

Posted December 17, 2018 in Books, Reviews / 2 Comments

So in typical fashion, I found out that the Black Dog Bay series which I love dearly had a new installment thanks to Lauren @ Bookmark Lit who is probably responsible for a solid 25% of the books on my TBR shelf at any given moment. I hit that NetGalley request button SO FAST you don’t even know. So over Thanksgiving break I was spending yet another summer in my beloved East Coast seaside town of Black Dog Bay on another truly puppy filled adventure. The newest series installment follows Jocelyn, a local Black Dog Bay resident, who runs a […]

Sarah Dessen Mini Reviews: Keeping the Moon & This Lullaby

Posted December 3, 2018 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

I can’t believe that Keeping the Moon is almost 20 years old! Every summer I set out to reread a Sarah Dessen book or two (the goal being that I’ve reread all in recent memory) and it always blows me away that Sarah’s been writing for so long, and how her stories do feel so timeless despite their age. Keeping the Moon is no exception, and I was curious to see how I would like it as I barely remembered anything since the last time I read it was probably back in 2004 and I remembered it not being my […]

Blog Tour | Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Posted November 13, 2018 in Blog Tours, Books, Reviews / 6 Comments

Today I’m partnering with The Royal Polar Bear Reads and Bookable Reads for the Empress of All Seasons Blog Tour! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play | Book Depository Empress of All Seasons may be another title in a sea of YA fantasy releases, however it immediately stood out to me within the first few chapters for several reasons, the strongest being the feminist themes and inversion of tropes generally associated with the male and female privilege in society. Protagonist Mari lives in a village comprised of shape shifting “Animal Wives” who are a kick-butt, take no prisoners, matriarchal society who highly value the […]