tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83868248857302247482024-03-22T13:45:12.501-05:00Lauren's BoookshelfLauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.comBlogger663125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-37380874972612613282024-03-20T15:25:00.002-05:002024-03-20T15:25:42.139-05:00Book Review: "House of Flame and Shadow" by Sarah J. Maas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689843639i/123211531.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="520" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689843639i/123211531.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>House of Flame and Shadow</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: "Crescent City" #3</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Page Length: 838 pages</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Publication Date: January 30, 2024</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123211531-house-of-flame-and-shadow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2020/04/book-review-house-of-earth-and-blood-by.html" target="_blank">Book 1 Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2022/03/book-review-house-of-sky-and-breath-by.html" target="_blank">Book 2 Review</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">*Non-spoiler for <i>House of Flame and Shadow</i> but it will contain major spoilers for previous books in the <i>Crescent City</i> series*</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay y'all, we're about a month away from me having finished this book and I think I've settled my thoughts enough for a coherent review. I have a lot of complicated feelings about this book and how the series has progressed from the first book. I'll start by saying that objectively this is a 3-star book. But I do have a lot of love for the characters and world so I rated it 4-stars. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll start with my issues, of which there are plenty. First, Ithan and Tharion shared one single brain cell this entire book and it annoyed me to the point where I actively rolled my eyes seeing them on page. Ithan mostly got better but Tharion so far still annoys me. Bryce's characterization in this book also felt completely foreign to me. She didn't feel like the Bryce I'd known in the past two books. And, to be honest, there were times she annoyed me as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plot was confusing and convoluted at times. The big climax of the series fell flat, the ending was rushed and anti-climactic, the stakes never felt high, and overall I was just confused. I think it read like poorly planned fanfiction. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Honestly, my favorite scenes were the ACOTAR crossover scenes, which shouldn't be the case. I should enjoy those scenes, but<i> Crescent City</i> should be able to stand on its own without needing the support of her most famous series. I think it would have been far more intriguing to see a world that stood on its own where the conflicts didn't tie into ACOTAR. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, in probably one of my single biggest issues, the POV switches were absolutely insane. I don't mind multiple-POV books or switching POV's every chapter. But multiple POV switches in a single chapter felt like too much. We were getting POV switches after a single page sometimes. I can only imagine it was to build little cliffhangers or emulate the quick flashing between different scenes in movies or shows that builds tension. It did not work here. Instead, it just annoyed me. I don't mind every chapter or even two POVs in a chapter but there was absolutely no need to switch POVs so many times per chapter as often as they did. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To me, this book (as well as <i>House of Sky and Breath</i>) didn't feel like Sarah J. Maas books. I think I read somewhere that she switched editors and that might be part of it but, for me, the things that make Maas books addicting weren't present here. The romance wasn't romancing, the plot was convoluted not layered in a fascinating way, the pacing was weird, shock twist moments didn't feel that surprising...it just wasn't executed well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I didn't hate the book, even if I was left feeling disappointed. I enjoyed seeing the characters again and there were some that truly carried the book despite the flaws elsewhere. When I was actively reading it, I didn't want to stop, especially in the beginning. But overall I was left feeling disappointed, even though I was already apprehensive going into this book after <i>House of Sky and Breath</i>. That being said, the first book remains a top-tier book and I do love the characters a lot. Sadly, this book didn't do them or their stories justice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm sure this review is convoluted in its own way at this point. Overall, disappointed but didn't hate it. Four stars for nostalgia and the ACOTAR gang but three stars for literally everything else. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-72263939783087281812024-03-06T19:11:00.002-06:002024-03-20T15:26:56.761-05:00February 2024 Wrap-Up + Haul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8g6Msw0O7Pv2n0R-AUQLhVgNxFRWBPD3mg4F5YwAkaxfRqWEiUTnLnHyPuyFB8LpNJLb_udeICE3pUTfXgDXOKo8KdlDG5VUEu2ebQ-28lan4_6-7waqbNilP1yfj8uS3bHvSKYWlNRHXYsi4zhwJh3wpeDzU06Sb0-Gr03JXcyVi45MibAoD8NJw06Y/s2240/1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8g6Msw0O7Pv2n0R-AUQLhVgNxFRWBPD3mg4F5YwAkaxfRqWEiUTnLnHyPuyFB8LpNJLb_udeICE3pUTfXgDXOKo8KdlDG5VUEu2ebQ-28lan4_6-7waqbNilP1yfj8uS3bHvSKYWlNRHXYsi4zhwJh3wpeDzU06Sb0-Gr03JXcyVi45MibAoD8NJw06Y/w640-h360/1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well February was another interesting month reading-wise. I was struggling a lot mentally and so books became a real escape for me. I also had a lot of free time on my hands. I ended up reading 26 books in February and finishing a handful of series. This was also my month to fully dive into the omegaverse properly and it was so much fun. I'm so excited to read more of them. But, without further ado, here's everything I read and hauled...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWbRu5GmPwwqHePAqVio6K86Op5K55sieuFH-GQy-_yoEckhQQrD7_kIVWHmLKI-ZsFJ5mMW3yoAbR6GD9WJKGJnGePC8riphG8EtBKod0gNQMfJgSueTImQoK71RZzZWDJi7W2mEbgFGGREp1QdYFYEL0wv3cTnNQ0PEgGHhNU4W2hFFSGnMOno31uY/s2240/Books%20Read.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWbRu5GmPwwqHePAqVio6K86Op5K55sieuFH-GQy-_yoEckhQQrD7_kIVWHmLKI-ZsFJ5mMW3yoAbR6GD9WJKGJnGePC8riphG8EtBKod0gNQMfJgSueTImQoK71RZzZWDJi7W2mEbgFGGREp1QdYFYEL0wv3cTnNQ0PEgGHhNU4W2hFFSGnMOno31uY/w400-h98/Books%20Read.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>House of Flame and Shadow</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/03/book-review-house-of-flame-and-shadow.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689843639i/123211531.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="520" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689843639i/123211531.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Lola & the Millionaires: Part One</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Kathryn Moon</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589574869l/53418962._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589574869l/53418962._SY475_.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Title: <i>Lola & the Millionaires: Part Two</i></div><div>Author: Kathryn Moon</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589574973i/53418968.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="530" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589574973i/53418968.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Pack Darling: Part One</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Lola Rock</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1694013745i/198558356.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1694013745i/198558356.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Title: <i>Pack Darling: Part Two</i></div><div>Author: Lola Rock</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620615713l/57993571._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="304" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620615713l/57993571._SY475_.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>6. </div><div>Title: <i>Sweetheart: Part One</i></div><div>Author: Marie Mackay</div><div>Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1693027771i/197909289.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1693027771i/197909289.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>7. </div><div><div>Title: <i>Sweetheart: Part Two</i></div><div>Author: Marie Mackay</div><div>Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699566597i/195880725.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699566597i/195880725.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>8.</div><div>Title: <i>Three Swedish Mountain Men</i></div><div>Author: Lily Gold</div><div>Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662641805i/62334000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662641805i/62334000.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>9. </div><div>Title: <i>Nanny for the Neighbors</i></div><div>Author: Lily Gold</div><div>Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662561965i/62326767.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662561965i/62326767.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>10. </div><div>Title: <i>Pack Origin</i></div><div>Authors: Kate King & Jessa Wilder </div><div>Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638510579i/59745380.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638510579i/59745380.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>11. </div><div>Title: <i>Baby & the Late Night Howlers</i></div><div>Author: Kathryn Moon</div><div>Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4308908689" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576086531l/49205606._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576086531l/49205606._SY475_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>12. </div><div>Title: <i>Butcher & Blackbird</i></div><div>Author: Brynne Weaver</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1692083376i/196864520.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1692083376i/196864520.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>13. </div><div>Title: <i>Black Sheep</i></div><div>Authors: Alexa Harlowe & Brynne Weaver</div><div>Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649673110l/60791833._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649673110l/60791833._SY475_.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>14. </div><div>Title: <i>Fear the Reapers </i></div><div>Author: Jessa Halliwell</div><div>Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657316261i/61411321.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657316261i/61411321.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>15.</div><div>Title: <i>Queen of the Reapers </i></div><div>Author: Jessa Halliwell</div><div>Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657316526i/61411335.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657316526i/61411335.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>16.</div><div>Title: <i>Wrath of the Reapers</i></div><div>Author: Jessa Halliwell</div><div>Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657316654i/61411346.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657316654i/61411346.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>17. </div><div>Title: <i>Strictly Not Yours</i></div><div>Author: Carrie Elks</div><div>Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1686216205i/159307801.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1686216205i/159307801.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>18. </div><div>Title: <i>This Mortal Coil</i></div><div>Author: Emily Suvada</div><div>Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498356448i/35072280.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="460" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498356448i/35072280.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>19. </div><div>Title: <i>This Cruel Design</i></div><div>Author: Emily Suvada</div><div>Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518658896i/38470110.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518658896i/38470110.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>20. </div><div>Title: <i>These Precious Scars</i></div><div>Author: Emily Suvada</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535827889l/41588521._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535827889l/41588521._SY475_.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>21. </div><div>Title: <i>This Vicious Cure</i></div><div>Author: Emily Suvada</div><div>Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576689223l/49794542.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576689223l/49794542.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>22. </div><div>Title: <i>Bad Alpha</i></div><div>Author: Kathryn Moon</div><div>Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623604302i/57599795.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623604302i/57599795.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>23. </div><div>Title: <i>Mile High</i></div><div>Author: Liz Tomforde</div><div>Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651354353l/60909831._SX318_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651354353l/60909831._SX318_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>24. </div><div>Title: <i>Bride</i></div><div>Author: Ali Hazelwood</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div>Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688416872i/181350812.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688416872i/181350812.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>25. </div><div>Title: <i>A Tempest of Shadows</i></div><div>Author: Jane Washington</div><div>Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div>Series Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603403999i/55767699.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="499" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603403999i/55767699.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>26. </div><div>Title: <i>A City of Whispers</i></div><div>Author: Jane Washington</div><div>Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div>Series Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616479576i/57500092.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616479576i/57500092.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLz21oqmKV0xJ7dgaPrrquf8QFu0ayXsv6GdNV5WMqOouihgH0QKnmjD9KRfhqE0dhjFhF13Z4srsnZ-owefxh94-3ZlClw1IsEB7LG5DcEx7ylChn4TEL6TEfVfAhwFwQFzS8GcKbLDxSs8ppw6puIVgltk4374sdcguyBhFV9xIF02kXfgvpKKjQSjY/s2240/Blog%20Posts.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLz21oqmKV0xJ7dgaPrrquf8QFu0ayXsv6GdNV5WMqOouihgH0QKnmjD9KRfhqE0dhjFhF13Z4srsnZ-owefxh94-3ZlClw1IsEB7LG5DcEx7ylChn4TEL6TEfVfAhwFwQFzS8GcKbLDxSs8ppw6puIVgltk4374sdcguyBhFV9xIF02kXfgvpKKjQSjY/w400-h98/Blog%20Posts.png" width="400" /></a></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/january-2024-wrap-up.html" target="_blank">January 2024 Wrap-Up + Book Haul</a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-ironside-academy-books-1.html" target="_blank">Series Review: "Ironside Academy" #1-3 by Jane Washington</a></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-lore-olympus-volumes-1-7.html" target="_blank">Series Review: "Lore Olympus" Volumes 1-7 by Rachel Smythe</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZlkwqzPuS-mxNTKoGAhSGbpk2LG87kWq-Mb1g8rHm5d53gMyYuwt7IV67WtOhNeM249u1e0S9kDxAh_Fbjbud2qbKlNfG0NR32K6jwB0ld0Dv4BP1Di5f-h1gUUyEPSdzVV1zGx_frFJ9cABtv_zIkpwbk51Q5Si8OqdGt2Ll9oGM4ua5sXTbatdNYI/s2240/Books%20Hauled.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZlkwqzPuS-mxNTKoGAhSGbpk2LG87kWq-Mb1g8rHm5d53gMyYuwt7IV67WtOhNeM249u1e0S9kDxAh_Fbjbud2qbKlNfG0NR32K6jwB0ld0Dv4BP1Di5f-h1gUUyEPSdzVV1zGx_frFJ9cABtv_zIkpwbk51Q5Si8OqdGt2Ll9oGM4ua5sXTbatdNYI/w400-h98/Books%20Hauled.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I only picked up three books in the month of February. I'm on a book buying restriction that's not a full ban but is a heavy restriction. Let's go ahead and just dive into the three that I did pick up...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1690527654i/192716161.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="547" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1690527654i/192716161.jpg" width="137" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first is the Barnes & Noble edition of <i>A Vicious Game</i> by Melissa Blair. This is one of my most anticipated books of the year and I love the cover of the B&N edition. This is the third book in the <i>Halfling Saga</i>, the first of which was one of my all-time favorite reads of 2021. I'm thrilled to have the third book in my hands and I can't wait to binge the books all in one go. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598726833i/54945526.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598726833i/54945526.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second book I picked up is <i>Angel Unseen</i> by J. Bree. I love all of J. Bree's books and this is the only one I haven't read yet. It's also getting a cover change in the next few months so I wanted to grab this since I still prefer this one. This is in the same Mounts Bay world as the <i>Hannaford Prep</i> series which is one of my all-time favorites. I'm excited to read this soon but I'm also saving it for when I need a new J. Bree book. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688416872i/181350812.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688416872i/181350812.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last book I picked up was the Target edition of <i>Bride</i> by Ali Hazelwood. I've been really excited for this one and February has been my month for reading omegaverse books so it naturally tracked that I picked it up. I've also already read it in one sitting and loved it so much. It was addicting and fun and an easy read, which was exactly what I was needing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">xoxo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lauren</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-68611398019495187362024-02-12T13:00:00.001-06:002024-02-12T13:08:34.320-06:00Series Review: "Lore Olympus" Volumes 1-7 by Rachel Smythe <div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://frolic.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Lore-Olympus-Mobile-Banner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="720" height="249" src="https://frolic.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Lore-Olympus-Mobile-Banner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Volumes: 1-7</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series Title: <i>Lore Olympus</i></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rachel Smythe</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/321962-lore-olympus" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">WebToon</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An aspect of reading that I've been embracing the last few years has been graphic novels. I never read them much as a kid but began reading them in college (starting with <i>Saga</i>). While I don't read them as often as I'd like, I've loved every graphic novel I've read. And <i>Lore Olympus</i> is no different. In fact, it might just be my favorite graphic novel series I've ever read (though <i>Heartstopper</i> is pretty tough competition). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Lore Olympus</i> started out on WebToon, the same platform <i>Heartstopper</i> began on. It has over a billion views across 269 episodes. That success led it to being collected and released in a series of volumes from Inklore. Currently, there are five volumes released with a further two coming in 2024 that encompass episodes 1-179. Luckily, though, we can still read it for free on WebToon (which is extra good considering there's almost four more volumes worth of content on WebToon that hasn't been collected into a volume yet). