Spooky Season Readathon TBR

It's now September and that means it's spooky season! It doesn't matter if it's still hot outside or that I'm still in dresses and sitting with a million fans around me. September means spooky season and spooky season means spooky books! This is my favorite time of year (September-December) and I can't wait to dive into all the witchy and spooky books I've been saving for this time. I doubt I'm going to get through all of these books this season but here are a bunch that I'm interested in reading during this spooky season...

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Up first is The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling. This is the sequel/spin-off/companion book to The Ex Hex which was one of my favorite reads of 2021. This sequel came out last year but I was so stressed during last autumn that I didn't get around to it despite my excitement for it. The first book was like a spooky romcom with such great setting and vibes. I loved it so much and I'm just excited to be back in this town and with a rivals-to-lovers storyline. 

Then I want to pickup Payback's A Witch by Lana Harper. This is a sapphic(?) witchy romcom that has been on my tbr since 2021 and I'm determined that this is going to be the year that I finally get to it. I don't know too much about it, all I know is there's queer-ness and I think a competition or something? I'm all for that. Plus, one of my family read it and loved it so I'm even more eager to get to this one. 

Up next is The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. I have been wanting to read this since it came out last year but didn't get to it during the spooky season. I've been eagerly waiting for spooky season to come back around so that I could get to this. All I really know is there's romance but it's also apparently the perfect cozy fantasy vibes. 

Then we have One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. I know hardly anything about the actual plot but it's been getting pretty popular on tiktok and bookstagram so I've been thinking about it quite a bit lately. There's a girl with a monster in her head? And a potential romance? I'm in. Plus, the sequel comes out in October so if I love it then I can immediately dive into that one! 

Then I want to get to Belladonna by Adalyn Grace. I've been excited for this since it came out and I've had a copy for a year now. The sequel just came out and I think it's about time for me to finally read it as it's been on the top of my TBR for a while. All I really know is there's a mystery, a girl who can't die, and Death as an actual character. If that doesn't sound like the perfect book for spooky season then I don't know what is. 

Up next is A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley. All I know about this is it's a witchy romcom between a witch and a legendary demon. Sounds like the perfect spooky recipe to me. I'm not a big horror fan so spooky but comedic movies and books are perfect for me and this sounds right in that category. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Stay Home Reading Rush TBR

Hey all! I am super excited because, for the first time ever, I am participating in a readathon! Reading Rush (formerly Booktubeathon) is hosting a stay home version of their longer readathon that starts tomorrow. I've never been able to participate in a readathon before due to work, school, familial obligations, etc but now that I'm stuck home due to COVID, I am going to try and participate! I will still have a bit of homework to do on some of the days, but I'm hoping to read at least four books in these next four days!

There are four challenges for the next four days and I am hoping to get through all of them. The first of these challenges is to read a book with the house on the cover. This was a bit of a tough prompt for me because I don't really have books with houses on the cover. In the end, I'm deciding to reread  and annotate House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. The word "house" is in the title and on the cover, so it technically counts for this prompt. This is a rather long one and it took me days to read it when I read it earlier this month, so I'm not going to be too upset if I don't finish it. As long as a I read four books total, I'll be happy!

The second challenge is to read a book in the same room the whole time. I'm actually going with two books for this because I wanted to binge them this month and I don't want to wait until after the readathon is over to do so. The two books are Finders Keep Her and Losers Reap Her by Hayley Stumbo. I've read the first of these two but want to reread so that I can finally read the last book! They're gripping stories with easy writing so I'm confident that I can read them in one place and possibly both in one day!

The third challenge is to read a book set somewhere you wish to go. I decided to go with These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner for this one because I kind of want to go to space. Plus, this book has been on my shelves for so long and I figure it's time I finally start reading through a lot of my backlist books. If I love this book, I also would like to finish the trilogy this month once the readathon is over!

The last challenge is to read a book that will make you smile. For this one, I am going with She's With Me by Jessica Cunsolo. I did read this in March but I wanted to reread it from the moment that I finished it. It's such a fun, addicting book and it doesn't take that long to read so I figured it would be an easy book to finish out the readathon. 

