August 2020 Book Haul

Okay so where I didn't read very many books in August, I did haul a bunch of them. I got 16 books in August, which is one of my bigger hauls of the past year. However, considering last summer I had a haul with over 30 books in it, I'm not too ashamed at this number.

This month was a big book haul month for me for a few different reasons. The first was that it was my birthday and I got a few books and gift cards (that I then spent on books). Additionally, I had a few books that I had to buy for my classes this semester since I don't have access to the school library right now. Lastly, I was sent a couple of these for various promotional reasons. There's quite a few to talk about so let's just dive right in!

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The first book that I got this month was Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer. Twelve-year-old Lauren was dying when this book was announced earlier this year. There were a few chapters of this leaked many years ago but I didn't actually read them because it wasn't something I was interested in. However, I was so excited when this was announced. I'm a little over halfway through at the moment and it's not quite as great as I'd hoped, but I'm still enjoying it overall.

Up next I have a physical copy of Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. I listened to this book on audio early in August and absolutely fell in love with the characters and story. While listening, I knew that I needed a copy for my shelves. I'm absolutely in love with this story and the paperback is so floppy and just nice to hold and look at. If you want to know my thoughts on this book, you can find my review here.

Then I got the entire Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin from my grandmother for my birthday. I was so excited that she got these for me because this trilogy has actually been on my list for a while now and I've heard nothing but amazing things. I would ideally like to read it this year but with school and my internship I don't see that happening, but I know I'm going to make it a priority in 2021!

My grandma also got me the new hardcover edition of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. This is my favorite book from the ACOTAR series and I'm really excited to have this new edition in my collection. While I do still prefer the original covers and don't think the new ones match the story very well, I do think that the new covers are pretty. Hopefully I can collect the rest of these over the next few months in time for the fourth book's release!

Then I picked up a copy of the Vampire Academy: Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowan with Richelle Mead. This is a companion guide to the Vampire Academy series which is one of my favorite series I read when I was younger. I really want to do a reread of the entire series next year but in the meantime I'm excited to learn more about the characters and world from this guide.

The next book I got was sent to me by Random House Kids and Storygram Kids for a tour I did on Instagram a few days ago. The book I got was Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty and it sounds so cute! It's a middle grade story about two boys who find a billionaire's wallet and are challenged to spend over $5 million in just 30 days. This just sounds like such a fun story and I'm really glad I was able to be on this tour.

Then I snagged a copy of the Archenemies Barnes & Noble Exclusive edition by Marissa Meyer. This is the second book in the Renegades trilogy which is one of my new all-time favorites. I discovered that the B&N edition had an exclusive bonus scene included and I knew that I had to get my hands on it! I saw it on eBay for cheaper than it had originally been sold for and jumped at the chance to add it to my collection.

Up next I got a copy of Jackpot by Nic Stone from my dad for my birthday. You may know Nic Stone from her debut, Dear Martin, but she has a host of other published books that I have on my wishlist. I'm so excited to have Jackpot in my hands because it sounds so good. In just one sentence it's about a girl working at a gas station who has to team up with a guy to find the person who bought a winning lottery ticket so that hopefully she can get a reward.  Hopefully I can read it soon!

 I then was sent hardcover copies of A Fallen Hero and Phantom's Mask by Sara A. Noë. These are the first two books in the Chronicles of Avilseor and I'm so excited to have them! A Fallen Hero was one of my favorite books of 2019 and I am so excited to read Phantom's Mask now that it's finally out! I'm hoping to get reread A Fallen Hero and then dive into Phantom's Mask this month.

Lastly, I got a few other books for school and whatnot: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, the Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 2, News: The Politics of Illusion, and The Intelligent Investor. Nothing too exciting here, but these are books that I'll be reading soon-ish!

