Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2019

Happy Saturday my friends!! I hope you all are having a fantastic start to August. Today, I’ll be sharing my Monthly Wrap-Up post for July 2019.

July was meh. To be honest, I didn’t really want to blog, I didn’t post on time, I’m behind on two reviews, and I was really busy IRL. But I still posted when I got the chance, and I joined Top Five Tuesday for the first time which was great! I loved the A-Z book idea and you can find a link to the letters that I did, below. Let’s take a look at this meh month.

Books:

Covers are from Goodreads | Click on the titles to visit my reviews.

Key: * = Book for review | ^ = Review to come

So I read 6 books this month which is great, but I am behind by 5 books on my GR reading challenge which is bad. I really need to catch up and hopefully I’ll do that this month!

Trust Me I’m Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer // Rating: ★★☆☆☆ One sentence summary: A disappointing read with a naive main character.

Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland // Rating: ★★★☆☆ One sentence summary: A quick thriller with okay characters.

Look For Me by Lisa Gardner // Rating: ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A great mystery with strong and amazing main characters.

*The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai // Rating: ★★☆☆☆ One sentence summary: An okay contemporary novel with a passionate main character.

^Hell’s Corner by David Baldacci // Rating: ★★★★★ One sentence summary: An amazing political thriller with two spectacular main characters.

^The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton // Rating: ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: A confusing, but interesting and unique murder mystery.

DNF: I also DNF’d Captive Witness by Carolyn Keene. It was a bit dated, too cliche and unbelievable for me, which is sad considering I loved Nancy Drew as kid.

Total Number of Books Read This Month: 6

DNF: 1

Tags:

Okay, so I really can’t believe this but I have done only ONE tag all month! How…???

2019 Mid Year Freak-Out Tag (I tagged myself for this one!)

Here’s a link to the Top 5 Tuesday posts that I did:

K-O | P-T | U-Z

Great Posts From Around the Blog-O-Sphere:

5 Things No One Tells You About Blogging // ft. the real truth about what bloggers do!! by Olivia @ Purely Olivia

Beyond the Blurb | How Blogging Has Helped Me as a Reader by Siobhan @ Siobhan’s Novelties

Why You Should NEVER Compare Your Blogging Statistics with Others’ by Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea

Summer Blogger Promo Tour: Blogging Made Me More…Introverted? by Tiffany @ Read By Tiffany (Ok, so this wasn’t published in July, but I loved it and had to include it anyway!)

Anything Else?

Yes! I started a weekly meme called Let’s Talk Bookish which hopefully will encourage me and others to write more discussion posts (yes, I know, I posted this yesterday, August 2nd, but I shall sneak it on here anyway). You can learn more about that here. As you can guess, I didn’t do a discussion post this past month.

Also, school starts this coming Monday, and I’m not sure how easy it’ll be for me to blog and do my school work at the same time, so please bear with me if I don’t post regularly, or on time.

I also reached 1,000 comments/pingbacks, and I believe that is an achievement so HOORAY!! I’m also close to hitting the 150 followers mark so again, YAY!! Thank you guys so much for loving my blog, chatting with me so much, linking to me, and following 💚

That’s A Wrap!

In the end, I read 6 books, wrote 4 reviews, did 1 tag, and 0 discussion posts. 3 of the books I read were either 4 or 5 stars which is great, but sadly, I am behind on my reading challenge.

I did meet one of the goals I set in June, which was to read at least 6 books, but I think my content quality took a bit of a dip instead of a rise. I did discover some new blogs, thanks to May @ Forever and Everly hosting the 2019 Book Blogger Awards so that’s definitely a plus!

For August, my goals are to: post more often, but even if I don’t, I hope that my posts are great and not generic; do maybe 3 out of the 4 discussion topics for Let’s Talk Bookish (at least 2 though); and read 8 books.

And that’s it for this wrap-up! How was July for you? Did you get as much reading as you wanted done? Did you take part in the 2019 Book Blogger Awards? Ideas for discussion posts you’d like to share? Chat with me in the comments below!

Monthly Wrap-Up: April 2019

Hi friends! I hope you are having a fantastic Saturday! Today, I’m going to share with you my Monthly Wrap-Up for April 2019.

April has been a great month for me in terms of reading. I’m still ahead on my Goodreads goal, I managed to read a lot more books, and I’ve been catching up with my book tags! I also didn’t take any hiatuses, so that’s also very good! Let’s break everything down!

