Month: June 2019

Top Ten Books I Hope to Read During Summer of 2019

Posted June 24, 2019 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 21 Comments

I’m sure it’s summer somewhere in the USA right now, but in my neck of the woods it’s still 50-60° F everyday. I’m not complaining at all, mind you. I hate the heat, and usually it’s in the 90s-100s by now so I’m loving this. I’m not exactly in the summer mindset right now, though! I love reading light, contemporary reads this time of year along with some romantic suspense and mystery/thriller, and I’ve got a lot on my TBR right now that I’m excited for. I’m looking forward to browsing your lists this week!

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
I just read his upcoming release (Lock Every Door), and it was amazing! I loved the creepy, atmospheric setting and the wacko characters. This one takes place at a summer camp, and I’m so excited!

Murder List by Julie Garwood
I hear Julie Garwood writes amazing romantic suspense, and I’ve enjoyed her historical romance a lot. This one involves a doctor, which is always fun, and has really good reviews.

On the Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci
Nina Bocci wrote Roman Crazy with Alice Clayton, and I loved it! So when the publisher pitched this solo title to me and said it’s for fans of Christina Lauren, I was sold.

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
I’m reading this right now, and it’s fun! Things are a little slow for me at the moment, but I’m thinking it’s going to pick up soon. A group of jocks who get together for a secret book club to read and discuss historical romance novels in an effort to win back the women in their lives is a pretty great storyline!

A Crazy Kind of Love by Mary Ann Marlowe
I’m not usually a fan of rockstars in romance novels. They’re just not for me. But I just read Dating By the Book by Mary, and it’s a new favorite! So I’m interested in reading her other titles.

Beach Wedding Weekend by Rachel Magee
I’m a sucker for Hallmark movies, so of course I’m interested in Hallmark books now! I love books set at weddings. Especially when they include my favorite trope: the fauxmance.

One Summer in Santorini by Sandy Barker
I love books with travel, cruises/ships/boats, and romance. This books has all three!

Bridal Boot Camp by Meg Cabot
This just sounds so fun!

Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren
I LOVE Christina Lauren’s more recent novels, and I’m looking forward to reading this series that I’ve heard so much about.

True Gold by Michelle Pace
Romantic suspense set in Alaska. Count me in.

Which books are on your summer TBR?
And do you have any recommendations for really good contemporary romance,
romantic suspense, or thrillers?


My Thoughts (So Far) On Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson | Blog Tour

Posted June 20, 2019 by Jana in Blog Tour / 3 Comments

Welcome to my stop along the official Sorcery of Thorns book tour today, hosted by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing! I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Sorcery of Thorns for so long, so when I was invited to participate I immediately said yes! Unfortunately, due to a lot of heavy life stuff happening all at the same time, I was unable to finish the book in time for today’s stop. I’m still reading and enjoying it, though, and thought I’d share my thoughts so far!


Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on June 4, 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 456
Format: ARC
Source: From the publisher
AmazonAdd to Goodreads

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

Since I haven’;t finished yet, my thoughts are kind of all over the place and very unorganized. What better time than now for me to just list everything out! I’ll be writing a formal review once I’ve finished, but here are my thoughts so far…

  1. Right off the bat, I’m in love with this magical library. And the grimoires are actually living things that are capable of getting into so much trouble. I don’t know how long the library is going to play a part in this story since Elisabeth has been shipped away to the care of an evil sorcerer for treason.
  2. This book starts off with a major bang, completely capturing your attention.
  3. I’ve met Nathaniel briefly, but I can already tell he’s going to be a bucket of swoons. I always seem to love the evil bad boys. His little… sidekick (??), however… I’m undecided on. He’s kinda creepy.
  4. Elisabeth is a very strong character and I love her. Is she afraid of anything? I’m not sure she is. She’s relatable.
  5. I’m feeling a slow burning, hate-to-love story brewing and I’m here for it.
  6. I love Margaret’s writing. A book about bookishness must be well-written, and I’m really enjoying her prose.
  7. The worldbuilding is also super interesting, and I’m excited to dig deeper.

