NEW BOOK CHANNEL?!

Yes that may be a bit dramatic but I'm very excited. First off - I'm sorry for how long it's been but my mental health has been an up and down roller coaster lately, but I'm on an upswing. I can't say this won't happen again, where I go a long span without posting, but hopefully not quite as long.

However, let's get into the really exciting news. My best friend, Brianna, and I started a booktube channel together! You may remember I use to post some videos on my personal channel but Bree and I have been talking about doing something YouTube related together for forever and, well, she came up with this idea and how could I not be on board?

That doesn't mean I won't also be trying to post here more, but I will also be posting when new videos come out (and those posts will also have links to any/all books I talk about, a good way to have everything in one place hopefully). So, without further rambling, here's our introduction video:

Bout of Book 26 | Everything (sign up, TBR, update post)

General + TBR

Bout of Books if one of my favorite readathons and this is round 26 of it! I don't even know how many I've taken part in now, I think my first one was the 7th? And now here we are.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 26 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

boutofbooks blog
BoB twitter

I'll be updating on twitter and instagram, along with here, and I have no idea what my plans are for reading.

Updates

Monday
Number of books I've read today: 2
Pages read: 240
Books:
The Test by Sylvian (started and finished - 112)
The Last Olympian, Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, Robert Venditti (started and finished - 128)

Notes:
I didn't read much but I wanted to read something on the first day of this readathon, and try and working on finishing a month long reading challenge I'm working on.


Thursday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 3
Pages read: 41
Total # of pages: 280 
Books:
The Undercover Rock Star by Jenna Galicki (started and finished - 41 pages)

Notes:
I spent most of the day hanging out with a friend (and trying to read in a barnes and noble but actually just talking about HP). As you do. At least as I do.

Friday
Number of books I've read today:
Total # of books I've read:
Pages read:
Total # of pages: 
Books:


Notes:


Saturday
Number of books I've read today:
Total # of books I've read:
Pages read:
Total # of pages:
Books:


Notes:


Sunday
Number of books I've read today:
Total # of books I've read:
Pages read:
Total # of pages:
Books:


Notes:

Bout of Book 25 | Sign up + Update post

And it's that time again, time for another round of bout of books. I have the time again to be an expert - so any questions, feel free to ask here or on social media - and I'm so excited to try and buckle down and get some reading done. Especially because so many good books come out on the 14th - one of which I've already been hyping for a while now (Red, White, and Royal Blue, go forth and be happy).

Anyway, this part of the post is just for sign up - below will (eventually) be my TBR and then daily updates on what I get up to. It'll probably be a slow start to the week since I am heading on a few day trip for a book event.

Information:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 25 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Bout of Books blog
BoB sign up
Twitter 
Instagram 

TBR (possibilities)

• The Ice Princess by Elizabeth Holt
• Read Queer America by Samantha Allen (currently-reading)
• The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (currently-reading)
• The Art of Three by Erin McRae (currently-reading)
• I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
• Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (reread)

Updates

Monday
Notes:
I read a lot of fan fiction and packed for my train journey the next day (today as of writing this), here I come Red, White, and Royal Blue launch!


Tuesday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Pages read: 120
Books:
The Ice Princess by - started and finished - 120 pages

Notes:
Read this one for a romanceopoly challenge (the second mystery one, if anyone else is taking part), and I enjoyed it. It wasn't anything super special to me but it was fun and entertaining, I'd definitely consider checking out more of this author's work.

Wednesday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 2
Pages read: 432
Total # of pages:  552
Books:
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren - started and finished - 432 pages

Notes:
I've been slowing making my way through Christina Lauren's backlog and so was excited to be approved for this ARC, though the release date snuck up on me. I'll be having a full review coming very soon but I enjoyed it a lot, gave it 4/5 stars.

Thursday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 3
Pages read: 23
Total # of pages: 575
Books:
Wet Nails by Shira Glassman - s+f - 23 pages

Notes:
This was a cute and short f/f story that was a lot of fun. I've been searching out more f/f because it's there, it's just not as prominent as m/m (or, obviously m/f), but I find whenever I do read f/f I enjoy it a whole hell of a lot, and this was no exception. Of course, I've read this authors work before so I was expecting to, and would read anything Shira writes, though there's still a few things I have yet to get to.

Friday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 4
Pages read: 324
Total # of pages: 899
Books:
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver - s+f - 324 pages

Notes:
I've been waiting for this book for... a long time, since before Mason had a book deal since I follow them on twitter. This was one of my most anticipated books for 2019 and it did not disappoint. It hurt but it also was so hopeful and positive, even though the main character wasn't because of depression/anxiety, the book was and that's just something I needed. I'm not enby myself but I am queer so reading queer stories that, ultimately, are positive is one of my favorite things. (Ben is kicked out of their house in the first few pages, so it feels weird calling this a positive book, but it really is separate from that).

Saturday
Number of books I've read today:
Total # of books I've read:
Pages read:
Total # of pages:
Books:


Notes:


Sunday
Number of books I've read today:
Total # of books I've read:
Pages read:
Total # of pages:
Total Time Spent Reading:
Books:


Notes:

Book Review: Dream Daddy: A Dating Dad Simulator

Title(s): Dream Daddy: A Dating Dad Simulator
Author: Leighton Gray, Vernon Shaw, Wendy Xu, + many more
Genre: contemporary, romance, queer, graphic novel
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 128
Publication Date: May 14th, 2019

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Oni Press presents Dream Daddy, a comics series based on the acclaimed Game Grumps visual novel video game!

