Saturday, December 30, 2023

Bookish Resolutions for 2024


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! 


For the last few years, I have not sent a numerical reading goal. I'm continuing that this year and just saying I want to read regularly and prioritize reading. 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. 

In terms of what I want to read, I want to get through more of my backlist TBR 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 Percy Jackson, and start my reread of the Shadowhunter books. 

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, I want to declutter my bookshelves (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. 

In that same line of thinking, I want to spend less money on books. 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. 

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, I want to finish the first draft. Ideally, I'd want to do more but I'm not going to set a specific goal for anything else just yet. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Thursday, December 28, 2023

Most Anticipated 2024 Book Releases


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. 


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.

Then I have House of Flame and Shadow 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. 
Up next is City of Lies and Legends by Kayla Edwards. This is the third book in the House of Devils series and I'm so incredibly excited for it. The first book, City of Gods and Monsters, 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.

Then I'm excited for A Vicious Game by Melissa Blair. This is the third book in The Halfling Saga, a fantasy romance series that I first discovered in 2021. I absolutely loved the first book, A Broken Blade, and was excited for the sequel, A Shadow Crown, 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. 

We also have The Night Compass by Amanda Foody in the first few months. This is the fourth book in the middle grade Wilderlore series, which I absolutely adore. It's like Pokemon meets How to Train Your Dragon 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. 

Up next we have Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao. This is the sequel to Iron Widow, 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.

Then we have The Throne of Blood and Honor by J. Bree, the second book in The Mortal Fates series. This is a high fantasy series from the author of The Bonds That Tie 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. 

Up next is Relever by Jane Washington, the fourth book in the Ironside Academy 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. 

Lastly, we have the next untitled Fourth Wing sequel by Rebecca Yarros. I loved Fourth Wing and I was someone who luckily loved Iron Flame. Of course, the ending was crazy for Iron Flame and I definitely need to know where things will go. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Friday, December 8, 2023

Series Review: "Pacific Prep" by R.A. Smyth


Series: Pacific Prep
Author: R.A. Smyth
Genre: RH/Why Choose? Romance / Organized Crime
Reading Order & Individual Ratings:
  1. Broken Trust - 4 // 5 stars
  2. Brutal Lies - 4.25 // 5 stars
  3. Beyond Vengeance - 4.25 // 5 stars
  4. Break Free - 4 // 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 // 5 stars

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. 

This series is addicting as hell. I went into it because people said you'd like it if you love Hannaford Prep 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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Monday, December 4, 2023

November 2023 Book Haul


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! 


The first book I got this month was the Illumicrate edition of The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard. I love everything I've ever read by Susan and even though I haven't read The Luminaries 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 The Luminaries. 

Then I got my preorder of Iron Flame 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). 

Up next, I got Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong. This is the Fairyloot edition with special artwork, stenciled edges, and came signed. It matches the Fairyloot editions of Foul Lady Fortune and Last Violent Call 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. 

Lastly, I got the Australian paperback edition of Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. Like with Fourth Wing, 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. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Saturday, December 2, 2023

November 2023 Wrap-Up


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! 

1.
Title: Guardian of the Drowned Empire
Author: Frankie Diane Mallis
Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars
Review TK

2. 
Title: Fall of Ruin and Wrath
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars

3. 
Title: Broken Trust
Author: R.A. Smyth
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Series Review TK

4. 
Title: Brutal Lies
Author: R.A. Smyth
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Series Review TK

5. 
Title: Beyond Vengeance
Author: R.A. Smyth
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Series Review TK

6. 
Title: Break Free
Author: R.A. Smyth
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Series Review TK

7. 
Title: Fourth Wing
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

8. 
Title: Iron Flame
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

9. 
Title: The Assassin's Blade
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

10. 
Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

11. 
Title: Crown of Midnight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

12. 
Title: Heir of Fire
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

13. 
Title: Queen of Shadows 
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5 // 5 stars 
-reread-

14. 
Title: Empire of Storms
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

15. 
Title: Plier
Author: Jane Washington
Rating: 5 // 5 stars 
-reread-

16. 
Title: Tourner
Author: Jane Washington
Rating: 5 // 5 stars




Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Book Review: "Fall of Ruin and Wrath" by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Fall of Ruin and Wrath
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: "Awakening" #1
Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance
Page Length: 432 pages
Publication Date: September 12, 2023
Rating: 4 // 5 stars

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. 

There's romantic fantasy, fantasy romance, and then fantasy romance. 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. 

I will say, this felt a lot more developed than her other high fantasy series, From Blood and Ash. 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. 

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.

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. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Tuesday, November 28, 2023

End of the Year Book Tag: 2023 Edition


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! 


1. Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?


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 Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I've gotten through Queen of Shadows and I've started Empire of Storms. It's so much fun being back in this world and with these characters. It truly feels like returning home.


I also want to continue reading the Ironside Academy 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 Throne of Glass series. 


2. Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?


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 One Dark Window 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. 


3. Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?


Ruthless Vows 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. 


4. What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?


I want to get to Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon, and Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman. I've heard great things about the first two and I absolutely love Heartstopper so I'm really excited to see how the story continues.  


5. Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

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 The Hurricane Wars or Emily Wilde's or One Dark Window or Sauter or Foul Heart Huntsman or a random book I decide to pick up on a whim. Any one of them could surprise me and become a favorite. 


6. Have you already started making reading plans for 2024?

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. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Monday, November 13, 2023

Series Review: "WITSEC" by Ashley N. Rostek


Series: WITSEC
Author: Ashley N. Rostek 
Reading Order & Individual Ratings:
  1. Find Me - 3.5 // 5 stars
  2. Save Me - 3 // 5 stars
  3. Love Me -  3 // 5 stars
  4. Free Me - 3 // 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3 // 5 stars

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 aren't smut scenes. 

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. 

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. 

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. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Saturday, November 11, 2023

Book Review: "Assistant to the Villain" by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Title: Assistant to the Villain
Author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Series: "Assistant to the Villain" #1
Genre: New Adult Fantasy Romance
Page Length: 352 pages
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
Rating: 4 // 5 stars

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 Fourth Wing guys) and debuted on the NYT bestseller list. And it was one of my most anticipated releases for this year. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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Monday, November 6, 2023

October 2023 Book Haul


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! 


Up first, I have My Roommate is a Vampire 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. 

Then I got my preorder of the Fairyloot edition of Foxglove by Adalyn Grace. This is the sequel to Belladonna, 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. 

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 Divine Rivals 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. 

The next one I got with my gift card was The Pumpkin Spice Cafe 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. 

The last book I got with my gift card with A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon 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. 

Then I grabbed up Plier by Jane Washington. I absolutely love this book and everything I've read by Jane. I first read Plier 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. 

I'm subscribed to Fairyloot's Adult box and this month was The Hurricane Wars 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! 

Then I impulse-bought The Stars are Dying 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...

Then I finally got my preorder of the Fairyloot edition of Fourth Wing 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 Iron Flame in the sale recently so I'm quite excited about that.

The last book I got was Powerless 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. 


Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren


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