Ok, there you have my thoughts so far! I’m so grateful to the publisher for understanding that my life got really hard over the last few months, and letting me stay on the tour to help spread love for this book! I haven’t read An Enchantment of Ravens yet, but I’m thinking I should! First, though, I need to finish this one… and soon. I can’t wait to see what happens next (although I hear the ending is a doozy, so now I’m scared).


About Margaret Rogerson

Margaret Rogerson is the author of the New York Times bestseller An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns. She has a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from Miami University. When not reading or writing she enjoys sketching, gaming, making pudding, and watching more documentaries than is socially acceptable (according to some). She lives near Cincinnati, Ohio, beside a garden full of hummingbirds and roses. Visit her at MargaretRogerson.com.

Blog Tour Schedule:
Monday, May 27 – Alexa Loves Books
Tuesday, May 28 – The Novel Knight
Wednesday, May 29 – Adventures of a Book Junkie
Thursday, May 30 – Awkwordly Emma
Friday, May 31 – Mel to the Any
Monday, June 3 – The Fox’s Hideaway
Tuesday, June 4 – The Starry-Eyed Revue
Wednesday, June 5 – The Bookish Beagle
Thursday, June 6 – Super Space Chick
Friday, June 7 – Flying Paperbacks
Monday, June 10 – Bookshelves & Paperbacks
Tuesday, June 11 – Nightly Reading
Wednesday, June 12 – Novel Heartbeat
Thursday, June 13 – Hammock of Books
Friday, June 14 – The Everlasting Library
Monday, June 17 – The Eater of Books!
Tuesday, June 18 – Beware of the Reader
Wednesday, June 19 – This Dark Material
Thursday, June 20 – That Artsy Reader Girl
Friday, June 21 – SimplyAlly Tea

My Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases During the Second Half of 2019

Posted June 17, 2019 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 22 Comments

I cannot believe we’re approaching the halfway point of 2019. I always love this topic because I love getting excited about upcoming releases! I also love seeing what other people are excited about, and filling up my TBR with even more books!

Virtually Yours by Sarvenaz Tash

NYU freshman Mariam Vakilian hasn’t dated anyone in five months, not since her high school sweetheart Caleb broke up with her. So, when she decides to take advantage of an expiring coupon and try out a new virtual reality dating service, it’s sort of a big deal.

It’s an even bigger deal when it chooses as one of her three matches none other than Caleb himself. That has to be a sign, right?

Except that her other match, Jeremy, just happens to be her new best friend IRL.

Mariam’s heart is telling her one thing, but the app is telling her another. So, which should she trust? Is all fair in modern love?

The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall

‘I’m your husband, Chloe. We’re a partnership now and we do what’s best for us as a couple. Staying here is going to be the best option.’ He picked up his drink and took a sip. ‘It’s not open for discussion. We’re not going home.’ 

Chloe had the dream wedding. Dan is her perfect man. They haven’t known each other for long, but as she walked down the aisle and saw him standing by the altar, tears glistening in his eyes, she knew this was forever.

Later, as they relax on a beautiful island, settling in to their new married life together, they congratulate themselves on their lovely wedding day, and Dan jokes that he’d like them to stay there forever.

But as the honeymoon goes on, he becomes increasingly adamant. They shouldn’t leave. In fact, he won’t let her…


Milady by Laura L. Sullivan

She was the greatest nemesis of d’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers–but Milady de Winter was so much more than just a villain in their swashbuckling adventures.

I’ve gone by many names though you know me as Milady de Winter: Villainess, seductress, a secondary player in The Three Musketeers story.

But we all know history was written by men, and they so often get things wrong.

So before you cast judgment, let me tell you of how a girl from the countryside became the most feared woman in all of Europe. A target for antipathy, a name whispered in fear or loathing.

I don’t need you to like me. I just need to be free.

It’s finally time I tell my own story. The truth isn’t tidy or convenient, but it’s certainly more interesting.


The Killing Tide by Dani Pettrey

When one Coast Guard officer is found dead and another goes missing, CGIS special agent Finn Walker faces his most dangerous and volatile crime yet. His only clues are what little evidence remains aboard the dead officer’s adrift cutter, and the direction the clues point will test him and the guard to their limits.

