Month: January 2022

Meet the Book Blogger Tag

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Hello, reader!

I’m doing another tag today and one I think is kind of perfect for the beginning of a new year. It’s the Meet the Book Blogger Tag! I was tagged by the wonderful Mani @ Mani’s Book Corner. You all should definitely go check out her blog because it’s fantastic! I’m very grateful for the tag though, once again, I must apologize for taking forever to do it 😅 One day, I’ll be on top of my tag game… one day.

Alright, let’s jump in!

The Rules:

  • Nominated bloggers can nominate ten other bloggers.
  • Use the same questions from the tag.
  • Tag the original creator (Bibliomavens) and the blogger who tagged you

The Questions:

Who is your all-time favourite book character?

Oof, we’re kicking off with a tough one, huh? There are so many characters that I adore from a lot of different books, it’s hard to pick one that is my all-time favorite! It’s like picking a favorite pet! My current favorite would probably be Tarisai from the Raybearer duology by Jordan Ifueko. She’s an incredible main character and it is a pleasure watching her grow throughout the series. And I think it would be fun to hang out with her! I’m a little sad that there won’t be more books in this series (as of right now) because I’d love to see more of Tarisai’s life.

If you were stranded on a desert island, which book would you take with you? (Survival books do not count)

Okay, for once I’m not going to cheat on this question and make up an omnibus for a series I love that doesn’t exist 😂 So I’ll pick a book that has would have high readability for me and is a standalone. I’m going with The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I just know that every time I read it, I would find something new to love. Thinking about this now, I kind of want to re-read it!

What’s your most unpopular book opinion?

I honestly don’t think I have any really unpopular book opinions. Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t like DNFing books? I mean, I’m perfectly fine with other people DNFing, I actually champion it! Life is too short and all that. But when it comes to my reading, I feel like I have to finish everything I start, even when I’m not particularly enjoying it. I mean, that’s the only reason I ever finished the dumpster fire that is The Scarlet Letter. Which maybe isn’t such a great thing…

What’s your weirdest bookish habit?

Besides pushing myself to read a book I’m hating? Probably the fact that I can’t do other things that require any kind of thought when I’m listening to an audiobook. Like… any thought. I can’t even play a mindless game on my phone or color! If I do, I invariably stop paying attention and lose track of what’s going on in the story. Which means I have to rewind until I find something that sounds vaguely familiar, lol. The only time it isn’t an issue is when I’m driving, which makes no sense as driving requires all my attention! My brain, she is a complicated beast.

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#5OnMyTBR – Pink Cover

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#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook where you chose five books from your to-be-read pile that fit that week’s theme. If you’d like more info, head over to the announcement post!

Hello, reader!

It’s time for another 5 On My TBR and this one I really had to search my TBR to fulfill, haha. That’s because the theme this week is books with pink covers. I, apparaently, don’t have a ton of pink books on my TBR. Honestly, it’s mostly black/blue/white! But, after scouring my Want to Read shelf on Goodreads, I finally found five books that I’m eager to read and have pink hues.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the list!

#1. The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

I’m a little mad at myself for having not read this yet. I was so hyped when it came out and then I just… never picked it up. I even pre-ordered it! But this sapphic story about two girls running competing henna businesses for a school project is something that sounds like I would love it. I’m going to have to make this one a priority in 2022!

#2. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Yeaaaahhhh. I’ve owned this book for, um, awhile. And I have had every intention of picking it up! It always seems to keep being pushed further down my list as other books (read: fantasy books) capture my interest. I do want to read this romance featuring the son of the President of the United States and a literal prince and I think the hype has calmed down enough that I won’t go into it with my expectations too high.

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Book Spotlight: From Fame to Ruin by Jina S. Bazzar

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Hello, reader!

Today, I have a book spotlight for all the romantic thriller fans out there! From Fame to Ruin by Jina S. Bazzar features an heiress to a broken empire and an up and coming rock star that have a difficult past. I was approached by the author to see if I would like to read and review, but I’m still so new to reading romance, I didn’t think I would be able to give it the review it deserved. The author was kind enough to accept a spotlight instead because I do think this sounds like something that could be amazing.

So, let’s jump right in to the spotlight post!

Book Details

  • Title: From Fame to Ruin
  • Author: Jina S. Bazzar
  • Publication date: December 21st, 2021
  • Genre: Romantic Suspense
  • Age group: Adult
  • Content/Trigger Warnings: Character overdose, mentions of child abuse

Book Links

Amazon::Goodreads

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Book Blogger Hop: Jan 7 – 10

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The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!

