The Bright and Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill (review)
Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (review)
These are all 5 star reads from authors I adore. I highly recommend adding them to your tbr because they are amazing and dazzling and make my heart oh-so happy. There’s no picking a favorite from this list. That would be too painful to do. But I’ve linked to my blog reviews I have, so be sure to check those out if any of these titles sounds interesting.
Do you collect any book merch? If so, for which books and what kinds do you like to get?
There’s so much cool book merch to be had. Bookmarks, character art, pins, candles, socks, funko pops and more! I didn’t how popular collecting book merch was until I joined Instagram.
I haven’t really collected book merch in a long, long time. I own some. Some posters and a gifted blanket from my Twilight obsession days. I have a pin for Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, and a bookmark for Winterspell by Claire Legrand.
While so much bookish creativity is being made, I don’t see myself actively getting merch anytime soon if at all. I’d rather spend that money on buying more books.
If I were to collect book merch it would for sure be candles. I love looking at pictures of other book lover’s bookish candles displayed amongst their shelves.
One thing I admire are the incredibly talented artists who create character art. My favorite digital artist is Dominique Wesson. I wish could make such beautiful artwork but I’m horrible at drawing people.
It always amazes me how much bookish merch there is to collect. And I like how happy and excited it makes other book lovers. Perhaps someday I’ll join in the fun.
I’m happy to have books and be apart of such awesome book blogging/bookstagram communities. August was a somewhat stressful month for various depressing reasons, so I read far less than previous months.
This month I read 13 books and posted 11 book reviews:
My favorite reads were hands-down Set Fire to the Gods, Red, White & Royal Blue, Smash It! (review tba) and The Damned. I have so many feelings and love for these books. They’re all such incredible reads and contenders for book of the year. About 58 books were added to my tbr.
I completed my 2020 Reading Challenge of 125 books!
August had some really interesting discussion posts that you may find intriguing as well as other posts I liked. I’ve changed up this section again including brief thoughts about each post.
Making money blogging – besides through affiliate links or ads – is something I think about from time to time because of the great amount of work that goes into blogging and posting about books.
I’d only recently seen other blogger’s reactions/thoughts to WP’s new Block Editor, the consensus being it’s difficult and frustrating to use. I’m still on the old classic editor and want to stay that way for as long as possible. I never manually switched over because there was no reason too when the current post editor was fine and easy to use.
[not spons/not ad] I’m not subscribed to any book subscription boxes but maybe someday I’ll sign up. I really liked the items in this OwlCrate box. The blue and purple colored items are all so pretty. The edition of Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar is so beautiful!
[Post Contains Spoilers!] Brothersong is the final book of the Green Creek series. This is a great review to read if you’re caught up on the series. I can’t wait to read this book!
I personally love YA; it’s my favorite genre. My love for this genre, particularly YA fantasy, has not waned since I became an avid reader during my teenage years.
There were 2 cover reveals this month for books I’m excited to read in the future: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston [post] and Celestial by Olivia Wildenstein [post].
Pub Date: May 6, 2021
Image via Author’s Newsletter
How was your August? What were some of your favorite books that you read?
Thank you for stopping by and reading this post! See you in September!
July has been a surreal but decent reading month. There were several days this month that I spent 80% of the day reading because the books were that good! A lot of time was also spent on work and the remainder on self-care.
First off, how many of you watched Hamilton? I did! I social-distanced watched it with my best friend from our respective houses. It was so good and I was happy to have that chance to see the original cast perform. Hamilton gives me goosebumps and my writer heart sing. Everything is just so creatively, cleverly, and artistically put together!
I binge-read a few outstanding books this month that left me with major book hangovers. My favorite July reads were Legendborn (ARC), Protecting What’s Mine, and Red, White & Royal Blue. I cannot even with these books they gave me all the feels. I highly recommend them!
Yesterday, I was curious about how many books I added to my tbr this month – because I have no shelf control – and wow. I underestimated that number greatly. I added 81 books throughout July. What was I thinking?! No wonder I never make any progress ahaha!
As for blog posts, I didn’t get to read as much as I wanted, but here are a few that I liked:
Perhaps one of the most notable moments for me was winning an ARC copy of Set Fire to the Godsby Sara Raasch & Kristen Simmons. I won it through Kristen‘s birthday giveaway on Instagram. I’m currently still reading it and as stated in yesterday’s post, hope to have my review post on Tuesday, August 4.
My summer reading list may never end if I don’t stop adding books to it. Currently, the list contains 23 books, 7 of which have been read. Usually, I end summer reading by early September but I think I’m going to continue with this list until Fall begins.
So that my July in a nutshell. August may be a little more chill just so I can recharge. This weekend I’m going to do some self-care, so I have that to look forward to.
Always choose kindness.
Please wear a mask.
Please social distance.
Please listen to science/health experts and facts.
📚💙Here’s my “Awareness” stack for Mental Health Awareness month!💙📚 I was inspired by fellow bookstagrammer @therealjverma and his amazing book stack to create one of my own.