Complicating matters further is the arrival of investigative reporter Harper Grace. An unrelenting journalist who was nearly killed as the result of her last expose, Harper has been sent to Wilmington on the hunch of her boss that the Coast Guard is stonewalling the truth about the officers. An interview with the dead victim’s wife convinces her there’s a story worth uncovering, even if it means risking her life again.

Thrown together by the heinous crime, Finn and Harper can’t ignore the sparks or judgments flying between them, but will they be able to see past their preconceptions long enough to track down an elusive killer before they become his next mark?

The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare

They call him the Duke of Ruin.

To an undaunted wallflower, he’s just the beast next door.

Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society—and now he wants to get even.

Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart.

When her imposing—and attractive—new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes.

Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens?

And a two-legged dog.

And a foul-mouthed parrot.

And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog . . .

Easier said than done, for a cold-blooded bastard who wouldn’t know a loving home from a workhouse. Soon he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she’s set her mind and heart on saving him.

Not if he ruins her first.

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

The Last Magician meets A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue in this thrilling tale filled with magic and set in the mysterious Carpathian Mountains where a girl must hunt down Vlad the Impaler’s cursed ring in order to save her father.

Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck arrives from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

All’s faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author Jen DeLuca.

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon’s family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn’t have time for Emily’s lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she’s in her revealing wench’s costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they’re portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can’t seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women’s suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain’s politics at the Queen’s command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can’t deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn’t be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn’t claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring…or could he?

Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke….

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.

During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.

With Christina Lauren’s signature “beautifully written and remarkably compelling” (Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author) prose and perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, Twice in a Blue Moon is an unforgettable and moving novel of young love and second chances.

What books are on your list this week?


My Top Ten Unpopular Bookish Opinions

Posted June 10, 2019 by Jana in About Me, Top Ten Tuesday / 38 Comments

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday! Thank you so much to those of you who offered me your condolences last week. I wanted to thank each of you individually, but this week has been so crazy that I haven’t had time yet. I still plan on it!

This week’s topic was submitted by Kaitlin Galvan at Somehow I Manage Blog, and I hope we can all muster up the courage to publish our lists this week. lol. No throwing tomatoes at me! I am who I am! However, just because an opinion is unpopular doesn’t mean it’s negative. Maybe you love love triangles or instalove. Maybe you think a super unpopular book is wonderful. Maybe you really, really love a character that many people you know couldn’t stand. I can’t wait to see everyone’s unpopular bookish opinions this week!

1. Women’s Fiction is the worst genre.

2. The more dog-eared pages, the better. And spine creases are great, too! I like my books to look read.

3. Ebook is the actual best book format. Come at me.

4. My organizational framework for my bookshelves is called “If it fits (or barely fits), it will be shoved there.” But I do keep my series together. I’m not a heathen.

5. The original cover design is almost always better than the redesign (unless you’re going from self-published to traditional published).

6. Readathons sound absolutely miserable.

7. I have no interest in/do not like the books of John Green, Rainbow Rowell, David Levithan, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Katie McGarry, and Neil Gaiman. I DNFed The Raven Boys. I also DNFed The Diviners, The Bear and the Nightingale, and the Divergent trilogy.

8. Literary Fiction is just a fancy title for boring books.

9. I’m fine with letting people like the books they want to like. I don’t shun or ridicule or bash people for liking books I don’t necessary like/agree with/approve of and I don’t hate people for hating the books I love. Enjoy (or don’t) your books, my friends. No judgement here.

10. I really hate reading swear words.

Ok, let’s talk! Do we share any unpopular bookish opinions?
What are some of yours?

 


Top Ten Tuesday Link-Up: Books From Your Favorite Genre

Posted June 3, 2019 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 20 Comments

Hi everyone! There was a death in my family recently, and this past week has been very busy and emotional for me. As such, I have not been in a blogging headspace at all. I’m posting the link-up, though, so we can all still share! I love topics like this one because the lists can be so varied and help me add so many books to my TBR.

Could you do me a favor and add the genre you selected for this week’s topic after your name in the Linky this week? For example: That Artsy Reader Girl – Contemporary Romance. This will help everyone find the lists they’ll love so much easier. :)