Down the TBR Hole #34

July 11, 2022 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

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!

I may have recently gone on a book adding spree on Goodreads, so I think it’s time for another round of Down the TBR Hole before my ‘Want to Read’ shelf gets too ridiculous 😂 I don’t know what happened… I was just poking around Goodreads and, the next thing you know, my TBR grew from 712 books to 717 books! Which, to be fair, isn’t terrible, but it’ll definitely get out of hand soon if I don’t trim some older books off. Gotta keep that TBR fresh and, conceivably, manageable.

Ya know… if I read a book a day, every single day, for the next few years. Totally doable.

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare

Ha, I don’t even remembering adding this book to my TBR. Seeming as I removed the one other Cassandra Clare book on my ‘Want to Read’ shelf, I see no reason why I should keep this one around. After all, I probably wouldn’t have much idea of what was going on, even if it’s the start of a new series in the same Shadowhunters world.

Verdict: Remove

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

Okay… on the surface, this book sounds like it could be interesting. A woman running from a shady past in the 1920s and ending up at Oregon hotel that has secrets of its own. But then I realized that the main character is white… in a hotel completely populated by Black people… and I get the feeling there’s gonna be a heavy dose of ‘white savor’ syndrome in this story. No thank you.

Verdict: Remove

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

This science fiction about a creature found after the end of the world has always intrigued me. It seems like it’s going to be a dark tale with intrigue and lots of secrets. That’s the kind of sci-fi that is absolutely my kind of thing! I’ve only read a short story by this author before, but I enjoyed what I read. I’m certainly eager to read a full length novel with his writing. Also, I love this weird cover!

Verdict: Keep

Empress by Karen Miller

I went back and forth on this one. The premise certainly sounds interesting. This book features a woman who escapes slavery and forges her own way in the world. Then I started poking through the reviews and feel a bit more hesitant. I’m not a person who will hate a book just because the main character is unlikeable. The reviews seem to hint, though, that there’s nothing about the MC that makes you want to keep reading the story. But maybe I would like it? I’m intrigued enough to let it stay.

Verdict: Keep

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick

This book gets an instant point for having on of my top-tier tropes: bookish themes! I love a book that is somehow centered around books and this certainly fits the bill. Our main character receives a book of fairytales from her long-thought dead grandma. Inside is a clue that she might not be as dead as previously believed. This sounds completely charming, so I think I’ll keep it!

Verdict: Keep

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sundays in bed with

Sundays In Bed With… The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

July 10, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd4 Comments

Sundays in Bed With… is a meme that dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

Hello, reader!

The weekend is almost over and it’s a busy one over here. Spent the day hanging out with family yesterday and running errands today. It’s been a busy but fun weekend! Now, I’m planning on spending the evening reading. I’ve recently started Jade City by Fonda Lee and it’s quite the ride already! But the book I’ll be talking about in today’s post is a re-read that I recently picked back up.

That being said, let’s get to the post!

My Sunday Read Is…

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

My husband and I recently picked up a beautiful illustrated copy of this classic novel. We picked it up specifically because we recently watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies and my 8 year old son was enraptured. So we thought he would love getting more of the world through The Hobbit! Now, it’s our evening read as we’re winding down for the day. We just started it yesterday and he seems to be loving it so far! I’m enjoying revisiting this story with my kiddo.

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book blogger hop

Book Blogger Hop: Jul 8 – 14

July 9, 2022 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

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

How many books do you buy per month?

Submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

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first lines friday

First Lines Friday #52

July 8, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd2 Comments

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 (I cheat a little bit here *cough*)
Finally… reveal the book!

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

Hello, reader!

I’m excited that it’s time for the weekend and I’m excited for another First Lines Friday! This week, I’m featuring a book that is on one of my year long TBRs. I really need to start focusing on those books because the year is already halfway over. That fact is honestly quite mindboggling to me. Still, this romance is one I’ve been aching to read for some time now.

Let’s see if the first few lines can get me even more excited!

The Line(s):

“Eve Brown didn’t keep a diary. She kept a journal. There was a difference.
Diaries were horribly organized and awfully prescriptive. They involved dates and plans and regular entries and the suffocating weight of commitment. Journals, on the other hand, were deliciously wild and lawless things.”

The Hints:

Though I’m sure it’s fairly obvious what this is, it’s the last book in a romance trilogy.

It follows the youngest sibling’s route to love.

And, if it’s anything like the first two books in this series, it’s going to get quite steamy!

The Reveal:

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book reviews

Mini Reviews: Reading Challenge Edition

July 7, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd2 Comments

Hello, reader!

I am, once again, woefully behind when it comes to writing reviews these days. 2022 has been a busy year with loads of change happening and I’ve found myself with less and less time to sit and write reviews. Though I’ve been reading a ton! Perhaps that is the problem 😂

That being said, I thought I would try and catch up with some of my reviews by talking about three books I’ve finished from one of the year long reading challenges I’m doing in 2022. I’ve not been doing great with my 22 in 2022 TBR, but I’ve checked up a good amount from my 12 friends, 12 recommendations TBR! And, today, I’m going to finally review three of them.

Title: Battle Royal

Author: Lucy Parker

Publisher: Avon

Genre: Romance

CW/TW: Death of a parent (past), abusive familial relationship, emotional abuse (past)

Rating: ★★★★

Links:
Bookshop::TBD::B&N::Amazon::
Goodreads

This was such a delightful read! It made me realize that food + romance may just be my thing, because I loved the backdrop of this sweet story. Two rival bakers competing to bake a royal wedding cake while also working together on a hit baking competition is apparently the recipe to win my heart, haha. Not only did I get a cute (and sometimes steamy) romance, but I got to drool over delicious sounding desserts at the same time. Win-win!

