Hey there friends! Welcome back! Today, I’m going to be sharing an update on my reading since my last update post on the 22nd of March.
I’ll be doing this like a WWW Wednesday (which is hosted by Sam @ Taking On a World of Words): I’ll talk about what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and what’s coming up next. I’ll also share my progress on my reading challenges.
Let’s get started!
Continue reading “Reading Update | April 9th”
Hi guys.
I apologize for my weird disappearing yet not disappearing act that I’ve been doing these past few weeks.
It’s been a struggle and I finally am in the mood/have the time to tell you all about it.
So, without further ado, let’s get started!!
Continue reading “Life + Reading Update”
Hey hey hey!!!! Welcome back dear bookworms! Today I’ll be sharing with you my wrap up post for September 2019!! how is it almost the end of 2019 already??? how?? where did the year go?
So September was…I guess, a kind of good month? More meh than good, but still kind of good. I think I’ve gotten used to classes and blogging, and that’s great! But I didn’t write that many reviews, wasn’t that super active in the community, and I only read 6 books. Let’s take a deeper look below!
Covers are from Goodreads
So I read 6 books, which is better than the 5 books I read in August but not by much. I am now helplessly behind on my GR challenge, and I’m so disappointed. I’m actually contemplating doing my first monthly TBR so that maybe I’d read more if I had a schedule, or an idea of books that I can read. Let me know if you’d like to see that!!
I am also behind on reviews from August, so I’m hoping to catch up on those this month (October)!
Key: * = Book for review | ^ = Review to come
Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich // Rating: ★★1/2 One sentence summary: An easy and humorous mystery, with okay characters.
*Against Their Will by Carolyn Courtney Lauman // Rating: ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: This was an incredible fast-paced debut, with great characters, and a captivating plot.
^A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman // Rating: ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A heartwarming story with beautiful friendships and a sweet grumpy man.
^Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim // Rating: ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An interesting Mulan-inspired adventure in a world of magic with a determined heroine.
^Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco // Rating: ★★★1/2 One sentence summary: An okay mystery with a strong and complex heroine and amazing side characters.
^With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo // Rating: ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A sweet and uplifting story about family, friendship, food, and community.
Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong / The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling
I did 2 tags, which is pretty low. But! I have a list of tags that I want to do, so maybe you will not see more of them this month!!
The Netflix Book Tag (Thank you so much Siobhan!)
Sunshine Blogger Award #2 (Thank you so much Kiera!)
Let’s Talk Bookish – When An Author Has Gone Too Far
Let’s Talk Bookish – Is it bad if you don’t finish reading a book?
Let’s Talk Bookish – Should There Be A Standard for Book Reviews?
Let’s Talk Bookish – Things You Wish You Could Ask Other or More Experienced Bloggers
50 Bookish Questions tag by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads (Guys. FIFTY questions. Grab a cup and go have a seat, because it was so nice reading all of Meeghan’s answers!)
Bookending Autumn 2019: ANNOUNCEMENT by Sam @ Fictionally Sam (I’m so excited to be taking part this October!! Be sure to check out Sam’s post to learn more about it!)
Hard Truths I’ve Learned About Book Blogging (& a few ways to cope with them) by Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea (This is an awesome discussion post written by the amazing Caitlin, and I’m sure we’ve all related to some of her points at least once or twice before.)
Do Contemporary Novels Ever Become Outdated? by Kelly @ Another Book in the Wall (I really loved this seriously in depth discussion by Kelly on contemporary novels.)
I changed my blog’s design…again!! I actually had my previous design for almost 6 months which is amazing. I wonder how long this one is going to last, and I really hope I keep it for much longer.
My stats were pretty high in September, and I’m so happy and thankful to all of you who came over and read whatever I had to say!! Also, I’m kind of close to reaching 200 followers, and after being inspired by Caitlin’s post, I’m going to host a Q&A about me/blog when I also hit 200! (It was not intentional lol!! I just felt like my letter that I wrote last time wasn’t much, and I wanted to do something more fun, and I’d seen the idea of a Q&A somewhere else, and then I saw Caitlin’s post that she did earlier this year, and it seemed like a fun way to say thank you, so here we are!)
Thank you to everyone who is following me, and if you’d like, you can fill out the form below to ask me your question, and to give me feedback about my blog!! I would really appreciate it 💚
That’s it for this month. In total, I read 6 books, did 4 reviews, 2 books tags, and wrote 4 discussion posts (YAY!! Honestly, can you believe that I shied away from writing discussions before??). 2 of the books I read were 4 stars, and another 2 were 5 stars so that is great! However, I am still behind, by 10 books, on my reading challenge.