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Thanks for reading! Did you get any exciting books this month? Let me know in the comments!

xx

Lauren

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Valentine's Day Book Tag

Hello all and Happy Valentine's Day! I hope your day has been enjoyable thus far and that you're staying warm wherever you are (it currently feels like a bitter tundra where I am). I figured what better way to incorporate Valentine's Day on my blog than with a book tag! There are ten book-ish questions here and I'm so excited to chat with you about all of them! 

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1) Stand Alone Book You Love

I actually don't read a lot of standalones. I typically reach for series or companions because I've found the characters I get the most attached to are ones that I can go on numerous adventures with. That being said, Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is a standalone romance that I absolutely adore! Since I finished it I've been so excited to reread it and I can't wait to revisit these characters.

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2) Dystopian Book You Love

I'm going to have to go with The Host by Stephenie Meyer for this one. I absolutely adore this book. Some people consider it to be just sci-fi, I think it falls under dystopian because it's set in a future Earth overrun by aliens. I cannot tell you just how much I love this book--it's so unique and gripping and just amazing. 

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3) A Book That You Love But No One Else Talks About

This one is a more recent find but it is A Fallen Hero by Sara A. Noë. I got the chance to read this back in August and fell in love. It's such an interesting world with a found family on the run that absolutely make you fall in love with them. However, it's a self-published book with no publisher backing so I haven't seen many people discussing it. I'm trying to change that, though, and I'm actively trying to promote it to all of my fellow book-nerds. 

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4) Favorite Book Couple

I'm going to have to go with Feyre & Rhysand for this one. I have loved them since ACOMAF and I cannot wait to reread about all their adventures together. Seeing the unconditional love they have for each other and reading all their cute scenes just makes me adore them. (Image: Charlie Bowater)

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5) Book That Other People Love But You Haven’t Read Yet

There are so many that I could put for this question but I'm going with Renegades by Marissa Meyer. I don't know why I haven't read that yet, seeing as I've liked every other thing I've read by Marissa, but I just haven't. I do own the first two as ebooks, though and am hopefully going to get a chance to read them this year!

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6) A Book With Red on the Cover

I decided to go with Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout (the third book in the Dark Elements trilogy) for this one. The new covers after they went through a change are absolutely stunning and this one is no exception. I love it and the main color scheme is definitely red.

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7) A Book With Pink on the Cover

I struggled a bit with this one because I wanted to find a book I hadn't talked about yet that I absolutely loved and had a prominent romance, because Valentine's Day. In the end, I realized that Long Way Home by Katie McGarry fit perfectly! I have read four of Katie's books now and have all the rest on my TBR because I've never read a book from her that I don't like. What's even more amazing is that these books are contemporaries or romances but they also have other aspects to them and the characters aren't solely focused on just the romance.

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8) You were given a box of chocolate what fictional boyfriend/ or girlfriend would given them to you.

I was trying to think of who this would be and I'd have to say Thomas Cresswell from the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. He just seems like the kind of character who would go super romantic for Valentine's Day.

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9) You are Single on Valentines Day. What Book would you read? What TV show would you watch? What Movie would you watch?

I'm not single on Valentine's Day, but if I was my lineup would be the following: Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin for something to read; Bones or Teen Wolf for something to binge; and To All the Boys I've Loved Before if I wanted a romcom.

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10) You are in the Book Store. All of a Sudden you get shot with an arrow by Cupid. What New Release will you love?

This one isn't out yet but will be in just a few weeks so I decided to go ahead and include it: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. I know that I'm going to love this one, the only thing I'm unsure of is if I'll love it more than ACOTAR or Throne of Glass...

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Favorite Books of 2019

It's now time for one of my favorite annual posts where I discuss my favorite books of the previous year! This past 2019 was an insane year for me in all aspects of life, but especially in reading. I read 138 books in the span of the last twelve months and narrowing down my top 10 was definitely challenging for me. There are so many other books that I could have put on this list, but if you'd like to know more of my favorites, check out my Goodreads shelf here.