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All this to say, <i>Lore Olympus</i> is an extremely popular WebToon/graphic novel series and I binged the hell out of it. We follow the Greek Gods in a glitzy modern world of society and drama with a twist on the original story of Persephone and Hades. There's romance, backstabbing, magic, friendship, and so much more. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I picked up <i>Lore Olympus</i> from the library the first weekend after I moved back to the United States. I'd seen it get talked about when it was first getting published years ago but hadn't yet made the jump into reading it. Then I fell right in and didn't stop until I'd finished the first seven volumes worth of content.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This series is addicting as hell and pulled at my heartstrings so much. I love Persephone and Hades so much and getting to see them grow as characters has been so wonderful. These two and their love drive the heart of the series and it's been so wonderful watching it develop. Of course, the other characters are growing on me a lot. I'm loving seeing the various friendships developed (both with Persephone and with each other). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plot is engaging. There's the drama and the glamour but there's also a lot of difficult topics that it addresses in very respectful ways. It's a slower moving plot but it works well as I don't feel like we're missing any important details. It also means the series can continue for a long time and I'll get even more content with everyone :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, this is just a wonderful graphic novels series and I'm so obsessed with it! I can't wait to continue reading it on WebToon and eventually pick up all the collected volumes. Mostly, though, I'm just glad that this series was here to fall into to distract me from all the difficult issues happening in my life. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!</div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-80778425287062854452024-02-05T10:50:00.000-06:002024-02-05T10:50:05.322-06:00Series Review: "Ironside Academy" Books 1-3 by Jane Washington<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/janewashington.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Plier-kindle-e1686641289850.jpg?w=800&ssl=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="511" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/janewashington.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Plier-kindle-e1686641289850.jpg?w=800&ssl=1" width="128" /></a><a href="https://i0.wp.com/janewashington.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Tourner-kindle-e1688978327126.jpg?w=800&ssl=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="510" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/janewashington.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Tourner-kindle-e1688978327126.jpg?w=800&ssl=1" width="127" /></a><a href="https://i0.wp.com/janewashington.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Sauter-Kindle-e1701083087330.jpg?fit=1000%2C1561&ssl=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="512" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/janewashington.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Sauter-Kindle-e1701083087330.jpg?fit=1000%2C1561&ssl=1" width="128" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: <i>Ironside Academy</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Jane Washington</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Genre: New Adult Paranormal RH/Omegaverse</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reading Order & Individual Ratings: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><li><i>Plier</i> - 5 // 5 stars</li><li><i>Tourner</i> - 5 // 5 stars</li><li><i>Sauter</i> - 5 // 5 stars</li></ol></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/372289-ironside-academy" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br style="text-align: justify;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Ironside is more than a regular academy. It’s also the biggest reality TV show in the world … and a very elaborate, very luxurious prison.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Their hallowed halls are ruled by the powerful Betas and the middling Omegas, with the plentiful Deltas as their main targets, but this year, the officials are stirring things up.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Isobel Carter—the only rare Sigma to be accepted—is the first sign. But there are others. Many others. A sudden influx of precious Alphas will turn academy life, and Isobel’s life, upside down.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>She might be the lowest rung on the ladder, but in order to survive Ironside, where social media is king and consequences are deadly, she will need to make her mark.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>She will need to climb.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>This isn’t a game for the faint of heart, and those who rise should be prepared for a beautiful, brutal fall.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Beware the pretty posers, because this social media game just got dangerous.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been reading Jane Washington for almost a decade now and she's been on my auto-buy list ever since that first book all those years ago. Over a dozen books later, <i>Ironside Academy</i> is her newest series and has instantly become a new favorite of mine. <i>Ironside Academy</i> is an omegaverse why choose series set at a boarding school for Gifted (Alphas/Betas/etc) that's host to a reality TV show competition. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing I've noticed with everything I've read by Jane is that the stories are always unique and like nothing I've read before. Each of her series is so different but they always have the same "Jane Washington" feeling to them. The addicting characters, the romances, the twisting plotlines where you never truly know what to expect. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ironside Academy</i> is just addicting. The books are long but I fly through them like they're little chapter books. Between the large cast of love interests, the reality TV competition, and the continuous drama our main character finds herself in, each scene feels engaging and important. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Obviously my favorite character is Isobel, our protagonist. We've got a lot of love interests (ten Alphas) and we're still getting to slowly know some of them so I haven't been able to pick a favorite out of those yet (though I do have an idea of who could be a favorite in future books). However, it's been a blast getting to see her interacting with them all and slowly getting into it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The world is fascinating. There's the human world but then the Gifted community within it who are kept segregated. The Gifted society is set up in a omegaverse hierarchy and they all have different abilities depending on their hierarchical rank and power level. This boarding school Isobel and the Alphas attend is primarily for human entertainment and the reality TV show competition determines who lives a life of luxury and fame after graduation. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plot mainly follows Isobel as she begins at this school and gets to know the Alphas. Initially she doesn't want to play into the reality competition but, like everyone, she's eventually drawn in. It's quite difficult to describe what I love about the story without spoiling things but I'll just say that the drama is great, the social element is addicting to read, and the budding romance is so much fun. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, I just love this series so much. Jane knows how to keep me coming back from series to series and I love this one so much. It's provided me so much entertainment during some difficult months and I can't wait to see how the series progresses in the next few books. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>TROPES</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">❂ GIFTED ACADEMY</div><div style="text-align: justify;">❂ PROFESSOR X STUDENT</div><div style="text-align: justify;">❂ FATED/REJECTED MATES</div><div style="text-align: justify;">❂ REALITY TV COMPETITION</div><div style="text-align: justify;">❂ MC IS A DANCER</div><div style="text-align: justify;">❂ SOCIAL MEDIA COMPETITION</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">TRIGGER WARNINGS: attempted rape, sexual assault, bullying, physical & emotional abuse, trauma, panic attacks </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-19988694241672085882024-02-01T11:43:00.004-06:002024-02-12T13:10:08.753-06:00January 2024 Wrap-Up + Book Haul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QJtAdrFQcflOj49zyVeaabjK3tq_GnZpalMaeCP8yodMvSTc7Mg28jjJXWQmkx6PFt4Hjd6mxiAxUyF1XIM_IJ8ohLJFb4r6RulmVcD2EsSaP9Z6UmTEmD1UeDm0qf9WC5B7OHKMCHgn7q3EHBzekWTqHUUSbIyW9H_62ghJbncpry2C3CuEPddjVa4/s2240/1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QJtAdrFQcflOj49zyVeaabjK3tq_GnZpalMaeCP8yodMvSTc7Mg28jjJXWQmkx6PFt4Hjd6mxiAxUyF1XIM_IJ8ohLJFb4r6RulmVcD2EsSaP9Z6UmTEmD1UeDm0qf9WC5B7OHKMCHgn7q3EHBzekWTqHUUSbIyW9H_62ghJbncpry2C3CuEPddjVa4/w640-h360/1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first month of January is done and what a month it was. It was a crap month if I'm being honest and one of the longest months of my life. I'm not going to get into it as I prefer to focus on books here but this month was incredibly draining. The impact will continue to be felt for months to come, I'm sure. However, books have been an incredible help with coping with everything this month so I did have a great reading month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I read 16 books this month and got most of the way through another. I reread a lot of favorites and found a new graphic novel series that I absolutely love. I'm also very much looking forward to a lot of my winter/spring anticipated releases that have started releasing as of January 30th. Let's go ahead and dive in! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIDW1b0mVRCghzcmiFY7y0KjvadsoL2o7ROvqouVYHg9RHJwAOuPakHCClPHAvi65YxvA0gj5Wpv1Sn1-dVu7hfFP_qWvv1HXlu0J6aH_NrO_k5YiELbDL-3fOgKgoez1eQ0Z4zy2XL-PhyphenhyphenNfNp2z8m9gvzc7LH8wR_-rw6L6zUTmEK1I0iAVWgIVCqo/s2240/Books%20Read.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIDW1b0mVRCghzcmiFY7y0KjvadsoL2o7ROvqouVYHg9RHJwAOuPakHCClPHAvi65YxvA0gj5Wpv1Sn1-dVu7hfFP_qWvv1HXlu0J6aH_NrO_k5YiELbDL-3fOgKgoez1eQ0Z4zy2XL-PhyphenhyphenNfNp2z8m9gvzc7LH8wR_-rw6L6zUTmEK1I0iAVWgIVCqo/w400-h98/Books%20Read.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>A Kingdom This Cursed & Empty</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Stacia Stark</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1690390071i/123385361.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="547" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1690390071i/123385361.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>The Six Deaths of the Saint</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Alix E. Harrow</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665768472i/62991463.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665768472i/62991463.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Just Drop Out</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/04/series-review-hannaford-prep-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574733756i/48924855.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574733756i/48924855.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Make Your Move</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/04/series-review-hannaford-prep-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509578i/49097688.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="534" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509578i/49097688.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Play the Game</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/04/series-review-hannaford-prep-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509785i/49097696.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="534" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509785i/49097696.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">6.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>To The End</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/04/series-review-hannaford-prep-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584395982i/50554041.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="327" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584395982i/50554041.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>All Hail</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-queen-crow-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610644073i/56667458.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610644073i/56667458.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>The Ruthless</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-queen-crow-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618526221i/57750309.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618526221i/57750309.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Queen Crow</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-queen-crow-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626868180i/57339845.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626868180i/57339845.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">10.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><div>Title: <i>Lore Olympus, Volume One</i></div><div>Author: Rachel Smythe</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-lore-olympus-volumes-1-7.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614887007i/57282218.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614887007i/57282218.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">11.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><div>Title: <i>Lore Olympus, Volume Two</i></div><div>Author: Rachel Smythe</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-lore-olympus-volumes-1-7.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656929870i/57717417.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656929870i/57717417.jpg" width="249" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">12.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Lore Olympus, Volume Three</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rachel Smythe</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-lore-olympus-volumes-1-7.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645131474i/60149524.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645131474i/60149524.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">13. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Title: <i>Lore Olympus, Volume Four</i></div><div>Author: Rachel Smythe</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-lore-olympus-volumes-1-7.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663971796i/61961585.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="544" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663971796i/61961585.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>14. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Title: <i>Lore Olympus, Volume Five</i></div><div>Author: Rachel Smythe</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-lore-olympus-volumes-1-7.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676155062i/75607709.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676155062i/75607709.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">15. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Title: <i>Lore Olympus, Volume Six</i></div><div>Author: Rachel Smythe</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-lore-olympus-volumes-1-7.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1694036779i/195888453.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="544" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1694036779i/195888453.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">16. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Title: <i>Lore Olympus, Volume Seven</i></div><div>Author: Rachel Smythe</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-lore-olympus-volumes-1-7.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/nophoto/book/111x148.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="148" data-original-width="111" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/nophoto/book/111x148.png" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdh-ymAM_8-vvRa5dj4N67f4LQAfcKOR0ZEu0z6965j8cI7uGEyFguue3CKvcvzWP5OceB9oHc0RJziV5_lvtp1ZcVK-Vq4cuVDXJ3hJR3kT4vRFGFFwEV1Bqr-4pA8Qp_dC_Z7IPOR8tn7qQtvIUxAvKayV67I4i3CS692B8XgfCadoNUAi_M-oX9L-M/s2240/Blog%20Posts.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdh-ymAM_8-vvRa5dj4N67f4LQAfcKOR0ZEu0z6965j8cI7uGEyFguue3CKvcvzWP5OceB9oHc0RJziV5_lvtp1ZcVK-Vq4cuVDXJ3hJR3kT4vRFGFFwEV1Bqr-4pA8Qp_dC_Z7IPOR8tn7qQtvIUxAvKayV67I4i3CS692B8XgfCadoNUAi_M-oX9L-M/w400-h98/Blog%20Posts.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/01/december-2023-wrap-up.html" target="_blank">December 2023 Wrap-Up</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/01/december-2023-book-haul.html" target="_blank">December 2023 Book Haul</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/01/favorite-books-of-2023.html" target="_blank">Favorite Books of 2023</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/01/book-review-iron-flame-by-rebecca-yarros.html" target="_blank">Book Review: "Iron Flame" by Rebecca Yarros</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/01/book-series-i-finished-in-2023.html" target="_blank">Book Series I Finished in 2023</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVQcTz3eI0oC9ibMbMtu-_GlrcveXntx-2vvJQTf2bix8plepHk3YQT-xIyn3MyMGDWCDkERxpULnariEltp2DsfRKt9Snh1tkx-fs8v2QEfjI3BasYBRkvrUt-5VnjNkeJmQ7ljtk4RkS9N7IkO1yK-pArtHOYH74x6ZBBKx3TOyo_SEwV-aiPwRxe8/s2240/Books%20Hauled.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVQcTz3eI0oC9ibMbMtu-_GlrcveXntx-2vvJQTf2bix8plepHk3YQT-xIyn3MyMGDWCDkERxpULnariEltp2DsfRKt9Snh1tkx-fs8v2QEfjI3BasYBRkvrUt-5VnjNkeJmQ7ljtk4RkS9N7IkO1yK-pArtHOYH74x6ZBBKx3TOyo_SEwV-aiPwRxe8/w400-h98/Books%20Hauled.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I only hauled two books this month so I wanted to discuss them in this wrap up rather than a separate post. The first one is actually under the St. Martin's Press boycott so I won't be talking about it here but I am excited to read it at some point this year and (hopefully) be able to talk to you all about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689843639i/123211531.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="520" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689843639i/123211531.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second book I got was the Target edition of <i>House of Flame and Shadow</i> by Sarah J. Maas. This is one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I have already started reading it. This release, though, I'm not collecting the various editions as there's just too many. I was going to get the Walmart edition for that bonus scene but they didn't have any at mine on release day so I popped over to Target for my second choice (Ruhn!). Hopefully I'll have a review coming soon! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-62875675555158593842024-01-22T04:14:00.002-06:002024-01-22T04:14:48.612-06:00Book Series I Finished in 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKCkHmkeEtXKU757hquugmBuk2nf1j54spXABJD_KANTaceNGSD2sks-VJvnHEwR29UzhO8RgRTaEQeG4Lb1Hh_vwoZFv0-yZ3Fel0ifIRB95JElilh9RZ16hnlZ2ZLuSVoUSifUbGSJ1LZzOd988QnkaDJqcxV4-wkkkkBJaKm-1orgycAWXfWAOYbs/s2240/book%20series%20finished.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKCkHmkeEtXKU757hquugmBuk2nf1j54spXABJD_KANTaceNGSD2sks-VJvnHEwR29UzhO8RgRTaEQeG4Lb1Hh_vwoZFv0-yZ3Fel0ifIRB95JElilh9RZ16hnlZ2ZLuSVoUSifUbGSJ1LZzOd988QnkaDJqcxV4-wkkkkBJaKm-1orgycAWXfWAOYbs/w640-h360/book%20series%20finished.