The Pancake Book Tag – Tag Thursday

It is Thursday!! I am so excited, as it is only one more day till the weekend!!! Anyways, time for another book tag my friends! I was tagged by the lovely Kat @ Novels and Waffles to do The Pancake Book Tag. Please do yourself a favor, and check out her absolutely gorgeous blog!!

Let’s get started.

The Rules:

  • Link back to the original creator in your post (Becky @ Blogs of a Bookaholic)
  • Feel free to use any of Becky’s wonderful pancake graphics in your post, or create your own!
  • Tag 5 other people at the end of your post, and let them know you’ve tagged them. 

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens


This book has a lot of elegant descriptions and prose and I loved it. The descriptions were plenty and the scenery was described eloquently!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo


Nobody can beat Kaz’s wit and sharpness. He is very calculating, very gloomy, very dark, and is not a guy you want to mess with. He is also super composed, and smart, and I love him so much.

Sammy Keyes and The Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen


If I had the time, I’d probably re-read all 18 books in this series in one day. I really loved Sammy and all her friends and always had a good laugh while reading her books. Definitely a comforting read that I’ll be re-reading for hopefully many years to come.

I don’t think any book has given me a book hangover?

The Wicked King by Holly Black


I was happy that this book was better. I was excited for Cardan and Jude. I was nervous as the story unfolded. And I was shocked, then in denial by that surprising ending. A lot of different feelings were going through me while reading this book.

Ahahaha, can I put a whole bunch of books? Morally grey characters and anti-heroes are my best friends, so this question has multiple answers.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: Kaz Brekker and literally all the other MC’s in this book | The Wicked King by Holly Black: Cardan Greenbriar and Jude Duarte | Vicious by V.E. Schwab: Victor Vale | A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee: James Easton

And I’m going to stop here lol

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins


I was super confused through-out this mystery. A character dies, and we aren’t told if it was suicide or murder, so I was constantly switching back and forth between Theory A in which the character was murdered or Theory B in which it was a suicide. The ending finally explained everything but I was overall underwhelmed and confused by this book.

Hmm, I don’t know for this one. Usually it’s either I love the two characters together, or I don’t like them together at all. So no, I don’t think I’ve come across such a romantic pairing.

First of all, I am completely with Kat and Becky about not liking peanut butter. I really don’t. I had a PB sandwich once (no jam) and was sick all night. So no PB thank you!!

Watching You by Lisa Jewell


Now for a character I found revolting. That honor goes to Tom Fitzgerald. He and his son, and pretty much all the men in this book were repulsive. I still enjoyed it, but they were all nasty and horrible guys.

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus


This book has some amazing diverse characters. There are Asian characters, gay/bisexual characters, and one of the MC’s is also supposedly part Latina.

Tagging/Nominating:

Kay @ Hammock of Books | Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads | Mel @ Mel To The Any | Xandra @ Starry Sky Books | Connie @ Connie Reads | and YOU (if you’d like to do it!)

P.S. No pressure. If you don’t want to do the tag. That’s absolutely fine. If you’ve already done it, please share the link so I can check it out! Also, if you’d like me to stop bombarding you with tags, just let me know 🙂

That’s the end of Tag Thursday! Thank you so much Kat for tagging me!! Have you done The Pancake Book Tag? Who are some character that are super sharp and witty in your opinion? Have you read any of these book? If, so what did you think of them? Let’s chat in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite Books Released In the Last Ten Years

Hey guys!! It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday!! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme originally created by The Broke and The Bookish, and is now hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s topic is: Unpopular Bookish Opinions.

I’ve kind of done this before. I did an Unpopular Opinion book tag back in January (check that out here!) and I listed my unpopular opinions regarding books and book related things. Instead of pretty much repeating that post, I’ve decided to do a topic I missed this past month:

Favorite Books Released In the Last Ten Years (one book for each year) (submitted by Anne @ Head Full of Books)

Let’s get started!

*2009:

I don’t have a favorite book that was published in 2009…


*2010:

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee


*2011:

I don’t have a favorite book that was published in 2011…


*2012:

I don’t have a favorite book that was published in 2012…


*2013:

Vicious by V. E. Schwab


*2014:

Rivals in the City by Y. S. Lee


*2015:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo


*2016:

Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco


*2017:

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green


*2018:

Watching You by Lisa Jewell


*2019:

No Exit by Taylor Adams

I don’t have any favorite books that were published in the years 2009, 2011, and 2012. This was still very interesting and I’m eager to find out which of your favorite books were published in the past ten years.