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator invites the player to Maple Bay, where they play as a single Dad new to town and eager to romance other hot Dads. The comic series tells five standalone stories, each focused on different Maple Bay Dads, their kids, and their relationships with one another. Dive into entirely new stories featuring the backstories and adventures of your favorite Dads, told by game co-creators Leighton Gray and Vernon Shaw, along with the comic industry's top indie talent like C. Spike Trotman, Josh Trujillo, and Kris Anka!

Review:
Disclaimer: received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have to first say that I have no played the Dream Daddy game personally, though I have seen quite a few people playing it and I do own it. It looks amazing - just a bunch of queer dads living their best life - but normally when I set down to play a game I end up opening Stardew Valley or Sims 4 because I am nothing if not consistent (with games).

I've been watching Game Grumps for years, though, and still can't quite believe that these things are connected? Either way - this was something that I was so hyped about and excited about it.

To finally talk about this specific related content, however - I fucking loved it. It was amazing, so much fun and so... just so fun, I think that's the main thing about it. Even before I finished the first issue I knew I was going to love it.

This gives like an extra level to the characters and is just... honestly, it's just a bunch of queer people living life and that's something I always love to read/watch/anything.

I don't have much to say about this because, honestly, you need to just read it - even if you haven't played the game or even have knowledge of the game. I'd suggest reading this anyway - the whole plot of the game isn't important to know, just the basic plot and such would be helpful, and then you can enjoy these weird queer dudes getting up to nonsense.

If you've read this, please let me know. Also - if you've played the game, did you enjoy it as much as everyone else seems to have?

Happy reading!

Book Review: Red, White, & Royal Blue

Title: Red, White, & Royal Blue
Arthur: Casey McQuiston
Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre: contemporary romance, NA
Page Count: 432
Publication date: May 14th, 2019

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends...

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince...

Review:
Disclaimer: I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alright, I'm going to try and be as non-gushy as possible but I'm not sure that's saying much. I loved this book, fell outright head over-heels for it. And I normally hate things that cause me a bunch of second hand embarrassment but, for some reason, the way this was written I didn't feel it?

The major thing in the book I loved so much, besides the characters + relationships, was the humor. It's so on point for the age range, and felt very real - and, since I am also in that age range, exactly hit the right spots for me.

Our main characters are Alex and Henry so of course we get to know them the best, but outside of that I felt like I knew the other characters all pretty well, considering. They felt real and developed, the only one I feel like was maybe a little two dimensional was the step-father and that might just be because he was a really nice guy and that's hard to swallow for me.

Anyway - this book is over four hundred pages and it did not feel like it. Full disclosure, I do read relatively fast, but even with that books can take time. This one, as soon as I started it I knew I was going to love it. And could not stop thinking/talking about it in between the times I had to read it.

I started it on the train on the way to meet friends for dinner and spent a lot of that time talking about it before I could get back on the train and read more. My friends are sick of hearing about me talking about this book by now, but they are all excited to read it. I have just started to reference it as "the gay book," even though there are many queer books we all read, it just feels right. I think it started out as "the gay prince book" so.

I don't want to go on too long or give even minor details away, because I think this book is just incredible to expereince. Which is why, if you've noticed, I've cut the synopsis down. The full thing is long as hell, but I feel like mostly all you need to know is son of the first female president and a prince of england. At least that's all I had to know.

Also I'd kill for a spin-off in relation to the side kids in this book, because I think it'd be amazing. Pezza just seems so cool, and I adored June and Nora. And the fact I actually remembered their names speaks of how much I adored this book. I'd, also, be okay with a spin-off novella or something related to one of the white house secret service whose dating someone  in England, because she puts up with some much shit from Alex. So much.

I'm going to cut myself off here before I just keep gushing - I did say try not to, this is mild, to be honest. This book is amazing, though, definitely one of my favorites of the year. Honestly, probably just one of my favorites period.

It's a good, feel good book that, after the last few years, was deeply needed. It's got amazing characters who actually speak like people in their twenties do right now. It also has some hilarious moments and some serious ones, and just really amazing characters. I don't think I can say that enough, honestly, but I loved these characters. The writing is amazing, the setting is weird and interesting.

I cannot recommend this book enough, I just can't. If you pick up one book in the coming few months, I hope it's this one. Everyone needs some light in their life. Buy this book, borrow it from the library or a friend, because this is the queer book we need right now.

Book Review: Ruse (Want #2)

Title: Ruse (Want #2)
Arthur: Cindy Pon
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Genre: SciFi, dystopian, YA
Page Count: 336
Publication date: March 26th, 2019

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
In near-future Shanghai, a group of teens have their world turned upside down when one of their own is kidnapped in this action-packed follow-up to the “positively chilling” sci-fi thriller Want.