For October, I hope to read maybe 8 books, catch up on 5 reviews, and try to do maybe 4 or 5 BE Autumn posts. At the very least, I’m going to do 3.
And that’s it for this wrap-up! How was September for you? Did you get as much reading as you wanted done? Are you behind or ahead on your reading goal? Will you be taking part in Bookending Autumn? Should I do a monthly TBR post? Anything you’d like to share? Let’s chat in the comments below!
Hi guys and welcome to another book review!! Today’s review is of Against Their Will by Carolyn Courtney Lauman. This is my first book review with Reedsy Discovery and I’m super excited!! Against Their Will is a captivating thriller with amazing writing, compelling characters, and an intriguing plot.
Book: Against Their Will
Author: Carolyn Courtney Lauman
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary: A holiday drive to Florida ends tragically for Izzy and Maria when their car breaks down outside a rural North Carolina bar. Kidnapped by two brutally sadistic men, the sisters are held captive in a remote fishing cabin. As the men become increasingly unhinged, their savagery intensifies, propelling the young women into a desperate fight for their lives.
Decades and distance have healed their physical injuries, but Izzy and Maria’s once-close relationship has failed to survive in the aftermath of their nightmare. Estranged and living on opposite coasts, they rarely see or speak to each other.
Now, one of the kidnappers has been released from prison, vowing to exact his revenge on Izzy and Maria. As a hurricane rages around them, the sisters endeavor to repair their bond, confronting many hard truths in the process. Can they reconcile in time to defeat the demons from their past?
Many thanks to Reedsy Discovery for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Quote: I’m not sure if I’m just punishing myself by pushing away everything I used to love.
Izzy and Maria are best friends as well as sisters who are travelling from their home in Pennsylvania for a holiday with friends in Florida. On the way, their car breaks down, sending the girls to a dodgy bar in hopes of finding a mechanic to help them. What happens though, destroys their once close bond, and leaves the girls fighting for their lives.
I really liked Maria. She’s a fighter, someone determined to survive no matter what’s thrown at her. I didn’t really connect to Izzy, but the story doesn’t follow her life so we don’t really get to know her. However, both sisters fiercely love one another and are determined to survive the horror that they’ve been through. I also understood why they drifted apart, and was really hoping that they reconciled in the end.
Quote: I am angry with everyone and no one at the same time.
Billy and Frank were horrible monsters, and I was shocked by their crimes. However, they were real people, with terrible pasts that may have driven them to do what they did to Maria and Izzy. That doesn’t justify what they did at all, but it makes them real, and not just characters who are evil just for the sake of the story.
One thing that could be changed, maybe, was seeing their interactions with Frank’s sister or maybe some of their friends. The only reason Frank’s sister had any role in the story was to testify, but it would have been interesting to see how Billy and Frank acted with her or their friends when they were sober. Their past was interesting, but it would help make them more believable characters if we had an idea of what they were like on a normal day.
I loved how thrilling the story was. I couldn’t put the book down until I finished Part I, and even then, I was still wondering and very excited to know what happened next. I’m a big fan of criminal trials, and the legal aspect of the story made me love it even more. The second half was just as good as the first, and I really enjoyed it. The ending was great; sad, but still very good, and I liked how Izzy and Maria were strong despite everything. The writing was also amazing!
In the end, this was an incredible fast-paced debut, with great characters, and a captivating plot.
Content Warnings: sexual assault, abuse, kidnapping, and explicit content
I’m so excited to have finally reviewed a book with Reedsy! I definitely recommend you give this book a try, and I really hope you enjoy it!
Hola!!!! How are you my dear readers? I hope you are having a fantastic day! It is time for my weekly reading update, WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words.
The Three W’s are:
Let’s get started!
All covers are from Goodreads
It’s been a while since my last WWW Wednesday, so for a run down of all the books I read in August, you can check out my August Wrap-Up post!
The lovely Meeghan recommended Curious Minds to me, and it was okay. I didn’t overly love it, but it wasn’t bad either. More like an easy story to read just for the sake of reading. I liked Emerson though. He’s a hilarious and a very frustrating character, but I still really liked him!
Against Their Will is an amazing thriller that I had the pleasure to review. I received a copy from Reedsy Discovery, and my review will be up next Monday! This was a gripping story, and I really loved it!
This is so sweet. And heart breaking. And hilarious. And heart breaking. I love Ove and his grumpiness, I love Ove and his rules, and I love Ove and how simplistic he is. I also absolutely love Parveneh. Simply, I love this book. Even though I’m not done with it yet lol
I have both on hold, and I’ll probably start whichever comes in first!
That’s it for this Wednesday. What are y’all reading? Have you read any of the books above? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s so that I can check them out!)
Eternity Books 