Books:

Covers are from Goodreads

This month was pretty good for me reading wise. I managed to finish 9 books, which is roughly two books a week which I think is pretty good. Click on the titles to visit my reviews.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A great mystery with twisted characters and a satisfying end.

Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An engaging historical mystery with great characters, and an intriguing, yet predictable plot.

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins // ★★★☆☆ One sentence summary: A confusing, yet interesting book with a satisfying ending.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: An intriguing mystery with a slow build-up and a great, yet predictable, ending.

No Exit by Taylor Adams // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An action-packed thriller with a determined, and courageous main character.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A cute contemporary romance with an important message.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A painful yet amazing read with a great main character. (Review to Come)

I also had, sadly, one DNF. Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore. I wasn’t in the mood for it, so I DNF’d. However, I may try to read this some other time.

Total Number of Books Read This Month: 9
Did Not Finish: 1

Tags:

Only two. I did a third one yesterday, but alas, it was already May 2nd. However I’ll sneak it on here anyway…

The Bookish Adventure Tag (Thank you so much Umairah!)

Mystery Blogger Award (Thank you so much Meeghan!)

The Liebster Award (Thank you so much Umairah!)

Great Posts From Around the Blog-O-Sphere:

How To Request ARCs From Publishers, Tips To Succeed & Basic Etiquette – A Guide by Jenn @ Jenniely

let’s whisper // DO YOU GENUINELY LOVE THE CONTENT YOU’RE CREATING AND CONSUMING? by Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink

#NewBloggersWelcome! Edition #10 + End of Hiatus!!! by Evelina @ Avalinahs Books

Review + Recipe: The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth + Chicken Parm Recipe! by Christina @ Recipe and a Read

Anything Else?

An announcement. Tomorrow’s post is going to be the last one that I’m doing for a while. May is going to be very packed for me, and I’m going to be taking a month long hiatus, starting from tomorrow, till June 10th. On June 10th, I’ll resume my normal blogging schedule! I might still visit blogs and answer comments so feel free to continue sharing!

I did my first discussion post in a looooonnngggg time (I know this discussion was posted on May 3rd aka yesterday, but I had to include it lol). This is my second one ever, and after the amazing positive feedback, I’ve decided to come out of my shell and do more of these! You can check that post out here.

I also reached 100 followers yesterday!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! I’m so happy, thank you all so much, and be sure to check out my mini letter to you guys here ❤❤

That’s A Wrap!

So, April was a lot better for me compared to February and March. I got some more reading done, didn’t take any breaks, and kept up with my blogging schedule (mostly). I think I did more blog hopping as well. Once I’m back from my hiatus, I plan on discovering more new blogs, doing more discussions and interesting posts (because I know doing the same thing every week is boring and that you might be tired of this cause I honestly am), and definitely doing a lot more reading.

And that’s it for this wrap-up! Thank you guys so much for reading, and for helping me reach 100 followers! I’m glad that this was an awesome month, and I’m sad that I can’t be here for May. However, I do hope you have a great month, and I can’t wait to catch up once I’m back!

How was April for you? Did you get as much reading as you wanted done? Anything you’d like to share? Let’s chat in the comments below!

Monthly Wrap-Up – Feb 2019

Hey guys! Welcome to my second Monthly Wrap-Up of the year! (Can you believe we’re already 2 months into 2019? The year is going by waaaayyy too fast.) I’m going to share the books I’ve read this month, my favorite blog posts by other bloggers, and some of the tags I’ve done.

Let’s get started!

February was a pretty slow month for me in terms of reading. I only managed to finish 6 books which is pretty low, compared to last month’s 19 books (maybe that was just luck?)

Anyway, here are the six that I managed to read!

Books:

Covers are from Goodreads | Links lead to my reviews

The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: A slow suspense novel with a wonderful thriller ending.

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: A suspenseful thriller with great characters and an amazing twist/plot.

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes // ★☆☆☆☆ One sentence summary: A cliche filled book with one-dimensional characters and a very predictable plot.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: This novel had a very interesting plot, amazing characters, and a twist that blew me away.

The Sacrifice by Indrajit Garai // ★★★☆☆ One sentence summary: A thought-provoking collection of short stories about sacrifices.

Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci // ★1/2 One sentence summary: A book filled with Baldacci cliches, too-big plot and too-simple ending, and a boring main character.

Total Number of Books Read This Month: 6

Tags:

I didn’t do a lot of tags in February Er, um, only two?