Jason Zhou, his friends, and Daiyu are still recovering from the aftermath of bombing Jin Corp headquarters. But Jin, the ruthless billionaire and Daiyu’s father, is out for blood. When Lingyi goes to Shanghai to help Jany Tsai, a childhood acquaintance in trouble, she doesn’t expect Jin to be involved. And when Jin has Jany murdered and steals the tech she had refused to sell him, Lingyi is the only one who has access to the encrypted info, putting her own life in jeopardy.

Zhou doesn’t hesitate to fly to China to help Iris find Lingyi, even though he’s been estranged from his friends for months. But when Iris tells him he can’t tell Daiyu or trust her, he balks. The reunited group play a treacherous cat and mouse game in the labyrinthine streets of Shanghai, determined on taking back what Jin had stolen.

When Daiyu appears in Shanghai, Zhou is uncertain if it’s to confront him or in support of her father. Jin has proudly announced Daiyu will be by his side for the opening ceremony of Jin Tower, his first “vertical city.” And as hard as Zhou and his friends fight, Jin always gains the upper hand. Is this a game they can survive, much less win?

Review:
Disclaimer: I received this book for an honest review through NetGalley from the publisher.

I've been awaiting this book since I finished Want just after it first came out. Want was my first book by Cindy Pon and made me buy two more - which I haven't read yet, but #booklife problems - and it was amazing. It blew me away. It was young adult dystopian, which I thought I was just over - the market had been saturated and I wanted nothing more to do with it.

The market was saturated, that's not a lie, but it was saturated with white, US based dystopian fiction. All of it taking place in the US - honestly I don't remember very many taking place outside the states, even - and so this felt amazing.

It was a very feminist, intersectional book, with a cast of people of color and also casual queer characters - meaning their being queer didn't really matter, it was just who they were as they were while trying to save the world.

The plot of this surprised me and I was scared it was going to go in a direction that'd make me angry but it didn't go that route. To be honest, I'd almost call this wholesome dystopian, but really it's just good, old (but new) YA dystopian where the heroes, of course, win.

Not without losses and, if you haven't read the first book I won't spoil it here but their plans are ambitious and intense. And they complete them.

The one thing in this book, following up Want that I really enjoyed was seeing a different city in this world. Not far from their city of Taipei, they end up in China - Shanghai to be exact - to help out a friend and to, once again, screw over Jin Corp.

To wrap this up, so I don't just continue to spew love - I really enjoyed this duology, and this book was even better then the first. Fast paced, fun, good characters that you wanted to root for, and also an important look at what our very near future may look like because of climate change.

That's one of the main reasons this book is so important to me because it's terrifying how close we are to this future - this dystopian future - but also maybe people reading this book will get a kick in the pants about the world around them.

Highly, highly recommend this duology, this book especially, and I'd love to chat about it in the comments if you guys have read it or plan to.

Happy Reading!

Poetry Review: The Mermaid's Voice Returns In This One

Title: The Mermaid's Voice Returns In This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic #3)
Arthur: Amanda Lovelace
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Genre: poetry
Page Count: 210
Publication date: March 5th, 2019

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Goodreads Choice Award-winning poet and USA TODAY bestselling author Amanda Lovelace presents the mermaid’s voice returns in this one — the third and final installment in her “women are some kind of magic” series, featuring a foreword from Lang Leav and 13 guest poems from leading voices in poetry such as Nikita Gill, KY Robinson, and Orion Carloto.

The mermaid is known for her siren song, luring bedroom-eyed sailors to their demise. However, beneath these misguided myths are tales of escapism and healing, which Lovelace weaves throughout this empowering collection of poetry, taking you on a journey from the sea to the stars. They tried to silence her once and for all, but the mermaid’s voice returns in this one.

Review:

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher from an honest review through NetGalley.

Trigger warnings (taken from the beginning of the book): child abuse, gun violence, intimate partner abuse, sexual assault, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, alcohol, trauma, death, violence, fire, and possibly more.

As you can see I've rated this 3.5/5 stars. I've read all three of Amanda's poetry collections and, first off: I cannot get over how hard it had to of been to put these out, considering what they contain. I cannot say enough how much respect I have for that, and I felt weird giving this (and her others) a rating less then 5 stars for that.

However, I just didn't super connect to the text, her poetry style in general. Even the poems that I could personally relate to, I didn't feel it super hard? I'm not quite sure what didn't click with me, but all three volumes of poetry were a little just alright for me. Though, I did like the feminist undertones to everything, because we can't have enough of that.

Saying that, though, I did read all three volumes, and I requested this one on NetGalley, so there was something that was pushing me to keep reading.

I'd definitely recommend these, though if you don't think you can without triggering yourself, then please do not. If you can, though, I did enjoy this book, which also feels weird to say considering the content.

Anyway - I would definitely recommend you give them a try, I think the real reason I didn't click with this collection as much was because I enjoy my poetry to be slightly more... flowery I guess? Reviewing poetry is hard.  However, 3.5 isn't a bad rating, either, I enjoyed the collection and such.

If you you've read any of Amanda Lovelace's collections, let me know, and if you end up picking up this collection, or any others.

January 2019 | Monthly Wrap Up

Here we go, back to my roots. I really love monthly or whatever wrap ups, depending on how much I've been reading. I was going to do January and February together but I read just so many things in January that I don't want to make that big of a post, January by itself is already a lot, and one I even considered splitting up. I'm still not fully sure what came over me in January but I read 40+ books.