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I read 101 books in 2023. Within those 101, I finished ten books series. I had a good year in terms of finishing series and I hope to keep that momentum going into 2024. This year was mostly the year of J. Bree (six of the ten slots on this list are for her). I would say largely it was a good year for series, but not as productive as I would have hoped in regards to my backlist series TBR. Let's go ahead and dive in! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574733756i/48924855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574733756i/48924855.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first series I finished this year was <i>Hannaford Prep</i> by J. Bree, the first series in the Mounts Bay world. However, not only did I read this once this year, I read it <i>twice</i>. Two of the ten spots on this list belong to this series and it truly deserved taking so many spots on my 2023 reading list. It's truly become a comfort series at this point and I'm so glad that I discovered it last year. It's not an example of peak literature by any means but it's super fun, addicting, and the characters have wormed their way into my heart. You can find my original series review <a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/04/series-review-hannaford-prep-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610644073i/56667458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610644073i/56667458.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I continued with my Mounts Bay read-through with the <i>Queen Crow</i> trilogy by J. Bree. This trilogy follows side characters from <i>Hannaford Prep</i> after the fallout of the final book. This series is just as addicting, though I definitely still prefer <i>HP</i> if I had to choose. The romance is incredibly different and the plot stakes have changed. Mostly, it was just fun getting to experience more of this world and spend more time with the characters. You can find my review <a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-queen-crow-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590241093i/51197209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590241093i/51197209.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My last series of the Mounts Bay read-through was the <i>Butcher of the Bay</i> duet by J. Bree. This is a prequel duet set before the events of <i>Hannaford Prep</i> and center two characters we love dearly. The duet is their origin story and how their romance came to be. This duet is very dark and graphic in ways I won't go into here. However, it's also about romance and healing and dealing with trauma. I loved getting to know the history behind these two characters as they've been such a staple on page in the other series. You can find my review <a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-butcher-of-bay-duet-by-j.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624800765i/58081613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624800765i/58081613.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I finally finished the <i>Bonds that Tie</i> series by J. Bree this year. I then also reread it in October, putting it as the second series I read twice this year. I enjoyed it a lot on the first read through but I did think the last few books weren't as good as the first few. However, on my reread, I loved every moment and felt I came out of it loving it more than the first time. It's just an addicting series and this year was truly the year of J. Bree. You can find my original review <a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-bonds-that-tie-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554575415i/44799982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554575415i/44799982.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I reread the <i>Mindf*ck</i> series by S.T. Abby. This is a super dark serial killer romance series and it's so addicting. It's popular on booktok and I discovered it in 2022. I read it in one sitting that year and fell in love with Lana. <i>Mindf*ck</i> is one of those series where you actually root for the villain to succeed. It's not for the faint of heart though and if you're anticipating reading it I would recommend looking at all the trigger warnings in advance. You can find my original review <a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2022/07/series-review-mindfck-by-st-abby.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626484342i/58570701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626484342i/58570701.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the back half of the year I read <i>WITSEC</i> by Ashley N. Rostek. This is a why choose romance series about a girl in witness protection who moves somewhere new and falls for her new neighbors. Did I read this series in 24 hours? Yes. But were they good? Mhm I'm not sure. They were addicting but I think they were only good on the surface level. When you actually dive into an analysis of the series it doesn't stand up. I honestly have also forgotten most of it by now but you can find my review <a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/11/witsec-series-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624051393i/58369944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624051393i/58369944.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I read the <i>Pacific Prep</i> series by R.A. Smyth. This is a why choose bully romance/organized crime series in the same sort of genre as <i>Hannaford Prep</i>. I was looking for something to fill that void from HP and I ended up finding this one. It was alright? Like with <i>WITSEC</i>, on the surface level it was good but wouldn't hold up under a deeper analysis. I was a bit disappointed by the end for sure. You can find my review <a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/12/series-review-pacific-prep-by-ra-smyth.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1419066050i/16034235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1419066050i/16034235.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last series I read this year was a reread of the entire <i>Throne of Glass</i> series by Sarah J. Maas. This is one of my favorite series and one that is truly a staple in my reading journey. It had been five years since I read the series for the release of <i>Kingdom of Ash</i> and I realized how much I was missing it. That combined with the upcoming SJM release made me want to reread it ASAP. So I just sat down and did it. It was truly such a fun experience reading these again and I'm already looking forward to revisiting them in the future. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-6576434838119855882024-01-19T06:30:00.001-06:002024-01-19T06:30:00.123-06:00Book Review: "Iron Flame" by Rebecca Yarros<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687463048i/90202302.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="536" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687463048i/90202302.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Iron Flame</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rebecca Yarros</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: "Empyrean" #2</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Genre: Fantasy Romance</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Page Length: 623 pages</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Publication Date: November 7, 2023</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90202302-iron-flame" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/book-review-fourth-wing-by-rebecca.html" target="_blank">Book 1 Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">*No spoilers for <i>Iron Flame</i> but potential spoilers for <i>Fourth Wing</i>*</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like many, <i>Fourth Wing</i> completely took me by surprise and pulled me into its net. I devoured it, loved it, couldn't stop thinking about it. I eagerly anticipated this sequel that was coming just six months later. <i>Iron Flame</i> arrived in the mail on the same day I finished work for the week. It was a sign. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I dedicated the weekend to first rereading <i>Fourth Wing</i> and then tearing through the beast that is <i>Iron Flame</i>. Despite the initially medium-length page count, this sequel clocks in with a word-count longer than books like <i>House of Earth and Blood</i>, an 800-page behemoth. It's no wonder that it took me two days of straight reading to finish it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While there has been criticism for <i>Fourth Wing</i>, overwhelmingly people love it. However, <i>Iron Flame</i> seems to have my fellow book lovers split. People who loved <i>FW</i> hated <i>IF</i>'s pacing and plot. I can understand and see everyone's criticisms for <i>Iron Flame</i>. Thankfully, though, I am in the camp of those who loved <i>Iron Flame</i> and my criticisms are far shorter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once again, this series is by no means revolutionary or the incredibly written. They're not inherently complex or overwhelmingly beautiful. But what they are is fun and addicting. <i>Fourth Wing</i> pulls you in, has you flipping the pages until the sun has set and your eyesight as gone blurry because you just can't stop. The first book is just fun (until the end of course). It makes you fall for these characters and gets you emotionally invested.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Personally, <i>Iron Flame</i> felt much darker than <i>Fourth Wing</i>. Things are still fun at times but it's different. Tensions are higher, there's more to lose, and even more people are being killed off left and right. Rebecca is ruthless with her body count--no character is safe, which is particularly terrifying when there are so many lovable ones. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Iron Flame</i> is split into two parts. While they comprise the book that is <i>Iron Flame</i>, each part felt like it's own book. The pacing, conflicts, and plot focus are different (though still connected). I think this is an issue for a lot of readers as they felt the pacing was all over the place and the plot was confusing. To me, it makes the most sense to think of it with that separation between two parts rather than as a single book. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were a lot of tears spilled in this book. I cry easily at books and movies and this one got me right in the feels. There were also a lot of laughs, a lot of gasps, a lot of exclamations at various reveals or moments. While not entirely original, this series manages to evoke emotional responses which is why I've grown to love it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ending completely threw me. I had various possibilities going through my mind of what kind of cliffhanger or situation we could end up in. What we got, though, was something I'd never even considered. I was absolutely shocked and I am nervous to see how we're going to sort through this situation moving forward (as we still have three more books to go). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will say, one of my few issues with this book was the miscommunication and the characters having the same argument over and over. Of course it provides tension to a relationship and something to keep the plot behind the relationship going. But I found it frustrating at times, like many others I've seen discussing it. I don't mind arguments, I don't mind a little miscommunication and tension, but it went above and beyond a lot of the time. However, I also recognize that even though these characters love each other, they are still in the very early stages of their relationship and haven't actually had that much time to truly get to know and experience each other without the stresses of the outside world. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In an effort to avoid spoilers, it's hard to talk about certain reasons I loved this book. What it mainly boils down to, though, is that I connected hard to these characters in the first book and getting to experience new adventures with them was simply exciting. I am eagerly looking forward to the third book coming next year and I can only hope that Rebecca is somewhat nice to the characters moving forward (though I doubt it). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-9486700784813938722024-01-08T06:00:00.001-06:002024-01-08T06:00:00.133-06:00Favorite Books of 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1gv-tpfuLncMRxWOIYikvJf3yPlrZFnQSxI5CqLqRnwAStSh1IdKUfD1Ain3IcYyALaz_gLnbKXadvcgi8ziLR8QZGjgg9xIC6HzB1ScZ-QIKA62pYnOBDST3sWtbJ4HjWugzWTOGYAzXBNTh_J2UtC8YXkr4VFnea0fsEorLf2una1XcjI9H853DTg/s2240/favorite%20books.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1gv-tpfuLncMRxWOIYikvJf3yPlrZFnQSxI5CqLqRnwAStSh1IdKUfD1Ain3IcYyALaz_gLnbKXadvcgi8ziLR8QZGjgg9xIC6HzB1ScZ-QIKA62pYnOBDST3sWtbJ4HjWugzWTOGYAzXBNTh_J2UtC8YXkr4VFnea0fsEorLf2una1XcjI9H853DTg/w640-h360/favorite%20books.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of my favorite blog posts to write every year is when I get to talk about my favorite books of the year. 2023 was an interesting reading year for me in that I read a lot of series and inter-connected works. I read 101 books, read 10 series, and found a lot of new favorites which I've narrowed down to my top 10 here. However, I am being a bit cheeky and including books in the same series/inter-connected saga as one entry (otherwise this entire list would just be J. Bree books). But enough of my waffling, let's go ahead and dive in!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683629243i/150346434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="219" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683629243i/150346434.jpg" width="127" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699478747i/201859836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699478747i/201859836.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Coming in at number 10, we have <i>Ensnared</i> by Rebecca Quinn. This is a spicy rh post-apocalyptic series that I discovered in December and devoured. Now, only the first two books have been released thus far but the third is coming hopefully in the first half of the year. They are such easy books to read and the spice is so good as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658813710i/61419120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="532" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658813710i/61419120.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Number 9 goes to <i>Last Violent Call</i> by Chloe Gong. This is a novella duology set in the Secret Shanghai world and it was <i>everything</i> good. I loved the characters these novellas were about, I loved the stories within them, I loved the domestic fluff. It was so good. Now, I've not get read the final Secret Shanghai book because I'm scared of the ending but this book got me so excited to see how it all wraps up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1703064662i/62796217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="520" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1703064662i/62796217.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At number 8, I have put <i>Divine Rivals</i> by Rebecca Ross. The hype around this book was unreal and totally justified, in my opinion. I blew through it and was absolutely enthralled. Rebecca's writing is so beautiful, so moving. The characters were lovely and I am beyond nervous to see how the sequel plays out when I finally get around to it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587842273i/44779280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="523" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587842273i/44779280.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1644428191i/51574372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="524" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1644428191i/51574372.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913246i/53344030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="520" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913246i/53344030.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Number 7 goes to <i>Heartstopper, Volumes 3, 4, </i>& <i>5</i>. by Alice Oseman. I already enjoyed these graphic novels but hadn't read the newest ones yet. But season 2 of the show dropped this year and I devoured it. I knew it was time to read the next volumes (and get hyped for the 5th releasing in December). I loved them. <i>Heartstopper</i> is everything good and pure and wonderful. I loved just getting more of these characters' stories and I just want to take each and every one, wrap them in a blanket, and give them a cookie. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieeM9TArNJo0sglqbEWBNz7WYVAxlUfPk9qR53q4L7qJswtE3A3HRaoMzDyvJp2DPWwg9JMTDSMk1BDmfP_2AeOcn6TRoYvEW_ho-dkDYK4AlVd3Sp_QwNzuVGPQd7Uninwr5T8XkZbcQzknfnf94eIxPHa00q1gnCXD2So8jGDcqaEbHfHS08_OMY/s320/bonds%20that%20tie%20series.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieeM9TArNJo0sglqbEWBNz7WYVAxlUfPk9qR53q4L7qJswtE3A3HRaoMzDyvJp2DPWwg9JMTDSMk1BDmfP_2AeOcn6TRoYvEW_ho-dkDYK4AlVd3Sp_QwNzuVGPQd7Uninwr5T8XkZbcQzknfnf94eIxPHa00q1gnCXD2So8jGDcqaEbHfHS08_OMY/s320/bonds%20that%20tie%20series.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For number 6, I have <i>The Bonds That Tie</i> series by J. Bree. My journey with this one is a funny one. I read the first three books at the end of 2022, the next two at the beginning of 2023, and the final one many months later. It was enjoyable and fun but not quite as much as her other series. Then, in the fall, I got the urge to reread the series. Oh my lords! The first time was addicting but this time around was all-consuming. I love these characters, this world, this story. It's such a fun time and is just one of many books that has cemented J. Bree as a new favorite. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679678079i/123735338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679678079i/123735338.jpg" width="128" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689044266i/186820347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="510" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689044266i/186820347.jpg" width="127" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1700840317i/195769113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="513" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1700840317i/195769113.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Number 5 goes to the <i>Ironside Academy</i> series by Jane Washington. Jane writes bangers, plain and simple. I've loved everything I've ever written by her and this newest series is no exception. It's fun, it's addicting, it's like watching reality TV and being unable to turn away. Which makes sense as it's about an academy for gifted that's also a reality show. It's addicting and the three books we got in 2023 were so good. I'm eagerly anticipating the next ones in the new year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672867196i/63119009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="512" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672867196i/63119009.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For number 4, I have <i>Crown of Oaths and Curses</i> by J. Bree. This is the first in J. Bree's newest series that started releasing in 2023 and I am obsessed with it. Like with all of her books, I think about this one constantly. It's also the first time I've started a series of hers without all the books being out which is a new level of excruciating. This is a super slow burn fantasy romance and I was here for every second of it. I loved the angst, I loved that they're true enemies, I loved it all. Of course, my love is only made stronger by the prequel novellas (which are essential reading in my opinion). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675962985i/108284829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675962985i/108284829.