So my goal is to read five books but if I only read four then I am happy with that number and will consider my first readathon a success! As long as I get quite a bit of homework done today I think I'll be able to devote most of the next four days to this readathon and relaxing. Are you participating? 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

Hey all! Today I'm finally doing a tag that I've been excited to do for months: the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag. I've seen so many people doing these and I've loved watching/reading all of it so I'm especially excited for this post. This tag was created years ago and this is my first time actually doing it! 

So far in 2019 I've read 87 (!!) books. I'm still not quite sure how I've managed to do that but I can only hope that the second half of the year is going to be as good. I have read so many great books and I have so many books that I'm excited to get to so let's just dive in! (P.S. just so that things don't get too crowded, all of these questions pertain only to this year and exclude rereads. P.P.S. some of these I could have listed 10+ but I've limited all but the last question to 5 or less). 

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1. Best Book You've Read 

This was so hard to narrow down BUT I have a few. I'm not going to go super in depth on any of these since there are more of them than some other questions, but in no particular order we have:

• The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty
• Hunting Prince Dracula and Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
• Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
• Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

I have so many other books I loved this year so far but these are the ones that are tied for top book of the year (so far). 

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2. Best Sequel You've Read 

For this one I only have two, so I will be discussing them a bit but, again, not super in-depth. Also, I only picked books that were the second in a series even though I did read some books that were third, fourth, etc in a series. 

First up is Kingsbane by Claire Legrand. I was so highly anticipating this sequel that I was worried it wasn't going to live up to my expectations. It did. Everything got so much more intense in this book and the stakes were a lot higher. Additionally, that ending had me absolutely shook (and still does).

I also have The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty. I loved the first book so much and this book takes things to a whole new level. You care even more about the characters, the political intrigue and tensions are that much higher, and you're on the edge of your seat the whole time. 

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3. New Release You Haven't Read but Want To

I have so many of these, so I've again narrowed it down to five. These are also only books I currently own and not all of the books I haven't yet bought but want to!

• Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• Finale by Stephanie Garber
• We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
• The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

I'm actually currently reading one of these right now, but I'm not very far in yet so I still decided to count it for this question. 

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4. Biggest Disappointment

I have three of these so I figured I would actually talk about them in this section. For two of these, I still enjoyed the book but it wasn't what I was expecting. For the last one, I just flat out did not like it.

First we have Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. Now, I didn't hate this book but I also was expecting something so much better. After the amazingness that Lady Midnight was, this book just let me down so much. I can't even get into it too much without making this super long so...just...here's my review.

Second is Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. Again, I still enjoyed this book but I also didn't think it lived up to my expectations, the hype, or the greatness that was the Illuminae Files. I also think that it might not have been the right time for me to read it as I was super stressed and basically forcing myself to get through it. You can find my full review here.

Lastly is Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan which I just genuinely did not like. I can see from a rational standpoint where the hype is coming from but I also don't understand how so many critical readers think that this book is so amazing and has nothing wrong (insert shame-faced emoji here). When I first finished it I thought it was pretty good but looking back over the past few months...I did not have a fun time reading it. I could go on a whole tangent as to why this book disappointed me.

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5. Biggest Surprise

First I have Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard which surprised me in the sense that it took this series to another level that the first two books hadn't reached yet. Also, all the twists in the end were just BAM BAM BAM.

Second, I have Kingsbane by Claire Legrand due to that killer plot twist at the end of the book that I still cry over. I honestly didn't see it coming and that in and of itself was a big surprise this year. 

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6. Favorite New Author

S.A. Chakraborty, hands down. I'm so excited that she's going to be releasing another series after the conclusion of the Daevabad Trilogy. 

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7. Newest Fictional Crush

I don't really have one? I just don't crush very hard anymore and a lot of the characters I love are ones that I loved before this year. I think I crush hard in the moment but for crushes I constantly think about, I've noticed that it usually takes a few books for me to die-hard love them. 

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8. Newest Favorite Character

Nahri from The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. She's just so strong and amazing even though she's in such a terrible situation. I love her so much and we STAN. 

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9. Book that Made You Cry

The short list?

• Only A Breath Apart by Katie McGarry
• Kingsbane by Claire Legrand
• Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
• The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Some of these were happy tears, some were sad tears, and a lot had a mix of both. There were others, but here are the books where I cried the most. 

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10. Book that Made You Happy

Pretty much everything above but add Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey and so many other books. I read a lot of books that made me happy so far this year and I'm so glad about that fact.