I mean, over half was manga, but 12 of those were omnibus' and also there were a lot of novels/novellas in there as well. I don't know how this happened at all.

Novels, novellas, ect:
An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole (5/5)
Girl-King by Brittany Cavallaro (3/5)
Band Sinister by KJ Charles (4/5)
The Red Threads of Fortune by JY Yang (5/5)

Strangers in Town by Cedar Sigo (4/5)

From Scratch (Sea Port #1) by Katrina Jackson (5/5) 

Whiskey Words & A Shovel III by R.H. Sin (3/5)

Dog Songs + A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (5/5)

Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown (3/5)

We Should All Be Feminist by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie (4/5)
Toil and Trouble edited by Tess Sharpe + Jessica Spotswood (4/5)

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (5/5)

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren (3/5)

Viral by Lily Myers, Neil Hilborn, Javon Johnson, Rachel Rostad, Pages Matam, Dylan Garity, Guante, Michael Mlekoday (4/5)

Manga:
Fruits Basket, Collectors Editions: Volumes 1 - 12 by Natsuki Takaya (series rating: 5/5)
Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 1-18 by Bisco Hatori (series rating: 4.5/5)
Kamisama Kiss, Volume 1 by Julliette Suzuki (4/5)

Graphic novels/Comics:
The Magic of Christmas by Andrea Edwards, Motoyo Fujiwara (3/5)
Miles Morales #1 by Saladin Ahmed, Javier Garron (5/5)

And, as always, talking about what I read. First off - An Extraordinary Union was incredible and I highly recommend to everyone. I was worried it was going to be too hard to get through, considering the time it's set in, and it isn't exactly an easy read.

Band Sinister took me forever, for some reason, but I thought it was a ton of fun. There's a subplot about a like mystery/horror novel and I was living for it. The Red Threads of Fortune was so good, I'm loving this series so fucking much. It's so different and so rich, which is incredible since they're so short, and the magic system is just so interesting and so much fun.

I'm going to be shouting about From Scratch from the rooftops - it was a poly m/m/f romance and I fucking loved it. The MC was a fat black girl who baked and I loved her, like i was sad when the book was over and we wouldn't get more of her and her boys, and also her friends. The guys I also really enjoyed, longtime friends (hello both meet cute + friends to lovers in one book, triad romances are the shit). Anyway - this was fucking adorable and so good.

I also highly recommend The Wedding Date, I loved it so much - I've been, and still kind of in a romance mood. And also I enjoyed all the stories in Toil and Trouble, and obviously enjoyed both Fruits Baskey and Ouran.

I, honestly, couldn't tell you how many times I've read through Fruits Basket and I'm so excited for the new adaptation that's coming out, that'll follow the whole story. Also the new Miles comics is so good so far - I've only read one issue and I'm already attached?

Anyway - like I said, it was a crazy month for reading, I read so much. I hope you all had a good, or at least not bad, January. Let me know if you've also read any of these books or are planning to.

2019 | Same blog, same me

Hello, friends! I don't know if any of you will realize you're still following my blog until this popped up wherever. And if you decide to leave now that you've been reminded of that, I won't judge you, that's fair. I am planning to get back into blogging again, though.

I'm not sure how it's going to work or what exactly my plan is but, of course, it'll be like 90% book focused, as usual. I'll probably end up with random posts about TV, movies, or games, because I do more then read, which is shocking.

I've really been getting back into reading like I was in 2014, and one of the things that kept me reading that much was blogging regularly. I really enjoy blogging, and also vlogging (maybe more news on that soon), but I have a lot of problem organizing my time. And also sitting down to actually write a post, or film/edit.

I think about things constantly - planning posts before I fall asleep or just during things I don't need my whole brain more - but it's harder, for some reason, for me to sit down and write out my thoughts. Part of it, I know, is that I don't know why people would care about my words.

Of course, I mostly blog for myself, and I need to remind myself about this. I love doing a bunch of posts about whatever, reviews about books I want to push, and also just general wrap ups because I don't always have enough to say to do a full review.

Now - to get back to blogging.

Graphic Novel Review: Philip K. Dick: A Comic Biography

Title: Philip K Dick  (A Comic Biography)
Arthur + Illustrator: Laurent Queyssi, Mauro Marchesi
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Genre: nonfiction, biography
Page Count: 144
Publication date: January 1st, 2019


Synopsis (from goodreads):
One of the greatest writers in science fiction history, Philip K. Dick is mostly remembered for such works as Blade Runner, Minority Report, and Total Recall. His dark, fascinating work centered on alternate universes and shifting realities in worlds often governed by monopolistic corporations and authoritarian governments. His own life story seems a tussle with reality, cycling through five marriages and becoming increasingly disjointed with fits of paranoia and hallucinations fueled by abuse of drugs meant to stabilize him. His dramatic story is presented unvarnished in this biography.

Review:
Disclaimer: I received this this in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through NetGalley

This was a wild ride. I didn't know much about Philip K Dick as a person going into this and so this was fascinating. I've read only one novel by him - Ubik, which I loved - and this made me want to dive back into his work all over again.

I love the art style and the attention to detail I felt like was present. I've never taken perception altering drugs, and I'm not just saying that, but I feel like some of these spreads made me feel like I assume that feels like.