This Week’s Question

Image by Coffee Addicted Writer

Do you have a genre you haven’t read before but would like to?

Submitted by Sam @ Another Book on the Shelf.

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First Lines Friday #29

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First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?  If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

Hello, reader!

It’s the first Friday of the new year, so let’s kick it off right with a First Lines Friday post! The book I’m featuring today is one I’ve mentioned recently on the blog. I’m reading it for a blog tour and I’m so excited to dive in! Let’s see if the first few lines can amp up my excitement even more.

The Line(s):

“When Ebenezer Tweezer was eleven years old, the world was much younger.
Instead of cars on the streets, there were horses and carriages. In place of phones and computers, people would communicate via letters and hopeful shouting.
There was no such thing as photographs, and so if you were the sort of person who liked to capture the moment whenever you happened to be wearing a nice outfit or eating a pretty meal, you would have to travel around with your own personal portrait artist.”

The Hints:

This is a sequel to another blog tour book I read in 2020.

It is a middle grade novel that promises to be both gruesome and hilarious.

Though I suppose a child-eating monster is no laughing matter…

The Reveal:

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Down the TBR Hole #21

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It’s time for a new round of Down the TBR Hole! This is where I go through my Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ shelf and do a bit of cleaning up. If you want to see the full description of what this post is all about, check out my first round HERE.

Hello, reader!

Time for the first Down the TBR Hole of the new year! Now, before I tell you the current state of my Want to Read shelf, I feel like I should give a disclaimer. I just went through all my owned TBR and scanned them into Goodreads. And more than I thought weren’t even on my Want to Read shelf, yet! So I ended my last round at 653 books and my shelf is currently sitting at… 723 books 😬

Look, this just means that this type of post is gonna be around for awhile, lol. It’s a good thing I enjoy writing! Hopefully you enjoy reading them, as well.

Alright, let’s kick off round 21!

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley

I have no idea how this book ended up on my TBR, lol. It’s apparently a classic? It is a book about a magical bookseller, so it does hit one of my favorite tropes. It sounds like it could be a fun read and it’s quite short. All that adds up to this book getting to stick around.

Verdict: Keep

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

This is a TBR veteran that has been around for a minute. It’s a desert fantasy that definitely sounds intriguing. There’s a young girl fighting t get out of her town, a mysterious stranger that maybe be able to help her, and ✨magic✨ Mix that all together and you get a story I definitely want to read.

Verdict: Keep

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca

Imma be honest. I remember adding this book but I thought it was a historical fiction. Turns out it’s a true crime concerning a woman who upstaged the entire NYPD back in 1917 by solving an infamous cold case. Which sounds way more interesting! I’m glad I read the synopsis cause this one almost got dumped 😂

Verdict: Keep

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WWW Wednesday: Jan 5, 2022

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It’s time for another WWW Wednesday! This is a bookish meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where bloggers answer the 3 Ws:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What did you recently finish reading?
  3. What do you think you’ll read next?

If you’d like to learn more about any of these books, click on the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page.

Current Reads

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

My first read of 2022 is going quite well, so far! I’m about a third of the way into this one and I’m absolutely loving it! Juliette is an incredible character and I guess Roma ain’t bad, either. I do love how much these two hold each other at gun/knife-point, so far 😂 Looking forward to taking my day off to read a good chunk of this book!

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Sunshine Blogger Award

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Hello, reader!

Today on the blog, we’re gonna get into my first tag/award of the year. Which I really should have done last year, but I am notoriously slow at completing tags 😅 I love being thought of for these and I always appreciate a tag or nomination! It just might take me awhile to get around to actually writing my post, heh.

That being said, I was nominated for The Sunshine Blogger Award! This award has been a part of the community for awhile but, if you don’t know, it was created to boost those in the community who are “creative, positive, and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.” I was tagged by the one, the only, Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog and I’m so grateful. You should definitely check out her blog if you’re a fantasy fan or just love good, bookish talk in general. She’s a gem in this community 💖

Alright, now it’s time to get into the post!

The Rules:

  • Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to there post.
  • Answer the 11 questions asked of you.
  • Nominate 11 new bloggers and ask 11 new questions.
  • List the rules and showcase the logo in your post.

Becky’s Questions:

What was your last 5 star read?

My last five star was Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn and all I can say is what a way to end 2021! This book had everything I could want in a fantasy novel about sirens and more. It even had found family, which is swiftly becoming my favorite trope. Even more so than books about books… and that’s saying a lot! I adored all aspects of this beautiful, intense story and I can’t wait to read whatever this author writes.

