BBNYA Spotlight: A Star Named Vega by Benjamin J. Roberts

October 31, 2022 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

Happy Halloween! On this, the spookiest of days, I have another spotlight tour for one of the semi-finalists of this year’s Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Awards (BBNYA)! I’m so excited to help shine a light on some fantastic indie books. In 2022, BBNYA is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. But perhaps you aren’t familiar with what BBNYA entails, so let me tell you a little about it!

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA website or take a peek over on Twitter (@BBNYA_Official). BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Now, let’s get to today’s spotlight post, this one featuring A Star Named Vega by Benjamin J. Roberts!

Title: A Star Named Vega
Author: Benjamin J. Roberts
Publication date: June 21st, 2021
Publisher: Self-published
Length: 256 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Age group: Young Adult

Book Links

Amazon::Goodreads

Book Blogger Hop: Oct 28 – Nov 3

October 30, 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

Have you ever experienced a blogging nightmare? If so, what was it?

Submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

BBNYA Spotlight: A Ferry of Gold & Bones by Hailey Turner

October 29, 2022October 29, 2022 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

Today, it’s time for another spotlight tour for one of the semi-finalists of this year’s Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Awards (BBNYA)! I’m so excited to help shine a light on some fantastic indie books. In 2022, BBNYA is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. But perhaps you aren’t familiar with what BBNYA entails, so let me tell you a little about it!

Now, let’s get to today’s spotlight post, this one featuring A Ferry of Bones & Gold by Hailey Turner!

Title: A Ferry of Bones and Gold
Author: Hailey Turner
Publication date: September 9th, 2018
Publisher: Self-published
Length: 406 pages
Genre: LGBTQ+, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Age group: Adult

Book Links

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

BBNYA Spotlight: A Particular Friendship by Paul Van Der Spiegel

October 28, 2022October 28, 2022 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

Today, I’m helping to kick off the spotlight tours for the semi-finalists of this year’s Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Awards (BBNYA)! I’m so excited to help shine a light on some fantastic indie books. In 2022, BBNYA is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. But perhaps you aren’t familiar with what BBNYA entails, so let me tell you a little about it!

Now, let’s get to the first spotlight posts of many, this one featuring A Particular Friendship by Paul Van Der Spiegel!

Title: A Particular Friendship
Author: Paul Van Der Spiegel
Publication date: November 28th, 2021
Publisher: Perceptions Press
Length: 225 pages
Genre: LGBTQ+, Religion, General Fiction
Age group: New Adult

Book Links

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

Down the TBR Hole #45

October 27, 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!

Welcome to another round of TBR cleansing with a new Down the TBR Hole post! I’m happy to say that I’ve managed to keep my Want to Read shelf at the same number where I ended last time: 689 books. It’s still an unwieldy amount of books that I want to read, so it’s time to try and trim it down a bit more.

Wish me luck!

The Loop by Ben Oliver

I remember when this book came out. I thought the cover was awesome and promptly added it to my TBR without reading the synopsis. As one does. Having now read the synopsis it sounds like it has potential. Still taking it off, though. YA dystopian novels aren’t really my thing and it’s the beginning to a series. I don’t need to get myself into yet another series right now!

Verdict: Remove

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

I recently read (and thoroughly enjoyed) a different Lucy Foley thriller. Now I’m eager to give her other ones a shot! I own The Guest List, so it automatically gets to stay on the TBR. I’m equally intrigued by this one, though. It has isolation. It has a group of ‘friends’. It has MURDER! Like, say less, I’m in. I’m hoping I enjoy this just as much as I liked The Paris Apartment.

Verdict: Keep

WWW Wednesday: Oct 26, 2022

October 26, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd2 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 Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

I know I talked about this book recently but I am still reading it. Because I overcommitted to buddy reads this month. Because all the books sounded SO GOOD! So far, I haven’t been disappointed, and that definitely holds true for this book. I’m loving the sisterly dynamics, the look into the suffragist struggle, and, of course, all the witchy stuff. I’m also loving Alix E. Harrow’s writing, which is unsurprising as much as I loved her first book, The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

Recently Finished

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

After devouring The Ex Hex, I was eager to pick up the next book in Erin Sterling’s witchy romance series. I’m glad I did because I may have enjoyed this one even more than the first! I loved Gwyn and Wells so much. Their dynamic was *chef’s kiss* and I could read several books about their future shenanigans. I also enjoyed the underlying mystery in this book, though I definitely guessed its resolution. I just love a good, magical mystery, apparently.