Overall I'd definitely recommend this to people who are even a little curious, but he was a very interesting man. Not a very nice or maybe even good man, but he was trying. And it was a wild ride.

There's also inclusion of snippets of some of his own letters, which was really cool to see his words in his own experience since I've never read any of those. And, to be honest, am not super interested in reading through his letters without the context I feel like was given here.

To wrap it up - I'd recommend this book, for SciFi lovers or others, especially for writers it was interesting to me.

Goodreads

January 2019 | #24in48 Readathon (26th - 27th)

This is going to serve as my announcement and, probably wrap up, post for this readathon. Ideally I'd like to update every few hours, but I have a feeling I'll be doing that on Twitter and Instagram since that'll be easier for me?

If you're confused - the 24in48 readathon is a weekend long readathon in which you try to read for 24 hours total during the 48 hours of the readathon. I've never made it but, either way, I always love taking part. And this round, like all others, I'm still going to try to get to 24. I'm going to be probably relying on audiobooks for part of the time, along with manga.

I don't think I'll hit 24, because I'll also begin to prepare for a trip I'm taking soon, but either way I love this readathon a lot. It's one of my top ones, and I always love participating!

Links for the readathon
Sign up post
Their Twitter + Instagram

The Stack:

to be figured out


My social media: Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads

Bout of Books 24 | Goals, Stack, Update Post

Another January, another bout of books. I'm going to be trying to implement a few of the goals I'm aiming to complete in 2019 - get back into graphic novels/comics, romanceopoly, and also just making reading more of a priority. I'm going to be trying to read every day in 2019 and it'll be great.

The Goals

• Read! Read! Read! But also have fun
• Finish some of the books I've been currently reading for forever
• Finish at least one comic/graphic novel
• Visit blogs and cheer on readings on twitter/instagram

The Stack

• The Red Threads of Fortune by J.Y. Yang
• Toil & Trouble edited by Tess Sharpe (friday update: almost finished! less then 100 pages left)
• A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
• The Red Threads of Fortune by JY Yang
• From Scratch by Katrina Jackson

Updates

Monday
Number of books I've read today: 0
Pages read: 11
Time Spent Reading: 13 minutes
Books:
The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner (continues - 11 pages)

Notes:
Uhhh... so one of my friends may have been like "you wanna try Talisman digitally?" and it's not like I could say no. I still haven't missed a day in 2019, though, of reading something. Hopefully Tuesday will go better, but also I'm being visited by a puppy.


Tuesday
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total # of books I've read: 1
Pages read: 100
Total # of pages:  111
Time Spent Reading: 38 minutes
Total Time Spent Reading: 51 minutes
Books:
The Red Threads of Fortune by JY Yang (finished - 100 pages)

Notes:
Once again, not much reading done, but I really loved Red Threads, and just been loving this series so much. It's so good, I highly recommend.


Wednesday to Sunday
Number of books I've read in these days: 9
Total # of books I've read:10
Pages read: 2,752
Total # of pages: 2,863
Total Time Spent Reading: 9 hours, 36 minutes


Notes:

I'm not listing all the books because I'm tired but I've got to tell you - starting to reread Fruits Basket is possibly one of the best things I've ever done. I reread this series whenever I feel like it, which tends to be every 2/3 years, and it's still always so good.

And then also From Scratch by Katrina Jackson was amazing, seriously I loved it so much, and then finally finished The Red Threads of Fortune by J.Y. Yang, it was also amazing.

Now tell me about your reading from the week - if you were taking part in this readathon or not.

Bout of Book 24 | Announcement + TBR plans

Another January, another Bout of Books! And, yes, I haven't really posted here in months and months, and I'm planning on putting a post up about what's been going on - mostly just life. However, bout of books is soon enough this is going up first.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 24 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.
- From the Bout of Books team

Join me and a bunch of other people in starting the reading year off with a bang! I normally have a vague TBR plan and this year is no different. I don't have specific books in mind but I'd like to finish as many books as I'm "currently-reading" as possible. I have a bad habit of starting books and then putting them aside to read something else. And I've got literally probably two dozen, if not more, books that I've started and just haven't finished yet.

And, also, hopefully I finish my first romanceopoly book this week and can start my second one next week. (One of my 2019 reading challenges, that post will be up soon as well. As long as everything goes as planned).

If you're taking part, please let me know in the comments so we can cheer each other on! And, also, let me know your reading plans.


Sign Up post
Blog
BoB twitter
BoB instagram

Book Review: Picture Perfect Cowboy

Title(s): Picture Perfect Cowboy
Author: TIffany Reisz
Genre: romance/erotica
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 266
Publication Date: November 5th, 2018

Plot (from goodreads):
Jason "Still" Waters' life looks perfect from the outside—money, fame, and the words "World Champion Bull-Rider" after his name. But Jason has a secret, one he never planned on telling anybody...until he meets Simone. She's the kinky girl of his dreams...and his conservative family's worst nightmare.

"Picture Perfect Cowboy" is a standalone erotic romance from Tiffany Reisz, set in her bestselling Original Sinners series. An abridged version was previously published in "Exposed: A Romance Anthology" as the novella "The Watermark."

Review:
Disclaimer: I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Also, I love all of Reisz' previous books. 