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Number 3 goes to <i>City of Souls and Sinners</i> by Kayla Edwards. This is the second book in the <i>House of Devils</i> series, with the first book having been my number 1 book of 2022. The sequel was my most anticipated release of this year and I was not disappointed. This book is chunky and yet I flew through it so quickly. These characters are everything to me and this book was so full of angst and pain. It tugged on my heartstrings so much and I was basically a ball of anxiety. But I loved that. The cliffhanger was insane, though, so I'm eagerly anticipating the sequel coming in just a couple months. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675036537i/90585526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675036537i/90585526.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687463048i/90202302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="536" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687463048i/90202302.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I deliberated a lot on how to place these last two, but I think I've decided that this is the correct order. My number 2 slot goes to <i>Fourth Wing</i> and <i>Iron Flame</i> by Rebecca Yarros. Like many, <i>FW</i> grabbed me and didn't let me go from the moment I read the first page. I loved it so much. When <i>IF</i> came around, I also loved it. It was a different vibe from the first book, but I loved it nonetheless. I think about these books a lot and I'm nervous and excited to see where they go from here. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574733756i/48924855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574733756i/48924855.jpg" width="134" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610644073i/56667458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610644073i/56667458.jpg" width="125" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590241093i/51197209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590241093i/51197209.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My top spot of number 1 is a bit cheeky because it goes to the <i>Mounts Bay</i> books by J. Bree. This includes the <i>Queen Crow</i> trilogy, <i>Butcher of the Bay</i> duet, and my most favorite, the<i> Hannaford Prep</i> series. All of these series are inter-connected in this world following the same set of characters, which is why I wanted to rate them in one slot. I'm absolutely obsessed with these books and think about them on a weekly, if not daily basis. I've already read the <i>Hannaford Prep</i> series twice and everyday I debate rereading them all over again. This year truly belonged to J. Bree and I loved every second of it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-54109132091894209422024-01-05T06:00:00.001-06:002024-01-05T06:00:00.137-06:00December 2023 Book Haul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsBw4B_Pi-jLRoY8mWEBHRbPbcwNAA-OHIJ4_M86fQmoLMcnWL5i6CBt5p0IakLpHUk9afb-cE1f9b9ecxmDjtqRdyv6i8wkVi8rRZh2fjMzFSX-iuXTs9T_jh-79Ih4A4MP8-yC6cKaO3gzYWLaAUY5RnpFoA9HsDeanwAoyrYz7dAUkrmSdWfQVW4c/s2240/5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsBw4B_Pi-jLRoY8mWEBHRbPbcwNAA-OHIJ4_M86fQmoLMcnWL5i6CBt5p0IakLpHUk9afb-cE1f9b9ecxmDjtqRdyv6i8wkVi8rRZh2fjMzFSX-iuXTs9T_jh-79Ih4A4MP8-yC6cKaO3gzYWLaAUY5RnpFoA9HsDeanwAoyrYz7dAUkrmSdWfQVW4c/w640-h360/5.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last month, last book haul of 2023! December was a rather small month for book buying and I'm quite proud of that. One of my goals that I'm continuing from 2023 into 2024 is to keep buying less and less books as I go. I'm being very intentional with my purchasing nowadays and that means that, while this haul is small, I'm really excited about what I have. I only got four books this month and one was a gift. Let's go ahead and dive in! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913246i/53344030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="520" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913246i/53344030.jpg" width="130" /></a></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Up first is <i>Heartstopper, Volume 5</i> by Alice Oseman. I absolutely love <i>Heartstopper</i> and this was such a beautiful volume in the series (yes I've already read it). These characters are so precious and this was such a fun installment after the quite serious topics of the last volume. I'm so eager to see volumes four and five come to life on the tv show (and I think Alice said both would be in the next season). This is a series that I know is going to be so foundational for a lot of kids and teenagers as they grow up and discover themselves and I'm just so glad that it exists. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481612302i/33368203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481612302i/33368203.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I splurged a bit and got the <i>Stardew Valley Guidebook</i> during a Black Friday sale. I recently started to finally play Stardew Valley and I knew I wanted this guidebook when that happened. I held off on purchasing it until I knew I was going to like the game and, well, I love the game. I use this guidebook nonstop while I play (even after putting over 100 hours into the game I still look at the guidebook daily). It's so beautiful and so informational and such a good resource. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493587329i/35019164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="399" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493587329i/35019164.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I then got <i>Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking</i> by Samin Nosrat for Christmas. This cookbook has been on my radar for a while now but I officially put it on my wishlist at the beginning of 2023. I intended on buying it for myself many times during the year but never ended up clicking "Buy." When it showed up for Christmas I got so excited. I love cooking but I'm also very new to it. I can follow a recipe well but when it comes to making my own meals without guidance I'm still a newbie. I've heard this is a quintessential resource for learning the basics and I'm eager to dive into it in 2024. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666574915i/61885102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666574915i/61885102.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, I picked up <i>Murdle: Volume 1</i> by G.T. Karber. This is a murder mystery logic puzzle book and I'm obsessed with it! Murdle is a daily game you can play online for free but I knew I wanted this book after I blew through the daily puzzles and was desperate for more. There's 100 puzzles in this first book and I've already gotten through 53 of them (only three days later at the time of writing). They're just so fun and I love a good logic puzzle. I can see why it's been so popular lately and I anticipate that I'll soon be getting the other volumes and blasting through those too. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-10328200462869614792024-01-01T06:00:00.002-06:002024-02-05T10:54:15.919-06:00December 2023 Wrap-Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5I32SRPL9YrC7hD5ngI98Qmz9wdVByD86-6l_dclwKjQqe5NQwUnrDtrM6fMgICL4hv9L72bDH3b4OsREofuZpsFWB1yMeQuJT-FeVg2ewBmHtvYCu1viqWEqbQ9s3KvaZtdwonR661EAf0xuqVinQfTI2HKqgJvLkyP8e4W6p4b4Db15l5lOjMII6U/s2240/6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5I32SRPL9YrC7hD5ngI98Qmz9wdVByD86-6l_dclwKjQqe5NQwUnrDtrM6fMgICL4hv9L72bDH3b4OsREofuZpsFWB1yMeQuJT-FeVg2ewBmHtvYCu1viqWEqbQ9s3KvaZtdwonR661EAf0xuqVinQfTI2HKqgJvLkyP8e4W6p4b4Db15l5lOjMII6U/w640-h360/6.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And with that, the final reading month of 2023 has come to an end. I'm not going to sit and think too hard about 2023 but I will say that I had a pretty good reading year and that continued right into this last month of the year. I'm already excited about all the books I want to get to in 2024 and I'm hoping it will be just as good of a reading year, and a better overall year outside of reading. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In December, I read nine books. I thought I was going to read more but some of these books were quite long (over 700 pages) and I also started playing Stardew Valley. I put around 115 hours onto Stardew Valley this month which is insane and the main reason why I didn't read more. However, I'm pretty happy with my reading month and I have been really enjoying SV so I can't complain. Let's go ahead and dive in!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRheV0vygj7mK53Ed4diUVwbRAOutVb44eiPIMyvwwW9dll5ix-jE3vAdU-buAFPbfLh-a7W1Uh3ZxuAUnaXDQdcPwGoTlZoAIk4QzFJBaq7xwTylN3yGoc9ILjJVPZREHtUnbd3nbozAX93eE_Pl1EX_zpExisN7AxzW6bRi4OA9hYldWHKW0Z-rGGNw/s2240/Books%20Read.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRheV0vygj7mK53Ed4diUVwbRAOutVb44eiPIMyvwwW9dll5ix-jE3vAdU-buAFPbfLh-a7W1Uh3ZxuAUnaXDQdcPwGoTlZoAIk4QzFJBaq7xwTylN3yGoc9ILjJVPZREHtUnbd3nbozAX93eE_Pl1EX_zpExisN7AxzW6bRi4OA9hYldWHKW0Z-rGGNw/w400-h98/Books%20Read.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Sauter</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Jane Washington</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-ironside-academy-books-1.html" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1700840317i/195769113.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="513" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1700840317i/195769113.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Ensnared</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rebecca Quinn</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683629243i/150346434.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="219" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683629243i/150346434.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Freefall</i> (from the <i>Silk</i> Anthology)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rebecca Quinn</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688848306l/186244580._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688848306l/186244580._SY475_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Kingdom of Ash</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2018/11/lets-talk-kingdom-of-ash-by-sarah-j-maas.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531922609l/33590260.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531922609l/33590260.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Across Dark Seas</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Clare Sager</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1669699962i/63885482.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1669699962i/63885482.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Beneath Black Sails</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Clare Sager</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668806602l/63349626._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668806602l/63349626._SY475_.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Entangled</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rebecca Quinn</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699478747i/201859836.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699478747i/201859836.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Heartstopper, Volume 5</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Alice Oseman</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913246i/53344030.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="520" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913246i/53344030.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i> A Court This Cruel and Lovely</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Stacia Stark</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677462724i/122779502.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="547" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677462724i/122779502.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvGMPwelRL3TlfUqpu82Ve7G5pqJ0EVSuqB0ESNSorqHJhYNvaiJ3CThEVEp-oIDDSVVipeU650duP-d8po4VMWIDG7z0d8I0FB1AF-vHYQgoSDSzFnH7Nlo0O3haV4J8UcohbsKQPlOJs9F-co6byqb57IcMYb6ryU3CkxGWPi9sXK-ZWDLlJStYRxs/s2240/Blog%20Posts.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvGMPwelRL3TlfUqpu82Ve7G5pqJ0EVSuqB0ESNSorqHJhYNvaiJ3CThEVEp-oIDDSVVipeU650duP-d8po4VMWIDG7z0d8I0FB1AF-vHYQgoSDSzFnH7Nlo0O3haV4J8UcohbsKQPlOJs9F-co6byqb57IcMYb6ryU3CkxGWPi9sXK-ZWDLlJStYRxs/w400-h98/Blog%20Posts.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/12/november-2023-wrap-up.html" target="_blank">November 2023 Wrap-Up</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/12/november-2023-book-haul.html" target="_blank">November 2023 Book Haul</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/12/series-review-pacific-prep-by-ra-smyth.html" target="_blank">Series Review: "Pacific Prep" by R.A. Smyth</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/12/most-anticipated-2024-book-releases.html" target="_blank">Most Anticipated 2024 Releases</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ZDfGyuAzURGOxCj1mi0ofiuyzdHAXkCclHGO2CK9ix-MDFTUqThoeqLfhMQ68AB41J2TCYAQPAp8WuV2dPK3PTVmf6e7B7Eqm-2WghSApVODJiDnTEC2Ko2aSNIFnn01bIFzRcb4dl9GfG6xZOSQ2NhLhnn4XF_DT3cTOvttFwjw2lp55gv7uiH-Nvs/s2240/In-Post%20Text%20(one%20line).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="2240" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ZDfGyuAzURGOxCj1mi0ofiuyzdHAXkCclHGO2CK9ix-MDFTUqThoeqLfhMQ68AB41J2TCYAQPAp8WuV2dPK3PTVmf6e7B7Eqm-2WghSApVODJiDnTEC2Ko2aSNIFnn01bIFzRcb4dl9GfG6xZOSQ2NhLhnn4XF_DT3cTOvttFwjw2lp55gv7uiH-Nvs/w400-h113/In-Post%20Text%20(one%20line).png" width="400" /></a></div><div>January is going to be a busy month and it's leading up to one of my most anticipated releases of the last few years (<i>House of Flame and Shadow)</i>, so I'm hoping to do an in-depth reread before it comes out. I already reread <i>Throne of Glass</i> in the last couple months of 2023 so this month is mainly for ACOTAR and <i>Crescent City</i>. Any other books are mainly a guideline, though I think I'll be able to get through these pretty easily...</div><div><br /></div><div>1. [New Release Redacted under St. Martin's Press marketing boycott]</div><div>2. <i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i> by Sarah J. Maas (reread)</div><div>3. <i>A Court of Mist and Fury</i> by Sarah J. Maas (reread)</div><div>4. <i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i> by Sarah J. Maas (reread)</div><div>5. <i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i> by Sarah J. Maas (reread)</div><div>6. <i>A Court of Silver Flames</i> by Sarah J. Maas (reread)</div><div>7. <i>House of Earth and Blood</i> by Sarah J. Maas (reread)</div><div>8. <i>House of Sky and Breath</i> by Sarah J. Maas (reread)</div><div>9. <i>A Kingdom this Cursed and Empty</i> by Stacia Stark (current read) </div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /><div><br /></div></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-91677139138939547332023-12-30T06:00:00.001-06:002023-12-30T06:00:00.140-06:00Bookish Resolutions for 2024<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ai64lP9DucPHCaafnM1Gmw66GfVoxywA-VfQJAgu8B4k0gilLbYswJnF4QusT1PSBpyVJbqZOQAlkjgjQMrMeeRuRIlZ4sfhlNKllaz3OnfOv4abSqkNyUOrZ4y5uqMZBi-tn3GMlp_5LR-1GA9TAHXB-5RCFPyAlWI8IPwP6J1xFNew99vCT3HA33I/s2240/anticipated%20releases.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ai64lP9DucPHCaafnM1Gmw66GfVoxywA-VfQJAgu8B4k0gilLbYswJnF4QusT1PSBpyVJbqZOQAlkjgjQMrMeeRuRIlZ4sfhlNKllaz3OnfOv4abSqkNyUOrZ4y5uqMZBi-tn3GMlp_5LR-1GA9TAHXB-5RCFPyAlWI8IPwP6J1xFNew99vCT3HA33I/w640-h360/anticipated%20releases.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Every year, I like to reflect on my reading year and look ahead to what I want to accomplish in the new year. Like usual, my list of resolutions is more like general guidelines for the most part. Most of these are goals I set for 2023 as well, so many of them are continuations of what I'm already working on. Let's go ahead and dive in! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the last few years, I have not sent a numerical reading goal. I'm continuing that this year and just saying <b>I want to read regularly and prioritize reading</b>. I read 100 books in 2023 which is the most in years and I would love to do that again in 2024. But one of the biggest reading stressors I've had in the past is trying to hit that quota. In 2023, I gave in fully to my mood reading and tried to prioritize reading over other things like watching Netflix or playing games. It worked out well so I'm going to continue with that philosophy again. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In terms of what I want to read, <b>I want to get through more of my backlist TBR</b> from previous years. There are books and series on my shelves that I've owned for years and I want to start making a dent in them. In that same vein, I want to complete Jane Washington's backlist of books I've not read yet, reread <i>Percy Jackson</i>, and start my reread of the <i>Shadowhunter</i> books. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like many, my physical space is limited, especially living in a big city. I like to declutter my books every so often to make room for new ones I'd rather have. This year, <b>I want to declutter my bookshelves</b> (both physical and digital) as well as just my general living space. I don't want to be overwhelmed by stuff and I think it's good to continually go through my belongings. This also extends to my Kindle books as there are a lot that I think I could just get rid of so that they don't clutter my app anymore. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In that same line of thinking, <b>I want to spend less money on books</b>. I've been slowly spending less and less every year on books and I'm wanting to continue that in 2024. I'm proud of the progress I've made but I also know it's an uphill battle. One of the things that has worked well for me is putting £1 aside for every book I read and letting myself have a guilt-free book shop at the end of the year with however much I've saved from that. Instead of impulse-buying books throughout the year, I now put them on a wishlist for this end of the year haul. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, this is not a reading goal but a bookish goal. I love writing and I feel that I've finally rediscovered the spark after a few years of writing feeling like pulling teeth. I have an idea that I'm incredibly in love with and excited about. I know if I put my mind to it and ignored everything else, I could finish it in just a couple months. But I want to enjoy the process and integrate it into my daily life rather than force through as fast as I can. So for this year, <b>I want to finish the first draft</b>. Ideally, I'd want to do more but I'm not going to set a specific goal for anything else just yet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-11152662665833595352023-12-28T06:00:00.001-06:002023-12-28T06:00:00.136-06:00Most Anticipated 2024 Book Releases<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTLm55Z6-Ua84dPLwmTQO8Tv2vdDjldNGcNkf-BwxWHnUZIWBtQpJ45QHzihMPc9pLk07RFsOiI7HS8kJuOU7dtYBpyMKZoj75IzT0pwQuSNExxTZyjVOFB8W96xeYTnr_TLbyqUN_NTYW7l7dRQvq_Qi8w2QwyfVmZVBT_bJyWhJGXxPBH-iZNvBytM/s2240/anticipated%20releases.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTLm55Z6-Ua84dPLwmTQO8Tv2vdDjldNGcNkf-BwxWHnUZIWBtQpJ45QHzihMPc9pLk07RFsOiI7HS8kJuOU7dtYBpyMKZoj75IzT0pwQuSNExxTZyjVOFB8W96xeYTnr_TLbyqUN_NTYW7l7dRQvq_Qi8w2QwyfVmZVBT_bJyWhJGXxPBH-iZNvBytM/w640-h360/anticipated%20releases.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of my favorite parts of the year is when I get to wrap up the past reading year and look ahead at what I'm excited about in the new one. Today, I'm discussing my most anticipated releases for the new year! Now, the books I'm talking about here are my most anticipated but there are plenty more than I'm looking forward to or interested in. Additionally, I often find that releases in the back half of the year don't fall on my radar until a few months in so this is a bit front loaded. So while I'm interested in plenty more and see myself discovering plenty of new books in 2024, these are the ones that I'm currently most excited for in rough publication order. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Up first is a book that I'm actually not going to be able to discuss right now until the St. Martin's Press boycott ends. But it comes out soon here in the UK with a different publisher but as the US publisher is St. Martin's Press, I'll be refraining from doing any review for now. But I am very excited and plan on reading it soon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689809645i/52857700.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="387" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689809645i/52857700.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I have <i>House of Flame and Shadow</i> by Sarah J. Maas. I love all her books and I've been eagerly anticipating this third book for almost two years now (like most people probably). It's crazy to me that I started reading her books in 2015 and am still going. I'm hoping to do a full reread in January leading up to it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1700118227i/199420593.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="296" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1700118227i/199420593.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Up next is <i>City of Lies and Legends</i> by Kayla Edwards. This is the third book in the <i>House of Devils</i> series and I'm so incredibly excited for it. The first book, <i>City of Gods and Monsters,</i> follows a woman and a supernatural bounty hunter who is contracted to kill her. When he meets her, though, he decides to become her bodyguard instead. It's so incredibly addicting and the second book just put me through so much angst. I'm so excited for the third book and I'm so happy it's coming in just a few months.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1690527654i/192716161.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="547" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1690527654i/192716161.jpg" width="137" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I'm excited for <i>A Vicious Game</i> by Melissa Blair. This is the third book in <i>The Halfling Saga</i>, a fantasy romance series that I first discovered in 2021. I absolutely loved the first book, <i>A Broken Blade</i>, and was excited for the sequel, <i>A Shadow Crown</i>, to come out earlier in 2023. My copy took a while to arrive, though, so I just decided to wait for the third book when it finally did get to me. Once this third book arrives, I'll be able to finally continue on after that cliffhanger and binge them all back to back. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1692114262i/58405272.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1692114262i/58405272.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We also have <i>The Night Compass</i> by Amanda Foody in the first few months. This is the fourth book in the middle grade <i>Wilderlore</i> series, which I absolutely adore. It's like <i>Pokemon</i> meets <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> and it's just so much fun. While I've only read the first book, it was so comforting and fun and I'm eagerly awaiting when I can just binge the four books back to back. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666660910i/52934483.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="526" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666660910i/52934483.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Up next we have <i>Heavenly Tyrant</i> by Xiran Jay Zhao. This is the sequel to <i>Iron Widow</i>, which I read and loved at the beginning of 2022. It's been two years of waiting and there's still about six months to go but I am very much looking forward to seeing where the story goes. It's such a unique world and I truly have no idea what could come in the future.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1682770473i/136947670.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1682770473i/136947670.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then we have <i>The Throne of Blood and Honor</i> by J. Bree, the second book in <i>The Mortal Fates</i> series. This is a high fantasy series from the author of <i>The Bonds That Tie</i> series and I'm absolutely obsessed with it. 2023 was the year of reading all of J. Bree's books for me and I am in love with all of them. I blew through the first book in this series and I'm sooooo beyond excited for the sequel. The romance is super slow burn and I'm hoping we get some progression in the sequel, though I do love the angst of the slow burn. We don't have an exact release but I'm hoping it will be in the first few months of year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1701547705i/202703549.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="506" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1701547705i/202703549.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Up next is <i>Relever</i> by Jane Washington, the fourth book in the <i>Ironside Academy</i> series. I love Jane and I love this series so of course this one had to make it onto my list. There's also the chance that we'll be getting the fifth book in 2024 and I truly hope that is the case. This is a RH omegaverse-style romance series set at a university that's also a reality tv-show. It's an insane idea but it's so well done and I've been fully pulled in. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, we have the next untitled <i>Fourth Wing</i> sequel by Rebecca Yarros. I loved <i>Fourth Wing</i> and I was someone who luckily loved <i>Iron Flame</i>. Of course, the ending was crazy for <i>Iron Flame</i> and I definitely need to know where things will go. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-5594329240859410902023-12-08T06:00:00.001-06:002023-12-08T06:00:00.139-06:00Series Review: "Pacific Prep" by R.A. Smyth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media/kdp/9bfbb9c3-ef97-4025-b33e-09c0391dfb21.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="800" height="198" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media/kdp/9bfbb9c3-ef97-4025-b33e-09c0391dfb21.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: <i>Pacific Prep</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: R.A. Smyth</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Genre: RH/Why Choose? Romance / Organized Crime</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reading Order & Individual Ratings:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><li><i>Broken Trust</i> - 4 // 5 stars</li><li><i>Brutal Lies</i> - 4.25 // 5 stars</li><li><i>Beyond Vengeance</i> - 4.25 // 5 stars</li><li><i>Break Free</i> - 4 // 5 stars</li></ol></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/319361-pacific-prep" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you've been around this blog for any amount of time then you'll know that I'm a huge fan of why choose romance series. I've been reading the genre since it was just a tiny lil corner of the book community and it's been wonderful to see it blossom into such a big genre. That being said, I've read a lot of them over the years which means I've become rather particular about the why choose books I read. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This series is addicting as hell. I went into it because people said you'd like it if you love <i>Hannaford Prep</i> series by J. Bree, which I absolutely am obsessed with. I read the entire series in four days and couldn't put them down. But my overall thoughts for this series are the following: enjoyable and addicting but nothing special or remarkable. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This series starts out as your classic bully romance. We're set at a boarding school with the characters in their final year. The new girl is one of the scholarship students whereas most of the school is for rich kids. However, we quickly get the feeling that there's something a bit darker going on with all the characters than just school politics. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was having a lot of fun in the beginning. The tension between the characters was so good and the pacing was great. The secrecy regarding their histories and motivations was thrilling and I kept reading because I just wanted to know more about the characters and how it was going to impact the plot. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the romances progressed, though, the characters started falling into a classic trap I've noticed in why choose romances where the love interests all start to meld together. What I mean by that is they stop feeling like their own characters with their own motivations and start feeling very "same-y." In some why choose series, the love interests never feel differentiated at all. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this series, the love interests initially started as very unique characters. I loved getting to know more about them. However, as the series went on and once they started dating the main character, it just felt more like they were only there for the smut or to fill a body in a scene. It was rather disappointing as it could have been amazing. Additionally, I loved the side characters more than the love interests which indicates to me that they weren't very memorable by the end. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My other main gripe with the series is that it felt like it wrapped up way too easily. We're told for three books how dangerous the antagonists are, how difficult getting out of this situation would be, etc. However, the solutions for all of these obstacles felt too simple. To me, the solutions just negated the tension of the entire series. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall though, I enjoyed the story and it was rather addicting. I am also incredibly interested in one of the spin-off series that follows my favorite side characters from this series and have high hopes for that one. Unfortunately, the small issues I had made it so that this series wasn't worth five stars to me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-16117723004984667512023-12-04T06:00:00.001-06:002023-12-04T06:00:00.139-06:00November 2023 Book Haul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLM05Z6c6OwTsUVLsu11b0nDbqDRwsbxyavhjc4DvFVH_nxJPubernxv6MX2YAQx6qzlWU5xQUmLR3qpyXAErWZwpcq33-DQ3CAfh2H0vRE7jlh1s_JesDUXFvXWJ2t1yz0edyd_t5D3fFAg_iQD82Zzqbaixj9d3NaABP1aidGJn2H8F2d60QpBH2qfA/s2240/haul.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLM05Z6c6OwTsUVLsu11b0nDbqDRwsbxyavhjc4DvFVH_nxJPubernxv6MX2YAQx6qzlWU5xQUmLR3qpyXAErWZwpcq33-DQ3CAfh2H0vRE7jlh1s_JesDUXFvXWJ2t1yz0edyd_t5D3fFAg_iQD82Zzqbaixj9d3NaABP1aidGJn2H8F2d60QpBH2qfA/w640-h360/haul.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another month of 2023 gone, another book haul to dive into! This was a rather small book haul month but I'm excited about everything I got. I got four books this month with three of them being preorders. Let's go ahead and dive right on in! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699103154i/199148367.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699103154i/199148367.jpg" width="133" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first book I got this month was the Illumicrate edition of <i>The Hunting Moon</i> by Susan Dennard. I love everything I've ever read by Susan and even though I haven't read <i>The Luminaries</i> yet, I am so intrigued by the idea of these books. I was a part of the Twitter choose-your-own-adventure that it started as and it was so much fun. Getting to see the books come alive has been quite exciting. This edition is also stunning and perfectly matches my Illumicrate edition of <i>The Luminaries</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.waterstones.com/images/00281639-400x400.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://cdn.waterstones.com/images/00281639-400x400.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I got my preorder of <i>Iron Flame</i> by Rebecca Yarros. This is the Waterstones edition and I'm thoroughly obsessed with it. These edges are some of the most stunning I've seen on a Waterstones edition and I'm so happy I was able to get it before it sold out in less than a few hours. I've also already read it and it was so good (I cried a lot). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://community.fairyloot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/FoulHeartHuntsman_Fairyloot_230510-scaled.jpg?w=2048" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://community.fairyloot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/FoulHeartHuntsman_Fairyloot_230510-scaled.jpg?w=2048" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Up next, I got <i>Foul Heart Huntsman</i> by Chloe Gong. This is the Fairyloot edition with special artwork, stenciled edges, and came signed. It matches the Fairyloot editions of <i>Foul Lady Fortune</i> and <i>Last Violent Call</i> and looks so good on my bookshelf. This was one of my most anticipated reads of this year and I'm so excited to dive in (hopefully soon). This edition is also just stunning and I'm thrilled to have it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687463048i/90202302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="536" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687463048i/90202302.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, I got the Australian paperback edition of <i>Iron Flame</i> by Rebecca Yarros. Like with <i>Fourth Wing</i>, I wasn't able to find this paperback until a week or so after the initial release but once I saw it available I immediately snatched it up. I've evolved over the last few years into a die-hard paperback girlie. More specifically, a floppy paperback girlie (with bonus points if it's a tall or oversized height). Australian paperbacks are pretty much perfect for that. Additionally, the Australian cover is the same as the American cover but not the UK one. Now that I have this paperback, I now have a version of that cover. The paperbacks are specifically for me to annotate and scribble all in without worrying about keeping a special edition perfect. </div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">xoxo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lauren</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-65770613959268005792023-12-02T06:00:00.003-06:002024-02-05T10:54:42.619-06:00November 2023 Wrap-Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKg31kcGkK0ujndzC7XeDlWPR5qXkCsVG_TuU47k7RmWpaJRyEuBO8dtKDUtORmRgqRM7DrbK_XkNSUnYglHm2nCfi2suKNsm6FOZITQPqcrdPLmsTvqSum6UGfS-i16tDg36sXo3Ehv-rJseo4HTc9n5s6W-go211JlpEbTBd_3bSQJPfII3w0AYchQ/s2240/November%20Headers.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKg31kcGkK0ujndzC7XeDlWPR5qXkCsVG_TuU47k7RmWpaJRyEuBO8dtKDUtORmRgqRM7DrbK_XkNSUnYglHm2nCfi2suKNsm6FOZITQPqcrdPLmsTvqSum6UGfS-i16tDg36sXo3Ehv-rJseo4HTc9n5s6W-go211JlpEbTBd_3bSQJPfII3w0AYchQ/w640-h360/November%20Headers.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">November was an interesting month. Firstly, I can't believe we're already heading into the last month of the year. Secondly, I had such a long month but the reading this month was stellar. Even if I didn't love every book, I still enjoyed everything I read. Here's to hoping that December is as good of a reading month as November was! </div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpTz2Fa7T3UXHLo7o6gdGkMj74rD6e_tnJQkgwgv-Ff3PjjUFXLhajs64mFXeAPVvRha33ZPB6kf3lG-hh4zmGBQ6e1mGmqrJq0hurLFaszoiDLPdym0vMkJEKzuN58pujY35LsxH-X5OkqUEu_3oOnEwzejg1mSLILXfeoSlOrNHNw4jEWmSimnojls/s2240/Books%20Read.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpTz2Fa7T3UXHLo7o6gdGkMj74rD6e_tnJQkgwgv-Ff3PjjUFXLhajs64mFXeAPVvRha33ZPB6kf3lG-hh4zmGBQ6e1mGmqrJq0hurLFaszoiDLPdym0vMkJEKzuN58pujY35LsxH-X5OkqUEu_3oOnEwzejg1mSLILXfeoSlOrNHNw4jEWmSimnojls/w400-h98/Books%20Read.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Guardian of the Drowned Empire</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Frankie Diane Mallis</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646345776i/60485629.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="524" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646345776i/60485629.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Fall of Ruin and Wrath</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout<br />Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/11/book-review-fall-of-ruin-and-wrath-by.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677160116i/65214365.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677160116i/65214365.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Broken Trust</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: R.A. Smyth</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624051393i/58369944.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624051393i/58369944.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Brutal Lies</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: R.A. Smyth</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630505841i/58448765.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630505841i/58448765.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Beyond Vengeance</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: R.A. Smyth</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632628174l/58765966.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632628174l/58765966.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Break Free</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: R.A. Smyth</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636741945i/59108667.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636741945i/59108667.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Fourth Wing</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rebecca Yarros</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/book-review-fourth-wing-by-rebecca.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675036537l/90585526._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675036537l/90585526._SY475_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Iron Flame</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rebecca Yarros</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/01/book-review-iron-flame-by-rebecca-yarros.html" target="_blank">Review</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687962019l/150081502._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687962019l/150081502._SY475_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>The Assassin's Blade</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2016/06/lets-talk-assassins-blade.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460846453i/18594430.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460846453i/18594430.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">10. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Throne of Glass</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2016/07/lets-talk-throne-of-glass.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416650983l/23599075.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416650983l/23599075.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">11. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Crown of Midnight</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391580481l/17167166.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391580481l/17167166.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">12. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Heir of Fire</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas<br />Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2016/04/lets-talk-heir-of-fire.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460846511l/20613470.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460846511l/20613470.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">13. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Queen of Shadows </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars </div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441230104i/18006496.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441230104i/18006496.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">14. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Empire of Storms</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Sarah J. Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2016/11/lets-talk-empire-of-storms.html" target="_blank">Review</a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463107108i/28260587.