Top 5 Tuesday: Most Quotable Books

October 25, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd2 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!

It’s time for another Top 5 Tuesday post! I’ve kind of been slacking on these this month because October was all about quotes. I can appreciate a beautiful line in a book, but I also have the memory of a hummingbird and, thus, don’t often remember them 😂 Today’s topic, however, is one I could get behind because it doesn’t ask for specific quotes… it just ask what are your top five most quotable books. I have quite a few books that would be mostly tabs if I was an annotator. Now I’ve picked five that I think would be annotated the most.

That being said, let’s jump in!

#1. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

Look. This book was my 2020. I was obsessed with this when it came out! I’ve also re-read it more than any other book I own, save one. So not only are there so many quotes that I loved, but this is one of the few where I can actually remember a couple, haha. I have so many copies of this book that I have considered choosing one to annotate. It’s just that good, y’all, and there are definitely a lot of wonderful quotes that I want to revisit again and again.

#2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Erin Morgenstern has exquisite writing. Every book I’ve read by her is an absolute treasure when it comes to prose. Of the two, however, I think The Night Circus is definitely the more quotable. It has one of the few first lines that I can remember off the top of my head! And, as I said, the writing is just so beautiful and lilting that I find myself drawn to so many lines throughout the story. Just thinking about it kind of makes me want to re-read it, haha.

#5OnMyTBR – Published Before 2000

October 24, 2022 kerrimcbooknerd4 Comments

#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!

Happy Monday to y’all. Hopefully you kicked off your week well. Today was my first day back to work after having the week off for my best friend’s wedding and I am T I R E D. Only off a week and my body already forgot what it’s like to wake up at 5:30 in the morning, haha. But enough rambling! It’s time for another 5 On My TBR! This week’s theme is books published before 2000 and, oof, I have a lot of those on my stack 😅

I’ve picked five that I’d love to get to sooner rather than later, so let’s get to the list!

#1. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Not gonna lie, this book is top of the list because I’m fairly certain the author narrates the audiobook and he is an incredible narrator. His voice is just *chef’s kiss* So all of his books have been bumped up the TBR, haha. I do really find the synopsis of this fascinating, as well. An alternate London filled with strange happenings? I am intrigued! So now I just need to hunt down the audiobook and give it a listen. I’m looking forward to it.

#2. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Every time I come across this book on my TBR, I feel so guilty! I can’t believe I haven’t read this yet. I did finally give this author a try a couple of months ago with Fledgling, but that book was just okay for me. I’m hoping that I get on with this book better. I love that it mixes science fiction with discussions about tough topics. And I will say that the audiobook narrator was part of the reason I didn’t vibe with Fledgling too much, so perhaps I’ll stick with a physical read for this one.

Sundays In Bed With… The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

October 23, 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!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful Sunday. I’ve finally roused myself from bed after a whirlwind Saturday helping my best friend get married! It was a great day and now I’m ready to just relax and catch up on some reading, haha. The book I’m snuggling up with today is one that I’m buddy reading with some bookish friends and am woefully behind on. Hopefully I can remedy that today!

But, first, let me tell you more about it.

My Sunday Read Is…

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

What an incredible story this has been so far! I think it’s been confirmed that I love Alix E. Harrow’s writing because I was immediately pulled into this story. I love the descriptions and the parallels drawn between these three, witchy sisters through the beautiful writing. And, speaking of the sisters, the sibling dynamics in this book are incredible! If you’re a fan of stories that explore the ideas of family and shared trauma, this is definitely one I would suggest reading. And the fact that, mixed in with all this, we have true magic and suffragettes makes it that much better.