(trigger/content warnings: BDSM, Dom/sub relationship, 'ownership,' everything that could come with that I guess? Along with Jason's past childhood abuse from his father)

If you're starting with this one, I guess you technically could, but you would definitely not get as much out of it. It made me stupidly happy to see Simone getting a HFN and to see how she turns to Nora when she doesn't know what to do.

And how this all feels very realistic. They just met, sure, and they're heavily in lust and like each other a lot - but neither of them think they can change their lives because of this , supposedly, small thing. And they're trying to be logical about it.

I love Simone, I'm not sure when I got so attached to her and I didn't realize until I was reading this book, but it was a ton of fun to get to see from her POV. And to get to see Sora (+ Nora) from her POV, as well. And Jason was fun - I've missed the horses and such, it was nice to be back, and this was a much lower stress environment. And he's just such a genuinely good guy, he wants to do the best he can and never wants to hurt anyone.

If you want to just jump into this, I'd say go for it, but also - the whole Original Sinners series is fucking incredible. The characters are some of my favorite, you can't convince me they're not real.

Book Review: Fresh Ink (anthology

Title: Fresh Ink
Editor: Lamar Giles
Authors: Malinda Lo, Melissa de la Cruz, Daniel Jose Older, Gene Luen Yang, Nicola Yoon, Sara Farizan, Eric Gansworth, Walter Dean Meyers, Thien Pham, Jason Reynolds, Sharon G. Flake, Schuyler Bailar, Aminah Mae Safi
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 208
Publication Date: August 14th, 2018

Plot (from goodreads):
In partnership with We Need Diverse Books, thirteen of the most recognizable, diverse authors come together in this remarkable YA anthology featuring ten short stories, a graphic short story, and a one-act play from Walter Dean Myers never before in-print.

Careful--you are holding fresh ink. And not hot-off-the-press, still-drying-in-your-hands ink. Instead, you are holding twelve stories with endings that are still being written--whose next chapters are up to you.

Because these stories are meant to be read. And shared.

Thirteen of the most accomplished YA authors deliver a label-defying anthology that includes ten short stories, a graphic novel, and a one-act play. This collection will inspire you to break conventions, bend the rules, and color outside the lines. All you need is fresh ink.

Review:

(disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review).

Overall, this was a solid collection. There were some I loved more then others, but none of them was I 'meh' on, which is pretty rare for an anthology with more then a handful of authors. The idea behind this anthology and the stories inside are so important. 

And the stories are good as hell. There's a few that I wish we could see full stories of, but I also like the idea of people getting to imagine the next part, create their own end for the story. All the authors I'd read from before were, of course, amazing and I was glad to return to their work. (For example: love Malinda Lo's everything. DJ Older's + Jason Reynolds's writing. And the others I've read. 

And was blown away by some of the people I hadn't read yet - We'll talk about my favorite story last, and I don't want to just talk about a few but also don't want to get too in depth. These are, obviously, short stories so I feel like mentioning anything gives almost too much away. I just want to say that these writers are all incredible and this anthology blew me away. Especially, honestly, considering how short it was, I was left wanting more but definitely not in a bad way.

Especially from the last story in the collection by Nicola Yoon - about a black kid whose a superhero. I was a little confused at first but as soon as I learned what was going on, my heart joke broke. And, to be honest, this is the one that I was about a whole series about. It hit my hard and is so important and was incredible. 

January 2018 | Monthly Wrap Up

The first month of 2018 has come and gone and, let me tell you, it felt like a long one to me. it's hard to be like "I think this will be a good year" with what's going on in the world politically, but in 2017 I saw friends more then I ever have before and I'm hoping to continue to see them regularly in 2018. Probably not as often, because money is a thing, but I'm still hopeful.

Anyway, on to what I read! I didn't read a lot ofr the first two weeks or so of the year, just because I was so drained from New Years with friends. I love that time, and wouldn't change our new tradtion for the world, but I need time to recover afterwards. I did end up reading quite a bit in January, though, I'm not sure what happened but I read a lot.

Books:

• Ripped Pages by M. Hollis (2.5 stars)
• The Doctor's Discretion by E.E. Ottoman(4 stars)
• Let Them Eat Chaos by Kate Tempest (3 stars)
• Think of England by K.J. Charles (3 stars)
• The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh (Society of Gentleman #0.5) by K.J. Charles (3.5 stars)
• A Fashionable Indulgence (Society of Gentleman #1) BY K.J. Charles (4 stars)
• The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (5 stars)
• Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson (5 stars)
• The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) by Tessa Dare (4 stars)
• A Seditious Affair (SoG #2) by K.J. Charles (4 stars)
• Kings and Butterflies by Lina Langley (3.5 stars)
• A Gentleman's Position (SoG #3) by J.K. Charles (4 stars)
• A Private Miscellany (SoG #3.5) by K.J. Charles (3.5 stars)
• Trade Me (Cyclone #1) by Courtney Milan (4.5 stars)
• Let's Talk About Love by Clair Kann (5 stars)
• Talk Sweetly to Me by Courtney Milan (3 stars)
• Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann (3 stars)

Comics/Graphic Novels:

• Giant Days, Volume 6 by John Allison (4 stars)
• Misfit City, Volume 1 by (4 stars)

It was a really good reading month, as I mentioned. I read a lot of romance because, apparently, that's what I was in the mood for? Which is weird for a lot of personal reasons, and I'm still working on fully figuring it out myself but there's a discussion post on the way. Mostly, though, I think it's just I know what's going to happen, and I know it's going to end happy. I do, however, like my romance with more then just the romance - it's the main plot, of course, but not the only plot.