My AWARENESS stack includes: Ashlords We Rule The Night Awakened Red Queen Erak’s Ransom Night Study Eclipse Snow Like Ashes Seer of Sevenwaters
The bookstagram/book blogging community has been wonderful for my mental health because everyone here is so kind and supportive and friendly to one another. Let’s continue to always choose kindness in all we do.😊💜
I’ve included a list of 24/7 support that’s here for you from my review of Breath Like Water. As dear ol’ Evan Hansen sang, “Even when the dark comes crashing through / When you need a friend to carry you / And when you’re broken on the ground / You will be found.”
If you’re feeling anxious at all today, just remember the wise words from The Lion King, “Hakuna Matata” and the sage advice by Dory from Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming.”💕😊💕
You’ve probably are hearing this a bazillion times a day, but I really do hope everyone is doing alright.
I love this community a lot and I’m glad we all have each other to keep our spirits up. We’re not just bonding as fellow book nerds, but are bonding as a people as well working together to achieve the same goal.
Welcome to the first ever #Relatable Book Tag! I had an idea for another tag that I wanted to try out. This tag pairs books with, you guessed it, things we can all relate to doing.
I hope you like this tag and maybe have a good laugh! Let me know what you think in the comments below. Link back if you decide to do this tag.
Here’s a quick copy paste of each question if you decide to do this tag. Below you’ll find my responses to this unusual tag.
Procrastinating Getting Things Done A book you’ve been putting off reading…
That One Pierce Of Clothing You Wear All The Time A book you own that’s well-worn, well-loved, and/or has been read multiple times…
Checking That There’s Nothing Scary In Your Shower A book that you read the ending first before starting…
Unable To Eat Just One Potato Chip A book you couldn’t put down or finished in one sitting…
Getting Mad When The Wifi Is Down (Again) A book that made you mad…
That One Song You Currently Have Playing On Repeat A book you can’t stop talking about…
MY RESPONSES:
*images via Goodreads
Procrastinating Getting Things Done
A book you’ve been putting off reading…
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
(Red Queen #2)
That One Pierce Of Clothing You Wear All The Time
A book you own that’s well-worn, well-loved, and/or that you’ve read multiple times…
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Checking That There’s Nothing Scary In Your Shower
A book that you read the ending first before starting…
N/A – don’t remember
Unable To Eat Just One Potato Chip
A book you couldn’t put down or finished in one sitting…
The Betrayal Knows My Name by Hotaru Odagiri
Getting Mad When The Wifi Is Down (Again)
A book that made you mad…
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
(The Folk of the Air #1)
That One Song You Currently Have Playing On Repeat
A book you can’t stop talking about…
Mustaches For Maddie by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown
QOTD: What are 2 book series you’d love to see adapted to graphic novels and why?
Easy: Tales From Verania by TJ Klune and Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce.
Tales From Verania is one long, magical hilarious, crazy adventure and heroics of epic proportions. I think the art would be amazing, vibrant, and out of this world. I would love to see art of Gary the Unicorn in all his self-proclaimed (but really rightly so) magnificence.
The main character in Song of the Lioness, Alanna, is one of my favorite strong female leads. The series is accessible to young adults and up. Adapting it to graphic novels would be cool to see. You’d get more of an impact from the story in a graphic novel format.
Genre: Manga, Graphic Novel, YA Fantasy Series: Dawn of the Arcana # of Volumes: 13 Rating: 5 out of 5 Recommend to Others?: Yes
Sumamry (via Goodreads): Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage…and a mysterious power!
~~~~~~~~~~~
My Review:
I really enjoyed reading Dawn of the Arcana. It was funny and sweet, but sad and depressing.
I actually liked the love triangle between Nakaba, Caesar, and Loki; it’s one of the better one’s I’ve seen. Love isn’t so instantaneous in this series, which is good. It grows organically albeit quickly.
There’s so much going on and so much action. The series touches greatly upon the race relations between humans and Ajin. Humans are seen as higher beings than Ajin. Ajin are treated as slaves. These moments were hard to read because this theme echoes so loudly and powerfully within actual history. All the royal families (except a very select few) are just horrible people and it’s no wonder the children ended up just as hateful and spiteful as their ancestors. It’s all just sad.
But I grew to like Caesar rather quickly – one of those few royal lights with the dark. He’s rather sweet and amusingly awkward where Nakaba is involved. He is open to change and rather thoughtful when he tries to be.
Nakaba I liked but there were times when she was just so winy. She’d complain and hesitate every time the “mysterious power” was used or going to be used. And I get it. The power is not easy to wield and rather complex. It’s almost soul-crushing. But I feel if she just stopped and really thought about things she wouldn’t stress so much.
Loki I loved so much in the beginning but my feelings for him began to wane as the story went on. I’m not sure why. Probably because of the conflicting ways he treated Nakaba. In the end, I just had indifferent feelings about him. I feel like there were better choices he could have made.
It’s a lovely story told beautifully but with a few jarring transitions and jumps in time between scenes. The ending felt rushed as if there could have been more pages to make it truly satisfying. Regardless, I was still happy with how things turned out overall.
I loved this series and devoured each volume rather quickly. I’m so glad I found this series.
The Bookshelf Corner 