A few little things before going in: I narrowed it down to just 10 this year because a longer list would be a lot in a blog post. Additionally, I included books in the same series as one spot because if I'd kept them separate, this list would have been dominated by three series. Now that that's out of the way, without further ado, let's dive into the books I loved in 2019!

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#10: Only A Breath Apart by Katie McGarry

I read this back in June and was blown away. This book impacted me in ways I can't even describe. I saw so much of myself in these characters and this story and I felt so seen. While I can relate to characters in other novels, I felt that this story especially hit me hard because I could understand a lot of the situations more. I will admit to crying a lot in this book. I had always enjoyed Katie's books when I'd read them previously but this book really cemented in Katie's place on my favorite authors list.

Goodreads     |     Review

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#9: The Last Namsara & The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli

I'd been wanting to read The Last Namsara since it first came out and I was lucky enough to be sent all three books in this series in exchange for review. I finished the first two in the last bits of 2019 and I'm very much looking forward to the third. What really made these books hit this list was the fact that I definitely binge-read as much of these books as I could. Both of these are pretty different from each other but I thought that really shows Kristen's diverse writing ability. After these two, I'm very excited to see what she does next with the final book.

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book 2 Review

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#8: A Wicked Trilogy by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Jennifer is one of my favorite authors of all time and I was so excited to dive into another series of hers. I binge-read this one over the summer and absolutely fell in love with the characters and story. It's set in New Orleans, a place I've always wanted to visit, and is all about fae and fae-hunters. It was a wonderful ride from start to finish that had me laughing, crying, and throwing the book across the room (which, as all readers know, is the highest praise). I'm very excited to dive into the spin-off sequel novellas as soon as the third one is released later this year.

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book 2 Review     |     Book 3 Review

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#7: A Fallen Hero by Sara A. Noë

This was one of the more surprising placements on this list. When I was first contacted about reviewing this book, I was interested in the story but had reservations since I hadn't seen much conversation around it. I'm so glad that I gave it a go because it was a wonderful ride. It's such an interesting story concept and, despite being over 450 pages, I felt like I flew through it. I never wanted it to end and I already can't wait for the sequel to come out later this year.

Goodreads     |     Review

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#6: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Up next I have another surprise placement. I don't tend to reach for or read a lot of contemporaries because I prefer my stories to have something else going on besides just the romance. However, there was a lot of hype surrounding this one and it actually sounded like something I'd be interested in, so I preordered it. I ended up reading it in almost one sitting and absolutely loved it. I was laughing, I was crying, and I was so invested in this book and these characters. I can't wait to reread it soon and also see what the author does next!

Goodreads     |     Review

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#5: Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco

While I read the first book back when it came out many years ago, I didn't actually get around to reading the rest of these books until 2019. I don't know why, since Stalking Jack the Ripper was a book that I absolutely loved. However, I finally read them all this year and absolutely fell in love even more than I already was. Every book took the characters on a different journey and development and it was honestly such a joy to read it all.

Goodreads     |     Book 2  Review     |     Book 3 Review

Book 3.5 Review     |     Book 4 Review

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#4: Witchlands series by Susan Dennard

 

While I read Truthwitch at the end of 2018, I read the rest of these books in 2019 to catch up with the series and fell in love with them. I think Bloodwitch is my favorite so far and I can't wait to see what happens in the next few books in the series. These books are just so interesting and fun and suspenseful. The world is interesting, the magic exciting, and the characters compelling. I can't wait to reread them soon!

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book 2 Review

Book 2.5 Review     |     Book 3 Review

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#3: Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

Furyborn was one of my favorite books of 2018 so it's no surprise that Kingsbane also landed a spot on my favorites list. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019 and it definitely blew me away. So much happens in this book and there were so many mind-blowing moments. I definitely was completely destroyed by the ending of this book and I can't believe the massive cliffhangers that we got left with. I just have one thing to say...I really need a copy of Lightbringer already.