What 2022 release are you most looking forward too?

It may have a questionable cover, but hands-down my most anticipated release of 2022 is Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse! I was completely captivated by the first book in this series, Black Sun, so you know I can’t wait to see how it continues! I already waxed poetic about this in my #5OnMyTBR post, so I’m not going to go into it again. But I cannot wait to read this!

What’s your favourite genre, and the one book you would recommend from it?

If you’ve been around the blog for any amount of time, this will be an easy one to guess 😂 I’m a fantasy girl and I have been since I was a little kid. And, if I could only recommend one book, it would have to be Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. One day I’m gonna shut up about this book, but today is not that day. This has everything a good fantasy should have: excellent world-building, an incredible cast of characters, and a journey that captures your imagination. Even better, once you read and fall in love with this one, there’s a whole second book to keep you going!

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#5OnMyTBR – 2022 Releases

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#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook where you chose five books from your to-be-read pile that fit that week’s theme. If you’d like more info, head over to the announcement post!

Hello, reader!

It’s time for my first 5 On My TBR of 2022. The theme this week is quite appropriate, too. We’re focusing on 2022 releases, which is a topic high on the bookish world’s mind. We’ve entered a new year and there are a lot of new, shiny books that are coming out. Even though I’m trying not to buy as many books this year, there are definitely at least five 2022 releases that I absolutely have to have! In fact, I have quite a few more, but I’m gonna whittle it down to five 😂

Let’s see which new release make the cut!

#1. Babel by R.F. Kuang

The full title of this alone makes me want to read this. I mean… who wouldn’t want to read something titled Babel: or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution? It’s so pretentious and I LOVE IIIIIITTTT. Besides, I am beyond hyped to see R.F. Kuang’s fantasy take on dark academia. This sounds incredible and I need it. Not want… need.

#2. The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

After finally reading The Gilded Ones last year, I knew I was going to want this book as soon as it came out. If it is half as good as the first book, it’s gonna blow my socks off! Namina Forna’s writing is spectacular and I’m ready for her to transport me once again. Besides, I need to know the next step in Deka’s journey! It doesn’t hurt that the cover is just gorgeous 😍

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2022 Reading Goals

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Hello, reader!

We’ve made it to 2022 mostly intact, which is nothing to sneeze at these days. Now that we’re here, I figured it was time to share my reading goals for this new year. I realized, as I was preparing to write this post, that I never made a 2021 reading goals post. It’s not that I didn’t have anything I was striving towards, reading-wise, but after the year that was 2020, I wasn’t feeling putting anymore pressure on myself.

Now, you’re probably thinking “Why would sharing your goals put pressure on you?” And the only answer is because of who I am as a person 😂 The need to seem On Top Of Things is real in Kerri-land, so putting goals out there for people to see makes my brain see them as something I have to do. But 2022 is the year that I’m trying to be much kinder to myself. I’m trying to look at these goals as something fun, not like they’re chores. As goals that would be cool to achieve, but won’t send me into a shame-spiral if I don’t quite get there. It’s… a work in progress, lol.

That being said, I’ve only set myself a few reading/bookish goals this year that I think I quite attainable. Let’s take a look at what I have in mind for 2022!

My Main Bookish Goals

As I mentioned, I don’t have a ton of bookish goals I’m focusing on this year. I think that will help me not only focus to achieve the goals I’ve set, but not stress myself out too much in 2022. I was a ball of stress by the end of last year and it was not fun. So I’ve picked out four goals that I’m hoping to focus on throughout the year:

#1. Read more of my owned TBR.

Ya girl has… a lot of books that I own, but have not read. Like…

My overstuffed TBR bookcase

A lot. And that’s just the bookcase! There are three stacks in my office that aren’t included in this picture! So my main focus for 2022 is to the actually read some of these before adding even more books to this fire hazard.

And maybe get a new bookcase.

First, though, I’m gonna read more of my owned books! These are all books that I bought because I truly wanted to read them at some point, but they’ve all been neglected for newer, shinier books. I really got caught up in the new release hype last year which is how my owned yet unread library has grown so monstrous. My plan for right now is no new books until I’ve read a significant portion of my owned library. The only exception to that rule is my Illumicrate subscription (which is already paid for since I pay every 6 months) and my Book of the Month subscription (which I’m going to limit to just my BotM pick… no add-ons!). I have yet to decided what a “significant portion” entails because I have yet to actually count the number of books that encompass my owned TBR.

Mostly cause I’m scared 😅

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