Besides that, I read a lot of really good stuff this month! It was my first time diving into K.J. Charles, Courtney Milan, and Tessa Dare. I enjoyed books by all three and will definitely be reading more by all of them - as already shown by my K.J. Charles spree, whoops, and the two Milan books I read.

I'm also continuing my Mistborn reread at a much slower pace, having just reread Shadows of Self this month, which I'd started last month. I'm looking forward to continuing with it, just also impatient and I know Bands is going to hurt as much the second time around as the first.

I, also, read Let's Talk About Love this month, which came out this month and I, actually, sat down and read it the day it came out, literally the same day. Black ace MC was enough to make me go yes, but there's also the friendships. Her relationship with her best friends, who are dating each other, just gave me a lot of feelings and I loved how much they loved each other? Like they all just love each other a lot and phew, feelings.

So that's what I read in January, good start to the new year reading wise, at the very least. Let me know if you've read any of these books and how your reading is going.

Happy reading!

October, November, December | Monthly Wrap Up

The last three months I didn't end up doing a wrap up, it's been a busy few months. NaNo, of course, happened and then the holidays are always crazy, are they not? Either way, I didn't want to not wrap up the last few months of the year, and I didn't read a ridiculous amount so decided to just throw them all together into one post.

Books:

• The Wrath and the Dawn (#1) by Renee Ahdieh (4/5)
• Mischief by Tiffany Reisz (5/5)
• The Rose and the Dagger (#2) by Renee Ahdieh (4/5)
• Don't Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez Smith (5/5)
• Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Carey (4/5)
• Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee (4.5/5)
• Smoke & Mirrors by Michael Faudet (3/5)
• Depression and Other Magic Tricks by Sabrina Benaim (4/5)
• Still Can't Do My Daughters Hair by William Evans (4/5)
• Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)
• Oathrbinger by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)
• The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)
• The Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (4/5)
• Milk and Honey by Rupi Karu (4/5)
• The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)
• The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (5/5)
• The Christmas Truce by Tiffany Reisz (5/5)

It was a weird few months of reading - one of my best friends and I accidentally started out Mistborn reread. Neither of us had reread since the first time we read, and we remembered so very little, but it's such an amazing series. 

Mistborn rereads and poetry was apparently the theme of the last few months of 2017. Oathbringer, also by Sanderson, also came out in November and that was a giant, incredible, and insane book.

The Long Way Down was incredible and heartwrenching. I will definitely be reading more things by Reynolds' in the future (already bought a copy of Miles Morales). Not Your Villain was amazing and I highly recommend this series. Besides that I'm not really sure what else to comment on, it was a weird few months for reading for me, that's for sure.

Sorry for the late as hell wrap up, but better late then never right?

Happy Reading!

Snow Day Reading List | Winter Bibliothon Day 1

It's officially day one of the winter biannual biblithon and I am actually typing this on day one, the timing of this readathon might of gotten away from me just a little bit? I don't know how, but I just wasn't expecting it to get here so soon, and don't even get me started on how unprepared I am for the 24in48 next weekend.

Today, though, the challenge is to write about your snow day reading list. I feel like there's a few different ways this could be interoperated in a few different ways. My way is going to be what I'd recommend someone spend a snow day, or two, reading. 

First off: KJ Charles. I haven't read all of their work yet, and some of it is problematic, but it's also just snuggle down and read some slightly ridiculous historical romances, as it should be. 

And, as always, I feel like a classic of a winter day is Harry Potter. I think if you follow me anywhere online, you know my love of HP, so I'm not going to continue more. (If you don't: I regularly go to HP conventions and have two tattoos, I'm holding myself back for your benefit).

However, another really good idea for a snow day reading list, I feel like, would be long as hell books. So you can just sit down, with one book, and try to knock it out, or at least a large chunk of it. The first one that comes to mind for this one, for me, is IT by Stephen King, a favorite of mine, and while a good chunk of it takes place in summer, there's one scene in particular that takes place in the winter that'll stick with you. 

Let me know what your's would be, link me if you also posted, and I hope your readathon has started off on a good note. Happy reading!

Winter Biannual Bibliothon 2017 | TBR + Plan

I'll be taking part in this readathon - starting today, when this post goes up, and going through the 26th. This readathon is a lot of fun, but can also be a lot, all kinds of challenges. Reading, blog, instagram, video. I'll be taking part in a few of the each but the video, though I don't know what the instagram ones are yet and haven't started any of the blog posts yet, so take that with a grain of salt. I do really like this readathon, though. It is involved but it can be a lot of fun.

I've got plans to read a lot this week, and I have no idea how possible it is. I've been having a really bad flare up with my chronic pain the last few days so I've just been tired. Theoretically, though, I could start reading in the morning and then just read, we'll see how it goes.