Goodreads     |     Review

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#2: The City of Brass & The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

These first two books in the Daevabad trilogy also were a complete shock to me when I read them. To be fair, I'd heard nothing but good things about them but I didn't really have the desire to get copies of them until I won a giveaway for the first book and ended up with an ARC of the second. I binged them one after the other and fell in love. There was not a moment while reading these where I wanted to put them down. The characters are phenomenal, the world extremely vivid and interesting, and the political intrigue and social issues kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. I am so excited for the final book to release in 2020, though I am sad to see this trilogy come to an end so soon after I discovered it.

Goodreads     |     Book 1 Review     |     Book 2 Review

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#1: Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

My favorite book of the year definitely goes to Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin. Not only is this book extremely gorgeous, but the story itself is a perfect combination of a lot of my favorite tropes and genres. We have a fantasy romance with some enemies-to-lovers, arranged marriage, witch vs witch hunter, and even more. I read this book so quickly and I think about it all the time. I've been wanting to reread it from the moment that I finished the last page and I can't wait to actually be able to reread it later this year.

Goodreads     |     Review

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Anticipated 2020 Book Releases

Hey everyone! We are at the start of my favorite time of the year: the holidays and winter break! This is my favorite time of the year for a few reasons, the first being Christmas, the second being winter break and time off school, and the third being all the amazing bookish blog posts I get to write this time of year! I love wrapping up the year and looking forward to the next one, which is what I'm going to be doing in this post today.

This upcoming year (and decade in general), are promising to bring a lot of amazing book releases. I have many upcoming releases on my radar and preorder list, but I thought I'd narrow it down to my top 10 to share with you all! Some of these are coming very soon, others may be months away, but I'm excited for all of them nonetheless!

At number 10, we have the second book in the Chronicles of Avilésor by Sara A. Noë, Phantom's Mask. The first book, A Fallen Hero, was one of my favorite reads of 2019 and I've been eagerly anticipating any news on the second book. We have no cover yet but there is a title and an excerpt already that have me so excited for its release.

Number 9 we have the fourth An Ember in the Ashes novel by Sabaa Tahir. While I admit that I haven't yet read the third book in this series, that's only because I am planning on doing a complete series binge when the final book releases. There's no confirmed release date yet but based on a lot of stuff from the author's writing updates, I hope it will be coming in 2020.

For number 8 I have Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco. This is another book with no cover yet but we do have a synopsis that is absolutely killing me! I absolutely adore Kerri's Stalking Jack the Ripper series and I am so excited to see what she's going to do next. This one is the first in a new series and is set to come out in the fall!

At number 7 I actually have two books but they're within the same series: the 8th and 9th novels in The Veil Diaries series by B.L. Brunnemer. It's no secret that this series is one of my favorites and we're finally approaching the end (well, is it the end when there's a sequel series following the same characters but a different storyline?). I cannot wait to reread the entire series in anticipation of the newest book, which should be out in January while the last should be out later in the year.

For number 6 I have the fourth Witchlands novel by Susan Dennard. There's been some talk that it's not going to come out until 2021, which would be sad, but as of right now there's still a chance it will  be 2020 so I'm going to include it on this list. This is a series I discovered at the end of 2018 and binged in the first few months of this year. I absolutely fell in love with the characters, the world, and Susan's writing. I cannot wait for the next book!

Number 5 we have Lightbringer by  Claire Legrand, the final book in the Empirium trilogy. I am absolutely stoked for this book. After the cliffhanger in Kingsbane, I've been desperately needing to know what happens and we're only a few months away (okay, like 10 months away but still). I'm sad the trilogy is coming to a close but I'm also excited to finally have resolution with the characters and a (hopefully) happy ending.

At number 4 I have The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. This is the third and final book in the Daevabad trilogy and I'm so excited. I discovered this series at the beginning of the year and, after binging them rather quickly, I am dying to know what happens next. I'm already planning a reread of the first two books and I'm just so excited for when the time will finally arrive.