What are some of your unpopular bookish opinions? Are any of these books your favorites? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your TTT’s!)

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!

WWW Wednesday #16

Hello and welcome to WWW Wednesday! I hope you’re having a fantastic day! WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words.

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Let’s get started!

What I Just Finished:

All covers are from Goodreads unless stated otherwise

Last week, I finished Watching You and really enjoyed it! You can find my review here. I also finished Stalking Jack The Ripper over the weekend, and I also enjoyed it! My review will be up on Friday!

What I’m Currently Reading:

I borrowed Into The Water two days ago. I started it, but put it aside. So far, it’s okay, but I’m not really into it.

What I Plan to Read Next:

I totally forgot that I wanted to read The Restaurant Critic’s Wife, but that’s what I plan on getting to next! My library copy of I Found You has also come in, and since I really enjoyed Watching You, I’m excited to start this!

That’s it for this Wednesday! What are you reading? Do you have any thoughts on any books that I’m reading, just finished, or want to read next? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s!)

Watching You by Lisa Jewell – Review

It’s Monday! Time for another book review my friends! Today, I’ll be reviewing Watching You by Lisa Jewell. This was a slow but exciting read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the last 40 percent. Let’s get right into the review!

Book: Watching You

Author: Lisa Scottoline

Rating: ★★★★★

Summary: Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighbourhoods in Bristol, England; home to doctors and lawyers and old-money academics. It’s not the sort of place where people are brutally murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret. And everyone is watching you.

As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father.

One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam…


Quote: “Because that’s the thing with getting what you want: all that yearning and dreaming and fantasizing leaves a great big hole that can only be filled with more yearning and dreaming and fantasizing.”

*Mystery. At the beginning of the book, we were introduced to the crime scene and we weren’t told who was killed. As the story progressed, I created my own theories and tried to find out who the person was and why they were killed. I was proven wrong at the end, but I still enjoyed the mystery.

*Jenna. I liked Jenna’s POV a lot more than I did Freddie’s or Joey’s. I was more interested to see what was happening to her and her friend Beth and to really understand Mr. Fitzwilliam’s true behavior. It was through her POV that I grew to distrust him and realize that he may have worse motives than I originally thought.

*Mrs. Tripp. Even though she seemed to have some mental issues, I liked her very much and wished that people would listen to her. I felt very protective of her like Jenna and understood Jenna’s plight in wanting to stay with her mom even though she needed help.

*Secrets. There were a lot of secrets that kept exploding through-out the story. It was also disgusting but enthralling to read about all the twisted stuff some of the characters did.

*Ending. I liked the ending and how everything was wrapped up. It wasn’t spectacular, but I understood the motive and I actually sympathized with the murderer.

*Cozy. This isn’t necessarily a cozy mystery, but it wasn’t a blood-pounding thriller and it was something nice to read. I really liked it because it wasn’t too heavily gory or overall nasty.


Quote: “We’re all different.”

*Men. Honestly, all the men/boys in this book are repulsive, except for Alfie and Jack. Tom was awful. And so is his son. They were both the only two main male characters, and they were both really disgusting creepy guys. Freddie, I felt somewhat sorry for, but every-time I remember what he did and does, I hated him all over again. They were both very revolting.

*Joey. At first I liked Joey and I felt sorry that she was in such a rough patch. And then she grew infatuated with Tom and it took all I had to not scream at her to use some of her senses. At the end, I also felt bad for her, but not very much.

*Word of warning. There are a lot of characters in the book, so it might take a while for you to get everything straight! I was also confused by the time-line at the beginning.


Quote: “Like I might be about to do something really, really stupid. And knowing I’m going to do it isn’t going to stop it from happening.”

I really enjoyed this, I would recommend it, and I hope you enjoy it if you read it! I’ve been waiting for this book for a while and it was one of my most anticipated releases for December of last year and it didn’t disappoint.

One sentence summary: A great mystery with twisted characters and a satisfying end.

Overall, 4.5 stars rounded to 5

★★★★★

Have you read Watching You by Lisa Jewell? What did you think? Let’s chat in the comments!