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="526" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463107108i/28260587.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">15. </div>Title: <i>Plier</i></div><div>Author: Jane Washington</div><div>Rating: 5 // 5 stars </div><div><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-ironside-academy-books-1.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div><div>-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679678079l/123735338._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="303" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679678079l/123735338._SY475_.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">16. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Title: <i>Tourner</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Author: Jane Washington</div><div style="text-align: left;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2024/02/series-review-ironside-academy-books-1.html" target="_blank">Series Review</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689044266l/186820347._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="303" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689044266l/186820347._SY475_.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgkIrOcB6Z-2BfIyIFS9c5ODkWFaZDfACCsRFwddG2TuqhtZM1thVgLqZJA_TDY32easORVhTVg7nJ60FQuhpFZZImsatAFq1lYeceQFltBqLxFJ0p6RsDbRhH1wO9sLyCmWMXBi8y7Q24u6RO4dyZr40HZr-253pes6u2XHDMVhdGt959mNHK-WKH0g/s2240/Blog%20Posts.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgkIrOcB6Z-2BfIyIFS9c5ODkWFaZDfACCsRFwddG2TuqhtZM1thVgLqZJA_TDY32easORVhTVg7nJ60FQuhpFZZImsatAFq1lYeceQFltBqLxFJ0p6RsDbRhH1wO9sLyCmWMXBi8y7Q24u6RO4dyZr40HZr-253pes6u2XHDMVhdGt959mNHK-WKH0g/w400-h98/Blog%20Posts.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/11/october-2023-wrap-up.html" target="_blank">October 2023 Wrap-Up</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/11/october-2023-book-haul.html" target="_blank">October 2023 Book Haul</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/11/book-review-assistant-to-villain-by.html" target="_blank">Book Review: "Assistant to the Villain" by Hannah Nicole Maehrer <br /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/11/witsec-series-review.html" target="_blank">Series Review: "WITSEC" by Ashley N. Rostek</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/11/end-of-year-book-tag-2023-edition.html" target="_blank">End of the Year Book Tag: 2023 Edition</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/11/book-review-fall-of-ruin-and-wrath-by.html" target="_blank">Book Review: "Fall of Ruin and Wrath" by Jennifer L. Armentrout</a></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">xoxo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lauren</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-88109937920691585362023-11-29T06:00:00.001-06:002023-11-29T09:55:05.476-06:00Book Review: "Fall of Ruin and Wrath" by Jennifer L. Armentrout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677160116i/65214365.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677160116i/65214365.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Fall of Ruin and Wrath</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: "Awakening" #1</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Page Length: 432 pages</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Publication Date: September 12, 2023</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65214365-fall-of-ruin-and-wrath" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been reading Jennifer L. Armentrout books for over eight years now and after all this time, I can count on the fact that I'll enjoy her books. Some I love more than others, some I enjoy and then forget about, and some I become absolutely obsessed with. This was everything I expected out of a JLA adult fantasy romance and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. However, it also wasn't anything particularly revolutionary for the genre so it also didn't blow me out of the water despite my enjoyment. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's romantic fantasy, fantasy romance, and then fantasy <i>romance</i>. This book is about as far as you can get in fantasy romance and still have a plot. The whole dynamic in the book is based off of pleasure, physical attraction, sex, etc. It's very normalized in the world but it is also the basis for the developing romance in the book. If you don't like smut in books or if you like more plot over romance or more of the soft romance over the smut, this book is not for you. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will say, this felt a lot more developed than her other high fantasy series, <i>From Blood and Ash</i>. I have to imagine that the better writing and development are down to the fact that this one is traditionally published so likely went through stricter editing than that one. Now, I love what I've read of the FBAA series so far, but it's definitely not an objectively great series by any means. But I think readers who didn't like FBAA because of the editing and world building would enjoy this one more as it is a bit better in terms of actual writing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plot outside of the romance was interesting, though minimal. Most of the book seemed to be spent on the romance or the main character contemplating the romance. But the actual plot regarding the kingdom politics was intriguing and I'm interested to see how it develops in the next book. The ending was also quite explosive and I'm eager to see how the events of the end influence the story in the next. However, I think what intrigues me most outside of the romance is the magic system. Our main character has really unique magic and I think it presents a lot of opportunities to drive the plot in various ways.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was quick, addicting, and steamy. However, it's nothing particularly new or revolutionary for the fantasy romance genre and I do think we could have used more time getting to know the characters instead of more smut. I'm looking forward to the next one and can add this to the list of JLA books that are a hit for me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-51460821023082130022023-11-28T06:00:00.001-06:002023-11-28T10:31:01.719-06:00End of the Year Book Tag: 2023 Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_Ssme8EukcVlezXVyMOT87KJV4rAhAlsmKasSJdAzOFwDr8E7PSzrO8PrcVfwYrYTkeSSVDOGO0wUGzj6r5wLUN9blfa45jcJ6z-EfdJrffHO7CJYBNMXP4i4_idVBsgYQ98AgHOCFr5JRPPV1GmuYVB82_9fWrxsbLxnfpLBWNDkwizLywAcbjVy3o/s2240/End%20of%20the%20Year%20Book%20Tag.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_Ssme8EukcVlezXVyMOT87KJV4rAhAlsmKasSJdAzOFwDr8E7PSzrO8PrcVfwYrYTkeSSVDOGO0wUGzj6r5wLUN9blfa45jcJ6z-EfdJrffHO7CJYBNMXP4i4_idVBsgYQ98AgHOCFr5JRPPV1GmuYVB82_9fWrxsbLxnfpLBWNDkwizLywAcbjVy3o/w640-h360/End%20of%20the%20Year%20Book%20Tag.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another year past, another end of the year wrap up to start getting into! This is my favorite time of the year on my blog where I get to wrap-up a bunch of fun things from this year and look ahead to the next year. It always kicks off with the End of the Year Book Tag. This is my fifth year doing it and it's one of the tags that I enjoy every time. Let's go ahead and dive in! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>1. Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.covertocover.blog/content/images/2023/03/684640-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="800" height="238" src="https://www.covertocover.blog/content/images/2023/03/684640-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've not started and DNF-ed any books that I want to finish but there are a few series I want to continue with before the year is over. First, I want to finish my reread of the <i>Throne of Glass</i> series by Sarah J. Maas. I've gotten through <i>Queen of Shadows</i> and I've started <i>Empire of Storms</i>. It's so much fun being back in this world and with these characters. It truly feels like returning home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41BAJJWCB4L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41BAJJWCB4L.jpg" width="128" /></a><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61OewHTm6fL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61OewHTm6fL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="125" /></a><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516WJDJyK5L._SY445_SX342_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="285" height="200" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516WJDJyK5L._SY445_SX342_.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also want to continue reading the <i>Ironside</i> <i>Academy</i> by Jane Washington. Jane is one of my favorite indie authors and this is her newest book series. I've read the first book and loved it. The sequel came out a few months ago and the third book just came out a few days ago. I'm so excited to continue with more in this world and I've heard nothing but great things about the second and third books. I'm hoping to binge them all in one go after I finish the <i>Throne of Glass</i> series. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>2. Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659411218i/58340706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659411218i/58340706.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I always think that fantasy books are the perfect fall and winter books. There's a few on my TBR for the rest of the month but I'm pretty excited about hopefully getting to <i>One Dark Window</i> by Rachel Gillig. I've known about this book since it came out but it seems like it hit a popularity surge this year and I've heard nothing but good things about it. I just feel like this has the perfect autumn/winter fantasy reading vibes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>3. Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1697557689i/199862349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="512" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1697557689i/199862349.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ruthless Vows</i> by Rebecca Ross is probably my last confirmed release that I'm anticipating for the year. It comes out in the US in December but in the UK in January so it's technically one that I'm excited for this year and next. I might not get to read it until January but I'm very much looking forward to it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>4. What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658503661i/61654285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="439" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658503661i/61654285.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680751612i/125488280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680751612i/125488280.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913246i/53344030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="520" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695913246i/53344030.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I want to get to <i>Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries</i> by Heather Fawcett, <i>The Hurricane Wars</i> by Thea Guanzon, and <i>Heartstopper Volume 5</i> by Alice Oseman. I've heard great things about the first two and I absolutely love <i>Heartstopper</i> so I'm really excited to see how the story continues. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>5. Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Any book could shock me at this point as all of my TBR for the rest of the year are ones that I'm highly anticipating. It could be <i>The Hurricane Wars</i> or <i>Emily Wilde's</i> or <i>One Dark Window</i> or <i>Sauter</i> or <i>Foul Heart Huntsman</i> or a random book I decide to pick up on a whim. Any one of them could surprise me and become a favorite. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>6. Have you already started making reading plans for 2024?</i></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You bet I have! I have some books scheduled in various months throughout the year to coincide with the releases I'm most excited for. I am very excited as a bunch of my most anticipated releases are coming in the first few months of the year. I'm not going to set a number goal for the year but I do have some goals planned around series and my backlist TBR. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-8543371271723573812023-11-13T06:00:00.002-06:002023-11-18T07:57:15.606-06:00Series Review: "WITSEC" by Ashley N. Rostek<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJl49gePZHWBEuNc_xU26ynHJTXRf2uxwoXndFQDrre5Ug0JolykmnVzh58AGvZlHQZALMAc1ViWaDMAByVhnv3oEYXCa2dKZaKtp_ZGsfl8VC1sTSlROR4s91C2akizMy5u8b3VA0QLPRUV4yGYvTAWkJkpufYEp5fC7Egk0PK1cD2VGG31P4B_pHq1E/s2240/Untitled%20design.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="2240" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJl49gePZHWBEuNc_xU26ynHJTXRf2uxwoXndFQDrre5Ug0JolykmnVzh58AGvZlHQZALMAc1ViWaDMAByVhnv3oEYXCa2dKZaKtp_ZGsfl8VC1sTSlROR4s91C2akizMy5u8b3VA0QLPRUV4yGYvTAWkJkpufYEp5fC7Egk0PK1cD2VGG31P4B_pHq1E/w640-h256/Untitled%20design.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: <i>WITSEC</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Ashley N. Rostek </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reading Order & Individual Ratings:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><li><i>Find Me</i> - 3.5 // 5 stars</li><li><i>Save Me</i> - 3 // 5 stars</li><li><i>Love Me</i> - 3 // 5 stars</li><li><i>Free Me</i> - 3 // 5 stars</li></ol></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/325123-witsec" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I first heard of this series on TikTok when people were talking about why choose romances that they loved. Everything about the idea of this series appealed to me: why choose, a heroine on the run, badass characters, etc. However, despite the surface level enjoyment I had in these books, I think overall they were disappointing to me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll preface this by saying that these books are addicting as hell. I read all four of them in 24 hours and couldn't put them down. The nature of these books means there's a certain thriller element where you're always wondering if the next hit is about to come. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first book was the most enjoyable to me, I think. It was a good start to the series, if not a bit insta-lovey. I thought we got a good idea of our characters and the situation with some pretty good pacing. I do prefer a more slow-burn romance, especially for my why-choose books, but I could overlook it because I was enjoying it nonetheless. The second book upped the suspense quite a bit. I didn't like it as much as the first as we went right into a full blown love scenario whereas I would have preferred a bit more development. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The third and fourth books were I think where my disappointment in this series really came out. For starters, I could no longer tell the love interests apart. One of my minimum requirements for a why choose series to become an all-time favorite is good character distinction for the love interests. Basically, I don't want the love interests to be a copy-paste of each other simply for the novelty of having multiple love interests. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, a good way to test this is to ask myself the following question: "If you were to take a page of dialogue and actions and remove any names or nicknames, could I tell you which love interest it is?" My favorite why choose romances, I can do that. This is not one of those cases. In the first book, it was that way. But once the romance developed, the love interests became exactly the same in how they acted and talked. And since we didn't get much background information on them besides a few sentences here and there, I felt very disconnected. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also think that while I liked the main character, as the series went on she became very annoying to me. I understand she's been through incredible trauma and she's not healed nor has she gotten any help dealing with it. I understand that. At the same time, I found the constant outbursts, tantrums, and blaming others to be excessive. These are men she's supposed to love, yet there was a point where every chapter was either smut or her yelling at them and storming off. If we needed these angsty moments, we also needed the soft moments that show the relationship that <i>aren't</i> smut scenes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This brings me to my next issue with the last few books. The amount of smut in these books was too much. If you are reading for smut, you'll probably like that. I don't read for smut. Smut can add to my reading experience if it's done in moderation and doesn't overtake the plot or development. But there was a point it seemed every single chapter had a smut scene. There were times we had more smut than anything else (plot, character development, romance) combined. I began skimming over them and completely skipping those scenes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That may put me in the minority, though. I just am indifferent to smut in books. I grew up reading fanfiction and on the early-2010s internet so I feel like I've been well desensitized to explicit content by now. Smut just for the sake of smut doesn't do it for me in books anymore because I'd much prefer other romantic moments, plot development, etc over that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, did I read this series in less than 24 hours and was it incredibly addicting? Yes. Was it an objectively good series? No. I think the rate at which I read them and how addicting they were are the only reason I was able to give it 3 stars as otherwise I think these aren't offering that much to the why choose genre. Incredible concept, poor execution is what I think I'll leave this review with. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-2712147426542506422023-11-11T07:50:00.004-06:002023-11-11T07:50:32.543-06:00Book Review: "Assistant to the Villain" by Hannah Nicole Maehrer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679005122i/123257687.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679005122i/123257687.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Assistant to the Villain</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: "Assistant to the Villain" #1</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Genre: New Adult Fantasy Romance</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Page Length: 352 pages</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Publication Date: September 5, 2023</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123257687-assistant-to-the-villain" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm sure if you've been on BookTok this year that you've seen this book floating around. It's the next big release from Red Tower Books (yes the <i>Fourth Wing</i> guys) and debuted on the NYT bestseller list. And it was one of my most anticipated releases for this year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I first heard of this book just by following the author with her TikTok skit series about what it would be like as an assistant to a villain. It was such a fun series and everyone loved it. When it was announced it would be published this year, I was beyond excited to see how it finally came to life. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had so much fun with this book. It gave comedy fairytale vibes as opposed to gritty serious fantasy vibes, and sometimes I just like the silly goofy time. But if you go into this expecting a serious fantasy with deep world-building and a complex plot, you're not going to get that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I liked our main characters and a lot of the side characters wormed their way into my heart. It was a great mix of personalities and I'm definitely getting found-family vibes from it all. I think the interactions between all the characters are what drive this book the most. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plot was engaging and fun, though nothing overly special. I like the slow-burn element of it all and I was definitely not expecting the cliffhanger at the end. I didn't realize this was a series when it was first announced but now I'm incredibly intrigued by where this is all going to go in future books. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My only critique of this book is the editing. It felt very much like a first draft with surface level editing. It wasn't a small issue, either. Most of the book's sentence structures, grammar, pacing, etc could have been greatly improved with another couple rounds of editing. I definitely think that if not for the editing, I would have rating this book 5 stars. It's a fun book and the characters are equally fun, but the actual writing and editing needed work. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, I really enjoyed it and am going to continue with the rest of the series. It's a silly, goofy time and I love books that bring that lightness to me. My hope, though, is that the editing will get better in future books with a longer publication schedule as I think the main issue with the book is that. If you can overlook the editing, I think this is definitely a book worth reading. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-87861635807831466382023-11-06T06:00:00.001-06:002023-11-06T06:00:00.144-06:00October 2023 Book Haul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBONdZ7j717Gnzzxf2xq8kudfRbCUJSkVkfRUyeSRoQXxlXWVJeu-CdHUm5MCVDdIG4eMchUIQk6-R-5Fo67Vqr4MaYUsxaSrarJzAUXh3fJuZK89dncMwPMomha2Z13TPnY-rxjteFRB-TVM0fMcA94yENZIDH-o1H99cmMMjazeuMZPg_0fei3_xGCY/s2240/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBONdZ7j717Gnzzxf2xq8kudfRbCUJSkVkfRUyeSRoQXxlXWVJeu-CdHUm5MCVDdIG4eMchUIQk6-R-5Fo67Vqr4MaYUsxaSrarJzAUXh3fJuZK89dncMwPMomha2Z13TPnY-rxjteFRB-TVM0fMcA94yENZIDH-o1H99cmMMjazeuMZPg_0fei3_xGCY/w640-h360/2.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another month, another book haul. I got 10 books this month using a combination of preorders from ages ago, gift cards, and some questionable financial decisions. This is one of the biggest hauls I've had this year and I'm really excited about all of them, so let's go ahead and dive in! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665612756i/60041932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="519" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665612756i/60041932.jpg" width="130" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Up first, I have <i>My Roommate is a Vampire</i> by Jenna Levine. I've heard such great things about this one and when I saw it for super cheap I decided to go ahead and get it. I love a good paranormal book and a good romcom, so the two of them combined sound right up my alley. A few bookish friends have raged about it so it's got me very excited to read it, hopefully soon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1696059476i/199231796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="353" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1696059476i/199231796.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I got my preorder of the Fairyloot edition of <i>Foxglove</i> by Adalyn Grace. This is the sequel to <i>Belladonna</i>, which I got last year when it first came out. It really is a stunning edition, so I knew I wanted to get the matching sequel. So far, I've not yet read the first book but it is on my rather soon-ish tbr and I've heard great things. I've read the author's debut book and I really loved it so I'm hopeful that this one will be just as good. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670083562i/62796217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="325" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670083562i/62796217.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, I had a gift card I found in my wallet that I'd forgotten about so I decided to treat myself to some books. I got three from Waterstones that I'm excited about. Up first is <i>Divine Rivals</i> by Rebecca Ross. I read this a few months ago on Kindle Unlimited and absolutely loved it but was holding off on getting a physical copy until my end of the year spree. But when I found the gift card I knew I wanted to pick up a copy sooner for my shelves. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688031846i/139391940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="255" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688031846i/139391940.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next one I got with my gift card was <i>The Pumpkin Spice Cafe</i> by Laurie Gilmore. Now, right after I bought it with my gift card it showed up in my local Works for £2.50 so I kinda wish I'd waited just a week and gotten it for lower and had used my gift card for something else. But either way, I'm excited about this one. I've heard it's like a Hallmark movie in book form for autumn and I'm all about those vibes. Plus, a lot of people seem to be enjoying it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667670565i/63227482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="440" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667670565i/63227482.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last book I got with my gift card with <i>A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon</i> by Sarah Hawley. This is another paranormal romcom and the perfect vibes for the October/Halloween time. I love a fake-dating scenario as well so this sounds great. I've seen some of my bookish friends read and enjoy this one so I'm hopeful that I'll enjoy it as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679678079i/123735338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679678079i/123735338.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I grabbed up <i>Plier</i> by Jane Washington. I absolutely love this book and everything I've read by Jane. I first read <i>Plier</i> in July I think and I loved it. The third book comes out at the end of November and I'm really looking forward to rereading this one and continuing with the series. Of course, I needed a copy of the book in order to do that...so here we are. I'm just excited to add more Jane Washington books to my shelf. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1697756930i/200275442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="521" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1697756930i/200275442.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm subscribed to Fairyloot's Adult box and this month was <i>The Hurricane Wars</i> by Thea Guanzon. This edition is absolutely beautiful with fancy edges, a new cover, and plenty of artwork. I believe there's also bonus content, which is really exciting. This was one of my more anticipated releases of the back half of the year so I'm really happy that it was in a Fairyloot box. I'm very much looking forward to reading it, hopefully soon! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680024005i/63890424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680024005i/63890424.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I impulse-bought <i>The Stars are Dying</i> by Chloe C. Peñaranda. I've read one book by this author and enjoyed it but this is the first in a completely different series. I've seen a lot of hype for it and it just got picked up for publication by a traditional publisher. It was on my TBR on Kindle Unlimited but when it was announced, it was pulled off and I knew I wanted to grab a copy to read it when I wanted. So here we are...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927i/61431922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927i/61431922.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I finally got my preorder of the Fairyloot edition of <i>Fourth Wing</i> by Rebecca Yarros. I love this book and I was so excited that I managed to get a signed copy in the original sale. And it's finally arrived! It's got a reversible dust jacket, stenciled edges, and embossing. It's in great condition, though the dust jacket has some nicks in it. However, they're already sending out replacement dust jackets so I'm not too worried about it either way. I also snagged a matching copy of the <i>Iron Flame</i> in the sale recently so I'm quite excited about that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672676191i/75513900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672676191i/75513900.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last book I got was<i> Powerless</i> by Lauren Roberts. I'd seen this around on TikTok a lot and the hype is real. It sounds quite interesting and like it'd go well since I love a good fantasy romance. I saw it for cheap at The Works when I was doing some early Christmas shopping so I went ahead and snagged a copy. I'm not quite sure when I'll read it as the sequel is still a ways away but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-32391619972784399962023-11-03T10:03:00.001-05:002023-11-03T10:03:05.394-05:00October 2023 Wrap-Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8yWzUotRCcDtyTA2lFYBmWkdxbBW6C7U2PwqgI879JjdYMmumjzcG10c3FCN6xYrTruaMR8cuHqBZyoO_x7z7bujeVBjE4TXo_sDCKSLJfHXMzrakdlNnSHBBYVFaqVz_Ah2qqN0B1zSZB1vWKf4R8ZYTyW-K4FZuiKgOIPBR9E3ByN_ner3VO53kY0/s2240/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8yWzUotRCcDtyTA2lFYBmWkdxbBW6C7U2PwqgI879JjdYMmumjzcG10c3FCN6xYrTruaMR8cuHqBZyoO_x7z7bujeVBjE4TXo_sDCKSLJfHXMzrakdlNnSHBBYVFaqVz_Ah2qqN0B1zSZB1vWKf4R8ZYTyW-K4FZuiKgOIPBR9E3ByN_ner3VO53kY0/w640-h360/1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">October was a wild month. Personal life wise, it was rather rough. In terms of reading, I read a lot of books (though most of them are not new favorites). In total, I read 14 books and two complete series. My favorite was definitely my reread of the <i>Bonds that Tie</i> series, continuing J. Bree's hold on my reading year. But I also really enjoyed <i>Daughter of the Drowned Empire</i> and have already continued on with the series. I'm also going to continue with the sequel to <i>An Heir Comes to Rise</i> soon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm hoping that November will be a good reading month in terms of both quantity and quality. There's some new releases I'm looking forward to and some books on my TBR that I'm quite excited about. But, for now, let's get into my October wrap up!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTVtU5KIWJxmaNq0QqfSuLPS-6jJIHfxSLWkKZo75fYqrqu1rAnefvGBtfjvekEQnfqc8ZSId87oZNuPntXvhsilmEjbVBdU0EkbC_Iwi4nuLD_lagK-NC_EsV04ZL2vvGgvYsRI6rUTb7_57dEw1TlcWeHa276YJbgANzBLthucsFC5i502YbWwFQ-8/s2240/Books%20Read.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTVtU5KIWJxmaNq0QqfSuLPS-6jJIHfxSLWkKZo75fYqrqu1rAnefvGBtfjvekEQnfqc8ZSId87oZNuPntXvhsilmEjbVBdU0EkbC_Iwi4nuLD_lagK-NC_EsV04ZL2vvGgvYsRI6rUTb7_57dEw1TlcWeHa276YJbgANzBLthucsFC5i502YbWwFQ-8/w400-h98/Books%20Read.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>An Heir Comes to Rise</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: C.C. Peñaranda<br />Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4369276941" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608024614i/56030239.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="518" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608024614i/56030239.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Broken Bonds</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-bonds-that-tie-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624800765i/58081613.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624800765i/58081613.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Savage Bonds</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-bonds-that-tie-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631312189i/58410164.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631312189i/58410164.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Blood Bonds</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree<br />Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-bonds-that-tie-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638054087i/59056313.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638054087i/59056313.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Forced Bonds</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree<br />Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-bonds-that-tie-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646068454i/59819111.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646068454i/59819111.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Tragic Bonds</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-bonds-that-tie-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653764518l/60654360._SY475_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="299" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653764518l/60654360._SY475_.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Unbroken Bonds</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: J. Bree</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/05/series-review-bonds-that-tie-by-j-bree.html" target="_blank">Review</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-reread-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659139281i/60909286.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659139281i/60909286.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Chameleon</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Jane Washington</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/janewashington.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/chameleon-copy.jpg?w=800&ssl=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://i0.wp.com/janewashington.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/chameleon-copy.jpg?w=800&ssl=1" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Find Me</i><br />Author: Ashley N. Rostek</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626484342i/58570701.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626484342i/58570701.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">10. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Save Me</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Ashley N. Rostek</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634357904i/59356763.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634357904i/59356763.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">11. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Love Me</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Ashley N. Rostek</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648933287i/60728875.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648933287i/60728875.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">12. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Free Me</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Ashley N. Rostek</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1682742118i/144407710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1682742118i/144407710.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">13.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Too Safe</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Abby Millsaps</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 3 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1686678804i/177569981.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1686678804i/177569981.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">14. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Daughter of the Drowned Empire</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Frankie Diane Mallis</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Review TK</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657087972i/60637203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657087972i/60637203.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXK84HBl8JgT2R-rZH0L5WUEwS9knBmlwyRE3fbIrse6bL2Z6nGURUzu38Q5J_a3_CBS_TTWcO_Q9yS9-bkFt6oAYdbBVU8w4tHv54mA0gEIyrIWfFI1RYY8d1ewJ381lx5-1FLUKUairROiHRFSFQvxWegRYjYmjQpREWyDwwUzk1fxqdRE1jziM3XQ/s2240/Blog%20Posts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="2240" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXK84HBl8JgT2R-rZH0L5WUEwS9knBmlwyRE3fbIrse6bL2Z6nGURUzu38Q5J_a3_CBS_TTWcO_Q9yS9-bkFt6oAYdbBVU8w4tHv54mA0gEIyrIWfFI1RYY8d1ewJ381lx5-1FLUKUairROiHRFSFQvxWegRYjYmjQpREWyDwwUzk1fxqdRE1jziM3XQ/w400-h98/Blog%20Posts.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/10/september-2023-wrap-up.html" target="_blank">September 2023 Wrap-Up</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/10/september-2023-book-haul.html" target="_blank">September 2023 Book Haul</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/10/booktok-hit-or-miss-part-2.html" target="_blank">BookTok Hit or Miss? Part 2</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/10/book-review-immortal-longings-by-chloe.html" target="_blank">Book Review: "Immortal Longings" by Chloe Gong</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/10/book-review-divine-rivals-by-rebecca.html" target="_blank">Book Review: "Divine Rivals" by Rebecca Ross</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2023/10/halloween-creatures-book-tag.html" target="_blank">Halloween Creatures Book Tag</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-10121535172193640292023-10-30T07:00:00.001-05:002023-10-30T07:00:00.157-05:00Halloween Creatures Book Tag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacKQ62dSzzcdBiG2TauQYXO6hQzZKEO7t7uISeORRxmRgnefSIvl7dUasmSD0SpzdC8lZEj6zOrz4oI_p074qVGiB_4QM1DciBTJWNlk6qhZvOORzVfR7S-KDZJfBNFuL18LO4Nri2ACxkXgRKp3ZgJmjsf4X5Wx2v_y_15g-aFmQgTS2x7HtSsE1fm8/s2240/Halloween%20Creatures%20Book%20Tag.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacKQ62dSzzcdBiG2TauQYXO6hQzZKEO7t7uISeORRxmRgnefSIvl7dUasmSD0SpzdC8lZEj6zOrz4oI_p074qVGiB_4QM1DciBTJWNlk6qhZvOORzVfR7S-KDZJfBNFuL18LO4Nri2ACxkXgRKp3ZgJmjsf4X5Wx2v_y_15g-aFmQgTS2x7HtSsE1fm8/w640-h360/Halloween%20Creatures%20Book%20Tag.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Happy spooky season everyone! September to December is my favorite time of year, thanks to autumn, spooky season, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all happening in quick succession. Today, I have a Halloween-themed book tag I'm pretty excited to do. This tag was originally created by Paperbacks and Planners so make sure to check out the original after this one!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>1. WITCH - a magical character or book</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672867196i/63119009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="512" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672867196i/63119009.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are so many magical books, mainly because I primarily read fantasy book with magic in them. Of course, I can only choose one. I'm going to go with Rookesbane from <i>The Crown of Oaths and Curses</i> by J. Bree. Rooke is a witch, so of course she fits this prompt perfectly. This whole book is phenomenal and I can't wait to read more about Rooke's adventures as a witch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>2. WEREWOLF - the perfect book to read at night</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619305366i/56554626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="332" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619305366i/56554626.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For this, I'm going with <i>The Ex Hex</i> by Erin Sterling. I am not a scary book type of girl and I much prefer spooky, magical reads to scary reads, especially in autumn. This is a perfect night-time autumn read. It's set around Halloween in a witchy town with lots of shenanigans. It's fun, it's spooky, it's witchy, it's romantic, it's just perfect for Halloween reading. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>3. FRANKENSTEIN - a book that truly shocked you</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670083562i/62796217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="325" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670083562i/62796217.