For number 3 I have the fourth A Court of Thorns and Roses novel. While it's not confirmed to be out in 2020, the most recent announcement said it would be coming at the end of 2020, so I'm holding out hope for it. I'm so excited for this spin-off novel and I can't wait to see how Sarah writes these new character perspectives and new story.

At number 2 is Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin, the sequel to Serpent & Dove aka my favorite book of 2019. I absolutely adored Serpent & Dove and I cannot wait to get more of the characters, magic system, and high stakes in the sequel. I also just know that there's going to be an absolutely gorgeous cover for it to match the first one.

And, lastly, we have House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. This is the first book in Sarah's new adult fantasy series and I am so excited for it. ARCs have started going out and I have serious jealousy at everyone who's gotten one. I already have four editions preordered and I know that more will probably follow. I have such faith in Sarah and I cannot wait to read a new story from her set in a contemporary fantasy world!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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September 2019 Wrap-Up!

Admittedly, my reading month wasn't quite the best but my month overall was completely fantastic. I read 8 books and the majority of those were read before I left for studying abroad in London. I'm hoping to get into a better reading routine once I get into an actual schedule this upcoming month but overall I'm having a great time. If you wanna know what I've been up to these past few weeks, I've linked the first two wrap-up posts down below. Otherwise, here are the books I got to! 

BOOKS READ

1.

Title: A Fallen Hero

Author: Sara A. Noë

Rating: 4.75 // 5 stars

Review

2. 

Title: SWAT

Author: Lily Harlem
Rating: 2.75 // 5 stars

It was alright. Short, sweet, to the point. It was long enough to get me through a car ride but I've already forgotten half the characters names and it's only a day later. It was originally included in an anthology which is why it's so short, but I didn't feel connected to the characters or story very much. It was an enjoyable read but nothing spectacular. 

3. 

Title: The Girl the Sea Gave Back
Author: Adrienne Young
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Review

4.
Title: Pumpkinheads
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Illustrator: Faith Erin Hicks
Rating: 4 // 5 stars

5.
Title: A Pact Between the Forgotten
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Rating: 2.5 // 5 stars

It was alright but not my favorite. I enjoy the story and I'm interested in the characters, but for a RH ebook it's priced a little high for how short it is. It's pretty short and, while there are a few scenes with action in them, it's overall not a fast-paced book. I think it could have benefited from being longer. 

6.
Title: The Ravens & The Mysterious Town
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Rating: 2.5 // 5 stars

This one was also alright. I enjoyed it but I think my main issue with these is that they're so short that they don't feel like a complete book. I feel like nothing really happened in this book. From where the stopping points are, I feel like book 1 and book 2 could have been one book altogether since they were pretty short individually. I probably won't continue these but I haven't decided yet. It all depends on when the third book releases and if I'm still interested in reading more.

7.
Title: Becoming the Dark Prince
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

This was such an amazing little bonus that I absolutely loved reading. I'm a big fan of Thomas Cresswell and getting to see inside his head during some of the most pivotal scenes of the series was just fantastic. I have to say, I love him even more after reading this. I also thought this was a great bridge between Escaping From Houdini and Capturing the Devil, which I'm about to start. I just--ugh all the feels after reading this one!

8.
Title: Capturing the Devil
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Rating: 4.75
Review

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BLOG POSTS

August 2019 Wrap-up!
August 2019 Book Haul!

Book Review: "A Fallen Hero" by Sara A. Noë
Book Review: "The Girl the Sea Gave Back" by Adrienne Young
Studying Abroad in London: An Introduction
Blog Tour: "Steel Tide" by Natalie C. Parker
Studying Abroad in London: Fresher's Week

Book Review: "Capturing the Devil" by Kerri Maniscalco
Book Review: "The (Other) F Word" edited by Angie Manfredi
Blog Tour: "Crier's War" by Nina Varela

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