I'm not going to try and be hitting all of the reading challenges, just a few, and same for the blog posts. As for the books I'm planning to read, though, i've got a general plan? But it's a large general plan. Physical, books I've started reading reading but haven't finished yet, ebooks, at least one audiobook.

I've got options, is what I'm saying, and that's kind of how I like going into readathons? And right after this readathon is the 24in48 readathon (a post will be up about that this week).

Options (just titles, if you don't the book just let me know and I'll tell you, split into ebooks, graphic novels, and digital)

• whiskey words & a shovel
• Canto Bight
• Beneath the Sugar Sky
• Bands of Mourning
• A Taxonomy of Love
• Ramona Blue
• This Savage Song
• The Year of Magical Thinking

• Jem and the Holograms, Volume 1
• Misfit City, Volume 1
• Lumberjanes, Volume 7
• Spinning (Graphic Memoir)
• everyone's an alien when you're an alien too
• Princeless: Save Yourself

• Cobalt Squadron (currently listening to)
• A Seditious Affair (currently reading)
• The Falconer

And, honestly, that's a small part of my options? I also have just hundreds of books around me so who knows what I'll read actually read for the readathon?

#DiversityBingo2017 | Final Wrap Up

I'm not completely done with this challenge yet but I'm planning to finish it by the end of the year - and, if I can't, I'll be carrying into 2018 (technically not what the challenge is but I don't care, I still want to read the books I put for the prompts).

I did want to talk a bit about this challenge, though. The main reason I enjoyed it so much was that it really pushed me to do more and more research about diverse books. I was doing research about diverse books anyway and trying to figure out what I wanted to read, but this definitely upped the time I spent doing that - and also my TBR, whoo boy.

I don't think I'll do a specific thing in 2018 for diversity, just because it was kind of stressful? I'm a mood reader and so I'm bad at this kind of read a book with this, even though I can find a book in whatever genre and read that, but it's still just too much pressure for me.

I'm probably going to keep in mind a list of 10 or so diverse reads (mostly things I didn't get to this year, but own) and make sure to reach for those first before anything else, give those a try before anything else.

That is all for a post that'll be coming at the end of the month, though, about my 2018 reading goals. First I'm going to just list the ones I've completed and then the ones I haven't and my TBR for them.

(Notes: MC means main character, any other abbreviations I use that confuse you just ask!)

• Romance with a trans MC - Coffee Boy by Austin Chant
• NB MC (own voices) - Defying Convention by Cecil Wilde
• practicing jewish MC - Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman
• MC w/ underrepped body type - So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon
• Neuro diverse MC - Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
• bi MC - Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
• MC with anaphylactic allergy - My Year of Epic Rock by Andrea Pyros
• pansexual MC - The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis
• black MC - Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor
• PoC on cover - Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
• d/Deaf or HoH mc - El Deafo by Cece Bell
• immigrant/refugee MC - Inside Out and Back Again by Thahha Lai
• MC on ace spectrum - Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Katherine Ormsbee
• Non western setting - Want by Cindy Pon
• diverse nonfiction - Queer, There, and Everywhere by Sarah Prager
• hijabi MC - The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi
• West Asian setting - The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
• book by author of color - Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
• #ownvoices - Another Brooklyn by Jaqueline Woodson
• biracial MC - Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee
• mc of color in SFF - The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
• LGBTQIA+ MC of color - Adaptation by Malinda Lo
• free space! - even this page is white by Vivek Shraya

TBR - options for the categories I haven't finished yet (no authors names here because for some I'm putting more then one - any questions as to what the book is/who the author is, just let me know! And, if there's problems with any of my picks - future, or even past, just pleast let me know so I'm aware)

• SFF with a MC with a disability - options: Otherbound, Chameleon Moon, Ascension
• Indian MC - When Dimple Met Rishi 
• displaced MC - Ramona Blue 
• retelling with LGBTQIA+ MC - Ripped Pages
• MC with invisible disability - Ascension (same as above), Dead Girls Society, Under Rose Tainted Skies
• Latinx MC - Labyrinth Lost 
• mc with chronic pain - Far From You, Ascension (still same, this book has a lot going on)
• Arab MC - Saints and Misfits
• MC with wheelchair - Push Girl 
• Visually impaired MC - A Quiet Kind of Thunder, Not If I See You First
• book set in Centeral America - The Book of Unknown Americans
• Contemporary arranged marriage - Written in the Stars
• Indigenous MC - If I Ever Get Out Of Here

I, honestly, am ashamed at some of the ones that I didn't end up hitting. However, I'm also sure that I've just forgotten books that fit in these categories - currently we're not even done with January and I've already read a book with a character with chronic pain do I don't know what's up. Which I've just realized, as typing this, could count for that challenge. 

Either way, I'm doubt I'm going to update again past this, but I wanted to talk about this challenge again because it was important to me. And I spent a lot of time researching books to read, and just ended up adding, and outright buying, so many books that it brought to my attention. And I'm so excited to finish up some of the challenges and read more of the others.

And, of course, I'm always focusing on reading more diversely in 2018. I also feel like this challenge has made me automatically look for those, under the general layer of publishers pushing the white, mostly male books in our faces. They're getting a little better about it, too.

Now I'm rambling, I might make a whole discussion about reading more widely/diversely. If you took part in that challenge, let me know, especially if you did a wrap up so I can see what books you picked up. 

Happy Reading!