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11. Favorite Book to Movie Adaptation

I didn't see any. 

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12. Favorite Review You've Written

• Kingsbane by Claire Legrand: 
• http://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2019/05/book-review-kingsbane-by-claire-legrand.html 
• Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare: 
• http://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2019/05/book-review-queen-of-air-and-darkness.html
• Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
• http://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2019/04/book-review-escaping-from-houdini-by.html

I think the main reason I liked these were because I could just gush or put a lot of discussion into them. Also, I loved most of these books. 

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13. Most Beautiful Book you Bought

To go with one that I haven't yet talked about: Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

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14. What do you need to read by the end of the year? 

Pretty much my entire TBR but especially:

• Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard
• Godsgrave and Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff
• Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
• The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh
• Red Rising saga by Pierce Brown
• Finale by Stephanie Garber
• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
• The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
• Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Top 5 Wednesday: Top of My TBR

Hey all, it's Wednesday again which means it's time for another Top 5 Wednesday post! This week's prompt is the top 5 books on your TBR and it was a little difficult to decide which were my top 5 as my TBR is massive. I ended up cheating a bit and putting books of the same series together but here we are. I also limited it to the books I brought with me to college and didn't include any books I'm currently reading. Let's just dive straight in! 

At number five, we have Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. I've heard so many people raving about this book and, honestly, I think that may be a reason why I haven't read it yet. I want it to live up to my expectations that it's going to be amazing and I'm scared that it won't. Either way, I'm still excited to read this book and I'm just trying to work through a stack of books for review before I get to this one.

For number four, I chose Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare. I love The Dart Artifices and I just finished Lord of Shadows recently and it tore my heart out. I know that this book will do the same but I'm excited nonetheless to read it. 

At number three is The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. I'm a part of the street team for this book and all the promotions I've been doing for it have gotten me super excited to read it myself. It's set in Paris and deals with a heist and a gang of characters and that just sounds right up my alley. I'm hoping to get to this soon! 

For number two, I chose The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty. I was kindly sent a copy of the second book by the publisher and I won a copy of the first in a giveaway, so not only am I excited to read these soon, but I also want to help promo this book as much as possible when I read it. 

And, lastly, at number one we have Sightwitch and Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard. I was lucky enough to get an arc of Bloodwitch and I've been making my way through the series. I have to read Sightwitch before it, though, so I'm hoping to read that one really soon so that I can dive back into this series with Bloodwitch!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Top 5 Wednesday: Books I Didn't Get to In 2018

Hello all, here we are with another Top 5 Wednesday, and the last Top 5 Wednesday of the year! And what a year it has been. I've read so many amazing books and I can only hope 2019 is as good of a reading year. That being said, I have a pretty big TBR and there were a lot of books I wanted to read by the end of 2018 that I just didn't get to. So, here are the top 5 books I didn't get to in 2018 but want to read in 2019!

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At number five, we have A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir. The only reason I didn't read this when it came out was because I need to reread the first two books because I've forgotten A LOT of what has happened. I want my mind to be fresh for the awesomeness that I know this book is going to be. So I have to reread the first two books which means dedicating a lot of time away from other books I want to read, hence why I haven't read it yet! 

At number four, we have The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. So many people have raved about how good this book is and I've been wanting to read it for over a year now. This was another one I had planned to read in these last few months of 2018 but just wasn't able to squeeze in. Never fear, though, for I have plans to read it this spring! 

For number three, I chose The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Like with Reaper, I wanted to reread the Lux series since this is a spinoff of that series and it's been a while since I read those books. I've reread the first three and have two to go, so for this one it really is I'm just not able to read it yet. I am planning on finishing my reread by the end of January or February, though, and then reading this one immediately after.

At number two, I went with Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco. I loved the first book in this series and I can't believe that I haven't yet read this sequel or the third book that came out this year. I started reading this back before it released but I was just starting my semester as a college freshman and put it down one day to study or something and never picked it back up even though I was enjoying the story. Still, I plan on rereading the first book and getting through this one and the third very soon!

And, lastly, at number one, we have Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. So many of my trusted bibliophile friends adore this book and it's been sitting on my shelves since its release. I cannot believe I haven't read it yet but I'm hoping to very, very soon! It's coming back with me to college and, since I'm being selective with what I bring back, I'm hoping that will help motivate me to finally make time for this book! 