I truly enjoyed the chemistry between Sylvie and Dominic, though Sylvie is hands-down my favorite character. Sorry, Dominic… but she has an enchanted forest in her bakery’s basement! That’s a default win! They were both wonderfully written and complex characters, though, and I truly enjoyed getting to know them throughout this book. There were a few plot points that stretched the imagination, but, overall this was a charming and fun romance that left me smiling from ear to ear.

And the steamy bits weren’t half bad, either 😈

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: Jul 6, 2022

July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd9 Comments

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:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
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

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: I’m gonna be honest and say that I had only the vaguest sense of what this classic was about before I started reading it. I knew that there is a painting that takes on the sins of it’s subject, Dorian Gray. I wasn’t prepared for how terrible Dorian actually is throughout the story! Like… why is anyone friends with this man?! Well, I know why… because he’s rich and handsome. But dear lord, he sucks! Suffice it to say, I’m having a great time reading about this terrible person 😂
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint: Dipping back into Greek mythology retellings with this one and, so far, I’m really enjoying it! I want to fight some people (LOOKING AT YOU, THESEUS) and loads of poor decisions have been made, but I’m liking how we get to see more of who Ariadne is beyond her part in Theseus’ tale. I’m already wishing that this book was a little longer because I would have loved to spend more time with Ariadne when Asterion was a baby. I’m intrigued by their relationship, but it’s a blip in this story. Still, this book is scratching that mythology retelling itch and I’m enjoying it!

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top 5 tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday: Anticipated Reads From Jul – Sep 2022

July 5, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd8 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is a fun, weekly meme that asks you to pick 5 books that fit that week’s theme. It was created by Bionic Bookworm and is currently being hosted by Meeghan Reads. You should check out their wonderful blog for more details and the list of prompts!

Hello, reader!

We’ve made it to another Tuesday and that means it’s time for Top 5 Tuesday! This week’s topic is a tough one. Out of all the incredible books that will be releasing between now and the end of September, I have to choose my top five. Which is gonna be tough! I’m so excited for a lot of books that will be releasing soon, so whittling this down to my top five took some effort.

But the books have been chosen, so let me show you which ones made the cut!

#1. Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston

Starting off strong with one of my most anticipated reads of 2022! I absolutely adored Amari and the Night Brothers, this first book in this magical middle grade series. It’s such a beautiful book with strong characters and a lot of fun ideas going on. I’m eager to jump back into Amari’s world!

Expected Publication Date: Aug 30th, 2022

#2. Babel by R.F. Kuang

I’ve wanted to read this book ever since I saw the full title: Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution. Like, come on! That sounds absolutely intriguing! The fact that it’s written by R.F. Kuang, who wrote the incredible Poppy War series, makes me even more eager. Kuang + dark academia = I NEED IT!

Expected Publication Date: Aug 23rd, 2022

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down the tbr hole

Down the TBR Hole #33

July 4, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd3 Comments

Hello, reader!

I figured it was time for another round of Down the TBR Hole because I feel like I’ve been adding a lot of books recently. Time to continue trimming off older books in which I’m no longer interested! That being said, I haven’t added nearly as many as I thought I had. I ended last round with 710 books on my Want to Read shelf and will be starting this round with 714 books. That’s not bad! For me 😂

Now, let’s see which books may (or may not) be leaving.

The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair

I don’t read a ton of non-fiction, but this one certainly caught my interest. It’s about how certain hues came to be and it sounds fascinating! Who knows when I’ll actually pick this one up… we all know I’m easily distracted by fiction. Still, I want to keep this one on my radar, so it gets to stay.

Verdict: Keep

The Huntress by Kate Quinn

Historical fiction is another genre that I don’t read often, though I tend to enjoy it when I do. This one follows several people in the aftermath of WWII, one of whom may be a Nazi murderess called the Huntress. The synopsis makes me think there will be thrills and tears involved with this one. It definitely keeps me interested in the book!

Verdict: Keep

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Now we’re back in my wheelhouse, haha. This YA fantasy sounds like something that would be right up my alley. It has politics, reluctant allies, and, clearly, quite a few murderous plots. The premise is certainly interesting and the fact that it’s a standalone makes it less intimidating. I really don’t need to be starting another series.

Verdict: Keep

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

I’ve had an interesting relationship with Ruth Ware’s books. I started reading them when she published The Woman in Cabin 10 and, with each subsequent book, I liked her writing more and more. So that makes me think that, if I go back to her first book, I may not like it as much, haha. Besides, I have so many other books to read 🤷🏾‍♀️

Verdict: Remove

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sundays in bed with

Sundays In Bed With… The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

It’s late on a Sunday and I have been busy! We went into the city today to drop my daughter off at the airport and hang out with my best friend. It was a lot of fun, but left me tired by the time we got home. I’ve been vegging on the couch since returning, reading and napping as the mood took me.

Now, I’ve come to talk about the book I’ve been occupying myself with this Sunday!

My Sunday Read Is…

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I’ve been listening to an audiobook version of this classic and, so far, it is such a good time! I’m so curious about all the players in this strange story and I’m loving the writing. I’ve never read anything by Oscar Wilde, but I can see why his work has stuck around for so long. His writing is very evocative and makes it easy to sink into the story. I’m not that deep into the book as of yet, but I have a feeling I’m really going to enjoy this classic.

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book blogger hop