The Coffee Book Tag (I got tagged by the lovely Umairah @ Sereadipity)

&

The Sunshine Blogger Award (I got tagged by the wonderful Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads and Bakes)

Thank you so much ladies 🙂

Favorite Posts from Around the Web:

I Have an Announcement // Introducing The Blogiful Blog Design Event by Kat @ Novels and Waffles (You should check it out! It was super cool and I learned a lot from it)

Main Character Deaths are Necessary by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads and Bakes (I loved the discussion and I agree that sometimes, they are necessary)

Morally Gray Characters? In Books? Groundbreaking by Shri @ Sun and Chai (This is a very interesting post that is also very true)

Recipe + Review: The Silent Patient + Lightened Up Curry Chicken Recipe! by Christina @ Recipe and a Read (A delicious recipe paired with a review of a book I’m on the fence about)

And That’s A Wrap!

February was a pretty slow month for me in terms of reading and tags, but I hope to do better this month.

How was February for you? Any accomplishments that you’d like to share? Let’s chat in the comments!

Monthly Wrap-Up – Jan 2019

Hello everyone! It’s January 31st, a.k.a the last day of the first month of 2019. This is my first ever Monthly Wrap-Up post, and my first one of the year. I’m gonna list the books I’ve read, the most liked/visited posts of the month, and my favorite posts by other bloggers.

Let’s jump in.

Books:


Does My Head Look Big in This? // ★★★☆☆ This book gets a solid three stars. It is a YA Contemporary read and is also considered a diverse book because the main character is Muslim. I liked this book but there were some issues that made me give it three stars.

The Couple Next Door // ★★★☆☆ I liked the book because the mystery was intriguing, the characters had hidden secrets, and you couldn’t trust anyone. This gets a solid three stars.

The Good Girl // ★★1/2 This is an interesting thriller which I originally gave five stars, but reduced to 2.5 after analyzing the pros and cons of the story.

All Dressed in White // ★☆☆☆☆ I gave this one star, because I didn’t like it, I thought the mystery was flat, and I didn’t feel any suspense.

My Lady Jane// ★★★★★Sweet, fun, and something different from my usual read.

The Conspiracy of Us // ★★☆☆☆ It’s partly unbelievable, sometimes implausible, and I just didn’t like it.

The Ends of the World // ★☆☆☆☆ A series that I did not like, but still read to find out the end. I thought it might redeem itself. I thought wrong.



The Recruit | The Dealer | Maximum Security | The Killing | Divine Madness |Man vs Beast


The Fall | Mad Dogs | The Sleepwalker | The General | Brigands M.C. | Shadow Wave

The above twelve books are by Robert Muchamore.


Total Number of Books Read this Month: 19



Top 5 Most Popular Post by Likes:

1st Place: WWW Wednesday #8 — 15 Likes

2nd Place: Top Ten Tuesday – Top 10 Recent Additions to my TBR — 13 Likes

3rd Place: Tag Thursday – This or That Book Tag — 10 Likes

3rd Place: Tag Thursday – End of Year Book Tag — 10 Likes

4th Place: 2019 Reading Challenges — 9 Likes

4th Place: WWW Wednesday #7 — 9 Likes

5th Place: Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Didn’t Live Up to the Hype — 8 Likes



Top 5 Most Popular Posts by Views:

1st Place: Top Ten Tuesday – Top 10 Recent Additions to my TBR — 34 Views

2nd Place: WWW Wednesday #8 — 31 Views

3rd Place: Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Didn’t Live Up to the Hype — 30 Views

4th Place: Top Ten Tuesday – New-to-me Authors I Plan to Read in 2019 — 29 Views

5th Place: Tag Thursday – Unpopular Opinion Book Tag — 23 View



Least Popular Post

Bookish Discussion: Bloglovin’ and Why I’m Disappointed



Favorite Posts by Other Bloggers:

Book Review: Dream Keeper (The Dark Dreamer Trilogy, Book 10 by Amber R. Duell : I loved this review by Jenaca @ Jenacidebybibliophile.

Networking for the Novice Blogger : Cristian @ The Art of Blogging is always writing helpful posts about becoming a better blogger.

Cake Flavoured Book Tag : Cake and Books? I’m all in! Sinead @ Huntress of Diverse Books does this very delicious book tag.

The Nope Book Tag : This is the tag that I did earlier today, and I found it @ Sincerely Karen Jo. I loved her responses!



So that’s it for this month friends! What books have you read this past month and what do you all want to read by the end of February? Let’s chat in the comments!