So, there you have it, five books I'm dying to read in 2019 because I wasn't able to get to them this year. There are countless other books I want to read in the coming year but these are definitely pretty high on the list!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Top 5 Wednesday: Books I Want to Read Before 2019

Hello everyone! We're back with another exciting top 5 Wednesday. This week, I'm discussing the top 5 books I want to reread before 2019 rolls around. As I'm sure is the case with a lot of you, my TBR is pretty big and there's always a book that I want to read, so narrowing it down to the 5 I want to read before 2019 was hard. Hopefully, I'll get through all of these! I have Thanksgiving break coming next week and eventually winter break after that, so fingers crossed I can get through these and more.

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These aren't really in any order, but let's start with Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. I've been hearing nothing but great things about this series since this book came out years ago. In fact, I've had no excuse to not read it since I've had the book since it came out. But, alas, I haven't read it yet. However, since I just got word that I won a giveaway for the entire series, I'm planning on binging the series this winter break before the end of 2019. Exciting, right?!

Then we have P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, the sequel to one of the only contemporary books I've read and actually loved. The first book was so cute and I loved the movie, but I'm not sated. I need more! I cannot wait to read this one, hopefully by the end of November!

Next I have Vicious by V.E. Schwab, a book that everyone seems to love. The hype around this book, and now its sequel, has been insane lately. Plus, with the gorgeous cover, I knew that I had to read it eventually. I think that this will be such a fun read and I cannot wait to get to it.

After that, we have Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. So many people seem to love this and I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but that will happen! I am counting on myself to get through this duology and finally see what all of the hype is about.

And, lastly, I want to read The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, which is actually the book I am starting today after I fill my NaNo quota. This is a high fantasy that has received amazing reviews and I cannot wait to dive into it. I actually read the first 60 pages when I got it and was really immersed in the story, but was too busy to actually finish it at the time. Now is my time! 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Top 5 Wednesday: Largest Books on My TBR

Hello everyone! Today I'm back with another Top 5 Wednesday, what a surprise! November has been going pretty well so far. If you weren't aware, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo and I'm behind a little, but either way I'm making progress on a project I've been thinking about for a very long time! I've also read two books already, so I'd say we're doing well!

Anyway, this week's topic for T5W is the largest books on my TBR. If you don't know what TBR means, it stands for "To Be Read." I have a pretty large TBR that I am a little ashamed of, but I'm taking strides to reduce it. Either way, here are some of the biggest books on my TBR. I may have some that are larger, but these are among the ones that came to mind first! It should also come at no surprise to anyone that most of these are adult high fantasies...

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At number five, we have The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss at 662 pages for the US paperback. I've heard nothing but good things about this book and yet, in all my years of owning it, I have yet to read it. I don't know why I'm intimidated, since I've read many books that are longer than this, but I am just worried that my expectations won't be lived up to. 

For number four, I picked Malice by John Gwynne at 672 pages for the paperback. This is one that I discovered very recently and haven't picked up yet, but I'm excited to get to when I finally get the time. It's a little bit longer than The Name of the Wind but it's still nowhere near as long as the longest book I've ever read.

Next, at number three, we have Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare at 701 pages for the US hardcover. Gasp! I know, I haven't read it yet. But I'm planning on doing a series binge when the final book comes out. I've noticed that I'm generally really bad at reading Cassandra Clare books when they come out, but when I finally read them, I love them! Here's to hoping I can binge this trilogy over winter break. 

At number two, we have Dragonfly in Amber, the sequel to Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon which comes in at 743 pages for the US paperback. I know exactly why I haven't read this one yet. I watched the first season of the show before I read the first book, and I think that really helped with how dense these books are. But when I tried to go into this one without watching the second season, I was really struggling. Therefore, I need to rewatch the first season of the show and continue on so that I can then read this book, which I plan on getting to at some point! 

And, lastly, at number one we have The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson at a whopping 1,007 pages for the US hardcover. This is one of my friend's favorite series and I've been meaning to get into Brandon Sanderson's writing for a while, so I definitely plan on reading it at some point in the next year! I think with this one it is definitely a size intimidation issue, but since I recently finished a 980 page book, I think that I can get this one done pretty easily. I just have to find the time! 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Follow my bookstagram here. New giveaway will be posted soon!

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Get free worldwide shipping with Book Depository using my affiliate link

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