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are many books that could fit this one but I think I'm going to go with <i>Divine Rivals</i> by Rebecca Ross. There were a couple of twists but mainly the ending is the one that shocked me the most. It was shocking for sure and painful. I desperately need the next book in my hands after that one. Only a few more months to go...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>4. THE DEVIL - a dark, evil character</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81JeWPBl29L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="800" height="150" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81JeWPBl29L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is no one more qualified for this prompt than Maeve from the <i>Throne of Glass</i> series by Sarah J. Maas. I'm not going to get super into it for spoiler reasons but she is just a vile character. Sarah has crafted such a monster and I have to applaud her writing because she is definitely one of my most-hated characters. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>5. GRIM REAPER - a character that never should have died</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927i/61431922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927i/61431922.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are a lot of deaths in <i>Fourth Wing</i> by Rebecca Yarros, there's no denying that. However, there's one death in particular that I'm sure anyone who has read this will immediately understand. I'm not going to say who, just that this particular character wormed their way into my heart and their death was so unexpected and heartbreaking for a myriad of reasons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>6. ZOMBIE - a book that made you “hungry” for more</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679678079i/123735338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679678079i/123735338.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm going with<i> Plier</i> by Jane Washington. This is the first book in the <i>Ironside Academy</i> series and I absolutely blew through it when I read it. It was addicting and the slow burn is hella slow burn and the ending left me hungering for more. With multiple books in the series still to come out, I have a lot of waiting ahead of me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>7. GARGOYLE - a character that you would protect at all cost</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640745736i/56060300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="541" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640745736i/56060300.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm going with Charlie Spring from <i>Heartstopper</i> by Alice Oseman. Charlie is just one of those cinnamon roll characters you want to wrap in a blanket and protect from the world. Of course, I think Nick is probably first in line to do so. If you've read the graphic novels or seen the TV adaptation, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean when I say that Charlie deserves to be protected at all costs. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>8. VAMPIRE - a book that sucked the life out of you</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559712518i/46150340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559712518i/46150340.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's lot of books I've disliked over the years. I'm going to go with <i>Stealing Their Harley</i> for this one, though. It's not a particularly bad book per se. However, it's so short and quick that trying to fit the entire story of it into this one did not work. I was really excited for this one but it ended up just being incredibly disappointing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>9. GHOST - a book that still haunts you</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554575415i/44799982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554575415i/44799982.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <i>Mindf*ck</i> series by S.T. Abby will forever be a series that haunts me and has a place in my heart. The things the main character goes through in her life and in this series is traumatizing and heartbreaking to say the least. Even though I love this series and it does have lighter moments in it, it's also a haunting story for sure. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>10. DEMON - a book that really scared you</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556550359i/37539001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556550359i/37539001.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm going with <i>Capturing the Devil</i> by Kerri Maniscalco. I've said it before but this book absolutely scared the shit out of me when I read it at certain parts. This is the fourth book in the <i>Stalking Jack the Ripper</i> series which is definitely one of my favorites. It's a historical mystery series and I loved them so. This final book had moments so well-written that I could feel myself getting terrified just imagining the setting. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>11. SKELETON - a character you have a bone to pick with</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1595973173i/54738523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1595973173i/54738523.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm going with The Jackal from the <i>Hannaford Prep</i> series by J. Bree. He's a crazy psychotic man and a great antagonist for the series. The things he's did prior to the series and during put him near the top of my shit list of characters. He definitely deserved what he got and then some. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>12. MUMMY - a book you would preserve throughout time</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357177533i/13623848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="260" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357177533i/13623848.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are many books I would preserve through time. One that feels like a modern, timeless classic though is <i>The Song of Achilles</i> by Madeline Miller. This is a retelling of Achilles and Patroclus from Homer's <i>Illiad</i>. It is so beautifully written and I loved every minute of it, which a lot of people must agree with seeing as it's one of the most popular books of our time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>13. CREEPY DOLL - a cover too scary to look at</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599582263i/36152363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599582263i/36152363.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't read scary books so there's not a lot of scary book covers for me to chose from out of the ones I've read. However, I do think some of them are a little creepier than others. One that is creepy but still hautningly beautiful is <i>Illusionary</i> by Zoraida Córdova. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-18011650443813741222023-10-27T06:00:00.001-05:002023-10-27T06:00:00.150-05:00Book Review: "Divine Rivals" by Rebecca Ross<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670083562i/62796217.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670083562i/62796217.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Divine Rivals</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Rebecca Ross</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: "Letters of Enchantment" #1</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Genre: Historical Fantasy Romance</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Page Length: 368 pages</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Publication Date: April 4, 2023</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 5 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62796217-divine-rivals" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm sure by now you've all seen the hype for this book all over BookTok and Bookstagram this year? It is one of the biggest books of the year in my corner of the book world and...well...I knew I had to read it and see for myself if it was worth it or not. And y'all...this book was amazing! For me, the two main things that I loved about this book were the characters and then just how beautiful the writing was. I read it one sitting and it was absolutely stunning...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So obviously the main thing that drives me when I read is the characters. A strong plot is, of course, essential to my enjoyment but even more than that are strong characters that I can really get attached to. My favorite books, the ones that stick with me long after I read them, are the ones where the characters burrow deep into my heart and refuse to leave when I finish the last page. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iris and Roman are two such characters to me. Reading about them...about their desires and fears and what they long for...was incredibly special to me. These two characters are so full of love and passion and just sheer goodness. I am desperate to know how their story wraps up. If it seems like I'm being vague, it's mainly because I don't want to give much away about this book because I truly think it's best to go into it without knowing too much. To let the twists come as they may...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The writing is absolutely beautiful. I believe Rebecca Ross is known for beautiful writing and I can definitely see why. Beyond the plot and the characters, this book truly felt like a love letter to words and the power they hold. Between the love letters and the general writing, I was consistently blown away. As a lover of words, this book felt so special. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, I am incredibly excited to read the next one, especially after the pain of the cliffhanger in this one. I completely understand why this is such a hyped book and I think it deserves all the excitement and love that is has been getting. I highly recommend it to everyone who loves a romance, a fantasy, or just a compelling story about family and loss and the consequences of war. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">xoxo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lauren</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-45031971701933835222023-10-23T06:00:00.001-05:002023-10-23T06:00:00.136-05:00Book Review: "Immortal Longings" by Chloe Gong<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675281549i/95561014.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675281549i/95561014.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Title: <i>Immortal Longings</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Author: Chloe Gong</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Series: "Flesh and False Gods" #1</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Genre: Adult Fantasy</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Page Length: 384 pages</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Publication Date: July 18, 2023</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: 4 // 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95561014-immortal-longings" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I'm a big fan of Chloe's books. I love her Secret Shanghai universe and I have been eagerly anticipating this adult debut since it was announced. And I really enjoyed it. I'm writing this review a few months on from having read it so I've had some time to sit with my thoughts since I initially finished. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides the characters, what most intrigued me about this book was the setting. <i>Immortal Longings</i> is set in San-Er, a city much like the demolished Kowloon Walled City that once stood in China. It's a city built on top of itself with people packed in like sardines. It's a setting unlike any I've ever read about and was so incredibly vivid. I definitely think the setting is part of what drew me to this story. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really liked our two main characters. Calla is a badass and I loved getting to know her. Anton is a compelling adversary turned ally and I really enjoyed him as well. I think mainly I loved the dynamic between these two with the competition and being forced to work together. I will say I'm rooting for the romance but I do think it needs a lot more development before it would become one of my favorites. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plot is intriguing. I am a sucker for a competition and I think it's one of those things where tension and conflict is automatically built in to the story. The magic system was interesting. People can jump between bodies which leads to a lot of openings for deception and treachery...potentially a future point of conflict? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's not really much I can say about this book. I think it was a pretty good first start to a series and I read through it quickly. It was engaging and I couldn't stop reading. However, I do think it's not as strong as Chloe's other books yet. I'm eagerly anticipating further books in this world, though, especially after the cliffhanger. Overall, it was an enjoyable addicting read but not as particularly mind-blowing as I was hoping for. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading!</div><div>xoxo</div><div>Lauren</div><div><br /></div><hr /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386824885730224748.post-85927982362198438352023-10-09T06:00:00.002-05:002023-10-09T06:00:00.145-05:00BookTok Hit or Miss? Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77jcytS2BkpPpNcI8lhyK4H2g3Zaz_wROUoRKbQ84_LVc5YASE0krIgfwdARZeXYaWwl72B1QjkKbtbYDlLVghxSf4nKfjXvWRl_BxO371vN6DhoI4ZRsBeWp279VimVJPQaZaM8tRMCteJsjMMhmU7fXm1DLl_nsi6fEJz99xBIbquJO7KRApz6BgI4/s2240/Hit%20or%20Miss%20BookTok%20Romances.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2240" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77jcytS2BkpPpNcI8lhyK4H2g3Zaz_wROUoRKbQ84_LVc5YASE0krIgfwdARZeXYaWwl72B1QjkKbtbYDlLVghxSf4nKfjXvWRl_BxO371vN6DhoI4ZRsBeWp279VimVJPQaZaM8tRMCteJsjMMhmU7fXm1DLl_nsi6fEJz99xBIbquJO7KRApz6BgI4/w640-h360/Hit%20or%20Miss%20BookTok%20Romances.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's been a couple years since I did my <a href="https://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2021/12/hit-or-miss-popular-booktok-romances.html" target="_blank">first BookTok Hit or Miss</a> challenge and I've been wanting to do another one ever since. I've read quite a few BookTok darlings since then and I figure that now is the time for part 2 of this new series, with part 3 coming in the next few months most likely. The last time I did this it was mostly just romances and I'd definitely say my tastes have changed a bit since then. For today, I've got a few misses and a few hits to talk about so let's go ahead and dive right in! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433645877i/25507389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="501" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433645877i/25507389.jpg" width="125" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Priest</i> by Sierra Simone: Miss</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I read this a while ago and the longer it goes from reading it, the more my disappointment in this book grows. I was really anticipating this one as I'd heard nothing but amazing things for years about how good it was. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I think the way this book was marketed to me and the actual way this book went were completely different. This isn't a bad book per se, but it was a miss for me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611937942i/56732449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611937942i/56732449.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><i>The Love Hypothesis</i> by Ali Hazelwood: Hit</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, like many people, I read this when it was at the height of its popularity. It's still very popular and Ali's books continue to perform well on BookTok, though this is the only one of her full novels I've read so far. I absolutely loved this book. Fake dating, an academic setting, good side characters...it was so fun and addicting, which is really the main thing I look for in a romcom. Even some tropes I don't typically enjoy were ones I enjoyed in this one. Because of this one, I'm also excited to continue reading Ali's other books. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659045816i/61767292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="497" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659045816i/61767292.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Icebreaker</i> by Hannah Grace: Miss</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Icebreaker</i> is a more recent read and it's a sad miss for me. Now, unlike with <i>Priest</i>, I actually did enjoy parts of this book. Overall I would say I didn't dislike it but it fell flat. It was so much longer than it needed to be and I felt like there wasn't much of an actual plot. For example, this is supposed to be a story about a hockey player and an ice skater teaming up to skate and...yet...there's not much actual skating in this story. I liked the characters a lot but overall it was a bit of a disappointing read. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554575415i/44799982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554575415i/44799982.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><i>The Mindf*ck Series</i> by S.T. Abby: Hit</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I read this last summer and then reread it this summer and it remains a massive hit for me. It's a new all-time favorite series that I absolutely love. It's about a serial killer who starts dating the FBI agent who's hunting her. Of course, it's about more than just that and throughout the series we really dig deep into the cruelties of humanity. <i>Mindf*ck</i> is not for the faint of heart and it's got an extensive list of trigger warnings but it's so good. It's heartbreaking and addicting and I couldn't stop reading. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661221065i/62057697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661221065i/62057697.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Twisted Love</i> by Ana Huang: Miss</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is mostly a miss for me. <i>Twisted Love</i> was enjoyable at first, but when I finished it I realized it was nothing memorable for me. I think it's mainly because even though I enjoy romances, I struggle with finding romances memorable when the only plot is the romance. There's only a few over the years that have made my overall favorites and, unfortunately, this wasn't one of them. However, I am interested in continuing the series with some side characters we met in this one that have their own spotlight. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624800765i/58081613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624800765i/58081613.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><i>Broken Bonds</i> series by J. Bree: Hit</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've dubbed 2023 the year of J. Bree for a reason...her books just hit all the boxes for me. Of the 62 books I've read at the time of writing this post, 20 of them have been J. Bree books. This series is huge on BookTok and I can definitely see why. It's a paranormal why choose enemies-to-lovers romance series that's just completely addicting. I blew through the series. While I do think the last two books were a bit long and unnecessary, overall the series is a hit for me and I will be rereading it in the future. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">xoxo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lauren</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can follow my bookstagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laurensboookshelf/" target="_blank">here</a> for more bookish content!<br /><br />To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div><hr style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Lauren's Boookshelfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04902078595572665393noreply@blogger.com0